Chapter 270 50.X Interlude: Dreamland

Shizu didn't know what she was seeing at the moment. From her vague recollections, she was supposed to be seeing black and green, with the Numbers guiding and telling her what to do and where to go. It was... This was strange...

She didn't think that the world had color beyond those two eternal shades.

"What's up with her?" the Goddess asked her God, Shizu feeling the Latter shrug on top of his powerful shoulders.

"Shizu's probably just daydreaming," her God replied. "She hasn't had sleep in over twenty-four hours now. And now that I think about it, neither have you, right?"

The princess didn't know whether to listen or not between her two Deities' conversations. A part of her felt like They were supposed to be her friends, but the notion didn't seem right to her... That despite already having shared a bed with Them, she was still unworthy of being in Their presence.

Still, that won't stop her from declaring her undying love to Them for being magnanimous enough to even recognize her existence.

"H-Heh... I-I love you two so much..." she drawled out, her tongue lolling out as she leaned her head on God's back. "Thank you... for being with poor old me..."

Shizu didn't care what they thought, that she might've looked stupid and unworthy for even giving out her thanks to Them. What mattered was that she declared her affection to Them... Her worship of Their presence.

"Moriya, I don't think she's alright."

"Yeah... Do you think you can fix it?"

"I don't know, but I'll sure as hell try."

The princess's eyes widened as she felt her entire body being shifted once more. Her legs still felt like they could easily collapse right under her feet if she tried standing up on her own, and her God must've known that fact as He carried her in His arms in a way that made her heart skip a beat. She felt her cheeks redden as she looked up at His handsome face, the look of worry in His eyes only solidifying her worship of Him even more.

"Here, Guidance," her God addressed His fellow Goddess. "And don't give me that look. She can't stand up on her own yet."

"I know," her Goddess sighed, Her beautiful visage eclipsing that of her own as She hovered over her. "She's clearly delirious. From the way she's looking at us right now, I'd say that we must look like water in the middle of the desert to her."

Shizu smiled at her Goddess's accurate description of what she was feeling right now. Then again, what else did she expect from the Goddess that created this land? Even her own body and personality were shaped by Her, molding her to Her own tastes and desires, which were surely more than what she could say to some of the others she saw in the world.

"Her eyes are clearly telling the story here," her God posited, His piercing gaze locking into her own in a way that made almost made her choke on her own spit. "H-Hey, breathe, okay?"

Quickly nodding, Shizu followed her God's advice. Taking a deep breath, the lingering scent of her God and Goddess's breaths almost made her want to stop breathing just so she could keep Their essence inside her lungs. Still, she was only human, and she had no choice but to exhale as the Two's constant attention made her feel both ecstatic and self-conscious.

"A-Am I finally worthy?" she couldn't help but ask, her body starting to heat up from Their gaze. "Will I... Will I get to experience it again?"

Shizu was hoping that They'd say yes. Ever since that day, she could remember herself never letting that feeling of fulfillment go. The sheer pleasure that her God and Goddess had given her will never be topped. She had once thought that love was something that shouldn't be shared, what with some of the stories she had heard only describing a union between a man and a woman, but her Goddess had thoroughly dashed that notion out of her thoughts. And the way her God....

"She's turning redder by the second here, Guidance," her God worriedly remarked.

"I'm doing my damn best here. It's not you that has to come up with new code to cure status effects," her Goddess anxiously scoffed, Her fingers furiously typing across what looked to be a [Manifest]. "Also, aren't you the one that once worked in the medical field between the two of us? You should know how to handle stuff like this."

"And for the last time, I'm not a nurse or a doctor," He exasperatedly shook His head. "If I need to know what her blood sugar is or if she has a urinary tract infection, maybe I can help. But for general sickness, much less mental health, I don't fvcking know."

In her addled mind, Shizu didn't think that she was that unwell. It's just that... everything seemed so surreal and fuzzy to her at the moment. Being in the presence of her Deities also didn't help her put things in perspective. A part of her tingled at her current thoughts, but she didn't think-

"[Blessing] [Cure]"

A bright green light washed over Shizu, her vision starting to clear with each second that passed. The aches in her body seemingly disappeared, her legs starting to feel a bit more responsive as she wiggled her toes. At the same time, the world seemed to blink back to black and green every few flashes as she blinked, her eyes switching between having her [Code Watcher] active and being in their normal golden hue as her breath hitched.

All of a sudden, she remembered exactly what was happening. The fights... The device that was previously in her chest... The fact that she had just pulled off a [Move] that practically decimated their enemies... Her Dei- friends...

The fact that she had just said those things to them despite them telling her that they weren't gods...

"I think she's coming back to us," her Go- Moriya chuckled as he looked at her. "How are you feeling?"

Shizu couldn't help but blush as she did her best to make herself shrink in her arms. Covering her face with her hands, she weakly nodded as she replied, "I-I'm fine now, Moriya... Lady Guidance... Thank you..."

"Yep, she's back, alright," Lady Guidance let out a relieved scoff. "Still, what happened to you back there?"

"Yeah. I would've thought that you just needed some rest, and then you come back to us spouting all of that stuff," Moriya followed up, only compounding the princess's embarrassment even further. "Is it a side effect of that massive [Move] you just did?"

Seeing an out, Shizu vehemently nodded. "Y-Yes! I-I was just exhausted by that one attack I just did."

While it was partly true, Shizu herself didn't really know why she had acted that strangely. Perhaps [LIMIT BREAK] was just so extreme that she couldn't handle its power. Or maybe it was just that, that it was a side-effect of the [Move] that she didn't know about just yet. After all, this was the first time she even used the attack. She didn't even know such a [Move] existed in her arsenal until that time.

"It's safe to say then that it should only be used as a last resort," Lady Guidance sagely nodded as she sheathed her keyboard. "If the side-effect of using it is this bad, then we'll have to use it sparingly."

Shizu shuffled herself in Moriya's arms as all of the prior feelings she had during her... addled state caught up to her. Notably, the dampness between her legs was something that she really didn't want to be discovered by her companions.

"Uhm... I think you can put me down now, Moriya," Shizu weakly mumbled.

"Are you sure?"

The princess nodded, and he quickly acquiesced as she found herself being lowered onto the ground. Letting her feet support her, Lady Guidance's prior healing made her legs just strong enough for her to move on her own. She could tell that she was still in no shape to fight, but at least she wouldn't be a complete burden to the two of them.

"Right, I think we're all settled?" Lady Guidance asked.

"Seems like it," Moriya nodded. "We have to get back to our friends now."

Shizu's eyes widened in remembrance. Why only now did she remember that their friends were in danger?!

"W-We have to hurry, right?!" the princess anxiously asked. "They might be-"

"They're fine, Shizu. I'm sure of it," Moriya reassured her with a smile. "Like I said to Guidance here earlier, so long as we're not being overrun, it means that they're still out there fighting."

Shizu let out a sigh of relief. Surely, if he was this confident, then their friends were still fine, right?

"Well, they won't be fine if we keep talking to each other like this," Lady Guidance scoffed. "Let's get a move on."

With a collective nod, the princess quickly followed behind her two companions. Well, they were still Gods in her opinion, but she knew well enough not to insist on her thoughts. Especially now that the image of her being sandwiched in between the two of them still plagued her mind.

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