There was once a being in an empty space with no ups and downs, and no lefts and rights. A space no one knows how vast it was.
When that being acquired an ego, the first thing it felt... was an inexpressible sense of solitude and loneliness. Therefore, the being sought for another, beings other than itself.
However, the being did not have the great power one would describe as omnipotent, and to just create a place... a world that held no land nor life, it could only be accomplished by scraping off parts of its existence.
That being used most of its power to create the world. It lost most of its power. Most of the things it had been able to do as a matter of course were no longer possible.
But even so, if it healed the deep loneliness that welled up in its heart, the being thought it wouldn't mind... and having used up almost all of its power, the being fell into a long sleep.
Holding hope within its heart that the next time it wakes up, many lives other than itself are flourishing in the world it created...
After an unknown amount of years, the being awoke from its long and deep sleep, and rejoiced that there was so much life in the world it had created.
Finally, it would be relieved of its loneliness... with the power to speak and convey its intentions to others. However, even though it had lost this ability as a price for creating the world, it still had one power that remained in its perfect form... "the authority to connect its heart with others". By using this power, it believed that it could communicate and emotionally connect with many lives.
The being had always been alone until now. It has never been in contact with others and has existed in a world of nothingness with an indescribable sense of loneliness.
Of course, it had never communicated with another person before... so it didn't know.
It didn't know that it held a special kind of magic power that could "dye the hearts of others with deep despair".
The being that connected its heart with others, feeling nearly liberated from its long loneliness, dyed most of the world in despair... and ending up becoming known as the "Great Evil God of Despair", it was sealed away by the beings it created.
Why? How did this happen? It just didn't want to be alone, even though all it wanted was to share warmth with others... However, even when it wanted to shout its thoughts out, it no longer had the ability to speak, and the Great Evil God once again fell into a long sleep.
After another long time passed, the seal of the Great Evil God was broken. With a sense of loneliness that had swelled to the point of being unbearable, the Great Evil God connected its heart with all living beings in the world once again... enveloping the world in despair.
However, not all people's hearts were dyed in despair. Despite being enveloped by the magic power of despair, a single girl who continued to hold onto hope became the gathering point for hope from all over the world. At that moment, the Hero of Hope was born, leading to the defeat of the Great Evil God.
Not wanting to disappear in solitude without obtaining anything it wanted, it gathered the last of its strength and flung its soul out of the world.
Without knowing where it would end up or what would happen to it... There, it encountered the personified End of a Story, marking the end of the one who was called the Great Evil God of Despair and the beginning of a new existence... Though that would be a different story altogether.
The place where it... she was born was a battlefield stained with blood, where numerous corpses lay.
After a battle in which two species fought against each other, a grand one even in the Demon Realm, she suddenly appeared.
[...…]
With snow-white hair and skin, blood-red eyes, and a beautiful dress, her great presence made itself known in the midst of the battlefield.
Soon after, the eyes of the warriors of both species were drawn to that being. However, it wasn't that their eyes were involuntarily drawn by the being's beauty, but instead, they reflexively turned their heads reflexively to the presence that was so repulsive and sinister.
Immediately afterward, jet-black magic power was released from the being. It wasn't that she unleashed any magic, that was purely her magic power leaking out of her body... magic power that didn't even hold any hostile intent. It was just a spontaneous release of magic power, an act conducted naturally like that of a newly awakened creature yawning.
And with that single act... Tens of thousands of lives that gathered on the battlefield died.
Floating in midair, clad in pale blue light, the being turned her gaze to the surroundings for the first time. Numerous corpses lay around her, unaware that it was her who had taken all these lives... The girl with an innocent-looking face muttered.
[...Lonely.]
That was the moment of birth of Isis Remnant, she who would later be called Death King, and at the same time, the first word she uttered in her life.
The girl in a blue dress floats through the land of the Demon Realm. With the feeling of loneliness welling up in her heart, she seeked out others...
Soon after, the girl found a small monster. Her face breaking into a smile, the girl approached the monster... only for the monster to quickly die out.
[...Why?]
Picking up the corpse of the monster that suddenly died without a word, she looked around her.
Why did this monster die?
Why are the surrounding plants and trees withering?
Why is the ground cracking and turning black?
The girl was indeed a newborn being. However, as she was born from the magic power of the dead, she was born with a certain amount of intelligence and knowledge.
That is why it didn't take her long to realize that it was her fault.
Several years had passed since the girl realized that she was the one who had sprinkled death around. Even as the feeling of loneliness festers in her heart, the girl has yet to be touched by even a single warmth.
Alone and lonely, the girl hugged her knees, sitting in the desolate wilderness.
Her body doesn't require food or sleep, but for some reason, she was terribly sleepy at that moment. As she closed her eyes, her consciousness sank as if drawn to something.
And then———— she had a dream.
