Surviving without God

—I shall name you.

Grand Crow’s exhilarated voice rang through the hall. He rarely showed emotion in public, but no one found it strange now. There was a solid reason for it.

—Guardian of the Moonless Night.

The murmur in the hall did not subside. Everyone present was a high-ranking member of the organization and had witnessed countless oath ceremonies. But, hand on heart, not one of them had ever seen “light” like this.

The radiance spilling over the altar flooded the entire space. It felt as though a sun had risen deep underground, tens of meters beneath the earth. Even Moon Wolf—hailed as the greatest rookie in history—had never produced such a glow. Unable to contain their excitement, the spectators whispered to each other right in the middle of the rite.

—No, seriously, what kind of rookie is he?

—Did you see that light? I thought I’d go blind on the spot.

—...He’s rewriting Night Raven’s history.

In Grand Crow’s single eye, as he looked down at the kneeling Gunther, there was restrained thrill, reverence, and absolute certainty.

—One who will not become this land’s lamp. But on the night the moon disappears, the fire goes out, and no one remains—he alone will step onto the road. One who guards the darkest hour. Dawn... will pass through your shadow. Without fail.

As Grand Crow continued, Gunther’s mask began to change. Soon it lost its sheen and sank into pitch-black darkness. A faceless void where even the outlines were erased. That indifferent face with no eyes, no nose, no mouth looked less like a human and more like night’s shadow itself. Cheonmae, staring at the unsettling sight, faltered:

—This is... kind of too dramatic.

—Khe-khe.

—......?!

Cheonmae stared at Moon Wolf in shock.

—You... you’re laughing? What kind of mood is that?

—Cheonmae. For an archer, your eyesight’s pretty bad. Ever consider switching professions?

—Why you... that’s it! You’re messing with me!

While the two commanders bickered, Gunther walked lightly back to his seat. Ryan, in a bear mask, whispered excitedly:

—You damn lunatic! I knew you’d pull something like this! O-oh, I’m proud of you, buddy!

—Yeah.

—Honestly, when the light didn’t show up for so long, I got seriously scared...

—I was already getting ready to commit suicide myself.

Anticipation, jubilation, certainty. Being at the center of that whirlwind of emotion felt strange. The elation aimed at him wasn’t mere praise. The shouts of people whose lives had been trampled by Luthien were closer to a prayer—one mixed with rage and hope.

What irony. The one receiving that prayer hated Luthien less than anyone present.

But even if you’re an outsider, the weight of countless prayers inevitably becomes heavy. Gunther felt that burden and drew a deep breath, forcing himself to remain composed.

“...Anyway, it worked out.”

Only a few formalities remained. The ceremony would end once the other candidates received their blessings. Then the rookies would go home and, after a few days, be assigned to squads for training and practice. That was all of Act 1, Chapter 3.

That was why Chapter 3 was called one of the few “healing” parts of the game.

“...Whew.”

Gunther exhaled in relief. Even though the essence of the “Reading” blessing was still unclear... at least the main objective—becoming the organization’s center of attention—had been exceeded.

“Ah... right.”

There was one thing he needed to check.

The Karma he had paid to the One-Eyed King. By how much he’d lost, he could estimate how useful “Reading” really was.

“I had over six hundred Karma.”

He had hoarded it with the stubbornness of a maniac, not spending a single point even in the fight with Mother. Maybe four hundred or five hundred had gone. With that thought, Gunther opened the Karma window.

Ding!

[Available Karma: -2133]

Your soul is now mired in debt.

-If you do not repay the debt, each life will apply a new debuff.

-A compound interest rate applies: 12%.

-Upon reaching Karma -3000, the “Judge’s Pursuit” branch will begin.

-Current debuff: Twisted Fate

The probability of events around you is distorted—sometimes slightly, sometimes fatally. Over time, the distortion will only intensify.

“......?”

***

A flash of panic. Suddenly, like a hallucination, that witch’s tarot card flickered before his eyes. A man holding a stack of black papers and a golden key. And her lazy voice:

—You’ll fall into debts you never wanted.

No...! So that was what she meant by debt?

Money would’ve been bad enough—but Karma?

Gunther’s hands began to tremble.

—Hey, what’s wrong with you all of a sudden?!

Ryan stared at him wide-eyed, but Gunther had no time to soothe him.

Debt.

To be clear: it was the word Gunther hated most. The thing that had tormented him back on Earth.

—Did I borrow for myself? As the head of the household, huh?! I just wanted us to live like human beings!

