“Flatten it.”
“……Can you call it optimal stealth?”
Oh dear.
My true feelings slipped out without me realizing. Acting as if nothing happened, I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly.
“It’s just a joke. I was trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere that suddenly fell after hearing something so shocking.”
“Lie. Even gods can’t lie in front of me.”
“That’s a lie in itself. You may be able to lie, but I can see through it.”
“……”
“……”
Sif and I exchanged glances, silently glaring at each other. Sif, the God of Thieves, was the first to break the silence. Despite being a god of theft, she displayed a godly composure.
“Well, whatever. It’s been dead for a long time, so how important can it be? Anyway, you know what I’m trying to say, right?”
“You mean I should eat your heart to inherit your divinity? But that’s impossible. I don’t have the proper mythology, and besides, I’m already blessed abundantly by the Goddess of Love.”
“You know everything under the sun, yet you don’t get this. I’m not talking about usurpation; I mean succession. If I permit it and you have the qualifications, that’s all it takes. Sure, until you get used to it, you’ll only be a demigod at best… but later, when your soul and divinity fully merge, you’ll become a true god.”
“Are you talking about the God of Thieves?”
“The divine nature may vary a bit, but it’ll be pretty similar.”
“……Why are you making such an offer to me? I may not know the method, but I’m keeping my mind intact like this.”
“Keeping your mind intact? Ah, you must be confused after seeing the God of Death on the Fourth Floor.”
Nodding her head, Sif waved her hand, causing the last scenery of her ascension to disperse.
What emerged next was a rundown house made of shabby wooden planks. Mold was growing in places, and some parts were literally decaying—a house that was falling apart.
It was hard to believe this was where a god resided.
But Sif let out a relaxed sigh, as if she had returned home after a long time, and continued speaking.
“The God of Death is a special case. I… I guess I became this way due to a bit of a trick and unexpected side effects.”
“Ah, come on. Don’t give off that vibe of ‘Ah… I won’t tell you what’s going on, but something will happen soon.’ We’re not really in a situation to discuss while laughing and joking around, are we?”
I winked habitually to prompt her guard to drop.
“Ugh.”
For some reason, Sif’s reaction was quite negative.
“What was that just now? Um. It’s hard to adapt to the current times.”
“Oh, come to think of it…”
Sif was a person from a very distant past. Not one who reversed gender roles but someone with ordinary gender concepts.
“Thank goodness it’s cute. If it were an adult doing this… oh my.”
Sif sighed in relief after staring at my face intently.
For some reason, I felt a little pleased by that reaction. It’s been a while since I felt this way.
While I chuckled to myself, Silph let out a deep sigh.
“Ha.”
Not just once, but after looking at my face, she sighed again.
“Haah…”
“Why are you sighing so much?”
“……It’s nothing. Anyway, to return to the earlier topic, I’m not exactly in a normal state.”
“I see you looking fine, though.”
“Here, sure. The current me is a sort of ghost-like existence. One that can only exist conditionally.”
Sif, the God of Thieves, continued explaining.
Originally, she had decided that when the gods resolved to commit suicide, she would somehow manage to live and slip away.
Of course, she agreed that the gods’ powers were killing the world, but she was thinking of dying once.
“I was supposed to die as a god and live the rest of my days as a human.”
“Is that even possible?”
“Can it be? Well, I thought it would be back then… but look at me now. Trapped in a labyrinth—in this shabby house. I can’t exist outside.”
“But Sif roams around just fine. Plus, you’re the Guardian of the Fifth Floor, right?”
“That’s a real doll. My will is bound to this space; I can’t get out. On top of that, my memories reset regularly.”
Memory reset, huh? I had a good idea of what that meant.
The labyrinth reconfigures its structure at regular intervals. During this process, monsters that have died regenerate, and the resources previously harvested are replenished—a kind of labyrinth maintenance system.
If the God of Thieves were… or at least a remnant believing herself to be the God of Thieves, fully integrated with the labyrinth, everything would make sense.
I smirked, not showing my thoughts.
“My party members are happily stealing things, though.”
