Ch.4848. Depression of the Constellation

“Title: So what’s the actual purpose of this game?

-I’ve already destroyed the final chapter constellation as per the main story

But there’s still no ending credits after that, just grinding faith stats endlessly

What am I supposed to do now?

└Dunno

└??

└I don’t know. Just keep beating up the remaining constellations I guess”

“Title: Just

-Beat up the constellations you don’t like lol

The worldbuilding never made sense anyway, so causing chaos is fun in itself

└For real lol

└I enjoy tormenting the other constellation bastards too

└Forcing holy wars on them, stealing their believers, subjugating their churches

└I’m already drooling just thinking about it lol”

“Title: I can’t live without Ragnarok now…

-There’s hardly any game that gives me this kind of dopamine hit

And if you roleplay with your own secondary content, the fun starts all over again lol

└Shit, that’s literally me

└For real, building a new character concept and starting over is so damn fun lol”

“Title: Sigh… don’t end up like me…

(Photo of a star-filled universe)

-Don’t just focus on main quests and get reset, damn it…

└Oh look, another idiot has arrived

└That’s what you get for not taking care of our baby world

└I’m too busy keeping the constellations in check to do that shit!!”

“Title: In my opinion, Dianon<< is the real final boss

-If you don’t relieve his stress, he’ll force reset the world without hesitation

But he doesn’t even work hard either

Whether a nation is destroyed or natural disasters happen due to constellations’ mischief, he never responds

I even tried directly messing with the ‘Source of the World’ or whatever to see how far I could push him, but he kept his mouth shut

What a stubborn bastard

└Wait, this world has something like an owner?

└Yeah

└It’s our gallery owner

└If you dig through ancient texts, there are stories, but they’re all vague and confusing

└They say he used to protect humanity from constellations~ but now lol

└Oh, the manager’s off duty~”

#

Ragnis became an official believer of my alt account, ‘Black Abyss.’

She seemed to have high growth potential at a glance, and with her experience serving the World Tree constellation—

I thought she would grow well on her own if I just provided proper support.

“She’s still a bit lacking though.”

I moved Ragnis to a nearby village with my power, giving her time to recover.

I could directly bless her, but coddling her from the start might spoil her.

“Incarnation of the Black Sun: When will you… open the dungeon?”

“I need to create a proper justification first.”

Just blowing it open suddenly would have minimal effect.

Honestly, it wouldn’t be fun.

If that’s how I feel about it, imagine how those dopamine-addicted constellation bastards would react.

“I sense a constellation’s energy…”

I used to think that way.

“Incarnation of the Black Sun: Doesn’t the atmosphere seem… unsettled?”

The empty lot where the dungeon core had been temporarily planted.

It was a remote location with no people or even monsters.

“Huh?”

But in that empty space, countless gazes could be felt.

“What’s going on?”

They were definitely the energies of constellations.

Though their believers weren’t present, I could clearly feel them watching from afar.

My heart started pounding without my control.

The excitement of wanting to unleash divine power and blow everything up.

This many constellations gathering in one place is extremely rare.

Even in the main story, they only gathered in the final chapter.

“Wow. I’m itching for a holy war.”

“Incarnation of the Black Sun: C-calm down…!”

“Come on, let me. They’re the ones who provoked me first.”

I recalled the time when I played the game obsessively.

Despair, pain, and hollow hope.

The period when I ignited massive holy wars with the world’s survival at stake.

Hundreds of millions of people perishing due to base desires—

And constellations demanding even greater sacrifices.

“Well, shit.”

—Thump! Thump!

Things that should disappear from this world right now are lined up right there.

How could I not react?

“Still so many of them.”

I tried to clean them up during the game, but there are still this many.

During my absence, there were this many forces trying to devour the world.

“Huff…”

I took a deep breath to clear my head and organize my thoughts.

“Still, it’s better than no reaction at all.”

“Child of the Lost Star: For a moment, I thought a different personality had taken over.”

“That’s harsh.”

One possession is enough.

I didn’t want any more awkward experiences after coming this far.

Anyway, since the audience I was looking for had gathered—

There was no need to delay opening the dungeon.

“They still don’t know anything yet.”

That I’m the master of this dungeon, and the rewards we’ve arranged.

Therefore.

“Would you like to open the ‘Dungeon’?”

I gladly pressed the accept button on the status window that asked.

—Boom.

A ripple spread through the quiet space.

A gentle wave appeared on the calm surface, and the resulting ripples continued to spread.

The anomaly continued to progress.

—Crack.

As if new life was blooming, the entire area’s crust began to shake simultaneously.

The phenomenon that arrived after a single permission was so outrageous it would cause great despair to anyone watching.

“The ‘Dungeon’ is being created…”

For players like me, it’s just a simple farming spot, but in reality, its meaning changes.

In some regions, cities form around massive dungeons.

That’s the basic framework of the dungeon cities mentioned in the setting guide.

No one has yet discovered the exact reason for dungeons’ existence.

At least within gameplay, there was no need to figure it out.

—Kwaaaa!!

The dungeon core I installed expanded greatly once, then burrowed into the ground as if finding its place.

—Thud.

I didn’t bother to check what was happening inside.

The automated system was probably constructing a neat dungeon structure on its own.

“Some constellations show great interest in the dungeon formation!”

“Some constellations want to interfere with your dungeon.”

“Heh.”

