The sun was at its peak and unbearably hot, yet not a single insect buzz could be heard. Only occasionally, a flock of birds cried out in the sky.
There was no grass on the ground, because they were not in nature. No buildings around, new or ruined, made no difference--they were not in a city.
They were atop the corpse of a gigantic dragon stretching toward the horizon.
A young man in his twenties, with jet-black hair and eyes, wearing a loose robe, carried a crossbow, a dagger, and many pockets within his robe made of a bright white material resembling silver. Beside him, seemingly of the same age, was another young man with sandy hair, wearing a military uniform with its insignias removed, carrying an antique rifle, sporting a mustache and glasses, and possessing eyes like milky chocolate, almost white-brown. Though his eyes were brown, they were strikingly captivating.
They were Cuhlun and Renas--the last two survivors.
For five years, a divine voice had assigned tasks to all humanity, and through those tasks, the world had essentially undergone an apocalypse. Even if the voice called it a "game," to them, it had been the end of the world.
The two had been friends before the game, never imagining they would come this far. Hundreds of equally powerful individuals had died fighting the massive dragon, and only the two of them had survived.
Their only aim had been to resist until the end. It was obvious the battle was unfair, and they never intended to win an unjust war. Their sole purpose was to endure to the end without shaming humanity. Still, when the power of hundreds of finalists combined, perhaps by luck or fate, they managed to succeed.
They had completed the final mission. So, what happened next?
The black-haired one spoke first, with a hint of mockery in his voice.
"Voice, we successfully completed the final mission. Give us our reward. At the beginning of this apocalypse, you promised the victor a single wish, didn't you? Ah, I'm really impatient to make my wish--please, be quick."
The divine, happy, slightly robotic, and cunning voice sounded for the first time almost displeased… or was it mocking them?
"Cuhlun and Renas, congratulations on successfully completing the mission. Unfortunately, it is not possible for you to claim your reward at this moment."
Cuhlun lifted his head, thinking, Did this damn voice deceive all of humanity? Did I endure the apocalypse for nothing? His face darkened. Renas looked at him with sadness, beginning to understand the situation.
Renas spoke with anger and sorrow.
"What will you do now? We've completed the final mission, and now you're just going to leave us in this ruined world without even giving us our reward? I always knew you weren't honest, but I never expected you to be a true liar."
A moment of silence passed, only a faint breeze stirring.
Then the divine voice broke the stillness.
"I have not deceived you. The single wish reward is real. But as we told you at the very beginning, only one person can claim it. It cannot be shared between two.
Do not misunderstand--I am not saying one of you should forfeit the reward. I am saying you will play one final game to earn it. You will play beyond the final mission."
Cuhlun sighed and smiled. Like Renas, he sat on the ground and said,
"One final game… I know I have no choice but to accept. Speak quickly and tell us the rules."
The voice began to explain:
"Of course. This game will be played with two players. Unlike before, I will not ask you to slay the sacred dragon Meldora--that has already been done, and no new dragon will appear.
Two players may be a small number for such a game, but it comes with a unique charm. Even if you travel to another world, you will continue playing. This game is entirely yours--it is not tied to this world. This world will vanish within a month, so if I were to give advice, I would suggest beginning to search for a portal immediately.
As for the details, the game is quite simple. Each finalist will receive a keyword. You will not know each other's keyword. If you successfully guess the other's keyword, you will earn the single wish. Even a child could do it right?… But if the other player guesses your keyword… you will die. One of you is certain to die; the other will claim the wish.
You will have three guesses. If either player dies before the keyword is guessed, no one will receive the wish. I now present your keywords…"
The voice announced the game, and… Cuhlun was shocked. After the rules were explained, the voice whispered his keyword into his ear. Cuhlun shouted, "Are you serious?!" This was ridiculous. Why did his keyword have to be something so absurd?
Renas, on the other hand, simply said, "Alright," as if accepting the situation.
Cuhlun began to ponder. He and Renas had been friends for years, even before the apocalypse. He didn't want to steal this chance from his friend--but he also didn't want to kill him. He didn't want to die… right?
Cuhlun wasn't sure what Renas would think or how he would act. Should they solve this peacefully, or, as required, travel together, protect each other, and attempt to guess each other's keywords?
Would the divine voice really turn these friends, who had survived the apocalypse together, into enemies? Cuhlun could not decide. For now… it would be best to put it aside and focus on survival.
