Chapter 222: End [1/2]
"..."
At Dr. Magnolia’s words, the Tyrant stood dumbfounded. What he had just heard was the most incomprehensible thing. Him, a person who grew up a defect, a loser who couldn’t even awaken his talent, was in fact the reason for this world.
While many wished to become the main character in a story, it was not something most people had the stomach for. If what Dr. Magnolia said was true, then everything that happened up to this moment, the deaths, the atrocities, was all for his "benefit."
And that thought made Elian’s stomach churn.
Stop messing with me.
The video in his vision changed. It showed a scene he already knew. The chilling execution of Bianca Valestra, or the chunk of meat that was supposed to be her.
[I shouldn’t have ever created you. You backstabbing piece of trash!]
Wordlessly, the core of the Villainess was crushed. But then the video continued to play. With Bianca’s death, the Elian in the video looked over the horizon in silence. He closed his eyes and then ceased to move.
Dr. Magnolia’s voice resounded as Elian watched on.
The Forged potion was something Bianca asked an Alchemist to create in this timeline. She didn’t actually create it herself. It was to create the ultimate soldier, a being that cannot die and will accomplish its objectives without fail.
Elian found himself nodding. With the evolutionary pathways available to him as he gained Forged, even without his own Talents the outcome would have been the same.
The Weapon in this timeline was given the command to "destroy the crucible." In theory, after this point, the Weapon should have been given a new command.
The sun rose and fell, yet the golem in the video no longer moved. It remained still like a statue standing guard over the grave of the Villainess. It was ironic in a way. Even in this timeline, despite not loving each other, he and Bianca were fated to be together.
But Bianca made a grave error. Forged intentionally left the mind of the user vulnerable as a means of control, but this left it susceptible to being stolen by others. Paranoid, Bianca sought the Breaker with the strongest mental Talents to remedy that.
"And that made her chose me?" Elian remarked in retrospect.
Indeed. You were the perfect candidate.
Adamant, the ability to remain cool-headed in any situation. Driven, the ability to never give up. Combining both with a body that could never die created the ultimate soldier. The Weapon uncontested in both body and mind.
The video changed once again and showed the Elian Reed of another world fighting battle after battle without rest.
He bled, broke, and suffered, but he always stood back up. Elian vast difference between him and the one in the video. He felt the wealth of combat knowledge and grit in watching his alternate self. The difference was like night and day.
But she never expected that you would choose to break your own mind.
Dr. Magnolia’s words made Elian flinch.
"I broke my own mind?"
The Psychomancer didn’t answer. Elian understood that she was about to show him instead.
[Villainess. Please let me see my wife.]
A voice hoarse and exhausted, the once-mighty golem limped towards the ice throne. It was missing pieces of itself and no longer looked human. Heavy thuds made the ground quake as the Weapon knelt in front of its master.
Yet Bianca still looked the same as before. Frigid like ice. Sitting on top of her white throne without a single person by her side, she ruled entire worlds with absolute authority. It pained Elian to see her like this. Although she was not his Bianca, he felt partial to her all the same.
[Are you certain? It has been two decades already. The home you once longed for is all but gone.]
Far from the ruthless killing machine, the other world’s Elian looked small. Like a spent candle in its last moments.
[I know. I-I just want to see Katri. I want to know if she is alright.]
[As you wish.]
The Villainess raised her right hand, and a portal appeared in front of Elian. A scenery appeared on the other side. A picturesque family of three. Katri, the loving mother, snuggled her daughter as a man embraced her.
They looked happy.
It showed a woman who moved on. The man even looked familiar; it was Charlie from the Beacon party. From the way he kissed Katri, anyone could see that they loved each other deeply.
Only the happy vision was not the scene that the other Elian needed to see.
Frankly, there was nothing he could see that would make his reality better.
It was the only cruel certainty in life.
Life goes on.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
The armies of black behind him all began to ripple. Trembling, the other Elian clenched his fist as molten ore streaked down his cheeks. It was a heartbreaking sight. But one that could not be resolved no matter how powerful the Weapon became.
[Thank goodness. She looks happy,] the other Elian croaked.
He is lying. I would be devastated.
[This is the reality of humans, Elian Reed. The love you two professed could not even stand the test of time. Forget her. Devote your all to me instead.]
Elian couldn’t even retort to the Villainess’s claim. As the culprit for this entire situation, he wouldn’t be surprised if the other Elian tried to kill her in retaliation.
[Indeed. That may be for the best.]
At the other Elian’s reply, the expression of the Villainess broke. She lost her composure and quickly stood up.
[W-What?]
But the Weapon of another world closed his eyes and began to chant.
[There is nothing else for me. No future, no hope. You robbed me of my love, my dreams of a simple life, all for this endless war. You are right; I have nothing left.]
[Wait! I am still here! It has always been you and me, right? Can’t you turn your affection toward me instead? I-I..]
Though Bianca was revealed her true feelings with her Weapon, he no longer responded. A powerful surge of wind and metal suddenly surrounded him. Like a hurricane, currents became visible and slowly transformed the other Elian Reed.
[If having a heart gives me such pain, I will live without one.]
[Talent overridden: Adamant – Heartless mode created.]
"!!!"
[Expecting my life to have meaning, wanting a better future... It’s all poison. So, I will no longer wish for more.]
[Talent overridden: Driven – Hopeless mode created.]
Elian could only freeze as he watched. No wonder the skills he gained were all directed toward stripping himself of his identity.
