Chapter Text
A soft comforting caress
"I love you."
Sweet nothings whispered to me like an eternal promise, carrying the undeniable weight of guilt and longing. Such intense regret hidden behind that voice that carried such unilateral affection.
There was only one such person in the world who carried such complicated emotions for me.
Ellen
"Really........ I love you so much."
So did I.
I wanted to embrace her that instant, tell her everything was going to be okay. That it was finally over, that we could finally go back to how we used to be...
But I couldn't move, my body refused to listen to my will as if frozen in time.
"I'm sorry..."
As if the weight she carries belongs only to her alone. As if everything that happened could be measured in blame. If only she knew how much I wished I could reach across this silence—break it, shatter it—just to tell her none of it was hers alone to carry.
Everyone carried fault.
But the words never come. They coil inside me, shackled by my body, still and unmoving almost like a corpse. I want to tell her it's okay. That she's okay. But instead, I just listen… and it hurts more than anything.
"I'm so... so sorry..."
The words escaping like a final goodbye clutched at my chest like a hand tightening around my heart. Each syllable drips with a sorrow that cuts deeper than any wound. Was this some cruel punishment, a last laugh at my final 'victory'?
Her agonizing weeps were like a storm muffled beneath glass—wild, desperate, but distantly muted, as if the world itself was trying to turn away from the pain. Each sob echoed through the hollows of my chest, crashing against the silence that enveloped us.
I wanted to scream. To break free of this cruel stillness. To hold her, I needed to hold her.
But the weight of my body, unmoving and unresponsive kept me shackled. I was a ghost inside my own flesh.
"Ellen..." I tried to say her name, even just a whisper, but nothing came. Not even a breath.
She clutched at me then—arms trembling, fingers digging into the fabric of my shirt like I was her last anchor to a world she was slipping from. I felt the warmth of her tears soak through.
"I didn’t mean for it to be like this," she cried. "If I could take it all back... if I could change all of it..."
I wanted to tell her that not everything was her fault. That I forgave her. That I never stopped loving her—not even for a moment despite all the struggles that we've been through.
But fate had wrapped us in its cruel cocoon, and I was a prisoner within it.
"Goodbye."
Her words echoed endlessly in the darkness and in that moment, if I could’ve traded my soul just to answer her—to speak, to move, to scream—I would’ve.
.......................................
...............
.....
'But would you?'
The candy salesmen had appeared.
"What do you want?"
My voice was sharp, cold—a blade honed by despair.
‘Nothing.’
Its reply slithered through the air, soaked in amusement, as if each syllable was dipped in acid. A demonic cackle followed, echoing endlessly in the emptiness.
'You aren’t supposed to wake for another three days. But you saw that scene for one reason, and one reason only—'
It grinned, wide and grotesque.
‘My Generosity!’
I punched it.
And my fist flew harmlessly through the smoky apparition snickering with glee.
Inhuman
'You must've forgotten ◼️◼️◼️, This world is your punishment, there is no joy to be found here.'
"Haven't I suffered enough!!!"
I screamed.
"Haven't I experienced enough futility!" I swung
"Enough despair!" Again
"Enough pain, sadness and regret." Each word an aimless strike thrown at the apparition.
"To make up for my bad, useless writing?"
"Was my sin really so great that I don't even deserve this small happiness?" I fell to my knees. "That I can't even stop her from breaking herself?"
And I wept.
"Do I deserve... all of this?"
I despaired.
The demon cackled. Its laughter was like rot made audible—a sickness that clawed at the walls of my mind.
The sickening sensation reminded me of Antirianus, that old relic twisted beyond belief, finding joy in other's despair and ruin.
The demon shook its head.
"It's the other way around."
It declared grinning maliciously as if reading my thoughts.
"He is merely a reflection of me." It revealed with a twisted smile.
"Isn’t it natural to sign your greatest works? You have no idea how difficult it was to stitch together your world. To patch every plothole. To orchestrate every single moment into place until that final moment!"
"Each and every second of struggle was worth it, just to see your story come to fruition. The sadness, despair and joy, all parts equally exquisite." The apparition seemed to thrum in joy.
It stepped aside.
Behind it, a pool of water shimmered into existence like a mirror formed from memory and guilt. Ellen stood outside it, speaking to Olivia.
"I had told you earlier that this was my Generosity. Demons do not lie, they only deceive." It gave a wicked grin.
"You will wake in ten seconds," the demon whispered, its voice now low and serious. "Your body and soul will flood with pain and agony from your stifled recovery but you will wake up."
A command-like declaration.
"And after that... we vanish. The system. The shop. The previews. Us, the Watchers. Gone."
"Nothing shall remain and you may choose to spend the rest of your remaining life however you want."
Then it's smile twisted in schadenfreude.
"Afterwards? There is no heaven. No hell. No epilogue. No twist. No afterlife for you or this flawed world."
"When you die, it just ends. You and the story with it."
It paused.
"Of course you have no option to refuse. Consider this Generosity our last... Gift, you could say. One made at your expense."
The smile returned, impossibly wide.
"Goodbye, ◼️◼️◼️. Your story was truly a spectacle to watch."
***
"It's not the end; it's just the beginning. If we button the first button wrong, everything will collapse before it even starts."
