Chapter 326 - Cycle Re:Start

“Thanks to you, for bringing it all together for me…”

That was the voice that echoed in my head as my vision faded to black. It was at that moment that I knew that our lives had been a lie. Crafted by the Gods to do their bidding, we were their ‘Apostles’.

A face exactly like my own confronted me with a sneer. Its spirit dove into me in that pitch black, and I could feel it take over.

As I slowly lost control of myself, the face I saw made me realize that the dreams had all been a trick. The visions that I was given paved a path forward, straight to the goals that the God of Critical had. At times, they helped me growth. At times, they made me face my weaknesses.

But that had been what it wanted – a strong vessel to inhabit and a willing player in the grand scheme. I knew that my powers were dangerous since I absorbed two other Elect, so I hesitated to use them. It seemed like my caution wasn’t unfounded.

My eyes opened again. The scenery of ruins slowly came into focus, and at first, I thought I was seeing the dream again.

“Ah, ouch. What the-”

A pain erupted from my back, forcing me to kneel. But when I did, the bodies of Cornelius and Saki lay before my feet. Surprised, my hand lifted to reveal it bloody and shaking. Fresh crimson dripped from it and joined the puddle before my feet.

Instantly, I knew. ‘I’ killed them.

It wasn’t some mysterious enemy out of the blue defeating us.

‘I’ was that murderer. Or rather, it was the God of Critical possessing my body. And with the extra powers that I possessed, I couldn’t be stopped by the others.

I lost strength in my arm as it fell. I looked toward the horizon, the cityscape destroyed around me. More bodies laid in the distance, an eerie silence driving home that there was no one left but me. I didn’t have to look; I didn’t want to.

The powers that my friends possessed, I could feel them inside me. The dreams that were premonitions had been fulfilled. One god desired to consume the other gods. It found an opportunity to take their powers for itself, and I was the medium to achieve that.

‘But then, why did my consciousness return?’

I fished around my back for the center of the pain. Yanking something free, I brought it before my face. A piece of a blade, glimmering like gems…

“Radiant-, Eryn!”

Whipping around, I saw Eryn’s body before me, sprawled on the ground. Her arms were torn from her body, and it looked like she had weathered a million cuts across her front. But a smile was on her face, like she had done her job.

I clenched the blade so hard that it cut into my hand.

She had stabbed my core and somehow brought me out of the God of Critical’s grasp. But likely, it wouldn’t last.

Offering a prayer to everyone, I made a decision.

The God of Critical wouldn’t get what it wanted. I needed to end it all, to finish what Eryn was trying to do. I wouldn’t be the only one left here, with everyone’s powers stolen. The god could just shove it.

Taking the broken tip of Radiant Light, I shoved it right into my stomach and hit the core, the knife stopping dead. My determination was stronger than the pain that erupted. If it wished to take over all the divine powers, then I would simply just destroy it instead. Relentlessly, I tried again and again.

Purple flames erupted from my eyes. I rejected the white mana that I once thought was divine, and to my surprise, it was still there – hiding, waiting for an opportunity. I called out to the dark power, begged for it to give me enough to overtake the divine energy.

As I continued to strike the core, blood spilling everywhere, the purple glow spread to my arms and covered Radiant Light. There was once that I felt like this – shortly after Eryn died. The miasma caused by my sorrow dulled the radiance of that sword, just like it did now.

But that was fine. I would go quietly, if only to recall the voices of my friends while doing so.

The core cracked under a strike, releasing a flash of white. Taking a deep breath, I brought the metal tip up for one last strike.

‘If only I had another chance to do it over, then maybe, things would be different.’

Even with how much I had changed during the whole time I was an Electi, there was room to ask for more. I had gained confidence, close bonds, and the very power to upend the world. But that all meant nothing if I was simply playing into the schemes of someone above.

“This power, I don’t need it!”

Yelling that to the heavens, I slammed the tip into my core, feeling it give way. And as white exploded around me, I managed a smile.

‘I have a feeling that I will see all of you again, somehow. It’s not the end. It’s not the end.’

Like Lamps had mentioned, ‘if we failed, then the cycle would just repeat itself, wouldn’t it?’

I put my faith in that, knowing that my next self may encounter the same troubles, the same doubts. But we had to overcome, no matter how high that step was. We were so close this time. So very close.

The divine powers were not all that gave us strength. It was up to us to grow and believe in spite of them.

For the first time, the purple flames around me felt warm and comforting. Maybe, I found it preferable to the betrayal of the white that represented the gods. But nonetheless, I watched as the world around me become tinted in its dark shade as I closed my eyes for the last time.

“I love you, Katalina… Sorry… Wait for me in the next life…”

The purple flame flickered and died out, leaving only a kneeling body that was charred gray, staring into the distance.

From that point on, all Electi and Masters disappeared, never to be summoned again. The age of divine powers no longer graced a world that the gods abandoned.

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A bright light hit my eyes. Turning away from it, I took a moment to let the sparkles in my vision fade before opening them.

The bright sun – that was all it was. I took a deep breath as I rubbed my face with one hand before letting it fall back onto the pillow.

The familiar ceiling of a small room was above me. I looked around to see colorful posters, my head still in a daze from awakening. It felt almost like a dream that I could wave away with my hands, but I didn’t know why that would be the case. I lay there trying to pinpoint the reason for it – why a normal school apartment would feel off to me.

“EX-….PLOSION!!!”

I flew off my bed and tumbled to the ground at the sudden noise. Tangled in sheets, I shoved them off in annoyance before realizing what it was.

“It’s the damn alarm. Man, that means I have class…”

Mentally beating myself up at that jump scare, I slowly got up and reached for my phone to turn the alarm off. I hated getting up early, but that was likely because I played some game late into the night. It was my own fault for living so carelessly.

I stretched and yawned, getting up to claw at the mess of textbooks and folders that I needed for the day. I shoved them into my backpack with a vacant expression. Stopping for a moment to stare at a textbook on an introductory engineering course, it felt like something was off about the situation. The feeling of something else that should be in my hands made me squint.

“I hope you took the Thermodynamics lesson to heart, and not just used it as an excuse for me to stay the night.”

A familiar voice called out from behind me, causing me to jump out of my skin. I spun around and saw a girl with light blue hair and glasses, wearing a loose top and jeans. Her hair was damp, like she had just come out of the shower.

“I-I…”

She walked over and bent down, planting a kiss onto my lips. Then, she pulled back and beamed a smile.

“Come on, how often are you going to get a girlfriend that knows her stuff. If I left you alone, then all you would do is waste time on video games, now wouldn’t you? Go get dressed. It’s Friday, and as soon as classes our done, we can have some fun making dinner, while eating to the next episode of ‘Kaguya-sama’.”

“Katalina…”

“Huh, what’s wrong?” she tilted her head in confusion as I stared at her for a moment.

Then, I stood up and wrapped her in a tight hug. She squirmed while making utterances of surprise at my action, but I ignored them. Having her in my arms took priority.

“Nothing. Nothing is wrong. All’s right with the world. Yes, let’s have a good day today.”

Erasing my doubts, I let her go and went to freshen up.

Today was just another day of college. We headed out the door, from the apartment and into the streets. Our hands held together, we expected a full day of fun because there were things we made sure to look forward to.

‘Yes, a normal school day. It is the same as before. The same that it will be.’

Today, tomorrow, until we found our place in this world.

Volume 10 End