The Lone SF Transmigrator in the Otherworld Forum
Chapter 187: Resolve (4)

Karlstein’s worry about the unbearable future of being weaker than his little sister was momentary.

“Phew…”

After the furious battle subsided, he found himself muddled by the conversation he had with her.

-Outer God? Yes, you could say it’s similar to that.

Karlstein could not help but become serious at her words. He liked SF, but he was not particularly fond of Cthulhu.

In any case, Yui had managed to become a being close to half an Outer God,

-You’re certainly strong, brother. The fact that you can match me now proves it. You probably won’t die easily even in the newly expanded era.

It definitely sounded like praise, but was it something he should hear from his little sister?

-I can’t tell you the details. Knowledge you can’t handle only breeds madness.

Yui’s condition certainly seemed unstable. The intense emotions she displayed when they first encountered, and the way she acted like a broken doll. Moreover, now she was acting as if her emotions had been completely deleted.

-…That’s right. Right now, I’m just saying what I have to say like a machine. If I weren’t in this state, it would be difficult to have a proper conversation.

“…”

As family, it was hard for him to ignore that. It made his heart ache.

“Are you okay?”

-…Outer Gods are a collection of madness. You have to constantly struggle not to be eroded by madness. Of course, this only applies if you want to maintain your sense of self.

Karlstein’s gaze was espcially drawn to her human eyes, the only part of her visible.

“…”

-If you make just one promise with me, I can tell you the exact method to become an Outer God. Of course, it’s better not to think about breaking the promise. Your heart here will be the medium for the oath.

His heart was still beating in her hand.

“How on earth did you come to know such information?”

The question was instinctive.

A fleeting, dull emotion flickered in Yui’s eyes. In that brief moment, Karlstein sensed traces of a history that spanned beyond anything he could imagine.

-I can’t tell you that either. You’ll naturally come to know when the new era begins.

For some reason, the Cthulhu mythology he had encountered in the past flashed through Karlstein’s mind and then disappeared.

In any case…

“What kind of promise?”

He needed the information about the Outer Gods she mentioned. But he did not need to badly enough to accept hastily without even hearing what kind of promise it was.

He had quite a few people depending on him, after all.

-It’s simple. Don’t expand the closed dimension until you defeat me in battle.

“…Hmm.”

Ultimately, Yui was telling him not to dream of going to the world beyond until he could easily subdue her.

She added it was fine to focus on solidifying himself internally and growing stronger.

“What if you just run away without fighting me?”

-….

What? I mean that could totally happen.

-That won’t happen. I don’t think such a shallow trick would keep the oath.

“I see…”

Karlstein’s deliberation was brief. He never intended to remain weaker than his little sister in the first place. Even without making it a promise, that was what he was going to do anyway.

It was just a difference in order.

“No problem.”

She grinned at his answer.

Somehow, her smile seemed ominous.

-Good. The method to transcend existence and become an Outer God… there are several ways, but there’s one method I’ll tell you.

“Transcendence?”

-The more singularities of the closed dimension you gather, the more certainly you’ll shed the shell of your existence and be reborn as a higher being.

“Singularities?”

-Yes. The ‘Transfer’ of 《Sephiroth》 is the first. And ‘Boundary’ of 《Chaos》 is the second. Then ‘Communication’ of 《Community》 is the third. The ‘Mental Axis’ you possess is the fourth. Lastly, ‘Harmony’ existing in 《Three Thousand》.

“…”

‘Communication’ was like displaying messages like constellations in novels, or implementing transcendent systems like Status Windows. Thinking about the functions of the Integrated Dimensional Community, there were certainly similarities.

And Sephiroth’s ‘Transfer’ that allowed one to transcend the limits of spatial movement and dimensional travel. This part seemed to refer to the essence directly received from Sephiroth.

For some reason, ‘Harmony’ of 《Three Thousand》 seemed to refer to the Ziwen Mirror obtained from Mount Shengluo. The Ziwen Mirror not only deciphered the powers of the Single Numbers but also bound togEther the various powers he possessed.

And ‘Boundary’ was… the transcendent power of Single Number No.1 that blurred the boundary between reality and unreality.

