【Story】True Ending Chapter 2

Ch. 2　Unveiling the Truth

Part 1

“An Overpowering Killing”

An overwhelming anger was ignited inside Enoch. His nerves were twisted by animosity, and strong pulses were sent from his scar. Enoch was dominated by the urge to destroy and tear everything apart.

He could neither control nor sense anything. He could only be dominated by the urge and act under its command—Enoch sprinted forward at an impossible speed as hostile elements turned into sharp weapons on Enoch’s staff, which chopped off the beast’s right claw in a swift strike.

Enoch continued venting his anger by destroying the body of the beast. The rest of his limbs were chopped off one after another. The limbless beast wanted to escape, but Enoch prevented him from doing so by summoning the heroic spirits, who shot lances to pin him down.

But this was far from the end. Waving his wand, he thrusted his staff and knocked on the beast, emitting dull, horrifying sounds until someone grabbed his arm.

Ingrid: Enoch! That’s enough! He has stopped moving!

Enoch: Huh? Ingrid…I…What am I doing…Sister!

Enoch looked at Ingrid blankly as if he had just woken up from a dream. His gaze then fell onto his sister, who was lying on the ground. Thunderstruck, he eventually regained sobriety and ran to her. When she lay there feebly, she looked completely different from the usual, energetic girl that she had always been.

Ingrid: I’ve given her some basic first aid; nothing is life-threatening now. But there are some severe injuries on her right hand, if we don’t bring her to proper treatments right now, I’m afraid her hand would…

Enoch: No, I won’t let this happen! Let’s head back to the ground first—Urgh!

Ingrid: Enoch!

When Enoch was about to lift sister up, he felt an unfamiliar pain in his scar, so strong that he knelt on the floor. Feeling a strange sense of being summoned, he looked back into the end of the space—though it was shrouded in total darkness, he had a weird sensation—as if a part of his body was left inside.

Enoch: “Argh…My chest hurts…It feels like something is trying to escape from my body…”

Sister: Mmm…Brother…Run…

Enoch: Huh?

Ingrid: Tut! Too late!

When Enoch was astounded, countless chains descended from mid-air and locked Enoch up in an instant. Ingrid had wanted to save him, but their enemy was way faster. Enoch was dragged away.

Enoch: You are—Mother! Why are you here—Urgh!

Tawil placed her hand on Enoch’s chest. An excruciating pain almost tore Enoch apart. It was so unbearable that Enoch started gagging.

Tawil: I knew it, it has started resonating…You’ll be gorged if you go on like this…

Enoch: Cough…What do you mean? Set me free—Agh…Darn…

In silence, Tawil gave Enoch a complicated look before she raised her right hand—Buzz! Tawil numbed Enoch’s consciousness with an electric shock. Despite his best effort in staying awake, Tawil clearly overpowered him and he failed to break free.

In his blurry eyesight, Enoch could see the silhouette of Ingrid’s worried face and Sister’s weak body.

Ingrid: Let go of Enoch at once!

Enoch: “Ingrid…Save…sister…Mmm!”

At last, Enoch lost his consciousness…

Part 2

“Become a Vessel by Design”

???: “Wake…Wake up!”
Enoch: “Ouch! It hurts…Who…is calling…inside me…”
???: “I…am waiting for your return…at the final destination…”
Enoch: No…Don’t…Don’t—! Huh huh…What…What is this place…It’s so bright…
Enoch woke up to the calling of the unknown existence, and was overwhelmed by what was in front of him—A golden world in which metallic boards formed complex geometric shapes. Thousands of vessels intertwined on the boards, forming numerous spherical circuits.
The golden liquid of vitality flowed in the vessels, composing the songs of life and soothing Enoch’s tense soul.
Enoch: “I seem to be underground…Is it somewhere deep in the Mech City…”
Enoch wanted to stand up, but his hands were tied up by the vessels. He struggled hard but his efforts to break free were in vain. Worse still, the noise that he had made attracted her attention.
Tawil: I didn’t expect you to wake up so soon…It would be better for you to remain unconscious…
Enoch: Mother…No, Tawil…Who are you, actually?
Tawil: …Didn’t you know the answer already?
Enoch: You are Monesis…the consciousness that created the origin, and the existence that helped me in the twisted past…What’s your purpose?
Tawil: Enoch, sometimes knowing everything doesn’t make you happier; you may end up in misfortune…
Enoch: I fear remorse more than misfortune. I dread lies, and I hate liars!
???: “You’re right…She’s lying to you…”
A ghostly voice sounded from Enoch’s chest. The devilish whispers were playing with Enoch’s emotions and pulling on his nerves. The compulsion made him gasp for air.
Tawil: It’s true that I planned to use you and sister earlier…
Tawil waved her hand, and the vessels dragged Enoch to the end of space. There was a gigantic golden sphere underneath, its existence was so strong that it could drive one to lose sanity. However, what caught Enoch’s attention was the purple mist emitting under the sphere.
Sheer terror was sent to Enoch’s brain through the scar on his chest. The call came from his body and soul. He yearned to return, and he could feel the joy from an unknown part of his body.
Enoch: This is… The origin of destruction…Azathoth…
Tawil: It’s just part of it. Its main body is lurking in an abyss of this land. Enduring the torment of his creative and destructive instincts, his consciousness is in a muddle.
Tawil: In order to save Azathoth, I’ve separated from my body in the past, and I’ve been to different dimensions to seek possibilities. I’ve spent eternity on this, and eventually I found it before I fell into despair.
Enoch: Is that me… just like how he had saved you, you planned to divide its soul from its body, and turn me into the vessel… And this was why you had taken care of my sister and me…
Tawil: Both you and sister had part of his strength, but in the course of your growth, you did better than your sister, that’s why I’ve chosen you. But in such a long timespan, errors are inevitable, and the twisted world was one of them.
Enoch: That’s why you helped me…
Tawil: Me in the past would help everyone who helps me achieve my purpose, and annihilate all those who are in my way. Everything that has happened on this land in the past ten thousand years is predestined, for I have to save Azathoth.
Enoch: …To make me a vessel, you scripted the death of my parents, the sacrifices of Leonard, Cang Bi, and Glauox, and the disheartening demise of countless heroes who fought for the same wish. You…Is this what you are trying to say?
Tawil: …
Enoch: Answer me!
Tawil: I…I can’t deny it, but now…I am different—
Enoch: Shut up! Shut up!
Enoch raised his head. The hole in his eyes was now replaced by implacable hatred and despair. The scar on his chest grew larger as it absorbed his sentiments, the ominous purple spread to his neck…
Tawil: “Can’t the corruption be stopped…”

