Chapter 124

Fuyuki: Atsushi, you can call me Mom.

Dongshu felt a heart-wrenching pain, as if his whole body had been shattered and was suddenly beginning to rebuild itself.

Countless tiny, worm-like creatures invaded her internal organs, and even the crevices between her bones were filled with tiny things that were gnawing at her.

Dongshu's eyes darkened, and he was unable to move.

They wanted to devour her, just as they wanted to devour this world and the otherworld within it; they wanted to devour her.

Fuyuki gritted her teeth, the short sword still firmly held in her palm, yet it, like her, was being relentlessly gnawed at by this thing trying to invade the world.

No matter how much spiritual power was used to separate them, it seemed to be to no avail.

As one-third of her original body, her power is still insufficient.

Soon, she could no longer even sense the world's consciousness.

She could feel nothing beneath her feet in Yokohama, or in the city itself, or in anything around her; everything was beginning to disappear.

It's no longer a matter of not being able to see things in a physical sense, but rather that no matter what sense she uses, even if she uses spiritual power to survey the whole situation, she cannot perceive any meaning in existence.

…………Why?

She pondered in confusion, but received no answer.

The surrounding area has now been cleared out, including her own existence.

What is the purpose of data flow?

This group of self-proclaimed system invading numerous worlds and capturing countless life forms, all in an attempt to besiege one world... just this one?

This world contains countless branches, and the concept of parallel worlds exists in this world.

So they capture the chosen ones in every parallel world, targeting all the children that the world spoils.

The system requires taskers to love them, and also requires them to love taskers.

In return for the exorbitant rewards they were promised, the mission takers agreed to this exchange.

The system and the taskers cooperate to become more powerful, and they desire the love of all those who are destined for greatness.

But the child truly valued and cherished by the world is somewhere unknown, being...

Everything was protected; no one could truly see him...

Fuyuki raised his hand in confusion, as if trying to sense something, and suddenly remembered the little tiger that the world consciousness had mentioned on the road.

She suddenly paused.

tiger?

So, what about that tiger...? Was it also compromised by the system? Has it completely disappeared as well?

Where is the child who was chosen by the world now... right now?

Fuyuki wants the answer to her question.

Perhaps when everything is gone, the last answer, the last key, lies with that child.

On that tiger, which she had never seen before.

Desire swept over her body like fireworks, and she struggled with all her might to break free from the endless devouring. The identity card given to her by the world inside her body emitted its own light one last time.

It took over the exhausted winter tree after the outbreak.

The will of the cities they connect with is also beginning to be reshaped.

Just a little bit is enough; once one exists, the next step is to find the tiger...

Lost in thought, Fuyuki raised an imaginary hand to cover her eyes.

What's next?

Where is the tiger, and where are the clues? Is the path he believes to be correct actually correct?

Too many questions filled her mind, but she had no chance to think about them carefully.

So many worlds.

If tigers truly are the last hope left in the world, then tigers will exist in every world.

They will never be wiped out in one fell swoop; the world's consciousness should not be so powerless.

Even if all the worlds are destroyed, the final key will be hidden in a small corner, a corner that she will surely be able to see.

She looked up and around, as if trying to find something to cling to in this empty world.

But there was nothing there, yet he could only continue searching. In the end, Fuyuki took a weak step forward.

She didn't know if she was moving, nor did she know where she was moving. All she knew was that she had to start moving first. If she did nothing, she would have no chance to find a way to restore the world.

Why was the world swallowed up by those data streams in an instant? Why? Nobody knows the reason.

Is the world really that fragile? Even though the world consciousness is a nascent one, and even though it is so immature, it cannot be so easily broken through.

What exactly are these beings called the system? They swarm in like a bee, so what exactly is the queen bee behind them?

Invisible spiritual energy burst forth from all four parts of her body in an instant.

She couldn't feel her own presence, she couldn't feel her own swords, and she couldn't feel her own body.

She truly lost everything.

The identity card wandered around, and soon she saw only blue data flowing continuously in the infinite space.

The spiritual energy surged out rapidly.

The moment it was seen, it proved that this data could be touched; it couldn't truly strip away everything, just like the will that Fuyuki still possesses now—that is the most powerful proof.

The spiritual energy and the blue data fluid collided head-on, and the space at the point of clash began to distort, emitting a teeth-grinding tearing and sizzling sound.

It looked as if it had been scorched by flames and electricity, and Fuyuki couldn't help but frown.

Soon, the remaining spiritual energy that hadn't joined the charge began to outline strange and complex shapes, and her brain started working rapidly.

She opened her mouth but still couldn't make a sound, so she bit her finger.

It doesn't matter if no blood flows out, as spiritual energy is infinite.

Her body didn't actually contain blood; it was something created by her power and the spiritual energy given to her by her mother.

Using spiritual power to transform into blood, she drew endless arrays in the sky, and her consciousness became reality in her mind. For the first time, everything she had learned in politics was put into practice.

"When did you learn this move?" someone seemed to be asking in surprise, but Fuyuki had no time or reason to discern whose voice it was; all her energy was focused on capturing the data stream.

