Birthday Presents IV - Books - Earring - Request

"Book of Universal Knowledge and the Copy of the Book of the Dead???"

Philip exclaimed in utter surprise

"Book of Universal Knowledge?! What is that?? And the Copy of the Book of the Dead?!! Impossible!"

"There's no such thing as a copy of the Book of the Dead! That has been destroyed the moment it was created by the followers of the Dead King!"

"The Book of the Dead is a taboo in the universe. There shouldn't be any beings or mortals that should have a grasp to the realm of the dead... Only beings that are either guardians, overseer, or gatekeepers of the road and river to the after life, next life, or hell"

Ken, Sai, and Katara exclaimed in surprise respectively. They seem to be alarmed at Bea's gift, but also wary of Philip because it's his gift after all

Not to mention, this book is a copy of the original book. They don't know the full extent and content of the copy and how identical it is towards the original book

"The Book of Universal Knowledge is locked and I'm not able to open it... The second book is the true copy of the original one. While the original copy has torn, burnt, and spoiled pages, this second copy is complete and without falsification"

Bea declared in front of everyone, without fear even in the face of the gods that consider the Book of the Dead as a taboo in the hands of a mortal

"Even still... A copy is just a copy, even if it's more complete than the original one... This copy has lesser ties to the dead. Not even an ordinary mortal can replicate the spells, incantations, rituals, and prayers written in these pages"

Of course, copies don't have the same potency and power as the original one because of the rules that's imposed by the universe itself. Just like how certificates cannot be duplicated unless it's created on the same process or how identical twins are almost the same, but they're ultimately different

This has the same rule with timelines and universes. They are ultimately the same, but relatively different. There's no timelines or universes that are the same and if they are, both will converge into one and either become more powerful or the same

But there are also rules that are still unknown and undiscovered like identical beings or concepts from the same timeline meeting in one period of time coming from either past, present, or future

They may also be relatively different because of the difference in timeframe, but if the difference is negligible within exponential fractions of a second in past, present, and future can only go so far that it can almost be considered as identical copies with equal power

There is also one concept that can overrule this and it's the concept of cloning. Some advanced civilization might have the technology of cloning, but no one could tell if their cloning is accurate and perfect

Besides, there are also no gods, dieties, or divine beings of clone, identical, or any that are the same

'Well, maybe there are a few powerful beings that are twins... But they would commonly be contrasting, like yin and yang if they are conscious beings. Beings that are needed to be together all the time and they couldn't be separated... If there are beings that can bestow true identical concepts... There would be a True Deity of Clone. There is a concept of clone in this universe after all'

"Little Bea, correct?"

Katara called for Bea's attention

"..."

She just turned her head and looked at Katara with uninterested eyes

"How did you create a copy of the Book of the Dead? Did you originally have the original copy???"

"No"

"Then, how is there a copy? Did you receive it from something or someone?"

"I read it and memorized it"

"What?!"

"That's impossible!"

Katara and Ken exclaimed in surprise

"Hahaha"

Philip giggled on the other hand

"What's funny?"

"I think I understand what happened..."

"..."

"From your words... The Book of the Dead was destroyed when it was just created, right?"

"That's right"

"But how Bea read it despite it being destroyed? Are there more copies of the original book that was passed dwn through generations and across the universe? Is there time travel involved? Clairvoyance? Hidden records? Revelations? Traitors?"

"That should be our questions... This is a matter for us gods"

"Well, there is only one answer and reason for this..."

"What that might be?"

"The truth is... Books that are bound to a specific concept tend to possess the concept... If the Book of the Dead has been destroyed, is it truly destroyed? Destroyed can be considered dead theoretically... So, if an object that's bound to the concept of dead, is the book truly dead??"

"What?! How does that even make sense?"

"If that's the case, how would little Bea even get the Book of the Dead?"

"That, I'm not sure... I think that since it is a book about the dead, it can travel through worlds and realms since it was destroyed. It became unstable that it obtained sapience and chose worthy individuals to choose and spread its knowledge to..."

"Huh?"

"With that in mind... Destroying the book might have been the worse idea than just letting it exist"

"That-"

"Who decided to destroy the book by the way? What caused it? Well, I know the cause of it... But why?"

"It's during the Genesis War... Billions and trillions of beings perished during the war, but the Dead King created the book to control all the dead beings to turn the tide of the universal war. So, there was a quick temporary alliance to overwhelm the Dead King and his followers to destroy their entire operation. We were successful and resumed to fighting each other"

"Well, that was a mistake... It was better to seal the book than just destroying it"

"..."

"..."

"Are you questioning the action of the gods?"

Katara asked with slight anger and annoyance, but she knows she can't do anything

"Yes... Kinda? I think there needs to be some change"

"Huh... Be careful what you're saying boy... We may be under a life contract, but I'm still one of the oldest divine beings in the universe. Any mortal or young divine beings that are questioning the methods of the Divine Realm shall be punished"

Katara's tone changed from a clueless and interested expression to an expert, sinister, and overwhelming expression. She looks like an actual god that's releasing her status as a goddess

"Hm... I don't really care and I can say whatever I want, but I can't do anything since there are more gods that are still more powerful than me like you and Valkarrie"

"..."

"Even then... The copy of the Book of the Dead is already in my hands... No one can do anything about it now"

"Hrm... You're right... Whatever! As long as you won't use it for something evil and might call the attention of every guardian dieties in the universe!"

"Of course I won't!"

