Noah

I knew Lilith was Rubia.

More than knowing, I had been expecting it.

When Rubia told me what happened after facing Kent. When we met in the trial. When we met in Sirin’s memories.

Little by little, very little by little, the question arose: could the Lilith of ‘now’ be Rubia?

“Since when… did you know?”

Since when was it?

After stepping into this place, my head was dyed white and I was out of my mind, but after seeing her face, the vague question became a little clearer.

That’s why I called out ‘Rubia’s’ name.

That doesn’t mean Lilith is Rubia herself. It feels like ‘Rubia’ is inside that being.

So I suspected.

The soul of ‘Rubia’ felt within Lilith’s being had a similar atmosphere to when the Nameless One possessed Rubia’s body.

…But then, she suddenly showed tears… and my heart softened a little.

And… as I thought before, even if Lilith tried to harm me, I was confident I could win, so I decided to trust her for now.

After approaching her like that and having a few words, I became certain.

However, I don’t know if Lilith became ‘Rubia’ or if ‘Rubia’ was Lilith.

The more I thought about it, the more my head hurt, so I stopped thinking. And, if I pondered for too long, I wouldn’t be able to do surprising events like this.

…The biggest reason was that my head hurt, but anyway, those worries are no longer needed.

What’s important now is that the being standing in front of me is ‘Rubia’.

“…How did you know…? My existence is already… Lilith…”

‘Rubia’, who had been staring blankly at me for a while, asked in a trembling voice. A voice that sounded like she would burst into tears at any moment. Tears were already welling up in her eyes.

“How could I not know?”

Yes. It took a little long to be certain, but how could I not know about Rubia, about that secret?

“Why…?”

“…Because you’re Rubia.”

Because she’s Rubia.

Rubia, whom I love.

Rubia, who loves me.

You might think it’s a ridiculous reason.

But if the being standing in front of me is ‘Rubia’, she’ll understand.

And.

“We… promised, didn’t we?”

We promised.

Under the night sky dyed with the colors of flames.

In the Ferris wheel where only the two of us remained.

“To call out ‘Rubia’s’ name.”

Carefully, I raised my arms and hugged her waist. My face was buried in her chest, making it a little hard to breathe, but I still hugged her tightly.

“Did you wait long…?”

Hoo. I took a breath and lifted my head.

Then, giving ‘Rubia’, who was holding back tears, the kindest smile I could muster, I said once more.

“It’s all right now. I’ll save you.”

At the same time.

‘Rubia’s’ tears, all the emotions she had been holding back, overflowed.

Pat, pat— After listening to and comforting ‘Rubia’, who was sitting down and sobbing sorrowfully, for a long time.

She, who wiped her snot on my clothes, lifted her head.

“D-Don’t look…”

Then, she lowered her head again and wiped the tears and snot from her face onto my clothes.

She also tidied her hair and calmed her breathing.

After rubbing her eyes several more times, she looked at me again.

“H-How do I look?”

“…Pretty.”

The tip of her nose was red, and her eyelids were also bright red, but she was pretty.

“Hehehe… Don’t lie… I’ve been crying for so long… What’s pretty about me?”

Even as she said that, Rubia snuggled into my arms as if she was in a good mood.

…But since I’m small, it ended up looking like Rubia was hugging me.

Still, I didn’t care and patted Rubia’s back.

“Haa… Don’t you have any questions?”

Rubia, who finally let out all the emotions that had been filling her up, asked while burying her face in my neck.

Every time her voice and breath flowed out, it tickled my whole body, making me flinch, but I endured it as much as possible and thought.

Questions. Questions.

Actually, I have a mountain of them.

Why did ‘Rubia’ become Lilith?

Or, was ‘Rubia’ Lilith?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg… questions like that.

Since ‘I’ turned back time once and restarted the world, I wanted to know all the things that had gone wrong in the process.

Other questions…

Were resolved a little while talking with ‘Rubia’.

Still, let’s confirm.

