Published: September 10, 2025
I am Satou. When I think of the world of the gods, I imagine a place like the Parthenon Temple hidden beyond a carpet of clouds, where gods clad in togas are relaxing. Perhaps this image is influenced by the first Western mythology I read, which was Greek mythology.
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The divine realm was a world filled with light.
Brilliant, dazzling seven-colored sparkles shimmered intensely, changing their shapes moment by moment like a kaleidoscope, creating a flowing stream of undulating light.
Perhaps because I lacked physical eyes that could be dazzled, I could enjoy even this intense light comfortably.
Expanding my consciousness, I felt a strange sensation of being able to perceive endlessly.
Beyond the intense light nearby, countless shimmering worlds seemed to spread out.
As I expanded my awareness, I felt an uncanny omnipotent sensation, as if I could grasp the entire world endlessly.
"Ah, I want to melt into that light."
Filled with bliss, such thoughts overwhelmed my mind.
—Hold onto yourself, my hero.
A voice slipped into the corner of my mind.
That voice anchored my consciousness, which was dissolving into the world.
—That’s right, my companion.
As I recalled the soft sensation of lips, my consciousness became clearer.
Apparently, I was saved by the protection of the mysterious young girl.
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“—Tuu, human tribe Satou.”
As my awareness cleared, I heard someone—not the mysterious girl—calling me.
I looked around but saw no one.
Come to think of it, the guide who came with me, Ms. Silmfuse, was nowhere to be seen.
—Or rather, due to the rainbow-colored light, even I couldn’t see my own form.
“—Tuu—suppress the light—”
The faint voice I had been hearing sounded like Ms. Silmfuse’s.
Since it was about the light, I searched for Ms. Silmfuse within the surrounding light.
Where could she be?
“—Hold back—”
Huh? Hold back?
I focused my consciousness on the voice that seemed to be Ms. Silmfuse.
“Human tribe Satou, suppress the light!”
Ms. Silmfuse’s voice suddenly became clear, as if tuning into a radio channel.
“Could it be that this light is because of me?”
“Yes. Suppress it quickly! Otherwise—”
Her voice faded painfully.
Maybe this was a serious situation.
Should I suppress the light…?
Like when controlling spirit light, I tried to suppress the surrounding light.
Gradually, the light weakened.
—Oh, looks like it’s working.
Maybe I relaxed too soon, because the light instantly returned to its original intensity.
“Kyaaaahhh!”
A scream faded away in the distance.
—Failure, failure.
This time, I carefully squeezed the light.
Perhaps because of my astral body, it was harder than suppressing spirit light.
I couldn’t completely reduce it to zero like with spirit light.
“Human tribe Satou, it seems you've managed to suppress the light.”
A small white glow with a green outline returned weakly from afar.
“Ms. Silmfuse?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Looking at the light, I saw the translucent naked form of Ms. Silmfuse overlaid on the white light.
Apparently, it was best not to stare too much.
◇
“What a beautiful place.”
Since the intense light I had been emitting mostly vanished, the world seemed a little darker.
Beyond the pale cloud of light were countless tiny shimmering lights.
The cloud was undulating and changing, forming a kind of flowing current.
There was no ground-like surface; it felt like we were riding one of those flows.
I opened my map, and as expected, it said, “This is a space where maps do not exist.”
It seemed my unique skill could be used even in the divine realm, but the levels and stats were grayed out.
Automatic mapping and radar for the place I was in seemed usable, so I hoped the gods hadn’t set any grand traps and proceeded cautiously.
“Follow me, human tribe Satou.”
I followed Ms. Silmfuse’s light.
Out of curiosity, I took out a wooden carved chick from my storage.
I wanted to see what would happen to a material object here—
The wooden chick transformed, unlike in the physical world, into a form reminiscent of a Cubist painting, then bizarrely morphed, instantly expanded, and finally burst like a balloon and disappeared.