Chapter 188

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on February 8, 2025

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There are different kinds and methods to glimpse the future, which I increasingly realize as time goes on.

A determined future.

A future we’ll reach.

A future that will come to pass.

When the likelihood is factored in, the content changes again.

And when it’s given the meaning of inevitability, it transcends relativity and becomes absolute.

However, this only applies to horizontal events.

And when we define the stage where these horizontal events occur as “the world”…

Ellie and I—she being the Demon King of this era and also my daughter from another world—should have been impossible to meet no matter what tricks were used.

The moment worlds split, past, present, and future lose their meaning once more.

Whether you accept this as virtual reality or fictitious reality, that’s up to the individual.

But when it overlaps with our reality, how exactly do we define it?

-What surpasses and encompasses our understanding of the world… is a vast, boundless expanse that holds everything within it.

We distinguish objects through reflected light.

Take this: It takes light from the sun eight whole minutes to reach our eyes and form an image.

Yet the sun is relatively close. But what about the stars?

Some stars are thousands, even tens of thousands of light-years away.

And yet, despite traveling at the speed of light, it takes thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of years for them to become the countless stars we see in the night sky.

But all those stars are merely traces from thousands or tens of thousands of years ago.

Perhaps even older.

The world is this vast.

It’s just that we didn’t know it.

Even if we know, it’s hard to truly grasp.

Because it’s simply impossible for us to seriously comprehend all of it right now.

Those skilled with numbers and logic can only guess using theories, formulas, and equations.

But that’s all they can do.

Anyway, that’s the kind of world it is—the one we’re trying to define.

Then what does “parallel world” mean?

Does it refer to some incomprehensible, far-off place with environments eerily similar to ours, so much so that we dismiss it as miraculous? A bizarre realm beyond comprehension.

-Understanding natural laws is permitted. Uncovering truths is allowed. But comprehending higher principles like providence and reason… is not granted to created beings.

Why?

-Because they lack the qualification.

It’s like asking ants to replicate humanity’s grand empire.

Impossible.

Ants have built vast underground worlds rivaling human empires. They invade and get invaded, losing everything in disasters. But their civilizations differ fundamentally in scale and essence from humanity’s.

Sure, ants might communicate, pass down art, culture, knowledge, and skills generation after generation, maybe even produce great mages, saviors chosen by gods, prophets, and seers among themselves.

But their creations would still be unmistakably distinct from humans’.

Perhaps theirs could be something groundbreaking and more advanced than human civilization in ways we don’t understand.

After all, the wisdom humans learn from animals and insects is boundless.

-Qualification matters. Even if someone has the ability and potential, without proper qualification, they cannot ascend or reach the domain of providence.

Why?

Because it belongs to the divine realm.

Humans must humbly bow before gods for a very simple reason:

Our essence, purpose, and qualification dictate it.

-Beings born instinctively strive for more—higher, greater, deeper, stronger, better—constantly pushing themselves to the brink.

But their borrowed bodies resist, reject.

From birth, we enter a battle for dominance between our spirit and our flesh.

This is the first war.

Those who lose here are buried under the desires of their bodies, driven by instincts, becoming slaves to them.

Craving delicious things, attractive things, beautiful things.

Becoming sensitive to gains and losses.

Even parental love isn’t exclusive unless you’re alone.

Other people’s admiration fades if someone more special appears, leaving you with nothing.

Attention, admiration, and love are limited, like fruits with set limits.

Resources are finite.

Territories are bounded, gold mines owned, and wars over mates begin.

Thus species endlessly grow and decline, while individuals are swept away by irresistible tides and storms—pitiful souls.

-Destiny or fate is ultimately the will of the world assigned to individuals, roles, vocations, or callings.

It’s not a difficult concept to think about.

Just how to define, prove, and differentiate it.

-And rejecting it doesn’t end it; there’s always a next step, then another.

Being born into a master carpenter’s family and refusing carpentry only leads to another crossroads.

All choices shape your destiny.

You can choose a path other than knighthood even if born into a knightly house.

Forcing yourself to be a knight despite lacking talent, or rejecting knighthood for another path—both are fates.

Looking at it this way, life seems awfully… meaningless, doesn’t it?

