The respite left until Stage 46 isn't very long.
Despite the hardships of rushing through the previous stages, we've only bought ourselves a few weeks. In fact, it might be more accurate to say that we've managed to gain this much time because of our hard work.
After finishing the repairs on the equipment that was under maintenance, we created new gear with the newly acquired magic cores.
We upgraded the overall equipment level of the soldiers, expanded various defensive artifacts, and continued the soldiers' training.
We held funerals for the dead and allocated budgets for the living...
Busily and diligently, we prepared for the next stage.
At the same time, the grand strategy for the true ending was also being prepared.
Rumble, rumble, rumble-!
La Mancha, which had been urgently dispatched north during the rest period, returned to Crossroad.
Hanging beneath La Mancha was a giant black spike, the very reason why the only warship on the front was dispatched.
La Mancha carefully placed the black spike on the eastern plains and landed the ship beside it. I hurried to the spot.
"Father!"
As soon as La Mancha finished landing, the hatch opened, and the emperor, the guards, and the wizards poured out.
The emperor, wearing a prosthetic leg and an eyepatch over his lost eye, had left his empty sleeve fluttering where his arm once was.
"Welcome back. Did you have a good trip?"
As I greeted him, the emperor, seemingly accustomed to his prosthetic leg, grumbled with a casual gait.
"You're a scary son, making your father work in this condition."
"It was a task only you could accomplish, Father."
"Bah... Enough. Anyway, I brought what you asked for."
The emperor glanced at the black spike.
"It's the main body of Everblack."
The black spike was the condensed form of humanity's guardian, Everblack.
It was brought here to Crossroad from New Terra to transplant the Everblack itself.
"You're moving the walls from New Terra, the guardian tree, and next, will you move the entire palace?"
"Haha... Thank you and sorry."
Of course, if it helps fend off the monsters, I would bring everything, including the palace. But for now, this Everblack is sufficient.
The wizards who came down from the imperial capital with the emperor embedded the black spike into the eastern plains, drew a magic circle around it, and began some sort of ritual... Soon, the spike transformed into a giant thorn tree, burrowing into the ground.
"As you know, Everblack's roots reach the spiritual world. Its physical location in this world doesn't matter much. The main body in the spiritual world doesn't change its position."
The emperor looked at me steadily.
"Despite that, you insisted on transplanting it here... There must be a reason, son?"
"Yes."
I gently touched the trunk of the thorn tree, which quickly grew and spread out, and added quietly.
"It is essential for reaching the true ending I have in mind."
***
The relocated Everblack quickly regained its function, and I accessed the spiritual world for the first time in a while.
"You're bringing me along here?"
The emperor looked perplexed, but he agreed to accompany me.
"If it's necessary to protect the empire, how could I refuse? I must lead and break my bones for this cause. Although, I feel like I've already done enough bone-breaking and reshaping."
Then he dramatically flapped his empty sleeve.
This man... It's hard to tell if he's joking or holding a grudge with that serious face...
"Let's go, Father."
"Alright."
There are multiple reasons why I brought Everblack's main body here.
One of them is to fix the coordinates for entering the spiritual world.
While it's not difficult to access the spiritual world by synthesizing Everblack's branches, the entry coordinates are random. In other words, you never know where you'll end up in the spiritual world.
However, accessing through the main body of Everblack in the physical world allows for a direct entry following the roots of Everblack planted in the spiritual world.
This method is the best optimized way to reach my destination—the roots of Everblack.
Splash...!
Wading through the swirling currents of magical energy, the emperor and I, now in our spiritual forms, swam downwards as if diving into the depths of the spiritual world.
In the spiritual world, the emperor's form was restored, with both eyes, both arms, and both legs intact.
I checked my own form and found no significant changes compared to before, but instead, a red and a black flame were slowly rotating within my chest.
And floating above my head was a silver halo, resembling a crown.
"..."
I decided not to think too deeply about it. Let's consider it a power-up and a new skin...
Flying through a sky filled with auroras of various colors, we swam through the void, diving deeper into the spiritual world.
The trunk and roots of Everblack extended from the top of the sky in the spiritual world to the ground below, and the emperor and I slowly slid down along these roots.
After a long time, we finally reached the end of the roots.
Swoosh...
The scenery of the spiritual world hadn't changed a bit since my last visit.
A white beach with transparent, colorless seawater rolling in.
"I was confined here for quite a long time."
The emperor seemed to feel differently returning to the site of his lifelong battlefield.
"It's surprising that this place, which I always considered a battlefield, can be so peaceful."
"..."
I looked towards the sea.
There, four giants stood like statues, looking down at us.
The guardian gods of the other races, the alien gods.
Currently, they lend their power to our World Guardian Front, representing the gods of the other races.
Although they used to fight the emperor to the death, now they just looked at us with inorganic eyes.
"So, why did we come here?"
The emperor looked around and asked.
"What business do you have in this empty space between life and death?"
"This way."
I led the way down to the end of Everblack's thorn branch.
And there, she was still there.
At the end of the black thorn branches intertwined like a net.
She was hanging there, bound all over her body.
Blood continuously flowed from her body pierced by the thorns, and the blood dripping down caused flames to rise on her body.
Bleeding from wounds. Burning alive.
Serving as the living fuel to keep the thorn tree alive...
She, the goddess, still had a peaceful face.
"It's been a while."
I showed my respect.
"Goddess."
