Rise of the OtherGod Apostle: Not a Cult Leader, but a Serf?!

#108Reader Mode

#108

Thud!

The book slipped from my trembling hands, crashing to the stone floor with a dull thud.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I was completely stunned, my brain struggling to process what I’d just read.

Obliteration?

You said I’d catch a glimpse of the world’s hidden truth, but conveniently left out the part where that glimpse would be the last thing I ever saw!

If I’d known the price was my life, I never would’ve set foot in this place!

You talked up this incredible experience, so naturally, I was expecting something as awe-inspiring and beautiful as the Northern Lights dancing across the night sky. Instead, you led me straight into a deathtrap, letting me essentially experience the horror of a nuclear explosion firsthand. And then, you just casually shrug it off like, “Pretty cool, right? Oh, by the way, you’ve been exposed to lethal radiation and will die in 3 days.”

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?!

[Why, why didn’t you warn me?]

[I did warn you, didn’t I? I told you to turn back, that it would be wiser.]

No… this can’t be happening.

Damn it, you should’ve been more specific!

[You should’ve warned me that my life was on the line! That I could die down here!]

[No, Papabio. Had you not made this descent, you would have faced certain obliteration. To be precise, your presence here is the sole reason you are still alive.]

I was left speechless, my words stuck in my throat.

What the actual hell is going on?

My thoughts spun out of control, struggling to keep up with the barrage of shocking information in such a short time.

So, Athanas used Retrograde…

An hour of progress, of my life, gone in a blink. And somehow, I was the only one still standing in this timeline.

Somewhere beyond this void, another me… the me from an hour ago… was going about his life, blissfully unaware that his future had just been erased.

…Am I some sort of glitch in the system, like a duplicated item in a video game?

It was a weird feeling and reminded me of item duplication glitches where you exploit a bug and trick the game into copying an item, leaving one in your inventory and spawning an identical one your storage.

Game developers are always trying to patch those kinds of bugs, writing code to detect and delete the duplicate items.

But in this case, I am the extra copy… the item that somehow became aware of its own existence in the inventory, aware that it was just one step away from being deleted forever.

It brings to mind that classic philosophical conundrum about teleportation. If a teleporter disassembles you atom by atom in one location and reconstructs you in another… is that still you? Or did the original “you” cease to exist the moment you were deconstructed, and the thing that materializes on the other side is merely a replica that believes it’s you?

And things get even more complicated when the original body is left intact. Suddenly, you’ve got two separate individuals, each with their own claim to being the “real” you.

It’s like stepping out of a teleporter, only to find myself right back where I started. What’s going on? Did something malfunction? But no, the technicians are telling me I’ve ‘successfully’ arrived at my destination. Just a minor error, they assure me. All I need to do is step into another device to resolve the issue.

But then I realize… this new device isn’t a teleporter. It’s a death sentence. Obliteration.

If I were in that moment, could I really convince myself that stepping into that device wouldn’t be the same as dying?

F*ck…

I raked my fingers through my hair, feeling the sharp sting on my scalp. The pain was real, at least. It was a reminder that I still had a body, a body that could feel.

If the obliteration of this body, with all its memories and experiences, didn’t count as dying, then what the hell did?

F*ck, f*ck, f*ck….

No matter how hard I tried to find a way out of this mind-bending nightmare, I came up blank. Even if I tried to call out to the Saint, my cries for help wouldn’t reach him. Invoking the name of an Othergod would be useless here too. Starlight can’t reach this place. I was cut off from the most powerful forces I knew. And even if I tried to use Forced Persuasion on Records, it would be pointless. It wasn’t Records’ power that had turned me into a lost soul, adrift in time…

…I don’t want to disappear like this.

But deep down, I already knew the bitter truth.

I was trapped in a situation where there were no real choices. No matter how long I try to postpone the inevitable, obliteration was the only outcome waiting for me. Do I opt for a prolonged, agonizing descent into nothingness, or do I choose to end it quickly and spare myself the suffering?

The most rational thing to do would be to just give up now, to slam my head against the barrier and get it over with. It would save me from even a second of additional pain.

My fear of being ‘erased’ was, in the end, just a futile exercise. Staying here, replaying what happened over and over in my mind, would only add to my misery. Whether I fought against being dragged into the new device or simply walked in with a fake smile, the outcome would be the same. So why bother resisting? Wouldn’t it be better to try to trick myself into making it more palatable?

I just needed to convince myself that I wasn’t really dying, just losing a measly hour’s worth of memories. The moment I stepped into the void, time would rewind, and those memories would be erased. That’s all. Just a minor setback. Not death…

F*ck.

A bitter resentment towards Records surged through me. Why did he have to tell me the truth? He could have just lied, told me the “teleportation device” had malfunctioned, and that I could try again with a different one. Why did he have to…

“…Why did you tell me this?” My voice cracked, my throat tight with emotion.

What was the point of all this?

I…

“It doesn’t matter what I know now, does it? It won’t change anything out there. Why put me through this hell? You should have just let me disappear! What’s the point of this unnecessary suffering…”

[That’s not true at all!]

“Not true…?”

[If you accept my blessing, I can grant you the power to send a message, a ‘Record,’ to the outside world!]

…But I still won’t be able to leave, will I?

[I may refer to you as Papabio, but to the Starlight, you’re simply known as ‘Fabio.’ No—you’re the only being in this world who should have that name. Therefore, if another ‘Fabio’ exists in a point in time where he shouldn’t, the Starlight will try to correct the error… by any means necessary.

During the error correction process, it will encounter a mental conflict due to your mismatched memories. Your memories will be erased, but everything else about you will be overwritten. However, if you’re carrying a ‘Record’ within my blessing when you’re overwritten, you’ll be able to send a message back to your past self—the one from just an hour ago!]

