Chapter 468

A simple sentence exploded in his ears like thunder, shattering within his heart.

Kamikawa Mitsu stood frozen, struck dumb by that single short sentence.

I am Him…

His mind held only that one phrase, echoing endlessly.

He could not return to himself for a long time.

He had speculated that he and the other player truly existed, knowing their terror, knowing their horror lay not merely in power but in their nearly unsolvable strategies.

Thus, he had speculated who He and the other player might be.

He had guessed too many identities—even considered the mythic setting of the Primordial Era, wondering if they might be Hongjun, more terrifying than the Three Pure Ones, or Pangu.

He had speculated on great figures.

He had also speculated on ordinary people; Kamikawa Mitsu had wondered if He and the other player might simply be an ordinary soul among the masses, hidden within them.

He had not forgotten the ancient Chinese saying: The greatest concealment hides in plain sight.

He and the other player, the two most invincible figures in the world, if they wished to hide, hiding in plain sight was the very last place anyone would find them.

Perhaps He and the other player were, in the Initial World, merely an ordinary office worker, a student, or even just a shut-in.

Kamikawa Mitsu had even considered that one of them might be… his sister—Kamikawa Chie.

Kamikawa Mitsu remembered every detail of Kamikawa Chie's miraculous blessed mouth.

If among Earth's ordinary people, one was truly extraordinary, it was not those child prodigies who entered high school at seven or took the college entrance exam at twelve and passed top-tier universities—but Kamikawa Chie.

She was merely an ordinary high school girl.

Yet she possessed a blessed mouth that made whatever she said come true, with one hundred percent accuracy.

Kamikawa Mitsu still remembered how Kamikawa Chie's blessed mouth had not only foretold his own strategies but sometimes turned even her casual jokes into reality.

For instance, a few days ago, Kamikawa Chie visited the supermarket where Kamikawa Mitsu held shares and saw a display of lottery drinks—similar to China's "open cap, get a free bottle" promotions.

At the time, Kamikawa Mitsu had told her there was no need to buy them; the odds were low and the drink tasted bad.

Kamikawa Chie replied, "What if I win? Maybe this one bottle will land me the grand prize—a three-day hot spring trip to Mount Fuji."

And then…

Kamikawa Chie won.

Kamikawa Mitsu stared, dumbfounded—Chie bought the drink, opened it, and won the grand prize.

It was precisely because of Chie's three-day hot spring trip to Mount Fuji with Rikui and the others that Kamikawa Mitsu came to this world of mysterious mist.

"You're saying I'm… the player, Him?"

After a long while, Kamikawa Mitsu snapped back to himself, his gaze fixed intently on the white skull, his deep eyes swirling with light, as if trying to see every motion, every change, to determine whether the skull was lying.

"Yes."

The white skull spoke without evasion.

At that moment, the black skull spoke: "You are Him. We have no reason to deceive you, for you will know it sooner or later."

Hm?

Kamikawa Mitsu turned sharply, looking at the black skull.

Before he could ask, the black skull said: "Myself and the Holy Spirit remain here because of you—you caused us to wait here for your arrival."

The white skull continued: "Myself and the Departed shed our flesh, shed our Dao, and guarded this altar, waiting solely for your coming—when this chess game will begin anew."

The black skull wept blood, its tears dripping and floating around it, spinning endlessly, appearing eerie and strange as it stared at Kamikawa Mitsu.

"At first, I did not understand why you made us wait here. Now, I faintly understand—you did not wager your reincarnation, nor your power, but threw yourself into reincarnation.

This chess game, meant for two players, could not continue without you.

That other player waits for you, waits for you to return and resume play—and thus the game halted.

These years without you became the most peaceful era; without the game, all beings finally gained control over their own fates, no longer manipulated as pawns.

This game was meant to resume after your return.

But you entered reincarnation—you are Him, yet not Him. That other player waits for the player, and that player is you, yet you are not Him—contradictory, yet utterly natural.

The game must continue, and you must play it—you are no longer Him, yet you truly are Him.

The game must be played, but this game must be replaced; the unfinished game, disrupted by your reincarnation, has been overturned, and a new game must begin."

The white skull's fire glowed softly at that moment: "Rather than continue a game already destined to end in defeat, begin a new game—a new game is new hope. You are truly you."

Kamikawa Mitsu fell silent, their words ambiguous yet somehow crystal clear.

He half-understood.

But at least he grasped one thing.

He was him—one of the two greatest masterminds in the world.

"He left hope behind, yet departed himself."

Suddenly, the black skull sighed softly:

"The inevitable defeat has been reversed, yet He is gone. Now you are Him, yet not Him. Even though He started a new game, bringing back hope, this game is now played by you—who are Him yet not Him. Is there still hope?"

The white skull now said: "Whether there is hope or not, we have staked everything. I believe in Him, and I believe in the Him who is now you."

In those final words, the white skull looked at Kamikawa Mitsu.

Though Kamikawa Mitsu was no longer Him, the First Holy Spirit saw His shadow in him.

That calmness, that composure, that expression in his brows—Kamikawa Mitsu's very demeanor now mirrored Him perfectly.

He was the world's greatest executioner, causing countless beings to die as pawns.

Who could have imagined such a terrifying entity possessed the demeanor of a composed, mature young man?

No arrogance, no supreme dominance, no noble elegance, no compassionate benevolence—only an ordinary yet extraordinary calmness and steadiness.

"You wish to know Him? Enter reincarnation—you may come to know all."

The black skull's dark, hollow eye sockets glanced toward the stone archway on the altar behind it.

Its meaning was plain enough.

That stone archway was the Wheel of Reincarnation — the legendary place where the dead are reborn and sent to their next life — the Wheel of Reincarnation!

The dead's reincarnation and rebirth, the start of the next life's cycle, actually looked this simple and plain, without the slightest flourish or mysterious special effects, utterly ordinary.

Kamikawa Mitsu did not immediately step into the Wheel of Reincarnation.

He did not know whether this was a trap — those two skulls might well be deceiving him.

The two skulls noticed this and did not urge him on, merely said lightly.

"Whether you enter or not is your choice; we will not force you. After all, you are no longer the He we once knew — we cannot place the burden of the chess game upon you."

Kamikawa Mitsu looked toward the black skull that had spoken.

"Can you answer me one question?"

"What question?"

"What exactly is the chess game, and why must all sentient beings be used as pieces in it?"

The black skull was the departed one, the previous player of the chess game — no one knew the reason for the chess game better than he.

……