Side Story, Chapter 30
In the dreams of Dale and Ray Eurys, a figure known as the “Black Prince” appeared, mocking their very existence.
Yet, it was neither Dale nor Ray who orchestrated this.
There she stood—the true culprit behind the chaos, Dale’s sister, Arachne, the pinnacle of the Blue Tower.
From within Lize’s shadow, the “Black Prince” smiled.
Dale, smiling back, peered into her shadow, while Lize stepped back, her gaze fixed on the “Black Prince” just as Dale’s was.
The empire’s greatest genius, a symbol of ruthlessness who knew no defeat and showed no mercy to his foes. This was the name that once defined Dale.
”…It’s my fault, brother.”
Lize bowed her head, hiding him within her shadow. Yufi, unable to grasp their conversation, tilted her head in confusion.
Only the power of the Shadow Lord could reveal the truth within shadows. Lize, too, had claimed the title of Shadow Lord, following in Dale’s footsteps.
“Miss Yufi, could you give us a moment?”
“Of course, Uncle Dale.”
“We’ll continue our conversation later.”
“Yes!”
Dale spoke, and Yufi nodded, stepping back. The two siblings were left alone.
Dale and Lize, the heirs of the Saxon name.
The world around them faded, enveloped in a winter night of pure white and pitch black.
”…”
Yet, it was not Dale’s world.
“Tell me, Lize. What have you done?”
Dale remained unperturbed. No matter what she had done, he could forgive and understand her.
”…”
At that moment, the “Black Prince,” who should have been hidden in Lize’s shadow, emerged into the realm of thought.
“Lize, it’s not your fault.”
He called her name as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“In the realm of absolute zero, she chose to be an eternal guardian for everyone’s happiness, enduring endless waiting and solitude. Through this selfless sacrifice, she hoped to enlighten the Lord of Black Gold to his folly. That was Lize’s resolve.”
“You speak as if you’re her brother.”
“Am I wrong?”
The “Black Prince” was unfazed by Dale’s sneer.
“You know your existence is nothing but a lie.”
Dale replied coldly.
“Do you know how much loneliness and cold she endured in the universe’s winter? Lize bore a pain incomparable to yours, all to provoke your folly. And I…”
The “Black Prince” continued icily.
“I was born from that pain.”
“What…?”
“In the void and solitude without end, in the freezing cold that could freeze one’s heart, my role was to ensure she didn’t crumble.”
“Brother, I…”
Lize tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. Even laughter seemed impossible.
“Her wish, perhaps a delusion. Strictly speaking, my existence is merely a lie. Yet, undeniably, I exist here.”
The “Black Prince” spoke.
“Because the Empress of Black Gold, who embraces both truth and falsehood, needed me.”
”…”
“And when you came to her at the end of her solitude, I lost my purpose.”
The “Black Prince” answered bitterly.
“I could never become real. Even if a lie more truthful than truth.”
Yet, because of that existence, Lize could endure the universe’s winter. Even if Dale accepted Lize’s self-sacrifice, she could have endured.
Her brother, the “Black Prince,” was there to protect her.
As the Shadow Queen, she could become anything, and she was also the Empress of Gold and Lies.
The Empress of Black Gold. The form of salvation that gold and shadow yearned for in solitude.
“So, did you move to take my place and seize the seat of truth?”
“No, brother!”
At that moment, Lize broke her silence and shouted, desperately defending another brother.
“Lize…”
Dale bit his lip. Nothing had changed.
“The God of Meaninglessness.”
At that moment, the “Black Prince” asked.
“What does it feel like to abandon humanity and become a god? Where is the ‘Black Prince’ of those days, who mocked the immortal Frederick and remained human to the very end?”
”…”
He recalled his promise to Shub. The self of those days, resolved to remain human to the end, the “Black Prince.”
Yet, he looked at the self standing before him.
“The scenery you see, the people, is it a view of humans looking at humans?”
“What do you seek?”
“When our sister was crying in the cold and solitude, what were you, who claimed to be a god, doing?”
”…”
“It was all for you.”
The “Black Prince” sneered.
“Do you still feel like a god? Do the things before you seem meaningless and futile?”
Dale couldn’t answer.
“I don’t.”
The “Black Prince” said.
