Chapter 56

As you all know, this land is especially famous for the many great wars that have occurred. Shall we list them in order?

Yes, that’s right. There was the battle between the Creator God and the Giants.

Then, there was the Divine War where the Gods and Angels fought.

Correct! Although the reason remains unknown, there was the ‘Night Parade of a Hundred Demons’ led by the Nine-Tailed Fox from the Mountains and Seas.

There’s even a myth that this puddle was formed from the blood of the Gods who died during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, and it’s said that if a human enters, they will be cursed by the Gods and suffer divine punishment…

Miho started a war… Hmm, that’s quite something…

“That could happen.”

[…What?]

“Miho could do that.”

By the way, it seems like quite some time has passed if it escalated to a war.

How long has it been over there?

Never mind. Let’s not think about it.

I yawned loudly and spoke again to the flustered Belva.

“That could happen.”

It probably doesn’t matter anyway.

Saying that, I took another step.

My concentration was broken.

Belva, Miho, this world, everything crumbled meaninglessly and was once again covered in pure white sand.

It doesn’t matter.

We can just rebuild it.

“It’s meaningless.”

It’s meaningless.

Does Belva know this precarious feeling, as if I myself would crumble the moment I attach meaning to this time?

Who could possibly understand me?

The longer I am alone, the noisier my surroundings become.

The noisier it gets, the deeper my loneliness grows.

These sounds that don’t stop even if I cover my ears.

The illusions that don’t disappear even if I close my eyes.

The boundary between reality and fiction is now precariously indistinguishable.

Is it wrong to want to be trapped in this illusion forever?

Therefore, this time is utterly meaningless.

It must be meaningless.

The moment meaning arises, I won’t be able to leave this place.

When that day comes, I won’t even be able to find any reason to escape from here.

[But.]

That was when.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around.

[What meaning is there in such a life?]

“……”

There, right behind me, Belva was looking at me.

Having given up everything and fallen towards me.

Without hesitation in that choice.

Belva’s bright yellow eyes were firmly meeting mine.

In that moment of stillness, as if the world had stopped, I could only remain silent.

Thud-

Belva’s form crumbled, followed by her voice.

[…Can you hear me?]

“I can hear you. Loud and clear.”

[Ah… That’s a relief. Yes, I’ll handle things here. So, just a little more… I’ll do my best…]

…Somehow, I feel like sitting down.

I told the sobbing Belva that it’s okay.

“It’s okay.”

I’m okay.

So, just keep living well.

Yet, in the lingering resonance of Belva, who kept crying before disconnecting, I remained silent.

I wiped my face with a dry hand.

*

Basically, my consciousness doesn’t stretch that far.

Consciously or unconsciously, my body has compressed the realm of consciousness to a certain distance to prepare for sudden attacks.

But what about now?

Lying still on the horizon, I closed my eyes and stretched my consciousness to the very end.

…I couldn’t hide my surprise at how deep and far my divinity spread.

The realm of consciousness had expanded endlessly, to the point where I couldn’t gauge how much time had passed.

Carefully, I opened my eyes.

[Sigh…]

In my hand, a very small and fragile white star was sleeping.

*

Once I released the limit, this tiny star felt so suffocating.

But I’m still here.

Divinity and I.

They are the same yet different, together yet separate.

For someone like me, who acquired divinity later, it’s impossible to fully merge with divinity.

Because the self exists differently.

Thud-

With each step, something squishy, like a corpse, was stepped on.

The world was red and red.

It was the result of manifesting my divinity within my consciousness.

On top of that mountain of countless corpses, a white-haired woman, covered in blood, was waiting for me.

With a deep smile, as if pleased.

Holding a dagger in one hand.

Although in relatively good condition, facing her like this is quite eerie.

I frowned and climbed up to her.

[How cliché.]

Right. It’s a cliché.

Facing another self within one’s own self.

And awakening.

It’s not just cliché, it’s stale.

