Another chapter!

This might honestly be one of my favorite chapters. I had fun writing this. A lot of fun. Oh, and I dropped a bunch of lore for future chapters, so that's nice too.

As usual, some notes (and spoilers) below:

-Imma just be frank with y'all; this arc's heavily inspired by a number of manhwa I read while I was going through crunch hell. So, uh, yeah.

-The System comes to life! Or does it? Perhaps it's been alive this entire time and has just been silent. And why does it seem so familiar with Issei, I wonder? Hmm.

Enough from me. Enjoy the chapter!

"So this is Ethyria…"

[Ethyria]

A strange crystalline-like metal. An enormous amount of mana wafts from it, and the glimmer of something powerful and ancient remains within.

Issei gingerly held it in his palm. It looked like a series of blue spikes, glowing and occasionally shining a bright yellow. The description wasn't lying either. Even without his mind's eye he could feel the sheer weight of its magic. It was heavy, and powerful.

"Mm! It's something the masters use at home to create all sorts of things." Gabriel happily explained. "Oh! I even heard that you can create weapons with it, but, um," She frowned slightly. "I don't know if that's true or not. Ethyria are extremely volatile when they become hot."

"I can think of several ways." He said lightly, his mind already thinking of the many ways someone could shape the crystal in his hands. "Forging doesn't need heat. You just need to have some sort of way to make this malleable enough to be reshaped." He hummed. "Some people I know can do that."

One of them being Sona's mother, apparently. Her control over magic was so great she could shape mana itself and turn it corporeal. He didn't quite manage to ask more before Sona disappeared.

"Woah…"

He risked a glance at his companion. Once again, he saw it. Those shining eyes, that bright smile, the sheer curiosity and wonder over something that didn't really seem all that amazing in hindsight. He could almost see the dim caves around them lighting up from the sheer brightness of her eyes.

He quickly looked away.

He coughed. "Right. So, have we gathered enough?" He asked as the Ethyria in his hands vanished into his Inventory. "I still have more than enough space for a thousand more of these." That was a lie. He had far more space than that.

Thankfully, she shook her head. "No, I should head home now." She gave a glance at the broken spear in her hands. "I'm, um, I'm just a little scared of what my master will think when he sees this…"

He huffed. "It'll be fine." He patted her head. "A broken weapon is unfortunate, but if it broke defending its wielder, then is that not the highest honor? Is that not the greatest reason for it to shatter?"

She smiled, eyes glowing with that same radiance. He did his best to remain unbothered by it.

"Then let's go." He said. "I can hear some wolves approaching. We should be quick." She nodded to his words, and off they went.

They walked slowly, Gabriel having slowed herself down so that she wouldn't outrun him. But slowing her down was frustrating, and made even more so as he heard more and more wolves approaching. So instead he picked her up into his arms, filled his right leg with a surge of mana, and leapt into the air with Air Walk. He told her to tell him where to go, and she nodded meekly as he sped away.

Her eyes were fully shining now. He could feel the mental exhaustion piling.

Eventually, he could see some sort of light at the end of the cavernous hallways, and he slowly descended back onto the ground. She happily thanked him for the ride, and he could only smile wryly as he brought out his crutch. They walked on a little more, and he couldn't help but smile as she began excitedly explaining her home. Not that it was working, considering she was butchering all her words beyond comprehension.

But then they stepped into the light, and he understood just why she was so excited.

He had expected a town, maybe a small city. He hadn't expected a metropolis. It was a jungle of concrete, metal, and glass, illuminated by the yellow of the streetlights and the dim blue of the crystals growing on the far walls. Skyscrapers dotted the place, reaching towards a ceiling obscured by some sort of white mist.

It looked like someone had transposed New York into the undergrounds.

"Welcome to my home!" Gabriel said, and the pride for this metropolis showed in her eyes. "This is our home, our Eden."

Eden, was it? First Gabriel, and now Eden. He had a feeling that this worldline was heavily related to all things Heaven.

He smiled.

"Nice place." He said, and then grinned. "Let's not dally, eh? I think it's time we give the crystals we gathered to your master." She meeped, and his grin grew. "Or are you still scared he'll blow up on you?"

"I-I-I'm not!" She said. He continued smiling. "I-I'm serious!"

"Sure." He drawled out, before he pointed his thumb to the side. "We should probably move though. Everyone's staring." Gabriel blinked the moment he said that, and her cheeks grew warm as she noticed there were people around them. They all laughed as she grasped his sleeve and pulled him along, completely forgetting that he was limp on one leg.

He didn't remind her though. He kept his right leg flooded with mana to keep him going.

