Chapter 67: Perhaps Because of Loneliness
“I don’t believe you…”
If “idiot” was a compliment, then every time I called you that before, I was praising you, right? What kind of logic is that!
“But I’m not an idiot now.”
“Yeah, you’re not-”
It was only then that I realized the sheer amount of information in Lianbing’s words!
What did she mean by that? Not an idiot now? Did she know about what happened in the real world?
Or was she like Nana and Xuan’er, a materialized reality… No. I can’t see her title. She’s not that brainless zombie Lianbing.
But how did she know? Did Nana tell her?
What’s going on? It feels like everyone knows the truth of this world now.
Has things progressed to this point?
I looked at Lianbing in confusion. She looked to the side, and Lan, who had followed me out of the car, also looked to the side with an exclamation.
So I looked to the side too, and unexpectedly saw someone I had dreamed of meeting.
She actually appeared before me!
Ever since I came to this world, I had been searching, constantly searching,
For her, whom I had never truly seen.
I never expected to meet her here, but sometimes reunions are so sudden.
“I will answer all your questions.”
That face was so similar to mine, almost as if it were carved from the same mold.
“But before that, please allow me to give you a hug, okay?”
Without waiting for my reply, she hugged me.
It was a full-force hug, as if she wanted to meld me into her body, a hug that made it hard to breathe.
And the title above her head, composed of pure blue, just happened to be right in front of my face.
[Fetal Dream]
[Zi’ai An]
I felt my brain stop functioning. I had an indescribable feeling towards the person before me.
To describe it, the person before me looked like Zi’ai, but not the Zi’ai I knew. Yet, she wasn’t a stranger either. Instead, there was a familiar intimacy. “I’m getting confused myself. What kind of feeling is this?”
Is it pink? Sigh. Am I being a bit narcissistic to think this way?
And if it was Zi’ai, why would her title be blue? Shouldn’t it be pink? Sigh.
….
“You can see my title and name? It seems I’ve finally been included in the category of ‘sentient beings’ by the Yata no Kagami.”
“Huh?”
“Hey, hey, hey, how long are you going to hug me for!”
It was then that Lan suddenly intervened, grabbing both my and Zi’ai’s arms and trying to pull us apart.
This long and suffocating hug finally ended. Zi’ai let go of my body and moved to hold my hand.
“Are you jealous? As one of Juncheng’s consorts, being too jealous will get you divorced.”
“Who are you calling a concubine!”
“Then you’re a side consort.”
“Hah?!”
Why did Lan explode like a gunpowder keg the moment she saw Zi’ai—
And why did Zi’ai become so sharp-tongued too…
“Shall we go inside first?”
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Lianbing suggested changing locations to ease the atmosphere.
No one objected. I carried Dan, and Nana carried Xue Qing as we walked into the apartment building.
This seemed to be Lianbing’s home. It was empty. Were her parents not home?
Speaking of which, Lianbing herself didn’t even know who her real parents were.
Even Lianbing herself didn’t know. I was thinking that if I could get even a little clue, I could help Lianbing find her real parents when we got back.
Lianbing made tea and served some snacks, but the atmosphere remained serious.
We all gathered in the living room. Lianbing made tea.
Then, Zi’ai spoke first.
“As I said earlier, I will answer your doubts, but first I need to tell you my identity. Although I am using Zi’ai’s appearance now, so you might not recognize me, in reality, I am…”
“You know already? How did you…”
“I could pretty much guess…”
I originally thought Xiao An was Kuuga’s transformation, but later I learned that Xiao An might be a god of this world, and Zi’ai was the one who brought her to me. I already had some general inferences.
As expected, this Zi’ai is Kuuga—CEZ Novel
I knew this tone and the feeling she gave off was very familiar, but also different from Zi’ai. So it was because she was Kuuga…
Then that… Zi’ai, does it mean Kuuga is the real Zi’ai An, and the Zi’ai I knew is just a spiritual entity in this world?
I see, that makes sense then.
“It seems I don’t need to explain. You have already understood the true identity of the existence called ‘Zi’ai An’.”
“What is going on…”
“My soulmate, before I tell you everything, I advise you first: some things are better left unknown…”
“You knew which one I’d choose, yet you still asked. I am that moth, willing to be singed by curiosity.”
My mind is a mess right now. I really want to crash onto the bed and sleep until darkness, but I want to understand all of this even more.
So tell me everything.
Zi’ai nodded, her hand trembling as she gripped her teacup, causing ripples in the tea.
“I will tell you everything, including what has happened in the real world during this time. Then you can make your choice.”
And so, the long story began.
…..
“So, in order to resurrect me, another Zi’ai is looking for various items in the real world, and my blood is one of them—. In order to collect my blood from Xuan’er, you had no choice but to send her into the Yata no Kagami, is that right?”