Ahem. I cleared my throat and opened my mouth.

“…The Nameless One’s [Aura]… Serr degraded it, right?”

Likewise. Ahem. ‘Rubia’ also cleared her throat and said in a slightly hoarse voice.

“Yes. That’s right. As I said before, a god shouldn’t feel emotions. Serr… made that Nameless One feel emotions. I don’t know how she did it, but it’s amazing. She literally performed a miracle.”

“…That’s right. Serr is a genius.”

Such a person is my friend.

I was so proud of that fact that I puffed out my chest and said confidently.

“Pfft… Yes. That’s right. A genius.”

On the other hand, ‘Rubia’ answered with a slightly teasing nuance.

Why?

…Isn’t Serr a genius?

“Don’t you have any other questions?”

“Umm…”

Questions.

I do have some…

“Go ahead and tell me. I’ll answer everything.”

“…Aren’t you going to lie again?”

Glare. I lifted my head and glared at ‘Rubia’.

Then, ‘Rubia’ smiled bitterly and shook her head.

“I won’t. Here, promise.”

A little pinky finger extended.

I also extended my pinky finger and firmly intertwined them.

And… I asked.

“Is ‘Rubia’ now… mixed with Lilith’s existence?”

“Uh…”

As if she had received an unexpected question, ‘Rubia’, who was a little flustered, hesitated for a while before answering.

“…Yes. It probably feels like that.”

“Then… Lilith is, in any case, still there, right?”

“Um… Since I’m Lilith, and Lilith is me, then… probably? No, maybe I’m a newly created being derived from Lilith’s existence, so, um, yes. Anyway, Lilith hasn’t completely disappeared.”

“I see…”

I don’t know how things turned out like this, but I pretended to understand for now.

If it were ‘me’, would I have understood this situation completely?

…No, even that guy wouldn’t have understood.

Because I and ‘I’ are the same.

“You didn’t understand, did you?”

“Ah, no…? I understood?”

“Oh my? Didn’t we promise not to lie?”

“Ugh…”

‘Rubia’, who pressed down on the bridge of her nose, smiled mischievously.

“The Nameless One is said to have created me… that is, the existence of Rubia, but that’s not true.”

“Huh…?”

“Actually, Lilith made it so. Well… it’s a battle of wits between beings that we can’t understand, so even if we can’t understand it, it’s roughly that feeling. So, in the end, my existence is Lilith’s… daughter, or perhaps a being like an avatar. I don’t even know what I’m saying, but even I can’t understand the information in my head, so I can’t give you any other explanation… I’m sorry.”

“Uung… ‘Rubia’ doesn’t need to be sorry. Uh, anyway… the important thing is that Lilith hasn’t disappeared…”

I said that, but tens of thousands of thoughts were going through my head.

Rubia… was a person necessary to achieve the Nameless One’s myth.

Lilith… did that to Rubia…

I don’t know why.

No, there’s one thing I can guess.

Lilith, the Lilith who brought me to this world.

If she believed in me, was absolutely certain that I would save Rubia, and did such a thing… then everything makes sense.

The basis for that blind faith is…

“Noah.”

Rubia’s voice broke my reverie.

“Yes, yes…?”

“Then, can I ask you what I’ve been curious about…?”

“Yes. As much as you want…!”

I nodded, feeling the pleasant caress that brushed through my hair.

“What are you planning to do, Noah?”

“About what…?”

“You said you would save me, ‘Noah’. I’m curious about that plan…”

“…Plan?”

“Yes. Both me and ‘Noah’ have already experienced it once, so we know how to change the world without deviating from the rules and foundations… We know all about the methods and the lines that shouldn’t be crossed. But Noah doesn’t.”

The stroking stopped.

“Besides, Noah vowed to return to her original world. After saving ‘everyone’, she vowed to live in this world… So, what method can you use to save us?”

A slightly stern voice.

And a voice full of worry.

But a voice that seemed to trust me.

