41. Game Over % A 5% Chance

The lurching forward of Light's moving castle, although appearing to those below as if occurring naturally, was possible only through machinery. While Murmur had definitely created the castle, it was not moving simply by her magic. Surely her magic had a role in it, but either out of necessity or simply for the sake of appearances, the castle was run by some sort of engine.

Black smoke was streaming out from the back of the castle, forming a thick cloud wherever the castle went. The structure itself consisted of several layers. The basement of the castle was the engine room, and in the back of this rounded bottom is where the exhaust was let out.

From the basement, a set of stairs led up to the first floor, where Kira's militia was kept in storage. These barracks were filled like factory farm chicken pens. The undead stood shoulder-to-shoulder in solidarity. They were the ideal army: they required no food, no payment of any sort, and not even any housing. They were actually not even alive until needed, able to be turned on and off at Light's command.

Outside onlookers could see a massive gate on each side of the castle. When his soldiers needed to be deployed, the gates would open up and release the horde into the streets below. The undead did not sustain severe injuries from falling—they were remarkably resilient. The castle had to move lower to the ground to deploy them, but they did not have to touch down at all. The castle would never have to touch ground for any reason.

Above the barracks was the main floor of the castle. This is where several rooms were located that, although vacant at the moment, would be the locations of pivotal decisions in the new era. World leaders and honored guests would be able to stay in Kira's castle and engage in meetings with the new god himself. Also on this floor was Murmur's room—a little paradise of purple and pastel colors for the little devil. She had everything she could ever want in her room—a massive, bouncy bed; a Jacuzzi; a big-screen TV; a romance manga pile that went up to the ceiling; and much more.

This main floor led out to the observational deck, which served as a command center for Kira. Although being outside meant that he could be seen, this did not worry Light in the slightest. He had nothing to fear from mere mortals below. A sniper's bullets would not be able to kill him now. On the deck was a control panel that allowed him to direct the movement of the castle and controls its various functions.

Between the deck and the barracks, there were weapons all around the castle. They were high-powered canons that could shoot multiple types of magical ammunition. Light could choose to fire fireballs at the world below, or perhaps an incinerating energy ray. There were truly limitless options. Murmur could always make possible any other ideas for weaponry that might cross Light's mind.

A set of stairs led up from the main floor to the upper floors of the castle. For right now, these were mostly for decoration. However, as Kira's dominion would spread, he would use the extra room upstairs for entertaining guests and for storing important documents and items.

Like Light himself, the castle had been reinforced by Murmur's magic. Even if a nuclear bomb was dropped on the castle, she could quickly draw up a forcefield and repel the explosion. This structure was like none the world had known before. Of course, as Kira could not be everywhere at once without the Death Note, the possibilities remained that more of floating fortresses could be made. In that future situation, Light would use the command center from this original castle to control the others.

How did Yomotsu know all of this? He heard it all either directly from Light, Murmur, or from a few of their zombie assistants. They were not in the slightest concerned with telling Yomotsu the layout of the castle. They knew all it would do is give Yomotsu more dread. At present, he could not communicate with anyone outside, and even if he could, his allies would soon enough discover all of these details for themselves. Yomotsu did not know much about the inner workings, just the same information that anyone witnessing the castle from below would be able to discern.

The undead had not been deployed, but it would not be long until that time would come. They were still making their way over the river, heading toward Graceville. The approach was decidedly slow, so that Light could savor the moment. When they reached town, Light planned to address the public—and at that time, he would release the undead.

"Cryppie and Deasco were still showed signs of their old minds and personalities," Murmur explained. "But they were still soulless. Once the soul has left this earth, it is not able to return. I don't know how they were able to so convincingly act like their old selves, but I think that just says something about their bodies' will to carry on in this world. I can't see what for—they hardly did anything with their second chance on earth anyway!"

These zombies, she assured him, were not like Cryppie and Deasco. The pair he had fought in the past were able to act independently and had some sense of rationality. Light's army was truly mindless. Light could command them, but without his input, they were without the impulse of life.

"So Light can't really bring people back to life, is that correct?" Light was bold enough to ask.

"Nope," Murmur answered. "But neither can the official god of space-time. Olivia isn't any more capable of bringing back the dead than Light is."

"So when Deus ex Machina told Meilag that his brother would not be returning back to life, he really meant that bringing souls back is not possible…"

"If it is possible, Deus didn't know how to do it, that's for sure. Even gods have their limitations. Even if Deus brought back his brother's body and gave it a personality like his old one, it would never actually be real."

"How close to the real personality would it be?"

