"Sister? Sister! Why are you suddenly like this!"

"Oh, b-brother."

Seti collapsed, coughing violently. I held my sister in my arms. Her body felt cold, as if her temperature was dropping.

"What on earth..."

Seti was just the beginning. One by one, the survivors began showing strange symptoms regardless of their status or position. Bloody tears, violent coughing followed by blood, staggering and collapsing.

Just from what I could see.

"Keuup!"

Rustila.

"Ah, shit... what is this?"

Zernya.

"...ugh."

Ireh.

"Young master..."

Even Sonia, who was a bioroid.

The severity varied, but the symptoms were similar. Only Cartesia and I remained relatively unaffected for now.

"Kid."

"Something's gone wrong."

"I can see that."

Cartesia pulled her hood down and looked around.

"Seeing even the androids in that state, this can't be a simple biochemical weapon."

Even drones were wobbling and falling to the ground. Someone's intention to break everything that moved, regardless of whether it was organic or inorganic, was evident.

I couldn't think of a solution. My mind was blank.

Then my phone rang. It was my father.

[Ah, son.]

"Father? Are you alright?"

[The hospital is in chaos. Everyone—patients and doctors alike—are collapsing. Something seemed wrong, so I called. How are things there? Is the research facility okay?]

I quickly explained the situation. Through the phone, I heard a blood-curdling sigh.

[...I've seen similar symptoms in your mother before. It's Laplace.]

"Is there no way to treat it?"

[If there had been, I wouldn't have lost your mother... Reika?]

"Father?"

[Ah, Reika. You've been waiting for me. I'm sorry. Here, take my hand. Let's go together now...]

"Father!"

The world on the other end of the phone shuddered.

"Father! Father!"

[Hello?]

Thankfully, the call didn't disconnect but output another person's voice. It was Rezein, Seti's mother and mine as well.

[Is that my son? Just a moment. Honey, what are you trying to die alone for? Pull yourself together!]

"Mother!"

[Son! Are you alright there?]

"It's terrible here too."

I looked around and tried my best to take deep breaths. Looking at the horrific scene around me, I could almost see the hospital where my parents were.

Could this situation even be described by a mere word like "disaster"?

[Son, we can't hold out much longer here either. *cough* I'm sorry.]

"No, please... please wait as long as you can. I'll try to do something."

I gathered the scientists who could still move. Many still had mild symptoms. Ireh was among them. We headed to the control room.

"We need to find the black hole where Laplace resides."

"How?"

"That's what we need to figure out now. Astronomy team, can you stand?"

"We'll do our *cough* best."

The scientists moved in unison. The tracking team remotely operated the observatory, searching for the culprit behind all this, the end.

The moment they activated the interstellar radio telescope, all the scientists watching the monitor simultaneously lost consciousness.

Dark blue noise filled the screen. The moment I saw it, I realized which black hole was hosting the Laplace system.

"...ha, haha."

Damn it.

I took off my outer coat and threw it over the monitor. This was information humans shouldn't see, content they couldn't comprehend.

I needed to go down, to the deepest part of the research facility.

"Brother, where are you going?"

"Young master, it's dangerous to move alone. Let us come with you..."

I shook my head.

"You stay here."

Rustila grabbed my arm.

"I can't allow that."

"Absolutely not. Rest here."

"We've come this far... it doesn't make sense to fail now."

Zernya, Sonia, and even Seti grabbed my arms.

"Even if we fail, we go together."

"Well said, Sonia."

"Brother, I can walk on my own. I won't get in the way. I'm still okay."

I looked at Ireh in bewilderment. She nodded. This could be our last moment. That's why everyone was saying they wanted to stay together until the end.

I gathered the remaining personnel, including family and acquaintances, and went down to the control room. There was a dimensional manipulator there—humanity's technological pinnacle for connecting one dimension to another.

A mysterious light flowed from one of the dimensional gates. And a girl was ejected from it.

"You..."

"...Eidel von Rheinland?"

It was Matonica, Sturm's avatar. I was stunned by her unexpected appearance.

"You... it's because of you! Eidel von Rheinland!"

Matonica staggered toward me. She reached out her hand toward me. But she couldn't close it.

Cartesia stepped in front of me, grabbed Matonica's arm, and threw her over. Matonica rolled on the floor, spitting blood.

"Keukhak!"

"That's my kid. Touch him and I'll kill you."

"Cartesia, wait."

Something was strange about Matonica. She didn't have her usual wind instrument or flagpole weapons. I couldn't feel any of the Pron power she should have as an avatar.