So what you’re telling me is…

I wiped away the tears blurring my vision, trying to wrap my head around this insane proposal.

“…What exactly do I need to do to overwrite myself?”

[My blessing will be bestowed upon your hand. All that is required of you is to record the message you wish to send, and it shall be enclosed within that blessing. Then, simply extend your arm beyond the boundary and allow it to be obliterated! Simple, right?]

…Don’t f*ck with me!

Losing an arm is ‘simple’? Are you crazy?!

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “Isn’t there any other way? Some alternative method that doesn’t involve… this?”

[The only way to influence the outside world is through you. Nothing and no one else will suffice. You are the only entity with this capability.]

…A crushing wave of despair washed over me. What could possibly be so important to communicate with my other self that it’s worth going through this torture?

That Athanas can use Retrograde? A warning to be careful?

Honestly, I’d rather not know the truth.

The moment I find out that Athanas has been lying to me, would I have the courage to face him without trembling with fear?

And then, it’d only be a matter of time before Athanas figured out that I knew the truth. And when that happened…

[Of course, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. The choice is entirely yours.]

“…….”

It’s not about what I want, though.

If I sent a message using Records’ blessing, I was basically signing my own death warrant.

…Records mentioned Athanas is looking for me.

He’ll figure out I went to the main building in no time.

A heretic bastard like me, sneaking off to visit the ‘God of Records’ without permission? And he hasn’t even received the Blessing of Order?

That alone is suspicious as hell….

And then, to top it all off, a traitor’s blessing suddenly shows up on my hand?

They’d be totally justified in executing me on the spot.

There’s more than enough circumstantial evidence to suggest I conspired with a traitor.

The me from just an hour ago would die a horribly unjust death.

Damn you stupid Records bastard….

Even with Records’ increased intelligence, can’t he realize his damn blessing is a massive pain in the ass?

[You are safe here, and you can remain as long as you desire.]

[…Even if you say that, there’s no food here. Won’t I starve to death eventually?]

[You are separated from time here. Your body will not suffer the effects of temporal changes, and therefore, hunger will not be an issue.]

…That doesn’t make any sense, physically speaking. Are you saying entropy just stops or something? That I won’t age or decay here?

But my thoughts and memories are still changing. Aren’t those physical changes too?

And more importantly, if my physical state is frozen in time…

[But I’m extremely thirsty right now.]

[Oh dear, I’m afraid there’s no water available here…. However, I can produce an infinite amount of ink for you! Feel free to drink it, but it won’t actually quench your thirst.]

Right, because drinking ink is totally sane, you crazy turtle bastard.

I almost lost my temper, but even that seemed pointless.

I gazed up at the dark boundary again.

…If I shut my eyes and hit my head on it hard enough, it would end everything, wouldn’t it?

No more frustration, anger, thirst, or fear.

If I imagined it as just falling asleep, maybe I could do it?

F*ck….

I even thought about using Records’ blessing.

I wanted to vent to someone, anyone, about how unfair and ridiculous this was. I wanted to write a scathing letter filled with insults about Records and send it off.

…But I can’t screw myself over like that.

Unless there was information so important it was worth the risk – the consequences of the traitor’s blessing and all the problems it brought.

There’s no point writing things that don’t need to be known.

I shouldn’t say that a copy of me was created by mistake, only to be destroyed.

That in my last moments, I realized I was going to die and screamed, desperate, not wanting it to end this way.

That’s not something you’d want to know about yourself, is it…

I’m so tired.

I threw the book aside and slouched against the wall, completely exhausted.

Maybe once I calm down and get sick of all this, it might feel a little more bearable.

I’ll rest here until I find the strength to climb those stairs and reach…

Ink suddenly materialized in the air, blocking my view.

[Papabio.]

Ugh, how disgusting.

Should I just close my eyes…?

[I had to be vague earlier, but now I can explain everything.]

…What?

[Previously, I mentioned that you couldn’t truly die and wouldn’t find peace even in death.]

Wasn’t that just about Perpetua?

[Papabio, once you understand the true nature of your blessing, you’ll be grateful that leaving this place will be enough to erase your existence.]

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

Just how far down did they dig?

Was this even possible with the architectural technology of this era?

As these thoughts swirled in my mind, I descended further into the depths of the library, my footsteps echoing against the ancient stone steps. Six floors flew by in a haze, the air growing heavier with each level, until Records suddenly spoke first, catching me off guard.

[Fabio, the truth that awaits you in the depths of this place could be dangerous. Perhaps it is wise to halt your descent here.]

Why?

Shouldn’t Records be all for me reaching the very bottom?

That way, it can relay its true thoughts to the upper levels.

[Some truths cause contamination, spreading their corruption far and wide… I have come to understand, albeit vaguely, that I myself have been tainted by something unspeakable. It was this realization that compelled me to seal my lips, to keep the truth hidden when I understood that revealing it would forever corrupt the very essence of Order. This is…]

[What is it?]

[…No matter. Do not venture further.]

And just like that, the words vanished into thin air on the book.

I faltered, my resolve momentarily shaken, but then I steeled myself and descended another floor.

Suddenly, a system window popped up.

[SYSTEM: Error detected. Resolving conflict.]

…Error?

I stopped, looking around carefully for anything different, but nothing seemed to have changed.

No, wait, there was one thing.

Was this here before?

A strange black symbol had shown up on the back of my hand. I tried to wipe it away, thinking it could be ink, but it stayed put.

What the hell is this?

T/N: ｡°(°.◜ᯅ◝°)°｡ Did duplicated item ‘Fabio’ die? I think he did….