“After saving… me… this world will no longer have a god. Then, gods from outside will constantly approach to devour this world… Will it be all right…?”

Not doubt, but a question.

I stared at ‘Rubia’s’ face, who said that in such a voice.

“‘Rubia’… doesn’t deny my words.”

“Deny…?”

“Yes. ‘I’… said I could never do it… and made such bold statements… But ‘Rubia’ doesn’t feel like that. ‘Rubia’ seems to believe that I can do it.”

“That’s because—”

Rubia’s head tilted.

And, from between her slightly parted lips, the words I wanted to hear most flowed out.

“You’re Noah.”

A matter-of-fact statement.

A statement that unconditionally, blindly trusts me.

“…That’s right.”

So.

“I can do it.”

If it’s to save Rubia.

If it’s to protect Rubia.

If it’s to make Rubia happy.

“I can do anything.”

Whatever it is.

Regardless of possibility or impossibility.

I.

“I can make it happen.”

For Rubia.

“I’ll make it all happen.”

Hoping that these words of mine would be the answer.

I gently pushed ‘Rubia’ away.

I stood up.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

“Noah?”

“Now… there’s not much time left, right?”

“…How did you…”

I smiled brightly at ‘Rubia’, who looked down at me with a look of anxiety.

I let go of the hand I was holding.

I turned my back.

I placed my hand on my chest.

“Rubia.”

It’s a shame to part ways.

I want to talk a little more.

About the story of the time when I wasn’t there, when ‘I’ was there.

I want to hear the story of that world.

But.

But.

I won’t listen.

I won’t ask about what I’m curious about, what I don’t know.

Later.

In the distant future.

If we meet again.

If we can meet.

Then.

At that time, I hope you’ll tell us.

Then, at that time, we’ll tell you too.

The story of the time when you weren’t there.

The story of the world when you weren’t there.

The story of ours, of ‘us’, that you created.

Everyone’s happy ending.

So.

Now.

“Watch carefully.”

For Rubia.

For ‘Rubia’.

“How I save you.”

—Koo-oong! An unknown power erupts from within my body.

A huge explosion that I’ve never experienced before, not even when facing ‘me’ or the Nameless One.

“What I can do.”

—Koo-oong! The power that tore through my whole body, crushed it, the Divinity, the soul, burst out.

I don’t control it. I pour it out.

I pour everything in.

As a result, the light burns even more fiercely.

I grasp it in my hand. I contain it in my body.

I forge a sword, a greatsword, my soul.

I newly temper my existence.

I grasped it.

I drew it.

———!!

‘Rubia’s’ Divine Realm.

Lilith’s Divine Realm.

The world that bound her screams.

It denies my power.

It denies my [Aura].

It denies my soul, my existence.

An oppression that makes it impossible to even lift a finger.

We, who surpass the gods and imprison them, tighten my existence. They try to exclude me.

They try to force my existence, this world, the gods.

In that, I grabbed the soul that seemed to disappear at any moment. I whipped my buckling legs to lift myself up. I glared with bloodshot eyes.

And I saw.

This world.

The world that binds the existence called God.

[Rules]. [Foundations]. [Concept]. [Law].

The will of the world.

I saw the will that encompasses everything.

I faced it.

The sun.

A sun so brilliant that I dare not look at it.

A sun that removes all darkness and illuminates a new morning.

Tomorrow, the future, the world.

It spoke. It declared.

Pay the price.

Pay the price and become a god.

Become a god, protect and maintain this world.

I did not speak. I did not declare.

I simply pointed the greatsword. I raised it high.

Fierce resistance. The will of the world resists. It crushes my body as if to shatter it. It raises its body to smash my will. It lifts its head. It opens its eyes. The sun burns. The earth, my existence, is heated as if to burn.

I accepted it. I did not resist. I added it to my power. I wrapped it around the greatsword. I shoved it into my soul.

It says.

It will grant what I desire.

To that, I answered.

What I desire is.

To destroy.

