Life is like a high-stakes gamble. Those who fear failure and constantly worry over what they might gain or lose are destined never to taste the fruits of victory.
Students and schools, gamblers and casinos. The weak defeating the strong, the small staking everything for a greater prize.
Only by casting aside reason can it truly become a gamble.
Naraku knew perfectly well that he feared death. That was an undeniable fact.
But if that was true, why had he once chosen without hesitation to stake everything he had, placing all his hopes on something as dreamlike and uncertain as transmigration?
The reason was simple. The road ahead had already been laid out clearly before him, and only two completely different paths remained.
Fate had never seemed particularly fair. It toyed freely with the course of people's lives.
Heaven and hell were often separated by nothing more than a single thought or a single step.
When the chips in one's hand were mercilessly thrown down amid cries of despair, that seemingly wonderful yet utterly illusory sense of satisfaction would vanish the instant the dust settled, fleeting as a flower that bloomed for only a moment.
Even a saint who walked impartially along the so-called correct path could hardly avoid unexpected obstacles and setbacks.
If that was the case, why not be a little bolder?
Three chips were enough. All or nothing.
Like a moth flying into the flame, seeking life through death, until everything... burned away!
...
"Looks like fate has favored me once again~"
His consciousness slowly awakened from its slumber, like a bird stirring beneath the first light of dawn.
Naraku gradually opened his eyes, a wave of emotion rising within him.
"My true self, long time no see!"
"Hmm... How does the stone taste? Delicious?"
A phantom Soul floated in midair.
A faint smile tugged at Naraku's lips as he asked with obvious interest.
As far as the eye could see, Chaos Stones of every shape and size had been piled into a towering, magnificent mountain.
At the summit of that mountain of Chaos Stones sat a fierce-looking Dragonoid.
The ethereal Dragon Souls of the Platinum Dragon Lord and the White Dragon Lord floated on either side, both examining the Chaos Stones before them.
"The taste is nothing special, but the effect is pretty good. To a certain extent, they can replace experience points."
"Given the existence of 'Him,' that's only natural."
Seeing his Thought Form awaken, Naohara answered without hesitation.
Take the Super-Tier Magic [Wish Upon a Star], for example. He had experimented with using Chaos Stones in place of experience points, and the results were unexpectedly impressive.
When he compared making the exact same wish with Chaos Stones against making it with experience points, the former was clearly superior in both the amount required and the effect it ultimately produced.
Even so, Naohara was not particularly surprised by the outcome.
From the moment the consciousness of his Thought Form had been reconstructed, he had already obtained all of its memories from this period.
"You really were bold, though."
"You burned away everything and left behind only the faintest spark of your Soul. If I'd arrived even a little later, you would've disappeared completely."
Naohara tossed the Chaos Stone in his hand into his mouth and crunched it like candy.
After a few bites, he swallowed it.
Then he leaped down and looked at his Thought Form before him, clicking his tongue in amazement.
He thought back to when he had bestowed one of his Reverse Scales upon the Platinum Dragon Lord.
Although part of his Soul had indeed remained within that Reverse Scale, it had only been intended as a simple detection mechanism.
On the one hand, it was meant to guard against the Platinum Dragon Lord developing treacherous intentions. On the other, it served as a precaution against the possibility that the Dragon Emperor was still alive.
He never imagined that this Reverse Scale would become the key to turning the entire situation around.
The laws of the Six Great Gods, and the Power of Faith capable of turning the impossible into reality, were truly astonishing.
"I couldn't exactly sit there and wait to die, could I? Waiting helplessly for death has never been a good way to solve anything."
"If you can't give anything up, you can't change anything."
If life was a straight line, then fate was a circle. But fate itself was not immutable. Everything was constantly changing.
If there was one thing that had remained unchanged, perhaps it was his own powerlessness.
Enhela, who possessed Divine Right, was like a perpetual motion machine. If Naraku had failed to find a way out, sooner or later he would have been ground away completely within that endless cycle.
