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A hero becomes an obsessed villain - Episode 424

EP.424 - If we could meet again

hell.

...The sky is a pitch black night with only one small star shining lonely next to the moon..

Beneath the cool wind blowing.

...Stadus continued to walk there with an emotionless expression..

Other transparent souls continue to sit around her with languid expressions..

Walking along the path of the huge canyon without even looking between them..

Stardust wandered around the underworld again today, following his intuition..

A long time has passed.

It's been a really long time since she arrived here in the underworld..

Now I can't even remember how long I've been here..

'...Ugh. Starthers... I'm sorry. Please, please find Mr. Dain....'

lang syne.

Is it because the Egostream members who accompanied her for a while also do not have godhood like her? In the end, the last remaining forehead reached its limit and left..

From then on, Stardus was wandering this afterlife alone..

To find only one person.

"......."

Ego stick. Dyne. The man she cherished more than anyone else, a man who had the same star power as her..

Therefore, Stardust gained the ability to detect people with star power. Today too, go in the direction your intuition points you to. A soul with star power was wandering around the underworld in the direction where it could be felt..

of course. Every time, every time I arrive with hope.

'Hmm...? Child, who are you??'

The problem is that you meet people who are different from what you expected..

soul.

These souls, who are in their most complete form before death, have distinct characteristics unlike humans..

In addition to being transparent,.

...Unlike when they lived in this world, they were here without any desires..

Therefore, most souls forgot all their desires and just stood or sat on the floor with a listless expression..

Without pain or resentment. With a peaceful appearance.

Even the most active ones just occasionally chat with the soul sitting next to them. Most people just sat or stood. Except in very rare cases, without moving.

And looking at that, there was a time when she turned pale thinking what would happen if Dain was in that state and didn't try to go back..

...For now, these were all meaningless worries..

In the first place. Because finding the ego stick seemed far away..

A long time has passed.

During that time, she met many people with star powers..

There are well over thousands of people in this vast afterlife. These people are separated from each other by an incredibly long distance. I mean we met over and over again..

They were all people with different personalities..

Is this why most of them are children of the star god who loved humans?.

Most of them were good heroes who saved humanity during their lifetime..

'...Hmm? Did you come to visit me, child? It's been a while since I had a star child like me..'

Meeting them like that.

At first, Starders was disappointed that it wasn't just ego-stick and quickly flew to the next target..

...After the number of people exceeded 100, there were cases where star spirits who saw her tired expression spoke to her first..

And most of the time, they gave her well-wishes..

'So... you're trying to find someone you love. I hope you find it. you can find it.'

It put to shame the hearts of those who cheered me on with their drowsy expressions. She hasn't found the ego stick in all these years..

No matter where I went where the power of the stars was felt, he wasn't there..

Even though it wasn't egotic, I still met someone whose face I recognized..

'...you.'

Western male with blonde hair like most star children.

The man, who was lying down surrounded by people and dazed with his head supported by his arms, muttered this when he saw Stadus..

Even Starders recognized him..

...ex machina.

Another savior who lived in the same generation as the woman I saw on the news who was said to have the power to turn back time..

'Did you fail too? ...Nope. You are alive. thank god. ...This world survived?'

'...huh. okay. I'm glad. Good thing.'

When he met her, unlike other souls, he was curious about things in the real world..

...While she was amazed by the familiar face she had seen for the first time while wandering around this vast world..

Ex Machina asked her gently..

'Judging by the look on his face... he's looking for someone. yes?'

And in those words.

Stadus nodded and said.

They're looking for a man named Egostick..

And is it because we lived in the same generation? Or is it because he knows more than me?.

With that said, Starthers asked him.

...In fact, he is from another world..

Do you think this can make a difference with other souls?.

Ex Machina said with a sad smile and nod..

...I don't know if I know it well, though. If it's a soul from another world, it won't be easy. Still, I will support you.

With those words, Stardus said he understood and flew up into the sky again..

And, she thought quietly.

'...Just now.'

It's the last time.

The soul with the power of the stars that I felt in this other world.

Yes.

She finished Ex Machina.

So far, she has found every star soul she felt in this world..

and.

...Among them.

There was no ego stick..

"....."

She didn't believe it at first.

So, keep going. I kept looking. I kept visiting souls with star power..

But as expected, only the people I always see are there..

anywhere in this world.

The ego stick was not visible..

"...ah."

In the middle of the underworld.

Among countless souls, with dead eyes. She muttered that quietly alone.

'now.'

Now... what should I do??

From the moment I realized that fact.

In the peaceful underworld.

...For her alone, hell has begun.

From then on, she no longer flew through the sky looking for.

I continued to walk without stopping and searched the underworld, looking at the faces of the nearby souls one by one.,

Although she failed to find Egostick among those with star souls as originally planned... she just didn't feel it, and had the belief that it was somewhere in this world..

For countless years, wandering around the underworld. I set out to find an ego stick somewhere..

In the process, she even met some of the villains she personally defeated with great odds..

Even.

[....uh? Wait, there! Yes you are! Isn’t it Stardust?!]

The villain who was with Egostick... soul? There was even an encounter with a death knight..

He was wearing black knight armor, standing next to a beautiful middle-aged woman..

...When Starthers approached him, surprised to see him, he laughed and said,.

He said he came back here and was with his wife..

and.

...He said with a confused expression.

[And... I'm back here, and you're here looking for someone too. Egoistic, I guess he's dead..]

[Since my contract has already been terminated, I don't know his condition, so I can't be of much help... But, cheer up. I will also ask the souls around me..]

[...hmm. I can't feel his spirit here. Yeah... still. You might not know.]

