Chapter 7

I never knew I could be so easily angered. Its voice rang out again and again, and my heart swelled with resentment, as if the emotions didn't belong to me, or as if I simply felt disgusted by its existence.

Even though I've seen so many special things before, I still feel a sense of aimless emptiness just because of it.

I asked it, "Why did you call out to me?"

It stammered and didn't answer. Its clear, boyish voice sounded timid and distorted, as if it were just a young child afraid of adults. I looked around again but couldn't find anyone doing anything strange.

"Don't look..." it said, "I speak directly to you; I don't need any other medium when I'm with you... You won't find me until I return to my former self."

I wasn't curious about what it looked like, nor why it had become like this. It left its message here as a hook, but I didn't care at all. I calmly asked, "Why did you stop me?"

I don't want to stay here too long; the way home is just a stone's throw away.

"I want to talk to you!" it said hastily. "I just want to talk to you! I know you come from the outside world, you're special, and you have the ability to bring other things to life. Aren't you curious?"

How did it know all this? I haven't told anyone that I come from another world. The world seems to have automatically filled in the gaps in my information, and no one doubted it. Even so, I believe it wasn't meant to take me back to the person in my original life: "And then?"

It seemed taken aback by my calm reaction, its hurried tone turning almost hysterical as it cried out in a broken and distressed voice: "I know you! I know you're wondering why, here your hair and eyes are so ordinary, yet you were so different in that home! Why won't you talk to me? Why do you always want to be with them? You can't be with them! In the end, you'll choose me, and I'm trying!"

The content was incomprehensible; the only thing I could understand was that it was babbling incoherently. I didn't even know what the pronouns it was using referred to—were they referring to those plants?

I took a breath: "It's not that I don't want to talk to you, it's that you're talking in a way that's hard to understand. You say I'm always with other people, so tell me, who am I with?"

The voice fell silent again. This time, there wasn't even the slightest sound; I couldn't even tell if it had left or was simply silent. That soft touch was caressing my cheek again, some of it even bumping against my body. I looked back, but there was nothing there.

The voice came again: "They are awakening. I can't save you. I can't save this world." It was filled with frustration and sorrow.

I asked it, "Did you try?"

"I tried, but they tore me apart. Every time I get close to them, I get burned, and now they're getting in through my unhealed wounds. My barrier is too fragile. I've always wanted to protect everyone here, but I can't. But then you came, Qinghe, Qinghe, you came..."

What role would I play?

Listening to its words, it's as if it were the world itself, lamenting its own powerlessness and the safety of its children...

"They are not my children!" the voice quickly distanced itself from the creatures, "I'm just protecting them, but I can't nurture hope. Hope is what their parents nurture!"

"...This world doesn't need fathers, but it has never had mothers either. I've always protected them as a father, but it's no use..."

It seems afraid that someone will associate it with living things.

Countless soft, fluffy sensations assaulted me from behind, the movements gentle and subtle. I didn't turn around, but simply closed my eyes and reached back, finally grasping something shaped like a cylinder or frustum, resembling four limbs.

I asked, "Can you hear what I'm thinking?"

"Yes, I can hear all the sounds of living things, but if it gets too noisy, I'll just listen to one thing."

I asked again, "Are you omniscient and omnipotent?"

"I'm not the kind of God you knew in your previous world. Mother is omniscient and omnipotent; I can only be considered omniscient. Living beings represent omnipotence! The omniscient and omnipotent Mother is hope; She entrusted power to us, and we use it to protect her—that's the logic of this world!"

"You now have no mother, and according to your description of the crisis, that is, living beings are unable to defend themselves against external enemies, and you have no chance of survival, is that right?"

"I found it..." it said anxiously, repeating, "I found it... but I don't know if he'll do it, I'm trying..."

“Okay,” I said, picking up the thing I had just touched. “Do you know what this is?”

I don't care what it says; whether this world lives or dies is none of my business. If I really die, well, I've already disappeared once, nobody cares about me, so at worst I'll just die anyway. If I survive, I'll just have to look for a job like a college graduate, face rejections, look for more jobs, earn three or four thousand a month, which is at least enough to live comfortably in this city. I do part-time work every week now, and my balance is quite good.

Because I'm an outsider, I have no feelings for this world? I care deeply about Tachibana Miki and those two children. But how can I alone change the fate of the world? I won't deliberately cultivate a savior complex, especially when faced with words that may or may not be true.

It must have heard me, but said nothing. It answered my earlier question: 'This isn't an attacker; it's something from this world. They like you, feel safe around you, and have been staying. But be careful, foreign things can attach themselves to them to easily harm the people of this world. They are awakening! They are awakening!'

It kept repeating that phrase like an alarm, echoing continuously in my mind, and I almost felt that my brain was about to lose its function.

"I have to go now, I'm looking for something..." it said hurriedly. "Just call me when you need anything, I can hear you. You must call me often! I'll be by your side a lot, I'll keep an eye on you. I need you, and you need me too, you'll believe me eventually! I have to take care of something else now, or it'll be too late!"

I had no intention of trying to keep it. I didn't care what it was going to do. It put on a farcical show before me, only to end up with a tragedy. It certainly didn't try to convince me of its existence, and I was certain it was just an illusion, the same kind of fog I had when I first arrived here.

Once it disperses, there is nothing to fear, just as there is when death comes.

I released my grip on the furry thing; tiny insects had already crawled all over the back of my hand. The danger it spoke of had already awakened; was this the vanguard?

Whether the world is destroyed or not is still irrelevant to me. I shake off the insects, treating this as a drama I have to act in, as a life experience I have to go through. Its fear is also irrelevant to me.

Qinghe's memories of the past deepened, becoming as dark as the clouds after a rain. He was accustomed to destruction, and therefore felt no sorrow for others, clinging solely to today as his reason for living.

Otherwise, he would have died as soon as he arrived here.

A bright tomorrow is only for those who have hope.

He glanced at the time; he'd been checking it quite frequently today. It was already evening; he'd been walking for far too long on that road, its lengthened by the sounds of his voice.

The sunlight behind him had grown old and weary, its bewildered twilight growing increasingly unsettling. A hazy mist rose, and if he could see, he would see countless arms trying to grasp him, countless voices trying to ensnare him. If only he could have him… if only he could possess him… if only he could destroy him…

Outsiders, strangers, nameless people surviving in the cracks.

『■■■■■■■■■。』

Qinghe couldn't hear these words. He just looked at the road ahead. More and more people were leaving school and going home. The surroundings were not peaceful. He suddenly felt a little at ease.

Should I come up with a few more names? I think so. I should tell them I just got pranked, otherwise today's been pretty boring for the kids at home.