Wandering at the base of the coral storm, I look for signs of the Atmosphere-eater.

Nothing.

I threw the sword at Y, hoping to catch her by surprise, but she escaped. Even the poison doesn't seem to have any effect on her abilities.

I sit in the ashes.

Loneliness.

Disappointment.

Today, I lost the [Fiend], Mircalla, and the Atmosphere-eater. Y cannot understand me, and she is confused by my behavior. But I have to stop her.

If I left her free to act, her actions would lead to the problem of the previous times. It's an insoluble problem: as long as Y is in a position to reset, she'll find a way to do it. I'll have to start from scratch.

No matter how many games I've already played against the God of Wisdom, I haven't made any progress in solving the problem.

I feel discouraged.

I also have to reach and stop the [Devilish L3viathan]. I must judge it before it becomes confused with this reality. Now I'm at [lv: 90], I can obliterate it at the edge of the universe. In the last cycle, I can judge it: the System did not prevent me from doing so. The collapse was the result of the concomitance with the [Red Sprite] and the amount of amalgamated universe erased by the [Judgment].

Outside the System, on the other side of the ocean, I don't have much power.

The only way is to bring it this way and judge it immediately after using it against Y, hoping it doesn't throw its guillotine at me.

It also has the memory of some loops. So, the [Yellow Queen] and so Gron. They must have some memories; otherwise, I can't explain why they always manage to derail my plans.

Now, I no longer know what cards to play other than trying to eliminate them before acting.

I have to stop this madness. Even if it hurts. It is terrible to blame your only remaining friends.

Damn God of Wisdom.

Damn you!

I pick up a handful of sand and throw it over a chasm.

Ci-cin.

Why? Why create an imperfect world only to destroy and recreate it? Do you aspire to perfection? Do you aspire to be born surrounded by your narcissistic perfection? Why don't you answer now, God of Wisdom?

I hate you.

Hate.

Hate.

Hate.

I jump up and scream.

I should focus this anger and this desperation against my only friends… it is wrong.

“It's all wrong!”

Ci-cin!

“Huh?” Turning to where the tail is pointing. I see the glow in the distance. Hidden among the spirals of the river and partially protected by some coral formations.

Here she is. She is typing on a red panel, weirdly visible. The white grimoire floats around her. Her tails seem to inspect the surrounding air.

Has the [Yellow Queen] started drafting the new rules, convinced that she has outmaneuvered me? Or are you setting a trap for me?

Either way, it's a clean shot. [Cosmic Regeneration] is a hard [skill] to handle, but by combining poison, minor wounds, and a [Red Sprite], I should be able to eliminate her.

I raise my arm and feel the electricity flowing through me.

Regardless, I can always take her to the arena and enlist the help of the Gargoyle Lords.

[Blue—

“N!”

I turn. The figure of an elf appears, runs tiredly, and holds the sword.

“Huh. Fulzo?”

“N, what's going on? Because you and Y—”

I raise my palm to stop him.

“I must stop her from resetting these final moments of the universe. We're stuck in a loop, have you noticed?”

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Fulzo kneels exhausted. “Loops? What do you mean? No, I was walking around here when the explosions started, the columns of light. Then I recognized you, you and Y... what's happening!?”

Nothing that you can understand, I would like to answer. Ultimately, these are things that I can't even understand.

Miserable immortal.

“Ful, leave us alone. Chances are you won't survive. With every rebirth, for you, everything will be the same. Don't be an Eldritch Entity, it's ultimately to your advantage.”

“N, we're friends, right? Don't be hermetic. Can I help you?”

Sigh.

I lower my ears.

I look at the elf who stands up, placing the palm of his hand on the hilt of the sword.

No. You can't help me. Not in a direct way… though, now that I think about it…

Ci-cin.

“Distract Y. Don't fight her: she'll obliterate you. Just distract her, keep her company. I'm going to stop another threat, and then I'll eliminate her.”

“Are you sure? Isn't Y our ally?” Fulzo frowns. I guess he's not convinced.

“Yes. These are things that are beyond mortals. Judge me if you want. I've been judging others all my life.”

“But—” Fulzo reaches out to grab me, but it is late.

[Dungeon path]

♦

On some rocks, ruins of the pier, I wait.

I lied.

Misdirection.

Deceit.

I think back to that moment of enlightenment: if it hadn't been for Fulzo, I would have shot and engaged in a new senseless battle. Fighting with Y is stupid: no matter how strong, neither of us can be better than the other.

The truth is that I can use the [Time Guillotine] to remove Y from this timeline. This is how the [Emperor] wanted to act in the previous loop. I guess it could work. Then I will judge the [Devilish L3viathan], hoping not to create a new fatal System error.

If all goes as planned, there will be no reboot nor error expansion, and no God of Wisdom will be born.

