Kyle looked at Horatio.
He had almost forgotten about him.
It had been over 150 years since they had last seen each other.
Kyle had assumed that Horatio had already died since he hadn't seen him during his purge, and yet, here he was.
"I didn't notice you," Kyle said weakly, still disheartened from his failed escape attempt and the constant burning pain of the Sin Flames.
Horatio smirked. "We have ways to hide from Ether Senses," he said. "You have to ask the world if you want to find us, and only the Overseer can ask the world. I assume you didn't do that."
Kyle remembered how the Duchess of Twilight had told him that he just had to ask the world to find the Cult of Final Fate.
Instead, Kyle had only used his Ether Sense.
"Guess I didn't do that," he said.
Then, Kyle sighed. "Anyway, what's this about?"
"The promise I made," Horatio said, looking deeply into Kyle's eyes without blinking. "Remember? You confronted me and asked me not to destroy the world."
"Well, I have been capable of destroying the world for a while now, but I kept my promise."
Kyle paid attention to Horatio's Ether, and what he felt was… strange.
Horatio had more Ether than a Peak Expert but less Ether than a true Transcendent.
He had about as much Ether as a Nobody.
And yet, Kyle's instincts warned him.
Horatio was exceptionally dangerous.
Kyle's instincts told him that a fight against Horatio would be almost impossible to win.
However, how could that be? Kyle had a lot more Ether than Horatio, and his Laws were also not weak.
"So, you became a Champion of Final Fate?" Kyle asked.
"That's what you people call people like me, yes," Horatio said.
Kyle sighed. "And you're here to destroy the world, right?" he asked as he slowly stood up.
Horatio just watched while Kyle stood up, and a moment later, he stood up himself.
"That depends," Horatio said with a smile. "We made a promise. A contract. I will not break the contract."
Horatio's smile widened. "But if we both agree, we can nullify it."
Kyle's Ether Sense spread across the world.
He saw countless people living their lives.
After such a long time, almost everyone from the old world had died.
Over 90% of all people could digest beast meat, and the world was flourishing.
Kyle could tell that he was harvesting a tremendous amount of Karmic Luck.
And now…
The entire world may end.
Destroying an entire world…
Kyle sighed.
It was such an alien thought.
Yes, there were many different kinds of ends of the world that people talked about, but this end of the world was the absolute kind.
The sun might not rise tomorrow.
Kyle had the power of choice.
He could nullify the contract, and every single living being in the world would die.
Yes, Kyle had killed a lot of people, but this was something on another level.
"I need more information," Kyle said. "What's this about? What's the Cult's goal? Do you really just want to end existence?"
Horatio chuckled a bit. "Your last question is more complex than what you might imagine."
"But sure, I will answer your questions," Horatio said. "After all, we are at the final crossroads."
'That sounds dramatic,' Kyle thought.
"This is a war," Horatio said. "It is our God against your God."
"As we speak, our two Gods are fighting, and we two are just two tiny soldiers."
"Gods?" Kyle asked. "Sorry, I'm an atheist."
Horatio chuckled. "The strongest person. A person who has power over all of creation. A person who can create, reshape, manipulate, control, and eliminate countless worlds."
"Would you call that person a God?"
Kyle scratched the back of his head. "I guess."
"We are currently in the domain of your God, Kyle," Horatio said. "This is but one of the worlds they control."
"Okay," Kyle said. "So, you're from a rival company."
"Kind of, but not exactly," Horatio said. "This is much more fundamental."
"Our God has traveled through many different worlds. Our God absorbed their energy and converted it into power. One of the forms of this power is the Cult of Final Fate."
"Our job is to weaken the energy of your God. This world we are currently in has a purpose. It creates Transcendents, and these Transcendents can become even more powerful in the future."
"This world makes recruits, and while some recruits barely make a difference in a war, some of these recruits might rise to become soldiers, officers, or even generals."
"A few of them might even become Gods themselves."
"We destroy worlds because worlds are recruitment camps for the enemy."
"All worlds?" Kyle asked.
"We fight all worlds, but not all worlds create recruits. This is a Tertiary World, the lowest kind of world. Anyone who reaches the Fourth Realm graduates and enters a Secondary World."
"If you manage to reach the Seventh Realm, you graduate again and enter a Primary World."
"If you once more advance and reach the Tenth Realm, you join the Supreme World. "
"And if you graduate one last time, you become a God."
"That is when you reach the level of your God."
Kyle took a deep breath.
He had had no idea that there was such a long way to go.
How powerful was someone in the Seventh Realm?
What about the Tenth Realm?!
He was in the Fourth!
"How strong is the Array of Stars?" Kyle asked, thinking of Magic Lady.
"The Array of Stars is in the Supreme World," Horatio said.
Kyle took a deep breath.
This meant that Magic Lady was, at least, in the Tenth Realm!
"You say all the worlds are your enemy since all the worlds belong to our God, right?" Kyle asked.
Horatio nodded.
"So, where do you guys live? Do you have worlds?"
Horatio chuckled a bit. "Not in the traditional sense, no. You can view us as nomads, or if you don't like us, you can also view us as a swarm of locusts."
"We come, we eat, we leave."
"We've been to many worlds, and we have grown quite powerful."
Horatio chuckled. "However, for some reason, this world seems to be special."
"Special?" Kyle asked.
"Yes," Horatio answered. "According to some of our most powerful members…"
"Our God and your God know each other very, very well."
"And they hate each other about as much as a person can imagine."
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