The Beginning vs. The End

Finally,

The hour arrives.

As I walk through the final bright white door, signalling my triumph over all the three trials that had been laid out for me, I walk into a large hall similar in appearance to that of a throne room in a medieval castle. Although instead of a throne seat placed a distance in front of me, a severely large group of individual Tori remains, situated all around me from my north, south, east and west directions; and everywhere in between as well. All of the Tori continue to look towards me, but adamantly stick close to the walls of the large halls, clearly still trying their best to avoid me as much as possible.

“Pandora was right. This is where you’ve all been hiding, huh?” I yell out loud, “Unlike the groups of your kind, all of those who tend to be on their own seem to be afraid of something. Surely…it can’t be because of me, can it?” I finish sarcastically.

Some of the Tori begin to scream and bark, as if they understand what I am actually saying.

I knew it.

A golden petal drops into the palm of my hand, and I turn it a hundred and eighty degrees to drop it to the ground, “Oh come now. I can’t be that dangerous, can I?”

Immediately as the gold petal drops, the entirety of the surrounding bodies of Tori are pulled down to the ground, causing them all to scream out and whimper in pain.

“You should have all come to play with me down on the lower floors. A lot of you got some real valuable items strapped to your chests and legs.”

A feeling of frustration consumes me once again, “If I had my butchineer still with me, it would have been a lot of fun…”

I drop another petal to the ground, crushing some of the Tori that are already struggling into complete dust.

“But…it seems your master sure has a knack for taking things that belong to me.” I say as my eyes begin to turn red.

I drop another gold petal to the ground, crushing some more of the Tori into complete dust.

“...where is he?” I aggressively spit out.

I slam a plethora of gold petals to the ground, crushing the rest of them into complete dust.

“Where is he?!” I yell as I turn back, glaring directly at the woman I had dragged behind me into the field.

Nora, although still with her eyes closed, moves her face up to meet with mine, “...I don’t know,” she replies cautiously.

I grip Nora's skull tightly, wanting to split it into two, but quickly pull myself away before I can allow my anger to cause me to make a crucial mistake.

If not for her obsession with not wanting to experience death in here, I wouldn’t be able to use her for this fight.

Get a hold of yourself. You know this is much bigger than vengeance.

It’s…my ticket to return home.

I pace around the large throne room hall, trying to locate Nakai Shinji’s whereabouts, but fail to find him through it all. My anger begins to spill out more and more, but I continue to assure myself to act rashly; as in doing so, I could just end up playing right into his hands.

Suddenly, a thought comes to mind.

This room. Similar to when entering into the fourth floor, I have been cast directly into the landmark?

But then, where is the floor guardian?

Wait…

If this is the first floor…

I look around the dark throne room hall, and as I look towards the ceiling, I notice what seems to be a painting, although I am unable to see the content properly through the darkness.

Even if I find a way to get up there, it’s too large of a painting, so I won’t be able to see it in its entirety.

I need a light or something…

A dragon deity appears atop my head, as I begin to use the mark of the witch in order to find a solution to my peril.

…a light…

My initial meeting with Nakai Shinji comes to mind, especially that of the blinding light he carries within this place.

…you’re kidding…

“Call on his name.” the dragon deity speaks out.

…you’re kidding…

“Call on his name.” Nora calls out.

…you’re kidding!…

“Call on his name.” voices from the rest of the marks call out.

I grit my teeth in frustration, knowing that Nakai had certainly planned for this. If this place surely was created for him, and him alone…

Then it makes sense that the final trial for everyone would be him, Nakai Shinji himself.

I breathe in deeply, trying to calm myself down, before breathing out slowly.

“...Nakai Shinji.”

“...louder!” all of the voices from the marks call out, including Nora.

I bite my lip, and my head begins to shake aggressively.

“...Nakai Shinji!”

“...louder!” all of the voices from the marks yell out, including Nora.

I slam my fist into the ground, causing a crack into the floor to appear, before jumping back onto my feet and bellowing out as loudly as I can.

“...NAKAI SHINJI!”

Finally, a bright light appears across the entire hall, illuminating the place to the point that everything can be seen clearly. From the dust of the fallen Tori, to the crack on the floor, and of course, the painting on the ceiling…everything can finally be seen in full.

As I look up to the ceiling, I then see a painting similar to the Creation of Adam painting made by Michealangelo; only to see Nakai Shinji’s face and body plastered where the image of God should be, images of different Tori being where the figures surrounding God should be, and the face of Adam being carved out entirely.

