Chapter: 157. The Truth of the Pure White Space
Tick-tock—tick-tock—
The familiar yet strange sound echoed once more in Kanade’s heart.
In the last moment before his consciousness fell into darkness, the final image reflected on his retina was that of Chuan Ye City, which had already turned into ruins and scorched earth.
Both the girl who had always been by his side and the place that held countless beautiful memories for them had been engulfed by flames and vanished into ruthless ashes.
He had lost his family, lost his friends, lost every trace of existence in this city.
It was the first time he realized he had lost his place in this world, becoming utterly destitute—
It was supposed to be so.
However, when he opened his eyes again—
What lay before him was a pure white space, both familiar and strange.
The boundless white silently extended to the end of his vision, as if the entire world had been reduced to this void of purity. And at the center of the space, a cluster of black flames quietly floated, slowly dancing, just as it had in his memories.
At the moment Kanade’s gaze touched the flame—
【Would you like to try again?】
The deep voice of the flames resonated in Kanade’s heart.
“….. Try again?” Kanade blankly pondered the meaning of the black flame’s words.
His once dull and hollow eyes now reflected the figure of the flame, as if a ball of black fire was burning in his heart.
“What do you mean, try again!” Kanade almost tumbled toward the flame.
But when his hand touched the circular tree diagram flowing on the ground, countless pieces of information instantly rushed into his mind—
Himself standing in front of the White Spirit Shrine with Yuzuki Yukino, holding hands to pray.
Himself facing the endless blood crows back to back with Amamiya Chika.
Himself fighting side by side with Hinata Mana in a roaring snowstorm.
Himself in front of the blood-red giant dragon with Alice Astrea.
…..
…..
Kanade suddenly jumped back, his palm leaving the tree diagram on the ground.
A vast amount of information instantly vanished from his mind, but the soul-shocking impact left him unable to calm down for a long time.
“What is this…..” Kanade’s eyes fixated on the tree diagram flowing on the ground.
【Countless possibilities.】
The leaping black flame answered Kanade’s question.
Kanade raised his head in confusion, trying to understand everything happening before him.
But unfortunately, his brain and consciousness could not break through this layer of “restriction” at all.
Every time he tried to make sense of what he had just seen, his brain would enter an evasive state; every time Kanade’s hand left the tree diagram composed of black flames, all the information he had seen in the diagram would instantly disappear.
No matter how hard he tried, there was no way to glimpse the existence known as “possibilities.”
It was as if it was the limit of his existence as an individual.
Just like a being in a two-dimensional world could never perceive the entirety of a three-dimensional world.
【Would you like to try again?】 The voice of the black flame echoed once more.
Unable to understand what this really meant, Kanade impatiently confided in despair, “Fine! Then I’ll try again! I will definitely—”
【▍▍▍▍】
Tick-tock—tick-tock—
The familiar yet strange sound.
Kanade slowly opened his eyes.
The white space and the dancing black flame before him remained unchanged as in his memories.
【Would you like to try again?】
“What, what? Try again?” Kanade stared blankly at the black flame, seemingly curious about why he had suddenly appeared here.
…..
“Then I’ll try again! This time I will make Yukino—”
【Re▍▍▍】
Tick-tock—tick-tock—
“Try again! Wait for me, Alice—”
【▍New▍▍】
…..
【▍▍Start▍】
…..
When Kanade once again reflected the scenery of the ruined Chuan Ye City in his eyes, he appeared once more in the pure white space.
The comforting sounds of Kurokawa and Midelash echoed in his ears.
【GAME OVER】
【Would you like to try again?】
The black flame leapt once more, asking Kanade who was kneeling before it.
“….Why? Why am I here—”
When Kanade, like countless versions of himself before, asked that question and pressed his hands on the concentric tree diagram.
Unlike his past self, this time, countless starlights erupted from the cracks in his soul—
“Why…… why isn’t Konomi here…….” For the first time, Kanade voiced an entirely different question.
At the moment his hands pressed against the tree diagram, he jumped out of the “stage,” transforming from “actor” to “audience.”
As images flashed through his mind, he couldn’t find that girl—
The magic surging from the tree diagram was frantically eroding his reason. If it had been his past self, he might have struggled to hold on for half a second before letting go.
But this time, the starlight flowing from the cracks of his soul granted him enough strength to retain his “self” until the very last moment.
Kanade realized that everything before him was something he, as an “ordinary individual,” could not glimpse.
If he wanted to understand what this was, unless—
Kanade’s eyes suddenly lit up with golden light.
Seven crystal-like pointers had lost three, but the remaining four chances were enough for him to undergo further evolution—
【Rewrite】
A two-dimensional existence could never see the truth of the three-dimensional world, but if one could evolve into a three-dimensional being—
—————–
When discussing the most beloved scenes in the original game of “Hoshihikaru 2,” one cannot forget the main menu screen.
A boundless pure white space and the black flame at its center.
Players love this scene not because of its design or visual appeal.
But because—
This is the place players are taken to every time they enter GAME OVER.
When this screen appears, it is the moment when the viewers watching the livestream burst into laughter.
—————–
“…… How many times….. have I been here already…..”
As the golden light slowly faded from Kanade’s eyes.
He couldn’t help but quietly ask the black flame before him.
Every time the possibilities of the world he was in dropped to 0, he would be transported to this pure white space.
As a character on the stage, Kanade could not connect the scene before him with the parallel worlds he knew.
But after rewriting himself—
He finally understood why he was here.
【Would you like to try again?】
—————–
In the original game of “Hoshihikaru 2,” to reach the game’s “true ending.”
In addition to needing to complete all routes, there was another important condition.
That was to choose “Tsukimi Kanade” as the protagonist and leave at least 1 point of rewrite chances.
Then on the GAME OVER screen, do not click the “try again” option.
Instead, on that screen, forcibly select to【rewrite】 using shortcut keys.
But what is being rewritten is not the【individual】 or the【self】.
But rather, it is rewriting—
【The World】
