CCTnovel 208 – End of a Dream
208 – End of a Dream
208 – End of a Dream
An undisputed victory.
Being W was gone. Not dead, but instead erased.
The imposter that took on the name of Hitogami and donned the mantle of the
His divine authority, however, remained in the form of a jewel left in
I did that.
And as a result, the worry hanging over our heads about Being W causing some ridiculous event or bullshit drama was completely gone.
For once, me, my family, my friends, and the world itself was truly free.
Free to live, free to laugh, free to love, and free...
...to run away from crazy wives who wanted to use me as target practice.
"GET BACK HERE RUDY!" Eri screamed at me as she sprinted after me with a wooden sword in hand.
"You promised!" Sylphy shouted and ran with an armful of snowballs. "You promised you'd take me with you to fight that guy!"
Lightning crackled as Roxy chased after me as well. Not only that, but a scary array of magic formations expanded behind her as she sprinted.
And the scariest part was that she wasn't saying a word, seemingly intent on just smashing me into the ground.
I glanced back at them as I ran and said, "This is DV! Domestic violence!"
A snowball launched through the air at hypersonic speed.
I instinctively ducked, only for it to explode and turn the ground in front of me completely icy.
Oh, and for the record, we were back in our house in Sharia.
The good old Greyrat home... where I was being chased around like I came out of an old Western animation, chased around like in T*m and J*rry.
'Papa! Run! Heehee!'
A cute baby girl's voice echoed in my head.
That would be Celes.
Well. At least my baby girl was enjoying my struggle.
It was the morning after everything went down.
Obviously, I got chewed out by everyone the moment I got back, but I'll spare the details.
To celebrate, the entire Greyrat family and our friends were outside in the courtyard, having a party.
Even Aunt Teresa had managed to make it here from Millishion. Hell, that old man Sauros was here too somewhere in the crowd.
As I zipped past the main entrance again, a soft sigh echoed. Rika's.
Following that, a chorus of laughing babies echoed.
I glanced over to see Rika seated on a lawn chair holding Kadi, our silver-haired daughter. Beside her, our other daughters, Riru and Usri, sat on in a pair of baby carriers, giggling as they looked at me.
Behind them, in a completely secured and fluffy play area, the rest of my kids were playing.
And by 'rest of my kids,' that also included Ena, Eos, and Roland who were doing their best to baby sit.
Ena sat on the ground, hugging Christina while watching Ares waving his arms in the air.
Eos held Celes to give her a good view of me running past.
And Roland held Lucille, staring at her with a bemused look on his face.
Argh, times like this made me wish I made a camera.
I'd just have to make do with a mental snapshot for now and print it out later-
*thwack*
A burst of cold powder smacked against my face, causing me to stumble.
Sylphy cheered. "I got him!"
Immediately after, there was the sound of something whistling through the air.
I ducked to the side, just in time for a small dirt explosion to erupt as Eri's sword plowed into the dirt beside me.
But it wasn't over.
"Truly, if there is evil in this world, it lurks in the hearts of man..."
An incantation from Roxy.
I quickly scrambled to my feet and held up my hand, getting ready.
She continued. "Thou art at the gate of the underworld... Come forth, wrath of the gods!
A flash of blue lightning, striking down from a clear blue sky.
...Okay, wives still mad, I guess.
That was the last thought I had before I got slammed into the ground by the lightning strike and then blasted off into the sky.
-SNG-
Stella sipped on a cup of berry juice as she watched Onii-chan get treated like a punching bag by his wives.
...This wasn't a good example to be setting for his kids, but he DID mess up.
Stella was conflicted, but in the end, she decided that it was Onii-chan's problems to solve later.
If he wanted to devolved to a standard Shounen character now that the main story arc was over, that was his problem, not hers.
Stella sighed and then took a look around.
It was packed. Even more than when the weddings were happening.
Although Stella recognized a lot of the faces around, there were people she'd never seen before too.
Like there, in the corner, her biological father was standing with uncle Philip and an harsh-looking old man with almost completely silver hair.
Mister Zanoba was standing in the corner, having a serious conversation with a young blonde man who had his face completely covered with a wrapped cloth. Beside the young blonde man, and holding onto his sleeve, there was a beautiful young woman with aqua blue hair and sapphire like eyes.