All despair, darkness, suffering.

All beings, humans, gods, Lilith.

‘Rubia’, ‘me’, everyone.

The damn cycle that they could never escape.

Rules. Foundations. [Concept]. [Law].

Everything that blocks my, ‘my’, path.

To thoroughly destroy it.

And so.

Tomorrow. The sun of the next day.

The sun that becomes the hope of mankind, that becomes the light.

To greet a new sun.

That is.

What I, Rubia.

We, ‘we’.

Will create.

Will achieve.

The end.

The beginning.

A miracle.

The will of the world screams. It wails. It shouts. A huge force rushes towards my body.

Facing that, I stomped my foot.

The ground bounces. The light scatters. Through that, crimson darkness digs in. The pouring darkness dyes the world. It obscures the light of the sun.

Even so, the sun is burning brilliantly.

The will of the world. Everything.

Towards that.

The greatsword. The [Aura]. The soul. Me. My existence.

I swung it.

The greatsword moves. Everything it touches as it moves, everything in its orbit, in its path, is cut. It is split. It is broken.

The scenery shifts. The world splits.

It is not repaired. It is not rearranged.

Eventually, it reached the sun.

It reached the light. It reached the center of it.

The sun sets. The light goes out. It is torn.

Behind it, a Black Sun rose.

A Black Sun that denies the will of the world.

A Black Sun that affirms and supports my will.

I stand under it.

The greatsword in my hand.

From the greatsword that is my very existence.

Light arose.

[Full Bloom].

[Heaven Breaker].

[Celestial Fall].

[Heaven’s Ender].

[Heaven-Defying].

[Celestial Dawn].

Their will.

The wishes of forgotten heroes.

To protect the world.

To burn everything in order to be happy.

I gathered it all. I picked it up and served it.

Crumble, I grasped it. I lifted it up.

I swung it.

Full Bloom. All possibilities bloomed.

I swung it.

[Heaven Breaker]. I shattered the resistance of the world.

I swung it.

[Celestial Fall]. I dropped the world that was left with only will.

I swung it.

[[Heaven’s Ender]. I stopped the will’s last struggle.

I swung it.

[Heaven-Defying]. I defied its will, I denied it.

I swung it.

[Celestial Dawn]. And so, I opened a new sky.

Even so, the light remained.

The light that did not go out. The light that did not fade.

My light.

My path.

My will.

Within it, I recalled my wish.

I recalled the name that gave me life, the name.

Rubia.

Rubia.

I turned my back.

I looked at her.

I looked at ‘her’ who was not visible, obscured by the intense light.

I recalled her, who was far away and could not be met now.

A smile spread across my face.

I opened my mouth.

I spoke, hoping it would reach ‘her’.

I recited the last promise I made with ‘her’, a promise that I could not keep.

“I’ll be the one to say I love you.”

‘Rubia’ reached out her hand towards me.

I turned my back.

I raised the greatsword.

I raised my last light, my will, my determination.

At the same time, I closed my eyes.

I recalled Rubia’s face.

I recalled her gentle smile.

I recalled her soft voice.

I recalled her warm body temperature.

Our first meeting, the promises we shared, our conversations, our love.

I recalled everything about Rubia.

The person I love.

The lovely person.

The person I cannot help but love.

I pictured the future where she would be happy.

I imagined it. I wished for it.

I opened my eyes.

I saw the world blocking her path.

I saw the world she lived in, a world filled only with despair.

I saw the dark world that still hadn’t brightened.

I saw the world trapped in a damned cycle.

Beyond that.

I saw the world everyone should move towards.

The world where Rubia.

Where everyone I love.

Would live happily.

Towards that place, I took a step.

I swung the greatsword.

Following that path, a new sun rose.

The rising sun, the new sun scattered its light.

A light brighter than anything else.

A light that can embrace everything.

A light that crosses the stream and opens the world.

The Creation of the World.

The wrong world shattered.

And from its ashes, a new world was born.