“…”

In a way, it seemed Karlstein had gathered everything except the last No.1.

“Isn’t this too disadvantageous for me?”

Yui claimed to tell him the method, but did he not already possess all these things?

Then Karlstein suddenly had a thought.

If Longquan, whom he met at Mount Shengluo in Three Thousand, was also part of Yui’s plan, then the Ziwen Mirror was the same.

Contrary to her words, she was diligently helping him become an Outer God, for some reason. Even now, she was telling him the exact method.

I don’t get it. Her words and actions don’t match.

-Don’t misunderstand. It was unavoidable. Your predetermined future was precarious.

“…?”

-It was either being erased from existence and disappearing, or being consumed by madness and becoming another monster. The current situation is more like a miracle.

“My current self?”

-Though it would be best to give up immortality.

“I don’t want to die just yet…”

-Anyway, I’m certain this is the best option.

It seemed that her actions, plans, and information were somehow related to those ‘Outer Gods’.

-If you want to know more details, defeat me, obtain the last remaining ‘Boundary’, and open a new era.

“…”

-Of course, I don’t intend to lose easily. I’ll become strong enough that you can’t catch up.

“Wait! What about you? Don’t you suffer from madness as you get stronger?”

-…Now is not the time to worry about me. The people important to you, the people you’ve been with. Can you believe that everyone’s lives depend on your choice? I don’t want you to break.

“Break…?”

Karlstein could almost sense a sad smile underneath her Kaiju carapace.

-You’ve slain everything except the last No.1, so madness will gradually come from now on. You’ll have to manage that well first to be able to defeat me.

“…”

She had appeared out of nowhere to tell him these terrifying things, claiming to have been working for his sake all along. And apparently, she would continue to do so…

“Aren’t you too fond of me? Even if I’m your brother, still.”

-….

She coldly ignored his words and added her final words.

-Don’t forget. Even if you become an Outer God, you can’t escape the curse of madness. No, rather, the curse of madness will truly begin from that moment.

“…”

After delivering what sounded like a mix of advice and a curse, she vanished without a trace.

Left alone, Karlstein stood in place, lost in thought, before disappearing as well. He needed time to organize his thoughts.

***

“…”

Karlstein’s heart felt a bit heavy. He did not get the chance to even treat her like a normal human being, to ask about her past.

Of course, even if he had, she would have dismissed it saying, “I can’t tell you now.”

Before leaving, Yui provided him with information. With his consent, she scattered a kind of mental wave, directly injecting countless pieces of information into his mind in the form of images, text, and symbols.

Of course, none of it contained any details about herself. The one fortunate thing, however, was…

“At least since we made that promise, I should be able to keep meeting her from now on…”

Yeah. It’s fine as long as she’s alive.

Karlstein decided to set aside his worries about Yui for now. It was not like her situation would improve just because he worried about it right now.

It seemed better to get involved after becoming stronger than her.

“There goes my dignity as the big brother.”

Karlstein stared out the window, sinking deep into his chair.

Whoosh-

Unidentified strange beings passed through the Astral passage occasionally.

“…I thought I conquered the universe, yet the unknown is infinite.”

How should he put it? He had thought that after subjugating the remaining Single Numbers and completing the conquest of 《Three Thousand》, there would be nothing left to do. And yet…

“Who knows if I’ll ever reach my retirement years…”

Moreover, Yui said that madness was slowly eroding his mind even now.

“Mm, for sure.”

It did feel like he had been showing irrational behavior more frequently lately.

Karlstein set the ship’s destination to the Galactic Empire and fell into his thoughts with his eyes closed.

He extended his contemplation beyond the Ether circulating through his body to the realm of the unconscious. He could not underestimate the ‘madness’ she mentioned.

However, Karlstein did not discover anything particularly noteworthy. Nevertheless, he did not let his guard down and entered deep meditation. Perhaps his mind had been eroded so subtly that he could not notice it himself.

After a long time of contemplation while navigating the Astral passage… Karlstein managed to realize something new.

His Mental Invariability trait was also a kind of madness.

“…”

And as Yui said, his mental world was by no means normal.

***

https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken