A quiet gurgle came from the girl lying in the flower filled grass.
The boy walking by with a black spiderweb decorated umbrella gave her pause and regarded her sympathetically.
The girl didn't stand out that much, though he recognized her as the heroine who defeated the rebellion of the Callista Empire.
Her features though marred by the blood spreading were still quite pretty. Her red hair and indigo eyes were attractive but ruined by the anguish on her face and the dirt and blood.
"Oh you've been attacked. I'd call it in. Really. But I can't." Her expression reflected in his abysmal dark eyes.
"They might take one look at me and assume the worst." He said simply as he glanced away, even though no one was around.
"You .." she gasped and spluttered.
"Don't be upset about my reasons," The boy stared at her unbothered.
"One would think that in the world I don't belong in.... I could risk doing something that benefited someone else with no concern for my own life." He said softly.
"It's not so simple," he said after a moment, shaking his head.
She could understand that. Enemies were everywhere, even with her job of saving this world done.
Case in point, she was currently dying. From a wound to the chest that she hadn't gotten from fighting the entity that had been trying to wipe out human life and was now in prison.
This injury was from a surprise attack.
She could argue that it was simply Yggdrasil taking her away from this world - fun as it had been, to transport her to yet another that needed saving.
In her head that sounded right, didn't it?
But this was ... Different from all the peaceful, painless ways Yggdrasil had carried out "Resuming Genesis".
"Y-ygg..drasil...." She gasped. "S-Shield-"
A book appeared and started to glow, but was interrupted before it could do anything.
"Disgusting," he sneered in response. Though his gaze wasn't aimed at her.
"Hiding in that book like that,"
'I don't know how I couldn't have considered one of us would be a coward." He gave the book a cold glare and the book was... Was it trembling?
Flustered herself, despite her injuries she weakly reached out.
He snatched it out of the air. She was stunned, dangerously feeling like her heart skipped a beat.
He held the book in his hands flipping through the pages, unbothered as more and more seemed to appear out of them.
Then he flipped to a page that made him stop and look outright murderous.
"That's not happening," he said venomously. And ripped out a page. Her expression quickly went from confusion to shock.
"Don't look so affronted. I'm doing you a favor," the big told her.
He'd let go of the book but it hadn't yet gone to her.
Which was inconvenient. She was still dying.
She needed to be in contact with Yggdrasil before she did.
Otherwise she would reincarnate in the next world without it and would have to spend time trying to find it- wherever it wound up appearing. That wasn't so bad in the grand scheme of things, but she would be a typical human with none of the collected abilities and powers stored within Yggdrasil.
She'd done that a few times.
It wasn't fun compared to reincarnating with Yggdrasil.
The boy held in his hand the torn page.
The book was trembling violently now. It glowed and she was looking at a boy with black hair iridescent eyes and stern, scowling expression.
She gasped as before her stood an almost carbon copy of the boy who'd torn out the page. She blinked at them.
Yggdrasil -the boy who was previously a book- looked both angry and on the verge of tears.
Ripping out a page had hurt in some way apparently. Though she hadn't intended to she coughed and got attention drawn to herself.
"I'll confront you about that later...." He decided.
She was about to rasp a question of the importance of the torn page but was cut off with a strangled sound escaping her throat. She wanted to stay conscious.
However he immediately grabbed her, scooping her into his arms bridal style.
Her vision felt blurry.... The other boy was surely of importance -
She shifted attempting to look but her position blocked being able to see properly.
"Resuming Genesis " Yggdrasil breathed.
Everything faded to black.
❃❃❃❃❃⍟❃❃❃❃❃❃
In a lavish room a girl with familiar red hair and indigo eyes blinked awake, looking very much uninjured.
"Already... It's morning...."
After a quiet groan Absolutumia Animasphere sat up. She glanced at the picture on the night stand. It depicted Soulrei, reincarnated in this new world as Absolutumia Animasphere, the daughter of a noble family.
Typical.
It was the 1000 reincarnation - Isekai she'd been through. After the first two hundred she started to think she was the universe's janitor.
Reincarnate, live until her 'assistant' Yggdrasil -which took on the physical appearance of a tome- gave her a job then... Meet an untimely but unquestioned end. Repeat.
At least she picked up some good skills in her reincarnations.
Though, after a while things sort of blurred together so skills or lack thereof were irrelevant.
"Yggdrasil Open" she said flatly.
The sparkling book about as thick as an encyclopedia obeyed her command.
The pages were briefly blank then filled with elegant penmanship. Detailing various events and worlds.
"Hmm no new mission as of yet," she lamented.
'Yggdrasil wouldn't send me to a world that didn't need saving.' she thought staring at a blank page.
"Hey, Yggdrasil," she remarked then thought for a moment.
"Are you feeling okay? I'm seventeen years old already. When am I being entrusted to save this world? Do I need to wait for someone to become a potential threat?" She asked.
On the back of her hand a strange pattern flickered before vanishing.
The book didn't respond.
"Oh-- well whatever, my last life ended on a confusing note," she remarked not noticing the pattern.
"Lady Absolutumia!" The head butler sounded surprised.
"Who are you speaking to?" He questioned.
She stiffened and quickly masked it with overly comfortable friendliness. She wrapped him in a hug.
"No one my good friend! I'm just making mental notes out loud!" She lied easily.
"Mental -?" The old man parroted, stunned.
"Don't worry about me, really! 'Kay, see you after school!" She said darting downstairs.
Curious if she was hiding something, he peeked inside. But the only sight that greeted him was the empty room decorated with the furniture the head of the estate picked.
He relaxed.