IV

-Beyond the Garden-

The Gray Village was then shrouded in darkness, with each household's door shut tight. It was quite silent in that section of the Garden that night. But if one were informed of a certain gathering happening not far away from the village, then it wouldn't be that surprising—why, if anyone actually stayed at home during that night, then that would be more unusual, considering how practically everyone from near and far was invited to the great banquet.

Sure enough, while the village remained silent, the lone castle in the Garden, Blancblack Castle, had quite the festive atmosphere. It was extremely bustling with energy, and it was also quite well-lit, which would be a new sight for anyone who remained outside the castle, since the castle was usually very quiet and dark. In fact, it was usually very dark in that area to the point that no one would see the castle despite its extremely large build. But tonight was different. Everyone was celebrating and enjoying themselves. The sight of the castle in itself was quite calming to look at, seeing how everything seemed to be perfectly normal and in place. It was these types of moments that one wished to last forever.

One can only hope that it really will.

As the castle remained upbeat that night, little did the residents know that they weren't the only ones who reveled in the castle's current state.

In fact, there were also some otherworldly beings who were currently serving as either a witness to the event, or as someone who loved talking about it.

One of them was a simple-looking man who saw everything from a large, round mirror that had almost the same size as the diamond-shaped window in Blancblack Castle's Great Hall.

"Everyone seems so happy in the Gray Garden… that's a good thing."

With a gentle smile, the man put his hands over the mirror, his fingers caressing its cold, smooth surface as he continued to admire the sight before his eyes. If one were to peer into the mirror at that moment, one would be able to see Blancblack Castle and its highly-festive atmosphere. As soon as he had finished doing so, he then rose from his seat and walked up to the large glass window that graced one of his room's walls at that moment.

As he looked over his window, he couldn't help but think of the Gray Garden more after seeing its castle in his mirror. In fact, instead of being really happy, he was actually feeling a bit worried for the castle and the world that contained it. Despite the castle's current atmosphere, he knew to himself that it wouldn't always stay like that. Yes, at that moment… the man was starting to worry about how the Gray Garden would end up a few decades from now.

It was at times like these that the man detested his ability to see what would happen to the future; as much as he was scared of going into details, let alone thinking about such things, it can't be helped, no thanks to this ability. It was due to this that he had to face the harsh reality of the world: that everything had an end, be it happy or sad. No, it wasn't that that he was afraid of; rather, he was afraid of how such things ended. He was fully aware that everything had an end, a boundary of some sort, but it troubled him that some things tend to end in a gruesome manner.

It was something that he didn't like seeing. Not one bit.

With a sigh, the man continued to have his eyes closed like always, as flashes of the Gray Garden's future appeared in his mind. It took him quite a few minutes before he had to crack his eyes open, not only because of what he saw, but also because he had the feeling that he was being watched. His smile slowly curved into a frown. At that moment, he had seen a lot of things… all of them quite urgent.

But as much as he would like to show Etihw what he had seen, he had somehow decided not to. Yes, he thought, clasping his hands together. This is all for the best. She… has to face everything. And… this could be her chance to try defying fate. Even if it'll hurt her in the end.

Even if I'll get hurt seeing her in that state.

The man then lowered his head in sadness.

I wish you the best, my dear.

As he tried to calm himself down, he turned his head ever so slightly so as to look at someone from above.

The sky-colored eyes of a gray-clad girl with flashy-looking hair widened upon seeing someone look up at her.

Seems like he already caught me, aye? She thought, crossing her sleeved arms as she floated from above. As expected from the omnipotent one~

Oh well, I've done my business. No use staying here longer, she thought, a smirk gracing her pale face. With this, she then proceeded to float away from the glass window that she was peering into just a few minutes ago. She'd seen everything; the mirror, Blancblack Castle being in frenzy, a bit of the man's thoughts… it was more than enough information for her for that day alone. It was enough for her to have something to make fun of.

Gray Garden's in yet another pact, huh...

That thought alone was enough to send the girl laughing so hard, to the point that she had to stop herself from gliding any further just so that she wouldn't tip herself off-balance due to being contained in so much laughter. As soon as she had managed to calm herself down, she then continued to glide along the sky, chuckling every now and then.

