"Truth? Something like that does not matter." Wu Ling waved his hand casually and refused. "I do not care about that kind of thing. I am leaving this world anyway. I may come back now and then, but anything called truth sounds troublesome. I will pass."
Alaya nodded. "Very well. I understand. This matter begins with the first time Goetia was defeated."
Wu Ling stared at her.
"Hey, hey, hey. I said I do not want to hear it. Just let me leave. I do not even need a reward. Is that not enough?"
Completely ignoring Wu Ling's opinion, Alaya narrated like a storyteller, serious and precise.
"After Goetia was brought near death by Solomon's Noble Phantasm, he obtained a lifespan, and because of that, he gained the human point of view."
Wu Ling began looking around. He urgently wanted to leave directly, but neither teleportation Magecraft nor the Throne of Heroes within him responded. The only thing echoing through the surroundings was Alaya's voice.
Helpless, Wu Ling relaxed his mind and listened to Alaya's story.
"Goetia, who became the King of Men, had already lost his omnipotent power. His ageless body had vanished, and his remaining lifespan was less than five minutes."
"Yet because he obtained a lifespan, he understood humanity. He reached a height that the previous Goetia had never reached, the height of a wise king beyond King Solomon, and came to understand the joy of life."
"The half-destroyed King of Men exchanged fists with Fujimaru Ritsuka inside the collapsing Temple of Time. During that battle, he used the ten rings, and after using the tenth ring, he destroyed himself."
"That should be the story you know."
Wu Ling nodded and made his presence known. Seeing him cooperate, Alaya placed her hands on her hips and smiled with satisfaction. Then her smile faded.
"But you should also know that after becoming the King of Men, Goetia lost his qualification as a Beast. Even so, as long as humanity exists, Beasts are undying."
"Under normal circumstances, after that incident, the information of Beast I, the Beast that held the Principle of Pity, would gather somewhere in some world and gradually form a Beast again. But during that process, the information containing the first Beast encountered the sixth Beast, the thing born from the Principle of Depravity. Its name was Sodom's Beast."
"Perhaps out of interest, with the help of Sodom's Beast, the information of the first Beast and of Goetia as a Beast gathered again and awakened in a certain world."
"The awakened Goetia retained memories related to the King of Men. Understanding is still only understanding, however. He did not approve. From Sodom's Beast, he also saw another method: parallel worlds."
"After that, I sent Chaldeas from parallel worlds to resolve them. Sodom's Beast was restrained, but Goetia had learned Chaldea's methods from his previous defeat. He easily defeated and intercepted many Chaldeas from parallel worlds."
"If Goetia continued like that, he would eventually gain enough energy to return to the main world. But given the current condition of the main world, it cannot defeat an enhanced Goetia. For that reason, I reported this problem to the Root."
"The Root of our world passed the information to the next higher Root. To solve the problem, the Great Root randomly selected you."
"At that time, however, the world you call Soul Land had also submitted information to the Great Root. After that, the Great Root first threw you into that world. Then, under unseen guidance, and with the Principle of Return that I borrowed from Tiamat, you came here. You know what happened after that. Thank you for helping me resolve Goetia."
Wu Ling tapped his chin. He had already suspected part of the truth, so he accepted Alaya's explanation without difficulty.
"I see. Then it makes sense. Fou had no Beast power inside him because the Fou of the main world had already abandoned that power. And Melusine appearing means the main world's Chaldea has at least finished the British Lostbelt."
After understanding the truth, Wu Ling sighed. In truth, he liked the female Fujimaru Ritsuka quite a bit.
Then Wu Ling pulled himself together. Like a hot blooded young man who felt embarrassed after receiving help, he scratched his head.
"Now that you mention it, Tiamat's Principle of Return really helped me. Before I leave, I should return it to her and thank her properly."
Alaya nodded in agreement. "Exactly. I only told her I needed the Principle of Return to bring a child from outside the world home, and she gave me a portion of it without hesitation."
Suddenly, Alaya's tone changed.
"However, there is one more thing, Wu Ling. Are you certain you want to go back?"
Wu Ling heard the change in Alaya's tone. The smile on his face gradually faded.
"What do you mean by that, Alaya?"
Alaya was the Counter Force born from human consciousness, but Wu Ling was not a human of this world. He felt no extra sentiment toward her.
"This is why I called you here. You came because of my request, so the Great Root did not give you the thing called a system. Instead, the Root of our world unilaterally granted you part of the concept of the Throne of Heroes."
Wu Ling's voice turned cold. He already understood what Alaya meant.
"So? That should count as my payment. I received the payment first, then did the job. Now that the job is finished, do you want to take the payment back?"
Alaya seemed not to notice his attitude. She continued smiling.
"I cannot help it. You should know this too. The Throne of Heroes inside you connects to the Throne of Heroes. If you leave, you could secretly empty the whole Throne."
"Even if you do not do that, there will always be villains in the endless worlds. If those villains capture you, they may use the passage inside you to enter the interior of our world directly. So, for the future of our world, you now have only two choices."
"First, stay in our world. I will not take back your power. I can even hand you a parallel world to manage, but when I need help, you must help me."
"Second, you may return to your original world, but I will reclaim the concept of the Throne of Heroes. The powers you already possess will not disappear."
"Can you really, truly send me back to my world?" Wu Ling asked, suddenly incoherent.
Alaya nodded. "Of course. So choose."
"And yet, I refuse. One of the things I, Wu Ling, love most is saying no to people who think they have already won!"
As he spoke, Wu Ling leaped away from Alaya.
Seeing him act like that, Alaya shook her head helplessly.
"Why do this? You cannot have a third choice."
"Oh? Who said there is no third choice?"
Wu Ling swept his hand. Under Alaya's stunned gaze, the Throne of Heroes that had fallen silent appeared behind him again. But this time, it had changed from radiant gold to a mixture of black and crimson.
"Thanks to my mother, of course. And thanks to your help too. The seed that had gone silent has sprouted."
As Wu Ling spoke, a pair of dark gold things like dragon horns gradually grew from his forehead.