Once she accepted her feelings, Epsilon acted with the decisive speed expected of a subordinate of the War King. Incapable of enduring a life without Miyabi, she resolved to resurrect her.
On the surface, a simple resurrection was not particularly difficult for someone of Epsilon’s caliber. As a powerhouse of the highest-ranking Count-class, she possessed the necessary skill. However, resurrection was bound by a fundamental limitation: time. While the specifics were vague, common knowledge dictated that once a month had passed since death, bringing someone back was impossible.
Unknown to the general public, this limit was tied to Trinia’s reincarnation system. After death, a soul would eventually migrate to the God Realm, reaching a special space in the depths of the Temple of the God of Life. There, the soul was broken down into fine soul particles, mixed with the essence of others, and eventually reborn as a new life.
Consequently, a soul that had passed the one-month threshold had effectively ceased to exist. Epsilon knew this reality, even if she did not understand the divine mechanics behind it.
Yet, strangely, Epsilon felt a conviction bordering on certainty that she could succeed with Miyabi. She was right. Several miraculous factors had aligned to make it possible.
First, Miyabi was an otherworlder, placing her outside the standard cycle. Under the contract between Shallow Vernal and Machina, the souls of deceased otherworlders were supposed to return to Machina’s world. This was not a manual process; the Hero summoning bestowed a trait that automatically pulled the soul back upon death. At least, that was how it was meant to work.
Miyabi had been the first migrant to take on the Hero-role, and, with the exception of Noin, she was the first otherworlder to master magic. In those days, the unique magical aptitudes of otherworlders were still a mystery. Noin’s skill in creation magic was seen as personal genius, and no one had bothered to investigate Miyabi’s potential.
Miyabi possessed an extraordinary affinity for Kotodama-like magic—the ability to manifest effects by imbuing words with magic power. Since she mostly interacted with subordinates of the War King who far outstripped her in strength, she never realized her own potential. Thus, in her final moments, she had unknowingly spoken a binding spell: "Even if the body perishes, the soul remains together."
That single sentence overrode the pull of her original world. Her soul lingered by Epsilon’s side. Because she was exempt from Trinia’s cycle and bound by her own magic, resurrection was possible.
However, simple resurrection was insufficient. Miyabi had not died of injury or disease; she had died of old age. Reclaiming her body would only lead back to a quick death. Epsilon needed a more permanent solution, and after much deliberation, she decided to reincarnate Miyabi’s soul into a different race.
She knew such a technique existed, but it was classified as a taboo Forbidden Art. While legends persisted, actual documentation was nearly non-existent, as if someone had systematically erased it from history. Complete Forbidden Books were thought to be extinct—save for one person.
Epsilon sought out the Death King, Isis. Even for a highest-ranking Count-class powerhouse, the pressure of Isis’s magic felt like a scorching weight on her skin. Bowing deeply, Epsilon made her plea.
"Please! Allow me to read the Forbidden Book on resurrection!"
"I... do not mind," Isis replied flatly.
At the time, Isis was virtually the only being in the world who possessed complete sets of these forbidden texts. It was the era before she had met Kaito, and her reputation as a symbol of death made her a figure of universal terror. She was perpetually in a foul mood, and Epsilon was paralyzed with nerves, but she secured permission. Over the next six months, driven by her love for Miyabi, she deciphered the complex arcane secrets within.
After painstaking preparation and the crafting of a massive, flawless magic circle, the ritual was ready. But she had overlooked one thing: the entity who had forbidden these arts in the first place. That was Life, the Supreme God who governed the laws of all life.
While Life tolerated simple resurrection within the one-month window, remaking a soul into a new race was a violation of the divine laws of reincarnation. It was an intrusion into the God's domain.
Life descended into the Demon Realm to purge the transgressor, but she was stopped by a black-robed figure: the Phantasm King, No Face.
"Why are you here?" Life demanded.
"Things happened," the Phantasm King replied. "I know you have your duties, Life-san, but could you overlook this just once?"
The murderous intent radiating from the King made it clear: she would use force if necessary. As one of the few beings capable of fighting Fate on equal terms, the Phantasm King was an opponent even Life hesitated to engage. Furthermore, a clash between a Supreme God and a Six King could shatter the Friendship Treaty.
"I'm not saying you should look the other way forever," No Face added. "Just this one time..."
"............I suppose it cannot be helped," Life finally conceded. "Just for this once, I shall honor your position. However, with her level of power, it will be difficult to execute that formula perfectly. If she fails once, I will not permit a second time."
"That's all I ask," the Phantasm King said.
Once Life returned to the God Realm, the Phantasm King looked at the empty air and sighed, murmuring softly. "I guess I just remembered the old days... I'm far too soft, Iris."
??? "By the way, where is Serious-senpai?"
Machina "Ah, she asked me to disable the system that lets her see the Main Story for just a little while so she could sleep. Once I did, she fell asleep happily."
??? "Poor thing. But it's a mystery. Why do books exist that record forbidden arts that are normally impossible to execute—on the level of the God's domain? No matter how you think about it, that culprit is involved, right?"
Machina "Yeah. Shiro used to experiment with reproducing divine authorities through magic formulas. She'd make these forbidden texts and just toss them around the Demon Realm. The Gods had to scramble to collect them later, but they couldn't get the ones Isis held."