Why can't humans do it too?

It was almost impossible to recognize this incredibly familiar place. Green grass and vibrant flowers covered the entire mountain range, covering everything in sight. There was even a clear river flowing in front of them. Some curious people had already cupped the river water in their hands, sniffed it, and then bent down to drink a few mouthfuls.

All those who participated in the plan and were lucky enough to survive to this day gathered here, and Riku, whom Shubi was concerned about, was standing in front of them, teasing the two guys who couldn't resist their curiosity and drank water. The beautiful scene made everyone feel happy. Then, Riku saw Shubi fall from the sky and land not far in front of him, walking quickly towards him.

There was no overly passionate embrace; Shubi simply wrapped her arms tightly around Riku's waist, her arms working harder and harder.

“…Hey, hey, if you keep doing this, it’s going to break,” Riku said with a wry smile, feeling the pain in his waist.

"...Don't be afraid...Shubi will...take care of Riku..." Upon hearing Riku's words, Shubi raised her head seriously and said, her cute little face showing absolutely no hint of joking.

"I'm even scarier now!" he couldn't help but shout. Amidst the laughter and cheers of the others, Riku couldn't help but smile as well. He simply picked up Shubi from the ground and held her at eye level with him.

The steel body was not as heavy as previously imagined, and it did not require much effort.

“Finally… it’s all over,” Riku said, his face pressed against Shubi’s. His gaze stretched out to the horizon, from the sky to the earth, from the legendary sun to the lush green plains. His nerves, which had been taut for so long, could finally relax. “You’re amazing, Sull.”

They carried out that unverified plan, which was more delusional than any other delusion, to its fullest extent, and truly achieved a great feat for mankind.

Liku was proud of this; they were his closest brothers and his most precious family.

The suffering they had endured has been rewarded a hundredfold or a thousandfold.

Chapter 289 Farewell

There will be no more wars, no more unnatural deaths, existing only in a fantasy world where people can only numb themselves in their predicaments.

“…Rikyu is amazing too,” Shubi’s sudden words interrupted Rikyu’s thoughts. The machine girl with long crimson hair turned to look at him seriously and said, “Shubi is amazing too, as are Cole, Nona, Credo, Lennie… Everyone is amazing!”

“…Ah, yes, we are all very good,” Riku said, his smile widening after a moment of stunned silence.

What will the future be like?

Human vision cannot see such a distant future, but at least at this moment, Riku is looking forward to it, and it is not a future that he dared not imagine in the past, which can only be a fabricated illusion that deceives everyone.

Glorious and full of hope.

"Keep it up, everyone..."

Holding Shubi, he turned around and looked at the noisy crowd. No matter how cold they usually wore their masks, they all let down their guard at this moment and celebrated this hard-won victory.

The future is long, and the road ahead for humanity is long, stretching to an immeasurable number of generations to come.

The future of humanity is in everyone's hands.

Regardless, Liku felt in his heart that... it couldn't be any worse than before.

So, come on!

--------------

"Do you really want to do this?"

"You don't actually think I'm still joking with you at this point, do you?"

"No, it's just a little hard to believe that someone would give up this power so easily... This is the power of the One God, you know?"

"It would be even stranger for you to say such things. As the God of Games, the strength of your power shouldn't be something you care about."

"Ahaha~, sorry, sorry~, but really can't we stay? Although he didn't say much, I could hear a lot in Riku's heart..."

"..."

The rapid conversation suddenly fell silent, and after a long while, a deep sigh was heard.

“Although I really want to stay, if this world is to have a future, then I can’t bear to stay here,” Suer said with a complicated expression, gazing at the semi-transparent, illusory humanoid figure in front of him. “Even after becoming the One God, something unseen but always held onto my soul let go. Even when I used the power of the One God to search for it, I could only see an indescribable, strange existence. It has indeed disappeared, but the traces it left behind seem to have forever changed the nature of my soul.”

"Even if it wasn't my own will, as an extension of my nature, the Star Cup continued this power, and the planet that can be considered my body was also assimilated, not to mention the life that exists on it."

“Even if everyone seems to be the same now, what will happen when all races continue to develop generation after generation?” As he spoke, Suer couldn’t help but smile bitterly. “I don’t want to see all the newborn children of all races have similar personalities, similar appearances, and similar lives… Just thinking about that scene is a nightmare.”

“Ah~, thinking about it that way, it’s true~, I can’t even enjoy a world where everything is exactly the same and unchanged~” The semi-transparent figure that was talking to Suer across from him simply sat up cross-legged, seemingly nodding in agreement.

"So, one last question?" the semi-transparent figure continued, "Why did you choose me?"

“Because it’s the closest,” Sull answered without hesitation. “Born from Riku, and representing only the concept of games, it’s the perfect object to be managed, isn’t it?”

"Wow!!! You actually said that without any shame! You want to use a third-party service?!" The illusory figure started shouting like a child.

The concept of games was born from Riku. Even Sull himself did not expect that Riku, who usually played chess with Shubi whenever he had a spare moment, would give birth to a god. When Sull went to see Riku after becoming the only god, he was really shocked.

Of course, due to the lack of divine essence and the small number of people who believe in His existence, this poor god of games has great difficulty even in manifesting Himself. The fact that we can have such a smooth conversation now is thanks to Sur.

"Alright, alright, be quiet. We won't treat you badly," Sue calmly reassured the God of Games.

