"Was that our universe doorbell?
I didn't know we had that!
Who is it? Invite them in!"
Lilith looked at the sky in confusion, then at the crowd of planet managers whose eyes were fixed on the newborn army, as if they were mesmerized by them.
She chuckled,
"Partner, that wasn't a - "
*Ring*
Before she could finish her sentence, the bell rang again.
It was like a celebration ring that echoed through the whole planet once again.
"Eh? What is this?"
Little Mortal suddenly saw some flower petals falling from the sky.
He looked up to see where it came from, and his jaw dropped!
The whole sky was now raining with these colorful flower petals.
*Ring*
The bell rang for the third time.
This time, colorful flowers began to grow all over the silver platform, with butterflies dancing around them and various birds appearing in the sky while singing.
Little Mortal asked with eyes wide open,
"Why in the world are different things manifesting in here?
Isn't that supposed to be something unique for mainlands?!"
*Ring*
"Can you stop ringing and say what's happening?"
Lubo's old voice sounded at this moment,
"The planet has just been promoted to a mainland.
And what you see is the 'world celebration'."
Little Mortal asked in puzzlement,
"Celebrate what?"
And Lubo answered,
"The arrival of newborns you brought here.
The result of the 60 million newborns, combined with your Frontline effect that protects these 'Good' creatures,
Only means one thing in the eyes of World law.
'A world of peace that only prospers.'"
Little Mortal looked at the planet managers with silly smiles on their faces and asked,
"And what's wrong with them?"
Lubo chuckled,
"They are affected by the world law.
They are going to lead the newborns to 'Heaven' now."
Little Mortal looked at the scene unfolding before him blankly, and then at the sky, muttering to himself,
"Lead them to Heaven...? Where is Heaven?"
More confused than he was the newborns.
They thought the underworld was their destination.
Even when they marched out, the first thing they saw was the 'towering' figure of Queen Lilith herself.
Where else could they be if not Underworld?
But this?
Soon, small fairies flew to them and picked them up one by one.
The managers did the same, creating clouds and different comfortable 'rides' for them, and picked them up.
At this moment, the sky turned bright and shining particles started raining too, while the fairies and managers led the newborns to 'Heaven'...
The newborns' army only watched blankly as whatever was happening.
They could feel that the 'world' they entered was extremely welcoming and nothing like the underworld.
Except for the terrifying and unknown existence in the planet's core, which could only be Lubo.
But they couldn't understand why the underworld was like this?
It didn't make sense at all...
Not long after, the only ones remaining were Lilith, Rose, and the birth treasures.
Even the newborns from previous batches who came to see the 60 million assistants, 'ascend to heaven' alongside the new batch.
Little Mortal looked at Rose and Lilith, but they were looking away, as if trying not to make eye contact with him.
The reason for that was obvious.
All of the newborns ascended to heaven except him, because world law didn't 'see' him, and he was missed.
What could they say if he asked them why he was the only one left behind?
They felt embarrassed in 'heaven's place'.
Little Mortal took a deep breath and then said,
"Rabbit."
And a rabbit manifested.
He scratched his head,
"How can this planet be promoted to a mainland?
Mainlands can't let creatures under level 6 exist on them, and they can't be inside a universe either..."
Seeing him forget the fact that he was ignored by world law, the crowd sighed in relief.
Even the backpack dared not make fun of him out of fear of him lashing out at them.
Lubo said,
"Our planet isn't exactly a mainland; it just gained the characteristics of a mainland.
There was already an underworld territory here that changed to a lava sea just now.
And you already brought the fairy's garden here too, and with its current size, world law can't let it be in the 'planet's category'.
So it just gave it mainland's characteristics and identity."
Lilith, hearing Lubo, checked the underworld territory, which was a main planet belonging to her 'believer' in the past,
And sure enough, it was now turned into a lava sea, with a bunch of dumbfounded minions swimming inside.
"..."
Little Mortal shrugged,
"Whatever, I don't care."
And asked Rose,
"Assistant Rose, how are the advancements?"
"All of the newborns will be level 9 soon.
It is the same for those who receive the slots.
But none of us could advance to level 10 because we aren't 'Fated'.
At least that's what we feel stopping us from advancing."
Little Mortal frowned,
"Little crystal, how did big sister become fated and advance?"
