Chapter 362 - It Has to Be This Way

“Humans are so fragile, aren’t they?”

That was the question that the Architect posed when he looked upon a gravestone, the empty memorial for Sistina, who had disappeared. A gentle hand gripped his shoulders as he looked to everyone like he was holding back tears.

“I suppose they are, when it comes down to it. Even with the power that we have, there is always some way to fall. Time catches up to us, eventually,” said Cielle, the only one left that noticed the walls that he put up from time to time.

“That’s right… as long as we are human, that is.”

One by one, the group from another world joined in to mourn for their fallen companion, the woman named Sistina who had called them all here. Afterwards, they left the Architect alone to his thoughts, as he was the first to be called and the closest to her.

They had never found out that it was the Architect that had caused this incident. It had been a whim after she figured out his true intentions, a betrayal to everything she had hoped for.

It was a moment of jealousy, ugly and impulsive, but the next thing that happened, a knife had found its way into Sistina’s gut. It was too late to stop and reverse course. The only path forward was to toss another knife and watch as the body sank to the bottom of the lake.

Humans were definitely weak. Not just in body, but weak of heart. Just like he had always been. The Architect couldn’t bear to let the choice he had made become undermined. And because of that moment of weakness, his very human reaction led to the blood of a companion on his hands and a regret he couldn’t reverse.

The Architect hadn’t meant to kill Sistina, but he felt like he had no choice. Or rather, his body moved before it fully realized the mistake. And because of that, he was no longer willing to be human any longer. He would make them all gods instead.

They had gained the powers of the planet itself, and thus, they could do practically everything. Most of their dreams could be realized, the world of Leguardia bent to be how they wanted it. The people worshipped them after all.

But still, Sistina’s words rung in the Architect’s mind.

“I don’t hear the same harmony within each of you… Eventually, someone will fall out of line. Things cannot possibly go your way all the time….”

They had power and agreement for now, but how long would it last?

Humans were a fickle lot. Any little push could drive them onto a completely different path. The Architect knew that for a fact, as he had been the one to do so as the defacto leader of the otherworlders.

But years from now? Decades even? The possibilities were countless. After all, Sistina had fallen out first. There was no telling when the others would as well.

The Architect searched the skies for some answer that would satisfy him. One in which he could achieve with his powers and a way to keep marching toward his goal without fail.

After some time passed, he looked back to the grave with a renewed determination. Using his godlike powers of Critical, he could separate nearly anything in existence. He could cut the material from the living, pull water out of blood, and even, split molecules into atoms.

But the one possibility that changed everything was that he could separate the soul from one’s core. That soul, retaining the powers of the planet, could ascend to some hidden domain, unable to be touched by the physical world.

The soul merely retained a memory of its humanity, the purest and simplest desires. And thus, each one of the otherworlders were convinced to give up their physical forms to ‘ascend’ to this plane of existence.

They arranged for pieces of themselves to be reborn into calculated environments, letting their ‘Apostles’ do the work of amassing more power for them. With an infinite number of lives, it no longer mattered if one of them failed. They were allowed to do so as humans, expected even.

But with each cycle of a life’s end, they would bring back the power that they gained, and it would be absorbed. Being no longer human, the gods could only look at those lives with indifference, unless they conflicted with their goals. The very same goals that the Architect had impressed upon them before ascending.

And thus, everything would continue to move forward. The planet’s power would slowly deplete, until eventually, they had the strength to rebuild the Earth.

That was… until Sistina came back from the dead, polluting their Apostles with raw power from the planet. It drove some mad. It made others hesitant. But regardless, it slowed down progress.

If it had only that effect, then they would still meet their goal eventually. A fraction of a delay meant nothing when they existed in eternity. But even as Sistina lay dormant, sealed by their collective power, the cogs of fate turned for both sides.

Sistina’s ‘connections’ led to distrust and betrayal. Gods distanced themselves from their Apostles, even taking on new names. The Apostles themselves strayed farther and farther from the likeness of their creators.

And finally, one of their own had even bestowed their blessing to a complete stranger. That was the moment that the Architect knew that everything had gone wrong.

When Cielle had come down to Leguardia and bestowed her powers to a girl named Eryn Faulkner, she was no longer a god following the plan. The event had caused such an unseen ripple that tore through the rest of the ranks. It even affected the Architect’s very own Apostle, bringing a destiny that was never meant to be.

It was that moment that the Architect knew that it had to be stopped. It was the end of the road. The final cycle of this long journey.

Killing all of his companions and taking their powers hadn’t been ideal, as evidenced by the small speck of life that covered the Earth, but it had to make do. Management wasn’t his forte, but he had no one else to trust for the task.

But even then, the group before him had something to say about that.

