Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 558

......

......

......

"I really... hate myself..."

The Tale of Reincarnation: Bonds: Chapter 743 Epilogue - Part 1

The rain gradually subsided until only a few scattered drops remained. The night sky finally cleared, revealing a bright moon. Flowers representing transcendence of cause and effect flew into the sky and disappeared beneath the moon.

The world is undergoing a quiet process of change.

Xiangzi squatted on the ground, tightly clutching the notebook left by the lamp, tears streaming down his cheeks, eventually falling into the small puddle beneath him along with the remaining raindrops.

She squatted there and cried for a long time. Everyone surrounded her, as if they were frozen in place, and no one dared to come forward.

The rain has stopped and the sky has cleared, but this small rooftop still seems to be shrouded in gloom.

Delete shifted his gaze from Xiangzi, raised his head, and looked at the pure white moon.

Although it has been expelled from the Gestalt, as an incubator, it still has access to many privileges, which is why it was able to send the lamp into the anti-universe.

The lamp entered the anti-universe, replacing Toyokawa Shoko, who was previously the core, and rewrote the rules of the Flower of Creation and Destruction as the most crucial variable.

The changes in the creation and destruction processes of the world-creating and destruction flowers will likely take some time to fully encompass this world. When that time comes, the world line that Xiangzi has been unable to cross will converge, and through the lamp's self-sacrifice, he will successfully cross it. From now on, Xiangzi no longer needs to worry about becoming Nirvana.

But is it really the right thing to do?

Delete lowered his head, looking at Xiangzi's distraught appearance, and for some reason, felt a tightness in his chest.

Even though it was all over, everyone on the rooftop seemed to still be immersed in immense sorrow, unable to pull themselves out, even...

It sighed and turned away.

Where are you planning to go?

A tall figure appeared beside Delete.

It is Ruomai of Youtian Temple.

"Get out of here before Xiangzi comes to her senses and shoots me dead," Delete replied calmly. "I came here at the risk of being killed by her."

Or rather, feigning calm.

“I can do it for her.” Meow Dream stepped on its tail and bent down. “What do you think?”

“…” Delete lowered his head emotionally and did not respond to her.

Meow Dream raised her eyebrows, feeling that this already somewhat abnormal Kyubey looked even stranger now.

What is it doing?

Do you feel guilty?

It's a bit too funny that such a creature can feel self-blame.

"Hey," Meow Dream said in a low voice, "what exactly are you trying to do?"

"What do I want to do? The things that needed to be done by me are over, and I have nothing left to do."

"So you're trying to get a chance to escape by playing the victim?"

“I don’t need to do that; Xiangzi isn’t in the mood to pay attention to me.”

"But you look so hurt," Miaomeng said, arms crossed. "Are you feeling guilty?"

"Guilt?" Delete looked up at Miaomeng, pointing to himself with his ear in confusion. "So this is... guilt?"

“You feel—not necessarily regretful, but definitely confused—about what you’ve done,” Miao Meng said. “That’s guilt, a human emotion.”

Can a mere incubator truly experience human emotions?

It's so funny.

This was the second time Miaomeng had thought that way.

But upon closer inspection, this guy seems to be serious.

Miao Meng squinted at the creature in front of her, and could indeed see many complex emotions in its ruby-like eyes that were difficult to describe in words.

This was something Miaomeng had never seen before.

She turned her head to the side, glanced at Xiangzi, then let go of her foot and took a step back.

"You're willing to let me go?" Delete looked at her in surprise.

Miaomeng shrugged noncommittally.

Based on her understanding of Xiangzi, she would remain in this unbearable state for a long time to come, and Chuhua would indulge her, just like when they had just met.

This is not what I wanted to see.

This Xiangzi is not the Xiangzi I like.

“I guess you’ll come back, won’t you?” Meow Dream said, “for the mistakes you made.”

"I'm not sure, but I will consider it carefully."

"Then I'll let you off this time," Miaomeng said, turning back to say, "Don't keep her waiting too long."

As soon as he finished speaking, Delete darted off to a more distant place.

It looked at Miaomeng from afar and nodded to her.

After Miaomeng gave a thumbs-up, Delete disappeared into the night without a trace.

After that, Miaomeng leaned against the railing behind her with one hand and turned her gaze to the other side.

It seems like there was an argument over there. At this moment, Hatsuka is protecting Shoko, pushing away Homura Akemi who tried to get closer. I don't know exactly what happened, but it certainly wasn't anything good.

"Miao Mengzi." Hai Ling walked up to her side at some point and leaned against the railing shoulder to shoulder with her.

"Yo."

Miaomeng greeted them, took out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, looked at the ugly "Smoking is harmful to your health" picture on the box with disdain, took one out and put it in her mouth, then lit it with a lighter.

call--

She exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Comfortable."

When under a lot of pressure, health doesn't matter; her lungs and brain are just as cheap anyway.