“…That’s the problem. I was clearly planning to die as a god. I intended to bury all my divinity and powers.”
“So you failed.”
“Right. Hence, I’m in this awkward state where my powers remain, but I haven’t fully died…”
“If I were to take your heart…”
“You would become a demigod and have the potential to challenge for divinity someday, while I…”
Sif, who had been speaking up to that point, chuckled.
“Well, you’d probably get to be free, albeit for a short time.”
“How short, specifically?”
“I don’t know. Like I said before, I was supposed to be dead. It’s just that some tricks and divinity are keeping me in this state. It could be as little as 3 seconds, or maybe I could last for 3 years.”
Sif shrugged, but her expression suddenly turned serious.
“Well, that’s my goal, but the real reason you have to inherit my divinity is different. You… are a disciple of the Goddess of Love, right?”
“Kind of.”
“I understand why she’s calling you to the bottom of the labyrinth. She’s likely trying to lead you to build myths and prestige within the labyrinth, and in the end, with her death, intends to hand over her divinity to promote you to a new god. …And she probably plans to lay the burden of the labyrinth onto you.”
“……”
Surprisingly, the God of Thieves hit the nail on the head regarding the very setting I had envisioned.
The Goddess of Love grew tired of her long-term caretaker role and wished to pass on everything to someone trustworthy sooner rather than later.
…I can’t say for sure if that’s still the case.
But I certainly inserted such a setting about the Goddess of Love. Throughout, every fixed setting I had established had never been wrong.
Though I felt like the Goddess of Love might be the first instance where the setting could falter…
Whether she knew of my complicated feelings or not, the God of Thieves continued with a serious expression.
“For me, it’s no big deal if I can’t hold out much longer and fade away. I’ve lived quite a long life as a human by this point. …But the Goddess of Love is different.”
“True. She’s really suffered a lot.”
“Yes. During the War of Divine Extermination, she tried to end it despite suffering heavy losses, and even after the war, she bore all the burdens. I don’t know how many years have passed outside, but…”
“One thousand years.”
“Huh?”
“The War of Divine Extermination ended a thousand years ago.”
“Already…? Ah, still, she’s played such a losing role for so long, and to end with nothing but a peaceful death is just unfair.”
“So, if I inherit the divinity, what changes?”
“Exactly. You’d become a demigod, making it much easier to navigate the labyrinth, and your divinity would fully merge in that process, allowing you to occupy the true divine position. …Then the Goddess of Love wouldn’t need to die. She could simply maintain the labyrinth with you.”
“Hmmm. That’s important. There’s a chance the burden might lessen, and she could step outside the labyrinth. Even if it’s impossible, alternating visits could be possible.”
“Then…”
“But I’ll have to decline.”
“…What?”
“The thing I like most is saying no to someone who thinks they won’t be rejected… though that’s not entirely it. Your method is hindering my plan.”
“Hindering? What do you mean…?”
“How can I aim for mediocrity? It may not be hard to understand, but…”
Sif’s life was tragic. Having seen only unhappy endings, it made sense she’d want to aim for the least unhappy outcome. However.
“Always aim high. We must aim for the best happy ending.”
“…I don’t know what your plan is, but it seems painfully unrealistic.”
“It’s alright. It’s absolutely possible. …This world is made that way.”
I like happy endings.
Of course, the story I originally intended to write was created with a happy ending in mind. There must be a way.
It’s still just an idea, but making it a reality is my endeavor.
Looking straight into the eyes of the God of Thieves, Sif, who had been staring blankly, finally nodded.
“Right. In the end, folks like us are the kind who stubbornly won’t listen to others…”
“Oh, and even if you eat your heart, you won’t inherit my divinity.”
“……?”
“It’s absolutely impossible due to the labyrinth’s system.”
Everything reflected in the labyrinth is essentially an illusion.
The corpse of a dead god created a shadow highlighted by the light of the Goddess of Love.
That is the labyrinth.
The powers that lose their master are a rare phenomenon that occurs near shadows closely resembling the essence.
