Author's Note

  Hey guys, Hastur here, back with another announcement. So I did Kaly like I promised. And I said I will do Bel if we raise enough money, and would you look at that, we did. We managed to raise enough to commission official art for Bel Zane. So far we are in the rough sketch phase. And the official peace should arrive sometime this weekend or next week. I am hoping it will be today, though. Then I will share it here and on Patreon for free as promised.

  Also after Bel is done, I will commission Nier at st. From there we will run polls to see who else gets the chance to get a character sheet. So if you want to help me and support the series for more official art by Midnight Muffin, you can subscribe to my Patreon to help raise funds to make these commissions possible. Also, one more announcement: OWOY will soon be getting light novel grayscale illustrations. To celebrate, I am running a poll to decide which scene gets a first serving; please vote now.

  Bel paced the driveway, her arms crossed tight, muttering to the empty air.

  "Why the hell is a high-css guy like Nier even bothering with that emo tramp, and her mom, alongside that other whore who is cheating on her husband for him?"

  She asked herself, for these st three days, she has been spying on the girls, utilizing her ability as a Hesta.

  With her power, she linked her own eyes to Tanya and Imani, piggybacking their vision like a ghost.

  What she had pieced together so far could only be described as a total mindfuck.

  Her unique ability, Ocur Mycelium as she has termed it, is a High Level 2 Hesta Ability; to make a long story short, it was a sapien-type Hesta ability.

  And she uses it to spy on the female residents of the house, and through their eyes, or linking to random objects to see through them, she uncovers some interesting things.

  Mostly from Tanya.

  And from her alone, she had discovered Nier had secrets stacked on secrets. One minute, she would catch a glimpse of him whispering to that doll thing on his shoulder; he always hid behind his hair. The next minute, the feed cut away, disconnecting her from their eyes.

  Like someone or something knew she was watching and flipped the switch. Tanya and Imani were the worst in this case; at times, the connection worked, while at other times it didn't.

  She even heard Imani and Tanya talking about when Nier finishes the reconstruction of the manor.

  They had some idea of how to recruit members without needing to worry about being noticed easily.

  "A cult, why would Nier want to start a cult?"

  Bel asked herself.

  Then what was even creepier was that, while secretly exploring his property, she also came across four old altars as well, which made the whole cult nonsense even more believable.

  "Mom did say that the Gods of Old Gaia once ruled over this world before they were sealed in the higher pne, but that was a long time ago. The only Gods left on this pnet are the fake divine; is Nier worshipping one of those bastards?"

  She pondered to herself, hoping that was not the case.

  She hated the new gods; however, her beef with them is more of a generational thing.

  Still, as she pondered this, a sudden and sharp tingle bloomed behind her eyes.

  It was a feeling she was all too familiar with.

  "Who the hell is trying to reach out to me via telepathy?"

  She asked, and then the voice of an old man could be heard in her head.

  'Young Miss!'

  Bel stiffened at the man's voice; it was the head butler of the Zane family.

  "Lure? This is sudden. What happened? I haven't spoken to you in over two years now."

  She sat down on a nearby bench by the pool.

  Lure got straight to the point.

  But the news he brought was not what she wanted to hear, or rather, not what she had expected.

  '...Sorry to bother you so suddenly, young miss, but I came bearing bad news: it's your father. He is awake.'

  Said Lure.

  At the moment she heard this, Bel's blood ran cold.

  "What? No, no, no… This can't be… That shouldn't even be possible, given his current state; he is not supposed to wake up for at least another three months. How is he awake so soon!?"

  Bel questioned in genuine fear and worry.

  'We don't know the how and the why as of yet. However, from what little I have been told by your mother, it would seem that after the First Lady ran some tests, it seems he is finally starting to show signs of actual recovery.'

  "What, that shouldn't be possible though!"

  Bel argued, and Lure continued.

  'Well, that is true, given that the New God he got injured by is the same New God that got your twin sister as well. But after examination, his brain, by some miracle, is healing at a rapid rate. I don't have the full details on why or how this is happening. But at this pace, the dies' reports indicate he will no longer need to rely on the blood moon that occurs only four times a year, when his power is at its strongest, to force himself awake. Until now, he didn't need a brain to function, but the damage inflicted by Ultima is slowly healing. It is quite literally a miracle, given that this house has been under matriarchal rule for nearly 500 years now.'

  "Oh fuck, t-this isn’t good, is it!?"

  '…My loyalty is with the Second Lady, but if she wants the current order to remain, the Patriarch's recovery will severely undermine her influence if he reassumes full control. For the First Lady, though, this is welcome news; she will finally be reunited with her so-called beloved.'

  "Fuck, why can't that old bastard just stay comatose? If the house reverts to its original structure, then…”

  Her mind fshed to Nier.

  Her pn had been to defeat him, force his submission after he completed the trials, and cim him as hers, per tradition, where the stronger partner, male or female, becomes head of the family.

  As she was now, she could sense she was still stronger than Nier when using her magic. But if her father fully recovered, he would almost certainly reverse the roles, reinstating male dominance.

  "I can't let this happen. Ahhhh… Lure, keep me updated on the situation, okay?"

  'Will do, Young Miss.'

  The link cut off abruptly, and Bel began grinding her teeth.

  "I refuse to share Nier with anyone else...absolutely fucking not. No, it's not too te. Mother has been preparing for this day in case it ever came. Still, if Father is awake, my freedom is gone. He has absolute control over all his children, myself included. What if he pushes me to marry that bastard?"

  Bel said to herself as the aura of anger she had spiked up, as a green spark began to spread through the air.

  But just then, in that moment, she was suddenly hit with another surprise.

  "What…?”

  She paused as she looked upstairs at Nier's room and suddenly felt a spike in Nier's natural aura.

  "Is this... Is this Nier's Flux energy?!"

  She asked herself, before now, she could have sensed it and also sensed how he was trying to hide it to a degree but failed since Hestas, after reaching level two, can sense Flux signatures retively easily.

  But now, his Flux energy has suddenly increased by a lot.

  "What is going on up there? Why did his power increase by so much?"

  Bel was puzzled, as she had no answer to her question.

  Meanwhile, however, Nier was undergoing a series of upgrades that he never had before.

  As his voice overpped with Silence.

  ["Notice....”]

  They began...

  ["A total of 155,738 Units of negativity were spent to purchase six new spells"]