Rygar stared at Hitogami for a few seconds, somewhat perplexed by his shamelessness.
Hitogami still had no defined form, with the same white body, the same impossible-to-focus-on face, and the same unpleasant presence Rygar had felt since the first time he saw him.
Rygar smiled.
"Absolved? That is a very strong word."
"Forgiven, spared, tolerated... choose whichever word you prefer."
"You really are desperate."
The darkness around them seemed to shift slightly.
Hitogami tilted his head.
"Desperation is a dramatic word. I prefer to call it adaptation."
"Sure, call it whatever you want."
"You understand that sort of thing well, do you not? Surviving despite adversity, changing methods according to the enemy, using everything within your reach... In that sense, perhaps we are more alike than you would like to admit."
Rygar did not answer immediately.
That was a typical way to begin. Even cornered, he still tried to turn his own necessity into a rational conversation.
"You called me here to beg for mercy," Rygar said. "So beg. There is no need to pretend this is a meeting between equals."
Hitogami remained silent for an instant, and then laughed.
"Haha... You remain quite rude."
"What can I say? You keep going in circles."
"That is because getting straight to the point with you is rarely productive."
Rygar leaned forward.
"Why don't you try?"
Hitogami observed Rygar for a few seconds.
"Very well. I want to live."
At least, this time, he truly did not seem to be joking. Rygar crossed his arms.
"I want to live," Hitogami repeated. "And you, unlike Orsted, have reasons to accept that."
"I do?"
"Orsted wants me dead above all else. He was born and raised for it, crossed entire cycles for it. I am the center of his existence. You, on the other hand, are not."
Rygar did not answer.
Hitogami continued:
"You want to protect your family, your friends, and your kingdom. Basically, you want to prevent this world from being erased or destroyed like the others. Your war with me is not an obsession. It is merely a necessity, and necessities can change."
"Are you trying to sell me the idea that Orsted is the real problem?"
"I am saying that Orsted is a problem. A problem you are treating as an ally because, for now, you have a common enemy."
Hitogami took a slow step through the void.
"He killed Eidar, tried to kill you, and killed so many other people before they even had the chance to become enemies. He killed possible apostles, possible threats, possible obstacles. Possible. That is the important word. For Orsted, a possibility is already enough to kill someone."
From what he had heard so far, Rygar deduced that Hitogami knew about the existence of the alliance, but not its most recent details. He also clearly knew nothing about the current Dragon God.
"And now you have given him the cooperation he always wanted. Tell me, Rygar, when I disappear, what do you think will be left for him to do?"
Rygar raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Do you want me to answer?"
Hitogami seemed to grit his teeth.
"You are too strong for his world! Independent and surrounded by people who are far too strong. Aisha Greyrat is dangerous. Aurora is dangerous. Your children may become dangerous. All of Gaia is an anomaly growing outside his plans. Do you truly believe that, once I cease to exist, Orsted will simply smile and live peacefully at your side?"
Rygar let out a breath through his nose.
"Actually, I don't."
Hitogami stopped.
Rygar continued:
"Let's be honest here. I don't trust Orsted, I don't like him, and I haven't forgotten what he did. I don't think he is harmless, kind, or trustworthy."
"Then why continue standing beside him?"
"Several reasons... He is predictable, easy to deal with, but above all, he wants to kill you."
Hitogami apparently did not like the answer.
"That is stupidity. You are choosing a future threat in order to deal with me now."
"You could understand it that way, yes."
"Even knowing he may turn against you?"
"Certainly."
Hitogami clenched his fists.
It was a small movement, but Rygar noticed.
"You are not that stupid," Hitogami said, his voice a little lower. "So stop acting as if you are. Orsted will eliminate anything that stands in his way."
Rygar agreed carelessly.
"You are right. Orsted will choose his objective above almost anything."
Rygar looked at Hitogami.
"But you are a hundred times worse."
The darkness around them trembled.
"That is your conclusion?"
"Exactly."
"How childish."
"Maybe it is."
Hitogami grew even more nervous.
"Do you truly think there is a clear line between us?! I manipulate people. Orsted kills people. You kill as well. Your kingdom massacres armies, massacres nobles, changes borders, forces kings to accept a new order. All of you make terrible choices and then give them pretty names! But I am worse? Why? Because I am better at it? Because I survived longer? Because I had the courage to do what needed to be done from the beginning?!"
Rygar spoke with a smile.
"Man, I had forgotten this feeling..." He looked at Hitogami's face. "The feeling of disgust... You really are exceptional at being a piece of shit, aren't you? I genuinely wonder how a being this vile was born. Do you really want me to look at all this and think: 'he did what was necessary'? All I can think is that you did what you always wanted, and you were not ready for the consequences."
Hitogami stood motionless, and the darkness around him seemed to compress.
For the first time, Hitogami seemed truly irritated. His white form lost some of its relaxed posture.
