Chapter 193

Arc 17 - Shadowy World - Part 2

Friday, 13th of August 2021:

It was a normal morning at Emily's house.

She woke up late - as usual - and began eating her breakfast - which consisted of nothing but a bar of chocolate.

As she was eating, she felt a Golden God teleport besides her.

While half-asleep and barely dressed, Emily jumped immediately into the air. She spun her body and bent her left knee. Increasing the prowess in her right leg, Emily drop-kicked the Golden God in the head, sending him through an infinite number of realities - however, if a normal human saw their battle, they would have realised that nothing happened between the two of them. They would have thought the two of them vanished into thin air.

Emily questioned why this man was here, he was the bane of this existence, after all. What would he want from her?

『I come in peace,』 said the Golden God as he came to a sudden pause in the middle of an odd looking reality. 『Please, let us speak as equals.』

"Hrn," Emily puffed out air and returned to their home.

As the space around them moved, clothes began to appear around her, and her hair went from being messy to something beautiful. A red lipstick spread on her lips soon after.

The Golden God found Emily's ability to change her appearance in such a manner both astonishing and confusing.

And so, they returned to her home.

Their conversation so far has led to one important question...

『Do you want to know everything?』

Everyone wants to know everything, that should be a simple question to answer. Yet Emily struggled hard in her mind to answer this question.

It is a choice that will change her for the rest of her life.

『I don't need a soldier in this war, I lost my best, what I need is...』

"A vessel for the infinite knowledge you hold, right?"

『Simply put, yes.』

"So, what I do want to know is…" Emily narrowed her eyes. "Why do you want to die now?"

In the old world, when she absorbed the different Nazars from across the multiverse as well as Arosus, she also absorbed a fragment of this God that was residing in this Ultraverse - albeit she did not know that back then.

With even a fraction of his knowledge, she learned far too much than her mind could handle.

After all, she was just a human.

Since then - even if she believes otherwise - she has become a God, a deity, and a force of nature - destruction. However, she is not sure if she will be able to handle all that knowledge even now.

『You worry too much, Emily. The knowledge won't kill you.』

She clicked her tongue.

That's not it…

『I don't want to pass this onto you simply because I want to run away,』 the Golden God shook his head. 『No, I will stop her. No matter what it takes. Passing this knowledge is for another reason.』

"Hmmm."

『There is something I want you to know, child of destruction. Something you must know, even if you deny my proposal.』

Then why even bother with the proposal...

『You are one of the most prominent figures in the cosmos, and I hope you stop pretending otherwise.』

"As I said, I am not interested."

『Perhaps. But I still wish for my knowledge to be passed onto none other than you.』

"What will happen to you if I don't take this knowledge?"

『Nothing. When the time comes, I will simply pass away, leaving nothing behind. My footprints will cease existing, as will my name. Only a few notable individuals will remember me.』

"Let me get this straight," Emily sighed exasperatedly. "You want to die but want a sliver of you to stay behind. Why? Is it because you can resurrect yourself afterwards?"

『Heavens, no. I don't wish to resurrect myself from my inevitable death, I merely want to be… I don't want to go down in history as an evil God. I want to be known for something different. And that would be my knowledge.』

"Hmmm," Emily narrowed her eyes, finding his reasoning not very convincing.

『I believe I will die, but before I do, I need to make sure my knowledge survives. There is something one person must know.』

"Tell them yourself," she stated the obvious.

However, the Golden God shook his head after a faint sigh.

『That is, unfortunately, no longer possible.』

"..."

Emily snorted.

Then she laughed.

She laughed at the idiotic reasoning given to her by this nigh-omniscience God.

"You are funny, I like you."

『I take great offence to your reaction.』

"It's funny to me. How on the planet of the apes - (sigh, he used to say that back in the day) - can I believe you?"

The Golden God leaned back in the sofa, displeased with her.

『My expectations of you were high, extremely high, but it seems I have been disappointed once again.』

Emily leaned forward.

She placed her right elbow on the thighs of her crossed legs and rested her face in her palm.

A thin condescending smile spread across her face while her eyes narrowed in a similar manner.

