Chapter 2288: Inside The Quarter With A Black Hole

As Merlin took Arad’s black hole back home, she landed with the black hole floating above her hand. She looked at it for a second, and noticed a few maids looking at her. She looked at them, and smiled. "What happened to everyone else?"

The maid approached and replied with a passive smile. "They have healed; sadly, they couldn’t jump back into the battle immediately, since Arad’s void pathway was locked."

She closed her eyes for a second and made sure the private quarter was intact, as they were technically still inside Arad’s stomach while he was evolving, but everything was fine. It seems that her labyrinth structure, and the combined divine will of her, Isdis, Eris, Mira, Kossuth, and Kali are keeping the space stable.

"This place is stable. It seems that even with Arad’s consciousness absent, the private quarter, or his inner world, won’t collapse. So for that, we can rest easy." She looked at the black hole floating above her hand. "I’ll put this in the church of stars."

One of the maids frowned. "Why? Won’t it be better to put it in Eris’s church?"

"No, Amaterasu is the one maintaining this black hole. Without her will, it’ll swallow this entire world. The best place to put it is inside her church, where she can make sure everything is stable. Besides, Arad shouldn’t be there for long."

She smiled, and an hour later. She was walking through the garden of the star church.

This place was both strange and amazing even to Merlin herself. It was still a massive room inside the private quarters, but inside was a whole hill with a fake sky and actual sunlight, and on top of that hill was the church itself, a massive cathedral that resembled a pagoda or a spire for some reason.

As she approached, she could see Volar standing there with Neptune, wearing a semi-translucent dress over nothing but her bare skin. "You could’ve wore something better."

Merlin sighed, and Volar shook her head. "Not, this is fine here." She then reached and grabbed the black hole, handing it to Neptune.

"Is the shrine ready?" Merlin asked, and Neptune nodded. "Yes. It is ready with a constant stream of divine magic." She smiled. "I have never seen Amaterasu put so much effort into a single ray of protective divine magic before."

They took Arad’s black hole all the way to the pagoda’s peak and rested it on the pedestal, letting the divine magic engulf and protect it. Now, all they had to do was wait.

It seems that the process of going from an adult dragon to a mature adult requires the dragon’s body to break down fully before reforming stronger based on the dragon’s experience and interpenetration of their own adult power.

The black hole would protect Arad’s fragile body and also give him enough energy and time to evolve, but that could still take a while outside. Judging by the magic seeping out of the black hole, Merlin could guess that at least ten years had passed inside the black hole on Arad’s evolving body, and he still wasn’t done.

She looked at the black hole for a second, touched it, and then turned around. "Take care of him. I’ll go and check every corner of the labyrinth to make sure everything is really stable. We can’t be too careful."

As Merlin disappeared, Neptune and Volar were left alone with the black hole. "He is really there." Volar mumbled, and Neptune stared at her. "Who?"

Volar turned her head slightly. "Sorry, I was told to not tell you."

Neptune frowned, "An abomination dares ignore the orders of an angel?"

Volar giggled, "Don’t blame. Take it over with Eris."

****

In another place, deep within the Private Quarter, Death herself had already left to do her job, since she had to take care of the dead, but Azrael had remained. She was sitting on the ground, looking at Linda, who sat in front of her on a wooden chair.

"Can you repeat what you said again?" Linda asked. Azrael spoke in a calm tone. "Do you want to inherit the Shadow Realm? As a timeless Time Drakaina, the END portfolio won’t harm you."

Linda growled, "I know that; you already said it. What I want to know is why me. I’m pretty sure there are enough time dragons outside, time shadow dragons, even. You could’ve picked any one of them."

"Since Lord Arad accepted you, so does the Shadow Realm," Azrael explained, and Linda sighed. "Let’s leave it at that. Did you really need to pull power from me in that fight? I don’t want to blame you, but we might’ve lasted longer if I wasn’t split too thin."

"Maybe, maybe not. I do not know the future. Yog can, but I doubt even she would’ve predicted far much ahead. Vorvadoss is just too unpredictable." Azrael lifted her eyes and looked at Linda’s face. "So is Arad, so is Nyar. One variable makes it a mess; two make it unrecognizable."

Linda leaned forward. "Fine, let’s leave this talk for later as well. How about I ask about something actually useful? How do we get to the shadow succubus kingdom? Where is the entrance hidden?"

"There is no entrance." Azrael replied, "All shadows are a gate to the Kingdom. All you need to do is pray, and an angel will respond if you’re allowed in."

"Wait..." Linda kicked Azrael in the face. "Are you saying we could’ve used any shadow in the abyss?"

"Not just any shadow in the abyss, any shadow ever. Here, in any random world, even outside the universe. If it’s a shadow and is close enough to the universe, you can use it to reach the shadow succubus kingdom." Azrael pushed Linda’s foot aside.

"Then... why did Death herself send Arad on such a large hunt in the abyss? Was it just a waste of time? Grace is still there, searching now." As Linda growled, Azrael started thinking. "I think... it might’ve been Yog’s doing. She probably didn’t want me to meet Arad too soon."

"Yog again... Do you know what she is doing? What is her plan?" As Linda growled, Azrael shook her head. "I do not; no one does. But I can explain what Yog is to you."

"Oh, please do. I’d love to know what that thing is."

Azrael nodded. "First, you must understand and separate Yog from Lilia Bodhimicah. The horny halfling that’s sleeping with Amaterasu, Death herself, and the rest of the goddess is Lilia Bodhimicah; the one planning is Yog, a mass of black tar and red eyes."

"Does the difference matter?" As Linda sighed, Azrael nodded. "Yes, it does matter a lot. By intentionally blurring the line between herself and Lilia, Yog can trick the Fates."

"Ok, where does that matter to us? All that we need is how to make sure she doesn’t get in the way any longer. Will exposing her to the Fates work?" The moment Linda said that, Azrael giggled. "No, it will have the opposite effect. The fates will merge with her and reset everything back to zero."

"Explain."

"Basically, Yog has a plan that she must make work. When she fails, the Fates catch her, and revert her consciousness back in time so she can try again. We’re already past her millionth try."

Linda gulped. "A million times?" Even she, as a time dragon, never cared to go back in time that much. "Why? Just who is she?"

Azrael pointed at Linda’s head. "When you think, do you hear a voice? Yes, that voice you just used to think with. Yog is to the First Overgod, the Creator of the universe, the same thing that voice is to you. Your mind, thoughts, and consciousness." She shook her head. "Lilia is just a host; Yog is the real problem."