BOOM!

A massive pressure hit them, so sudden and so overwhelming that both Goddesses froze in shock and fear.

It was as if an entire mountain had been dropped on top of them, crushing them beneath its impossible weight.

Their bodies began to shake uncontrollably, their faces frozen in expressions of pure terror.

And soon, it wasn’t just their bodies reacting.

The entire room—the beautiful crystals, the colorful bookshelves, the shimmering decorations began to lose its color.

Everything turned grey, drained of all vibrancy, as if the world itself had been sapped of life.

The two Goddesses were absolutely terrified.

They had been born into the Heavenly Realm, had ruled over entire worlds their whole lives.

Even though they had superiors in the hierarchy, they were still high and mighty divine beings who had never felt any real fear.

But now they were going through the worst kind of fear to exist, one that made them feel like they were about to be torn apart by a feral beast.

But it wasn’t just fear.

It was a sense of helplessness, a crushing realization that they could not move their bodies, could not speak, could not even think clearly.

They were stuck in a quagmire of pure, absolute powerlessness, their eyes trembling in shock as they tried to understand what was happening to them.

Vera was baffled, her mind racing with impossible thoughts.

Was the Heavenly Realm being invaded by some evil force?

Had some ancient enemy risen from the depths of creation to challenge the gods themselves?

But Lumiel knew.

The memory surfaced through the panic: her sister’s voice, grave with uncharacteristic seriousness.

"There are older things than Gods, Lumi. Things that were ancient when the first star ignited."

"If ever you feel the world grow cold and still, if ever you sense a presence that makes your divinity feel like a flickering candle...do not look."

"Do not speak."

"Press your face to the ground and pray it passes."

At the time, she’d thought it metaphorical. A dramatic warning about cosmic dangers.

Now she understood it had been literal.

’No.’ Her mind whimpered. ’It can’t be! She can’t be here! Why would she come? Over a mortal? Over Luca?’

The thought was absurd. Laughable.

The idea that such a being would descend over the investigation of one man’s history was like using a supernova to light a candle.

She tried to deny it, tried to convince herself that her fears were unfounded.

But before she could finish the thought, everything froze!

All thoughts. All movement. All sound.

And then, in the oppressive silence, she heard it.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

It was a cold, slow noise. The sound of something hitting the floor at a measured pace.

It echoed through the deadened room like the ticking of a funeral clock.

Lumiel realized with growing horror that they were footsteps. The sound of high heels clicking against the crystalline floor. Someone was approaching them, taking their time, savoring the moment.

And both Goddesses, unconsciously, as if their bodies knew that this was a threat they simply could not face, began to push their heads down.

Lower and lower they went, until their faces were pressed against the cold floor, their bodies prostrated in submission to an unseen force.

Vera was terrified beyond words.

The Goddess of Truth, who had never known fear, was so scared that she was actually losing control of her divine body.

A warm, shameful wetness spread through her dress, and she realized with distant horror that she was pissing herself.

Meanwhile, Lumi’s mind was a storm of terror and confusion.

’How could it be her?!’ She thought desperately. ’Why would she come here? This doesn’t make any sense at all!’

’I was simply looking through the records of a simple mortal. Why is she here?!’

She prayed to whatever existence was out there, to any being that was above even a Goddess like her that it wasn’t what she thought it was.

But all of her thoughts were frozen when she noticed something on the floor.

She could not look up. She could not raise her head.

But she could see the shadow of the figure on the floor before her, cast by some unseen light source.

The shadow was tall and beautiful—a curvaceous, slender form that seemed to embody grace and power in equal measure.

The robes it wore flowed like liquid silk, and even the shadow alone was enough to make her understand how beautiful the woman must be.

But that was not what made Lumiel’s heart stop.

It was what she saw on top of the shadow’s head.

There, protruding from the long, flowing hair, were two appendages—curved, sharp, unmistakable.

Horns.

The same horns that Luca had mentioned earlier.

The very same horns that belonged to the Primordial One!

Lumiel stared at the shadow on the ground, her mind utterly blank.

Thoughts refused to form. Words refused to come.

She was frozen in a state of pure, primal terror that she had never experienced in her entire existence.

The Primordial One.

To Lumiel, this entity was basically something out of a myth.

A fairy tale that her sister used to tell her to put her to sleep.

The kind of story designed to scare little Goddesses into eating their divine vegetables and following the heavenly rules.

At most, she would have heard about her a handful of times in her entire life, including the moment earlier today when Luca had casually described her appearance.

Other than that, she had no connection with that person at all.

Sometimes, she had even wondered if the Primordial One truly existed or if she was just a story fabricated to keep the divine hierarchy in line.

But now, who would have thought that the same mythical entity was now stepping closer to her, acting as if she was about to make a move against her and her best friend?