As if she were talking to a silly child, she said, “Instead of passing your knowledge, perhaps you should take the time and initiative to actually learn how to choose people. Improve your people skills.”

『Hm, looking at it from a technical standpoint, I don’t think--』

“I don’t care, dumbo.”

『...』 the Golden God was a man well versed in the cultures of countless species, he knew every tongue, and could speak confidently to any creature. Yet for the first time in a trillion years, he found himself frozen - unable to talk. 『...』

Emily chuckled.

The Dragon did not want to waste any more time in this state, so he continued with their original discussion.

『I am sorry, Emily, what I said earlier… I… I need your help, God of Destruction. You are my last hope.』

“...”

『I can give you something in return, something so awesome and amazing, you will never--』

“No.”

『...』

She could feel that the Golden God was starting to feel angry.

『Perhaos giving you the choice--』

Emily stood up abruptly and sat on her knees in front of this Golden God with a sad look on her face.

『Wh… What are...』 confusion was a new sensation to this God - not new, but something he had forgotten. He was the all-knowing, yet Emily was something - someone - he could not predict.

She extended her right hand and touched the Golden God’s face.

『...』

Her warm hand felt nice, but...

Uncomfortably, the Golden God jerked his head away.

However, Emily’s hand stuck into his face.

The Golden God tried to move away, but his body flickered in his place. As if it was stuck inside a small forcefield and he tried to escape, but no matter what, he couldn’t.

『P-pl-please...』

The God’s voice broke into a million pieces as the sad God of Destruction poured pain on him.

『D-don’t… I cannot...』

The Golden God’s body flickered into thousand pieces and so did his sound. His entire existence felt like it was being shredded to pieces.

“Show me… Show me the face beneath the golden aura.”

『I… I beg… Please… Don’t… You--』

Emily stabbed her fingers into his face angrily.

“Show me the face of my despair, the face that haunts my dreams, the face that haunted the entire creation. You are...”

Emily chuckled bitterly.

“You ruined my life, you ruined his. You ruined the life of the universe. So...” she tilted her head angrily. “So, show me. Don’t hide.”

『You… You are not meant to see me. Not until… It is not good. My face… The horrors and the...』

Emily’s fingers went through the skull of this Golden God. Slowly, her entire fist went into his head.

She clutched onto his brains and plucked it out.

The brain still oozing with juices, she held it in the palm of her slender hand.

"You made it so that this day will occur, the events will follow perfectly as you planned… except it began to diverge from your plans the moment I didn't accept your offer immediately."

『You--- you-- ngh-- wrong.』

"Feeling pain, is that it? For such a big man, I am disappointed."

Emily looked at the brain of the Golden God she just plucked out of his head.

"You are but a mere fragment of the Dragon, but that's where your downfall began."

She licked lips as an even thinner smile spread across her face.

"You did not expect for someone such as I to be able to do…" she spread her left arm wide as her smile turned victorious. "Reverse engineer the biology and physiology of an avatar to find the real you."

The avatar of this Golden God - the Dragon - began to flicker out of existence.

"I was meant to be the weak one, the dumb one…" her tone turned colder and colder by the second. "Yet here we are."

A golden forcefield began to encase the brain of the Dragon.

"You hurt me, made me think I was an inferior entity, and you know what? I don't hate it. Nope, not at all. But there is something I hate. Wanna know, sweetie?"

Her lift hand stabbed into the chest of this avatar before it could even react.

Her face twisted up in anger as she twisted his innards with her fist.

The Dragon is a being who doesn't have organic organs like humans do, but even then, it has something that can be terribly similar to the organs of the humanoids.

Its heart is a core, his concept, his entire existence. His mind has another core. If one gets destroyed, the other will save him.

But the avatar's brain was plucked out of him and now this inferior entity was tightly holding his second core he himself shaped up.

"I was meant to be a little kitten, scared of everything. You know what?" she shouted angrily. "I was. I soo fucking was. Scared of the trivial things for sooo fucking long. It was…"

She suddenly swallowed her words and swallowed her saliva.

"Then I kept playing the part. I did. I did it good. Yep. Really good. Always scared, standing aside, letting him take all the glory…"

Suddenly a sound like a beast left her lips.

