A blinding light flashed, and my tightly shut eyelids fluttered open.
“Where is this…?”
An entirely different landscape unfolded before me. A familiar place etched vividly in my memory.
Recalling the past, I instinctively held my breath and surveyed my surroundings.
Of course, this was the place where I had dueled with Sirin. A wilderness where I had resurrected countless times after death. And the map that served as the backdrop for the Siriniuus raid in the game.
Did Sirin… bring me here?
gulp I swallowed hard, recalling what had just happened. I stood up with the Great Sword because I didn’t want to see my friends die, wanting to save them. And just as I slashed at the unknown orb Sirin summoned, familiar yet strange light engulfed my body.
When I opened my eyes…
There stood Lilith, who looked so much like Rubia that it was confusing, with Sirin bowing her head in front of her.
At that moment, I distinctly remember—Rubia… had been crying. Wait, was she laughing? I can’t tell. It all happened so fast that my mind was left foggy and I hadn’t really seen…
Huh?
“My eyes… can see…?”
I tilted my head down to look at my body. It was small, covered in scars, and the ribbon around my waist was tied securely, with my outfit neatly arranged.
For some reason, the bandages that were supposed to act as underwear had disappeared, but there was no time to worry about that.
thud I felt the movement of a colossal being nearby.
This must be… Sirin in her dragon form.
Taking a slow breath, I looked around once more. The emptiness of the wilderness revealed no other presences, including Ser and the others.
Well, that’s actually good. I can immerse myself in combat without distractions.
Calming myself, I slowly began to walk.
swish swish The lonely wind carried rough grains of sand.
“Ugh…”
I squinted as I walked, keeping my eyes shielded after they had been wide open.
After some time, thud—the massive sound indicated that I had reached my destination.
I exhaled the breath I had held and stretched out my hand.
The Great Sword of Frey should materialize—
“…Huh?”
I couldn’t grasp it.
Try again, with more strength this time.
But Frey didn’t appear.
Maybe… my other hand?
This time I stretched out my left hand—
sharp intake of breath “Huh… why, why isn’t it working?”
No matter how I reached out with my left hand, nothing happened.
Stretching both hands forward or upwards…
“F-Frey…!”
Whispering and shouting the name of the sword yielded no results.
“Yap…!”
No matter how hard I searched, the Great Sword was nowhere to be found.
I stood there, dazed, when thud—the heavy sound echoed again.
…I’ll just have to settle for a substitute.
Forcing myself to steady my trembling breath, I picked up a rock lying around.
Then, thud! A sound much louder than before erupted right in front of me.
I bit down hard.
I was ready to dash forward and raised my head.
There it was, the giant Sirin I had seen countless times in the game, filling my view completely.
With trembling hands, I gripped the rock.
Then, crack—the stone shattered into pieces without leaving a trace, swept away by the wind.
Whether it heard that noise or not, Sirin’s head turned towards me.
Her overwhelming golden eyes, devoid of any emotion, fixated on me.
Those cold, empty eyes, resembling the lonely wind, were staring at me…
No, not at me.
But at something behind me?
Slowly turning my head, I looked where Sirin was staring.
“Uh…?”
A golden orb hovered behind me, similar in size to the one Sirin had just summoned high into the sky.
Inside it was…
“…an elf?”
I saw elves sitting on a massive tree, grinning brightly.
But that wasn’t all.
I glimpsed heavenly beings chatting amicably, demonfolk trapped in a cage fighting each other, dwarves smelting metal, and humans plowing the fields, all vividly visible.
Despite the contrasting natures of angels and demons, the world looked incredibly happy and peaceful.
“What on earth…?”
Turning my head back to the gigantic Sirin behind me.
Even as I picked up stones from the ground, moved slowly closer, jumped, or pretended to strike,
Sirin merely stared blankly at the golden orb.
Could it be…
Feeling a cold sweat trickling down my spine, I crawled slowly towards Sirin.
And stretched out my hand, whoosh—
“Eek…”
My outstretched hand swatted through empty air.
As expected… the Sirin here couldn’t see me, and this place is not real.
From what I could see, it looked like an illusion similar to a trial, perhaps suggesting that my existence is not accounted for in this place.
Then how did Rubia—or rather, Lilith—see me earlier? Did Lilith bring me here, rather than Sirin?