Her surroundings, unlike her, were looking extremely bleak in appearance. Various rocks and bits of land floated almost everywhere, and everything was in a dull shade of either gray or brown. In between these rocks, there were large portals that were surrounded with flashes of white lights. These portals were the ones that served as doors towards entirely different worlds, each having a portal of its own. All portals, however, looked identical, so one had to have a large knowledge of the universe's map in order to be able to switch between worlds manually without getting lost. As of late, only Gods can navigate through the worlds in this manner. Any powerful being who wasn't a God had to exert a lot of effort and magic to create a small portal of their own.

As the girl entered one portal, she couldn't hold in her thoughts.

"Hah! So that Etihw's made a pact for the nth time—really now!" she snickered, a wide grin appearing on her face. "She'll never learn, will she? No wonder her world has only a few residents; can't even rule decently to land a single king! Is she polygamous or something? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Her laughter was so loud that the birds that flew along with her had to fly somewhere else due to the disturbance that it caused.

"Wait'll the others hear this! It'll be a big hit!"

The girl then slowed down upon seeing that she had reached her destination: a world with a dreary-looking façade. Brushing off the thick clouds, the girl continued to glide lower until she reached the world's true insides; that is, a place full of bright-colored pathways and rainbows. Although the place in itself actually had a few dark areas sporting antiquated buildings here and there, it was pretty much a colorful world all in all.

The girl's eyes wandered over that world until it found an antique-looking castle surrounded by thin, dark clouds. She then proceeded to glide over there. As soon as she had done so, she started to fly around the castle so as to look for any open windows that it had. But after a few minutes of searching, she found not a single open window.

Seems like I'll have to get in the hard way, eh? Reaaaaally now!

She was just about to position herself when all of a sudden, a window swiftly swung itself fully open. After this, a voice came from inside the castle.

"… you could've just called for me."

Upon hearing the voice, the girl rolled her eyes in response. "Are you kidding me? The last time I did that, you screamed at me and told me that it was improper!"

The owner of the voice, a dull-looking man holding a cigarette, appeared from the newly-opened window. He took a moment to puff out some smoke, before saying, "I'd rather you do that than smash yet another window of this castle." He sighed for a bit, then added, "If I hadn't stopped you, then that would be the tenth window you've destroyed in this week alone."

The girl smirked for a moment. "Good to see you still have sense in you, then~" After saying this, she then proceeded to enter through the open window. The man stepped aside so as to let her in.

"… so what do you want this time?"

"Geez, I come here after a long time of not doing so, then that's the first thing you ask me? You're the wooooooooooorst! And to think that I missed youuu, so mean!" the girl exclaimed, pouting as she crossed her arms, her long-sleeves moving along.

"…is your definition of 'a long time' equaling to less than twenty-four hours?" the man sighed out, looking the slightest bit exasperated.

The girl proceeded to give the man a look that said, 'What the fuck?' before she retorted, "Duh, anything more than one is considered to be a lot. So since that's more than one hour, it should be—"

"All right, all right, I get your point," the man interrupted, knowing that arguing with the girl wouldn't get them anywhere. He then proceeded to throw out the remains of his cigarette, his hands now in his pockets once that was done. "So… what do you want?"

"Hmm? Well..." the girl began, lifting up her right hand in an attempt to cover up the giggle that was starting to form itself in her mouth. "Have you heard of what's happenin' in the Gray Garden? Aye?"

This time, it was the man's turn to give her the same look she had given him earlier. "Ah… the pact? Yes." Don't tell me she came all the way here just to bother me about this…

While the girl was disappointed that he had been ahead of her in terms of news, she didn't let this fact bring down her enthusiasm. "Yes…" the girl responded, her voice muffled by her coat sleeve covering her mouth. "Pffft… YESSSS! EXACTLYYY~!" she blurted out, her previous giggle turning into a huge fit of laughter. "Doesn't it make you laugh?!"

The man raised an eyebrow, looking confused. "I… don't quite see what's funny about it, sorry." Really now…

"Y-You don't have a sense of humor, do you?!" she said in between bits of laughter. "Don't you find it funny that she's having a pact for like, the millionth time?!"

