Chapter 245 – The [End] June 19, 2025
by Afuhfuihgs
Chapter 245 – The [End]
My body slumped. I tried to brace myself with Frey in both hands, but it was useless. The broken Frey couldn’t support me.
I collapsed. The earth, hot from the long, fierce battle, now gripped my cold body. My right hand still held Frey’s hilt. My left hand clutched the shattered blade.
Broken Frey could no longer serve as a greatsword.
Without the blade, my ki sense wouldn’t activate. The broken blade felt cold. Its surface was riddled with countless cracks. My struggling fingers traced those cracks. No blood dripped out. Instead, bits of the shattered blade flaked away.
Even the divine power that had been pouring from the ring on my finger had faded. The warmth vanished. It no longer healed my wounds.
There was nothing left to heal. Aside from some minor scrapes, there were no major wounds on my body. The [End]’s sword seemed to have cut something other than my body.
I moved my right hand to grip Frey. Dragged myself upright with my left arm. That, too, was pointless. My limp arms couldn’t support my body at all.
Again, I fell. My face crashed to the ground. Still, I didn’t let go of Frey’s hilt. I couldn’t let go.
If I lost even this, I felt like I’d lose everything I could do in this state.
Struggling, I turned my head, searching for air. I had forgotten to breathe. My lungs, suddenly expanding, forced out the breath I’d managed to take in, mixed with blood and bits of my insides.
It hurt to breathe, with blood still rising up from within. Broken bones stabbed every inch of my body, and the [End]’s power burrowed through me like sharp awls, jabbing every nerve.
How am I still alive? My body was so ruined, it felt impossible. There were no visible wounds, but inside, I was no better than a corpse.
But my heart still beat. My mind still worked. My hand still gripped the greatsword.
So, I got up. I twisted, pushing my head off the ground. My arms had no strength, so I forced myself up with my elbows, my knees, my feet.
My twisted sense of balance toppled me over and over, but I managed to stand at last. I still held Frey’s hilt with both hands.
It felt heavy. Frey should’ve been lighter now, with most of the blade gone, but it only felt impossibly heavy. Still, I didn’t let go.
Drip.
A drop of blood touched my arm, so hot compared to my cold body. I let out a sigh of relief at its warmth.
I’m still alive.
I can still swing my sword. Even if only the hilt remains, even if I can’t sense anything around me, I was glad I could still swing a greatsword.
Clatter.
The sound of chains rang out in my mind.
“Why are you getting up?”
The [End]’s voice reached my ear now that the ringing had faded.
Not far. Within striking distance.
I walked toward the sound of her voice.
My balance was gone, and my body staggered constantly, but I didn’t fall. I fought not to fall. If I fell now, I knew I’d never be able to get up again.
Step.
The sound of footsteps, not mine, but from a little ways off. The [End]’s footsteps. She was walking toward me.
“What are you trying to do by getting up?”
A question with only one answer.
The [End] already knew what I’d say.
But I had to answer.
Not for her, but for me.
To deny the despair that filled my mind.
I spat up blood rising in my throat. Took a breath I’d been holding. My lungs screamed in pain, but I forced myself to keep breathing. I didn’t stop pushing myself to breathe.
Then, peeling my lips apart, sticky with dried blood, I answered.
“To… save… Rubia…”
“Even if it costs your life?”
I couldn’t answer her second question. I didn’t have the strength. So I answered by continuing to walk.
“So, it comes to this. “I” always end up like this.”
At last, the [End]’s sigh sounded right in front of me. Reflexively, I tried to raise Frey.
But,
Clatter.
My hand finally dropped Frey.
My empty hand fell, limp and powerless.
My now-empty hand trembled.
The tremble turned to shaking. To fear. To despair, crawling into my mind.
To drive out that sticky despair, I bit my lip. And,
Clatter.
The sound of chains rang out again.
“Still, it’s a little comforting. Even in another time, another “me” still chooses Rubia in the end.”
Right in front of me, thunk, a heavy blade stabbed into the ground.
I knew that sound.
The sound of a greatsword piercing the earth.
The [End] had driven her greatsword into the ground.
When the sound faded, the wind blew. Dark, sticky wind battered my body. My hair whipped around. Blood, flowing out, mixed with the wind, leaving a sharp aftertaste as it vanished.
“Now, everything’s over.”
Thud!
A cold blade pressed against my left chest, close to my heart. I didn’t have to see, didn’t need ki sense, to know. It was a greatsword. The [End]’s greatsword. The same unnatural blade she used to subjugate Tylant.
“One more step. Just one step forward, and it’s all over. So, let me ask you one last thing.”
A tremor ran through the tip of the blade. I couldn’t tell if it came from my body or the [End]’s hand.
“This choice you’ve made, to sacrifice your life for Rubia, to save the world, is this truly what you desire?”
That trembling was just like my heartbeat.
“I wasn’t.”
Regret.
Regret.
Those two syllables pulled my fading consciousness, my sinking mind, back to the surface.
