As for this system interface and communication, maintaining it is easier than directly crossing time and space and battling the Demon King. Guiding the hero was always a trivial matter.
This speech completely blocked all of Naily’s doubts. She was silent for a moment, gripping the daggers in her hands, and asked coldly: “So… what is your purpose in telling me all this?”
Naily’s fingers tightened, her teeth clenched, and she thrust the dagger forward. She didn’t use any skill, just the most ordinary and forceful way to stab the blade into the other’s heart, as if this could prove her determination and leave no room for future regret.
The strike was clean and swift, barely splattering any blood.
She supported the swaying body, lowering her eyes and saying, “I’m sorry.”
Brilliant characters exploded in her vision: “Mission Completed!” The surrounding scenery blurred, obscured by the dazzling white light pouring down. Naily raised her head blankly, looking at the Demon King one last time.
Kalsas curved the corners of his eyes, bidding her farewell with the same expression as when they first met – careful, calm, and composed. His lips moved, forming simple syllables.
Naily clearly heard his goodbye, and tears finally streamed down her cheeks, a misty haze before her eyes. The surroundings spun faster, and her body seemed lifted high by a wind, discarding the body of this world in a nauseating rotation, leaving only her light spirit flying through countless worlds toward her sole homeland.
It was just an instant.
She opened her eyes to complete darkness. Blinking uncertainly, a light sound of an electric switch, and the surroundings suddenly brightened. The crowd erupted, everyone speaking at once.
She sat in a game booth’s swivel chair, facing a computer screen for trial play. Looking around, several other players exchanged glances, one even cursing: “I just completed the first mission and the power went out! What kind of luck is this?”
She blinked blankly. Closing and reopening her eyes, this wasn’t a dream. She had truly returned to her original world.
Her struggles in Verdya were just a momentary power outage at the comic convention.
The booth staff apologized and reassured the players: “We’ll restart the computer and game right away. Please wait a moment!”
She was still somewhat dazed.
The screen lit up, the manufacturer’s logo flashed, the game title slowly unfolded, and epic-style music played through her headphones as the opening cinematic began.
“Once upon a time, there was a land blessed by the gods, its name was Verdya…”
The rich male narrator had only spoken one sentence when she removed her headphones. The staff member approached concernedly: “Is there a problem with the equipment?”
She shook her head, speaking softly: “No, it’s not…” but couldn’t finish her sentence.
Enduring the puzzled looks of others, she quickly escaped against the still-queuing crowd. The convention hall’s air felt stuffy and oppressive; she couldn’t stay a moment longer, quickening her pace and almost running to the exit. She paused by the door, looking back. The game manufacturer’s large advertisement was still clearly visible:
“A different RPG legend…”
She twisted her mouth, walking quickly and muttering to herself: “I hate RPGs the most.”
The metropolitan noise rushed over her, making her feel alive for the first time. She looked down at her hands, checked her reflection in the glass door – everything had returned to normal.
That brown-haired, blue-eyed girl was now just a distant dream.
Her thoughts stalled before she mentally recited her name, age, ID number, and address, telling herself she was a first-year medical student returning home from a comic convention. Taking several deep breaths, she looked up at the smog-covered sky, gripping her messenger bag strap and took her first step toward the subway.
※
For Karl, death was void and meaningless.
If death was merely wounds and blood flowing out, then this was his purpose of existence.
The only true death for him was accepting that his existence meant continuously dying – submitting to the device’s arrangements, abandoning his self-awareness, and existing as an obedient component, playing the role of a Demon King.
He had once been terrified by such an end. Like a drowning man, he struggled to find an anchor. He had thought he found one – she was his only light, making darkness retreat, giving him the first feeling of truly breathing and living.
But in the end, he let this light return to her origin.
Light returns to light, dust to dust, earth to earth, darkness returns to darkness.
The world’s madness and despair had nothing to do with her.
He wanted to possess her, yet couldn’t let her fall into the hands of those madmen. One person destroyed by the device was enough; he couldn’t let her walk the same path. So previous attempts, despair, and joy could only be abandoned. But after she left, continuing to live alone lost all meaning.
So he let her kill him with that black dagger.
The blade born of the device piercing his heart would also make Karl’s self cease to exist.
He thought this was a perfect ending.
She was the most beautiful dream he ever had. Now that the moment of awakening has finally arrived, he opens his eyes and embraces the endless darkness with the embers of the dream.
So in the end, he says to her: “Naily, thank you.”
“I cannot simply let go of everything and go home,” Naily gave a bitter smile: “I’m not interested in being the observer you speak of, but…”
Her fingertips dug deep into her palm, her voice calm: “The meaning is that the life of the dead must be carried by him alone, which is too sad and too painful.”
Kalsas seemed to understand something and shouted sharply: “Naily!”
Naily looked at him, her eyes lifting at the corners: “I’m willing to be part of the switch, and I’ll accompany you on the rest of the way.”
The duchess was stunned, then laughed behind her hand, her tone unabashedly disappointed: “Such an answer that is neither desperate nor hopeful. Our assessment was slightly off.” Her tone changed, “But I have no reason to refuse you. I will revoke your hero status, and our contract is void. Of course, with you, he will be much more stable.”
A sudden, intense pain erupted in Naily’s chest. Looking down, she saw nothing, but her heart felt like it had a transparent hole, an empty, painful void. Then something began to fill this emptiness, weaving a dense net that suddenly tightened.
In an instant, the fine lines behind her split into two, stretching upward and soaring, blooming with a light.
After a moment of intense light, pure white wings fluttered behind Naily, and the fuzzy horns in her hair flickered between light and shadow.
Kalsas’s face was a mix of grief and joy. He slowly walked to her, cupped her face, touched foreheads with her, and after a long silence, softly said: “From today onwards, we…”
“Will never be separated,” she completed the sentence, closing her eyes. Crystal-clear tears slid from the corners of her eyes, falling to the ground.
- Splash.
Sparks burst, and candle wax dripped to the ground, further highlighting the surrounding silence.
The main hall of Shlos remained beautiful and solemn. All the torches on the walls were lit, casting a sea of light on the ground that was both real and illusory, silently swaying as if waiting for someone’s arrival.
The obsidian-inlaid throne high above seemed somewhat empty with one person sitting, but perfectly fitting with two people nestled together.
“He’s coming soon,” Naily tilted her head to listen, lazily leaning on Kalsas’s shoulder.
Kalsas brushed her bangs aside and asked casually: “What should we have for dinner?”
“Isn’t it breakfast now?”
