Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 360: Еhe King Who Kills Others, The God Who Kills Himself (14)

The Golden Mirror is not stupid. Sometimes, the more intelligent someone is, the easier it is to deceive them, but this situation is different. What I read—the memories and emotions—all of them were in this mental space.

The Golden Mirror already knew why Elric had abandoned him, and how the Golden Nation came to ruin. He knew it intimately, painfully.

I gently spoke to the Golden Mirror, who had lowered his head, the words he had already been avoiding, the words that existed in his heart but he had tried to ignore.

“The Golden Nation was never beautiful. In fact, it was even uglier than other places. A country of craftsmen and technology. A nation that made money through trade. Full of people who were bright in self-interest, selfish, and who sold their pride for money. They pursued only their own profits, and when the country faced the threat of collapse, they hunted you down, blaming you as the demon. Is that really the kind of country you wanted to rebuild?”

There was no response. It didn’t matter. To shatter his paradise, I only needed to speak.

“Of course not. You must have realized it by looking at the paradise you created. Homunculi working without complaint, the Golden Palace filled with alchemists who can still communicate with you, and the Steel King, who praises you with loving words. Everything in the world taking the ideal form you desired.”

You wanted to create the Golden Nation, so you wandered, transmuting everything you came across—villages, tools, even fields. The idyllic rural scenes, the thriving cities, the grand fortresses—your ideal vision materialized right before your eyes.

But ideals are unrealistic. The scenery you thought was ideal wasn’t real. I pointed out the contradiction in the Golden Mirror’s mind.

“The Golden Nation you long for doesn’t exist. Because you ignored the outside world and only took the parts that pleased you, and assembled them here in this Golden Palace, it bears no resemblance to the Golden Nation at all.”

My words echoed in his inner world. No human can resist themselves. Even the Golden Mirror, with no body, only thoughts remaining, was forced to awaken and be provoked by me.

“Stop making excuses. Your wish cannot be fulfilled. Not because of a lack of ability, but because you don’t even truly know what you want. That’s why your last creation, the ‘Golden Mirror,’ is filled with pointless desires, wandering the earth in vain for hundreds of years. Even as wolves devour it, you foolishly continue transmuting the next prey.”

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

The Golden Mirror, the relic of the Demon King who sought to rebuild the Golden Nation, and the final work of the first alchemist to remember it.

But the Golden Mirror failed to rebuild the Golden Nation. His transmutations—everything he turned to gold—became mere prey for wolves.

He gritted his teeth and spoke.

“What... do you want?”

I was going to erase the Golden Mirror.

It wasn’t because he was obstructing me, nor because he might start a war with the military. The Golden Mirror is a delusion. As long as it exists, its desires will never come to fruition.

I would strip away everything he had made and absorb the Golden Mirror into myself.

“I want your desire. If your wish is to repeat this illusion forever, then I suppose this would be the answer. But that’s not what you truly desire, is it? Why does the Golden Mirror exist? Why, when you placed the last period, did the story not end but continue on endlessly?”

It’s not just the Golden Mirror. All those who have passed away, those who dreamed of heaven and hell as they left this world, all of their lingering spirits—their delusions, all of them stemmed from her.

In place of the absent heaven, I became a mausoleum. Now it’s time for the Golden Mirror to enter.

“What is it that binds the Golden Mirror? What is your true wish?”

A living human might not answer. Desires can change at any time, and even if they don’t speak, they can achieve their wishes on their own.

But for those about to die, there’s no such luxury. They will speak out their regrets, leaving behind their final wish before they vanish from the world.

For those already dead...

“...I will create a beautiful Golden Nation.”

He couldn’t help but say it.

I asked, slowly.

“The Golden Nation, the country that wrongfully accused you and killed you, that corrupt country—you still want to create that?”

“Even so, I loved that place.”

“You loved Elric, the one who betrayed you at your lowest point?”

“Even so, I admired her.”

The more he spoke, the clearer his heart became.

He loved the country. Not out of patriotism, but because of the nostalgia—it was his homeland.

He loved Elric. Not out of loyalty, but because he admired her appearance and abilities.

"Guilt, responsibility...