A sky covered in thick clouds, a snowy field with nothing but black snow falling all over... and seemingly reflecting the heart of the girl, there was only one shadow standing in that lonely world.
Someone in a tattered robe, with a body shape similar to her, though her face was not visible.
[...Who... are you?]
"...I am you."
[...Me?]
"...We are the Incarnation of Death. A being who reaps life, scattering despair around us. You need not seek warmth anymore, for the day you'll acquire it will never come."
[!?]
The girl clad in shadows spun her words in exactly the same voice as her. Though she herself hadn't said it out loud, it was a thought that she had been harboring in her heart for the past few years.
[...You're wrong.]
"What I say isn't wrong. What we're clad in is the magic power of death."
[...Magic power... of death?]
"Yes, we are the incarnation of death... The magic power we're clad in reaps lives, a cold, malevolent force that extinguishes the flames of beings' souls. Who is it that would accept a being like us?"
[....]
Is this really just a dream? The girl questioned, but the other girl, all too aptly, continues to speak of the darkness that has begun to emerge in her heart.
[...That... isn't the case... It was just that... I haven't met them yet.]
"Is that so? If you feel that way, then so be it. However, do not forget this... There will be no one who will accept us in the real sense of the word. Expecting something that doesn't exist will only hurt us... That's something you must not forget."
And with those words, the girl woke up from her dream. She was asleep for only a few minutes. But after waking up, the landscape around her seemed much colder and lonelier than before.
A few more years passed, exactly 10 years after the girl was born... That being appeared.
[Hello there. Are you the girl I've heard so much about?]
[...Who?]
[My name is Kuromueina. Nice to meet you.]
A conversation with the brightly smiling Kuromueina... For the girl, it was the first time in her life.
That is why the girl's heart was filled with joy and sadness at the same time.
[...Don't... go any closer.]
[...Why?]
[...If you... get closer... You will die.]
This person was the first one who didn't run away from her and exchanged words with. Not wanting to kill such a person, the girl spoke words of warning.
However, Kuromueina, after smiling slightly, approached the girl without stopping.
[...Don't... approach.]
[It's alright. I won't die... You won't kill me.]
While telling her this in a gentle voice, Kuromueina approached her... and gently embraced the girl with a look of mixed fright and loneliness on her face.
[See, I'm alright, aren't I?]
[...Uuu... Unnn.]
It was the first time for the girl to feel the warmth of another person... and when she felt it, big tears streamed down from her eyes.
[Well then, once again, hello there. If you don't mind, could you tell me your name?]
[...I don't... have a name.]
[Is that so? In that case, I'll give you one... Let's see, your name will be... Isis! You are Isis Remnant!]
[...Isis... Remnant... my... name.]
Tears seemingly not stopping from leaking out of her eyes, the girl... Isis murmured the name given to her.
Thereupon, Kuromueina released Isis from her embrace and reached out her hand to her with a dazzling smile on her face.
[Isis, do you want to come with me? You have a lot of magic power, but it seems you can't control it properly... If you want, I will teach you various things.]
[!?]
Those were words that made Isis extremely happy. That's why, without hesitation, she held onto the held-out hand. After that would be days free from the painful, cold loneliness... is what she thought.
Yes, Isis had forgotten. She completely forgot the words told to her by her other self in her dream, only thinking of her happiness.
Accompanied by Kuromueina, Isis came to her house, spontaneously laid down on the bed in the room given to her and closed her eyes.
As if someone was calling her... She really felt sleepy...
Then, she found herself in that place again. In the field of black snow, with her other self clad in a black robe...
"So, you've come again."
[...What you said before... It was a lie... Kuromueina... She... She accepted me... She... She held out her hand to me.]
"...Is that really so?"
[...What do you mean?]
While Isis happily told her this, the other Isis asked back in the same cold tone as before. As if to say that Isis is mistaken...
"Indeed, Kuromueina held out her hand to us. However, does that really mean she accepts us?"
[...Kuromueina did... She accepted me...]
"We can't kill Kuromueina. Kuromueina is much stronger than we are... That's all there is to it."
[...What... What are you saying!?]
Before she knew it, Isis found herself raising her voice. She doesn't know why, but the words of the being in front of her really bothered her.
"If you hadn't realized it yet, then that's fine for now. However, don't forget... Kuromueina is not the being we seek. You may only feel a slight discomfort at first, but as time goes on, this discomfort will grow larger."
[!? ...You... What do you even know!?]
"...I would know this. You are me, and I am you... That's why, I would know. I'm sure someday, you'll realize it too... You'll end up realizing it. Realizing that we would have been happier if we didn't realize it, for doing so would only lead us to greater suffering."
[...That... won't happen.]
"...Is that so? If that were the case... That would be great."
Those lonely words echoing in her ears, Isis regained consciousness, with an unexplainable thorn in the back of her mind...