Stargazing - Jude and Mathilda - Jude's Decisions - Sword God

Philip continued to gaze at the stars as his eyes shine under the night sky

Even if he was in the middle of the city, well at the edge of the city, the stars looked clear in the night sky, unlike the time more than four years ago since the sky was being polluted by smog

The reason that the sky could've cleared up is because of mana itself. The Mana Tree six months ago dissipated after all. It then spread throughout the world, officially incorporating mana across Earth, that became Earthenmana, after he used ⟨⟨ Sacrificial Fate Control ⟩⟩

"Ah..."

Now that the sky is so clear, Philip could see all individual stars in the sky, even the ones that are 4.5 billion light years away, ever since the Earth was formed and the light from the stars reached this planet approximately 4.5 billion years ago

The stars twinkled as he looked at them one by one. Some stars twinkled normally, some stars changed colors from red to blue to green and back and forth, some stars red shifted and quickly changed between blue and red, some were just shining brightly, and some were shifting between all seven colors

When he was a kid and he looked at a handful of stars that does this, he always thought that it was aliens because of the odd change of colors. All he knew about twinkling stars is if stars kept blinking with the same color

He wanted to convince himself, but he knows and he's aware that that is false

The reason the stars twinkling in different colors is because of the composition of the air glowing in the atmosphere, accompanied by all kinds of radio waves and electromagnetic waves in the Ionosphere

Philip was smart enough to figure this out as a kid, so he immediately denied that these stars were aliens. He didn't stop believing that aliens exist, it's just that aliens won't show themselves this way

Besides, he already knows that all kinds of civilizations exist across and scattered throughout the universe. The proof of this are the Godly Realms, higher worlds, the proof of Peaceforce, Saykrandae, and the alien invasion that happened during the destruction of Saykrandae

Even if all of those beings have a specific race that describes them, to humans of Earth and Earthenmana, they are aliens, supernatural beings, extraterrestrial beings, godly beings

'But from me?'

From Philip, humans, monsters, gods, spirits, demons, ghosts, and all of the above doesn't matter to him. Though, he doesn't know if he should treat all of them as equal, but he has already classified all of them in one concept

Existences

Philosophy states that there is Existence and Essence, but Philip believe that Existence is the very physical body of a being, including their mind and heart, while Essence is the very soul, including their ego and signature

Therefore, Essences are inside Existences

Of course, there are also myths and beliefs that these stars are symbolism of legendary people and godly beings from mythology and folklore. Country heroes and people that had a big impact in history is represented by a star in the night sky

The brighter the star, the more the person or being has influence over the world or the universe

With that in mind, Philip wonderd if one of these stars is Lulu, but it was unlikely because Lulu's entire existence and concelt was deleted in the universe

Only him would remember her. He doesn't know if Emily or the system has recorded his interaction with her

He also thought that these stars form the constellations and these constellations represent a powerful being, kingdom, or domain

'There was a novel like that after all...'

Philip lowered his head

"Haaah..."

Philip took another deep breath filled with exhaustion

'Why am I thinking of these things anyways?'

Philip's eyes wete already dilated as he was using [Eye Vision] and [Clairvoyance] to magnify his eyesight and take a closer look among the stars

He could literally see distant stars and their chaotic nature. All the flares, prominences, and explosions happening within the surface, he could see them all

He even passed through some black holes that wete devouring other stars, planets, and entire planetary systems. But he decided to avoid them since his eyesight might be caught into the well of their Event Horizon

Also, he didn't know if the Laws of Physics still applied to him and if what he's seeing is the absolute present status of these distant stars or what he's seeing is the information that's being fed from the past on the present due to relativity

"In any case..."

Philip then closed his eyes after going back and gazed towards the surface of Saturn, Jupiter, and Venus

He opened his eyes and slightly looked to his right, as if he's trying to gaze behind him

"It's about time you've arrived..."

"You called for me earlier, Sir Philip"

"Yes, sit down..."

It was Jude who stepped down on the roof after hovering. On his arms is a rather calm Mathilda that is half awake

Jude went ahead and sat down on Philip's right. He also let Mathilda sit on the roof tiles, but due to being drunk, she urged her body to sway and lean on Jude

Jude didn't mind though and fix his position in a comfortable manner while carrying half of Mathilda's weight

"..."

"..."

There was silence between them for several seconds as Philip resumed gazing at the stars. Jude also couldn't help but lift his head and look at the stars

Mathilda was slightly awoken from the silence, but she wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, somehow, she feels serene as she didn't mind the deafening silence encroaching on the roof

"How are you, Jude?"

Philip broke the silence as be lowered his head and gazed towards the horizon. It's as if he's watching the world now

"Haaah..."

