"Apple! Sweet!"
Mem held a bright red apple between her tiny hands. After taking a bite, she beamed happily.
"Mm. It really is sweet."
Caelus took a bite as well, savoring the sweet and slightly tart flavor.
"For a virtual world built entirely from data, the fact that it can reproduce physical sensations this perfectly means whoever created it put an extraordinary amount of effort into it."
"Even if it is a virtual world, the memories contained within it carry tremendous weight."
Mem thought back on everything they had learned about this world so far.
"That may be why everything feels so real."
Amphoreus was currently facing a crisis.
A disaster known as the Black Tide was steadily spreading across the world.
For now, however, the situation had not yet deteriorated enough for most people to take the threat seriously.
Kephale, the Worldbearing Titan, was said to be one of the Titans responsible for creating this world.
The Titan had delivered an oracle, revealing how the coming catastrophe could be overcome.
The Flame-Chase Journey.
Simply put, the Chrysos Heirs, whose bodies carried golden blood, were meant to inherit power from the Titans.
Their ultimate objective was to gather the authority of every Titan and use it to recreate the world.
Only then could Amphoreus be saved.
Only then could the apocalypse brought by the Black Tide be brought to an end.
"How many times has this world repeated itself?"
Caelus and Mem had not been in Amphoreus for very long, yet they had already begun to understand the truth behind it.
After all, Caelus had personally created a world before.
Granted, that had been the illusory Eternal Dreamscape of Penacony, but compared with Amphoreus, the fundamental nature was not all that different.
Neither was truly a conventional physical world.
One had been a dream existing entirely within the realm of consciousness.
The other was a virtual world constructed from data.
"Hard to say."
Mem frowned.
"The accumulated weight of existence and memory here is extremely dense."
"This world must have repeated itself an enormous number of times."
"I can't distinguish the exact number."
Even Mem could not determine precisely how many cycles this virtual world had experienced.
She could only vaguely sense that countless nearly identical layers of memory had accumulated upon one another.
There was also a distinct causal loop linking them together.
"From the outside, Amphoreus looks like an enormous Möbius strip."
Caelus considered the situation.
"So the presence of cycles and interconnected causality isn't surprising."
"What I'm more curious about is why it became like this in the first place."
"And what exactly was the creator of this virtual world trying to accomplish?"
His attention shifted toward the System interface.
[Main Quest: Sever the Cycle]
[Objective: Break every causal loop within Amphoreus and allow everything to finally reach a true tomorrow.]
[Reward: Command Block ×1]
[Note: Face the destiny born from your own past. Welcome a new beginning, and write a new chapter for an imperfect ending.]
"I suppose the simplest solution would be to destroy the entire world."
"Then every causal loop would end immediately."
["Aren't you being a little too extreme?!"]
The System's scream exploded beside his ear.
"I'm not actually going to do that."
"Relax, System."
"That's the kind of thing an extermination-type Host would do."
"You know me. I may not possess much compassion, but I still have basic moral boundaries."
"I wouldn't do something that insane."
Caelus had merely intended to ask whether the most straightforward solution would technically count as completing the mission.
Judging from the System's deafening reaction, even if it did qualify, it clearly was not an acceptable method.
"Partner, where are we going next?"
Mem looked at him.
"We're almost out of money."
The large amount of local currency Caelus had possessed earlier had all come from the same place.
Corpses.
When he first arrived in Amphoreus, he had appeared on a battlefield.
His temporary identity seemed to have replaced a soldier who was originally supposed to die there.
At the time, Caelus had reasoned that since he was already there, and dead soldiers certainly had no further need for money, he might as well collect it.
So he had openly taken every coin he could find from the bodies.
That was how he had been able to afford the clothing commission.
But after paying Aglaea's deposit, very little remained.
They needed a new source of income.
"Partner, since this is a virtual world, why don't we just use the power of Remembrance to create money?"
Mem brightened.
"That would be the easiest way!"
"It would probably work in the short term."
"But the currency itself originates from the power of the Titans."
"If we manufacture it directly, there's a chance someone might notice."
"And if we keep doing that whenever we need money, we could eventually disrupt the existing economy."
"So it isn't a particularly good option."
"Partner really is kind."
"No."
Caelus shook his head.
"I'm simply protecting what remains of my humanity."
"Then what are you planning to do?"
Caelus looked toward Castrum Kremnos.
...
"Shopkeeper, are these weapons really as good as your sign claims?"
A warrior from Castrum Kremnos looked suspiciously around the store.
It did not resemble a blacksmith's workshop at all.
The shop displayed rows of finished weapons and equipment, yet there was no forge, furnace, anvil, or even a single smithing tool in sight.
There was certainly no law saying that every weapon shop needed its own forge.
Still, the absence of any smithing equipment made the place feel rather questionable.
Behind the counter stood a gray-haired young man wearing obviously foreign clothes.
He answered calmly.
"You can test one of my weapons against your own."
"That should make it obvious which is superior."
"Good!"
The warrior grinned.
"I like a merchant who speaks plainly!"
"My sword was forged by the mountain clans."
"If your weapon breaks, don't expect me to pay for it!"
He drew the longsword at his waist, then picked up one of the perfectly ordinary-looking swords displayed in the shop.
After that, he casually grabbed someone passing by outside and asked him to help test the weapons.
Considering the famously combative culture of Castrum Kremnos, the passerby did not find the request strange at all.
Each man took a sword.
Then they swung.
Clang!
A crisp metallic sound rang through the street.
The first warrior stared blankly at his hand.
His own sword had snapped cleanly.
The broken blade had already fallen onto the ground.
He stood frozen for several seconds.
Then his expression transformed into excitement.
Without hesitation, he pulled out a large handful of coins and bought the new weapon.
The surrounding warriors immediately became interested.
One after another, they entered the newly opened shop to examine and purchase Caelus's weapons.
Those who bought them returned home and tested them in drills and sparring matches.
Soon, they discovered that the weapons really were exceptional.
Word spread almost immediately.
Business exploded.
Large numbers of warriors from Castrum Kremnos began replacing their old weapons with the stronger new ones.
And naturally, as the craftsman responsible for producing those weapons, Caelus made a fortune.
...
"So this is the new weapon everyone in the city has been talking about?"
Balor, the current king of Castrum Kremnos, examined the sword presented by his son.
Crown Prince Olyron held out a weapon that looked almost identical to an ordinary military-issue blade.
Balor showed no concern whatsoever about his son standing so close while holding a sharpened weapon.
He casually accepted the sword.
After carefully inspecting and testing its balance for a while, admiration appeared on his face.
"An excellent weapon."
"I should meet the craftsman responsible for this personally."
Balor looked toward his son.
"Olyron, come with me."
"We of Castrum Kremnos may be warriors by nature, but those with true ability deserve our respect."
"Yes, Father."
(To be continued.)