Otherworld TRPG Game Master - Chapter 337



337 – S6. The Wizard, the Friend, and Yuna

*Chuk.* Pero snapped a salute. I returned a simple salute.

“I’ll fill in the remaining gaps with all my effort! Leave it to me!”

“Alright, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

The large parts were finished, and now only the detailed parts like the corners of the building remained. Lingering on this floor any longer would be a waste of time.

I opened the door, and before moving to the next floor, I asked,

“So, are you giving up? On love.”

“…I’ll try until I’ve been rejected three times!”

“If you’ve decided, then that’s that!”

I will create the opportunity to meet the princess. I don’t know what the result will be, but I hope they can at least accept it, even if they regret it.

I push the handle with strength in my arm. Light from a memory seeped from the crack in the door, welcoming me. It seems like I’ll be able to glimpse a memory once more as I ascend to the upper floor.

Is this… the story after Yuna made a friend?

I know that this story’s ending is a tragedy. But I just prayed that it wouldn’t be too tragic. That she had a sliver of solace amidst the pain.

Let’s move on.

As time passed, the petals were plucked away, one by one.

All attempts at life and happiness vanished meaninglessly, like bubbles.

Yuna’s heart could not reach them. The accusations that began with the golden ticket snowballed, and Yuna’s intent to encourage the children, to be a driving force, was misunderstood.

“How, how can you be smiling? How can you be smiling… Ah, that’s it. You, you’re in league with those mages?! That’s why you aren’t being tortured. You’re mocking us!”

It was agonizing hatred.

But, that hatred was almost preferable.

The child who had pinned the blame of the golden ticket died. The child who couldn’t bear it unless they hated someone and raged daily died. By the time the child who’d gone completely mad and was banging their head against the wall died,

Silence.

A lonely silence and stillness, like being left alone in this universe, slowly crawled up my spine. I couldn’t help but tremble from the cold.

And so, the only two remaining test subjects were Yuna and Alice.

“I want to become a butterfly. If I could become a butterfly, I could just fly away.”

“Butterflies… aren’t they a little gross?”

“You just don’t have to look at them up close.”

The two looked past the unyielding wall, imagining the sky that might be there. But it had been so long since they’d been trapped in the tower, as test subjects.

“…What color is the sky again?”

“Sky blue.”

“Yeah, but what kind of sky blue…?”

It didn’t come easily.

As they tried to remember what the clear sky had looked like, Alice suddenly recalled her past.

“Me, a beggar stealing wallets in back alleys? I thought that rat-life was the worst, but I realized too late that I was wrong.”

“I was, that is… I was a noble.”

Alice’s eyes widened in surprise. How a noble of pure, blue blood ended up as an experiment in a mage tower, she couldn’t understand.

She asked carefully,

“… Maybe you, you came from another branch or something? A b*stard?”

“…My parents loved honor. When a wizard came and said he’d make me a top disciple in the Purple Tower, they were so happy they sent me here. They probably don’t know what’s happening to me… Or maybe they do and they just don’t care.”

“Being a noble isn’t all that great, huh. Shit… When we get out of here, you’re going to succeed big and give them a taste of their own medicine.”

“Yeah.”

How grateful they were for the presence of a friend who they could care for.

The gnawing hunger that felt like pain, the dizziness from malnutrition. Talking with her friend made it all bearable.

The two children whispered for a long time, sharing many stories. About themselves, their families, their hobbies, and… their dreams.

“Me, I mean… I will get out of here, no matter what. I’ll get revenge on these b*stards, and then… I’ll get married. Anyone will do. I don’t care if they’re ugly. I just want to live a normal life.”

“Even if they’re super ugly?”

“… If they’re *really* super ugly, I might have to think about it a little bit. What about you?”

“Me? I… Uhmm…”

*Dreams*, huh.

It was such a vague and hazy word that Yuna quietly shook her head.

“I don’t know…”

“You were working so hard to save the others, I thought you were trying to become a paladin or something. No dreams, huh… Then I’ll share my dream with you. You should get married too. If possible, marry someone rich and competent, and let’s live a normal and happy life.”