"You do not understand what you are trying to do!" he continued. "Do you think you can simply kill me and then fix the world with research, treasures, and that girl's genius?! You do not even know how many things depend on my existence! Orsted does not know either! The previous Dragon God did not know! Laplace did not know!"
Rygar remained silent.
Hitogami took a step toward him.
"You find this so repulsive? Wanting to live? You fight for that every day. For yourself, for your children, for your kingdom. Orsted fights for that too, though he pretends it is merely a mission. Everyone wants to continue existing when their very existence is threatened..."
"You are right."
"Then why is it different with me?"
Rygar stared at Hitogami for a few seconds.
"Well, that is because you only remember life is precious when the life in question is your own."
Hitogami fell silent. The darkness moved again.
"You hate me."
"I certainly hate you less than I should."
"Hahaha... Is that supposed to relieve me?"
Rygar looked around, observing that mystical environment.
"You know, hatred is pretty tiring to maintain... After a while, it isn't worth that much. You killed, manipulated, distorted, pushed people into tragedies, and mocked them afterward. You were doing that long before I was born. You did it to Badi, to Gall, and to many others. You manipulated and managed to destroy entire worlds. But none of that matters to you. What matters is that now it is your turn to lose something."
Hitogami's voice came out lower:
"You know nothing."
"Maybe I really don't. I only need to know that if I leave you alive long enough, you will continue doing what you were born to do."
Hitogami trembled.
Or perhaps it was the void. It was difficult to tell.
"I can leave Gaia alone. I can refrain from touching your children, Aisha, Verdia, Eris, Ghislaine, or your parents. I can disappear from your life. You do not need to kill me."
"Can you hear yourself?" Rygar asked, laughing. "You are offering not to hurt my family as if it were a friendly concession."
The white figure stiffened.
"I am offering what you want."
Rygar smiled faintly.
"You are so transparent, Hitogami. I thought I did not need to say the obvious, but you did not come here repentant. You are scared."
Hitogami remained silent for a few seconds.
"Of course I am scared. You would be too, if you were me. Do you know what awaits me if you win? Do you know what it means to be reduced to nothing, locked away, isolated, without a body, without a world, without sound, without sight, without being able to touch anything? Ten thousand years. A hundred thousand. Perhaps more. Can you imagine that? Do you think death is so simple for me?!"
Rygar did not answer, but he caught a potentially very important piece of information about Hitogami's origin.
"I can," Hitogami said. "I saw it, from the beginning, from the birth of this world. I will not accept it. I will not stand still and wait while you drag my existence into an eternal hole because the First Dragon God left him a mission. I did what I had to do."
Rygar closed his eyes for an instant. When he opened them, his expression remained calm.
"That phrase must have been very useful over the centuries."
"As many times as necessary."
The void around them began to waver.
Rygar realized the conversation would not last forever. Hitogami realized it as well.
"Rygar, listen. You do not need to decide now. Just stop. Stop for a year. Six months. One month. Speak with Orsted less. Do not hand everything over to him. Do not advance with Aisha. Do not go to the Void World. Give me time to prove I can be useful."
"You have already proven you can be useful."
Hitogami froze.
"Then..."
"Unfortunately, that doesn't mean anything... You can give me names, information, predictions, secrets. You can tell me things Orsted doesn't know. I will use anything useful. And I will still keep looking for a way to kill you without destroying this world."
The darkness around them stirred with restrained violence.
"So that is it? Orsted decides I need to die because that was the mission he received. You decide I need to die because you think that is enough to protect your world. In the end, none of you are truly listening to me!"
Rygar looked at him with some curiosity.
"It took you quite a while to call yourself the victim."
"I am the victim here! Orsted was born to kill me! Laplace lived to prepare my death! Rudeus destroyed my paths! You appeared as an aberration and took everything from me! All I am doing is trying to survive!"
Rygar stared at that scene, intrigued. Now, finally, the Hitogami behind the pretty words was appearing. A cornered creature, furious because the world refused to accept his survival as a priority.
"All right," Rygar said.
Hitogami stopped.
"What?"
"I heard you. You want to live. You are afraid of me and the Dragon God. You want me to interrupt our cooperation, delay the research, keep the Sacred Treasures away, and give you time to be useful."
Rygar turned slightly, as if he were already losing interest.
"My answer is no."
Hitogami did not react immediately.
"You will regret this," Hitogami said, his voice low.
"Will I really?"
"I will make you regret this."
Rygar smiled.
"Now you sound like yourself!"
Rygar let out a short laugh.
"Mercy is a complicated thing to obtain while threatening the other party."
"You do not understand. You will still need me!"
Rygar looked at him one last time.
Hitogami stood motionless in the center of that cracked void, surrounded only by darkness.
"If you have anything useful, speak while you still can," Rygar said with a smile. "Otherwise, die knowing you kept secrets for no one."
Before he could hear Hitogami's final words, the connection broke.
Rygar opened his eyes.
His room was dark and silent, with his family around him.
A warm feeling filled Rygar. A satisfaction difficult to describe.
----
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