"Oh yes, all the glory. All for this moment. ALLLL for this DAMNED moment. This right here. Right now. Right FUCKING now!"

Emily sucked in deep breath; all the talks made her tired.

"I am not a planner like him or you, and I will never try..." with a joyous smile, she said, "This is what I call luck."

The Golden God looked at her angrily, in returned, she just glanced at the oozing brain and slurped.

"You wanted to transfer your knowledge to me? No, of course, not. You wanted me to be your pawn so you could resurrect yourself. Fun fact, bitch; the Nameless One already tried that."

Emily and Nazar were special, one-of-a-kind creatures. And they were close.

To get to Nazar, the Nameless One killed Emily.

Shortly thereafter, the Nameless One was killed too. However, he had already transferred his core to an Emily he resurrected soon after killing her.

She had seen this trick before.

A magic trick is something wonderful and astonishing, that is until you know the mechanism behind it. Once you learn that, the magic trick loses all of its value.

"I have seen the trick, I understand it, so I won't let history repeat itself."

『You...』

The Dragon's body kept flickering in and out of existence.

"I won't be used as a tool no more; I will not allow it. Back then, I was naive, but not anymore. The little girl, scared of everything, is not scared of anyone anymore. You, Arosus, or the Queen."

『...』

"Yes, I was scared. I will not hide that, because hiding means I am still scared. No more. I am not scared."

The Dragon's golden shell began to fall apart.

It was as if the skin of a man was falling apart, revealing his innards.

"Maybe she will destroy all of existence, fine. Fine, fine. I can't fight it. But I sure as hell won't cower in fear. Not anymore… Never again for this is my JUSTICE---"

As her eyes widened, her words began to vanish.

With every crack that fell apart, she felt intense pain in her body - albeit she thought she did. Perhaps she did, or she didn't, but she did not care to find out.

Her world view began to change, it became narrow and narrower.

Her face became hot, her breathing became erratic.

With her vision blurring, she felt weak and fell on her butt.

No one was attacking her in any form or shape, yet...

『Justice is a myth, it does not exist; a just universe will not tolerate your existence, God of Destruction.』

The Golden God's energy shell shattered into small piece like glass and fell to the ground.

The Golden Aura was a shell that both concealed his true form and true motive.

『It could not tolerate an existence as evil as you.』

The Dragon was not attacking her, he wasn't doing anything.

So, why did she feel this way…?

『Everything that transpired today was outside of my plan, my grand scheme for you, but… I am Ikeiss, the Eternal, and when you live a long life such as mine, losing is never an option.』

She raised her head slowly and could see the face of the Dragon - the incomprehensible - correctly.

『It is true, I acted far too naively with you and your pathetic friend - tools - but I will remind you once again, I am the God who ate the cosmos and spat out something better. Just because I did not end you, it does not mean I lost.』

"That… How?"

『Surviving an encounter - making an eye contact - with me is something to be proud of. You have a gift, God of Des--』

"It… all.. make… sense…" Emily muttered to herself coldly.

The Dragon sensed what she was about to do, so he wanted to take away the brains from her and leave, but he was too late.

A punch struck his beautiful face and broke every bone in it.

"Ahhhh," Emily, once again, returned to her earlier state, breathed out loudly - reliving herself of the previous unknown pain - or was she smilpy playing around to confuse the dragon? "I see."

『Wha---』

"Your little reveal almost caused me to lose balance, but you have to understand… No wait, let me rephrase," a thin smile spread over her lips. "I will not submit to you."

Emily clenched her fist again.

"Never."

She swung her right hand forward, slamming it in the body of this Golden God - who looked slightly different.

The body of this God flew out of her house, then this planet, then this galaxy, then the universe, then the multiverse, then Third Plane of Existence, then the Ultraverse - Aleph-∞ First, then the megaverse - Aleph-∞ Second, and then flew through every level of the omniverse until it reached the World.

The Dragon, who tried his best to gain control of his flight, gritted his teeth.

He was leaving the world, which means he can only survive a few levels above it, and if he cannot stop himself, this avatar of his will cease to exist.

While normally the Dragon would not care, today is different.

Being erased in a higher level will heavily damage the Dragon himself and his campaign of saving the omniverse will be interrupted.

