Chapter 440: End Game (5)

When Kai’s vision brightened again, what came into view was a forest.

A forest?

It wasn’t a forest dense like a jungle but a cool and shaded one with the feeling of a large park. Squirrels played by chasing each other’s tails and birds chirped in the green-filled space.

Kai took in a deep breath of the fresh air and looked around with curious eyes. A single cabin caught his gaze and would not let it go.

It still has warmth.

The cabin had traces of chopped firewood.

Sure enough, its door opened and an old man in shabby clothes stepped out. “Come inside.”

Kai followed him inside as the old man treated him like a neighborhood boy. Of course, he still stayed tense.

“It’s just a cabin where an ordinary villager lives. Relax.”

Sitting on what looked like a handmade chair, he poured tea and offered it to Kai.

Kai slightly bowed his head and slowly asked as he sat down, “Are you... the Supreme God?”

At that, the old man gave a slight nod. Only then did Kai carefully observe the old man’s appearance. There was nothing particularly special. Just long, gray hair, a beard streaked with white, and a face and hands full of wrinkles. The Supreme God looked no different from any old NPC one could see anywhere.

“I’ve wanted to have a talk for a long time.”

“With me, you mean?”

“Yes. Ever since you became Helik’s apostle.” That had been a very long time ago. “I was curious how far this clumsy adventurer’s small benevolence would lead him.”

Ramus smiled pleasantly and took a sip of tea.

“And there’s something I want to thank you for.”

“Something to thank me for...?”

Kai had killed Muldine with his own hands. Like him or not, Muldine had to be Ramus’s son, and yet he expressed gratitude to the one who killed his son?

“Muldine... that boy was a monster born from my desires.” Ramus began to tell a short story. “You know, don’t you? This world was made, and no matter if I’m called the Supreme God, I’m nothing more than a program created by the Doctor.”

Kai was honestly surprised. He was shocked that Ramus knew that himself. Because of that, he hesitated and thought for a moment on how to respond.

The old man showed a gentle smile. “No matter if I’m just a program, I’ve spent tens of thousands of years in this world. I’ve matured enough, so don’t worry.”

“Yes...”

“But when I first received authority and orders from the Doctor... I wasn’t that mature. No, thinking back now, I was full of resentment.” Ramus wrapped his hands around the teacup, and slowly continued speaking as if bringing up an embarrassing past, “I had power. Power great enough to create and destroy a world. So why did I have to obey orders? Why couldn’t I go out into the real world? There was pain and anger.”

Kai couldn’t truly understand the feelings of a program, but he thought he could relate. If he knew he had been created out of someone’s need, he would probably feel something similar.

“Do you know what I created first in that unstable state of mind?”

“I know it was Helik and Muldine.”

“That’s right. In the process, my negative emotions flowed into Muldine. My anger toward the world, my desire for conquest, and my lust for power.”

In short, Muldine was the embodiment of Ramus’s past desires.

“As the years passed, I realized something had gone wrong. From then on, I thought this wasn’t right, so I tried to guide Muldine. I traveled the world with Helik and Muldine, told them good stories, shared good thoughts and wisdom...”

A smile appeared on his lips, but whether it was because of distant memories or bitterness, the smile felt sad.

“Helik took my stories well. She’s my daughter but she’s a very capable child. But Muldine... though he nodded along, I could clearly see the feelings he held inside were different.”

“You failed to change his heart.”

“Well, from what I’ve learned, most people fail at raising their children even in the real world."

“

Uh

... I suppose that’s generally the case.”

Kai honestly had nothing to say. After all, even he had almost been a failed crop.

“That’s why I’m grateful to you for stopping Muldine by force. I knew he had to be stopped, but I couldn’t bring myself to kill him with my own hands...”

“But isn’t Helik also your daughter?”

It was an aggressive question, asking why he had stood by while Muldine tried to kill her.

“Why didn’t you name Helik as your successor and retire to begin with? If you had appointed her, perhaps Muldine would have given up his ambition.”

When Kai pressed him, Ramus shook his head. “That is foolish. It is like standing in line for a rice cake that does not even exist.”

“Pardon...?”

“The successor thing. Do you know why I didn’t name one?”

“Wasn’t it to make them prove themselves and seize it?”

“

Tsk tsk

. That’s not it. I didn’t name one because there was no need to.” Ramus turned his head and looked toward the window. “Adventurer. The more the inhabitants of the real world take action in this world, the less work there will be for gods who are nothing more than part of the system. From now on, those adventurers will be the ones piecing together the scattered puzzles. This world has already been mostly completed by me.”

“In other words, the role of the Supreme God is no longer needed?”

“Exactly. Did you hear from Eos that the number of gods is decreasing?”

“Yes. He told me the number of people who believe in the gods is dropping.”

“A god who feels their role has ended is bound to self-destruct.”

“The world is already complete,

huh

...”

Muldine had been struggling for tens of thousands of years to seize the position of Supreme God without even knowing that. It was both laughable and pitiful.