And the worst part was, Lumiel hadn’t committed any grave sin!

She hadn’t gone against the heavens themselves.

She hadn’t attempted to overthrow the cosmic order.

She had simply decided to look into a mortal’s history, a routine investigation that she had done countless times before.

Tears of frustration began to well in her eyes.

’Damn you, Luca.’ She thought, tears of frustration welling in her eyes. ’You never mentioned your connection ran this deep. You’ve signed my death warrant with your secrets.’

Her death was coming closer and closer, step by step.

And the moment the Primordial One settled right next to her, Lumiel’s breathing became impossibly difficult.

It was as if all the air in the universe had been sucked away, leaving her gasping in a void of emptiness. She felt like she was suffocating, drowning in an ocean of pure pressure.

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the shadow of the entity beside her slowly lift its long, slender arms.

The hand reached toward her, almost as if she just wanted to simply touch her.

But Lumiel knew this was not a simple caress—not like the gentle pats her sister would give her on the head.

This was a touch of death!

As long as the Primordial One just grazer her, she would simply cease to exist in this universe.

Vaporized out of existence.

Gone, as if she had never been.

It would be the end of the line for her.

Even the Goddess of Fertility, one of the most powerful beings in the heavenly realm hadn’t been able to stand a chance against her.

What could a junior Goddess like Lumiel possibly do?!

Realizing this, a bitter, desperate smile forced its way onto her face despite the terror consuming her.

’I’m sorry, Big Sis. I’m so sorry I’m going to leave you like this.’

’Your little sister made a stupid, stupid decision out of her own curiosity, and it’s going to end up with her getting killed.’

She then glanced at Vera, who was going through a full-blown panic attack right now.

’I’m sorry too, Vera.’ Lumiel thought sadly. ’I dragged you into this. You didn’t deserve this.’

’If I hadn’t come to you with my stupid request, you would still be safe, complaining about your work and enjoying your peaceful existence.’

She let out a bitter chuckle. ’Maybe even saying such things is useless. I might just be erased from everyone’s memories as well.’

She was accepting death in that moment. There was literally nothing she could do. She was just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

The Primordial One’s hand moved closer. Closer. Closer still.

Lumiel closed her eyes, bracing herself for oblivion—

"PLEASE WAIT, MY LADY!"

The urgent voice cut through the suffocating silence like a blade of light.

It was cold, full of tension, and trembling with barely contained fear.

But it was unmistakably the voice of the person she wanted to hear the most.

’Big Sis...you’re here. You’re finally here!’

Lumiel’s heart leaped with a desperate, crushing hope. Tears immediately began streaming from her eyes.

The Goddess of Equivalent Exchange had noticed the commotion and rushed over to save her sister.

And despite how panicked she looked right now and the fact that she also wasn’t looking straight at the Primordial One, bowing her head just like the other two—

—she was still a breathtakingly beautiful Goddess in her own right.

She had long, wavy blue hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall.

Her eyes, a brilliant sapphire color, still managed to shine despite the situation.

Her skin was smooth and unblemished, flawless in a way that made even other Goddesses envious.

And most of all, she had an extremely curvaceous body that gave her the appeal of a mature older woman, the kind of figure that would make mortals weep with desire.

Her fat ass was so prominent that one would be able to see it sticking out even from a hundred yards away.

Despite wearing a loose robe where plenty of cleavage could be seen, her breasts themselves seemed like they were going to pop out with how massive and heavy they were.

Compared to her sister, who was already quite voluptuous, she was on another level entirely.

Right now, her face, which would normally be very aloof, almost as if she didn’t have time to show too many emotions with all the responsibilities she carried looked strained.

Even a Goddess like herself was finding it incredibly difficult to talk in the presence of the Primordial One.

Despite that, she forced herself to speak.

"My lady." She said, her voice strained and tense, "I apologize for both of their actions. They are just two children who didn’t know what they were doing."

"They were simply messing around, playing with things they didn’t understand."

She bowed her head even deeper.

"Please, I kindly ask you to forgive them!"

Every word she spoke right now was extremely strained. She could feel an incredible pressure on her, crushing her from all sides.

But unfortunately, her words didn’t seem to work on the Primordial One at all.

The entity seemed on a mission to erase the existence of these two foolish Goddesses.

Her hand continued moving closer and closer.

Lumiel and Vera felt their hearts race and all the blood in their bodies completely vanish.

This was it. This was the end.

The Goddess of Equivalent Exchange clenched her teeth.

"Please, my lady!" Her voice cracked with desperation. "You oversee all existence! We are less than dust to you. Have mercy!"

Still the hand advanced. Lumiel’s heart hammered.

She would die, and worse—she would kill Vera with her.

Then her sister found one last weapon.

"My sister is a friend of Luca!"