Hero

,So, what’s the reason you came to find me?”

To Jin Shian’s question, I answered honestly.

,Actually, the Ross of Yearning sent me here without any explanation. I only realized after coming here that you are the essence of my author… but now I have a purpose. The essence of the author, I want to get it back.”

To my honest answer, Jin Shian laughed awkwardly and said in a somewhat stiff voice.

,Reclaiming one’s essence is close to an instinct. At first, I also wanted to become one with you again. But as I watched you in another world, my thoughts changed over time.”

,Your thoughts changed…?”

Jin Shian twisted one corner of his mouth. It felt like an attitude of superiority, as if he knew decisive information that I didn’t.

,Yes, if I become one with you again, I will definitely gain execution power, decisiveness, recklessness, boldness, cruelty, and imagination that I didn’t have before. But it’s also true that there’s a clear reason why the Saintess specifically excluded me from you. In short, it’s high-risk, high-return.”

Jin Shian, who had been sitting on the floor, got up. Wiping the rainwater flowing down his face with his hand, Jin Shian continued.

,I am now a double-edged sword to you. It’s a sword that can save everyone, but it’s also a sword so sharp that it can cut your own neck without you even knowing it. Do you still want to become one with me?”

I didn’t answer Jin Shian’s serious question right away. It’s a choice that could change everything in the future. Naturally, I had to be careful. I imagined and pondered about reclaiming the author’s essence and not doing so.

But the latter wouldn’t improve the current situation. I learned about Roel’s secrets, the novel’s setting errors, and the god of the Chaos Church while traveling through other worlds, but that was only through experience. I didn’t use that information to read the flow of plausibility.

Nothing was resolved regarding the god of the Chaos Church, who was born from plausibility, and Roel, whom I suspected of regressing. But if I regained the author’s essence that I had lost, I had an instinctive feeling that it would be much easier to read the flow of plausibility than it is now.

The choice itself was surprisingly easy. I had to choose between stepping forward on a platform that could collapse at any moment and standing still on the platform. To save everyone, I had to take risks.

Even if many things change from the Ross I am now by obtaining the author’s essence, my absolute goal of protecting everyone precious to me will not change.

Jin Shian, who was watching my expression, smiled faintly.

,You have a determined look in your eyes.”

,Think briefly, decide firmly. It’s a lesson I learned while living as Ross until now. I will get you back.”

What gave me strong confidence in my choice was actually the last thing the Ross of Yearning said to me. ‘When you break free from the Saintess’s restrictions and find the essence of the author.’ The Ross of Yearning already knew that the Ross within me was the essence of the author, even at a time when I didn’t even know it.

If so, it means that the Ross of Yearning already knew that reclaiming the author’s essence would be of great help to me, the last Ross. There was also a part of me that didn’t want to be dragged around by the Saintess, whom I had never even met, anymore.

But Jin Shian didn’t look so happy after hearing my answer. Rather, he frowned slightly, looking like he was lost in thought.

,I’ve already decided. I’m willing to accept the risks of getting you back.”

But Jin Shian slowly shook his head.

,It’s not a risk to be taken so simply. As you said earlier, I am the essence of madness and chaos that Jin Shian had. Even the mad Jamie was devoured by the madness of the creator that I possess. The madness and chaos that Ross originally had are combined with the madness of the creator that the author Jin Shian has. No one knows what that will bring.”

Jin Shian sighed deeply, wearing an uneasy expression.

,I’ve even found out things here that you don’t know. What Roel is plotting, the reason he crossed over to another world, and even the answer to the question the god threw at me. Perhaps even a word that should not be remembered, which could end the journey so far in an instant. I desperately pushed those things into the realm of oblivion, but the moment I become one with you, your subconscious may suddenly recall them someday. That’s what I’m most wary of. Because sometimes, not knowing is the answer.”

At Jin Shian’s words, I shouted urgently. It meant that Jin Shian had everything I wanted right now. Naturally, I couldn’t help but be impatient.

,That’s exactly what I want! I want all the answers to reach the ending I want!”

,Even if that choice leads you to ruin?”

