A white space.
At first glance, it seemed like an empty void, but it was not.
It was uncomfortable to see. Uncomfortable to move. Uncomfortable to breathe. Uncomfortable to think.
No, just existing here was uncomfortable.
Why?
I tried to trace the reasons despite my thoughts being interrupted, tap-tap.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
After another five seconds, I realized.
Divine Power.
It was because of the Divine Power that filled this space.
A different kind of Divine Power than what Rubia wielded.
Perfect Divine Power.
That Divine Power was pushing me away.
It was rejecting me.
It was denying me.
It was trying to kill me.
I knew this feeling.
Crimson sky, crimson earth, black sun.
The place where she, ‘I’, had piled up a mountain of blood and tears.
When I first stepped into that world, I felt a similar sensation.
But it wasn’t this uncomfortable.
The pressure was different.
It far exceeded what I had anticipated.
I let out a faint sigh.
I gripped the hilt of my sword.
I took another uncomfortable step.
In this void of emptiness where even the concept of time seemed to have vanished,
I kept walking through the misty white space, where sound and my presence felt hazy.
I didn’t orient myself. I just walked forward.
After quite a while.
Swish— I heard the sound of cloth brushing against something.
I turned my head to the left. Nothing was there.
I turned my head to the right. Likewise, nothing.
Slowly, I looked straight ahead.
*
There it was.
“Hello?”
In the space that had just been empty.
A faint horizon barely distinguishing the sky and earth.
There it was.
A Nameless One, sitting cross-legged on a massive throne.
“You’ve come faster than I expected.”
It present an existence that seemed both there and not there. But more than anything, it exuded an intense presence.
Seeing this, Noah felt certain.
The Nameless One had completed the myth.
The Nameless One’s eyes curved.
“Oh dear, you recognize me? How charming! Yes, I have completed the myth. Perfectly, with not a flaw. Who do you think made that possible?”
A smoothly rising hand rested on Rubia’s chest.
“It was thanks to Rubia. Of course, it was also due to Noah. Before I even descended, Rubia was already complete. She became so solid that she wouldn’t break, even containing my essence. A loving person. With the determination to protect Noah, she has become this perfect, you know? Just a shell. But because of that, I managed to complete the myth without a hitch. Just as we are now, I can unfold a flawless Divine Realm. Thank you, Rubia. I never imagined that brief deviation would lead to something so significant. Hehehe.”
A smile laced with scoffing humor.
At the same time, an armrest appeared where there had been none.
The Nameless One elegantly rested its chin in a hand on the armrest.
“So, how do you feel?”
Then it raised the other arm and slowly waved it.
“I changed my outfit while waiting. The one that suits this Divine Realm best. And something you might like, Noah. It’s an outfit Rubia would dislike, but don’t you like it?”
Like the white space, a pure white dress.
The fabric of the dress flowed gracefully with the Nameless One’s movements, swish—.
Where it flowed, the hem barely concealed even half of its thighs.
An outfit familiar to Noah.
The outfit from Noah’s memories.
“It’s the last outfit Rubia wore just before her death, in that world where I only enjoyed our world as a game. Isn’t it pretty?”
Noah didn’t respond to that question and simply stared silently.
To the untrained eye, his expression appeared to be devoid of will.
However, to the Nameless One, it didn’t seem that way.
Was he searching for something? Thinking?
“Mhh…”
I don’t know. I can’t read it. It shouldn’t be possible. As someone who completed the myth, I should feel the thoughts and emotions of all beings that exist in this world.
But Noah’s thoughts were unfathomable and unpredictable.
“Is it the power of Termination? How fascinating. I never imagined that Termination would be another incarnation of Noah. How did you fool me? How did you blind me? How, how.”
That momentary confusion soon passed.
“Well, what does it matter? Those thoughts are now completely useless.”
With an uncomfortable expression on its face, the Nameless One tapped the armrest, tap-tap—, and smiled to itself.
Because that sort of thing was now of no use whatsoever.
The Sword of Victory permanently exhausting half of its divinity.
The Spirit Mage sealing its consciousness and lowering its status.
The miracle achieved by trading pieces of keys, altering a confirmed future.
To the one who completed the myth, nothing held any importance.
And so, it laughed.
Laughed while gazing at Noah.
Following this, the Nameless One’s Divine Realm watched Noah. The will of the world, the world itself gazed at Noah.
“You’ve worked hard. I believed Noah would reach this place, but seeing it in reality is emotionally stirring. How do you feel? Proud? You should be. You’ve overcome all the despair until now to get here. Surely, you’ll feel proud. And you probably thought it would be over. Once you passed this obstacle, everything would be over. You could finally be happy. You are the protagonist. You can make this story a happy ending. You’d do anything to achieve it. With such thoughts—”
Contrasting the white space, the Nameless One’s scarlet tongue licked its lips.
“You must have harbored hope.”
A sultry sigh escaped between glistening lips.
“Ah… I love the way humans are. Using hope as a light, navigating through the unseen darkness, overcoming all hardships and challenges. That shimmering appearance is so captivating. But you know, there’s something even better than that.”
