kscans

Chapter 94 - The Beginning of the End, Nine

"...How troublesome. It’s still too soon. You should sleep a little longer, Spirit King."

As Joker repaired the vast fissure, he recalled the Earth of the past. The reason Earth’s spirits broke away from the Spirit King and underwent their own evolution. The gods of other worlds may not have understood, but Joker knew. Because he, too, was a part of it.

There was one aspect in which the people of Earth were superior to those of other worlds. It was their boundless imagination. In a sense, it could be called the power of fantasy, and using it, Earth had achieved numerous miracles. Joker, despite being a character from a story, had gained faith and taken physical form. He was acknowledged for this and became an O-saki, holding the lowest seat among the gods.

Such miracles happened everywhere on Earth.

The spirits sent to Earth gave birth to even more spirits. However, a miracle occurred where most of them rebelled against the Spirit King. The Earth-born spirits, having watched humans for a long time, cherished their efforts. Even if they failed, they looked forward without losing heart. They tried again and again until they grasped what they sought. They were captivated by the joyous smiles of humans who, despite struggling, panting, and losing their way, always managed to attain their ideals.

Suffering, crying, and laughing together, the spirits of Earth evolved to be more like humans. The principles of magic were ambiguous in the world of Earth. Very rarely, there were those who could see or feel the spirits.

That, too, was a miracle of imagination.

A sixth sense, born from the many mysterious legends and stories that took root in the world.

Such long accumulations gave birth to yet another miracle.

Earth created another world, one that possessed the principles of magic.

A multi-layered world. The people of Earth unconsciously believe in the existence of other worlds with different dimensions. Not different planets, but multiple family worlds existing on the same planet. Connecting those with strong feelings for each other, a miracle occurred. By obtaining a world of spirits separate from the abyss, the Earth-born spirits parted ways with the Spirit King.

There is no happiness in the world the Spirit King desires. A world that is only rich and happy is not happiness.

The spirits who had long been by the side of the people of Earth had their consciousness reformed and desired to be tamed by humans.

And so, many multi-layered worlds were born on Earth. A divine realm different from the celestial one. A demon realm different from the abyss. And others, like the spirit world, and the yokai world where fairies and monsters dwell.

Worlds unknown to the Higher Beings existed, overlapping with Earth. The gods created by the Higher Beings could only create planets. The living beings of Earth created new worlds on that planet. Humans, animals, plants, even the O-saki and their messengers, everything from Earth overflowed with imagination. The miracle that happened to the millions of O-saki created a divine realm, and for their messengers, a demon realm was born.

A secret from the Higher Beings and the other gods.

Because this is a precious treasure of the living beings of Earth.

Joker gazed at the heavens, lost in thoughts of the past.

It would be nice if one could be created here too. A paradise where everyone can live.

The principle of magic, which is common knowledge in Arcadia. Magic is imagination. A magic that increases in power and manifests through strong wishes. This is the gateway to miracles.

The foundation is there. Whether they can make it their own is up to the humans.

Letting out a small sigh, Joker began to spin his threads again to fill the fissure.

"...That’s the beginning I saw in the memories, isn’t it?"

‘That’s right. The beginning was from a cataclysm. It would be reasonable to assume that is what this is.’

From here, natural disasters involving many things would occur frequently. And then people would fight, creating countless corpses.

‘But Arcadia has no scientific technology. Even if they fight, it will only be with their bodies. It shouldn’t get too terrible.’

That much was fortunate.

In Heislepe, most of the world had vanished in an instant. Chihaya detested from the bottom of his heart the scientific technology that created such horrifying weapons. Sensing this, Cesare scowled.

‘Even a blade can be good or evil depending on who holds it. That is what a weapon is.’

"What can you protect with that? Swords and magic can be used to save people, but what can you save by using that?"

Originally, blades were an invention that evolved for people’s daily lives. From kitchen knives and axes, they had a wide variety of uses, most of which were helpful tools for people. A sword could also be used for evil, but it could also be used to save people. It all depended on the heart of the one who held it.

But that weapon that turned Heislepe into a sea of fire was different.

