“Really… gone?”
This vain?
Jamie was feeling a little letdown.
If he were to kill him, he wanted to do it with his own hands. However, Ra didn’t let him defeat him until the very last moment.
Even if he couldn’t achieve his will, he chose a noble death.
“What a brat.”
Ra was a monster beyond common sense, and he showed an unpredictable act until the end.
The only thing he could think about was Ra’s disappearance. It was too upsetting, but he had no choice but to understand his old enemy.
An enemy like Ra would never come again. If he does come back, it will only be when he returns from hell.
“Everything is over.”
He looked at the pitch-black space around him. Earlier, the flames emitted by Ra lit up the surroundings, but now there was only darkness where no light was allowed.
However, there was nothing wrong with being unable to see anything, either. Jamie could feel the aura of black light not far away.
As he approached it, it felt like condensed energy from the pillars stabbed his skin. If he obtains this, he will have full control of the universe in his hands.
It was possible for him to destroy this world or create a new one. It was a truly amazing skill.
“With this, all the fights will end.”
Mankind.
No, all living beings who had been oppressed would gain their freedom. It was what he had been longing for for such a long time.
The day he only dreamed about was finally coming, and Jamie grasped the light.
“Kuak!”
The moment he touched it, an uncontrollable force began to pierce his body.
Jamie felt his entire body forcibly pushed back, and it felt like something pierced his body from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.
It felt like his emotions were swirling inside him. At that moment, countless things began to pass in front of his eyes.
‘This.’
The overwhelming amount of information, which seemed to melt his brain, was being pulled at random.
He even lost consciousness in between.
‘If I don’t focus, I will be done for!’
Jamie gritted his teeth and endured the sensation of his brain being torn apart. And he was able to confirm the numerous scenes passing one by one.
There was a forest where trees like the World Tree densely grew, and he saw a huge waterfall pouring into the sea from the clouds.
There were huge giants walking through them and mysterious birds flying across the sky. And there were other races that had achieved great civilization, and there were also those who were so hungry and looked cute.
‘This isn’t the world I live in.’
It was different from Bless, as well as the other dimensions. So many scenes of this world passed, and finally, a certain scene began to play.
There was a building of such enormous scale that even the giants looked like kids.
The building was in the shape of a triangle, with a round hole in the middle and a huge fireball roaring right in the middle.
A race of humans seemed to be setting things up as they flew around in flying machines. And at that moment…
“Kuak!”
Jamie covered his face with his arms to block the light. The flame ball seemed to contract in an instant, but then it expanded, giving out powerful energy.
The screen zoomed out, and the triangular building became small enough to look like a dot. However, the explosion was enough to swallow the planet and the land at once and even sweep away the central star of the galaxy.
The explosion had a powerful aftermath across the galaxy. The storm that shook the entire space opened up cracks in dimension, and worlds that shouldn’t touch one another began to resonate.
Explosions of unimaginable levels occurred in many places as if they were chain reactions, and everything began to disappear.
Looking at the explosion of five colors taking over the universe, Jamie mumbled,
“Beautiful.”
The sight of the universe collapsing was by far the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Then the scene stopped, and Jamie returned to his senses.
“Huek!”
Jamie, who had just come to his senses, staggered, and he could feel cold sweat running down his head.
Jamie didn’t move in that state and slowly raised his head, organizing the scenes he had just seen in his head.
There was a huge explosion that destroyed the entire land, and it was the first time he had seen something like that. At first, he was confused about what it was, but now he knew what it was.
“Big Bang?”
The Big Bang that destroyed the previous universe.
The pillar’s last memory showed Jamie how the previous universe ended. Then Jamie rubbed his hands and stretched them out.
The darkness shattered, and the outside was revealed. It looked really miserable.
As the pillars were destroyed, the pouring darkness tried to destroy the universe.
“Come back, everyone.”
Jamie spread his palms down to the side, and the darkness that was pouring down, began to move in reverse as if it were being sucked.
Then the darkness that everyone was so desperate to block vanished in an instant. On the ground, they must have been shocked at this, but that wasn’t important.
Jamie needed to meet someone right away. As he raised his intent, a woman appeared.
“…in the end, you got it.”
The woman looked surprised for a moment and then tried to calm her voice as she grasped the situation.
Jamie called her by her name.
“Gaia.”
“Say what you want.”
“Why did you betray them?”
Gaia’s eyes trembled at once.
“I want to hear why you betrayed them.”
She was a bit taken aback by Jamie’s question, but she didn’t hesitate, knowing how much he expected this.
“It was a move for a better future.”
“What is better?”
In the memories of the past that Ra showed him, Gaia betrayed her blood, saying that the past would repeat itself.
Then, with the power of the pillar, she created a false world that she could control.
Jamie wanted to check with her.
Why did she make that choice? Why was she so sure of failure?
“How much do you know?”
“Everything.”
Gaia was a bit shocked at the word ‘everything’, but she was convinced that he really did know because he had absorbed the power of the pillar.
