The Choice and the Shattered Reality

Baalzeph, having successfully hidden himself in the meeting grounds of the Awakeners, dared to imitate a Representative of the Gods and uploaded a petition with trembling hands.

[Title: Do you remember the Varg? The ill-fated race banished by you greedy ones… [See More]]

Fearing that the clever Awakeners would catch on if he mentioned the ‘Empire’, he used the ‘Varg’ as a front to ask his questions.

[Banished because of Awakeners? The devs ran because they couldn’t fix the shitty skill bugs. If you don’t know the game, don’t say anything.]

However, the Awakeners were the same as ever.

They lacked reflection, regret, or even a shred of guilt.

[My Comment (CantDieWontDie): You selfish and lowly races who abuse the given power as you please.]

Then, by chance, he saw her.

A soul that shone exceptionally bright, even through the written words.

[Shinbi-jui: It wasn’t abuse, I just used the skills that were there. Everyone used them back then.]
[Shinbi-jui: (shrug_emoticon)]

An Awakener who was strangely intertwined with the ‘God Slayer’, the one whose fate had been swapped with his and who now led the free life he so craved.

【A 1:1 message has been sent to ‘Shinbi-jui’.】

Baalzeph decided to place his final hope in that.

Hoping that if he committed such an act, God might finally look upon him.

【The skill <Origin Regression> has been gifted to Player ‘Shinbi-jui’.】

“…Wait a minute, so.”

I rubbed my face vigorously, lost for words for a long while.

“You got tired of being an NPC and wanted to go back to being a monster, but the Operator, …no, God wouldn’t listen to you, so you brought me here?”

“…….”

“To draw aggro! Right?!”

Baalzeph affirmed with silence.

“Then why did you give me those artifact quests every day? Wasn’t it to drive me to my death? No way! Then bringing the Skollcat was also…!”

“…That is correct. It was to attract the attention of God.”

“No! Then you should have at least explained the situation! Why didn’t you?!”

『He probably couldn’t have.』

Sirin, who had been watching me run around in excitement, stepped in cautiously.

『There are more regulations to follow than you might think.』

“The Skollcat managed just fine? He told me everything. What was it again? ‘Legacyth continent created by the gathering of hundreds of millions of dimensions’… and so on.”

『…Did he? Haa, both of them are really something.』

Sirin let out a deep sigh and then called an Observer over to give it some instructions.

『By the way, how did you hide so well?』

Her expression, looking like an office worker exhausted by civil complaints, felt somewhat familiar, so I waited quietly until she suddenly asked.

『I thought I was pretty good at hide-and-seek, but you, Shinbi-ssi….』

“Because I wanted to live. The Observers were chasing me to delete me.”

『…I’m sorry. To be honest, at first, I didn’t even recognize your existence.』

“But how did you find me? Because of the Observers?”

『The Observers don’t report matters regarding defectors to me. They usually perform ‘summary execution’…. Ah! Not that they kill you painfully. I mean, well, you see….』

“It’s like a record erasure, right? Wiping away memories.”

『…Yes.』

I shrugged as if I wasn’t surprised.
It meant erasing the very traces of my existence. To me, that was no different from dying.

『But! It’s just that you can’t go back to your original dimension, you could live in another dimension! We even have ‘reincarnation’ or ‘reset’ systems….』

“…….”

『Ahem, anyway! At some point, you caught my eye. Just a few months ago. Where was it? Ah, you were in ‘Nemea’s Fortress’! So I quickly sent the Observers, but they all came back terrified.』

Nemea’s Fortress?
If it was then, it was definitely when I met Karvan and we first imprinted.
Then Sirin knew something was wrong since then? But.

“The Observers were trying to kill me even then! Calling me a ‘Most Wanted Criminal’!”

『Ah, that was an automatic macro, so I couldn’t change it…. Anyway, I kept looking for you after that, but you were almost nowhere to be seen. I searched every single day….』

That made sense.
Since then, I had been inside Bahalgras, which Karvan ruled, and when I briefly escaped to the Fox village for a stroll, my mana was synchronized with Karvan’s due to the complete imprint, so the Observers couldn’t recognize me as an Awakener.

“Then. If I had been caught by an Observer back then….”

『Oh, what else! I would have brought you here immediately and sent you back!』

My jaw dropped.
Seeing me gaping at her in disbelief, she must have thought I was speechless from shock.

『I am soooooo sorry, Shinbi-ssi.』

Sirin folded her hands and looked like she was about to cry.

『To make an excuse, I had just been appointed as the GM at the time, and I was too busy cleaning up the mess left by the previous GM, Jupiter, so I didn’t know Baalzeph was peeking at Earth. I am really, really sorry.』

“…….”

『As you know, this dimension is terribly unstable and full of bugs. There are far too few transcendent beings, so we created ‘Observers’, puppets that move according to input values, to lighten the workload, but that….』

I just blinked my eyes.
I didn’t even know if I should be angry or who I should blame. Anyway, the conclusion was.

“…Then, what happens to me now?”

『Of course, I must send you back to ‘reality’! You’ve really, really worked hard, Shinbi-ssi. I’ll fill in all the gaps in your academic records and career while you were gone! I’ll change the memories of your acquaintances and family, and oh right! I see you’re still a college student, writing a graduation thesis is a pain, right? Then ta-da! How about returning after you’ve already graduated? Or joining a major corporation as a new employee? Or, I can even arrange for your family to work at a local branch! Just say the word!』

They could even do that. Amazing.
I just stared as she rattled off unbelievable promises like an insurance policy, and Sirin scratched the back of her head awkwardly. Her blue hair billowed like water.

