The World Is Mine For The Taking

After spending a while talking things over, Zoey finally decided to tell me much more about her father than she had ever shared before.

"I honestly don’t know when it all started," she said quietly. "But my father wasn’t always this obsessed with the idea of another world. I think everything began when... I was probably around ten years old. My memories from back then are pretty fuzzy, so I can’t remember all the details, but I do remember him saying that he had discovered the secret of our world. He kept saying that if nobody prepared for what was coming, then our entire world would eventually be swallowed."

For some reason, those words immediately felt strangely familiar to me.

More specifically, they reminded me of someone I had already encountered before in this world.

His reasoning sounded almost identical to Satania’s explanation for why she had begun building her undead army in the first place.

Could it be that Zoey’s father had stumbled upon the same kind of truth that Satania had discovered?

Honestly, that possibility didn’t seem impossible anymore.

After all, the worlds themselves had originally been created by the Great Ones. If that much was true, then there was a very high chance that Zoey’s world also had a Great One connected to it in some way.

That alone could explain why her father had become so desperate to gather as many resources as he possibly could before it was too late.

It also sounded remarkably similar to Satania’s own reasoning.

Both of them seemed convinced they were trying to protect their worlds.

Whether they were actually right or completely mistaken was another matter entirely.

"Well, I think I finally understand your father’s actions a little better now," I said after taking a moment to organize my thoughts. "Even then, I still don’t think he’ll be able to accomplish what he’s trying to do. He’s similar to Satania in that regard. The Great Ones aren’t exactly known for being forgiving, and I seriously doubt they’ll just sit back and let someone interfere with whatever plans they already have."

I paused for a brief moment before continuing.

"Still, if this really is a war over resources, then I suppose his actions make a little more sense from his perspective. That doesn’t suddenly make them the right choice, but at least I can understand the reasoning behind them a bit more now. Even so, your father has already declared war against practically every country in this world, including the Seven Deadly Sins themselves. I honestly can’t tell whether that was part of some elaborate plan or just an enormous mistake, but trying to challenge the entire world all at once is... a ridiculously bold decision."

After finishing what I wanted to say, I shifted my attention toward Zes.

She had been unbelievably quiet throughout the entire conversation.

Seeing her act like this honestly felt a little strange.

Normally, she would’ve interrupted several times already.

Instead, she simply sat there in complete silence while listening.

Maybe she was thinking about the people she had left behind in her own world.

Maybe she was wondering what had happened to her former subordinates after everything that had taken place.

Or maybe she simply didn’t know what to say anymore.

"You don’t have to fight either, Zes," I told her in a calm voice.

She looked at me for a few seconds before slowly shaking her head.

"I do," she replied without the slightest bit of hesitation. "What do you mean I shouldn’t fight against the very things my own world created?! I’ve been waiting for a chance like this for a very long time already!"

Her answer surprised me more than I had expected.

She sounded strangely fired up about the whole thing.

It almost felt like she had completely thrown aside any hesitation she might have been carrying until now.

At the same time, she didn’t seem particularly worried about the people who had once served under her.

Then again, appearances could be deceiving.

She might simply have been putting on a brave face so nobody else would worry about her.

Either way, my own resolve had already been set in stone.

Far too many people were relying on me now.

Naturally, I had to make absolutely sure the people I loved would never be placed in unnecessary danger if I could help it.

More importantly than anything else, that list of people continued growing with every passing day.

That thought alone made the weight on my shoulders feel even heavier than before.

Still, it also gave me another reason to keep moving forward.

***

Several days eventually passed by before any major changes happened again.

Rose gave birth to a healthy baby girl without any complications during the delivery.

She inherited Rose’s beautiful hair almost perfectly, while her eyes looked just like mine.

Around the same time, Irene also gave birth to another beautiful daughter.

She inherited Irene’s eye color and hair color, but her facial features looked much closer to mine than to her mother’s.

Meanwhile, Kana had continued growing at an incredible pace as well.

She could already walk on her own now, and watching her wobble around on those tiny little legs honestly melted my heart every single time I saw it happen.

She would toddle from one place to another with the cutest little expression on her face, completely unaware of how adorable she actually looked.

Watching her like that always made me smile without even realizing it.

Part of me genuinely wished she could stay this tiny forever because moments like these disappeared much too quickly.

Reality, however, didn’t work that way no matter how much I wished otherwise.

Time would continue moving forward regardless of how anyone felt about it.

Children naturally grew older with each passing day.

Before I knew it, she’d probably be running around instead of carefully wobbling across the room.

She had also begun recognizing me as her father.

Although she still couldn’t properly speak yet, she had started babbling all sorts of little sounds whenever she saw me nearby.

Sometimes I honestly wondered if I was only imagining things because of how much I wanted to hear it.

Still, I could’ve sworn I occasionally heard something that sounded very close to "Papa."

Just hearing something that even resembled that word was enough to completely warm my heart.

Honestly, I probably smiled like a complete idiot whenever it happened.

Thankfully, nobody ever pointed that out to my face.

Rose and Irene eventually decided to name their daughters Kuina and Lara respectively.

Now that both of them had safely entered this world, my determination to fight this war became even stronger than it had been before.

I would make absolutely certain that everyone precious to me would remain safe, and I would protect all of them with everything I had, no matter what kind of enemy stood in my way.