“Ugh...”

    “...”

    In a pitch-black darkness, a boy knelt, bound by black chains, groaning as he looked ahead.

    “How long... do you plan to keep this up...”

    - Squelch...

    “...Geuh!”

    Sharp tentacles pierced into his body.

    “...”

    Having grown used to such pain, the boy silently endured, trembling as he raised his weary eyes.

    - Crack...

    Using all his remaining strength, Frey, stood up.

    “Ahhhhh...!!!”

    With his eyes half-rolled back, the chains binding him began to break.

    - Shing...!

    Freed from his restraints in an instant, Frey conjured a sword and charged forward.

    - Boom!!

    A massive light flashed with a thunderous roar that seemed to shake the heavens and the earth.

    - Buzz...!

    Frey’s sword aura, fueled by the Hero’s Armament, surged toward the white figure that had been silently observing him.

    - Crackle...!

    Strangely, the figure did nothing to defend itself, merely watching as Frey’s sword aura tore into its body.

    - Sizzle...@@@@

    As time passed.

    “Ah...”

    Frey let out a sigh, staring blankly as the light from his sword aura faded.

    “...”

    The Aura had only managed to cut its spirit body in half.

    Just like the First Hero, he too had reached his limit.

    “Cough...”

    Failing to cut through the figure, Frey collapsed, gasping for breath.

    - Fizzle...

    His spirit body, now in a weakened state, began to fade even more.

    “No...”

    Seeing his increasingly transparent form, Frey looked up in despair.

    - Give up...

    The immense figure, slowly reattaching its split body, whispered to him in a sickeningly sweet voice.

    - Become one with me...

    Simultaneously, chains began to rise again from all around.

    “How did this happen...”

    With despair in his eyes, Frey looked at the chains wrapping around him and closed his eyes, reminiscing about the events leading up to this moment.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Immediately after I vanished with Lulu, the conditions for the “Final Showdown’” quest were fulfilled.

    “Is this... the battleground?”

    Thanks to the system, I became a spirit and arrived in this unsettling place.

    When I first came here, I never imagined things would turn out this way.

    “Where is that thing...?”

    Though the surroundings were pitch black, I had the radiance of the Hero’s Armament and the stellar mana in my hand.

    “...Ah.”

    Using those lights as a guide, I moved forward and soon found something.

    “That is...?”

    The Eye I had fought in the recent battle.

    It was floating silently with its eyes closed.

    “...?”

    And a thin tentacle extending behind it.

    “What is that?”

    Unable to grasp the situation, I kept my hand on my sword, cautiously moving around.

    - Swoosh...

    Finally, I reached the Eye and cautiously extended my hand.

    - Rumble...!

    Suddenly, the ground shook violently, and black chains and tentacles erupted from all directions.

    - Hummm...

    - Crack, crack...

    Tentacles were crushing Frey’s body.

    - Ugh...

    Even though he was a spirit and his life wasn’t in danger, the pain must have been vivid.

    - Why... can’t I use stellar mana...?

    Writhing in agony, Frey muttered with lifeless eyes.

    “...Ah.”

    Roswyn knew the answer to that question.

    The eye, now a puppet of its original body, had set a final trap, resulting in the complete destruction of “Dark Tale Fantasy” in the blue star, which provided divine power to this world. R?A?O?BE?s?

    This meant no one could use their divinity or divine power in this world anymore.

    In truth, the ‘stellar mana’ that Frey used was, in fact, a part of divine power that was bestowed upon him by the Star God.

    Therefore, it was only natural that the plan, which required overwhelming divine power like stellar mana, couldn’t succeed.

    “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry...”

    Knowing this, Roswyn tearfully stroked the monitor.

    “If only I had come to my senses a little earlier...”

    - Foolish creature.

    “...!”

    Roswyn’s eyes widened at the voice coming from the monitor.

    - To come alone in the end. Truly foolish.

    “You, you’re...”

    The Eye, connected to the massive tendril of the larger entity, had been taken over and was now conveying the entity’s words to Frey.

    - Self- sacrifice. Altruism. Those were your downfalls. How can you be so predictably foolish?

    - No... I...!

    - Yet you’re no different from that bastard back then... your selfishness is truly laughable.

    - I came here because I trusted everyone...!

    Frey, who was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the Eye, shouted back, infuriated by its words.

    - Saying that changes nothing. Coming alone means the result is the same.

    -That’s not it... Arrgh...!

    - For those who have lost their experience, there is no conclusion.

    But the tendrils tightened around Frey as the possessed eye continued.

    - Everything you have done. Everything you have endured. The tragedies you faced. Even the victories you achieved.

    -Ugh... Ugh...

    - They were all pathetic nonsense.

    -Ugh...

    - From the moment my foolish alter-ego deleted Dark Tale Fantasy as I intended, everything was already determined.

    Then, it suddenly opened its eye and turned its gaze toward the unconscious Frey.

    - From the moment I was sealed by the Star God, my plan never deviated.

    -...

    - Every character in this story, those beings from the blue star beyond, and even the foolish girl who watches this. All were mere puppets dancing on stage dictated by me.

    Its gaze was fixed on Roswyn, who sat dazedly staring at the monitor.

    “...”

    - Especially you. Thank you for providing the ultimate entertainment until the very end.

    The possessed Eye smirked as it whispered, staring intently at her.

    This is the dark tale I longed for.

    “Wait–”

    - Zap...!

    With that, the monitor’s screen went black.

    “...”

    A chilling silence settled over everything.

    “...Grrr.”

    In that silence, Roswyn, who had been staring blankly at the monitor, slowly extended her hand, clenching her teeth.

    “You call it all pitifully meaningless?”

    - Click...!

    Her hand, now gripping the mouse, began to move slowly.

    “...The only pathetic one here is me.”

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Some time later.

    The system log displayed a quietly inscribed message.

    The Final Ordeal begins

    It was the start of the Final Ordeal, which should be the Fourth /genesisforsaken