[END]Side Story 10: The Evil God Beyond the Smartphone_Illustrated
Every story has an end.
And everyone knows that.
The same goes for the human journey.
Starting from a historical moment called birth, they go through their own journeys and reach some kind of destination.
Great heroes, terrible villains, wealthy tycoons, poor people, everyone has a predetermined end.
But there are beings in the world whose ends are far away.
People call them gods.
-“It’s been a long time since we had a meeting.”
I was one of the only two gods existing in the modern world.
A fallen god who was trapped in a cage and yearned for freedom, and myself who watched over him.
But the believers who served me existed in a completely different world from me.
Beyond the screen of the smartphone in my hand.
In a world connected by a tiny mechanical device, I was worshiped by countless people.
-“It really has been a long time.”
-“Well, we haven’t had a meeting for a while.”
What I saw beyond the screen were the apostles, who stood at the top of those believers.
A gathering of followers who served the great throne that ruled over the heavens.
It still felt a bit vague to me that they were a gathering of those who served me.
I sat on the throne by chance.
I didn’t want to sit here.
But I felt a vague sense of responsibility for those who served me.
It must have been the weight given to the being called god.
-“By the way, it’s been a long time since I saw the angel.”
-“Yeah. It’s been a long time.”
-“I heard you were with the great one,but how is it where you are?”
The apostles in the meeting room beyond the screen talked to each other.
Roan, who had risen to the position of the holy one and had some dignity, asked Estasia, who was taking the bread in front of him.
There was virtually no way for Estasia on Earth to meet them except for the [regular meeting].
That’s why Estasia’s existence was of interest to the others as well.
-“The master’s refrigerator is full of strawberry pastries and strawberry ice cream.”
-“Refrigerator? What is that?”
-“A refrigerator is a place where you put ice cream and strawberries.”
The other apostles looked at Estasia, who was talking about her life on Earth.
It must have been a very unfamiliar story to them.
Of course, what Estasia said about the existence and function of the refrigerator was all wrong.
Pluto, who heard the story of the refrigerator, admired her and said.
-“It’s definitely a place worthy of the great one. It’s a place you can call heaven.”
-“Yeah. The refrigerator is heaven.”
-“I like blood more than strawberries. Is there any delicious blood there?”
-“I saw a place full of packaged blood on TV a while ago.”
-“Hmm… Heaven is really different. It’s full of things everyone likes.”
I smirked at the misunderstanding that spread through Estasia’s story.
The fallen angel with black wings always produces unpredictable results.
This meeting was no exception.
But that was also something that could be called Estasia’s charm.
The place where Estasia was always had a bright atmosphere.
It was also her personality that saved me from the deep darkness.
-“How is the great one doing there?”
As Estasia and Pluto watched their conversation, Eutenia, who was watching them, asked.
Eutenia, who spent every day with me in the holy land, was also curious about Estasia and my life.
The environment of Earth and the continent was different, so their curiosity was natural.
But if they asked me about my life here, to be honest, I had nothing to tell them.
I was practically a bum.
Even though I was watching the movements of the fallen god and the angels trapped in the cage, I was in a situation where I had no income.
The only thing that kept my life going was my own power.
-“I go out often, but I don’t know.”
-“You go out often?”
-“Yeah. But sometimes I take Estasia with me and go out together…”
But I took Estasia or Aronia out with me whenever I had time.
If they were stuck in the room, even the angels would get stressed.
And I couldn’t let them wander around alone, so the best thing was to hide their halos and wings with my power and go with them.
Of course, when I went out with Estasia, the end was always with a dish that had strawberries in it.
I learned for the first time that there were so many dishes with strawberries in them as I went with her.
-“I see. Estasia must have had fun with the great one.”
-“Estasia is the best angel, so it’s natural that she gets the master’s favor.”
Eutenia smiled and picked up the bread as she heard Estasia’s simple story.
What followed was Eutenia’s story to Estasia.
-“Ahem, ahem. Actually, I went sightseeing with the great one in the capital of the empire a while ago.”
-“Estasia had strawberry ade with the master at the movie theater a while ago.”
-“I walked around the night holy land with the great one a while ago.”
-“Estasia had strawberry cake with the master at the cafe a while ago.”
-“I don’t know how many times the great one told me he loved me last night.”
-“Estasia secretly bought two boxes of strawberry ice cream with the master’s card yesterday.”
“What?”
The two’s conversation followed one after another.
