"Wha-! S-sixty years!?!" (I)

  I choke and sputter at the same time upon hearing that.

  "Yes. It seems like you're bored extraordinarily often. For this reason, time in this world is running at a vastly accelerated pace." (So)

  Well, I need to grant her that, due to the fact that I can't sleep, I think quite often to myself that this night might please soon be over or the common thoughts one gets during classes.

  But who would've thought that those innocent little thoughts of mine are permanently affecting my dream world?

  Well, Zika probably.

  But with my new understanding that this whole dimension is basically nothing else but my heavily bloated body, I probably should've come as well to this conclusion.

  "Wow. We're both really sorry that we couldn't visit you in all this time. I mean, I promised I would, but that was unexpected. Still, I feel bad about it." (C)

  "My intimate, you are neither to blame nor does any kind of responsibility for this situation fall upon you. This vile creature is the sole origin of our troubles." (So)

  And she points at me.

  "Hey, that's uncalled for." (I)

  You get that I'm literally the absolute power in this realm, right?

  Just so we at least are on the same page in that regard.

  "You're acting as if this ignorance would free you of possible blame. If you'd want to be free of scrutiny and judgment, you should have gone into slumber to spare the realms your antics!" (So)

  Did I ever do something to her?

  "Alright, Soraja. I get that you're upset, but Iori is really trying. She got it hard at times and still gives it her all. I think more than her very best is nothing anyone could demand from her." (C)

  Now even Chiaki is defending me!

  And that while I'm upset at her.

  "If you say so, I won't question your judgment. But please tell. It might only be the long separation, but today you're far more vibrant than I remember you. May I know the reason?" (So)

  Her eyes are getting a special sheen to them.

  As if somehow the light starts to scan Chiaki.

  "Oh, that could be the light mana that is still stuck in my soul." (C)

  "Mana!? But Earth has no mana. How would you... You!" (So)

  Why is it always me?!

  "That wasn't my fault!" (I)

  "It's true! She couldn't possibly prevent how this weird entity snatched me away. Well, maybe she could've, before it caught me. Nonetheless, Switchy was quite powerful in comparison to Iori." (C)

  Promptly, those eerily glowing eyes focus right on me.

  "Tell! Me! What! Happened!" (So)

  So we do.

  About the abduction, the "game", how I did everything in my power to save Chiaki, and of course, how she became the hero of light and stabbed me in the end.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Yet already the mentioning of another outer god manhandling Chiaki was enough to throw her out of it.

  It took quite an effort to calm her down again.

  Once we are done, she seems visibly shaken and requires some moments to regain her composure.

  "This, this explains so much." (So)

  It's probably a small miracle that nothing worse arose from this exchange with powers beyond fathom.

  Especially, the lack of collateral.

  We are talking here about a being that casually created a fantasy world after all.

  "I hope you are aware how this whole situation was entirely caused by you. There's no way this entity would ever have found interest in my fated one if not for you standing right next to her." (So)

  "But Iori really gave it her all! There's no point in blaming her! She was great!" (C)

  Until you stabbed me, you mean.

  "I understand. I think I don't even hold it all that much against her." (So)

  "That's oddly understanding of you." (I)

  Totally not her style with me.

  "I suppose the part where you got your due recompense was a pacifying event. To think that a creature like you could find itself outperformed." (So)

  Of course, there's the antipathy.

  "You are aware that you're inside me, right?" (I)

  If something happens to me it will affect her all the same.

  So it doesn't seem smart to wish for bad things to happen to me.

  "I already paid my due in that regard, you can believe me." (So)

  Is she referring to the time she was stuck here?

  I really think I should get to know about that.

  "So, now that we told you what happened on our side, could you do the same and explain what happened here during the last sixty frickin' years?!" (I)

  "Sure. What do you want to hear about? The establishing? The calamity? The dark times? Or the golden age?" (So)

  "Uh, I start to become scared to ask." (I)

  Soraja settles down into a perfect lotus seat that I couldn't even pull off now, as next to the now-acquired physical bendability, I am not capable of that posture.

