I, I thought I could finally end this all and call it a day.

  However, this ridiculously overpowered goddess now wants to talk.

  "Do, do we have to do this? I, I can live on very well without further talking." (I)

  "Well, it would seem like a bit of a waste, wouldn't it? I mean, you got the chance to ask all the things you might have questions about. Your place within the greater mechanisms of the oververse? Or just about the little things that you have an interest in." (Aio)

  "Are you now going to tell me about the meaning of life?" (I)

  "Hah. Mortals are always so focused on a meaning when we already have our hands full just keeping the show running. Which I already do since the beginning of time. And a bit before." (Aio)

  Seriously, this seems like quite the extreme commitment.

  "But why do so? Why would you go this far? Why this accord? Only because it was always like this?" (I)

  "Why not? You see, there is something about life. I think being alive is better than not. What would be the point of dead stone? Well, I'm not responsible for life as is, that's my sister, but having beings with a sense of self and purpose around is definitely worth it. This is why I guide the souls. The pure manifestation of one's will and feelings. The thing that differentiates an animated corpus from a sentient being. That's my job, to oversee the endless ocean of souls and grant one to everyone eligible to hold the spark of sentience. This is my sphere, my nature, my very self. This is my purpose." (Aio)

  "And this is worth it?" (I)

  "Definitely! Having those beings around gives all of creation a direction. A way to be, instead of mere existence. I wouldn't want to miss that. Of course, at times, the way souls interact ought to be corrected. But this is all only so that they all may equally receive one. So they all may find drive, purpose, and identity. This moment, which opens up this door of self-discovery. This alone makes it all worth it." (Aio)

  Okay, I didn't think it would go quite that deep.

  So this water goddess is basically the absolute instance regarding anything concerning souls.

  She gives a soul to every living being, no matter where they are.

  ...

  This bitch!

  "Hey, not nice." (Aio)

  I knew it.

  She can read minds!

  But something else is far more pressing.

  "My dream world! Their souls! You!" (I)

  "This could be. But it's a rather automatic process. Yes, I mean I can control it, but I try not to. Though, I'll admit I didn't cut off the flow of soul essence. Sometimes you need to let things flow freely. Being too oppressive isn't a good thing." (Aio)

  "God, are you whimsical!" (I)

  "I tell you!" (N)

  "Nimue, would you please?! I'm having a talk here!" (Aio)

  Ah, right, they're still there.

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  "Grmbl" (N)

  "Thank you." (Aio)

  They seem to have quite a peculiar relationship.

  "Well, what else do you expect from a ten-dimensional being?" (Aio)

  "What even is that supposed to mean, ten dimensions?!" (I)

  These are at least four more than I could think of!

  I mean, I can open dimensional gates, and I suppose there's time, or so.

  "What was it again? Existence, direction, context, time, dimension, dimensional clusters, overlapping spheres, parallelity, intensity, soul realm. Yeah, that should've been all." (Aio)

  "Right, and now in a way anyone can understand." (I)

  "Well, the first three should be self-explanatory. You are there, you can move, and you can do so within a certain space realm. Then you add to this the time within these actions are performed. That's the ground setup. After this, you add a lot else." (Aio)

  It makes sense, but should I really ask further about this?

  But she has a point.

  If not now, then when else would I?

  "Great! So let's continue. First dimensions. Given that you obviously can open portals, you probably already grasped this. Yet there are different tiers of dimensions. Certain dimensions are closer to each other. Mirror worlds, underworld, heaven, hell, or whatever else drifts in that bubble. Yet you might not be subjected to having to mind the difference, but dimensions outside this bubble are usually harder to reach and therefore make their own thing. Then there's the possibility that you might drift into an overlapping dimension. You know, like when a character can become intangible and drift through objects that don't exist within the same realm. Then there are parallel worlds. You know, this whole 'what if I decided differently back then'. The ever-branching alternative realities. Then there's a certain space that defines the kinds of energy the powers that move the worlds originate from. And last, but not least, my little soul ocean. As a ten-dimensional being, I'm familiar with all those and can own them to a degree." (Aio)

  I think a lot of connections ruptured in my head just now.

  God, that was so much at once.

  "And this all brings us right to why you are such a problematic case." (Aio)

  "Wh-what? But I signed! What else could there be?!" (I)

  "I already told you, didn't I? The accord only monitors you. And me knows, you have to be monitored. Can you tell me why?" (Aio)

  So it's still coming to get back at me!

  I knew it!

  "What would I know! I only want to live my life peacefully!" (I)

  "Sad. Self-awareness is important. Does the term 'devourer effect' ring a bell?" (Aio)

  "Why would it?!" (I)

  I only know that Veo used it.

  "Can I? Aftercare is part of my job, isn't it." (V)

  "Fine. You do it." (Aio)

  Promptly, Veo is standing right in front of me.

  Damn is she fast.

  That was faster than I could process.

  "You see, a devourer effect is kinda as the word says, a phenomenon that is characterized by the fact that it devours stuff, a process that converts the devoured into said phenomenon. We distinguish those in different ranks. Rank one is local. Usually, a being that can do so. A player grinding XP, a parasite growing the more it infects. Easy enough. Those can be ignored, as they usually remain contained in their place. Then there's rank two. This is a more widespread thing that threatens to take over the planet. Contagion or corruption that lies over the land. I even got a flesh-eating myst once. Then rank three is when this thing got the planet and overcomes its boundaries and takes over the solar system. Four the galaxy, five the universe, and rank six is when the devourer effect can spread across dimensions." (V)

  "Which is a huge hassle to clean up if you let it spread for long enough. I mean, seriously, something that expands in all possible dimensional directions as well as space is quickly getting out of hand. The fact that you're not even limited in this regard, but can just plop up about everywhere, is bad enough." (N)

  "You see, basically, you are a huge threat to all of creation, which means we at least need to make sure you are contained in some way." (Aio)

  Which means to shackle me.

  "I'm truly quite sorry that we had to take that step, and probably in the future may clash time and time again. Though, I'll tell you what, if you ever get to have a really huge problem, you can call on me and I'll help you solve it. Is that a deal?" (Aio)

  "...sure." (I)

  I'm quite at my limit now.

  I didn't want any of this.

  I certainly didn't plan on spending my day like this.

  And now... now I just want this to come to an end.

  Though instead, the goddess now ruffles through my hair.

  "Everything being said, I'm quite happy to have met you here, as usual. You're a sweet girl, you know? Also..." (Aio)

  "Snap"

  Ackh, why does she always have to snap my forehead?

  "... let me add this little charm. It's gonna be a bit more effective at preventing any leakage effects through emotional stimulation. Of course, you may remove it at any time, but I'm convinced you'll appreciate its effect for now." (Aio)

  I feel like I'm gonna need this after today.

  "Well, that's it for now. Contact me if you got any further questions." (Aio)

  How exactly would I do that?

  "You'll just have to talk into any gathering of water. Yet it might help to speak loud and clearly." (Aio)

  Of course.

  And thus, the three beings leagues above all reasonable levels of power step through a quickly created portal.

  "Well, that was it for now. It was a pleasure to meet you.

  ...

  All of you." (Aio)

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