“We’ve come here to take back the power you stole from Leguardia!” yelled Claude.

The Architect stared at the sharp gaze of determination directed at him, a wave of nostalgia invoked as it was likely how he looked all those years ago. Back when he fought furiously to save everything and everyone. Before the realization that sacrifices had to be made.

A speck of curiosity hit him as he wondered how Claude could still retain that courage, even after he had lost what he had. But that was dispelled as he gazed upon the faces of his companions. Every one of them gave off a similar feel, like they were ready to put everything on the line to succeed.

It was the look of complete trust, something that the Architect no longer believed in. Spending a seemingly endless amount of time with others would eventually cause some rift. It made him break out in a chuckle as they slowly approached. How jolly they were in the face of impossibility.

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“We’ve come here to take back the power you stole from Leguardia!” I cried, marching forward.

The Architect before me looked calm and collected, like he was waiting for an interview candidate to step forward. Behind him in the distance, a large city rose from the pure white ground. Nothing but that one spot was alive on Earth.

And if it weren’t for Sistina’s blessing, none of us would have been able to walk upon it. For that reason, only the Electi that possessed pieces of Leguardia’s power had its protection. We had to leave behind their Masters as even a moment of lost synchronization would spell doom.

Even as I approached striking distance, the Architect merely stood firm, indifferent to the fact that we were coming for him. It did not look like a man surprised at all of our arrival, or the mission of taking back Leguardia’s life energy.

I swung my fist out and right into his chest, but what registered was the feel of hitting a brick wall. I lashed out with my other hand, but again, my fist stopped dead without any damage. Even a few more blows didn’t seem to budge the man at all. I leapt back and clenched my teeth in frustration that my critical attacks were nullified.

“What? Don’t care to keep trying? I’ll stand here for as long as you’d like,” the Architect teased, shrugging off any hits like he was invincible. “But of course, I already know what you think, Claude. You are me, after all. It’s natural that I would wield my powers to render anything you could do ineffective.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s not like that didn’t occur to me. I was just hoping to get some freebies in if I could.”

I walked right up to him again, face to face. It wasn’t like I had the power to beat him in a straight fight. That was why the others came as well. We knew that we were at a disadvantage, as the total power that we channeled from Sistina was less than what the Architect now held.

“We’re here together to stop you. You gained all this power by killing your companions and taking something that never belonged to you. But even if I don’t have the power to take you down alone, that’s why everyone has my back.”

I struck him in the face again with a glowing purple fist. This one contained everyone’s weight behind it. The Architect stumbled back a few paces, shaking the effects of the blow off. But the point had been made clear to him.

We weren’t here to talk it out or compromise. We wouldn’t be satisfied until he knew that he had wronged many people in the process of reviving the Earth. He had to understand the mistake that he was making, that being a lone god in a paradise meant nothing.

But the Architect merely turned to me and snickered, giving his response in a sing song voice.

“And when our guard is down, I think we’ll both agree~~”

I stared dumbly at him for a moment before heaving a deep sigh, answering him in a similar tone.

“That violence breeds violence~~”

“But in the end, it has to be this way~~”

“It has to be this way~~”

The Architect let out a loud laugh, pointing right at me.

“So you get it after all! The one that comes out from this will determine what is correct.”

“Leave it to myself to remember a meme to dumb down our confrontation, but whatever, good to see that even ‘the Architect’ is just some guy like me at heart. Now I know that if I didn’t have everyone, I could have very well become like you.”

The Architect stopped his entertainment after that, bringing back the composure that he had before. Taking off his glasses, he hurled them carelessly to the side, like they would get in the way of battle. Now, his eyes shone brightly with a white power. He was serious about getting started.

“I’m not exactly alone either….”

Suddenly, multiple portals opened, each with a person exiting out of them. They lined up in a row by the Architect, finding their opponent on our side. We knew exactly who they were – the former gods and once companions of the one before me. They had been revived as obedient copies of who they once were.

“This is my domain! If you think that you can just come up and fight me, then I’ll have them play around with you first!”

Spoken like a true last boss. Letting his minions wear us down first.

But before any of us could react, the Architect raised his hand and brought it down, cutting the space between me and the others into neat rows. When the attack faded, I found myself alone with a secretary before me. The others had disappeared. The Architect had disappeared.

Even the surroundings had completely changed. I was dropped into a giant battlefield in its aftermath. Corpses littered the ground, fanning out from a single point. I traced my vision down the line of destruction, and upon seeing a girl with platinum hair at the end, my eyes widened.

We were standing on a battlefield that I had seen once before. It was the cycle where Claude had “failed”. It was the very moment when Eryn had taken up the mantle as the Electi of Life.