So!

The Dragon tried to pull his avatar away from himself, so they are not connected, nor they ever were.

However, he was too slow.

He could neither stop his avatar from reaching a higher level, nor could he separate from it in time.

The Golden God broke through the higher levels above the World and immediately after, it vanished.

In the World, the Dragon clenched every fiber of his being as he tried to resist this uncomfortable pain in his body.

『AAHH!』

The Dragon was a mighty God, the closest thing to an omnipotent being - true God of all. He might have lost his power, but he was still mighty.

A word from him could reshape every corner of the cosmos.

Yet, for the first time in countless years, he felt true pain.

Emily's attack had caused him so much pain that he couldn't stop himself from screaming in pain.

He tried to hold back, he tried not to let his voice out, but… Fate had other plans for him.

And so, the Dragon's pathetic scream rang through every corner of creation. With every passing moment, the barriers between the universes, the Ultraverses, the higher and lower levels of existence, weakened.

Perhaps Emily wanted for that to happen, perhaps she didn't, but existence could very well end today.

And her…

She did not care.

"Mm," she smiled happily as she breathed in through her nose. "It feels amazing to punch a God."

While she had punched Nazar in the past, this felt different. While Nazar actively tried to be anything but a God, the Dragon was different.

Emily glanced at the brain in the palm of her hand and licked her lips once again.

"Knowledge… All there is. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the delicious. Everything…"

Cavitated by the beauty of this extra-dimensional brain, Emily's eyes widened.

Her eyes widened as a golden light appeared in it.

It was as if the brain wanted to enter through the golden portal.

Sparkles of golden energies started to radiate out of this human-like alien brain.

The golden aurora floated in front of her, it looked so beautiful, so majestic, so enticing.

Everyone wanted to touch it, to taste it, to make it theirs.

Oh, how beautiful and alluring it looked. More beautiful than the golden sun at the end of the day, more beautiful than a princess.

… I….

The brains which began to float above her hand turned into golden light.

With every passing moment, the beauty of this odd brain intensified.

And with every passing moment, Emily felt another presence inside of her. It was as if this thing was trying to overtake her mind, rewrite her existence.

It felt no different than back then when the Nameless One tried.

So!

"NO!"

Emily shouted, shouted so loud it could be heard in every corner of creation.

As she shouted, she erected a barrier around her which repelled anything and everything.

"I will not become your slave," with eyes full of anger and confidence, Emily spoke. "As I said, I have changed since then."

The golden sparkles of light around the brain immediately began to dim.

Another force field began to cover the brain.

Emily slid her arm across the air, opening a doorway to dark purple dimension and tossed the brains into it.

"Hmph."

She breathed in and out a few times, calming herself.

“I told you, I won’t fall for you.”

A long and tired sigh escaped her lips as she fell down on the couch near.

“Ahhhh.”

Everything might as well end soon, but that doesn't mean I am going to let these God's ruin my life anymore.

She tilted her head from left to right and let out an exasperated sigh.

As always, Nazar is an exception but then again, he is dead so…

"Speaking of…"

She looked at her palm in which a phone appeared.

She unlocked her phone and checked her messages.

"Right, Laura wanted to meet me for a while now… I guess I should drop in and visit her before it is too late."

It's been nearly a month since he died, and the world changed. He might be dead, but his influence over this world has increased greatly.

Emily looked up at the ceiling - to be more precise, she was looking beyond the veils of this house and into the sky.

All she could see was an ugly monster dressed in armour. A monster that was left behind by the Gods until the end of the world.

"Tch."

Anyway, I will meet her later tonight. Until then...

A portal of bright white light appeared in front of her.

"Been a while since I visited Asteria, huh?"

The Nameless One is dead.

The Supreme One is dead.

It's up to her and Lucifer to oversee the balance of the cosmos, they must make sure nothing goes wrong. But alas, she hasn't been attending to her duties since she took over this position.

"God damn it," she sighed tiredly.

And so, she walked through the portal to meet with the council.

The end of the universe was near, and nobody could stop it, so the final meeting of these Celestials drew closer.

The final days are upon them, soon it will be as if nothing ever existed.

