It's not that he's not afraid, but that he can't be afraid.
I don't know if it's because they are too close, or if it's because they are "peers" who can empathize with each other, but Edogawa Ranpo seems to have sensed the collapse and despair from Tokinoshi.
Until now, Tokinoshi has only shown relaxed and positive emotions. He is trying to make himself like an ordinary person, keeping the same habits as in the "past". He likes to stare at the sky in a daze, and likes the feeling of the wind blowing through his body.
It doesn't matter if you can't see, Ranpo's brain makes his life no different from what he can see.
...But, is there really no difference?
Not to mention everything that death takes away, just the ability to see that is taken away by blindness -
the meaning of the word "invisible" is never just the inability to see. What followed...
Actually, Shi Wu doesn't remember, no, this word cannot be used, it's not really "remembering", it's just some pictures that occasionally flash in the brain like images.
It was like a faded photo, his last impression of the world. The original bright colors slowly turned into lifeless gray and black as his life faded away.
Shi Wu couldn't even see the environment around the picture, nor could he tell where it was. He only felt that his brain was emitting sharp and wailing sounds crazily, and when his spirit could no longer bear it - the next second, someone would appear beside him intentionally or unintentionally, and the sound they made would bring him back to reality.
Even if the detectives were not there, the system would still send out six points at the right time. Yes, it's an ellipsis.
The connection between the system and Shi Wu is very special, and it feels like some kind of chat software. Silence is not silent, and there will really be an ellipsis in your mind.
You will clearly realize that the person on the other side has never left, even if he has nothing to say and is silent.
It's like this every time, and before he has time to get caught up in it, there's always someone who can grab his hand and pull him back to the side of the light. Every time.
So Shi Wu has always been very grateful to everyone, and subconsciously he is even more reluctant to reveal that something is wrong with him.
In other words, he himself didn't even realize his own problem.
Hiding the wound so that no one can see it, does that mean you haven't been hurt? No, maybe some people can heal themselves under such difficult circumstances, but without treatment, more people's wounds will only get infected and rot.
"I don't want to be blind..."
Shi Wu didn't know what he was saying. His mind automatically entered the self-protection process. He was like a drowning person in the depths of the sea. He couldn't hear anything, and he didn't know what he said.
Only the blurry vision saw the small sail passing by on the sea level, so he tried to reach out his hand.
"I can't see everyone's smiles. I, I don't know if I have protected everyone..."
Losing vision does not mean that you can only see black - even black has become a luxury at this moment. Because, in the world of the blind, even the color black does not exist.
"If I were stronger, would I be able to protect everyone better?"
Shi Wu grabbed Edogawa Ranpo's clothes, and finally revealed his collapse and fragility after such a long time after death.
"But I have tried really hard, I didn't run away, I didn't abandon everyone, I was really scared... I didn't want to face him... He was really scary..."
Before death, Shi Wu threw fear behind his mind, and was only filled with the idea of killing the enemy. Because he adhered to this belief and was firm in this idea, all his cowardice and fear were overcome by him.
"My hands are shaking all the time, I can't do it, I can't fight him!"
His hands did not tremble, and his eyes were firm. Even if the enemy pointed out his fear, he still stood up again.
"But no, everyone has been waiting for this day for a long time to kill him... I must hold him back..."
"Even if it's only one minute, one second... I must hold on...!"
He succeeded, not just one minute, not just one second. His persistence and hard work caused real injuries to the enemy, successfully delaying time and the enemy's rhythm. He protected his companions and let the enemy die at the hands of his companions.
"I..."
Shi Wu didn't know what the words he said were. From the first sentence he said, he felt a tinnitus similar to the time of death. His brain was in a mess. The memories from the past and the memories after death all seemed to be crushed, like sand in a storm, scratching his body and bringing pain.
His past was never beautiful. He just found the fragile but beautiful flowers in these memories full of suffering, and watered them with love and happiness, allowing them to grow slowly. His
life was too short, and the emotions contained in it were too complicated and turbulent. He accepted everything and endured it all. He never regretted what he had done, and even after his death, he could easily say that he had no regrets.
His world was too pure.
But just when he had accepted all the suffering and convinced himself, someone made him feel the beauty that only the living can feel.
The fatherly feelings from Mr. Yu Sen's eyes, and the friendship of mutual trust and dependence between partners brought by everyone in the detective agency.
Ranpo's care and love for him, like a brother -
the lost memory overlaps with the present, and Shi Wu sees the past in everyone in the detective agency. Even if he still doesn't remember who those people are... but the nostalgia and expectation from the soul are never false.
"...I want to be with everyone." He leaned on Edogawa Ranpo's shoulder, and the blood diluted by tears stained the other's clothes.
"I want to be with everyone, in a safe and peaceful world..."
"I want to go on a picnic with them, they will prepare lots of delicious snacks..."
"I also want to go to the amusement park with everyone... If someone is scared and cries, I will definitely laugh at him..."
"I also want to go to the beach, with everyone, everyone will be very happy, because there has been no chance to relax..."
Shi Wu's voice was hoarse and choked, and he grabbed Edogawa Ranpo's clothes tightly, creating another wrinkle on it that would be disliked by the detective.
Why would he accept the system after his death? Even if the system at that moment behaved so nonsensically and untrustworthy.
Shi Wu finally knew the answer at this moment.
"…I want to see everyone's smiles. I don't want to die at all...!"
The moment these words came out, the desire to live that had been blurred and hidden in the deepest part of Shiwu's mind, which he had not even realized, finally came out.
He was slowly falling in the sea, and no one could save him. Because even he himself had already retracted his hand asking for help.
However, at this moment, a slight shadow and broken light appeared in front of his eyes. Someone passed by here and saw him on the sea level. That person chose to jump off the boat - swam towards him and grabbed his hand that had been retracted.
"I won't let you die." Edogawa Ranpo made a firm promise in his ear.
There was still one person who had never grabbed his hand, but had always supported Shi Wu's body, so that he had never really fallen to the bottom of the sea, so that he could still be seen by people on the sea, and so that he could ask for help from everyone who passed by.
[I will resurrect you. ] The system said in his brain with an emotionless mechanical voice.
Shi Wu's nose was sour and uncomfortable, he blinked, and the overly soft emotions surrounded him, making him a little overwhelmed. The emotional fault layer collapsed, and the tinnitus in his ears disappeared after hearing the voices belonging to others.
Shi Wu didn't know how to respond to these kindnesses, so he could only respond silently and softly.
It was like this every time. When encountering terrible things, there will always be someone who appears in front of him and tells him that you have never been alone.
It is also telling him that you came to this world to be happy.
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