What is the essence of humanity?

What makes a person truly human?

I, who was once human but am no longer, could not clearly define the answer, but I had some inkling of it.

What makes a person human.

Humans, like a burning match, frantically and ceaselessly run, burning themselves out in their short lifetimes.

At the core of this intense life and emotion... there must be....

Desire.

The longing heart.

What each person longs for may differ, but one thing is certain.

Humans. They live a life of frantically rushing towards what they desire.

Even if there is a bottomless cliff at the end of that rush.

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

I returned to Babel after wandering the world for about after a year.

The trivial stories of traversing the territories of the lizardmen, sailing the seas with primitive navigation techniques, and witnessing the rapid changes in the world were just the beginning.

Ah, come to think of it, I should go visit Thetis as well. Otherwise, Thetis might get upset.

Thetis has a kind disposition, but it has been too long since we last met.

A kind personality can be terrifying when angered. Yes.

Anyway.

"Why have you suddenly returned here?"

"Hmm. I just... had some business to attend to."

"Business...?"

Together with the puzzled hero, I headed towards the Temple of Life.

I wonder how much mana stone has accumulated over the past year. If my prediction is correct, there should be a considerable amount.

But my expectation was...

"Un. This is the amount collected over the past year."

"It has certainly increased compared to before."

A box of a reasonable size. One might think it's a lot for a year's worth of collection.

But you see. According to my prediction and the additional function I secretly added to the inspection device, there should be about five times more than this.

The function I secretly added to count the number of mana stones with embedded shards of darkness and report it to me...

I had added it just in case, but now I can't just let it slide.

"I should go see the mayor."

"Then I'll schedule a meeting for you tomorrow."

"No, that's not necessary."

After stopping the Red Dragon's child who was about to schedule a meeting, I quietly took my steps.

The hero left the beast spirit in the room of the Temple of Life. I had told them that I would be gone for a short errand, so I can just slip away quietly.

I concealed my presence and quietly strolled through the evening streets.

In this era, when the sun sets, the number of people on the streets drops sharply, except for the patrolling guards. This desert city, where even firewood for torches is scarce, is the only place where the free use of mana stone magic is possible.

Instead of torches on the pillars and walls, there were light sources made of mana stones.

A small magic that creates light. But in the darkness that descends on the streets, even these small lights feel precious.

Well, it seems like all I can see is money-related matters. Hmm. Once that annoyance gets stuck in my mind, everything visible becomes displeasing.

I know this attitude is not good, but I can't help but dislike things that don't appeal to me.

Thus, I walked the quiet night streets, where only faint lights existed, and headed towards the towering tower erected in Babel.

Even though the sun had set in the west, a considerable number of people were busily working in the tower.

I ignored the people engrossed in their work on the first floor and climbed the stairs.

After all, there was no one who could detect my concealed presence. My steps moved forward without hesitation.

Upwards. Higher and higher.

I climbed the spiral staircase of the tower.

My destination was the top of the tower. I was following the trail of the mayor's magic, as I had remembered from my previous visit. I climbed the spiral staircase.

The higher I climbed, the narrower the drill-shaped tower became. At the very end, there was only a small room.

Despite the fact that proper commerce had not yet been invented, this city's mayor had amassed a great fortune. Yet, the room was surprisingly small in size.

However, the size of the room is not what's important.

What's important is what is contained within that room.

And...

"Hehehe... It's going smoothly."

What was contained in that small room was a small human consumed by greed.

"I should say the heavens are helping me. Just as my inspection tool was running low, she came to me again. Moreover, she fell for my eloquent words and made even more items for me to inspect." dozens of boxes filled with a large amount of mana stones stacked in the room.

In this room, the man picked up a single mana stone from one of the boxes.

"Thanks to this, I was able to more easily collect these fragments, so I should express my gratitude."

The man rolled the mana stone around in the palm of his hand, then gently brought it up to the tip of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

And then,

"Hufffff."

The man inhaled, activating the mana. Slowly, the fragment of darkness embedded within the mana stone seeped out.

The small shard of darkness seeped into his body through his nose.

"Ah. Good. Very good. This power. This pleasure. This darkness continues to call out to me. Hehe... Hahaha... At this rate... Someday, I will be able to surpass humanity..."

"Hmm. Was that truly your objective?"

I spoke in a calm voice.

"Huh?! You are?! How did you get here?!"

"How? I entered through the tower's entrance and climbed the stairs."

I had concealed my presence and ascended.

"Tch. The employees should have prevented anyone from climbing the tower! Don't tell me you took down all of Babel's Nine Mages?!"

What's that? There were such things?

Well, since they couldn't even detect my presence, it's a moot point.

"Let's set aside those meaningless things. Let's see. Are all these mana stones embedded with darkness? You've collected quite a lot."

I opened the lid of a nearby box to inspect the contents. Hmm... Indeed, there are tiny fragments, but they are present.

He was inhaling these fragments like some kind of drug, huh?

What on earth was he thinking?

"I told you to hand them over, but you were hoarding them for yourself. Just what were you planning to do with these fragments?... I will confiscate all of these fragments. And I will terminate our contract."

"Kuh, hehehe. Since I've been caught, I have no choice."

The man's mana began to spread throughout the room.

Hmm... For a human, this is an impressive amount of mana. And... the mana is mixed with darkness.

Did he use the darkness fragments to enhance his own mana? A mere human?

"Sigh. How did you end up thinking of something like this? The power of these fragments is too dangerous for a human to handle."

"It's thanks to you. Ever since you made me aware of the darkness fragments within the mana stones, I've been continuously researching them."

"What? You're blaming me for this?"

"It's not blame. Rather, I'm grateful. Thanks to you, I've been able to strive even higher."

The man gave a wicked smile and pointed his index finger towards the sky.

"These darkness fragments have been calling out to me. Telling me to gather them all. And to ascend to godhood."

"Using these darkness fragments to ascend to godhood? You're out of your mind."

Of course, a human's body can become part of a mythological being. In fact, there have been a few humans who have become deities managing the hierarchy of the Afterlife.

But this is not the case.

Using the fragments of darkness, the fragments of the deity Erebus, to become a god? Nonsense.

It would be fortunate if he is not devoured by Erebus.

"Out of my mind, you say. Well, a sane human wouldn't have inserted these fragments into their own body. But you see, there are those in this world who can wield god-like power with a human body, are there not?"

The man pointed his index finger at me.

"The power to create anything. The power to freely make things that did not exist before. That god-like power resides within you, a mere human. So why can't I do the same?"

No, are you blaming me again? I'm not even human, I'm a dragon! I just happen to be walking around in a human body!

"That's why I started collecting these fragments of darkness. As these small fragments accumulated within me, I was able to gradually understand the original will of this darkness."

Following the man's mana, the fragments of darkness seeped out from the mana stones filling the room and permeated into the man.

"These darkness fragments told me. To become one. To gather everything and return to the original."

"Hoh."

The fragments have a will and can speak? Nonsense.

Those fragments only contain faint remnants of memories. Those memories alone couldn't have given them a will.

If those fragments truly have a will, then shouldn't they first apologize to me?

Apologize for what they've done. Isn't that what they should say to me?

"Heh. Hehehe... Normally I only absorbed a little at a time... But this time it's a bit more... My whole body feels like it's about to burst..."

The man's body began to change, gradually being stained by the darkness.

His thin middle-aged physique became thicker, his muscles stood out noticeably, and his height increased.

This is... just like the molting of an insect.