Endgame

The Night Spirit who had so abruptly revealed her identity.

The form of the spirit who called herself Isabella was gradually fading away.

Why?

Randolph couldn't help but frown. For a moment, the situation before him simply made no sense.

Isabella.

Having cast off the darkness of the Night Spirit, her appearance was exactly as he remembered — a loyal subordinate who trusted and followed Randolph; one whose sense of self had only grown more unyielding through countless trials; a living testament to Randolph himself, present from the very beginning of all his memories!

And yet what her eyes reflected was not Randolph.

"Who… are you looking at right now?"

"…"

Isabella opened her mouth. But the name she spoke never reached his ears. Even so, he thought he knew whose name it was — a name deleted and erased from his mind. Three syllables that, for some reason, stirred a fierce resistance within him.

Above all else—

"…You said it had to be erased to be complete. That only then would one become whole! That name is a fake, a shackle, a stain — that much is certain. So why would you throw yourself away for that name?"

That name had to be erased. The shackle that was a name. Having cast it off, Randolph was tasting freedom. It felt as though he had broken ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through every limit and surpassed them all.

And yet — if that were so — why had this woman chosen annihilation for the sake of an erased existence rather than for him? No matter how hard he thought… he simply could not understand.

"It's me. Look at me! I am Randolph. You saw it yourself, didn't you? How I crushed the Heavenly Demon with overwhelming power! That would have been utterly impossible if not for what I am now!"

Grit!

He ground his teeth, bit his lip, and shuddered.

"That man is a fake. A wreck of a person who destroys others for entertainment without a shred of sincerity. He's not the hero you think he is. There's nothing noble about him, nothing pure…!"

"…You."

Even as she slowly faded away, Isabella — who had been listening to his fiery tirade — met his eyes and spoke.

"Could you fail hundreds, thousands of times for someone else's sake and still never give up?"

"Ah, of course I could. Isabella, you are mine. For your sake—!"

"Could you die for me?"

"…"

Die for her? What was she even saying right now? He couldn't grasp her point. She was already vanishing, and she was asking if he could die for her?

Then Isabella wore a thin smile.

As I thought. He's different.

He and this man could never be the same. Their very essences were far too different.

He felt compassion even for people who had nothing to do with him. He was the kind of man who would throw himself forward without hesitation just to open another's heart. Even if it meant his actual self would die, he never hesitated.

"How could I hate a man who never gives up for my sake? A man who throws even his life away so lightly? How could I?"

How could she ever hate him? Why had she resented him — her savior, the one she had yearned for her entire life? Even if she hadn't known, even if she hadn't remembered — she shouldn't have.

Even knowing she resented him, he had always maintained his composure before her. He had smiled, comforted her, taught her the way forward. But how terrified must he have been? The thought that the truth might come out any day and everyone would turn their backs on him — not a single day could his heart have been at ease.

And yet he had sought her out, sought Isaac, sought Valte… in his own way, he had continued to atone.

Such a pitiful, beloved man.

"…How could I ever forget him?"

Even if I disappear here and now, I won't forget. Your name. Your warmth. So please, stop fretting. Stop suffering because of me.

"…"

Leaving those final quiet words behind, Isabella's form vanished completely.

She was gone. Without leaving behind so much as a trace. Completely annihilated.

"…"

There was no way to reclaim the Most Precious Thing from a Night Spirit — except by annihilating the spirit itself. Isabella had chosen annihilation of her own will, forcibly transferring it to him.

"I… refuse."

They rose. His memories. The things he had forgotten.

But Randolph clutched his head and shook it violently. Then, collapsed on the ground, writhing in agony, he forced the words out as if wringing them from his heart.

"I… refuse… you… Park Hyunmyung!"

"What's that?"

It was then. A familiar voice.

…The Heavenly Demon.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The bastard hadn't died. He was alive.

"Only now do I truly feel alive. The feeling of truly casting off my 'humanity.' So this is the real power of a Fragment!"

His condition, however, had changed drastically. Anyone could see he was no longer human — a massive, muscular body; pitch-black, bumpy, protruding hide like a turtle's shell; a face transformed into something like a rhinoceros.

…Right. That, too, was a bug caused by a Fragment of Ruin. And he still didn't know how to overcome the Fragment's bug.

But that was fine.

"…If I smash you hundreds, thousands of times, you won't be able to crawl back up."

I'll smash you. Everything that stands in my way. Every name that holds me back.

…I rose from my place with a cold smile. Because my head no longer hurt.