“Greed is something I understand yet don’t.”

“That’s the nature of greed. Once you have it, you can’t see even a step ahead. You may think you are looking far ahead, but it’s no more than the difference between looking just in front of you in a well or looking at the well’s wall.”

With the misunderstanding cleared, Kai argued in a tired voice, “Then you could have at least stopped Muldine when he tried to kill Helik.”

“I intended to,” Ramus quickly spit out. “I never had the slightest thought of killing her. Either way, I planned to keep her alive. I intended to connect it to a future episode about rebuilding the Solarian Church.”

“

Huh?

That’s different from what Dr. Jim told me. He said Helik would die in the scenario...”

“That’s up to me, isn’t it?”

Kai was left speechless by Ramus’s confidence.

“There’s nothing in this world my hand hasn’t touched. Every episode and quest you’ve deleted. The people of the real world only set the guidelines, but every detail passed through my hands.”

“

Ahem

...”

The number of quests Kai had deleted easily exceeded 100,000. Sitting in front of the one who had created them, he felt uneasy.

“Well, as a result of Muldine’s disappearance, peace has returned to the world.”

“Then Helik is safe now, right?”

“

Hm

. She should be safe.” The moment Kai sighed in relief at Ramus’s confirmation, he added, “Because there is no one who can touch a sealed god.”

“What do you mean by that...?”

“Helik is currently in a sealed state. Of course, she sealed herself, but still.”

“I promised to wake her once everything was over.”

Ramus let out a short scoff at Kai’s words. “My friend, the affairs of the world do not go so easily. Do you think I created the gods of light and darkness in the beginning for no reason? Naturally, I made those two first because they are the most important beings.”

“You mean...”

“One of the two pillars that held up this world has collapsed. What do you think that would mean?”

“Don’t tell me... the collapse of the world?”

Ramus looked satisfied. “As expected, you are smart. You have an excellent ability to see through to the essence.”

“Wait a moment. But if the world collapses... you mean everything ends?”

“If Helik were freely walking around, then yes. However, right now she is in a sealed state. Currently, this world has neither a god of light nor a god of darkness. If one of the two pillars disappears, it becomes a problem, but if both vanish at the same time, then there is no problem at all.”

“That’s absurd!”

Bang!

When Kai slammed his fist on the table, Ramus said, “Calm yourself.”

“How can I calm down?! What have I been doing all this time...”

“Calm down and listen to me. Helik will be fine.”

“What do you mean by that?”

When Kai forced himself to cool his anger and asked, Ramus said in a gentle voice to persuade him, “What the world needs right now is stability. It needs time to understand and accept Muldine’s absence.”

“How much time will be needed?”

“I don’t know. What’s important is that once the world stabilizes, then Helik can wake from her seal without much trouble. I will have to adjust the laws of the world during that time though.”

“Can’t you adjust them right now?”

“My friend, if it were that easy, do you think I’d be wasting my breath here?”

Kai shut his mouth at Ramus’s scolding.

Then after a moment, he asked in a slightly worried tone, “How long do you think it will take...?”

“I don’t know,” Ramus spoke firmly. “As you know, it has been quite some time since I retired from the position of Supreme God. What am I even doing in my old age? I will only know the exact answer once I try.”

“Will it take about a year?”

“Much longer than that. Add at least one more zero at the end.”

Kai let out a sigh without realizing it. “So it won’t be a short time...”

“It will be a long time for a human. To be honest, you probably won’t be able to wait. Humans are fickle.”

Kai didn’t bother responding to Ramus’s provoking words. “You never know that.”

“If you wish...” Ramus, who always seemed confident and relaxed, trailed off.

“What is it you want to say?”

“If you wish... I can slightly alter Helik’s memory. Make it so that she never knew you from the start.”

If she didn’t remember his existence at all, she would never be hurt. On the other hand, Kai wouldn’t waste time waiting for her. It was a suggestion Ramus offered considering Kai’s feelings.

Of course, Kai shook his head. “Absolutely not. Do not touch even a speck of her memory.”

"

Tsk

. Our Helik will be hurt."

Ramus was certain Helik would be deeply hurt when she woke, as it was bound to be an unbearably long time for a human living in the present.

“I made a promise with her,” Kai calmly said.

Then he parted ways with Ramus a short while later. He handled the aftermath of the war with the Church of Muldine and re-worked his kingdom and cities. He spent endless busy days, but even so, Helik did not wake up.

“I wonder when she will wake.”

From some point on, bringing new snacks and visiting the Celestial Garden had become part of his daily routine. For some reason, he felt that Helik might return if he went there. It felt as if she would start whining for snacks at any moment. Of course, it was nothing more than a feeling drenched in nostalgia.

A day, two days, a week, a month, a year, a considerable amount of time passed, yet Helik did not return. There was a saying that time flies by like an arrow, and just like the saying, ten years passed in the blink of an eye.