However, the pictures on the cigarette box Erlin 2I Lingdangzhi are all real, and she does not recommend anyone to follow her example.

Hai Ling frequented underground livehouses and was used to this smell. She crossed her arms and watched the small commotion from afar.

"Did you release that Kewpie?" she suddenly turned her head and asked.

"Don't worry, it will come back."

Why are you so certain?

“A feeling,” Miaomeng pointed to her head, “Sometimes you do need to rely on a bit of intuition.”

"So what do you think Xiangzi will do?" Hailing frowned slightly. "She doesn't look too good."

"In the end, he's still just a child. What if he reincarnates thousands of times? He can only become more and more obsessive and childish in the cycle."

Miao Meng mumbled a few words, and the cigarette butt in her mouth suddenly turned orange-bright, swirling with smoke as she exhaled. She removed the cigarette butt, now only the filter, and held it between her fingers.

She looked up at the moon, which seemed unchanged.

"It sounds harsh, but you don't seem very disappointed," Hailing asked疑惑地. "You don't seem very worried."

"Yes, I believe she will get through this, just like before."

"Is it also based on feeling?" Hailing turned her head to the side.

“Experience, oh experience, adults rely on empiricism the most for survival. This isn’t the first time Xiangzi has done this.” Miaomeng gently curled the corners of her mouth. “But most importantly, I think, is trust.”

She shrugged, finally revealing a barely perceptible hint of disappointment in her eyes.

"Although I can't be of much help this time, I can only trust you."

It seems that Miaomeng wasn't as carefree as she made it out to be. It's just that, as the oldest member of the group, she didn't want her emotions to affect others. She should have done the opposite, using her optimism to pull everyone out of their sadness.

"......"

Hailing probably sensed something, and tacitly understood without saying anything. She raised her head, stretched out her palm, and covered the moon.

"Trust?"

======================

"senior."

Homura Akemi, holding a Walkman that had just been soaked by the rain, walked up to Shoko and lowered her head.

Only by lowering his head could one see Xiangzi curled up in a ball like a helpless stray cat. This was the first time Yan had ever seen Xiangzi so helpless.

That tall, seemingly omnipotent senior actually had this side to him.

She gripped the Walkman tightly, and the memory sent back from the future surfaced in her mind.

"You must give me this Walkman at the right time."

That's what Xiangzi said at the time.

Is this the right time? Is Xiangzi's current appearance really appropriate?

If we call the world line that Xiangzi has been trying to escape world line A, then the memories he has gained from the future are world line B.

The current ending contains a strikingly similar scene in her future memories. In a little while, once the world's rules are completely replaced, history will shift, and the world line will completely shift to the one she currently inhabits.

But this is the last chance.

Flame gritted his teeth.

“Senior…” Flame called out again, “I know you can’t accept that you’ve been replaced by Lamp-senpai as the new core, but we still have a chance.”

She raised her hand and handed the cassette player to Xiangzi.

"This is the future—"

"--enough!"

Snapped!

This is the second time the Walkman has been photographed being moved aside.

Fortunately, Flame caught the Walkman before it fell to the ground for the second time and shattered into pieces. She breathed a sigh of relief, then became angry again.

Xiangzi's attitude clearly indicated that she intended to give up, and she had no intention of listening to anything Yan said.

"Senior!" Yan glared at Xiangzi, "You still had a chance! Why did you give up!"

"It's all because of me that things have turned out this way..." Xiangzi's muffled voice drifted out from between his knees.

"Shouldn't we give it a try?"

"But I can't do it!"

Xiangzi raised his head and roared at Yan. However, after the roar, his distorted face immediately became listless and dejected.

She lowered her head and curled up into a small ball once again.

"Because I... can't go on anymore..."

“Before history is completely rewritten, we have one more chance—to rescue her from the anti-universe. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Even you in the future said so!” Flame looked at her incredulously. “You never even tried…why…?”

"Haven't you tried?" Xiangzi suddenly raised his head, a chilling sneer on his tear-streaked face. "How many times do you think I've failed? Besides the forty-odd cycles we've gone through, how many more? A few times, dozens of times, hundreds of times? You don't even know why I have the same ability to reincarnate as you."

"What do you mean? What do you mean by having the same as me—"

“It was I who lured you into becoming a witch, then killed you, and stole your power, that started the cycle of reincarnation.” Xiangzi dejectedly raised his head and looked into Yan’s eyes. “The cause and effect that entangled beyond time that Delete told us back then started from that time.”

"?!" Flame's eyes narrowed sharply, and she instinctively took a step back.

It wasn't just because of the facts Xiangzi told, but also because of those eyes.

Xiangzi's eyes became like a stagnant pool, like those of a dead man.

“From that time on, 7,776 different versions of myself were born, each of me experiencing June dozens or even hundreds of times…” Xiangzi stopped looking at Yan, covered his head, and lowered his head again. “I know… I know how unreasonable this time loop is, and what kind of ending awaits…”