Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint -
Chapter 360: The King Who Kills Others, The God Who Kills Himself (14)
The Golden Lord was not foolish.
Sometimes, it was easier to deceive intelligent people, but the Golden Lord was not such a case.
Each of his memories and emotions I read came from this very Spiritual World.
He already knew why Elric abandoned him and how the Golden Empire fell.
He knew all of it, painfully so.
To the Golden Lord, who hung his head low, I spoke softly.
Words that he had already thought deep inside, yet he desperately denied.
“The Golden Empire was never beautiful. In fact, it was uglier than most places. A nation of artisans and technology, where trade and profit ruled. A land full of selfish individuals who sold their pride for money. When such a country faced ruin, they branded you a demon and hunted you down. Did you truly wish to recreate that kind of place?”
There was no answer.
It didn’t matter.
My words alone were enough to shatter his paradise.
“Of course not. I can tell just by looking at the paradise you created. A Golden Palace where homunculi worked silently without complaint, where only alchemists you deemed intelligent enough to converse with you remain by your side. A place where the King Of Steel praises you affectionately and the world aligns itself with your ideals.”
He sought to rebuild the Golden Empire.
Thus, he wandered its ruins, transforming everything around him into gold.
Villages, tools, even fields of crops.
Picturesque rural landscapes, bustling cities, grand fortresses—all crafted to match his vision of perfection.
But ideals were unrealistic.
What he saw as perfection never truly existed.
I pointed out this contradiction in the Golden Lord.
“The Golden Empire you long for doesn’t exist. If it had, this Golden Palace you built—shaped only by your preferences—would at least look a tenth like it, yet it doesn’t.”
What I said was simply the voice of his own heart.
No human can resist their own truths.
For a being composed of memories and thoughts with no flesh, those truths became undeniable.
“Stop being stubborn. Your wish cannot be fulfilled—not because of your lack of ability, but because you yourself don’t truly know what you want. That’s why your final creation, the ‘Golden Lord,’ is nothing more than a futile hope that has been wandering aimlessly for centuries, feeding the Dholes as it creates their next meal.”
The Golden Lord.
A Divine Relic born from an artisan’s ambition to rebuild the Golden Empire and the final work of the first alchemist who sought to preserve its memory.
Yet, the Golden Lord failed to rebuild the nation.
Instead, it wandered, turning everything around it into gold.
And the remnants of what it created became scraps for Dholes to devour.
Gritting his teeth, the Golden Lord finally spoke.
“What is it… that you want?”
I intended to erase the Golden Lord.
Not because it hindered me, nor because it was about to start a war with the Military State.
The Golden Lord was nothing but a delusion.
As long as it existed, its wishes could never be fulfilled.
I would strip it of everything and take the Golden Lord within myself.
“I want your wish.”
If endlessly repeating this illusion was what he truly wanted, then I can’t do much.
But this wasn’t his true wish.Otherwise, he would have disappeared the moment he made the Golden Lord.
It wasn’t just the Golden Lord.
All those who died.
Those who dreamed of heaven or hell in their hearts as they left this world.
Every lingering regret, all of it originated from her.
In the absence of heaven, I became a columbarium.
And now, it was the Golden Lord’s turn.
“What binds you, Golden Lord? What is your true desire?”
The living might choose not to answer.
Wishes can change at any moment and people don’t need to voice their dreams—they can pursue them on their own.
But for those on the brink of death, there is no such luxury.
To leave behind their final desire, they confess their regrets.
And those who have already passed—
“…I wish to create a beautiful Golden Empire.”
—cannot help but speak.
I asked him calmly.
“Even though the Golden Empire framed you for its sins and executed you, a land so disgraceful?”
“Despite that, I loved it.”
“Even though Elric, the one you adored, betrayed you at your most difficult moment?”
“Despite everything, I admired her.”
With every word, his heart became clearer.
He loved the nation—not out of patriotism, but out of a nostalgic attachment to his homeland.
He loved Elric—not out of loyalty, but because he admired her beauty and talent.
Sin, responsibility—they were all excuses he used to justify his death.
In truth, he was scapegoated and killed as an example.
