Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

Serenade kicked it a few more times and really opened it.

"Oh, let's take a risk."

Outside the door was a dead silent corridor, not even the lights were on.

The withered mud-colored carpet stretched forward, with no light on the left or the right.

But it doesn’t matter, the track is long enough, just right for rehabilitation.

But the expected adventure did not come, and she soon reached the end, because the corridor actually had a corner leading upwards.

She slowed down her pace and slowly climbed the stairs.

Then there was the silence of the deck.

"..."

It is better to say that it is drifting than sailing.

This is a tattered ship, helplessly parked in the chaos beyond the edge of the world, rising and falling with it.

But it's not dead silent.

someone here.

Is that a person? Or at least it looks like that.

The serenade became tense. A giant stood at the end of the deck, holding a huge scoop net, and was fishing something out of the chaotic sea as patiently and carefully as a little girl scooping goldfish.

And after searching through his memories, Serenade still had no idea what the situation was.

Maybe if I log off now and ask Yu Man, I'll find out... That PVE player knows the world much better than I do.

but--

"..."

Not to mention the offline function, the entire system is not open yet.

It’s over, I’m really in trouble this time.

Serenade planned to pretend that nothing had happened and made a way out for himself.

First, I retreated to the lower level, smashed open another house, borrowed someone's magic lamp and started my journey again. In this way, I set off for the old world in a clumsy manner... As for what I saw and heard, I will tell you later.

only--

A little late.

"Going against all things."

"..."

The giant holding the huge net called out her title in a low voice that resonated throughout the world.

The giant turned his head.

"As expected of the legendary 'Go Against All Things,' your return to this world has already caused such a scene. 'Lies' have already greeted me, so all this is nothing."

"...Hello...Hello."

"Don't you know me? That's right."

The giant looked extremely rough and unkempt.

The dirtiness and muddiness matched his middle-aged demeanor, that of a wanderer.

"Long...long...long ago, I rescued you. Like countless souls rescued so far, you once boarded this ship."

The giant's tone was friendlier than he appeared, and even though Serenade was now just a mortal, the other party had nothing but deep respect for him.

Therefore, adding the name of "lie", Serenade tried to move a few steps closer.

This also allowed us to see clearly what was in the giant's net.

soul.

Or rather—it is the magic that constitutes the human soul.

Tiny, floating, hollow, and void, like a ball of transparent gel.

"Reaching here from your world is difficult. This sea of ​​nothingness is the dividing line, and souls must first drift here. We are given the task of salvaging souls by the gods to atone for the long sin..."

"...How long would it take us to drift here from the real world?"

The giant was surprised. He didn't expect that "Going against Everything" was really as good as its name and asked such a good question.

He immediately perked up and answered seriously, "It's so long that the future has collapsed, so long that eternity has become eternity. But time here has also run out. Time doesn't exist, so it's just a fleeting moment for you."

"...Then...our souls drifted here, and you rescued them from this sea of ​​nothingness...and became our passengers?"

"That's right. Afterwards, the gods will grant you a body in this world and guide you with the light of the distant world. Afterwards, the cities protected by the gods will sign a contract with you, and you will no longer need to travel through this sea."

After hearing this, Serenade finally understood why the soul of reality could reach the old world.

I also understood what the place outside the old world, called the Sea of ​​Nothingness, was.

Wait—if that’s the case…

"Unknown Giant, if we were to return from the Old World... via this route..."

"Well, in the ancient past, the gods who controlled time opened up a route in this way and arrived at your world."

The giant was not hiding anything, but became talkative because he hadn't chatted with others for a long time.

What's more, the person he was chatting with was the legendary "Go against All Things": "...How is it? Do you have any other questions?"

"Who are you?" asked Serenade.

"A sinner, without name, godhead, or title."

"Then this time I came, you didn't salvage my soul?"

"You have the key to the passage, though it is very old."

It turned out to be the case.

