Chapter Fourteen: Midnight Conversations

Several days had passed since the incident with the god Hularnos, and Camilla remained in a state of melancholy, her spirits weighed down. She had been a human from Lulueye, always close to the light, and in her understanding, it was the ancient gods she revered most. The fact that she had become a dark god was something she found difficult to accept, yet she could not bring herself to resent Tetsuya; after all, if not for his intervention, she might have died outright. Thus, a deeper gloom settled in her heart.

In contrast to Camilla, Daram and Hitra hovered around Tetsuya, desperate for power—even if it was darkness itself. Their obsession with reclaiming the continent of Mu had simmered in their hearts for too long. No doubt, if Daram ever gained such power, he would rush back to Mu without hesitation. Yet, to their growing frustration, Tetsuya refused to grant them this strength.

As for Shinkaku... his silence remained unchanged.

And so, this small, somber party trudged on toward an uncertain destination. Only when Tetsuya and Shinkaku discussed the use of power did any conversation arise at all. After the battle with Hularnos, Tetsuya himself had received a warning from the system, and he sensed that the duration of his alternate persona was steadily increasing—the other self seemingly plotting to seize control of his body. But there was little he could do about it; he simply had to remain vigilant, for now he could not do without the powers of darkness.

This heavy silence persisted, until one night, half a month later, Camilla seemed to muster all her resolve and sat by the campfire, gaze fixed upon the flames. After a long silence, she spoke: “Dark Lord...”

Tetsuya waved his hand, unwilling to be addressed as “Lord” by Diga’s future beloved—especially with Diga himself sitting not far away.

“Just call me Tetsuya.”

Camilla hesitated, her tone strengthening, “Could you take back the power you placed within me?”

Tetsuya clicked his tongue with some regret. In truth, he wished he could, but doing so would almost certainly mean Camilla’s death.

“Do you really despise this power so much?”

Camilla curled in on herself, her beautiful eyes reddened and swollen. After a long pause, she said haltingly, “I was born in Lulueye... that’s my homeland. I can’t imagine returning as a dark god. My family would be troubled by what I’ve become. Sister Miyuki Kei would be heartbroken, and Yurei—she’d surely look down on me.”

She paused, then began to weep silently, her tears shimmering like pearls as they slid down her cheeks to the earth.

“I may never return. I’ve become the first dark god of Lulueye... I want to go home. I don’t want to be a dark god...”

Tetsuya’s hand, stirring the fire, froze. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. The Camilla he knew was always strong, shrouded in darkness, exuding a queenly presence. Instinctively, he had paid little heed to her feelings. Only now did Tetsuya realize how wrong he had been—profoundly so. No matter how powerful, everyone had a time when they were supposed to be innocent and radiant, a time when they were weak, lost, and wept in confusion. Growth is never instantaneous; people need to mature gradually, to slowly become strong. Most importantly, they must first possess an unfathomably resilient heart—such as Tetsuya’s.

Yet... for Camilla, this all felt far too cruel. Perhaps she had only seen this journey as a lengthy excursion. Though she had suffered at the hands of the Kirielodians, it hadn’t been enough to truly make her grow. She feared and loathed the power within her far more than Tetsuya ever did. The torment she endured was thus all the more intense.

“I once resisted this energy, just as you do...” Tetsuya began, watching the black energy surge in his palm.

“But it’s pointless. Whether you love it or hate it, it’s there—you can’t run from it, nor resist it.” He paused, then continued: “You know as well as I do, it can’t really be taken back.”

“But...” Camilla sobbed, her words choked with tears.

“No more buts...” Tetsuya almost pitied this frail girl. “You can’t fight fate. Now that things have come to this, tears won’t solve anything.” He gazed up at the star-strewn sky, speaking words not unlike those Daigo had once said to him. “No matter what the power, it can always be used to protect others—as long as you keep a human heart.”

“Then... is that what you do, brother?” Camilla’s eyes fixed on Tetsuya, timidly she asked, “Is that why you saved us?”

Tetsuya hesitated. In truth, his motives had been mainly revenge. But under Camilla’s earnest gaze, he masked his true intent and nodded solemnly.

“Yes... You must understand, power is neither good nor evil. The difference lies in the heart.”

At last, Camilla managed a faint smile, though she hesitated again. “I want to go back to Lulueye... I’ve been away so long. I want to see my home.”

Tetsuya patted her head and nodded. “Then let’s return to Lulueye. I was planning to send Daram and Hitra there as well. And to be honest, I’m curious to see such a place myself.”

Night deepened, and Camilla soon drifted into a peaceful sleep. Shinkaku, however, had awakened, and found Tetsuya sitting by the fire, lost in thought.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Just daydreaming...”

“Is that interesting?” Shinkaku sat beside him.

“If there’s someone you care about,” Tetsuya replied, “sometimes daydreaming is an enjoyable thing.”

“I don’t understand,” Shinkaku said without hesitation. “What does that feel like?”

After a pause, he explained, “All the Old Ones except for the ‘God’ were creations born from darkness by Emperor Karafal. We weren’t given hearts.”

He waited a moment, his gaze distant. “At first, we knew nothing of sorrow or pain. I once watched my own pet get devoured by some other creature of darkness—it stirred no sadness in me. When I killed the beast in return, I felt no satisfaction either.”

“I was puzzled. I went to Emperor Karafal to ask why. I always felt as if something was missing. He told me that as a creator of darkness, he possessed boundless creative power—he could make anything he imagined, even an entire world.”

Shinkaku paused, giving an example: “Like Sophia...”

“Sophia?” Tetsuya was taken aback; that name was legendary. Sophia was the ultimate villain that spanned the entire Dyna world, able to possess any object and create terrifying monsters. Most remarkably, it was shrouded in mystery—rarely ever revealing its true form throughout the series. To create the Ultra-Ancient Dark Diga, to create Sophia—Emperor Karafal’s power was truly terrifying.

“But he told me,” Shinkaku continued, “everything he creates shares a common trait...”

He looked at Tetsuya. “They have no heart.”

“Not a literal heart, but the heart of emotions, of feelings. Everything he made was hollow—no joy, no anger, no sorrow, no happiness. He told me, ‘Go to Earth. I cannot create a heart, but perhaps you can find one there.’ And so, except for Emperor Karafal, Sophia, and the Wishing Sphere, all of us came to Earth.”

“The Hanged Man, the Priestess, Judgment, Chaos, the Demon, the Magician, the King, the Hermit, the Devil, the Longing, Destruction, Death, the Queen, the Warrior, Calamity, the Knight, and myself—we began our pilgrimage on Earth.”

“So that’s where the Old Ones came from...”