“I have something I’m curious about.”

『Yes! What is it?』

I started to speak, but I didn’t know how to ask.

If I chose to return to ‘reality’, I wanted to ask what would happen to him.
I was afraid of the obvious answer that would return.

“Karvan. The Varg who was with me.”

『Ah, ahhh! Right, I don’t know if I should say this, but. He interfered with you.』

“Pardon?”

『He was carrying a weapon imbued with your aura. I tried to use that to find your location, but that man kept breaking all the Observers, so it took much longer to find you.』

…He broke the Observers?

As I mured over what that meant, I suddenly remembered a conversation from a certain day.

‘But I know something else. What those bastards are trying to do to you.’
‘So, it took time to cut down the wicked things that would drive a wedge between you and me.’

At the time, I thought he meant other beast-kin or the Suras. Could it be he was talking about the Observers?

Then in truth, he wasn’t being chased for three months.

‘…Sh-Shinbi-nim?’
‘Since when have you been here?’
‘…Ah, well, it hasn’t been many days. That….’

Was that why the Suras were so flustered when they first saw me? Because they couldn’t tell me the details due to orders, and they felt guilty for deceiving me?

It felt like a missing puzzle piece was finally falling into place.

“I see. Karvan did.”

『…Should I not have said that?』

As I answered dazedly, I could feel Sirin looking at me anxiously.

『I told you because I thought you should know…. Are you very shocked?』

“It’s okay. Thank you for telling me.”

When I smiled slightly, Sirin, who had been watching me nervously, also smiled back.

When I was a ‘Player’, I had no reason to visit the Butterfly Palace, so I had never seen Sirin this close. She was like blue water. Exceptionally clear water.

『Then, shall I send you back immediately?』

“Pardon? To where?”

『To the ‘real world’, of course! You need to log out now!』

Thump, why did my heart sink at those words?

『You shouted for it so desperately. …I was foolish enough not to hear it. I am truly sorry once again.』

Just as Sirin said, it was what I had wanted more than anyone, so desperately.

“…Do I have to answer right now?”

『No! I’ll give you time to think. …Oh! More importantly, there was something I really wanted to show you when I met you. Would you like to see it?』

“Yes, what is it?”

When I looked up from my thoughts, Sirin smiled brightly and held something floating above her palm.

『Uh, do people not use this shape these days? It’s a very old model, right?』

As I stared at it for a long time, Sirin muttered awkwardly.

It looked worn and old, almost like a very early prototype, but it was… a GB (Gaming Band).

A gaming band that can only be owned individually by a player, registered with a physical identification code and activated only by fingerprint.

But why did the ‘Alluring Butterfly’ have it?

…No way.

My eyes widened.

“Sirin-ssi, are you also an Awakener?”

『I was an Awakener, then for a time I became a Defector, and now, ta-da.』

Sirin spun around gracefully.
Blue butterflies fluttered and followed her. A status window flickered above her head.

【’Alluring Butterfly’ Sirin (Butterfly Palace NPC)】

“…Ah….”

『So, I completely understand why you’re hesitating! And, please know. I will respect whatever decision you make! And I will help you with all my heart!』

When our eyes met, she smiled brightly and held up her palm towards me.

Wondering what she was doing, I reflexively high-fived her, and a clear, bright laughter rang out.

『And this is just my own greed, but I hope that Shinbi-ssi….』

『What is so enjoyable, Rin.』

Just as Sirin approached and was about to whisper something in my ear, a massive shadow loomed behind her.

『Ugh, Janus! You’re starting again…!』

As I flinched and backed away, the giant figure wrapped around Sirin’s entire body. It felt like watching a large black dragon kidnap a blue butterfly.

『You know how hard I worked for months to find Shinbi-ssi!』

‘Can you help me? I can’t log out right now….’
‘I think something has gone wrong.’

I had lived for a year with the sole intention of escaping this place and returning.
It was only a year, but it was a hell no different from ten, yet hearing that I could return so easily and pointlessly made me feel hollow.

『Is that defector more important than me, whom you haven’t seen in a long time.』

『What do you mean ‘a long time’! It’s only been a day!』

So when I heard the question of whether I would return, I had already made up my mind, but I hesitated. Fearing I might regret it later.

『’Only’.』

『…is what I was about to say! Oh dear, nothing is more important than you. Janus, I love you.』

『Prove it.』

『Prove what again! Go away! I said I’ll play with you as much as you want later!』

But watching those two, I finally found my certainty.

『Don’t interfere when I’m working! …Ahem, sorry about that. Shinbi-ssi, what will you do? Do you want to think about it more? Or do you want to go back right now?』

“I….”

Just as I was about to open my lips, having finished my deliberations and made my decision.

【’Wolf▒that▒Swallow▒’▒…404▒Error▒’Freeze’▒Status▒Ailment.▒】

My eyes widened at the crackle sound.

It was the first time I had ever seen a status window freeze.
Between the characters, icicles were hanging as if frost had formed, and it glitched with static.

The moment I doubted my eyes, crack!, the frozen status window shattered, and the ice fragments tore through one side of the space.