Damn it. At least that man had borrowed by choice.

This was a forced debt pit.

“Calm down.”

Even if he jumped around in outrage, a minus two thousand debt wasn’t going anywhere. He needed a plan. Gunther fixed his stare on the status window again.

There was only one conclusion.

“I have to repay this debt in this life. No matter what it costs!”

He knew it sounded insane. From the start of Chapter 1 to this moment, after crawling through hell, he had collected only about two thousand Karma total. But if the debt carried into the next life...

...the odds that his remaining eighty-plus lives would go straight into a ditch were extremely high.

“One wrong step, and it’s over.”

As an experienced debtor, Gunther instantly grasped the cruelty of this system.

“There’s no telling what debuff will stick next.”

Right now it was “just” bad luck, but was full of truly horrifying debuffs. If they started stacking, he wouldn’t be earning Karma—he wouldn’t even survive.

“I’ll die again and again, and the debt will grow like a snowball.”

That villainous 12% rate all but spelled it out. Which meant, from this point on, he had to avoid death at any cost.

“So what’s the way out?”

A way to get a massive amount of Karma, as fast as possible.

Gunther already knew the answer.

“Easter eggs...”

When you strike a holy knight you cannot defeat. When you change the fate of a side character doomed to die. When an anomaly occurs that runs counter to the world’s “expected” flow—Karma pours down in heaps.

“Or trigger my own scenario.”

Custom scenarios also paid well upon completion. But their activation conditions were vague. He had only a sense that the trigger was events that went beyond canon.

“...But where do I find easter eggs or scenarios right now?”

His mind was chaos.

[Alphonse of Red Street tilts his head in confusion]

“And what are you staring at?”

[He says he has never suffered from debt, but is trying very hard to sympathize]

What nonsense. A slum-born god, and no debt?

[He claims women always paid his debts for him]

“......”

[The King of the Knights of Ninety-Nine Defeats clicks his tongue in contempt] 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

[However, he too has no experience living in debt. He was the second son of a wealthy aristocratic family]

[The Drug-Addicted Saint smiles awkwardly]

[This is a person who built a vast fortune through drug dealing]

Gunther let out a heavy sigh at this “brilliant” lineup. The only consolation was the witch’s words:

—But what you get in return will be very sweet. So sweet you’ll forget the hardship of repaying the debt.

The ability to “read” once per life. He still didn’t understand what it meant, and because of the limited attempts, he couldn’t even test it.

All he could do was hope.

“Please... let it be worth a few thousand Karma.”

While Gunther prayed furiously, the blessings of the others came to an end. The spectators gave their junior colleagues one last look and left the Sanctuary. Soon it was empty. Time to go.

—Alright, rookies! Everyone over here!

They would be sent back to the gathering point now. For a few days, they would return to ordinary life until the organization summoned them. Act 1, Chapter 4 would begin with their first mission as part of a squad.

“For the Executive Division, the first mission will definitely be deadly...”

...Could I really avoid dying?

As Gunther took his first heavy step with the departing crowd—

—Hey, Moonless.

A man in a black snake mask made him turn around.

—Jed... ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Senior?

Gunther had never seen him in person, but recognized him instantly. Light hair that gleamed even in the dimness, height around 180—same as Gunther, but with a far more slender build.

—Well, look at that. You recognized me right away?

Golden eyes behind the snake mask narrowed in a smile.

—Here’s the thing: our boss wants to talk to you.

—Boss? You mean...?

—Who else?

Jedriel nodded to the side. At the edge of the altar stood Grand Crow. He stared intently at Gunther, then turned, inviting him to follow. Cheonmae and Moon Wolf—the two commanders of the Executive Division—were with him.

“...Huh? What’s this?”

A spark flared in Gunther’s eyes. This summons wasn’t in canon. Which meant there was a high chance it was the trigger for a custom scenario.

He didn’t hesitate for a second.

—Let’s go.

Jedriel snorted in surprise. A rookie who didn’t flinch at all before the organization’s upper echelon. More than that—he strode ahead, overtaking him. Watching that, Jedriel let slip the same thing people always said about him:

—...You’re a weird one.

That was probably why Grand Crow was considering such a “radical assignment.” Laughing, Jedriel set a hand on Gunther’s shoulder.

—Do you even know what’s waiting for you, walking like you’re that eager?

...Whatever it was, it could hardly be scarier than a debt of 2,133 Karma.

Gunther quickened his pace.