Haru sat with her knees raised, arms resting on her knees, head tilted forward.

She was breathing heavily.

"...you almost destroyed a Joint Resonance at the current level." Chronia said, observing.

"I was busy trying not to die."

Chronia smiled slightly.

"Exactly the problem."

She stood up slowly.

And Haru noticed: Her body was full of visual glitches, as if she were losing frames.

Glitches.

Parts of her hair changing color, white turning blue, then red, then back again.

Eyes blinking strange symbols, binary code, runes, floating numbers.

Skin trembling, pixels rearranging themselves.

"The system is updating." She said, touching her own arm.

"...what?"

She approached, her steps leaving a trail of distorted light.

"Corrupted heavens. HUDs breaking. Resonance failing right at the start. Soul reading impossible."

She touched his hair, her fingers running softly.

"The system finally realized you exist."

Silence.

Haru stood up, now slightly taller than her.

"He’s grown..." she thought.

"And that’s bad?" he asked bluntly.

Chronia looked at him as if she wanted to laugh but couldn’t.

"...systems are created precisely to prevent things like you. Unpredictability. Malfunction."

Haru remained silent.

Chronia slightly changed her tone, lower, more human.

"Then I’ll return your curse."

Haru immediately understood.

"...no." Good liar’s reaction. "Yes..." he thought.

Because he already knows the blessed hell that this is.

She touched his forehead, her finger between his eyebrows. System notification:

``` 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

[Notification]

◊ 1

```

"But this time..." Chronia said softly, "...every time you come back... one of the voices will be closer to the surface."

"After all..." Haru said, looking down, "...what’s all this for?"

He looked at her.

"Genius said he’s still alive... so why die and come here if..."

Chronia raised her eyebrows.

"What’s all this for? If you want to die, kill yourself and find out!"

She paused.

"Oh, wait... I forgot... he’s just a reckless 17-year-old..."

"Reckless, no!" Haru replied.

"Shut up! Reckless, yes! A fool thought he was a genius, did an experiment without supervision..."

"Frivolous, no! Don’t you see I did it alone..."

"Fuck you!" Chronia exploded. "And because of that... your dick, which was all messed up from 86 masturbations, got fried... electrocuted, had a heart attack, and died!"

Haru opened his mouth to reply.

"And..." she continued without letting up, "...I, a fucking Goddess, gave you a chance to live longer in a world where you do magic!"

"And you, who were all excited, accepted!"

She pointed at him.

"And today you’re going to make me the culprit because you’re not strong enough to handle this life... where supposedly you even have a daughter!"

"All because of a bunch of inferior beings (humans/NPCs) to you, a Gamer! And supposedly because of other messed-up Gamers!"

"Protect..." Haru thought, remembering his father.

Chronia grabbed Haru’s face, hands on either side, forcing him to look.

"But I still want you to know that I’ve been on your side since I saw you..."

She remembered seeing Haru play Aethelgard for the first time, a boy alone in his room, smiling at the screen, happy even without anyone around.

"I feel so confused..." Haru said softly. "And maybe misunderstood..."

"Me here..." he looked around, "...there..."

"Mizuki..." Chronia said, hugging him.

After all, Haru was only 17 years old. He was still a teenager. He had ’things’.

Haru felt Chronia’s breasts touching him, soft, warm, comfortable.

She enveloped him in a complete embrace, arms around him, chin on his shoulder.

"We all have a bad day..." she murmured. "Today I had one too. And mine today is much bigger than yours... but it’s still a bad day."

"What!?" Haru started laughing, confused but relieved.

He began to disappear, his body becoming transparent. "Oh, by the way! I want to talk about how I didn’t choose my skills and... and..."

"Shhh... We’ll talk about that later..."

She clearly didn’t want to answer. "You should open up more, Haru. Try it."

And then he completely disappeared.

Haru woke up, he was in bed, soft sheets, comfortable pillow.

He looked to the side, Kira was cleaning Haru’s room, picking up clothes from the floor, tidying the table.

"Kiraaaa..." his voice came out slurred.

He had a hangover, he didn’t feel it, but he did. He smelled of strong alcohol.

"Kiraaaa..."

"I heard you, master." She said, arriving, ears perked, tail wagging.

"Could it be that I drank so much at Null Horizon with Genius and we got drunk... we forgot to go to the Cathedral to get Tacty... and everything I seem to have experienced last night was just a dream...?"

He sat up confused. Kira helped him, holding his arm.

"What time did I get home? And where’s Genius? Kiraaaa?"

"Genius...?" She tilted her head. "Who is he?"

"Damn it..." Haru thought aloud. "Did Flavius give us sedatives when he saw us fighting in his mansion... and what I felt like I experienced was a dream...?"

He brushed her head, an unconscious caress.

It was clear that Kira was in a good mood, her tail wagging faster.

"Can I rub my breasts on your face?" She asked innocently, without malice.

"What!?" Haru retorted.

Kira climbed up, sitting on his lap.

"It works. When I was a cub and felt bad, the other mothers would put me on their chests. Moments later I was fine..."

Haru smiled.

"Heheheheh... Yeah!"

She took Haru’s head, pulled it to her breasts, embracing him.

Haru felt them, soft, warm, the scent of Kira (flowers and earth), her heartbeat against his face.

Kira stayed there like that, rubbing against the master’s head, being useful to the father of his goddess.

"You drank a lot yesterday... what happened?"

"That’s what I want to remember..." Haru thought.

But he only remembered Chronia saying: "You should open up more..."

Then he hugged Kira tightly, burying his head, showing that he wanted that, that he was okay for now.

Kira was happy to know that, tail wagging, ears forward.

Beastskins communicate more through gestures than words.

