Ch.990Soul’s Truth

A revelation that shook the very foundation of all my experiences since arriving in this world.

I wasn’t someone who had been transported into this world while playing a game—I had been murdered by an unknown entity, and War of Remnant never actually existed.

That was the truth.

Then what about these memories of the original game that remained in my mind? What were they?

Memories of a game that never existed, that I never played. Information in my head that, despite some discrepancies, was incredibly similar to this world.

Because those memories remained so vivid in my mind, I thought this world, even if not inside a game, was somehow related to that game.

But it was all a lie. These were memories and information that couldn’t possibly exist in the first place.

So why were such memories in my head?

It was impossible to know right now.

Therefore.

To find that answer, I focused my entire consciousness on the scenes shown by my “real” memories.

—-

Right after a man without legs died absurdly from a bullet through his head.

Something grayish flowed out like smoke from the man’s lifeless body, forming a translucent sphere.

I instinctively knew. That was my soul.

It was the moment when the existence of the soul—something no one in my original world had ever proven—was verified… but that wasn’t my concern.

What I wanted to know wasn’t whether my soul existed, but what would happen after it left my body.

And then.

Like a helium-filled balloon, my soul was slowly rising toward the sky as if drawn by something, when below it.

– Woooong…!

The air vibrated slightly and distorted, and the next moment, a vortex-shaped hole appeared in the void.

– Chwaaak!

And from that hole, a snow-white arm suddenly protruded.

A woman’s arm that began to burn vigorously the moment it appeared in this world.

Though it resembled a human arm in form, its essence was closer to a mass of energy without physical substance.

I could intuitively tell. That was an arm made of divinity. The hand of a goddess.

Eventually, my soul was caught by the goddess’s hand, which had been waving the burning arm around as if searching for something.

My captured soul sank with the goddess’s hand, as if being sucked into somewhere inside the hole.

Blackout.

Everything in all directions became dark as if transformed into emptiness in an instant, and the next moment, my soul had reached an unknown space filled with light.

No sky, no ground, just empty space with nothing in all directions.

The only things that existed there were six enormous entities looking down at me.

Each emitted such intense radiance that it was blinding, making it impossible to discern their forms, but I could at least distinguish the colors of the light they emitted.

Elpinel’s pure white.

Saulite’s crimson.

Astraea’s gold.

Menes’s pale light.

Ceres’s indigo.

Imela’s pink.

Six gods were looking down at me. Discussing something in voices I couldn’t hear at the time.

And hundreds of years passed.

Four gods, including Saulite, came to observe me and left repeatedly, while Menes remained constantly by my soul.

To show me dreams.

Dreams they created. Those countless fantasies of failures and successes that I thought were memories from my previous life.

And the white giant, presumably Elpinel, at some point began creating something like a doll beside my soul.

Like the ancient myths of our world where gods created humans from clay.

Thus, hundreds of years passed.

After piercing a hole in the void and sending down the finally completed doll, Elpinel took something out from within and held it out to me.

A tiny fragment that was as blue as a clear dawn sky, faintly and beautifully sparkling, giving a sense of refreshment just by being near it.

A fragment of a star.

That small fragment entered my soul, melting and mixing together, becoming one.

I couldn’t take my eyes off that sight. No, from the moment I saw that starlight, nothing else properly entered my vision.

Not even the scene where Elpinel, who had finished all preparations, tried to put my soul into the prepared doll, only to have it snatched away by a suddenly appearing giant gray hand.

Nor the scene where the gray giant who had stolen my soul stuffed it into a young something that was indistinguishable between human and wolf.

Nor the scene where my soul, having melted into that body and fallen asleep, finally awakened after more than a decade had passed.

Compared to that star fragment that captured and guided my entire consciousness, everything else was just a blur, as if it were nothing.

I could instinctively understand. Not the soul in the memory, but my current soul was pleading, soaked in an unidentifiable longing.

That light.

That starlight was the possibility and essence I needed to grasp.

I reached out toward the star as if entranced.

