Sword of the Philosopher

"Well then, let's change the question... the collapse of this world. Where's the goal? If all the nations have vanished, is that it?

"That would be one indicator. As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to ask the opposite."

"What?"

"I did push my back. Using the power of the existence of the star gods, countries are at war. But at this stage, I'm not that involved. There is the fact that I have descended, but I have not done anything yet."

The star god shrugs his shoulders. The expression with a smile remains the same, passing through the creeps and feeling nothing but fear.

"What is the goal for humans?

"... that's..."

I don't know, I guess. Bredge is close to the truth about the star gods, but he doesn't know anything about politics. The people in power when this video was filmed… I mean, you can't imagine what they think of the existence that is causing the war.

"Well, isn't it terrible to ask you about this?"

And even though the Star God asked questions, he stopped listening to the answers.

"Well, let me give you a straightforward answer. The collapse of the world... I don't know how far you imagine it. But perhaps more than you expected. [M] I guarantee it."

"... what?

"As I said, now I'm pushing my back and humans are at war with each other. However, I have not yet fulfilled the wishes of the human who expressed them. [M] So, once the struggle between humans is over, I'm going to make a move."

The movement of the bridge has stopped. Here he realized - it's only the preamble now.

"Well, let's talk about the existence I wanted. The man was a man and a researcher, just like your friend. When he was investigating the fantasy tree, he noticed something."

"Did you notice...?

"Civilization has grown tremendously, and the power to draw humans from fantasy trees has continued to grow year after year. As the population continues to grow, so naturally... he knows the limits. In other words, the resource limit is imminent."

... even in my previous life, there was an energy problem. In other words, the same thing happened in ancient times.

"He was trying to do something about it. No doubt he was working for mankind… to help many people. That is an indisputable fact. In it he realized my power."

A man finds out about the gods of the stars... that would definitely be a feat.

"But at that time, he didn't try to use me even if he noticed my presence. The enormous magic of sleeping underground... perhaps he felt dangerous about it. Well, actually, you're right. The magic of lodging your will can't be difficult to handle. That's why he decided to shut me down."

... I've heard so much, and I don't see any reason to wish the Star God doom... but the Star God keeps talking.

"Eventually he came to a conclusion about the fantasy tree. The tree absorbs the sun's light and water and turns it into magic. But eventually, the limit will come. If we go beyond that, the fantasy tree itself will collapse."

"Is that... a fact?

Bredge asks. It was unclear whether the answer would come back from asking the star gods.

"Oh, definitely. That is only a plant. There's a limit to how big it is... sooner or later, you're at your limit. Well, I don't know how far that goes. However, if I look at what you guys do... if you succeed, it could be a few years, maybe even decades at best.

Bredge was silent... but I don't think he knew it anywhere in his mind.

"And there will be a tragedy for him."

The star god keeps talking.

"He warned the top of the country. If we try to take magic over the status quo, in some cases the fantasy tree itself may collapse. Looks like he was the result of his own troubles. Again, if his opinion had been adopted, we could have delayed the tragedy."

"... what happened?

"The country tried to kill him as the one who knew the secret of the fantasy tree."

Until then... no, from the point of view of the powerful, it would be a terrible thing if that fact were made public. So you mean to seal my mouth...?

"He managed to escape. But the country keeps chasing us. And worse still, the country shared his information with other countries. I didn't explain that there was a limit to the fantasy tree, but I guess I explained how I tried to take magic from the fantasy tree."

"He became a hunter all over the world."

In that word, Bredge leaned down.

"I've heard the news somehow. An internationally renowned human being... who stole the confidentiality of the fantasy tree and tried to exploit it it... and killed someone involved in the research."

"That fact is mostly fabricated."

Bredge answered nothing to the word of the star god. Even he didn't have anything to do with it, so it seems that the person who spoke of the Star God became famous in the ancient world.

"Didn't I tell you he was captured... and you let him escape?

"At least the country didn't catch me. If they find him, he'll have no choice but to run away. His face was also known, and when humans from all over the world turned against him, he thought. Why do I have to be in such trouble? Are you the one who tried to save the world?"

I could understand without asking from there. And the Star God speaks what I thought he would say.

"Hatred began to grow inside him... and eventually he went underneath the Star God. And he wished. In a world where only pain comes to you, you don't need it anymore. If I wasted my warning and tried to kill myself, I would remind myself again... and I fulfilled my wish. The fantasy tree vanished and humans started a war. At first, it started with some kind of human hatred... even if it were a civilization with limits, no one would have expected it to end like this..."