The Crystal, after asking its main body, vibrated, saying,
You were in that memory, and after seeing two children yawning, you did the same.
And that was the reason she became 'fated' just for a moment and advanced.>
Little Mortal and Lilith looked at each other, speechless.
So the reason Lilith yawned and Little Mortal was affected by it and yawned too was the 'information' Fate received from the entertainment goddess?
Due to that accident, Little Mortal ended up in one of those spheres with cyborgs in the sealed realm.
Fate just used it to give this 'rude rascal' a lesson, and paid the one who gave it the information an opportunity to advance!
Little Mortal gritted his teeth,
"That silly Fate is so weird.
My tie died that day because of it!
And... how could Fate receive any information about me?
That shouldn't be possible..."
Lilith, who thought many opportunities were made out of that accident with her partner ending up in one of the spheres in the sealed area,
Was at a loss...
'Did I overthink everything that day?'
She thought all of that was for her partner to get what he wanted from Fate, but it seems she was wrong.
Fate wasn't supposed to 'see' him in the first place ...
Little Mortal's eyes shone at this moment, and he asked,
"Assistant Rose, can you advance to level 10 if there is an opportunity for 'a moment'?"
Rose shrugged,
"I don't know.
I am at the peak of level 9 with the help of Entertainment goddess, but I don't know if I can use that 'moment' to advance."
Little Mortal chuckled and disappeared.
A moment later, he was back with something invisible in his hand that seemed to have a 'ball-shape' the way he was holding it.
"Alright, assistant Rose, let's test something."
And pointed at the 'round' nothing in his hand,
"Do you see this invisible ball?
I will make it visible for a moment, and you try to advance then!
Okay?"
Rose didn't know what was in his hand exactly, but nodded,
"Alright, I'm ready."
If one person didn't care about advancing on this planet, it was her.
But at the same time, she always thought that if she had more power, she could manage the planet better.
When they were ready, Little Mortal turned the thing in his hand visible.
A ball of light appeared for a moment and disappeared again.
The onlookers' eyes, even the birth treasures who didn't have eyes, teared up from the sight of it just for that one moment.
They all recognized it.
It was the raw Fate Little Mortal received as a reward for converting the essence law he got out of the sealed realm by eating and then releasing it back to the world.
After the ball of raw Fate disappeared again, Rose, while rubbing her eyes, said,
"It didn't work.
I only felt I could advance if I were its owner."
Lilith wiped her tears and wondered,
"Maybe you should make a wish with it?
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
I remember the first time you made it into your outfit and I saw it, I felt it could make your wishes come true."
Little Mortal, hearing her guess, ran inside the backpack excitedly, while shouting,
"I know what to do!"
A while later, the surroundings suddenly turned dark.
Lilith and Rose could tell that it was the Crystal's doing.
A figure in a black robe jumped out of the backpack.
His face was under the hood, and you couldn't tell who he was, if he wasn't so short...
In the mysterious person's hand was a big golden orb that you couldn't directly look at.
The one holding the orb said with a hoarse voice,
"The stars have whispered my name today, asking me to come here and make a wish come true!
Who is the one who called for me?"
Lilith was speechless, not understanding what his partner was doing.
But Rose said immediately,
"Oh, great seer, I was the one who had a wish!
What can I call you?"
The 'great seer' chuckled,
"You may call me the Watcher of Fates, and today, the threads of fate have led you to me.
Speak your desire, and I shall weave it into reality—if you are willing to pay the price."
Rose nodded excitedly,
"Great seer, the Watcher of Fates, I wish to advance! What is the price?"
The Watcher of Fates nodded under his hood,
"The price is one spirit stone!"
And Rose paid the 'price'.
The great seer, the Watcher of Fates, after receiving the prize,
started rubbing the golden orb in his hand, and while Lilith and Rose were crying like a river even without looking at it, he said,
"Oh, ancient magic, bound in this sphere, hear my plea—let my wish take form, let fate bend to my desire!
Let my assistant - *Cough*, I mean the lady in front of me!
Yes, her name is Rose!
Let her advance!"
And this time, the ball of raw Fate slightly became brighter, a thin layer of it separated, and moved to Rose.
The next moment, *BOOM*, Rose's aura surged, alarming everyone.
Lilith was speechless,
"It worked..."
Lubo's old voice, which seemed to be frustrated, sounded,
"Only because the Frontline effect is protecting her.
