I was standing in an empty, pure white space.
Having become familiar with the pattern by now, I muttered calmly.
"So, this is your mental world."
I turned my head and soon found what I was looking for.
In the very center of this white space.
There was only one lonely throne.
"..."
Right in front of the throne, with a pool of ink-black energy spread beneath him, Night Bringer lay collapsed in human form, dying.
I walked toward him, making a steady sound with my footsteps.
Night Bringer, who was continually coughing up black blood, looked at me.The light had already faded from his golden eyes.
"Play...er..."
A bitter smile appeared on his lips.
"No, now I should call you Dawn Bringar."
"..."
"Persistent, strong, and above all... so tenacious that it's almost annoying. You really are just like your great ancestor..."
Night Bringer murmured in a more relaxed voice, having closed his eyes tightly.
"I've lost."
"You're admitting it rather coolly."
Given that I had come back to life and attacked him repeatedly, I thought he'd grumble, 'I can't accept this outcome.'
Unexpectedly, Night Bringer accepted his defeat calmly.
"We both used all the means at our disposal and, in the end, I fell. I have no choice but to admit it."
Night Bringer, struggling to breathe, lifted his head to look at the sky.
"I'm not upset about losing to you. What upsets me is..."
I also looked up at the sky, following his gaze.
"...that I couldn't ruin their cycle of tragedies, their game of destruction."
Saaa...
The white ceiling of his mental world turned transparent, revealing the sky of the real world.
"They're there. Now that you've gained divinity, you should be able to see them."
Night Bringer glared at the sky and growled.
"Face their malice, watching my death and your futile struggle for amusement."
In the dazzling morning sunlight, amidst the darkness that was now completely dispersing.
"...!"
I saw them clearly.
Countless 'eyes' floating in the darkness.
The enormous eyes of the Outer Gods, which had become almost familiar, were looking down on us.
"Observing the world's destruction, finding joy in the tragedy..."
Night Bringer pronounced each word with seething hatred.
"The observing foreign gods, the watching constellations, the tragedy enthusiasts—'The Watchers.'"
I called out their name.
"The Watchers..."
"Yes. They are the ones who turned this land into a world on a chessboard, enjoying our struggles with fate... the architects of the game of destruction."
From within the fading darkness, the countless enormous eyes stared desperately at Night Bringer and me.
"Behold, the one who has newly gained the right to sit on the throne. The patched-together divinity."
Night Bringer, having accepted his defeat, seemed determined to persuade me.
"Look at this world that has become nothing more than a plaything! Can you truly be content with a world where you are a clown being mocked?"
"..."
"A world where, regardless of your will, you are endlessly toyed with by others. Wouldn't it be better if such a world were to disappear?"
Night Bringer's logic was consistent.
From the moment we first met until now, or perhaps since he was born in that distant mythological age until now... he seemed to have been driven by a single goal.
"In the end, we are mere actors dancing on the stage they have set, according to the story they have written. What a meaningless, futile, and vain life this is."
"..."
"I sought to rebel against this fate. That is why I tried to close this world. So, Dawn Bringar, if you have realized the truth of this world, it is not too late."
In this world, which is merely a playground for the foreign gods, rather than living as their toy.
He would rather destroy the world with his own hands and end this game of destruction.
Rather than be mocked, he would choose self-destruction; that was the consistent will that had brought him here.
That was Night Bringer.
"You can bring an end to this contradictory world, Dawn Bringar...!"
"..."
But I...
I looked up at the sky again.
I met the eyes that were staring desperately in this direction.
Perhaps because I had gained divinity and the right to stand on the same level as them, I felt like I could understand those foreign gods a little.
Without a doubt, in their eyes, there was pure malice, like the gaze of a child looking down at an anthill-
But why?
To me, those gazes felt familiar.
‘Ah.’
Immediately, I realized.
Of course they were familiar.
The way those foreigners looked at this world, at me, was exactly like...
The viewers' gaze when 'RetroAddict' was broadcasting.
‘Filled with malice, yet...’
There was also a hint of goodwill mixed in.
I could definitely feel it.
For some reason, I felt like laughing. I couldn't help but smile.
And then I spoke.
"What’s wrong with becoming a source of amusement?"
"...What?"
Night Bringer looked puzzled. I continued.
"What’s wrong with being a clown and being mocked?"
"What are you talking about now..."
My main personality was composed of that of 'RetroAddict'.
That streamer who loved games.
That clown who danced for amusement.
"If my life isn’t shameful, then what’s wrong with being a clown, with being amusement?"
If someone found joy in my antics, if they laughed at my clowning.
That wouldn’t be so bad.
"What... What are you talking about...?"
Night Bringer stammered, genuinely not understanding.
I straightened my shoulders and looked up at the sky.
"Even if my entire life is a meaningless story shouted by a nameless actor on stage, it doesn’t matter."
Even if life is nothing more than a foolish dance performed by a nameless clown on stage.
It’s fine.
"Because that is also undoubtedly a life."
No matter what kind of life I live.
