?Ishtar sat in front of a fire in a small, quiet, dark room. Through the flames, she monitored Meena. with a gloomy look "So far, so good," she whispered to herself. "I wish everything remains as peaceful as it is now."

  ?A Senior God entered the room. "Ma'am, (senior god) seven reporting for duty."

  ?Ishtar looked up, surprised. "Well, what about your vacation? What happened? You returned earlier than expected."

  ?"Well, I was just worried about you," he replied. In reality, he had only returned early so that his peers would look lazy in comparison, hoping Ishtar would punish them for not being as "diligent" as him.

  ?"Actually, you came just when I needed you," Ishtar said with a sharp smile.

  ?"Yes, Ma'am! I am at your service. Your wish is my command!"

  ?"Good. You just have to clean my domain. I am sure you replenished your energy well on vacation."

  ?The seven froze. He was about to realize exactly how difficult cleaning could be—Ishtar’s domain was nearly the size of Heaven itself.

  ?"Well, you see, I am quite busy monitoring her," Ishtar continued, ignoring his shock. "So, I hope you will do the work well." With a flick of her wrist, she sent him into her domain.

  ?"Hun!... Nooooooo! What did I do to deserve this?!" his voice faded into the distance.

  ?Suddenly, the God of Destruction appeared in a swirl of shadows. "He must have done something to get on your nerves," he noted. "Was it about Haruto, or the card?" (referring to the card that summoned Meena).

  ?"No, it’s not because of that," Ishtar replied coldly. "It’s because of Elo. He sent that god to scare Haruto. If Haruto hadn't patted Meena’s head at that exact moment, we all would have disappeared."

  ?"Hun! And how?" the God of Destruction asked, startled.

  ?"Well, I saw the probability. She would have told Haru to remove the obstacles in his path. First, it would have been the Demon lord , and then it would have been the Heavens."

  ?"Oh! Looks like we just missed a death experience," the God muttered. "But how are you controlling the situation? I mean, you can’t just work under Meena’s nose without her knowing."

  ?"Well, at present, I have distributed two pawns. I am sure if everything goes according to plan, we might survive."

  ?"Well, really? And what if Haruto dies, or finds out about Meena’s past? Then everything will be over."

  ?"Don’t worry," Ishtar said firmly. "As long as things go according to plan, it is highly unlikely for something like that to occur."

  ?"Hmm. Looks like I need not fear. But if things don’t go according to plan, I have something up my sleeve too by the way."

  ?Ishtar’s red eyes snapped toward him, staring intensely. "Don’t do anything stupid, or else you know the consequences."

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  ?"Well, don’t worry. Everything will be fine," he said with a giggle, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

  ?Ishtar clenched her fist. "Ugh! That’s why I don’t like him... his mysterious personality."

  Act II: The Goddess’s Gamble

  The Senior god stood with a broom in hand, brushing the floor of dirt and dust. Exhausted and sweating, he let out a long sigh. "What a tiresome job... that freaking old lady has the worst judgment of all the Heavens! I came back early and I have to do work like this?" He clenched his fist, tears pricking his eyes.

  Behind him, Ishtar had heard everything.

  The Senior God froze. Why do I feel like I'm being watched? His heart began to beat wildly; his grip tightened on the broom. Don’t tell me she is behind me...

  He slowly turned around. There stood Ishtar, an evil smile on her face. Her eyes glowed a deep red, and a heavy, suffocating aura filled the domain.

  "It looks like you are so worried about me that you can't focus on your work," Ishtar said. "Wait, what were you saying again? 'Old lady'? 'Worst judgment'?"

  Oh c**p, I am dead! the Senior God thought. Think! Think! Think!

  "Why are you so quiet now?" Ishtar asked, her aura becoming more intense, making the Senior God shrinking in fear . "Don't tell me you’ve forgotten what you just said."

  "I was just... yeah! I was just saying that Meena is going to destroy everything anyway, so why bother cleaning this place? So... yeah! That’s what I meant!" He tried to look sincere, his own aura fluttering weakly.

  Ishtar’s smile vanished. "So, you think Meena is going to destroy us?"

  The Senior God nodded frantically.

  "Do you remember sending Elo to scare Haruto?" Ishtar asked.

  "Hun! Yes?"

  "That day, we could have been eliminated. Since the Heavens were acting as an obstacle to Haruto, Meena would have wiped us out."

  "What?!" The Senior God’s face went pale white.

  "But that day, a miracle happened," Ishtar explained. "Sir Haruto patted Meena on her forehead, and she experienced new emotions. Curious, she started exploring those emotions instead of using her power. Later, Haruto told her not to use her powers. The only reason we are still present and alive is because of him."

  "Is it really because of him specifically? But it’s all over if he dies or his life cycle completes!"

  "Yes," Ishtar replied. "And that’s why I made an arrangement for her."

  "What? How will an 'arrangement' work on someone like Meena?"

  "Well, the major problem with Meena is her uncertainty, right?"

  "Right," the Senior God whispered .

  "The reason for her uncertainty is her lack of an emotional self. That is exactly why everyone calls her a 'killing machine.' She didn't have emotions. As we saw in the future, if anyone in the Heavens made a mistake, it was over—Meena would kill them and create a clone who was more efficient."

  "Is that why you are letting Meena stay with Haruto?"

  "Yes, that’s one reason. But the major reason is..."

  "What is it?"

  Ishtar looked toward the horizon. "Have you noticed the blade? Its spirit is Albedo. He was the previous Demon Lord, but his behavior changed drastically. Even Dracula remains the same—do you know why?"

  "Wait! I never noticed that... but why?"

  "I didn't expect much from you to begin with," Ishtar sighed. "It is because Haruto is the master of that blade. The blade is obtaining the characteristics of Haruto."

  "But why?"

  "It has been observed that when a spirit enters a contract with a living creature, its personality changes based on how the contractor sees them and what the contractor's own personality is. The same is happening with Meena. She was summoned by Haru, and through their bond, her emotions are changing. She is developing a new personality."

  Ishtar continued, "But she is different from other spirits who only affect their immediate surroundings. Meena affects the cosmos itself. Because she is restricting her powers, the universe is affecting her, causing her to develop a personality. Just like us—when we were first created, we didn't have personalities, but we gained them by working under seniors, making mistakes, and learning. Since she was a 'perfect being' before, those rules didn't apply to her. But now, they do."

  "So," the Senior God realized, "we only have two options: either give Haruto immortality or shape Meena’s personality."

  "Exactly."

  "Then why not just give him immortality?"

  Ishtar looked angry. "That would be against the rules of the universe, and Meena would never directly disagree to it. That is why I made a plan to use the demons to shape her personality. Currently, my two minions—De and Blade—are playing their roles. And if things escalate, I will help Haruto myself with his challenges