Nanomancer Reborn - I've Become A Snow Girl?-Chapter 1135: Anima
Holding her head, Shiro furrowed her brows.
"Where am I?" She muttered, finding herself in the middle of a strange garden of sorts. The flowers here were different to the ones that she'll find back on Earth and each of them radiated a small amount of Divine Energy.
Looking up at the sky, she could see an array of unfamiliar planets but there was no sun.
Walking along the path in the garden, she saw empty buildings that seem like they were created with the purpose of enjoying a few snacks while observing this place.
On the marbled tables under the roof, there were still plates with an assortment of snacks.
Reaching out for one, Shiro watched as her hand phased through it.
'Seems like I don't have a physical body here.'
Shaking her head, she looked around to see if there was anything else of interest.
However, she soon got bored of this place and tried to look for a way out.
Reaching the edge, she tried to see if she could escape but despite her incorporeal form, there was a barrier that prevented her from leaving.
"Seems like you got bored of our old home rather quickly." A voice rang out as Shiro looked back and saw the other version of her from the memories that she tapped into.
"Should I call you me or should I call you God Slayer like what Rokarn did?" Shiro asked as the woman shrugged.
"I prefer being called Anima though not many know me by that name. My authority level was a tad high for them so all they saw was question marks. Of course, lil' Ro was no exception." Anima chuckled as Shiro raised an eyebrow.
"Lil' Ro?"
"Well he's my second student so of course I gave him a nickname." Anima shrugged while waved her hand.
The scenery suddenly changed as they were now sitting around a table with some snacks in front of them.
"And let me guess, the first student is Aria." Shiro narrowed her eyes.
"Mn, she is. Though I don't know much of what happened after. This shard of myself that I carved out was a precaution. I gave this to lil' Ro in hopes of getting it back at a slightly later date but since I'm seeing such a weakened version of myself, I'm guessing what I feared happened." Anima said while tracing her finger along the rim of a tea cup.
"What did you fear? Why are we Aria's deepest fear?" Shiro asked as Anima glanced up at Shiro.
"Well I suppose we'll need to talk about who we are to begin with." Anima said as she stood up.
"Follow me, I have quite a bit of explaining I need to do for you. Though we have plenty of time since your body is trying to adapt to the shard." Anima smiled as she waved her hand.
Suddenly, Shiro found herself floating in the empty void with a star lit path in front of her.
"As you know, Chaos was the beginning of everything. With Chaos, life was born. There wasn't always the system. Life was without restrictions and only power determined one's worth. But while Chaos is the beginning of everything, your friend Nyx isn't exactly her daughter. She is a god brought to life by the belief of the people and due to the association with Chaos, her name received value. But the gods in the first era were different. They were the true gods and they could bend the universe to its knees. They are what you like to call actual gods. Ones perceived as omnipotent and omniscient. Though omniscient is not exactly the right words. They know anything they saw once and can call upon that memory whenever they wish. How they choose to store that varies. Sound familiar?" Anima smiled as Shiro paused for a moment and realised what she was talking about.
"Mn, your 'database' is not due to the imitation of divinity but rather something that woke up inside of you when presented with divinity once more. The power of nanobots was never meant to reach this stage as it is but an imitation. Why else do you think all the other experiments were never as strong as you? They were the true users of Nanobots. You just brought this imitation to a new level. All of the theories and potential uses were using you as a basis. They ignorantly believed that all mortals could wield the power cultivated by a first born and you saw the results. Consumed by the false divinity and turned into machine abominations that sought to destroy everything around them. Though I guess their life had some use to it. It allowed you to cultivate your divinity through other means." Anima explained as images of Shiro's torture back in Aria was displayed, causing Shiro to frown.
"So what are we then? Are we the first children of Chaos?" Shiro asked.
"Mn to some extent yes. With creation there will be destruction, such is the balance of the world. When Chaos created the known universe and the multiverse that housed reflections of one another, some would naturally destroy themselves. Even Chaos wasn't able to create the perfect world and thus we or rather, I was born from the destructive energy radiated by every universe consumed by the void. Anima, First Born of Chaos and the Destroyer. Anything I touch I destroy, anything I look at is consumed by the void. I was the fear in every First Born's heart. I was fear incarnate.
"To the 'Omnipotent' and immortal gods that bent the universe to its knees, I was the one who could strip them of their powers and crush their soul as though it was never there. In the face of the primal energy of destruction, none could survive. Which is why we were given a rather 'accommodating' domain. One that prevented our destructive nature to leak out to the world.
"Due to my nature as a First Born, I constantly radiated large amounts of divine energy which cultivated the plants and fruits that you saw in the garden. Eating one fruit would allow a god to bask in my power and receive a boost. The plants would become great nature spirits that nourish each world that came to existence. And from the water, life would be sustained. My house was the first garden, one solely focused on preserving life despite being in the presence of a being only used for destruction." Anima explained as the scenery changed once more. This time, a portal was visible inside the garden.
"I had given up on leaving and no matter how many times I tried to destroy the barriers my powers were sealed. Within this domain, I was simply a god that had ample amounts of divinity but no outlet for that power. However, gods that sought out all knowledge soon discovered the source of the energy that brought life to the worlds. My home. While the garden was designed to keep my powers in check, it was nothing to the other gods. A portal was created and I had my first visitor. Since it was the first visitor I ever had since the time of my confinement, we conversed for nights on end and I learned of the outer world. One which I was helping despite my divinity. The god saw that my home sustained the world and only wished for knowledge so he brought no harm. It was I who offered him a fruit and flower for him to study.
"Taking the souvenirs back with them I soon discovered more portals being opened. Each bringing me knowledge of the outside world in return for the fruits and flowers to which I agreed. I had plenty around and more kept growing, what's stopping me from giving it away. Plus, I couldn't leave the domain so naturally I wanted to learn of the outside world. Lil' Ro was no exception. He was one among the many that made his way to my domain but unlike the others, he never intended to arrive. Regardless, I still offered him a fruit.
"But since the nature of my divinity is destruction, you can imagine what will happen once the barrier started to break. With so many people entering my domain, the nature of my divinity started to leak out. From destruction you may find life but ultimately it is still destruction. Now that the barrier was destroyed, my powers leaked out to the universe and those that had consumed the fruit started to change. What was harmless before now amplified their destructive tendencies. Thus, war broke out all over the known universe. With my confinement now on the verge of breaking, it was only a matter of time until my influence poured out to those that had already been touched. Those that consumed only one fruit will find their fighting prowess enhanced. But those that consumed more than one will change." Anima said as Shiro paused in realisation.
"They would fall."
Hearing this, Anima's lips curled up into a smile.
"Indeed. They would become the ones you know as Fallen."
