Chapter 538: Heaven clothing store

“Not believe,” Valdris corrected gently. “Know. We have witnessed it countless times. Those who successfully navigate the zones emerge not as lesser beings driven by raw desire, but as complete beings who understand all aspects of their nature.”

Annie shook her head vigorously. “But without moral boundaries, what prevents chaos? What stops people from harming others simply because they desire to?”

“An excellent question,” Valdris acknowledged. “And one that reveals the fundamental misunderstanding mortals have about the nature of transcendence.”

He paused, then raised his hand to point toward the infinite void above, where the countless floating islands stretched into unfathomable distances.

“Authority,” Valdris said simply. “Absolute authority.”

His voice took on a reverential tone as he continued. “See, the more you walk the path of transcendence, the more you realize how lesser you truly are. Those who dwell in the higher islands are not simply kings or rulers in any mortal sense. They are the incarnation of absolute reality itself.”

Julian’s eyes followed Valdris’s gesture upward, studying the distant islands that floated in perfect arrangement throughout the void. Even from this distance, he could sense something emanating from the higher realms—a presence so vast and overwhelming that it made the Patriarch’s transformed state and even his seem insignificant by comparison.

“Consider this.” Valdris said, smiling as if sensing their confusion. “What need is there for such limitations when beings of true authority can simply will harm to not exist? When they can reshape reality itself with a thought?”

Annie felt a chill run down her spine as she processed these words. “You mean… they control people’s minds? Force obedience?”

Valdris shook his head with what might have been amusement. “Nothing so cruel. True authority transcends the need for force. It is not that they prevent beings from choosing harm—it is that in their presence, the very concept of harm becomes meaningless.

Annie’s brows furrowed as she tried to grasp the weight of his words. She wasn’t sure if she truly understood, yet she could feel something in his voice working its way into her thoughts, convincing her.

Julian, however, stood with his unchanging expression, unmoved by Valdris’s overexaggerating words.

“And as a result,” Valdris continued, sweeping his hand toward the strange horizon of floating islands and serene figures, “you get this.” His voice carried a reverence. “A utopia for us mortals.”

The surrounding inhabitants all nodded in agreement, murmuring appreciatively among themselves as they observed the newcomers.

The woman who had earlier brushed against Annie stepped forward with a graceful smile.

“Well, that brings us to the end of our introduction,” she said, her voice carrying the musical quality of someone who had done this before. “I am Dina, owner of Heaven’s Clothing Collection.”

She bowed slightly, then gestured toward a tall structure nearby. “Welcome to our realm. Since you are new here, you’ll need to adjust your attire to something more suitable.”

She then turned to Valdris. “Valdris, go and tell everyone to prepare for the newcomers.”

This sudden shift took both Julian and Annie by surprise. The gathered inhabitants immediately began reacting with a mixture of amusement and frustration.

“Oh, here we go again!” called out one of the male inhabitants, throwing his hands up dramatically. “Dina, you sly entrepreneur, you’ve stolen another set of customers before the rest of us even had a chance!”

A group of the divine women burst into melodic laughter. “She does this every time! The moment new arrivals show up, Dina swoops in with her ‘introduction’ speech!”

“It’s not fair!” protested another inhabitant. “Some of us have been waiting cycles to meet newcomers, and Dina just claims them immediately!”

“Business is business,” Dina replied with a mischievous grin, clearly enjoying the playful complaints. “You come first, you get rewarded.”

“That’s not even how that saying works!”

One of the younger-looking divine beings piped up: “Remember when she convinced that last group that clothing selection was a ‘sacred ritual’ that could only be performed by licensed professionals?”

“Hey, it worked, didn’t it?” Dina said. “And they looked fabulous afterward!”

The atmosphere had completely transformed from earlier serious conversation to lighthearted banter, leaving Annie feeling slightly whiplashed by the sudden change in tone. Even Julian seemed caught off guard by how quickly the divine beings had shifted from wisdom to what seemed like a friendly marketplace competition.

“Don’t mind them,” Dina said to Annie with a low whisper. “They’re just jealous of my superior customer service skills.”

“Superior manipulation skills, more like!” called out someone from the crowd, earning another round of laughter.

Annie found herself smiling despite her confusion, the warmth and humor of these beings making them seem suddenly more approachable and less intimidatingly divine.

“Well then,” Dina said with a smooth tone, “shall we get you both properly dressed? The zones ahead have certain… requirements… and your current clothing will only hinder your progress.”

She gestured toward her building, which upon closer inspection was indeed a shop of sorts. The building seemed to be constructed from the same crystallized material as everything else in this realm, its walls glowing in mesmerizing patterns.

“Come along,” Dina said, already walking toward the entrance. “Don’t mind the crowd—they’ll disperse once they realize I am not going to leave you.”

Julian followed with his usual confidence, while Annie trailed behind more hesitantly. As they approached the shop, she noticed that the entrance seemed to adjust itself to accommodate them, the doorway expanding and contracting in a way that felt weirdly natural.

Inside, the space was far larger than the external structure should have allowed. Though they were already used to extravagant things like this.

Garments floated freely throughout the space, rotating slowly to display themselves from all angles. Some seemed to be made of simple fabric, while others appeared to be made from something else.

“Now then,” Dina said, turning to face them. “Let’s get you dressed.”

The garments drifted closer on her command, as if eager to get chosen. Annie blinked, then quickly realized that calling them “garments” might have been generous. They weren’t robes or even dresses in the normal sense.

Instead, thin straps hovered before them, seeming to be designed for one purpose: to barely cover the most intimate parts of the body.