I, Kurumi Tokisaki, Am a Wanderer

Rick stood alone on the iron throne, gazing at the apocalyptic scene unfolding on the horizon.

The light that heralded the end of the world descended like a curtain, rippling in the wind.

Thirty-two massive circular spell arrays fully unfolded, as if bearing the weight of the terrifying vortex that loomed above.

Yet... the calculations seemed to have deviated ever so slightly—a minute error on the order of 10^-609 seconds. The clashing forces, unable to be fully guided, had already begun to form a vortex, initiating a premature discharge.

And then... Rick saw it: a faintly blue comet streaking toward the vortex from behind him.

It was Schwi.

She had chosen not to use the divine protection elixir Kurumi had left her, opting instead for another potion.

To redirect this immense power, one would first need to withstand it.

Deploying every available weapon at her disposal, Schwi hovered in mid-air before diving straight into the lethal spiral.

Her colossal cannon was braced against her chest, and as her body made contact with the horrifying maelstrom, it became shrouded in a veil of white light, bound by universal law.

""Vengeance—"

She strained every fiber of her being, using all the power she could muster. If her sister had managed to strip the God of War of his Divine Essence yet still failed here, how could Schwi possibly forgive herself?

"—Counterstrike!"

Schwi shouted, surpassing the limits of her analytical core and invoking Holou's blessing to forcibly fulfill the role of a design framework.

—[Output Reproduction at 33.33% Completion]—

The bright red message felt almost blissful; victory seemed nearly within reach.

—[Activate]—

Even as her body was scorched by the torrent of magical energy, exposing the blue-black mechanisms beneath her synthetic skin, Schwi pressed a hand to her chest and began to laugh.

—[Org.0000 – "True Paradigm · Heartfelt Resolve" – Fully Deployed]—

Materializing from the void were two immense black blades resembling a fine, slender minute hand and a thick, heavy hour hand. They were so enormous they seemed to connect heaven and earth.

With unyielding determination, Schwi pointed the hour hand skyward, guiding the vortex's energy.

With resolute will, she plunged the minute hand into the ground. The sword of the apocalypse, capable of ending the world, descended, obliterating the continents and incinerating the planet. It pierced through the Spirit Corridor and the very core of the world.

"Schwi... did it. Sister..."

Her body drifted down like a brittle, autumnal butterfly. Gazing up at the eternally blood-red sky, Schwi entered a semi-transparent revival state.

She only needed a few seconds to recover with a third of her energy.

At this moment, however, the only living being near the Spirit Corridor... was Rick.

The earth's crust had been completely upheaved, and the torrents of the Spirit Corridor's primal flow surged forth. The sheer magnitude of its energy, which pierced through the planet's core, felt like nothing more than a needle prick compared to its scale.

This power was enough to erase the world... enough to recreate it anew...

But where was the Star Grail?

Rick froze in place.

Before him, the radiant flow of the Spirit Corridor surged and billowed. Even touching it would bring about destruction... But where was the Star Grail?

What was this?

After all that effort... after yearning for it so desperately...

The campaign of total annihilation had been waged, piercing even the planet itself. And yet, the ultimate reward... was nothing but an empty mirage?

Could his hypothesis have been wrong?

The only thoughts swirling in Rick's mind were those of endless regret.

He was no savior—he was the demon that had brought about the world's destruction.

"No, that's not it..."

A hoarse, childlike voice came from beside Rick. For the first time, it was so clear, so unmistakable.

The moment he heard that voice, Rick knew exactly who it belonged to.

It was the one being he had lost to thousands, even millions of times—the entity he had never once defeated.

The being that had existed only within his imagination.

The God of Games.

Emerging from the shadows, the deity's form was finally laid bare before Rick's eyes. The same self-assured smile adorned its lips, so confident that it could make its opponent despair.

Wearing a large, whimsical hat, its eyes reflected a spade and a square. Its androgynously delicate features made it impossible to discern its gender.

The weakest of the divine beings, a God of Games born solely from a single human's imagination...

It smiled and extended an invitation to Rick.

"Would you like to hear a story? A rare tale, one that no one else remembers. A myth that won't ever be retold."

"A myth that only I in this entire world remember."

"Long, long ago—" the deity began with the most clichéd of openings, "there was a very, very boring war."

It was the story of a human who challenged the gods.

The story's protagonist was named Rick.

"Wait a second."

Rick interrupted the God of Games. "Are you telling me... my only hope of getting out of being single lies with that Ex-Machina loli?"

"She's supposed to be my cute wife?"

"Really now."

The God of Games chuckled. "That's where your priorities lie?"

"Borrowing Couronne's words: in this era, the first most important thing is to have children. The second is to find food. And third, fourth, and fifth are all having children," Rick declared with absolute seriousness. "And besides, I've been a virgin for twenty years."

"You're something else," the God of Games laughed heartily.

"So, according to what you've said, when the Spirit Corridor was pierced... the Star Grail should have appeared, right?"

Rick pressed further, his pitch-black, guarded eyes clearly asking, Where is my Star Grail? Where's that enormous Star Grail?

"Ah... That's how it was supposed to work, yes."

The God of Games gazed at its right hand—the hand with which it had once taken the Star Grail from Rick.

