"…So, that is what actually happened!"
Mujun's voice sounded so light, almost cheerful, as if he had just finished telling a deeply entertaining joke. His smile spread wide—too wide—until his eyes narrowed into thin slits.
"Do you understand now, Shiki?" he continued. His tone softened, exactly like an adult explaining the rules of a game to a small child. "I merely prepared the stage. Just the stage. I never manipulated you. As an organizer, how the participants play, betray, or kill one another… that is none of my business."
He tapped his chest lightly, feigning sincerity. "It's that very uncertainty that makes it fun, isn't it?"
Before him, Shiki lay helpless. Her face was as white as cotton, her breath coming in ragged, broken gasps. Yet, in the depths of her golden eyes, something remained—disbelief… and a flicker of hope that refused to be extinguished.
Mujun tilted his head, returning her gaze with innocent curiosity. Or at least, it appeared innocent. He didn't know what Ignisira had done to Shiki to make her so obsessed with him. Nor did he care. To him, obsession, love, and hatred were nothing more than emotional seasonings that enriched the spectacle. After all, hadn't he helped quite a bit?
"Do you not believe it?" Mujun asked rhetorically, before quickly answering his own question. "Ah, you don't!"
"Mu… jun… Help… me…" Shiki whispered, barely audible.
"You really don't believe it, do you. Reality is indeed a matter of perspective, but truth is absolute, isn't it? Ugh… I am reminded of a story. Would you like to hear it, Shiki?"
Once again, without bothering to wait for an answer, Mujun rambled on, "In a world far, far away, there was a very advanced civilization. Their progress was driven by the creation of an artificial intelligence capable of leapfrogging technological development by hundreds of years into the future."
"Until one day, the most genius scientists in that world gathered. They were ambitious to create a machine capable of calculating anything. The project took a century, but they succeeded. They named it G.O.D, short for Great Omniscient Device. The machine was said to be able to answer any question, even calculating the future with ninety-nine percent accuracy. Everyone in that world felt they had created God."
Mujun stepped slowly, circling Shiki's body. "Finally, they tried asking: what is the meaning of life, why do they exist in the world, and what happens after death? To answer those three philosophical questions, G.O.D calculated for decades, until finally, it gave a single answer. Do you know what the answer was, Shiki? The answer was only three letters… G, O, and D!"
Mujun fell silent for a moment, then exploded into boisterous laughter until his voice echoed throughout the room. He even doubled over, clutching his stomach. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes before he wiped them away gently, trying to suppress the lingering laughter.
"So they decided to destroy G.O.D, claiming there was a fatal error in its system. However, when asked where the error lay, not one of those 'geniuses' could answer. As a result, G.O.D was forgotten, and that civilization destroyed itself when their artificial intelligence creations rebelled."
Mujun tapped his chin. "Hmm… what was the point of my story again? I forgot… Ah! The point is, reality is a matter of perspective, but truth is absolute. One plus one will always be two, even if many people insist on believing the result is three or four. Hmm… do you understand, Shiki?"
He glanced down, only to find Shiki struggling to reach for him. Her tongue, growing increasingly heavy, forced out a groan.
"Help… me…"
Mujun's expression changed instantly. His brows furrowed, his lips curved downward in sadness—a perfect look of pity. Yet, inside, there was nothing. Living for too long had made emotions nothing more than worn-out masks he could put on and take off at will.
"Ah… I'm sorry, Shiki." His voice now sounded deeply earnest. "I cannot interfere. If I stepped in, wouldn't that be unfair to the other participants? A good organizer must not take sides."
He smiled again—a small smile that was ironically sweet.
"Mu… jun…" Shiki's voice sank further.
Mujun sighed, then suddenly chuckled softly. "But Rose is truly too cautious. She didn't kill you immediately and gouge out your eyeballs. Perhaps she's afraid you still have another trump card hidden away. Hahaha… that woman is indeed cunning." His laughter was crisp and pure, like a child who had just received a pleasant surprise.
"Hmm… perhaps it's an effect of the environment she grew up in. A little girl who was raised in a place like that and could still come out without mental scars? Remarkable." Mujun nodded to himself in praise. "I truly cannot wait to see what she will do next."
His gaze drifted blankly, but his smile widened.
"With the help of the Four Seasons, perhaps Ignisira's City of Beginnings will integrate faster than I expected. But the other Dragon Bride candidates are not weak either. Each has hidden fangs." He murmured analytically, as if reading a fluctuating stock chart.
"You underestimated this game too much, Shiki." His tone softened again. "Haven't you seen how dangerous Rose was in your dreams?"
He mused for a moment, then shrugged indifferently. "Perhaps a life that is too easy can indeed blind eyes that are even gifted with the ability to read minds. Ah… but never mind. I am just a spectator." He pointed to himself. "A spectator is allowed to speculate, but it is forbidden to seek spoilers. If you already know the ending, what's the point in watching?"
He gave a small laugh.
"I truly enjoyed our time in Ignisira. It's been a long time since I pretended to be a human that indifferent." His eyes flashed strangely. "It felt very refreshing." He then leaned slightly toward Shiki. "Remember when Duke was rejected by Runa? Hahaha… his face looked like the apocalypse had arrived! Perhaps twenty percent similar to the actual expression when a real apocalypse occurs. Quite an achievement, I'd say."
He paused, waiting for a response.
"What do you think, Shiki? Did he succeed? Shiki?"
Silence.
"…Shiki?"
Mujun looked at the girl more closely. Those golden eyes were still open—staring straight at him. Within them were etched the remnants of hatred, disbelief, obsession… and a final plea that would never be answered.
"Oh."
He gave a faint smile. With a movement that was exceedingly gentle, he brushed and closed Shiki's eyelids. Soon, those two eyeballs would be gouged out by her enemy; at least Mujun was kind enough to give her this small gesture. A simple tribute for a seatmate of the last three years.
"At least for now," he murmured lightly. "Even though you were arrogant and easily conceited, you were sincere enough as a friend."
Mujun was aware that Shiki had only ever seen the shadow of the purple-eyed man within him. But whatever form the girl saw in her dreams—it was not his true form. A being like Mujun cannot be so easily described. Even the world struggles to map him.
Ignisira was indeed desperate. Creating dreams of the future to give its champion an advantage. However, such visions are never perfect. Once the Bride War begins, the future will blur. Other worlds will not tolerate their domains being peeked into so casually. That is why the Dragon Bride candidates must kill one another before—or exactly when—the war breaks out.
Mujun didn't know if that rule was foolish or genius. Nor was he interested in finding out. Once again, he was merely the Spectator God.
His task was very simple: sit back and enjoy how the worlds and their champions destroy each other. Perhaps later, at the end of the story, he would stop by for a moment to pay a small tribute to the fallen candidates. After all, he was "kind enough" to wipe their negative karma back to zero. That way, their souls wouldn't have to go through the painful purification process in hell.
Ah. He truly was a very kindhearted god.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, one of his consciousnesses overseeing another City of Beginnings caught an anomaly.
"It seems the candidate from Eukaryota is starting to move…"
His lips curved into a thin smirk.
"Hehe…"
A truly interesting show.