The faint starlight grew larger and larger, covering my entire field of vision, and eventually became a brilliant morning star illuminating the whole world, looking down at me.

And.

As my outstretched hand, as if pleading and beseeching, finally touched the star—

Another blackout.

—-

【 This world is wrong. 】

In the darkness, someone spoke to me.

【 It is too unstable, too chaotic, and from its very foundational structure, malice and murderous intent overflow like a backflow. 】

The scene that appeared in my mind was a festival of malice spanning thousands and tens of thousands of years.

【 A world where overflowing blood forms seas, and endlessly repeated deaths create lands of corpses. A world created for hatred, slaughter, and chaos. 】

All races spewed hatred and murderous intent toward each other, fighting, betraying, and killing even their own kind, endlessly piling up corpses.

Killing, deceiving, betraying, violating, coveting, cursing.

Until the accumulated corpses entangled with each other and covered the entire world.

【 Look. At the deepest part of that hellscape. At the being lurking in the depths of the stagnant, rotten sea of blood. 】

The voice showed me.

【 The culprit who twisted this world into a hell of chaos. 】

Something, literally indescribable something.

It was death and life, grudge and hatred, fear and awe.

A being that seemed to embody chaos itself.

It was something so distant that it was impossible for me to properly perceive its form.

【 Father of all with intelligence. Primordial chaos. Alfodhr. 】

That was Alfodhr.

The god of chaos that existed from the beginning.

The creator god of intelligent beings who had covered the fundamental structure of this world with terrible chaos.

【 This world is hell. Because the being who created us commanded and wished us to be so. 】

The voice that had been speaking to me affirmed with a dejected tone.

Because the creator who made the intelligent beings of this world was an unspeakably terrible being, the world filled with his creations could only be endlessly terrible.

It was a miserable thing.

【 But… 】

But right after that.

The voice showed me a new scene. A scene completely different from the hellscape filled with blood.

Something full of warmth and light.

【 Even in such a world, beautiful things existed. 】

Small fish that leap up and disappear in an instant in a stream flowing between lush greenery.

A wheat field tinged golden by the evening glow, swaying gently in the breeze.

A lake as clear and transparent as crystal. Starlight of the Milky Way twinkling across the night sky.

The sunrise in the dawn sky, illuminating the world as if driving away darkness.

And.

【 I loved the beauty of this world. I loved all those who lived shining within it. 】

I could see people.

A healer tending to the injured without sparing their own body.

A loaf of bread offered by a hungry person to someone even hungrier.

A father who returns home with a tired body, embracing his daughter with a bright smile.

A mother gently stroking the head of a whining boy.

Lovers who understand and embrace each other, sharing joy and sorrow.

Children holding hands and running through rivers and fields.

Heroes who rise again and move forward even after being broken and shattered.

Goodwill. Empathy. Paternity. Maternity.

Affection. Friendship. Understanding. Trust. Pride.

All those scenes were shining so brightly…

【 Even in chaos and hell, the world was this beautiful. 】

It was beautiful enough to forget all pain and worry.

【 I wanted to protect them. Things that shouldn’t be swallowed by chaos. So I vowed. To dedicate my life to protecting them. 】

At that moment, all those visions shattered into pieces and disappeared like a mirage. The world was covered in darkness, and an endless sandy plain like a desert spread out beneath my feet.

No, not sand.

What spread beneath my feet were very small, broken pieces. The world was filled with fragments of stars emitting blue light.

【 Even after meeting death at the end of my life, I would continue. To be the guardian star that protects and embraces all good. 】

The voice continued to be heard. I raised my head to look in the direction from which the voice was coming.

【 For eternity. 】

A faint starlight twinkling like a signpost in the night sky filled with darkness.

【 Look at me. And come to me. Child who desires the star. I am Ausrine. The starlight and dawn waiting for you. 】

I bent down to gather the pieces beneath my feet.

I didn’t know why.

It was just my instinct, the emotion that burst from my chest and covered my entire soul, that guided me.

The impulse of a broken fragment wanting to return to a complete being.