"Aeolus' Wind," he said, trying to summon a controllable gust--but… it didn't work. Cuhlun spoke, knowing the divine voice was still listening.
"Wait, what? Voice, what is going on here?"
"Oh, I forgot to mention. You had the power to survive the final mission, yes--but did you expect me to grant you this power in other worlds? Under the rules of the final game, all your powers have been stripped. For now, you can only use the Signature Abilities you earned at the start of the game (apocalypse)."
Cuhlun shouted loudly,
"You bastard! Give me back my powers! I worked so hard for them!"
While Cuhlun's cries echoed far away, Renas stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Idiot, stop shouting. Your yelling will only alert monsters to our presence. We don't have our old powers--we only have our Signature Abilities, so we need to use them efficiently."
Then Cuhlun felt a heavy weight on his jaw and fainted.
Renas carried the unconscious Cuhlun on his back, moving across the giant dragon's corpse. The sound of scales scraping against the ground produced a strange creaking noise. Renas was far stronger than he appeared; even without all passive abilities and only his Signature Ability remaining, he could manage.
Cuhlun could not see, of course, but Renas was smirking. Cuhlun's Signature Ability, usable only while sleeping and requiring many complex procedures, was called Avenor.
In short, it allowed him to enter the body of any creature he had seen before. Naturally, it was not easy. First, he had to pass a trial, which varied based on each creature's strength, intelligence, and personality. It was complicated, but Cuhlun had mastered it. He could enter a cat or bird within minutes; for more intelligent creatures, it could take hours, and the challenge became even more intricate.
In smarter creatures, his consciousness existed alongside his body, turning the trial into a vast landscape of memories rather than a small testing space. In this sense, entering larger beings seemed a futile effort. Still, even if he could not enter, sometimes merely battling in their mind could inflict mental damage on an enemy. But right now, entering something large was impossible. For smaller creatures…
Birds were the easiest option. A few minutes ago, he had thought about the flock that had been over them. He was in a completely black space, reviewing his memories as if watching camera footage. Finally, he found the part concerning the flock and attempted to enter one of the distant birds.
The testing space darkened further into an even deeper black. After a brief instant, like a blink, he found himself inside a bird's body.
The trial replicated the greatest struggle of the bird's life: leaving the nest and learning to fly as a small bird.
For ordinary birds, this was always the trial. At first, Cuhlun struggled, but he had become accustomed to such bodies. He jumped from the nest and flapped his wings--but…
He failed.
He crashed into a tree.
He tried again… and failed again.
Loss.
Loss.
Loss.
Loss.
Success--he finally passed the trial. Now he was inside a bird's body.
The bird was still part of its flock, but Cuhlun did not need to stay. He quickly separated and looked around. Renas and the human Cuhlun were at the head of the corpse, while he, now the bird, was at the tail, needing to fly north.
After a short flight, he saw Renas carrying Cuhlun's sleeping body.
He flew toward him.
Renas' Signature Ability, unlike his, was more suitable for combat. He could trust that Renas would protect his sleeping body--at least, as long as Renas had no plans to harm him…
…
He waited a while, but nothing happened. If it did, he did not want to act so early. Perhaps his suspicions stemmed from that damn divine voice, trying to turn them against each other.
There was nothing he could do about it for now, so he set it aside.
He approached Renas and called, as if expecting a reply. Suddenly fainting Cuhlun was unpleasant. After a moment, Renas could no longer tolerate the calls and answered:
"My instincts aren't working anymore. Your Signature Ability can only be used while asleep anyway, and we needed a scout--you were perfect for it… Now observe the surroundings and report back."
Cuhlun got angry and pecked at Renas, who, believing he deserved it, remained unmoved. Eventually, Cuhlun took flight as instructed and began surveying the area.
Together with Renas, they went to the dragon's right leg, where a massive wound had opened. Air flowed through it, and the surrounding area, being the battlefield, was likely as flat as a desert--no buildings in sight. Their best option was to hide within the giant wound.
As evening fell, the two cooked some dragon meat. It tasted quite good, but the smell could attract monsters, so they cooked sparingly.
Using the silver dagger he carried, Cuhlun cut the tender meat and fashioned a compartment they could enter, like a sort of wall-attached sleeping bag--slightly disgusting, slightly slippery--but both entered their compartments. They placed a large piece of meat over them as cover and slept…
At least Cuhlun chose to sleep. Later, back in the bird's body, he kept watch. When night fully fell and the moon reached its peak, a voice called out.
"H-H-Help, a-aid…"