Dark Fantasy’s Extra – Chapter 208

Author: Dawn

“…I see.”

All the different types of curses accumulated in my body until now.

Their abilities themselves were meaningless from the start.

Though they helped a few times in crisis situations, fundamentally their existence itself was more important than their abilities.

At least to Belle.

“Theoretically, it would be possible.”

I distributed some of my authority as creator to my children.

That’s the source of their fundamental ability to possess such tremendous power and distort the world.

However, the authority I distributed didn’t become completely theirs.

They still dwell within them under Noah’s name, and in the current situation where I refuse to be Noah, you could say they’re like powers without a master.

If I decide to return as Noah and give it my all, I could reclaim them.

By reclaiming that system authority, I could connect myself to the original power stored in the moon and perfectly return as Noah again.

Theoretically, at least.

“But you know too. I have no intention of returning as Noah.”

“Then why do you speak like Noah?”

“Because it’s a past I must take responsibility for. To move forward as a complete Eugene, I need to resolve everything I left behind as Noah.”

“You’re still the same… you…”

“…I’m sorry. But that’s what I’ve decided.”

“Then what will you do now? Soon everyone will know that you were Noah. When that happens, far more blood will flow than 500 years ago.”

“I’ll stop it somehow.”

“How?”

“I’ll… have to persuade them properly.”

“Can you persuade all 8 of us? Ah, though it seems you’ve managed with Vasilisa somehow.”

“Yes. It’s not impossible.”

Huh?

“Though counting that Thumbelina child you created, you’ve persuaded 2 of us so far…”

“What do you mean?”

“Huhu…”

Belle let out a small laugh.

What kind of smile was she wearing beneath that veil?

“8 people… There are only 7, aren’t there?”

Belle, Margarete, Bari, Rusalka, Vasilisa, Karen… and even adding Maia as an extra makes 7.

“So you still don’t remember that far.”

“W-wait. Don’t tell me there’s one more?”

“Do you really not know? The protagonist of this world…”

Protagonist…?

“No way.”

No way.

The puzzle pieces connect in my head.

Blue Paper Moon, the prophetic simulator that perfectly copied this world.

And Blue Paper Moon’s protagonists were… Noah and… Hilde.

“Did you… did you plan everything from the start?”

“Not everything. But… I knew something of the future. Just as you had Ryu create Blue Paper Moon.”

“…!”

Blue Paper Moon was created by Prophet Ryu… was it.

Well, Blue Paper Moon was an extremely precise prophetic simulator, and naturally you’d need prophetic abilities to create something like that.

“Why can’t I remember any of this?”

The foundation of Ryu’s prophetic ability must have naturally been Noah too.

In the end, it means my past self created Ryu and ordered him to develop Blue Paper Moon…

But I have no memory of it.

Most of my very old memories are intact, but my memories around when I died as Noah are vague.

The only clear memory is the moment Belle’s white sword cut my throat.

“It’s probably an aftereffect of when I… killed you…”

Belle’s voice dropped slightly.

“But in the end, a creation couldn’t kill its creator. Of course, since you’ve appeared now so splendidly as a human. Even my plan to stop you from escaping as a human failed. So I had no choice but to use a backup plan.”

“So that’s why you sealed all the other children…”

“Yes.”

“You definitely used Hilde’s power. The power of the youngest… and my successor.”

“Exactly.”

The puzzle pieces start connecting one by one.

After Vasilisa’s failure, I must have created Karen and then Hilde.

Hilde wasn’t meant to be the world’s protagonist, but rather I intended her as my successor when I quit being creator.

Because someone must maintain the creator’s position.

The reason I made the moon blue was primarily to store power, but by painting it the same color as Hilde’s blue eyes, I was declaring it as her possession.

But my plan was interrupted by Belle.

The transfer of creator authority wasn’t properly completed.

Hilde must have inherited ambiguous power and authority.

And with that level of power, Belle could probably manipulate it as she wished.

“I used that power to seal the other children. To buy time until you were reborn. If I hadn’t, the world would have been destroyed before you were even born.”

Only Belle, the eldest daughter, and Karen, who was created to help with the authority transfer, knew my plan.

I lied to the other children saying Karen would be the protagonist when she created the next world, so they must have fought over the power I left in the moon and its painted meaning without knowing the truth.

And probably with high probability, as Belle said, the world would have been destroyed once again.

“So, you want to say you saved the world…?”

