Chapter: 171. A New Choice
Sakura felt as if he was wandering in an endless nightmare.
The sudden changes in Nagi’s demeanor and the talk of “the end” among Adam and others led Sakura to instinctively think that his choice this time was wrong. He shouldn’t have brought Nagi back to Kawanoshima. Since the end came with the pitch-black giant dragon on the first world line, returning to Kawanoshima was just walking into a trap. Nagi being corrupted and controlled by the end resulted in this outcome.
This time, Sakura didn’t linger too long in the Kaora box. Eager to avoid the tragedy of the last time, he once again traced back the world line.
However, an unexpected situation occurred.
Sakura did not wake up in the Kawanishi city hotel as he had hoped. When he opened his eyes, he did not see Nagi lying beside him, gently looking at him.
The chill in the air was the trace left by Nagi tearing through the bubble.
Before Sakura stood Nagi, proudly facing Adam and the others.
This wasn’t the hotel Sakura was familiar with.
“…Why?” Sakura’s pupils suddenly contracted, unable to comprehend what was happening in front of him.
The tranquil and peaceful morning from before seemed just like a beautiful dream.
Now that dream had shattered, and he was thrust into the cruel and relentless reality—
Nagi, in front of him, disregarded Sakura’s astonishment and slowly raised her arm just as in his memories.
Everything was the same as the tragedy that occurred in the previous world line.
In an instant, a flash of rising ice spikes and blood-colored flowers flooding the air passed through Sakura’s mind.
His gaze swept past Renji behind him and Mana at Nagi’s feet; in the previous world line, the two had been innocently pierced by ice spikes just like that—
“Stop—!” At almost the same moment, Sakura moved instinctively.
He didn’t know what had happened to Nagi, but right now, he just wanted to stop her from making that mistake.
Because he knew that if it were that gentle and kind girl, she definitely wouldn’t want to see herself harm the closest person beside her.
As Sakura unleashed his extraordinary physical abilities, he became like a fleeting shadow racing towards Nagi.
Nagi’s face seemed to momentarily flash a faint smile, a smile that disappeared in an instant, leading Sakura to instinctively think it was just an illusion.
In a beastly state with all his strength, Sakura’s figure soared like an arrow past the SEMA ability users in front of him and Adam. He just wanted to do everything he could to stop Nagi from snapping her fingers that would bloom the blood-colored flowers.
But when he truly charged in front of Nagi, he realized—he had no idea what to do.
—How could he possibly stop Nagi?
—Would he have to confront Nagi?
—How could he possibly harm Nagi?
Sakura’s hesitation let precious time slip away—
Slap.
Just as Sakura’s hand was about to touch Nagi.
Countless sharp ice spikes rose once more, piercing through the bodies of everyone present, and this time, even Sakura himself could not evade the attack.
Blood-colored roses bloomed in the air once again.
Following was a bone-chilling coldness, and Sakura’s vision was rapidly enveloped in darkness once more.
Before he completely lost consciousness, he once again saw Nagi’s lips move, just like last time—
“▍▍▍”
Unfortunately, Sakura still couldn’t hear what she said in the end.
……
……
【One more time?】
—————–
Nagi knew that everything she was doing now was purely evil.
She was repeatedly hurting this simple and kind boy, Sakura, both mentally and physically, and everything she did was justifiably despicable.
When Nagi recalled her past life, she gradually realized that she was never a righteous person—
She was merely a villain who wished to destroy the world.
A pure villain with no qualifications for redemption.
As she once again committed an unforgivable act, piercing through the “protagonist” before her.
The scenery around her suddenly became blurry; it was the process of “possibilities” being reshuffled and reorganized. Refined by the Kaora box, Nagi could clearly feel each reorganization of “possibilities” through herself.
Everything happening seemed like a fleeting dream.
In the blink of an eye, she stood once more before her most beloved boy. Everything she had just done left no trace, not even the sensation of piercing someone or the magic feedback.
But to Nagi, who could glimpse all “possibilities,” even if the backtracking of the world line could erase all her evil deeds, this fact would still linger in her heart, tormenting her mind at all times.
This was the price that “the chosen individual by fate” needed to bear.
—Sakura-kun, how many times must you raise the blade against me?
In her heart, Nagi hoped that Sakura could ruthlessly confront her, but she also wished to see more of his tenderness and love towards her. The latter felt like a forbidden fruit that she knew she shouldn’t indulge in, but she wanted to enjoy the warmth of being loved by others as much as possible at the journey’s end named “life.”
…..
…..
【One more time?】
Tick-tock—tick-tock—
When the familiar sound echoed deep within Sakura’s heart.
He returned to the pure white space once more, facing the pitch-black flames before him.
“Why? Why can’t I trace back to an earlier time?” Sakura shouted angrily at the dark flames.
Initially, he thought he had made a mistake in the tracing steps.
But after experiencing this backtracking time and time again, waking each time at the moment Nagi was “occupied” by the end, he was finally willing to acknowledge this cruel reality.
Something had changed.
He could no longer return to that quiet and peaceful morning.
He could no longer spend that short but happy and warm moment with Nagi.
The so-called backtracking had turned into pure torment for his soul at this moment.
He appeared before Nagi time and again, unwillingly witnessing her kill him again and again.
It was as if the gentle and kind image of Nagi in his heart was being tainted with blood, slowly transforming into an impression he was unwilling to face—
【Past possibilities have collapsed】
【The collapsed world line cannot be changed】
The Kaora box’s monotonous voice was so piercing to Sakura’s ears.
“Why… why did the past possibilities collapse? I clearly didn’t observe Nagi’s death…” Sakura asked in confusion.
【……】
The Kaora box did not answer Sakura’s question.
A silent atmosphere enveloped the pure white space.
Sakura, unable to find an answer, unconsciously shifted his gaze to the circular tree diagram under his feet.
In this tree diagram made of dark flames, he noticed a difference from the past; a new ring had appeared. He remembered the Kaora box had once said that the so-called ring was the “critical node” that had become a foregone conclusion.
When Sakura last peered into these critical nodes, he remembered the latest node should be—“Nagi’s death.”
But this time, those nodes seemed to be covered by something.
He could no longer glean any information from the tree diagram.
Whether past, present, or future, everything seemed to become unclear.
…..
【Is it over?】
The question from the Kaora box, entirely different from before, made Sakura suddenly lift his head from his confusion.
At this moment, he sharply sensed that the Kaora box had changed from before.
Its inquiry felt more like a rhetorical question—
Is it over? Has all this really come to an end?
No, not yet… Nagi is still alive, nothing has ended…
He just couldn’t escape the reality he had to face…
Nagi was still there, still waiting for him to save her…
Sakura returned his gaze to the tree diagram beneath his feet. From this murky “possibility,” he felt something he must do.
“I must save Nagi—”
Sakura slowly lifted the hand that had almost touched Nagi: “This time, I will definitely stop Nagi—”
As soon as he spoke, it felt as if something had sensed Sakura’s resolve and responded—
Multicolored light burst forth from Sakura’s right hand.
“I want—”
【One more time?】
【One more time▍▍▍】
【▍▍▍▍▍】
The options were being overwritten.
New possibilities surged forth—
【Rewrite everything】☆
—————–
Tick-tock—tick-tock—
Sakura traced back the world line once more.
Just before Nagi slowly raised her right hand again.
Sakura’s eyes flashed with dazzling golden light as he charged towards her. He swung his right hand, and a multicolored arc of light wrapped around his arm, transforming into a dreamy blade—“the Blade of Life.”
For the first time, the multicolored blade sliced through the ice that stood in his way in two.
