Ch.312312. Inevitable Existence

Eternity.

Surprisingly, many people don’t seriously consider the weight of this word.

There could be various reasons, but if I had to pick the biggest one, it would be because it lacks a sense of reality.

Eternal suffering.

Just imagining it briefly sends fear coursing through your entire body.

More than physical pain, more than having your arms severed, eyes stabbed, or tongue pulled out.

The overwhelming terror that these things will never, ever end.

A vast expanse of time so immense that even a lifetime seems but a fleeting moment.

Time without end.

That was precisely the choice Luanes had made.

“Ah.”

Pelestan’s eyes filled with despair, perhaps feeling the terror contained in the word “eternity.”

And the fact that his friend was inflicting such pain upon himself meant that Pelestan himself could do nothing for Luanes.

He couldn’t encourage him, comfort him, or help him.

Because this was the final destination of Luanes Luden Griffin.

This was the final place he had chosen in his long life spanning over 200 years.

“Luanes, this isn’t right.”

Nevertheless.

His closest friend, the steadfast man who had sworn to help him forever, didn’t give up.

His tears turned red as they mixed with the blood around him.

Pelestan roared with resentment.

“This isn’t right! In the end, this is nothing but self-satisfaction! Nothing is atoned for, it’s just an act of deception!”

“……”

“There must be better ways than this! Suffering like this for souls that have already gone to sleep—no one will know about your atonement!”

It was a pitiful wail.

Because only emptiness returned as an answer.

“As if I wouldn’t know that.”

I didn’t want to see Pelestan’s unsightly appearance anymore.

No matter how much he shouted until his throat was torn, Luanes’s resolve wouldn’t waver.

200 years.

This was the result of Luanes Luden Griffin’s contemplation over a full 200 years.

He too must have thought this was the best option, though he probably didn’t think it had any real meaning.

Pure self-satisfaction.

The Black Mage who had driven the Griffin Kingdom to destruction shouldn’t be comfortable even in death.

Like a moral ending straight out of a fairy tale.

“I understand the sadness. But he too made what he thought was the best choice after much anguish and suffering.”

“But…”

“I can’t say it’s right. Nor can I say it has meaning, even as empty words.”

I looked up glumly at Luanes, still being tortured by something that appeared to be an evil spirit while impaled on a skewer.

“But it’s a choice made from conviction. Respect it.”

“……”

I slowly extended my hand.

The dark red mana spreading around began to be sucked back into the staff, and Luanes’s form disappeared.

The hellish landscape around us returned to the original empty clearing.

“Foolish man! Foolish man!”

Pelestan, kneeling on the ground, wept in agony while I gripped the cracked staff, sealing it with mana.

The ominous mana Luanes possessed had been continuously affecting the Dark Spiritmaster.

I was worried it might be trying to steal or absorb the Dark Spiritmaster, but…

‘In that state, it shouldn’t be much of a problem.’

Though Luanes was pitiful, he didn’t seem likely to harm the Dark Spiritmaster.

If he had the strength, he would continue to harm himself in the name of atonement.

I glanced at the Dark Spiritmaster.

She seemed to be feeling better now, giving me a weak smile.

‘But.’

There was still something puzzling me.

Why hadn’t the Dark Spiritmaster been dragged into the land of rest?

‘To say it’s because she’s an earth-bound spirit doesn’t make sense, since all the other souls contained in the staff entered me.’

Just the Dark Spiritmaster.

She alone remained and stayed behind.

I couldn’t say it was because she herself didn’t want to go, since at the time, the Dark Spiritmaster had lost consciousness after being defeated by Luanes.

She should have naturally entered me along with the other souls, but what was the reason she could remain at that time?

As I pondered this…

[Deus!]

Stella’s urgent voice came from the sky.

Something was coming down from above.

It was about to pound the ground like a meteorite, but Stella blocked it, preventing the intended impact.

Kuuuung!

The mountains echoed with his landing, startling the forest animals, which began to flee in a hurry.

He had bronze skin and blonde hair. With a solid build, he carried the same aura as Raizer, the god of lightning and clouds, whom I had faced before.

A being wrapped in divine authority.

Stella, who had hurriedly descended to my side, also showed clear signs of tension.

The jewel-laden necklaces hanging around his neck. The luxurious earrings pierced in his ears and the rings packed densely on his fingers.

Though Stella didn’t know the appearance of all gods, she seemed to have instantly recognized who he was.

[It’s God Bellas.]

“The god of festivals and joy.”

Ironically, his followers all live lives faithful to desire.

