The death commanded by the Golden Mirror approached Peru. Just before death reached her—

The ceiling and floor halted for a very, very brief moment. In the Golden Palace, where everything moved according to the Golden Mirror’s will, that pause could only mean one thing.

The Golden Mirror hesitated.

The Golden Mirror saw something in the dying Peru. Though it felt something upon seeing her, it could not adequately articulate this sensation in words. If Demo, the original being, could not understand humans, how could the homunculus Golden Mirror—created for the reconstruction of the Golden Nation—be expected to comprehend human emotions? Let me explain in simpler terms.

I cannot read the Golden Mirror’s thoughts. But understanding something does not always require mind-reading. If the Golden Mirror was designed in the likeness of humans, then the same should apply to it.

“Does it feel unpleasant?”

The unique magic—the End of Gold.

I drew a line with a card. The once-impenetrable wall cut away as easily as tofu. In this Golden Palace, where the Golden Mirror’s authority blended with Peru’s unique magic, such a feat was possible.

Wielding both the powers of creation and destruction, I carved through the Golden Mirror’s world and stepped inside. I went deep enough that it could no longer ignore me, and I spoke directly to it.

“Even if the nation is ugly and filthy, humans love it and act in its defense. Then, just as they face death after being abandoned by the king they revered and followed, don’t you see someone familiar in her?”

The reason the Golden Mirror couldn’t kill Peru was simple.

It saw its original self in her.

The image of its original self, abandoned by the one it trusted and followed, right before its pitiful death, overlapped with Peru.

The ceiling and floor began to tremble ominously. The Golden Mirror faltered as if it had malfunctioned. Its voice dragged on, stretched as if unsure. After a long moment of deliberation, it finally offered an excuse.

[…She is different.]
“How is she different?”
[This is not the Golden Nation. I am not her king. And her situation…differs from mine in many ways….]

Of course. She hadn’t regressed, so she couldn’t be exactly the same. If she were, it would lead to the same outcome.

But noticing differences also implies recognizing similarities. Whether it wanted to or not, the Golden Mirror couldn’t help but see those shared traits. Once noticed, such similarities linger and refuse to be ignored.

“You make a fair point. Would you like me to point out one more difference?”
[…What is it?]
“This time, the one making the choice isn’t Elik—it’s you.”

Having experienced it once before, it should be better equipped now. After all, the world values experienced individuals for a reason. Let’s see what choice it makes in this situation.

“You were abandoned once and endured hell. You threw yourself into endless guilt, where even death offered no escape, and suffered. But in truth, that was the nation’s crime, not yours. You were simply sacrificed for the sake of the country.”

Even though I could wield the Golden Mirror’s power and Peru’s unique magic, my meager mana could only alter the area within reach of a single card. After much struggle, I finally arrived on the same floor. Walking through the dark corridor, I trudged toward Peru. Standing a few steps away to avoid being harmed by the Verdant energy, I shouted at the Golden Mirror.

“Isn’t it unfair to only suffer? That’s why I created the same situation for you. Now you’re the one who must abandon your nation!”

Peru’s ragged breathing grew weaker, as if it might stop at any moment. Standing before her, I urged the Golden Mirror to make its choice.

“What will you take to the nation you create? What will you abandon? Make your choice.”

If it let Peru die, it would affirm the death that once came for it. If it saved her, it would show that compromise was possible. What would the Golden Mirror choose?

The deliberation couldn’t last long. It didn’t have time. Peru’s life hung by a thread, like a fuse burning toward its end. A decision had to be made before the flame reached its limit.

Ding.

The sound of a bell echoed. Seeing the approaching light from the far end of the corridor, I smiled.

From the distance, the Golden Mirror was walking toward us, holding a bell in its hand.

Even if it was a being that used the lives of others, including its own, as material for alchemy, it couldn’t deny itself. The moment it saw its reflection in Peru, the result was already decided. To abandon Peru here would mean affirming its own abandonment in the Golden Nation.

