After the group of people composed themselves, Cecil began to explain the situation to them, her words succinct. She did not inform them about the thousands of miserable lifetimes she had to suffer under the Creator's hands, alongside with Xue. She found no point in doing so.

In simple terms, it wasn't the demons or the angels who were responsible for this war, a war that extended all the way to the mortal realm. All of them were merely pawns in greater plans that the Creator wanted for a balanced world.

Even if the demons and angels fell victim towards their own hatred, it still didn't change the fact that the one to instigate everything wasn't them. It was the Creator.

Their greatest adversary since the beginning of time.

If they fail to win against their greatest adversary, the world as they know it would cease to exist. They had to make a plan.

A plan to fight for their survival.

"We will be going against their wishes they envisioned for this world, the same world that they created." Yun contemplated, closing his eyes as he nodded his head with a smile. "I understand. You are telling us to fight against our fates."

"Heh, that sounds fun," Haru said, grinning as he crossed his arms across his chest. "It's not our first time to fight for survival."

"I'm in!" Kiyae raised her hand in agreement.

"As long as I can continue fighting alongside those that I treasure, I don't really care what it is." Ryo yawned.

"Wo-woah, for once, you are speaking logically, and it's late into the night too." Haru was taken aback.

Ryo closed his eyes, finally giving in to his urge to sleep and ignoring Haru's insult. He leaned on Kiyae's shoulder for support.

Haru was speechless.

"As usual, the most interesting people are always around Xue and the Oracle." Tano chuckled, his voice full of approval.

"You...don't think I forgot what you did to us! You gave us a huge scare without introducing yourself, and you also..."

"Mhm, and what?" Tano asked with an innocent expression. "What did I do?"

"Weird, why can't I remember anything?" Haru scratched his head in confusion.

Just then, Tano noticed Cecil's concerned gaze on Xue.

"Oracle, what's wrong?"

"Even if this is the best way to go about this, Xue, he..." Cecil trailed off, reaching her hand out but she felt guilty, hesitating before she pulled her hand back. "I am the one who proposed this, so what should I do?"

With those words, Tano had an inkling as to why Cecil was reacting in such a conflicted manner. Eona and Sevont who remained silent all this time understood the situation as well.

"Wait a minute." K'xug suddenly called out, reaching out to Xue and placing his hand on Xue's shoulder. "Are you okay with all of this?"

"What?"

"Don't play dumb, Xue. You know what I am talking about."

"..."

The entire room looked at Xue, making him clear his throat awkwardly. If he listened to Cecil's words and went on ahead with the plan, it would mean forgoing his vengeance against Veau and Zeau.

A vengeance that he had been waiting for.

"K'xug is right, Xue. Are you...really alright with all of this?" Cecil asked, a pained look on her face as she held his hand in hers. "What have I done? I was too caught up in stopping the Creator, I didn't realise that I..."

"No, you don't need to do any of that. Cecil, this is a problem of my own." Xue said, shaking his head. "You don't have to concern yourself over what Veau and Zeau did to me. That is all on them."

Cecil sighed, still holding onto his hand. "Since you decided to accept the Creator's punishment with me, they did not let you off easy either."

"I don't regret it."

"That doesn't mean you suffered any less, Xue!" K'xug barked.

Xue frowned.

"Cecil and K'xug is right, Xue!" Hana exclaimed in anger, startling everyone. "I was there when you suffered through it all! I've seen it with my own two eyes! You have the right to be angry, and hate them all you want!"

The walls of the medium-sized inn room they were all huddled in were reverberating. It was clear how much fury Hana held in her voice, making everyone surprised.

"Do what you want, Xue! You don't have to think about the greater good any longer!" Hana continued her tirade, her voice becoming hoarse as she felt teary. "I just don't want to see you suffer any longer! You have been hurt enough! You...you...were in so much pain! What you went through, what you felt...!"

Xue blinked in complete shock. "Hana..."

Hana sniffled, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand as a tear slid out of her right eye. She couldn't continue her words any further, since she was afraid she would burst into tears.

Xue smiled helplessly, stepping forward and patting her head. "Thank you, Hana. For getting angry on my behalf."

"It's fine if you are tired of it all, it's fine if you want to throw it all away," Hana stated, shaking her head. "But don't forget, and don't forgive. Those evil brothers, they...they don't deserve it! They don't deserve anything from you!"

"Alright, stop crying. I get it already." Xue chuckled.

"I should have told you to speak up first," K'xug chuckled, drying up Hana's tears gently with his sleeves. "Stop rubbing your eyes, you'll make them sore."

