"I don't think I'm awake yet. I'm going to lie down a little longer."
"Doctor! We really have no other choice! Dr. Kal'tsit has been captured for three days already! I-I..."
Doctor: "... ..."
The revival of theology, the rise of religion, the return of the Sea Creatures, the descent of gods...
You had no choice, as if I did?
I'm tired. Let it all be destroyed.
Though that was what she said, the Doctor was not the type to lie down and wait for death. Her little brain was spinning furiously, trying to find a way out—
There was no way out.
Before a god made manifest, none of the other problems were problems.
Before an existence of that caliber, if He truly wanted to destroy humanity, all you could do was praise Him for being swift and thorough.
Really, other than waiting for death, the Doctor couldn't think of anything she could do now.
But just then—
A thunderous roar, like the earth itself was shaking, came from outside.
Everyone froze instinctively at the sound, then turned to look out the window.
They saw an inexhaustible supply of food raining down from the sky. Thousands of kilometers away, where that god had once leveled everything in an instant, it piled into a food "mountain" thousands of meters tall.
Then, elsewhere, a gigantic hand descended from the sky. With a single grasp, it gouged out a massive pit hundreds of kilometers deep. Floodwaters poured down as though the heavens had burst open, gradually filling the pit with crystal-clear spring water.
Finally, exquisitely built houses were stacked one atop another before that giant hand, as though they were building blocks played with by a child.
Including the Doctor, every survivor was stunned by one miracle after another.
Until someone shouted:
"Dr. Kal'tsit! Dr. Kal'tsit is back!"
Only then did everyone snap out of their dreamlike stupor and hurry forward to greet her.
By now, everyone believed that everything bestowed by that god must have been obtained by their respected... no! Their beloved Dr. Kal'tsit!
Who knew how much suffering she had endured, how much pain she had borne, and what price she had paid to obtain all this?
The Hakimi startup sound and Meow hit sound of Savior Meow Meow Sword—do you like them?
Before her were survivors rushing toward her, their faces filled with tearful joy.
The Doctor was even among them.
"What's going on? Didn't I say that you were only to wake the Doctor if I failed to return?"
Kal'tsit wanted to ask that, but she quickly noticed something was wrong.
From how it felt to her, Kal'tsit had only spoken with Lord God for a short while.
Yet when she looked around, she found that many people had changed their clothes and hairstyles.
Was the flow of time different?
Could it really be one day in heaven and one year on earth?
Whatever. Those were minor matters.
Looking at the survivors approaching her, Kal'tsit really wanted to put on a calm expression, hold the Holy Sword in her hand, wave her little hand, and say, "It's all right now. As long as I'm here, everything will be fine from now on."
She did not want to do that to elevate her status or make herself seem impressive.
Rather, the calmer she appeared—making even an audience with a god seem like no great matter—the more she could ease everyone's fears and worries about the future.
But a certain god's voice sounded in her mind:
"Oho... That was close, that was close. I almost poured in too much water. Good thing I reacted quickly. It would've been hilarious if I flooded Terra."
Kal'tsit: "... ..."
Could you be a little more reliable as a god...?
God sent down a great flood, determined to destroy humanity.
Humanity was terrified and uneasy. They asked what they had done wrong to anger the heavens.
And then the answer was that God had accidentally knocked over His cup of water?
Even Kal'tsit's vision darkened, and she staggered.
But that stagger made the survivors, who had been rushing over in wild delight, immediately become nervous and frightened again.
The survivors gathered around her and asked cautiously, "Dr... Dr. Kal'tsit? You begged for food for us, begged for water, and even begged for houses and shelter. Then you... must have paid an enormous price, right?"
Kal'tsit desperately wanted to say no.
The so-called food was merely a handful that the god had casually grabbed from a fruit platter.
The so-called water was merely a bottle of mineral water that the god had casually twisted open.
The so-called housing was merely something the god had casually built with Lego bricks.
Oh, right. Kal'tsit had not seen any of that herself. The god had told her so personally.
Because their perspectives were completely different, Kal'tsit saw the god as creating things from nothing, commanding reality with His words, and casually playing with the rules of the world.
So at the time, Kal'tsit had not understood why a god who possessed such tremendous power would blatantly lie, using excuses like fruit platters, Lego bricks, and mineral water to brush her off.
But now Kal'tsit understood.
That god had not regarded these survivors as people at all.
In that god's eyes, a species, a world, a planet—these were no more than casually feeding a pet hamster.
Give it some food, give it some water, put in a wheel, arrange a little box.
Then say, "All right, this little box will be your home from now on. Look how nice I am. I even bought you the biggest box because I was afraid you'd think it was cramped and accuse me of abusing you."
To Him, that was entirely normal. He could even use it to show how kind-hearted He was.
But for the hamster, one casual sentence from Him had already determined the rest of its life.
