OP Sister Chapter 547: The Truth

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Anna was overjoyed, shedding tears of happiness upon discovering her brother had finally awakened.

Although Buddha had assured her that Jack would recover soon, complications arose, prolonging his recovery significantly.

Several Constellations specializing in Medicine and Healing examined him, primarily because they owed Buddha favors, yet none could pinpoint why he remained asleep for so long.

Only a week ago did Buddha realize Jack’s soul was being gradually pulled into the Netherworld by a force beyond his control.

Desperately, he worked to rescue Jack’s soul, keeping it secret from Anna. She had grown accustomed to training with Gilgamesh, Ares, and a few other Constellations she had met, and Buddha wished to avoid disrupting her focus with excessive worry.

Thus, he undertook a solitary mission to save Jack’s soul. What Jack experienced in the Netherworld seemed brief to him, but it unfolded over an entire month.

“You were trapped in the Netherworld?!”

The truth emerged swiftly when Jack shared his dream with Anna, recounting how Buddha had saved him from an indescribable entity governing all death in the multiverse.

“Yeah… I thought it was merely a nightmare, but Buddha confirmed it was real,” Jack said, his smile radiating relief. “Honestly, I’m scared to sleep again now…”

“Lord Buddha, why? You kept something so critical from me?” Anna asked. “I thought you never lied to anyone…”

“I don’t lie. I simply withheld the truth,” Buddha said, closing his eyes with a sigh. “I’m sorry, Anna… sometimes, one must bear burdens alone to spare others pain. I aimed to shoulder the responsibility myself, rather than burden you with worry.”

“I… I understand…” Anna sighed. Still clinging to her brother, she hugged him tightly, sitting on his lap like a spoiled child. Jack held her just as fiercely. After enduring such trauma, he found solace in her presence, resting his head on her shoulders and kissing her cheek. “Heheh, you missed me? You’re never this cuddly.”

“I was… when you were little,” Jack said with a faint smile. “I… just needed to hold you. I… went through so much… my head still aches… Anna… I love you, Anna… please stay by my side…”

“Brother…” Anna’s heart ached for her brother, visibly shaken by his ordeal. She embraced him, letting his face rest on her shoulders, occasionally kissing his forehead. “Of course, I’ll always be here for you… I love you too… more than anything, Jack… I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Haa…” Buddha smiled, exhaling in relief, fulfilled by reuniting the siblings. “The Void King always dreamed of this moment. Losing you transformed him into a broken soul… Now that he’s gone, seeing you two together as siblings… it fills my heart with immense joy.”

“Void… Void King?” Jack asked. “Who’s that? Wait… Anna, you feel so powerful now. What’s with this strange golden and red aura?”

“I became the Apostle of Gilgamesh and Ares,” Anna said, offering a gentle smile that revealed her bright white teeth. “Since arriving here, they’ve shown us great kindness despite our inability to offer much in return… though I suspect they’re just lonely and craving the attention of a charming girl like me, hehe.”

“Eh?” Jack’s eyes dimmed with concern. “Two Constellations made you their Apostles? Anna, that’s dangerous! Cancel the contracts! Cancel them now!” he urged, shaking her shoulders in agitation.

“Calm down, Jack!” Anna said.

“The Constellations will use you as a spare body!” Jack insisted. “They’ll turn you into a monster!”

“No! It’s not like that! Please calm down! That’s a misconception, Jack! Only Evil Constellations do that! Lord Ares and His Majesty are honorable and just!” Anna countered.

“What?!” Jack exclaimed, stunned. “Since when do you trust them so much?”

“Since they saved our lives?” Anna retorted, glaring at him in disbelief. “Since they fed you elixirs to save your life? Since they cared for you for a whole month? Since they trained me to grow stronger so I could find a way home? Jack… please see reason and calm down.”

“…” Jack glanced at Buddha, recognizing his error in speaking so rashly. He lowered his head in silence.

“It’s understandable that he views Constellations with suspicion,” Buddha said. “In the lower dimension, Constellations often treat mortals like playthings, subjecting them to trials to find a suitable Apostle. Some even seek to use them as vessels to descend into lower dimensions, causing chaos or harvesting resources unavailable in the upper dimension. However, though some may seem to delight in tormenting mortals, we are all caught in the same survival struggle known as the Apocalypse.”

“Apocalypse?” Jack asked, bewildered.

“At some point in the cosmos, a multiverse-wide Apocalypse began, a ‘cleansing’ of all life,” Buddha explained. “Some claim it was decreed by beings beyond the Fourth Wall, others believe the multiverse is dying. Countless worlds face ongoing Apocalypses, their inhabitants tested. Survivors merely advance to confront greater disasters beyond their world. Even in the Great Beyond, we endure ceaseless challenges to survive. The Scenarios never end… We even defeated the primary Void Rulers behind many catastrophes we faced.”

“…”

Jack listened in silence, grappling with the multiverse’s harsh truths.

Buddha and Anna then explained where he was, what was happening, and how they had arrived here.

Though initially confused and skeptical, Jack sighed and accepted the reality.