,What…?”

,Even if it makes you a being that can’t even be found in any novel, let alone a dummy, at the moment of the ending?”

Jin Shian’s eyes looking at me were as sharp as a blade. But I had already decided from the moment I fell in love with Luna. That I can give everything for what I love. Even if it’s my ruin, my decision will not change.

It might be a stupid choice. If you say it’s a selfish choice that only considers my feelings, there’s no good excuse. But for Luna, who allowed Ross and Jin Shian, two souls mixed together, to experience something they hadn’t experienced before, there was nothing I couldn’t do.

,…I’m already prepared.”

Jin Shian smiled bitterly and nodded.

,If you’ve decided, there’s no need to dwell on my shortcomings any further. Now, on the contrary, I’ll make you realize how good the choice to be with me was.”

As Jin Shian moved his hand, the endless rain stopped, and the endlessly dark world was turned upside down. Light appears in the dark world. It’s somewhere in the universe full of sparkling stars. For some reason, a strange sense of déjà vu tickled my head at the sight.

Jin Shian, who had already approached me, asked.

,Do you remember me saying that the cult leader’s trap wasn’t me?”

,I remember.”

,Yes, so I’m going to show you the answer that I couldn’t tell you before becoming one with you now. Even if you don’t understand it right away, just seeing it will be of great help to you in the future. Now, this is the cult leader’s trap that I couldn’t see to the end because of the Saintess’s safety device.”

With those words, Jin Shian tapped my shoulder and pointed forward. Following his gaze, a throne suddenly appeared in the empty space.

In front of the throne, a man was slumped on the floor with his shoulders drooping. I could only see his back, but I could tell that his hair was blonde like mine.

,I could have saved everyone!!!”

The emotion of despair contained in his voice stuck thickly in my ears. I feel a sense of déjà vu. This is definitely the illusion I saw when I wore the mask containing the cult leader’s trap that Estelle had hidden.

A resigned voice, contrary to the desperate voice, was heard.

,What did you lose this time?”

,Everything.”

In the vast universe with no end in sight, stars dance and spiral something. Things swallowed by the darkness of the universe twist endlessly and emit a vivid presence.

「 Then, step forward again. 」

In front of the giant throne, something indescribable threw the mask it was wearing into the abyss of the universe. Then, the passage I created when I went to another world was created in the abyss.

I was shocked as if my heart had been kicked at the fact that I had created a passage to another world. I hurriedly turned my gaze to the throne and looked at the one who created the passage, but I couldn’t recognize the face of the being who had taken off the mask. No, the face didn’t exist. Only chaos was swirling like a whirlpool in the place where the face should have been.

Clearly, the memory had been cut off here before, but the scene in front of me continued.

The man who had been slumped on the floor got up. As I watched the man slowly turn his body towards the abyss of the universe where the passage was created, I forgot to breathe after confirming his face.

I couldn’t believe what I saw, so I muttered without realizing it.

,Roel…?”

Distorted, collapsed, and destroyed countless times… I could tell that that person was Roel. I had vaguely wondered if the person who was wailing with a voice of despair might be me.

But that person was definitely Roel. The atmosphere was completely different from the Roel I knew. The Roel who exuded the most similar atmosphere was the one-armed Roel I saw just before the destruction.

The being in front of the throne asked Roel, who was staggering towards the abyss of the universe.

,Are you not going to give up until the end? You should have realized by now that you are just trapped in an endless cycle of regression that you can never escape. Is there a reason to chase after a continuing dream even so?”

At those words, Roel stopped abruptly. And he looked at the existence of the throne over his shoulder.

,I’ve lost everything hundreds of times. The pain was not enough even if I tore out my heart. I may have to lose it thousands of times more in the future. I’ve faltered several times in regret and despair, but I’ll never stop. I will definitely keep my promise to save everyone….”

Roel, who turned his head forward, took a step towards the abyss of the universe with a look of indomitable will, even though he was staggering weakly.

,I will not succumb to endless trials and must fight forever for everyone….”

Roel threw himself into the abyss of the universe and finished his words.

,Because I’m a hero.”