episode_0141

After going through the harsh cold, we arrived at the sanctuary and found a huge block of ice lying there.

The woman sealed inside, Azta, did not react in any way even when her only companion arrived.

“Azta?”

I tried calling her name, but all I got in return was silence.

‘…Fuck.’

Is it too late?

During my last visit, Azta had said that I should go back to sleep to prevent the Frost Witch from waking up.

Since I didn’t know when she would open her eyes if she went back to sleep, I tried to hold her back. However, as long as the Frost Witch is in Azta’s body, Azta is doomed to sleep.

In order to take the monarch out of Azta’s body and seal it safely again, what is needed is an artificial body and the soul of God to act as an inhibitor.

Olivia can make the artificial body if she knows how to make it, and the soul of God can be saved with Lufia’s help.

There’s a clue, but it’s a timeout?

“Ha… . I thought it would be okay for a few months.”

What should I do?

Judging by the fact that the strategy failure notification does not appear, it seems that there is a way to somehow melt Azta’s ice.

But where and how can we find that out?

“If it was going to be like this, you would have let me know a long time ago… .”

I mumbled to myself without answering and touched the ice.

It’s cold, but feels different from regular ice. It felt closer to crystal than ice.

‘…You can’t break it, right? Should I melt it with fire or something? It’s not ice, it’s crystal, but does it melt?’

While observing the ice crystal surrounding Azta’s body,

“Wow–!!!!!”

A strong voice echoing in my head.

“……Azta you… .”

“Huh? I’m not surprised. Did you really expect it?”

“Ha… .”

It’s not like an old man on his deathbed pretending to be dead.

Who did you learn these bad jokes from?

“I’m not surprised by things like this. Rather, you can’t believe you’re playing a prank like this. What are you thinking?”

“Ahaha. It’s a shame. I wanted to see Zeke surprised. Why did we break up in such a heavy atmosphere last time? I don’t know when it will be the last time, but I think it would be good to talk to each other with a smile from now on.”

It’s just arbitrary.

Well, this is what Azta is like.

Although the atmosphere has become serious in many ways recently, Azuta is originally a cheerful personality who likes to play around and joke.

That’s why, if possible, we’d like to end the day with each other smiling.

“I am speaking assuming the end. Did you forget that I said I would solve it?”

“No, how could I forget. Are you looking forward to it?”

“You don’t seem to be expecting much, do you?”

“Ah, were you caught? Ahaha. Because I am careful not to have false expectations.”

Is that a joke or is it serious?

I can’t tell because the voice is stuck in my head without any change in facial expression.

“It’s in vain. Not at all? You’ll be surprised to hear what I’ve been up to, right?”

“A new story is ready?”

“Okay. This time, it’s a spectacular story that took place on the Eastern Continent, which is full of monsters. It’s probably the most interesting story I’ve ever heard.”

“I’m really looking forward to that. Can you tell me quickly without hesitation?”

I paused a few more times with the intention of making fun of Azuta, who was urging me on, but he responded with a threat that if I continued, he would fall asleep right away. I had no choice but to start talking.

*

*

“Hmm. It was a really interesting story.”

“From just hearing your voice, it doesn’t seem like that at all, right?”

“No. It was fun. Really.”

“……”

I tried to tell the story while enduring the cold, but for some reason the response was not clear.

“Which was the most fun?”

“Huh? Oh, that… . yes. The part where he killed the cat god.”

“It’s the last one.”

“It was the most intense.”

“Ha… . There’s really no point in talking about this. He showed great performance against monsters.”

“Ah… . I see That’s amazing. It’s really cool, Zeke.”

This is not like bowing down and bowing down.

Well, Azta is the one who sealed away the Frost Witch who destroyed the Northern Continent, but a monster army on the verge of annihilation is just laughable.

The monsters that the garrison knights risked their lives to subdue are, to some people, nothing more than passing ants.

The world is so unfair.

“More than that, what is the identity of that knight named Rupiah? I didn’t know there were still humans left who could kill God.”

“Well, Lufia is strangely strong.”

“No, Zeke. This is not a matter of being strong or not.”

“Hmm?”

Azuta’s voice became a little more serious.

If it’s not a matter of being strong or not, then what is?

“Humans cannot kill God. This isn’t just a matter of power, it’s like the rules of this world. Creatures of color… . You can’t kill the owner of color.”

“……Could you tell me in more detail? What is the creature of color, and what is the owner of color?”

“I don’t know much about it either. Because that’s all I heard. Additionally, the information is so old that it may not be accurate.”

“It doesn’t matter. Because it’s better than not knowing anything.”

It is better to know at least incorrect information than to encounter something completely unknown. Even if it’s the wrong way, you can still try it.

That’s how Azta’s story began this time.

*

White of order and black of chaos.

This world originally began with these two colors.

The two colors divided themselves and gradually grew in size, eventually filling the world.

Because there was no space left in the world, the two colors began to devour each other. This was an Ouroboros made up of two snakes, a cycle in which each snake ate each other.

The seemingly meaningless cycle ended with the emergence of a new color.

Gray created by mixing order and chaos.

A new color appeared between white and black. Soon it became a dividing line separating the two original colors.