A tool made for the sole purpose of destroying the land and killing large numbers of humans. It couldn’t be used for anything else. A weapon of slaughter that brought nothing but misfortune to people, which the nations of Heislepe possessed as an insurance policy. What kind of insurance was that? He couldn’t understand the meaning of holding onto something that would only bring about the destruction of the world if the worst were to happen.

Chihaya’s thoughts were transmitted to Cesare.

Cesare thought so too. If only such weapons hadn’t existed, Heislepe would probably still be around.

‘People... are foolish. Even if they can understand the logic, their emotions will not accept it.’

I want what the other person has. I want to have it. Such emotions, filled with vanity, exist in various sizes. It was a selfish desire that should be suppressed by reason and self-control, yet Heislepe could not suppress it on a national level. It could only be seen as childish. Cesare’s planet, a young and hot-blooded world, met with the worst possible situation. If asked whether it was good or bad, one could hardly say it was good.

‘...It is a difficult thing. Even now, I do not know what the right answer was.’

The reason scientific technology developed in Heislepe was the harsh struggle for survival. Humanity, one of the weaker species among wild creatures, had no choice but to hone their wisdom through trial and error and confront them. That led to the building of a high civilization. No one would say this was a bad thing. Where had they gone wrong? Even Cesare did not know.

If the people of Earth had been there, they would have given him the answer.

That they lacked imagination.

What overturns any situation is imagination.

Even with something as simple as committing violence against another person, if you have imagination, you think about what comes next.

What if I injure them? What if I hit them in a bad spot? I might get caught by the police. I might become a criminal.

Such imagination deters crime. It prevents it before it happens. Most of the world is made of imagination, it would not be an exaggeration to say. You imagine success and strive toward your goals. You worry about failure and avoid disaster. You dream and your heart pounds with hope.

Imagination is involved in everything. If that is lacking, you cannot succeed, you cannot avoid disaster, you cannot even hold onto hope.

A lack of imagination. This is a fatal flaw in weaving the fabric of a world.

Cesare did not know this because he was a god. Because as a human, he had known only frustration and despair. He had cast aside feelings like holding a dream in his childhood. Furthermore, due to the machinations of the Higher Beings, his life was cruelly twisted. Having repeated the worst, Cesare, who had lived a miserable life manipulated by the Higher Beings, realized that there was no bottom to the worst.

Those bastards... they made me do things worse than a beast.

My sister, whom I had loved and cherished…!

Though he had used her politically, Cesare had loved Lucrezia from the bottom of his heart. He had wanted her to marry a good man someday and live a happy life.

The Higher Beings, manipulating Cesare who was desperately trying to protect his sister in the repeating nightmares, made him violate her.

One can only imagine the shock he received.

Cesare, who had despaired of people, gods, and himself, entrusted his sister to a man with a good heart and headed to the battlefield as if seeking a place to die.

I will never forget. The many lives you toyed with.

A grudge he could not forget even when reincarnated as a god. He sealed this in a magic crystal and, as a god who knew nothing, created Heislepe.

Without knowing that even that was part of their scheme.

Repeatedly toyed with by the Higher Beings who could turn back time, Cesare’s soul became stained with darkness.

The gods and the Higher Beings are not all-powerful. They can grasp the big picture, but they cannot sense the thoughts of individuals. Just as the Little One strayed from the path prepared by Chaos and Abyss and rampaged through Arcadia, they do not understand every single human being.

That is why they did not know. That the seeds of a small rebellion were steadily growing. What sprouted in the heart of Cesare, who vowed revenge on the Higher Beings, was hope. Even if it was from a wicked intention, it was undeniably a hope that shone with light.

A dazzling light that sprouted in the darkness.

Unaware of this, the Higher Beings began to move to bring their schemes to fruition. The Spirit King, stirring to get his hands on Arcadia. The Higher Beings, working in the shadows to stop and bury him. Cesare, burning with a fierce desire for revenge. Chihaya, trying to end everything for the Little One’s sake.

In the midst of a mire that would make chaos flee bare-footed, only the Little One barrels ahead at her own pace.

"No use thinking about it! What I don’t know, I don’t know!! For now, I’ll just deal with the problem in front of me!"

The carriage carrying the girl, who puffed out her chest with determination, had Castrato in its sights.

Countless threads tangled and intertwined, and the fate of Arcadia was once again placed on the scales of destruction.