Episode 252
* * *
At the end of the war came winter.
I never thought the world would freeze over tomorrow. But when winter finally showed itself, the Shadow Lord accepted its presence with strange indifference.
Deep down, I had a feeling that this was going to happen from the beginning.
From that day, when I obtained the cold of the apocalypse from the cosmic winter to gain strength.
Still, nothing changed.
─ Shadow Lord, you have sworn to be an apostle of truth. And all that exists has an end.
Winter said.
In the dark and white winter night, leaving behind the fallen warrior and the frozen artificial goddess.
─ And you will willingly accept that truth.
“… … .”
Dale didn’t answer right away. Behind him was the old dark mother who loved humans.
“I don’t deny that this world will end in ice.”
After a silence, Dale opened his mouth.
“I understand that everything that exists has an end, and that the end is never in vain.”
The end of happy things means the end of sad and painful things as well.
Because there is an end, there is meaning. Because there is death, life has meaning.
Because meaning is born only within the finite.
That was the truth that Blackball realized, and Dale realized the same thing.
─ Yeah, I’m glad you understand.
“But that’s not the case today.”
Nevertheless, Dale shook his head blandly. The pure white silhouette that made up winter stirred again.
─ Are you trying to deny the truth that will come at the end of the world?
“Does it look to you like this world is going to end at any moment?”
─ Are you going to talk nonsense like those idiots of this star? Are you going to deny the truth in fear when the end comes right before you?
Winter laughed as if she found it ridiculous. Dale did not laugh.
“Do you really think your existence is the end of the world?”
“Dale said. At those words, Winter’s laughter ceased.
At the same time, a cold air unlike anything I’d ever felt before began to sweep in.
A being that spreads a cold air that seems to extinguish the light and flame of this world just by existing.
No, it wasn’t cold.
It was nothing.
─ Foolish mortal, how dare you doubt my existence?
“This universe is not frozen yet.”
Dale answered as if it were someone else’s business.
“There was no thermal death, no proton decay. The sun still burns on this planet, and the black dwarfs that are still floating around in space have not been destroyed. The world has not ended. This star is no different. Even a high school student can figure that out.”
As the Shadow Lord, the Eye of Truth was looking at the shadows of winter. However, even without any special abilities, it was not difficult to fathom the truth.
“Is there really a reason to think that the existence that brings about the ‘end’ simply because the beings of this star are noisy is the end of this world?”
White frost with a human silhouette, it is true that winter has the power to come to the ‘end of the universe’. However, that does not mean that he means the end of the universe itself.
─ Then what do you think of me?
“awe.”
Winter asked, and Dale answered.
“What people fear is not death itself, but the shadow that looms over them.”
─ … … .
“The same goes for the apocalypse. What we truly fear is not the apocalypse itself, but the fear of the apocalypse that has descended upon this world.”
Winter didn’t answer, but she could not have been unaware of what Dale meant.
“Your existence is nothing more than an illusion born of the fear of the end.”
In the past, the scientists of Earth knew that the universe would end through the Big Freeze. The elves of the Second Empire also came to that conclusion. They all knew that the end of this universe would come in the future.
According to the second law of thermodynamics, this universe will eventually end up as ice.
Perhaps all intelligent beings throughout the universe were aware of this fact as well.
From the truth of the end that everyone in the universe fears, winter was born. But winter was never the end itself.
And just as the fear of death is more bothersome than death itself, the end is no exception.
Fake. Shuv burst out laughing at Dale’s words. It was so funny that he couldn’t help it.
“That is also an extremely imperfect fear that can only exist through the Grimoire.”
Winter did not laugh. No, it could not laugh.
But nothing changed. Dale was simply seeing the truth reflected in his eyes.
The truth is cruel to everyone. Dale himself was no exception. He had once believed himself to be a warrior of the other world, but the real warrior died that white, dark winter night.
The two warriors here were just ghosts of that day.
─ How funny, young mortal.
He smiled as if he was enjoying winter.
─ I wonder if this star will still be able to make that sound after it ends up in ice.
He just stretched out his arms.
The apocalyptic cold that had been embedded in Dale’s body flowed out of his body and into Winter’s body.
At the same time, Sepia, the owner of the magic book 『Book of Absolute Zero』, moved her lips with difficulty.
“Hey, work… …!”
At that voice, Dale, who was pretending to be calm, finally began to feel agitated.
