"Ga... Game Over...?"
"It refers to a state where you've failed to achieve the objectives presented within a game, making it impossible to advance the story further... or so I'm told. It seems Lord Zenon was declared 'Game Over' immediately after the incident where he harmed so many civilians and lost the trust of everyone around him."
Game Over... Yugo, Yui, and even Ryuga looked on in bewilderment. They had already been bombarded with one unbelievable revelation after another, but this latest bit of nonsense was the most baffling yet.
While the three of them struggled to process the concept, Zenon began to offer an explanation.
"I can't quite put it into words, but right after we reincarnated, it was like a voice was echoing directly in our heads—or maybe like a window appearing in our field of vision. It felt just like a game screen I was familiar with. I could intuitively sense things like levels rising or flags being triggered."
"So, that's it?" Ryuga asked. "That nonsensical voice in your head told you that you were finished?"
"Yes. After that, the voice stopped. I assumed the Goddess had abandoned me because I hit a Game Over, but... lately, I feel as though my head has been getting clearer. At first, I thought it was just because I’d gone on a journey and changed my perspective, but when I look back at how we acted right after the reincarnation, it all seems so incredibly wrong."
Zenon could understand being overjoyed at reincarnating into his yearning game world and letting the excitement spin out of control. Defeating the antagonist Yugo by making full use of game knowledge and reincarnation bonuses in an attempt to claim his favorite character for himself was a common enough trope in these kinds of stories.
But looking back now, Zenon couldn't fathom why he had been able to slaughter the people of that village without a single shred of hesitation.
In his previous life, he'd been a normal high school student. Even if he viewed the nameless people of this world as mere mob characters, his sense of ethics should have stopped him from nonchalantly killing them. And yet, he had done the unthinkable with total composure. He still couldn't understand how he’d been capable of such horror.
"I know everything I'm saying sounds like an excuse," Zenon continued, his voice heavy. "But I really wasn't myself back then. My vision narrowed, and I convinced myself I could get away with anything. I did so many terrible things... It wasn't until later, when I realized this wasn't just a game, that I truly began to regret what I'd done."
"Zenon..."
Though he was only an insubstantial clone, as Zenon spoke while clenching his fists in apparent agony, he truly looked like a man who regretted his actions from the bottom of his heart.
Realizing that this was surely his true self, Yugo had a sudden realization.
"Wait, maybe something was done to you when you were reincarnated? Just like how Hypno is using hypnosis on Melt and the others right now, maybe Zenon's group was manipulated to make you go strange...!"
"I see. It’s plausible," Ryuga noted. "He was clearly overstimulated by the reincarnation process. The Goddess might have taken advantage of that state to plant a suggestion, making them believe this world was nothing more than a convenient game designed for their pleasure."
"It makes sense if the messages in his head were part of that suggestion—a way to reinforce the idea that this was a game world," Yugo added. "And the reason Zenon came to his senses was because the suggestion weakened once he hit Game Over!"
"Then... does that mean the Goddess who sent them here is the mastermind behind everything?" Yui asked, her voice trembling.
"Or perhaps the Goddess herself was merely part of the direction," Zenon suggested. "Maybe she was just something used to make us feel excited by having us experience those standard reincarnation tropes..."
Zenon shook his head firmly. While there were enough clues to suggest their reincarnation had been manipulated from the start, he refused to use that to dodge responsibility for his own hands.
"Even if that were the case, it doesn't change what I did. I, Isaac, Cyan, Egos, and the collaborators currently helping Dogma... we all trashed this world for the sake of our own desires. That's why I have to atone for my sins, even if only a little. That's why I've been tracking Dogma."
Zenon exhaled deeply, his face etched with gravity as he spoke of his redemption.
Everything up to this point had been a preamble, just background on who he was. The truly important part—the vital information—began now.
What had Zenon been doing leading up to this moment? And who exactly was Dogma? Zenon began to recount everything he knew.