The man pulled out a new cigarette out of nowhere. "I find it more pitiful than funny, to be honest," he said, as he put the cigarette in his mouth. He then proceeded to pull out a metal lighter from his pocket, opening it so as to light the cigarette.

This made the girl stop laughing, her eyes starting to stare at the man. "… I see. Tch, how boring!" she exclaimed, frowning. "But aye, I do agree she's pitiful~ Can't even stay put with a single king, aye!"

"…."

"Well? Ain't I right?"

"… you just want me to make fun of her, don't you?"

"Geez, whatever!" the girl huffed out, becoming irritated all of a sudden. A few seconds later, the man found her floating outside the window so as to leave. Before the girl left, however, she turned to scream, "You're boring! BOOOOOORING!"

Hearing this, the man simply stared at her disappearing figure. You always say the same thing every time you leave my castle, idiot.

With a sigh, the man focused his eyes on the window, and after a few moments, the window began to close, locking itself in the process. As soon as it had finished, he then turned his back to it, taking a few steps to a nearby staircase. He proceeded to climb it, until it reached a large, wooden door. The door opened itself, leading the man to an antique, office-like room. The room really was like an office in many aspects—it had a large desk containing a few papers, and a few 'file cabinets' here and there. There were also a few bookshelves that looked like they haven't been touched in years, with its contents lined up neatly.

The man walked over to the chair behind the desk, sitting down on it. Crossing his arms, the man shifted a bit in his chair, his mind filled with nothing but what he had been talking about with the girl earlier.

Don't you find it funny that she's having a pact for like, the millionth time?!

He couldn't help but start to feel uneasy as soon as he let that single statement sink in. What she had said was true any way one looked at it; it hadn't been a secret to him and the other Gods that Etihw had been at this pact for way too long… and unfortunately, most of them had ended on bitter notes and had accomplished very little for her and her world.

He remembered those times that Etihw would come to his castle, her cold façade starting to break as soon as they would start talking about how each pact had failed, about how tired she was from all of it, and how she had once thought of giving up on finding someone suitable for her world. He also remembered how all of those meetings had ended with her being in his embrace as he tried to give her a few words of encouragement, and how she would always respond with the same set of words:

I'll be fine.

As soon as he had heard of the new pact, he started to feel worried for Etihw. Worried, not because of how much of a success or a failure the pact would be, but rather, if she would still be able to carry yet another heavy burden upon her. But at the same time, he knew that even if he wanted to, he didn't really have that much of a right to fully help her out in any way. And besides, it was also highly likely that Etihw wouldn't want him to interfere with her world's affairs, given her somewhat prideful attitude.

The best thing he could do for her, however, was to hope for the best, pray, and to be someone she'd be willing to cry out on or talk to if ever the need arises.

As he watched bits of smoke puff out from his cigarette, his eyes wandered to the ceiling above him.

Will you be okay, Etihw?

His thoughts were interrupted by a muffled sound in the distance.

Eh?

"Pfffft…"

The man then turned his head to one of the windows behind him, only to see the girl back at his castle yet again, albeit outside.

"Pfffff—HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! So that's how ya' look like when deep in thought! Pfft—oh my goodness!"

"Really now… don't you have anything better to do?" He furrowed his brows in annoyance upon hearing that same laugh from earlier. Just when he thought that she had already left him in peace, the girl had come back to prove him wrong.

"Aye?" she uttered, her laughter now silenced. "Weeeell, I'm bored, so I can do whatever I waaaant~! Ain't nothing you can do 'bout it~"

At this rate, the man had put his fingers to his temple, massaging them in irritation. "Just… leave already."

"Not gonna!" she retorted, making a face. "'Sides, I haven't even heard your say on the matter!"

His eyes slightly widened upon hearing this. He then had his chair fully turned so that his whole body was facing her direction. "If I tell you my thoughts… will you leave?"

The girl crossed her arms and looked up, her face seemingly deep in thought. "Maybe I will, maybe I won't~ Who knows?"