"Hmmmm." Murmur thought on it. "Only way I know of it working would be if the god is consciously controlling the body. Strong memories actually remain with the body after death—like with those two undead we were talking about earlier. So if Deus would have brought the body back and essentially assumed control of it, then the avatar could act very much like the original person. But that only works with really strong memories, the kind the person really thought were important up until the moment they died. Some people only have a few of those in their bodies after death. Everything else is just taken along with the soul."

Murmur was surprisingly candid about a great deal of topics. Yomotsu was able to ask any question he wished, and so far she had not denied him a single answer. God might have had a reputation for being mysterious, but Murmur was an open book.

"Why are you doing this—why are you helping Light?" Yomotsu finally asked.

She answered, "Olivia doesn't seem interested in doing things the way Deus did them. I'm not sure I like what she's doing, and I really don't think she was ever meant to become god. If I had it my way, we would have decided this with a big battle to the death! I think Deus was losing it a bit when he came up with this competition. But I guess it's not just that I have a problem with Olivia—because she really is nice, and I probably could learn to like her. The biggest reason I'm doing this is because I'm bored."

Yomotsu swallowed. "Bored?"

"All Olivia wants to do is try to make peace where there's been conflict in the past. Deus never messed with stuff like that. If anything, he's encouraged war. Peace is boring, don't you think?"

Yomotsu did not respond.

"Anyway… Light is more interested in order than peace. It's a different kind of situation. This is a lot more fun than sitting around in the Cathedral of Causality and trying to inspire feelings of love and togetherness."

Conversations with Murmur were always short. She would stop by to visit with him on her way from one place to the next. Light had her running around doing several odd jobs. Some of her work required her to move around the castle and get certain things in order. Other work required her to leave through a portal and move about in the world of mortal men below.

Although short, the conversations happened frequently enough to keep Yomotsu company, even if the company was not necessarily good company. This disinterested boredom—the same motivation compelled Murmur and Ryuk. Ultimately, boredom also was the primary motivation for Light too. He worked out a philosophy to mask the issue, but Yomotsu believed that he had been speaking the truth when he told them he used the Death Note because he was bored. It was never about justice, never—justice was just an excuse for him.

What scared Yomotsu now, among many other thoughts, was the concern that something worse than apathetic boredom might be compelling Light now. There seemed to be a growing lust for power and control. He was already a demi-god, and yet that was not enough for soothe his ambition. He wanted the whole world to bow to him.

"My Diary says that your friends are going to try attacking the Castle soon," Light suddenly announced as he approached Yomotsu. "Useless fools… as if they could ever understand."

Yomotsu exhaled a deep breath. "You're going to be stopped by those fools."

"Oh, am I?" Light chuckled. "Somehow, I don't think that's going to happen. Yomotsu, I don't know if you realize it, but I intend to reign in this world for a very long time."

"I thought…" Yomotsu coughed. "I thought Kira was supposed to be hidden from the public's eye, an invisible force for justice. Now it seems that all you want is attention."

"I want only the attention a god rightfully deserves!" Light answered. He passed by Yomotsu's chair. The voice Yomotsu heard now came from behind him. "I want the world to know of my existence…"

Yomotsu coughed several times and groaned, "And in the meantime, you'll wipe the world away… And you'll be the only existence left… That's what this will end up coming to. You won't know when to stop…"

"That's where you're wrong, Yomotsu," Light answered, a sudden seriousness entering his voice. "I will still adhere to the promise Kira made to the public. I will only kill criminals. The world still has to be fixed—that is the purpose given to me."

"Who gave you that purpose?" Yomotsu demanded. "You shun the rightful god! You shun anyone who possesses greater power than you!"

"That Death Note was given to me, because no one else would have dared use it like I did," Light insisted. "No one else would have gone to such lengths to cleanse this world—and now Murmur has recognized my potential and has chosen me as her new master. I am now your Lord much more than any old woman in the skies ever could be!"

Yomotsu snarled, "You're still Light Yagami to me! You are not even Luke anymore; you're not even a friend, let alone in control of me! You're my enemy, and now you've made yourself the enemy of the world!"

Light laughed. "Hiro, remember playing Soul Calibur?"

Yomotsu was struck by what Light had referred to him as. He said nothing in response.

"In a video game, you lose and it's 'game over.' You might have to start at a certain save point again, but most modern video games understand that it's frustrating to have to start from the very beginning after a simple failure. Well, Yomotsu—life is not like a video game. It's 'game over' for you and for Yuri and for the others you've allied yourselves with. And with this 'game over,' there is no option to continue—not this time. There is no going back. You had your chance, and you choose to go against Kira and the new world—and now neither Kira nor the new world has a use for you anymore."

Light's footsteps could be heard getting quieter as he went back inside the castle. Yomotsu was left on the observational deck, in his chair made out of bones, with only his thoughts to keep him company. He heard the sky crackle with thunder.

