At this moment, Griseo had yet to realize that the current universe was no longer the one she once knew.
"Griseo, I'm back."
Vita appeared beside Griseo, smiling cheerfully at her.
"Why are you only coming back now?"
Griseo glared at Vita.
You've been gone for over a month!
And what about your seven little ones—do you not care about them at all?
"Sorry~" Vita scratched her head awkwardly. "I'm the proxy of a god, remember? I have to manage and patrol the entire planet, so I've been really busy."
"Honestly..."
Griseo sighed.
When she had first awakened from her stasis pod, the first person she saw was this woman who called herself the proxy of a god—the second-highest authority on Venus, just below the reclusive deity herself.
"Did you do what you promised me?"
In exchange for helping Vita care for the seven little Vitas, Griseo had asked her to gather information about Earth.
"You mean Earth, right?"
Vita touched her chin thoughtfully before replying, "The situation on Earth is similar to ours here on Venus."
"That's wonderful!"
Griseo let out a breath of relief. Humanity still existed, and like Venus' Purusha civilization, they too had triumphed over the Honkai.
That meant she didn't need to continue searching for habitable planets to carry out Project ARK.
"Griseo, about that human civilization on Earth—I don't think you need to concern yourself with it too much. They're not really related to you."
Vita suddenly dropped that statement out of nowhere.
"Oh?"
Griseo raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, those humans on Earth don't know you. They've never even heard of you."
"And what's wrong with that?"
Griseo didn't seem to care. She was from tens of thousands of years ago, from the Previous Era—of course people of the Current Era wouldn't know her.
But what Vita meant was that this human civilization on Earth wasn't even from her original world.
"No problem, really. I just don't understand your attachment to civilization."
Vita didn't tell Griseo the truth directly.
She couldn't comprehend Griseo's attachment to humanity—to the civilization of Earth.
What she truly cared about was Sa; the Purusha civilization itself meant nothing to her.
Griseo could sense that Vita was hiding something, but she didn't press the issue. This woman was always mysterious—full of secrets and half-truths.
"Alright, enough about that."
Vita suddenly changed the subject, smiling brightly. "Griseo, I've got news for you. Our goddess on Venus is going to sleep for a while."
"And what does that have to do with me?"
"If the god's asleep, that means no one's watching over me! I can do whatever I want!"
"What are you planning to do?"
Griseo frowned, eyeing Vita warily—this woman looked like she was about to cause trouble again.
Vita smirked mischievously. "Right now, there are three civilizations in the solar system—Venus, Mars, and Earth. Don't you think I should do something about that?"
"There's a human saying, isn't there? 'Those who are not of our kind have hearts that must differ.'"
"Shouldn't I strike first before they do?"
Normally, if three civilizations existed within one solar system and could make contact, war would be inevitable.
But this wasn't a normal case. Though they appeared to be three separate civilizations, in truth, they were all under the Honkai faction.
Was this woman seriously thinking about starting a war?!
Griseo's expression changed.
But then she quickly realized it—her cheeks puffed up in frustration.
This woman was lying again!
"You believed me."
Vita found Griseo's annoyed expression amusing.
"I did not."
Griseo retorted.
A civilization on Mars? Had the solar system changed that much?
Griseo frowned slightly. During her interstellar travels, there had been no trace of life on Mars.
"There's a civilization on Mars?"
"There is! Not only a civilization but beautiful goddesses as well. I just visited them not long ago."
"???"
Griseo froze, then quickly caught on.
"You can travel to Mars."
"Of course!"
"By spaceship?"
"No, not by spaceship—by divine power."
The entire Hell Girl galaxy had long been enveloped within Kiana Kaslana's reality-distortion field. Within this vast domain, she could grant certain individuals special access.
Simply put, with such authority, Vita could move freely within Kiana Kaslana's field—appearing anywhere she wished in an instant.
Venusian technology was advanced enough to reach Mars, but the issue was time.
Venus and Mars orbited the sun, sometimes as close as fifty-five million kilometers apart, yet at their farthest, they could be over four hundred million kilometers away.
And between them lay Earth.
If she could reach Mars, she could naturally reach Earth as well.
Come to think of it, her Ark ship had once flown to the edge of the solar system—only to be collected by the goddess of Venus as a keepsake and stored there for over a thousand years.
"Can you take me back to Earth?"
Griseo looked at Vita with hope in her eyes.
"Griseo, do you really want to abandon me and the children to return to Earth?"
Vita pretended to look heartbroken.
"..."
Griseo stared at her silently.
"Alright, alright! I'll go with you to Earth and have a look."
Vita snapped her fingers casually.
In an instant, the scenery around Griseo changed—she now stood in the middle of a bustling city.
Griseo looked around, dazed by the familiar surroundings.
So this was Earth again!
Unbelievable!
She had traveled through space for countless years, thinking she would never return to Earth in her lifetime.
Passersby sitting on nearby benches glanced briefly at the two women who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere but showed no surprise. They merely looked up for a moment, then returned to scrolling on their phones.
"Let's take a walk together."
"Alright."
Now that she was back on Earth, Griseo didn't even know if Kevin, Hua, or Su were still alive—she had been out of contact for so many years.
"Hey, young ladies! Would you like some candied hawthorn skewers?"
An old man approached with two sticks of glossy red treats, smiling warmly as he offered them to Vita and Griseo.
Vita paid him.
Griseo accepted a skewer, glancing again at the pedestrians around her. A strange feeling stirred in her chest.
The city looked completely modern, yet the people somehow gave her the impression of ancient folk.
Many were even dressed in traditional clothing.
The sense of discord was strong.
"Young ladies, you both have an extraordinary aura. Could you be Chosen Ones?"
The old man chuckled. "I heard that the Chosen Ones who serve as emperors and officials are replaced every few years. Are you two here to take office?"
"..."
Griseo turned to Vita, who merely shrugged with a helpless smile.
"Don't look at me—I have no idea."
She had been to Mars, Earth, and many other worlds, but had never really studied any of them in detail.