"So, from beginning to end, you really never did anything at all?"
The shadow couldn't help laughing at Bell's confusion.
"Pfft~ You don't seriously think a powerless fragment of a soul could accomplish something like that, do you?"
"I'm just a remnant soul, not some blessing dispenser."
"Don't imagine me as something absurd."
Since he had already said this much, he didn't mind adding more.
"Originally, you were far better suited to be raised as a 'Hero'. With the 'Hope' you possess, reaching your current level would've only taken a bit longer."
"Once you carve your existence into human history, you'll receive its gifts soon enough. Of course, doing so also means the ones searching for 'Hope' will notice you."
Bell didn't quite understand all of it, but the last part he grasped clearly.
Anchoring himself to this so-called "human history" could bring rewards, but it would also paint a target on his back.
The calculations behind that path were terrifying.
An instinctive aversion rose within Bell.
Seeking benefit and avoiding danger was human instinct. And when he didn't even understand what "human history" truly was, nor knew anything about the ones searching for "Hope," retreating was the safest way to stay hidden.
Seeing Bell's reaction—and the movement of "Hope" within him—the shadow practically burst into laughter.
'So Hope is avoiding danger exactly according to this kid's instincts, even hiding itself within history to enter a stealth state.'
'No wonder we gods and goddesses searched for so many years without finding even a clue. With this level of cowardly survival instinct, it'd be strange if anyone found him.'
But the thought twisted the shadow's mood.
'If those people knew Hope was being steered onto a path of despair—and that it suited him so perfectly—they'd absolutely despair themselves.'
'Still… if Hope really walked my path, perhaps… he could accomplish what I never could.'
'He hasn't even reached demigodhood, yet the sprout has already appeared.'
'Simulated Star Creation Map.'
'Those two little girls must have noticed something, right?'
The shadow couldn't be sure whether the two girls had sensed anything, but judging from the outcome, their eyesight was frighteningly sharp.
They probably misread his aptitudes, but making that early investment had left them with invaluable returns.
Simulated Star Creation Map—the key to building a vast divine lineage.
Normally, nurturing its sprout was unimaginably difficult… yet hope and despair intertwined to create an unprecedented miracle.
A twinge of envy and jealousy flickered in the shadow's heart.
'His luck really is absurd.'
But then he fell silent.
'Thinking about it… a soul like mine, which should have vanished completely, ending up in this child's inner soul… could it be fate sensed Hope and deliberately arranged this?'
He couldn't answer.
As he had said earlier, the former him might have understood, but the current him was only a remnant at the end of his road.
He couldn't even cling to a corner; all that awaited him was erasure.
And because of that, he laughed.
"Puhahahaha~ I've been played."
"Fate, you really are unpredictable."
He was certain now—he too had been dragged into fate's setup, because fate had chosen the child standing before him.
But he no longer cared.
Because he had seen a hope he never could before.
Maybe this outcome was inevitable.
To encounter "Hope" here… perhaps that was his destiny as the "All the World's Evil."
After the laughter faded, he felt the fluctuations of his soul intensifying.
He let out a bitter smile.
"What a troublesome thing… to scheme this far."
Taking one last look at the bewildered child before him, he waved his hand.
"With your cognition, you'll understand what that thing is when the time comes. But when that moment arrives, you must shoulder the banner I once entrusted to another child."
"That banner isn't something you can bear yet, but as an inheritance, I'll hand it to you."
"How you choose to use it in the future is entirely up to you."
Bell stared at him, an inexplicable urge to cry rising from deep within. He didn't know why, but the emotion was overpowering.
The darkness around the shadow slowly dispersed, the pitch-black surroundings turning translucent.
The environment began to shift.
Bell noticed the change, but his eyes never left the shadow—
No. Not a shadow anymore.
A thin figure draped in a black cloak stood there. Where the hood didn't conceal, parts of the face were faintly visible.
"Heh~"
He pushed himself up from the throne with both hands.
"Bell Cranel, our meeting at this moment is the arrangement of fate."
"I abandoned everything and sealed away the growth of a Spiritual Rank that should never have existed. Because I knew that if I continued to grow, I would become the cause of the world's destruction."
"So I discarded my name, shattered it completely along with the Spiritual Rank, severing all possibility of further growth."
"But you are different from me. You've taken a path similar to mine, yet you possess something I do not."
"Perhaps you can walk a different road."
"Well, that's not something I can witness anymore."
With a wave of his pale hand, a banner composed of rings and cylindrical shapes appeared behind him.
"Though I no longer have any power, this banner was crafted by my own hand. It has always accompanied me, carrying my presence and my understanding of certain forces."
This was the last support he could give to the junior standing before him.
In the past, he would have liked to watch such a child grow… but now he couldn't.
Having been pushed this far, if he didn't destroy himself, it would bring endless trouble.
This time, just like before, he chose death.
Bell could clearly feel the atmosphere shifting.
He remained silent for a moment, then spoke quietly.
"What is your name?"
The figure paused, then gave his answer.
"Angra Mainyu."
In that instant, Bell understood who stood before him. But before he could fully react, his consciousness returned.