“Don’t make that face. It’s not that I didn’t want to save Rubia. It’s just… I met Rubia too late, unlike you. Still, I fell in love with her, just like you did. We couldn’t help it, could we? Even if she was just a character in a game, Rubia achieved what we never could… we couldn’t help but love her. Of course, it was the same after all this became reality.”
Rubia.
My first meeting with Rubia wasn’t great, and the path I walked with her was rough, but I came to love Rubia, and this world.
I couldn’t help it.
Rubia was my salvation. This was the world where Rubia lived.
Even if it was just a game, even if it was just a world in a game, I loved everything that let me achieve what I couldn’t before.
And when it became reality,
I loved it all.
“So, being with Rubia made me happy. Living in the same house, eating the same food, sleeping in the same bed, waking up at the same time, every moment I spent with Rubia was precious. It was a miracle I never thought could happen to me.”
That’s why I was happy living in a world with Rubia.
In the same world, eating the same food, sleeping in the same bed, waking up at the same time.
Chatting with Hephaestus.
Drinking coffee with Yuria.
Protecting Rubia from Charlotte.
Getting nagged by Serr.
Sharing jelly with Sirin.
Receiving praise from Hermilla.
Arguing with Kartia.
All of it.
Every moment with everyone.
It was all precious.
Those were miracle days that never should have happened to me.
“I wanted to protect that miracle, Rubia, her smile, her happiness, even if I had to give my life, no matter what I had to do. Even if it meant making the whole world my enemy, I wanted to protect Rubia. Just like you.”
I wanted to protect that miracle, Rubia, her smile, everyone’s happiness.
Even if I had to give my life.
No matter what it took.
Even if the whole world became my enemy.
Even if no one in the world remembered me.
I,
I wanted to protect everything I loved.
“So, after going through everything, overcoming it all, and reaching the end, I chose her salvation. And, “
A cold touch sliced through my flesh.
It shattered bone, stopping just before my heart.
“I regretted it.”
Clatter.
The sound of chains.
And,
Thump, thump.
A faint heartbeat echoed from behind the chains. The weak heartbeat of someone who wanted to be a hero.
“Because what I truly wished for… wasn’t that.”
What I wished for,
I wanted to be a hero.
Like a brilliant firework shot into the dark night sky.
Like a dazzling flame lighting up the darkness.
Even if I was left as nothing but ashes.
Even if only a bitter aftertaste remained.
Even if I bloomed and withered in an instant.
For that one moment, I wanted to shine more brightly, more brilliantly, than anything.
And so,
I wanted to fulfill the words my mother left behind.
Carry on my father’s hopes.
End the winter.
Help someone take flight.
Soothe anger.
Deliver a perfect victory.
Break the chains of guilt.
Keep a promise.
Bring spring.
Grant a prayer.
Make a glorious flower bloom.
Complete a miracle.
Save the one I love.
I received too much,
I wanted to be their hero.
“But that wasn’t truly what I wanted. It was just something I had to do.”
…Had to do.
Clatter.
The sound of chains echoed.
Not the [End]’s chains, but mine.
Chains wrapped around me.
Chains that forced me forward.
Chains born from the word “hero.”
“I didn’t want something so grand as becoming a hero.”
Hero. Noah. Shin Noah.
A name left by my parents. Sacrifice.
A ruined life. Bitter memories.
Chains tightening around my heart.
Chains that made me get up, time and time again.
Chains that wouldn’t let me give up.
Chains that forced me to keep living, keep breathing.
My past.
Pain. Regret. Grief. Fear. Disappointment. Frustration. Doubt. Worry. Hardship. Misery. Disillusionment. Persecution. Anxiety. Confusion. Rage. Despair.
Chains that suppressed everything.
“Hah… finally, you’ve come to your senses.”
Behind those chains, I felt a shabby longing.
A tattered dream.
A wish turned to ash.
I reached for it.
I grasped it. My skin split open. Muscles tore, bones shattered. Still, I didn’t let go. I grit my teeth and gripped it tighter.
“Yeah. Me, “me,” us, say what we truly wished for most.”
- ‘I’. We.
More than being a hero.
More than saving the world.
More than something so grand or noble,
Simply.
“…I want to live.”
I wanted to live.
I didn’t want to be a hero.
I didn’t want to be forgotten.
I didn’t want to disappear.
Mom and Dad.
Rubia.
Those who left this world.
Those who are still here.
With them,
Alive,
“I want… to be happy.”
I want to be happy.
I want to laugh. I want to talk. I want to eat. I want to eat sweet snacks. I want to play tricks. I want to chat about nonsense. I want to share secrets we don’t yet know about each other, sometimes fight, sometimes argue.
Just to live an ordinary life.
Naturally.
I want to draw a tomorrow.
I want to greet a new day.
Can I really do that?
Someone who received so much, someone like me.
Someone who couldn’t save Dad or Mom.
Someone who lived each day dying like garbage.
Is it really okay for me to do that?
“Yeah.”
What I was holding slipped from my hand.
The [End]’s greatsword was pulled away.
Divine power filled my blood-soaked hands.
Broken bones knit together. Torn muscles regenerated. Split skin healed.
It wasn’t Rubia’s divine power, but the [End]’s.
“Go ahead and do it.”
