Change came to Orario in an instant, striking a city that had been as ordinary as ever.
"Huh... I'm suddenly so sleepy..."
"Grandma? What are you—"
One by one, people began to collapse.
Startled by the sudden turn of events, the crowds panicked, but as if a contagion were spreading, the number of people falling only continued to grow.
And as the fallen multiplied—
Whoosh. Night arrived as if the sun had been extinguished.
In that moment, every human in Orario fell into a deep slumber.
"What is this...?!"
[Humans], that is.
Uranos was thrown into confusion.
The sudden darkness was not a natural night filled with stars or a moon, but a primal, absolute void. Tension tightened the god's expression.
There was no way it could be night already. Until moments ago, it had been broad daylight; sunset was still hours away.
And yet, the darkness had come—a darkness vast enough to swallow Orario whole.
It was a phenomenon that could not be artificially induced. And yet, it had happened.
It had actually happened.
And the implication was clear.
"Someone has been devoured."
It was, quite literally, an unprecedented crisis for the Lower World.
The birth of a monster that wielded the power of a god—an existence that should never have been. The manifestation of living despair.
At the end of this path, only a cold, ordinary death awaited.
"..."
A choice was thrust before the god.
A monster that wielded divine power. Unlike a god, a monster could not be sent back to the heavens.
In the end, there were only two outcomes: fight and win, or be wiped out in defeat. There was no third option.
And this was against a monster possessing the power of a god.
"...Zeus."
[I'm listening.]
Using the stability Fels had created, Uranos contacted Zeus.
In a solemn, steady voice, Uranos declared, "I will forge a divine weapon."
A divine weapon. A weapon that defied the heavens, capable of killing even gods.
No, perhaps "defying the heavens" was the wrong phrasing. The most critical material for such a weapon was the will of a god. In truth, it was a weapon forged to carry out a divine purpose.
The point was that the power required to create it was divine power—Arcanum.
And the cost of that power was—
[Have you lost your mind? You'll be sent back to the heavens!]
"It cannot be helped. Without a divine weapon, there is no way to overcome this situation."
Only divine power could oppose divine power. The power of Falna, which merely unlocked the potential of the children, was insufficient. Uranos was simply making the logical choice based on that absolute truth.
The god was the great pillar of Orario, but a pillar was useless if there was no city left to support.
Even if he were sent back, preserving Orario was the priority. There were many who could succeed him, but there was only one Orario.
Zeus, for instance, was a god of equal standing. His influence was formidable; he would surely govern Orario with competence.
There was no reason to hesitate. Furthermore, Uranos had managed Orario since the dawn of the Age of Myths. Beyond the detached mindset of a god, he harbored a deep, personal attachment to the city.
Thus, he did not waver. He would trade his own existence in the Lower World to resolve the current crisis.
[I don't know... isn't that a bit too hasty a conclusion?]
"...What?"
An unexpected objection echoed back.
It was easy to forget because of his usual frivolous demeanor, but Zeus was also a Great God. He possessed keen insight and a masterful ability to read a situation.
In the divine realm, he held a rank higher than Uranos. Taken aback that Zeus would suggest such a thing, Uranos listened as Zeus continued.
[It's far too early to decide anything, because nothing has actually started yet.]
The Lower World is not something to be abandoned.
Someone had once said that.
The countless stories unfolding in this world were, in essence, dramas created by the children, but the gods existed behind the scenes. That was an undeniable fact.
However—
Whether the gods dangled strings from above, schemed from behind the curtain, or stormed the stage to cause a ruckus, there were always those "stubborn fools" who refused to follow the script.
They often ran wild, broke the scenery, and made spectacles of themselves—drawing ridicule and scorn as they created a chaotic dissonance.
And yet, occasionally, there were moments.
Moments when a stage with no script and no plan, driven by nothing but sheer will, transformed into a vista that left even the gods in awe.
[It has always been the children who surprise us and the world.]
Uranos's eyes widened at the voice laced with anticipation reaching him through the connection.
He realized that the existence Zeus was referring to might be the very same person he was thinking of.
[I think I'll take a gamble.]
On the unknown that had suddenly appeared.
