Asmodeus sat beside the sleepy goddess, her body leaning over a pile of vibrant leaves while she looked at him with her fluttering lashes.

    Unlike Arista, Stella was lazy, a little mellow and didn''t seem to be energetic.

    "Are you alright?" He couldn''t help but ask. The world around them became brightly lit and full of life and vibrancy, but the sleeping white butterfly opened and closed her eyes slowly, watching Asmodeus without speaking.

    "Mmmmn... a little sleepy, but now you came. It''s peaceful."

    "Is this a divine world, rather... is your divine space located inside the world tree?"

    The moment Asmodeus asked his question, Stella''s eyes snapped open.

    Her pupils focused on him differently from before, yet she then slowly claimed, like a sea that slowly ebbs and flows, she returned to her sleepy state.

    "Half."

    "Half?"

    "Mm... half of a world, Stella is only half."

    "I see..." Asmodeus closed his eyes, unable to find Sariel, but somehow, he could feel something, like common sense or a small voice in his mind, asking him to be patient and not rush. He would normally ignore something like this.

    ''Rather, It would be like I am insane normally...'' but the voice was Serena''s.

    However, time seemed to linger in this world, with nothing changing since he came to the centre, other than Stella yawning a few times and rolling onto her side.

    "Are you not lonely, here?"

    He couldn''t help but ask because this world was now filled with light and life. Before he came, it was dark and empty. The lonely thought that Stella lived here alone with no one to talk to made Asmodeus angry.

    He didn''t know who or what the anger was directed at... but those were the feelings inside his chest.

    ''Is it me or do the two resemble the dark elves and elves...'' While using his mind, he constantly tried to understand what Aristella wanted from him—there must have been a reason that she took an interest in a succubus like Sariel, and these two butterflies were his clue.

    One has dark wings but can live under constant light, while the other has white wings and is doomed to a lonely life in the darkness.

    "Hehe, you''re thinking about us so earnestly, thank you." A snappy voice sounded from the distance, and then a pair of black wings fluttered. Arista appeared in this lively world, causing Stella to react.

    "Ah~ it''s Aris. She came to see me!"

    "Eh... wasn''t she called Arista?" Asmodeus interrupted as the two butterflies held hands and started to flutter around in the air.

    They responded with voices in sync, one high-pitched and the other low. "It''s Arista''s nickname!"

    "Hmmm?"

    His first theory was suddenly shot down, but then he tilted his head and asked, "Is Stella a nickname?"

    The two butterflies suddenly looked happy, as if they wanted him to ask this question; bouncing and fluttering, they twirled in the air with a giggle. "Stellavia!"

    "Hehe~ I love your name. It''s so fancy." Arista giggled while her golden dust covered the dull silver bedding that covered the flowers Stella had slept in earlier.

    "Me too~ Hehe, Arista is so pretty."

    While the two continued their dance, Asmodeus noticed their figures sometimes flickered, became intangible and fused—the image of a single existence with gold and silver hair and eyes, a fairy with two pairs of see-through wings.

    ''Strange...''

    "We''ve finally met someone who can clear it!"

    Immediately, the world flipped...

    A huge black tree grew from the ground, while on the mirror of the land, upside down was the white tree from the outside where they entered... identical to the white forest, but instead, it became dark, with purple and black leaves for the barrier.

    Asmodeus turned to face the fairies, his body shuddering from the sudden disorientation, but the two cute figures faded into a golden and silver dust... flickering in the air as they whispered something to him before flying towards their respective trees.

    "Hehe~ Serena was right, Ryuji is a cute boy filled with a kind heart."

    "You''re right Stella~ I cannot wait to meet him when we wake up!"

    Asmodeus didn''t understand something because his knowledge of elven history and the world tree was too limited.

    He wondered why a pair of twin goddesses needed to share one body and why the dark tree couldn''t grow elsewhere in the world. He wanted to let it grow happily without hiding away in the cold, dark underground.

    "So this is why we entered the trial inside the world tree... Stellavia to pass through to the second tree Arista."

    He had one question on his mind, and he shouted it out in the air, curious for no reason.

    "Did you call yourselves Aristella so Arista buried in the dark would never be forgotten?"

    ''It must be... otherwise, why was Arista so energetic despite the tree being worshipped by the elves and visible by normal people... being Stellavia.''

    Asmodeus stood still in silence. He closed his eyes, trying to sense the pair of fairies, to see if they had vanished forever. A sudden flicker appeared beside his face, and then he felt something touch both sides of his cheeks—small and warm.

    The moment his eyes opened, he could see the flicker of silver and gold while the soft sensation that touched his cheeks lingered.

    [Hehe~ come wake me up, and you''ll learn more, cute little Ryuji!]

    "Silly little fairies..."

    Because he almost forgot about rescuing Sariel, he couldn''t help but shake his head and focus on the changes. Now, the same elevated bridge from the hallway outside appeared, leading to the black world tree.

    After he answered their question, the world started to transform: warmth, life, and a small sun appeared, lighting the dark world.

    Asmodeus noticed that most creatures in the dark world have characteristics that differ from those of the opposite world. White rabbits lived in the dark world, and in the world of Arista, there were black bunnies and animals now running around happily.

    He headed down the bridge while watching both worlds that mirrored each other, improving and becoming more beautiful.

    "It''s a wonderful scene..."

    Little did he know, the outside world was changing in real-time.

    The change was so great that even the empress and concubine became alert. The world tree that seemed to wither and fade suddenly grew stronger. Its defensive light and silver leaves now cover the entire forest.

    Beautiful snow started to rain down onto the Dragonspire canyon as if the saintess he had died for had finally made it. The lava started to cool, and the land slowly crumbled and transformed. Finally, beautiful flowers started to grow, and the dried and dead plants lingered.

    Not only that, but the dark elf tribes that hid inside the forest, hidden by the dark world tree Arista, suddenly started to appear.

    Their barriers were finally broken as the size of the elven forest almost doubled.

    From the beginning, both the empress and the empire itself were mistaken about the true meaning of the trial of Aristella... it wasn''t a dungeon with monsters... but a type of trial for elves, hoping for the day they could accept each other and allow their goddess to return to her true form.

    But after thousands of years...

    None of the appointed saints on either side were successful.

    Ironically, a demon king set them free.