That was impossible. The contract between an outer god and its avatar could only be severed by death. Unless Sturm had died...

"...No way."

Matonica glared at Cartesia and me, groaning. Bloody tears were flowing from her eyes.

"You... you finally killed my master. Because of you, even our last hope has been shattered!"

"What did I do?"

I had defeated Aurora and Renatus, but not Sturm. His black hole remained unfound even when the gravitational cannon was completed.

"Look at this shamelessness! You don't need to hide it anymore!"

"...Hide what?"

"The fact that you are Laplace!"

"Still going on about that?"

Matonica burst into hollow laughter.

"Listen, Eidel von Rheinland. I know that Aurora and Renatus died because of that vicious weapon you created. And I know this message appeared afterward."

- Initiating gravitational contraction.

"The gravitational bomb is a weapon that uses gravity as a medium, and the 'Big Crunch' is the phenomenon where the universe collapses into a single point and disappears. Don't you think the timing is exquisite?"

"So, what I did accelerated the end of the world..."

"Yes! By decades!"

My vision swayed from side to side. I felt dizzy.

"Ha, then..."

"Are you finally admitting it? You filthy bastard."

"...No."

For whatever reason, Sturm was dead. That was reality. And Matonica had come looking for me.

Why?

Because Sturm had ordered her to. Even in death, he needed me dead. A mission that couldn't be severed even by death had come to me like a ghost.

But as an actual threat, she was insignificant.

"Now... it's really the end."

Matonica rummaged through the debris. She pulled out a metal rod that had been part of the building and took a stance.

Scientists blocked the space between her and me. Matonica growled lowly.

"Move."

"You vile monster, you won't lay a finger on Professor Rheinland *cough* *cough*!"

"I said move. If I kill him, we all might live."

"Don't listen to the words of an outer god's puppet!"

"Ha!"

Matonica pointed the metal rod and shouted.

"You know one thing but not the other! Eidel von Rheinland is Laplace's puppet! Can't you see the bloody foam at my mouth?"

Matonica spat out fresh blood. For a machine to spit blood made no sense.

The natural order was twisted. Causality had been manipulated.

I looked up at the void.

[— A voice calls to you from somewhere.]

[— At last, let us become one.]

Status window.

Why does a status window exist in this world in the first place? This isn't a game.

"If you won't move, stay there! I'll send you all together as you wish!"

Matonica charged. The terrified screams of scientists mingled with the sound of Ireh loading a holy bullet. Cartesia stepped forward to stop Matonica.

But.

"Wait."

"Kid?"

"You too, Lady Ireh."

I blocked Cartesia and Ireh, then pushed through the scientists.

"If I'm the cause, I'll gladly die."

"What?"

"But even if you end my life with that weapon, the destruction won't stop. Killing an avatar doesn't necessarily deal a critical blow to the outer god."

"What is this guy... planning now?"

Matonica is right. I don't know what I'm thinking either. But my mind is already made up. I know all too well that there's too little time to keep deliberating.

[— Across dimensions, to where you truly belong.]

I spread my arms.

"I have no ulterior motive."

And smiled.

"I just don't want to leave a bleak future for my daughters."

***

Tens of minutes later.

The universe was dyed in darkness.

Stars burning with nuclear fusion went out one by one.

The Milky Way disappeared, and electricity rapidly dried up. Humanity had to use only the energy they had stored for their final breaths.

Whether these breaths would be the final spark to carve out the heart of the end, or the final sigh of a dying patient—no one knew.

While operating the machine, I made a sort of excuse to Matonica.

"...I really didn't intend this."

"Whether you intended it or not, the situation is the same. With just two shots from the gravitational cannon, the world has met the optimal conditions for the manifestation of the end. You fired the celebratory shot, so to speak."

"Then I should take responsibility."

Matonica glanced at me. Just moments ago she had tried to kill me, but she dramatically nodded at my plea to somehow salvage the situation.

While finishing the settings for the gravitational cannon, my two wives pushed through the crowd and berated Matonica.

"Hey, do you have any proof that our husband is Laplace's avatar? Do you?!"

"Please stop. This is enough. What more do you want? Sacrificing Eidel makes no sense!"

"Rustila, Zernya."

I calmed my wives with a steady voice.

"That's not what's important right now. The end is definitely coming, and if we don't stop it, everything is finished. We need to try everything we can before then."

Then I turned my gaze to Cartesia and Ireh.

Cartesia and Ireh actually knew my true identity. I'm not the scoundrel Eidel von Rheinland, but Lee Jinsoo. A being from another universe.

