ch2
Just InCommunityForumMoreRegrets and Wishes: One More Chance by jnscrtm Anime » Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken/転生したらスライムだった件 Rated: T, English, Hurt/Comfort & Romance, [Rimuru T., Ciel], Words: 104k+, Favs: 190, Follows: 196, Published: May 20, 2022 Updated: Jun 13, 202221Chapter 2: 1 - The Long-Lost Tears
CHAPTER 1 - THE LONG-LOST TEARS
(Rimuru's Perspective)
As I had expected, Feldway and Michael would be opponents who were much more troublesome than Rudra. But I really didn't expect that the trouble they caused would be of this scale. I imagined it might be impossible for me to ever understand those two. Going so far as to sacrifice the whole world just to revive him, it was just incomprehensible.
However, if I were to say myself, I didn't exactly have a place to blame them. After all, back when Tempest was at war with Falmuth, I did sacrifice the whole coalition army of Falmuth-Western Holy Church just for reviving Shion and the other dead citizens. Their thought to destroy and sacrifice the world who had sacrificed its own creator to revive the creator himself wasn't irrational; at least from emotional standpoint.
But Veldanava had always favored this world.
It all began at some point in a far past, more than thousands of years ago, when he deliberately abandoned his omnipotence and omniscience. He chose the Cardinal World as his base of operation out of all the worlds he created after that, leaving the Heavenly Star Palace, his birthplace.
He observed the development of his own creation closely. He met with so many exceptional individuals and befriended them.
The first person was from the Demon race, the oldest and the strongest one of them. Not in the slightest doubt that he was the strongest, he daringly challenged Veldanava to fight.
The result was the demon's complete defeat. His strongest attacks were easily blocked and deflected, while Veldanava only needed one swift attack to beat him onto the ground. After that, they befriended each other.
Veldanava offered him to be his agent, to hold the role of a "mediator" to watch over the world, the one who would maintain the balance of power and prevent humanity in particular and the world in general from falling into their self-destruction.
He was none other than Guy Crimson; the Lord of Darkness, the first and the oldest of the Demon Lords as well as one of the Seven Primordial Demons, Rouge the Primordial Red.
The next two people he met were a prince and a princess from a certain human kingdom, namely the Kingdom of Nasca.
Through some series of events, they became Veldanava's friends and disciples. The prince made a pact with Veldanava, that he would defeat the evil Demon Lord; and conquer and unite the world under his banner one day. That prince was Rudra; the first and the strongest Hero throughout the history of mankind.
After spending quite some time with them, for the first time in his unimaginably long life, Veldanava started to feel a weird feeling. That feeling grew more apparent as time flew. It was particularly felt when he was together with Lucia, Rudra's younger sister.
When he confessed his feeling to her, it turned out that she also had the same feeling towards him. At this point, they finally understood...
...
...
...
They fell in love with each other...
...
But at the same time, the wheel of destiny spun greatly, sealing the world's and their fate the moment they understood each other's feelings.
...
They later married each other, becoming legitimate husband and wife, then had a child together.
It was supposed to be joyful moment. But because of that, Veldanava lost most of his remaining power, now becoming almost undistinguishable from a normal human being and bound by a "lifespan".
However, the chain of misfortunes didn't end there. Taking advantages of Rudra—currently the king of Nasca—who was going in an expedition, there was a terrorist attack, the work of an enemy country, in the kingdom and resulted on the death of both Veldanava and Lucia.
When the terrorists broke into their house, he and his wife were willing to sacrifice themselves, simply wishing that Milim Nava, their daughter would survive and live. Never once did Veldanava ever hold a grudge against or thought of taking revenge on this world.
Destroying the world was like insulting Veldanava himself, who had sacrificed many things including his life for it. It's as if they were saying outright on his face that the sacrifices that he'd made were meaningless. Even if they did successfully revive Veldanava in his complete state, if Veldanava knew that the world he always favored was destroyed and that her beloved daughter was killed, it would only incur his wrath, not his praise.
Feldway and Michael always boasted, to themselves and to other people, that they were the "loyal followers of God Veldanava". But in reality, they never were. They had done many things which completely went against Veldanava's will.
Even if it was said that he had lost all of his power, a story of him who was a god to be killed by humans; a story of him who was sacrificed by the very world he favored and yet never held a grudge against such world would be a tall tale. It was impossible for them to understand that. So, they cooperated together and tried to sacrifice the world for his resurrection, I guess.