… … such a pain in the neck… I'm sure he's seeing you right now… he thought, his lips in a tight frown as he contemplated on whether or not he should give in to her request. However, it didn't take him long to realize that no matter what he decides to do; chances are that she won't leave the castle anyways.

… Ah, fuck.

"…fine, then. I'll give you what you want."

The girl bounced ever so slightly upon hearing his answer. "Reaaaally?! Yay!" she exclaimed, before crossing her legs to make it look as though she was sitting in mid-air. "Now tell me 'bout it~"

The man shifted in his seat, taking a moment to puff out more smoke from his cigarette before speaking. "…she may or may not have a reason for getting into another pact."

"…."

"…."

"Well? That's all you're gonna say?"

The man simply rolled his eyes. "What, did you expect to hear a long speech from me?"

"No no no NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the girl puffed out angrily. "I mean, like, aren't ya' gonna tell me what the possible reasons are? Or like, what led you to think that way? COME ON! You're usually detailed, so I expect ya to talk more than just that!"

"My apologies," he began, removing his cigarette from his mouth, "but that's all you're going to get from me. Besides, that world isn't even a property of mine, so what business would I even have with it in the first place?"

"…. WHAAAAAT?! But, but, but—"

"No 'buts'. Now if you'll excuse me," he muttered, rising up from his seat, "I still have other things I need to attend to. Important things that don't concern you." And with that, he proceeded to walk towards the door that led to the room's exit.

"Wha—? Nonononono, come baaack! I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for annoying you! Just—aaaagh!" the girl wailed, upon realizing that her screams were left unheard once she heard the door close. Now left alone, the girl crossed her arms and pouted slightly.

I just wanted to spend time with you…!

Shaking her head in annoyance, the girl decided to leave the castle for real, making her way towards the world's exit.

"Ah… she finally left," the man muttered, sighing as he went back to his 'office', making sure that she wasn't there anymore. It was finally quiet again; he preferred it this way, since silence is what he considers to be the best sound in world. This was also one of the reasons why he never left his castle; or even if he did, it was quite rare, and even in those rare times, it would still be interrupted by extremely noisy people—

"Helllllooooo~~!" a voice greeted cheerily, along with the sound of a door being opened.

Speak of the Devil.

Not him again… he didn't even bother to knock, he thought, grimacing for a bit. Shaking his head slowly, he proceeded to turn to the door, where the visitor was at the moment.

"So, it's you… what do you want this time? No, more like… how long have you been there?"

With a wide grin, the said visitor went on to fully enter the room; he was a Devil, clad in a formal outfit of some sort that was mostly black with a bit of red on the undersides, more specifically under his cape. His cape took on a motif that was similar to that of a bat's, even having 'wings' on both ends. His horns were also quite… absurd, resembling that of swirled wood; the type that one would see in scary-looking forests.

"How rude! Not even going to greet me properly; what kind of God are youuu?" the visitor asked, pouting slightly.

"Shut up. I'm supposed to be the one fussing over how you just entered here without even asking for permission. And," he paused for a bit to let out a puff of smoke from his mouth, "you were eavesdropping as far as I know. Who's the rude one now?"

"Tut, tut.. well… I guess you got me!" the Devil replied cheerily.

Such an idiot… how did this person even become a Devil? And my Devil, nonetheless, he thought to himself. Then again, he decided that that was the same as asking how a certain flashy girl became a God. "That aside, I'll ask you again. How long have you been here?"

"How long… hmm, a few seconds before you noticed I was here?" he replied.

"Liar."

"O-kay, okay~ Hm, just before you started talking to someone~!"

"…how much did you hear?"

"Not tellin' ya!"

This is irritating, he thought. "So what do you want?"

"Why'd you wanna know?" the Devil asked, not taking off the stupid-looking grin on his face.

"Because I—"

"Never mind!" the Devil interrupted, chuckling for a bit. "'Sides, even if I told you, you wouldn't give it to me anyways, now, would youuuu?"

"…"

"Anyways~ I still have other stuff to do! Bye-bye, Mr. Eyebags!" And with a swish of his cape, the Devil was gone, and the room was silent again.

