End Start

What does the end of the world look like?

Was it a total annihilation?

Or was it a deafening silence?

Perhaps it was nothingness.

The God of Memory reached that point already.

An emptiness that words cannot describe. A place without anything, no people, no memories, nothing.

There must be a reason why there is nothing at the end.

Oleander believes that it was because the end hasn’t been created, and he was right.

This world has no ending because it was an unfinished tale, a story with a conclusion that will never be realized.

And the only one who can create an ending was none other than the creator herself.

It was the night when the First Prophet of Creation was named when Oleander decided to go out alone and look at the night sky.

He looked back on the cycles that never even reached this point.

It might look like it has only been a short amount of time, but Oleander knows that it’s longer than that. It has been a very long and agonizing amount of time.

His memories go farther into the past, as well as into the future that always ended up in sacrifice and loss. He wondered to himself…

“Will this be any different to the previous cycles?”

The night was cold and lonely, but Oleander has always felt that way for a long time already so this doesn’t bother him at all.

Still, the warmth that he received from Lapis was something that he felt for the first time. Her Miniature Sanctuary is a really warm place, and Oleander wanted it to stay that way.

As he was feeling the breeze of the night, his hair flowed with the wind. His face illuminated by the moonlight. It was a breath-taking visage that only exists in this moment.

Then, he felt a presence behind him.

It wasn’t Lapis or his fragment, Ollie, but rather a human.

He turned to face the person, and it was none other than one of the human children that Lapis was taking care of. The Princess of White.

“Good evening, Oleander-sama.”

Her white hair shines beautifully under the moonlight. Something about it was stunning, but something about her sudden appearance here felt ominous.

Oleander knew Princess Bianca from the previous cycles as an unfortunate princess whose life was abruptly cut short along with her twin brother Prince Noir.

In fact, Lapis was not the first god who tried to save them.

Many gods shared the same sentiment as Lapis and hoped to let those twins live many cycles ago, but they all ultimately failed. Oleander also tried for at least ten or so times, he even worked with the other gods, but it was futile.

Oleander watched this girl die for as many times as the total number of cycles there are. Her and her brother’s death are almost always the trigger of the repeat, but during those that did not, their deaths are pretty much set in stone.

Maybe it was because Lapis is the one who acted that it was successful.

Still, this Bianca does not resemble the young princess in Oleander’s memories as the overseer. Their survival might also be because they are not the same royals that are meant to die in the first place.

“Princess Bianca, what brought you here?”

“Hehe, nothing much. I just thought that I should also thank you.”

“You could have done that in the day.”

“Urk. Y-you’re right…” she backed down, but quickly gained her courage. “But we’re here now, so allow me to express my thanks for saving us!”

“It’s not a big deal. Lapis would do something reckless if I hadn’t intervened,” Oleander simply said, obviously disinterested.

“Sensei is really kind, right? She’s too different from the adults in our former world…” Bianca mused. “I really admire her!”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I think Oleander-sama also shares the same sentiment!”

“And what if I do?”

“I knew it!” Bianca proudly cheered, but then, her atmosphere quickly changed. “Still, I guess there are things that she could not overcome… like how she quit writing back then too…”

Oleander’s attention turned to the girl’s words.

How did she know those things?

“Oh my, are you curious?”

Bianca smiled, but something felt wrong with that smile.

This wasn’t something that Oleander was expecting to see from Princess Bianca, in fact, this is only something that he could feel from cunning adults who hide their true intentions behind pretenses.

Who exactly was this person that is not the same Bianca as the previous cycles?

“Come on, Oleander-sama. Don’t be too wary, I still like Sensei and I won’t do anything to her.”

“So if you no longer like her, you will do something to her?”

“Ahaha, no way. How could I hurt a goddess?”

Behind that fake laugh, Oleander sensed danger. However, he doesn’t sense any malice, so he decided to let it slide for now. It still feels like she’s telling the truth about having no intention to hurt Lapis.

