karami92

Author's Corner: Thank you to Sajid, nfi42, and Peter Jørgensen for joining the Patreon!

Looking at the clock once again, there were only a few hours left before the meeting. It was time to go inform Tsubaki about the plan, and allow her to make her decision about whether or not she wished to join me for it. Though, given her personality, I could not imagine her ever saying no to that offer.

Just the thought of that made a small grin emerge on my face as I chose to descend to the citadel. At the moment, my host was standing out in the courtyard, staring off at the scenery with Tsubaki a few steps behind him.

When I descended, the first thing I heard was her voice. “Welcome back, my Keeper.” She spoke reverently, and I turned just in time to see her dropping to one knee.

“You’re really getting too good at telling when that happens.” I chuckled, shaking my head.

“Do you have business that you need to take care of within the world?” Her nine tails swayed peacefully behind her, and it was hard to imagine that she had only recently gone through the agitation of having them played with by James.

“I do, actually. My business today happens to be with you and Dana.” As I said that, I began walking back towards the citadel gate. “Would you mind having her meet us in the library? I believe she was in her workshop when I last looked.”

“I understand, my Keeper. I’ll see to it at once.” Though she said that, she continued to follow behind me, no doubt indicating that one of her avatars had gone off to find Dana.

As we walked through the halls, I took the time to once again admire Tubrock’s craftsmanship. I had honestly lost track of how old this citadel was now, but it was still maintained as one of the most powerful aerial vessels in any world. Though, if I were to compare it to a warship of the March, it might be found lacking.

When it comes to the concept of a flying castle, however, there was indeed nothing better than this even after so long. The Sky Citadel could go to any location within any world that it could fit, even theoretically to outer space.

As I was thinking about that, we arrived at the library. Unsurprisingly, there was a young elven woman waiting for me, smiling wide as she saw the two of us approach. “Hello, big sis and Keeper!” She waved excitedly, using her other hand to open the library door.

The library itself was massive, but used far less than it was originally intended. As a repository of all knowledge discovered in the world, as well as some that I provided personally, the goal had always been to have representatives of the various races staying here to learn and spread the information to their people. As time passed, that concept slowly faded away. 

When people felt like they had caught up with the knowledge in the library, or when they thought it would be better to discover things on their own, they stopped coming to the citadel. Some were only here because they wanted to get closer to me, and realized that was a failed practice right from the start. Either way, the only regular residents of the citadel to this day were Tsubaki and Dana.

“So, what’s this about, Keeper?” Dana asked as she skipped over to one seat at a large reading table, planting herself in it and watching me. I felt like Tsubaki wanted to scold her for speaking out of turn, but kept herself silent at the realization that I did not seem to have a problem with it.

“Honestly, I have an offer to make both of you, and I would like you two to consider it carefully.” Once I had sat down, I gestured for Tsubaki to take a seat next to Dana. She seemed reluctant to move from her position behind me, but eventually realized that it would be uncomfortable for me to constantly turn back to address her and complied.

“An offer, my Keeper?” Tsubaki seemed confused at my choice of words, looking to me in search of more information.

“That’s right. Very soon, I’ll be going somewhere, and I’d like to offer the two of you the chance to go with me. The trip shall last between ten and eleven days, but while I am gone, time shall not pass in this world. Thanks to that, any business you had planned will not be interrupted.”

Tsubaki blinked in surprise, but it was Dana that spoke up first. “Where would we be going, Keeper?”

Hearing her question caused a small smile to appear on my face. “There is a regular meeting between Keepers in a world beyond all worlds. In this space, there can be no lasting harm done to any living thing. That is why I feel safe bringing the two of you along with me. You would be representatives of my world, and should you see fit to do so, you would even have the choice to compete and obtain new power for me to use on this world.”

Tsubaki’s face grew more serious when I mentioned that. “We could compete with others to strengthen you, my Keeper? In what manner?”

I offered a light chuckle before explaining. “First, I need to tell you two something. This is something regarding how my power works, and you must promise to never reveal this information to anyone of my world.”

Both girls had their eyes go wide at my request, before nodding their heads firmly. “Very well… at one point in time, before this world began, I lived within my own world. You can think of it similar to how Desbar was before the merge. At that time, I was just a common man.”

“One day, while I was driving along, my vehicle struck a passerby who was crossing the road without looking. This man turned out to be the Keeper of my world. My world was not as strong as this one, to the point where its Keeper could even be killed by such an accident. But, when my Keeper died, the world ended. I became the new Keeper, and charged with beginning a new world.”

