Chapter 547: The Phenomenon Called Shallow Vernal (2/2)

[If a world is described as a book, then Shallow Vernal is a being…… no, the phenomenon that can close it. There is no story that never ends. Whether it is tragedy, comedy, or stagnation…… There is an end to every story. Therefore, no matter who it is, no matter what kind of being it is…… They're no match for Shallow Vernal. No matter how long you try to delay it, everything will eventually end.]

[……And…… that's why…… She's the Epilogue……]

[For example, suppose an omnipotent being had the ability to ”nullify the abilities of Shallow Vernal”. Then, what will happen is that…… ”she would end the story of the being that has the ability to nullify the abilities of Shallow Vernal”.]

As lightly as if she were singing and as sonorously as if she were looking up to the heavens, Eden continues to speak. The story of Shallow Vernal, the system that ends the story……

[Well then, what do you think would happen if there was a being that had completely obliterated Shallow Vernal's very being at the beginning of their encounter, without giving her a chance to use her abilities?]

[……”She would end the story of this being that has completely obliterated Shallow Vernal-sama”?]

[Yes, that's right. It may seem contradictory, but that will definitely happen. The moment Shallow Vernal appears is the Epilogue. No matter how long you stretch your story out, it will end someday. She is the phenomenon that brings the end itself. When the book is closed, the story comes to an end. When the curtain is pulled down, the stage is over…… You may go back to the start again, but it will be the reader who decides whether your story is opened again. If we are to be compared to the characters of a story…… She would be the reader.]

[…………………]

[No matter how powerful, omnipotent, omniscient, or whatever being you are beyond that…… All of it holds no meaning to her. All of it holds no worth in front of her.]

[That is…… No, but if that's the case…… Why is it that Shallow Vernal-sama created ”this world”……]

Alice, whose mind had not yet caught up with the content of what Eden had told her, muttered. Thereupon, the book in Eden's hand disappears, and looking at Alice, she starts talking again.

[……Creating a world of my own, when the world finally began to stabilize…… Shallow Vernal suddenly appeared before me. I was greatly shaken upon her appearance. I mean, isn't that obvious? My world was still but a young baby. Even if I know that a world inevitably comes to an end sooner or later, it was still too soon……]

[……So, what did you do?]

[I abandoned all the shame in my body, rubbing my face on the ground and begged. ”I don't mind if you bring me to an end. But please overlook my very young world and my beloved children”…… Not knowing if a phenomenon could understand me, or if she had any intentions of understanding me, I desperately continued to speak. Especially since I knew that I would never be able to oppose her……]

[However, you still exist like this today.]

[……Yes, I have had ”two good fortunes” on my side. The first is that as she ended many worlds, the phenomenon called Shallow Vernal was beginning to have ”something like a heart”……]

Serious words, said without any hesitation. It was easy for Alice to understand that Eden wasn't telling a lie. Even this powerful God is someone who has no choice but to beg for her life…… Shuddering at the true power of the being called Shallow Vernal, Alice waited for Eden to continue.

[……That must be why, I suppose. Before she brought my end, Shallow Vernal asked me, ”Is it interesting to create a world?”. It was just a really small question, wasn't it? But if I had answered wrongly, Shallow Vernal would have emotionlessly brought me and my world to an end.]

[……But you didn't make that mistake.]

[Yes, that was my second good fortune. Faced with such a question, I quickly replied, ”If you're interested, why don't you try making one of your own?”. Thereupon, she muttered ”Interested…… I see, this emotion is what one calls as interest huh.”. As a result, my world had been spared from being brought to an end…… And as someone with experience creating a world and the one who recommended creating a world to her, she was consulting me about various things, and we had formed a somewhat friendly relationship with each other.]

[I see…… Shallow Vernal-sama then created this world, right?]

[It is as you say. However, even though I have known her for a long time, I still didn't know what she was thinking. I wasn't able to comprehend it. For some reason, after she had created her world, she just ”nonchalantly threw away” the power that could even be said as ultimate.]

[……Huh? Wait, w- what does that mean!? She gave up her power?]

Her power to end the story, a power that is too over the limits that even the word ”strongest” looked lackluster……  And yet, Eden said that Shallow Vernal threw that power away.

Alice was dumbfounded, but Eden didn't seem to mind her reaction, continuing with her story.

[When she created the world, she ”split her soul in half”, giving her power into her, and dropping it into the world she created. As a result, Shallow Vernal had now weakened to the point that she is only someone whose power is ”near-omnipotent”.]

[……Does that mean……]

[It looks like you've already guessed her true identity. Yes, it is as you think.]

[……The power to end a story…… is now possessed by Kuro-san……]

Yes, the current Shallow Vernal doesn't have the power she once had. Because she nonchalantly handed over her strongest power to her own half-body……

[……Even so, that power only belongs to Shallow Vernal…… Even if that half-body holds it, she would never be able to fully master it. She will probably only be able to ”end certain beings that she herself had created”.]

[……………….]

[Now then, here's where a lot of my speculation comes into the mix. Why did Shallow Vernal do it, and what was it that she wanted…… From here on out, let's talk about ”the story that leads to the present”.]

It all started with Shallow Vernal, and the story of he who she loves…… also converges towards Shallow Vernal.

In the darkness of the night, standing above the vast sea…… Alice was now about to touch the deepest part of this world.

? ? ? : [Finally, the main heroine (self-proclaimed), Alice, has gotten her hands on the deep mysteries of the story! This is raising everyone's expectations!!!]

Serious-senpai : [……With the way you described it, rather than a heroine…… Doesn't it make you look like the protagonist?]

? ? ? : [……The next time you say something unnecessary again, I'll sew your mouth shut.]

Serious-senpai : [I- I'm sorry.]

T/N: 93/281 (Forgot about the +10 back in c527)