Old and young, male and female, black and white, magician and swordsman, all tumbled to the ground at the same time, motionless.
All of Ryougi Shiki's ribs were broken, and her internal organs, except for her heart, were damaged to varying degrees, and she fainted on the spot. Even so, she still did not let go of the operation.
Araya Souren's injuries were far more serious than Shiki's, but he did not lose consciousness. He just tilted his head and looked at the girl not far away.
"She looks more like a girl of this age."
The magician, shrouded in darkness, did not move, and his troubled face darkened even more.
Even though what he wanted was right in front of him, he couldn't move.
That knife was the final blow that could not be undone.
There was no method in the attack, just an instinctive one. It was a bad attack, but also an extremely powerful one.
After taking this blow, there is indeed only one way out: death.
"I didn't expect that both sides would suffer losses again."
This is their cause and effect, just like their first meeting on a rainy night two years ago, and also like the confrontation before the apartment collapsed.
"Those who awaken to the origin will be constrained by the origin—the goal is at hand, but the body cannot move. It is truly 'still';."
The magician said sarcastically, but not to anyone else.
Beside the magician, a black-haired young man and a red-haired boy ran by, their fluttering clothes creating a breeze, and they ran directly past Araya and towards the kimono girl lying on the ground.
At the same time, two shadows who were watching in the air descended from the sky, and the saint named Winter sprinkled a golden light from her hands to stabilize the girl's injuries.
Another shadow came to the magician's side, and its bloodless lips moved as if it wanted to say something.
Her life from junior high school to three months ago was given by this magician, and her "double existence" was also given by him. Without him, she would have died long ago. Without him, she would not even have the chance to float, let alone meet the person who gave her a new life, but she did it for her friend—
"Um... Thank you, and I'm sorry."
Thank you for saving my life and apologize for my behavior today.
"Mujo Kirie?" Araya shifted his gaze from Shiki to the girl he had chosen as a chess piece. "There's no need to apologize or thank you. You don't owe me anything. I paid your medical expenses for my own personal reasons, which have already been fulfilled for you."
"Even so, I still want to thank you."
Another Wujo Kirie came to Araya's side. It was not a spirit but a real body. The dual existence of the same person bowed to Araya at the same time, in unison.
"Without you, I wouldn't be who I am today."
"There really hasn't been any change at all. Human hypocrisy." Hearing Kirie's sincere thanks, Araya's distressed face not only did not relax at all, but became even more tense. "It's pathetic, it's really pathetic."
"Even if it's hypocritical, I, we still want to live."
Not knowing where she got the courage from, Kirie told the scary magician her thoughts.
"It's not sad at all, it's our human instinct, proof of our existence."
"Yes, you are right. I am hindered by such instincts. There is only one step left, and this unconscious combination of survival instincts hinders me. The passage cannot be opened, and even those who are born with the passage will be blocked. It is really-really an ugly struggle before death! Obviously no one knows the crisis of the world, but everyone unconsciously hopes to survive. Obviously everyone does not save the dead world but indulges in pleasure, but everyone unconsciously eliminates things that are harmful to their own existence. What is this contradiction? The heart that wants to live pollutes the prayer to live. That evil thought is my enemy."
The magician raised his head and looked at the starry sky above him, his voice filled with deep resentment.
Wujo Kirie, who had only twenty years of experience, could not understand this resentment. She could only remain silent until Araya had finished speaking for a long time and had no intention of continuing. Then she asked: "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"One day you will understand that your actions are not gratitude or compassion, but self-satisfaction, which is meaningless."
Even now, Araya still has no intention of changing his mind.
"But this time, I will accept your self-satisfaction. Please help me contact Aozaki Touko. I have something to say to her."
... ...
Under the still cold moonlight, Orange's voice crossed the distance limitations through the radio waves.
"Araya, you failed this time too." Araya did not respond to what Orange said.
"How miserable! Collecting people's deaths, creating hell, and experiencing their pain. Doing these things will only bring pain, right? Why do you push yourself to this extent? Why are you so stubborn in pursuing the Root Vortex? Are you still seriously pursuing your dream of saving humanity as a Taimitsu monk?"
"—I have long forgotten the reason." After answering, the black magician fell into self-contemplation.
It has been a long time since we could save humanity. As long as we live, there will always be people who don't want to be rewarded, and we can't make everyone happy.
Then what are the human beings who cannot be saved? What should we use to repay their life
There is no answer. The infinite and the finite are equal. If there are no unredeemed people, there will be no redeemed people either.
So put it this way—relief is like money in motion.
Humanity is hopeless and the world has no salvation, so he wants to record death.
Record the end of things, record the end of the world, so that you can thoroughly analyze everything. In this way, you should be able to judge what happiness is, right
If we can look at those who have no return and those who cannot be saved in a new way, we can judge what is called happiness.
If we can understand that after the world ends, these are the meaning of humanity - these people who died for insignificant reasons are also given meaning as a whole.
If the world ends, people will be able to distinguish the value of human beings. Only this is the only salvation with commonality.
The rustling sound in the receiver brought Araya's consciousness back to the real world.
"Have you forgotten your reason? Your hope is nothing, and your origin is zero. Then, what are you?"
"I am nothing, I just want to find a conclusion. If these ugly, filthy, lowly and ignorant humans all die and leave behind only this history, then I can come to the conclusion that this ugliness is the value of human beings. If I know that ugly, hopeless existence is human beings, I can rest assured."
Although they were not in the same place, the two magicians maintained the same posture, looking up at the starry sky.
Orange asked, "Is that why you want to contact the Root Vortex? There are all the records there. Even if there are none, you can make everything return to nothingness. You want to destroy all the ugly humans for your own sake."
"Yes. Ultimately, I'm just seeking self-satisfaction."
The sound of swallowing a breath was heard, and the focus of the eyes disappeared. Even so, Araya remained completely motionless, and his face still showed a distressed expression, which was dark and heavy, like a philosopher who was burdened with a problem that would never be solved.
"—This body has reached its limit."
"Are you going to start all over again? How many times has this happened? You really haven't learned your lesson."
This is exactly the spiral, a spiral of contradiction. Araya did not change his expression until the end.
There was obvious contempt in Orange's words - although she despised him, she did not hate this magician who had turned into a concept.
One wrong step. No, if she hadn't taken one wrong step, she would have become the same thing. Not a human nor a living thing, but just a theoretical manifestation of a simple phenomenon. Now, she felt that it was really sad.
Araya coughed and spit out blood. The body began to turn into ashes and disappear from the remaining left half.
"I didn't make a backup of my body. See you next time, probably in the next century."
"Maybe there won't be any magicians by then, and we won't see each other again! You'll be alone in the end. Even so - won't you stop?"
"Of course. I won't admit defeat."
After hearing this, Orange closed his eyes, a brief answer to settle the long separation, and that was it.
At the end, she asked Araya Soren a question as a magician named Aozaki Touko.
"Araya, what are you pursuing?"
"—True wisdom." The black magician's feet were destroyed.
"Araya, where are you pursuing?"
"--Only in my own heart." The coat fell off, and half of the body was blown away by the wind. Aozaki Touko watched these changes.
"Araya, where is your target?" Araya continued to disappear. Only a mouth was left of him, and he disappeared before the words could become sounds.
—You already knew it, this is the end of this spiral of contradictions—
She felt as if this answer came to her. Orange took out a cigarette, lit it silently, but did not put it to her lips. She just watched quietly as the wisps of smoke spread in front of her eyes.
The smoke flickered like a non-existent mirage.