“Don’t hesitate, give my heart… … !”
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“That can’t be.”
But the excitement was short-lived.
Dale’s heart accelerated and the darkness began to disperse.
The ‘Cold of the End’ no longer existed for Dale, as the one who gave it to him had taken its power away from him.
But there was still an primordial darkness in Dale.
─ Let’s assume you’re right, young mortal.
At the same time, there was winter, which enveloped the cold of the end, against Dale, which was scattering the darkness of the ages.
─ Do you think that a mortal like you can stand against the oldest and greatest fear in this universe?
“Mortal?”
Dale asked back, dumbfounded.
“Everything that exists has an end, didn’t you say?”
And that meant only one thing.
“Even the oldest and greatest fears in the universe are ultimately mortal.”
Winter did not answer. But that did not mean it was silent.
Absolute nothingness was scattered.
Complete and utter annihilation. As he said, the presence of winter was soon the greatest fear in the universe.
The end of thought, which cannot be resisted or escaped.
──And Dale could never overcome that being.
Before he knew it, the cold air of winter was engulfing Dale’s existence.
Sepia’s appearance was erased, Shuve was erased, and the place Dale was left behind was on top of a world that had ended in ice.
There was nothing there.
When he came to, Dale was walking alone across the empty winter land.
And yet, the scenery seemed strangely familiar.
Only then did I realize.
The bubbles of doom he showed when he first confronted the Immortal Frederick.
Without exception, worlds that ended in ice during the cosmic winter.
At least the Immortal Frederick accepted the truth. It was just that the answer he came to within the truth was different.
‘When this world ends in ice and is swallowed up in darkness once again, what do you think our struggles will mean?’
‘There is nothing that is impermanent in the face of death. People die, stars die, and eventually even this universe will face death.’
The oldest, largest, and most powerful fear in the universe.
No matter how strong you are, you cannot face that fear through strength.
‘But in the eternal life, the Immortal Lord, neither joy nor sorrow nor pain will ever end. Does the end of the world still feel like such a fleeting and terrifying truth?’
I just thought back to my conversation with the Immortal Frederick. And I thought back to the answer Dale had given.
After thinking about it, I started walking.
Above the winter of space, where there is nothing, just nowhere to go.
The world’s most lonely journey has begun.
* * *
How much time had passed? I couldn’t tell. It could have been eons, or it could have been only a few days. The passage of time had no meaning here.
At the end of his journey, there was ‘winter’ in front of Dale.
A silhouette made of pure white frost, sitting curled up like a child.
“I finally found it.”
Dale said, and Winter turned her head away.
─ Did you come here to beg me to kill you?
Dale shook his head.
“I came to tell you that you are not afraid.”
─ You are still being so reckless and arrogant.
“My intention remains the same. You are not the ‘end’, and therefore there is no need to fear you. At the same time… … ”
Dale shook his head again and said.
“I wanted to tell you that you are not the hideous demon or destructive spirit that you think you are.”
─ … … .
“Because there is an ending, you can be saved, and sad and painful things can end. Your existence was not born in fear of everyone, and was not meant to be an object of ‘fear’ that would be pointed at, but rather, a being that would receive their blessings.”
Winter, curled up, remained silent.
─ Do you, a mayfly, dare to lecture me, who remembers the creation and the end of the world?
“There’s nothing I can’t do. I just feel sorry for you.”
At the end of the silence, Winter spoke, and Dale answered.
Laughter echoed through the air.
─ It’s trivial.
After laughing, Winter said.
─ It’s so trivial that it’s not even worth dealing with. I’ve lost interest. Get out.
Those were the last words of winter. But that didn’t mean the end of Dale.
The world was turned upside down.
The endless winter land crumbled, and the world Dale remembered returned.
Those days felt fleeting, like a fleeting dream.
Affirming the end and fear. Paradoxically, that was the only way to deny the fear of the end.
And there was sepia.
With the warrior and the goddess dead, the elf wizard is left behind in the world of Dale.
“Sepia.”
“Dale… … .”
Before she could continue speaking, Sepia reached out her arm towards her chest.
“The coldness of the heart… … .”
“It won’t be cold anymore.”
“Yeah, it’s very warm.”
“At least the world won’t freeze over tomorrow.”
Sepia silently took Dale’s hand. The hand she was holding was very warm.
The end of the war has finally come to an end.
