Chapter 244 – Brightest Darkness – 2

“That is….”

I tapped the table with my finger, urging Eclipse for an answer, making her shudder each time my fingernail hit the marble with a tink.

“Um, I brought this along as a byproduct when I fetched souls from your dimension.”

“A byproduct, you say? I’m not sure how that’s possible.”

“As you know, I had to drag in souls from different dimensions to deal with the twisted ones.”

Since I had just heard this, I nodded lightly in agreement.

“Due to the urgency, some concepts attached to the souls came through as well. What you just mentioned is one of those concepts.”

In short, that damn blue steam locomotive coming through wasn’t the goddess’s intention.

“I understand that part. But what about the reason it remained in this world?”

“Now that the power gap is evident, it’s no longer necessary, but back then, it fought against me using all available means. I discovered the concept that came through from another dimension and grotesquely twisted it to leave it in my world.”

“Couldn’t the goddess just kill it?”

“I killed it countless times. I couldn’t allow this world to be defiled. But… no matter how many times I killed it, it stood up defiantly again.”

Eclipse grit her teeth.

“I couldn’t afford to withdraw just to kill that thing, so I had to bury it in the ground and create a dungeon to confine it.”

In the end, it was the Creature that Devours the World that caused the trouble. I found myself recalling a possibility as I sorted out my thoughts.

“I managed to kill it before. Is there a possibility it could have been resurrected?”

“There’s no way.”

Eclipse looked at me and emphasized her point.

“It didn’t resurrect itself; it was continuously revived by that thing, agitating my nerves and scattering my focus in battle.”

“Now that the power gap is overwhelming, there’s no reason to do that anymore.”

“You see it correctly.”

I was relieved, thinking about how I’d have to face it again. Honestly, I didn’t want to experience that a second time.

“I understand that point. Let’s move on to the final question. What’s this Brightest Darkness 4 game about, and why did you bring me back here for the second time?”

The number that came out of my mouth was 2, not 4. It’s only natural since the misunderstanding had been completely resolved. I couldn’t exactly state I had been in one world all along and had been dragged back multiple times.

“The story of Brightest Darkness 4 you mentioned is composed entirely through visions of the future.”

“Is this similar to when you said I would fall while fighting that lizard?”

In short, as the goddess had stated, that’s exactly how it had turned out. I literally fell downwards. There was no mention of dying, so I was still alive, conversing with the goddess.

“Correct. I foresaw countless possibilities that you might choose, and I gathered them all to place the concept of ‘ending’ in Brightest Darkness 4.”

“That means there could be a world where I wipe out all life, similar to the ending of BD4—”

“Absolutely not. That was merely a possibility, and once you started walking a different path, it was erased without a trace.”

Eclipse firmly denied my concern.

“The possibilities I see are entirely different from the ‘parallel worlds’ existing in your realm. Whatever possibility you choose makes the rest nonexistent from the beginning.”

That was comforting. If all the endings of BD4 had been parallel worlds, I would have had to carry the anxiety that there might be a world where I chose the annihilation route.

But what she said meant that the moment I chose to stand against the Creature that Devours the World with Eclipse, all those other endings were nonexistent from the start.

All the numerous multi-endings of BD4.

“If the goddess can see the future, wouldn’t she have known I would choose such options? Why was she so anxious?”

“What I do is not prophecy; it’s merely observing possibilities. Thus, from my standpoint, all futures are both possible and impossible. The choice was entirely yours.”

I sat in thought for a while, and when my thoughts were somewhat organized, I spoke again.

“Why did you create a game about my past?”

This was the most fundamental question. If I were the protagonist of the Brightest Darkness series, why would it be made into a game? What was the purpose of turning my past story into a game?

“That is….”

Eclipse blushed slightly at my words, looking at me with eyes filled with affection.

“Because you promised me.”

“Huh?”

“Although it turned out like this, you said you couldn’t bear to not repay me for all the suffering you caused me. So, whenever the opportunity to fight that thing arises, please call me here.”

What kind of nonsense was I back then? I rolled around, sacrificing my life just to return to my original world, and I wanted revenge, asking to be called back?

Well, since that was a version of myself from the past, it made some sense. If it was because of the twisted existence caused by that thing, I might be grinding my teeth in resentment.

It was fortunate that I stopped at a vow for revenge instead of becoming a character wreck.

“In accordance with your request, I created a kind of simulator to ensure that even while you were forgetting your memories, you wouldn’t rust physically, by reading all your past and possibilities.”

“……That simulator is the Brightest Darkness series.”

Perhaps the reason I was deeply engrossed in playing BD4 was because of a sense of revenge. The desire to hit back at the Creature that Devours the World.

