Causality's Price
God. Causality. And the System.
I had roughly expected as much. From the moment I was possessed inside a game to the regression that followed, none of the things I had experienced could be explained by ordinary common sense. They belonged to the realm of the incomprehensible. Without the meddling of some being presumed to be a god, none of it would make sense.
Wait. If that was the case—
Don’t tell me Merlin knows about it too?
The fact that Merlin knew about the System meant she was aware of its existence. I couldn’t understand it. Had she encountered another possessor besides me? Or was she, perhaps, a possessor like myself?
An eerie silence settled over us. I stared at Merlin for a long moment before slowly opening my mouth.
“You’re not from this world either, are you?”
Merlin let out a short laugh at the absurd question.
“No, I am from this world.”
“Then how the hell do you know about the System?”
“What? The System?”
Merlin tilted her head, then clapped her hands together as if she had just realized something.
“Ah, so that’s what you call it.”
“Answer the question.”
“How do I know? The reason’s obvious, isn’t it?”
Obvious? I furrowed my brow without thinking, and Merlin quickly continued.
“I’ve seen it too. That thing you call the System.”
“Seen it? How?”
Merlin raised one eyebrow. She leaned forward, bending at the waist. A moment later, she whispered close to my ear as if sharing a secret.
“It appeared. After I destroyed the world.”
“…What?”
I flinched at the sight of Merlin’s eyes right in front of mine. Dark emotions swirled within them. In an endlessly gentle voice, she whispered,
“As you know, this world was created.”
Of course it was. It was a world inside a game. A world where every character’s goals, lives, and the strategy for clearing it had already been decided.
“One day, I realized that horrifying truth. Ah, so I’m nothing more than a piece on a predetermined board. No matter how much I struggle, I’m still just a piece forced to play out a fate that’s already been written.”
Merlin let out a short sigh. A faint trace of irritation lingered in her breath.
“Some are born with the destiny of a hero who will save the world, while others must endure the hatred of countless people for no reason at all. And still others are forced to repeat a hellish life by returning to the past simply because they failed to properly fulfill their given role.”
A sense of déjà vu washed over me. Not a single word Merlin spoke felt unfamiliar.
“That’s how this world operates. It must continue the predetermined story no matter what. For that one pathetic reason alone.”
A hollow laugh escaped me. Even though I already knew the absurdity of this damned world, it still made my blood boil.
“I suddenly grew tired of it. Of this world, and of myself living surrounded by hatred.”
The expression slowly drained from Merlin’s face. In a sunken voice, she spoke quietly.
“So I destroyed it.”
“……And the result?”
“Can’t you tell just by looking? I failed. At the critical moment, that bastard called the System appeared and got in the way.”
“What a shame. If you had succeeded, I wouldn’t have been kidnapped either.”
“What can you do? That’s your destined fate.”
Electricity crackled between our locked gazes. A moment later, both of us burst into quiet laughter at the same time. The more I spoke with her, the more I felt an indescribable sense of kinship.
“To fully activate the Holy Relic, you’ll have to get rid of the System that keeps hovering in front of your eyes first.”
“Tell me how.”
Merlin stared at me intently before speaking.
“There’s only one condition for the System to interfere with a creation’s fate. When the creation fails to complete the task given to it. When its very existence violates the world’s causality.”
“…”
“So all you have to do is keep doing the wrong things like you are now, and then, at the moment the System tries to interfere with your fate—”
“At that moment?”
“Just die cleanly. How about it? Easy, right?”
“……What? Die?”
“Yes. If you die while causality is being settled, the System will have no room to intervene at all.”
Click—
The gears in my head began falling into place one by one. Now everything was clear. The fundamental problem behind all the irrational situations I had experienced until now.
Scenario Progress: 35%
Why has the progress increased despite not advancing the scenario?
Synchronization Rate: ??%
And the reason behind my failure in the first run.