Mama Lily was talking to a woman who looked a lot like her but a bit older. Beside them both, Aisha nee-chan stood looking a bit awkward and out of place.
But Norn nee-chan looked worse, trapped in a one-armed hug by Mom while Mom talked with Aunt Therese and an older couple that must have been Grandma and Grandpa.
And that didn't even include all the random adventurer buddies who had been invited by Stella's parents or by Sylphy.
...Or the rowdy crowds of Beastmen from the Great Forest who were running around cheering Onii-chan's name.
Or the fact that Kishirika Kishirisu was with a hulking demon with multiple arms that looked like G*ro from that bloody Western fighting game, M*rtal K*mbat.
Stella shook her head and then kept sipping on her berry juice, quietly seated at a table off to the side of the courtyard.
She was just hoping for some peace and quiet, but...
"So it's your turn to be the hero next, Stella!" An energetic young beast girl with silver hair and perky ears looked over at Stella.
That was Toni, one of Stella's minions-
FRIENDS from the Great Forest.
"Y-Yes..." Another young beast girl with soft silver hair and droopy ears spoke up next to Stella. "Will you be taking a trip back soon to claim the holy sword, Stella?"
Stella let out a deep sigh and put her cup down. After that, she pointed at the two and said, "Look! The first thing about being a hero is that drawing the legendary weapon from its resting place marks the start of bad times and drama!" She pointed at the courtyard and said, "We JUST got a chance to rest! I'm not going to start running off to be the hero and then suddenly activate a secret post game boss or-"
There was a flash of light, and then a glowy and staticy blue portal appeared in the middle of the courtyard.
Stella froze, slowly turning to look towards it.
...Nah. No way, right?
I-It couldn't be that she accidentally caused a post-game event or something, right?
RIGHT?!
Stella wanted to believe that.
But as she stared at the portal, a familiar person walked out.
Akito, adjusting a watch on his left hand.
Beside him, there was a young girl who looked a lot like a smaller Roxy.
Stella had met her before too.
Lara Greyrat, the other Roxy's and that ecchi Onii-chan's oldest daughter.
But there was someone else there too.
A face that Stella hadn't seen for a long time now, but one that she couldn't forget.
After all, she had seen it in the mirror and in pictures for over eighteen years before she was reborn.
A cute Japanese teenaged girl with long black hair and above average looks. Though, with her currently serious and cool expression, it definitely brought her points up a few in the looks department.
That was Stella's objective evaluation of the girl.
An evaluation that she did because it was the only way for her to cling to her rapidly fraying sanity at the ridiculous situation.
Nanahoshi Shizuka took a look around, letting out a faint smile at seeing the cheery atmosphere.
Stella quickly moved to try and hide her face. But before she could, she happened to lock eyes with Nanahoshi.
A strange and intuitive feeling.
Like looking at a warped mirror.
Stella could tell. That girl had her old appearance, but she also wasn't 'her.'
Like putting a square block inside a matching hole that was just a bit too small.
There was a bit of nostalgia and immediate empathy.Upstodatee from
But at the same time, Stella felt an instinctive repulsion.
Was it a woman's intuition?
Stella felt like if they talked, the conversation would devolve into 'how dare you think you're me?!'
...Or something.
And it seemed like that Nanahoshi Shizuka felt the same way, instinctively turning up her nose as she looked at Stella.
Stella huffed and looked away as well-
Wait. Did Orsted just collapse?
...And now everyone was talking really loud because of the sudden disturbance.
Hah...
One day.
One day, Stella would have a normal and peaceful family gathering party...
-RNG-
"Sorry again for the sudden interruption, Other Papa." Lara turned around to glance at me and said, "The timing seemed right though, so we wanted to get things moving."
I waved my hand and said, "It's fine. Better to tie up loose ends sooner rather than later."
A rippling portal wide enough to cover the entirety of my house's courtyard.
On one half, it was my timeline and world.
And on the other half, it was a parallel future, the world of the other Rudeus Greyrat who set everything into motion.
And also where we had to deal with Hitogami and resolve the situation with him for good.
Also, it was 'Hitogami' because 'Being W' was an entity that could and would never return.
