Read Novel Full Vol 1. Chapter 5: Side Story – Aaron – Purity for One (3)
Vol 1. Chapter 5: Side Story – Aaron – Purity for One (3)
Mobius Corporation’s ambitious project.
The release of Pick Me Up was just around the corner.
On Earth, marketing was in full swing.
They held giveaways on major social media, ran pre-registration ads on various community sites.
But large-scale marketing like TV ads couldn't be carried out.
They had failed to establish a direct connection with Earth.
The company’s operations had to remain strictly indirect.
They barely managed to establish Mobius’s presence by founding ghost companies and brainwashing a few key individuals on Earth through hard-won persuasion.
This method of operation was disastrously inefficient.
To implement more aggressive marketing or development, they needed a Line—a channel directly linking them to Earth.
Of course, the blueprint was complete.
It was just that its implementation was practically impossible.
“This is nonsense.”
Mobius upper executive conference room.
A middle-aged man in a suit twisted his expression.
“Even a child’s delusion is better than this. It’s completely unrealistic!”
Near the man, a strong aura surged.
It was the shape of intense emotion materializing.
Several nearby gods, overwhelmed by the energy, broke out in cold sweat.
“You’re going to launch the project without a Line? What the hell is that supposed to mean? It’s like trying to do business in another country without building any roads—just running things through letters!”
“I-It’s inefficient, yes, but not impossible...”
A man who appeared to be a researcher was drenched in sweat.
At the front of the room, a screen hovered.
Displayed on it was the outline of the Pick Me Up project.
“Why can’t it work? You said the blueprint was finished.”
The man furrowed his brows.
“To open and sustain a dimensional rift to Earth, we need a massive amount of energy. Mobius simply doesn’t possess any items with sufficient interference power...”
“So it was impossible from the start?”
“N-No, not exactly...”
“Unbelievable. What? Pick Me Up? You’re going to draw interference power through a game on Earth? After all the crap we’ve put up with, for this childish—!”
“Hey. Shut your mouth.”
The man’s yelling went dead silent in an instant.
“We’re explaining it, aren’t we? Maybe try listening before you shoot your mouth off.”
A girl seated across from him spoke with a cold tone.
Tell.
Beside her sat Icar, looking helpless and anxious.
“Hegrian, you’re good at everything except that temper of yours.”
“I’d say I’ve been patient long enough.”
The man called Hegrian glared at Tell.
He was another top-tier god with power on par with Tell and Icar in the Pantheon, wielding tremendous influence in Eden.
In the past, he had even competed with them for the chairmanship of the Pantheon.
“Haven’t we given you enough respect? We waited. We cooperated.”
Behind him stood a line of high-ranking gods and spirits.
They were the Hegrian Faction, rivals to the Tell-Icar Faction within the Pantheon.
“And what’s the result?”
Hegrian’s voice turned menacing.
Tell said nothing.
“You couldn’t even open the dimensional gate to Earth. You’ve failed to prepare adequate defenses against the catastrophe. And the finished game? It’s pathetic. Where in this is there even a hint of hope?”
When Mobius’s destruction was foretold, Eden had split into two factions:
“We already compromised as much as possible. If we delay any longer, we won’t be able to escape. Are you really suggesting we die along with Mobius for no reason?”
“...”
“We too...”
Hegrian closed his eyes.
Many emotions flickered across his face and vanished.
“It’s not that we don’t love Mobius. That’s why we let ourselves be persuaded. If there was a way to save it, we wanted to find it.”
In the end, the Hegrian Faction had been convinced by the Tell-Icar Faction.
They had yielded to Icar’s speech.
Thus, the two factions had united to launch the Pick Me Up project.
“But—”
Hegrian opened his eyes.
In them glimmered the dignity of a being once worshipped by countless mortals.
“Sometimes, things should be allowed to die quietly.”
“...”
“We say we can’t send our child off, but here we are, digging up their grave. I hope we don’t shame ourselves any further.”
Tell opened her mouth.
She wanted to refute him.
But no words came.
“Be honest. If we launch the project, what’s the chance Mobius will fully revive?”
Hegrian asked the researcher by the screen.
He was the staff member in charge of the briefing.
“That is...”
“No need to answer. I already know.”
Hegrian rose from his seat.
As he gestured, a mysterious pattern hovered over the table.
It was the language of the gods.
“The Pick Me Up project has four critical flaws.”