In normal circumstances, anyone except the owner of this raw Fate shouldn't be able to even get close to it, let alone receive its blessing and change their inevitable future..."
Lilith nodded.
From her first encounter, she knew no one was supposed to even look at this raw Fate, let alone like Rose, who received a part of it and even made direct contact with it.
Little Mortal, back in his martial arts outfit, appeared,
"My goodness, Fate is such an unpleasant law!
Did you see that? It accepted the wish even though it knew Assistant Rose wasn't its owner, and she would die when it touched her to make her wish come true!"
Then he knocked on the golden ball in his hand,
"But guess what, little Fate?
My assistant has a strong boss!
Now get lost!"
And kicked it back to the dark world!
The crowd,
"-_-"
Indeed, even Fate that could make many wishes come true could be kicked around when it comes to this little monster!
This little guardian doesn't show respect to anyone unless they show respect to him.
The Crystal vibrated at this moment, saying,
Little Mortal nodded,
"Alright."
And asked Lilith,
"It was a long trip, partner.
Are you going back to the underworld?"
Lilith nodded,
"Yes.
But what's the plan now?
You asked the mainland to move back towards the exiled zone when we issued the secret challenge.
Depending on how fast it goes, we might reach there in less than a month."
Little Mortal shrugged,
"I don't have any plan for now.
I smelled a new conspiracy today when I remembered I could beat people up because of Lubo.
Plus, my current strength is a little too much for the world to ignore, you know?
My existence should be illegal."
Hearing his answer, Lilith went into deep thought.
She thought about this possible conspiracy, too.
Little Mortal's existence was indeed suspicious to begin with.
Seeing his power in action, she really wondered how he could be free.
When it comes to destructive power,
She already saw how world law reacted when those invisible enemies appeared in the past under the conspiracy of Hypermind and those sinners.
World law even split itself to seal them.
But how could her little partner, who was getting stronger at an alarming rate, go around without any reaction?
What gives world law a guarantee that he won't go out of his way at some point and turn into a villain?
Even those invisible cyborgs, the secret force of Hypermind that it was ready to release, were already eliminated by him without anyone noticing...
Was all of this because he was a 'harmless' newborn?
Or was it because world law couldn't deal with him due to its current weakness?
While puzzled, she remembered Xyron and the sinners' race, and asked,
"By the way, what about the sinners' race?
Can't they be used against you as hostages?"
Little Mortal snorted,
"They aren't living creatures.
There is no soul in them, only a dead consciousness from the past."
Lilith was shocked,
"They are dead?"
"Yep, they can't be more dead than what they are.
Believe me, when it comes to soul, and if something is alive or dead, I never make a mistake."
Lilith took a deep breath,
"Hypermind is only an AI, the sinners are dead too, and those agents are like Hypermind's clones...
We were played by a bunch of dead things all these years?"
Even Little Mortal gasped when she mentioned it,
"I didn't think about it like that!
That's so creepy!"
Then he said,
"I go see my big sister.
I plan to ask her to write a script for the final part of the movie.
Do you want a cool entrance for yourself?"
Lilith was going to scold him and say This is not a movie,
But she remembered he is actually everyone's guardian in secret now, and he can basically control everyone's body using his 'coach assistant' technique...
So she swallowed her words and changed it to,
"Yes, give me an epic entrance!"
She knew on the day of the final battle, she was going to see her comrades openly, so why not come out of her realm in a cool way?
Even though her partner's movie could be unpredictable even for himself and she ends up with no roles...
And after Little Mortal assured her that he was going to the exiled zone to check if any living creatures were still left, Lilith left.
Lilith was still worried that a single living creature that slipped from their hands could be used against them later.
Little Mortal left too after saying,
"Little crystal, we farmed so much law in the Exiled zone, help my 'strongest army' to advance."
When the birth treasures saw him gone,
They surrendered to the Crystal, asking it to show them what they were doing in these two months, and where they kidnapped so many newborns!
.....
Planet Lubo.
The new lava sea.
Lilith came here first with her citadel to see how things are.
She saw the minions were swimming under the lava, where an underworld gate was opened.
Her daughter, Nyxara, was there too, looking around cautiously.
When she saw her mother coming, she waved at her, and the minions who saw her citadel immediately knelt down and prostrated themselves.