"… what a waste of time," he muttered, as he threw out his cigarette, which had already run out by now. I wonder what he's up to now, he thought, grabbing a nearby pack of cigarettes so as to light up a new one.

He better not be doing anything inappropriate… then again…

Meanwhile, another world's portal had started to open, light shining brightly from its opening for a few moments, before eventually dimming down due to it closing. In came the world's owner, who was a certain flashy-looking girl who used floating as a means of transportation, somehow. Given the events that had transpired that day from her visit to other worlds, her mood had somehow been lifted up. But it didn't last long, unfortunately; right now, she was bored again.

"Tch… that guy!" she said to herself with a pout. "Takes things too seriously! Grrrrrr—!" she fumed. Not wanting to think about it any longer, she decided to push these thoughts away and flew her way deeper into her world.

Her world looked normal, somehow. It wasn't that dreary, but it wasn't that cheerful-looking either. It was, brutally speaking, plain. The only thing that made it stand out, however, was that conflicts were almost everywhere. It's as though every part of that world had hatred; a specific type of hatred, to be exact. It greatly contrasted the Gray Garden; if angels and demons got along there peacefully, then this world was the exact opposite of that. In this world, demons and angels alike couldn't last a day without fighting each other. Why exactly, they had no idea. Is this because they were led by a God who's technically mad in her ways of thinking?

No, it wasn't that. This is what is considered 'normal' by the other Gods' standards. That is to say that if the angels and demons in a world fought and never got along, then a world is good as normal.

This current state, however, explains why the God of this world found Etihw's world laughable.

"Why does she even try to pull off such, anyway," she mutters, trying to hold back a chuckle.

Ahahaha, how egotistical of her to go against the norms. As if she could change anything with that!

Or maybe she's trying to grab attention by trying to be different. At this thought, the gray-clad God strongly shook her head. Ugh! Must not think of unimportant thoughts! No, no, no!

"More importantly… I wonder what's been happening while I was go~ne!" she thought aloud, a wide smirk forming itself on her face. Now that she thought about it, just before she went off to visit the other worlds, she had left a pile of duties for her subordinates in her own castle. Realizing this, she proceeded to continue flying until she caught sight of her castle.

Not even bothering to find the entrance, she sped up and proceeded to smash through the first window that her eyes came across.

Within the castle, a loud SMASH! could be heard as she forcefully made her way inside the castle, alerting the angels of her presence.

As soon as she was inside, she slowed down her pace, lowering herself to the floor. As she did so, one of her higher-ranking angels—a man with short hair and round-edged glasses—approached her. "Welcome back, our God."

"Yeah, yeah, sure," she replied, straightening herself up while dusting off her coat so as to check for any bits of broken glass. "So, where're the others?"

"They're in the main office, if I remember correctly."

"Mm-kay~!" she replied, her voice slightly high-pitched. "For the meantime, get someone to clean that mess up for me, would 'ya?" she ordered, gesturing to the bits of glass on the floor.

"Understood. Before anything, howeve—"

"Gooood, good!" she replied, cutting him off. She then proceeded to make her way upstairs, all while ignoring the rolled parchment that the angel was supposed to give her.

"Ohhhh, man! What if God hears about this?" a redheaded angel said, with a panicked tone.

A girl with long purple hair cupped her face with her hands, looking worried. "No good! If God finds out that an angel or a demon refuses to fight, then—!"

"They're dead. For sure."

"Oh no!"

"Calm down, both of you," the Head Angel says, with a strict expression. "If that's what has to befall upon them, there's nothing we can do. That's their fault; if the law says that you fight each other on sight, then they have to follow that. Otherwise, they should know what happens next."

"Head Angel…" the purple-haired angel says, frowning for a moment.

The redhead sighs, before saying, "This reminds me of her, somehow… I wonder why God didn't kill her. Turned her into a Devil, instead."

The Head Angel frowned. "That's a completely different case from what we are tackling at the moment. We shouldn't be even talking about that; it's unimportant."

"B-But still! They were both different; that could be applied—"

"Enough!"

"Is there a problem here, my ladies~?"

