Make Dark Fantasy Great Again

Crack. A crack appeared in the hazy crystal containing fog. "Bishop...!" The desperate cries of the cultists followed. At this very moment. The vassals of Oblivion could clearly feel it. That one of the pillars supporting Oblivion had collapsed. High Priest of Oblivion, Byud. His end, having set out with the heavy mission of fragment recovery- "...Yes." The man watching the crystal right in front let out a faint sigh. "High Priest Byud. He failed to fulfill his duty." Bishop of Oblivion, Heen. His countenance, with eyebrows shaved and never forming even the slightest wrinkle, was like a plaster mask. On such a mask, emotional disturbance appeared exceptionally. This proved that the Church of Oblivion was facing unprecedented shock. The atmosphere of the place had already become chaotic. "For the High Priest to fail in the plan! This is impossible!!!" "Surely, the High Priest had the True Name of the Master of Advancement in his grasp, didn't he!?" "Then- did the Master of Advancement choose to abandon his own existence and protect the fragment!?" "Nonsense! That would be a terror worse than death for someone like the Master of Advancement!" "He is a Hero!!!" "What are you trying to say!? You're not suggesting we praise heroes at a time like this, are you!?" "Listen to the end! Because he is a Hero, it means he would be even less able to give up his True Name! Currently, isn't that Hero the focal point of the many forces gathered in Bondaless!? Unless he's terribly foolish- he wouldn't make the judgment to abandon his True Name and protect the fragment in such a situation!" "What she says is true! Wasn't it a fact we all knew from the beginning!? If not- if there wasn't such basis and certainty- how could we have paid such a great price and exercised the Authority of Oblivion!" "Wasn't there some mishap during the ritual process!?" "I also agree with that opinion!!! It's been bothering me all along! He is the Master of Advancement! If the rumors are true, he's the one who united many forces including elves to defeat the Magic Sword. But how- how can his True Name be Honorary Mage of the Gray Magic Tower!" The hall stirred. That opinion had ignited the doubt that everyone had been secretly harboring. The Master of Advancement. It was now a name known to all on the continent through the great achievement of defeating the Magic Sword. Without a doubt. He was the Hero with the highest reputation of the current era. No one could deny that he was the rightful owner of a Sacred Sword. Even themselves, the cult! But. How could such a Hero's True Name be Honorary Mage of the Gray Magic Tower. That sense of disconnect, added to the High Priest's shocking death, increased their confusion. They thought. The Hero's abnormal True Name. The High Priest's shocking end. There must be a connection between the two. (E/N: Should we say there is a connection...or should we say there is no connection...) With everything becoming unclear due to the High Priest's end. To move forward, they absolutely had to uncover that secret. Like that- While everyone was inevitably silent before that difficult riddle. One man cautiously raised his hand. As revealed by his hesitant attitude, he was the cultist in the lowest position at the current location. "You are-" As the attention of the assembly focused, the man spoke. "How about this? The Hero trapped the High Priest with a spare True Name. Since it was a spare True Name, losing it wouldn't have been a big problem, and thanks to that, he could free himself from the High Priest's threat by sacrificing flesh to save bone." "..." Everyone widened their eyes and showed shock at the man's opinion. "You, what do you think a True Name is...?" It was because they were dumbfounded. "Hopeless! Hopeless!!! The only opinion that comes out in such a serious situation is 'spare True Name'!!!" "Do you think a True Name is like gold coins stuffed in a pocket!? As if losing one or two doesn't matter!?" "Who on earth! To bring such a person to this important place!!!" (E/N: To think such a smart person is in the cult! Dangerous, dangerous!) Vitality returned to the place. The cultists who had lost their words began to criticize the man with one heart and one mind. "Enough." Then came the Bishop's voice. That hazy voice should have been buried in the back-and-forth complaints, but it was clearly conveyed and calmed them down. "We borrowed the unstable Authority of Oblivion to seal the Hero's True Name. All of