The Golden Mirror swiftly crossed the corridor, arriving at Peru’s side. Placing the golden bell beside her head, it sat down next to her. Alchemical light shimmered over Peru’s dying body.

Peru’s hands and feet, consumed by the Verdant energy, were blackened. Her lungs, riddled with holes, circulated blood instead of air. Her body could no longer function. The only solution was to amputate, but instead, the Golden Mirror replaced her broken parts with something else.

The Golden Mirror had long since mastered the mechanical structure of the human body. The homunculi it created weren’t incomplete due to a lack of function but due to shortcomings in other areas. Functionally, the homunculi it crafted were superior to humans.

Its own homunculus body, animated by its consciousness, was proof enough. So long as there was a will to move the flesh, its creations could rival true humans.

Through alchemy, the Golden Mirror repaired Peru’s broken parts. It seemed to be asserting that humans were no different from machines.

“…Ah, ugh.”

That assertion was proven when Peru opened her eyes. Gasping for air, she looked at her king.

“…O Great Mirror.”
[Do not misunderstand. My will to reconstruct the Golden Nation remains unchanged. I have merely kept you alive.]

The Golden Mirror looked down at Peru with cold eyes and said:

[The reconstructed Golden Nation will still need someone to carry my words beyond the Golden Palace. With the Suppressionist Overseer gone, you will take his place.]
“…Hecto…he is gone?”
[You will follow me. Alchemy is the power of transformation. With your body filled with its creations, you will not be able to remain outside the Golden Palace for long.]

Now that parts of her body had been replaced with foreign elements, Peru was no more than a machine in need of constant adjustment. She would have to remain by the Golden Mirror’s side from now on.

But Peru didn’t fear it. Even as her consciousness remained unclear, she grasped the Golden Mirror’s hand.

“…Thank you…for your kindness. Though I am undeserving of mercy…”

Not to use the Verdant power to destroy, Peru held the Golden Mirror’s hand in hers and pleaded.

“…Could you not extend this kindness to others as well?”
[That is impossible. The Golden Nation will be reconstructed.]

A resolute voice. But in saving Peru, the Golden Mirror had revealed a sliver of possibility. Peru, despite not fully understanding, pressed into that sliver.

“…Could there be a place in your Golden Nation for others as well?”
[They are not of the Golden Nation.]
“…They lived on the land of the old Golden Nation. They are the sons and daughters of its people. They use alchemy to survive, not metallurgy. They are no different.”
[They are different. They are not of the Golden Nation.]

The cold, resolute responses repeated again and again. Peru, gasping for air, asked:

“…If there’s no one left in this land, how can it be called a nation?”
[That’s unnecessary. I will create one.]
“…A nation filled only with homunculi—is that the Golden Nation? What is the Golden Nation…?”
[The Golden Nation is…]

The Golden Mirror, about to answer, suddenly fell silent. A look of confusion surfaced on the face of this being, who had once reached the heights of demonic ascension by uncovering the greatest of truths.

The ideal Golden Nation it sought to create was a perfect utopia, where diligent homunculi cultivated a beautiful land. It had acted directly, exterminating the scavengers that gnawed at the nation and working tirelessly to create a land of eternal prosperity. To alchemize the entirety of the Heat Nation.

[The Golden Nation is…]

But Peru’s question brought it face-to-face with a fundamental doubt.
What is the Golden Nation?

“The Golden Nation? It’s a delusion.”

I couldn’t help but encourage it. I might have even slightly pushed it toward this goal. But some things can’t be understood until they’re attempted.

If you don’t try, you won’t even realize it’s impossible.

“Humans have a tendency to cling desperately to things they don’t understand. It’s not just faith or concepts of good and evil—it’s even the idea of a nation. They have no real idea what it is, yet they define it however they please. They’ve never truly seen it, nor do they understand it, but they shout its name as if it’s something sacred. No matter how much beasts cry out for something ideal, it remains a delusion.”

