While my body sat in the crystalline vat of the Ascension Chamber, my consciousness was anything but dormant. Through the Hive Mind, I was everywhere. I was the vibration in the stones; I was the hum of the Starmetal lathes; and most importantly, I was the "eyes" of the mountain.
"Archivist," I pulsed, my mind-state drifting through the network. "Status of the perimeter?"
< Perception Sync: 100%. > < Target Detected: Adventurer Party 'The Silver Seekers' has entered the base of the Iron-Crag. > < Estimated Time to Arrival: 45 minutes. >
It was them. Kael, the knight whose blade had ended my world. Laina, the priestess who had seen the "reset" in my eyes. In Loop 01, I had greeted them with bread and water. In Loop 02, I would greet them with a hallucination.
"Fenris, Vector. Do not harm them," I commanded. "Lead them to the 'Ghost Site.' I want them to see what I have prepared."
Kael wiped the sweat from his brow, his plate armor clanking rhythmically. "Something is wrong, Laina. The Forest of Jura was empty—not a single goblin, not a single wolf. And now the Iron-Crag... the Miasma is thin. It's like the mountain is breathing."
Laina didn't answer immediately. She was clutching her staff, her eyes darting toward the shadows of the weeping trees. "The mana here is... organized, Kael. It's not the chaotic rot of a cursed mountain. It's like a rhythmic pulse. Someone is drawing a map with the air itself."
They reached the "Ghost Site"—a series of illusions I had crafted using [Refractive Light Manipulation] and Baron's chemical fog. To their eyes, it looked like the site of a massive, ancient battle. Broken spears, charred earth, and the "remains" of monsters I had synthesized from slime dross.
"A purge," Kael whispered, kneeling to touch the blackened ground. "Someone beat the Inquisition to it. Look at these wounds... they aren't sword cuts. They're... precision shears."
"It's a warning," Laina whispered, her voice trembling. "They didn't just die. They were erased."
While Kael and the others examined the fake battlefield, I isolated Laina. Using a localized vibration, I mimicked the sound of the wind.
"Laina..."
She spun around, her staff glowing with holy light. "Who's there?"
"A ghost of a future you haven't lived yet," I whispered, my voice appearing to come from the very air around her ears. "Walk toward the waterfall. Alone. If you want to know why the 'Prophecy' is a lie."
I manifested a small, silver avatar—no larger than a human child—near the base of the mountain's waterfall. I kept it translucent, a shimmering specter in the mist.
Laina approached, her breath hitching. She didn't raise her staff. She looked at me with the same haunted expression she'd had at the end of Loop 01. "You... you're the slime from the forest. But you're different. Your aura... it's heavy. Like a lead weight on the world."
"I am the 'Anchor,' Laina," I said, my voice calm and devoid of the "Monster" growl she expected. "You told me once that those who carry a thousand lives carry a thousand ghosts. I'm here to tell you that I'm tired of being a ghost."
"What do you want?" she asked.
"I want you to tell the Truth. The Holy Kingdom says I am a 'Herald of Ruin.' They say that my existence forces the world to reset." I stepped closer, my silver form reflecting the moonlight. "But ask yourself: Who benefits from the reset? Who uses the 'Prophecy' to purge the 'Monsters' just as they begin to build a civilization?"
I projected a vision into her mind—not a fake one this time. I showed her the orbital strike from Loop 01. I showed her the knight in golden armor murdering children.
"They aren't stopping a catastrophe, Laina. They are creating one to keep the world under their thumb. They need an enemy. And if they can't find one, they'll burn a peaceful village to make one."
Laina fell to her knees, the light of her staff flickering. "It can't be... the Goddess would never..."
"The Goddess is silent. The Inquisition is loud," I said. "Go back to them. Tell them the forest is dead. Tell them the 'Monster King' was killed by a rival pack. Give me the time I need to finish my work, and I will show you a world where 'Miracles' aren't needed because we have the truth."
I vanished into the mist before she could respond.
Back in the Ascension Chamber, the "Heart of the Crag" began to beat in sync with my own core.
< Logic Sequence Initiated... > < Subject Laina: Seed of Doubt planted. Probability of Inquisition delay: 72%. > < Structural Transition: 95% Complete. >
"Aris!" Baron's voice came through the Hive Mind. "The adventurers are leaving! But the Starmetal vat is boiling! If you don't stabilize the core now, we're going to blow the top off this mountain!"
I didn't answer with words. I pulled the energy of the Heart into my center. The "Scholar" who had once studied chemistry in a quiet Tokyo apartment finally let go of his humanity to become something greater.
I wasn't just a slime anymore. I was the forge. I was the metal. I was the sovereign.
< Evolution Triggered: DEMON LORD AWAKENING. >
The silver liquid in the vat didn't just boil; it solidified into a pillar of blinding, violet light.
[Volume 2: Chapter 5 End]