Eutenia and Estasia detailed their lives without being asked by each other.
The atmosphere heated up as they watched, and the expressions of the apostles who watched them changed subtly.
Among them, Peter was the one who reacted the most strongly.
He couldn’t stand the conversation between the two and spoke to Roan, who was leading the meeting.
-“Excuse me, Mr. Roan… What are those two doing?”
-“Mabu, be quiet.”
-“…”
But he soon shut his mouth at Estasia’s sharp remark.
I watched him and burst into laughter.
It was a sight that made me laugh involuntarily.
They each laid out their own arguments and influenced each other.
The countless discordant sounds that flowed between them proved that they were alive.
They were not NPCs in a game, but living and breathing people.
“What a pleasant sight to see anytime.”
Just watching them made me feel relaxed.
The world in my hand was a very beautiful place.
No matter what I did.
No matter what happened.
I couldn’t let go of anything that was lovely.
The world where my loved ones lived was valuable enough in itself.
“As I keep watching, I feel like I’m falling in love with this world more and more.”
Everything has a fixed lifespan.
Bound by the shackles of being a god, I would spend more time than those beyond the screen.
Someday, everything I loved would scatter in time and become something else.
But even so, this world was still a lovely place.
Even if the time I loved passed by, and everything changed completely.
I would surely look at the changed world and love it again.
“…Even though I know it will all disappear someday.”
That’s what a god was.
Living close to eternity, but ultimately being captivated by a momentary sparkle.
Every living being that lived for a moment had its own sparkle.
It sometimes shone brightly, and sometimes faded away.
It was a beautiful sparkle because it was not eternal.
Even those who called themselves gods were blinded by the dazzling light.
-“Estasia played the game with the master too.”
-“I’ve been with the great one since he was in the glass tube.”
-“Perin. It’s time for you to step up…”
-“Mabu.”
-“…”
The sparkling lights wrote their own stories.
Some would write a story of a hero.
Some would write a story filled with evil.
Some one’s story would be full of happiness.
Some other’s story would be full of hardship and adversity.
But even so, some would not lose hope.
They would move forward to find some possibility in the faint sparkle in their hands.
They would not give up and work hard to overcome their given fate.
They would long for the beautiful future that I once failed to grasp.
“…”
And granting them the right fate was surely the duty given to the being called a god.
Helping those who moved forward on their own.
Showing hope to those who sought possibility.
Making them face the future they desired against their given fate.
That was what I had to do from now on.
-“…By the way, Estasia brought something from the great one this time.”
-“What is it?”
-“It’s a thing called a camera. You can use it to take pictures of other people.”
As Estasia finished the short argument and took out the camera, I also engraved their faces in my pupils.
The apostles who had been watching Estasia and Eutenia were now smiling at each other.
It was a sight that looked happy to anyone.
The smile that spread from the fallen angel was still lingering on everyone’s lips.
– “How do you take a picture?”
– “Ahem. First, you all have to stand in front of the camera.”
– “So we just stand in front of the camera?”
Estasia, who was holding and shaking the camera.
Perin, who was showing curiosity at her.
Pluto, who was dragging a skull with an unreadable expression.
Evan, who was shaking his head with a snort.
They were all having a happy time in their own ways.
– “Oops. I pressed it wrong.”
– “Something is coming out from the top. Is this a picture?”
A picture was printed out from Estasia’s hand, who was flustered.
Perin, who was below, caught the picture that was fluttering down.
The eyes of the apostles all turned to the picture in Perin’s hand.
Some frowned at their own stupid expressions, while others marveled at the existence of the picture.
Click-.
Along with the capture sound from the smartphone, that moment was saved in the device.
It was a precious memory that would never disappear from within them, even as time passed.
– “Estasia… I think I look a bit weird.”
– “Mabu, you were always weird.”
I smiled as I looked at the memory that remained in a single picture.
Someday, I will look back on this moment again.
There might be a time when I will remember everyone who is shining in my hand.
Even so, I know that this moment is the happiest time of all.
Happiness is not a grand thing.
It is only after realizing that the small thing in your hand is happiness that people truly know happiness.
“I hope you all are happy.”
There is an end to the story.
And everyone knows that.
Yet, I know that the story of the apostles in front of me will not end here.
They will continue to write their own stories.
Stories that are more splendid and brilliant than anyone else in the world.
And the ending will surely be a happy ending filled with happiness.
Please, let everyone be happy.
Dominus meus et Deus meus———.
━ The End ━
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