Jude took a deep sigh of relief

"My honest answer... Ever since you came here, it's been hectic. But that's not necessarily a bad case. You've changed the fates of everyone in the mansions and their futures are now better than before"

Jude slightly turned his head towards Philip

"That's my honest answer... But deep inside me, I'm kinda afraid"

"Hm?"

"There must be a reason as to why you go to such lengths to do this, right? There must be a reason why you came here... It feels like there's something big in the far distance..."

Jude also turned his gaze towards the horizon. It's as if he's seeing what Philip's seeing, but the difference is, no matter how he look, he only see the horizon, not beyond the horizon

"Our fates were miniscule in the past, but after you changed it, it feels like it became bigger. If our fates were a line, all the lines will converge into a point... Not a single point, but a giant sphere of point"

"..."

Jude stopped talking and waited for Philip to speak. Philip was quiet for a long time while thinking of what to say

After a minute, Philip spoke

"I have a goal... An ultimate goal..."

"Ultimate goal?"

"Are you prepared to know the truth?"

"As long as I can accept it..."

"That's a difficult answer..."

Philip smiled wryly and Jude only turned his eyes at the side of Philip's head with a complicated gaze

"I want you to hear me out..."

"I can do that much"

"My ultimate goal is to die..."

"...?"

"Not just the trivial common death... I want to die where I'll never reincarnate or resurrect in another body or some sort. I want to die where I won't be a ghost or spirit. I want to die where my soul will be extinguished. I want to die where my existence will be erased to the point that everything and anything about me will disappear... Any records, memories, marks, everything... Absolute death, absolute disappearance, absolute erasure..."

"..."

Jude frowned as his eyes narrowed with slight confusion, anger, and disgust. Even Mathilda became slightly sober from Philip's revelation, but she didn't move her body. Her ears perked up to hear Philip better as mechanical parts connected around her ears to amplify her hearing

"Why do you want that?"

Jude spoke in an angry manner

"I want my despair to end..."

"Despair?? Is that what it is? To me, you're just a depressed person that suffered too much"

"What's the difference?"

"What?!"

"Look... In order to achieve my goal..."

"You use us? Is that it?!"

"..."

"I refuse to help you with that!! Anything else, but that!"

Jude abruptly stood up and Mathilda didn't fall that. Instead, her body was stationary since she was awake. She fixed her body up and continued to sit down

"I want to say that your goal is selfish... Incredibly selfish!! What about our feelings?! Everyone else's feelings... Mei'er, Natsume-chan... Tenshi-san! Imagine what she will feel!!"

"She already knows"

"Huh? W-what??!"

"She already knows... Including the Old Man, Sai, and Camille"

"What? What did they say?"

"The Old Man is angry..."

"Sounds about right"

"Sai was very angry, but decided to help me in the end..."

"What?"

"Camille is indifferent and she'll help when I need it..."

"What??"

"Tenshi knew... She wants to help me achieve that ultimate goal... She wanted to be by my side until the end, until I meet my goal..."

"..."

Jude furrowed his eyebrows with great difficulty. He bit his lower lip and clenched both of his hands

His heart started to falter and feel pain

He feels angry, very angry, because the person who saved him from his fate and unlocked his desire was willing to die for a selfish reason

He didn't know what to do. He wanted to change Philip's decision, but he doesn't know what to say to presuade him

He could've used and ask Tenshi because she will be the only one who will persuade him, but apparently Tenshi has already decided too

He wanted to punch him, but as a butler, the Sword Saint, and a person who's indebted to him, he just couldn't do it

"..."

In the end, he became silent and his mind went blank

"I... I need to sort out my thoughts..."

Jude turned around and left. He also left Mathilda behind as she wrapped her arms around her knees and tucked herself in

"I need your help..."

Philip spoke loudly and Jude stopped. At least he should listen to him before leaving

"I need help as much as possible... That's why I've been changing everyone's fates according to their desire and suffering... A lot of existences will stop me from achieving my ultimate goal. Not only that, because I'm aiming for that ultimate goal, a lot of existence will harm the people around me. As I said last time, I need protectors to protect everyone while I protect the protectors..."

"You expect me to be by your side until we reach the absolute end?"

"No... That's your own decision... But others will choose that path and I won't stop them. If you don't want to help me, at least you can help them in your own way"

'WHAT?!'

Jude screamed in his mind. Philip sensed this from his body language and Mathilda heard this with his ultra enhanced hearing through the vibrations and pulse surging across his brain and nerves

"In order for you to help them... I want to make you stronger"

"With all due respect, Sir Philip..."

Jude forced himself to calm down

"I said that I need to sort out my thoughts"

"I want to make you the new Sword God"

"...!!!"

