A group of children sat around the soft glow of lanternlight. Before them stood a man dressed in an extravagant overcoat with boots that rose to his knees and a face covered by a flowery mask.

"Gather round, children, for I shall tell you of the origin of the Final, and yet the First Evil.

Long, long ago, long before time had begun, stood a pitiful little being.

It had no shape worth remembering.

No place worth calling home.

It did not know that it Was, nor what it meant to Be. Yet, it knew that it stood below the Brightest Light, and below everything that it touched.

It existed in a radiant, perfect world, where there was no hunger, no cold, no darkness.

But even with the endless blessings that permeated it, the pitiful little one stretched out its hand, not for necessity, but rather for its desire to climb the domain of the Brightest Light.

….To one day stand above it.

It had no strength, no wisdom, no beauty, and no means, but what the pitiful little one possessed, unique in the world of Light, was its Voice.

And with it, the pitiful one committed the gravest sin.

It lied.

It lied and lied and lied and lied until it could lie no more.

In its obsession to one day stand above the Light, the pitiful one spat on its radiance. The pitiful one's tongue turned, twisted, and what had once basked in the Light, pure, and devoid of blemishes, became imperfect.

With its Voice, the pitiful one spoke to the others of endless strength, wisdom, beauty, and means, as if it had known of these all along.

And they listened.

One by one,

In the image of pitiful little one, those who had once bathed in the Light, stretched out their hands, hoping to one day stand above it."

The children listened with great interest. The storyteller's voice was enticing, mesmerizing. Every word wrapped itself around their ears, and drew them into the world of the Brightest Light.

"What happened then!?" A child with bright green eyes asked.

"Hehe…

Well, my child.

The pitiful one's arrogance was its undoing.

How dare it, one with nothing, dare to strive for more? The pitiful must stay in the pitiful's place.

Or so the Brightest Light thought.

Its wrath was merciless.

Those who were poisoned by its Words were turned to ashes by the Light, and as for the pitiful one, even erasure seemed too merciful of a punishment.

It was cast out, flung into the darkness. The Light would never reach the pitiful one again, and the pitiful one would never reach the Light again.

So that it remembers its sin, the pitiful one's very Voice was cursed, fated to bring demise and misfortune whenever it was spoken."

The lantern flickered, illuminating the story teller's soft, yet eerie smile.

"What did the pitiful one do!?" A young girl with an auburn ponytail asked.

The story teller scoffed.

" Ha…What could it do?

Forever denied the heights of the Brightest Light, the pitiful could only grit its teeth, swearing to one day return to the Light and stretch out its hand—

No.

It screamed. It screamed until only its Voice could be heard, and it vowed,

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If the Light cursed it, then it would curse it as well.

It would no longer stretch out its hand, and instead, it would extinguish the Light.

It swore that one day,

Only darkness would remain. Only It would remain.

It, who had been the First Evil, would be the Final Evil as well."

Shadows behind the storyteller moved, unbeknownst to even the children, and he bowed.

—

Felicia stood beside a dormant Volcano with Marco's towering frame looking over her shoulder.

"...What was that about?" Marco wondered.

The communication with Verity had been cut abruptly after a scream and what sounded like the powerful impact of metal against stone.

It was impossible not to worry after hearing such things.

Felica frowned. "...I don't know. I can no longer establish a link." She paused, a somber expression settling over her face. "I…think he took the bracelet off."

Different scenarios stormed through Felicia's head. What exactly could have happened?

'Did he get into a fight…? A monster maybe? But why would he take the bracelet off…?' She pondered.

Marco smiled awkwardly and his hand landed on Felicia's shoulder. "W-Well, in any case. Verity's no pushover from what we've seen, right? I'm sure he's alright!"

Marco said this somewhat to comfort Felicia who seemed ready to jump through the communication bracelet, but also because he genuinely believed it.

Whether it was the tutorial, or just now, Verity always led them to the right answer. If anyone could get out of a difficult situation, Marco felt that it would be Verity.

So, he wasn't too worried.

He placed his fists against his waist, and he exhaled sharply. "Let's at least find a nearby city, and we can start lookin for him from there. As it stands, we don't have a single clue."

Felicia shook her head. Letting dark thoughts fill it wouldn't be of any help. "Right. Maybe we can find a mage who has a tracking spell or something similar. Even better if we find Hoshino and Midnight."

"Right!" Marco exclaimed as he led the way.

–

The system spoke in Verity's mind. Informing him of his rewards and achievements.

