Beyond the Eternity

Minerva's face paled as her eyes darted to the board. She froze, mid-sentence, with shock written all over her face.

It wasn't anything grand, really. My king was cornered and completely surrounded by her pieces;

The pawns, knights, rooks, and even her queen.

My king sat in the far corner of the board, confined by the white queen, flanked by two rooks, with pawns filling the space ahead. Knights circled around it, cutting off any potential escape.

The board's open spaces were now occupied by Minerva's pieces.

No matter how you looked at the gameboard, it was an entirely unwinnable situation. At the same time, it couldn't be said that I was losing.

There was no check. No direct threat of my king piece falling.

No matter where I moved the king, it would be under check. According to the rules of chess, the king cannot move into a line of direct fire, and every possible square around it was occupied or within reach of her white pieces.

It was my turn, but I couldn't move.

The game had reached an impasse, not by force, but by the absence of any available moves.

My king was trapped in an inescapable position, where it could not advance, could not retreat, and was not under immediate attack.

There was only term for a phenomenon like this:

Stalemate.

Minerva's eyes widened as she realized what had happened. A smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I leaned back in my chair.

"I believe the conditions for my victory has been fulfilled, yes?"

[How could this be? A stalemate? That's impossible! There's no way I'd make such an amateur mistake. No matter how I see it, you must have cheated!]

The Black Witch shot her finger towards me. At this point, she had risen from her seat, and lost all her elegance.

Feigning innocence, I replied smoothly, "That's a serious accusation. Can you prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I cheated?"

[Proof? Very well.] Her voice regained its icy edge. [If you truly played fairly, then swear on your existence.]

"If that will put your doubts to rest, I have no objections."

I placed my right hand over my heart, raising my left hand solemnly, invoking the «Binding Pact».

"On my existence, I swear that I, Kim Jakga, did not cheat on this gameboard."

The Black Witch looked at me as if I was insane.

Even so, several seconds passed.

Nothing happened.

No crushing weight descended upon me. No pain, no retribution. My heart remained intact. If I had lied under the «Binding Pact», my heart would have been flattened in an instant.

But I was very much alive.

[Wh-what... You… How…!]

Minerva staggered back as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Clearly, she had not accounted for this possibility.

At that moment, her fragmented thoughts seeped into my consciousness as I quietly activated the «Black Box» under her watchful gaze.

[The authority, 「 Greed 」 is now in effect.]

...

「 Impossible. He didn't cheat? No, that's absurd. I refuse to believe it. 」

「 The Binding Pact is absolute. There's no way he could have lied… Could he? 」

「 No, something is definitely wrong here. It has to be. 」

「 What did he do? 」

...

Her void eyes narrowed sharply, locking onto mine as though trying to pierce through my defenses.

Was she attempting to read my thoughts?

I couldn't help but laugh inwardly.

But as expected of a witch, she recovered quickly. Her confident smile returned as if she had already concocted a counterargument.

[Impressive. Truly, you're good. But you forgot one small detail.]

"What is that?"

[I am the gamemaster. As such, I have the authority to deny your victory. If I don't accept it, then it doesn't stand. Furthermore, the rules of the game were to endure for five minutes. And yet, only four minutes and 30 seconds have passed. Your attempt is invalid.]

Ah, so that was her play. If she wanted to be forceful, then it was time to reveal my trump card.

Without a word, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a stopwatch, holding it up for her to see.

"You claim only four minutes and 30 seconds have passed since the game started? That's strange. I started my stopwatch the moment we began, and it says six minutes have already passed, so how could that be?"

She glared at me. [How absurd! Are you suggesting I misjudged the flow of time in my own territory?!]

I shrugged, maintaining a composed demeanor. "I wouldn't know about that. But mistakes do happen, even to witches. If you still doubt me, I'm more than willing to invoke the Binding Pact once again to prove my claim."

Facing my salary worker smile, her glare only intensified. But soon, her anger slowly gave way to confusion, and finally, to astonishment.

She must have noticed it. The time difference.

Her fragmented thoughts began pouring into my mind again as I silently observed her reaction.

「 How… could this happen? Six minutes had truly passed? 」

「 What is going on? Did he use a skill to manipulate my senses? 」

「 No. Even the highest-grade mental interference skills cannot bypass my defenses, especially in my own territory. 」

「 Unless… he's on the same level as the ■■■ ■■■. But that's impossible. There's no conceivable way he could affect me. 」

「 Did I… truly lose? And in such a way where I can't even understand how I lost? How disgraceful. 」

Her reaction was priceless. I almost reached for my smartphone, tempted to capture the moment forever. But, of course, that would be pushing my luck a bit too far.

Still, one of her fragmented thoughts caught my attention. One of her thoughts seemed filtered. That only happened with information not yet revealed in the Main Stories. However, the filtering wouldn't activate if a person already knew the information.

A sudden chillness ran down my back. What other secrets and mysteries that even I, the reader, did not know?

[To think I would lose like this. This is really fascinating. This has never happened before.]

