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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Shut up.”
I tried to stop time, but the god frowned.
“Do you think this is a decision to be made so lightly? No. It requires deep contemplation. Even if you believe you’ve pondered enough, you must reconsider.”
Time did not stop.
The swirling flames formed a sphere around us, like a stage for a private meeting.
“This is my domain. The only place on the continent untouched by your power.”
“…You lured me here.”
“Even if I hadn’t, you would have reached this point.”
The sphere of flames flickered unstably, as if it couldn’t be maintained for long.
“Doesn’t matter.”
The power of time… it was just a tool to eliminate variables.
CLANG!
My sword lunged towards the god. He hastily conjured a flaming sword, but stumbled back.
“Ugh!”
“I’ve always disliked your kind. Darkness, flames, time… petty parlor tricks.”
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
My sword relentlessly attacked. Flames shot out from the fiery walls, but I dodged them easily.
“I understand why Time offered you a place among the gods. Your swordsmanship is…”
“Shut up.”
I despised them all.
My emotions surged as the fight neared its end, but my sword remained cold, cutting through his flames.
CLANG!
His flaming sword shattered.
The sphere of flames dissipated.
My blade rested against his throat.
The fiery walls vanished, revealing Kurika and Elise, excited by my victory. Arni wept for Ares. Shakarim and Eris stood nearby, exhausted.
The atmosphere was celebratory, but the god and I remained locked in a silent standoff.
“I yield. I would have incinerated you all and remade this continent in my image, but…”
“…”
“…You have shown me your beauty.”
His smile was repulsive. He spoke as if granting us a generous concession, but he’d yielded nothing.
“I will honor Time’s will. You are worthy of preservation.”
I tasted blood, having bitten my lip.
“Now, stab me with that dagger. And your beauty will be preserved for eternity.”
“…”
“Hurry. I wouldn’t want it to fade.”
My hand trembled, holding the dagger. The others stirred, seeing my hesitation.
I looked at them, then stepped towards the god, steeling my resolve.
“We won’t lose to you.”
“Ignorant. We do not oppose you, so there is no victory or defeat. We merely judge and act.”
He was saying we weren’t even worthy of being their adversaries. Enraged, I plunged the Dagger of Sealing into his chest.
Like with Rin, the dagger began to change color, absorbing the flames.
“Don’t look down on us, lest you be bitten.”
The god, unfazed by my threat, looked at me and said, just before vanishing,
“Is that elf who guards a withered tree truly your final gambit?”
“…!”
It wasn’t just a scoff.
He looked at me with utter disgust, his face twisted in mockery.
“How foolish. You think your petty schemes can outsmart us?”
Crack!
The dagger, having absorbed everything, crumbled to dust. Ares collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.
Arni rushed forward and checked his condition.
“He’s… he’s breathing! He’s alive!”
She sobbed with relief.
Medics rushed forward, healing his wounds and burns.
He was alive, and that was enough.
Just as everyone began to celebrate…
“…”
A murky grey light descended from the sky, enveloping me.
The goddess’s mark on my chest pulsed.
It was time.
Time for me to fulfill my role as the apocalypse.
Unlike Rin, I wouldn’t lose myself in a mindless rampage.
Unlike Ares, I wouldn’t be possessed by a god.
– You are the savior. You must witness this with your own eyes.
The goddess’s voice echoed in my mind.
– Now, unleash your salvation, your apocalypse, upon this beautiful world!
A grey wave spread outwards from my feet, freezing everything it touched.
In an instant, the continent was frozen in time.
“I’m sorry.”
And within that frozen world…
I, Daniel McLean, wept, apologizing to everyone.
Like closing a book before the final chapter.
The world, on the verge of celebrating victory, turned grey and still.
A small girl with long silver hair walked among the frozen figures.
“Well? You saved the world.”
The Goddess of Time smiled brightly, stopping before me.
“Look, everyone’s happy. And now they’ll be happy forever!”
“…”
“A perfect happy ending! Eternal happiness!”
“It’s not…”
I glared at the cheering goddess and declared firmly,
“It’s not over.”
She declared this the ending, the epilogue, the final curtain, but…
It wasn’t.
This was just the last page before the true ending.
“The page is still turning.”
It would take an eternity, but the world was turning towards the next chapter.
Towards a true happy ending.
“Hmm? Still not giving up?”
She glanced at me, then walked towards the others.
“It’s a shame you won’t be able to talk to them anymore. But look at them.”
She gestured towards the frozen faces, filled with the joy of survival, of unity, of victory.
“They’re all happy. Why can’t you see that? Do you think they’ll ever be happier than this?”
She asked if this moment, filled with the pride of saving the world and the relief of survival, wasn’t true happiness.
I didn’t bother arguing. It was pointless.
I walked past the frozen figures of Arni and Ares, past Kurika and Elise, towards Shakarim and Eris.
Eris still held the Yggdrasil staff.
“…”
When I’d stopped time before, the staff had retained its consciousness. It had been immune to my power.
But now, it was silent.
I felt a prickling sensation.
I tapped the staff, but there was no response.
“That was a tricky staff.”
The goddess appeared beside me, grinning mischievously.
“Yggdrasil, being so old, has a natural resistance to our power. Combined with Sharcal’s unique mana, it became immune to my influence.”
Sharcal’s mana was distortion.
Similar to mana, but unique to him. Amplified by Yggdrasil’s power.
“I was surprised when you used it to distort my power. You probably thought it could become a problem.”
She leaned against Eris, resting her hand on her shoulder.
“So I neutralized it. I put a lot of effort into this elf and her staff.”
“…”
“I can anticipate your strategies. I know how much she means to you, but… did you trust her too much?”
A pure, unadulterated smile.
The Goddess of Time, genuinely amused, traced Eris’s cheek with her finger.
“She’s lovely. I can almost understand why you accepted her confession back then.”
“…”
Anything I said would only amuse her. She puffed out her cheeks, annoyed by my silence.
“You’re not going to stay here, are you? That would be foolish. Time is frozen, so you won’t age or die.”
“…”
“So, let’s go. Remember my offer? Become a demigod and live in the Divine Realm! The God of Life and I will welcome you!”
She raised her hands in a mock cheer. I remained silent, and she huffed.
“Fine. You’re still attached to this world. You need time. And now you have an eternity. You can become a demigod anytime!”
She vanished.
The oppressive silence returned.
No wind, no footsteps, no birdsong, no insects…
Just a desolate, grey world.
I looked at Eris.
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“Are you still doing this? Aren’t you bored?”
I didn’t know how much time had passed. With time frozen, my body stopped aging, my hair and beard stopped growing. My sense of time was distorted.
But judging by the Goddess of Time’s visits, it must have been long enough for her to think I’d given up.
I sat silently, looking at Eris.
“Haa… I almost forgot to stop your time too.”
She said, then vanished.
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“Ugh, you’re stubborn. Is clearing your heart so difficult? Do you think sitting here will give you the answer?”
The Goddess of Time placed her hands on her hips, annoyed.
“You don’t think I’ll help you, do you? I’ve abandoned this continent. I can’t just rewind time as I please.”
“…”
“And you tried to kill yourself. You can’t die. You’re the embodiment of the apocalypse. How anticlimactic would it be for the apocalypse to end in suicide?”
“…”
“Haa! This is boring!”
She vanished, her silver hair fluttering.
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