"Olivia, please," Yomotsu prayed under his breath. "Tell me you can see us now… Please, tell me you can see Yuri, and that you can keep him safe… I need to trust in you, now more than ever. You helped bring me to Graceville, and now you can't just let me die like this. You can't let everything just die like this, Olivia…"

"This is L."

Everything slowed down from Yuri's perspective. The burning house to which his back was turned, the firemen rushing past him and toward blaze, the jumbled and concerned thoughts about Mercy, and the worry in his heart about what might have happened to Yomotsu—all of it froze. He stopped and held his free hand over his ear.

"L? The detective—?"

The detective who had solved famous cases over the world, whose own identity was perhaps the biggest unsolved mystery in the world—L. No one had means to access him. L always was the one to contact others. No one could just hire L for a case; he picked out only the cases that he wanted to. Everything was always on his terms. Somehow Anemone had L's phone number, and that was the number she had given Yuri to call in case anything went wrong.

"I'm afraid we don't have time to get properly acquainted, Mr. Petrov," L continued. The voice was no longer disguised. He could clearly hear the young man's voice. "I am letting the others know as we speak about your whereabouts. Thankfully, it seems you are right next door to headquarters… Anemone should be there shortly. I am going to ask that you explain everything that has happened once everyone arrives at headquarters, but if it's not too much to ask, I'd like to know right now first-hand from you what the situation is. Time may be more critical than you realize, and by the time everyone else has gathered to hear your story and then briefs me on the news, it might be too late to act decisively."

"Of course," Yuri said, almost breathlessly. The combination between his exhaustion from what had just happened and his anxiety about speaking with the famous detective made him wonder how he would even be able to manage explaining it all coherently.

"I was with a friend, named Mercy, who was formerly the girlfriend of Light Yagami and more recently—"

"I know who Mercy is," L interrupted. "Please, go on."

"Right… Well, she and I had just finished speaking when we reached my house, the one Yomotsu and I live in, and we saw that it was on fire. It still is on fire, in fact—someone has burned down our house."

"So you have no doubt that this was, in fact, some type of arson?"

"None at all, sir."

"Good, because you shouldn't. This was clearly intentional. Anyway, please continue."

"Well," Yuri resumed, "I ran inside to see if Yomotsu was in there, and I wasn't able to find any trace of him. However, the basement was an inferno. There is no way anything would have survived down there. This would lead me to believe that the fire started in the basement, so whoever was down there had at least attempted to access my computer… That is where I keep all of my record of criminals and relevant news stories. When I came out of the house, Mercy was not there anymore. When I couldn't reach Yomotsu by calling him, and he always answers his phone when I call—I called the number Anemone gave me, which is why I am speaking with you now."

Yuri heard softs steps in the grass nearby, and he turned to see Anemone approaching from his left. He nodded in her direction. She looked him over, top-to-bottom and then bottom-to-top, with great concern.

"Thank you, Mr. Petrov," L said over the phone. "What you told me will be very helpful with our investigation. It seems Anemone is there with you now. She'll take care of everything from there. I have already let the others know to meet you at headquarters as soon as they can. The League will do everything within its power to locate the culprit of this arson and, in the process, finally put Kira to justice."

"Thank you," Yuri responded as he watched Anemone. "But… How confident are you in the plan you have made? How worried should I be?"

L was silent for only a couple of seconds, and then he answered, "Given the latest reports from on-field observations, I would say we have a 5% chance of success."

Yuri nodded. "I see… Thank you."

"You are in The League's hands now. Anemone will take you there. Goodbye."

The call ended. Yuri slid his phone back into his pocket. This reminded him that he was still wearing his Yum Yums uniform. Anemone reached over and seized his arm.

"We have to go, now!" She shouted over the roaring fire and hollering firemen behind them. "Kotetsu and Kaede are there, along with another one of the five. Three are on the way."

Anemone tugged on Yuri's arm, and he let her lead them to the salmon-colored house next door.

"The five?"

Anemone made a quick glance back toward him and then nodded. Yuri realized she was not going to expand right at that moment and turned his head to look back at his old house. The fire was contained, so it would not spread to the neighboring houses. Their house was certainly gone, however, along with anything worth value inside. Yomotsu's suit and the Lunatic suit and equipment had both been swallowed by the fire. Yuri had not thought to check the garage, but chances were that the Righteous Tsunami was gone now as well—a year of memories, suddenly devoured by crackling flames. Only ashes would be left behind.

When Anemone reached the door, she said, "At least Kira has excellent timing—I know that's awful to say, but… It was only earlier today that the last of the five gave us their contact information. If this had happened any sooner, we would not have been able to assemble the complete team… Phew, right?"

Yuri watched her open the door to Olivia's house. He nodded and whispered, "Yeah. Phew…"