So tired...

My mind is exhausted.

Dongshu let out a long breath.

But now she only has herself.

She sensed that what she was seeing was not a simple flow of data.

It was information from all the data fluids she had ever seen and never seen before, all merged together.

They devoured each other, conquered each other, and merged into one...

Unbeknownst to everyone, the data fluids secretly gathered their kind, formed a alliance, and then used all their power to erode the world.

Dongshu remained silent, her teeth grinding together. During the stalemate between spiritual power and data, she sensed more breath escaping from some gap.

Like the tiger's aura described by the little wild dog, that tender, wounded, and still-developing tiger—

She could feel the other person's presence completely.

What's his name?

Fuyuki opened his mouth, but after a long while, he could only come up with the word "Nakajima".

The figure moved slightly twice, then raised its head from its buried arm, looking around in confusion. Its gaze quickly swept over the winter tree without lingering.

He saw nothing.

Atsushi Nakajima's existence is a space that belongs only to him.

He knew nothing; all he knew was that suddenly everything around him had disappeared.

Good, bad, things seen, things never seen, things wanted, things not wanted—everything… all that’s left is himself…

The bewildered child crouched in the distance, enveloped by a hostile atmosphere, yet stubbornly kept outside by the world's protection.

The faint light emanating from him was so clearly visible in this void.

The unusual ground beneath him was just as out of place.

Where has world consciousness gone?

It disappeared without a trace in a short time, and Fuyuki didn't know.

But is this the kind of child the world loves most?

...the individuals whose destiny is concentrated in the world.

It is an existence that the world is prepared to cherish, support, and protect.

Atsushi Nakajima is very good.

However, he didn't look very good.

Small and weak, it looked like it had suffered a lot of harm.

Dongshu instantly increased the output of his spiritual power, completely isolating the existence of the data fluid.

Blue data fluid permeated every corner of space, densely filling every crevice, and upon discovering that peculiar entity, it attempted to erode the barrier surrounding it from the outside.

That was the world's last hope, but it failed.

Even if all the opportunities of those of the same kind that can be seen are gathered together, even if all the malicious hearts are gathered together, it is impossible to stop a world from giving its all and leaving behind the key in the end.

The world consciousness is too immature, but the will of the city has existed since time immemorial.

They are so powerful and wise.

The identity card inside his body was burning hot, and Fuyuki could feel it.

Yokohama is calling her.

But what do you want her to do?

The faint voice and faint consciousness could not reach her at all.

Even with the identity card inside her body and her world consciousness gone, she was separated from Yokohama by only a layer of separation.

What does He want to do, and what should Fuyuki do now?

Fuyuki knew nothing, but she found the child. So, what was she going to do? Protect the child? Or was she going to push this child, Nakajima Atsushi, to do something?

A tiger? To become a tiger?

No, that's not enough.

Is the world being eroded because the system has touched all the important entities?

Dazai Osamu, Edogawa Ranpo, Nakahara Chuuya... and not just these three, but many more beings burdened with destiny were all tainted.

These beings who strive to keep this world running... are the targets of the group that devours this world.

It is an unstoppable destruction.

They cannot begin prevention from the very beginning, before it is even touched.

Their immature understanding of the world means they lack the ability to completely isolate themselves from the outside world.

It's not strong enough yet.

Moreover, there's Fuyuki, who needs to enter this world from the outside.

Fuyuki's mission.

It is about maintaining the world.

A certain emotion stirred within me.

She remembered.

The child's name.

"...Dun".

She called out the name.

The small, curled-up figure suddenly stirred, raising its head warily like a cat, cautiously looking towards the source of the sound.

He finally heard the sound, finally felt the presence of someone other than himself.

Atsushi Nakajima looked up, but only saw a blurry figure of a girl.

Fuyuki was surprised to receive a response, and she paused for a moment before replying, "Hello."

Hello.

Atsushi Nakajima suddenly stood up, wiped away his tears, and tried to take a step forward to get closer to this suddenly appearing being, but he was trapped in a small space and could not move.

"Don't rush." ​​Dongshu could see his tension, fear, and apprehension. "Slow down, your legs will go numb if you squat for too long."

He knew nothing, a tiny being, seemingly even smaller than himself now...

Which world is this from?

It definitely doesn't belong to the world we just fought in.

According to the world consciousness, that child there has grown up.

It will soon appear before everyone's eyes, and soon become the true center of destiny...

Who are you? Why do you know me?

Atsushi Nakajima looked at the person with the eyes with curiosity, but he didn't sense any malice.

"Me?" Fuyuki easily broke through that barrier.

The ground beneath their feet rapidly expanded, becoming large enough to accommodate two people.

World consciousness still exists.

This realization instantly relieved her of a great weight.

Looking at the innocent child in front of her, Fuyuki remained silent for a long time, as if she remembered how she herself had come into this world in a daze.

She said, "You can call me Mom if you want."

[Author's Note]

A baby Dundun

[Patting head]