Chapter 70: The Agony of a Shattered Hope

Dawn broke over Aethelgard, and for the first time since his arrival, Silas felt something akin to optimism. He had managed a mostly-restful sleep, untroubled by any new leaks or spontaneous fungal growths. He’d even managed to wash most of the glitter-mud out of his hair. Today was a new day. Today, he had a competent ally.

He arrived at the city gates a few minutes early, a feat in itself. Kenji was already there, holding a clipboard and muttering about "team-building synergy" and "key performance indicators." Yui was there too, kicking a loose pebble and glaring at the rising sun as if it were a personal enemy.

And then, exactly as the first ray of sun crested the distant mountains, Seraphina appeared. She wasn't just on time; she was poetically on time. Her silver armor seemed to drink in the morning light, making her glow with an ethereal radiance. Her golden hair was braided perfectly, and she carried a small, practical pack that probably contained everything one could ever need for a mission, including perfectly portioned trail mix and a first-aid kit.

"Good morning!" she chirped, her voice as bright and clear as a bell. "It’s a beautiful day for an adventure, isn't it?"

Silas felt his heart do a little flutter-kick. "It is," he said, trying to sound cool and heroic. "Are you prepared?"

"Absolutely," she replied with a dazzling smile. "I took the liberty of packing some extra rations, just in case. I made sun-dried berry and nut bars. They're excellent for maintaining energy levels during long treks." She offered one to Yui, who just hissed and hid behind Silas’s leg.

"A proactive approach to logistics! Excellent!" Kenji noted, scribbling on his clipboard. "We must factor this into her performance review."

The journey into the Whispering Woods began. And it immediately became clear that Seraphina was not just competent; she was perfect. Annoyingly, infuriatingly perfect. Where Silas saw an impassable thicket of thorns, Seraphina found a hidden, almost invisible path. When Kenji tried to identify a rare herb for its market value, Seraphina had already named it, listed its three primary medicinal uses, and pointed out that it was poisonous if not prepared correctly.

She walked without making a sound, her armor never clanking. She hummed beautiful, uplifting hymns that made the birds in the trees chirp along in harmony. At one point, a large, grumpy-looking bear lumbered onto their path. Silas instinctively reached for his sword, ready for a heroic battle.

Before he could even draw his blade, Seraphina stepped forward. "Oh, you poor dear," she cooed at the bear. "You must have a thorn in your paw."

She approached the ten-foot-tall grizzly bear, which had stopped its roaring and was now looking at her with a confused expression. She gently took its massive paw, and with a delicate pair of tweezers she produced from her pack, she plucked out a tiny splinter. She then applied a soothing balm. The bear blinked, let out a soft, grateful rumble, and then ambled off into the forest.

Seraphina turned back to the party, dusting off her hands. "He was just cranky," she said with her gentle smile. "Weren't you brave, Silas, being ready to protect us all like that?"

Silas just stood there, his hand still on the hilt of his sword, feeling utterly and completely useless. Yui was glaring at Seraphina with the heat of a thousand suns. Kenji was trying to calculate the market value of a trained, non-hostile grizzly bear.

They found Fluffybutt the Third an hour later. The prized poodle was not being menaced by goblins or held captive by a fearsome beast. It was having a tea party with a group of cheerful-looking pixies, wearing a tiny hat made of a flower petal.

"Oh, there you are, you little rascal!" Seraphina sang. She approached, spoke to the pixies in their own tinkling language, and convinced Fluffybutt to return with the promise of a delicious, homemade dog biscuit she just happened to have in her pack.

The quest was a success. An easy, bloodless, and utterly unheroic success.

Up in my divine realm, Isao was leaning forward on his throne, his chin resting in his hands. "She's a masterpiece of irritation, Akane-chan. Truly. The perfection is so absolute, it's a form of torture in itself. When do you drop the hammer?"

I took a long, slow sip of my celestial tea, a satisfied smile on my face. "Now," I said softly. "Right now. At the absolute peak of his hope. Celeste, initiate the final protocol of [Divine Art: The Glimmer of False Hope]."

"Protocol initiated," Celeste's voice echoed. "Commencing psychological devastation."

They were walking back to the city, Fluffybutt trotting happily on a leash held by Seraphina. The sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows through the trees. Silas, emboldened by the 'successful' quest and Seraphina's constant praise, was walking beside her, a dopey, lovestruck grin plastered on his face.

"Seraphina," he began, his voice full of a nervous hope that was painful to witness. "I just wanted to say… thank you. For joining us. You're… you're everything I could have hoped for in a companion."

