"The Mourning Actors are truly a fascinating bunch. I once met one myself—he kept crying, and the more he cried, the harder I laughed.
Until, eventually, I laughed so much that I started crying too. Do you know what he did then?"Sairuis turned toward the best reaction partner in the Tarot Club—Audrey.
Audrey instinctively shook her head.
"He handed me a tissue," Sairuis said with a grin.
Everyone thought Sairuis looked a little unhinged at this point; no one quite knew how to respond.
Regaining his composure, Sairuis sat back upright and faced the group.
"As a follower of [Elation], this is the Path I understand best, so I might speak a bit more about it."
"I want you to realize—this world is awful. So awful it makes you sick.Especially that place you live in, Mr. Sun—the Forsaken Land of the Gods."
Derrick looked blankly at Sairuis. He'd long grown used to it, but still nodded slightly in agreement.
Sairuis placed one hand over his chest and raised the other high."But we seek joy, gather joy, spread joy… or perhaps—become joy itself."
He locked eyes with Derrick."Remember this well—to keep living earnestly is the greatest defiance against this goddamn world. There is only one kind of heroism in this world: after seeing the truth of it…"
Seres smiled. Though the gray fog concealed it, the emotion came through.
He looked toward the unseen mask opposite him, and winked—just once.
"…still choosing to love life."
Applause and laughter rang in Seres' ears—sounds only he could hear.
"Well then," Seres clapped his hands lightly, "let's talk about the other Paths."
Seeing him return to normal, everyone sighed in relief—except Derrick, who lowered his head, lips pressed tight, eyes closed in thought.
The unseen mask drifted closer to his face, whispering a voiceless mockery:Oh? Don't tell me you're actually crying?
"[Destruction], the Aeon Nanook, is a hot-tempered old fellow. He believes the birth of the universe was a mistake, that civilization is a cancer quietly growing among the stars, and that conflict is the only language intelligent beings truly share.To correct this mistake, to erase the stains upon existence, Nanook became the embodiment of Entropy."
"The light of destruction pierces the clouds, transforming into golden death.Towers collapse, people flee—for the sun is setting, and ruin approaches."
"Many of his followers believe that to be reborn, one must first embrace annihilation. The Antimatter Legion, for example, willingly offer their lives for destruction itself."
That's just outright insanity…Seeing everyone's confusion, Sairuis went on,"I once met a flame demon from the Annihilation Gang—you wouldn't know what that is, so just think of it as a kind of extraordinary creature.
He was on the brink of death, and could've survived if he'd just backed off a step. But he told me: 'Destruction is the grandeur of an instant; if I crawl to live, my life would simply be too long.'"
"You might not understand him, but that man—who turned his dying body into fire, sacrificing himself for his creed—was both resolute and magnificent.
Even if his deeds were villainous, his will was worthy of respect."
"Destruction… can be understood like that?" Alger muttered."Is that what Emperor Roselle meant by 'to destroy, and then rebuild'? The demon said we might one day walk a Path too… could this one be mine?
No… no, that doesn't fit me."
[Bro, you're even picky about which god to follow now?]
"'Endless is the hatred, boundless the chase; O Hunter King, how deep your sorrow?The arrow of time nocked, the golden eyes ablaze—turn not your imperial bow.'"
Derrick and the others didn't understand a word, but Klein's eyes lit up.
He didn't really understand either—but somehow, it felt familiar.
"[The Hunt], the Aeon Lan, the God of the Celestial Bow.
He roams endlessly across worlds, his light-arrows delivering divine judgment, purging the undead monsters that once ravaged his home.
Lan's hunts know no restraint—his salvation and his destruction are one and the same."
"The most well-known of his followers are the Galaxy Rangers. Don't underestimate them because of the name.Though they call themselves 'Rangers of the Sea', the sea they roam—" Sairuis pointed upward "—is the sea of stars."
'Children of the earth,' they say, 'do not fear—light-arrows shall descend to purge wicked spawn. Follow the traces, and pay homage to the storm's path.'"
"Each Ranger has their own sense of justice. They hunt down evil, making every coward, leech, and oppressor in the cosmos tremble."
Audrey blinked innocently. Her family, after all… probably counted as "oppressors."
"Outsiders say the Rangers are elusive, scattered, unconnected. And honestly—they're right.But that's precisely why an unspoken rule exists."
"The Falling Star of the Hunt—a single bullet, a funeral offering—belongs only to those Rangers who've earned unparalleled merit."
"When its light appears in the heavens, it marks the fall of a great soul.It means: 'There is still injustice here, and I can no longer stand.'"
"When that star falls, countless meteors streak across the sky—those are the fires of Rangers gathering."
"They come from all corners of the galaxy—asking not why, counting not the cost. Because they all uphold the same creed."
"The Falling Star of the Hunt never dies of old age—it only falls in the longest of nights.
And after it falls… comes the dawn."
Audrey asked, "Can they really arrive across such distances in time?"
"Of course," Sairuis said naturally."The Falling Star of the Hunt flies backward in time. For instance—if you see a star fall today, and spend a few days traveling to the site, you'll arrive just in time to see the bullet being fired."
"That is the hallmark of [The Hunt]—the bullet hole arrives before the bullet."
Derrick stared blankly, not quite following.
Why still no talk about the Amber King?
Audrey covered her mouth in disbelief, and Alger looked stunned.
Meanwhile, Klein was quietly wondering—when, exactly, the bullet he once fired… would finally appear.
(End of Chapter)