that was to recover the fragment. However. The Curse of Pleasure was meaninglessly destroyed. Not only that, we lost an irreplaceable vassal of Oblivion." Click. Bishop of Oblivion Heen snapped his fingers. Before they knew it, the rising dark fog had surrounded them all. "B-Bishop!?" "What is this-...!" The cultists' cries were swallowed by the dark fog. The Bishop looked at the cultists struggling in the dark fog and continued speaking in a low voice. "We have already lost too much. Having faced a wall, we don't have the luxury of making a big detour. Therefore, arguments and discussions are meaningless. There is only one path left for us. We give our all and move forward. That's all there is to it. Vassals of Oblivion. My brothers. Are you ready to sacrifice everything for the great one?" "...!!!" The cultists cried out fiercely, but their voices were buried in the fog and did not reach the Bishop. What were they actually saying? Were they rejoicing in joy? Or were they despairing in fear? It didn't matter to the Bishop from the start. "I offer all of this to the great one." When Bishop Heen spread his arms, the dark fog that had descended upon the place became even thicker. In the midst of that, a crystal containing hazy darkness floated up. Fragment of Oblivion. Bishop Heen saw his own image reflected in that fragment. That plaster mask-like face was stained with a grotesque smile. "O Oblivion. Please manifest and lead us!" The rising dark fog eventually swallowed even the Bishop. A moment later. The fog began to clear. No. It began to condense. "Ah, aah...!" A moment later. In that place where the vassals of Oblivion had gathered together, only the Bishop remained standing alone. He sobbed in ecstasy and cried out. "Oblivion has arrived!!!" Whoosh! The Bishop's body turned into black fog and was absorbed into the Fragment of Oblivion. The place he headed to was beyond the fragment- the location where another fragment was positioned. "Oblivion has arrived!!!!!" From there the Bishop cried out once again. "Honorary Mage of the Gray Magic Tower! You too will come to feel it!" *** "...!" Dark fog suddenly overflowed from the box where the Archdemon's fragment was stored and filled the entire place. Risir immediately tried to draw his Sacred Sword to respond, but it was already too late. "Everyone!? Everyone!!! Come to your senses!!!" The dark fog instantly seeped into his companions' mouths and noses and devoured them. Their eyes became cloudy like stained black pearls. -It's meaningless!!! The leader of the Oblivion cult- No, the Avatar of Oblivion mocked such Risir. -Honorary Mage of the Gray Magic Tower!!! You've cleverly reclaimed your True Name that was devoured by Oblivion! Then, how about this! Can you truly reclaim your relationships that were devoured by Oblivion as well- and your existence that is established through them!? With that as the last, the remaining fog was also sucked in. "Damn-" Risir was left alone in the room like that. He began to move busily in his own way to save his companions. *** The erosion of Oblivion. Their situation was like a ferry boat floating on a lake on a cloudy day. The fog of Oblivion swallowed them as if it had been there from the beginning. "This is..." Originally, their thoughts, which had reached the pinnacle in their respective fields and were extremely clear, became hazy like fog. Risir's companions couldn't even realize what had happened to them. As far as they could feel, nothing had changed. Still the same space. Still the same people. And- Still the same man. A vast tsunami of fog swept in and pushed away their reality. There was no room for clouded thoughts to intervene. All they could do was just- receive that enormous flow with their entire bodies. Before the authority of an Archdemon, individual will was so feeble. Vast darkness capable of coloring the entire world was concentrated on a single man. At that point, the result was already decided. Risir. They had to forget their existing relationships. By the vast fog that overlaid it. But- "To reach the realm of transcendence at merely forty. Truly amazing." Gray Tower Master Remier expressed admiration. "Amazing, but-..." With a very strange expression. "To reach the realm of Sword Master in just 3 years after leaving the path of magic. Truly unreasonable." Former Blue Tower Master Palag expressed admiration. "Unreasonable, but-..." With a very strange expression. "To achieve mastery in both magic and sword simultaneously? Nonsense!" Green