Before she could organize her thoughts and make sense of her feelings, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw a wooden doll maid.
“…”
“…”
The two of them quietly stared at each other for a few seconds before the wooden doll maid lifted its skirt and curtsied. It raised its hand to beckon to the silver-haired girl, and the latter responded with a nod before following the wooden doll maid.
The Mother Goddess was in hibernation most of the time, so these wooden dolls were the ones responsible for managing the tower, though there was not much to do since the silver-haired girl was the only other resident. She was usually left to her own devices, and the only time these wooden dolls disturbed her was when the Mother Goddess summoned her.
Their footsteps echoed loudly in the silent passageway.
Upon Alicia’s approach, the wooden dolls along the edges of the corridor bowed before opening the door, revealing a beautiful silver-themed banquet hall. A long table was placed in the middle of the banquet hall, and a silver-haired, crimson-eyed woman sat at its very end.
She was respectfully revered as the Mother Goddess in the ancient era, though the humans in the current era feared Her.
To the silver-haired girl, the Mother Goddess was, in a way, her biological mother. Her powers and her memories of the ancient era had all been inherited from Her, and the two of them were indeed inseparable from each other.
“Good evening, Mother.”
“Good evening, Alicia. You returned earlier than I expected,” the Mother Goddess replied with a calm nod.
Alicia was reminded of the events that had transpired on the battlefield, and that flustered her. She tried to conceal it with a smile and said, “…Everything went surprisingly well.”
“…I see.”
The Mother Goddess spent several seconds assessing Alicia, as if having noticed her unnatural reaction, though She didn’t say anything. Alicia heaved a sigh of relief as she walked over to her seat.
While the Mother Goddess spent the bulk of her time in hibernation, She would occasionally summon Alicia over during the short periods of time She was awake to share a meal and assign some missions such as managing the Six Calamities.
That being said, there was no need for Alicia to spend too much effort on managing the sentient Six Calamities. They had already survived countless years on their own, after all.
In truth, there wasn’t any significant meaning behind the Mother Goddess and Alicia’s meetings, and in the first few months, Her contact with Alicia was kept to the minimum too. This only changed after a recent incident.
About a month ago, the Mother Goddess’ consciousness suddenly suffered an intense jolt that affected even Alicia as well. She refused to say anything at all when Alicia asked about it, but Her meetings with Alicia became more frequent afterward.
On top of that, the place they lived in changed as well.
Initially, the place manifested from the Mother Goddess’ memories was the City on the Sea located at the edge of the Sia Continent. That was where Alicia first met the Mother Goddess. But after the intense jolt a month ago, the place suddenly changed into the Moonsoul Tower.
Alicia didn’t pay it any heed at the start. She knew that the Mother Goddess had the authority to mold this place to Her will, and the location manifested was based on what was on Her mind. The City on the Sea was the Mother Goddess’ favorite scenery, but it was also understandable if She wanted a change.
However, Alicia soon discovered that the situation wasn’t as simple as she had expected.
She didn’t understand why, but the Mother Goddess had some inexplicable obsessions regarding the Moonsoul Tower. Other than Her sleeping chamber located on the highest floor, She would often use the banquet hall to meet Alicia too.
In the past, the Mother Goddess would meet her in the audience room, and She wouldn’t do anything unnecessary such as eating.
There was something unusual about the seating arrangement at the dining table, too—the first seat on the right was reserved for some reason. Alicia had once tried to take a seat there, only for the Mother Goddess to stop her and direct her toward the first seat on the left.
The Mother Goddess didn’t explain Herself, but Alicia noticed Her eyes occasionally falling on that seat for extended periods of time before snapping out of Her daze.
Such was the case now.
Alicia patiently waited in her seat after a wooden doll ushered her over, but the Mother Goddess was staring at the first chair on the right once more. A while later, She snapped out of Her daze, but this time around, She turned to look at Alicia.
“Was there anything worth noting?” the Mother Goddess calmly asked.
Startled by the question, Alicia was reminded of the voice she heard on the battlefield. That matter was shaking her up, but for some reason, she didn’t want to voice it aloud.
“What alarmed me the most is how close the Egg of the Beast God is to completion. While that egg has been nurtured for a long time now, the Savior has indeed created an entity comparable to our God’s Envoys,” Alicia grimly replied.
Much to her surprise, the Mother Goddess didn’t react to her report, choosing to quietly stare at her instead.
“…”
“…”
An unbearable silence settled in the banquet hall.
Alicia’s heartbeat hastened. She had the feeling that what she had just said weren’t the words the Mother Goddess had wanted to hear.
“Mother, You…” Alicia asked in confusion, unable to bear the atmosphere.
“…It’s nothing.” The Mother Goddess shook Her head.
The wooden doll maids entered the room, and their banquet of two commenced.
There was no conversation over the meal. It was only after dinner had concluded that the Mother Goddess looked at Alicia once more with hesitant eyes.
“How much of your past memories do you recall?”
“Not much. Those things are not worth a mention compared to what I have inherited from You.”
“…I see.”
The Mother Goddess fell silent once more before nodding. Her expression remained perfectly calm, not divulging the slightest emotional fluctuation at all, but for some reason, Alicia sensed that She didn’t like her answer.
“If that’s all, perhaps there’s no need for you to recall… I hope you won’t regret it.”
“Mother?” Alicia exclaimed in shock.
The Mother Goddess didn’t elaborate on Her cryptic words. She stood up and rose into the air, and moments later, She disappeared from the banquet hall.