On the miracle that would change the world.
[It won't be too late to make your choice then.]
*
Just as Orario had fallen into chaos, the beings within the Dungeon were in turmoil.
More accurately, Ais was in turmoil.
"No, no... NOOOOOOO!!!"
"A-Ais?!"
While everyone else had awakened, Ais alone was reacting with violent intensity.
"Hmm, has she not yet woken from the sleep?"
"...I don't think that's it."
Flames had ignited around Ais's body. She had clearly resisted the power of the slumber.
And yet, the nightmare would not end.
Why?
She had woken from the dream. She had regained her senses. What could she possibly be so afraid of that she was trembling this violently?
"Even if we leave the kid alone... is it really okay to just stand here?"
The situation was dire. Even if they were holding out, the forcibly constructed sanctuary would soon vanish. It was only a matter of time.
Even without that, if that monster attacked now, they would be annihilated. Fortunately, the enemy remained frozen, motionless.
It was as if it had fallen asleep. In fact, it likely had.
It had been affected by the god's authority—likely because it hadn't fully absorbed the power yet.
Conversely, the moment it completely absorbed that divine power, no one would be able to stop it.
Of course, once the sleep takes hold, you can't do anything anyway, so it's a moot point. I'm only enduring this because I can resist that power; the surface world is probably already as good as wiped out.
As I thought, I have to end this here...
And that meant I had to kill a god.
—When we meet again, let us share a love that lasts ten thousand years.
"..."
Intrusive thoughts surfaced. It was a nightmare that refused to fade.
I had escaped the dream, but my nightmare existed in reality as well.
...It exists in reality too?
Then, I realized another problem.
"No... no... Mommy... Daddy..."
The reason why this girl was trembling in such absolute terror.
Her nightmare wasn't something from the dream.
The girl's nightmare was...
"Ais."
"Don't go... please don't leave me behind..."
"Ais."
"I was wrong... I won't do it again... so please..."
"Ais."
Suddenly, her sobbing stopped.
She looked at me with eyes brimming with tears.
Within those golden eyes, a whirlwind of emotions swirled.
Sadness, regret, fear, despair... none of them suited her, and all were far too heavy for a girl in the prime of her youth to carry.
I didn't like that.
Crack— the illusion before my eyes fractured.
The shell covering her vision began to peel away.
"Ais. What are you so afraid of?"
"Ah... aah..."
She tried to speak, but the sound was choked by sobs, failing to form words before drifting away into the air.
The sight was heartbreaking, yet it made her feel like any other ordinary girl.
The shell peeled away further.
What appeared beneath was simply a normal girl.
Not the strong, noble, and cold Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein.
Just Ais Wallenstein—a girl who could smile normally, and cry normally.
"Is that your nightmare?"
The girl's nightmare lived in her reality.
The Black Dragon had swept through her life, leaving a wound in her heart that would never truly heal.
The loss of her family. The crushing loneliness of being left behind. And a destructive, all-consuming desire for revenge against the calamity.
But she had been too fragile to accept it all. Because she couldn't bear the weight, every time she took a new burden upon her shoulders, she had to discard something else in exchange.
First, she discarded comfort.
Then, she discarded the right to be spoiled.
She cast away weakness, then frailty, then happiness, and eventually even her sorrow, until the girl became nothing more than a doll.
Because she was alone. Because she had to endure everything by herself.
"Then I will end your nightmare for you."
But the girl... had longed for a hero.
Not someone to simply struggle through the ordeal, but a hero who would reach into this abyss of despair and pull her out.
"Ah..."
A longing face flickered through the hazy flames.
For a moment, she felt as if the face of the man who had once been her hero overlapped with the man standing before her.
Drip— a single tear, different from all the others, rolled down her cheek. As if a dam had burst, the floodgates opened, and tears poured from her eyes like a faucet.
The rabbit did not want to see her cry. He wanted to stop the tears, but he didn't.
Because he knew there are some things that can only be resolved through weeping. Thus, he silently turned his gaze toward the monster.
To end the girl's nightmare, the rabbit quietly drew his sword.
"[Keraunos Astrape]"
Lightning roared down.