"What...what is going on?" Kiyae said in puzzlement. "What did those demons do to Xue?"

"It's fine now, isn't it?" Cecil looked up at Xue, smiling. "You can tell them, Xue."

Xue squeezed her hand, quietly agreeing to her words.

It was time to embrace his naivety, his hurt, his pain and his vulnerabilities. He didn't need to hide them any longer, and he wanted to learn to trust again.

If he was willing to open his heart, there would always be people standing by his side.

"Xue? What is it?" Haru asked, frowning in concern. "Whatever it is, we'll hear you out. We won't say a word to others either, you can trust us."

Xue widened his eyes.

"You can trust us."

There were many who said those words to him, and yet, they stabbed him in the back nonetheless. After that, it filled him with nothing but disgust upon hearing those words.

...but now, it doesn't disgust him anymore.

In fact, he felt a sense of relief. He could finally move forward and trust people once more.

Isleif: "You are weak, Xue."

Isleif: "When will you ever learn? You should never trust anyone completely. Not even our Oracle."

Xue: "What's wrong with that?"

Isleif: "You'll be the one suffering. Just like always."

Xue: "...isn't that how life is? Not just for me, but for everyone else."

Isleif: "Wh...what?"

Xue: "To live is to suffer. To live is to love, to live is to cry. To live is to pursue happiness. In the end, they all mean one thing."

Isleif: "Hah! What could those all point to? More misery? More betrayal?"

Xue: "No, it just means we are alive. We are alive to our fullest."

After his answer, Isleif went completely silent. Meanwhile, the other soul fragments echoed their agreement with their host.

There was nothing much to life other than being alive, but that is the charm of it. There is no other experience in the world that can replace one's life.

"Whatever choice you make, Xue, I'll be right here to support you." Cecil said quietly, a loving look in her eyes.

Xue showed her a toothy grin in return.

If he wasn't alive, he wouldn't be able to experience any of this, and neither would he be able to know someone outstanding like her.

His oath, and his life.

The Oracle, Cecil Lan.

"Are you ready to share it now, Supreme God?" Haru grinned, sensing the positive change in mood in Xue.

"Yeah, but it's a long story, so you should take a seat."

***

Xue started with his childhood, being chosen as the Supreme God and being subjected to a tortuous amount of training. All for the sake of taking up the crown of the Supreme God. Unfortunately, this all happened when the tension between the demons and the angels was at its highest.

However, Xue remembered the wise words from his parents.

No matter where or when, if two parties possessed conflicting opinions, war and strife would be rampant. The only ones who could put a stop to them were capable leaders.

It is a heavy responsibility, but that was what it meant to be a leader. If they were to falter, their people would follow, whether they want it or not.

"I want to be a leader like that! A symbol of hope and peace!"

The young Xue stood up tall and proud, puffing his chest out. His parents laughed at their idealistic son, patting his head. They knew their adorable son always enjoyed the attention from others.

Of course, no one expected the idealistic Xue to keep to those words, but he did.

A symbol of hope and peace, the Supreme God.

However, to do that, he needed to show an example to others. What better way than to open his heart fully?

His sincerity, his kindness and his generosity, he offered to every single soul he saw. After all, to Xue, that was a symbol of hope and peace.

Alas, that was a dream that was impossible to achieve when the people around him, especially those closest to him, harboured malicious thoughts. How could Xue, who was only one person, be capable of changing all of their minds?

"You don't get it, do you? You are too candid, and too genuine. Even Veau and Zeau have pointed that out to you."

"I don't get it, K'xug. Is there something wrong with that?"

"It's...it's not, but...the one who ends up losing might be you. The world isn't fair, Xue. It never will be."

"Hana finally managed to open up after all these years, and she said I made it possible. K'xug, if I could be a symbol like that for one more soul, I'll do everything I can to make it possible."

"Even if it means causing yourself to suffer in the process?"

"So be it."

Xue had no idea how much suffering would befall him then. Thus, until this day, he could not understand what he did wrong.

Even in the previous timeline where he had destroyed the world, he did not know what he had done wrong.

He simply opened his heart to others.

He questioned the world, all alone in the dark, but it gave him no response.

The people he considered his family ripped his heart out and trampled it without a second thought. It was only until his heart was torn into pieces, buried deep in the ground and drowning in its own blood were they finally satisfied.

He was finally erased from their minds.

He no longer had to suffer.

...but that wasn't the wish he wanted.

