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Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety-clack!

「What..?」

In a blink of an eye, I found myself in a room I had not seen in a long time.

Marble flooring, gold-lined velvet walls, a bed fit for a king, and the same set of doors to my right. Of course, I was no stranger to the man sitting in front of me.

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety-clack!

「Why am I..?」

Dazed and confused, I stumbled forth and confronted him. His incessant typing was driving me up the wall.

「What am I doing back here... God..?」

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, click..!

He stopped for a second, before resuming.

「I'm terribly busy right now, could you wait a moment?」

「Busy..? You're the one who brought me here...」

「Did I now..?」

I hadn't a clue as to why he was copping an attitude, but understandably, it was starting to get on my nerves. I flounced up beside him and glanced at his display.

Battleshift..? It looks... different...

Though brief, I caught a glimpse of the game after presumably two years' worth of updates. It was jarring registering the passage of the time this way.

The old world had moved on after I'd perished. Of course, I should've been aware of the fact but, actually witnessing it was a little shocking.

So much so, I reached for the HDMI cable behind the monitor and yanked it out.

「Listen, God, enough playing around. I'm not a fan of the silent treatment. If you're gonna teleport me back here, you could at least—」

「Pathetic.」

「Huh?」

The deity pivoted on his seat towards me. He still wore that stupid t-shirt of his.

That single world almost shattered all the confidence I had built up to this point. I bit my lip and tried to salvage any semblance of bravado I had left.

「Haha... You're a real kidder, aren't you? Pulling ol' Lorenzo's leg like that. If you transported me here just so you could insult me...」

「You've lost sight of everything. Your goal in Velatya, the reason you were sent there in the first place... 」

Swiiip!

「Even your own identity, you've forgotten.」

God rotated his unplugged monitor and positioned it so it would face me. And from the pitch-black screen came a reflection. A different body from my own; a face I didn't recognize.

A face I didn't want to recognize.

「It's time to face reality... C̸̫̯͍͘o̸̖͙̲͕̦̯̟̮̙̯͕͗̄̾̒̍̈́̐͌̑̊̃̃n̸̡̨͚̥̯̘̯̻͉̥̬̻̟͕͎̤͚̱̭͎̞͊̈́͆̊͂̈́͆́͊͑͑̌̑͛́̈́͒̒̀̽̈̓̑̕̚͠͝͝͝ͅö̷̫́̔̉̈́̊́͂̄̀͋̔r̷̢͔̼͙͎͖̭͍͓̲̖̖͍͖̥̺͉̟͚͕̮͎̙̜̫̩̦͖͉̽̈͋̄̈͒́͋̑̄̑̇͋͛̒̀̏̿̃̊͌̓̒͌͘̚̕͝͠͝」

Static filled my ears as he uttered my real name. A name I'd left behind so long ago.

「Don't... call me that...」

「You can lie to everyone you meet. You can even lie to yourself. But you can never lie to me.」

「Just stop... talking...」

「You choose to don the mask of 'Lorenzo' not because you believe yourself to be him. But because you feel the need to dissociate your true self from your crimes.」

「I have no idea what you're saying...」

「After all... "C̷̳̗̪̬͙͎̘̆̾̊̾̎̆̈́̿̈͆̚͝ơ̷̗͍̙͉̾͌̉̇̉͂͑̕̚͝͠͝n̶̢̝͉͓͓̱̮̺̬̮̙̅͒͗͌̔͊́́̕͜o̷̡̢̧̢̝̗̺͕͈͈̟̔̈́͋̌r̷̛̓̽̕͜͝ the Childkiller" isn't as catchy an epithet as "Lorenzo the Childkiller", eh?」

Crash!

Swiftly, I grabbed the divine being's collar and lifted him off the ground, toppling his computer chair over. Unable to accept his gibe, I knitted my brows and yelled out my only defense.

「I DID NOT KILL THEM..!」

「Had you set your pride aside and let the children stay with Seyna, none of them would have—」

「YOU DON'T KNOW THAT! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!」

「But I do Lorenzo. Did you forget who I am?」

My hands began to shake. A mix of anger and denial.

There was no reason for him to judge my every action. I did the best I could, and what resulted from it was regrettably out of my control.

「What do you expect from me..? As Lorenzo of Battleshift, I've only ever won battles I knew I'd win. Why'd you send me to a realm that's out of my depth..? To ridicule me? To prevent me from reaching heaven? I honestly don't know what you want from me..!」

「I wanted you to prove yourself, C̵̨̝̬͚̦̼̃̽͐̊̅ó̸͙̟͓͕͊̐̅͋̈n̶̡̛̻̣͈̖̥̙̪̼̩̿̒͊̀̍ò̷̞̩͉͐̊r̷̡̛͇͖͕͚͇̂̐̀̕͝. And so far, you've disappointed me.」

「And s-stop calling me that... it's Lorenzo. It's always been Lorenzo.」

「Why vehemently abandon a name given to you by your own parents? How would your mother feel?」

BAM!

I snapped.