So what is this place?
What on earth is Lilith’s reason for bringing me here…?
Just as I was blinking and trying to clear my thoughts, a part of the shimmering golden orb turned black.
[Krrr…]
Seeing that, Sirin growled ferociously and unfurled her folded wings.
Simultaneously, whoosh! Chains identical to those that had bound Rubia erupted from Sirin’s back.
clank—
My vision faded to black.
*
whoosh!
The previously darkened view lit up. The sudden influx of light made me squeeze my eyes shut without even a scream.
After some time, when the throbbing in my eyelids subsided, I slowly opened my eyes.
The place I stood was still the same.
The location… was the same, but—
“Chains…?”
Sirin’s body was tightly bound by the chains that had erupted earlier. As a result, her massive form curled inwards, her head pressed to the ground, yet her ferociously glowing eyes remained unchanged.
Those fiercely shimmering eyes gazed toward the ends of the chains binding her.
The long, dangling ends of the chains contained an unrecognizable form bound in a shape similar to Sirin.
Neither human, beast, heavenly, demonic, elven, dwarven, nor monster.
A shadowy form that was none of those.
I instinctively understood what that entity was.
Termination.
The termination bound with Sirin’s body was—
Regulation.
I turned my gaze to meet Sirin’s eyes, and at that moment, information and memories I could never comprehend started to invade my mind.
[The Apostle of Lilith cannot reveal itself to the world unless the end does not come.]
[The Apostle of ‘Lilith’ cannot reveal itself to the world unless the end does not come.]
[We cannot directly influence the world.]
[We are the end and the beginning of the world, the door and key to enter Paradise.]
[Those living on the land cannot gaze at, touch, or surpass the sky.]
[If the beings on the land can look up at, touch, and surpass the sky, thereby opening a new heaven, then—]
[At last, the door to Paradise shall be opened.]
It was a regulation meant to complete the world.
It was a regulation established to protect the world.
It was Sirin itself.
It was the first regulation.
And it was Lilith’s final regulation.
The power of that established regulation was absolute.
Even Sirin, as the embodiment of regulation, had to brace for complete annihilation should she break free from it.
Because of that, Sirin—
crunch—
Started to move within the framework of the regulation.
For the first time, she created a magical beast imbued with her magical power.
Second, she instigated an unending war.
Third, she brought forth countless deaths.
Fourth, she scattered endless despair upon the land.
And then, for the fifth…
She granted each being on the land the opportunity to break free from the regulation.
To come closer to the foundation of the world.
Bestowing them with unique powers.
Thus, a great war erupted in the world.
A war devoid of any significance.
Watching them mindlessly kill each other under the guidance of regulation made me feel nauseated.
But Sirin merely stood there, silently observing.
She wasn’t capable of feeling emotions, and to her, this war wasn’t meaningless.
For Sirin, this war was merely one step in the process of completing the world.
Eventually, gush—
The souls of those who lost their lives in the endless war were drawn out. These souls reached Sirin’s abode and were sucked into the golden orb illuminating the world.
It felt like a natural flow, as if they were returning to their original place. What began as a stream akin to a brook gradually transformed into a great sea, starting to fill the orb.
After a long passage of time…
Humans fell to ruin.
Heavenly beings fell to ruin.
Demonfolk fell to ruin.
Dwarves fell to ruin.
Beastfolk fell to ruin.
On the land, only the victorious elves from the war and the spirits created by one elf remained.
That elf was Laila.
She looked up to the sky.
Her outstretched hand touched the sky.
Her feet stepped upon the sky.
As such, the regulation binding Lilith’s apostle was released.
Her once-crouched form stood tall.
Her head, once buried in the ground, was now raised high.
And her still impassive eyes sparkled.
whoosh With a flap of her wings, she soared into the sky as if to cover the wilderness.
[KRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA―!]
With a whoosh—a ferocious roar split the space.
A passage connected to the land where a hero destined to face the new world resided.
As Sirin drove herself into that passage, emotions began to emerge in her eyes for the first time.
At the same time, that emotion flowed into my mind.
It was joy.
An unparalleled joy.
Whether it stemmed from the fulfillment of her master’s command,
Or from the birth of the new hero, I couldn’t tell.
That joy was…
Because it was overshadowed by the black sun floating in the sky.
