Preparations

While Celine was permenantly asleep and fighting her demons in what looked like hell, the Valerian Kingdom was increasing the pressure on Malphus again.

Divine battles would happen every so often because of the ferocity in which they battled. This caused a slight uproar within the circle of Gods.

"Stop deploying Gods to battle or this treaty cannot last forever," an elven Queen said to Arthur on his throne.

"If our treaty was so fragile that it would be broken by acts against a common enemy, then we should've never had a treaty to begin with." Arthur glared at the woman who was trying to get the upper hand in this situation.

In the whole world, there was only one elven God who reigned supreme. She wasn't a dictator like the True Demon God who controlled his whole territory but every elven empire knew they could rely on their God if things got out of hand.

However, Arthur had already spoken to the Elven God and knew she wasn't going to act in the divine war he was having, so he ignored all the complaints the other elf's were having.

"The kingdom of Yhides cannot assist you in any manners in the future. Consider it lucky you don't have another war on your hands," the elven lady left while being infuriated.

She knew she had no power over Arthur in his kingdom and that was the most she could do because her God wouldn't intervene.

"How many does that make?" Alina asked after walking up to Arthur and giving him a hug.

"About three elven kingdoms have become hostile," he sighed.

Alina gently kissed him to not let his mood fall even further. "I still don't get why they are mad we are fighting so far away from them? If anything, we're doing them a favor because they won't have to fight Gods."

"It's not about the Gods," he mumbled in her embrace. "It's about the First Trial. It can only be completed if each race chooses three leaders. Humanity won't be able to choose a third leader if we kill Malphus and the elves want this trial to be over as fast as possible."

Alina nodded in understanding. She forgot that the lives of mortals meant nothing to Gods and leaders of races.

"And yet you're still doing all of this for a brat," Alina chuckled softly.

"At first, it was for Celine, but now it's more for the mental sanity of our daughter," Arthur concluded.

"Aria's training something that will tear apart her character if she doesn't stop and getting Celine back is the only way. Aria feels she was too weak to help Celine and now she won't stop training. This is the only way."

"How many more days until the demons come and we can finish this then?" Alina asked.

"One more week and we put an end to this," Arthur declared but he didn't know that the girl he planned to save was currently far down into a self-made cave and in a deep sleep.

…

The sound of an annoying alarm clock rang.

"Tch!" A sighing woman slapped it away and rose to start her day.

One yawn later and suddenly many memories started to flood back at her. Memories of the past lives, of Godhood, of Aria, and so much more all hit at once.

Celine immediately found herself bedridden with the amount of memories that flooded her. Then, she remembered something crucial.

"Fuck!" She eventually yelled in frustration and anger. "I fucking died! The miasma was too powerful."

Celine kicked the nearest chair in her house and shattered it across the floor in anger. However, she wasn't mad because of her death.

No, Celine was mad at the fact she had left Aria behind. She had loved Aria and wanted to ensure she would never die again but now she had left her without protection against the upcoming threats.

Eventually, Celine just wallowed in silence on the floor at her disgusting loss. She failed. She would never forget that, even if she lived for a thousand years.

No matter what happened, one version of Aria out there had died because of her inability. Celine sulked and completely forgot about the tower and the world.

It wasn't until the tower descended that Celine finally decided to move. She wouldn't fail again this life, she swore it.

Celine moved quickly this time and smarter than the last. This time, she left traces of suicide so Malphus would have a hard time detecting her departure and she managed to recruit Ray with her on the adventure.

With Ray by her side, traveling became easier and more relaxed until she eventually made it back to the Valerian Kingdom.

Celine saw Aria look at her as if she was a new person and a sense of crushing defeat weighed upon her. She had failed Aria and had left her behind. This version will only ever be similar and never the same as what she had lost.

Things proceeded smoothly for the most part. Celine met Aria and was seeking an acquaintance with Arthur while Ray was protected this time and she would soon go find Ken and Meline.

It wasn't until she truly met Arthur that she realized something was off in this world.

Celine had just brazenly declared herself as the 73rd God and told Arthur she wouldn't fail this time. She swore how she would make the 74th lifetime better than the 73rd but she was met with a cruel response.

"Seventy four?" Arthur questioned. "There's only been 73 lifetimes so far? This is my first time knowing you've ascended to Godhood. What is this 73rd lifetime your talking about? The 73rd lifetime has just begun."

Celine's jaw remained wide open.

"What…"