Chapter 2: Give Me Strength

Sorrow is knowledge.

They who know the most must mourn the deepest.

The Tree of Knowledge is not the Tree of Life.

— Byron

Since then, I've been wandering the Ashlands, taking down the Aragami that come near, or simply letting them pass by.

I have no idea where I am.

My food and water are perilously low.

It would be great if an Ash Crawler passed by, but I haven't seen a single one. There isn't the slightest hint of another human being.

My biggest concern is that I haven't been able to administer my Bias Factor. My God Arc's maintenance has also been half-baked. There's a limit to what I can do on my own.

I know it's bad to stay like this forever.

I need to do something about this, and fast.

My God Arc is malfunctioning.

It’s because I had to fight a large Ashborn. I have no luck.

I managed to drive the Ashborn away, but I sustained a grievous wound. The transformation mechanism of my God Arc won't deploy properly. Dammit. Creating clones is just cheating.

I was fortunate enough to find a spring of water at an Aragami feeding ground.

My thirst is quenched, but I am starving. I don't want to move much right now. I’ll use this place as my base of operations.

I saw the Ashborn I fought the other day wandering nearby.

I have a feeling it’s looking for me.

I’m down to my last portable ration.

There is nothing left to eat.

Perhaps due to the influence of the Ashblight, every substance around here has mutated.

Anything. I have to find something edible, anything at all.

I'm so hungry I can't stand it.

I'm dizzy from starvation. I feel like I'm going crazy.

The Aragami are eating the clods of dirt and rubble around here. I tried copying them, but it's completely inedible.

It's no use. I'm too hungry... I want to eat meat...

...I wonder if you can eat Aragami?

I took down an Ogretail nearby and tried eating it.

Conclusion: it tastes awful.

It's like eating flavorless clay.

But, it filled my stomach to some extent.

At this point, taste is secondary. Now that I know they're edible, I just need to hunt them.

Next, I'll hunt one of those boar-like Axe Raiders.

I hunted and ate various Aragami, and I learned that it's a huge hit or miss with each one.

Axeraiders have a meaty texture, just as they look. I thought Zygotes would taste like bird, but they were questionable. Cocoon Maidens were entirely metallic. Mine Spiders explode, so eating them was out of the question.

Among the medium-sized ones, the Chi-You and Nevan tasted the most like chicken. For the large-sized, the Vajra was decent.

I used an Aragami's carapace as a frying pan and did my best imitation of cooking. I really wanted some seasoning, but it couldn't be helped.

Also, a little while ago, I saw a strange Habakiri that was emitting a long, song-like phrase. It’s best not to get involved; I hate Habakiri.

At the time, I didn't realize it.

I didn't realize that the deadline for my Bias Factor administration had long since passed—or that the Ashborn stalking me was patiently laying a trap, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Dammit! Dammit! Shit! It got me!! It's that Ashborn from before!!

It ambushed me at my base! I was devoured! It ate my right arm! Took the whole thing right off at the elbow! It hurts! It hurts!! Hurts hurts hurts HURTS!!! My God Arc was destroyed, too! My Variant Scythe, shattered to pieces!!!

I barely managed to counterattack and escape, but it's still looking for me. I'm hiding so it won't find me, but I'm losing my mind.

I tried to stop the bleeding, but it won't stop. Maybe because of the massive blood loss, my consciousness is fading. I cradle my ruined, shapeless God Arc with its Core exposed, curling my wounded body up and cowering in absolute terror.

...Is it really game over this time?

Come to think of it, it wasn't a decent life. This was the world of a game I loved, but it was far too cruel to actually live in. Born in a woman's body, forced to constantly flatter the male guards just to survive, only to end up getting killed by an Aragami in the end?

If it was going to be like this, I wish I hadn't been a human. I wish I had been an Aragami. If I were a powerful Aragami that no one could defeat, maybe I wouldn't have suffered like this.

...I'm sleepy. My consciousness is slipping away.

Yeah... if I reincarnate again, let it be as an Aragami.

With my remaining arm, I tightly grip the wreckage of my partner God Arc, Renshinryu, who shared all my hardships and joys.

Eventually, my consciousness sank into the depths of the dark abyss.

Deeper, deeper, to a place much deeper...

Deep within the Ashlands where dense Ashblight stagnated, massive purple crystals had formed, filling the area like a bed of needles.

In the center of the cluster of transparent, sharp needles, an eerie shadow resembling a massive, crouching dragon was reflected.

Like a baby sleeping in a cradle or a mother's womb, "it" pulsed slowly, over and over.

Anxiously awaiting the moment it would finally awaken.