-I’m not sure about your era, but as concepts and faith evolve, enlightenment and freedom of thought emerge, leading to such conclusions.

That feeling you have—that everything is futile, steeped in skepticism and resignation, perceiving all as vain and fleeting—that’s the birth of skepticism.

“…Skepticism?”

-The Great Demon King mentioned it as one ideology you’ll inevitably reach. He said valuable things start from there, though I don’t understand it. To me, it’s none of my business. Skepticism already exists in this age, but it will flourish further in time. Of course, your situation differs since your faith has collapsed.

“….”

You asked me to explain the will of the world, but why has this explanation gotten so complicated?

-When you try to concretely understand something you already know, errors arise. Like rivers—they’re rivers, but if you start dissecting their properties, composition, origins, purposes, and uses, you could spend a lifetime studying just one.

“….”

-Your curiosity forces me to expand my expressions.

“The will of the world is what the world desires. So should we stop there?”

-Yes. And you practice that will, while its designer is… what you call Him.

She pointed her finger at the sky.

But we’re indoors now, so the sky was pitch black.

The room was dark without a single lantern.

-A country decides to build a grand palace; commoners inevitably follow suit. Wars are no different.

“….”

If so,

“Setting the world ablaze is also part of that will and plan, isn’t it?”

And at that moment, I fully understood its meaning.

An impossible future to achieve, yet I reflect on the past instead.

Tracing back divisions in the past, the clearer the speculation became, as Ellie had said.

If Ellie had been taken hostage and died abroad,

How would I, known since childhood for my brilliance and genius, have reacted?

“….”

Based on that, even though such a past wouldn’t exist in this world, I construct it mentally.

Like drawing the present and future anew from a nonexistent past.

My foresight is a realm of prediction.

And predictions are divided into branches, each scrutinized individually.

This method could also sufficiently apply to reconstructing the past.

No matter how much I concentrate or immerse myself, however,

It feels unreal.

It’s possible briefly, but it drains mental strength significantly.

This is why it can’t be actively used during battles.

Instinctively, I seem to use part of the subconscious area, but that’s all.

“….”

But here,

After reaching the Sacred Grand Tree, I realized I could use this ability more clearly and vividly than before.

And the scorched half-staff Ellie gave me—Bereratragena, the Great Tree—would help.

-And you can uncover lost memories of your past too.

My ability to glimpse the past isn’t omnipotent.

Attempting to read something as immense as the Sacred Grand Tree would likely leave me trapped here for life.

…So even this feels like a lowly, despicable fate.

Had these conditions not been met,

Even reaching the Sacred Grand Tree, I’d probably have wasted a lot of time or wandered around here for ages.

-So, what do you plan to look at first?

The Demon King crossed his arms and asked, so I pondered for a bit.

“Which one I see first doesn’t matter much.”

Because what I intend to see now are these:

The past I’ve lost.

And the past others feared, unreachable now.

And besides those…

I had no particular interest.

“First off.”

Hence, the choice wasn’t difficult.

“I’ll check out the world I’m supposed to burn.”

====

The youth with white hair rose from the ash pile.

Though called ash, in truth, it was remnants turned to dust by flames.

But defining it otherwise would be a grave insult to them.

Still, the youth couldn’t help but define it as such.

The nausea-inducing, invasive stench was unparalleled in its hideousness.

Realizing the true nature of it while fully conscious is terrifying.

His hands trembled involuntarily.

His breathing became erratic, yet he fixed his gaze on the sky, stepping over piles of corpses like deep pits.

Lowering his gaze even slightly would reveal nothing but blackened ashes of various colors.

Faint remnants of clothing and belongings hinted at their former lives.

The young man recalled how he ended up here.

‘Fire….’

It spread across the battlefield.

Not quite a soldier but an apprentice knight participating in the war, he was unwittingly caught in the sudden surge of flames splitting the earth.

More accurately, to push his comrade out of harm’s way, he took the brunt of the inferno himself.

Was that why?

Time felt blurred, but amidst the chaos, an eerie silence reigned.

Everything was quiet.

“Huff! Huff!”

Climbing out of the pile of corpses revealed yet another battlefield.

