Wednesday Smiles When the Candle Dies

Kazuma

I've survived a lich, a dullahan, and Aqua’s singing—one ghost is nothing.

Rimuru

Then let’s raise the stakes. If the flame dies, the spirits come out to play.

Rimuru

(One gulp and the only light left is the grin on Wednesday’s face.)

Wednesday

(Finally, someone who understands the beauty of extinguishing hope.)

Kazuma

R-Rimuru, relight it—something just breathed on my neck!

Rimuru

(My slime core can’t ignite—why can’t I ignite?)

Wednesday

Shh. Listen. They only speak when the light is gone… and they’re calling your name.

Wednesday

(The altar remembers every prayer ever whispered here. Time to wake them.)

Kazuma

W-what are these things? They're... they're pulling at my soul!

Rimuru

(This magic predates Veldora—it's consuming his life force!)

Wednesday

The congregation gathers. Your fear feeds them, Satou Kazuma.

Wednesday

Each heartbeat you lose becomes their hymn.

Kazuma

Rimuru... can't... breathe...

Rimuru

(My body won't regenerate—this isn't just necromancy, it's...)

Wednesday

Eligos, Prince of Shadows, I offer this vessel of terror.

Wednesday

Rise through him, and let the chapel remember true darkness.

Kazuma

(My own voice... it's gone. Something else is speaking with my tongue.)

Rimuru

(Each sigil I touch brands my core—this isn't necromancy, it's... consumption.)

Wednesday

His memories taste of desperation and bath-house shame. Eligos finds them... exquisite.

Rimuru

(Veldora's laugh—twisted, wrong—it's inside my head now.)

Kazuma

"Tempest... you never told them about Shion's final moments, did you?"

Rimuru

(It knows. It knows everything.)

Wednesday

One heartbeat for the Prince. One name for the gate. Welcome home, Rimuru.

Rimuru

(The blood spells my name—backwards—and I feel myself... slipping.)

Kazuma

"Look up, old friend. The chapel remembers who you were before the slime."

Rimuru

(The floor—it's remembering me... but I never told anyone my human name.)

Kazuma

You ate your own candle, Rimuru. Now taste the wax of every soul you ever swallowed.

Wednesday

Children, sing for our guest. Remind him what mortality tasted like.

Rimuru

(Satoru... Satoru Mikami... stop saying it—stop—)

Kazuma

Each syllable burns, doesn't it? Like swallowing molten wax you can never digest.

Wednesday

The gate opens inward, Rimuru. You were never the predator—just the candle.

Wednesday

And we have been waiting in the dark for your flame to finally go out.

Rimuru

(The wax... it's not just souls... it's every lie I told about being human—)