A heavy silence fell over the room, the air growing deathly still.
Yugo and the others were struck by a sorrow that eclipsed even their fury. To learn that everything was merely a play of the gods—and that so many people had been maimed or killed for the sake of a divine game—was almost too much to bear.
In the midst of the quiet, Zenon spoke, his voice trembling as he looked at Adam.
"Wait... Are you telling me we were marked for death from the very beginning? That we were nothing more than jobbers destined to lose to the masterminds? Is that what this was?"
"Precisely. You were steered toward that conclusion. The 'Cheat Abilities' you received upon reincarnation came with a catch—a post-hypnotic suggestion designed to narrow your focus and make you a slave to your own impulses. Even the setting of being reborn into a yearning game world was a device intended to make you get carried away."
"That can't be! This world is supposed to be a reproduction of Luminous History! I met everyone here in the game, and so many events in this world overlapped with the plot! Are you saying you built an entire world just to mimic a game for the sake of this contest!?"
"No, Zenon. It is the other way around. This world was not modeled after Luminous History. Luminous History was modeled after this world."
"What...?"
When creators finish a masterpiece, or when they strike upon the inspiration that serves as its spark, they often utter the same phrase.
A God descended...
To them, it was likely nothing more than a figure of speech. But what if it were the literal truth? What if a God had actually lent a hand to ensure that person achieved a specific result? No one could truly deny the possibility.
Perhaps it didn't apply to every artist who had used those words. However, every single creator who worked on the game Luminous History had been a puppet dancing in the palm of the Gods' hands—beings who simply wanted to enjoy their reincarnation game.
"Luminous History was born when the Gods whispered the fates of those living in this world into the minds of human creators. You Reincarnators were kept in the dark about that fact and led to believe you had been reborn into a game world you had mastered in your previous lives. It was all a trap designed to make you lose your footing."
"So this really wasn't a game world after all...!"
"The Gods presumed that by making you believe this was a game, you would stop hesitating to commit cruel acts. In that regard, you acted exactly according to God's Intentions."
The weight of the lives he had taken while under the delusion that he was merely a mob character crushed Zenon, and he collapsed where he stood. As Claire moved to support him, Adam continued his explanation.
"The rules of this particular reincarnation game were simple. First, the Surface Reincarnators are gathered, granted a certain level of Cheat Abilities, and released into this world. Afterward, a second group—the Hidden Reincarnators—is summoned in secret and released to grow stronger without being noticed by the first group. The Surface Reincarnators grow through standard combat, while the Hidden Reincarnators empower themselves by causing incidents. That was the structure."
"And those Hidden Reincarnators are the masterminds...! They were causing those tragedies just to farm experience points!"
"Correct. The masterminds are quite weak immediately after their reincarnation. If they fought openly, they would be easily defeated by the Surface Reincarnators. That is why they had to operate from the shadows. However, by courting risk and orchestrating incidents in close proximity to the Surface Reincarnators, they harvested massive amounts of experience points. The one who perfected that approach was the man called Lost."
"So that Silver Magic Armor Beast he transformed into... was an ability he bought with the experience points he earned from all that suffering."
"Indeed. Lost and the other masterminds have already grown to the point where they can dispose of the Surface Reincarnators with ease. You of all people must understand that. Truly... everything was on a knife-edge."
Bit by bit, the full picture began to emerge. The Hero Candidates rampaging like animals and the masterminds sowing chaos were all just parts of a God's Play. Having finally understood the scope of the deception, Yugo looked at Adam.
"Adam, you tried to stop this play of the gods. But you weren't strong enough, and you were captured. That's why you're in this state, isn't it?"
"It is as you say. Because I was powerless, I could not stop the game from being held. On the contrary... my failed rebellion is the reason things have turned out like this."
Adam slumped his shoulders, covering his face with both hands. He seemed to be reliving a nightmare as he spoke, his voice shaking with every word.
"I only discovered the atrocities committed by my fellow Gods during the 31st Game. By the time I realized the truth, the game was already in its final act... and it was far too late to save anyone."