Come to think of it, this lends weight to the claim that I might be Laplace. To travel from one dimension to another, especially faster than light, one would need to pass through a higher dimension, as in wormhole theory.

If "the end" had intended this crossing of higher dimensions?

Nothing is certain. The information we have is extremely limited.

At times like this, humans need to have a bit of courage and curiosity. To transform the unknown, and therefore frightening, into knowledge.

[— Become one.]

The status message that has been echoing in my head. The fear that directly touches my instincts makes my legs tremble.

Still.

I must do this.

"...According to theory, we'd have a chance if we could directly cross into the 11th dimension and confront this 'end' or whatever outer god it is."

It was none other than Cartesia who reinforced my resolve.

"Just as one must enter a lair to hunt a beast, to fight the abyss one must first enter the pitch darkness..."

Cartesia frowned. She disliked this as much as I did.

Changed into a spacesuit, I personally entered the dimensional transfer capsule. Despite the researchers, officials, my wives, my sister, and even Ireh all trying to dissuade me, I was determined to proceed with this venture.

Looking around, I had no choice.

After the end showed its face, the abnormal symptoms affecting both people and machines were growing stronger. Some had progressed to severe cases and were bedridden.

Dark blood was everywhere. Black, yet also red, with a blue tint. In the darkness, it even sparkled like stardust. Could this really be human blood?

Meanwhile, only I remained unaffected.

Why?

If everyone was suffering, why was I the only one unaffected while even Cartesia was coughing up black stardust?

"Keu."

"Zernya!"

"I-idiot. If you're going, let's go together. This might be our last moment..."

My wives approached, tears in their eyes. Not just tears, but tears mixed with blood. It was too heartbreaking to watch.

"Rustila, Zernya."

My wives were the first to embrace me.

"This might be goodbye."

"Don't say such ominous things. Don't..."

"Don't gooo."

I kissed both my wives. Until the end, they wanted me to stay in this world. They said if we must die, let's die together.

"What's the point of us all living if you're not here!"

"Take care of Lucia and Anya."

"I said don't go!"

The researchers used their last strength to separate Rustila and Zernya from me. Even they seemed to have reached their limit, collapsing weakly.

"Brother."

"Sister, if you survive, be a good aunt."

"Young master...!"

"Sonia too. I'm sorry we couldn't go on our honeymoon together."

Sonia and Seti burst into tears. I kissed Sonia and then embraced Seti. Seti caressed my cheek, then collapsed.

Gradually.

Destruction was approaching.

By now, only two people remained conscious.

Ireh and Cartesia.

"Lady."

"Call me by my name."

"...Ireh."

I checked the observatory monitor. The contraction of the universe was accelerating. If my calculations were correct, this world would end within minutes at this rate.

"This really is the end now."

"Do you think I'll give up like this?"

"I don't know if I'll die or continue living when I go beyond. But I'll never forget you."

"I will never let you go."

Ireh grabbed my suit. And the next moment, a soft touch and sweet fragrance enveloped me.

As Ireh pulled her lips away, she whispered.

"You'll see. Just as you saved me, I'll save you too."

"..."

There was nothing more to say. Finally, I turned to Cartesia.

"Ready, kid?"

"Of course, miss."

I threw myself into the dimensional converter.

I stepped into the 7th dimension, using Cartesia's black hole as an intermediate station. Cartesia brought out her lab equipment and adjusted the position.

"I'll handle pinpointing the coordinates and taking you to the 7th dimension. After that, getting to the 11th dimension... you'll have to figure that out yourself. I'm sure you can do it."

Cartesia remained calm until the end. As if reading my thoughts, she added:

"I was planning to die anyway. Dying then or dying now is the same to me. I was going to return to nature anyway, so I don't feel particularly sad. Even if you never come back, well, I'll just accept it and move on."

"I'm glad you're so composed."

Cartesia looked up at the 8th dimension beyond.

"We don't have time. Go up now."

I followed her words. Following Ireh's completed folding theory and Cartesia's dimensional transformation theory, I entered a solitary journey to eliminate the final outer god.

[X coordinate: ∞]

[Y coordinate: ∞]

[Z coordinate: ∞]

[W coordinate: ∞]

[T coordinate: ∞]

(......)

The number of coordinates, starting from seven, gradually increased until they reached eleven.

[— (......)]

[— Something is waiting for you.]

After receiving the message, I slowly reached out my hand.

[— You attempt an uneasy communication.]

The darkness lifts. And another darkness rolls in.

In the place where all worldly scenery had disappeared, I saw it.

[— Welcome to the edge.]

The black hole where "the end" lived and breathed.

The name of that black hole was the universe.