My breathing trembles. My vision distorts for a moment.
My mind is so chaotic I wish this wasn’t real. To think everything I’ve done was someone’s arrangement.
And for the worse. Wait, then what about my body?
"My body...."
"Don’t worry. I’ll make good use of your body."
Did he even take my body? A hollow laugh escaped me.
As if tackling my thoughts, Grant denied it.
"Let’s be precise. That body originally belonged to Lucian Vane. Its ownership was merely transferred to you, the Transmigrator."
"But many of the things I did with that body were by my own will!"
"What does that mean? In the end, weren’t you just Lucian, licking the bottom in Earth?"
It was an undeniable truth. Though most web novel protagonists are like that.
A guy who couldn’t do anything in reality.
Saying they overcame death, died once, had a reason for revenge, had to return to Earth, and so on.
For various reasons, they eventually encounter fortuitous opportunities and grow stronger.
But even if this was someone’s arrangement, I ultimately did it of my own will. No one ordered me to.
"Snap out of it, Lucian."
Gritting my teeth, I slowly stood up. Even standing was difficult.
Like a child just learning to walk, I barely managed to get my body up in the dark room, where the monitor’s light was everything.
My legs trembled, and my heart felt like it was tearing apart. To think that everything I thought was just a coincidence was planned by Grant, who stood before my eyes.
"I was just played for a fool."
Who could have ever expected this? It felt so absurd, the situation seemed unreal.
As if reading my thoughts, Grant looked at me with deep eyes.
"It’s a stark reality. It’ll be easier if you accept it."
"What changes if I accept it?"
He pointed around.
"This is exactly where you should be. It suits you well. Doesn’t it?"
Something boiled up inside my chest.
I recalled the enjoyable things I did after coming to Asgard, and how I overcame difficulties and grew, despite the hardships.
Moreover, I even remembered the many grateful people who had formed connections with me.
"Accept what? Fuck!"
I wanted to deliberately summon courage. The guy in front of me right now is a Transcendent.
He’s a truly terrifying guy, the one who sent me to Asgard.
If that guy so much as twitches a finger, I might die.
Nevertheless, I wanted to confront him. Grant asked with a stern face.
"Then will you deny this too? Just as you denied your own past?"
"Deny my past?"
"A worthless pro-gamer trainee, and web novels were a series of failures. Didn’t you even rush your life, leaving all those failures behind?"
He knows everything. Knows it well.
A bitter smile formed. I nodded, as if admitting it.
"Yes, that’s right. That’s an undeniable fact and an unchangeable past."
"Hoo, how cool."
I have to admit what needs admitting. But that applies to my opponent too.
"I don’t know what I was like back then, but I’m not that person now. Why? Are you going to deny me now?"
"Well."
"I hated everything in the world, and I wanted to deny everything related to me, everything I saw. Yes, that’s right."
"I understand. Humans who collapse have no wings."
Grant empathized as if it were his own matter. But his appearance seemed so alien.
I felt like he was similar to me. Only, his words and actions now seemed to carry a hint of persuasion.
"But I don’t deny it anymore."
"Don’t lie, Lucian."
"Does it sound like a lie?"
I approached him. Without blinking once, I met his mysterious gaze.
Then I reached out and grabbed him by the collar.
"Now I deny nothing. Not my weak past self, not my failed past, not even the fact that I’m still a pathetic guy!"
"Why? What do you gain by admitting that? Humans are primitive beings!"
"Proof."
At my single word, Grant’s expression relaxed. Soon, Grant whistled.
I took a moment to catch my breath. It was time to put what I’d been thinking into words.
I might make mistakes, but I wanted to do it right this time. Because I was serious.
"My weak self is me, and my failed self is also me. These are things I must carry, and thanks to them, I am who I am now."
"Cool, isn’t it?"
"Cool? Of course it is. Most bugs can’t even do this, just whining online. But I, at least, want to face myself."
"Hmm, you simply fulfilled your role faithfully. You gathered the Three Star Water and finally allowed me to take over your body. Your usefulness ends there."
It was as if he was telling me to go home now that my job was done.
It would be nice to go back and rest, but unfortunately, this wasn’t a workplace or a part-time job.
I was rather curious.
If he was going to use a pawn, there would have been many others besides me.
Moreover, as Grant knew, I was just a mediocre guy in reality.
But why did he specifically use me? Why did he specifically exploit me?
"Why... why me of all people?"
"Hmm? Uh-huh-hahahahaha!"
Grant laughed until he burst. As if he had expected such a question, and it was too cliché.
How regrettable. You son of a bitch.
"Why are you laughing?"
"You asked why it was you? Because you were the only one who frequently played the game where I set the trap!"
Grant’s answer shocked me. I couldn’t even speak.
A well-made game that no one recognized, ’my little game’.
Asgard Chronicle, which I thought was just that.
To think this was actually a trap set by Grant. And I, unaware, enjoyed the game, even doing comment work, and then Transmigrated.
"Haa...."
My strength drained. As I hung my head, Grant’s seemingly delighted voice pierced my eardrums.
"Don’t be so down. It wasn’t my intention for just anyone to fall for it."
"Then what?"
"You were the perfect fit. Why, it’s like web novels, isn’t it? A protagonist who’s successful from the start? Would such guys even care about other worlds or anything like that?"
"That’s true."