And as she pulled him, he kept a careful eye on the people passing by. They looked human, they felt human, but they were…perfect. Too perfect. Humans could be beautiful, but there would always be some imperfection he could spot. A slight misalignment of their features maybe. Or some miniscule problem with their bodies.

But the people around him? They were perfect. It was as if someone had taken what a perfect human was and made them a reality. And then did it several thousand times.

It made sense, though. If he considered that every person would've been an Angel back in his world, then it made sense why they all looked so perfect. The archetype they were all based on were perfect beings. "Perfection was power. Perfection was beauty," or whatever it was Riser had monologued once.

(He didn't realize that such a statement would apply to himself as well. Granted, he hadn't bothered to really look at himself in a mirror in months.

There was a reason why Koneko kept blushing whenever she changed his shirt.)

Eventually, Gabriel slowed a crawl, and he could feel the tremors running up her arms. He finally snapped out his thoughts to find them standing before a small, unassuming concrete building. It looked like some old condo you could find in the back alleys of a major city. Still, he wouldn't be surprised if this was where her master lived.

And then-

"So it finally broke." A rough voice said, and he felt Gabriel fully freeze.

Then again, so did he.

A man suddenly stepped out. He was old, with white hair and a white beard. Despite that, he was built. He was taller than anyone he'd ever met, and his muscles were visible through the thin shirt and shorts he wore. His eyes were a bright yellow, burning like the sun on a cloudless day.

But more than anything, he could feel power flooding from him like a tidal wave. It wasn't magic. It wasn't an energy that belonged to the living. It was something beyond that.

It was divinity.

[You have glanced at one that has Transcended]

[Your mind fractures slightly. Repairing damage…]

"M-Master!" Gabriel said, shaking and close to tears. "I-I'm sorry-"

"Bah, it's fine. I can always make another one." The old man smiled. "And your friend over there told you, right? It broke defending you. That's more than enough."

Issei stilled. How did the man know that?

"Gabby, go inside and prepare a table for us." The man said. "I'll have a little talk with your friend here."

"Okay!" And Gabriel happily skipped past the man and went into the building.

The man continued staring, and Issei stared back. He kept the mana flowing through his leg, ready to move at a moment's notice. The man hadn't done anything, and he could feel no hostility, but there was a pressure in the air. A warning, almost.

"...I'm Issei. Hyoudou Issei." He eventually said, still keeping his eye trained on the man.

The old man was quiet for a moment, before he smiled. "I am Jehovah."

And Issei fell to the ground and screamed.

[A cosmic Truth is attempting to enter the System]

[Your mind fractures heavily]

Jehovah. Yehowa. YHWH.

The one Lord. God.

He was in the presence of God. The actual God. Not some human approximation or an alternate, but God Himself. But that shouldn't be possible! God is dead. He died in that great war against the Beast. I saw Him fall. I had caught Him, mourned Him, and I haD cUrSEd tHe CrueLtIEs oF tHis eXIstEnce-

[Issei Hyoudou's Ego is fracturing]

[Multiple Identities are colliding]

Someone was holding him, Issei realized. Amidst the pain and suffering and tears and scaling heat, he could feel the gentle warmth of the hands that were wrapped around him. It felt like the warmest blanket, a shield against the war both outside and within the confines of his mind.

[Potential for Identity collapse is high]

"It is alright, child. You have fought long enough."

[Influx of data has overwhelmed the Firewall]

"I am sorry. For entrusting all of this to someone as young as you. I am so, so sorry."

[...]

[Query: Refusal. Issei Hyoudou must not perish]

Suddenly, the pain vanished. Issei gasped, and within his eye he saw the universe. He saw its conception, its growth, and its eventual death. Then he saw its rebirthing, and once again he saw its death. Birth and death. Recreation and disintegration. He saw the universe's unending eternity; a Mobius Road that circled around itself over and over.

[Forcefully compiling Truths. Requesting Key]

[...]

[Key not found. Generating private token]

He saw his birth, the moment his mother and father held him in their arms. He saw himself as a child, living and playing in make-beliefs. He saw himself as a teen, idly living along as the world passed him by. He saw himself as an adult, drowning and drowning and drowning until nothing of himself was left. He never saw himself as an elder.

[Key bypassed. Beginning compilation…]

Then he saw himself again, but he was different. He saw an Issei that held his perverseness with pride. He fought for his hoard, with the red gauntlet on his left arm and his heart on his sleeves. He fought and bled and fought and bled. He was screaming as the universe collapsed on him, and he tore the heavens asunder with his will.

[Truths compiled. Beginning reparation of the Ego…]

Then he saw himself again, but he was also different. He was a she. He saw an Issei that lived her life with pride, fighting with a sword drawn from her hip and winds that could carve through the planet. She would lead with words drawn from her heart and walk on with the promises of the ones that had fallen before her.

