"You're half right. However, there are aspects that differ. You could say that the notification you received was, in a sense, an act of mercy from the gods."
"'Game Over' as a mercy? What do you mean by that?"
Zenon couldn't help but wonder if the "Game Over" notification he’d received in the past was tied to the concept of Destiny Power Adam was currently explaining.
Adam met Zenon’s inquiry with a vague mix of affirmation and denial before delving deeper into his explanation for the group.
"As I said, Life Force drops during illness or injury but returns once you recover. Destiny Power is similar—it fluctuates based on a person’s actions. However, fate is a tangled web. It’s impossible to say with absolute certainty which specific actions will cause it to rise or fall."
"But there’s a general rule, isn't there? Some kind of guideline for what raises it?"
"Yes. The simplest way to think of it is 'acting in accordance with your role.' For instance, if someone labeled a Hero Candidate protects those around them and helps the needy, their Destiny Power increases."
"And if they cut down innocents, create victims, or abandon their comrades... then it drops?"
"Exactly. Zenon, that notification didn't mean your Destiny Power had hit zero. It was a declaration that you could no longer return to the role you desired—the role of the story’s Protagonist."
Adam let out a soft sigh. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he looked up and continued.
"Think of it like this. Suppose there’s a boy who dreams of becoming a knight. An accident leaves him with a permanent injury, forcing him to give up on that dream. If he accepts the loss and finds a new path, his Destiny Power will slowly recover. But if he clings to that dead dream, obsessed with what he lost... his Destiny Power will continue to dwindle."
"Isn't that incredibly cruel? People overcome despair to find success all the time. Surely it doesn't always end like that..."
"Naturally, there are exceptions. But those people either had a massive reserve of Destiny Power to begin with or were born with an incredible amount. In some cases, the injury itself was a trial orchestrated by Destiny Power to lead them toward success. The problem is, there's no way to tell the difference. No one knows who will actually succeed in the end. That’s what makes Destiny Power so difficult to grasp."
"Let's get back to the point. Zenon, you received your notification after the Red Mist Incident, right? Just as we discussed, it was because you led those students and harmed innocent villagers. Was that when you lost your qualification as the story’s protagonist?"
"Correct. At that moment, Zenon was disqualified from the Reincarnation Game. The judgment was passed because it was determined that no matter how hard he struggled, he would never achieve the glory of the heroes in Luminous History."
"...I was so devastated that I shut myself away. I did nothing. But because I stopped acting, my Destiny Power stopped dropping. But the others—!"
Isaac, Cyan, Egos, and the rest... Zenon had no way of knowing if his fellow Reincarnators had received the same notifications.
However, based on what Adam had said, he realized that if they had received the warning and chosen to struggle in vain, they would have been sprinting toward their own deaths.
"I called it 'God's Compassion' from the management earlier... but the truth is far darker. Those bastards want to see disqualified Reincarnators panic and spiral toward ruin. They shove that cold announcement in their faces just to watch them crash."
"If I’d been unable to accept losing my protagonist status and tried to fight it... by now, I would be—!"
"Yes, you likely would have died a wretched death. But by accepting your life as the ordinary Zenon Ash, you avoided that destruction. You were truly... fortunate."
"...It wasn't luck. It was because I had someone standing by me. I owe everything to Claire."
Realizing why he alone had escaped the fate of the other Reincarnators, Zenon turned his gaze toward Claire. Claire met his eyes with a gentle nod.
Adam took it as his cue to continue.
"Usually, when a person dies, their Destiny Power expires before their Life Force. At the very least, they run out at the same time. But... there is one exception. A single scenario where Life Force fails while Destiny Power remains. Yugo, I suspect you know what it is."
In response to the sudden question, Yugo gave a somber nod, the realization clicking into place. Under the collective gaze of his friends, he spoke the answer.
"It’s when you choose to take someone else's place... and die for them, isn't it?"