Changes Happening Quietly

The hollow, cold, frozen projections of the stars swept rapidly past the edge of their vision. Navigation Host-Alice calculated the route home, while Shirley, back in human form, stared blankly with A'gou at the shifting lights beyond the flames. They remained silent for a long time.

Only after quite a while did Duncan's voice suddenly reach her ears. "What are you thinking about?"

Shirley startled, then blinked her blood-red eyes, glowing with the faint light of an Abyssal Demon. She muttered quietly, "I just suddenly remembered... I always thought the Abyssal Lord was some terrifying evil god... out of control, insane, the really, really bad kind..."

Duncan looked at Shirley for several seconds before withdrawing his gaze. "If you had faced him alone today, then things would have been exactly as you described. Your mind would have been unable to comprehend or process his voice, and you would have seen his out-of-control, insane side—other 'gods' are the same. In the end, the Abyssal Lord you 'observed' today was actually seen through my perspective."

"Mm, I know—A'gou explained it to me before, after your meeting with the Four Gods Pope. Cognitive displacement... right?"

Duncan nodded. He said nothing for a moment, then suddenly spoke after more than ten seconds. "Do you think I should accept the Abyssal Lord's invitation?"

Shirley froze, apparently not reacting at first. "...Huh?"

Duncan merely continued looking at her gently. "If I accepted it, then everything you hoped for could be realized almost immediately—no more demons coming out to hurt people, no more people vanishing in corners, the sun rising and setting every day, and the thick fog no longer eating people. The world you hope for, where more people can live more securely, can exist as long as I take over the sanctuary.

"Maybe for a