A New World (Continued)

Stepping into the Phase World, feeling the mysterious power flowing within—the power that accompanied creation, descending from its highest point to become the foundation of the normal world—and the immense elemental power constantly flowing within, Ishtar took a deep breath and couldn't help but marvel.

"The concentration of magic here is even higher than in the Age of Gods!"

"This is the Divine Realm, the world where the gods reside in mythology..." Mephistopheles said, glancing at Ishtar, emphasizing, "The world where the gods reside in mythology!"

Ishtar understood what the other person meant. The world she lived in was not mythology, but the Age of Gods, which was different from the world of mythology. This world was based on a re-enactment of mythology.

"This place has only just been born. Although I built it based on present-day Sumer, it ultimately has no gods. If you hadn't come, a new Ishtar, a new Gorgon, a new Feathered Serpent, or even a new Tiamat would have been born here."

Mephistopheles smiled as he said this, "Moreover, I will surpass you in power, becoming a true god like Ishtar, and ultimately be worshipped and sung about by countless humans."

Ishtar raised an eyebrow. She realized that this human really knew how to provoke her, but judging from the power he displayed, she was probably no match for him.

She may be a bit short-tempered, but to fight when you can't win is just mindless.

"By the way, your current body is that of Rin Tohsaka, right?"

"You know her?" Ishtar looked at Mephistopheles with some curiosity. "But she doesn't know you."

Upon hearing this answer, Mephistopheles looked at the other person in surprise. "Consciousness fusion?"

"More or less, or you could say a fusion of souls. You can think of the current Ishtar as a combination of 70% of the original Ishtar's consciousness and 30% of Rin Tohsaka's consciousness. I can see her memories, and she can see mine, but her consciousness is in a dormant state."

After receiving this answer, Mephistopheles stroked his chin. "In other words, it's somewhat different from the Lion King. The Lion King, no matter what, was Artoria's own consciousness; as long as her divinity was suppressed, she could recover. But your current situation..."

He had seen this kind of thing far too often, not in the world of A Certain Magical Index, but in an earlier world, when he was reading novels. Almost all the soul-transmigration stories were of this type: transmigrating into the body of someone who had just died or was still alive in another world, merging with that person's consciousness and memories, and then starting to act with the transmigrator's consciousness as the main body.

How familiar it is!

In this respect, Mephistopheles, who had experienced life from birth twice after transmigrating, felt that he was truly great.

At least, he doesn't fight with others for bodies, and he doesn't engage in possession schemes!

"You seem to dislike me taking over this body? Is it simply because of your kindness? Or is it because..." Ishtar's eyes were full of curiosity, and she leaned closer as if she had realized something.

Mephistopheles raised an eyebrow and took a step back. "The owner of this body, I mean, from another world, was my girlfriend, and a very close one at that. Do you understand?"

These words stunned Ishtar. She opened her mouth, and after a long while, she managed to squeeze out a sentence: "How is that possible?!"

Mephistopheles remained completely calm. "Are you still wondering how your counterpart from another world could have fallen for someone like me?"

Ishtar looked at the man before her, her thoughts spoken aloud before her. She was beginning to believe him. This man was very familiar with Rin Tohsaka's behavior, and the two Rin Tohsaka from different worlds seemed to have similar personalities and logical structures.

However, this only made Ishtar more curious about this person. "Another world? You're not from this world? I mean, even in the future of the Proper Human History, you're not from this world?"

"You're wrong. This body of mine is a genuine being born from the future development of this world!" Mephistopheles immediately retorted, then muttered, "I just went to another world and participated in a Holy Grail War. Actually, if you... let me think... if you know anything about the next few hundred years of normal history, you might have heard of me."

Human history has been burned away, but the history of the Age of Gods has not been completely erased. Mephistopheles's words made Ishtar open her eyes, not the eyes on her face, but the eyes that gazed upon history, like the eyes of Omniscience.

As she searched for the figure of the person before her in the Age of Gods, she could never quite catch him. Eventually, she found something that puzzled her.

In the age of the Greece Age of Gods, a human seemed quite active, yet left behind very little information.

So, using this as a clue, she began searching through various records, and finally found the record.

This discovery astonished Ishtar once again. "You actually existed in ancient Greece, in the Age of Gods?!"

"Um."

"You even participated in the War of the Giants?!"

"Um."

"You even went and killed Typhon?!"

"Um."

The gods protect humanity and make various preparations for their future, and she is no exception. However, this intervention in human development is done through divine power. Now, seeing a human wielding power comparable to, and even surpassing, most of the gods, Ishtar suddenly wonders what all her efforts have been for.

"If you want to stay here, can you send her back to the future?"

Ishtar knew that the other person was referring to Rin Tohsaka's body.

But Ishtar shook her head. "What if she wants to stay?"

Mephistopheles looked at the other person.

Seeing that the other party did not speak, Ishtar explained, "Actually, you can understand it this way: the current Ishtar is not the original Ishtar. I can give you some further explanation regarding what I just said to you."

"The Ishtar standing before you now is actually a Servant, not Heroic Spirit. The power and authority of a Servant have been bestowed upon humanity, making humanity Demi-Servant. Therefore, you may call me a Demi-Divinity."

"Although her name is still Ishtar, she is a completely new Ishtar, different from the original! She is a new god born based on the will of Rin Tohsaka from a world you don't know!"

Seeing that the other party had already said so, Mephistopheles stopped trying to persuade him and simply said, "Do as you please. I was just making a suggestion. Since it's your own choice, then I have nothing more to say."

He lifted his foot and walked outside; the crack had not yet closed.

"I'm leaving. Are you going to leave, or stay here and get to know the world? If you're done, you can call me, and I can take you out."

Ishtar sensed the power here and initially wanted to familiarize herself with the world, but after hesitating for a moment, she followed them out.

Familiarization can be done in the future; for now, she wants to see what this human wants to do in this world.