"I've experienced the helplessness of the weak firsthand."
Naohara nodded with deep understanding.
Since arriving in the New World, this was probably the first time he had truly experienced genuine powerlessness and despair.
In a way, it had been a worthwhile lesson.
"My true self, what are you planning to do with that guy?"
Naraku turned his head slightly and looked off to one side.
There, a humanoid torch was burning fiercely. The black flames of Catastrophe soared into the sky, illuminating half the heavens.
Amid hoarse screams, countless shimmering motes of light continued pouring out, only to be devoured and absorbed by the Wild Magic Array below without end.
The human figure inside the flames thrashed and twisted madly, desperately trying to break free from the terrifying restraints and the agony of the burning.
Unfortunately, all of his struggles were completely futile.
[Encountered the Catastrophe Dragon Lord in the Roble Holy Kingdom. Monstrously Powerful, Impossible to Defeat Even After Fighting With Everything You Have?]
Watching the scene before him, a strange thought arose in Naraku's mind.
Despite possessing an overwhelming advantage, Enhela had deliberately taken unnecessary risks simply to flaunt his superiority over someone weaker, ruining a winning hand in the process.
Was it arrogance?
But after thinking it over carefully, that did not seem quite right.
More accurately, it should be called blind confidence.
That certainly fit the usual behavior of a fanatic.
"Keep burning him. First, gather enough Souls to resurrect everyone who died in the Roble Holy Kingdom. We can run a few experiments while we're at it."
Kuyō·Divine Right.
It would have been a lie to say he was not curious about it.
Ever since sharing memories, he had tried more than once to investigate this power, but every attempt ended with him finding absolutely nothing.
There was nothing Naohara could do about that either.
Just then, Naraku suddenly spoke up from beside him.
"If you're going to resurrect them, don't forget to alter their memories."
Naohara nodded slightly to show that he understood.
"Don't worry."
Information concerning Kuyō, Players, and Thought Forms could never be allowed to reach the local residents.
They might not even be capable of understanding such concepts, but to be safe, altering the memories of those involved was undoubtedly the most reliable option.
"We gained a lot this time, but we also ended up with one major problem."
Although Enhela had already become their prisoner, the Cracks spreading throughout the Roble Holy Kingdom showed no sign of receding. They still sprawled menacingly across the land.
Naohara had already examined those Cracks and had managed to uncover a few clues.
For instance, the Miasma continuously pouring from them did not seem to exist merely to contaminate the surrounding environment.
It also appeared to be forming some kind of neural network connecting the Cracks in different locations.
As for what lay inside the Cracks themselves, that was undoubtedly even more complicated and difficult to understand.
Naohara had sent some Undead and Golems inside to investigate, and had even used various summoned creatures for further experiments.
Unfortunately, every attempt ended in failure.
Anything sent inside instantly lost all contact with the outside world and vanished without a trace, completely swallowed up.
That made Naohara wary.
If Kuyō truly existed and managed to manifest physically, then the situation they would face next could become extremely troublesome, perhaps even triggering a disaster beyond imagination.
Just as Naohara fell into thought, an unusual sound suddenly came from the previously calm sky.
He looked up and saw countless streaks of golden light crossing the heavens like shooting stars, all converging toward a single location.
Those dazzling lights were the Power of Faith originating from the Four Great Gods worshipped by the religion of the Roble Holy Kingdom.
When the cycle had briefly been broken, it was not only information from Naraku and the others that had escaped. Some of the believers' prayers had gotten through as well.
Seeing this, Naohara raised his right hand and gave a gentle wave.
Naraku, along with the Souls of the Platinum Dragon Lord and the White Dragon Lord beside him, immediately flew into his body as though responding to a summons.
At the same time, high in the sky, the Power of Faith resonated from both sides, causing a thin but clearly visible Crack to appear.
Then a mass of light burst from the Crack, illuminating the surrounding space as brightly as day.
A skeletal figure gradually emerged from within.
The God of Death, Surshana, had arrived!