  "It's nothing too unforeseeable. The first part is how I had to establish myself in this realm as a new deity. Mortals aren't so quick to just accept a being as their god, so I had to do quite a lot of convincing to get them on my side. It helped that your established god spoke in my favor. Through the, at first, shallow faith I received by people believing in the mere idea of my existence, I could soon enough leave the wholly inappropriate form you left me in. As their very god vouched for me, it actually wasn't so difficult to convince the majority of my benevolent nature. However, getting them to believe in me was a whole different matter. I had to do a very extended period of missionary work. Something that the realization that my intimate wasn’t coming put a great damper on." (So)

  She's seriously agitated about this.

  "I'm sorry about this. I mean, it's hard to keep time dilation in mind, isn't it?" (C)

  I suppose I need to thank Chiaki for that support.

  "It apparently is. Very much so..." (So)

  Why is she now looking at me?

  I didn't do anything else.

  I only... right.

  With a thought, I switch off whatever time dilation effect I had going and also try to erect some mental barriers that hopefully will prevent another accidental dilation effect.

  What we have already probably caused more than enough issues.

  Speaking of issues.

  "I'm not sure if I want to hear the response, but you mentioned a calamity?" (I)

  "Yes, I did. As you may have guessed, things advanced quite a bit, given how much time your 'People' had to reproduce and progress. Things were looking good, albeit, I wasn't doing the greatest job, having fallen into depression for obvious reasons." (So)

  Doesn't sound like she intends to let go of that either.

  "Okay, okay. But what about the calamity?!" (C)

  "Yes. One day, the whole realm suddenly started to turn itself over. Entropy in its purest form. The ground erupted, winds blew, and don't let me get started on what the oceans did. It got worse and worse. Reality, or what we perceive as such, came apart at the seams. Literal mountains ripped themselves from the dirt and came back. Fissures in the ground and air. Spontaneous discharge of elemental energy. Even after the brunt came through, it took a very long time until things settled down again. While Aureas did his utmost to mitigate the damage and even for me this was a waking call, I don't think I need to go into detail on what that kind of thing would do to an advanced settlement. Neither do I believe the origin requires special mentioning." (So)

  She nonetheless looks at me while saying this.

  I'm rather sure if we would do the math to compare the progression of time between our different realms, we would come around sports day when I had my little breakdown.

  "Uh, and after this?" (C)

  "Reconstitution. Who would've thought that a goddess of prosperity would get quite in demand if catastrophe strikes and people are in need to rebuild everything again? Even more so than the wish for personal advancement as certain other deities offer." (So)

  I'm sure one could make out of this a very interesting study regarding how life in a world that is literally always the same inspires one to change oneself, while uncertainty and loss make one want to recover what's lost, yet this isn't the point here.

  "You... Did you usurp Aureas? Where is he?" (I)

  "That wouldn't have been nice, Soraja, and I would be very disappointed in you." (C)

  "As if it's my responsibility what the mortals choose to believe in." (So)

  "That is literally your job! You are providing here a service to get believers and the deal was that you wouldn't displace Aureas!" (I)

  "Soraja?" (C)

  Huh, it's rare to see Chiaki with a stern expression.

  "Sigh. No need for a lecture. You can rest assured that at no point did I present myself as the greater goddess. Nonetheless, the fact remains that I found a considerable surge in popularity. The little god is sulking that he wasn't able to support his people the way I was. Therefore, he has been sulking in his own pocket dimension for the last few decades. Even though, right now he might do much better, and in general, the increased population should've led to a net increase in faith for him. Truly pathetic if you ask me. He should have taken advantage of the high spirits of his people once they overcompensated on regaining what was lost." (So)

  I'm not.

  The poor boy was probably worn down by the many years with Soraja, all alone, always only with her.

  Shudder.

  "Okay, but where is Aureas?" (I)

  "For this, I need to show you the extent of things." (So)

  "Could you be a little bit clearer?" (I)

  "Well, it's time for a city tour." (So)

  I feel like I'm starting to understand where Chiaki got that attitude from.