First.
To operate the project smoothly, a dimensional gate to Earth is essential.
Opening this gate requires immense interference energy.
Where in dying Mobius is such a power source to be found?
Second.
If the project is launched, the Outer Universe will immediately dispatch armies to annihilate Eden.
They treat violations of law as an absolute taboo.
How will we stop the Outer Universe’s forces?
Third.
The game itself is fundamentally flawed.
Analysis of the report shows no potential for popularity.
How is such a bland game supposed to succeed on Earth?
Fourth.
Does it even mean anything to resurrect a dimension that’s already perished?
Like gluing together a shattered vase only for it to fall apart again—so too with life and death.
“Even if you fix the first three, the fourth can never be solved.”
Hegrian declared.
“Lucardis said as much. He tried to split dead dimensions into a hundred fragments and piece them back together.”
As Hegrian gestured, a tower-shaped image appeared in the center of the table.
“First, reassemble the ruined dimensions into a tower of 100 floors. Then, rebuild causality floor by floor from the bottom up.”
Like a jigsaw puzzle.
Reassembling shattered pieces to recreate the original picture.
“He said once you reach the 80th floor, the pieces no longer fit.”
On the table, the imaginary tower rose higher.
But from the 80th floor, cracks spread. At the 90th floor, it completely collapsed.
Of course, Lucardis—using his divine authority—could forcibly fuse even the broken puzzle fragments.
The problem lay in what came after.
“The resurrected dimension doesn’t hold. At best, it can barely maintain form. If you try to force it to the 100th floor... the legions of eternity will descend and devour everything in a heartbeat. We couldn’t last even an hour.”
Even if the first three issues were solved, everything would collapse at the fourth.
The Pick Me Up project was impossible from the beginning.
“If Lucardis says it can’t be done, then it can’t. You don’t seriously think you can replace him, do you?”
Alpha Zero, Lucardis—the god with the eyes of heaven, who saw through all of creation.
If he said it was too difficult, no one else could possibly succeed.
The very idea of splitting a ruined dimension into 100 parts and rebuilding causality was insane unless you were Lucardis.
“I’d love for you to argue with me.”
Tell frowned.
But she still couldn’t bring herself to speak.
The one who bowed her head in apology was Icar.
“I’m sorry... It’s my fault. I was too inexperienced.”
“What a pity. Truly. We loved Mobius too. I hope you understand. As of today, we’re withdrawing from the project.”
Withdrawing—
That meant nearly half of the company’s workforce was gone.
Without them, development would be impossible in any practical sense.
“You’re abandoning this place and running?”
“Come now. That sounds harsh. It’s not abandonment...”
To Tell, who was glaring at him, Hegrian paused, then chose his words carefully.
“Fine. I’ll give you the answer you want. Purely, from the heart.”
Hegrian said:
“Yes. We’ve decided to abandon this place. We cherish our home, but our lives matter more. Is that the answer you wanted? I’ve spoken with no filter, so as Goddess of Purity, I hope you’ll accept our truth as well.”
They love Mobius.
Just... not enough to die with it.
That was their pure truth.
Tell remained silent.
“In two days, we’ll be gone. No need to see us off. We’re not so shameless.”
“No.”
Icar shook her head.
She stood from her seat, smiled brightly, and bowed to Hegrian.
“Thank you for everything. Before you go, please accept our farewell. For all you’ve done for Mobius and for us.”
“You remain ever merciful.”
Hegrian smiled as he stood.
“If, by chance, Mobius still survives when we reach another universe, we’ll do all we can to find a way to save it.”
“Thank you.”
“Then we’ll take our leave.”
The executives seated on the left all rose in unison.
They gave Tell and Icar a respectful nod, then followed Hegrian out of the room.
“...”
Silence settled over the meeting room.
Icar spoke nonchalantly.
“Aren’t the rest of you going to follow Lord Hegrian? If you lose him, you might not be able to leave this place.”
“We... will not go.”
Someone answered.
“Even if we die, we’ll die in our homeland.”
“We will follow Tell and Icar to the end.”
“Even though the project has failed?”
“Still... they did everything they could to protect our home.”
There was no visible despair.
It was quiet, but not defeated.
They were simply accepting the end.
“Everyone... you’ve done well. Until next time.”
At Icar’s gentle dismissal, the executives on the right quietly disappeared.
In the vast conference room, only the older sister and younger sister remained.
