After the snap.
John arrived in a strange space.
Here, the concepts of time, space, and soul had been erased.
It resembled the scene at the Gate of Eternity, yet it was an entirely different place.
It was more like the flashes of a life passing before someone's eyes at the brink of death.
Dusk shone over this place.
John stood there, looking across from him.
He had thought he would see his own regrets.
Instead, he saw someone he did not want to face.
Lies.
"The great Wizard King. No, I should say... hello, John."
John looked at the variant. This person who should have vanished had appeared in the space after the snap.
He studied Lies and asked, "I think you can tell me where this is."
"Here?" Lies laughed. "A place that doesn't exist. You can think of it as your true self."
Lies wandered around casually. "Here, you can see the truth of the world."
"You don't belong, do you?" he said. "Even I am merely a representative you subconsciously chose."
"You already know the answer."
Lies's voice pierced straight into John's heart. "You're that variant, not the John of this world."
John asked, "What happens next?"
Lies said, "The same as always. The person they've truly been waiting for returns, and the spare has to leave."
"We're both contemptible impostors. The difference is that you're more polished, and you've been given a few hopes."
He pointed at his head. "You must have had moments like this: recalling those memories and feeling uncomfortable, like a spectator. You try hard to fit those memories, but the harder you try, John, the clearer it becomes that you're not the one they're calling."
"Deceiving yourself, filling yourself with someone else's life."
Lies walked over to John and stood before