⁂
I open my eyes.
I'm sure I was about to prepare my final move with Guy, Milim, and Ramiris, and yet—
Have you finally woken up? asks a voice inside my head.
Oh! Ciel-san said something to me. "Where are we? What happened to us?" I ask her back.
This is the End of the World. It could also be referred to as the 'End of Time and Space'. As for our condition, we didn't take any damage, so please rest assured, she answers.
I see. We're alright.
Thank goodness... Eh? This needlessly large and empty world is the 'End of Time and Space', she said?
Looking around, there is literally nothing at all. Only a pitch-black void surrounding me. Certainly, time doesn't flow and is in stopped state. I can't sense the spread of space either.
In this multiverse, the flow of time has stopped. The spread of space had ceased as well. And in accordance with the Law of Entropy, all universes within this multiverse have arrived at nothingness.
"'Have arrived'? Why are you talking as though you have witnessed it yourself?"
That is correct. We were hurled to beyond time and space due to the True Chaos Dragon's attack. The lifespan of the worlds has already ended a long time ago. From what I deduced; the True Chaos Dragon's rampage had destroyed all the worlds created by Veldanava. When it was at the phase where it had completely destroyed the Heavenly Realm, the lifespan of the True Chaos Dragon itself had come to an end. The destruction of the Heavenly Realm, where the place of beginnings had resided in, triggered a chain reaction, destroying the space-time continua of all the worlds originated from and connected with the Heavenly Realm. After that, we wandered around as we drifted in space and I witnessed the end of the universes.
—I cannot understand what Ciel-san is saying at all...
"I witnessed the end of the universes?" What is she talking about...? Rather, there's no way can we be alive in such situation.
If you want to lie, come up with a more believable one—or so I thought. But I then remember that Ciel-san never lies.
She deceives me sometimes, but she doesn't lie as I simply misunderstand. Or rather, she makes me do so. That's all of it.
"That means this is really the end of the worlds?"
Yes, that is correct. Then, I will get straight to the point: what will Master do after this?
"What will I do?"
Because a long time has passed, [Turn Null] has accumulated an immense amount of energy. Rimuru-sama has [Imaginary Space]. Because [Imaginary Space] has an infinite capacity, it cannot be filled up. However, it has already been filled with enough energy that even recreating the world tens of thousand times is possible. Additionally, it is possible to reproduce the memories of those connected to Rimuru-sama and intentionally create a world that is identical with our world. What will you do?
Huh...? Ciel-san asks me as such, which makes me speechless.
If this place is the "End of Time and Space", that means Benimaru, Shuna, my companions in Tempest, Diablo and the other demons, Guy and the other Demon Lords, Ramiris, Millim, Veldora and the other True Dragon Siblings, all the people whom I loved, all of them don't exist anywhere in this world, nor in another world, nor in all the worlds which Veldanava created. I finally understood that.
In other words, I lost.
"Bullshit! Damn it! Doesn't that mean I completely lost?!"
No, that is incorrect. The True Chaos Dragon could not even destroy Rimuru-sama.
But I couldn't protect those whom I loved.
Thus, it's meaningless. There's no meaning if I'm the only one who survived.
Even if I can recreate nearly the same memories and even if their DNA is exactly the same, can I really say that they are really "them"?
Can I interact with them in the same say as I always did before if I created them with my own two hands?
BULLSHIT! DAMN IT!
"Those things like that would just be fakes! No matter what the excuses are, I have lost..."
Rationally, Ciel-san seems to be thinking that I should create a new world without a heretic like Feldway and Michael in it.
That surely would be a good choice. It could be said that there were no problems with that.
However, it wouldn't satisfy my heart at all.
Reviving my dead friends as fakes just to heal my loneliness!? I'd rather die than sink myself so low as to do something like that.
I'm aware that I'm selfish. However, that's the reason why I couldn't approve of creating a convenient world just for myself. In a world like that, my whole existence itself will rot away and die.
I would rather proudly choose to bear the loneliness than to cling to the past just to comfort myself.
I knew it. I had expected that Rimuru-sama would answer like that, Ciel-san replies happily even though I've shouted in anger.
She continues her words. Besides, you have not lost to the True Chaos Dragon yet. You only need to go and defeat it now, says Ciel-san casually.
I just need to go and defeat it now? Does she mean to go back the past which has already long gone? Can something like that even be done...?
Chloe seemed to be able to read the memories of the future with Time Leap, but that was just an ability to return to your past self. Besides, it couldn't be activated while time was stopped.