“For my beloved sister, I want to comfort the pain she felt. I want to embrace her so she won’t suffer anymore, and I want to give my all so those I love won’t suffer.”
“I too…”
“Do you really?”
Dale tried to respond, but the “Black Prince” sneered.
“Can you truly say you’re more truthful than I, while you follow the Emperor of the Ninth Empire, pondering the meaninglessness before you, and still whining like a child lost and wandering?”
With those words, the “Black Prince” leaped. His shadowy cloak swung like a blade, and a chill surged from his hand.
It wasn’t the primordial darkness or the end’s chill.
It was simply the “Black Prince” he knew well.
“Gatling Style, 20mm.”
Even the incantation of the bolt magic he projected was an ordinary magic, desperately cast.
A fight filled with brutal truth.
The “Black Prince,” without a doubt, was struggling against the God of Meaninglessness.
It was all meaningless.
It should have been.
No matter how many ice bolts or shadow bullets rained down, they couldn’t reach Dale. The shadow blades were the same.
Yet, faced with such a truthful confrontation, he couldn’t say a word.
He looked at Lize.
He saw the truth hidden in her shadow. Like a frightened child, as if caught with a secret, his sister was crying.
Within her shadow.
No matter how cleverly she schemed and plotted, she cherished Dale. That’s why the presence before him felt so painfully real.
Thud!
At that moment, the shadow blade of the “Black Prince” pierced Dale’s body.
“Thank you for teaching me…”
The shadow blade tore through Dale’s chest and emerged from his back. Black blood, dark as night, dripped along the blade.
“Thank you.”
As the blood fell, Dale silently embraced the false past.
For the first time, there was something that didn’t lose meaning before the God of Meaninglessness. A struggle that didn’t become futile.
A meaning that couldn’t be exchanged for anything.
Before that meaning, it was the “God of Meaninglessness” that crumbled.
As Shub said, beings called gods could never defeat humans. Just as only humans could slay dragons, it was also humans who could kill gods.
Thus, a single human, the “Black Prince,” killed the God of Meaninglessness.
“And don’t forgive me.”
Embracing the “Black Prince,” Dale spoke.
Thud!
The sound came again. The darkness that could become anything, the sound of a blade piercing.
Yet, the “Black Prince” wasn’t surprised. He merely smiled as if he had known it would end this way from the start.
”…I have no intention of understanding or forgiving you.”
The “Black Prince” smiled weakly, blood flowing from his lips, redder and closer to crimson than anything else.
“Just fulfill our promise… the promise with Shub.”
A single human killed the God of Meaninglessness. But that didn’t mean Dale’s death.
“To remain human to the very end, not a god.”
“I swear on myself and the name of the ‘Black Prince.’”
The god died, and a human was born.
“That’s enough.”
The “Black Prince” nodded bitterly. His body collapsed, scattering into nothingness.
The human raised his head.
In the winter night of pure white and pitch black, Lize remained.
Black bandages wrapped around the world she saw.
“Lize.”
Dale looked at her.
“Can you forgive me?”
“You have nothing to forgive, brother.”
Lize smiled quietly, yet with a hint of sadness.
“It’s all my fault.”
“It’s all our fault.”
Dale shook his head. That was the end of it.
Some time later.
“Congratulations, Your Grace! It’s a boy!”
The old woman’s voice rang out, and Dale, who had been anxiously holding his breath, finally looked up.
Not as the God of Meaninglessness, but as a mere human, trembling before the miracle of life.
“Dale…”
Charlotte quietly laughed as she held Dale’s hand, cradling the small life wrapped snugly in a blanket.
A body that could hardly be called human, yet in some ways, Charlotte wasn’t so different.
But the child crying between them was undeniably human.
That simple truth felt strangely overwhelming.
“Our child,” Charlotte said with a smile. For someone like her, who had endured countless trials, this should not have been painful. Yet the weight of being a mother, of carrying a new life, was not something to be taken lightly.
Dale felt the same.
There were no gods or divine swords here. Just two humans, and between them, a new life had been born.
A crying life.
Soon, the grandparents entered the room.
“You did well, my dear,” Elena said, and Charlotte smiled. Father Alan looked at the child with pride.
It was the picture of a family, one you could find anywhere.