[Ego repaired. Mending mental fractures…]

Then he saw another him. This Issei said little, but he spoke with his actions. He fought for those he loved, and flames would rise from his arms with an unending vigor for life. Demons would fall before him, gods would be burnt to ash, and he powered the life of a shattering universe even as his soul fractured into a million stars.

[Mental fractures repaired. Ceasing control. Reverting causality…]

And then he-

"Okay!" Gabriel happily skipped past the man and went into the building.

-blinked.

[+30 to all Attributes]

"Is something wrong, young man?" God-, Jehovah asked. "You look a little pale."

Issei stared, still trying and failing to comprehend just what it was he'd seen. There had been so much. Too much. He could feel his mind tearing in two just by trying to remember what that all was. "I'm fine." He eventually managed to say. He forced his lips to smile. "I'm just a little tired. Gabriel did drag me around the place."

"Ha! That girl has always been like that." Jehovah shook his head and grinned. "Now come," He turned and waved him over. "Let's go in."

He hid a sigh. "Sure." He said and began walking.

(Issei entered his home, and Jehovah would sigh.

I'm sorry, he would think, his heart heavy with guilt over the barely hidden pain behind that haunted eye Issei carried. He had suffered much, and he would only suffer more as the future came to take and take and take. He would then suffer more as he learnt who he was, and then he'd continue to shatter.

Jehovah was helpless to do anything. Divine as he was, he no longer had any strength. Not for himself, and certainly not to aid his own child.

How pathetic I am, he would say to himself. The blood within him would burn.)

There was only so much suspension of disbelief that he could hold before it broke.

Because going into another world and finding out that its inhabitants were based on Angels from his world? Strange, but sure. Discovering that God Himself was alive and apparently living in an underground metropolis? Sure, whatever. Almost dying because of an insane influx of data only to snap back a couple seconds back in time? He'd gone back two months; a small return didn't surprise him too much.

But then going in and eating kimchi jjigae of all things!?

Then again, it was a very good kimchi jjigae. So maybe he could hold onto his crumbling suspension of disbelief. Maybe.

"So, what do you need all this Ethyria for?" Issei asked, idly glancing at the mountain of crystals he'd brought out from his Inventory.

"Many things." Jehovah said, a small smile on his lips as he glanced at Gabriel, who was happily snoring away on the nearby couch. "There is a reason why monsters have yet to breach this place." He picked up one of the crystals. "Ethyria are powerful conductors, and we have over a thousand barriers we need to keep alive."

He nodded. "That makes sense." But then he gave it more thought, and frowned. "Wait-, but Ethyria is made from mana, and this whole world is filled with it. If that's-, then why don't you just-"

"-siphon mana from the air?" Jehovah completed. Issei blinked, but nodded. Jehovah sighed. "We've tried, but the mana in the air is…toxic. It is tainted, and only until it reforms into these crystals do those impurities get broken down." The old man shrugged. "This is the only thing we can do."

"Except since you're mining so much, the Ethyria are forming farther and farther away."

Jehovah was silent, before a muted laugh spilled past his mouth. "You're quite observant, son."

Suddenly, he felt pain. It thumped against his chest as that word circulated in his head. Son. There was something about that word that hurt him, struck right through his chest and tore his heart to shred. It was probably nothing. It should be nothing. If Jehovah was God, then it wouldn't be strange for him to call many people that.

But, even so-

Something inside him screamed in joy and grief whenever he called him that.

"Have you tried artificially making some?" He asked past the ringing pain in his head. "I mean, like, have you tried pushing mana back into the depleted areas?"

Jehovah shook his head. "That's not something anyone can do, I'm afraid. Controlling one's mana is hard enough, but controlling the world's mana is near impossible."

Issei grimaced. He knew exactly what Jehovah meant.

"...how long does Eden have left?"

Jehovah looked at him. Really looked at him. There was something pained in his eyes, but something bright as well. The look in his eyes was similar to the one Gabriel had when he gave her a Phoenix Tear.

It was hope.

[Main Quest {Shattering Stardust} has started!]

Difficulty: Extreme

You've discovered the City of Eden, one of the last remaining bastions in a crumbling universe. But their existence might soon be in jeopardy. The crystals they need to maintain their lives are soon to be depleted. Save them.

Win Condition: Find a way to maintain Eden's survival

He smiled wryly. He'd expected that.

What a rigged game, this is.

"Ten months." Jehovah said eventually.

Issei nodded. He had ten months, did he? That was both long and short. But that was fine.

"There's three ways we can go about this," Issei began, his mind already running through hundreds of ideas. "One, pushing mana from the outside and bringing it here. As you said, near impossible, but not technically impossible. You just need someone skilled enough to do something like that."

