“Sewatari-san—the God of Fate. Thank you. I had a lot of fun.” I spoke right from the heart. Their world didn’t have the conveniences of Japan, but my time there was still fulfilling.
“Glad to hear it. You know, most people who go to a different world never want to come home. You’re a special case, huh?”
“I don’t think I would’ve come home if I went a few months ago,” I said. “But things are different now. There’s so much I still want to do, and stuff I need to do. And I’ve got people waiting for me.”
I couldn’t just throw everything away and escape to another world. I wasn’t that ungrateful brat. Not anymore, and never again. My fight wasn’t in the other world. It was in this one.
There would be days when I wished I’d stayed with my villagers. Even then, I would be proud of the strength it took to make my decision. I’d made the choice to not run away.
“What was it like interacting with your villagers directly?” Sewatari-san asked.
“I can’t see them as NPCs anymore. They’re living, breathing human beings just like me.”
“I’m glad to hear that. You’ll keep taking care of them, won’t you?”
“Of course I will! Thank you for letting me see them for real.”
“I picked you well, Yoshio-kun.” Sewatari-san’s voice was gentle.
My vision turned black then, but it wasn’t scary at all. It was calming. Floating in that darkness, I remembered what Chem once said about the God of Fate.
“It is said that the God of Fate is the god closest to people. It’s even said that He secretly visited this world to live among humans. There are stories of Him having children with a human. The God of Fate loves and cares for humans more than any other god. He helps those in need, and He laughs and cries with us. It’s like He is almost human Himself.”
Coincidence or not, that was the god who chose me. I would never bring shame to Her name, never.
The darkness faded and I was on a bench, somewhere completely different. Gone were the trees and plants. I was surrounded by dreary iron and concrete. There were electronic noticeboards above me, and in front of me a bullet train rushed past. A long line of people waited for the next train.
This was a station waiting room. I checked the name. It was the station closest to my hometown.
“I’m not in Hokkaido anymore?”
At this point, nothing could surprise me. My bag was at my feet, along with several paper bags. They were full of souvenirs.
“That was nice of them.”
I checked my phone. It was noon on February 1st. The Day of Corruption had been yesterday. The past month felt like a vivid dream. The world from the game I played really existed, and I’d lived there with my villagers and fought off monsters. I would sound insane if I ever said any of that aloud, but I knew the truth.
I opened the Village of Fate app. My villagers were busy repairing the damaged fence. Despite the trials of yesterday, they were already hard at work. I resolved to send them a prophecy later. I didn’t want them to worry about me. Even if my days of living with them were over, I could still see them through the game. Our bond would stay strong.
The God of Fate statue was back in its tent, plain wood once again. Beside it was a new altar, and there were villagers taking a break from their work making offerings there. They’d done it the whole time I was away; there was probably a lot of great food waiting for me and my family at home.
Wonder what they’re sending today.
I smiled, watching as they lined fruit up on the altar and prayed together. The light flashed as always, but just before the offerings disappeared, something flickered. When the light faded, the altar was empty, and the fruit was scattered across the floor.
“What was that? Hey, quit it!” I snapped at the lizard tugging on my sleeve next to me. “You hungry? You sure eat a lot for something so puny. You—wait.”
Destiny blinked up at me. Destiny, who was supposed to be in the other world. It must’ve kicked all those fruits off the altar and made itself the offering. Strange, hadn’t Sewatari-san said they made it so people couldn’t go through the portal anymore?
Wait, I gotta stop thinking of it like a person just ’cause it acts like a person!
“You’re back, huh? Should’ve called you Trouble instead of Destiny. Anyway, it’s good to have you here, buddy.” I offered it a finger, which it grabbed tightly.
The real world might be crazier than the game world. Most likely there would be troubles ahead, maybe even life-threatening ones. And maybe I’d get so overwhelmed that I’d shut myself off from society again. Maybe one day I’d long for the village. But I knew now that having regrets and messing up was just part of life.
My villagers were working as hard as ever on the other side of the screen.
“I gotta follow their example.”
I put Destiny into one of the spare paper bags and stood up from the bench. I’d go give my boss some souvenirs and apologize, give my family some souvenirs and apologize, and give Seika some souvenirs and confe—
Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me…
This was the path I’d chosen, and nothing was going to stop me from walking it. It didn’t matter if I went slowly, paused to think, or messed up. Even if my path was plunged into darkness, as long as I kept going, there was a chance of something beautiful on the other side.