Philip then turned towards Bea. He stacked the books on his left hand and placed his right hand on Bea's head

"Thank you for the gifts!"

Philip thanked her with a smile

"..."

Bea turned around and walked away stiffly while holding her head, just next to where Philip patted her. She seemed to be enjoying the sensation of Philip's warmth

As Bea returned to her seat, Natsu stood up first and began approaching Philip while he was placing the stack of books on the corner of the table on his left. He went as far as lining the books on the corner and edges perfectly

"You know... To be honest, these came too sudden"

Natsu opened up without further ado

"True..."

"So, I didn't have time to investigate what gift would be the best for you!"

"Any gift I can appreciate... It's a gift after all! Whether it's good or bad, it's still appreciated"

"That's good then! I have this for you!"

Natsu pulled out an object from the front pocket of her black jeans and showed it to Philip

"..."

It was an accessory of some sort, most likely an earring, with chains attached to a black cross, almost like a rosary. The cross has intricate symbols and patterns engraved on it and several chains attached to its ends

"The only gift that I can think of is an accessory. As a fashionista myself, I think you're already perfect and you can pull off any clothing there is, but there's just one thing missing and it's this!"

Natsu swayed the black cross earring in front of Philip

"Let me put it on for you..."

"Wait!!"

"Aaand, there!"

"AAAGGGHHH!"

Philip screamed at the top of his lungs for a quick second before the pain he felt from his right ear was denied or converted

"Please, my earlobes were not pierced yet!"

"Well, they are now! Want me to pierce the other one?"

"NO!"

Philip has equipped the black cross earring on his right ear and began to dangle

"..."

Alucard just stared on the earring and seem like he wanted to say something, but prevented himself

"..."

The others also stared at Philip and most of them didn't know what to feel, while the rest just didn't care

Philip looked like an emo in his teenage years or a goth boy that was forcefully dressed up by a goth girl

But that's exactly what happened because Natsu became a goth girl

'Though, he kinda looks good to be honest... It's not conventional, but it works!'

Tenshi whispered in his mind after seeing Philip with a single gothic earring. His earlobe is still bleeding also, then it just stopped, though his entire right ear is reddish

"You like my gift?!"

Natsu asked upfront

"Yeah! I appreciate it"

"Do. You. Like. It??"

"I can like it"

"Fair enough!"

Natsu turned around and waved her right hand without looking at Philip. Natsuki immediately stood up and zipped past by her sister

"Natsuki..."

"Yes!"

"..."

"Here's my gift!!! Happy birthday!"

Natsuki spoke in a somewhat of a nervous hurriedness. She reached her arms with a wrapped small box on her right hand and a wrapped slab of rectangular box on her left hand

"Thank you, Natsuki"

Philip received the boxes and stacked them on top of each other. He then placed it above the books and aligned it perfectly

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

There was several seconds of awkward silence between Philip and Natsuki. Philip was reading her body language that she wanted something in return, but he won't expose her like that

"Is there something more?"

"Ah! N-no..."

"Alright...?"

"..."

In this moment, as the atmosphere was getting intense, a small force slightly pushed Natsuki from behind

"C'mon onee-san, you can be selfish sometimes, you know?"

Natsume arrived behind her and gave her a slight push

"Ah..."

"...?"

Natsuki went forward a step and Philip looked at her with a curious expression

"..."

There was still silence and Natsuki's face became redder and redder as time goes by

"Natsuki..."

"Yeep!"

"..."

Philip called out to Natsuki, only for her to be startled for no reason at all

"You can ask me anything. As Natsume said, it's okay to be selfish once in a while... You gave me a gift for my birthday, at least I can give you something back as a thank you"

"..."

"..."

"Then..."

"...?"

"C-can I get a h-h-hug?!"

Natsuki used her all to ask that question to the point that steam is almost coming out at the top of her head. Her eyes were swirling from embarrassment and her entire face is red like a ripe tomato. Her mouth is also in zigzags

"..."

Philip narrowed his eyes internally. He didn't actually expect Natsuki to go through with that request

"..."

In the end, Philip decided to grant it since nothing will happen anyways

He stood up and just casually hugged Natsuki

"Thank you for the gifts!"

He lightly tightened his embrace and he could feel her body shape. She's quite thin and soft and it felt good to hug her in his opinion. She has a petite figure after all

"...!"

Natsuki was pleasantly surprised by Philip's sudden granting of her request

"..."

She then subconsciously lifted her arms and embraced Philip back. Her embarrassment slowly faded away and she closed her eyes as she savored every second of the hug. She also slightly smiled from comfort and satisfaction as tears formed at the corner of her eyes

The influence of the level 1 [Love Shard] is really affecting her too much

"..."

Everyone that saw this just looked at them with warm eyes. In a third point of view, it just looked like Philip is hughing Natsuki because of the gift

After several second of a long embrace, Philip tapped Natsuki's back

"Are you all good now?"

"Ah!! Yes..."

Natsuki pulled herself away and clutched her own hands as she placed it above her relatively flat chest

Philip sat back down and she turned around with a warm smile on her face. She passed by Natsume and whispered

"Thank you"

"Hehe~ No problem!"

Natsume gave her sister a bright smile. She then walked forward and approached Philip while holding something inside her right hand

"..."

"..."

In this moment, as Natsume is approaching, Philip somehow felt as if her heart dropped

'Eh?'

The feeling was the same as a vertigo, a pit in the stomach, or the heart skipping a beat