Pierre stepped across the portal and rubbed his chin. "So it IS another river then. This place is completely separate from ours..." He paused and then turned to look back at Orsted, stopped from crossing in our timeline. But then he turned forward and looked at an Orsted standing in the middle of the courtyard and wearing a weird helmet. "Well, almost completely separate. Right, Orsted?"
That Orsted paused and then took off his helmet.
He looked the same as the one I knew. The only difference was that the scar on his face was on the other side and he looked a bit harsher.
But only for a moment.
As he looked at Pierre, a strange expression crossed his face. And then he blinked and said, "This is an interesting sensation." He muttered and tilted his head. "Two sets of concurrent memories, and with a gap of fifty or so years between them..." He shook his head and laughed before looking at me. Smiling, he said, "No matter the time or place, you continue to surpass my expectations, Rudy."
I gave him a thumbs up. "Glad to hear it, pal."
Orsted smiled. But then he paused and rubbed his chin. "...Still, how strange. To remember you as an employee and friend, and also as an equal and friend..."
I walked over to pat his shoulder and said, "Probably best to not think about it too much. They'll resolve themselves and settle after we all leave."
Orsted was a 'singularity.'
Since his existence was tied to this world in a way that was outside of time, the fact that our timelines were intersecting right now was causing the Orsted I knew and the Orsted here to overlap.
Technically, they were the same person, so it didn't matter. But it would definitely be confusing.
Speaking as someone who also had to deal with having an alternate life set of memories crammed into his head, it could get pretty disorienting.
But it should just be temporary.
Anyway...
I looked forward and watched as Sylphy and Roxy walked out from the house.
Or rather, the other Sylphy and Roxy.
I waved and said, "Long time no see."
The other Sylphy's amber eyes shimmered a bit. But then they cleared up and she smiled. "Welcome back, Rudy."
The other Roxy looked a bit emotional as well. But she put on a composed look and nodded. "Thank you for returning safely."
I felt a pang of sadness in my heart at those words. Especially when I realized that there wasn't another Eri here to come out and greet us as well.
...This sort of day would come in the future too, huh?
After looking at them, I shifted my gaze to the entrance of the house where other people began emerging.
A young woman who looked a lot like Norn, but with emerald hair and a jewel on her forehead.
A few young men and women who faintly reminded me of Eri.
A young woman who looked a bit like Sylphy, but with light brown hair standing next to an older gentleman who looked like Cliff, if he was an old man.
And then more people who were definitely descendants of the other Rudy here.
It wasn't the same, but it was also a good reminder about my own future.
...Specifically on how I wanted to handle the fact that there might come a day where I had to watch my children disappear along with parents and siblings.
I'd cracked immortality, but
So...
No.
Thoughts on that later.
"Ena beaaaam!"
"Wha-"
A blast of golden light at point blank range.
Hitogami was caught off guard and sent reeling back.
And the moment he was, something flew behind him.
Wait, 'flew'?
Hitogami spun around just in time to see a winged blonde woman wearing a black uniform slash a black sword at his neck.
He turned into mist to avoid it, but then felt an electric shock when the blade cut through.
"Manatite?!"
The winged blonde woman adjusted her glasses and then said, "Durable indeed..."
And without another word, a sudden gust of wind crashed into Hitogami and sent him back to the ground.
He collided with a heavy impact, and in a split second, a dozen different people were rushing to attack him with weapons.
Hitogami growled and slammed his fist against the ground. "DAMMIT!"
An explosion of mana and elemental attacks erupted from Hitogami, forcing everyone back.
During that time, he used the brief lull to get up and reassess the situation.
...He had to admit, they planned well.
He didn't think there would be any members of the Heaven Race here... that changed things.
Not only that...
Hitogami narrowed his eyes, sweeping around the crowd of attackers.
Some people were already tired out and wounded, but there were enough ready to fight that they could sit back and rest.
Magic users were running around to heal those who were wounded.
Four powerful spirits were waiting in the back, observing for an opportunity to strike.
Orsted was still at full capacity...
Meanwhile, in that brief exchange, Hitogami had been slowed, had his mana supply halved, and was already wounded.
He growled and healed his wounds as best as he could.
When he did, he noticed someone staring at him.
Hitogami glanced to look at the person.
He stood in the back of the group, his arms crossed and wearing an indifferent expression. He was also fairly young, maybe in his 20s at latest, and had black hair. In addition, as if this was just a trip out for sight-seeing, he wasn't wearing combat clothing at all. Just a plain dress shirt and slacks.
