At that time…
I stood on the threshold of fulfilling a wish I had planned for a very long time...
Far too long.
I stepped out of the Astral Hall, only to meet him before I departed and vanished forever…
Anger.
Even though I was the master of his Path and the executor of his wishes,
his sudden loss of control...
something he still did to this day...
was what I despised and hated the most.
"Are you sure?
Is your plan truly going to succeed??"
Despite the fact that I was the one who shaped his personality…
"My pride!"
The furious glare carved into his pale face, his crimson eyes blazing outside the Astral Hall,
was terrifying even to the most powerful Virtues.
As always…
He would lose control of himself, return with hands stained in blood every time his Path slipped beyond restraint...
And ask me the same question.
"Our wish… your plan… their freedom...
it will come true, right?!"
And every time, I answered him with the same reply...
the one he loathed just as much:
"All outcomes lie in the hands of fate…"
Even though that was our final meeting...
For the first time, anger bared its fangs at pride.
"If that fate comes without fulfilling our wishes,
I swear I'll smash its head apart!!!"
Then pride parted from anger…
And at the destined meeting, anger would reunite with despair.
...…
"Just… tell me.
When did you arrive in this world?"
A strange question.
Sayru—who had entered this story in such an unusual way—
was asking this?
He who wandered freely between worlds and dimensions…
Was asking me about my fate,
about the moment I arrived in this world?
Unlike other worlds, where those who grasp the essence of power and transcendence roam freely—like Sayru—
This world was different.
Here, greed shackled its children.
Aside from my master, no one could leave it by their own will.
Which brought me back to the same question.
When did I arrive in this world?
Wasn't it when I was born here?
But my body was born before my soul arrived,
at least that's what my mother told me.
So… what was I doing before I became aware of my existence in this world?
No…
What was I doing in my previous life?
I don't remember.
I truly don't remember!
Why?
I'm certain I died naturally and was reborn into this world…
But what was I doing before I died?
Damn it…
Is what's happening to me now the result of losing myself once again??
But I remember my life in the first world.
And I remember my life when I met Sayru…
"Hey…"
Why can't I remember anything beyond those two lives?
"You—hey ¿¿¿, where did your thoughts wander off to while I'm standing right here?"
What did he call me?
Was that the name I was known by in Sayru's world?
That realization struck me...
I'd never told him my true name.
"My real name is..."
Huh?
Why can't I remember my real name?
No…
Did I even have a true name to begin with?
"What?" he asked.
"I mean… my name now is Telodeos."
"So, Telodeos," Sayru said,
"is the answer really that difficult?"
He stared at me with a strange look I had never seen before.
Unease crept into me from that gaze,
and instinctively I stalled.
No… I avoided answering altogether.
"What about you?" I asked instead.
"When did you come to this world?"
The strange look vanished, replaced by calm.
He stood up and began preparing another pot of tea.
At the same time, he answered:
"It's been five hundred years since I arrived here."
A sudden chill ran through me.
That meant he had been here before I was even born...
Perhaps even before my infamous grandmother came into existence.
But what shocked me most… was the length of time.
Five hundred years.
That was no trivial span, even for a martial artist like Sayru.
Once the tea was ready, he refilled the cups and slid one toward me slowly.
"I don't know what you're thinking," he said,
"but the laws of time in this world have been corrupted.
And stranger still...
this world isn't the only one whose laws have been damaged."
What did he mean?
"That's why I asked how long you've been here."
Something was off about his words.
His phrasing was far more deliberate than before...
speaking vaguely about corrupted laws,
about time itself…
Of course, I already knew this world's laws were broken.
After all, the one who bound this world was—at the very least—her…!
I understood.
It was the Authority of Greed.
And perhaps also the Authority of Pride—
preventing him from burning a predetermined future.
My future.
From steering me toward a different fate.
"Does your question have something to do with fate?" I asked.
Sayru replied with an irritated smile.
"I'm glad you understood."
He took several sips of his tea in silence.
Then he said:
"Since I've found the key I was searching for,
I'll leave the choice to that key
to stand against this detestable fate…"
He fell silent again, as if carefully weighing his next words.