An intoxicating sigh brushed against Noah’s nose. A dizzying scent poured in. The sultry voice stimulated his senses.
“When the light, which you believed would always guide you, extinguished at what you thought was the end. Just before reaching the finish line, when everything crumbled. When the only hope that kept you standing shattered. When it was trampled. When it was taken away. When it was snatched from your grasp.”
Finally, the Nameless One rose from the throne and wrapped its arms around Rubia’s body with hands drunk in ecstasy.
“At that moment. The expressions humans make. The voices they utter. The eyes that lose their light. The breath that seems like it will break. The feelings they experience. The struggles of bodies rejecting reality. Those are far better. So lovely and adorable. It’s enough to make me, truly… go insane.”
So then.
“Please, despair. Desperately and tragically. With a level of pity that surpasses all, thrashing about on the ground. If you can endure a little longer like that, eventually, I will lead you to Paradise. You could stay by my side forever. You’ll surely be happy. Unlike Rubia, I can give you everything Noah desires.”
Kaboom—! As the Nameless One finished speaking, the white space trembled. The Divine Realm shifted.
“Just make sure not to die, and entertain me.”
Countless wings spread behind the Nameless One. Behind those wings, innumerable halos began to rise.
“Got it?”
Brilliant halos. The geometric patterns inscribed within twisted. They became eyes. They became faces. They became tongues. They became mouths. Hands, arms, a torso, and soon an indescribable entity writhed within the halos.
Squish— Eventually, the writhing mass of flesh split apart. It broke open and bared its teeth. Sticking out its tongue. From its tongue, the lips reappeared, teeth appeared, a tongue reappeared, lips, teeth, tongue.
The teeth, tongue, and lips kept multiplying.
They screeched the most horrific screams.
Screams of all beings that had ever traversed this world.
A cacophony of screams, howls, and lamentations mixing into one echoed through.
Hearing those screams and gasps, the Nameless One stretched out its hand.
The screams stopped.
In their place, a tide of corrupted power filled with hatred surged.
The despair of souls trapped in the cycle of reincarnation.
The world itself. All poured towards Noah.
Watching it silently, Noah finally opened his mouth.
“I’ve finally found it.”
Then he moved.
At the same time, crack—!
Half of the wings that had been sprouting behind the Nameless One were brutally torn apart by Noah’s hand.
“…Huh?”
The Nameless One’s expression, unable to comprehend the current situation, lost its smile. A stupid sound slipped from its mouth.
But momentarily.
Crick—!
Noah’s hand tore at the Nameless One’s wings again.
The face of the Nameless One, feeling a horrific pain, twisted. Pain? It shouldn’t be feeling pain. As a perfect being, as a god encompassing everything, it should not experience the pain that mortals feel.
But why was it feeling pain?
Crunch— The Nameless One, biting down on its lips, reached out toward Noah. Following suit, the world, the Divine Power, the halos, and the countless arms extending from the halos grasped Noah’s entire body.
As Noah was bound tightly, unable to move a finger, he calmly gazed into the Nameless One’s eyes.
No, he looked at the lips stained with blood underneath. And said.
“…Don’t handle me so carelessly.”
“W-What—”
At that moment.
With a pain that felt like his neck was being severed.
The Nameless One’s soul, its power.
Its very existence.
Was torn away from Rubia’s body.
[What the hell is this…]
The Nameless One, grotesquely flailing on the ground, examined its own state.
The deity that had completed the myth remained intact. The halo that rose behind them was also still there. But the torn wings did not regenerate.
And.
There were no hands. No feet. No torso. No head. Blurry. Not clear. Does it not exist?
Just like before it became a parasite in Rubia’s body.
Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
I didn’t calm my heated head.
I moved the Divine Power to create arms. To make legs. To form a torso. To make a head, face, and the wings behind.
A form made from the soul that had lost its flesh.
That form was identical to Rubia’s.
With that state, I turned my head.
To the place where I had just been.
There, Noah was beaming, gently cradling Rubia’s body.
[Don’t, you damn human…]
With a voice that was unpleasant, indistinguishable as a beast or human, the Nameless One scratched its neck irritably, glaring at Noah.
Crack-crack— As its fingers and nails scratched across its neck, skin, veins, and muscle fell away, but the Nameless One didn’t care, continuing to glare at Noah.
However, Noah seemed indifferent to the Nameless One, simply wiping away the blood dripping from Rubia’s lips and holding her close.
The Nameless One, watching this, could no longer contain its rage. With its torn vocal cords, it let out a furious howl and unleashed its Divine Power.
“…Now, I don’t have to control my power anymore.”
At the same time, crunch. Noah’s fist shattered the Nameless One’s head.
The Divine Power radiated. The halos spun. The world’s consciousness restored the existence of the Nameless One back to its original state.
In an instant, the Nameless One regained its original form.
That was what it saw as soon as its head, eyes, and body recovered.
Boom!
Its body exploded like a balloon.