Icar asked:
“Sister? How are you? Sister...”
Tell had her arms crossed.
She muttered:
“Where’d that old man go?”
“Oh, Grandpa said he had to adjust the system.”
“It’s already screwed. What’s there to adjust?”
“Well, it’s not over yet.”
Icar smiled.
“Pick Me Up will launch. Maybe it won’t succeed, but we’ll secure just enough interference power. Then we can implement the second plan.”
“Second plan?”
"So that those children can rest in peace."
Icar explained the second proposal of the Pick Me Up project.
The core of the project was... euthanasia.
To momentarily revive all of Möbius—
And allow those on the brink of death to dream.
A happy and warm dream.
A miracle of that scale could just barely be realized.
"There will be no pain at all."
Icar said this,
With a gentle smile curling at her lips.
Tell saw the horror buried within that smile.
"Why bring the dead back to life just to make them dream? What’s the point of that?"
"Because they said it, before they died. They said it hurt. They said they wanted to live. I’m the Goddess of Mercy, so I have to grant their wish."
Icar spoke like she was singing.
"Then before they die, no one will have to say it. That it hurts. That they want to live. That they’re begging to be saved. They won’t have to beg me.
Because those children kept saying it—
'Save me.'
'Please, save me.'
Even now, I still hear them.
I’m the Goddess of Mercy, so I can hear their final cries."
As the Goddess of Mercy, Icar could feel the emotional waves emitted by the living beings of Möbius.
Which meant—
The feelings released across billions of dying dimensions had all been conveyed to Icar, without a single filter.
"They’re wishing for it."
Icar murmured.
"They don’t want to feel pain."
There was no light in her eyes.
"They want to be saved."
She spoke in a flat tone.
"They’re begging for just one more chance."
Tell swept her orderly black hair to the side.
She understood—
Why her little sister was like this.
Because the twin goddesses were two-in-one.
They knew each other better than anyone.
Icar couldn’t help but be this way.
Mercy—
To not abandon one for the sake of another.
To treat others as one would oneself.
Which meant:
The children Icar referred to—
were no different from herself.
"Ahaha."
And so, a laugh escaped her lips.
"Hey."
"Yes, Sister?"
"If you were human, you probably could’ve let Möbius go, right?"
"......."
"Sure, you would’ve cried, and mourned. But eventually, you’d let go. You’d let them rest peacefully."
But you can’t.
You aren’t capable of that.
Because you weren’t born human.
Just like how I was born this way.
"Little sister."
Tell stared up at the conference room ceiling.
The black strands of her hair hanging down caught no light.
"That’s not how you really feel, is it?"
"Sister?"
"You want it, don’t you? More than anything. So much it’s unbearable."
"I..."
"But you can’t act on it. Because you know the price. You’re not pure enough to accept the karma."
Still looking up, Tell turned her gaze toward Icar.
"You’re conflicted, aren’t you? Whether or not to ask me for it."
"N-No, I’m not..."
"Even though you know exactly what I’d do. Even though you already know it all."
Icar was in agony.
She was deeply torn over the desire inside her heart.
But if she were to express that desire purely—
It would unleash an unspeakable disaster.
To suppress such desire for the sake of others—
That is Mercy.
But the lives of Möbius had cried out to Icar, pleading to be saved.
To live.
To help them.
They had begged her, from the bottom of their hearts, for true mercy.
To accept their final wishes was also a form of mercy.
But then—
What is mercy?
What is purity?
No one knows.
Not anymore.
Icar no longer knew the reason for her own existence.
"......"
She struggled, and struggled, and struggled again—
Not knowing what was right or wrong.
Clinging to a question without an answer,
as the hour of destruction approached.
If only it were my sister...
Her sister never hesitated.
There is no conflict, no agony, in purity.
All such emotions are nothing but impurities.
If a desire, a feeling, were truly clean—
There would be no reason for pain.
Purity—
To abandon everything else for the sake of a single thing.
To live only for one’s own heart.
Even the weight of the universe becomes lighter than a feather compared to that heart.
Then let’s do that.
Icar made her decision.
She would go ask Grandfather.
If it was him—the god known as the Sage—
Then maybe, he could help her sort through her heart clearly.
"How long are you going to stay here?"
"Huh?"
Icar snapped back to herself at her sister’s urging.
"Ah, I’ll go out now."
The two sisters walked side-by-side out of the conference room.