Even until the end of his life, he merely wanted someone to stand by his side as he suffered. Just one person was all he needed.

At that moment, Tano appeared and awakened his sealed memories. Xue realised he wasn't alone, and he wasn't the only one fighting a war against this cruel world. Each and every one of them were suffering alone, in one way or another, like he did.

They just couldn't be seen or felt, especially the one he needed the most.

Thus, he was given a chance. A chance to turn back time, and a chance to change his fate as well the fate of others he had treasured.

Fortunately, even without recovering his memories at the start, he managed to change his life for the better. He saved those that he had treasured, he shared their pain, their suffering and their sadness.

Despite all that, there was one thing he did not wish to change.

The betrayal of the one closest to him.

"I do not wish to forgive, and neither do I wish to forget," Xue said as he finished reminiscing his painful past, looking at Haru and his group with solemn eyes. "Of course, there is still a part of me that wishes to kill them all and make them suffer as I did."

"Just kill them, those demon and angel bastards!" Kiyae barked out, slamming her fist onto the table as it broke under her strength. "Is this how they repay your kindness?!"

Hana and Cecil caught the table pieces before they fell to the ground, expressing their amazement at Kiyae's strength to split the table cleanly.

Tano, Sevont and K'xug nodded along to Kiyae's exclaim.

"Xue, I-I didn't know you suffered so much! How could such a thing happen to my friend?! Even if he was an asshole to us at the start, he didn't deserve this! Just make them suffer!" Haru sobbed, rubbing at his eyes.

"Ki-Kiyae and the captain are right! Just kill them all!" Ryo sobbed along with Haru. "We'll fight alongside you!"

The two of them shouted as they leaned onto one another for support, earning a look from Kiyae.

"Your identity and your strength would have made it possible for you to kill them all now. Is there a reason why you are hesitating, Xue?" Yun questioned.

"If I do so, I will be repeating my past mistakes. The world would be destroyed once again, whether I choose to or not, since the Creator will make it happen. No matter what." Xue answered with a troubled voice, furrowing his eyebrows.

"What's wrong with that?" K'xug spoke up, shrugging his shoulders.

"You clearly understand what I'm getting at here. Do I really have to say it out loud?"

"For us who have been by your side for a long time, we understand it enough," K'xug said as he grinned, gesturing to Haru and Ryo who were still crying. "But they might not be able to."

"Yeah, Xue! Why...why are you hesitating?"

"Yeah, let's kill them all now!"

The two of them sniffled.

Even Kiyae and Yun were glancing at him in puzzlement.

"In the past, I assumed everyone had left and betrayed me. There was no one on my side, I...had no one at all."

Xue sighed, glancing up and meeting the eyes of everyone in the room. His voice was gentle yet awkward, since he wasn't comfortable with expressing his affections like before, unless it was related to Cecil.

He even turned to Sevont and Eona, nodding his head towards them.

"...but things are different now. Right now, at this moment, the ones I treasure are standing right in this room. The same people who taught me how to trust once more."

"Xue..." Kiyae gasped out in surprise, not expecting to hear such sentimental words from him.

"If taking revenge on them means destroying the world, I..."

Now that he could be as sincere as he was in the past, Xue didn't hold back and broke out into a wide grin.

He did not have to be afraid to be hurt by the people he treasured any longer.

"I will put an end to that revenge, right here and now. I will never forget the pain and suffering they put me through, but it isn't worth it losing any of you."

The room was engulfed in silence before someone took a step towards Xue, pulling him into a tight hug.

It was Cecil, and her shoulders were trembling.

In an instant, everyone broke out from their daze and ran towards Xue. It became a group hugging session as they all beamed from ear to ear. Xue expressed his disapproval with his disgruntled expressions, but he did not turn away from their hugs.

Meanwhile, Sevont and Eona observed the joyous atmosphere from the corner of the room. Eona made a sad face, extending her translucent arms out.

"I envy them. I would like a hug too."

Sevont sighed, a wistful expression on his face.

"Indeed, how tragic. I do miss having a physical body."

The two of them glanced at one another before breaking out into hearty laughter.

Unable to resist such a rare joyous occasion, Tano hummed in approval as he took an imaginary picture of this scene in his mind.

Just like that, the revenge that Xue swore to have ever since that day he had been split apart, fragment by fragment, came to an abrupt end. He would never forgive them, and neither would he forget, but at the same time, he had found something more important in his life.

More important than his hatred, his pain and his misery.

It was happiness.