Because there was someone who acknowledged that my life was beautiful from its very core.
"Don’t you dare arbitrarily judge that just because I was born as a clown mocked on stage, that my life is meaningless, that my life will be unhappy."
I lowered my gaze from the sky and looked at Night Bringer.
"The only one who can define my life is me."
With my hand on my chest, feeling the warm pulse inside.
I spoke with conviction.
"And this is beautiful."
Night Bringer's face, which had been in a daze, was now filled with anger.
"You...! Dawn Bringar! So you agree with their play of destruction and amusement?!"
"That’s not it."
I shook my head.
"The play of destruction, which views only tragedy while destroying the world, was flawed from its very conception."
"Then why..."
"But your decision to destroy the stage just because the play is flawed is even more wrong."
I smirked.
"You have a small mind, Night Bringer."
Night Bringer stammered, perhaps unable to follow the sudden shift in conversation.
"What, what...?"
"I will not destroy the stage..."
I raised one hand, stopping it in midair.
Then clenched it into a fist.
"I will destroy the system of the play of destruction itself."
"...?!"
Night Bringer's golden eyes widened in shock. I continued.
"I will rebel against that enormous will that repeats all these tragedies, against this entire universe."
I touched the leather necklace around my neck... the one I received after clearing Stage 0.
[Necklace of the Rebel]
- The necklace of a 'player' who rebels against fate.
I now truly understood the meaning of why a player rebels against fate.
Both I and Night Bringer were rebels.
We were all players who wanted to defy the fate of destruction.
But our directions were different.
He tried to destroy the world that was the stage to ruin the play of destruction.
I will destroy the play of destruction itself.
"So, although we may be the same actors, the same rebels, the same players... I can say that I am slightly more magnanimous than you."
Night Bringer, who had been looking at me in a daze with his mouth slightly open, stammered.
"How exactly... do you plan to destroy the play of destruction? How exactly will you rebel against this universe?"
"It’s a pity that I can’t show you that, Night Bringer."
At my words, Night Bringer flinched.
His limbs began to turn into black powder and disappear, and the speed was accelerating rapidly.
Night Bringer's end was near.
"We were able to have a brief conversation before dying due to the resonance between the draconian species... but it seems it’s the end now."
Night Bringer, who had calmly accepted his death, looked at me with trembling eyes.
"Dawn Bringar. If you truly intend to carry out such a great rebellion, if you intend to walk the path of a true prince to establish a new dynasty."
He placed his hand on his chest, drew out a black flame, and handed it to me.
"Take my flame as well."
"..."
"If your will is true, my blood and my soul... will aid you."
I stared at the flame Night Bringer handed over.
He is my enemy.
He killed my people, destroyed my city, and sought to bring about the world's end.
I will never forgive him.
But...
I extended my hand and slowly accepted his flame.
Because I knew I would need this flame for the path I was about to walk. I took his flame as my spoils of war.
The Black Dragon's flame did not get absorbed into my body but instead orbited around me as if it were revolving... then combined with the [Necklace of the Rebel] around my neck.
"One last thing to tell you."
After absorbing his essence.
I dryly spat out.
"Go to hell, wicked dragon."
Night Bringer, bursting into a hearty laugh, bitterly murmured.
"There’s nowhere else for me to go anyway."
"..."
"Even though you must despise me, thank you for talking to me until the end."
"No need to thank me."
I whispered to him coldly... and with a faint hint of blurred sympathy.
"Because it was to remain human. And... to gain even a little more clues to conquer this world. That's why I talked with you."
Night Bringer burst into hearty laughter once more.
"I have no regrets in life, but not being able to see the end of your rebellious path... is unfortunate..."
Already, most of his body had turned into black particles, and he murmured with a dazed expression as if dreaming.
"By the way, it's a strange thing..."
His golden eyes, now turned black, slowly closed.
"The woman who said she’d follow soon, until I died and revived once again... I haven’t seen her..."
Every last piece of Night Bringer turned into black powder and vanished.
In the empty white space, the royal scepter he had carried lay alone before the throne.
The royal scepter symbolizing the kingship of the Lake Kingdom... and the rights held by the Nightmare King of Kings.
After picking it up, I slowly raised my head.
The shroud of darkness in the sky had almost completely disappeared. Within the last remaining fragments of the shroud, the 'eyes' briefly flashed one last time.
"Watch closely from there."
With clenched teeth, a smile tugging at my lips.
"I will show you the greatest rebellion in the universe."
With that declaration, I turned my back on the throne.
And began to walk to leave this lonely space.
***
I was about to exit the mental world.
At the edge of this collapsing white space... someone stood.
"..."
I slowly approached him.
His entire body was shattered like broken pottery, with the empty interior clearly visible. White ash scattered from his body.
Despite the cracks and holes in his face, he still held an inexplicable, relaxed smile...
The man who had burned to white ash.
I called his name.
"...Born Hater."
Then, the real Ash smiled.
I instinctively knew.
It was time to say goodbye.
--TL Notes--
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at /MattReading