If true blame were to be assigned, thousands who exploited the chaos for their gain would be the ones to face judgment.
Unlike the Golden Lord, who couldn’t abandon his nation, they readily betrayed it without hesitation.
They couldn’t kill all those people, so they killed the Golden Lord instead.
Even then, the Golden Lord loved his country and his king.
No matter how many excuses, justifications, or embellishments were added, in the end, it all came down to human emotions.
And no intricate reasoning could ever erase that fact.
“Is there really any reason to rebuild that country? Judging by the state of things, even if someone else had discovered alchemy instead of you, it would have fallen apart on its own.”
With no sense of obligation, the Golden Lord easily found his reason.
Though it was a despicable country with a neglectful king, he loved it all.
He wanted to return to the time when he was happy.
And so—
“Because I wish to.”
His mind was set.
- *Clink.*
The shackles binding his feet were released.
The guilt that had been restraining the Golden Lord disappeared.
With trembling legs, he slowly stood up.
I asked again, just to confirm.
“Even if it differs from the Golden Empire you lived in?”
“When you repair something, it’s inevitable for it to change. Missing parts will be restored, broken pieces fixed, and flawed areas improved. That’s what alchemy is for. That’s what the Golden Lord exists for.”
- Clang.
The chains that bound his arms shattered one by one.
Reclaiming his freedom, the Golden Lord reached out and grasped the golden bell.
Its clear, resonant chime filled the room.
I asked one more question.
“But is it even possible? The Golden Empire you’ll create lacks permanence. No matter how well you build it, it will fade away without someone to maintain it. Even if you find caretakers, the Dholes will tear it apart. You don’t want your nation to disappear that quickly, do you?”
This time, his answer took longer.
But it wasn’t too long.
Because once he had made up his mind, nothing could stop him.
“…If it lacks permanence, then I’ll simply create that, too.”
Create it?
- Thud.
The blade around his neck cracked and fell to the ground.
Nothing could bind him now.
Fully liberated, the Golden Lord stood tall and declared.
“If the homunculi are flawed, I’ll improve to perfection. If the Dholes destroy the Golden Empire, I’ll eliminate them so they cannot. Fortunately, both goals can be achieved through a single method. Two birds with one stone.”
Wait, hold on a second.
Something about this conclusion felt… unsettling.
“-I’ll collect those who threaten the Golden Empire and use them as materials to enhance the homunculi—so they may persist longer and lead this nation.”
Oh no.
Did I just unleash a monster?
Until now, the things created by the Golden Lord were frighteningly precise and practical, but his creations of humans had always been lacking.
Perhaps it was because he didn’t fully understand humans.
Or maybe he had felt some resistance to creating them.
But now that all his chains and restrictions were gone, nothing could stop the Golden Lord anymore.
Ugh. What have I done?
“The dead can no longer influence the world. Naturally, they cannot fulfill their wishes either. I don’t particularly like those who die while clutching cherished dreams they never had the courage to pursue.”
But the Golden Lord was different.
Even in death, he had left behind something capable of realizing his dreams.
His lingering thoughts here were his true desires, untainted by anyone else’s orders or expectations.
In that case, even I had to acknowledge it.
“You’ve left something behind to achieve your dream even after death. For now, I’ll root for you.”
Not that there’s much else I can do but cheering for him.
I’m a magician.
I can uncover hidden desires, but I can’t suppress them once they’re unleashed.
Magic may seem grand, but it’s really just trickery, making the ordinary appear extraordinary.
If I tried to stop him now, he’d likely kill me instantly.
Freed from all restrictions, the Golden Lord would be unstoppable.
With no power to fight back, I couldn’t change his mind even if I wanted to.
“…I may only ever have one master, but you’ve taught me something great as well.”
Thankfully, I wasn’t among his enemies.
Showing respect instead of hostility, the Golden Lord held the bell and walked past me, heading out of the room.
“I will accomplish what I could not before.”
The world trembled.
As the story ended, I felt a sensation of being rejected from this space.
I was being pulled away, my body being dragged elsewhere.
As the darkness enveloped me, I left him with one final word.
“Go ahead. You’ll never know until you try.”
After that, the world went dark and I was expelled from his Spiritual World.
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