kscans

Chapter 91 - The Beginning of the End, Six

A long time ago, the Higher Beings created the gods out of whim.

The gods, possessing the power to create worlds, brought many into existence, much to the amusement of the Higher Beings. The Higher Beings, too, grew very fond of the miniature gardens their beloved children created, bestowing blessings upon them, and the celestial realm was filled with overflowing life.

...That is why no one noticed.

Light and dark are two sides of the same coin. That as the celestial realm of light was born, so too was the abyss. And that in tandem with the gods who received blessings, the spirits were also born. Spirits that dwell in all of creation. These dark things, which nestled quietly in the shadows of living beings, gradually grew in power.

The gods create the world, and the spirits maintain it.

The gods, close to the Higher Beings, and the spirits, who dwell in the earth, close to the world’s living creatures.

By the time the Higher Beings noticed those that lived in the darkness, it was already too late. They had already put down deep roots in the human world.

The spirits, who lurked in the darkness, also yearned for the humans beloved by the gods.

They were always by humanity’s side, assisting in their prosperity. Where there is light, there is shadow. The stronger and more dazzling the light, the deeper and darker the abyss becomes.

Worlds were born and destroyed, and having lost the humans they loved time and time again, the spirits’ despair deepened. No matter how much they loved them, humans would always perish. No matter what they did, humans would always make mistakes and head toward their own destruction.

The spirits, deeply emotional and loving humans from the bottom of their hearts, were overwhelmed with despair and suffered great anguish and torment.

And then, they had an idea.

Let’s tame the humans. Let’s make them dependent, spoil them, so they can’t think for themselves. If we do that, perhaps they can avoid their foolish demise.

A feeling akin to madness eroded and infested the spirits.

From then on, the spirits began to test humans.

Can these ones be tamed? Will they be docile and obedient pets? If not, we will wait for the next.

All of creation bared its fangs at humanity.

Eternity...

So, this world is a failure too.

Someone lurking in the abyss murmured.

Let’s place our hopes in the next world.

The someone in the abyss would sleep until a new world was born.

And the Higher Beings quietly watched that someone.

What a sad creature. We are the ones who made it that way. Therefore, we must do something about it.

The light is prepared. All that remains is the need for a perfected darkness.

The world the Higher Beings looked down upon was Arcadia. Reflected on the round sphere there was the Little One and her party.

Don’t be tamed by the world. Put an end to this negative cycle.

The Higher Beings, who should rule over the gods, watched the young siblings as if in prayer. The twins were heading straight for Castrato and were approaching the western forest.

"We should probably stop by Joker’s place on the way."

"Understood."

"Huh? Where’s Haya?"

"He’s sleeping. That’s rare."

Chihaya was asleep in a corner of the room, using Tarō-kun as a pillow.

As Adonis and the others watched with curiosity, Chihaya was being tormented by a nightmare.

"Flee! Take the magic crystals and flee!!"

Taking the brunt of the approaching heatwave, the boy god opened a gate. The boundary connecting Heislepe and Arcadia. A descent permitted only once to send the O-saki. Because he had hesitated in his choice until the last minute, the world was on the brink of destruction.

The boy god, having decided to send the O-saki demon along with its messengers, used himself as a shield to protect everyone from the world’s end. His body burned. It melted and festered, turning black in an instant.

‘Master!!’

Smiling at the O-saki’s anguished cry, the boy god closed the gate. He was a god, after all. Even if he suffered physical damage, he would fully recover in time.

Then, the boy god gazed at the world with a sullen expression.

A roaring explosion. A storm of flashes promising death enveloped the planet, and the world was filled with poisonous air. A viscous, scorching flame raced across the land, and with the exception of a few remote islands, almost all the land was reduced to ashes.

"Fuh... Fuhahaha...!"

The world he had set foot on for the first time in hundreds of millions of years was collapsing. Witnessing this, the boy god wailed, tears flying from his eyes.

"Are you satisfied now, you Higher Beings!!"

So that’s why the principles of magic were never born in my world. This world was just a miniature garden for the Higher Beings’ experiments. A mere material for trapping the thing that stirs in the abyss.

The friction in the boy god’s heart synchronized with Chihaya’s.

I was deceived. I was betrayed. Then I shall betray them in turn. I will steal the world of the gods that the Higher Beings love.