Of course, it was also because it was fun.

Given the circumstances, I could understand why I hadn’t played BD1 and BD2 much. My body must have instinctively rejected it due to the memories of the suffering I had experienced in those two games.

By the time I reached BD3, I was traveling with the Soul Guardian, Nix, so I might have felt less aversion.

When I was pulled into this world, I easily mimicked the actions of game characters and could kill people without blinking thanks to this.

I was probably recalling the sensations of the past through my body while playing Brightest Darkness 4.

For ten whole years.

I leaned back in my chair. The thoughts I had organized became tangled again like a knotted thread, overflowing with all kinds of thoughts.

‘No wonder the fifth part hasn’t been released.’

From the first to the fourth parts, the production company had a release interval that was understandable, but they hadn’t released the fifth part for ten years. It must have all come down to a lack of data.

“…Then, what about the mods?”

Suddenly, I thought about the mods. The driving force that allowed me to play BD4 for ten years. The Darkest Light Mod was made by the goddess, but what about the others?

“This world didn’t change because of the concept called ‘mod’ from your dimension. It always looked like this. I crafted it with great effort.”

Eclipse puffed out her chest proudly. Meaning, it wasn’t that the mod applied to the world and transformed its common sense and concepts, but rather the opposite was true.

The exterior of this world that I had thought was a product of the mod was actually the genuine article. The NPC designs from vanilla BD4 were all fake.

I felt a sense of having my common sense denied. I knew I shouldn’t be trying to find common sense when I came here, but it felt like that nonetheless.

“What about the items from my world…?”

“Yes. That was to ensure you wouldn’t face any discomfort when you eventually came.”

Things like the air conditioner and fan, the modern bed, and room structure that seemed absurd at first. Even those weren’t part of the mod. They were the goddess’s consideration for me.

“That’s all I have to say. Now, the judgment is… up to you.”

Once Eclipse finished speaking, she calmly closed her eyes. Her expression was steady, as if she would accept whatever I said, but she couldn’t quite hide the slight tremor of fear around her eyes.

‘In the end, did anything come back to me?’

But I had no intention of pursuing Eclipse or getting angry. According to her explanation, she hadn’t done anything wrong to me.

Dragging me back four times and having me rolled around wasn’t an exaggeration, and taking my soul without permission was just giving a second chance to something that had already been killed.

Moreover, the reason for bringing me back here was my request, meaning Eclipse’s fault was effectively just letting the Creature that Devours the World be born.

‘I’m glad I didn’t get angry.’

If I had flown off the handle right away, I would’ve been very sorry after everything was cleared up.

“Goddess.”

“…Yes.”

Eclipse opened her eyes and responded cautiously.

“Could you come over here for a second?”

Even though I was ordering the goddess, Eclipse merely blushed and approached me without any sign of hesitation or displeasure on her face.

Then, she knelt down before me.

I simply asked her to come over, not to kneel, so I considered telling her to stand up, but I held back after seeing her expression. It was incredibly familiar.

The expression that pops up on popes’ faces when they’ve got something on their mind, clearly showing they’re very expectant. It was evident on Eclipse’s face.

I looked down at Eclipse kneeling before my feet. I had felt it since the first time I saw her, but her outfit was simply ridiculous.

The cloth covering her nipples fluttered in the night breeze, and her bare bottom was pushed against her heels, making it slightly bulge on either side.

Her thighs and calves pressed against each other, showcasing a mix of elasticity and softness. The space between her tightly closed thighs was covered only by a single thin piece of cloth that looked like it could blow away in a puff.

“Goddess.”

“…Yes, you.”

“What did I leave behind when I returned to my original world?”

“You said you couldn’t possibly bear it without repaying me for all the suffering you caused me…”

“That’s right.”

I placed my left hand on Eclipse’s cheek. Twitch, her body trembled slightly.

“But you know, Goddess, doesn’t the goddess also bear a significant share of responsibility for the suffering I had to endure? After all, you brought me here.”

I cupped her cheek with my palm, gently brushing my thumb over her lips while locking eyes with her. Each time my lips brushed against her skin, Eclipse shuddered. Warm breaths escaped through her lips.

The affection in her eyes deepened, and the blush on her cheeks intensified.

“Y-yes… there is…”

“If there’s some fault on the goddess’s part, it’s only right that she should face some punishment too, right?”

“……”

Eclipse nodded silently. Her face began to redden like it was about to burst.

“So let me ask you.”

I pulled my hand away from her cheek, gently tucking back the strands of hair that had stuck to her face from where I had just touched.

“What kind of punishment do you think I’m going to give to the goddess?”