"I see now—the theory of parallel spaces. No, perhaps the truth of the world is an infinite exponent of two... a world of two to the power of infinity." Akihiko Kayaba said something that left Kurumi momentarily dumbfounded.
"Two to the power of infinity... dimensional space theory... the truth of the world... in short, a two-dimensional world." You're really something, aren't you? Kurumi felt a sudden urge—an uncontrollable impulse to pat Kayaba on the back while laughing uproariously.
So that's how the two-dimensional world came to be. You're the father of the 2D world! You're truly incredible. Even I, a god, would bow down and write 'respect' for you.
"My lady, may I see another world?" Akihiko Kayaba asked, his tone filled with desperate longing. Everyone has their own desires, but his were... quite unique.
Kurumi nodded lightly, then took out the Book of the World. She extracted a fragment of Kayaba's consciousness and cast it into the book.
Since Kurumi had already experienced two worlds, her Book of the World contained memories of both—first, the world of Guilty Crown.
Kayaba's pupils unfocused, yet his expression showed intense concentration. After standing silently for some time, he finally sighed in awe. "The human heart is truly a wondrous thing. The existence of the Voids... to think such power comes from the collective will of humanity. People believe there is a universe, and thus the universe exists. People believe science can explain everything, and thus my world appears perfectly ordinary."
His tone carried a deep sense of disappointment. What he craved was a fantastical world—not one bound by science. Unfortunately, he had been born into an ordinary, mundane reality. Kayaba lamented his fate, regretting that he had not been born in a world of magic and gods instead.
"The kind of world you dream of? I happen to have one!" Kurumi suddenly flashed a mischievous smile. She once again drew Kayaba's consciousness into the Book of the World.
Kayaba's eyes lost focus once more—but this time, his face lit up with pure ecstasy.
What did he see? Witch clans! Undead! Werewolves! Elves! Succubi!
Mecha War Gods! Magical armaments! Divine Performers! Logismoi Óplo! Automatons!
"This... this is the world I've dreamed of!" Kayaba's eyes brimmed with tears of joy as he smiled in blissful disbelief.
Then, he witnessed the fall of the continent—how every race took to the skies, creating the Harmonic World and forging the artificial Divine State. And then... the vision abruptly ended.
"Ah! The creation of the Harmonic World... the creation of the artificial Divine State..." Kayaba suddenly clutched his head and fell to his knees in the starry void, his expression that of an addict overcome by insatiable craving.
I want it! I want it! I want it! He longed to take part in the creation of the Harmonic World—to personally forge the artificial Divine State. No matter the cost, he wanted it. He would give everything for the chance. God, please! Give me the opportunity—I want to create a real world!
Kayaba gasped desperately for breath, his brain cells firing at an unprecedented rate. His burning obsession with creating a true world consumed him entirely.
At that moment, Kurumi sighed with a touch of pity and said, "Ah, you mean that... yes, my Divine Kingdom is indeed rather shabby. Forcing every race to live in the sky—that was my negligence as a god."
Then, her expression shifted from regret to pride, her lips curving into a confident smile. "However, I've already found a way to make the land reborn. Before long, all races will once again live upon the continent."
"Create... a continent..." Kayaba looked as though he had been struck by lightning. His entire body began trembling violently, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face. He was overwhelmed beyond words.
Kurumi, however, shook her head with mild exasperation and said with a sigh, "But it's an enormous task! Creating a continent is incredibly troublesome. Even the slightest miscalculation could cause instability—mountain collapses, fissures, volcanic eruptions, tectonic shifts, constant natural disasters! Sadly, I lack the talent for such things... and even more so, the manpower."
"M-me... me, me!" Kayaba suddenly pointed at himself with both hands. He stammered incoherently for a long time, too overwhelmed to form proper words. Tears streamed endlessly down his cheeks—how could he possibly speak clearly in such a state of pure emotion?
"Ah, well, there's no helping it. I can only try to create it bit by bit. After ten thousand years—or maybe a hundred thousand—the continent will eventually be complete." Pressing her fingers lightly to her forehead, Kurumi sighed with a deeply regretful expression.
"M-me... me..." Akihiko Kayaba's hands trembled as he pointed at himself. He opened and closed his mouth several times, his face turning bright red, yet no words came out.
"How unfortunate. If only I had a capable assistant skilled in creation, I'd gladly entrust them with the entire task of forming the continent. Then I could enjoy a life of leisure. But alas, such is fate! It seems I lack the proper talent in this field. I'll just have to toil away myself, spending millennia to create it slowly."
Kurumi looked utterly helpless and exasperated, as if she truly couldn't stand troublesome work.
Pffft! A spray of blood burst from Akihiko Kayaba's mouth. His HP plummeted sharply, shifting from green to orange.
"M-me..." He struggled to speak, blood staining his lips, but no coherent sound escaped. In a sudden burst of madness, Kayaba summoned a wall in front of him—then slammed his head against it.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The rhythmic thuds echoed like drums. Blood poured from his forehead, swelling into a lump. His HP bar dropped from orange to yellow, then suddenly locked, refusing to fall further.
Kurumi froze for a second before quickly straightening up in alarm. "Stop! Don't go all self-destructive on me! Fine, I'll forgive you for cheating the Wolf King fight! Just—don't scare me like that!"