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

??? - ??????:

It was morning in an unknown world, inhabited by odd-looking, blue-coloured species. Humanoid bodies with phones for their heads was certainly an odd sight to behold.

The large screens - their heads - always showed a picture of their preferred look. Anyone could look like anything they dreamt of. You could be a fish or a human, or a robot or a demon.

An interesting world to say the least.

*Gasp"

It was early in the morning inside a luxurious high class hotel room when a woman opened her eyes and in the next instant, she gasped loudly.

She looked down and realised her clothes were missing and she had stains on her body, which helped her realise what had happened the night before.

So, she screamed on top of her lungs.

In the bed next to her slept a man whose screen showed no face at all. He was not bothered by the screams of this woman.

"You… It's you."

In disgust and anger, she wrapped a sheet around herself and stormed off.

She will go down, talk to the authorities and the man next to her will go to court.

Again.

It happened again.

The man was scared. He was angry. He was disgusted.

It always happens…

He covered his fearful face (?) with his palms and laid on his back.

Same. Same. Same. Always the same.

He laid down and waited for the authorities to arrive. And they appeared moments later.

"Oh… If it isn't our usual friend. Why do we even bother with his cases?" the police officer looked at his partner and he shrugged in return, causing him to sigh. "I hate this job sooo much sometimes."

"Officer, can you…"

The criminal cut off his words as he swallowed his saliva loudly.

"It will--"

"Absolutely not," the officer moved closely and arrested him. He repeated the same words to him which he had heard a few thousand times now.

The man was taken out of the hotel and into a police station.

"Welcome back," every officer there greeted him with a laugh - it is as if they knew him, they were friendly towards him. He was a criminal yet... "The prince is back."

"Sigh, I really hate paperwork… But I hate going to court for him even more," said a police officer who leaned against the bars of the prison. “Sometimes you can be such a pain… Anyway, want a cigarette?”

“No, thanks,” the man replied slowly.

“What a bummer.”

In this police station, only men worked except for one officer who was a woman.

She did not fear him despite his long criminal history. She knew he couldn't do anything to her.

“So, what happened this time?”

“The same old, same old,” he held his head in his palms and sighed deeply. “Like a mob, they jump on me. Why...”

“... I am sorry,” said the female officer. “I really am, but...”

She pressed her back against the bar and looked at the ceiling. She breathed out through her nose.

“I can’t keep you in prison. The court will never accept your appeal of loneliness. You know how it is. This society won’t allow you to spend even a day outside the view of someone.”

A world so free yet so restrained by laws and rules of the past.

“It will be illegal for you to not meet to someone for an entire day. But even then, not enough to be put in jail… The court knows, and yet… There is so much wrong with the system, but… Tch, damn it.”

“Then...”

The man stood up abruptly and said loudly, “Then---”

She knew what he will say, so she said, “Just stay there and don’t make ruckus. The court will hear you soon.”

“Damn it,” he punched the metal bars. “DAMN IT!”

The hearing at the court is not today, but tomorrow. He has more than twenty-four hours to spare in this empty room.

Everyone hates this place, but this is the solace of this man.

This small yet cold room was his heaven.

And so, he waited patiently until the next day.

He was taken in a car to a court and stood in front of the same judge he had been standing before for the last many years.

"Welcome back," the judge smiled at him, welcoming him to the court of law.

The judge knows the situation and even he cannot help but give the exact same judgement as before. He already knows the outcome of this court.

"Please, explain your situation to me," the judge asked calmly.

He knows, he already knows the answer. But this is an official court, so he needs to hear it.

"As always, every woman I make contact with, they lose all reason and the next thing I know…" he glanced down, unable to say what he wanted.

The judge has been hearing the exact same words and seeing the exact same expression for years now. Even if the criminal never finishes what he wants to, the judge knows. He knows the words inside his heart.

"Tch," the judge silently clicked his tongue. “Damn…”

He looked down at the paper in front of him and began speaking.

"Looking at all the evidence, you are to be released--"

The man raised his head with wide eyes of anger.

"I don't want that. Please. Just lock me up! Don't do this to me," the man begged. “Come on, you know what… You… Please. I...”