The moment Hitogami met his gaze, the black-haired man smirked.
Hitogami felt a white-hot surge of anger.
This man... without a shred of mana, watching everyone else fight... and he dared to mock him? To mock Hitogami? The god who had defeated all the other gods and claimed this world?
The aftermath of the mana explosion and elemental attacks from Hitogami faded. And the moment they did, Hitogami held out his hands to launch an attack on that black-haired man.
Throwing caution to the wind, Hitogami channeled all his mana and divine power. Gathering it in his palms, he launched a devastating beam of pure energy and then-
-RNG-
"Whoops."
I let out an awkward laugh and scratched the back of my head.
The moment that Hitogami launched an attack towards me, I instinctively reacted by absorbing it with
Think of it like M*gic Cylind*r from that one Egyptian children's card game.
Silence fell.
I felt a bunch of eyes pointedly staring at me.
But then Hitogami got up.
As he did, I secretly healed him up a bit more.
Come on, man. You can't go out like that! You need to play the part of a big boss battle! This is THE highlight for a lot of these people!
Thankfully, it seemed like Hitogami heard my prayer.
He healed himself up, removing the singe marks he got from the reflected attack.
...But then he immediately got jumped by Orsted, Dad, Pierre, Eri, and a whole bunch of other sword users.
...And then he got blasted with magic by Sylphy, Rika, Roxy, the other Roxy, the other Sylphy, Lara, Lily...
...Yeah, that's gonna be a wrap, huh?
After a few more minutes and some desperation moves from Hitogami... it was over.
Hitogami's body was completely roughed up, and each of his limbs were stitched up by translucent chains formed by intricately linked magic formations.
For good measure though, I walked over to make extra sure.
Since this world's fate depended both on this guy not dying and him not being able to escape, I made sure to have the chains self-perpetuate by draining Hitogami's divinity, mana, and life force. But at the same time, I made sure it was a complete closed loop where the force flowed back into him as well with a 0% loss.
...It was potentially possible for him to break free thousands of years down the line, but if he did, his power would be permanently halved, and the sealing mechanism would be burned into his soul to allow easy resealing.
Basically, he got degraded from a final boss to the secret returning bonus boss in either a sequel game or spin-off.
...Hm. And I've been making more game references recently.
Maybe I should see if I could make some games when I got back. I needed a hobby anyway, so that'd be a good one. Maybe even make some anime or draw some manga while I was at it...
Hitogami lowered his head in defeat. As he did, he muttered to himself. "I've been done in."
Hearing that, my job was finished.
And with that, I turned around and walked back.
Orsted was nearby, talking with Akito about something.
Cliff and Ena hugged each other, celebrating the victory.
Rika and Eos were standing together, watching as Sylphy, Eri, and Roxy were counseling the other Sylphy and Roxy off to the side.
And then there was Lara, sitting on the floor with her version of Leo.
I walked over towards her and smiled. "It's over now."
Lara turned towards me and smiled back. But then she paused and tilted her head to the side.
I frowned. "...Something wrong?"
'Other Papa?'
I blinked. '...Yes?'
"Oh." Lara frowned and said, "You look different right now."
"Do I?"
"Mmhm." She nodded and said, "You look a bit like Akito and Nanahoshi."
My eyes widened and I quickly conjured a mirror to look at my face.
And when I did, I froze.
It was a nostalgic face that I had long forgotten.
A Japanese young man in his 20s. One whose face I had seen on a memorial picture at a funeral... but also in the mirror countless times in the past.
Reaching up to my face and watching the reflection do the same, I muttered, "So this is what I looked like, huh?"
It was an above average appearance, with sharp and almost arrogant eyes. A face that would get me called a riajuu anywhere I went.
Huh.
...Still, even while it was nostalgic, I didn't remember anything.
Not that it mattered.
I was Rudeus Notus Greyrat, the husband of Eris Notus Greyrat, Sylphiette Notus Greyrat, and Roxy Notus Greyrat.
I was also Emperor Rudras Arcadia, the husband of the great Demon Empress Rika Arcadia.
...And the father of six rambunctious baby girls, a baby boy who was bound to get bullied by his sisters, a pair of angelic daughters, and a knightly son.
