(A/N: Early sections feature two distinct voices: the minister addressing the congregation in "double quotes," and Code Weber's internal thoughts in 'single quotes.' From the marked point onward, all "double quotes" belong to other characters.)
…
'Who is god?'
…
Flashback to Five Years Earlier
Lancelot Orphanage
"To know is to grow… and to grow is to live," the minister declared from the altar, his deep voice echoing through the silent hall.
The pews of Lancelot Church were filled with dozens of children and a handful of adults, all silent, faces fixed forward.
'Who created the world?'
"This world was forged by our great Lord Aethrauzon, Father of Fate and Sorcery. From chaos He carved order, granting humanity and all creatures a sanctuary of peace."
'I never believed in beings greater than humans… or in anything worthy of worship.'
"We must live in purity, equality, and absolute obedience to Lord Aethrauzon."
'What truly fascinated me was the hypocrisy that humans lived by. The Aethric Tenet preached equality.'
"Between life and death lies the spiral of return!"
'But no one truly wants equality. Why do the rich feast while others starve? Why are some born strong and others broken? Why must one person's joy be built on another's pain?'
'I kept asking. Every answer birthed new questions.'
'Life is not equal. Even Aethrauzon, who demands equality, stands above us. Why is He god while we remain insects?'
'Why does He claim eternal life while preaching mortality?'
'Why was I born without parents? Why am I a failure? Why does nothing ever go right for me?'
'Why must I always be the outsider, the friendless, the "loser," the unwanted?'
…
(A/N: From here, "dialogue" belongs to other characters.)
"Monster."
"Stay away from him."
"Of course he's the one who killed his parents."
"He might even be a demon."
'I heard every word. Every hiss. Every whisper.'
'Then one day, the final question arrived. The sum of every doubt I'd ever carried.'
'Why do I serve god?'
'Why bow to someone who writes rules He never obeys?'
'So I decided. A decision that earned my exile… and burned the orphanage to nothing.'
'They called me monster. Loser. Failure. Unworthy of life.'
'So I made my final choice.'
'The one who made me a monster, who left me parentless, who cursed me to fail—'
'…I'll kill Him.'
"I will kill god!"
…
Back to the Present
…
"Hehe…" Code laughed, blood flowing from his lips.
His body lay crumpled against the boulder, his left arm twisted backward, and legs bent. Every breath he took was ragged, yet he never stopped laughing.
"Code!" Elara screamed, stumbling toward him. "Code! Are you okay?!"
"I'm sorry… the barrier was supposed to protect you. I don't understand—" Tears flowed down her face as she fell beside him.
Code wanted to lift his head, he wanted to flash a cool grin and say, Nah, not your fault, but his voice box had been shattered.
"Let me heal you!" Elara whispered, her eyes shutting, as her palms glowed with a white light.
'Pointless,' Code thought dimly. 'Aethrauzon's grace only answers believers, and since I don't believe, there's no mercy for me.'
'Karma finally caught me. For every blasphemy and every sin.'
THUD!
The demon's footfall shook the earth again, sending tremors through the soil.
"Lord Aethrauzon, grant me Thy power…"
Elara prayed harder, as the white glow brightened.
But as it touched Code's skin, the light instantly fizzled out.
Her eyes flung open. "What?! It's supposed to—" Sweat poured down her face, veins bulging around her neck.
She tried again, with a pleading and desperate voice. "Lord Aethrauzon, grant me Thy healing strength—"
The light came to life, but died on contact with Code again.
THUD!
The monster had reached them, towering directly behind Elara.
"No! It's supposed to work! I'm sorry, Code! I'm so sorry!" She sobbed, hands trembling as she pressed them together again.
But suddenly, she felt a touch on her hands.
Elara gasped. "Code?"
He had lifted his shattered body just enough to clutch her wrist.His mouth moved, throat straining, but no voice came.
'Tch… come on…Just one word. She's running out of time.'
He forced air through his battered lungs, gasping heavily for breath.
"R—r—r…"
Elara leaned closer, attempting to ear what he wanted to say.
"R—r—run… away…!"
Her breath caught, eyes widening. "No! I—I can't leave you! I can't! You don't deserve this?"
But before she could continue, Code roared with the last of his strength. "I said run!!"
"Please…" his eyes turned teary and pleading.
Elara staggered back, shaking. She didn't want to, she couldn't bear to, but Code's eyes was begging.
"I—I'll get help! As soon as I'm out, I swear!" she sobbed.
Code's lips curved, forming the faintest smile he could muster.
'Thank you…' he said inwardly.
Elara spun around and bolted, the fading Divine Shield cloaking her from the demon's senses. She ran past its legs, vanishing into the trees, never looking back.
In the corner of her vision, something pale and humanoid watched from a high branch silently, but she never stopped to see.
Code watched her silhouette disappear, them he turned back to the demon. 'She was… really beautiful,' he smiled.
'She doesn't deserve to die beside trash like me.'
The demon's eyes glowed with a manic hunger, thick saliva dripping to the ground. Then it slowly raised its collosal foot above Code's head.
'All I ever wanted was to live. I didn't ask for riches, peace, or joy. I didn't even ask for death.
All I asked for was life.'
'And even that's too much to ask?'
Memories flashed through his mind: the stones they threw at him, the mockeries, the guilds that refused to take him.
'All the pain…'
The demon's foot began its descent toward his face, blocking the moon's glow.
'All the grief…And I still don't get to live?'
"Life is unfair," he thought finally, as his eyes closed.
BLAM!
The foot connected, quaking the forest as birds erupted skyward in every direction, followed by the dawn of silence.
A cool wind swept through the leaves.
Then came the thought: 'What…? Is this… heaven?'
All he could see around him was darkness. But for some reason, he still felt pain. His head spun, his eyes tingled, and his heart thudded.
'Wait...' His eyes snapped open as realization dawned, and what he saw made his pupils dilate.
The demon's foot — the one that should have pulped him — hovered motionless inches above his face.
He was still alive.
'What the hell is happening? I'm supposed to be dead. Is this a hallucination? A flashback? Am I watching my corpse from hell?'
Time seemed locked.
Then, came a voice:
"Oi. Wake up already."
"What the—" Code's head immediately jerked left toward the voice, locking onto a man.
His sparkling white hair reflected the moon's rays, enshrouding him in a pale red silhouette. He was clad in black suit, white shirt, and a black tie, while his lower face was concealed by a patterned silver mask.
But the most shocking detail was the reason the demon's massive foot hadn't crushed him.
Code's eyes shifted from the man to the demon's foot. It was held aloft by the man's foot with ease, one braced leg pressing against the sole like it weighed nothing more than a beach ball, eyes focused on a book he held in his other hand.
"Yo," the stranger said, lifting a lazy hand in greeting as he closed the book. "Took you long enough to die."