The other Elian Reed was the one who created them. And he was a soul who gave up on living.
[All that remains is my mission. If the way to be free is to destroy everything then I shall do so.]
[Talent overridden: Forged – Crucible mode created.]
The other Elian Reed did not blame Bianca, nor did she get angry at Katri for betraying him.
He simply gave up.
A future so bleak that it shattered his soul. It left him as nothing more than a hollow husk.
Bianca, who watched the other Elian’s transformation, grimaced. She tried to reach out her hand but stopped. To anyone else, they wouldn’t know what was going through her mind.
But not her husband. He knew her expressions and could decipher them.
Shame and disgust towards herself for causing the situation. Her eyes showed sorrow. An anguish as if she were the one who had been betrayed. But none of her thoughts mattered, not anymore.
Dr. Magnolia’s voice resounded once again as if to explain.
This was the day that spelled the tragedy of the Villainess and her weapon. After each battle, you lost yourself more and more, and the culmination is the scene you watched earlier.
A Villainess who would get her wish at the cost of her life. And a Weapon who would cease to function the moment it fulfilled its objective.
In some twisted way, they would be together forever.
The most powerful pair who razed an entire universe, yet they passed away in silence on some nameless planet. Tragic doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Elian couldn’t help but nod his head in agreement. It was tragic, but he still couldn’t find the connection to his current predicament.
If only it had ended there.
"..."
Before Elian could even ask, the scene changed back to Elian and Bianca’s graves. The Villainess’s mana and core were no more, and the Weapon’s body turned green as moss and dirt transformed it into a small hill.
A being popped out of thin air. A young child who wore a futuristic space suit.
[Is it somewhere here?]
Elian instantly recognized the voice.
"Origin."
The video played and showed how Origin eventually found him. The young boy tried to reactivate Elian but failed. He camped around the other Elian’s body and fiddled with what looked like system screens, mana, and created an office.
"What the hell is he even trying to do?"
To put simply, my brother created the Crucible to pass the time. Being a being outside of time, would drive anyone insane, at least that would be the case without some kind of hobby.
"..."
[Hmm. So the one who ended the Crucible was this Elian character? Practically everything in this universe is dead! What the hell even happened here?]
Origin stomped on the head of the other Elian Reed as he shouted.
[Hey! Wake up already! It’s so boring! You are the only one who beat the Crucible! What do I need to do to reactivate you? The system says you aren’t dead. HEEEEEY!]
Days passed in the video to show the passage of time; it seemed like years. Then it paused.
Origin smacked Elian’s thigh only to hurt himself. As the time passed, he kept trying to awaken the Weapon. Until one day, he finally accomplished his objective.
[Tsk, this is pointless. Is there a way I can recreate you in the other universes? You are the only one to beat my game! You can’t die like this! The Crucible is still ongoing!]
At his rambling, the hill on which he rested shook. Like a machine booting up, it slowly creaked as Elian Reed once again began to move.
[WAAAA! FINALLY! I DID IT!] Origin shouted in excitement.
"This crazy bastard."
Think of it this way, my brother created the crucible to fulfill his desire for entertainment. After eons, he finally found a being with enough mettle to win it. But by the time he noticed, his "playmate" was already dead.
"That’s all this is to him? A game? Does he even know how many lives he has destroyed?"
Don’t humans create characters in books and video games that exist only to die? To higher beings, the lives of mortals are just as inconsequential. Would you listen to a character’s rants about how the author that made him, also made his life a living hell?
"..."
Rendered speechless by Dr. Magnolia’s retort Elian could only grimace in silence.
The video continued; Origin and the other Elian exchanged words for the first time. Short ones, but words nonetheless.
[The crucible is still ongoing?]
[Yep.]
[Where?]
[In each of the other 150 multiverses I created, I can get you there. But only if you can kill me. I am the final boss, so to speak.]
[Understood.]
And the two fought.
They fought night and day for decades without rest. The young boy was smiling the entire time, as if he felt only alive when his life was on the line. Meanwhile, Elian only learned and adapted. Until the day finally came.
The day Origin fell.
It took time, but Elian learned and nullified everything Origin could do, and eventually won.
With a spear made from a mysterious metal, the other Elian pierced Origin through the heart. Despite his defeat, the young boy still remained in high spirits.
[Kuark! HAHAHAHA! As expected of my rival! You fought magnificently!]
But the said rival couldn’t care less. He only spoke in the same emotionless, machine-like tone.
[How do I go to the other worlds?]
[HAHAHAHA! How cold! My mana. Use it and traverse to the other worlds. Fair warning, though. I am much, much stronger in the other universes!]
[Does killing you mean ending the crucible?]
[Yeah! It does. But note that each time you kill me, my essence will reunite with my main body. The less of me remains, the more powerful I become.]
[So you are the Origin.]
[Hmm. I guess I am. It was boring, you know? Living forever. I split myself into 150 copies and created an alternate reality for each one.]
Origin kept rambling, as if he were reunited with his best friend in the world. But Elian’s words were succinct and straight to the point.
[Then I shall be the End. I will kill you in every world and end this pointless existence.]
[HAHAHAHA! I would like to see you try! Don’t keep me waiting, my friend!]
[I am not your friend.]
With a thrust of his hand, Elian ended the once-powerful being. A soft marble made of radiant material fell to the ground. Wordlessly, the other Elian ate the marble and gave birth to a cosmic horror that lived only to destroy.