‘Without the principles of magic, they cannot manifest. In that case... I just need to nurture it.’

Grasping the dead earth, the boy god’s eyes held a sinister flame.

‘No, not yet... It’s still alive... I can still save it.’

The few lives that survived on the remote islands. The deeply built shelters were state-of-the-art facilities designed for self-sufficiency.

‘I must still... fight. Against them...!’

Muttering so, the boy god swayed to his feet and dissipated into the air.

Them...?

As Chihaya wondered, the boy god inside him simply watched over the humans.

‘It’s born... A new life. It seems they are managing to live peacefully. Good.’

In the small miniature garden left in the boy god’s world, humanity quietly continued its existence. But how long would it last? Licked by scorching flames, the land soaked thoroughly in poison showed no signs of recovery. If anything, those poisonous fangs were trying to extend into the shelters. It would be dangerous if it wasn’t purified. Energy to circulate through the world had to be procured from somewhere.

...I must get Arcadia quickly.

When the boy god made his wager with the gods of Arcadia, his own world was already on the verge of destruction. As the boy god worried that he had no O-saki to send to Arcadia from the few humans left in the shelters, the Higher Beings lent him a hand.

The one thing only the Higher Beings could manipulate. That was time.

They transported the boy god to just before the great war that destroyed Heislepe and tried to make him send an O-saki to Arcadia.

Suddenly sent back in time, the boy god stared wide-eyed at his still-intact world. Then he howled at the heavens with all his might.

"If you can turn back time, then stop the great war from happening!! Please, save my children!!"

There was no answer to the boy god’s anguished scream.

Left with no choice, the boy god sent the O-saki to Arcadia and was unceremoniously returned to his original timeline.

So this is how the Higher Beings operate. They toy with the gods for their own convenience, making them feel joy and sorrow for their own amusement. I will... make them see.

The gods around him looked on with concern at the boy god’s clouded eyes.

Heislepe, still beautiful before its destruction. He had spent the little time he had left rushing about with the O-saki, trying to stop the war. The O-saki, hearing that the boy god had traveled back in time, also saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime chance and raced around the world frantically. He gave oracles, performed miracles. He even manifested before the people.

...But still, the world did not change.

The boy god, having given up on humanity, abandoned his efforts to stop the great war and sent the O-saki to Arcadia.

Arcadia’s life would become his sooner or later anyway.

When that happens, I will rebel. My world, which the Higher Beings destroyed for their amusement, will break away from them.

Though the boy god swore this in his heart, he also understood that the chances of success were low. That was why he set up an insurance policy.

If, by some chance, things did not go as planned, he would love Arcadia. He would make Arcadia, which nurtured the life from Heislepe, his own child, and once the seeds had grown, he would collect them and show the humans the foolishness of the gods.

Gods cannot save people. Only people can save people.

His pride as a god shattered into a million pieces. Looking down at the boy god, sinking into the darkness of despair, the Higher Beings smirked.

The result is excellent. All that remains is to plant the seed of hope in him. When that hope is crushed, the boy god will fall into perfect darkness.

The Higher Beings’ goal was to take a human soul steeped in despair, reincarnate it as a god, plunge it into even greater despair, and transform it into a pure mass of hatred. If they then took this completely blackened soul, trapped in the sludge of darkness, and threw it along with the soul of light to that thing in the abyss, it would work. A fierce friction would occur between light and darkness. By that great power, that thing in the abyss would surely dissipate. Darkness is sufficient with just the abyss. The stirring thing is a mere byproduct. It would be better if it just disappeared.

For the Higher Beings, who love the gods and their children, humanity, the thing nesting in the abyss was nothing but an obstacle.

If that thing were gone, the spirits would also disappear, and they would no longer test humanity.

The Higher Beings attempting to eliminate that which harms humanity in order to properly protect the world’s order.

However, they do not understand. That the things they are using as pawns and materials are also human. Perhaps they know, but they do not comprehend. That even pawns and materials have their own egos and free will.

The boy god, the material of darkness they prepared, swore in his heart to rebel against them.

And the material of light they had already prepared, also...

Humans do not move as the gods wish. In the celestial realm, only Chaos and Abyss know this.

The Higher Beings of today do not know of the future where they will struggle with humans who bounce around like fava beans in a frying pan.