Life was divine!
Unlimited food, past-life movie screenings, free libraries, cappuccinos on demand… A literal blessing from the heavens.
Taking a vacation had done wonders.
Now, standing in front of her new celestial mirror, she was glowing.
White hair—not from age but purely aesthetic. Her eyes? Starry blue. Not just metaphorically, like some historical romance hero whispering "eyes that shine like stars"—nope. Hers literally sparkled.
She looked like a celestial model who could binge sweets and never gain a gram. In short: a goddess, in every possible way.
But no, crushing on herself wasn't all she'd been doing.
Aerisse had also spent time socializing (what used to be a luxury was now top priority).
Her senior colleagues were light-years ahead—already in the Development Phase of their Worlds, while she was technically still stuck at step one.
Some of them had only been doing this for a few thousand years. No biggie.
Speaking of thousands of years…
"How long have I been on vacation again?" she asked her faithful cat-system.
"Exactly one thousand years, Boss."
System's voice was cute, but panic-colored.
"That's bad. That's really bad..." he started again, floating in stressed-out circles. "We're way behind schedule! At this point, the project is basically dead. If we don't start salvaging things now—miraculously, might I add—we'll both be stripped of our titles and demoted to Planetary Purgatory!"
That last part got her attention.
"Say no more, System! That's not happening."
Sure, she'd ignored the 'work' part of the deal. But being demoted? No way. Time to act.
"Let's visit our neighbor!"
"W-which one?" System stuttered. Aw. So cute when he was scared.
"What do you mean which? Zaryssa, of course."
Oh, he was already hiding. Mentioning her name had that effect.
Time to make Zaryssa her best friend. Whether the demoness liked it or not.
They'd talked before, sure. But this was Aerisse's first time inside Zaryssa's domain.
She'd expected gothic demon queen. But instead?
It was like Victorian palace meets fluffy fantasy gamer lounge.
Pink cotton candy clouds floated past elegant stone arches.
Dark academia bookshelves towered over a shimmering battle-panel interface.
It was... amazing.
"Back from vacation already, Aerisse?" Zaryssa raised an eyebrow, sounding like a CEO welcoming a new intern.
"Yeah. Time to secure my future vacation fund."
"Hm," Zaryssa replied, flipping through... wait, were those purgatory-themed comics?
Yes. Comics. But not the teen angst kind. These were graphic torture manuals—creative soul-splitting entertainment, apparently.
"Zaryssa, I need a favor."
That caught her attention. Her eyes gleamed. And then—
"Oh? You've come to the right person," she said, practically nose-to-nose with Aerisse. "I never disappoint a friend in need."
Friend already?
Aerisse thought she'd have to bribe her with cappuccino first.
"I know exactly what you're looking for."
"No—wait—Zaryssa, don't show me—"
Too late. Zaryssa proudly held up her newest acquisition.
(CENSORED FOR YOUR SAFETY.)
Aerisse peeked between her fingers. Nope. Still awful. But why couldn't she look away?
System swooped in like a true hero, snatching the artifact and shoving it into the "depravity" section of the library.
Truly, a moment of bravery.
Back to business.
"I'm actually looking for a galaxy."
Straight to the point. Must resist Zaryssa's creative distractions.
"Oh, that's easy. Let me pull up the listings."
Zaryssa opened her divine marketplace panel.
"Since you're in the Celestial Program, the first property's on the house."
Yes! Government perks!
First option:
No neighbors. Great price. But no star = no sun = no beaches.
Pass.
Second:
Bright, good terrain... but noisy. Neighboring constantly fighting.
Pass again.
Third:
Zaryssa's pick. Sun ✔, privacy ✔, good vibes ✔.
Perfect.
Well... almost.
Small note: her new galaxy space was adjacent to Zaryssa's world.
Which happened to be... a purgatory. For lower souls.
System pinged a bright blue notification:
Congratulations! You've successfully acquired space in the Mid-Planetary Sector.
Reward: +100,000 Divine Authority Points
Awesome!
Notice: Due to location, any additional souls after disincarnation will be redirected to neighboring Purgatory World for processing.
Wait—what?
She could hear Zaryssa cackling through her internal monologue.
Aerisse now has her own galaxy space, a demonic bestie, and a mass soul-routing problem.