(MC POV)
Walking through the portal, I was greeted with the endless expanse of space. Countless stars dotted all around me, each of them blinking in unison when I entered.
There was no ground but yet I still felt something solid beneath me to plant my feet firmly on.
The old lady walked in after me, her hands clasped behind her back.
"Where is this?" I asked, turning to face her.
Her eyes were wide open now, showing me her iridescent eyes that glowed brightly in the darkness of space.
"It's a small dimension within a dimension that I created specifically to trap that annoying thing," she explained with a smile.
Right, as though creating pocket dimensions was a normal everyday thing… Well...Maybe it really is for someone like her.
I'm already guessing that she might be a goddess of some sort, and most likely someone who is ranked extremely high in the hierarchy if the gods even had that sort of thing.
"And where is that thing?" I asked.
She waved her hand in the air dismissively, "Somewhere out there. Guess you'll have to find it."
Huh. Is she really that upset that I'm not interested in my past self?
I gestured towards the portal, "I can still leave, can't I?"
She chuckled, "Oh dear~ For someone like you to actually trust my words so easily… I'm not sure if it's your hubris or you are just this naturally trusting?"
I crossed my arms, "Alright, I won't even skirt around it anymore. Who are you, really? And why are you so involved with me?"
"Ofufu~ Didn't I already say that who I am doesn't matter?"
I sucked in a breath, I know I'm being manipulated but there's not much I can do here.
"Alright, fine. Who am I?"
Her smile widened, "You are… Or rather were… One of the wielders of Origin."
An answer that begets more questions…
I sighed, "Ok then, you're obviously enjoying this so I'll bite. Let's start from the top. Explain why 'were'?"
"I believe you might have already guessed that this is not your first life."
Well, if she's talking about me coming back from being killed by that Primordial Divine Dragon then yeah. But something tells me that she wasn't referring to that.
Or was she?
Then again, this whole reversing back time doesn't really make much sense in the first place. Up till now, I still don't know what exactly caused the time reversal to occur and why specifically this point in time to return to.
Since this old lady is already aware of my past life, I guess there's no point in me denying it so I just nodded my head to see what she has to say. Maybe she can grant some insights to my current situation.
"Then this would be easy to explain," She said while snapping her fingers.
The space around us shifted, the stars winking in unison before disappearing from sight.
In front of me, what appears to be a large, white egg appeared out of thin air, floating on top of an ebony pedestal.
I could see faint traces of white smoke drifting out of it, stretching all the way out of view towards the darkness around us.
Just when I thought things couldn't get any weirder, the space around us folded inwards and the previous blackness of space was banished, replaced with what looked like the interior of an ornate palace.
"This is?"
"The centre of the Universe," She explained in a smooth voice.
Ok…
I pointed at the egg, "I'm guessing that's supposed to be Origin?"
"Yes and no."
"Are you ever going to give me a straight answer?"
"Ofufufu~ One day, my dear. One day."
"I'm going to guess that I've somehow pissed you off in my past life and this is your way of getting back at me?"
The old lady merely smiled.
I took a moment to inspect my surroundings, the decorations seem to be disturbingly familiar. Not in the sense that I've been here before but it's more because the style seems to be similar to the furniture found in the Earthen Plane.
I'd thought for some kind of Celestial abode it would have things be made out of otherworldly materials instead.
Noticing my gaze, the old lady smiled at me, "The room adjusts its look based on your memories, my dear. Thus, the more mundane appearance."
"So the room looks different for you?"
She shook her head, "Oh no, we're seeing the same thing. This space is attuned to you after all."
"Attuned to me? What, are you going to tell me this was supposed to be my room?"
"Ofufufu~ No, my dear. This room most definitely does not belong to you. It's just there are some things I think you should not see in your mortal body and adapting the room to your own perception would maintain your sanity better."
Good. Almost gave me a heart attack there lady. I don't even know what kind of being would live in the centre of the Universe.
If this old lady can just teleport here at will, it's either this place isn't really that big of a deal or she's really, really high up in terms of importance.
"So why did you bring me here? Just to see this egg thingy? Could've just told me and be done with it," I asked.
"Mmm… But it's easier to show and besides, you can feel the difference in power when the source is right beside you."
I looked at the egg before turning to her and shrugging, "I don't feel any different."
"Why don't you try touching it?"
"No way, this is the standard event where something comes out and possesses me isn't it? I bet that egg is the tentacled thing and it's looking for another host. Right now I have no idea who you are so you might be that tentacled monster's friend for all I know."
"Ofufufu~ You seemed to have forgotten that I have saved your life, my dear."
I smirked, "Could have been part of your plan to let my guard down."
"Mmm~ I suppose that is a point. In that case…"
She lifted her hand to point her palm at me before moving it to the side.
Almost immediately, my hand was raised without my consent and placed itself on top of the egg.
Power surged through my veins and I was no longer within my body, my consciousness having expanded outwards to reach into space.
For that short moment, I felt like the entire Universe and everything in existence was in the palm of my hand to do whatever I wanted.
With a simple thought, I could even erase everything and create it anew in whatever manner I could think of.
Reality was whatever I wanted.
Then I felt the burn, like my entire existence was being disintegrated at that moment. It was akin to a candle being snuffed out.
Before anything else can happen though, the surge of power was abruptly cut off and I found myself staring straight up at the ceiling, breathing hard.
The old lady's smiling face came into view a moment later, chuckling "So how does it feel to be omnipotent for a single second?"
"That… Wow…" I managed to gasp.
After experiencing that power, there was no way I would think of my current self as strong at all.
This was what Lilith had access to? I'm surprised I managed to fight her and live in that case.
"Now do you trust me, dear?" She asked.
I took a moment to calm my breathing down, "I… Assume you might be capable of much worse… So it's not like I have a choice?"
"Ofufufu~ Very smart, dear. Now I'll let you go do what you originally came here for. Just head out through the main door and you will see the tentacled thing locked up in front of you. Don't be a stranger~"
I stood back up on unsteady feet, "First things first… Why are you telling me all this?"
She stopped in her tracks and turned her head slightly, looking at me with a single iridescent eye, "Because this is who you really are."
Not waiting for my reply, she walked off, disappearing into thin air as though she had been an illusion.
...
What? Did she just do all this just to get me here? What's the point?
She didn't even tell me what she wanted, like what the hell am I supposed to do with this new knowledge? Just say 'cool' and continue with life?
Why must things be so complicated?!
You know what? Yeah. Cool. I'm going to just continue on with life.