The magic cards I made are absolutely flawless!

But now, if I return to the mortal world in this state, I'm afraid I'll become a guardian spirit!

Of course, given the chaotic state of spacetime here, it's possible to be transported to some strange world, become a vengeful ghost, and participate in eerie games...

Dekan finally looked again at the goddess of reincarnation and fate not far away; only she could help him.

However, she rarely answered Dekan's questions from the moment she appeared.

I couldn’t sense any coldness from her at all.

But Dekan also knew that perhaps that was the difference between gods and humans.

Just as demons cannot comprehend human kindness, humans also struggle to understand the emotions of deities.

There remains one last memory of yours.

The goddess of reincarnation and fate seemed to understand Dekan's thoughts every moment and responded to his confusion.

Dekan looked in the direction that the goddess Tike was facing.

Under the starry sky not far away, two figures appeared out of nowhere!

And those two figures were none other than Goddess Tik and him!

wrong.

Dekan frowned.

The figure carrying a lantern and walking towards the gray-haired figure in the distance was indeed the goddess Tike.

The gray-haired figure with horns on its head and a few demonic markings on its cheeks turned around in surprise to look at the goddess Tike.

Then, bow to her.

This scene was just like a reenactment of when he first arrived here not long ago.

However, the goddess Tike was still the goddess Tike, but the gray-haired figure was not Dekan but Delois.

That's the scene from the last time I brought you here.

The goddess Tike, who was beside him, gave an explanation to Dekan.

Dekan nodded blankly.

He discovered that they seemed to be in a spectator mode, watching this projection from thousands or tens of thousands of years ago.

This also answers one of Dekan's initial questions—whether he had seen the goddess Tiki when he was Delois.

The answer is unfolding before our eyes.

In the distant projection.

Delois and the goddess of reincarnation and fate both seem to be rather taciturn.

After Delois finished performing the priestly rites to the goddess Tiki, he didn't say anything, but just kept his head down for a long time.

They were devout, as if they were praying to a god.

【…I'm asking you.】

Finally, Goddess Tiki spoke first.

"Yes."

Delois replied in a steady voice.

Why do you need to understand human nature?

The goddess's question was so direct and clear that even Deloitte seemed to tremble slightly in surprise.

He thought the goddess would ask him questions about his faction or stance.

"Now that things have come to this... I haven't thought about the specific answer to this question for a long time."

Delois thought for a moment.

He seemed to hesitate whether he should treat God's question with more solemnity or in a more relaxed manner.

However, the final conclusion is that there's no need to worry about it now.

Only after he understood the human heart and the pain that only humans can feel did he truly understand the concept of suffering.

But correspondingly, he no longer wanted to ponder the nature of human nature.

And his purpose in pursuing the human heart may have changed several times in the beginning, later, and finally, until he could no longer figure it out...

"At first, it might have just been out of curiosity, to relieve my boredom."

Deloitte answered the goddess's question honestly.

"I might think that if I can't understand real pain, I can't perfectly apply magic to my own pain..."

Although he dislikes pain, he must first experience it himself before he can inflict it.

Over time, he gradually became numb to some extent.

Physical and mental pain seem to be nothing more than this.

Each time, he inflicted torment on his enemies far exceeding death, making Dolois himself feel that this was all there was to life, and death was just a matter of a certain degree.

With this perspective on life and death, he also had no interest in harming the weak or those who were not evil enough.

It's not that I might feel guilty, it's just that I find it boring.

Delois knew that at this stage, he was walking on the edge of a cliff.

He already possesses dangerous talents; one wrong step and he could become a calamity that harms the world, even more dangerous than the Chaos God.

Fortunately...

"Until those two years that changed me, which were also the most confusing period for me... my purpose in pursuing the human heart may have changed without me realizing it."

Delois's gaze became complex, as if something more had been added to it.

"It wasn't until later, standing before her tombstone, that I realized my dried tears were simply a way to fill the void in my heart..."

But by then she could never come back, and he had fulfilled his wish and understood people's hearts. Everything should have ended.

Delois continued fighting until the very last moment.

The goddess didn't speak, indicating that she was gesturing for him to continue.

Delois lowered his eyes, as if he was thinking about something again.

He still doesn't want to recall the hellish scene that occurred when Clodia died.

Hearing her prophecy, "Your heart will break,"...

And when it is truly fulfilled.

It was as if his soul was trapped in a dead end and could not move. In an instant, it felt like decades had passed, even more painful than when he was tormented by the goddess of life, Sisina.

"Perhaps it's a curse... perhaps it's punishment for the demon for understanding things it shouldn't have understood, or perhaps it's just the price that comes with understanding human nature."

Delois finally spoke slowly.

“I’ve become strange. I have more things I want to protect, which has made me more vulnerable… Even if I’m shattered to pieces, I don’t want to go through that kind of pain again.”

378 Dekan's past lives, previous lives, and present life

"Why the question of pursuing the human heart is no longer important to me. Having understood this sentiment, I only want to protect this beautiful world and the people I love."

Delois's voice gradually became firm, even though his words sounded like a rejection of the goddess Tiki's initial question.

But he had a premonition that this was exactly what the goddess Tike wanted him to figure out on his own.

【…】

Goddess Tike nodded silently.

It seems she accepted the answer.

But he didn't say anything more.

"...Speaking of which, am I dead?"

After another period of silence, Delois raised the question that concerned him most.

[Barely.]

The goddess Tik's answer did not surprise Delois.

He knew his final state all too well.

Even the goddesses of reincarnation and fate do not have the power to bring people back to life.

It was probably the mysterious blessing bestowed upon him by some unknown force, as if out of pity, that allowed him to arrive in this starry world, a realm of stars and fireworks, after his death.

But what does "barely count as" mean?

You will one day be reborn on this land. But by then, you will no longer be you, and your story will have been wiped away.

The goddess Tike seemed to be narrating her own powers, or perhaps explaining the laws of this world to Delois.

Upon hearing the goddess's words, Dolois wore a forced, helpless smile, as if a hope that should never have existed had been dashed.

Your presence as Deloitte is too intense; if it is not erased, I cannot repair your soul and allow you to enter the cycle of reincarnation.

Delois nodded as well.

He knew all too well his state before he died.

The fact that he is here now is only because the goddess used the blessing she had placed on him long ago to pull his last wisp of consciousness to this realm that transcends time and space.

His soul, already shattered into a paste, could not be reborn in an ordinary way, even by the goddess of reincarnation and fate.

Only by seemingly kneading it back into a ball, returning it to its most primal state, can it be reborn.

However, I can send you to an interesting place in your next life, a world inhabited only by humans... to learn about that world and use the human hearts you gain to understand the lives of ordinary humans. Then, with some of those memories, return to this world.

It was as if it were part of the blessing, the love that the goddess Tiki had for her priest.

It also seemed like an acknowledgment of the merits Deloitte had accumulated throughout her life.

The goddess Tike said this.

Delois immediately nodded solemnly.