Chapter 65

Whoa.

This is boring.

That Female got captured. People who had grudges against her are torturing her now.

I kinda watched for a while, laughing at her misfortune, but repetitive stuff just gets annoying after a bit.

Anyway, there’s something way more entertaining happening.

The Harvesting Systems are spreading like crazy! I’m starting to wonder if we really need a Blessing Agent when people are spreading out so much—and with every new Harvester installed, the Warmth flowing in keeps getting stronger! Man, this is great.

At first, I was worried that the religion based on my knowledge might be too tame, but looking back at history, even those “tame” religions killed plenty of people.

They’d go around accusing Seongsin Church members of being witches, harassing and killing them.

And then, because of discrimination against purple hair, people would start fighting each other—sometimes even using it as an excuse to commit murder.

But without a Blessing, it’s hard to beat Harvesters. You can only win through sheer numbers. And when the tide turns, all that hatred they’ve built up comes crashing down on them.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s Seongsin Church or some other religion; these kinds of conflicts happen everywhere.

Thanks to that, I’ve been laughing while watching the Warmth slowly increase.

Yeah, that’s right. This is my automatic Warmth collection system.

An entire world is gradually turning into my personal playground. Sure, Seongsin tried to interfere once, but after one big fight, I haven’t felt any real resistance since.

Still, I kinda miss that.

If only I could have caught someone doing *something*.

But worlds are infinite, so I’m sure things will work out eventually.

And as for that Female… sigh.

Honestly, she’s such a disappointment.

Remember how I gave three people books before dying? They carefully preserved those books and handed them over to the Outsider sect. By then, nearly 90% of everyone had already become Harvesters, so I could see everything clearly—including what happened to those books.

As expected, they were traps.

They decoded the book and rewrote an entirely new summoning method under Rebecca’s orders, performing the magic ritual in some remote location.

But the thread they sent didn’t reach me where I was.

Both sides realized that summoning me using only her knowledge wasn’t possible. Of course, if Male hadn’t inherited her knowledge, it wouldn’t have worked anyway.

Even idiots figure that out eventually.

Still, it’s disappointing, and that’s that.

Because of this, my anger toward her faded.

Ultimately, it was my fault for expecting too much from someone incapable.

Warmth? Hmm… tough call. Even if she had diligently written accurate books, summoning me would still have been impossible.

She asked not to take her Warmth instead of writing the book.

Since her wish wasn’t granted, I should get revenge. Or, since tormenting someone beyond their capability isn’t cool, I’ll honor our agreement.

Fine, let’s keep the promise.

Drops of Warmth falling from the sky, which used to feel like random raindrops, are now forming thin streams. Though thinner than threads, it’s still better than nothing.

Given that she helped connect me to this flow, I respect her contribution.

That way, I can later claim confidently that even if I break promises with myself, I respect effort.

Heheh.

Isn’t it the truth?

There’s no guarantee that someone won’t come along again who can peek into my memories like Rebecca did. If I’m summoned again based on Male’s memories, there’s a good chance the body I enter will regenerate.

This memory will definitely help then.

So, I guess I do keep contracts like a demon would.

Of course, the other side will try exploiting loopholes in the contract—that happens in every story.

Why does a demon bother following contracts? Because knowing there might be loopholes makes even scary opponents willing to sign agreements.

“I can trick them.”

Many people think that. It’s always good to learn from examples.

Meanwhile, the stream grew thicker. How much Warmth could I continuously gain by fully owning an entire world?

I’m so excited!

Now the continent is completely filled with Harvesters. Their children automatically become Pre-Harvesters, though I occasionally need to manually activate them—not a huge hassle.

No need to read separate contracts anymore; I just find them.

However, despite the population boom, I still can’t ascend.

Technically, I did try once.

The place where I died always has lots of Harvesters.

When I attempted stepping onto it, the foundation looked far too fragile. It seemed like the glass bottle would shatter instantly.

So, I quickly retreated underwater.

Why destroy the goose laying golden eggs when Warmth keeps flowing steadily?

But…

Hey.

Why are cracks appearing in the glass bottle?