Part 3

“The Broken Hope”

Enoch: “Why do I have to experience these… Is it because I’m too weak…. That’s why I’ve been losing everything… No… No… I hate it! I don’t want to be exploited anymore!”
???: “Exactly… In order to not be exploited any longer…you should become the one who exploits others…”
A heart-piercing pain was sent from his chest. Fear, horror, remorse, guilt, and all sorts of negative emotions penetrated his heart, tempting him to follow his destructive instincts. He stabbed his hands into his chest and tore it open brutally.
Enoch: Arrrrrrrrrgh—！
Innumerable worms crawled out from his chest. Intertwined, they formed enormous tentacles which instantly broke the vessels trapping Enoch. He was freed.
Enoch: Unforgivable… I’m gonna kill… Kill you… Destroy you… Annihilate you… And exploit everything!
Tawil: “He is being corrupted by the impulse of destruction… I have to defeat him before his consciousness is fully engulfed.”
Tawil initiated an attack, but Enoch was one step faster— he pounded on Tawil from a bizarre angle using his tentacles, which took her right arm and broke it off in a crack.
Tawil responded promptly. Summoning elements to form a sword, she wielded it towards her broken arm. Bloodshed all over the place, but she managed to set herself free.
She receded and kept a distance from Enoch, but she failed to foresee the attack of the tentacles and expose her weakness at the back—BOOM! Tawil was pinned down by the demonized Enoch.
Enoch: Don’t…Run…Kill…Kill you…
Tawil: “…Did it fail again?”
Closing her eyes, Tawil awaited death readily, but the anticipated pain never hit. Instead, she heard the noise of a body being knocked off. Tawil reopened her eyes in perplexity and saw a girl standing in front of her, who seemed to have kicked Enoch to the opposite wall.
Enoch: Ugh…
Ingrid: Finally, I’ve found you, you idiot principal!
Enoch got up and glared at Ingrid. His head hurt, and he roared ferociously.
Enoch: In…Ingrid…Go, go away!…I…I have to kill her…
Ingrid: I won’t go away! That isn’t what you truly think! I won’t let you do something so silly!
In the face of the monstrous Enoch, whose chest was spilling worms and whose limbs were covered by peculiar flesh lumps, Ingrid, however, was not in the least afraid. Courageously, she walked towards Enoch with arms akimbo. Her bright eyes illuminated Enoch’s dark horizon like the morning glow.
But the glow was too difficult to maintain. It was soon taken over by thick murkiness as Enoch’s consciousness was overwhelmed by his destructive instinct.
Enoch: I told you…to leave!
Ingrid: Argh!
Enoch attacked Ingrid as he let out a mighty roar, making a few bloody wounds on her body. Ingrid, however, did not retreat. In contrast, she was infuriated.
Ingrid: You…You are such a kind person that you’d save the undead whom you didn’t even know. How could you be so merciless as to kill her?
Enoch: Shut…Shut up…Urgh…
Ingrid: Enoch, you’re crystal clear that you still have love and respect for her even now, so stop lying to yourself!
Enoch: “Tawil…Mother…She’s right…She has loved and taken care of us since we were young. I can tell our bonding is real…”
???: “Come…Destroy…Come…Ruin…It’s your instinct…”
Enoch: Stop…bullshitting…Argh!
Enoch looked as if he was fighting against something. Staggering, he warped his head with his arms while letting out a furious roar. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop the scar from growing. The darkness was devouring him piece by piece.
To let out the unbearable pain, Enoch completely lost control of himself and attacked everything around him, ripping everything apart except Ingrid and Tawil.
Enoch, whose body had now been taken over by flesh and organs, became an indefinable monster.
Ingrid: Enoch! Wake up!
Tawil: It’s useless…Now that the power has been awoken, it’s impossible to bring it under control. His consciousness will only be engulfed by the destructive origin, unless there is a miracle.
???: Let’s create one, then.