Yuna closed her eyes for a moment, lost in her imagination.

Marriage, huh. First, I’d need a man for that. What kind of person? The Empire’s royalty are supposed to have blonde hair, so maybe a prince with blonde hair and blue eyes? Hmm… didn’t really click.

Maybe something a bit more, like… ordinary would be better. Yuna decided to put off deciding on her imaginary man’s face. She’d just hide it behind a fluffy cloud for now.

And then they’d have the wedding. Vow their eternal love, and that thing, that thing… a brief mouth-to-mouth contact thing, and fall asleep together under the watchful moonlight.

How would that be? Seems like it could be happy.

Then an idea suddenly popped up, and Yuna mumbled in a hoarse voice.

“…I wish you’d come to my wedding.”

“That’s a given. Of course we’ll be guests at each other’s weddings. I’ll go to yours, and you’ll come to mine. Because we’re friends.”

“Yeah, because we’re friends.”

Right, because we’re friends.

The best of friends in the world.

… … … …

“Only one of you will survive. In one day, we will choose the child who believes more deeply in the scaled god. You should discuss your final moments.”

Because we were friends.

–

Drizzling rain. So I made an umbrella and used it.

A hundred years later, nearly half of Crown Hall had been blown away. Ground and buildings alike, indiscriminately lost, it looked like a cluster of sky islands.

Sitting cross-legged on the roof of a guesthouse, floating serenely in mid-air, looking down, there’s nothing. Probably if I fell, I’d just keep falling forever.

Just waiting quietly.

*Whizzzz*—*Thwack!*

A grappling hook flew out, hooking perfectly onto a chimney, and with the sound of a taut wire, a beautiful woman came flying in and landed with a *thump*.

A beauty in a full-body suit. She was so flawlessly sculpted, you’d wonder who the hell did the modeling. No point in hiding it, it was Centra.

“…Creator, why are you using an umbrella? The sun is shining.”

“I was using it because it was raining.”

“…You must have had a sad dream.”

“It wasn’t my dream, but it’s depressing as hell.”

Centra had arrived, so preparations were complete. I braced my hands on my knees and stood up.

I know the clear conditions for this floor. Collecting and viewing Yuna’s memories. Mirror Yuna seems to want to convince me of something.

“The 『Great Beast』 is great and all, but it doesn’t have flight capabilities. Moving through the floating wreckage of this world alone would be a b*tch… That’s why I needed your help. Let’s go, Centra. Over there, in the direction of the 『Golden Door』.”

“…Um, should I give you a piggyback?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I have manners and dignity.”

I utilize the transformation device 『Dreaming Mirror』 to transform myself into a hamster the size of a fist. Then I climbed onto Centra’s head and gripped her hair tightly.

“There, now there’s no unnecessary physical contact. And I won’t get scolded by the Prince.”

“If you can transform, couldn’t you have just become a bird and flown…?”

“Looking at your phone while driving is dangerous. If Yuna’s memories suddenly flood me while I’m flying, I’m scared I’ll plummet to my death.”

“That’s true. Since it’s raining…”

*Pshoo—* *Clank.* *Whoosh—!*

Centra fired her grapple gun and moved like she was flying between buildings. The sight of this world, slowly disappearing as it gets absorbed by Mirror Yuna, is so futile.

There are stories that are painful because you don’t know the ending, and stories that are painful because you *do* know it. In the end, Yuna will be alone.

How wonderful it would be if this story were just a fantasy. If I could put my hands on it, direct it, and turn it into a story where everyone could laugh.

“The past cannot be changed.”

I know. That much is impossible.

“Even for us, who can change the past… the Creator didn’t change it.”

That’s right. He didn’t. He could have made an Abraham who hadn’t experienced terrible things, or a Centra who wasn’t part of the Resistance.

But he knows that wouldn’t create a happy Abraham and Centra, only separate individuals.

“So… those of us who live and breathe and move, we can only look towards the future, right?”

