At that moment, Judah, who had struck Luke, repented and said, “I have betrayed innocent blood,” then burned himself alive. Thus, the words spoken through the scriptures were fulfilled.
Gospel of Aurelia 19:7-9
– My beloved son.
She whispers to me that I am her son.
But… she looks like someone I’ve never seen before.
I’ve never seen such a beauty in my life.
Not in games, not in reality.
Neither my mother from my past life nor my mother in this life looks anything like her.
And yet she calls me her son.
– “Son… is that really what you mean?”
– “Hmm… It makes sense since we’ve never met. Maybe this will help you recognize me?”
As she brushed her hand over her face, it changed.
To a face that I knew.
– “M-Mother?”
The mother of current Luke Pulsreino, Lulukalos Pulsreino.
– “Hehe. I even saw Luke off on his way to the Academy with this face.”
– “…No way. That can’t be. Who exactly are you?”
– “Hmm… I didn’t expect my son to be so wary of me. That’s a bit sad, don’t you think?”
She made a face as if about to cry.
I know what happened during my mother’s farewell.
Who exactly is this woman?
– “Stop dodging the question. Who are you? How do you know about my mother?”
And my true identity.
I can’t tell if my current body is my main one or just a clone.
I feel the divine essence within me, but with my main consciousness fading, it’s hard to say if I’m my main self or a clone.
Did this woman kidnap me?
I was in Apophis’s domain summoned by Saros, and now this…
– “Hehe. My son, mom wants to talk more with you, but it seems you’re not interested?”
– “Why would I want to chat with someone whose identity I don’t even know?”
This woman… who in the world is she to keep calling me her son?
– “Alright then. Let me introduce myself. Ahem.”
A playful gesture, but as she opened her mouth, an overwhelming presence enveloped me.
It was beyond comparing to Apophis.
“I am the Self-Existing One, the Almighty El Shaddai, your Deus.”
– “…Deus?”
She said Deus?
The same Deus from [Deus Ex Machina] I know?
But… she doesn’t look like I expected.
– “Yes, yes, you may not believe it, but it’s true! I am Deus, your mother, dear Luke.”
She stepped closer with a smile.
Is she really Deus?
If so… did the book I wrote change things?
Did the faith created by my book gather and transform her?
– “Hmm… That’s likely. I perished long ago, but I was reborn due to the faith your writings garnered.”
Was I unconsciously voicing my thoughts?
– “No. Luke never said anything.”
…Wait. Is she reading my mind?
– “Exactly! That’s right because I’m the all-knowing Deus!”
She exaggeratedly spread her arms wide.
So… I’ve turned Deus into an omnipotent god through the book I wrote?
My previous assumption was confirmed.
But why!?
– “You’re wondering why I didn’t speak to you earlier, right?”
Exactly.
Ignis too. Paula’s Holy Spirit act.
Everything must be tied to Deus.
And Ignis seemed to know about Deus.
She always referred to “mother” and had conversations threatening her mom.
So she must have spoken to Ignis.
But why didn’t she say anything to me?
Why have we only met like this now?
– “Hmm… What should I say? I am the all-knowing deity, Deus. But I’m not truly omnipotent.”
…What!
– “You know that the divine essence is based on the beliefs held by sentient beings, right?”
Of course.
It’s what I heard from Ignis before.
– “I was resurrected based on the faith derived from the book our Luke wrote. There were many believers in Luke’s writings. Yet, even if it was numerous, it didn’t match the overwhelming faith of other gods.”
…That’s true.
Compared to gods like Baal created from different beliefs, no matter how powerful the Christos are, they can’t stand out.
– “But the belief from my followers is significantly different from those who believe in other gods. The followers of other gods have faith in many, but those who believe in me only believe in one.”
Monotheism.
A belief in a single deity. Denying the existence of others and recognizing only one god. It’s a special faith.
In my past life on Earth, Christianity or Islam are the prime examples of monotheism.
This continent has no such faith.
With numerous existing gods, it doesn’t deny the others.
Thus, the scripture I wrote based on the Bible from my past life became the only text containing monotheism…
The content of faith is one of the elements affecting the divine essence.
The Christos regard Deus as the unique and all-powerful god.
Is this the reason that made Deus special?
– “Exactly. That’s why I could become special.”
And thus, omnipotent.
But yet, not entirely omnipotent?
– “But that alone doesn’t grant me the ability to control everything. There are limitations even for a mother. The biggest limitation is being bound to the scripture.”
Bound to the scripture?
The scripture…
The belief derived from that scripture…
…No way!
– “Yes! Our clever Luke! The belief created based on the contents of the scripture. That’s why I couldn’t come to meet you until the prophecies written in the scripture were fulfilled.”
Events documented in the scripture.
Wait a moment.
– “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.”
The voice of Deus changed solemnly.
– “I will pour out my Spirit on the inhabitants of Orias, and they will look upon the one they have pierced.”
A verse?
Hold on a second.
– “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”
These… All of them.
– “Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.”
Did I… write this all?
– “Yes. All of these are written in the scripture. Prophecies regarding events that will occur in the future. All… come to pass.”
Events that have occurred…
Oh, I see.
Everything realized during the battle in Orias.
The people of Orias turning their backs on me.
Me getting injured.
And the betrayal from Judah as she stabbed my side.
So that means…
– “Yes. It was through Judah stabbing my son that all the prophecies were fulfilled. And now… I am free.”
Judah struck me…
She pierced me wrapped in divine essence.
Then that divine essence… was it given by Deus?
– “Correct. This mother blessed Judah with power.”
Then could it be that the reason she betrayed me…
– “Precisely. I showed her a vision. The sight of her beloved Lord perishing to save the world. And she ran around desperately to save our Luke!”
Judah… made to betray?
– “Our poor Judah. But thanks to that, we are able to meet like this, aren’t we?”
The warm smile of Deus I felt earlier.
Suddenly felt sinister.
“My beloved… son.”
– No… isn’t it that she will fight by… burning herself?
– “S-Sarros…”
– This… this Sarros is…
*
– “Haa… haa…”
And as Judah dropped the spear, she knelt.
– “My beloved Lord… I will bear my sins…”
Burning her divine essence and body with overflowing power, Judah brought Sarros down.
Reaching her limit, she could no longer maintain herself and collapsed.
In the devastated Orias Palace.
There lay a single charred corpse.
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