The judge knows what he can and cannot do, so he does what he shouldn’t but is forced by the law to do.

“I hereby set you free, you are not guilty. You are not a criminal.”

“...”

The man’s chest welled up as his eyes blurred slightly.

His ears stopped working as the world around him went silent.

“Huh...”

It happens too often, almost every day. It is a recurring routine for those involved.

He did not understand how or when he left the court, but he doesn’t care. He has gotten used to it now. This short memory lapse will be forgotten soon.

As the man left, the judge sighed as he laid back in his chair.

“In the last ten years or so, I have only handled one case… Just his...”

Was he getting tired of this man? Or was he getting tired of this system?

လလလ

I am not trying to make myself the victim, I don’t want to, but this accursed ability…

It all began when I was child, a young boy without anyone but my older sister.

We lived in the streets of this almost-perfect utopia… What a joke.

But every utopia has a dark side where the light doesn’t shine. Every utopia births cruel individuals whose boredom cannot be sated, they become so bored humans become their entertainment.

Experimentation on people, it has become extremely common in our world, yet the public knows nothing of it.

I was one of them. Stolen from my sister, forced to be their lab rat, and in doing so… I became something else.

I don’t understand my powers, nor do I want to understand it.

But whatever they did to me… It’s…

Whenever a female of my race lays her eyes on me, the lose all meaning in life and forces themselves on me. Their cold hand tearing through my clothes and my skin, my very soul. They cold nails stabbing into my mind and my heart, ripping it apart.

Once their madness fades, I am left screaming for help, reliving their torture and pain, the horrors they… and they… They…

If that wasn’t enough, everything - terrible things - they have ever faced or felt is dumped on me. I am...

As he was walking out of the court, he slowed down raised his head and looked at the blue-ish pink sky.

What an odd world…

The court knows of my condition, how much of a threat I am to populace of this world, yet they won’t put me behind bars.

And this stupid law that I must meet someone… It’s pathetic.

Society-- no, the law shouldn’t force someone to make contact with others on daily basis. It is not producing healthy individuals but---

Behind him, the female officer’s voice reached him, “What are you going to do now?”

He heard her voice, the kind voice and it calmed him.

While looking at the sky, he thought. And thought.

“Do you remember when I was young?” after a long time, he began to speak. “When I went missing for a while?”

She scoffed bitterly and nodded her head.

“Of course, the scariest moment of my life. How could I forget that?”

He stopped moving and turned around. He looked up at her and felt pain.

“I just want to know, did something bad happen while I was away?”

While she was confused for a moment, she shook her head and chuckled, “No, why?”

“Mm, nothing,” he felt relieved.

My sister doesn’t know, but I am still a...

“You know...”

She came down the stairs and stopped in front of him.

Placing her forehead on his, she smiled with teary eyes.

“If you ever move in that direction again, I will never forgive you.”

“... I know.”

I am still a lab rat. I am a test subject, always under the watchful eyes of the rich and the powerful.

I control nothing in my life.

“That’s good.”

My sister doesn’t know.

She never will.

And that’s good.

“I will see you at home,” she strode off with a faint forced smile and did not look back at her brother.

I am not a hero.

I am a criminal.

And criminals...

He looked at the court and sighed.

“I hate this place.”

As he turned around, to walk away, he noticed someone who seemed to be spying on him, watching him from afar, recording his every move.

Of course, he knew who it was. He has seen them every day since the days he was abducted.

They are the ones he is entertaining.

He is the entertainment, and they are his audience.

I am an actor in a television show only a small number of people watch, I have the longest episodes and the longest seasons, no breaks - not even commercial breaks.

I am an actor in a television show which has no story, the plot is the same, same, and same. Actors are the same, and the sound is same. Our characters don’t progress or develop, for we are in a loop. We age, so it’s not a time loop, but a loop is a loop, nonetheless.

I am an actor in a television show which has no action or comedy.

So…

Why do people still watch it?

The man walked the same path he had taken for years while he though, and the people followed him. He knew they were following him, and he did not care. In the past, he hated them, but today, he wants them to record everything.

Good.

Good!

However, in the final few minutes of his journey, he came to a pause. That had never happened before.

In front of him, two paths laid, one led to his home and the other elsewhere.