“So we’re in a Parallel Future… A world where I lost Anna?” Jack asked. “And I became a Void King…? A world I destroyed…”

“Not you,” Buddha clarified. “It was the Void King. Don’t blame yourself for his actions. It’s not your fault. You were never meant to be here… but the Void King disrupted the Dimension of Time, shattering it and breaching the Outerversal Boundaries, something none of us could survive, to invade a past Timeline seeking you.”

“If he was seeking Anna, why did he attack us and hurl us into this world?” Jack asked, his voice tinged with anger. “It makes no sense!”

“It truly makes no sense, I agree,” Buddha nodded. “The Void King consumed the power of several Void Rulers to gain his current strength. I believe their power corrupted his mind, birthing a monstrous Heart Demon, the embodiment of his madness, which likely overtook him. After all, Anna told me she spoke with him when he was lucid.”

“Pfff…!” Jack spat out his tea. “You did?! When?”

“Euh…” Anna hesitated, nervous. “Okay… I suppose it’s time to tell you the truth.”

“…?” Jack raised an eyebrow. “The truth?”

“…” Buddha nodded at Anna with a reassuring smile.

Anna sighed, revealing the truth about her Class Rank Up Trial, how she journeyed to a world called Bestia and met many people there.

Among them were two individuals who adopted her and taught her their arts, with whom she spent many months.

Ultimately, she and her friends confronted that world’s menace, a Void Ruler, defeated through the sacrifice of the Mother of Machines and the Heavenly Demon.

Tearfully recalling the Heavenly Demon and the Mother of Machines, Anna explained that the Void Ruler, the Universal Computer, was weakened by the “Seamless Abyss.”

That Seamless Abyss was this future’s Void King, Jack from a future where he had lost her.

Upon learning his true identity, Anna and her future brother chose to collaborate, their last interaction.

Unfortunately, her equipment was destroyed upon arriving here, and the Seamless Abyss’ Eye was lost in the turbulence of space and time, along with her crimson armor crafted from the Tears of another Void Ruler she had previously fought.

“I… I see…” Jack said, astonished. “So you spent so much time there, yet on Earth, it was only a night… You also have a system like mine and face similar trials… though I’ve never experienced one like that.”

“Yeah… Uh…” Anna said awkwardly, scratching her head. “I’m sorry for keeping it from you…”

“It’s fine,” Jack replied. “Though I never mentioned it, I had somewhat figured it out.”

“…Eh?” Anna said, surprised.

“I knew you had something fueling your strength. Fenrir once told me you harbored a unique power,” Jack said. “He said it felt almost like the System… but I wasn’t certain.”

“…?!” Anna’s jaw dropped in shock. “Really?! Fenrir knew?! Oh shit…”

“Then there were those sudden power boosts, or when you acquired rare equipment and materials out of nowhere…” Jack continued. “You claimed a Constellation gifted them to you, but I’ve never known Constellations generous enough to provide dozens of materials, legendary-grade equipment, divine weapons, new classes, dozens of skills, and more…”

“Okay, you got me…” Anna laughed awkwardly. “Hahaha… you should’ve told me if you already knew!”

“When you awoke from the coma, you had changed subtly,” Jack said. “I sensed something more in you since you woke… I expected you to be naïve and confused, but you adapted so quickly to everything… For a moment, Fenrir suggested your body might be possessed by a ghost or demon, and I checked you repeatedly. Your soul and mind remained unchanged… you simply awoke knowing many things. You claimed a foresight ability, and I chose to believe you, despite knowing you were lying…”

“Yeah, that’s true… ugh…” Anna sighed. “Buddha…”

“Tell him,” Buddha said, nodding. “Causality holds no power here. The Void King abandoned this ruined future… revealing the truth won’t affect anything. It’s for the best.”

“…Okay,” Anna said, meeting her brother’s gaze.

“The truth is, when I awoke from that coma, I regained memories of my past life,” Anna said.

“…?!” Jack’s eyes widened. “Really? A past life?”

“Yes…” Anna nodded, tears falling. “Of a world where I was a very lonely woman… I had no family, and it was an utterly ordinary, dull world.”

Jack listened intently.

“In that ordinary world… I read a novel called Solo Player,” Anna revealed. “And in that novel… you were the Protagonist.”

“What?” Jack’s face registered profound astonishment.

This was Anna’s truth.

Her past life’s memories.

And the novel she read in that lonely, mundane life.

Solo Player, the chronicle of her brother’s battle against the Apocalypse.

How he lost everything to become the strongest.

A tragic tale of pain, struggle, and suffering.

A “possibility” Anna had fought tirelessly to prevent.

Yet that “possibility” was no mere novel. That world exists, and they were now ensnared in the aftermath of its ending.

In that moment, everything fell into place for Jack.

It all made sense.

Surprisingly, he didn’t react with shock or disgust, as Anna had feared.

He looked down, chuckling at the absurdity, then smiled at her.

“I see… Thank you, Anna, for sharing the truth.”

In that moment, Anna realized the bond she had forged with her brother, built on complete honesty, was unbreakable.

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