I had a dream.

  The kind I hadn't had in years.

  I was born an orphan — a fact I'd always just accepted. The orphanage was barely managed by the government, and our caretaker held it together by working multiple jobs simultaneously. I was a loner. Rarely talked to the other kids. The caretaker noticed, the way she noticed everything.

  "You don't have to force yourself," she told me once, hand on my head. "But you're still a child. Enjoy it a little."

  She died of natural causes the following year.

  After that, I was transferred. The facility couldn't support me anymore. From the moment I walked out of that building, everything went grey.

  The next orphanage I endured for almost ten years. The caretakers didn't like me — I wasn't cute, I didn't perform the way they wanted children to perform, and they made that clear in ways I got used to. I waited. The moment I turned eighteen, they threw me out.

  Expected, I thought. They'd been looking forward to this.

  From there: convenience store, factory floor, construction site, call center — all while going to school. I never had time for myself. I never complained. I never really felt anything either.

  My world was grey. Just — grey.

  I graduated as a chemist from Seoul National University. Stable job. Nobel Prize eventually. People praised me and I knew it was flattery and accepted it the way you accept weather.

  None of it landed anywhere.

  The only thing that ever gave my world any color was novels.

  I remember reading "How to Live as the Black Swan of the Cursed Ducal Family" very clearly.

  I always pitied Josephine. She was a character who wanted attention so badly — who built everything around trying to earn something that kept getting withheld — and all I'd ever wanted was to be left alone. We were opposites in the worst way.

  Don't be like me, I thought, reading her training scenes. Don't turn yourself into something inhuman chasing a love that won't come back.

  Don't yearn for something you'll never get.

  She was hanged at the end.

  The shock hit me so hard I didn't notice the car.

  Died rooting for a fictional character. Weird, right?

  In the dream, I turned around and she was there.

  "You still have time to change everything," I said. Came out more bitter than I'd meant. "While I don't."

  "I already told you." Josephine stepped forward and pressed a finger to my chest. "You still have time. Right here."

  She smiled. "You said we'd show them together, didn't you?"

  "Hahahaha—" The laugh came out half-crazed. "Yeah. Yeah, I did."

  We held on to each other. The light came up bright and warm and total.

  Ah. I fell asleep.

  Why did I fall asleep.

  [It's because you're unstable.]

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  Right. Hallucinating. That's the explanation.

  [No, you're not.]

  ...Why is there a bird on my bed.

  [I am your reward. Remember?]

  I tilted my head and tried to piece together the past few days.

  "Status."

  < Name: Josephine von Konrow / Park Kim Yoo-ra >

  STR: EX(+++) VIT: EX(+++) MANA: EX(+++) HOLY: ∞(+)

  < TRAITS: > 「GOD'S BELOVED」 「PINNACLE OF HUMANITY」 「MAGIC OVERLORD」 「???」 「MAGIC GOD'S BLESSING」 「DEMON SLAYER」

  [Unclaimed rewards detected. Claim now?]

  Right. Bephelgor. How do I interact with this again?

  [You can imagine it.]

  Is this bird reading my mind. Is it a she or a he.

  : I do not have a gender, for your information.

  I poked its cheek. Extremely fluffy. White and round and very soft.

  : How rude—!

  I picked it up and rubbed it against my face.

  : I am a MAJESTIC BEING. Stop doing this to me—

  "So soft," I said.

  [Quest: Defeat Bephelgor — Completed!]

  [Rewards:] [Appraisal] [Familiar option unlocked!] [+10,000 Faith Points] [Increased Divinity]

  I set the bird back down gently. It vibrated with offended dignity.

  What does divinity actually mean?

  It came up in every notification, in every god message, and I'd never actually asked.

  : It is the measure of how close a person is to a god.

  "And mine is—"

  : Close to a demigod. Part god, part human, simply put. Though your current state is unstable.

  "I keep hearing that."

  : Your divinity increases as your understanding of Josephine deepens. As long as your soul remains split, you can't exert your full power. But you're already close to the threshold.

  Not surprised at this point, I thought.

  "Can I ask you something?"

  "Why do Xipe-sama and the other gods barely talk to me directly?"

  : Because of your soul's instability — it weakens the connection. But now that it's stabilizing, you can speak with them more freely. Xipe suggested you ask me, actually.

  "Why can only Xipe and Hecatia-sama reach me like that?"

  : Influence. Their power far exceeds the others'. In your free time, you should read about this world's divine order. Most otherworlders figure it out eventually.

  [Hecatia asks if you're ready.]

  : Well. Time to do my job, I suppose.

  I closed my eyes and imagined a chatroom. When I opened them, one had actually appeared floating in the air.

  [God's Chat Room — 3/3]

  [Xipe joins.] [Hecatia joins.] [Tyr joins.]

  [The other gods grumble and bite their lips in frustration.]

  : Just a heads up — you can turn it off if things get too cha—

  Their beak snapped shut on its own.

  A weight settled over the room. Warm, vast, the sensation of being looked at from somewhere very far above.

  [Xipe]: Finally. A direct line.

  : Hush. I told you not to overdo it.

  [Tyr]: Don't listen to her. She's just been worried sick about you.

  I laughed despite myself. "As always — thank you, Hecatia-sama. And I'm sorry."

  : You don't have to apologize. I understand why Cassian did what he did. If anything, I should be thanking you. For freeing my child.

  [+1,000 Faith Points received.]

  [Xipe]: Ask the bird for the details later.

  [Tyr]: You're always lazy, creator god.

  [Xipe]: I'm managing the balance. It didn't end well last time.

  Last time...?

  : They're holding back, in other words. But — you know how you've struggled with learning magic?

  [Xipe]: Don't you dare—

  [Tyr]: Stop, woman—!

  [You have received the 'Akashic Records' from Hecatia!]

  A book appeared in my hands out of nowhere.

  [Xipe]: You old hag—!

  : fufufu— quickly, close that window—

  [Tyr]: You think you can outdo me?! This child will adore ME—

  [Tyr gives you [Gram]!]

  A sword materialized in front of me.

  [Xipe]: MY OWN BROTHER. How DARE you—

  : You're only upset because you can't give her anything.

  [Tyr]: Still stuck on balance, brother?

  [Xipe]: FINE. You win. I literally cannot do anything without— fine—

  [Xipe gives you the 'Blessing of the Creator God.']

  : ...How plain.

  [Xipe]: SHUT UP.

  My entire body lit up. Rainbow-colored. Top to bottom.

  : And here I thought you'd give something grander.

  The Divine Messenger sat at the edge of my bed watching all of this with the wide, unblinking expression of someone deeply regretting their career choices.