At the sound of their God's voice, all three angels turned to face him. It had slightly startled them, considering how they were expecting God to come in the form of a lady and not the opposite; then again, their God has a tendency of being quite… unpredictable, at times.

"Have you checked on our beloved residents, like always~?" he asked, crossing his arms while shifting his gaze between the three of them.

"A-Ah, God…" the purple-haired angel began, fidgeting ever so slightly, "there's a bit of a problem…"

"Hm?"

"Uhm, uh, God, you see, uh!" the redhead interrupted, scratching the back of her head with a grin on her face. "We've… kinda sorta encountered another pair that refuse to, uh… uhm…"

"—kill each other," the Head Angel finished.

"W-ell, what's the problem with that?!" he asked, rolling his eyes for a moment before having a completely annoyed expression on his face. "Tell me, my dears, what is the ultimate rule in this world again?"

"Uh, I—we, uh…"

"An-swer me?" he slowly uttered, his expression darkening . "Or have you completely… for-got-ten~?"

Seeing as how her subordinates refused to answer properly, the Head Angel decided to take it upon her to say those words that their God was asking for. "If an angel and a demon refuse to fight each other, then they shall be executed regardless of their reason."

"Good, good, very good, my dear Head Angel~" he said, plastering a smile on his face. "So I assume you all know what to do with that, now, hm?"

"Yes, our God."

"Y-Yes, yes, our God…"

"Perfeeeect~!" their God replied, their words laced with a tone that was way too playful for the situation. "I don't want you all to follow that idiot Etihw's example, do you hear?"

"Etihw?" the redhead asked. "You mean, that long-haired God from another world? What's happened?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Why, you're a high-ranking angel, you're supposed to know that already!" he huffed out, frustrated. "Or haven't you all heard?"

"Truth be told, our God… we don't know about it," the Head Angel answered. "I deeply apologize for our ignorance. Forgive us."

"Tsk. Forgiven, then. Thaaaat aside! I won't go into the details for all of you, but if anything, well. That idiot Etihw's working through a new, dare I say, 'pact' again," he said, emphasizing on the word pact by using his fingers as quotation marks, "all in all trying to make angels and demons live in harmony, for world peace, blah blah blah, that stuff!"

"I-I see…"

"See?! Isn't it annoying?!" their God remarked, putting a hand to his head. "Just the thought of it is giving me a headache, my goodness!" The three angels just nodded their heads in agreement.

"Anyways, I'll be off now! That problem, take care of that if you please!" he said. And with that, he walked out of the room with a dramatic expression on their face. With their God gone, the three angels proceeded to go about their work, some of them shaking their heads. The Head Angel, however, could feel someone else's presence during those moments.

So that was what he was telling me about a few days ago… a certain female Devil thought, as she flew away from the opened window of her God's castle. Just now, she had heard her God talking about the pact with the other angels. Truth be told, it wasn't really new information for her; as a matter of fact, the Devil involved in the pact is quite a close acquaintance of hers, so of course, said Devil had somehow confided in her about this matter. And, as she had expected, not everyone took it positively. That, in her opinion, was quite understandable.

What she didn't like, however, was how they kept mocking the God behind the said pact. While she doesn't know anything about who the involved God was—hell, they haven't really met nor talked to each other, not even once—it disappointed her how certain beings were being very judgmental over this.

She had somehow expected them to have a bit more class, somehow. Then again, she shouldn't be so surprised. If they had mocked her before, then surely, they can mock others as well.

As much as she would want to tell this to her fellow Devil, she was already sure that said Devil was probably under a lot of pressure and expectations. As a friend—if anyone can even call it that—she wouldn't want to add up to that by telling him about petty opinions that wouldn't really matter.

Ah, how disappointing, she thought.

Flying over her world so as to proceed to her own castle, she looked over it and saw many unpleasant things, things that wouldn't exist if such unreasonable discord wasn't implanted in the first place. If the world she lived in would be similar to her friend's world, would it still be this unpleasant? Or would it be an improvement? Given the nature of her God, she reckons that she'll never get the answer to that. And besides… it would be too late, given how this system had already hurt a lot of feelings, and taken a lot of lives that could've lasted for a while longer. All because of unreasonable racial differences.

