Chapter 157: Kyubey, You're Here.
No wind, no sound. Even the light seemed to have lost its warmth.
Eren Jaeger hovered above the lifeless surface of a nameless planet. The grey, cracked rock beneath his feet stretched to the edge of the horizon. Above, the spiral arms of a distant galaxy formed a frozen band of dust, emitting a cold, indifferent light. The star of this system was incredibly distant, casting only a feeble glow that barely outlined Eren's lonely figure.
His sense of time had long blurred. He was simply waiting. Waiting for a predestined end.
The Soul Gem on his chest was terribly heavy. Its once-emerald luster was almost entirely obscured by thick corruption, leaving only a faint glimmer at the edge, ready to go out at any moment. Every breath was labored and difficult. The exhaustion seeped into his bones, but deeper still was a numbness that had nearly solidified.
Countless loops. Countless struggles. Countless hopes turned to dust. All that remained was this dead, empty silence.
He stood quietly, his body motionless, gazing at this eternal desolation.
And Kyubey had arrived.
By now, the chat group members were thoroughly bored with Eren's repetitive loops. Some had started watching SpongeBob's livestream, while others, like Black Zetsu, lurked silently.
[Non-Human Chat Group]
On the screen, it was a sunny day in Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob was excitedly showing off his new Krabby Patty invention, eliciting cheers from Patrick.
Tom Cat: [Cat_yawning_on_sofa.gif]
Squidward: What an utterly boring show… why do I have to endure this?
SpongeBob SquarePants: @Squidward, look, look! This Krabby Patty has jellyfish jelly! It tastes amazing! Want a bite? [Excitedly_waving_spatula.jpg]
Squidward: Pass.
Kyubey's stream had only one loyal viewer.
Monokuma: Upupupupu—what an interesting sight. Alone in a cosmic graveyard, waiting for the final despair to descend.
Monokuma: The end is finally here! Upupupupu!
At that moment, a small, pure white figure appeared beside Eren without warning. It was entirely white, with fluffy fur, long ears, and a bushy tail. It simply looked at Eren calmly. In this dead, grey world, its pristine whiteness was starkly out of place.
Eren slowly turned his head, his gaze landing on Kyubey. There was no surprise in his eyes, no anger, only a weary numbness that had seen through everything. Through countless loops, he had long expected this moment.
"It's you," Eren said. "You're finally here." A faint, almost non-existent smile touched the corner of his mouth. "I didn't expect you to be the one with me at the end."
"Tell me," Eren continued, "what is your… or rather, your civilization's… true goal?" He just wanted to confirm this one thing before the end. Why did Kyubey do this?
Kyubey tilted its head, its voice echoing in Eren's mind.
[Our civilization is dedicated to exploring, understanding, and ultimately achieving the orderly management of the multiverse.]
[This requires an immense amount of energy, and the observation and study of the laws of various worlds.]
[Your souls, converted into energy, drive our exploration and the process of multiverse management and integration.]
[The countless loops you experienced provided us with unprecedentedly valuable data. regarding the stability of timelines, the subtle shifts in causality under high-pressure environments, the wear and tear on souls within temporal loops, and the phenomenon of information solidification…]
[This data has allowed us to make breakthrough progress in isolating timeline interference and preliminary timeline manipulation.]
[However, the sample size in this area is still too singular. Your value ends here.]
[Thank you for your outstanding contribution.]
[Furthermore, from the perspective of the potential energy yield from your Witchification, you have made an outstanding contribution to the continuation of the universe.]
Eren listened quietly. No anger, no resentment. When Kyubey revealed this cruel truth, all he felt was an absurd calmness and a trace of bitterness. He didn't know what to say. Perhaps he and Kyubey weren't so different at their core. Both were willing to disregard all other existence for their own "goals." What right did he have to criticize its non-human logic?
A flicker of human emotion sparked in his numb heart. It was his attachment to his family, his concern for his friends.
"Is that so…" Eren murmured. "Then at least… I hope this time, Paradis Island… Mikasa, Armin, and the others… can truly live. Peacefully…"
This was his last, and only, wish.
But Kyubey's next words instantly shattered his final defense.
[Regarding your wish, there is a variable.]
[According to the causality model projection, when you undergo complete Witchification, there is a non-negligible probability.]
[Your anchors of obsession, and the specific individuals with the deepest causal ties to you… your Witchification may draw them in due to these connections.]
The blood drained from Eren's face. The thick layer of ice that had formed over his heart from countless despairs shattered in an instant!
Everything he had done… He destroyed the world, he endured the pain of endless loops… all of it was just so they could live! But in the end, his blood-stained hands, this obsession heavy enough to crush the universe, had become the chains dragging them into hell?!
Boundless pain and powerlessness transformed into countless icy hands, seizing his heart, crushing the last shred of meaning in his existence.
"No… No…!"
A familiar sign, the precursor to starting the loop again, began to emerge. Deep in his soul, the instinct to reject the outcome stirred once more.
[Are you sure you want to do that?] Kyubey asked. [Doing so will only accelerate the solidification of this 'probability' into an 'inevitability'.]
[And we do not intend to waste any more time here.]
Eren froze. Kyubey's words shattered his final struggle. Helplessness drowned him completely. He gave up resistance, letting despair consume him.
[However, your Witchification will release a massive amount of energy.]
[Part of this energy will be used for our subsequent voyage, and another part will be used to delay the entropy increase of this universe.]
[From a macro perspective, you have done something beneficial for the continuation of the universe.]
Eren collapsed, kneeling on the cold grey rock. Driven by despair, a residual instinct made him snap his hand up, firing a blast of magical energy at the nearby Kyubey. The white creature was instantly torn apart, turned to ash.
But the next second, another identical Kyubey appeared silently in the same spot, still looking at him with those emotionless red eyes.
Repeating. Repeating. Repeating.
[Stop. Your actions are meaningless.]
After killing Kyubey a dozen more times, Eren finally gave up.
Yes. Meaningless. Everything is meaningless.
Eren's hand fell limply to his side. He looked up at the cold, dead starry sky, tears sliding silently down his face, mixing with the dust. In his heart, he offered a final, humble prayer to a god that might or might not exist.
"Kami-sama (God)…"
As Eren's prayer ended, the last glimmer of light in the Soul Gem on his chest finally faded.
The next moment, corruption exploded from within! Countless bolts of black lightning danced wildly, pouring out and tearing at the surrounding space.
Crack—
A crisp shattering sound. The emerald gem, along with its golden setting, broke apart!
The fragments of the shattered Soul Gem didn't scatter but instantly converged into an ominous black core radiating thick despair—a Grief Seed.
The moment this Grief Seed formed, it began to expand rapidly, its surface covered in twisted, complex patterns. Countless thick bolts of black lightning struck down from the expanding core, leaving crisscrossing scorch marks on the desolate planet's surface.
Finally, in this distant star system, it erupted completely.