"Haha. It hasn't been that long for me, but yes. It's been a while, Ash."
The goddess turned her head and smiled softly at the emperor who had followed me.
"And Traha too."
I looked back at the emperor. I expected him to pay his respects to the goddess.
"..."
But the emperor showed no reaction and coldly surveyed the space where the roots and trunk of Everblack had descended.
I asked, slightly puzzled.
"Father? Won't you greet the goddess?"
"...What nonsense are you talking about?"
The emperor frowned and stared straight at me.
"There's nothing here."
"...?!"
I quickly turned back.
The burning woman was definitely there. With an even sadder smile.
"Can you not see the goddess, Father?"
"Goddess? What nonsense is this, Ash."
"Do you mean to say you can't see the woman burning, bound in the air over there?"
"I see neither flames nor a woman."
The emperor shook his head slightly.
"Only an empty void of cold nothingness."
***
After the emperor left the space, I stood alone before the goddess and cautiously asked.
"Why can't Father see you?"
"Haha. Ash. It's the opposite."
The burning woman smiled bitterly.
"No one in the world can observe me. Because I'm a 'nonexistent being.' That's the condition of my confinement. So no one can find or touch me. You're special."
"Then, why can I...?"
"I told you before. Dustia is my descendant. And you, who inherited Dustia's blood, are also my descendant."
I recalled my mother, Dustia, and the curse of the one-man succession lineage passed down to me from her.
"The curse of regression... So, that means."
"Yes. It started from me. The curse I received as the price for fulfilling my wish long ago... has been passed down through generations."
The goddess showed an apologetic expression.
"Because of that curse, all my descendants faced difficult fates. I'm truly sorry for that."
"..."
"But in the end, you were born from all those intertwined threads of destiny, and you came to see me, who has been forgotten by everyone... It might be selfish, but I'm a little happy."
I had one question, so I asked cautiously.
"It seemed like you communicated with Aider... How did you talk to him?"
"Because that child made the same choice as I did. So we were able to connect."
Aider made the same choice as the goddess?
I wanted to ask more, but the goddess seemed unwilling to talk about Aider.
"You should ask Aider about Aider. I don't think I can speak about his resolve."
"..."
"But if you have any other questions, I'll answer them. You have earned that right now."
The goddess smiled benevolently.
"What troubles have brought you here today, my distant descendant?"
Taking a small breath, I looked straight at the goddess.
"Could you tell me your story, goddess?"
The reason she was confined here in this form, which I hadn't heard last time.
- As the price for giving fire to humanity. And as the price for sustaining that fire. I accepted the punishment of burning my body forever.
The reason this world is in its current state.
The goddess has been deeply involved in it.
I was certain that the goddess was the last piece of the puzzle I needed.
The goddess tilted her head slightly.
"I don't mind, but it will be a long and boring story, won't it? Aren't you very busy?"
"It's something I need to know, and more importantly..."
I smiled slyly and sat comfortably in front of the goddess.
"What could be more enjoyable than a grandchild listening to their grandmother's stories?"
The goddess's eyes sparkled with amusement through the flames.
"You cheeky little..."
Then the goddess slowly began to speak.
A story from a distant past,
About a thief who stole the magical fire and brought it to the world of humans...
***
After hearing all the stories, I left the roots of Everblack.
The emperor was standing on the beach, chatting with the alien gods. Seeing them having a peaceful conversation after once fighting to the death felt strange.
"Are you done, Ash?"
"Yes."
"Good, then let's head back. It seems quite a bit of time has passed."
The emperor, having said his goodbyes to the alien gods, led the way, ascending through the void along the thorny trunk.
The suffocating turbulence of magical energy whipped around us like a lash, shaking our path, but Everblack guided us, and we safely ascended towards reality, following the lighthouse's directions.
As we were returning to reality,
"...Ash."
"Yes."
"Was there really a goddess there?"
"Yes."
The emperor, hesitating for a moment, cautiously asked.
"Is it related to Dustia?"
"..."
I nodded slightly.
"Yes."
"I see, I understand..."
The emperor, after a moment of hesitation, let out a long breath.
"Ash, I wasn't a good husband."
"..."
"But I want to be a good father."
I chuckled softly.
"You already are a good father."
"..."
The emperor glanced at me with his intense eyes, hiding his true feelings.
In the next moment, his face aged instantly, an eyepatch covered his eye, and his strong arm and leg disappeared, transforming into an empty sleeve and a prosthetic leg.
Swoosh...!
We had exited the spiritual world and returned to reality.
As soon as we returned to the side of Everblack, the waiting troops immediately prostrated themselves to greet the emperor.
"Long live His Imperial Majesty! We pay our respects to the supreme ruler of the empire!"
"Congratulations on your safe return, Your Majesty!"
The emperor nodded slightly, accepting the salute.
"How long have we been in there?"
"A week, Your Majesty!"
Supporting the emperor as we walked, I was startled. A whole week had passed?
Lucas, waiting with the other knights, nodded heavily at me.
"...The next monster horde invasion is about to begin, my lord."
"What about the preparations I ordered?"
"Everything has been diligently prepared."
Lucas smiled slightly and winked.
"Was your mission successful?"
"Yes."
I glanced back at the now even more sprawling Everblack and murmured quietly.
"I've secured the last piece of the puzzle."
And, I had also confirmed.
The path I would take.
The path that would make me the most hated tyrant in the eyes of all humanity, but the one and only path to the true ending.