Due to Heralhazard’s interference, the souls began spilling out once again. And at that moment, there was only one thing I could do.


    Scatter mana to secure them for even a brief moment.


    Bang!


    Then, I immediately opened the door to the general store and stepped inside with the end stone.


    If I lose the souls here, it’s all over!


    I held on tightly to the cracked end stone, trying to prevent the souls from escaping, but they kept pouring out like water from a dam.


    The only recourse was to proceed with the original plan: leave the continent.


    With fewer souls escaping now, I moved into the general store while doing my best to hold onto them.


    The thought of leaving Findenai and Erica behind as they held Raziel back did cross my mind. However...


    “You idiot, why the hell are you hesitating!”


    “Go!”


    Hearing their screams, I walked inside as if pushed by an invisible hand.


    The souls began spilling out inside the general store. I considered closing the door since there would be nowhere for them to escape once it was shut, but...


    Crack!


    As a large hand suddenly grabbed hold of the doorknob, stopping the door from moving as if caught on something.


    “Where do you think you’re going?”


    Creak!


    The half-closed door was forced open again as Raizel stepped inside. His lightning surging out like an aura, causing Findenai and Erica to be flung back by the shock.


    Thud.


    His footsteps echoed throughout the store.


    Thud.


    Due to his enormous size, Raizel had to bend over to enter, closing the door behind him with a faint smile.


    “There’s nowhere for you left to run.”


    He stood with his back against the door.


    It seemed that he intended to annihilate all the souls trapped within this space as bolts of lightning surged from his entire body, illuminating the dark interior of the general store. ?A??O?Е?s?


    There was nowhere left to run.


    Even if I did manage to escape, there was no place where I could take the souls.


    The Land of Eternal Rest, which had already cracked upon its creation, causing the souls to pour out endlessly, could no longer serve its purpose.


    Trapped inside the general store with nowhere to go, it felt like we were fish caught in a tank.


    “Accept your fate, Outsider. You have no right to control this continent.”


    “...”


    “We’ve waited centuries for this moment. The fate you stole from Aria Rias will be returned to her the moment I snap your neck and restore everything to its rightful place.”


    Boom.


    As Raizel took a step forward, a shockwave of electricity spread across the floor, climbing the walls, and reaching the ceiling.


    His lightning began to dominate the space.


    A place that remained a mystery even to the gods.


    A secret, hidden location far removed from the continent.


    Yet, it struggled to conceal the divine radiance Raizel’s presence exuded.


    “Why...”


    However, even amidst his intimidating threats, even as the electric current brushed my cheek, stinging as if it would burn my flesh, my questions didn’t stop.


    I asked Raizel, who called himself a god and claimed to follow destiny.


    “Why do you put so much faith in something like fate?”


    “Because that’s the only way we can attain freedom.”


    I felt frustrated.


    Like something was stuck in my chest, blocking my breath.


    It was absurd, but I understood why they were able to only think in that manner.


    And just because I knew the truth, I couldn’t criticize their ignorance.


    However, there was a need to correct it.


    “Do you truly believe that is freedom? Proceeding according to some predetermined destiny?”


    The screams of the overflowing souls around me seemed to cry out in agreement.


    But even in that situation, the god in front of me didn’t waver or hesitate.


    “After we reach the end of this long marathon, we will finally attain freedom.”


    “It is foolish.”


    I suddenly recalled a book I had read about fate.


    It was written by a Holocaust survivor who had documented their experiences.1


    In that book, the narrator said,


    If there is freedom, there is no fate.


    If there is fate, then there is no freedom.


    I felt like those words perfectly encapsulated the mindset of the gods standing before me.


    The fate they spoke of and followed offered no true freedom.


    “For the sake of this continent, the fate (the main story) you speak of must be broken.”


    “Huff, Outsider. My resolve remains unshaken. This is also for the continent.”


    “No.”


    I shook my head.


    Emotions welled up inside me.


    Tension filled my body, and before I knew it, a deep sigh escaped my lips as an overwhelming sadness pressed down heavily on me.


    I couldn’t let you follow that story.


    The story that you claimed to be the preordained fate for this continent—I won’t let you carry it out.


    And not just for Aria Rias.


    At first, my only goal was to save the continent. Hence, I used Aria Rias as a protagonist, thinking she would be able to help me save the land I would live in.


    However, as I spent time and lived here, I changed.


    Indeed, it was a ridiculous notion.


    I watched over the numerous people living on this continent.


    The living.


    The dead.


    Demons and gods.


    Watching all of them, I felt a sense of injustice. I began to question whether following the main storyline was truly the right thing to do.


    After all, wouldn’t going along with it ultimately prove their lives to be meaningless?


    If we simply complied with the prewritten storyline, then the lives of everyone on this continent—their joys, sorrows, pleasures, suffering, anger, elation, excitement, and happiness—would be nothing more than mere words scribbled on a creator’s desk to create a game.


    “No.”


    I would not let that happen.


    All the noble people I had encountered, all the vile people I came across,


    The good, the evil,


    People who were two-faced at times, vibrant at others, and at times beautiful,


    And those I have loved,


    I could not allow them to be turned into something false.


    “You must not follow that so-called fate.”


    My chest quivered. My heart shook.


