She is not an investigator.

Simia tried to help Igris up, who was panting heavily, but Igris shook her head and refused, managing to stand up straight.

There's really no solution to this situation right now. Maybe having a flying creature to guide us from the sky would be better? But that's unrealistic.

Helpless, Igris turned to look at the church and fell into a moment of contemplation.

"It seems we have no choice but to go in and take a look."

Even after saying that, she still didn't seem too keen on getting close, instead leaving the decision to others.

"After all, we had no other choice."

Constantine silently began to examine the weapon in his hand, though he didn't know if he would ever have the chance to fire.

"How about we try going back?"

After hesitating for a moment, Felina finally offered her opinion.

Everyone fell silent, and they all looked at Igris, who had just caught her breath.

She was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Simia beside her.

“Simia…”

"You should have done this a long time ago."

Simia sighed helplessly, put down the large pack she was carrying on her back, and turned to walk in the opposite direction.

Not long after, Simia's voice came from behind them again.

"It's no use—it looks like we're really stuck here."

Seeing Simia return and once again dutifully carry that heavy bundle on her back, Constantine could only sigh helplessly.

"Indeed, we still have to go in and take a look."

"You really want to go in and take a look...?"

The Gods' Fool's Play - Beyond the World: Chapter Twenty-One, The Non-existent Gods, and Everything Turned Gray

When the church doors were pushed open, this seemingly ordinary building was revealed to everyone.

The group moved forward slowly until Anfer, who was at the back, also entered the building, but the church doors were suddenly slammed shut.

Anfer reacted quickly, kicking the tightly closed door, but the door remained undamaged.

"The usual situation."

Although Igris said this, her expression was quite serious, and the fingers in her hand turned slightly white from gripping too tightly.

Pale light shone through the stained-glass windows of the church and fell on the ground in front of them.

The colors were so rich, but at this moment they have all lost their hue.

thump—

The bell rang.

In this church, in this empty church.

Inside this pale, deathly, lifeless church.

Constantine's steps suddenly became unsteady, his eyes were forced to squint slightly, and the scene before him began to appear distorted.

A shattered palette of paints, colors mixed together, a person praying devoutly, praying devoutly...himself.

"Constantine?"

Igris's call made him look up and notice the change in himself.

Without anyone noticing, he had already knelt down, his hands on his head, devoutly worshipping the empty church in front of him.

There was nothing here that he could respect or believe in.

He is a priest, even if he can betray his faith, even if he can be flexible with his principles in many situations.

But he wouldn't offer prayers to something completely unknown right now.

"I…"

He tried to stand up, but his body seemed to have lost its strength to resist. Even though he used all his strength, his body seemed not to hear him at all and remained motionless.

"Stand up!"

It was Anfer's voice, and even though Constantine couldn't turn around to look, his tone was full of anger.

Constantine couldn't do it; he couldn't even call for help.

Don't touch him!

Simia quickly moved in front of Anfer, completely separating the two.

At this moment, Constantine's body was gradually losing its color, turning into something resembling a simple line drawing.

It starts with the legs and then extends upwards.

The symptoms of discoloration seemed to begin to spread beyond his body, then to the ground, and then to the entire church.

zizi.

A sound, as if a radio station had lost its signal, suddenly came through the pale church.

Then came the sound of a piano.

The sound of a piano, whose source could not be found, echoed throughout the church. The sound was not clear; on the contrary, it sounded excessively distorted.

That was the sound that only the oldest record players could produce; it could hardly be called music, it was just pure noise.

None of them had ever heard this piece of music before; nobody had.

The changes in Constantine's body suddenly stopped at this moment; his pale body, after spreading to his chest, came to a standstill.

No one dared to make a move; they could only stand there blankly, holding their weapons, staring at the increasingly bizarre church.

thump—

Another bell rang.

The church also began to change.

The stained glass began to lose its color, turning grayish-white, and white human figures began to emerge in the empty church, prostrate on the ground.

They were like Constantine, posing in that strange way, almost filling the entire church.

They faced the sculpture at the very front of the church with devout, silent prayers.

Perhaps it wasn't a sculpture, but like everyone else, it had lost all its color and remained motionless.

It was a being whose body and appearance were indescribable.

That is a composition that cannot be called a shape.

It was a pale mass, like a gap in the world.

That is…

God.

He symbolizes the concept of God, proclaiming his faith to all believers amidst the noisy piano music.

He has no eyes, yet He can see everyone; He has no body, yet He exists forever.

He symbolizes God; He is God, regardless of who gave Him the concept or the identity. In this story, He is the most perfect actor.

until.

A bullet shattered the silence.

All eyes were on that bullet, that seemingly ordinary bullet.

It passed through the crowd, through the paleness, through the invisible barriers, and through two worlds.

The painting and the words intertwined deeply at this moment.

Boom-!

That was the dull sound of a piano, a heavy final note used to conclude, a solemn and grand sound.

It replaced the sound of the gunshot as the bullet struck the bodyless, non-existent god.

The bullet disappeared, sinking into negation, into the lingering echo of non-existence.

But it still made it there, to the side of the most loyal and dedicated actor.

It launched its own rebellion.

That bullet eventually fulfilled its mission and disappeared into the past.

Finally, all eyes turned to its owner.

The person still stood tall in front of the crowd, holding up the toy that resembled a work of art.

Everyone knows her name, and all beings understand everything about her.

Call out her name aloud, at this moment, representing this time, representing this world.

“…Igris—!”

Boom!

The stirring piano music started again, and the distortion and confusion completely disappeared at that moment.

They understood each other, they communicated with each other, and eventually, they arrived here.

They came to this world that didn't belong to them, and continued their performance.

The stage continues to expand.

From Frostville, to the entire Arctic, the whole continent, and finally, the whole world.

"■■■■——"

What is that non-existent thing saying?

He speaks words that do not exist, pointing to a past that does not exist, and to a future that does not exist.

Broken, incomplete.

Countless figures, prostrate on the ground, slowly rose to their feet. With their pale bodies and still incomplete personas, they peered at these beings that still possessed color amidst the grayness.