“I take it, you have something to ask me. What is it?” Oleander seriously asked.

He was not expecting that the girl would reveal her true colors to him without any reason. There must be an explanation for this.

“It’s great that you’re sharp, Oleander-sama. I have a question that I hope you can answer truthfully.”

“What is it?”

Bianca stared at him with fierce eyes illuminated by the moonlight.

“What is the condition to be reincarnated in this world?”

Oleander knows the answer to that question, but it’s not something that should not be easily revealed, especially to a regular human. What could be the purpose of this girl to be asking that question?

The God of Memory weighed the consequences of revealing that information to the girl. It wasn’t that big a deal if she finds out now, and depending on her following actions, Oleander can just make her forget about this encounter.

Oleander decided to tell her.

“They said that when an author writes, they are pouring a part of their soul into their work.” Oleander revealed. “As for your case, if a story resonates with a reader’s soul, there is a small chance for their soul to be transported here.”

The condition for reincarnation is if one’s soul is attached to this story. And the girl knew that she fell short in fulfilling that condition.

“I knew it.”

“Does that answer satisfy you?”

She heaved a deep sigh, then smiled wryly. “Yes, it does. Thank you for the answer, Oleander-sama.”

As a god, it was a given to answer the humans. The God of Memory is not obligated to, but he felt compelled to ask, “Why did you want to know about something like that?”

The girl looked away, showing sincerity, as if her demeanor suddenly changed. This one or the one earlier, they seem like different personalities, but Oleander recognized both as truth.

“God of Memory, would you please make a deal with me?”

“I’ll hear you out.”

“First of all, allow me to introduce myself. I am Shiro Minase, the twin sister of Kuro Minase, who reincarnated in this world as Princess Bianca Arcenciel.”

“I know that much. Do you prefer to be addressed as Shiro Minase?”

The girl nodded. “Yes, please.”

“Then, Shiro, state your conditions.”

Shiro swallowed a lump in her throat. She put a hand on her chest and with a firm gaze, she pleaded, “Make me your prophet, God of Memory.”

A gust of wind blew between the two.

Oleander glanced at the girl without any interest, while Shiro remained resolute.

“The Blessing of Memory is weaker than that of Creation, I can’t give the same level of protection that Lapis could. Ask her instead.”

“I have no intention to worship anyone, but it’s not just about protection!” Shiro blurted out. “Sensei will make me her prophet as long as I ask her, I know that! But it’s no longer just about protection!”

“Elaborate.”

Shiro bit her lip in frustration. Oleander watched her and waited for her to speak.

“Shiro Minase’s memories are disappearing,” the girl confessed. “After knowing that the condition to be reincarnated here is to pour a part of their soul into the story, I finally realized that I wasn’t meant to be here in the first place.”

“Your memories… are disappearing?”

The girl chuckled bitterly, “I guess even the God of Memory would be disturbed after knowing that.”

Shiro looked at the sky with a melancholic smile.

She reminisced about her life as Shiro Minase.

A young girl born from an extremely religious family.

A runaway who left home with her brother and never looked back.

A sister who wanted to stay with her brother no matter what.

But all of those are disappearing now. Slowly, but surely. Shiro Minase’s memories are disappearing, because she wasn’t meant to be here in the first place.

She wasn’t attached to this world in any way. She might have read the story, and she liked it, but she did not have strong feelings towards it compared to the dedication of her brother.

In the first place, she only read it because her brother recommended it to her.

Kuro picked up drawing and dreamed of creating an illustration for Lapis Lazuli. Shiro doesn’t have a dream like that.

All she wants is to be with her brother. That desire alone is the only reason why she reincarnated here, but she hasn’t really put that much of her soul into this story for her to exist indefinitely.

The girl feels that when Shiro Minase’s memories finally disappear, she will return to being Bianca Arcenciel once again.

Shiro clenched her fist and stared at Oleander, full of resolve.

