980 Episode 59 What Kind of Ending (1)

Mitra immediately disclosed the coordinates of the 'Missing Bush'.

"How did you know I was looking for that specific thicket?"

Mitra offered only a cryptic, lingering smile. In truth, I didn't need a verbal answer to guess the reason. This 'battlefield' was essentially his personal sanctuary. If Mitra truly desired it, he could likely eavesdrop on every vibration of sound within the 'Valhalla Hall'. If his opponent hadn't been Asmodeus and the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, a Myth-grade constellation like Mitra would never have been suppressed so easily.

I offered another bow, grateful for his cooperation. Mitra watched me with a pensive look.

"Didn't the incarnation you mentioned earlier escape through that very portal?"

That was true. An exit is merely a gateway. There was no way to determine which path a previous traveler had taken once they crossed the threshold.

A portal of the Wennies. For a fleeting moment, I considered reaching out to the Wenny King for assistance, but I quickly discarded the thought. Engaging with a being of that magnitude at this stage would demand a price I wasn't prepared to pay.

"I forgot to ask earlier, but when you spoke of escaping the 'Hell of ■■', was that meant as a metaphor?"

Mitra hesitated, the question seemingly catching him off guard.

I was belatedly reminded of a specific trait common among Myth-grade entities.

While speaking in riddles is a standard idiom for constellations, the Myth-grade ones were the worst offenders.

In a world constructed entirely of stories, the words of a Great Being carry immense narrative weight. Han Sooyoung had once explained that Myth-grade stars must be masters of rhetoric and ambiguity to avoid being trapped by their own promises.

I ignored Mitra’s discomfort and decided to stick to Han Sooyoung’s strategy.

"I'm a 'T' type personality, so I'm a bit sensitive to vague phrasing."

It was a throwaway comment; I’d never actually taken an MBTI test.

"It simply means we should avoid using language that is unnecessarily difficult to parse."

"What you said sounded like a formal declaration of your intent to abandon this scenario. Therefore, I assume you intend to use the Missing Bush. Am I interpreting you correctly?"

Unlike the legendary Lee Dansu, who had declared his escape from the 'Hell of ■■' with a stirring mantra, Mitra’s expression remained frustratingly ambiguous. I understood his caution and allowed a small smile.

"Good. Then I suppose I’ll be accompanying you to that bush."

Mitra’s eyes widened as he realized my intent, a flicker of genuine admiration crossing his face.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

If I was going to establish a cooperative bond with Mitra, it was better to keep him close until we actually reached the thicket. With a Myth-grade constellation as a traveling companion, Papyrus and the other lingering predators would think twice before approaching. Of course, my motives weren't entirely selfless.

As he had pointed out, the safety of the portal was unverified. Sending a Myth-grade entity in as a scout would be an effective improvisation. He was the Master of the Resurrection Festival, after all; he wouldn't perish easily even if the other side of the portal was a trap. Mitra gave me a sharp, suspicious look, as if he could sense the gears turning in my head, but I maintained a mask of perfect innocence.

"By the way, how exactly am I supposed to use these dice?"

"And when will that be?"

The moment he tried to answer, a violent cluster of sparks wreathed his entire body.

I briefly wondered if he was faking the backlash to avoid the question, but it was a waste of energy to press a being who had no intention of answering.

"Then there’s no issue with us traveling together, right?"

A matter to address? I followed Mitra’s gaze and realized I had forgotten something—or someone. About twenty paces away, a lone constellation from a major nebula still loomed.

It was Hou Yi, the Sun Hunter. He remained standing, his massive red bow held steady, glaring in our direction with an unblinking gaze. Mitra frowned, clearly annoyed by his presence.

"Wait a moment."

I held Mitra back and approached the Sun Hunter. Even as I entered his immediate striking range, Hou Yi didn't react. I waved a hand experimentally in front of his face. His pupils didn't even twitch.

"He's out cold?"

It made sense. The White Arrows of the Emperor demanded a staggering amount of probability with every use. In particular, the 'Fourth Finger' he had fired was an arrow that placed an exponential burden on the user based on the 'rank' of the target. Since he had interfered with a 'Recording Contract' involving both a Mythical Constellation and a high-ranking Recorder, the backlash must have been catastrophic. The other <Emperor> constellations had either fled or been annihilated in the previous clash. Seeing the legendary Sun Hunter standing there unconscious in character pajamas was an absurd sight. Then, my eyes drifted to the White Arrow still clutched in his hand.

Wait a minute. Could I actually...?

"I truly wonder what goes on inside that head of yours."

Anna Croft sounded as though she had run out of the capacity for surprise.

"You haven't forgotten who he is, have you? He is the Chairman of Valhalla."

"I'm well aware."

Regardless of his current eloquence, Mitra was the one responsible for the hundreds of deaths Anna Croft had suffered in the previous rounds.

"Do you honestly believe you can trust a being like that?"

"Is there any constellation in this world truly worth trusting?"

