The reclining seat looked hard and uncomfortable. That was Emilia’s first impression of it.
“What a fine morning, Laila.”
The woman looked up at a transparent ceiling, hazy in spots due to the lack of maintenance. Watching the cold night sky, a virtual copy of the heavens’ blue earth, the figure called it “morning.”
This figure, rising from the hard reclining chair meant for stargazing, was a far cry from the “angel boss,” the “puppet master ruling over history,” the “god that must be slain” that they had pictured. She was gaunt, and no strength was in her eyes. All the angels they had seen before—Sariel, Gabriel, Raguel, Camael—they all had their own self-serving drives, something they strove to fight for. Why did they ever take orders from someone like this?
“Your name was Laila, correct?”
“Huh?”
“Well, Laila? How does it feel to be a mother? Isn’t having a child wonderful? No matter how hard things get, it always feels like you can overcome them, doesn’t it?”
Her voice was scratchy, difficult to decipher; she spoke the words slowly.
“And do you see how, when you lose that, there is so much despair…?”
“Ignora, listen. I…”
“But the more despair you face… When the moment comes, that hope wells up anew…”
“Nngh?!”
“The happiness you feel is infinite.”
“M-Mother, what are you…?”
Ignora pointed a wispy hand at Laila. That alone brought Laila to her knees, making her cry out in pain.
“Emi…li…a…?”
“Mother?!”
“Emilia? I’m sorry. Your mother and I are having an important conversation. Can you go play over there for me?”
“Wha… Ah!”
The next moment, Ignora turned back the clock. Her body looked young again, like a dry sponge dipped in water. It wasn’t a transformation—her form blurred, overlapped, and separated.
“Nyx, play with Emilia for me, please.”
“Yes, Mommy.”
A little girl, with golden eyes and two curls of olive and reddish brown over her forehead, appeared in a burst of light.
“Huh?!”
“Emilia, you should introduce Nyx here to Alas Ramus. Last time…”
“Mommy! Here I go!!”
“…! Mommy!!”
“…she couldn’t play with you at all, so…”
The moment Nyx, another child of Malchut, confronted Emilia, a ball of purple light focused itself upon Emilia’s forehead, stopping Nyx’s fist from hitting it.
“Nng!”
“Ah!!”
Wincing, Nyx shook her hand to ease the stinging. There were tears in Alas Ramus’s eyes, but she refused to cry as she stared the other girl down.
“No mischief, please. Laila, over here.”
“Ah, ah…”
Maybe it was telekinesis. With a wave of Ignora’s arm, Laila lost her freedom, floating into the air…
“Mother!!”
…and then, before Emilia’s eyes, both of them vanished.
“Gnh!”
“Mommy, she told you. Play with me! You too, Alas Ramus!”
“Nyx… Are you a Malchut, too?”
Acieth had already confirmed for them that Eleos, the girl with Camael, was Malchut.
“Yeah! Eleos is my big sister! I’m the little sister!”
“Alas Ramus, are you okay? Is that really Malchut?”
“I dunno. The Malchut I know is Eh-os. But…”
“But she’s like you, too, huh? It makes sense. You and Acieth are sisters… It’s not like Yesod is the exception.”
“So what’re we gonna play?! Mommy said to play ‘tag’ with you.”
She never intended to take her eyes off her for a moment. But after a single blink, Nyx was right at Emilia’s side, a hand placed on her breastplate. At once, her entire Cloth of the Dispeller glowed purple and disappeared into a swarm of particles—and the next moment, Nyx’s hand contained a small stone, just small enough that her tiny fingers could grasp it. It was the largest Yesod fragment Emilia had seen yet—silver, the color of Yesod, but with just a tinge of purple, like Alas Ramus’s bangs. It was the Holy Silver that powered her armor.
“Aww, now look what happened… But Da’at has already appeared, hasn’t it? So…you’ll be back to normal soon.”
“Just one touch took the Cloth… The fragment… Nyx, are you…?!”
Nyx smiled. There was no light in her eyes. She seemed to be watching some point far, far away from Emilia.
“Uh-huh! This is the third time I’ve met you, lady.”
Only a fellow Sephirah could cancel out a fusion or latent force with another Sephirah.
“You were in the space suit!”
“My mommy puts it on me ’cause she doesn’t want me touching anything icky outside our home! So, lady…”
Nyx played with the Holy Silver in her hand, flashing a dry smile.
“You think I can have Alas Ramus and the Yesod back?”
“I don’t want to comment too much on other people’s children…but I think you need to learn some discipline.”
“Alas Ramus was part of our family. Besides, do you think you can keep me from taking her back?”
Nyx’s plastered-on smile battered Emilia. But:
“Taking, being taken… Why don’t any of you understand this? It’s so obvious.”