“Please make me your prophet, God of Memory. Please let me stay as Shiro Minase until the end of the world. I’d rather die than lose these memories.”

Memories are blessings and curses.

Oleander witnessed many humans who wished for their memories to be wiped when they can no longer take the despair of this world… Yet, this girl wants to keep her memories until the end of such a world.

“Do you want to be cursed, Shiro Minase?”

____________

It has been a month since the palace was devastated by the passing of the twin royals. At present, the kingdom and the palace are moving on already and resuming their duties as they always do.

The palace can’t remain postponing its official duties any longer after all.

However, in this palace, a dissatisfied prince could not accept how everyone just quickly moved on from the death of his beloved siblings.

“Father, how could you just dismiss what happened to Noir and Bianca?! We need to look for the culprit!”

Prince Blane, the second prince, was extremely close to the twins. He adored his siblings dearly and swore to protect them, but he could not do anything in the end.

Lamenting his own powerlessness, he despaired the most.

“Behave yourself, Second Prince!”

His father, the king, reprimanded him and dismissed his appeals.

“What happened to the twins is unfortunate, but our kingdom does not only revolve around trifling matters like that. We’re already swamped with work as things stand, don’t make a fuss about this anymore!”

Trifling?

Did his father just call the death of his siblings trifling?

Prince Blane clenched his teeth and glared at the king.

Something is wrong with this royal family. If no one will act to give justice to what happened to those children, then he will.

“So that’s how it is, huh. The palace won’t investigate what happened to Noir and Bianca no matter what? Fine, I’ll bring this matter into my own hands then. Don’t get in my way, Your Majesty,” Prince Blane coldly declared before marching his way out of the audience hall.

The king called his name angrily, but he ignored him and left without as much as a glance back.

Prince Blane swore to look for the person behind what happened to his siblings. It doesn’t matter if they are a god or a devil, he will bring them to justice with his own hands.

The moment that the young man took a step outside the palace, it signalled the start of the story…

…as well as the cycles of never-ending nightmares.

One step closer to an ending that has yet to exist, two steps farther from the truth.

______________

Lapis woke up from a dream of nothingness. In that nothingness, she remembered speaking with someone.

As for who or what that someone is, she doesn’t have any idea.

Still, despite just being woken up by the morning sunlight, she felt that she really hasn’t slept.

Maybe it was because her consciousness was still active?

It was just like when she had fallen asleep for a week, but she still knew what’s happening to the world. This time, she’s fully convinced…

Lapis smiled to herself and prepared herself to go out.

On the corridor, she passed by the first ally that she ever met, a sweet child that became her guide, Ollie.

“Good morning, Ollie-kun!”

“Good morning, Lapis-sama!”

Then she passed by the kitchen, the twins Kuro and Shiro, the former royals who were actually her fellow reincarnators, were having breakfast together.

“Good morning, you two!”

“Good morning, Sensei!” the two greeted in unison.

As she was descending the stairs, the puppy that she and Ollie picked up on a random day, Sol, a divine beast, was waiting for her.

“Hello, Sol!”

“Arf!”

Then she arrived on the first floor.

A man who was seated on a chair and was reading a book, glanced at her.

The God of Memory, Oleander, who waited for her for the longest time…

“A pleasant morning to you, Lapis,” Oleander greeted her politely.

“Un. Good morning.”

Lapis beamed at the god.

She then offered her hand to him, and with a clear voice, she conveyed her thoughts clearly.

“Let’s start ending the world, Oleander.”

__

A story that ended in a start. A story that started to end.

You have met allies that will stay with you until the end of the world.

You have gained the power to write your own story.

You have done well reaching this point.

Everything that has a start will eventually come to an end, it might have been delayed, but this world is no exception.

The die has been cast, the way has been paved.

No one knows what the future holds.

You can’t change anything.

But in this story, you can create a future that no one has seen before.

Once you reach that ending, will you tell me…

What lies beyond the denouement?

~ Start of End/ End of Start~