“What is all this?” I ask, stunned by the hypocrisy of what I am seeing.

“You don’t like it? A loyal follower made it for me while back,” a familiar voice speaks up.

I turn slowly to my left, only to see Nakai Shinji now sitting cross legged on an extremely tall white throne at the end of the hall, with both of his hands placed neatly atop his right knee.

“How nice of you to finally show yourself.” I grumble, “Was the humiliation ritual really necessary?”

“An act of adoration is not akin to humiliation, my child.” Nakai responds, while closing his eyes, “When addressing your god, it is only right that you give reverence first. Besides, it’s not the first time you have called out my name so enthusiastically,”

I clench my teeth, “Unfortunately for you, I don’t believe in such drivel. Especially the likes of you being a god, let alone my own.”

“That isn’t something for you to decide,”

“How so?”

“You stand before me after revering my name to such an extent, and still ask such a question?”

“You and I both know I called out your name in spite, not in reverence.”

“The end result is all the same. There is power in the name.”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that. You’re not a god. You’re just a man that forces people into his own personal hell, bending their will just to satisfy your massive sense of pride.”

Nakai Shinji laughs, “And what of it? You take a feat like that capable of a man?”

“Just because you have the power to pull people in here and dominate over their free will doesn’t make you a god. It makes you a lonely person wanting to play like one.”

“And what of you?”

“...huh?”

“You say that as if you yourself are any different. You and I both believe in the same idea, but simply have different ways of going about it. I understand my power, and simply relish in it. You, however, thrive off the power of others in order to make it into your own. In the end, we both believe ourselves to be above others, and without equal; regardless of how that came to be.”

“Don’t do that,” I reply while shaking my head, “My nature isn’t for the sake of becoming a god.”

“Then what is it?’

“It is for the sake of protection against the gods.”

“...do tell.”

“You see the gods as something to aspire to. Just as every other man. However, I am different. I see the gods as the ultimate challenge, the beings responsible for human demise. Think about it. Resources are never enough for those in need, bonds are never enough to facilitate peace, education is never enough to prevent natural disasters, and religion is never enough to satisfy curiosity. These are all governed by the gods that rule behind the scenes, and only make their appearances when it comes time for reverence and sacrifice.”

“Good things cannot exist in the world without bad things existing. It’s a basic principle.”

“Exactly my point. Why must I be forced to delve through the bad things in life like the rest? I was made for the sake of enjoying the good! This is evident in the will that derives from my body. So I simply do everything I can to enjoy the good, no matter what it takes to keep to it.”

“Considering they were the ones that created the good in which you take part in, that only means you acknowledge the power of the gods,”

“No, it means I spit in the face of such power. According to them, the good is meant to accompany the bad. However, I refuse to accept such a fate. Yin and Yang? Light and Darkness? Nah, forget all that. Only good will surround me. No such thing as bad will exist in my life. That is what I swore to myself, and have kept to since I was a child living in the slums.”

“And that is what drove you to become such a powerful slumlord in your home country, then?”

I pause for a brief moment, before chuckling softly, “So you know even that about me,”

“I am your god, after all. I should know that much at the very least.” Nakai Shinji responds with a soft smile.

“Fair enough,” I say as I pull out three quartz arrows and line them up to face Nakai Shinji in his elevated throne, “After all the hints and clues, I can’t deny you to be the one who created the marks I hold. Although, that makes you their original owner’s god, not mine.”

“Not much of a difference, really.”

“Let’s find out, then.”

“Let’s.”

A standoff occurs between Nakai Shinji’s comfortable position on his elevated throne, and my defiance against him with the three arrows stretched out in front of me. A familiar German’s voice dances across my mind as I continue to stare upwards.

“Do you, Nehman Ho…have what it takes to reach the gods?”

As soon as I loosen the arrows, I quickly pull out my quartz longsword and fasten it to my right side while moving forward to the base of the tall white throne. Nakai Shinji continues to stare at me, even as I move towards his base, but refuses to make a move. The quartz arrows fly towards him, but remain frozen in the air directly in front of his face as soon as they almost reach him.

Of course it won’t be that easy.

Once I reach the throne, my hands and feet morph into that of a beast, and the dragon deity atop my head becomes engulfed in a black flame. I race quickly up the tall throne, and manage to reach Nakai Shinji’s position in what feels like less than a second.I cock my arm back and move my sharpened claws towards the center of his chest, attempting to make use of either the mark of the beast’s insane close quarter combat abilities, or the mark of the joker’s ruthless touch.