But the tide of battle had long turned.

In the distance, retreating enemies were visible.

Behind them, cavalry pursued like hunting hounds chasing prey.

Shouts of despair and triumph intermingled, creating a living hell on earth.

As if hell itself descended upon the world.

“Gah!”

After barely suppressing his nausea and vomiting, the youth wiped his mouth and moved forward.

Having lost consciousness, he found himself pushed back from his original position.

He must move forward.

Only by advancing could he confront the one waiting ahead.

Except for those chasing the retreating forces, post-battle cleanup was already underway.

A campsite was being set up in the middle of the battlefield, with assessments ongoing. Someone grabbed his shoulder and shouted.

“Eh, Elimion! You little devil! You’re alive!”

“Prince Alesius?”

Seeing his uncle-like figure holding his shoulder despite his wretched appearance,

Elimion, the youth, couldn’t conceal his gloomy thoughts.

His once splendid armor and equipment were nowhere to be seen. Now, he looked no different from a regular soldier, his condition pitiable.

Yet, contrary to appearances, he seemed mostly unharmed.

A sigh of relief escaped him involuntarily.

“Your Highness is safe as well.”

“I’ve always had good luck, haven’t I?”

With a smirk, he playfully slapped the youth’s back several times.

“…Was being used as bait part of the plan?”

“That was expected. Thanks to you… we achieved an overwhelming victory, didn’t we?”

“But Your Highness looks like this!”

“Mi-on. Isn’t everyone risking their lives here? Would I spare myself?”

“….”

It was true, yet false.

Losing him here could render dozens of victories meaningless.

“…This keeps happening, and it’s troublesome.”

Thanks to this, Elimion almost died himself.

Prince Alesius, the crown prince and his uncle, was in terrible condition too.

“It’s not a strategy we can use every time. This was more of a camp battle. To minimize our losses while inflicting maximum damage, we had to give something up.”

“…Isn’t that Brother’s idea? Did Your Highness agree to it?”

“Mi-on. You know…”

Alesius sighed deeply before speaking.

“Carriel’s strategies have never failed so far. That’s a fact.”

“But at such a high cost!”

“Our enemies lost everything in exchange. As always.”

“….”

“And this is Carriel’s first battle as commander. Even as a battalion leader, he toppled a nation. Now, he commands a legion. Do you understand what that means…?”

At that moment,

“Your Highness. Encouraging your subordinates is commendable, but getting stuck on one person could lead to misunderstandings of favoritism.”

A harsh, burnt smell of blood filled the air.

It was as if the blood itself was burning.

“That, that’s….”

“Enough. Your Highness must have your reasons.”

The Crown Prince, Alesius, visibly stiffened his expression.

Especially since he avoided making eye contact.

“…Brother.”

His jaw tightened.

“Insolent brat.”

Despite the soft voice, it sounded like a predator biting into his neck, sending shivers down his spine.

“Apprentice knights should know their place. How many times must I repeat myself? Will other soldiers cover for you because you flaunt your lineage privately? Are you showing off your heritage as a warrior now?”

“There’s no way I’d do that.”

Elimion glared defiantly into the eyes above him.

A pair of golden eyes stared back from the darkness of raven-black hair, mocking him like spear tips piercing through.

The apprentice knight, heir to the Radiant lineage, and the century’s genius who always topped the Academy rankings—such was Elimion.

Through his intense gaze, the merciless killing intent pierced directly into the boy’s mind.

“Then stop fooling around and focus on your duties.”

“Carriel, don’t be too harsh. Isn’t he your younger brother?”

“Your Highness. Our bloodline isn’t broken easily unless our heads are cut off. There’s absolutely no issue.”

“But… didn’t your attack drag Elimion into it? That’s clearly… your mistake, isn’t it?”

“No matter how you look at it…!”

“Ale-sius.” Despite Alesius’ fierce protests, when Carriel calmly looked at him, he had no choice but to trail off.

“I’ve never made a wrong choice in battles or wars. We agree on that, correct?”

“…Yeah. That’s undeniable.”

“In that case, trust me. I am the embodiment of the Empire’s victory and the proxy of God’s will.”

Therefore,