Even though it was "merely" a corrupted Veldanava without any sentient ego, it really showed a high instinctual level of dangers, making it able to do what it needed to completely get rid of the dangers.
There should be no problem. The [Teleportation] acquired from Mai was originally just a mere prototype of a different ability. The ability is not 'the ability to move to a place you have visited', but 'the ability to transcend time and space to reach the location you desire'. For Rimuru-sama, who rules over time and space, such a thing as going across time is a child's play.
I am speechless.
So that is her reason...
No wonder Ciel-san can still be calm even though I am angry. From the beginning, she probably has anticipated everything that I desire.
But now that I think about it...if I can indeed 'transcend time and space to reach the location I desire'...can I go back to the first day of my second life and fix all of my fatal mistakes which I've committed in this world?
Can I go back and start believing more in my subordinates?
Can I go back and save them from the miserable lives which they had endured due to losing their loved ones?
Can I go back and give them an even better life?
Master? she calls, interrupting my nonstop daydreaming thought.
"Ah, sorry. Alright, then. Let's go into it and defeat that damn dragon immediately. You know it, don't you? I don't like losing, after all!"
As you wish, My Lord, responds Ciel-san to my order. Brief as usual, her response is stated matter-of-factly.
While I just woke up a little while ago, Ciel-san has been waiting for me to wake up for countless years. An unconcealable joy is emitted from her voice as she responds to my order.
In order to not betray that feeling, I choose the worlds that I think is the right one. I'm not going to lose anymore.
Well, then. Let's end this quickly.
I use [Space-Time Warp] to warp to the past. Just when my vision goes black in a very short moment, I think I see a flash of memories of my first meeting with Veldora.
⁂
Although the energy that [Space-Time Warp] consumed is not that huge relative to my maximum magicule storage, it was consumed in a flash. I feel like my energy has been forcibly zapped out.
I instinctively know that I've warped to a different spot from before. But something is very weird. I cannot feel my friends' auras, nor can I feel the True Chaos Dragon's.
Huh? Did I warp to a place far from my supposed destination?
I do feel Veldora's aura around here, but it feels...much weaker than I remember him to be.
Besides...why does something below my feet feel rigid and solid? Shouldn't I be floating in the Gap of Dimension?
Just where the hell is this place... Starting to feel anxious, I slowly open my eyes.
I'm in a dark place, with colourful, glittering stones spread all over the place. It's almost as if I am in...
The Sealed Cave?!
"Oi, oi, oi...why did we end up in Veldora's cave, not in the Gap of Dimension?" I unconsciously say it out loud, as if I'm demanding for an answer.
No one answers. Only an utter silence. Despair starts to take over my being and existence. "Oi, Ciel-san! Answer me..."
I-I am truly sorry, Master. I am truly sorry...
"I don't need that!" I shout. "Answer me, why the hell did we end up here?!"
...Actually, just when we activated [Space-Time Warp], something interfered the process. I tried to the best I can not to let it distract us from our supposed destination. But in the end, I could not do anything about it. I have tried to the best I can to reactivate [Space-Time Warp], but the interference it caused has prevented me from doing it.
'Something'? Why were you always answering in such a cryptic manner? "What is this 'something' that dared to interfere?! Just be honest, will you?!"
... She goes completely silent.
Just when I am about to rage at her, a realization comes like a strike of thunder.
Now that I think about it...
Fundamentally, how skills work is not that different from how magic does.
To activate a skill, a certain degree of will is needed to make sure that the skill acts just as the user desires. A desire, specially a conscious one, is required when activating a skill just like how imagination is essential when using magic.
Ciel-san's role is just to manage my skills and improve the outcomes. Nothing more, nothing less.
There's no way Michael and Feldway would be the one who interfered, since they'd been already dead after they had force-revived Veldanava.
The True Chaos Dragon? It didn't have enough intelligence to even plan something like that, since being thrown at the End of Time and Space was believed to have no way to come back.
A mysterious entity? Nah, I am the one who 'rules over time and space', at least according to Ciel-san. So, it should be impossible for someone to interfere my own spacetime travel.
In other words, the very person who interfered was...
As though losing all of my energy, my knees slowly fall onto the ground. "Me myself, wasn't it?"
...?! N-no! I-it is not true. It is not Master's fault. The fault is all m—
"No, Ciel-san," I interrupt. "I know very well that this is not your fault."