The wall vanished. With blood still dripping down his face, Kayaba said hoarsely, "Actually, I..."
Before he could finish, he summoned a brick in each hand and—without hesitation—began smashing his own head with them.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Blood spattered everywhere. Seeing the crimson and white mix of blood and brain matter flying toward her, Kurumi's beautiful face went pale as she ducked behind her throne in fright.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Each impact was followed by another burst of blood. With every sound, Kurumi's complexion grew whiter and whiter.
Mother of Heaven... humans are terrifying! she thought, trembling.
Crack! The brick shattered. Kayaba's skull split open. Staring at the empty shell that was his head, Kurumi's entire body went rigid with shock.
Mother of Heaven... humans really are terrifying...
Then, in an instant, Kayaba was restored—his body whole again, not a scratch remaining. He adjusted his glasses with one hand, looking perfectly composed, though the other hand still held half a broken brick.
"My lady, I actually have some background in geography. Many of SAO's environments were designed based on real-world geological structures," he said calmly, as if nothing had happened.
"I see... now please, put the brick away first." Kurumi replied, forcing herself to sound calm as she stood up—choosing not to sit back on her throne. Even though it had been instantly repaired, she couldn't forget that it had just been splattered with brain matter moments ago.
"Oh! Alright then." Kayaba obediently made the brick vanish.
"To create a continent is an enormous endeavor. Stability is only the minimum requirement. You must also account for the customs, habits, and lifestyles of each race—the geographical and ecological design must reflect their nature. The scope of knowledge required is vast. Even though you've built SAO, I'm afraid you may still lack the—"
Two brand-new bricks appeared in Kayaba's hands.
"Ahem..." Kurumi coughed lightly, covering her mouth with her delicate fist before continuing. "Though you are a short-lived human, your genius is one in ten thousand years. Perhaps... I could entrust you with the monumental task of creating the continent."
The bricks vanished instantly. Kayaba dropped to one knee, bowing respectfully. "Thank you for your trust, O Goddesss of Time. When shall we depart for your Divine Kingdom?"
"There's no need to rush. I still have matters to attend to. It's too complicated to explain with mere words—I'll show you directly." Kurumi reached out toward the Book of the World, and a beam of light flowed into Kayaba's mind. In that moment, he understood everything—why she had entered this game.
"I see now... In that case, I can immediately eject all the players and hand full control of the game over to you," Kayaba said urgently. To him, remaining in SAO now felt like a complete waste of time.
"Don't do that! I need this game to temper my knights—to forge them into true warriors. I need your help right now." Kurumi shook her head softly. Little Honda was in trouble. If she didn't resolve it here, she would never be at peace.
"I've already prepared something for you, my lady." Akihiko Kayaba adjusted his glasses and opened the system interface. In a flash of light, a tiny thumb-sized girl with dragonfly wings appeared before Kurumi. It was Yui—the same NPC daughter of Kirito and Asuna from the original story.
"This is a system sprite I created for you. She possesses all of my administrative permissions. I've already designated her as your private entity. However, at the time, I didn't know which of you was the true deity, so she's technically registered under both Tokisaki Kurumi and Kimi Aoi," Kayaba explained, pushing up his glasses again. He clearly knew Kurumi was the true god, but he had carelessly added Kimi's name to the settings as well.
Kurumi held the tiny girl gently in her hands, her wine-red eyes filled with curiosity. An NPC that possessed emotions... What exactly was Yui's existence? Human? Soul? Or merely data... or perhaps, something else entirely.
Yui's small eyes fluttered open. When her fingernail-sized face met Kurumi's enormous, gleaming crimson eyes, she froze for a second in shock, then sat down timidly in Kurumi's palm.
Moments later, Yui's expression brightened with joy. She flapped her delicate wings and flew up, hovering happily in front of Kurumi as she called out cheerfully, "Papa!"
Kayaba tilted his head, pushing his glasses again, pretending he had absolutely no idea what was going on.
Snap. Something inside Kurumi-chan's mind broke.
"Huuh~?" With a dazzling smile, Kurumi casually grabbed the tiny Yui in her palm and said sweetly, "Ara~ how would you like to die?"
Yui froze in fear, her tiny hands pressing against Kurumi's thumb as she trembled. Desperately, she turned toward Kimi Aoi, who stood beside Kurumi, and pleaded, "Mama! Papa's scary!"
"Er—Divine One, please calm yourself! She's just a child. Her manner of address can easily be changed," Kimi said awkwardly, quickly trying to defuse the situation.
Kurumi suddenly narrowed her eyes and smiled, opening her palm again to let Yui sit comfortably in her hand. Producing a small piece of confectionery, she spoke with a gentle, almost motherly tone. "Ara~ such a good girl. Here, Papa will give you a treat."
Staring at the pastry that was nearly as large as herself, Yui turned to Kimi Aoi in confusion and asked softly, "Mama... why is Papa acting so weird?"
"Ara~ how adorable. Say 'Papa' again, and I'll give you some cake," Kurumi said, her smile growing brighter, her amusement clearly increasing as she conjured a large slice of cake in her other hand.
"Hehe~" Kimi Aoi also narrowed her eyes, smiling knowingly as a tiny voice echoed in her mind: "My Divine One is so easy to understand."