Part 4

“Defeat the Corruption”

Following the voice, a slim figure hopped down. Striking an exaggerated pose while she landed, her air was eye-catching.
Tawil: Sister…
Sister: Phew…I made it. Why are you guys hiding in such a secluded place? Thank goodness that I used a magic formula to track my brother’s location! I was worried about him.
She might have sounded exuberant, but one could easily tell from her sweaty forehead that the injury of her right hand was by no means mild, but she endured it anyway for the sake of her brother.
Ingrid: Enoch is in danger. Let’s do it now!
Sister: Oh, quite impatient, aren’t you? I get it. Just do as you were told, brother’s girlfriend!
Ingrid: I said I’m not!
The two were approaching Enoch when Tawil stood up with her arm recovered and asked Sister seriously, looking into her eyes.
Tawil: What do you plan to do?
Sister: If everything was caused by the destructive origin inside brother’s body, I’ll just destroy it with the same power!
Tawil: No! There’s no way your body could take this.
Sister: No, it’s alright. I believe in miracles.
Sister and Ingrid marched forward gallantly despite Enoch’s madness. Detecting intruders in the perimeter, Enoch…No, it’s the destructive origin that had wrested control of Enoch that started attacking.
With the help of Ingrid, Sister put both arms in the air to resist the attacks while singing fascinating melodies, which resonated with the formula that she had written on her chest, releasing energy for a counter-attack. Nonetheless, Enoch obviously had the upper hand.
Sister: Darn it! Brother is so artful. He’s simply too powerful!
Ingrid: Don’t give up! I’ll help.
Nevertheless, even Ingrid was not of much help. The situation was increasingly unfavourable.
Sister: Ugh! I…I can’t take it anymore!
Despite her joking tone, the fact that her right arm was drenched in blood hinted at the immense pain she was enduring. It was when a figure came forth to hold Sister’s exhausted arm.
Sister: Mother!
Tawil: Focus, don’t be distracted.
Sister: Oh oh oh, now that mother is here, I’m now in good spirits, and nothing’s gonna scare me!
The tide turned after Tawil joined their force. The combined power of the three was stronger than that of Enoch.
Enoch: Ugh…
Ingrid: Wake up!
Sister: Yes! Ingrid said if you wake up now, you can do nasty things to her!
Ingrid: I didn’t say that!
Sister: Sigh, so petty…Brother, please…Come back.
Ingrid: Yes…Everyone is waiting for you.
Tawil: Enoch…
Their calls moved Enoch’s heart. He wanted to stretch his arms and touch the light, but the illusory purple shadows blocked him.
???: “Don’t believe them…They are lies…Destroy…Destroy everything…It’s the only purpose of your life…”
Enoch: “No..It’s not…I…long for protection…I want to protect the things and people that I treasure…This is my wish!”
No longer deceived, Enoch broke free from the illusion and regained control of his body.
Enoch: Hero…Heroic spirits…Fight the destructive malice for me!
Summoning the heroic spirits, who exhibited their historical brilliance in the holy light. In glory, the ominous purple mist dissipated. The tentacles and the flesh lumps turned into specks of dust and vanished.
Enoch: Ugh—!
Ingrid: Enoch! Are you okay?
Enoch: How could I…be okay…You were so noisy…
Sister: What do you mean, noisy! We were doing everything we could to save you!
Enoch found the displeased pout of Sister amusing, but when he saw the figure behind her, his smile faded. He gave Tawil a complicated look.
Enoch: Why…Why did you save me? Is it because I am the vessel that you need?
Tawil: Because you’re my son…You probably won’t believe me…
Enoch: It doesn’t matter if we believe you or not…You are the one who raised us and taught us what love and hope are…Even if the world were destroyed because of you, the fact that you are our mother is unshakable.
Tawil: Enoch…Thank you…
Enoch: You might say that everything was planned by you, but I believe my parents, Enkidu and Elpis, truly loved each other. Sister and I, therefore, were the fruit of love.
Sister: Hey! Don’t make things complicated. Love is simply invincible! Be it the creator or the destroyer, gods or demons, nothing can go against it!
Sister jumped over to hug Enoch, Ingrid, and Tawil.
Sister: We’re a family. Even lies, heartbreaks or troubles can’t keep us apart!