"…"
"So, you have to let her go."
Charlotte spoke grimly to Olivia, her expression deathly serious.
A voice interrupted them.
"Isn't there a way?" I coughed out, my body wracked with pain, holding Tiamata in one hand.
Everyone fell silent as they stared in my direction in disbelief.
My body screamed in pain, evidently having not yet recovered, but more than that was my soul. It felt deathly weak as if every word spoken now was a haze of memory.
I couldn't think straight, but I had to so I would.
Ellen's expression crumpled as she shivered in fear and apprehension, tears clouding her eyes as Charlotte bit her lip.
"Reinhart, it's..." Charlotte spoke, not knowing what to say.
"There's a way, isn't there? A really simple one. One that will shut up anyone who has complaints."
"…"
"I'll marry Ellen."
It was a shocking declaration, but in a way it wasn't really either.
Ellen's breath hitched as she vehemently shook her head.
"No... Reinhart, we can't..." Her voice cracked and folded beneath the weight of emotion.
"Why?" I asked. "Do you not like me, is that it?"
Ellen shook her head wildly. It was unfair, I knew why she had to say no, why she couldn't accept, but I didn't accept the situation.
Why would I?
"The Hero Cult? They’ll split. Half will stand by her, half will feel betrayed. The neutral factions—those afraid of both the Hero and the Demon King—will have no choice but to yield. This ends the war before it begins. What's the problem?"
My head felt like it was burning, too many thoughts at once and such a dull throbbing pain that made it hard to think. But seeing Ellen sobbing on her knees was enough to clear my mind away and ignore the pain.
I knew it was idealistic. I knew there were a lot of variables I wasn't thinking of. But that was what Charlotte was for, wasn't she? She was a hundred times smarter and more competent than me, so she could fix my plan.
I looked at Charlotte, trying to ask her for any objections or for anything wrong I had said. Charlotte sighed.
This was a method she had thought of, of course, and it wasn't as simple as Reinhart made it out to be. Not only that, but the biggest problem wasn't just the Hero Cult, but the Hero herself.
"I can't, Reinhart... I can't marry you..." She sobbed on her knees.
"Then did you lie when you told me you loved me?" I asked, my voice low.
Of course I knew. I knew she wasn't lying. I was just cornering her. It was cruel and mean, unfair, but I saw no other option for the stubborn woman I loved.
Ellen's breath hitched as her whole body flinched. "Reinhart..... Please...." she whispered, pleaded, tears falling like rain, her eyes begging for mercy.
She knew full well she couldn't argue with me, so in the end she simply pleaded, knowing I understood everything.
My expression crumbled staring at the Ellen before me. I was being cruel. I knew it. But this was Ellen—selfless to the point of destruction. I had no choice but to corner her, to strip away her ability to flee.
Because if I didn't she would run away and hurt herself of her own fruition. Make needless sacrifices in search of a slight atonement for her sins.
I bit my lip, looking at the sobbing Ellen and stepped forward, dropping to my knees, and pulling her into my arms. She gasped as I embraced her—tightly, desperately—as if she’d vanish the moment I let go.
"Ellen, I'm not letting you go."
Simple words. But because they were mine, they became law.
She broke.
"Rein-hart... I-I... I..." she stammered, her voice dissolving into tears as she melted into my arms.
I held her tighter.
"I love you."
I had said it in a roundabout way once before, and never again. So I promised I'd say it to her every day from now on, as much as she needed to hear it, I would say it.
She sobbed harder, her hands clutching my shirt like it was the only thing tethering her to the earth.
"I'm sorry.... I'm so sorry... I didn't trust you... I don't deserve you..."
She was falling apart in my arms—and I let her.
"I love you so much... But I hurt you so much that I... can't accept myself."
"I hurt you too,” I murmured. “A lot... So I forgive you."
She shook her head furiously. “I betrayed you... I don’t deserve forgiveness...”
“But you deserve happiness.”
That stopped her. Her breath caught in her throat. She looked up at me, shattered.
“I promised your mother...” I smiled faintly, brushing her hair from her face, “... That I’d never make you cry again. I told her I’d make you happy.”
She sobbed, clinging to me harder.
“So let me be a good son-in-law, yeah?”
She laughed and cried all at once. Her whole body shook.
And in that moment, all the walls she had built came crashing down. Her tears were endless. She had carried so much for so long.
I stroked her hair softly—gently, endlessly—like she once did for me.
A small voice chimed in.
“Right. Even if we did wrong... we still deserve happiness.”
Harriet, who had come along from somewhere, said as much. She wiped at her tear-streaked face and embraced us both. Trying so hard to be mature and crying anyway.
Seeing the little blockhead trying to be so mature and crying was so adorable. In the end, even Olivia couldn't help but shed tears and embrace us as well.
I looked up.
Charlotte stood alone, frozen, trembling. Her eyes shimmered, but she bit her lip again.
“Charlotte,” I called softly. “You deserve happiness too.”
She broke. The tears came. And then she ran forward and joined us.
The five of us huddled together on the ground, embracing each other in a tangle of limbs and swollen eyes.
Pathetic?
Maybe.
Ugly? Undignified?
Absolutely.
But I didn’t care.
Because for the first time in what felt like eternity, I was with the ones I loved.
And that was all that mattered.