Incredibly good, indeed, the man took the other path. He did not go home.

The television show finally progressed.

A new development was made, which made his audience widen their eyes.

The man walked and walked, walked, and walked, and walked.

When he finally stopped, his audience gasped. They knew what will happen. The main character was about to do something which he was not supposed to - not meant to.

“Ah, this city really looks like a utopia from so far above.”

From atop the tallest building in this city, he thought he could see the entire world.

He thought he could see all of it.

Let’s see, what will happen when I finally progress this story.

He glanced back and his audience were behind him.

They were recording him as usual, except today, they were sweating. They knew what he would do, but they couldn’t stop him.

They could certainly try, but the audience would not like for the camera crew to interfere with the work of art of someone else.

I know you all, you are all so pathetic, so weak.

But me...

A wide smile of freedom and happiness spread over his face.

I am different.

And so, he ran forward.

He ran and ran and ran as his heart began to speed up.

I am not a hero.

I am not a good man.

I couldn’t keep my promise to my sister.

I couldn’t make her happy.

I caused her nothing but pain and misery, but...

At the end of the roof, he jumped as high as he could with his wide arms.

“HAAAHAHA,” he laughed from the bottom of his heart.

Happiness, at last.

I want her to move on, do something with life, be happy and not be bound to someone as pathetic as me.

As he fell from the highest skyscraper in the city, he closed his eyes.

The wind hitting his eyes was not pleasant, so he closed it to try and remember the good things in his life.

However, he found nothing but pain and suffering and horrors.

The tortures he had been through, the pain they have inflicted on him, and more.

This was not a life he could even wish for his greatest enemy.

I am sorry, sis, but today...

He smiled softly.

“I am changing the story. I want a different ending. New story, new direction. HA!”

Life has been long. Far too long and painful.

I hate it.

But I loved you, sis. So, I...

He bit his lips.

“I am sorry,” he said slowly as he shut his eyes further, stopping his tears from flowing out.

I have to do this, I am sor---

*SPLRT*

A humanoid body fell into the ground from the highest skyscraper. His bones broken and shattered into the smallest of pieces possible. His guts were laying besides him, his brains were streaming out of his broken skull.

Paste he was now, but a human he was mere moments ago.

The humanoid creature who had no face died today.

His sister cried her heart out when she found out, but deep down, she couldn’t help but sigh in a relieved manner, knowing he no longer had to suffer.

The judge let out a sigh of relief after he finished grieving. He could finally move on, and so could the judge.

The man died, his loved ones grieved, and his “victims” laughed.

The world moved on, forgetting his very existence.

This world did not change.

There was no revolution, nor there was a change.

This world continued as it did usually.

This television show, however, found a new main character soon after.

လလလ

I am dead.

My soul has left my body, the world is becoming colder and darker, it… it is almost suffocating...

It…

I am losing my brain… It should have not happened.

Death should have been glorious…

Right?

It...

It can’t be… Can it?

No…

No.

No!

NO!

NOOOO!

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!

MUST I SUFFER IN THE WORLD OF THE LIVING AND DEAD?!

IS THIS ALL I AM?

ENDLESS SUFFERING WHEN ALIVE? AND ENDLESS SUFFER--

『Fear not, my mortal friend, I have come to save you.』

Huh…

Whose voice am I hearing…

『Come with me.』

The golden light… I look up to see nothing but a warm golden light, as if I am touching a sun.

It is burning this darkness, this cold, yet I… Yet I want to touch it.

『Life is misery, power is suffering, and only in death we may find solace.』

I see it… a golden skeleton with white wings… a skeletal angel of death. The Golden Angel of Death.

The end.

My saviour.

The one...

『Take my hand. It is time to go, time to move on to the next world.』

I am saved…

I can see nothing but the golden warm light, the light…

It’s beautiful…

Oh, so beautiful. So, tasty.

I feel alive, happy. This happiness, it’s eating me…

It’s eating me...

It’s eating me?

It’s eating me!

Wait…

Please…

No.

Wait.

Wait!

WAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTT!

『The next world awaits you, my friend.』

NOOOOO---

『Suffer you must, for even death does not give you solace sometimes.』