Komugi's world wasn't one of pure darkness.
Her familiarity with the Gungi board allowed her to construct a luminous board within that dark world.
Although she couldn't see the opponent sitting across from her, with her astonishing Gungi skills, she could easily memorize every single move her opponent made, causing pieces to appear on the board, deeply engraved in her mind.
With her level of skill, whether she could see or not actually didn't affect the game anymore.
But just now, on the other side of the glowing board in the darkness, a person emitting a faint light suddenly appeared.
To be precise, it looked very much like a person.
Komugi was experiencing this for the first time. She couldn't be certain that the person she saw was the Supreme Commander, but she felt it was, hence the questioning tone when she brought it up.
Law looked at the confusion on Komugi's face, paused, and said, "What exactly happened?"
Komugi hesitated for a moment, then explained, "To be honest with you, Supreme Commander, when I play Gungi, I imagine a glowing board in front of me. But just now, I saw someone across from the board..."
Here, she seemed to realize something, hurriedly bowing her head to the ground, panicking, "Please punish me, Supreme Commander! I, I had the audacity to privately imagine your appearance!"
Seeing Komugi's panicked behavior, referring to herself as a commoner, Law felt very uncomfortable. He rubbed his forehead and said, "It's fine. Just answer my question."
Hearing that Law's tone held no anger, Komugi relaxed, cautiously raising her head. "The person I saw... no, the person I imagined, was wearing a hat."
"A hat?"
"Mmm, a green hat."
"Uh..."
"Supreme Commander?" Komugi was puzzled.
"Please continue," Law said.
"Alright, his eyes were red."
"His arms were purple."
"His earlobes were very long, and he was wearing a green vest."
Such a simple description...
Though simple, the main features were described.
That image… who else could it be but Meruem?
Even Law couldn't understand this phenomenon.
"Let's continue the game."
Law didn't want to delve deeper into this question and had Komugi continue playing.
How to digest Meruem's obsession, Law still had no clue.
But perhaps the answer could only be found through continuous gameplay.
If there was no progress at all, Law might give up, because he wouldn't waste too much time on an aimless path.
The game continued.
Perhaps due to Komugi's awakening, the physical and mental endurance she displayed at the board was extraordinary.
Midway through the game, Law clearly sensed a different emotion from Komugi… she seemed more excited, more joyful...
One game ended. Law lost.
Komugi sorted the pieces and suddenly asked cautiously, "Supreme Commander, c-can I know what you look like?"
During that last game, everything she wanted to see was glowing, very bright in the dark world.
There was the board, the pieces, and the person across from her.
She could clearly see the other person's movements when placing pieces, the expression when hesitating, the expression when thinking, and the decisive, sharp decisiveness when attacking.
Every movement was as clear as if her eyes had regained sight.
Hearing Komugi's request, Law fell silent. Should he state the truth, or maintain the reality within the falsehood?
When not playing, Komugi's world was dark… she couldn't see anything. Now, seeing Law not answering for so long, she felt regretful but still panicked and apologized, "I've really been too impolite, asking questions outside the game."
"You already knew earlier," Law suddenly replied.
"Huh?"
Komugi didn't understand.
Law gathered the pieces back, calmly saying, "You really saw. Don't doubt it."
Komugi understood now and froze.
The person she 'saw' while playing wasn't imagined, but the real Supreme Commander.
But why could she see?
"Let's continue."
At that moment, Law spoke.
"Yes!"
Komugi cast aside her questions and replied happily.
The moment she picked up a piece, the glowing board appeared before her eyes, along with the Supreme Commander emitting a faint light.
Komugi's sightless gaze was no longer fixed solely on the board. She raised her head and looked directly at Law.
Law noticed and couldn't help but meet those shining silver eyes.
That radiance was the luster of Nen. Komugi, enveloped in Nen, undoubtedly exuded a different kind of strength.
Law knew Komugi's gaze wasn't looking at him, but at Meruem. Yet, he remained completely unaffected, picking up a piece and setting up the board.
In Komugi's vision, however, it was Meruem picking up a piece and placing it.
"So this is what it feels like to play while seeing the opponent."
Komugi picked up a piece, gently rubbing it, then placed it down in its sharpest form.
Click!
The sound of a piece hitting the board.
'The Supreme Commander is constantly getting stronger, very, very quickly.'
Click!
'The reason I can see the Supreme Commander...'
Click!
'Must be because the Supreme Commander is special!'
Click!
'As long as we keep playing, the Supreme Commander will definitely catch up to me.'
Click!
'But... can I keep playing with the Supreme Commander forever?'
Click!
'Can someone like me deserve such happiness?'
Komugi's eyes were filled with a moving, bright radiance, just like the light emitted by the board in her dark world.
That wishful, longing desire transmitted over through her aura.
Law's hand, about to place a piece, hovered in mid-air. He then sighed deeply in his heart.
He somewhat regretted coming here.
He only wanted to digest Meruem's obsession to further increase his numerical value. But... it backfired.
Meruem's obsession wasn't being digested… instead, it was nourished by Komugi's heightened emotions and Aura. Law could clearly feel Meruem's intense desire to play.
Not satisfied with a few hundred or thousand games… but eternity!
Meruem was serious about this, without a doubt.
If it meant playing with the girl before him, he wouldn't hesitate to abandon even the mission he carried.
It was a feeling that could only be realized after shedding all false emotions through death.
Only through death could Meruem realize what he truly wanted.
Feeling the things and changes conveyed within Meruem's obsession, Law let out a soft sigh, 'No wonder the White Smoke Font had achieved such a high conversion rate.'
Creatures like Chimera Ants, even after fusing with human genes, could remain terrifyingly pure.
'Unwavering' might even be an inadequate word to describe Meruem now.
Law slowly turned his head to look. Meruem stood right beside him.
A false, lingering image that didn't exist in reality could also take form through Nen.
However, the Meruem beside him truly didn't exist. But as long as Law looked, he was there. Just like when the human brain is active, don't people often see what they want to see with their eyes closed?
And the reason Komugi could see Meruem's appearance while playing might also contain this factor.
However, any strange phenomenon couldn't escape the most important framework… [Nen].
"It's already too late."
Law said this to Meruem.
It was a conversation Komugi absolutely couldn't hear.
Meruem didn't look at Law. He looked at the board, at Komugi across from him.
He raised a hand, pointing to a specific spot on the board… the next move to make.
"One hundred games. If you don't plan on disappearing, I won't waste any more time here."
Law stated firmly.
But, continuing like this, he was worried he might waver.