Jude halted in his tracks and his eyes widened

"It's time for Ken to step down from his eons of ruling and for a new Sword God to be born"

Jude's eyes shook as fear and awe crept up deep inside him

This wasn't Philip just talking, it was the will of the Sword Concept and him, as the Sword Saint, knows this. His Sword Potential and Sword Mastery began to vibrate

"It's time for you to exact your revenge from when he placed the Reverse Sword inside you that made you suffer for hundred thousands of years"

Jude slowly turned around and prepared himself to finally face the true Sword Concept in flesh

Philip slowly stood up as Mathilda was calmly sitting down

"Observe this Swordplay and Swordsmanship! I will bestow you these power!"

Philip extended his right hand to his side and a blood sword conjured in swirls. The [Blood Wings] also conjured and he began to fly into the sky. His silhouette was in front of the moon and both Jude and Mathilda could see him and his entire glory as the Sword Concept

"Huff..."

Philip began to dance in the air while performing sword attacks

「 Null of Magnificence 」

「 Body of Godliness 」

He activated the Pinnacle of Movement and Peak of Being to show the perfect Swordplay and Swordsmanship for Jude

"Haaat!!"

He swung the blood sword widely and made big trajectories. In a few seconds, the blood sword enlarged and copied the form of Jude's Soul Artifact, the Dominator Sword

「 Sword Concept: Sword Saint Jude 」

As the Sword Concept, he perfectly replicated Sword Saint Jude and began to incorporate his movements into himself

"..."

Eventually, Jude felt his heart thump and his vision blurred, as if his surroundings just shifted twice

"Swordplay: Weightless Sword Intent"

Weightless Sword Intent is a Swordplay that eliminates weight from all Sword Intents, but this doesn't mean that power has been erased

A weightless Sword Intent means that the intent will be condensed into one point, almost singularity. This will amplify all sword intangibilities to become almost impenetrable and unstoppable force

Not only that, a weightless Sword Intent can be stacked on top of each other to make a broader Sword Intent

It's going to be like making a sheet of paper made of singularities

Philip demonstrated this power by performing

「 Mana Actualization: Identical World 」

A sphere of blue energy expanded within Philip and exploded. The entire surroundings was filled and replicated the world

This means that this area is just a copy of the original world, like a virtual world inside a screen

"Swordplay: Weightless Sword Intent: Basic Slash"

Philip waved the blood Dominator Sword as slow as he can diagonally across him

In that simple stroke, the entire world shone as a single thin line flashed in the distance and shattered the Identical World

The power was almost similar to Philip's basic slash while applying Sword Concept. The difference is that Jude wouldn't be able to spam it, on top of that, there are still conditions that can stop, reflect, deflect, or avoid his attack

On the other hand, Philip's is instant, almost unavoidable, and unstoppable with just a flick of his finger

"HAAAH!!!"

Philip didn't stop there and immediately performed a large swing that directed towards the horizon

*BOOM*

A loud thundering roar ensued like it was a thunderstorm or the armageddon

He completed the execution, but immediately stopped the attack with Sword Concept from afar. Even then, it was enough to show it to Jude

"Swordsmanship: Breaking the Horizon"

Jude felt his heart thump wildly again and his eyes flared. He immediately closed his eyes, lowered his head, clenched his teeth, and clenched his fists like he was in regret

Philip finished his performance and slowly hovered back down on the roof. The blood Dominator Sword and [Blood Wings] dissipated into his body

"With this, your Sword Potential will explode and you'll breakthrough to Sword God"

"You didn't have to do that... My base cultivation is already messed up..."

"I have a solution for that-"

"There's no need... As I said, I need to collect my thoughts"

Jude turned around and walked away without showing eye contact to Philip

"..."

Philip just gazed towards Jude's back. His Sword Energy and Sword Aura was blazing around his body

He then gazed to his right as displays were being shown

『 Sword Saint Jude Smith is undergoing breakthrough!! 』

'I guess that's enough...'

『 Sword Saint Jude Smith has achieved Sword God Mastery Stage 』

"...?"

『 Two Sword Gods are existing in the universe! Both Sword Gods has been sensed each other's presence 』

『 Only one Sword God shall exist in the Mastery Realm 』

「 Ken is too drunk to notice 」

『 Sword God Jude Smith has learned a perfected a Swordsmanship! 』

『 Sword God Jude Smith shall be known as Breaking the Horizon Sword God 』

『 This is the first time since a Sword God has perfected a Swordsmanship!! 』

『 Additional benefits are being prepared... 』

"..."

The system finally became quiet and Philip subconsciously looked to his bottom left

There, he saw Mathilda looking up at him with disinterested look with an interested expression

Philip quickly turned and twisted his body around to a sitting position beside her. They were facing the city and the ocean

It's like nothing happened before and they're back from the beginning with the difference of Jude's absence

"So... How are you?"

Philip casually asked

"..."

Mathilda moves her body away while looking at Philip with eyes of disbelief and fear

"..."

Philip saw this and couldn't help but laugh internally from the ridiculousness of this scene