"Tch~", the God of Games said irritably, crossing his arms. He continued, "So, what exactly are you going to do while I'm taking care of you?"

"You're asking me?" Suer said calmly, as if it were none of my business. "I wasn't the only god back then, so you can do whatever you want with me."

"Oh~~! Does that mean I can play however I want~!" He went from being bored to excited in an instant. If he didn't still have a physical body, this God of Games would probably have pounced on Suer already.

"Whatever you want~ Just take good care of the humans while I'm gone," Suer said calmly.

"Oh~ Oh~ Oh~, that won't do~", the semi-transparent figure clicked its tongue, shaking its finger in the air, "The most important thing in a game is fairness~, a game that violates fairness is no fun~"

"What nonsense are you talking about? The most important thing about a game is that it's fun, and as long as it's not discovered, it's fair. As the God of Games, you can't be so ignorant about such a small thing, right?" Su Er rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Anyway, that's it. Get ready, I'm going to hand over the Star Cup."

"Huh?! So fast?!"

Ignoring the God of Games' scream, Suer simply opened his palm, and a star-shaped dodecahedron cup appeared in the void, then flew towards the illusory figure.

As the dazzling light faded, the illusory figure finally materialized—a small figure, about ten years old, wearing a red hat with plum blossom symbols and having heterochromatic green and blue eyes, with two long ribbons extending from the hem of a red coat to the shoulders.

"Tetu~, Tetu, the God of Games~," the boy with bright green hair said with a grin, "Nice to meet you, meow~"

"Ah, then I'll leave the rest to you," Suer breathed a sigh of relief seeing that everything was going smoothly. "Just send us away as we agreed."

As he spoke, Xin Ke, who had been standing to the side since earlier, also came over, took Su Er's arm, and intertwined their fingers.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye?" Tetu asked seriously, his playful expression fading. "They'll miss you."

“No need,” Su’er shook his head and said firmly, “Everything that needed to be said has already been said. With you here, we will surely meet them again one day. Besides, we will come back.”

Turning his head to look at the earth covered in greenery at his feet, Sur, who was not the only god, could no longer see the whole world at a glance. He murmured to himself once again.

"...I will definitely come back..."

Volume One: Epilogue

It was a strange event recorded in history books, a mystery that remained unsolved even thousands of years later.

After the war that existed in myths and legends for countless years, the birth of the One God ended all the conflicts and shaped the world into what it is today. However, following the birth of the first One God, and even before all races had adapted to having such a being above the gods, a new One God appeared.

He wore a large felt hat with the club symbol from the playing cards he invented, a red coat of the same color, a green vest, and blue shorts. Two long ribbons fluttered along the hem of his red coat. All those who had ever seen him had the same judgment—judging from his appearance alone, he was just a little boy whose gender was indistinguishable.

However, that power that surpassed that of gods was not a lie.

God of Games.

A concept I'd never heard of before, a mysterious one, and the only god who appeared out of nowhere.

How did He snatch the Star Grail from the god-like being who ended the great war? What despicable means did He use?

Whatever the speculations within each race may be, they are none of a concern to Tet, the God of Games who has become the sole deity.

Not long after He became the only God, while life on the entire planet was still vaguely looking up at the palace in the sky built of petals and wind, He announced the changes He would bring to the world as the new only God.

Without altering the earth's surface as He pleased, nor with reigniting war as He pleased, He simply laughed and established humanity as the sixteenth intelligent race, then proclaimed the Ten Covenants, sending His words to the ears of all races.

[Article 1] All killing, war and plunder are prohibited in this world.

[Article 2] All disputes shall be resolved by the outcome of the game.

[Article 3] The game requires a wager of equal value from both sides.

[Article 4] Without violating Covenant [3], there are no restrictions on the content of the game or the stakes.

[Article 5] The challenged party has the right to decide the content of the game.

[Article 6] All bets made under the oath of the covenant must be kept.

[Article 7] Disputes between groups shall be handled by appointing a fully authorized agent.

[Article 8] Any improper behavior in the game will be considered a defeat once it is exposed.

[Article 9] In the name of God, I declare that all of the above articles are absolute and immutable rules.

And finally, the tenth rule—"Let's all play peacefully together."

What to say?

Everyone who heard these ten covenants wore an expression that said, "Truly, he deserves to be called the God of Games."

A giant chessboard has been drawn across the world, with huge, crystalline chess pieces standing on the earth, unchanged for thousands of years, waiting for whoever arrives.

Under the guidance of the one true god Tetu, a new era began.

--------------

The underground cave, which had been occupied by Suer for more than a decade, has now become the most important holy site for the human race. Soldiers have always guarded the entrance to the cave, and it is never open to the public except for the most important moments. However, this sacred place has now welcomed uninvited guests who have bypassed the guards at the entrance and entered unnoticed.

The grass and flowers, their roots buried deep in the soil, still emitted a faint glow as always. A guest in a robe stood in the center of the cave. Although there seemed to be nothing there, he waited quietly with extraordinary patience, remaining motionless in this position for three days—he was waiting for something.

His target was also incredibly patient, remaining silent as if no one else was in the cave.

"Einzig, the fully connected command body of the Machine Race," finally spoke first. The unfamiliar guest removed his hood, revealing a head with human skin underneath. However, the mechanical parts connected to his body at the edges and corners gave away his identity. "Here comes to pay homage to the suspicious god of the God Race... or rather... the heart."