Such rare peace must be protected…

I hope it ends well for the both of you.

"Heeeeey~"

A familiar voice interrupted the Devil from her thoughts. Wearing a serious expression, she stopped her flight and faced the God of her world.

"…what is it?"

"Don't play dumb, you Devil~" she replied, her eyes twinkling with mischief, "I knooooow that you were listening in on us earlier~!"

The Devil crossed her arms in irritation. "So I did. What is it to you, then?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all, no harm done, of course~! After all, I do the same to you whenever you talk ill of me to that bitch of yours!" she replied with a wide, irritating grin on her face.

The Devil gripped her morning star, her expression darkening upon hearing her God's words. "Don't you dare talk about my wife like that."

"Ahahaha~ yeah, yeah, whatever, you two make me oh so sick! You both make me want to puke with that thing you call 'chemistry' between the two of you~" she replied with a smile.

"That aside, I gotta go~ No time to deal with idiots like you, yeah? Bye bye~!" Upon saying this, the God plummeted higher into the sky until she was out of the Devil's eyeshot.

I want to kill her badly… maybe someday; I will get the chance to do such, the Devil thought, continuing on her way.

In another world, everything was at peace, aesthetically-speaking. It was brightly-colored and fully-decorated, having a kind of flourish that was unique to them. Flowers and gardens were its defining trait; almost all of this world's areas were covered with gardens containing flowers that were almost always in full bloom. But this served as nothing more than, well, a slight cover-up for what the world really was in its entirety; sure, it wasn't hell-ridden, but it sure didn't feel heavenly, either. Of course, angels and demons are in conflict, but on a much lighter scale.

This time, however, residents are faced with an almost irresponsible God and a kind, caring Devil.

"How are things going on over here?" their God, a man clad in different shades of blue and a single crown atop his head, asked. "Make sure those lilies are at their best state, if you may!"

"Yes, sir," the attendants responded as they continued to place the numerous vases filled with blue lilies to their assigned positions.

"Ah… … aren't you being a bit harsh on them …?" the Devil, a young lady clad in hues of pink that greatly contrasted her God, asked.

"How am I being harsh, my dear~?" he asked, smiling at her. "I just want my place to be as beautiful as ever! After all, you never if a visitor would come by; why, if they catch this place in an unpleasant state, then I don't think I'd be able to handle it!"

"I understand the sentiment, as I do the same thing as well, but…" she paused, taking time to look around her surroundings before continuing. "…you've been asking them to beautify this place for the past two hours. Really now."

"Shush, let it be! I don't care how long I have to make them work, as long as everything is perfect!"

"You're still the same as ever, I see…" the Devil sighed, putting a hand to her forehead. "You should really focus on the world's residents than on things like these. Do you even try to take note if there's anything bad happening at the moment?"

"I know, I know! I never disappoint with regards to that if I remember correctly! Loosen up for once, dear, please!" he replied, putting his arms around her.

Upon noticing how close they were, the Devil blushed slightly, averting her eyes. "I-I'm not uptight… it's just that you're a bit too loose with these things, you know?"

"I assure you, I'm not! That asi—"

"Ah, excuse me!" an attendant said, calling out their God's attention.

Hearing this, the blue-haired God looked towards the attendant, who was now walking towards them. "Yes? What is it, what is it?"

"Ah, uh… this just came in!" the attendant responded, handing over a roll of parchment. "It's addressed to you, sir…"

"I see, I see… let me read this," he muttered, waving the attendant off. The Devil, still in the God's arms, peeked over the contents of the parchment. "Ah… an invitation?"

"Seems so," the God replied. "Apparently, this is a discussion regarding a fellow God's pact?"

"Eh?" the Devil uttered, her eyes wide in curiosity. "What pact?"

"Ah, about that… you see, a fellow God seems to have made peace with their Devil, somehow."

The pink-haired Devil smiled upon hearing this. "That's a good thing, right?"

"Not for all, somehow. It's hard to explain, really," the God replied, scratching his head. "Personally, I don't really mind or care whatsoever. That's her world and I don't want to have anything to do with it. Though I don't really see why she insists on making two different races get along..."