The colors that could no longer grow in size began to evolve on their own.

It evolved, evolved again, and continued to evolve.

As a result, matter began to fill the empty space.

Life blossomed and created the world.

A white world where order is established and a black world full of chaos.

And the gray world in between.

The earth where humans live is a gray world where order and chaos coexist.

*

“It’s very different from the creation myth art I know.”

The creation myth advocated by the Church of the Virgin Mary, the state religion of the empire and the religion that dominates the world, was similar to actual Christianity in many ways.

Roughly speaking, the world was created when the omnipotent, omnipotent, and only supreme God swung his finger.

“Only very few people know this story.”

“Now I am one of those few. It’s an honor.”

The creation myth claimed by the Virgin Mary and the creation myth of Azta.

Of these two, Azta seemed to be more credible.

In the past, various colors such as white and black kept popping out, and Azta happened to tell me the identity of those colors through a myth.

Thanks to you, I learned more about the worldview of this game.

‘…is it useful to know?’

no.

There is no harm in knowing this.

“So, what does this have to do with not being able to kill God?”

“…As life was created from color, beings representing color appeared. They are the ‘masters of color’. They are beings who could be called gods in each world.”

“In each world, does it mean that there is a god in the white world and a god in the black world?”

“That’s right. The gray world is the same as the earth we live on. However, while white and black, which are free of impurities, had only one ‘owner’, many ‘owners’ appeared in the gray world created by mixing black and white. The soul that was supposed to be one has split into several. It caused a mutation.”

The god on earth is a mutant.

Is this because they are rootless guys?

“Okay. The master of color knows. I think I have a rough idea of creatures of color. Humans and other animals and plants are probably gray creatures. So what does it mean that creatures of color cannot kill their masters?”

“It’s literally like that. The master of color is the essence that makes up the world. It is physically impossible for the creatures that belong to the world to be killed.”

“Really? Physically impossible?”

“Yes. There have been many people who have tried to kill the Gray God so far, but most of them have failed.”

Then how did they kill Lufia?

“Wait a minute. The fact that most of them fail means that there are cases of success, right?”

“…Yes. It was impossible with human power, but it was possible with ‘borrowed power.’ Gray creatures cannot kill a gray god, but it is possible with the power of other colors.”

If it were any other color, it would be black or white.

‘Now that I think about it, when the Lord of Death was resurrected. When you saw Rupiah, you said it was white, right?’

That means Rupiah has white power.

“Tell me in detail how you borrowed that power.”

“……”

Azta suddenly fell silent.

There is silence.

The cold that I had forgotten about began to bother my body again.

“Azta? I’m freezing to death waiting.”

– … Give it to me… .

A faint voice is heard again.

– Take it out… .

The voice became increasingly clearer.

– … cast … Get out of here… .

who? where?

A question that naturally popped into my head.

As if to answer this, a very clear voice rang in my head.

– Get Azta out of here!

You want me to take Azta out?

“Zeek.”

It was Azta’s voice that called me out of my daze.

Since it was clearly different from the voice I heard clearly just before, I could at least know that the owner of the voice was not Azta.

“Please go back now.”

“What? The story isn’t over yet?”

“I’m sorry. but… . It’s over now.”

“It’s the end. You, no way… .”

“……Yes. To seal it again, I… .”

Azta trailed off.

She had been joking around with a bright tone not long ago, but now her voice was downcast and gloomy.

Similar situation as before.

But a more decisive attitude.

Because what came next, I was able to anticipate.

“I’ll fall asleep again.”

*

I tried calling Azta’s name for a while, but all I got back was silence.

Before I could catch her,

‘I hope to see you again someday.’

After saying that, I fell asleep.

There was only one notification window floating in front of my eyes.

[Azta’s strategy progress has increased. (58 -> 68%) Acquire 1,000 strategy points]

Azta fell asleep, but the progress of the strategy increased.

This means that falling asleep is also part of the strategy.

So there is no need to retry.

I placed my hand on the ice crystal where Azta was sealed.

The cold coming from deep inside quickly took away the feeling in my hands.

‘The crystal has become harder.’

Maybe it’s just my mood, but it feels harder than when I touched it earlier.

– Get Azta out of here!

An unidentified voice echoed in my head.

When I heard that voice before, I thought it definitely belonged to the Frost Witch.

But I have talked to a frost witch.

A unique way of speaking that you will never forget once you hear it.

– I finished it. It’s such a beautiful piece of work, it’s truly a masterpiece.

The Frost Witch always expressed her conclusion in short words and then continued the sentence.

In addition, there is a monotonous intonation in which all words are made with a consistent sound, without any pitch or pitch.

Both the intonation and the way of speaking were different from the unidentified voice I had heard.

‘There’s one more person… .’

Perhaps the owner of the voice is another being trapped in Azta’s body.

I thought I was alone with the Frost Witch, but there was a third person.

This is why people shouldn’t just pick up anything and eat it.

“…Ugh. It’s cold.”

I can’t hold on any longer.

The batteries in the heater were dead, and I was losing sensation in the extremities of my body.

“Tsk, let’s talk while smiling.”

There was no point in staying anyway.

I left the sanctuary without any regrets.

Leaving Azta completely frozen.