All the aning behind Frederick lvin was for that one nightmare "with Justus in existence".
It could be seen from the nightmare.
From the very beginning, it was Justus whom Professor Gray had his eye on... and not Frederick, who had reached the silver rank at such a young age.
Because since that ti, Professor Gray already knew.
——Frederick lvin would eventually be killed by his own hand.
Therefore, teaching him was a aningless task.
Murdering Ingrid in front of Justus.
And later, murdering Frederick.
Everything was for the purpose of creating an incredibly real nightmare that could deceive the eyes... designed to make Justus lose himself in the nightmare, confusing dream and reality.
"Justus confused reality with his dreams and saw in the nightmare ’another possibility for Frederick.’ As the story progressed, triggered by the butterfly effect of Ingrid being saved, ’Frederick’s’ fate still headed towards its end... and Justus, in furious rage, sought help from the teacher he trusted, ’Professor Gray’ Tricino Seti.
"He was ’sent to the past’ by Seti. Or rather, he thought he arrived at the past. But in fact, it was still just part of the ’plot’ of Frederick’s nightmare... Justus had entered a dream within a dream.
"He killed Ingrid. He let history return to its ’proper’ place and still beca The Unfallen Shield, joining forces with a living Frederick to undertake a mission in the Ashen Rift—exactly the turn of events he had hoped for."
From the very start, what Justus had hoped for... was not to co to the Ashen Rift to collect a friend’s dead body.
It was this very "reluctance to accept" that allowed Professor Gray to blur his reality with his dreams.
But the longer he stayed in the Ashen Rift.
The more evident the unease lurking in Justus’s subconscious beca.
He gradually realized he might be dreaming. That’s why the town suddenly beca deserted.
But in fact, the one who awakened was not him.
It was the "traitor".
——As they walked down the street, Frederick was suddenly killed.
Justus was, of course, furious beyond asure.
He would rush over at all costs and kill the attacker— even if that person was another version of himself.
"That’s because Justus subconsciously realized... perhaps it was he himself who had killed Frederick."
And so he had to fight to the death with "another self".
No matter the outco, there would only be one person left in this empty world.
That would be "Justus".
People who die in dreams, of course, revive on the surface.
He existed in the dream within Frederick’s nightmare, and could only wake from the layer above—
And the characteristic of this nightmare, was "replay".
Once dead, there would be a loss of mory and a [replay].
——In other words, an endlessly repeating tragedy.
"Do you rember," Annan said to the Delicious Goose, "Naifertali ntioned that in her nightmare, ’Frederick’ died three tis.
"The first ti was when he was crushed to death by a building trying to save Ingrid; the second ti was when he was killed in the street by another Justus. So what about the third ti?"
Annan stared into the void in front of him and slowly said, "The third ti, it was after waking up from the dream within a dream.
"That is, when Justus reawakened in front of ’Dream Eater’ Tricino Seti from the dream. That is, the tiline where Ingrid did not die, and Frederick was just recently killed.
"What decision would Justus, who had lost his mory and returned to the beginning, make then?"
"...He would go back to the past without knowing anything,"
The voice of the Delicious Goose trembled slightly.
Once again going through a cycle identical to the previous one.
Once again returning to the Ashen Rift...
Just as the Proverb left by Justus stated.
[A fleeting rage. An endless regret.]
Perhaps that "Justus who had betrayed" Frederick was the Justus who had truly realized everything through countless Cycles.
That is, "Awakened" Justus.
The Justus who realized it was just a nightmare and recalled the Proverb left by Frederick at the beginning—
[Life is the prison of death... death is the hymn of life.]
That was the Proverb Frederick left for the Purifier at the start of the nightmare.
If taken literally, it ant... when "life" cos to an end, "death" breaks free from its cage. Its existence is to praise the "life" that imprisons it.
So who is the living?
Justus.
Who is the dead?
Frederick.
His aning was simple— as soon as Justus died, "Frederick" would be reborn.
But Frederick’s soul had been completely used to construct the nightmare.
He could not possibly be resurrected.
What would resurrect was rely the na "Frederick."
Unfortunately, Justus, confused between reality and dreams, did not hear this clue.
Or rather, even if he had heard it, he wouldn’t have cared.
The mont Justus, enraged by witnessing Frederick’s death within the nightmare, sought power to kill Ingrid and save Frederick... he had already caused a deeper tragedy for Frederick.
And the only "enlightened one," Justus, hid the fact that he had regained his mory. He requested Tricino to "return to the past."
He wanted to kill the Frederick in the dream.
To make Frederick the one who is ["dead"].
Then, he, who was imprisoned, would be freed and reborn—
That was also the "exit" from the nightmare after Frederick’s death.
Which was to ["kill Frederick"].
But this exit was blocked.
By himself.
This "enlightened one," Justus, because of the "recurring" nature of the nightmare, lost the most important piece of mory.
...Which was the countless tis he had been killed by another "Justus."
Why did Justus and Frederick suddenly enter the "deserted alley"?
Because the "enlightened one" Justus had co to the Cinder Barrens.
He, too, was Justus.
And he had known for a long ti that this place was a dream.
So he wanted to kill the false Frederick and release himself.
His own enlightennt when conscious, in turn, beca the last piece of the puzzle for the paradox of the infinite loop.
"...Just like in ’Triangle,’" he said.
The Tasty Wind Goose finally understood everything.
And it sent chills down his spine.
This was a scene... a grand, infinitely recurring tragedy.
Frederick and Ingrid were just props in this play.
This was a [solo act].
The hero and the demon king were the sa person.
Annan slowly said, "Do you rember?
"I told you before that the power of the idol wizard moves with the title. We thought that ’Professor Wolf’ Frederick called himself that way to steal the power of ’Professor Ash.’ And we now know that Professor Wolf is Professor Ash."
Why, when Annan asked Benjamin if "Professor Wolf was stealing the Mirror’s power," did Benjamin not respond similarly, instead ambiguously conceding?
The entire truth was already hidden in that sentence—
The one stealing the Mirror’s power was actually Professor Ash. But after Professor Ash stole the power of the "Mirror"...
One part of him—that part that was "Professor Ash," woke up using Frederick’s body and beca the Wolf Professor "Frederick"!
Why did Professor Ash suddenly lose his Elental Power?
Because the Elental Power was transferred to "Professor Wolf"!
Why did Professor Ash rena himself "The Bone Healer," while Wolf Professor beca a follower of the Tragedy Writer?
Because Tricino Seti’s original purpose was to use the nightmare with the ["Mirror"] attribute to separate the wizard "The Bone Healer" from the Pope "Wolf Professor"!
The Wolf Professor beca the ntor to wolf people.
Not for revenge.
But truly to elevate the status of the werewolves.
Because the Tragedy Writer was the god of werewolves himself—serving as the Pope of the Tragedy Writer was his rightful tribute.
"And this scene of [infinite reincarnation of tragedy] is the drama that Tricino Seti directed himself to offer to the Tragedy Writer—so the Tragedy Writer could help him, to plunder power from the future gods," Annan explained.
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