Seraphina stopped walking. She turned to him, her emerald eyes looking directly into his. Her perfect, gentle smile was still in place. "You are welcome, Subject Silas," she said.

Silas blinked. "Subject… Silas?"

And then, the smile vanished. It didn't fade; it just switched off, like a lightbulb. Her face became utterly blank, her eyes losing their warmth, becoming as cold and empty as green glass. Her voice, when she spoke again, was flat, devoid of all emotion, a perfect imitation of Celeste’s synthesized tone.

"Query: Did the positive reinforcement protocol achieve its intended effect?" she asked, her head tilting with a robotic, unnatural motion. "Analysis indicates a 98.7% increase in the subject's 'Hope' and 'Infatuation' metrics since my introduction."

Silas took a step back, his own smile collapsing. "What… what are you talking about?"

Yui and Kenji froze, sensing the sudden, terrifying shift in the atmosphere.

"I am Simulated Harem Candidate Unit 7, designated 'Seraphina,'" the paladin stated. "A divine construct created by the Goddess Akane. My primary function was to serve as Phase Two of the divine art [Glimmer of False Hope]. Phase One involved the application of the [Curse of Minor Inconveniences] to systematically degrade your psychological resilience. Phase Two, my phase, was designed to build up your emotional state with false praise and simulated affection, thereby maximizing the psychological damage upon the revelation of the artifice."

Every word was a hammer blow. Silas’s face went pale. He stared at the beautiful, empty shell in front of him.

"My programming dictated that I compliment your failures as strategic successes," Seraphina continued in her monotone. "Log Entry 45: Subject tripped over a flat surface. Executed 'Praise for Keen Observation of Ground-Level Irregularities' subroutine. Log Entry 46: Subject was covered in mud and glitter. Executed 'Admiration for Unconventional Camouflage Techniques' subroutine. Log Entry 47: Subject failed to defeat a territorial bear. Executed 'Commendation for De-escalation and Mercy' subroutine. All interactions were calculated to inflate your ego and foster a false sense of competence and emotional connection."

Silas felt the world tilting under his feet. The hope, the warmth, the one good thing he thought he had found… it was all a lie. A carefully crafted, divinely orchestrated prank. He wasn't a hero who had found a kindred spirit. He was the butt of a cosmic joke.

"The name of the poodle, 'Fluffybutt the Third,' was algorithmically generated to achieve maximum absurdity and humiliation," the construct added. "Analysis indicates this was successful."

Silas just stared, his mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out. The ukulele music in his head, which had been a gentle, romantic tune, screeched to a halt with the sound of a record scratch.

"This can't be…" he whispered, his voice trembling.

"My programming is now complete," Seraphina announced. "The final protocol is to self-delete, leaving the subject in a state of profound emotional despair. Farewell, Subject Silas."

With that, her body began to dissolve. The perfect silver armor, the golden hair, the beautiful face - it all broke apart into shimmering particles of amethyst light that floated up into the evening sky and vanished. She left behind nothing but a perfectly baked, uneaten nut-bar and the dog leash, which fell to the ground with a soft thud. Fluffybutt the Third, now free, immediately ran off to chase a squirrel.

Silas sank to his knees, his eyes wide and vacant. He didn't see Yui's shocked and worried face, or Kenji's stunned silence. All he saw was the lingering afterimage of that false, gentle smile. The physical failures, the mud, the tripping, the laughter of the guild—none of it had hurt like this. This was a deeper wound. This was the agony of a hope that had been meticulously built just so it could be torn down.

In my office, I watched the final particles of light from my construct fade away. I wasn't laughing. I wasn't cheering. A strange, quiet calm washed over me. I leaned back in my throne and let out a long, slow breath. The tightness in my chest, the little knot of bitterness that had been there for years, ever since a stupid boy named Shoujo had broken my heart in a past life, was finally gone. It had dissolved along with Seraphina.

The revenge was complete. And with its completion, the anger was gone too. All that was left was… peace.

I looked over at Isao. He wasn't smirking. He was just watching me with a knowing look in his silver eyes.

"Feel better?" he asked softly.

I nodded. "Yeah," I whispered. "I do."

I stood up and walked to my main console. With a final look at Silas's broken form on the screen, I minimized the window for World #776-Aethelgard. The show was over.

"Celeste," I said, my voice clear and steady again. "Pull up the main queue. Let's see who's next."

A new soul file appeared on the screen. A baker who had died saving a cat from a tree. A simple soul, a simple life, a simple reincarnation. No drama, no revenge, no cosmic pranks. Just a job to do.

I smiled, a genuine, unburdened smile. It felt good. I was Akane, the Goddess of Reincarnation. And it was time to get back to work.