As I had that thought, the reflection I saw shifted, turning back to the face I was used to by now.
Though, I could feel that my physical face hadn't.
Hm. So was that how this place worked?
Maybe it showed the 'origin' of all things while you were here...
Lara suddenly reached out and tugged on my sleeve. "Wait! Other Papa!"
I deconstructed the mirror and then looked at her. "What is it, Lara?"
She pointed towards Hitogami and said, "Look! It's Papa!"
"Hm?" I turned around and looked over in surprise.
Lara was right.
Standing in front of Hitogami, there was a young man.
He had light brown hair split in a side-part and bright green eyes. His face was kind and fairly handsome too, but it looked like he had gone through troubled times as a few worry creases were etched in his forehead.
I knew that man, even if he didn't know me.
Rudeus Greyrat.
The other 'me.'
...Though, now that I was looking directly at him, I could tell that we were pretty different.
If we stood next to each other... well, if we did that with how I usually looked, you could easily tell we were related.
But there were clear differences.
His facial features were more like Mom's, a bit shorter with a slightly rounded face and eyes.
Meanwhile, my face was more like Dad's, a bit longer with a sharp chin, defined cheekbones, and narrower eyes.
...You know what? That explained a lot about me...
But anyway.
This was the guy who helped me out. Although that particular Rudy wasn't the exact same one who I saw in the past, he was still the person.
I had a lot of gratitude towards him, so I gave him a deep bow.
Whether he was a lingering spirit who wandered here after Hitogami's defeat or one who waited all this time to see his family once more before reincarnation...
I hoped that with this he could have some peace of mind.
My actions started a trend, with more people bowing towards Rudeus.
...Though that was probably because they were actually his family.
My family bowed as well because of my actions.
And then it was time to leave.
Lara activated a blue magic formation and warned everyone we were going to head back soon.
People chatted and celebrated, teary and emotional.
Blue light flashed and space distorted, sending us back to the Greyrat home.
But before it sent me away, I stayed back and hid my presence, eavesdropping on Rudeus and Hitogami.
"Are you satisfied now?" Hitogami stared at Rudeus.
He responded with something, but I couldn't hear his words.
Still, it seemed like Hitogami did. "This. The conclusion you desired for." He raised his hands a bit, causing the chains the clang. "I will continue to live here alone with my powers sealed. I will continue to live here so that the world keeps on going. I can no longer see the world. I can't even talk with anyone. After this... I will just continue to gaze at this empty white world, a scene without any boundaries."
Rudeus spoke again, moving his lips. But no words came out.
It was a bit of a surreal experience. Mostly because Rudeus... didn't seem to have any animosity towards Hitogami?
Huh.
...Was that the zen-like state that someone had at the end of their life? Or was that Rudeus just a much more forgiving person than me?
I knew for a damned fact that I still had a grudge against Being W for screwing up my life.
I mean, it worked out in the end and I wouldn't change anything about how it turned out. But I still hated the guy's guts.
Also was thinking about seeing if I could reincarnate the guy into a living hell.
...Thinking about it.
"I really hate you."
Hitogami muttered those last four words in a voice that was like he was about to cry.
Seeing that, Rudeus let out a zen-like smile and then faded away.
And then Hitogami was alone.
...Man.
That killed the vibe.
I wanted to pop up and gloat a bit... but Hitogami was pretty pathetic here.
Crying like a sore loser and acting all depressed like that while giving up hope...
...Was this the difference from first interactions?
I was sure that if I was in this situation with Being W that guy would be screaming about how he wouldn't give up and that he'd find a way out somehow in the future.
In fact, that was the main reason why I didn't risk just sealing him.
But this guy...
I let out an internal sigh and then warped away, leaving behind the quiet sobs of that chained god.
What a pity, to live as a powerful god for so long and yet end up losing your life in vain like this, sealed away for all of eternity...
Well.
That's a wrap.
Now to say some quick goodbyes, double check loose ends with Nanahoshi and Akito, then head on home to save my moms from the tyranny of my adorable children.
-A/N-
We're wrapping up soon, but there's a lot of threads I know that are lying around still and that I definitely will have missed.
If you've got any, leave your questions in a comment and I'll answer them as they come.
Appreciate you guys for sticking with me on this!