“Such is the fate of the Keeper. Should we die, our world dies with us, and our killer shall take our place to begin anew. But, our power is not infinite as many believe. Rather, our power is allocated to us by an even higher existence, similar to the system of classes in this world. This system grants us points based on either our personal achievements or the achievements of our world.”

“I can use these points to either buy a new world, modify an existing world’s laws, or even create an entire race. Even the ‘Major Pantheon’ was created using points. These points are the true power that a Keeper wields to shape the world. At the same time, while we exist outside of the world, we have the option to accelerate the flow of time in order to allow our world to progress.”

“A single day for me could range anywhere from an hour to a thousand years for you two, depending on how I cause time to pass. However, from my perspective on time, there is a meeting that occurs once every year between all Keepers that have reached a certain level of power.”

“This is the meeting I’m talking about. Here, we have the chance to play different games based on the nature of being a Keeper. Managing worlds, developing personal strength, testing reflexes, games of that nature. We also have the chance to display our talents in various types of performances. All of these things allow us to earn points. In my first meeting, Irena sang a song on stage, and last year we enjoyed a simulated world.”

“Aunt Irena can sing?” Dana spoke for the first time since my explanation began, her eyes wide in shock. I let out a faint laugh as I recalled the scene of her standing on stage and singing for me.

“She can, and quite beautifully at that.” I nodded my head, a peaceful smile appearing on my face. “She is a very talented woman. Anyways, that is the type of meeting that I am offering to bring you to. You’ll be able to meet with other Keepers safely, and participate in various activities to either expand your own knowledge or earn points on my behalf.”

At this point, now that I had told these two about my ‘humble beginnings’, I checked their surface thoughts to see if their faith in me had been shaken. Tsubaki, though she was surprised by certain aspects of my story, still held true to her convictions. She even saw it as a sign of my faith in her that I was willing to tell her all of this.

As for Dana, well… she wore her thoughts on her sleeve, voicing them just as I got to her. “Are we able to pick what kind of performance we do if we go? I can sing decently, but Tsuba is way better as a dancer.”

I glanced curiously towards the kitsune in question, whose face was quickly turning red at that reveal. Seeing her embarrassed look, I could only offer a small smile. “You can do whatever kind of performance you want. You don’t even necessarily have to do a performance. I won’t be restricting your activities at the meeting. The only restriction in place will be that you won’t be able to tell other people at the meeting about our world, even accidentally.”

“I’d like to attend this meeting with you, my Keeper.” Tsubaki said in a serious tone, though her blush was still present. Dana, meanwhile, nodded her head.

“If big sis is going, I’m going! But, man, you used to be a normal guy, huh? I can kind of see that.” She smiled towards me with a more familiar expression, as if my story had closed some sort of gap between us. “You don’t really act like the kind of all-powerful being I used to expect when I was a kid.”

“And how did you expect me to act?” I raised an eyebrow as I asked that, smirking towards Dana.

Dana, meanwhile, was completely carefree as she spoke her mind. “Executing those who disobeyed your rule, wiping the world clean and starting fresh if it didn’t go how you wanted, and using your power to cheat at cards.”

When she said that last one, I couldn’t help but think back to one of the previous times that I spent living in this world. There were indeed a few times we played card games to pass the time, often with another god or goddess joining us. And, at times… I may have used my ability to read their minds in order to cheat.

“I’m shocked that you would think such a thing about me.” I spoke, doing my best to act innocent, though there was a certain glint in Dana’s eye.

“Knew it.” She said with a knowing grin. “Next time we play cards, I am so getting a song stuck in your head that you will never be able to get rid of.”

For some reason, I thought she really might do it. She certainly had the mental power to focus on a card game while blaring loud music in her head at the same time. To be honest, this playful side of her was something that I appreciated. It assured me that she had accepted my story, and didn’t plan to look down on me just because I started as a normal mortal.

“Then, the next meeting will begin in just a few hours. At that time, I’ll bring the two of you along. So, if there is anything that you would like to prepare before that, I’d suggest handling it quickly. Things like what sort of performance you’d like to do, or any games you’d like to try. There’s also a restaurant that serves your favorite food. Even for spirits. In truth, it’s where Irena first found the concept of spiritual cooking.”

Dana’s mouth seemed to be watering as I mentioned that, and I knew that would be one of the first places she went to visit as soon as I let her go free. “They prepare a meal that is uniquely suited to your tastes, even if it is something that you didn’t know you would like. And after you eat, you have the option to buy the recipe with points. So, if the two of you earn any points in this meeting, I’ll let you spend them there if you want.”

“Thank you, Keeper!” Dana raised her hands excitedly, clearly intending to work for her food.