A much more relaxed doctrine than other gods’ followers, a generous teaching that pleasure is truth.

And the promise that after death, they can enjoy banquets filled with luxury and pleasure in his palace with Bellas.

He was one of the most preferred gods, with many followers, though many of them lacked deep faith.

A wide grin.

His white teeth and gums suggested a generous personality.

“Deus Verdi. No, Shinwoo Kim. How truly delightful to see you like this!”

“……”

“And even the new hearth and goddess of fire! Haha, someday I’d like to share an intimate relationship with you in front of a hearth on a dark night when stars and moon are hidden—you’re so beautiful!”

[……]

Stella immediately frowned and moved closer to me.

“Oh? Lovers? Hahaha! That’s wonderful to see! Tempting fruits are always found in someone else’s garden. And the thrill of secretly picking them…”

“Enough.”

My expression didn’t change.

I just felt the urge to let this insane libertine know that most who let their tongues wag freely ended up having them torn out.

“If you die here, will another god come down? If so, it might be better to call the next one.”

“Ahahaha.”

Bellas scratched the back of his head and glanced around cautiously. The god seemed to realize that life took priority over pride.

“I apologize. It’s not the first time my loose tongue has earned me the displeasure of goddesses.”

“It would be better not to spout such nonsense in front of me again.”

Bellas’s smile stiffened as he accepted the warning. He swallowed nervously, his lips seeming to dry up.

“Why have you come?”

Getting straight to the point, Bellas took a deep breath to calm himself and began to pour out the lines he had prepared.

“Today, the reason I, who oversee festivals and joy, have descended to the continent is none other than to inform you of the seriousness of the current situation.”

Bellas spoke dramatically, as if performing. Whether he was pushed to come or volunteered…

The gods’ choice was ultimately a mistake.

With each word he uttered, he only made me more uncomfortable.

“You know well that the gods have followed the destiny appointed to the continent?”

“Yes, I vividly remember tearing apart and killing a god who babbled about destiny, granting him the freedom he desired.”

“A-ahem.”

Having defeated Raizer, the god of lightning and clouds, I could speak with even more confidence.

The destiny the gods speak of is the game’s main story.

But everything has already gone awry.

Aria Rius, the protagonist, has escaped her fate as a hero.

I’ve also broken the storyline regarding the most crucial part of the main story—the boundary between life and death.

Despite the grandiose name of “destiny,” not one thing they called destiny has come to pass.

All because of me, an outsider to the continent.

“Destiny has been twisted. That’s what you thought?”

Bellas’s eyes suddenly sharpened as he glared at me.

He struck directly at the conclusions I had drawn until now.

“That’s not the case. Destiny is far more persistent than either you or we imagined.”

“What do you mean?”

I asked, but I felt I already knew the answer.

Indeed, his next words were as I expected.

“Aria Rius is no longer a hero. She cast off her role, and with various complications, she is no longer bound to destiny.”

The situation I had wanted.

Bellas continued, pointing his finger at me.

“Now you have taken on that role, Shinwoo Kim.”

“……”

“And Luanes Luden Griffin.”

Pointing at him who would still be suffering inside my staff, Bellas gave a bitter smile.

“He too has escaped his role. Aria Rius and Luanes. Both were inevitable existences in the continent’s destiny, but they have been replaced by others.”

Once again.

Bellas’s finger moved to point behind me.

At the Dark Spiritmaster who had barely composed herself.

“She is the inevitable existence who will replace Luanes in the continent’s destiny.”

I suddenly felt a tightness in my chest. With intense impulse, I hastily blurted out:

“Luanes is no longer needed on this continent. His role is already over.”

To reiterate, the destiny they speak of is the main story of the game.

And after finishing the episode with Dante and the collapse of the boundary between life and death, Luanes exits.

Meaning he no longer appears.

“If by ‘inevitable existence’ you mean a character who becomes the central point of the story, then now…!”

My words caught in my throat.

Because as I spoke, I found the answer myself.

“It’s still there.”

Bellas also gave a bitter smile and gestured toward my heart.

“According to destiny, the souls on the continent must either perish or the boundary between life and death must collapse, destroying the continent.”

I still stand on the continent, carrying souls.

“The story isn’t over yet.”

Recently.

The reason I suddenly began to gain extraordinary strength.

The reason the Dark Spiritmaster could remain in the staff without being swept into the land of rest.

The reason souls still remain on the continent but the boundary between life and death hasn’t collapsed.

Everything.

It all started to fit together naturally.

“Congratulations, outsider. You are now an inevitable existence recognized by the continent.”