Zap—
A sharp pain like an electric shock coursed through my entire body. Moments later, the Synchronization Rate that had been hidden behind question marks finally revealed itself.
Synchronization Rate: 6%
Pathetic.
Was it because I had only been thinking about obtaining the Holy Relic and crossing dimensions? The Synchronization Rate was as dismal as I had expected. The more my actions deviated from the role given to Kyle, the more they violated the causality set by the world, the more that damned System would continue to interfere with me.
I slowly lowered my gaze from the System window. When our eyes met, Merlin shrugged.
“The problem comes after you die.”
“…”
“You have to forcibly return the soul that has left the body, and that’s no easy task.”
Merlin furrowed her brow as if the mere thought gave her a headache.
“You’ll need two things.”
She held up her thumb and middle finger.
“An Elixir.”
I didn’t have to worry about the Elixir. With a giant straw stuck in the imperial family’s spine, I could manufacture one anytime as long as I had enough time. However—
“And Holy Blood.”
Shit. I should have taken it when I had the chance.
****
A storm of time passed. Merlin left the mansion as soon as our conversation ended. After she was gone, I spent the night organizing everything we had discussed.
Stealing the Holy Relic and opening the dimensional gate. To achieve that, the first priority was neutralizing the System, just as Merlin had emphasized.
The Elixir. And the Holy Blood.
But—
How the hell am I supposed to get the Holy Blood…
The Holy Blood was currently stored deep in the vault beneath Winfred Duke’s Mansion under strict security. The chances of Kyle Winfred stealing it with nothing but his bare body? Not a chance in hell.
“Haa…”
Suddenly, the image of Luna Winfred shedding tears and begging for forgiveness from Kyle flashed through my mind. If it was Luna, it might be possible. If it was Luna, consumed by guilt for trampling on Kyle’s life, and if I offered forgiveness as a condition—
It might just be possible…
But did I, who wasn’t the real Kyle, even have the right to speak of forgiveness?
“……”
Honestly, even I didn’t know anymore. I felt a momentary temptation, yet making the decision wasn’t easy. I must still not have come to my senses. The fact that I was worrying about a shred of conscience even now proved it.
“Haa…”
I left the mansion and headed for the Imperial Palace. My purpose was to check on the status of the materials needed to manufacture the Elixir. While I was at it, I planned to greet Rudine to make the future kidnapping easier.
“Please verify your identity.”
As I climbed the pristine marble stairs, two imperial knights guarding the massive gate blocked my path. I took out the pendant the Emperor had bestowed upon me. The knight’s eyes widened into circles after checking it. A moment later, he gave an incomprehensible chin gesture toward a servant waiting behind him.
“Please enter.”
Creak—
The door opened along with the knight’s polite gesture. I walked through it calmly and entered the palace. The Alchemist Association building affiliated with the imperial family was located adjacent to the Empress’s Palace inside the palace grounds. In other words, even walking diligently from here would take quite some time. I shortened my stride and quickened my pace. At the same time, the familiar scenery of the palace passed by at speed.
That was when I heard it.
“Come on, that’s a lie. How could that be true?”
“What do you take me for? Why would I lie to you?”
“Even so… Lady Isabel committing an act of disrespect toward the imperial family… I just can’t believe it.”
Two noble young ladies whose names I didn’t know were having a suspicious conversation.
“…?”
Lady Isabel? Disrespect toward the imperial family? I stopped walking without realizing it at the unbelievable story that reached my ears. The two girls, seemingly unaware of me, continued their conversation with giggles.
“What reason could she possibly have?”
“Well, I don’t know that far either. I heard it happened during teatime with Her Highness the Princess.”
“Teatime? Good heavens… Did the two of them have an argument?”
Teatime? Isabel and Rudine?
“Even so, that’s…”
The woman drew out her words. A moment later, covering her mouth playfully with both hands, she continued in a deliberately amused voice.
“…But to slap Her Highness the Princess across the face. How could anyone be so senseless!”
What the hell.