Magic Tower Master Lunadien expressed admiration. "Nonsense, but-..." With a very strange expression. "..." Bewilderment appeared on the expression of 'Risir' who was watching their reactions. The 'perfect Risir' he had created was pushing out the Risir who resided within them. Normally, they should have already recognized him as the 'one and only Risir'. But. Instead of their eyes becoming increasingly hazy, they were actually regaining their light more and more. What that meant. The Archdemon's darkness was vast enough to color the entire world, but- It was insufficient to devour a single man. The Avatar of Oblivion naturally could not accept that fact. He immediately took action. The existence of the new 'Risir' doesn't feel real? Then, all he had to do was make it feel more real. Like writing delusions in a diary, he added settings to 'Risir's' existence. ─────────────── Risir was the only being to receive the World Tree's love with a human body. ─────────────── "The World Tree loves a mere human!? That can't be!!!" Guardian of the World Tree Karoer was shocked. "It can't be, but..." With a very strange expression. "..." 'Risir' added more settings. ─────────────── Risir performed miracles healing those with incurable diseases. The divinity manifested in this way was enough to be recognized by the Saint. ─────────────── "He performed miracles and was recognized by the Saint!? That's amazing!?" 'The Saint' was shocked. "Amazing, but..." With a very strange expression. ─────────────── Even the most wicked dark mages would immediately shed tears of repentance after conversing with him. ─────────────── "Dark mages shed tears of repentance? That's not even funny." Acting City Councilor Fienne was shocked. "It's not funny, but..." With a very strange expression. ─────────────── When he was in crisis and needed it, superior spirits willingly gave their cores. ─────────────── "Superior spirits gave their cores!? How could such a thing be possible!" Master Meltas was shocked. "Such a thing can't be possible, but..." With a very strange expression. ─────────────── The shamans believed without doubt that this foreigner would become the greatest Guardian Spirit when he died. ─────────────── "Shamans believe and follow a foreigner as a Guardian Spirit? Those exclusive beastkin would never do that!" Frozen Breath Palag was shocked. "It can't be, but..." With a very strange expression. "What the hell is this!!!" The 'Risir' who couldn't bear it anymore shouted. By this point, even the side creating illusions was at an embarrassing level. The 'Risir' being shown to them. Probably, even if a child had childish fantasies of becoming a hero, it wouldn't be to that extent? But what the hell is this? Those reactions as if they've eaten bland food! "Fine, if that's how it is!" 'Risir' opened his eyes wide with defiance. Now that it had come to this. He had no choice but to inject them with illusions that completely excluded any realism. In that case. Their finite and fragile mortal minds would collapse and the original purpose would fade, but- It didn't matter to the current Avatar. The most important thing to him now was just watching them lose themselves to the Authority of Oblivion. Like that. The Avatar of Oblivion injected them with the most intense illusion yet. He delivered a massive shock that would completely push out Risir's existence from within them. ─────────────── Risir is the reincarnation of the supreme god. ─────────────── """...!""" Drip. Blood flowed from their noses. It was proof that their minds were collapsing under the enormous illusion they couldn't possibly handle. The Avatar finally smiled with satisfaction. All that remained was to appreciate the sight of their weak minds collapsing- "Ah! So that's why!" It was an exclamation filled with relief. "Now all doubts are finally resolved!!!" "How refreshing this is!!!" The dark fog that had covered their eyes completely cleared. By none other than the emotion of enlightenment. What kind of reaction would people usually show when recognizing an acquaintance's identity as 'the reincarnation of the supreme god'? The Avatar had no way of knowing. However. One thing was certain. "Risir, if you're the reincarnation of the supreme god, you should have said so sooner!!!" "Did you think we couldn't understand that one thing?" At least, it wouldn't be that kind of reaction. The Avatar of Oblivion unconsciously fled. Even forgetting that this place was a world created by his own authority.