He justified his own death with all sorts of reasons, but in reality, he died as a scapegoat and a lesson. If we’re talking about true malice, then the thousands of people who, even in the midst of chaos, looked out for their own interests should have been the ones to die—not the Golden Mirror. Unlike him, who couldn’t bear to leave the country, they had no hesitation in abandoning it.

That’s why I killed the Golden Mirror.

Even in the midst of all this, the Golden Mirror still loved his country and his king.

No matter how many reasons are tacked on, in the end, everything comes down to the human heart. There’s no need to add long-winded justifications.

“Is there any reason to rebuild that country? From the looks of it, if someone else had discovered alchemy instead of you, it would have fallen apart on its own.”

The Golden Mirror easily found his answer, despite not having any sense of duty. The country was ugly, and the king irresponsible, yet the Golden Mirror loved all of it. He wanted to go back to the time when he was happy there. That’s why.

“I want to do it,” he said.

His decision was made.

Click. The shackles that bound his feet fell away. The sense of guilt that had been holding the Golden Mirror vanished. He shakily stood up.

I asked, confirming the truth.

“Even if it means the Golden Nation will be different from the one you once lived in?”

“When you repair something, it’s inevitably different from the original. You fill in the missing parts, restore the broken places, and fix what’s wrong. That’s what alchemy is for, and that’s what the Golden Mirror is for.”

Click. The chains binding his arms snapped apart. The Golden Mirror stretched out his newly freed arms and took hold of a golden bell. The soft, clear sound of it filled the room.

I asked once more.

“But is it really possible? The Golden Nation you create won’t have any lasting power. No matter how well you make it, without humans to maintain it, it will disappear quickly. And even if there are administrators, the wolves will devour everything. You don’t want a country that disappears so soon, do you?”

This time, there was a delay in his answer. But it didn’t take long. He had already solidified his resolve, and nothing could stop him now.

“...If it doesn’t have lasting power, then I’ll ‘create’ it,” he said.

Create it?

Thud. The sword that had been strangling his neck split apart and fell to the ground. Nothing bound him anymore. The Golden Mirror, now perfectly free, stood tall and declared:

“If the homunculus is imperfect, I’ll improve it to make it perfect. If the wolves destroy the Golden Nation, I’ll remove the ones who do so. Luckily, the two goals can be achieved with a single method. It’s a win-win.”

Wait a second.

The conclusion seems oddly strange.

“-I will gather them, the wolves who destroy my Golden Nation... and use them as materials for the homunculi. They will move longer, leading this nation as homunculi.”

Oh no.

I might have just unleashed a monster.

Until now, the objects the Golden Mirror created had been terrifyingly refined and practical, but there had always been a flaw in his understanding of humans. Perhaps, as the Golden Mirror said, he didn’t truly understand people. He might have even had some aversion to creating humans. But now, with all shackles and constraints cast aside, nothing could stop him.

Oh, what now?

“Dead people cannot affect the world. Of course, they can’t fulfill their wishes. I don’t particularly like those who easily die while holding on to their precious desires.”

But the Golden Mirror was different. He didn’t die while leaving his desires to me. Instead, even before his death, he created something that would fulfill his wish.

The lingering thoughts left behind in this place were truly his wishes. A pure desire, unbound by anyone or any command. If that’s the case, I have no choice but to acknowledge it.

“You’ve left behind something that will fulfill your wish even after death. I’ll support you, for now.”

In truth, there was nothing I could do except offer my support.

I am a magician. I can bring out the hidden desires, but I cannot extinguish them through reverse magic. Magic may seem impressive, but in reality, it’s only about making ordinary things seem extraordinary.

If I were to try to stop him, I would likely be killed immediately. The Golden Mirror had discarded all his shackles. I, with no power, could not change my mind.

“...I only have one master. And you, too, are teaching me something important.”

Fortunately, I wasn’t someone he regarded with hostility. Instead of animosity, he showed respect, taking the bell and passing by me to exit the room.

“I’ll achieve what I couldn’t before.”

The world trembled. As the story concluded, I felt a sense of rejection, as though my very existence was being dismissed. My body felt like it was being sucked into somewhere, and I left him with one last word.

“Try it. You won’t know until you try.”

Afterward, the world went dark, and I was expelled from his mental space.