Minerva's voice carried an undeniable sense of finality. She tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling as her void-like eyes slowly closed. The moment stretched endlessly, and a heavy silence pressed down on me. Just as I thought I might choke on the weight of it, she finally spoke again with a significant smile.

[You're truly an interesting individual, Aspirant Jakga Kim.]

Finally, her next words came.

[Very well, I accept my defeat. I'll grant you the narrative you desire.]

Then, a system message appeared before me.

[A new hidden narrative has been generated.]

A grin crept across my face as I read the notification. It was a good thing I had used Drafting to remove the limiters on «The Joker.»

The Illusionary abilities of the Joker were more potent than I expected, even strong enough to distort the witch's perception. The power of the Mythical Card were truly terrifying.

Directly applying [Drafting] to the Witch herself would've been too reckless. There was a high chance she'd notice, and even if she didn't, my current status as a mere Walker meant I lacked the strength to fully affect her.

That left me with one option: channel it through the Joker card, crafted with the essence of the <Great Mysteries>. Fortunately, the plan worked.

Of course, given the mysterious nature of Drafting, its effects were temporary, which meant I had to wield it carefully. After much deliberation, I decided this was the most effective, and least suspicious, way to deal with the Black Witch.

Without that precaution, I'd have been forced to kiss my freedom goodbye.

Even so, this witch was far more reasonable than I had anticipated.

The Black Witch was the most cruel witch to ever exist. But she seemed surprisingly aloof and even playful in person. She was vastly different from the image I had conjured inside my head.

[But I must warn you. If you disappoint me, if you fail or die, I'll personally drag your soul from Hell, use it to wipe horse manure and then strangle the life from your precious companions with it. Do you understand? I won't let you go, no matter what. This is the consequence of piquing the interest of a witch!]

An unsettling, creepy smile formed on Minerva's lips.

I take back what I thought earlier.

This woman… this Witch was every bit as terrifying as the novel claimed.

What could I possibly do against someone like her?

And yet, despite the fear coiling in my chest, I couldn't help but smile back.

"Don't worry, that won't happen. I'll make sure to show you an interesting and delicious story you've never seen before."

[I'll be waiting.]

With those final words, the door to the library opened on its own. Having achieved my goal, it was time to leave.

But then, a thought crossed my mind.

"Ah, right. How could I forget? A mutual friend of ours said I should deliver something to you personally."

She blinked. [A mutual friend?]

"Don't worry, you already know him. He said I should deliver this words, along with a gift with his name on it: Fuck you, you fucking sow! His name is Keikoku Amane and his gift is this bullet."

I pulled out the Silver Demon, Ivory, and without hesitation, pulled the trigger.

Bang—!

The spirit bullet erupted from the muzzle with a tremendous noise, and part of her head exploded, sending a spray of blood mixed with a dark, viscous liquid, splattering like a fountain.

[Hehehe!]

Her shattered head began fixing itself as if time were reversing, and the wound healed in an instant.

She laughed manically, displaying her full insanity.

This was the hidden insanity of the Black Witch.

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes! Yes! Excellent! This is truly excellent! As expected of the only man who ever defeated me, if you don't have this level of madness, then it would be boring! Just this once, I'll forgive your rudeness. I, the Black Witch, will forgive you!]

I turned and walked out of the study.

Her final words drifted behind me, fading with each step I took as the massive door behind me.

[I'll make sure to devour you whole! So be sure to wait patiently, my precious ■■!]

† †

"Have you completed your business with the Lady, young mister?" Orvian asked without glancing back.

"Yes, somehow we managed to reach an understanding. Still, your master certainly has a... unique personality."

"I suppose you could say the Lady is a bit different from the norm."

"The word 'different' is a serious understatement."

I stratched my cheek without breaking my strode.

After finishing my business with the Black Witch, the butler Orvian began leading me toward the exit.

However, instead of retracing our steps, we entered a room filled with countless mirrors.

I glanced around and asked, "What is this place? Are we not heading to the Mirror Dimension?"

Orvian shook his head.

"That won't be necessary. Heading through the Mirror Dimension would be difficult. It's become more unstable by the minute. Moreover, the path you used to enter here has likely changed already. The territory's barrier prevents others from entering, but it's a different story for leaving."

"I see. Thank you."

"Again, your words are wasted on me. I'm just a lowly servant. Thank the Lady."

He tapped one of the mirrors, and a link to the Twilight Shard was created. The butler looked at me and said, "The portal to your world has been opened. You may now leave safely."

"Let's meet again if we have the chance."

"It would be my pleasure."

Orvian bowed, and I stepped through the portal.

At that moment, Orvian raised his head, peering into the portal. His expression was oddly thoughtful.

"You must always remember that you're the first human to ever defeat the Witch of the Night."

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[You have successfully passed through the Door of Illusionary Pathway!]

[Initiating transfer sequence to the Designated Mirror...]

[You have cleared the hidden narrative: Fractured Mirrors]

[You have received 12,000 coins as compensation.]