Without thinking I slammed God against the computer desk. Mechanical keys went flying as his back made contact with his keyboard.

「DON'T YOU DARE MENTION HER!」

My breathing was all over the place, and my temper had reached its limit. I prepared my fist, ready to pummel the demiurge before me.

God, on the other hand, didn't react. He simply looked me in the eye. A silent stare that fanned the flames of rage kindling in my mind.

「W-what's that look for huh..? Think you're so superior, tormenting me like this?!」

No answer.

「You knew the Lakua District was gonna be attacked... didn't you? You knew blood would be spilled tonight... Am I wrong?!」

A lengthy lull followed my question as the realization kicked in. I had finally conjured up a solid reason to blame him for my sins.

「Why didn't you tell me..? I could've fixed everything. I could've warned everyone, saved lives, avoid bloodshed...」

I clenched my teeth.

「Rysef, Asthos, Thonvir, Ysolva, Oleena, Klon.... all of them could've...」

「It was inevitable.」

Hearing his emotionless response only reminded me of my helplessness. It seemed as though when faced with the waves of fate, I could do nothing but watch as it washed away everything I knew.

Instinctively, I raised my fist.

WHAM!

A loud blow echoed throughout the room. My knuckles hurt like hell as they struck the deity square in the face. It was the first time I'd ever hit someone; I'd only ever used weapons.

「YOU'RE LYING!」

WHAM!

A jolt of relief rippled through my body with every punch. It quelled my aggression like cigarettes to a nicotine addict.

「WHY'D YOU SEND ME HERE WHEN IT'S ALREADY TOO LATE?!」

WHAM!

And a few punches gradually sped up into full-on thrashing.

「WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE WARNED ME!」

WHAM!

「WHY DID THEY HAVE TO DIE?!」

WHAM! WHAM!

「WHY DO I HAVE TO LIVE THROUGH THIS HELL?!」

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

「ANSWER ME, GOD! WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER ME?! BRING THEM BACK, GODDAMMIT! JUST BRING THEM—!」

I stopped right before my hand reached God's face.

What... is this..?

Instead of a bloody pulp, I was met with an unusual sight.

The deity's visage had cracks and holes all over, revealing a near-blinding light underneath. It was like an extension of the heavenly glow surrounding him.

Despite that, he wore an inscrutable countenance. One that straddled the line between calm and pitying.

An expression that managed to placate me almost instantly.

「You can hurt me all you want, Ç̸̩̯̙͍͂̏͑̏̑o̷̖̽͗̓̌ń̸̪̉ͅo̸͔̞͗͐͛ŗ̶̗̳̦̀͊̑͜. That's why I'm here.」

His uncharacteristically tender words threw me off, and I staggered away from him.

「Have you gotten it out of your system yet?」

God gently hopped to his feet and smiled warmly at me.

「What the hell are you..?」

「I told you. I'm God. He who stands above the rest. Father to all children of the world. Creator of all—」

「Yeah, yeah... I got that the first time...」

I scratched my head and cast my gaze downward. Once again, God miraculously knew how to pacify me. His knack for doing so was unsettling, to say the least.

I held my bruised knuckles and approached the deity.

「So... are you gonna tell me why I'm here..? Or am I stuck in limbo now?」

He stroked his beard as he entertained my question. All the while, the fractures in his skin slowly healed themselves.

「Put it simply... I'm here to warn you.」

「Warn me?」

The computer chair behind me suddenly stood up and fixed itself beside the desk. God sauntered over and sat down with a serious frown.

「From your two years in Velatya... I can now see your troublesome behavior is not limited to the realm of Battleshift. You are as arrogant, greedy, and manipulative as you are as Lorenzo. Such a disposition is suited only for the abode of the damned.」

His glare pierced my soul as if it was marked for hell.

「Which is why I'll only tell you this once: mend your ways, C̷̙̺̀͂̊ǫ̵̑n̶̙̋͗̉o̴̓͛̽͜͜r̶̋͂͊ͅ. You're a few sins away from being cast into hellfire. Understand?」

I solemnly nodded as he imparted his cautionary advice to me.

「Good! And as for your question before...」

「Hm?」

「I already told you, remember? Don't expect any divine protection from me.」

「Oh... right...」

His beam of satisfaction glistened like stardust geysers from the Nimbus Sea. I almost felt silly, losing my composure over him.

What a horrible creator. How'd someone like him bring the universe into fruition..?

「Ah—I almost forgot!」

「What is it now..?」

「Before I send you back... I need to tell you something...」

「Well? I'm all ears, you coot...」

As though he had read the dwindling thoughts in the back of my mind, he walked up to me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

Though I couldn't see his face, his remark made it oh-so clear as to how he felt.

「Don't mistake me for that false god, Vel. If anything... he's an adversary even I'm wary of.」

「Eh?」

「Good luck, C̸̝̹̈́͝ō̷͙n̵̪̐o̶͔͎͠͝r̵̭̯͌. You're gonna need it.」

And thus, my story in the world of Velatya continued.

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