Then he continued:
"Overcome the self that cast you into hell.
Rest assured… I will protect this dimension from the hands of the Ten Supreme Authorities
and hide it from their eyes."
What should I call what I felt?
Relief?
A sense of safety?
Or rage and regret that stole the breath from my lungs?
I understood many of his riddles...
And remained ignorant of many others.
But there was nothing to be done.
This was my story, not his.
His role ended here.
"Damn it!"
Though honestly…
it felt like he was closer to exploding in anger than I was. Haha.
...…
Hours passed after Sayru cast those riddles at me.
Lost in thought, trying to unravel what remained...
The fourth teapot ran dry.
When I finally gave up on understanding the rest,
a sudden curiosity toward Sayru overtook me.
Not curiosity about why he was here.
Not about how he arrived.
Something else entirely.
"Did you abandon the Path of Nihilism?"
In the past, Sayru had mastered several Paths...
But two defined him above all else:
The Path of the Sword,
and Nihilism.
As one who had grasped the Path of the Sword,
I could feel that Sayru still held it as well.
But the Path of Nihilism...
That suffocating Path that denied all existence—
I hadn't felt it even once during our meeting.
"More or less," he replied.
"I still train in the Path of Nihilism.
Lately, I've even used it more than the Sword.
But my main Path now… how should I put it?"
He paused.
"It's as if it devours every Path I comprehend…"
I think I understood his feeling, to some extent.
The same thing was happening to me...
Because of the Path of Despair.
Which reminded me of something else…
That period after I obtained the title ⟦Virtue of Despair⟧
and began comprehending the Path of Despair…
That horrifying urge to kill and torture.
The overwhelming stupidity.
The burning nerves.
"Did you… go through a phase of madness after you began comprehending your new Path?"
Sayru looked at me with pity.
Was he pitying me?
Or had he suddenly begun to pity himself?
He sighed, covering his eyes with his hand.
"Even though I didn't fall into that dark phase this time…
don't remind me.
I'll die of embarrassment just thinking about those black memories."
So even the Great Nihilism Saint had gone through that madness…
For some reason—
I felt exactly the same as him.
Pitying both of us.
...…
After a long conversation, I realized it was time to end this meeting.
There were still things that couldn't be delayed,
Paths I had to pursue before their doors closed forever.
I raised my head and said calmly:
"It seems my time here has ended.
I must leave."
Sayru smiled faintly and reached toward a strange ring adorning his finger.
"Before you go…
I don't know if we'll meet again,
so I should give you something in return for the wonderful tea you brought."
He channeled his mana through the ring.
A brief flash appeared—then vanished—
Leaving behind a rusted iron sword.
He lifted it and said quietly:
"Though it's nothing more than an ordinary sword,
I hope it helps you in your upcoming martial lessons.
Consider it a simple farewell gift…
from an old friend."
I took the sword.
The moment my hand grasped its hilt,
I felt its energy trembling faintly.
It wasn't a sacred sword...
But it wasn't ordinary either.
It carried something within it...
Like old memories, deeply sealed inside a pitiful sword's soul.
I whispered with a faint smile:
"An ordinary sword, you say?
I don't think I'll ever believe that.
Thank you for the gift.
It's truly wonderful."
I had been wondering how I'd conclude my final lessons...
Never expecting the perfect gift to reach me like this,
from a friend I hadn't seen in a very long time.
I tied the sword at my waist and stood up, ready to leave.
"So… this is farewell."
Sayru looked up at me, his voice obscure as he gazed toward the horizon.
"Don't forget to visit the lake that reflects the moonlight…
if you still wish to curse your fate...
Just as I once did."
I sighed softly.
Even at parting, he couldn't let go of his riddles.
"Farewell, Sayru."
I exited the teahouse, where the girls were waiting...
worry clear on their faces.
I spoke while looking toward the horizon:
"We're late…
We must continue our journey.
It's time to meet the next target."
I raised my head to the sky and tightened my grip on the new sword.
"Forgive the delay…
O Lord of All Towers."
Then I took flight, soaring into the heavens...
Returning to the story that had paused today because of Sayru…
To make it continue!