"So I needed someone like you, who was stuck at the bottom. A growth-type character, faithful to their desires, and always able to reflect on themselves!"
So, in the end, I was exactly the type of person Grant wanted.
It didn’t matter who fell for it.
What the, it’s not like a lottery. What if someone like Alpa had fallen for it?
"I’m truly speechless. Lucian, what is this?"
I slowly nodded. I tried to understand.
But there was one thing I absolutely couldn’t understand.
"Why did you do all this, anyway?"
"Resurrection."
Then Grant’s eyes turned golden. A majesty was added to his mysterious gaze.
That majesty began to press down on me like an invisible boulder.
I instinctively flinched, feeling like I wanted to bow my head.
It was an overwhelming majesty.
Finally, Grant smiled faintly.
"You know I traveled, right?"
"Yes."
Sir Grant traveled. He fought battles no one recognized in Asgard, protected the world, and grew steadily to become a Transcendent, Sir Grant.
He eventually ventured into space to see a world wider than the current one.
And he ended up traveling through all sorts of multiverses.
As if reminiscing about the past, Grant smiled deeply.
"I had many good memories during that journey. I met good people too. I realized anew that humans are truly beings full of gratitude."
"Then why did you sever all connections with the multiverses, even at the cost of losing your physical body?"
At my question, Grant was momentarily surprised. His wide eyes were proof.
"You found out that much? Well, it was a hint I left for you to discover, but still."
Grant nodded.
Even that was his arrangement. How absurd.
He’s really like a god, isn’t he?
He shrugged his shoulders again.
"Originally, all multiverses were open. You didn’t know?"
It was a statement that made half sense. Of course he traveled if they were open.
But they were open from the start? Then why can’t science achieve things like dimensional travel?
No, that’s not what’s important.
"But you closed them again, didn’t you?"
"The realms of space and dimensions are like that. They’re open to each other, but they’re vast domains, making interference incredibly difficult."
Grant picked up a worn baseball cap nearby. He playfully put on the cap and continued speaking.
"But for some reason, they suddenly closed. I don’t know why. I can only speculate that such a situation occurred due to the use of a pan-universal artifact."
What on earth happened? Was it caused by the Outer Gods?
Grant sighed and took off the cap. Surprisingly, he politely returned it to where it was.
"As someone who yearned for the multiverses, I gladly wandered through the entire universe. It was an easy task for me in my prime. I had become a Transcendent, after all. And I possessed unique abilities of that kind."
"How amazing."
"However, during my travels, instead of good people and memories, I encountered bad humans and memories."
Grant’s mood suddenly plummeted. His complexion even darkened as if shrouded in black mist.
Nevertheless, his eyes still glowed golden. Sharp as blades.
"No matter which world I went to, which parallel world, it was the same."
"Hey, that’s just how human settlements are..."
"Shut up and listen!"
Sir Grant suddenly flared up. He glared at me and continued speaking.
"’Human settlements are all like that’? So that means it’s okay to destroy all universes where humans exist, then?"
"What? Who would do such a thing?"
"I had always believed that humans were beings worthy of respect. Among all life forms in the entire universe, only humans first created the concept of courtesy. I considered them children blessed by gods."
Sir Grant was saying something quite surprising. But he soon shook his head.
"But I found out during my travels. My ideal world didn’t exist there! Everywhere I went, humans were the cause of destruction. In every timeline, every horizon. Wherever even a single human was involved, conflict arose! Haa, you know well about human-on-human conflict, don’t you?"
Grant pointed at me. I flinched as if poked by a finger, then scratched my head.
I know it well.
All sorts of internet communities and the damage they caused, and even real-world wars.
Without even looking far, the atrocities committed by eagle country are unspeakable, and I’ve seen countless conflicts erupting everywhere because of differing beliefs or skin colors.
Because human history was stained with war. Because that is human history.
"Hehehe, yes. I decided to eliminate all of it. Why? You can’t leave trash lying around, can you? Like you, Lucian!"
"...Is that so?"
"Trash that messes up a room deserves to be cleaned. It’s the same! Humanity spread across the entire universe deserves to disappear. They pretend to be intelligent beings, yet they hate their own kind more than anyone and kill them the most."
"Haa... Hey, is that why you did all this? To eliminate everything?"
Grant nodded. Only regret and hatred remained on his face.
"But my body was already very tired and sick. That’s why I needed a new one."
"Wait, so me...?!"
I was horrified. This bastard, did he take my body for that reason?
Grant laughed, standing at an angle.
"Don’t worry. I’ll make good use of your body. First, I’ll grind Asgard into dust, then I’ll trample other worlds one by one!"
"You don’t have the right to do that."
"No, I do. I am the ancestor of all elves, Elfe, who imparted technology to humanity!"
"Wait, what the hell... Hey!"
Sir Grant vanished, turning into black smoke. I frantically waved my hands at the empty space where he had been, then fell into despair. What kind of situation is this?
"Hey, Grant. Grant! You fucking bastard!"
Even if I screamed with all my might, it only echoed emptily within the room.
What Grant desired was the extinction of all humanity in the entire universe.
Sir Grant was Elfe. The ancestor of elves, who came from outer space.
Chewing over his words, I only felt a sense of futility. To think he wanted to eliminate all humanity in the entire universe.
"What should I do?"
"Lucian, you must pull yourself together!"
Suddenly, a voice was heard beside me.