"I-I see…"

"That aside! This isn't until a few weeks, though, so I can get this one off my mind for now~"

The Devil grimaced. "There you go again…"

In another world, everything was on fire. Well, almost everything. To be honest, only part of it was actually in flames; however, the heat emissions in that world were more than enough for anyone to say that it was literally burning inside it. One can wonder how some residents of that world could even wear thick clothing despite its hellish temperature. Then again, that was their world after all; of course its own residents would be able to adapt to such an environment after just a very brief period of time.

While those areas in flames were considered to be inhabited by dangerous demons, the other areas were not that deadly; they could even be considered safe, somehow. Even more so since those said areas were guarded by an angel who wielded two golden swords that were most likely hot to the touch. No one knows for sure. For those who were unlucky enough to be sliced by those swords no longer lived right after.

In the main castle, there resided the God who looked over this world full of heat. He didn't exactly look over them, however; as a matter of fact, he was quite lazy.

Not even when his Head Angel delivered an important letter to him; as soon as he received it, he only read it for a brief moment, then proceeded to toss it away in a pile of never-ending documents that should've been cleared up weeks ago.

"Whatever that Etihw is up to, I honestly don't give a damn," the God had said to his Head Angel. Crossing his legs on his throne, he continued, "Besides, even if I didn't agree with her, it's not like any of us could change her mind, given how much pride she has in her skills. I'll honestly laugh at anyone who dares to defy that lady."

The Head Angel could only nod as her God, a man with long hair and a cape that literally shone like a thousand suns, continued to go on with regards to his distaste towards current events.

"… to think they honestly expect me to care about such things, how stupid, isn't it?" he ended, adjusting his glasses for a moment. "What do you think?"

She was silent for a moment before she replied bluntly, "… admit it, sir, you just do not want to attend to such gatherings."

"Ahahaha! Exactly. Thank you very much for your input," the God replied with a laugh. "Yes, yes… which reminds me, have you seen my Devil? I haven't seen him for quite a while now, really."

The green-clad angel clasped her hands together—thank goodness she didn't bring her weapons with her at the moment—before answering. "From what I last heard, sir, he hasn't come out of his castle since… two days ago, I believe."

"That wimp," he replied, smirking as he rested his elbow on the throne's armrest, putting his head in his hand. "I'm sure it's because of the insults I gave him back then. But he'll recover, I'm sure of that. Let him be, let him be~"

"…. As you wish, o God," the angel replied. With a bow, she excused herself from his presence.

Meanwhile, back in another world, a man was watching the numerous mirrors he had in another room within his castle. He had just finished asking some of his angels to deliver the message that they would have a gathering of some sort with regards to the Gray Garden. Of course, all of this was done with Etihw's permission, who, while looking hesitant, decided to hear the thoughts of the other Gods.

I wonder if they've received the letters… he thought. I'm sure one or two wouldn't even bother to open it until the day before the gathering.

At the moment, however, the man was using his mirrors to look over every single God. Every time he took a look at the mirror, he always saw a reaction, and they all led to one subject. And for some reason, this was beginning to annoy him, somehow.

Just when will they drop this subject and go on with their daily lives? Especially her… really now.

Shaking his head with a small chuckle, he decided to leave the room before the images start to trigger a headache.

In another world, a Devil was left alone to his own thoughts. Even until now, he was sure that everyone still had that pact in their minds. This was what he considered to be perfect timing; everyone would be too busy stating all the opinions they have about it, focusing entirely on Etihw and her Devil. He, on the other hand, could spend all his time thinking on how to possibly ruin everything as much as possible.

What I want, huh…

With a smirk, the Devil sat in his chair, spinning one of the many globes in front of him. The others are, in his opinion, out of reach, but here was one world, a world which could easily be spun, manipulated—controlled, even.

But he'll have to do everything on his own if he wanted to achieve anything in this case.

And he'll need patience. A lot of patience.

Yes.

I know you, or anyone for that matter, won't give me what I want… So… I'll get it for myself.

Just you wait~