"Two," he glanced at the pile of Ethyria crystals and hummed. "We can find some new source of mana, preferably one that's somewhat close to Eden. We can then link it up to the barriers around the place, and that'll keep it going."

"Or," he grinned. "We find some way to reconfigure the barriers around Eden, either to make it more efficient or to change how it works entirely."

"Option one's only a temporary solution though." He shrugged. "Mixing option two and three's our best path to keeping this place defended for a long time."

He frowned. "Of course, it won't be that easy. There's a reason why the barriers around Eden have stayed up for this long. It's probably already close to being perfect. And finding some new source of energy is reliant on our Luck." He closed his eyes. "Or maybe we can try creating some new energy source? Creating isn't all that different from finding, but at least Skill's added into the factor…"

(From the side, Jehovah watched. There was a nostalgic smile on his face. It'd been so long, he thought, and he couldn't help the pang of wistful regret that strung through his chest. If only I hadn't failed, his smile turned somber. If only.

Hidden behind the couch, Gabriel stifled her tears as she listened to Issei's ramblings.)

He groaned. There were many ideas running through his head, all supplied by Enlightenment of the Fig Tree and kept at bay by his own willpower. Then again, he had ten months to solve it. But did he? He'd eventually need to return back to the real world and-

[Query: Time in Crystal Caves and DxD is different]

He stilled.

[Query: Timestream ratio is 15:1. Fifteen days in Crystal Caves translates to one day in DxD]

What…was happening? The system notifications had never done this before. It'd been a stoic machine, only appearing when he did something. But this? Was it actively responding to him? Why? What happened?

…Was this another one of the things that made his System different from his mom's?

[You have discerned a Truth. +1 Intelligence]

He hummed. He knew it. If he had to take a guess, whatever happened during his previous mental breakdown had probably caused this.

But at least he knew how to separate the two different voices the System had. That was awfully nice of it.

[Query: Your thanks is highly appreciated]

He blinked. It was…

He smiled.

No. Thank you. For keeping me alive this long.

[Query: …]

He nearly laughed at that. And then nearly laughed again when he realized that he was conversing with a bodiless entity that's somehow sent him back in time.

Then again, this didn't surprise him as much as it probably should. Gosh, what was his life anymore?

"Any advice?" He asked.

"Hmm, not much, I'm afraid." Jehovah said with a guilty sigh. "I am no mage. I am a creator, but magic continues to elude me even to this day. My son could've helped, but he…" He shook his head. "No matter."

…So Jesus was dead, huh. How? Why?

I'msosoRrY-

[Data Influx curbed]

He shook his head. "How far have you explored? It doesn't have to be precise, but having some general sense of where you've looked will give me a better idea on how to do things."

Jehovah smiled. "I don't have that information, I'm afraid. You'll need to head to the main-"

"I ain't asking about that, old man." He sassed. "I'm asking about you. How far have you explored?" He asked, and then blinked. Where did that come from?

Jehovah looked just as taken aback, before his eyes softened. "A rough circle of about 20 kilometers in radius." Issei nodded. 20 kilometers in radius…that's about the size of Sapporo. He grinned. Not bad.

"And you've searched every corner?" He asked, just to make sure. Jehovah nodded back, and Issei gave the old man a thumbs up before he closed his eye. All sounds faded, all feelings he felt went numb, and he took a deep breath as he delved into his mind's eye.

He stretched his senses over Jehovah's search area. And as he'd said, there was nothing interesting he caught. Nothing above or below the ground either. Nothing but a place filled with the occasional monsters and a distinct lack of Ethyria crystals.

He nodded, and the world rushed back into view as he opened his eye. "You're not wrong. The area's pretty scrubbed clean." He smiled. "But that just means we'll need to look further."

Jehovah smiled. "True." He then snapped his fingers. "Ah, before you leave, however, let me prepare something." Issei blinked, and then the man grinned. "You're still having problems with your right leg, right? Let me prepare something to help you."

"You sure?" Issei asked. "I mean, you don't need to-"

"I want to." Jehovah said, and there was something in his eyes that stopped any more words from being said. "This is the least I can do."

"I'll help too!" Gabriel suddenly said as she hugged him from behind, and Issei blinked. When did she get behind him? "This is my home too, and I don't want to just wait while you go out!"

Issei stared, before he huffed and patted her head. "Sure." He said, and the smile he received from her was radiant.

(Later, minutes after Gabriel left the room with Jehovah, she finally broke down in tears. "It's Him." She said between her sobs. "It's really Him. I thought-, I'd seen-" She couldn't say anymore and cried.

Jehovah went to his knees and hugged her close. "I know." He said. "I'm sorry."

Gabriel sobbed in grief.)