“Yeah.”

I have to move forward. I have to.

*Whir, thud.*

Centra set me down before the *Golden Gate*. I returned to my human form and looked at her.

“Thank you. It’s probably too late to claim this floor, I’ll open the path to the lower level, so you should go down.”

“Creator.”

“…Why?”

“A pair who loves each other can overcome any hardship, if they care for each other. I’m living proof. So… please go.”

“…………”

Is that so.

Right, those are the words of a couple still passionately in love, regardless of species or circumstance. If I don’t believe them, who should I believe?

I will love fiercely. Enough to make the rain stop forever.

*Screech—*

I opened the *Golden Gate*, and saw Yuna’s last memory.

Alice wanted to live more than anyone.

To increase her chances of survival, even by a fraction, she had obeyed the mages from the very start. When they wanted to change her religious values, she memorized scriptures with near-obsessive zeal.

She never even glanced at escape routes that were obviously traps, and she endured any lingering doubts. She deliberately reduced her weight to change her constitution so she could survive on less food, and she lay down all day to conserve energy.

A life for survival alone.

She wanted to live, even if it meant discarding most of what constituted herself.

But she broke her own rules. When she saw the blonde girl – the one who had been desperately trying to move towards the right path, even in this hell – being strangled…

She came to her senses with a blood-stained chair in her hand.

“…Shit.”

She didn’t show it, but she actually regretted it. She should have let her be strangled to death. She shouldn’t have done something so conspicuous.

But she couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t let a human who could do nothing but whine all day steal the girl’s noble light.

Because she was Alice’s star.

Things will get better. Another chance will come. Don’t abandon your humanity. From Yuna’s clinging words, Alice found comfort.

Yes, if there is that star. If she is there for me. Even if I end up abandoning many things for survival… I won’t forget what I abandoned.

But she never imagined they would be left alone together.

“Only one of you will survive. A day from now, we will choose the child who believes in the Scaled God more deeply. Discuss your final moments well.”

She also never imagined that such a terrible situation would come, where they would have to choose one of them to survive.

After a long silence, it was Yuna who spoke first. She spoke softly to her one and only friend.

“…I’m… not good at memorizing scriptures, because I’m dumb. Hehe.”

“……..”

A lie.

I’d known for a while that Yuna was smart. Probably knew the contents of even a fleeting glance at the scripture, down to the page number. Yuna was willing to give her friend a chance to live.

“Don’t… Don’t do that, Yuna. Just, let’s have a fair, honest competition.”

“If… If only one person can go, I thought the one with a dream should go. I mean, I’m okay.”

“……….”

Every kind of emotion boiled up inside. But the one that stuck out the most was self-loathing. Because I was relieved. Knowing Yuna would keep her promise. Knowing she meant it.

I didn’t have to die, I thought. I was relieved.

But, but I couldn’t, no way.

I’ll die, so you go, Yuna… I couldn’t say that.

“….Ughh, *sob*. Ughh….”

“Don’t cry, it’s okay. It’s okay, Alice…. I was glad to be with you.”

Cowardly, I had accepted Yuna’s sacrifice.

……….

The time had come.

“Chapter 3, Verse 32.”

“I don’t know.”

“The Great Black Dragon spoke, so let the name of the imperial capital be forever remembered with the meaning of immortality. Let it be carved in unchanging stone so that the pronunciation, letters, and form do not change with time.”

Every time the *Mountain Goat* asked, Yuna said she didn’t know, but Alice got them all right. And so the long recitation ended.

“Excellent. All of Yurensto’s test subjects were wrong, but you got them all right.”

“……….”

I lived.

I lived. I had lived.

But I wasn’t happy at all. Alice felt confused by that fact. She’d struggled so desperately to live, yet, having silently accepted Yuna’s sacrifice, now…

From noble mtl dot com

“Be, be well, Alice. Later… later for sure.”

Yuna promised a reunion that would never happen, tears mixed with a smile.

That sight, it felt like my heart was being torn apart by guilt. And so.

