Epilogue

The setting was the inner sanctuary of a church.

Ilya stood before the altar, facing the Apostle who stood in the nave.

The Apostle spoke.

"Your intention to respect the will of humankind, and to regard conflict as part of the process of growth… I have duly observed it."

Observed. Which was to say, he had been confirming it.

Monsters, the ice dragon, evil gods, the strife between humans… all of it had been led to and brought about under the will of the world tree. If all of that had been for the sake of confirming something…

Now, having come to stand face to face with him at last, Ilya accepted his invitation and decided to ask.

"In the end, what is it that you want?"

To her question, the Apostle answered in his unchanging tone.

"We wish to protect this world from the calamity that is to come. Yet if the world remains disjointed, it will be shattered all too easily by them."

As the Apostle spoke, he lowered his eyes and bowed his head.

"We would have you make the world one."

Her answer had already been decided.

But Ilya did not give a clear reply, and instead asked in return.

"And if I were to refuse, what would you intend to do?"

He had likely not expected Ilya to consent readily.

Without showing any particular agitation, the Apostle raised his head and wore a wistful smile.

"You are kind. Even as you speak of doing things for your own sake, your heart is so kind that you end up devoting yourself to others."

At this all-too-convenient interpretation, she nearly voiced a denial.

But there was a certainty in the way he spoke, one that refused that very denial, and so Ilya chose to wait for what followed.

"When many evil gods rise, and the whole world is filled with monsters… what will someone such as you do?"

The Apostle lowered his gaze and spoke on.

As though mourning for someone.

"The weak shall perish. Those with power shall, in time, exhaust their strength… There is no growth there. There is no future. Sorrow and lamentation shall fill the world, and despair and hatred shall give birth to new monsters."

The Apostle slowly opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Ilya.

"At such a time, what will you do? … What will you do then?"

The Apostle did not press her; he only voiced the question.

In that moment, the light source thinned and the hall dimmed, and the light from the skylight overhead fell upon Ilya alone.

It was as though the very staging depicted one who was not human, bathed in light from on high.

As if he had been waiting for this very moment, the Apostle bowed his head deeply — and entreated.

"We beseech you, save this world. — O Goddess."