    I would not allow the lives I had witnessed to be reduced to something as trivial as a ‘game.’


    As I continued to accept the souls, my body twisted, seemingly on the verge of collapse, but the immense mana scattered throughout the general store restored it.


    I was broken down and restored.


    Repeatedly.


    Even through the agonizing pain that felt like it was slicing my flesh, I listened attentively to the stories of many.


    And they, too, listened to mine.


    “I wonder if they received my gift well.”


    The continent had now strayed far from the main storyline.


    The predetermined tale crafted for mere entertainment was no more.


    Emotions and time, forced upon them to experience, were no longer programmed for the sake of the protagonist.


    Live your own life and embrace your freedom.


    Surprisingly, among the flood of souls entering my body, some were assisting me with my magic.


    And before I knew it, my heart had become like an artifact, as if it were forged by countless Mages gathering together.


    Then, my eyes began to close gradually.


    Perhaps this was the death I had witnessed so many times before.


    Standing at the very edge of the boundary, I finally...


    Just as I was about to cross it.


    [No!]


    A girl’s voice startled my eyes open.


    Something was pushing me away.


    Though my body remained rooted firmly in place, like an ancient tree, I was undoubtedly being pushed away.


    Then I saw the back of Deus Verdi, his head bowed low as he knelt.


    The one pushing me was...


    Emily?


    The girl who loved flowers.


    The girl who was forced to become a Human-Bone Centipede in the Verdi Household’s underground but still smiled as she peacefully drifted off to sleep in the end.


    Following her, countless others began pushing me.


    They were all familiar faces.


    The natives of Setima, to whom I had granted rest at the academy.


    And it wasn’t just them.


    The members of the Griffin Kingdom’s royal family, who were captured by the Griffin Evil Ghost.


    Volta, the son of Hernu, who had been tormented by Dante’s Cadavermancer.


    And countless other souls I helped find rest in the Clark Republic.


    The War God, Han So.


    Ophelia’s daughter, who was taken captive by Lehric.


    Even the half-burned woman who attained rest while tearfully holding Illuania’s daughter, Sevia.


    Those who had already crossed the boundary between life and death were now pushing me away, preventing me from crossing it and joining them.


    They rescued me from death, overwhelmed by the flood of souls.


    A doll was sitting alone at a distance in the corner of the general store.


    An item crafted for me by Professor Fel Petra.


    It was originally supposed to be a doll for the sake of managing the end stone kept in the shop.


    However, the doll reacted to my soul and mana as I stepped into it, transforming its body and appearance.


    And not long after, stood a young man who had lived in South Korea, Kim Shinwoo.


    “Ah.”


    I sighed without realizing it.


    The souls kept pouring into Deus Verdi’s body.


    I gently placed my hand on my heart.


    I could still feel the pulse of life.


    I was not dead. Yet.


    However, amidst the souls pouring into me, the souls protected me from going into shock and kept me safe.


    How long would it take?


    To receive all the souls and stabilize that body.


    How much time would be needed?


    I had my doubts, but it didn’t seem like it would take as long as I feared.


    Still, if I remained here, I felt I too might get caught up in the storm of mana and souls.


    In that case...


    “If it is just for a moment...”


    I looked up at the souls and asked.


    “Will it be okay if I take my leave?”


    Could I entrust it to them?


    The souls did not bother to answer my question.


    However, the general store’s door swung open, and beyond it was a vast meadow illuminated by the rising sun of dawn.


    The general store led me to a random location.


    Since I was no longer Deus Verdi, I could no longer specify a location without restrictions.


    The meadow did not look like it belonged to the Griffin Kingdom.


    But I slowly stepped outside the door.


    Creak.


    Thud.


    As the door closed, I found myself standing on this continent as Kim Shinwoo.


    However, it was just until Deus’ body stabilized after accepting all the souls.


    Until then, I began a very brief journey.


    * * *


    Before anyone realized it, a week had flown by.


    The chaos in Graypond was being settled gradually, but the gloom hanging over the city remained.


    Many were injured, much had been destroyed, and Deus Verdi had disappeared.


    Along with Raizel, he had disappeared beyond the general store door and never returned.


    Was it because he could not come back?


    No one knew the reason.


    In any case, many were worried.


    However, all the souls on the continent had disappeared.


    Now, the boundary between life and death had collapsed, and the continent was no longer on the brink of destruction.


    It seemed right to think so, but here, on the palace rooftop, sat two women perched on the railing.


    No, two souls.


    [So, what should we do now?]


    The Dark Spiritualist, who had been absorbed into the staff wielded by Heralhazard and transformed into a half-haunting spirit. And...


    [...I don’t know either.]


    Stella, who had inherited the divinity of the now-extinct goddess Hertia and had become half-god, half-demon.


    Footnotes


    1. Fateless (Sorstalansa?g), An autobiographical novel by Imre Kerte?sz, 1975. In the book, he narrated, "We can only continue the old one. I took my own steps. No one else did. And I remained honest to the end to my given fate ... Do you want all this horror and all my previous steps to lose their meaning entirely? ... Why can''t you just see that if there is such a thing as fate, then there is no freedom? If, on the other hand ... there is freedom, then there is no /genesisforsaken