***

Two demons stepped through the portal connecting the demon and heavenly realm to the mortal realm. They lifted the sleeves of their robes, covering their noses. They were situated deep inside a cave, and the source of light was the bright orbs around them made out of dark magic.

Despite being deep inside the cave, there was a certain stench in the air that they detested.

"It reeks of angels. That's why I hate coming down here, this is where most of them ended up hiding after the war."

"Let's just finish our mission and report back to our lords."

"Mhmm."

The two male demons made their way out of the cave, and one of them even began to whistle a simple melody out of boredom. One had a bewitching appearance to him, which was a physical trait most demons possessed. The other had a similar appearance, but there was a large scar running down from his cheek to his jaw.

"Would you quit that?"

"Since you asked, no."

"...why did the lords send you along with me?"

"Because I am more of a talker compared to you."

The bewitching demon being insulted lifted his middle finger at his friend whose face was scarred. Without another word, the bewitching demon disappeared into a mist, and his friend followed along.

"Hey, wait up! We shouldn't use our powers unnecessarily!"

"If I have to hear your goddamned whistling for one more second—"

Just like that, the whistling continued all the way to the entrance of the cave. It wasn't until they reached the entrance of the cave that the demon with the scarred face halted.

"I...I sense a familiar presence."

"Yeah, me too."

The sky was cloudy and snow piled on the pathway leading to the cave. The two demons heard the snow crunching under someone's feet, and the familiar presence still lingered in their minds like an ominous warning.

"Oh, Xue, you were right! There are some innocent little peasants here!" Haru exclaimed, popping his head into the cave and waving at the two confused demons.

"Innocent little peasants? Captain, did you forget what they did to Xue?" Kiyae grumbled, making a face, popping in next to Haru. "They are not cute at all!"

Yun stepped in next, patting Kiyae on the head. "You know the captain wants nothing more than to slaughter them."

"Those demon bastards! Where are they?!" Ryo roared, rushing into the cave and making the two demons flinch.

"Wait." K'xug said, holding Ryo back by tugging on his fur collar.

"Let me go, let me have at 'em!"

K'xug sighed, tightening the hold on Ryo's shirt and allowed the man to continue struggling as he pleased.

"Uhm, K'xug, you might want to release Ryo, if not, he might choke to death!" Hana panicked, poking K'xug on the arm.

"A hot-headed guy like him? He won't die, he'll just awaken as a vessel and become an angel or demon. He's strong enough for that."

"Ryo Ryo! Are you that strong?!" Hana gasped in amazement, clapping. "I heard only certain mortals are capable of that!"

Due to the distraction Hana created, Ryo puffed up his chest and stopped struggling. He combed his hair back, clearing his throat. "Of course, I am strong!"

"Wow! You are awesome, Ryo! So cool!"

K'xug gave Hana a look of approval, releasing Ryo as he stood there, relishing in Hana's compliments. His hatred about the demons had apparently been blown away by the cold, frigid wind.

They were dressed in thick cloaks and clothing made out of fur to combat the freezing weather. If it weren't for the two demons staring at the group in horror as they grew in size, one would assume they were on a simple outing.

Cecil stepped in beside the large group, tightening the thick cloak around her as she blew out a hot breath. She lifted her head up, noticing the gazes of the two demons on her. They were clearly terrified of her.

"Hmm? Ah, my powers are leaking out again. It's still difficult to control it."

Tano, Sevont and Eona were residing within the broken mirror, shaking their heads in resignation. Since the mirror was already damaged, it would be hard to conceal Cecil's powers all the time.

Cecil pressed down on her chest, inhaling deeply and opening her eyes. Her mesmerising pellucid eyes stunned the two demons for a moment. She proceeded to show them a haughty smile, flipping her hair away from her right shoulder.

"It isn't me you should be afraid of."

A white mist-like trail rushed past her, appearing right in front of the two demons in humanoid form. The figure wielded his soul spear in one hand while he adjusted his cloak with his other hand. Once he was done, he regarded the two demons with an aloof stare as he brandished his spear at them.

"Re-activate your portal."

The two demons screamed in horror, hugging one another for safety.

"Th-the Poop God!"

The solemn expression on Xue began to crack apart.

***

《 start 》

Within you.

Within my friends.

Within the people who stand by my side in this lifetime.

I finally found happiness.

Getting revenge won't grant me the happiness I see before my eyes.

It never did, and it never will.

This is my life, and this is my choice.

My choice to never forgive and never forget, and my choice to walk away from it all.

That is my answer.

《 stop 》