After her divine power passed through, only my humble wish remained in my hand.
What I truly wanted to achieve remained.
The gift my friends left behind for me remained.
“It’s okay. You’ve been unhappy until now. So now, you have the right to be happy.”
Those heavy, frightening wishes,
I seized them without hesitation.
“No, you have to be happy.”
Then, voices came to me.
[That’s the price for saving me. So, smile. To the end.]
The one-eyed.
[So, Noah, I hope you’ll write it anew, a happy ending where everyone can be happy.]
The Sword of Victory.
[Noah, show us your path.]
Regulation.
[In the very end, what choice will you make?]
Black feather.
[At the end of all things, just make a choice with no regrets.]
Flame.
[Please, Noah. End the winter, and become my spring.]
Winter.
[At the very end, I hope you’ll smile brightly.]
Oath.
[Don’t be foolish, do what you truly want.]
Prayer.
[Just like everything else can change, I hope your choice will change too. If possible… yeah. In a way that “everyone” can smile.]
Flower.
[If it’s you, you can do it. I’m sure you can. Because you’re my friend.]
Miracle.
I heard their voices.
I remembered. I held them in my hands.
And then,
I opened my eyes.
I saw a wall.
Above that wall,
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I saw the despair I created to protect myself after being cast into a lonely world.
The despair that had always knocked me down.
The despair that had always made me get back up.
I saw countless chains entwined atop that despair.
Not the chains of Regulation, but my own.
Chains I created to oppress myself.
Chains forcing me to become a hero, to save the world.
Chains to escape my fear of sacrifice.
Chains made to deny this world.
The light of despair beneath those chains was faint.
The wall, shrouded in despair, was enormous.
So high it could never be scaled.
So strong it could never be broken.
When I faced that wall,
I’d been defeated. I’d turned away. I’d despaired. I writhed in pain and trembled in fear.
“Don’t be afraid.”
But now, things were different.
The wall was still huge.
I still didn’t think I could cross it.
“You can break it.”
But I thought, I could break it.
“The greatsword, “
The greatsword,
“Is a weapon that can smash through anything head-on.”
A weapon that can smash through anything, straight on.
“So, “
So,
“I, “I”, we, “
“…liked greatswords.”
“Ahaha!”
From beyond the wall, I heard the [End]’s laughter.
It was so bright and cheerful.
Light and clear, without a speck of shadow.
“That’s right. So, grab your greatsword, grasp your essence, take hold of the “you” you’ve ignored until now. Raise it. Swing it. And, “
I placed my warm hand over my heart.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. My heartbeat grew fierce.
The pounding threatened to burst through my palm.
Feeling that vibration, that heat, those emotions,
I closed my eyes. I remembered the path I’d walked.
I remembered the life I’d lived.
The lonely, cold darkness.
The past drenched in despair.
The meaningless days spent dying.
“Move forward.”
I ignored those things. I trampled over them. I moved on.
Like that,
[But your dad’s not like a regular person. He still remembers those precious feelings from the first time he saw your mom smile, or the sky and clouds on the day you were born. He’ll remember until the day he closes his eyes.]
In the darkness, I remembered the light.
[Mom’s the same. Every day is new and happy, so she could never hate you, no matter what. She tiptoes to the bathroom in the morning so she won’t wake you. And Noah, you always run to the computer before you hug Mom when you wake up. She could never, ever hate you.]
In those dying days, I had to live.
[No matter what, even if you turn your back on us, ]
I wanted to live.
[Mom and Dad love you.]
The ones who made me want to live,
[Forever.]
I remembered hope.
“This really is the end, Noah. What do you want to do?”
Not ‘me.’
Not ‘us.’
Me.
What I want to do.
I,
“I want to live. I want to be happy. Together with everyone.”
I quietly finished speaking.
I opened my eyes.
And I saw,
The collapsed wall.
The insignificant wall.
The wall, shattered to pieces.
And, beyond it,
A crimson sky.
Crimson earth.
A Black Sun.
And the sea of corpses stretching out below it.
The one standing there with her back to all of it.
I saw her clearly with my own two eyes.
“Together with everyone… haha. Yeah.”
The [End] smiled brightly.
Smiling, she let her greatsword fall.
She grasped it with both hands. Bowed her upper body.
Stamped her foot.
“I’m a little jealous of you.”
The wind blew.
A lonely, desolate wind, thick with the smell of blood. The hell wrought by the “me” who could never walk a different path, who could never be saved.
Watching that, I understood.
I found my answer. I realized.
Why I survived.
Why Mom and Dad saved me.
So I didn’t speak the words that came to mind.
I swallowed them naturally and clenched my hand.
I grabbed the hilt of the greatsword and drew it.
At the same time,
“[False Virtue].”
‘My’ greatsword swung down.
As I watched, I spoke.
Praying that it would reach my father, who dove into fire to save others with no thought of reward.
Praying that it would reach my mother, who helped others with no thought of reward, and was truly happy for it.
I,
For the ‘you’ who walked the path of [False Virtue],
To let them know I would walk my father’s, my mother’s path instead,
I spoke.
“[Charity].”
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