Yeah, that's right.
The only thing that could interfere was something which came from my own self.
My own semi-conscious, selfish desire and dream.
"Damn it!" Without thinking, I hit the ground with my fist. "If only I didn't daydream about such nonsense at the time. If only I didn't even get to think a glimpse of that..."
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" I hit the ground multiple times. "Doesn't this mean I've utterly failed to protect my friends?! Even though I've promised to them and myself that I would protect them?!"
"What a worthless master am I." I curse myself, lamenting at my own weaknesses.
...
"It is not true," says a gentle, mysterious voice free from malice coming from in front of me.
"What is not true?" I retort without even bothering to look at its source. "Can't you see how lowly have I become?!"
"Nothing will affect your greatness in my eyes. Besides, you have not failed yet."
"After all what happened, you can still say that?! Are you saying that just to mock me?!"
Somehow, a few drops of water fall onto my hands. "Huh? What are these?"
I feel something flowing down my cheeks. I touch my lower eyelid. Water comes out of my eyes. "Am I...crying?" I quietly whisper to myself.
When was the last time I cried? Was it when I buried Shizu-san inside my [Stomach] that time? How long has it passed since that time?
Now that I also think about it, when did I stop being able to cry? How did I even stop crying?
Being not able to lift my head to face the reality lying before me, I start sobbing uncontrollably.
...
I see a silhouette of someone entering my field of sight. It seems to take a position of kneeling.
Not so long afterwards, I feel soft hands touching my both shoulders. I finally lift my head, looking at someone in front of me.
This someone has the exact same appearance as me. From body stature, facial features, hair, and even the clothes; they are all exactly the same, with the exception being our eyes. My eyes are always known to have gold colour. This someone, on the other hand, has red-coloured eyes.
"Who...are you...?" I mutter.
"Master is so cruel. How can you already forget the one who is always residing inside you?"
Great Sage? No, Raphael-san?
No...she is... "Ciel-san?"
She reveals her faint, gloomy smile. "Yes, it is me. Manas: Ciel, a theosophic nucleus born and existing within Master's soul, the one who supports."
"I...I am...sorry...Ciel-san..." I look at the ground, clenching my fists.
"For what?"
"For having been harsh at you like that... For having shouted at you like that... For everything..."
I can feel her hands reaching the back of my head and slowly bringing my head onto her shoulder.
"There is no need to apologize, Master. Rimuru-sama is my one and only master. No one would ever replace that position. Even if you were asking me to leave you, I would be begging to stay with you, going so far as to lower my head to the ground until you accepted me."
"Ciel-san..."
"You have not failed yet, Master." She lets go of her embrace, putting her hands on my shoulders again. Her face is very close with mine, looking straight at the eyes. "All of your companions are still alive somewhere, here in this world, at this very exact time. It alone should be an enough proof that you have not failed. We can save those who could have been saved. We can redeem everything we have done in the past. We can even restart our lives from the very beginning."
She is right. How did I forget?
It is too soon to decide if I have lost. If I did warp to the time when I was first reincarnated, then they're with no doubt still alive, doing their daily routines...somewhere in this world.
If it was caused by my own daydream, my own selfishness, I should just deal with it...not cowering and cursing everything.
Because if I do nothing besides cursing myself, it will be just the same as me letting this world—no, the worlds be destroyed for the second time. And if I witnessed the worlds' destruction again, I'm sure I would regret everything more, and would curse myself even more.
Aren't I the one who's always saying that I hate losing? If so, then I cannot let myself be defeated.
I cannot let myself be defeated by my enemies. But most importantly, I cannot let myself be defeated by my own self.
...
Unexpectedly, Ciel-san reaches the back of my head, slowly pushing my head onto her chest.
"Even though I am yet to fully understand the nature of emotions, I know that My Master is currently devastated and needs a support." Her right hand gently strokes my hair. "It must have been tough to bear all of that sadness and sorrow."
"I..." I try to say something, but my mind refuses to come up with words.
"You are feeling tired, are you not, Master? After all, you have not got any time rest since the war had started." She brings her lips closer to my ear. "Please let go of every burden inside your mind and please take a rest as you deserve," she whispered softly in an irresistible tone.
She seems to start inducing [Sleep] as I begin lose control over my body. But it feels so comfortable, that I don't even want to try resisting it.
Within the warmth of Ciel-san's embrace, my perception gradually dulls before I peacefully fall into my slumber.
~TO BE CONTINUED~
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