Lilith went down and met with her,
"Nyxara, what are you doing here?"
Nyxara said excitedly,
"Mother, I suddenly felt a new and strong hexagon added to our underworld, so I tried to look where it leads to!
I didn't expect to have permission to enter the World Above!
I even saw our minions here!"
Lilith knew the reason was the guardian territory.
If Nyxara tried to enter from any other mainland's gate, it would be the same.
"You can go around here if you want.
Just remember to be polite with the people here, and no need to hide your identity."
Nyxara asked in surprise,
"How can we go around here? Isn't this place the world above? Forbidden for us to enter?"
Lilith nodded,
"It is the world above.
But this place is different.
Do you remember that little guy who pretended to be a great elder?
This place is related to him."
Hearing the name, Nyxara took out the child that Crystal Little Mortal gave her, and said,
"You don't believe it, mother!
I actually advanced to the peak of level 9 with this Crystal he gave me, and I only need a 'fated encounter' to advance again!
I thought he was just a liar!"
Lilith already knew she was a level 9; it was the same for Malphor, the old man, whose eyes were always closed.
She gave him a 'slot' and a crystal before going on her trip with Little Mortal.
She could even feel all of the 200,000 newborns from the older batch who were here before had already reached the peak of level 9.
It was fascinating to her how tolerant this world was towards these newborns, and she felt there was really something wrong.
She was sure her little partner was already thinking that a great 'conspiracy' was at play.
While she didn't have any clue, from Little Mortal's behavior that wasn't mixed with any extreme feeling of 'panic' like when something out of his expectation would happen,
She knew he had some ideas, and the conspiracy wasn't completely hidden from him, at least.
Lilith thought for a moment and said,
"There is actually a way for you and Malphor to advance."
Nyxara asked in surprise,
"We can be as strong as you? How?"
Lilith snorted,
"You can't be as strong as me, but you can advance.
Come, let me tell you how."
And Lilith told her how.
Nyxara was in shock,
"So easy?"
.....
Mainland.
Around a week ago, after the mainland changed direction, they came across another Mainland.
The so-called Level 2 civilization mainland, to be exact, which seems to have more than one copy.
At first, it was only one that couldn't catch up with them.
But later on, more and more appeared, and even some of them 'grabbed' them using some invisible threads.
Entertainment Goddess and the White Canary thought of facing them, especially the White Canary, which was stronger than Level 10 creatures.
But soon they found out that not only can the enemy mainlands not enter their zone, but they can't leave either!
It was as if they were stuck inside a protective bubble.
The couple of living creatures left on the mainland, or the unprofessional actors, to be exact, who already reached Level 9, were at a loss.
Their mainland was small but lively in the past.
But now, it was big, strong, and with lots of enemies...
They thought of contacting Heavenly Father to ask if they needed to do anything, but nobody knew how.
Their best possible contact was Entertainment Goddess, who told them she can't either after asking her crystal.
The group of unprofessional actors gained access to a sealed area with her help and advanced to Level 9 around 2 months ago after receiving a slot from their former birth treasures.
But none of them could advance to Level 10 because they felt they weren't Fated.
Entertainment Goddess looked at the dark sky with the scary Level 2 civilizations and their huge brain managers that seemed to be copy-pasted, and sighed.
There were close to 50 of them before, but now they were 100 after the mainland seemingly slowed down.
She could feel that all of the managers on them were as strong as her.
And after she suddenly felt their mainland was slowing down, she saw farther away in empty space, a bunch of other Level 2 civilizations were getting closer to them too.
She wondered,
'How many of these things are out there?
Is there a Level 2 civilization's factory somewhere?'
Then she suddenly saw that the single big bubble connected to their mainland became colorful.
"We are under attack.
What's this universe happy about?
Why is it like there is a celebration there?"
It was the same for the White Canary, who felt the changes.
It even felt like another mainland had appeared there in their united universe.
The small White Canary was a mainland manager itself, so it could easily tell.
Entertainment Goddess asked her crystal,
"My beloved crystal, do you know what's going on there?"
< Mortal brought back some newborns with him from somewhere.
The universe is now celebrating the newborns' arrival. >
Entertainment Goddess ignored the celebration part and asked,
"Mortal is back?
Tell him to come here!"
And after a brief moment,
"What is he role-playing now?