“It’s not fun. That kind of thing.”

At my words, the divinity clapped and burst into laughter.

[As expected, you’re quick to catch on.]

At the same time, the mountain of corpses melted away, and a very familiar place was rebuilt.

The back lot of the Academy.

Yes, this size and environment seem just right.

As I was trying to focus, the Divine Power was swinging a dagger around and muttering.

There was a hint of laughter in the voice.

[No matter who wins, nothing will change. We are one.]

“Do you really think so?”

[No.]

At the same time, a dagger rushed into my head.

I tilted my head to dodge and summoned a dagger in my hand.

[I will win.]

Clang—

The world turned red as sparks flew from our daggers clashing.

Both strength, physical condition, and level were the same.

The years lived and experiences were also perfectly identical.

It was like playing rock-paper-scissors with a mirror and being told to win.

Crack. My kneecap was bent backward by the Divine Power’s low kick.

As I fell, I put my weight into a punch.

Thud—

I succeeded in predicting the evasion path and landed a direct hit.

The Divine Power’s head exploded.

But almost simultaneously, the Divine Power regenerated and smiled brightly at me.

My leg had already healed, and I was standing firmly on the ground.

I threw off my torn outer clothes and recalled the leather armor I had worn before.

The chipped dagger was also restored.

After all, this was our consciousness.

We could fight forever without dying, as long as we both desired it.

So, I don’t know how long it will take…

Swoosh—

In the end, I will win.

I swung the dagger and cut off the Divine Power’s arm.

Despite that, it laughed joyfully and charged again, and I smiled back.

“Feeling it?”

[I think I’ll win.]

“Bullshit.”

With unwavering confidence that I would win.

*

[Damn, fucking, vicious bastard.]

I looked down at the Divine Power, lying motionless and writhing on the ground.

See? I won, right?

[Fucking bastard…]

I poked the Divine Power, which could only curse and not respond.

I didn’t want to drag it out any longer since the result was already decided.

“Hey.”

[What.]

“Now, disappear.”

After a few more curses, the Divine Power was completely absorbed into my body.

Then, I felt a sensation I had never experienced before.

It was like…

“It feels like I got the One Ring.”

I chuckled and closed my eyes.

Along with that, my consciousness began to expand infinitely.

My body, now united with the Divine Power, also grew in size accordingly.

When I opened my eyes again, I was holding the tiny star I had been standing on in the palm of my hand.

So small and pitiful.

[…Was it always this small?]

The difference between then and now was that, unlike when only consciousness existed,

now I could completely crush it.

Slowly, I applied pressure.

Soon, the star quietly crumbled into sand and slipped through my fingers.

Only then did I look around.

My body was floating like debris in the eternal darkness.

The rift between dimensions.

The world of Outsiders, forbidden to mortals.

I finally realized I had taken a step into that realm.

*

[Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.]

[The Abyss, it… has come…]

After that, I wandered around, devouring Outsiders or consuming worlds without protective barriers.

There weren’t many Outsiders who maintained their sanity.

Most were insane in some way.

Subduing and absorbing those with unstable minds wasn’t too difficult.

So, I kept moving.

Toward the dimension where my Divine Power faintly resonated.

Where Belva and Miho were.

Endlessly.

······.

How long had I been moving?

By chance, I encountered a fragment of the past.

[You…!]

A flame shaped like three petals.

A rather pretty young girl with it adorning her head was pointing at me, seemingly panicked.

I remember.

Despite her impactful first appearance, she ran away when the situation turned unfavorable.

So, this is what her true form looks like.

[Kid.]

I slowly compared the girl’s consciousness domain with mine.

As expected of an ancient god, it was vast, but surprisingly, not much larger than mine.

Let’s think.

At first, I estimated a 10% chance of winning.

Later, when she ran away, it was over 50%.

So, what about now?

Could that girl have more than a 10% chance of beating me?

[Don’t run away, come here.]

It’s probably impossible.