I glanced back at Mitra, who was currently tending to his subordinates. He was pretending to be occupied, but I knew he was using his status to eavesdrop.

"He has his own agenda, and I have mine. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement. Don't overthink it."

Sensing my skepticism toward the god, Anna’s expression softened slightly.

"What are you doing now?"

"Oh, this?"

I was currently in the middle of rubbing the 'Ten Fingers of God'—which I'd pilfered from the catatonic Hou Yi—against the 'Thoughts of Almost Everything'.

Normally, it was nearly impossible for 'Thoughts' to mimic a relic of this caliber. However, the item had evolved significantly. Now, even a Mythical-grade artifact was within its reach.

The specific condition for this 'Mimicry Form' was 'rubbing the item one thousand times'. It was a tedious but effective requirement.

As expected of a relic belonging to the Five Emperors, the arrows vibrated in my hand with every pass. I ignored the tingling sensation and kept going. Finally...

A completion message flashed in my vision. At that exact moment, Hou Yi gasped, his consciousness returning with a jolt.

His eyes snapped to the relic in my hand, his expression turning sharp.

"Just admiring the craftsmanship. It's a remarkable piece."

I was effectively stealing the data of his soul's weapon. I gave him a shameless smile and handed the 'Ten Fingers of God' back. Hou Yi took the arrow, inspecting it with a bewildered look.

Standard procedure for high-level artifacts. The 'Ten Fingers of God' possessed the 'Thousand-Year Interrogation', a passive curse that inflicted excruciating psychological agony on unauthorized users. For me, however, it was a non-factor.

Hou Yi, unaware of my immunity, looked at me with newfound respect.

In reality, I had just committed a form of narrative larceny by rubbing my 'thoughts' all over his arrows. Fortunately, the actual Emperor seemed too preoccupied with the higher scenarios to notice someone playing with his gear.

"Anyway, what happened to the rest of your group?"

"The ones who arrived with you."

Hou Yi scanned the ruined horizon.

A return order?

I didn't know the specifics, but it was clear that something monumental was happening on the main battlefield.

"Regardless, thank you for the intervention. I wouldn't have survived Asmodeus without you."

I was being sincere. Fighting Asmodeus and a berserk dragon simultaneously would have been a death sentence. Hou Yi accepted the thanks with practiced indifference.

"Do you still intend to deliver me to <Emperor>?"

"Wasn't that your primary mission?"

Hou Yi blinked, then slowly shook his head.

I had fully intended to keep my word, but his bluntness was refreshing.

"Right. I'll tell you what I know."

Since we had a few minutes before moving toward the Missing Bush, I briefed him on the Transcendents I had encountered. I started with the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, Namgung Minyeong—covering the events in the Realm of Fear, the New Murim District, and the 'World Tree Project' the constellations had attempted to force on her.

Hou Yi listened with rapt attention, his expression fluctuating between sorrow and fury. His emotional transparency was surprising; Jung Heewon, who had been listening nearby, finally spoke up.

"Are you truly a friend of the Master?"

His tone was uncharacteristically humble. Jung Heewon, meeting someone who actually remembered the Sword Saint with such clarity for the first time, took over the storytelling. She filled in the details I had missed. Hou Yi nodded solemnly, his empathy for the Transcendents palpable.

"It does."

Hou Yi gazed at me with a look of profound longing before composing himself.

"I don't have all the details. But I know Master Kyrgios has already ascended to the 'Main Battlefield'."

He seemed to have anticipated as much.

"Do you plan to find him?"

It was startling to find a constellation within a nebula like <Emperor> who was driven by such romantic notions as friendship. I asked him sincerely:

"If you find them... could you let me know?"

Hou Yi nodded without hesitation.

"I doubt that."

With that, my discussions with both Mitra and Hou Yi concluded. All that remained was the journey to the Missing Bush. I was about to ask if the Sun Hunter would join us when he spoke in a low, sharp voice.

That? I followed his line of sight.

I quickly moved to stop him as he reached for his bow.

"No, that won't be necessary."

In the direction he was aiming, the gargantuan form of the Black Flame Dragon had yet to fully dissipate. I wasn't sure why the descent was lingering, but provoking it further was a bad idea.

"It wasn't his will. Not truly."

"In this world, stories determine existence. Sometimes, the story is a lie."

Hou Yi’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

I knew that stories didn't account for everything. Actions were the intersection of will and narrative. But I felt a strange need to defend him.

"I don't know the whole truth. But if it's a false record, I might be able to fix it."

As his temporary recorder, I had the authority to interfere with his history. I could use my status to peer into his past and understand why he had become this corrupted entity.

As I approached, the dragon's incarnation body began to dissolve into motes of shadow, as if it had been waiting for me to arrive. I thought it was the end of the encounter, but as the smoke cleared, my heart skipped a beat.

In the space where the dragon's massive form had stood, lying amidst the fading pitch-black smoke, was a person I knew very well.