Lost in doubt, the Golden Mirror sought an answer from me.

[The Golden Nation is no delusion. It undoubtedly existed.]
“You believed that, so of course, I had to cheer you on. Even though I knew it was bound to fail.”

As I’ve said before, the Golden Mirror doesn’t know what the Golden Nation is. It keeps wandering, trying to create it, repair it, without understanding its essence. This ignorance is the root of the greatest problems the Golden Mirror creates.

Even this being, who ascended to demonhood by discovering one of the great truths, remains trapped in the massive delusion originally created by the first saint.

“Let me ask you again. Have you ever truly seen everything in the Golden Nation? All its territories and facilities? Have you interacted with all its people? Do you understand how it functioned?”
[One does not need to see everything to create it. If one understands the overarching principles—]

“Don’t fool yourself. The only great truth you’ve uncovered is a singular, universal principle. Do you really think the natural truths of the universe are the same as the human-made concept of a nation? Not at all! Humans, mere beasts, cobbled these things together clumsily. How could something so flawed and crude have an ‘overarching principle’? That’s not the Golden Nation. Your so-called Golden Nation?”

I responded with a mocking tone.

“You’re just nostalgically naming the happiest time of your life the ‘Golden Nation’ and longing for it like a fool.”

If you’re a beast, you should think like a beast. Overthinking leads to delusion.

“The Golden Nation is just a box where you store your emotions—nostalgia, happiness, love, friendship. You’ve stuffed all the good times you’ve experienced into it and given it a name. As for the bad experiences and painful memories, you label them guilt, responsibility, or the Heat Nation, and you push them aside. Then you wistfully watch over that beautiful time capsule named the Golden Nation, so much so that it’s become your delusion.”

Even a being that has uncovered a great truth remains human. And anything humans create is inherently imperfect because humans themselves are imperfect.

Even the relics forged from that truth carry traces of human fallibility.

“What you truly desire is to return to the time when you were happy. You believe that rebuilding the Golden Nation will bring that time back.”

It’s pitiful. It can never return, no matter what.

“The Golden Nation no longer exists. King Elik, its people, its identity—they’re all gone. Some of it, you destroyed yourself. As long as alchemy exists, metallurgy, which once sustained the Golden Nation, will never regain its former value. The Golden Nation can’t be restored.”

What’s lost can never be reclaimed. All the Golden Mirror can do is search for new happiness. It must find something better than creating a puppet of King Elik to comfort itself. After all, clinging to happy memories as fuel to warm oneself is no different from self-delusion. Like the matchstick girl’s fleeting warmth, it’s nothing but an illusion that vanishes the moment you open your eyes.

“Let go of the delusion and return to reality. Look at what’s in front of you. Listen to what’s being said around you. Hear the voices of the humans who’ve come close to you.”

The Golden Mirror heeded my words.

Overseers—those who inherited the advancements of alchemy. The disciples of the Golden Mirror, and among the few who could communicate with it.

Peru, having spent her life and all her strength, had finally reached the Golden Mirror.

The Golden Mirror always created Juggernauts for its disciples—machines filled with dreams and designed perfectly to suit their abilities, given freely as gifts.

What meaning did this hold? Was it simply imitating King Elik? Or did it find joy in the process?

Monologues receive no replies. Perhaps the Golden Mirror, too brilliant to be understood, welcomed those with whom it could finally communicate.

[…I think I understand, at least a little, why His Majesty had disciples.]

Murmuring wistfully, the Golden Mirror took action.

I couldn’t read its thoughts, so I didn’t fully understand what it had done. By the time I regained my senses, everything around me was collapsing. The Golden Palace crumbled like a waterfall, its fragments cascading to the ground. It felt as if the world itself were falling apart.

Buried under the debris, I screamed internally.

Ah, how frustrating it is not to be able to read thoughts!