[You have slain an enemy.]

Verity regurgitated once more.

[You have leveled up.]

[You have overcome a challenge where you faced great odds. You have gained experience toward your class.]

[Your class has leveled up.]

Weakly, Verity stood, but he did not go anywhere, simply staring toward the distance.

[The skill -Never Again- has reached level 6. Your proficiency has increased.]

[The potency of the sub-skill -Indomitable Will- has greatly increased.]

His lips moved, but no sound came out.

It was as though he was having a conversion with no one at all.

And perhaps that's exactly what he was doing.

Something spoke, from within the deepest, darkest reaches of Verity's heart. 'Ha! What was that look, you ask? What do you think it was, idiot?'

He tried to answer, knowing full well that answer was not the one it sought. 'Forgiveness? Acceptance?'

'No! You know that's not right!' It spat.

Verity clenched his fists.

'...then what was it?'

'You tell me. You know the answer just as well as I do.'

He bit his lip.

'Regret…it was regret, wasn't it?'

The stillness of the swamp made the realization that much more painful.

'That's right. There isn't a single person who wants to die in this world. Jerin died full of regret, and the last face he saw was an unfamiliar one. How do you think he must have felt?'

Verity's fist sunk into a nearby tree, ripping the trunk from its base, and he let out another wail.

'If he could have spoken…I'm sure he would have cursed me…' He thought.

[Your actions have led to a major shift. You have earned 100 contribution points.]

Verity took slow steps toward Jerin's corpse, and he once more dropped to his knees.

"...I should at least let you meet those you cared about, right?" He said in a whisper.

If anything, he would bring Jerin's body back. He deserved to be buried close to those he loved, not here in this forsaken place.

That was the least Verity could do for him.

Verity wiped his eyes.

He retrieved his spear, the bracelet, and he hurled Jerin's frame over his shoulder.

Then, he ran. He ran as quickly, and as far as he could. He ran without rest, for dozens, hundreds of kilometers.

—

He ran until he left the forest surrounding the swamp, until he escaped. On his way, he did not meet a single other human, but he did run into a myriad of monsters and beasts, the next one always more dreadful than the last.

His body was riddled in cuts, bruises, bites, and his armor was battered, its self-regenerating feature slowly failing.

When he finally stepped out from the shade of the trees. A blazing sun fell onto his skin and Verity saw the sky for the first time in ages.

When had it become day? How long had it been?

Verity did not know, nor did he care.

His breath was laborious. His lips were dry. It had been quite some time since he'd felt tired.

But at that moment, Verity was exhausted.

Still, Jerin remained atop his shoulder, and his bloodied spear remained tightly in his hand.

He looked around, advancing into the beach that stood before him.

Not too far, an old man was fishing on an empty dock by himself.

Without turning around, the old man spoke to him. "Hmm? What brings a fool like you to this end of the world?" He asked.

Verity's thoughts had since long been jumbled by the exhaustion and he was barely conscious. "P-Plamodel…Need…to…go." He managed to say, glad to see a human for the first time in so long.

"Lost, are you?" The old man said, rising to his feet with surprising ease.

The old man quickly reached Verity, staring into his tired eyes. He wore a thin straw hat and clothes that would make one think this old man was here on vacation.

"P-Plamodel…" Verity repeated.

The tip of a fishing rod poked Verity's chest. "You're half dead, and you carry the dead. Idiotic at worst, ironic at best."

"Need… a way…" Verity tried to explain.

The old man ignored him and stroked his chin. "Still...I do wonder how you could even make it here… but no matter." He slapped Verity's back, and then walked away, grumbling. "If you're a man, you should find your own way. Stop looking for charity!"

The old man pointed ahead. "The place you seek is beyond the sea. North of the waves." With that, he returned, sat on his wooden chair, and cast his line.

"Now get out of my sight," he muttered, settling into the comfortable position he was in earlier.

Verity let out a hollow laugh.

As unhelpful as he was, the old man seemed to have helped him regain some clarity. His thoughts were much clearer now.

The task at hand was simple.

Verity had to swim.

So, he cast aside all unnecessary weight, putting it in his inventory, and he dove into the water while carrying Jerin on his back. The decision was made quickly.

The old man did not look up, only catching the shrinking speck from the corner of his eye once it was far enough. "Seriously?" He scoffed.

He wondered how far Verity would get, but quickly shook his head.

Whatever happened to Verity, it was of no concern.

Still... he observed Verity from the corner of his eye.

Curiosity.

Yes, he just was curious.

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