And that hug said it all.

<MOMENTS AFTER HARU FAINTED>

"Damn, this guy is heavy as hell! What does he eat, cement!?"

Genius grumbled, carrying Haru, his arm around his shoulders, dragging him.

Blocks away from the Cathedral already, they had changed clothes, masks put away, hoods lowered.

They went to Null Horizon for a drink, because it had been a busy day.

Genius sat Haru down in a chair; Haru was still unconscious, his head hanging down.

The other drunken adventurers looked on, and one of them had an idea: "Hey! Let’s play a game!"

They put drinks in the mouth of the passed-out Haru:

Haru’s mouth open, sitting about five meters away.

An adventurer would take a sip of gin or any other drink and spit it into Haru’s mouth.

Whoever could spit the most and get the most in wins.

Haru, magically, literally drank a lot that night without waking up.

Meanwhile, Genius was flirting with the tavern assistant:

"I may be 16... but I’m a..."

"You’re only 16 YEARS OLD!?" She recoiled.

"Don’t I look it?"

"You don’t look it..."

Moments later, Genius was grumbling again.

He was at the bus stop waiting for a taxi to take them to the Elegantius mansion.

One arrived, he got in dragging Haru, and was taken away.

Genius paid and everything. He entered the mansion completely drunk with another unconscious drunk.

Flavius emerged from the bath amidst exotic flowers, petals floating, perfumed oils.

Flavius cleaned himself, put on a silk robe, ate some grapes he had left on the tray. A glass of wine followed.

He left the room taking a sip, because the butler called, alerting him that Genius and Haru had arrived. He reached the waiting room and found:

Genius drunk, staggering, grinning idiotically.

Haru lying beside him unconscious, smelling of mixed drinks.

Genius pulled out the Tactys, three shining stones, red, blue, and green.

He threw them on the table, they clinked loudly.

"Tell me!" Flavius said, genuinely amazed. "Whatever happened... it was fucked up!"

Genius climbed onto the table, barely balancing.

"There are Gamers who are infiltrated directly with the Emperor!" he said, remembering that his HUD marked Eugin as hostile.

He took a sip of the whiskey he had brought.

He passed it to Flavius, who drank it down because of the shocking news.

"There’s an Elf who’s going to kill us! Haru and I messed up a Resonance... Codex Veritas!"

Flavius almost spat out his drink.

"Codex Veritas!?" he exclaimed. "You found a flaw in the Codex Veritas!?"

Flavius seemed to really know what this Resonance was. He drank some more. "Gamers are exceptional!"

"I almost died!" Genius added. "And Haru is a HACKER!"

"My God... Haru is a Hacker...?" he paused. "What is a Hacker?"

"Dude!" Genius shouted. "Sit down! Order dinner from the butler! We’re starving!"

Haru continued sleeping, snoring softly.

Genius climbed higher onto the table, walked, jumped, and gestured, using Haru’s unconscious body as an example.

While everyone ate dinner, including Haru’s food, Genius recounted everything:

Resonance. Father Elias. Platforms. Seline. Escape. Eugen. HUD Desync.

Later, all drunk, they decided to return to Null Horizon and drink. And more.

The three of them left, two semi-lucid, one unconscious, like any group of drunks.

And later, each went home.

Two coachmen arrived.

It was time to say goodbye, happy and sad at the same time.

Haru was completely dead there on the tavern floor.

Genius looked, nodded.

He got into the coachman’s carriage.

"We’re going that way... Japanese!" And off he went.

Flavius took Haru in his coachman to Haru’s house and left him at the door.

The door was answered by one of the guards.

"He had a busy day," Flavius said, leaving him.

The guard nodded: "Just another... day for a man," he murmured, receiving him and closing the door.

That same night, Lilithine was in the infirmary, feverish, sweating, trembling, her body burning.

Until Father Elias arrived with a serious expression, staff in hand. He began the exorcism process, holy water, prayers, sacred light trying to expel corruption.

Blandina was also bedridden; Seline had brought her from her family’s mansion.

"Have you been drinking?" Blandina’s mother asked at the door.

"Yes..." Seline replied, taking Blandina to her room. Where she bathed her with warm water and perfumed soap.

She dressed in pajamas, a light nightgown.

And they slept together, Seline embracing Blandina from behind, protecting her.

With a book containing information about various gamers in the drawer, like any other book.

The twins arrived at their homes and lay down as well, exhausted, wounded, but alive.

Eugen arrived in the room, took off his armor piece by piece; that was the most comfortable sensation he had that night.

He ate a little, brushed his teeth, drank water, and went to take a hot bath, a deep bath, steam rising.

With a glass of whiskey on the rim.

He tilted his head upwards, closed his eyes, and woke up in the neon void.

Eugen began to research that face, Haru without her mask.

"Can you show me my memories?" he asked the Goddess, who was doing something else.

Eugen kept searching through memories, faces, names, builds, avatars. "By the way..." The Goddess said, "...the system is going to update."

"And that’s going to mess up the plans?"

"Actually, no. It’s just going to update."

Eugen didn’t answer, making it clear that if it doesn’t interfere, it doesn’t bother him.

"I can’t find this character’s face among the most OP ones in the game... An avatar with the ability to hack systems... Who is he...?"

"The system is going to update because of that hacker from today..." Goddess said.

"If he’s bothering you, that means he could mess up your plans..."

Eugen turned to her, as if she had remembered a law she had long forgotten.

"Obviously."

"You taught me that yourself..." Goddess smiled.

"And the answer is no. The system won’t update because of that boy."

<>

"What happened...?" Haru thought, hugging Kira tightly. Feeling the warmth of her body make him feel good.

Confused, but at peace for now.