Kondo stared at the third person before him. He looked exactly like him, yet at the same time, completely different. A smug smile rested on his face, as though he would start teasing him at any moment. His irises were pitch black, while his pupils glowed with an eerie white light.
Looking directly at Kondo, he spoke in a raspy, chaotic voice filled with mockery.
"Yo, Looks like we finally meet again, KING."
Kondo looked at him with wide, confused eyes.
"Who... who are you?" he looking at god and asked.
The third person immediately frowned.
"You forgot me already? I'm the one who saved you."
Kondo desperately tried to remember, but nothing came to mind. Pointing at him with a trembling finger, he stammered,
"You are... you are... who are you?"
Still confused, Kondo turned toward God.
God calmly took a sip of his tea before speaking.
"You wouldn't know about him. When there were two souls inside you, they kept each other's power in balance."
Kondo listened carefully.
"But when one soul disappeared, the balance of power within you was broken. In response, your soul created a copy of itself."
Kondo covered his mouth in shock.
"You're joking, right? My soul created a copy of itself? That's impossible."
God nodded slightly.
"Well, it is impossible. Yet the truth remains the truth. Even I was surprised. My own creations broke the rules I created and accomplished something that should have been impossible."
The white eyes Kondo listened to their conversation before clicking his tongue.
"Oi, you two are ignoring me, aren't you? Just so you know, I can even fight God himself." he looking at god.
Hearing that, Kondo quickly raised a finger to his lips.
"Hey, you shouldn't talk to God like that. We can only pray to Him respectfully."
The other Kondo burst out laughing.
"Huh? You're begging Him for another chance? Why don't we team up, beat Him, and take that chance ourselves?"
God snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the third Kondo began disappearing.
As his body faded away, he glared at God.
"You can throw me out of here, but you can't remove me from him."
Watching him vanish, Kondo hurriedly asked,
"Where did you send him?"
At that very moment, a voice echoed from inside him.
"Don't worry about me, idiot. I can't be separated from you anyway. But if this guy refuses to cooperate, I'm ready to fight him."
Kondo punched his own chest.
"Shut up!"
"Huh. I'm not your servant. Don't order me around."
While Kondo argued with the voice inside him, God suddenly spoke.
"So, you want a second chance?"
Kondo immediately looked toward Him.
"But what do you possess that you can offer me in exchange for that second chance?"
Upon hearing those words, a gentle smile appeared on Kondo's face.
Lowering his gaze, he quietly said,
"I'm not asking you to send me back."
God stared at him sharply.
"Take my soul instead. Send Razer back into this body so he can live happily. And... please protect him from those demons."
Kondo lowered his head even further.
"I don't want him to witness what I saw. In exchange, you can do whatever you want with my soul."
Suddenly, a hand rested upon Kondo's shoulder.
"You don't need to do that."
Recognizing the voice, Kondo quickly turned around.
The moment he saw who it was, a smile appeared on his face.
Standing there was Razer.
Razer looked much healthier than before. He appeared clean, refreshed, and in perfect condition.
Kondo immediately stood up and embraced him.
"I'm glad you're okay."
Razer gently patted Kondo's head and smiled.
"You're really strange, you know that?"
God then turned toward Razer.
"So, Razer, would you like to return?"
Razer looked toward God.
Kondo quickly added,
"Please say yes, Razer. This is our chance. I've already discussed everything. You can go back and live happily in that body."
Razer smiled softly.
"No."
Kondo looked at him in complete shock.
"What are you saying? You just have to say yes! You'll never get another opportunity like this!"
Razer gently separated Kondo from himself.
"Listen, Kondo. I can never become the child that you are."
He then looked toward God.
"Besides, I'm sure God has other plans for me. He wouldn't disappoint His children, right, God?"
God placed his cup on the table.
"Yes, that's true. And Kondo..."
Kondo looked at Him.
"Do you truly think so poorly of me? Besides, what could I possibly take from you when everything already belongs to me?"
God rose from His seat.
The moment He stood, the table and chairs vanished.
"I didn't want to do this, but you've impressed me and drawn my attention toward you. Your soul itself pulled me here. That is why I had no choice but to come."
God placed His hand on Kondo's chest.
"This is the first time such a thing has happened. An error was created, yet I chose not to correct it."
God withdrew His hand and extended it forward.
"Very well."
A peacock feather suddenly appeared in His hand.
God gently brushed the feather down Kondo's face, from his forehead to his neck.
The instant He did, Kondo felt an overwhelming pressure crush down upon him, as though an enormous building had been placed upon his body.
God spoke.
"Very well. I will send you back. However..."
Kondo looked at Him.
"There is one condition. If you can pass the test, you may return. But if you fail and die during the test, then even I won't be able to help you."
Kondo stared at Him with widened eyes.
"If you pass, you will return. But I will not come to save you. From that point onward, everything depends on you. Be careful."
Razer smiled.
"All the best, Kondo."
Kondo smiled back.
"Thank you."
For the final time, God spoke.
"If you survive and pass the test, you will certainly receive your second chance."
Kondo nodded.
God continued.
"Because you are not a normal human. You are something beyond even that."
Kondo looked at Him in confusion.
"What do you mea—"
Before he could finish speaking, the sand beneath his feet disappeared.
Kondo suddenly fell into a bottomless abyss filled with nothing but darkness.
As he continued falling, he looked upward toward the place he had fallen from.
The light above grew smaller and smaller the deeper he descended.
Eventually, even that light disappeared.
Darkness consumed everything.
Kondo had fallen so deeply that he could no longer tell whether he was still falling or simply floating.
There was no sound.
No movement.
Nothing but endless darkness.
Seeing himself trapped in such a state, Kondo spoke.
"Hey... can you hear me?"
He looked down at his chest, yet no reply came.
Still, he continued speaking.
"I know you can hear me. Do you know how long I'll remain in this darkness? Do you know?"
Silence.
"I guess you don't know either."
Kondo laughed weakly.
"You know... I don't like fighting. It's not because I'm a coward. But whenever a fight happens, someone always gets hurt."
"I don't like hurting others, nor do I like causing anyone pain."
"So why can't everyone simply live peacefully?"
"Why do we think we're strong by crushing the weak?"
"Can't we all live together?"
"Everyone is born, and everyone eventually dies."
"So why can't people simply coexist?"
"Are we truly that foolish?"
"We always think about ourselves first."
"Are we really so insane that we refuse to help others?"
"Are we truly so selfish that we remain silent in the face of injustice happening right before our eyes?"
"Why do we ignore the things we know we shouldn't ignore?"
"We all know."
"We all understand."
"We're aware of everything."
"And yet, we still choose to look away and move on."
"Does change separate us from our former selves?"
"As we grow, our way of seeing people changes."
"Isn't there a world where everyone can be happy?"
"A world where everyone helps one another?"
"A world where nobody goes hungry?"
"A world where nobody calls you worthless because of your flaws?"
"Among these countless possibilities... isn't there even a single one like that?"
After saying all of that, Kondo closed his eyes.
When he opened them once more, the darkness had vanished.
Above him stretched a clear blue sky.
Around him stood countless pure white walls.
Kondo realized that his back was pressed against one of them.
The walls resembled enormous buildings, except they were completely white and stretched endlessly in every direction.
Kondo looked ahead.
Floating in midair before him was someone who looked exactly like him.
The only differences were his eyes and the smug smile on his face.
The figure crossed his arms and said,
"Yo, you sure talk a lot. Can't you stay quiet for once?"