But no matter how I think about it, taking the heart of the God of Thieves, who can be seen as the center of the Fifth Floor… her mimetic doll, even as a guardian of the floor, is impossible unless I step into the labyrinth’s back end.
And the labyrinth’s back end is, in the truest sense, a labyrinth. Time and space are twisted, making it difficult to enter carelessly and even harder to escape.
“Who are you trying to make go missing?”
“Eh.”
Sif, believing herself to be the God of Thieves, is oblivious.
And in her ignorance, she comes to realize her essence.
Expressions twist in various ways: shock, anger, and then, emptiness.
Though a remnant, she gave a nod, just like the God of Thieves.
“Indeed. Is that how it is? Even if you pull my heart out here…”
“A massive gemstone would emerge instead of divine essence, right? Ah, unlike the physical body that revives, this consciousness might fully extinguish!”
“Seems likely, right?”
I tried to comfort her like I was easing a tense situation.
“Don’t worry! This time, the memory of disappearing will vanish too! It’s going to be complete extinction!”
“That’s quite the comforting advice.”
The God of Thieves retorted with sarcasm. But my words weren’t finished yet.
“Well, until now, while there’s been a bit of confusion in the memories, you’ve maintained your consciousness, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And what’s the difference between that and being alive?”
“……Huh?”
“You just can’t hand over your divinity to me; nothing else changes for you.”
The essence of a person is found in their memories. And the God of Thieves, from her human days to the moment she decided to accept her death as a god and failed, has been remembering everything, aside from what she has naturally forgotten.
Her plan was half-failed. Alternatively, that means it was half successful.
She has failed to possess a human body, and the guardian doll of the Fifth Floor, Sif, might just be a remnant of that…
Yet her spirit could hide from death.
The God of Thieves before me is a remnant, but it is undeniably something that was once her. This cannot be denied.
“It’s simple. Just leave the aftermath to me and go ahead and die peacefully.”
“……”
“If your goal is revival, it would be a concern… but a brief taste of freedom is fine with me! This is really good, right?”
“……Ha. That makes sense.”
Nodding her head, she spread her arms wide, revealing her flat chest.
“Go ahead.”
“So soon? I thought we’d talk a bit more…”
“There’s nothing more. And as I mentioned before, my memories are mostly intact, but not perfectly so. Some things have been completely lost after a few resets. …And I’ve said all I wanted to say.”
The God of Thieves closed her eyes tightly while saying this. After watching her for a moment, I lightly made the sign of the cross.
Not the sign that symbolizes the Goddess of Love, which I often do.
But a symbol meant only for the… God of Thieves, who exists solely in settings.
“I’ve never shown you that…”
“I’ve known you. Perhaps even before you were born.”
“Ah……”
As if realizing something, her expression became relieved and a smile formed.
“It’s an honor to meet you.”
“Same here.”
As she spoke, my hand moved.
No dagger needed. With bare hands, I delved gently into the God of Thieves’ chest, stealing something that pulsed from within.
It was possible only because she didn’t resist.
Whispering softly into the ear of the God of Thieves, who was gasping for breath,
“Now rest easy, Sif. As the God of Thieves, a shadowless phantom, and… as a lovely sister.”
“Ah…”
Losing her heart, Sif staggered toward the corner of the dilapidated hut, returning to her original form. She embraced an oddly child-like doll that resembled her, disheveled but unlike any other.
“Li, F. Finally….”
With those final words, Sif quietly closed her eyes.
Though I felt bitter for having kidnapped my companion, I managed to get her back safely, so I could afford to show some mercy at the last moment.
After all, she was akin to my child too.
Her heart, which spilled bright red blood, transformed in my hands into a brilliantly red scarf.
It was Sif’s trademark from my memories… a gift from Lif.
Wrapping it around my neck, I headed toward my still slumbering party members.
Now to wake them…
“Huh?”
But wait, they’re asleep thanks to Sif’s powers, right? Deeply asleep, ensuring they don’t wake up easily, right?
…I can’t wake them up no matter what, can I?!
“Hehe.”
With a sinister smile, I pulled out a makeshift sleeping bag from the subspace bag.
