Chapter 57
My vision went dark.
The memories of the Primordial God began flowing into my mind.
Then, little by little, my eyes opened again.
For some reason, I had become incorporeal.
"Hahaha! What an amusing fellow. To think he'd move like that over there."
In the distance, someone was watching Players through screens just like the other Constellations, clearly enjoying himself.
It was the Primordial God.
That's...
His body was translucent.
He maintained a vaguely human shape, but his face was completely blank except for the corners of his mouth curled upward.
It was difficult to even call him human.
[The inheritance of memories continues.]
The scene changed.
By then, he had taken on a proper appearance.
He examined his body with fascination.
"Oh-ho. This one is definitely the best. I like this form the most out of everything I've tried so far."
Beyond the screens, Players struggled desperately to survive.
The other screens showed the same thing.
...So this is what the Constellations see.
Disgusting.
"Haaah. Why would you move like that there? It was finally getting interesting. What a shame. Maybe I should've sponsored a little more?"
He sighed like a child disappointed that a pet insect had died.
And not long after, his attention shifted to another Player.
"Hahahaha!! Yes, that's more like it!"
The scene changed again.
A great deal of time seemed to have passed.
His appearance had changed too.
A thick beard covered his face, and wrinkles had formed across his forehead.
He was no longer a young man, but middle-aged.
The innocent brightness from before had long since vanished.
There wasn't even a hint of a smile on his face.
Grit.
"Damn it...."
He stared at a dead Player and blamed himself again and again.
Why was he acting like this now?
What had changed him so much?
I slowly approached his back and looked at the screen he was staring at.
"...!"
Only then did I understand.
Why he regretted it so deeply.
We'll climb this Tower. And... we'll definitely go back. That will never change!
Unlike Constellations, who were born complete, humans continued to grow as time passed.
Not only their bodies.
Their minds, beliefs, and resolve grew as well.
And after reaching adulthood, they slowly formed values of their own.
[‘Primordial God’ has sponsored 5,000 Coins.]
[Message: Why won't you give up? Everyone else is dead. You're the only one left.]
...I won't give up. I... no, we will definitely reach the top of this Tower.
That was it.
He had grown to envy that unbreakable human conviction.
"...Fascinating. How can humans be so different from one another?"
At first, it must have been simple curiosity.
Then anticipation.
Eventually, that anticipation became sympathy.
Compassion.
And finally, regret.
"Cough... so this is... how I disappear...?"
[All Players climbing the Tower have died.]
[Highest floor reached: 87th floor.]
[The corresponding world will soon be completely annihilated.]
[All authority over the destroyed world will be transferred to the Tower.]
Countless worlds.
Countless Players.
Their deaths.
And eventually, the destruction of those worlds themselves.
For thousands upon thousands of years, he had no choice but to watch it happen.
Then even more time passed.
Several more millennia.
A grand banquet was underway.
Constellations on the first floor chatted excitedly about the Players they were watching.
"Haha, did you see that guy? His whole body melted before he died."
"What a waste of sponsorship. I thought he'd be entertaining for once. Where am I supposed to find another one like him?"
"Ah, right. There's someone on the 20th floor this time. He looks pretty decent, so I think I'll switch over there. Who knows how long he'll last though. Haha!"
The Primordial God heard every word.
He ground his teeth.
Watching them treat Players like insects, exactly as he once had, filled him with intense disgust.
[Memory inheritance has reached 70%.]
[The viewpoint is rewinding to a specific point in time.]
Fwoooosh!
Everything around him was burning.
A magnificent temple was collapsing.
The Primordial God knelt on the ground, his entire body bound by radiant chains of light.
What is this...?
[Your Rank is too low to properly perceive these beings.]
[Warning! Portions of the dialogue will be censored.]
Dozens of Constellations had gathered.
One stepped forward and spoke.
"Bzzzt... Your sympathy for mere insignificant creatures nearly killed all of us. Do you admit your crime?"
"...Ha. So all of you gathered together just to trap me? Bzzzt... and even went so far as to use... bzzzt... for this. Then I suppose... bzzzt... has already been dealt with too."
The chains tightened around his body.
He desperately fought to keep his fading consciousness, but struggling only intensified the pain.
It was pointless.
"Glaring at us changes nothing. Your mistake would have spread like a plague. We merely stopped it."
The Constellation's voice remained cold.
"Originally, the source of a plague should be eliminated immediately... but that appears impossible for now."
Rrrrrrk.
A massive coffin appeared and began closing around him.
The light faded.
Just before the coffin sealed completely, the Primordial God spoke to every Constellation present.
"Do not think this ends here. One day, I will return."
"Time will change your mind. After enough storms beat down on a dying flame, only ash will remain."
BOOM!
[Memory inheritance has exceeded 88%.]
Trapped in total darkness, the Primordial God eventually lost all sense of time.
No one remembered him anymore.
He came to be known only as the ‘Forgotten Constellation.’
Inside the worn-down temple, Peridot sat beside him.
She looked much younger than she did now.
"Please don't worry."
She smiled gently.
"I'll stay by your side."
[‘Forgotten Constellation’ expresses gratitude for your comfort.]
Click. Click.
Then someone slowly walked into the temple.
Peridot immediately turned toward the entrance with a guarded expression.
"...Who are you? How dare you enter this place without permission?"
[‘Forgotten Constellation’ sends a warning message asking who you are.]
I flinched.
...Don't tell me that's him.
"Who am I...?"
The newcomer smiled.
"You're trapped here forever anyway. At this point, my identity isn't particularly important."
His smile deepened.
"What matters is what help I can offer you."
Yes.
It was him.
The Highest-Level Administrator.
But he looked very different from the man I knew.
He had the small frame of a child.
Even so, that uniquely unpleasant smile was exactly the same.
"Well, even if I told you, you wouldn't know who I am yet."
He spread his hands.
"For now, I'm nothing more than a lowly Lower Administrator."
I couldn't hide my surprise.
I had never imagined he had once been a Lower Administrator.
"Ah, don't worry."
He glanced around.
"The Constellations don't even know this place still exists."
The moment he finished, Peridot stepped in front of him and demanded an answer again.
"Why have you come here? Tell us that first."
Rustle.
