The Villainess Should NOT Outshine the Main Protagonist!

Chapter 28: Otherworld

The world gradually materialized into a void, colorless expanse—an endless canvas of white stretching into infinity.

I blinked, my mind grappling with the surreal expanse. What had happened just before? Where was I?

Instinctively, I looked down at my body. A sudden headache struck me—the memory of being stabbed was vivid. Lydian's face, emotionless, her arm steady as she drove the holy magic-infused sword into me.

Yet, there was no wound, no blood, just the unyielding whiteness of this place. My hands trembled as I touched my abdomen, finding only the smooth fabric of my clothing. No trace of injury, no scar—only the echo of pain throbbed dully in my mind.

Could I have died? Was this the afterlife?

Then I noticed a symbol on my hand. It was glowing, emitting a soft, pulsating light. I had seen this before—the same symbol I saw in the school stall—the one that sent me to another world. Could this be connected?

Motion seemed the only way to find out. Each step deepened the silence around me, the void disorienting in its lack of direction. Yet, something—a mechanical clacking, growing louder with each moment—drew me forward. It was the distinct sound of a typewriter, surreal but unmistakably real in this place of nothingness.

The noise led me to an office desk, bizarrely isolated in the middle of the void. A woman in a crisp business suit typed away, seemingly oblivious to the vacuum around her.

"Excuse me!" My voice echoed oddly in the emptiness.

Unfazed, she continued typing.

"Can you tell me where I am?" I tried again, my tone morphing into desperation.

She glanced up briefly. "To speak with the Almighty, you must make an appointment," she stated, gesturing towards a crowded sign-up sheet.

"Who? No, listen, I just need to go back to my world. I have friends and loved ones left behind... as well as unfinished business!"

"As I said, you need to make an appointment," she repeated, resuming her typing with an air of finality. Her fingers moved rapidly, clicking away as if my pleas were no more than a minor disturbance.

I approached the desk, scanning the names on the sign-up sheet—none were familiar. This was no ordinary waiting list; it seemed more like a registry of souls. Reluctantly, I grabbed the pen, my hand hovering as I considered the implications. Signing this could mean anything. I could be agreeing to remain here, relinquish my past, or something equally binding and unknown.

But I had to find out if there was a way back, a way to return to the life and the people I knew.

"But the wait time is..."

"599 years," the office lady said nonchalantly, as if she was talking about mere minutes.

"599 years?" I echoed, disbelief and horror crashing over me. "You are kidding me, right? I can't possibly wait that long!"

The office lady paused, looking up with a blend of curiosity and irritation as if weighing whether to dispense more information.

"I understand your urgency," she finally said, her voice as crisp as her suit. "However, everyone here believes their case to be unique. If we expedited every request, the Almighty would be overrun with appointments."

"Again, who is this Almighty? And why do I need to speak with them to go back?" I pressed, trying to grasp the bizarre rules of this surreal place.

"The Almighty is the arbiter of all crossings between worlds," she explained, her tone shifting to a more instructive cadence. "He decides who returns, who remains, and the terms thereof. Without His approval, no soul can move between realms."