Nana, with her arms crossed, nodded in response.
“That’s right. Because Xuan’er was in a state of complete non-communication, and she would hunt down anyone who dared to take even a drop of your blood to the ends of the earth, so this was the only way.”
So that’s why she suddenly left. It turns out someone angered her before.
To think that this place is actually a spiritual realm created within the Yata no Kagami… I have to say it’s worthy of being a divine artifact. Moreover, A’nong had already implicitly revealed this information to me before. Now that I think about it, she called this world ‘a mirage,’ and the existence of the Yata no Kagami coincides with A’nong’s past life. All these clues indicate that this spiritual world is a mirrored world, but I never noticed it—
I really am an idiot!
SE Novel
After finishing telling everything, Kuuga—no, Zi’ai looked at me and said.
“Now that the necessary materials are basically all here, you will be resurrected soon, Juncheng. It just depends on whether you…”
“If I can be resurrected, I would be overjoyed!”
I didn’t want Lianbing to resurrect me purely because she would need to sacrifice many lives to do so.
But if there’s no such concern, of course, I’m happy to be resurrected.
“You know Ruansui built a dreamlike illusion for you…”
“No, I mean… if you want to, you can stay here.”
“A peaceful, ordinary life that you desire—”
An ordinary life—.
…Everyone wants me to be resurrected, and if I stay here indulging in pleasure, I wouldn’t forgive myself.
Speaking of which, “I said with a wry smile.
“This place isn’t exactly ordinary either.”
“Whoosh, whoosh, that’s true~ We’ve already had a falling out, how can we go back~”
It’s precisely because you are an unpredictable factor that it’s worrying!
“Then, to leave the mirror world, we need to awaken a god—.”
“Hmm? Can’t you send me out?”
“The authority to enter the mirror is in my hands, but the authority to leave is not. Therefore, if Juncheng wants to leave, you must take her—the original owner of the Yata no Kagami, Amaterasu Omikami—to the Pure World Glazed Tile Shrine and perform the descent ritual in the shrine.”
“Xiao An is Amaterasu Omikami?! Flames, Yata no Kagami—瓊勾… Ah… I see…”
I didn’t expect another familiar god…
“Why has Amaterasu Omikami… become a child?”
Lianbing asked the question that everyone was wondering.
“Although the mirror world is a space opened by Amaterasu Omikami, it was not created by Amaterasu Omikami. You should know this.”
“Yes, it was created by Nong Ji, one of Yu Hui’s past lives.”
It’s a virtual reality replicated for energy, and these spiritual entities are all replicated from data recorded by the Yata no Kagami. Because of the Destiny Power, these replicated spiritual entities can also think independently, but in the end, they are just phantoms without souls. And the spirits of gods are too powerful; their mere existence would burn this spiritual realm into nothingness.
I see, this must be what Pure World Glazed Tile meant by “Pure World”.
I was wondering why the world would be cleansed when a god descended. It turns out it’s not that the gods are willing, but because this world cannot contain the existence of gods, so the result of their descent inevitably leads to the collapse of the spiritual world.
“Therefore, to avoid burning this world, Amaterasu Omikami imposed self-sealing and became this way. Before entering the world, she entrusted me to take care of her… Since it’s inconvenient for me to take care of a child due to other matters, I simply left her to Juncheng to take care of.”
I said with a mix of tears and laughter.
“Aren’t you setting me up…?”
“Friends help each other, and besides, as a Lolita lover, you’ll definitely take good care of her, right? If it were me, I might neglect Amaterasu Omikami.”
“Hey, hey, hey, why are you calling me a Lolita lover too? Don’t you really think I’m a lolicon!”
Everyone nodded in unison with unusual tacit understanding.
What is this?
I just took a little care of Xue Qing, a little care of Xuan’er, a little care of Xiao An, I prefer cute girls, I prefer buying them food and clothes, I care about their safety, that’s all!
This is also called a lolicon! (Yes)
“Fortunately, it’s just a lolicon, not a pedophile. Let’s… Juncheng, let’s die together~”
“Don’t say such terrifying things while smiling!”
Lan, you don’t sound like you’re joking at all!
Not joking! Speaking of which, my title has turned purplish-red!
Sigh-.
After I sighed, Lianbing asked.
“But why would Amaterasu Omikami go so far as to seal her own power to prevent this world from being burned?”
“I don’t know. The thoughts of gods are not something we can fathom.”
Why would she do that?
As I recalled the time before with….. and how in the end, no one remembered her and she lonely turned into an egg, I felt a trace of understanding and involuntarily said.
“…Perhaps because of loneliness:”
Humans and gods alike, there are times when they feel lonely and want someone to accompany them.