However, Nakai moves the three quartz arrows to push me away from him as they stab me in the center of my chest and force me back down to my previous position on the ground. Fortunately, thanks to an alert from the mark of the witch, I managed to swing my foot across in time to chop off Nakai Shinji’s right leg, causing blood to fly everywhere from his lower half. Shortly after, after meeting the requirements in order to apply the detonation for the mark of the joker, Nakai Shinji’s entire body erupts into blood atop his white throne.

A smile appears across my face as I lift my upper body up to reveal the unusually large golden petal already in my hand, before dropping it down to the ground. As soon as the large golden petal lands, the blood still flying in the air is crushed down rapidly, along with the entire white throne, immediately leaving a red and white dust cloud of blood and rubble to form around the surrounding area.

In trying to recover my breathing to a normal pace, I take out the arrows stuck in my chest, and look back towards Nora.

I knew he’d use those arrows. Whatever puppeteer power he has is capable of targeting physical objects, but can only focus on one at a time. Or perhaps a set of the same.

Testing that with three of them was smart. His focus was distracted between all three, so he couldn’t focus on me. Instead, he used his focus on all three to remove me, but that left him open enough to enact the rest of the plan.

A gamble, as one may call it. Hah.

Maybe I really am beginning to change.

Suddenly, a heightened sense of pain erupts from my chest, forcing me to look down and realize that the holes where the arrows had pierced are bleeding instead of healing instantly. My eyes open wide in shock, as I remain unable to understand why.

“Don’t look so surprised. You didn’t really think I would allow my own creations to be responsible for killing me, did you?”

A figure emerges from the white and red dust cloud, revealing Nakai Shinji to be completely unharmed. His white suit has now changed into a bright white kimono, which results in his radiance emanating even brighter than it had before.

“As you have said, my child, these marks were gifts from me to certain individuals. The ones I thought that deserved them the most. I gave each of them a name, and each of them a symbol to accompany it. The sparrow with the beast, the branches with the lovers, the egg with the witch, the petals with the king, the roots with the joker, and the seed with the devil.”

I hold onto my chest tightly, unable to breathe properly as my heart and lungs are beginning to work overtime for the sake of my recovery. Nakai Shinji reaches my position, before standing over me with a soft smile.

“So all that I needed to do to trump your attack…was to simply return those gifts back to me.”

I begin to crawl my way back towards Nora’s position, spilling more blood coming from my chest onto the floor below.

“Although, it seems it was either your confidence or adrenaline that fooled you into thinking otherwise.”

I continue to crawl, but blood then spurts out from my mouth, and I begin to feel colder than ever. Nora watches on, and opens her chest to signal that she possesses no scar, meaning she also no longer possesses the mark I forced upon her.

“提出しない者(Teishutsu shinai mono)…苦しむ(Kurushimu).”

My vision begins to fade, as even in the now illuminated hall, darkness begins to take hold.

“Even someone as dangerous as you…”

“あなたのような危険な人でも (Anata no yōna kiken'na hito demo)”

Finally, my strength gives out completely, and my consciousness begins to fade away, leaving me lifeless on the floor. While pondering my dilemma, a familiar German’s voice dances across my mind once again.

“Do you, Nehman Ho…have what it takes to reach the gods?”

Sorry…but it seems I don’t after all.

The voices of laughter flows from all around me, all resembling Christoph’s familiar voice.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard you seem so dejected, rather than as spirited as I know and love you to be like.”

Shut up, already. I failed.

“...do not fret…Mr. Nehman…this may…be the end…for me…but not…the end…for you…”

Will you just shut it….how can you still be so annoying even while dead?

“...you have…the dragon’s head…the symbol…of man’s greatest sin…evolved…into its greatest form…”

…that won’t help. If I cannot fathom his power, then it's impossible to take it for myself.

“Power can be taken by anybody, but can only be maintained by those who seek more than what they already have.”

…shut up.

“You then said…that It’s human nature for man to do whatever it takes to reach the gods…now allow me to ask you a question…”

…shut…

“Do you, Nehman Ho…have what it takes to reach the gods?”

…

“Do you?...”

A vision of my being takes shape, including the dragon serpent atop the crown of my head.

“Have what it takes…”

A vision of Nakai Shinji takes shape, as my psyche tries to imagine him having his own creature associated with his sin. In doing so, the shape of a white lion with a serpent’s tongue appears atop the crown of his head.