I'll stay alone.

A lonely eternity.

Free to get bored, feel sad, regret. This is not the ending I would like. I don't see any alternatives. Letting the God of Wisdom run its course is unfair. I can't say why, but I feel like it's wrong. What right does a being like it have to erase everything and get rid of a world that it doesn't like? Let one be created for it, where it can be born without ruining this one.

…

Okay, I'm delirious. The God of Wisdom does what it can do, and what it wants to do is right. It does it because it can and wants to. It seems unfair to me only because I don't want to, nor can I.

However, I can do something different: oppose it. It's my right to rebel; I can do it too. At least, it's not senseless for me to succeed, even if the probability of succeeding seems infinitesimal.

I love people, and I love my home.

As long as I live, I will look for solutions. That's how it is.

It's like this…

So, it's time to dive into these scary waters.

I insert the toe of one foot, going down to the ankle. The frost makes me tremble.

Ci-cin.

How deep will infinity be?

The tails dive. Holding the stone with my hands, I dive up to my waist.

A shiver takes my breath away.

I sway my legs in the water; the fabrics of my skirt float. My snake-headed tail emerges and hisses.

“Hehe, are you nervous too?”

I leave the dock.

I know the destination; I've already gotten there once.

Father, I will not end up like you.

[Dungeon path]

♦

The darkness is absolute.

The waves cycle over my ankles, carrying the sand away from under my feet.

This time, I don't have to settle in. As soon as I wake up, I already know where I am. I stand up and look around.

“Emperor, show yourself.”

“If I showed myself, you would run away like the previous times.”

I shake my ears. My tail hisses.

“I'm not here to escape; is our agreement still valid?”

“For a timelord like me, yes.”

“Why didn't you use the guillotine on Y?”

“Why didn't you judge me?”

Only the sound of the waves remains.

“I tried, but it didn't work well. I will judge you after you have done your part.”

“Your authority can no longer override me. I have the uncontrollable need to be reborn. Reabsorb all these errors within my body. Even if now, I recognize it, it means assimilating the entire universe to myself and becoming one with the System.”

“You speak in the words of the Devil!”

“It's your fault, Empress.”

The infernal voice melts my skin, and I feel my internal organs melting. Luckily, [Immortality] works here too.

I doubt the absolute darkness hides my pain from that being. But I don't want to moan or appear weak.

It may be stronger, on a statistical level, but I need a snap of the fingers to judge it. I have to take it to the Underwasteland.

Our sides are unbalanced but not entirely in my favor.

“You think, Empress? Don't you understand that you're just a puppet? Do you think the God of Wisdom can do anything against me? You were just a tool to reduce me to this state. But the loops don't go as they should, the playing hand changes; the game drags on. Maybe you would have done well to let yourself be corrupted by the Devil. Corrupt the entire universe to give new life to the roots of the tree.”

“Shut up. These are not the words of an ancient ruler; you saved me knowing that reality has no mercy on its parts. If you are now a victim of the Devil, I can free you. But I can't do more. I can only prevent you from achieving a rebirth that you don't want.”

“Do you want to play the topic of mercy with an ancient being like me?”

“No. I want you to understand that it's over for you. I have no idea how you will be judged, nor what effect it will have on what remains of the System. However, I would like you to help me first. Y is in a similar situation to you. She has desires: she acts on them without understanding that it only makes the situation worse.”

“Empress, if I wanted, I could guillotine you.”

Ci-cin!

“I know, so, I fear you. I also know that on you would not be able to achieve—”

“Empress, you are silly. The only contradiction is I can't decide. Two conflicting will dwell within me; by now, you should know what happens to the undecided. I will explain why I am waiting for you here, even though the situation in the Underwasteland has been known to me for several loops.”

Despite those words, a long silence follows.

“Um…”

No reply.

I do not see anything. There is no odor, and the sound is physically destructive. It suddenly repeats itself. It's as if the same wave always hits the beach. The sensation is identical too, as if you were reliving the same few seconds countless times.

Suddenly, I'm scared.

I'm afraid it's the end for me. What if it had already used its [skill], and now, I'm stuck here forever? Maybe it doesn't say anything because it's no longer here. It isolated me in a bubble and…

I cannot. I can't accept it.

“Judgment!”

“Oh, it seems your ability can cancel out mine. You see, even if I had helped you, Y would have been free as soon as the judgment was out of the way. Never mind, now you'll have to manage everything on your own.”

Silence.

Anticlimactic.

No explosion. No coral lights or destructive sounds.

The last words and here is the disappearance of the most dangerous entity in the cosmos.

I don't know how much time passes. I continue to remain still, checking that the waves are different from each other.

There's no point in even counting the frantic beats of my heart. I acted on impulse, and maybe I ruined everything.

How am I going to cut Y out now?