[If I knew him, I'm sure he would have left a message to help me find him. Because he is that kind of person. So, let him hope and keep looking.]

After they broke up after that conversation, she continued to search for him..

...Of course, there was no ego stick in sight..

The underworld still stretched out endlessly..

Death Knight couldn't find where he was either..

So currently.

"......"

Trudging. plod.

Somewhere in the canyon of the underworld.

She was wandering around somewhere in the underworld again today..

I had no sense of time.

How many years has it already been? Or, how many decades have passed? In the state of my soul, I couldn't even feel the concept of time..

However, even such an uncertain step.

finally reached the limit.

"...black."

She was walking with an expressionless face again today, but she suddenly shed tears..

"...doesn't exist."

doesn't exist. doesn't exist.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

"...No. Ugh. Hmm..."

With those words, she sat down on the floor with her knees clenched and sobbed..

...Her soul, too, has finally reached its limit..

Actually, I've realized this for a long time, but it's only now that I'm able to admit it..

Egostick is not here.

...no. I can definitely feel it. She had now abdicated her godhood, and it was she who could feel all the whereabouts of her star power. Besides her reality and the afterlife, she can feel the faint starlight that she has not yet found..

However, I don't know if his soul is hidden or if his soul has gone to another world..

What was certain was that he was not in this other world, including reality..

anywhere.

Because I couldn't feel his energy here.

"...Should I go back?."

Should I go back?.

Just like this, without finding anything. Only to realize the despairing fact that he is nowhere in this world. Should I go back?.

here.

Should I give up?.

she thought quietly.

Because now I realize that there really is no hope..

Because I realized he wasn't here.

however.

When I go back, what is there??

"...."

hell.

There, Stadus raised his head and looked at the pitch-black night sky and thought about this..

In the first place. It was a meaningful life because of egoism..

What would be the point of returning to a world without him?.

Wouldn't it be right for me to just stay here forever?.

Absentmindedly, that was when Stadus was thinking like that..

'...Mr. Starders.'

no wonder.

What Egostick said before seemed to ring in my ears..

'You can.'

'Clench your fists, strengthen your legs, and fly into the sky to save people. You can do it. Because that's you.'

"...haha."

What Ego Stick said to her when she was about to give up during the plane attack.

Those words were probably the starting point of her current relationship with Egostick..

"...okay. If you give up here, it won't work."

like that.

...Shin Haru, who looked as if he might collapse at any moment, quickly stood up, wiping away his tears..

If the ego stick isn't here.

Even if I have to chase you to another world, I can come find you..

It was a time when she was thinking like that and looking up at the pitch-black night sky..

"...uh?"

Only then.

She realized something.

pitch black night sky.

Perhaps because it is the domain of the moon god, a large moon is shining there..

And next to it.

...Clearly, a small star was shining faintly..

"...It's a star."

Star. why are you there?

...Until then, she just thought that the star was cheering her on. She never thought much about it.

but now.

'...If that moon represents the moon god who created this underworld in another dimension,.'

What does that star mean?.

starlet. another dimension.

The place where Ego Stick came from is the dimension of the moon.

So what happened to his soul?.

If it is not here, then the soul has clearly gone to another world..

However, according to Egostick,.

Apparently, someone from another world said he couldn't go back..

"...However, obviously."

The souls of this world would have been made to automatically come here after the death of their bodies..

Then, the egotic soul.

...After his death, he must have tried to go to the world where he was born..

However, if you couldn't go?

If you haven't reached your intended destination and are staying somewhere else.?

".....!"

Starders, who came up with it that far,.

Soon, I realized something..

In the first place, she was wrong.

If it was the ego stick she knew. If it's multiple people.

...That he was always the first to reach out to her in the most desperate moments..

Then, even now, if he knew she was doing this. He would have approached her first. Because he was the one she hated the most, seeing her suffer..

"...ah."

So, only then did she realize.

That little star that I saw from the moment I first came to this world.

...It continued to shine faintly on her..

As if telling me to come this way. Small but clear, he was leading from the sky..

If I knew him, I'm sure he would have left a message to help me find him..

"...Ahaha."

Looking at that.

Starthers smiled for the first time since arriving here..

With tears in my eyes, I climbed up into the sky..

Finally.

Hope was visible before my eyes.

***

Just like that, a long time has passed.

Following the guidance of a faint star, she traversed all of space, stopping by fragments of various dimensions connected to the underworld..

and.

Finally.

Hiiiiiiiiiing.

Kugoong-

She reached a certain space.

"...ha."

Somewhere beyond the wall of the broken dimension, a gap in the distorted dimension.

There she landed on the floor, her blonde hair blowing in the wind..

A space where a small field of golden wheat flutters in the wind, under a sky blue sky as fragmented as a broken window..

And at the end.

"....."

...a man.

I stood with my back facing the blue sky..

So familiar, with someone's back.

And towards him.

"...."

...Stardust walked quietly.

because.

...From here, if you walk a little faster.

Because I felt like I couldn’t suppress the rising emotions..

So, when she got behind him.

...Finally.

He looked back at himself and smiled.

"...Are you here?."

He looks at her with the kind smile he always gave her..

Looking at him like that.

She swallowed the rising tears.

He said with a bright smile.

"huh."

"...haha. I see. It took a long time. Looks like you had a hard time."

To him who says that.

Stardust takes a step forward..

To the person who kept coming to me.

Shedding a tear, I smiled and held his hand and said,.

"Yeah... it took a long time. It took a really, really long time. So, so..."

"Now let's go back. to home."

In those words.

...Dain looked at her.

I smiled quietly and nodded..

And at the same time.

The world was engulfed in light.