“You could look at it that way…”

“Wrong! If you hadn’t interfered with the transfer of position at least, such a crisis wouldn’t have come! If you wanted to kill me, you should have done it after that!”

Even if the world is destroyed, if there’s a creator it can start again.

Conversely, if the world is destroyed while the creator is absent, all that remains is eternal void.

An endless finale without any life or story.

“But… I didn’t want to let you go.”

“What!?”

“When I killed you… yes. That was a moment’s impulse. But that doesn’t mean I just hated you. You know what I wanted…”

“…”

Of course I knew from the start.

Not just Rusalka and Belle, but they all loved me.

But I thought it wasn’t sincere.

Their affection was due to their innate nature.

“Did you think our affection wasn’t sincere because it came from the nature you created?”

“…!”

“I can understand what you’re thinking plenty well. How long do you think I’ve watched over you? You say you’re not Noah but Eugene, but that’s barely 30 years. And you know what? When I look at you, you’re still Noah. Though you call yourself Eugene, you’re clearly still Noah.”

“No, it’s different. Noah is Noah, and Eugene is Eugene.”

“To us, you’ll always be Noah. No matter how many lives you go through, no matter how much you change your face, no matter how many times you change your name, forever and ever and ever…!”

Belle stood up and approached me.

Amidst the rose fragrance strong enough to make me dizzy, a faint blood scent rose like vintage perfume.

Glancing down where the blood scent came from, Belle’s feet were being stained red.

The thorns from the rose vines covering every inch of the floor were piercing her.

“I, we, will find you again and again, and follow you forever…”

Belle’s hands wrapped around my throat again.

Gently yet completely, she began choking me.

“No… that’s… not real feelings…”

“You mean it’s manufactured affection? So what?”

“But…”

“Shall I tell you why everything’s gone mad?”

Belle sat on my thigh.

“It’s all because of you. Because you disappeared, because you tried to abandon everything and run away…”

“Ah, aah…!”

Can’t breathe…

“The void you left was too big… A hole shaped like you formed in our hearts, and everyone is being sucked into it. Everyone just spins and spins and spins while sinking…”

My vision blurs white.

Guilt weighs me down and chokes my throat.

Belle… my firstborn.

Having been by my side the longest, she fell deeper than anyone.

If I hadn’t tried to run away…

Yes…

In the end it all happened because I quit being Noah…

So…

“Again.”

Again.

“Come back as Noah again.”

Return as Noah…

“Who do you think you are?”

“Urk!?”

A sudden impact knocked me backwards.

Rose thorns pierced my back and neck, the stinging pain pulling me from the water.

“Hello. This is our second meeting, isn’t it? Big sister…!”

It was a mud mass.

Something like a fairy figure roughly molded from mud was floating between Belle and me.

“Ah, you were here too. I almost forgot. Your name was… Thumbelina, wasn’t it?”

“Call me Maia.”

“M-Maia?”

I carefully got up while calling her name.

Where did she pop out from?

“Not only do you spy on two people catching up after so long, but you even interfere. How rude.”

Belle shook her head slightly with a sigh.

“Sorry for secretly watching with my familiar. But you’re not in a position to talk either, are you? Talking about a fair competition while trying to get ahead.”

“Getting ahead? I was just trying to bring Noah back to his senses. Deciding the winner can come after. Everyone will welcome Noah back, so won’t you be more enthusiastic?”

“Sorry, but not me.”

“Ah, that’s right. Since you’re Eugene’s creation rather than Noah’s, that could be the case.”

“You know it well! I like Eugene more than Noah. Stop doing unnecessary things.”

“You who know nothing… You’re just a half-baked creation to begin with. You don’t even qualify to properly participate in this competition. Rather, let’s call Vasilisa. You must be keeping her.”

“Ah, right! Come to think of it, Vasilisa said she likes Eugene more than Noah too!”

“…Since that child has some mental issues, it can’t be helped.”

“So that’s how you want to play it? In the end you just talk pretty!”

“How long do you plan to interfere? You weren’t even invited to begin with.”

When Belle lightly dusted her hands, Maia’s familiar split in two.

“Tch… so shameless.”

With those final words, Maia’s familiar fell to the floor with a splat before melting away.

I ended up receiving help.

If Maia hadn’t intervened halfway…

“Anyway, I have no intention of returning as Noah. As Eugene, I will properly settle my past as Noah.”

“Settle? You mean you’ll completely abandon us this time?”

“Absolutely not. The opposite. This time, I’ll face you all properly.”