— — — — — —
London — Greenwich District
Beneath the headquarters of the Witenagemot, inside their underground library.
Highness stood behind Rin, holding up a lantern shaped like an old man with two glowing bulb-eyes.
In front of them stretched a long wooden table cluttered with scrolls, parchments, books, stone tablets — every kind of record imaginable.
"Any luck?" After waiting half an hour, Highness finally broke the silence.
Rin rubbed her temples to ease her fatigue, then rolled up the scroll in front of her. "I think I've roughly identified who the King of End might be. The problem is… there seem to be too many of them."
"What do you mean?" Highness frowned, his expression turning serious.
Rin sighed softly. "I've found several divine beings who could all potentially be the King of End."
She began listing them off one by one. "Hercules, Rama, Indra, Verethragna, Mithra, Sun Wukong, Arthur, Odin, the Messiah, and…"
Her gaze shifted toward Highness, her expression growing awkward. "…and you, Your Highness."
Highness blinked, dumbfounded. "Me?"
Rin gave a helpless half-smile. "Yes. You might also be one of the candidates for the King of End."
"...Huh? ? ? ? ?"
A row of question marks practically appeared over Highness's head.
It was like being a detective investigating a murder, only to discover the killer… was himself. Not even the cheesiest pulp novelist would write a twist like that.
"So what are you saying?" Highness said dryly. "I should turn myself in?"
"Not exactly."
Rin let out another sigh. "From the information we have — and considering what we know about this Witenagemot — the King of End might not be a specific person at all, but rather a title, something that can be inherited."
"The conditions to become the King of End are to be a male steel-born hero. And then there's one more condition we don't fully understand."
"According to the Witenagemot's leader, Alice, that missing piece might be something granted by Fate itself."
"Fate, huh…" Highness murmured, his tone tinged with emotion.
He too carried a fate— that of a savior. The Ouroboros had taken interest in him precisely because he could become a two-digit savior, a key part of their grand design.
In that sense, yes, there was a certain resonance between him and the King of End.
After a moment of reflection, Highness asked quietly, "This 'Fate' you mentioned — do you mean a person, or something more abstract?"
"Most likely an actual being," Rin replied uncertainly, glancing at the mountain of documents behind her. "The god who grants the steel gods their destiny as the King of End is collectively called the 'Bearer of Fate.'"
"From what we've found, it could refer to the Greek Moirai — the Three Fates — or perhaps Zurvan from Zoroastrianism, or even the Eastern deity Zhulong."
"In short, any god related to fate or destiny could fit the bill."
"That's just…" Highness trailed off, then finally came up with a fitting description. "…that's just blowing smoke."
Any time god could be the Bearer of Fate, and any steel god could be the King of End.
And both, within Little Garden, might just be unfinished divinity godheads.
Especially the King of End.
The one destined to appear at the world's end — the final savior. That divinity encompassed Vishnu's ten avatars, the Cross's faith, King Arthur of the Celts, even savior deities like the Three Pure Ones.
Such a concept was almost certainly a one-digit unfinished divine divinity — the ultimate dream of all life in Little Garden.
But…
It was also something that could never truly be completed.
Like a feast hanging forever out of reach — you can see it, but never touch it. Maddening.
"Your Highness," Rin said hesitantly, her tone uneasy. "I have a bad feeling about where things in Little Garden are headed."
Highness's brows knit tighter. He didn't interrupt, waiting for her to go on.
"These incomplete divinities, the kind that aim for godlike status but can only be achieved through mass slaughter of other gods.... don't you think that's strange?"
Her words made Highness's eyes flash sharp as blades. "You're saying…"
Rin swallowed nervously and nodded. "I think… someone —or something— is deliberately watching these alternate worlds. Tempting gods with grand promises just to make them fight and kill each other."
"It's like raising venomous insects, forcing the gods to evolve by making them devour one another."
"And the terrifying part? Whoever's behind this barely has to spend any power at all."
"The more gods are devoured, the stronger the survivors become. The so-called 'incomplete divinities' just act as a stable mutation channel for that growth."
"But in the process, countless gods die."
"And even if some manage to meet the conditions for transcendence, it doesn't matter. Plenty of gods in Little Garden have reached that point and still failed to ascend."
"In the end, the dead stay dead."
"So… I suspect that this being — or these beings — might actually want to see the gods wiped out."
"Stop." Highness's voice suddenly rose, sharp and commanding.
Rin flinched, stumbling back into the table with a thud. Pain flickered across her face, but before she could protest, she saw the fear in Highness's eyes.
"Your Highness?" she whispered, startled. "Do you… know something?"
Highness was silent for a long moment. Then he spoke, grave and deliberate. "Whatever you do, never —ever— voice that idea in Little Garden. Don't even think it."
Rin froze. Then her pupils shrank as realization hit her. "…Wait. Are you saying… it's a two-digit being?"
Highness hesitated, then slowly shook his head. He didn't speak — just mouthed two silent words.
Rin went pale.
From his lips, she could clearly read them: The Core
The Core System of Little Garden… could it be it that was driving the gods to slaughter one another?
Had it actually developed self-awareness?
Seeing that she'd grasped the gravity of the situation, Highness quickly added, "This must never be mentioned again. Don't report it. Don't write it down. Nothing."
The thought alone was horrifying.
If the Core of Little Garden had gained consciousness… that was a nightmare to all gods.
And for someone like Highness, only four-digit ranked, and Rin, five-digit — rebellion wasn't even an option.
Whether or not the Core truly had self-awareness, even imagining opposing something of that scale was suicide.
Maybe if all the two-digits united, they might stand a chance. But long before that, he and Rin would already be dead.
If the Core truly was sentient, even speaking that truth might trigger their erasure.
It wasn't impossible — Buddha's Law of Causality alone could do such a thing. And if Little Garden's Core could restrain that law, it could certainly erase a few lower gods without effort.
Realizing the magnitude of the danger, Rin's face went pale with fear. "Your Highness… should we still continue the investigation?"
Highness fell silent for a long time, then gritted his teeth. "We continue."
"If someone has to die, better them than us. As long as we keep quiet, the Core has no reason to target us."
"Keep digging into the King of End's true name. Find out which of those candidates is the real one. And if we can't—" He took a deep breath. "—then report all their names."
Rin hesitated. "If we keep going, Your Highness… we might have to venture into this world's Netherworld."
Highness's expression hardened. "Then that's where we go. The sooner we finish this, the better."
.
.
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