I had admired heroes.

From childhood, I'd wanted to be like the heroes who appeared in the comics and movies I watched. But I couldn't become a hero. Reality was far too harsh for that. And my personality was a long way from heroic, besides.

An utterly ordinary, run-of-the-mill citizen. A shut-in NEET. Or a pathetic loser. Just a man with nothing good to say about him, no matter what you called him.

But in games, I had many identities. Sometimes I became a villain, a merchant, a mage, or even a noble. Among them all, though, I had been most deeply immersed in one: the Knight King Wilhelm.

—Honey, let's break up.

I knew. The reason she'd dumped me wasn't simply because I didn't work at a major corporation. The fundamental reason was that I'd been far too obsessed with games. I'd just needed an excuse — an excuse to play games. An excuse to focus entirely on Pangenia.

Quitting my job had been for the same reason. I'd pretended to be an ordinary person, but I was a worthless man who couldn't even manage ordinary. That was me — the man called Park Hyunmyung. The worst gaming addict, recognized by no one.

I am Randolph.

Was that why? From some point on, I turned my back on reality even more. In Pangenia, I was always the best — the strongest man, who had never once lost first place in the Hall of Fame. A miracle itself: one who shattered every trial head-on and always produced results beyond anyone's imagination. That thrill, that sense of achievement, was incomparable to anything else.

Little by little, the boundary between reality and Pangenia grew vague. And from some point on, I stopped logging out. Because there was no one looking at "me" anyway. Because there was no one in any world who remembered or recognized the man called Park Hyunmyung.

I'm sinking.

This place was darkness. An endlessly sinking apocalypse. The cold, lonely world of Park Hyunmyung.

Who was "Park Hyunmyung" in the first place? Had he even truly existed? Even if I disappeared like this, nothing would change.

Yeah. Let's disappear.

—I won't forget.

It was then. A voice reached him. Isabella's voice.

—You are a man of noble humanity and pure spirit of challenge.

What was she talking about? There was no way I possessed anything so grand. I was just a shut-in NEET. Isabella, you've been deceived.

—Come back… and… thank you.

What was she doing? She was going to be annihilated. So who exactly was she throwing herself away for? Don't tell me… for me?

—When I transcended, I heard your name. I resented you. I wanted to kill you. But… now I understand. Why I came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to know your name.

…Stop it. I'm not a human worth that.

—I will yearn for you for all eternity, Park Hyunmyung.

And then she was gone. Like smoke. Isabella no longer existed in this world.

Isabella had called my name as she vanished. …The only one who had called my name. The only one who had seen me.

Damn it. You call me, and then leave alone?

I recalled the name Isabella had held.

…Yeah. I am not Randolph.

If I disappear like this — if I sink away — Isabella's sacrifice, throwing herself away, would mean nothing. I couldn't allow that. I couldn't just leave it like that.

So… move aside.

That place was mine from the beginning, and it will continue to be mine. You are my proof, and yet you are still not me.

I am me.

"…I am Park Hyunmyung."

I am Park Hyunmyung.

Randolph smiled as he gazed at the center of God's Island.

The text that floated up. At last, everything was finished.

It was over. He had smashed everything that stood in his way. If it had been Park Hyunmyung, he wouldn't have finished this so easily. That man couldn't follow him. Of course he couldn't entrust the future to that man either.

Now only one thing remained: to become the master of this island, and once again erase the name that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tormented him.

I will erase you for all eternity.

I will gather these memories together and annihilate them forever.

Randolph stood at the heart of the island. The time to declare that he had become this island's master. And he opened his mouth.

"I refuse."

…But different words spilled out of their own accord. His mouth moved on its own — content entirely different from his intent.

What? Don't tell me…!

But he quickly came to his senses. It was laughable. Barely managing to move your mouth by wringing out everything you have — and you dare refuse? You can't beat me anyway. A man who was inferior to me in every single way from start to finish — what could you change by popping up now?

A loser should quietly disappear. The game is over anyway. What other option is there besides becoming the island's master?

"The end of this game."

…What was that supposed to mean. Refuse the end of the game? How do you refuse a game that's already over?! There's no method except starting over. It's impossible to undo what's already past.

"I will return every result to the beginning."

At that moment—

Whoosh!

The gathered memories scattered. The Most Precious Things began returning to their original owners.

Only then did Randolph grasp Park Hyunmyung's will. He cried out in shock.

Stop. Stop it. Any further and even you won't make it out unharmed!

It was the true Endgame.