I wanted to go out there and cause chaos myself, but the time wasn’t ripe yet.

By now, they must all be getting worked up.

If my prediction is correct, they’ll each send revelations to their churches, ordering them to find this dungeon.

That future aligned perfectly with what I wanted.

“Still some time left.”

It would take a while before the dungeon was completed.

By constellation standards, it wouldn’t take long, but for Dianon’s residents, it would be a considerable period.

Until then, I needed to raise Ragnis to a useful position.

“Need to do some groundwork.”

Build up in Regalium as the main stage.

Give some advance notice to a few of our believers.

The important thing is advertising, advertising.

The larger the scale of this dungeon becomes, the more constellations will try to get involved.

“Hmm.”

But how do I increase the scale?

I don’t want to sacrifice innocent adventurers by raising the dungeon’s danger level.

That would be too meaningless a death.

The targets should be exclusively believers of other religions.

I wanted to save as many other humans as possible.

“Child of the Lost Star: Why do you care so much about humans?”

“Why?”

“Child of the Lost Star: I’m curious. The very fact that a constellation of your caliber cares about each insignificant being.”

“Just because I want to.”

I responded as if asking why I’d do something so obvious.

“Child of the Lost Star: Then I have nothing more to say.”

Star Child seemed to accept it with a simple comment.

“And it’s more thrilling and fun that way.”

In this world, human life is worthless.

It easily wavers and distorts with a single gesture or glance from constellations.

That was the dark side of Ragnarok’s worldview.

A world where dying is easier than living.

That’s why there’s more value in saving lives.

“Child of the Lost Star: That makes sense too.”

“Right. How pitiful. They’re kids who can barely survive if they offend people like us.”

That’s why I wanted to side with the innocent as much as possible.

Of course, excluding some extremists who already serve corrupt constellations.

They’re garbage who produce victims like Ragnis, our Black Abyss’s first believer.

“Child of the Lost Star: Does that believer not need a holy sword?”

“That’s a very natural recruitment attempt.”

“Child of the Lost Star: That’s unfortunate.”

I’ll guide Black Abyss’s believers to use only the power they’re given.

Asking about holy swords would immediately raise suspicion.

“Incarnation of the Black Sun: But how do you plan to catch those constellation bastards?”

“If I can just lure in their believers, I can directly reach their friends.”

Once they step into my domain, they can never escape without my permission.

“Incarnation of the Black Sun: …So, after you get those constellations to join this chat room one by one.”

“We torment them mercilessly.”

“Incarnation of the Black Sun: Then, will I… will we… have a similar relationship to those other guys?”

“Ah.”

As the chat room gets more crowded, it will naturally become harder to catch my attention.

If each new member says just one thing, the room will quickly fill up.

Black Sun was expressing concern about such a situation.

“What are you trying to say?”

“Incarnation of the Black Sun: Constellations live by their rank. I’m the same. But.”

He needs a senior-junior relationship.

“Incarnation of the Black Sun: I want to differentiate myself from the constellations that will be added through your current plan.”

“What kind of differentiation?”

“Incarnation of the Black Sun: …”

Black Sun was silent for a long time.

Uncharacteristically hesitant to give an answer.

“Come on, speak up. I need to go raise Ragnis.”

“Child of the Lost Star: Am I included in this conversation as well?”

“Incarnation of the Black Sun: Absolute One. I want the privilege to speak with you first.”

Special treatment.

That was Black Sun’s request.

Under my control, if he receives the same treatment as other constellations—

There will be annoying ranking disputes and power struggles among them.

Black Sun was aiming to prevent such problems in advance.

“You’re really funny.”

But from my perspective, it was a laughable attitude.

“Incarnation of the Black Sun: …Huh?”

“Just do what you’re told.”

After having peaceful conversations all this time, I might have lost my edge.

The current chat room members are no different from the targets of my hatred.

Constellations are beings who, if coddled, will climb all the way to your head and try to devour the world.

Including the Incarnation of the Black Sun.

And even the Child of the Lost Star beside him.

The former constellation even held the title of an official villain group.

“Incarnation of the Black Sun: …”

Seemingly shocked by my sharp response, Black Sun remained silent for a long time.

He didn’t even try to stop Star Child who was rambling beside him, showing no reaction.

I also didn’t call out to him, wanting to give him time to organize his thoughts.

Yes.

This is the appropriate distance to maintain with constellations.

#

In the empty vastness of space.

A massive star that could be called a constellation’s headquarters.

The constellation who owned that star was gripped by a strange sensation he had never felt before in his conversation with the Absolute One.

The feeling of his floating heart dropping to an unfathomable depth.

It hurt.

Until now, Black Sun’s behavior had been solely for his own safety.

That’s what he thought as he worked alongside the Absolute One.

But without realizing it, perhaps he had come to depend on him.

—Just do what you’re told.

Black Sun couldn’t say anything to the Absolute One who spoke so indifferently.

At this rate, he would truly become just like the other constellations.

Forgotten in his memory, becoming an insignificant constellation—

Perhaps having to live with the constant anxiety of not knowing when he might be cast aside.

‘No.’

Black Sun firmly rejected such a future.

And he planned.

‘I need to be more aggressive.’

To become something more than just a tool.

To create a situation where it would be natural for him to be the constellation at the Absolute One’s side.

‘Just wait.’

Black Sun steeled his resolve once more.