In a void nestled within the Gap of Space-Time, Jane Doe spoke with a fellow World Creator she counted as a close friend. She had come with a request: she wanted to entrust the world she had finished re-creating to her friend’s care.
"I don't mind taking over—it’s not exactly a burden—but you went to so much trouble to bring it back," the friend remarked. "Are you sure about this?"
"Heavens, well, re-creating it was more about a sense of closure for me. I don't really have the mental space to think about anything else right now... Besides, I was never the type to interfere much as a Creator anyway. I could have just left it to rot, but that would’ve left a bad taste in my mouth."
"I see... By the way, what is with that face?"
"Oh, this? It seems my face has simply gone on strike. Taha! Forgive me for being such a 'cool customer'!"
Jane Doe spoke in a bubbly, energetic tone, yet her face remained as motionless as a Noh mask. Her friend could only manage a conflicted, weary look in response.
A significant amount of time had passed since the end of the Ultimate God Nebula, who had been the absolute center of their existence. The various Creators who had once gathered under her banner had long since scattered to follow their own paths.
None of them harbored a grudge against Shallow Vernal. Nebula had challenged the End with her head held high and her pride intact. As an Absolute One, she would have felt no regret, and every one of her subordinates knew she had remained magnificent until her final breath. To hate Shallow Vernal would be an act of disrespect toward Nebula's noble struggle. They all understood this; while their hearts were heavy with sorrow, none were consumed by hatred.
However, once they lost the pillar that was Nebula, there was no one left with the stature to lead the assembly of Creators. They drifted apart, and over the countless millennia, many had lost contact entirely.
"So, you're just going to wander through the various worlds then?"
"It’s not as if I have a destination or a goal in mind. But if I see enough of the multiverse... I might find something. Taha! I suppose you could call it 'finding myself'!"
Despite her cheerful voice, Jane Doe was, in a sense, broken. The annihilation of Nebula had shattered her. Her personality was the same, but her ability to project it onto her features was gone. Aside from that frozen mask, she was the girl she had always been.
But the wound in her soul was impossibly deep. Having lost the one she loved and revered, she wanted nothing more than to simply vanish. Yet, that was the one thing she was forbidden to do.
Nebula had chosen to let Jane live. She had saved her from the End. Jane’s very existence was the final gift bestowed upon her by her master. Therefore, she had to keep moving. To stop or to fade away would be a betrayal of her beloved master’s wish.
Bidding farewell to the World Creator, Jane Doe set out. She was a being who should have ended, a hollow shell who had finished her final task of re-creating her world. With a heart as empty as a wandering ghost, she began an aimless journey through the sea of stars.
Without purpose or meaning, driven only by a refusal to stand still, she drifted from world to world like a phantom. Occasionally, she would cross paths with other Creators who had once served Nebula, and they would pass the time letting memories bloom in conversation.
On the surface, it sounded like a peaceful journey, but Jane’s heart was as stagnant as her face. No matter how brightly she spoke or how hard she tried to act like her old self, there was a vast, hollow ache in the center of her being.
"Ah... I see... Here, too... In this world, as well... Nowhere... Nebula-sama is nowhere to be found."
When her resolve occasionally faltered, tears would spill from eyes that reflected no light. But that was the extent of it; nothing in her world ever changed for the better.
She didn't know how long she had been wandering. She had visited an uncountable number of worlds over millions, billions, and trillions of years. The turning point finally arrived after an unfathomable span of time had passed.
"Wait... what? Shallow Vernal... that monster was defeated?"
"So they say," her acquaintance replied. "Though, it wasn't exactly a battle. How did it go again... Ah, right. A human from a different world—a boy named Kaito Miyama—brought about a massive change in Shallow Vernal. Apparently, they've even become lovers."
"Haaaah?! Wait, lovers? Seriously? Did that Monster of the End even have emotions like that?!"
"Whether she had them all along or they were born later, I couldn't tell you. But that's the word on the street."
Hearing this news from a familiar World Creator while passing through a random world brought a spark of genuine shock to Jane Doe’s heart for the first time in an age.
She pressed for details, her mind reeling with every new surprise. Even though her face remained a blank slate, Jane was completely captivated by the tale.
"That is... truly stunning. I'd heard from a Creator two worlds back that Shallow Vernal had actually created a world of her own, but I never imagined it would lead to this. Taha! What an extraordinary boy he must be."
"Yeah. I was floored when I heard it, too. But regardless of how it happened, if he managed to catch that God of Destruction of the End off guard like that... Ah, sorry, never mind."
"Hmm?"
"No, I was about to say that this might settle Nebula-sama's regrets a little, but thinking she had regrets in the first place is probably lèse-majesté. She probably wouldn't care about that sort of thing anyway."
"You're right. If anything, she’d probably find this Kaito Miyama boy fascinating. If Nebula-sama were still around, she might have even tried to scout him as a subordinate. After all, even just hearing the stories has me practically smitten!"
"It’s really hard to take that seriously when your face looks like that."
"Taha! You're a tough crowd! Still, this was a fascinating story. Thank you."
"Sure thing. Well, if we cross paths again in a few hundred million years, see you then!"
After thanking the World Creator, Jane Doe moved on to the next destination.
The world she arrived in was lush and vibrant. She found a spot with a beautiful view and gazed blankly at the horizon. She considered offering a greeting to the Creator of this realm later, but her mind was still occupied by the story she had heard in the previous world.
"Heavens, it really is something. To win the heart of Shallow Vernal... Hmm. I’ve been intentionally avoiding that world, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to drop by Shallow Vernal's world just to get a look at that boy. I think Nebula-sama would have been interest...ed... too—wait."
It was a perfectly casual thought. Feeling her heart stir with a nostalgia she hadn't felt in ages, she reached for the necklace Nebula had entrusted to her. Suddenly, her eyes—which had remained dull for eons—widened in a massive tremor.
The necklace she had pulled out was... glowing... with a faint, pulsing light.
"The necklace... is glowing? No way... B-But this is... a fragment of Nebula-sama's power... and it’s been dormant all this time... so... Ah, ahhh..."
Her body began to shake violently. Her mind raced to process the information, but her heart was in such a state of agitation that she could barely think.
Finally, she managed to squeeze the most important words out of her throat, as if desperately trying to convince herself they were true.
"Is Nebula-sama... resurrected?"
Machina: "In a sense, doesn't that make me the biggest contributor here?"
???: "Well, I suppose that might be true. After all, when it comes to Shallow Vernal-sama..."
Machina: "Because the miracle that is My Beloved Child was born on my world!!"
???: "Ah, you meant that part... I thought for sure you were going to take credit for suggesting the creation of the world to Shallow Vernal-sama... Well, I suppose Kaito-san is the Singularity, so you're not exactly wrong... Hmm."