Everyone had feared the possibility of Alas Ramus being captured. When they didn’t know who was in the space suit, it was a clear and present problem. But now—well, all right, Laila was gone, but Ignora and Camael weren’t here, either.
“Alas Ramus… I’m going to save your family. You mind going over to the corner and being a good girl?”
“Mm?!”
Purple light shone on Emi’s and Alas Ramus’s foreheads. The child was instantly, awkwardly teleported to one corner of the chamber.
“Uh… Ah!”
Nyx, attempting to touch Emilia again, blinked helplessly. Emilia seized that moment’s hesitation, focusing her holy energy on her palm.
“Explosive Light Blast!!”
“Gaahhh!!!”
A strong light exploded directly before Nyx’s eyes, generating a shock wave that made her turn somersaults in the air.
“It’s so bright, Mommy!”
“Sorry, Alas Ramus. Are you okay?”
“Yeh!”
Then Emilia and Alas Ramus voluntarily split apart. Concerns that Alas Ramus and Acieth would be kidnapped were, in the end, more a worry about them being taken from Ente Isla or the demon realms over to heaven. The way Emilia saw it:
“There’s no way Alas Ramus or Acieth would do anything to betray me or the Devil King. If we’re fighting in heaven anyway, it doesn’t matter whether we’re split apart or not. After all…”
She gently picked up the unconscious Nyx, her eyes lolled back in her skull.
“We came here to save you the whole time, so we’re not going to kill you. I don’t have the power to do that anyway. But if we can neutralize you, at that moment, we win.”
This move was something she’d learned from Albert in the past—holy magic that rendered a foe powerless without killing them. The spell summoned shock waves of light to blow enemies away, but before the light was set off, Emilia pointed the shock waves at Nyx’s chin. Based on experience, no matter how powerful Alas Ramus, Acieth, or even Erone were, their physical structures were still those of human beings. And no matter how much more steadfast their internal organs were than your average Ente Islan’s, Emilia’s “full force” was perfectly balanced to “go easy” on the awesomely powerful Sephirah children. It was a nonlethal blow to the brain. The moment Nyx was sure she had taken Alas Ramus’s power and nullified Emilia’s, her sight was blocked by the light, and then she’d received a de facto concussion.
“But now what should I do? I want to know where Mother and Ignora went, but I can’t just leave Nyx here…”
“Mommy?”
“Yes, Alas Ramus?”
“Nux is off.”
“What?”
“Eh-os is with the angel. But Nux is off.”
“Um… You mean this child isn’t fused with Ignora right now? So what?”
Alas Ramus smiled warmly and placed a hand on the forehead of the fallen Nyx.
“Mommy, over here.”
“Huh? What are you… Ah!”
Invited over, Emilia brought her face closer to Alas Ramus. The child’s right hand was on Nyx’s forehead, and now she placed her left on Emilia’s. Then, her body glowed a golden yellow, while Alas Ramus’s glowed purple, as if serving as a conduit.
“Uh… Ah! Wait!”
Emilia could feel it. She could see that Alas Ramus was going inside of her…with Nyx in tow.
“W-wait a second, Alas Ramus! What is this?!”
“…They can split us up. But…”
Alas Ramus’s smile came through in her voice.
“Only Yeffod can bring them together. Connect heart to heart.”
“No, um, I understand the logic, but should we do this?!”
Certainly, nobody ever said that only one Sephirah could lodge itself inside a person’s body. And certainly, they couldn’t leave Nyx lying there. But considering how life with Alas Ramus currently worked…
“Owww… Ah… Huh?! Wait! Who am I in?!”
“Nux, this is my mommy.”
“You, you’re…!”
The voices of Nyx and Alas Ramus bickering echoed in her mind.
“Whoa! You can’t just do that, Alas Ramus! I’m together with Mommy! Take me back to her!”
“Mm-mm. Let’s play together. Let’s have snacks.”
“We’re not at the supermarket, Alas Ramus! Snack time’s later…”
“Quiet one minute, lady! Alas Ramus the Yesod! Get me out of here!”
“Nuh-uh! No bein’ selfish!”
“Let me out, let me out, let me ouuuutttttt!!”
“Mommy! She’s bein’ selfish! Don’t let her out!”
“Ah, um, o-okay… Sure… But can you keep it down…?”
The human body might not have been limited to one Sephirah, but having multiple personalities screaming and shouting in your brain would make anybody’s mental health suffer.
“A-Alas Ramus… Um, once this is all over, she can separate from us, okay?”
“Nuh-uh!”
“Ugh, none of that, please! I gotta find Ignora and finish this! Umm…”
“H-hey! You’re trying to hurt my mommy! Stop, stop, stoooooppp!!”
“Argh! What is… This is gonna drive me crazy!”
She knew it was futile, but she covered her ears with both hands as she all but fled the chamber. The hunt for Ignora and Laila was on.