It was too tragic, and too ironic. Facing the hopeful gazes of these survivors, Kal'tsit truly could not bring herself to say it.
But... if she did not talk about that, what could she say? What price she had paid?
Kal'tsit wanted to say that she had merely meowed once.
But she felt that if she said it, these survivors would mistake it for Lord God having tamed her.
And if she said that she had not meowed just once, but three times—and that Heart of the Corrupted Skadi had even used her phone to record her acting cute and currying favor?
Then it would be over. Not only had she been tamed, she was being kept as a house cat.
Kal'tsit opened her mouth, hesitated for a long time, then ultimately closed it again.
To the survivors, that reaction made each of them reveal looks of guilt, remorse, and profound reverence.
Dr. Kal'tsit was so strong, so dependable, and so unflappable in any situation, yet she was now showing such a troubled expression...
What price had she paid for survivors like them...?
She really... I'm crying to death.
Those gazes made Kal'tsit's scalp tingle.
With no other choice, Kal'tsit waved the Holy Sword in her hand and said, "There is no need to worry. Though I made a deal with that god, that god is kind... kind-hearted. Not only did He grant my request, He also bestowed upon me this holy relic that represents my status as His Divine Messenger."
If even Sea Creatures could become Divine Messengers, then surely Lord God would not mind her borrowing the title.
The most important thing now was to divert the survivors' attention and reassure—
With a hum.
The moment Kal'tsit finished speaking, she waved the Holy Sword in her hand. The Holy Sword burst into dazzling light and began chanting a holy hymn on its own:
"Hakimi Hakimi Hakimi~"
Oh, that was Heart of the Corrupted Skadi's singing.
When the tip of the Holy Sword touched the ground, the earth beneath her feet split like tofu. Golden sword energy tore all the way through the distant mountains, slicing the peak clean off.
It was so sharp that not a single sound was made throughout the entire process.
Instead, when it cut through that mountain peak, there came a single sound:
"Meow."
Yes, that was the original recording of Kal'tsit acting cute and currying favor, captured by Heart of the Corrupted Skadi on her phone.
Kal'tsit: "... ..."
Kal'tsit's face went dark.
No wonder Lord God had suddenly felt inspired to name the Holy Sword in her hand, and had given it such a bizarre name as "Savior Meow Meow Sword."
It sang "Hakimi" when swung, and the hit sound when it struck someone was "meow." Wasn't that a Meow Meow Sword?
Fortunately, Kal'tsit looked around and found that, whether due to a language barrier or divine blessing, the survivors could not understand what the Holy Sword was meowing about at all.
They merely thought that it truly was worthy of being a Holy Sword, complete with its own chant and blessing.
Thank goodness, thank goodness.
Kal'tsit sighed in relief and raised her head, only to discover that the Doctor's little eyes beneath her hood had shifted from shock, to something subtle, to barely suppressed amusement.
In the end, unable to hold it back any longer, the Doctor burst out laughing.
Kal'tsit: "... ..."
Heart of the Corrupted Skadi was up to no good
"Savior Kal'tsit, who calls herself Your Divine Messenger, is spreading Your gospel among her animal friends." "Your number of followers +1+1+1..." "You are so kind-hearted that, rather than start mining, You chose to play Civilization." "Congratulations, You have obtained the achievement: Next Turn!" "In Terra (Sea Creatures Worldline), You have simultaneously obtained the loyalty of both the Sea Creatures and humanity." "Congratulations, You have obtained the collectible: Pretty Glass Beads (Sea Creatures Worldline)" "Collectible effect: When the number of 'Pretty Glass Beads' You possess is greater than or equal to one, whenever You suffer a fatal injury, one 'Pretty Glass Beads' will be consumed to negate the damage." "Let us interview Terra (Sea Creatures Worldline), the planet honored with the privilege of taking a bullet for its god, for its acceptance speech." "Terra (Sea Creatures Worldline): Fuck your mother!" "Very good. Terra (Sea Creatures Worldline) says it is very happy." "Items You currently possess:" "Divine Messengers: Heart of the Corrupted Skadi, Kal'tsit (?)" "Pet: Savior Kal'tsit" "Freeloader: Sea Creatures" "Collectible: Pretty Glass Beads (Sea Creatures Worldline)"
"All right, food has been provided, water has been provided, and houses have been provided. Now we can skip straight to the farming game."
Looking at the translucent notification window flashing before him, Chen Ran ignored most of its contents and extracted the key information.
Number of followers +1... Chen Ran looked at the Faith Points he currently possessed and felt that such a tiny amount could be ignored entirely.
Still, something was better than nothing. Small money was money too; he would treat it like an idle game where he harvested crops while offline.
He just had to remember to change the water and add some hamster food later. That should be enough.
And as for this so-called collectible... it was another ability whose effect could not be tested on the spot.
Before you continue