"But... that's only in the absence of a One True God." The deity's tone grew contemplative as it continued, "This world... already has a One True God. The Star Grail belongs to the One True God."

The deity was that One True God.

The One True God, from the moment of its birth, spanned past, present, and future.

For countless years following the end of that ancient war, the God of Games had never once lost.

Until, at long last, it had tasted defeat—at the hands of beings from another world.

Sometimes, it wondered—if, during that tedious war, someone from another world had arrived, just like the ones it had encountered later on... might it have been, just slightly, slightly more entertaining?

And so, the God of Games extended an invitation to that traveler.

"So... do you regret it?" The spade and square reflected in the deity's eyes locked onto Rick. "Deceiving the gods, securing ultimate victory... When all is said and done, it should have been you holding the reins."

"What's there to regret?" Rick suddenly laughed, his tone light yet resolute. "At least... they're still alive."

"In that case... let's return to the original question."

"The Star Grail—where is it?" Rick pressed, his gaze unwavering as he questioned the God of Games. The Star Grail was the root of everything.

"A long, long time ago... I already gave it to you, Rick." The deity's response came with a strained, almost twitching smile, as though struggling to suppress some unknown emotion.

Rick froze in place, then slowly reached into his coat, retrieving the exquisite black chess piece that shimmered with an ethereal brilliance.

In his hands, the piece unfurled, taking on the shape of a radiant object—a star-shaped dodecahedron engraved with the symbol of a pentagram.

From the very beginning... the answer had been in his possession.

By holding this, he could become the One True God?

Rick burst into laughter, his voice carrying a note of disbelief, and then, like a child, he began to cry.

"So that's it... In the end, everything is still part of the gods' chessboard."

Then, to the God of Games' visible astonishment, Rick pushed the Star Grail back toward it.

"That world you spoke of... a world of games—it's beautiful. I like it."

"So let it stay that way."

Without hesitation, he turned and walked away.

"This life of mine may be as insignificant as dust, but... I offer you the first and only prayer of my existence."

"Please... take care of it."

The light spreading from the distant horizon bathed the crimson sky and the luminescent blue earth in pure white.

All meaning, all color, was lost.

The ash hung suspended in the air, the seas halted their restless surges, and all who had survived the war simultaneously looked skyward—not merely at the heavens, but at the miracle unfolding above them.

The eternal black and crimson clouds that had cloaked the skies since memory began parted, revealing a luminous blue radiance so captivating it seemed to draw souls into its depths.

There was no doubt—it was the light of the sky.

Just as it had long, long ago, the God of Games—Tet—reset the board.

Gentle power swept across the earth, mending its scars. The desolate, ruined mountains, the dark, evaporated oceans—all of it was restored as though rewinding time, returning to a pristine and idyllic state.

Sunlight cascaded over the land, and clouds drifted lazily across the sky.

A soft breeze carried the faint scent of grass and stirred a dreamy sense of tranquility, while the verdant plains rippled like waves beneath it.

On the day the long war came to its end, the world had become a place of unparalleled beauty.

"Declaration—"

Tet once again proclaimed the Covenants of the game.

"Well, well... looks like we've lost." Think Nirvalen, lying on the grass, seemed to shake off her stupor and pulled the still-stunned Nina into a tight embrace.

"To think it could be played this way—killing the world outright." Think Nirvalen sighed heavily. "As expected, our God of Forest is just useless. I should've just taken out that inept superior a long time ago."

Amid Nina's horrified expression, Think Nirvalen casually voiced her blasphemous thoughts.

"But forget that for now... Nina, marry me!" Think Nirvalen grinned as she gently lifted Nina's chin.

"Wha—p-predecessor..." Nina stammered, her face flushed, her demeanor shy and awkward. Finally, she decided to reveal the truth. "No, actually... that... um~... actually, I'm..."

As Think Nirvalen grew increasingly bold in her teasing, Nina blurted everything out in one breath. "Actually, I'm a guy!"

The world seemed to turn cold in an instant.

Not far away, standing beside a Dwarven steel battleship, Lóni silently watched the scene. With an indifferent look, he murmured a quiet prayer for the Flower Crown Lady. He then slipped that photo he'd tucked away into his pocket.

Might make for a useful bargaining chip someday.

Walking toward the edge of the world, Schwi felt as though she had lost everything.

And yet... before her, the linked forms of countless Ex-Machina units rose like a forest of swords, offering her an invitation.

"Welcome home."

Well, well... If she waited long enough, surely her sister would return one day.

[Ding—]

[No Game No Life -Zero- Cleared]

A ripple of blue light spread before Kurumi, revealing a large gray chest marked with a bold 'F.'

[Deaths: 0 | Clear Time: 2133:17:09]

A translucent display formed before her, the result of a failed mission. For the longest and most grueling instance, it seemed her score wasn't particularly impressive.

[Obtained Materials: Fate's Mark ×100 | Eternal Melody ×100]

Kurumi exhaled deeply. She didn't even have the energy to open the loot cards herself. Yet, as the cards auto-flipped, she froze in place.

[Heart of the Ex-Machina - Proof of Mechanist Class Change]

Schwi's... heart?

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