Deep into the night, Alice sat perched upon the mansion's roof, directly above the room where Kaito slept. She idly watched the moon drift through the dark sky.
It was a night like any other—until a single white feather fluttered down before her eyes, and a certain goddess materialized by her side.
"Honestly, what do you want, Eden-san? Kaito-san is already asleep."
"......"
"Hmm?"
Eden didn't answer. Instead, she produced a vermilion sake cup from thin air and offered it to Alice. After watching Alice accept it with a confused tilt of her head, Eden sat down beside her, brought out a bottle, and poured.
"What wind blew you here tonight?"
"There is no particular meaning behind it. Though, I suppose... perhaps it is because Shallow Vernal used the Epilogue. It brought back memories of a time long past. I wonder how many years it has been? By my reckoning, over twenty billion years have passed, but the flow of time varies between worlds. To another realm, it might have been only a few seconds. I wonder what the appropriate way to describe it is?"
"Why not just call it twenty billion years ago?"
"Then let us call it twenty billion years ago. I simply found myself remembering that time."
"Is that so?"
Failing to grasp the point of Eden's cryptic remarks, Alice asked no more and simply sipped the sake.
A heavy silence lingered between them for a while. Eventually, Alice reached into her clothes, pulled out a small golden feather, and held it out to the goddess.
"Here, I'm giving this back. I never ended up using it."
"There is no need. I have no use for a feather designed to enter a world created by Shallow Vernal now. I am curious, however—why didn't you use it?"
"What would be the point of me barging in there alone? Besides, it's better for you that I didn't. This thing was probably a contract violation, wasn't it?"
"Indeed. It certainly constituted a violation of my agreement with Shallow Vernal. Had you used it, I would have been unable to refuse any unfavorable terms she might have added to our contract afterward."
Eden had entrusted that feather to Alice on the night before the trial began. Had she used it, Alice alone would have been able to intervene in Kaito’s test.
In the end, Alice had chosen to believe in Kaito and held onto the item. Yet, there had been no reason for Eden to go out of her way to provide Alice with something that would have compromised her own standing.
"Why did you even give this to me?"
"Who can say? It was a whim, I suppose."
"And why do you only give me such high marks? Why go so far to help me?"
"Did I not tell you? Among the inhabitants of this world, you are one of the few I value."
"What a boring lie. You only care because I can actually put up a decent fight. There's no way you'd have an ounce of interest in anyone other than your beloved child."
"......"
Faced with Alice's exasperated dismissal, Eden fell silent. Alice didn't press her further, and a quiet stillness settled over the roof.
They sat there for a long time, repeatedly pouring and drinking. After the fourth refill, Alice spoke in a low murmur.
"So... how does it feel to have finally become the god you always wanted to be... Machina?"
"When did you figure it out?"
The moment those words left Alice’s mouth, Eden’s voice changed. It sounded younger than before, carrying a faint trace of genuine delight.
"You were always sloppy when it mattered. That main body you brought into the Sanctuary... you might have changed the shell, but the core was exactly the same, wasn't it?"
"Penetration Vision, huh? That was a blunder on my part. I set up countermeasures against normal divine sight, but I didn't think your Hecatoncheir Ultimate War-Form would be tuned to see through that. Or perhaps I should say... as expected of Alicia."
"Oh? I thought you were supposed to be omniscient."
"Omniscience isn't some magic wand. My power lets me know what I seek to know. If I don't go looking for the answer, I won't find it."
After saying that, Eden flashed an innocent smile, appearing to enjoy the moment from the bottom of her heart.
"I didn't think you'd go that far, though. Actually, nobody could have expected it. An old friend who wanted to become a Deus Ex Machina billions of years ago... turns out she became the god of a different world and a total lunatic to boot."
"Calling me a lunatic is a bit much."
"No, it's the only word for it. How else am I supposed to describe someone as unhinged as you?"
"I simply stopped holding back. I want to dote on my precious, darling child as much as I please. That's all there is to it. Though I do want to kill that meat slab and the Half of God because they're in my way..."
"Alice-chan is starting to regret the past. I respected your wishes and didn't stop you, and now a god with a dozen screws loose is born. But then, if you hadn't existed, Kaito-san wouldn't have been born either. Ugh, this is complicated."
"Hehe."
As Alice spoke with an appalled expression and Eden merely smiled, a strangely peaceful atmosphere drifted between them.
"Still, that explains a lot of my long-standing questions. That's why so many things on Earth, like the machines and technology, have the same names as the ones I remember."
"It isn't just the names. The current Earth is modeled after how things looked shortly before you and I met. It's quite mysterious. I tweaked the names a bit, but I didn't touch anything else. And yet, the world naturally grew to resemble our old home. It’s actually quite amusing."
"Just don't make the way it ends the same, too."
"Aha, I can't promise that. My children have already left my nest and gained their independence. How they perish is up to them. But no matter how it ends, I will affirm it with all my love. Even as they march toward ruin, my children are so very precious to me."
"Yep. This one's head is completely gone."
Despite her change in tone, her essence remained the same. Watching Eden speak of an affection that bordered on madness, Alice let out yet another sigh.
After a bit more idle chatter, Eden slowly stood up.
"It is a strange twist of fate, but I was happy to see Alicia again in this world."
"Yeah, well, it was nice to talk about the old days. But seriously, what's with that usual way you talk?"
"Does it... not sound like a god should?"
"Equating divinity with polite speech is a bit simplistic... though Shallow Vernal-sama does it too, so maybe you're not entirely off the mark. You should probably talk to Kaito-san about it, though. I'm telling you, you've actually got him pretty spooked."
"I do!? But why? No one loves their child more than I do! Was my love not enough? Fine, then. I shall present him with a planet! I must consult Shallow Vernal at once..."
"And Alice-chan has reached a conclusion. This is terminal. You're never going to change."
Alice gave up on the spot. For a fleeting second, she had thought that as an old friend, she might be able to fix the goddess's personality, but hearing Eden’s unhinged plan made her abandon all hope.
As Alice let out another deep sigh, Eden drifted up into the air. She turned back one last time, wearing a smile so radiant it was almost blinding.
"Oh, right. To answer your first question... Unlike back then, I can move freely now, and I can love what I adore. I am supremely happy!"
"Is that so? Then I guess your choice wasn't a mistake after all."
"Until next time, Alicia."
"It's Alice now."
"That's right. Let’s talk again soon, Alice. I want to hear everything that happened after I left that world. Learning it through omniscience would be such a waste."
With a final wave, Eden returned to her usual expression and vanished. After seeing her off, Alice looked down at the golden feather in her hand and muttered to herself.
"I honestly think she'd get along better with Kaito-san if she just dropped the 'godly' act and acted like her normal self... but I guess that's something she has to realize on her own. Good grief, what a troublesome goddess."