“Then there is no need to say it word by word.”
“Tell me why. Your answer will determine what I do with you.”
“Is that so?”
Gaia smiled bitterly.
“Because this universe is destined to be this way.”
“Destined?”
Jamie frowned. What kind of destiny was in this universe that had already perished?
“I speak in an abstract manner. To put it more simply, it is destiny.”
With that, Jamie could understand what she meant.
“Does that mean that the same universe repeats itself as long as you don’t intervene with its creation?”
“Right. I only realized it after all the preparations were done. I had to finish weaving a new universe with my siblings, and there was nothing left to do.”
The balance between the dimensions and the distance between galaxies, the agreement that the lands wouldn’t interfere with one another, the starting point of life, the civilizations…
Even if everything was ready, the simulation was constantly going on in the mind of Gaia, who coordinated the process. She ran several simulations several times, and the universe was completed to the point where everything was perfect.
Then Gaia ran to the last simulation with confidence.
“At that time, I got a new result for the first time.”
Countless simulations were run during the process, but the results never came out. It met the same end as the previous universe.
She tried to find a new way, but the result didn’t change at all. So Gaia decided to create the universe in a different way.
“Flesh and blood were sacrificed.”
“I know it is terrible. However, I do not regret it. If the universe had been created as it was, it would have met the same end. If that were the case, there would be no ‘repetition’ in the world. Everything would go back to nothing, and only a void would exist. But the universe under my control felt different.”
Even if someone made a mistake and a big explosion like in the previous universe happened, the power of the pillar could fix that.
It was the completion of a world where nothing like the past would happen. That was why Jamie didn’t say anything.
Gaia continued to speak like she was venting her emotions.
“Was I wrong? Tell me, Jamie Welton. Was my choice wrong? There was no better option than that. I wasn’t blinded by greed, as Ra said!”
“I agree with those thoughts.”
“Uh? I knew you would understand.”
“But.”
Jamie sighed. He understood her, and if that had been him, there was a chance he would have done the same thing.
But if there was anything that could be different…
“You didn’t trust your own kids.”
At those words, Gaia’s eyes went wide.
Jamie continued.
“You trusted no one. You kept the secret to yourself and hid it. So the doubts came, but you chose to hide the secret deeper than speak.”
“I-I.”
“What if everyone shared it together? What if you had shared it with your kids and found the solution together instead of struggling alone? Then, would someone like Ra appear?”
“There might have been some who would try to use the secret.”
“See now. You still don’t believe it. Who was it that fought to protect Bless?”
Jamie pointed at Gaia.
“Your children did.”
Gaia said nothing as she stood there in shock, and Jamie continued.
“You didn’t tell your kids. You betrayed and sacrificed your own blood. Have you ever thought about what they would have done if you had told them?”
This time, Gaia said nothing, and Jamie spoke as if he knew why.
“You didn’t even tell your children. You didn’t even think about consulting your own blood and relatives. Your self-righteous thoughts turned the world like this.”
“No… No… I am not wrong… I…”
“I don’t know if your choice is right or wrong. However, if it were me, I would have trusted my family a little more.”
Gaia held her face and didn’t say anything more.
Then Jamie left her and turned around. Now that he had heard the answer to all his questions, it was time for him to think about how to deal with the future.
He stood at the edge of the world and looked at the vast land. At first glance, it seemed like the land had earned peace, but Jamie could tell.
“Is it impossible to prevent the destruction?”
Even if the darkness was withdrawn, the destruction couldn’t be stopped. And the moment the pillar was destroyed, the universe made by Gaia lost its core.
Even if the darkness didn’t destroy the world, the unbalanced land would perish one day.
It wouldn’t be destroyed overnight, but if the lifespan allowed in the present universe ended, it would be the end of everything.
‘It’s not like there is no way to stop it, though.’
Jamie clenched his fists.
There were enough methods for him to try, but it was difficult to prepare for them.
“Still, it would be better than the world disappearing.”
That world that he had been trying to protect for so many years.
His family, friends, and allies were here. In addition, there were countless people who lived on this land. In the future, he hoped that his descendants could roam freely here.
But again, there was no way to do that.
“Mom, I am sorry. Sarah too.”
Jamie made his choice.
He wasn’t going to let this universe perish.
And there was just one way to do that.
‘I will become the pillar.’
It would not perish if he became the new core and properly maintained the balance of the collapsing universe.
In the distant future, the same thing Gaia was worried about might happen, but it would be the choice of those who would live at that time.
‘So, bye everyone.’
He wanted to personally say goodbye to his family, friends, and colleagues one last time, but it felt like that would stop what he could barely even do.
He hoped everyone would forgive him for being this selfish…
“Wait.”
But when Jamie tried to raise his strength to be the pillar, Gaia stopped him.
He was already ready and had made his decision, but she stopped him, so he turned to Gaia with an annoyed look.
“I have barely made up my mind to sacrifice myself, so why are you suddenly calling me?”
Gaia spoke with a gloomy look.
“There are… a few different ways.”