You know, the glowing glass bottle containing countless lights, resembling a galaxy trapped inside.

It’s starting to crack as if it can’t bear the weight of its contents.

I anxiously watched without interfering, since meddling through the connecting threads caused nearby structures to collapse immediately. I barely escaped in time.

Eventually, the Harvesters noticed the cracking sounds too.

Though aware of the increasing frequency, they pretend not to care.

“Stop ignoring it and find a solution already!”

But my plea fell on deaf ears.

Before long, massive fissures appeared in the sky.

It’s obvious. The glass bottle is breaking. My first world, painstakingly crafted over so long, is collapsing.

Tears streamed down as I lamented my powerlessness.

Just as the world began splitting apart, Rebecca said something strange: “It’s time to meet the Outsider.”

Confused about why I’d need to ascend now, I observed as Rebecca approached Dakota and told her it was the end.

Then, the woman who had tormented Female for so long finally raised a flaming sword imbued with magic, declaring her fate.

Together with Rebecca, they descended into the basement, where Dakota stabbed the meaty remains of Female.

“The witch is dead.”

Instantly aging, Dakota collapsed and died shortly after.

Trying to make sense of what happened left me baffled.

Right at that moment, the glass bottle shattered. Technically, there was a slight delay, so causality isn’t confirmed.

All the light inside spilled downward, heading straight toward me.

Continuously.

And then…

Some of the light chunks got snagged by unknown entities trying to feed off the Warmth. When I shook the connecting threads, they fled.

What’s going on here?

These things also crave Warmth? Should I hunt them later?

Let’s worry about that another time.

Eventually, the light reached me.

Plop!

Huh?

Heheh…

Hehehehe…

What is this?

It’s heat! Incredible!

Ah, yeah. Like a small candle flame. Better.

The cold… just for a moment.

Just a fleeting second.

Not forgotten—it’s gone.

No, no, no! Don’t take it away! This is the first warmth I’ve ever felt, lying here in this wretched abyss!

Ah…

The heat started slipping away.

What is this chill? What kind of frost is this? Why must I alone endure such freezing cold?

Huh?

I shriveled up, clutching the faint light within me.

Like powdered flour sifting through my fingers, the light dissolved and disappeared.

Even squeezing harder produced no Warmth.

The untouched light fading away in my grasp felt utterly useless.

I tossed one upward in frustration, aiming at a large chunk of light passing above.

The larger light grabbed it, twirled it around like a fish, then discarded it.

Plop.

The light returned to the ground, slightly warmer now—not from its own Warmth, but from the residual glow of the larger light above.

Meaning it’s relatively warm.

Oh-ho.

Is that so?

Let’s target those things later.

By the way…

Among the fallen, I spotted someone I hadn’t seen in ages. Already dead upon descent, their corpse retained light but lacked Warmth.

Back when I was first summoned, I could extract both light and Warmth from corpses nearby. Not this one, though.

No one else took it. Neither did I strip it of its cold.

Actually, I almost drained all the heat but deliberately left a tiny bit behind.

Instinctively pushed aside before reason took over.

“You mean the opposite?”

Gathering Warmth is rational. Contracts are instinctual—and mostly useless instincts at that.

Anyway…

Welcome to Below the Surface. I promised not to steal your Warmth.

So, how does this cold feel to you? Can you laugh?

Will you end up like me?

Will you become equally miserable?

Blargh!

The light shriveled, turned to dust, and vanished.

Hmm?

Last time, when I ascended and fell, I thought leaving untouched lights would create monsters like me.

But it couldn’t handle the pressure and exploded. Like deep-sea pressures crushing it into oblivion.

Was it too damaged to survive? Or perhaps humans simply can’t endure such conditions?

Questions keep piling up.

Too much to do: finding the right amount, deciding if destroying worlds is better, figuring out how to use Harvesters, determining my limits…

Alright.

Let’s do it all.

Plenty of time ahead.

Surveying my surroundings, Below the Surface was now empty. Only ripples on the surface remained.

In short, it’s the final act.

Looking up at the place where my first world once stood, I bid farewell.

“Goodbye, First World.”

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