"A while ago... there should be another one..." Serenade asked.

But the giant shook his head: "I know that person, but I was too busy at the time. There were countless billions of souls that needed to be extradited and salvaged one after another. I didn't notice the monster holding the key..."

Yes, in the early days of the server launch.

Now that everyone has some free time, it can actually allow Serenade to find more content.

"I have another question. I want to reach the end of perfection. Do you have any suggestions?"

Serenade asked bluntly, but she was certain the giant before her was a very relevant figure.

The giant couldn't help laughing, a simple laugh full of goodwill.

He responded, "I don't know."

The obvious answer.

"Thank you." Serenade also laughed. "If there's nothing new, I won't bother you."

"Have a pleasant journey. Please give my regards to that monster. Tell him... that the Lord of Highgarden, who was destroyed along with the world, is now free and homeless."

"...are you so vengeful?" Serenade was nervous for a moment.

"No, no, no, that was the commission I made to her—although... it was a long... long time ago, and she no longer remembers it."

Having said this, the giant lifted up the tiny soul in the net with his rough fingers.

He blew on it and sent it into the room it belonged to.

Then he turned around, threw the net into the sea again, and ignored the serenade.

……

Back down below, Serenade remembered everything that had just happened.

Then I knocked on the door of a random room, luckily no one was inside.

When the mirror used for shaping figures saw her coming, it seemed to be lost in thought, and it took a while for her appearance to appear.

She thought to herself, this is how you pinch someone again if you're not satisfied...

But I am very satisfied with the figure I made. I would rather say that there is nothing cuter than this.

So I just went through the process again, just to press "Confirm".

Only then was he once again, officially, led by the obviously much slower light of extradition—

Go to where you should go.

The old world was resurrected.

……

"I am alone in the morning light, flipping through the pages of the book in my hand..."

As the music gradually came in, a gentle voice read the beginning of the story.

It's like a bedtime story whispered in your ear, but also like a good morning greeting.

Listen to the serenade quietly.

Then, the scenery emerged.

"Slow down time, slow down your heart.

The days will stretch on endlessly amidst the song of guilt."

It was a nameless reflection, flipping through a book in the sunset.

The words slowly floated in the air through the female finger, weaving scenery for a world with nothing.

“The island was deserted and overgrown with weeds.

It's not a familiar scene, but it's where we left off last time.

We never came back.”

The figure disappeared.

Only hurried silhouettes kept flashing back, but nothing could be outlined.

Because everything has faded, and nothing is left.

Like the oldest memories.

“…It didn’t seem like this before.”

I still have some impression of the serenade.

When she first entered the game, she didn't skip the plot. The story at that time was just about the worldview of the world, nothing more. Did Yu Man skip the plot the moment she heard the first sentence that was wrong?

But just when Serenade wanted to see more - the plot ended.

She doesn't take up much of the player's time, just a fragment.

Then, she had no time to sigh or think, she was just waiting for her birth point.

But things are a little different.

Where was this place? It wasn't a cold, snowy place like Himlabakken, nor was it a sunny island. Instead, it was a dreamlike, confusing landscape...

"...Uh, it's you." Serenade was surprised, but not that surprised.

On the black and white checkered floor, there are two single sofas carved from crystal. They look very soft and are the only two pieces of furniture in this room with walls made of dreams.

"Lies" sat at one of the seats.

She was wearing a robe that covered her from head to toe, so pure white that it seemed to be woven from "love", without any seams or traces of knitting.

In the shadow cast by the robe, those warm eyes looked at the guests who were invited here.

"Finally... I finally see you... 'Going against all things'."

"You... hello."

Regarding the lukewarm serenade, the "lie" was as embarrassing as realizing you couldn't pay the bill after dinner.

But this did not dampen her enthusiasm: "Once again, we meet in this world, I really want to see you."

"Really? The Three Secrets who control the divine power of lies, can you tell the difference between lying and telling the truth?"