Akari's vision narrowed. Her ears rang.
"That's not possible," she muttered under her breath, blinking rapidly.
Across from her, Saya tilted her head lazily, resting her chin on her palm. "Is it really that hard to believe?" she said, sipping her coffee with that same smug grin.
"You can't be—" Akari stopped herself, mouth dry. "You're... you!"
Saya smirked. "Very observant."
"No. No no no..." Akari shook her head in disbelief. "There's no way this is true."
Saya tilted her head with an innocent expression. "Why is it so hard for you to accept the truth? I'm not lying."
"Because you're too cheeky and playful to be her! I've met her—countless times. Your personalities are completely different." Akari clutched her chest softly. "Besides…"
"Eh? What's with the dramatic pose?" Saya narrowed one eye, suspicious. "Don't tell me you fell for me or something."
"W-Well, no!" Akari looked away, face red. "She's the one who killed me. And the others."
The Warden of Pride… their history went back a long way. They used to bathe together, attend school side by side, once inseparable.
But that warden—she wasn't human. Cold, detached. The embodiment of violence wrapped in celestial flesh.
And then came the calamity.
The world burned for a week under her rage. Entire cities were razed to dust. The sky bled ash. Millions died—monsters, humans, even dragons—none were spared. The Warden of Pride became a planetary-scale disaster, slaughtering anyone who tried to control her.
You see, the ten Wardens were implanted with a control system by the ancient humans. Not chains—but pain. A signal that could make their minds burn, like blades piercing through their skulls, forcing them into obedience.
It was meant to make them weapons. Monsters to control monsters.
The reason?
A fracture in reality. A rift between dimensions. A cosmic wound that allowed creatures from an alien world to invade. No one knew where that planet came from—but for over a million years, it crept closer to Earth.
Satellites eventually picked up the truth.
It wasn't just monsters crossing over.
It was a planet headed straight toward Earth. And in a month, it would collide.
This was no ordinary apocalypse. This was extinction on a cosmic level.
To fight it, Earth's spirit—what some called Mother Nature, Earth-chan, Gaia—created ten divine seeds. She chose ten righteous souls and embedded those seeds into them. They became the Holy Saints, warriors of light and hope, protectors of the world.
But humanity wanted more.
They created the Wardens—warriors of destruction. By fusing newborns with the cores of cataclysmic beasts, they hoped to create monsters that obeyed orders.
And after generations of failure... they succeeded.
The first Warden was born.
Fused with the first calamity—the one that fought the Goddess of Light herself.
That goddess? Her name was Akari Hartveil.
In the ancient world, she was revered as divinity made flesh.
But back then, no one believed Project Warden would succeed. And when it did, the Saints treated the Wardens as mistakes. Mutations. Weapons to be discarded after use.
One of them mocked a Warden publicly.
That Saint's entire domain was annihilated within days.
And when the ten Saints and ten Wardens finally clashed—it was cataclysmic.
Only two walked away untouched:
Akari, the untouchable goddess of light.
And Pride, who hadn't even spilled a drop of blood—despite being the most savage in the war.
Two hundred thousand years ago, Pride lost control. Her bloodline awakened. In one week, she wiped out six billion lives. She was unstoppable.
Humanity begged the Saints and Wardens to stop her.
Nine Wardens. Ten Saints.
They died.
Only Akari managed to stop her. She gave her life in that battle, and so did Pride.
And for two hundred thousand years… there was silence.
Until now.
Both reincarnated, on the same day, in this modern era.
News of their return spread like wildfire. Countries, factions, churches—all rejoiced.
Akari had waited years to meet her again. To talk. To clear up what happened. To remember what they had, before it all went wrong.
And now… that cold-hearted, world-ending monster sat across from her, sipping coffee like a smug housecat.
The same person Akari had loved. The same person who had killed her.
Saya gave her a brief, soft smile—almost human—before casually refilling her mug. Their parents, meanwhile, continued chatting about mundane topics like college applications.
"…Wait," Saya blinked. "What do you mean Akari is a student at the Divine Institute?"
She turned slowly to Akari, as if realizing her girlfriend was secretly the oldest senior citizen on campus.
Her eyes narrowed.
"You're still enrolled?"
Akari coughed into her fist, avoiding eye contact. "I've been… taking my time."
"Taking your time?" Saya blinked. "Akari. Sweetheart. Love of my many lifetimes. You've been enrolled since humanity discovered writing."
"Ssshh!" Akari hissed. "Don't say it like that! It's not like I've failed—I've just taken a few… sabbaticals."
Saya leaned back with a deep sigh. "You've met every dean. You taught two of them. When the school celebrated its 9,000th year anniversary, did they give you tenure or just a designated desk?"
"S-Shut up!" Akari groaned.
"Don't you need to attend your lessons today?" her mother chimed in with a smile.
Akari glared at her mom, cheeks puffed up like a grumpy squirrel. "Mom!"
Despite being a literal divine warrior reborn over ten thousand times, Akari was still the kind of girl who got flustered when scolded by her parents.
Saya stood, dusting off her skirt. "Can I go with her?"
Everyone paused.
"You can if you want," her father said. "It's the first time you've ever shown interest in going to school."
Saya's expression turned pure and angelic. "This year I'm changing. I'll behave properly."
Akari rolled her eyes, already regretting this.
They left the restaurant. Akari had barely taken five steps before her hand was snatched by Saya's grin.
"You're not seriously going without me, right?"
"…Of course not." Akari sighed, watching Saya spin the car keys like she owned them.
Saya claimed the passenger seat with her usual smugness, arms crossed. "You drive. I don't know the way."
"I'm not your chauffeur—" Akari started, only to jump as Saya's hand casually wandered onto her thigh.
"S-Saya!"
"Shhh. Focus, I'm only twenty. I want to live," Saya muttered with a devilish smirk, squeezing gently.
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up to the Divine Institute.
Akari's face was flushed.
Her thigh was shaking.
Saya stepped out first, stretching her arms and smiling.
"Finally," she said. "Time to see what heaven's best school looks like."
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Next chapter will be in a few hours