“Since you are so knowledgeable about our god, I’ll choose you, Alice, as the material for the 『Evil God Statue』.”

Thwack──!

And when.

When the 『Goat’s』 arm pierced through my back and ripped my heart out, Alice actually felt relief. Because that, was less painful than having my heart torn apart.

Right, they said they’d choose a child who believed more deeply in God. They didn’t say *how* they’d choose. I was tricked. I was tricked but.

It’s a relief. That I died. Really…

Thud, and. My heartless body collapses. And Alice’s soul, bound together with her heart, becomes the first 『Evil God Statue』.

“Let’s begin the final stage of the experiment. We’ll make Yurensto’s experimental subject the 『Mirror』, and by reflecting this 『Evil God Statue』… we’ll pull out a god who will obey us from the Phantasmal Realm. The completion is just around the corner!”

Various mana lines were connected to Yuna’s body.

The process of forcibly stretching her soul and creating the 『Mirror』, it couldn’t be painless. But Yuna just sat there like a doll, with empty eyes.

A door opens.

Crack, crack. A cross-shaped fissure appears in space, the inside swirling with infinite possibilities. And the 『Goat』 carefully brings the 『Evil God Statue』 to it…

Even at that moment, Alice’s consciousness remained.

That was an unforeseen situation. Consciousness that should have already scattered and disappeared remained, so the mirror was about to reflect an unnecessary sight.

From within the 『Evil God Statue』, Alice prayed. She earnestly begged the being trying to cross over from the mirror.

I don’t know who you are, what kind of being you are. But, if you are something born from me. If my voice reaches you. If you are willing to grant my wish.

I pray like this.

I beg you, make Yuna the happiest person in the world.

–

S0. A modern city that never sleeps.

Mirror Yuna, standing on the building’s railing, continued speaking.

“The fact that Yuna’s soul wasn’t broken enough was also a variable. The mages thought Yuna’s mind would be crushed, but that light you hold remained. If there’s self-awareness, you’re a person, not a mirror.”

“…So, the ‘Mirror’ reflected the image of Yuna who was closest. And Yuna’s friend’s wish also became part of it?”

“That’s right. That’s how I was born.”

An incomplete ‘Evil God Statue’ and an incomplete ‘Mirror’ created an illusionary figure only meant to make Yuna happy.

Something that looked like Yuna, but wasn’t Yuna.

“After I was born, the first thing I did was erase Yuna’s starlight. You saw it, so you know. She endured unnecessary pain and was hurt.”

“…And after that, you cleaned up the old purple magic tower?”

“Yeah. I erased it all. Maybe Yuna would’ve said things like…’Give the mages who were only passively involved a chance,’ or ‘There must have been a reason for them.’ But that won’t do.”

“Yeah, that’s something you shouldn’t say. You did that one thing right, you jerk.”

Spin.

Against the backdrop of a moonlit cityscape, Mirror Yuna turned halfway around to face me.

“You will become Yuna’s scar.”

“That’s wrong. I appreciate your noble heart, but you need to distinguish between a disaster situation and ordinary times. Your work is over now.”

“Before you grow any bigger in Yuna’s heart, I will completely erase you from here.”

“From now on, I’ll be taking care of Yuna. If you don’t plan on leaving on your own two feet… I’ll see to your forced retirement myself.”

*Kiiigi, kiiigigigiik*──

The world warps. Sand from a wasteland pours from the void like a waterfall, buildings grow atop buildings, and a rain of swords falls from the sky.

And… that pure white, beautifully shining moon.

Instinctively, I knew that was Yuna, the one I love.

“There you are, Yuna.”

Just wait a little longer.

After silencing your evil fan club president, I will reach you, no matter what.

With resolve, I chant.

“The heavens are heartless. There is no love in their judging gaze. If no one can understand my heart, then I have no choice but to go towards that moon alone.”

──With my heart as a brush, I bloom the path beneath my feet.

“JaeWolGyeong (Reaching the Moon’s Realm) – GongSangJuBak (Empty Sky Pillar Binding).”