“To reach the gods?”

A silent scream occurs, as without thinking or understanding, the intensity of my will to defeat Nakai Shinji breaks through any limit it could have had, causing the visions of me and Nakai Shinji to collide and turn into a pile of mixed feathers. This leaves the dragon serpent and white lion in the vision, which both turn into larger versions of what they had been. After an intense struggle, the dragon serpent rips open the lion's head in order to escape from its imminent death, forcing out what appears to be pages from a book. Upon doing so, darkness consumed my vision once again.

So this…must be what death is like.

Suddenly, a vision of an ethereal being, resembling that of a woman with her arms open towards me, appears like a crack of light within the unending darkness. As she reaches my lifeless body, a glitch happens, where I am unable to recall the process of what has transpired once she had touched the crown of my head. All I can understand now, is that the woman appears to be missing…yet her presence can still be felt.

…Pandora?

As my soul slips away for what seems like a millisecond, it is immediately grabbed onto by the dragon serpent atop my head, before slamming it back into my consciousness. This results in an instant revival that pulls me up like a resurrecting dead man, before engulfing me in a dark cloak that recovers my wounds instantly. The surrounding area in front of me immediately switches into complete darkness, engulfing Nora into it as well; while the bright light that Nakai Shinji brought forth remains in place behind him.

I gasp deeply for air, as Nakai Shinji steps back a bit from his previous position. My eyes become engulfed in blood to the point that blood spills out, from the tear ducts. Eventually, they return to normal, but leaving my vision much more blurred than usual.

“What is the meaning of this?” Nakai Shinji asks calmly, but clearly a little bit flustered as he looks around the large throne room hall.

I finally rise to my feet, and face Nakai Shinji properly. Nakai Shinji stops looking around, and stares fervently towards my face.

“You no longer have one silver eye…but two?” he asks.

…what?

Nakai Shinji begins to look around quickly once again, “Have you abandoned me for him? Is this what you meant by the final epochal?”

I stare blankly towards Nakai Shinji, unable to make sense of why he has suddenly become so flustered.

“答えなさい! (Kotae nasai!)”

As I continue to stare towards him, as well as looking towards my body and feeling a newfound sense of increased power, I begin to put two and two together. Memories of my previous thoughts encircle within my mind.

A monster in human flesh.

Kinks. Infirmities. Put two and two together…and you have man’s true nature, according to religions around the world.

Sin.

It seems I have a kink as well. One even greater than the highest of benchmark behaviours.

And if these two sets of powers are what makes up the abilities shared within this place…it’s safe to say that man does as well.

Then, the memories of Nakai Shinji’s overconfidence and pride comes to mind. From his ability to speak Japanese in this place, to the ability to create marks and act like a god…

Even if this hell of a world was created specifically for…him…

“...that’s simple enough. He is the reason for my existence. Without him, this world would not exist.”

“Pandora, huh? If all the guardians seem to look the same through every floor, perhaps that could also be what Pandora looks like.”

His ability to create and maintain a separate dimension.

His ability to steal the book from the guardian.

His ability to interfere with the call I had with the creator.

His ability to bring others into this world, even if we aren’t supposed to be here.

And now speaking of someone abandoning him…for me.

“Mr. Ho…you are the last person to have arrived in this place…”

Suddenly, the realization finally hits me.

…so that’s how it is…

My vision returns to Shinji, seeing him still remaining confident, but clearly unable to predict what may happen next.

The dragon serpent at the crown of my head, which seems to have seemingly grown in size, roars so loudly that it reverberates deep into the floor. Nakai remains fixated on me, refusing to give in to fear.

An extremely sinister grin escapes me.

…magnificent.

In the same way I had done to Bo, without a second to spare, I dash towards Shinji’s head at breaking speed, However, Shinji holds out his hand, fixing me in place.

“Don’t you dare!” he yells out.

My extremely sinister grin turns into that of a crazed individual, as even while fixated in the air, my body continues to push forward until it manages to break out of his hold completely. Shinji’s face flushes, but refuses to appear as flustered as he is clearly feeling.

“I am a god! Know your pl-!”

The last words of Shinji Nakai are silenced by the separation of his head from his body, which now remains comfortably in the palm of my hand, without any blood coming out of it. My right arm remains outstretched, and my body is now positioned behind Shinji’s headless body. After a brief pause, the body of the false god falls down to the floor, and the entire area becomes swallowed into pitch black darkness once again.

“Apologies…but I’ll be taking that,”