Some great seer with a shiny ball in his hand and wearing a mysterious cloak?"
The Crystal was speechless...
< it's exactly as you guessed... >
Entertainment Goddess,
"..."
A while later.
*Knock * *Knock * *Knock*
Entertainment Goddess suddenly heard a knock on her castle's door.
The hearts of other higher beings outside skipped a bit when they heard someone was knocking on a castle's gate!
Their situation was special.
There was nobody on the mainland except the few of them.
It was like when you are sure that you are alone somewhere, but suddenly someone knocks on your door!
Who could it be when nobody else is supposed to be out there?
They tried to sense the 'knocker', but they didn't detect any presence,
So they tried to secretly peek outside their castles and see who it was.
They sighed in relief when they saw that a little boy in dirty clothing was the one knocking.
So it was the little troublemaker.
They thought of going out and asking him about their birth treasures,
But remembered the one who has them now is probably the scary old man, Heavenly Father, and not him anymore.
That was what Entertainment Goddess guessed, and they thought it made sense.
And what if that old man was in some corner watching over this brat now?
They just better forget about those birth treasures for now.
Their birth treasures seem to be in a good place that after working there for just a while, they were even able to 'buy' some 'slots' for their former masters to advance.
They didn't want to admit it, but it wasn't a bad deal to lose your birth treasure, but advance in return...
The castle gate opened, and Little Mortal went inside.
But at this moment, a white light went inside too, and in the blink of an eye, it landed on Little Mortal's shoulder while shutting the castle's door behind it.
The crowd didn't see what it was because it was too fast.
But even so, they felt relieved.
Who else, except the 'senior manager', could be this fast?
They already talked to this small canary about their birth treasures,
And it promised them it would at least ask about their conditions, so they know if they are fine or not.
After receiving the slots to advance, they knew they were fine, but they didn't know what they went through these days.
Inside the castle, Little Mortal looked at the small White Canary, which was 4 times smaller than the normal canaries, and gasped in shock,
"Little white! You grew so much!
How is your father? Is he hanging out with your mom?
That's why you are out flying around alone?"
Entertainment Goddess, who came here as fast as she could, and heard what he said, turned pale!
She thought the senior manager was going to slap his face to oblivion for his disrespect!
And sure enough, the small canary slapped his face with its wing while saying angrily,
"You little rascal! I'm the mainland manager!
What father? What mother?"
Entertainment Goddess sighed in relief when she saw that Little Mortal's head didn't fly away.
It seems the senior manager held back.
She didn't know it, but it didn't hold back and hit him with enough power to test the 'invulnerability' effect.
It wanted to know if that old man was still protecting this troublemaker.
And sure enough, he was under protection.
Little mortal snorted,
"Nonsense!
Little white, don't act like your father!
I saw him a couple of times before, he is not like you at all!
I even saw him in action and know his real name!"
The White Canary gritted its beak in anger,
"Oh yeah?
Then tell me, how my 'father' looks like in action, and what's his 'real' name?"
Entertainment Goddess was going to stop him for saying nonsense,
But the White Canary glared at her, so she just stood there quietly!
Little mortal became excited,
"Let me tell you!
Your father's real name is 'Evil White, the Eminence Manager'!
His height is 2 billion kilometers!
When he opens his wings, he is as wide as 20 billion kilometers!
The other day, I saw him going *woosh* from one side of the battlefield to another, and everything in his path would go *BOOM*!
Mainland managers, the Mainlands themselves, even the empty space and world law were begging him to stop moving around, because guess what?"
The little canary, dumbfounded, asked,
"W-what?"
Little mortal said in disbelief,
"Because he wasn't even trying to fight!
He was just going to buy some groceries for your mother, but he was late, so he was moving a 'little' fast.
But that 'little fast', started a disaster outside!
Let me tell you, at the end, when he disappeared into the horizon, half of the universe connected to those mainlands were chasing him!
Not because they wanted to!
But because they were forced to!
You know?
Like when you run between some tree leaves, and because of the 'wind', the leaves follow you?
It was like that!
The scene was so shocking to me that my jaw dropped for 10 days and 10 nights straight!"
Little mortal himself gasped in shock, as if even remembering it again was unbelievable to him.
Little white, the son of Evil White, the Eminence Manager,
" O_O “
Entertainment Goddess and the Crystal,
<"-_-">