“...”
Lin Guang slightly lowered her gaze, still offering no reply.
Amber shook her head helplessly. “Ah, fine, fine. This personality of yours—it’s practically carved from the same mold as Airwen’s. Completely deaf to advice.”
“But chasing after her now won’t catch up.”
“She’s serious this time. She even used her authority to seal the Sacred Tree Domain’s gate tight against you.”
“The fact that we can only open it now means she’s already certain you can’t catch her.”
“Wouldn’t it be more worthwhile to ask something you definitely want to know, instead of wasting time?”
As she spoke, Amber stood up.
Lin Guang hesitated for a moment, then followed suit.
The two girls walked one behind the other toward a certain direction, while behind them, the picnic cloth and lunch boxes dissolved into golden particles.Amber’s steps were light, her red high heels treading on the soil as she spoke leisurely:
“You can ask anything.”
“At this point, Phoenix and I won’t hide anything from you anymore.”
“Oh.”
As if something came to mind, she tapped her cheek with her index finger and blinked. “Personal stuff like measurements aren’t included, though.”
“...”
The cherry-haired girl was silent for a moment. “I want to know everything. Everything.”
Those words made Amber put on a troubled expression.
“It’s not that I can’t tell you, but where should I start?”
Lin Guang slowly raised her head, looking at the sky.
It was clearly daytime in Kazenari Town, but her gaze seemed to pierce through the Sacred Tree’s barrier, reaching the dim stars that were still visible even through the black fog.
“Start with... this fake starry sky.”
“...So you’ve already figured that out too.”
Amber let out a soft sigh. “This is going to be a long topic.”
They walked out of the woods and saw the familiar winding mountain road.
A high-end black sedan was parked on the road not far ahead.
The two reached the car. Amber opened the door for Lin Guang, then got into the driver’s seat herself.
The sedan began to drive smoothly.
Amber rolled down the window, letting the sunlight and wind outside stream in.
“It’s a wonderful world, isn’t it? Compared to the Outer Realm, so warm and bright...”
“Try taking a deep breath and feeling it?”
Lin Guang reached her hand out the window.
Sunlight hit her slender hand, painted with orange nail polish. The girl’s fair skin seemed almost transparent, delicate enough to break with a touch, faint blue veins visible beneath.
The wind gently brushed against Lin Guang’s tender skin, ruffling her cherry-red hair tips, which grazed her sharply defined collarbone like a tender greeting.
“Everything... everything is so real, right?”
Amber met her eyes through the rearview mirror and spoke softly.
“But it’s actually man-made.”
“Yes, just as you think. Outside the world we’re in now, there exists an even larger world.”
“And this world of ours was born from a project by [L Corp]—”
Lin Guang couldn’t help but say the “name” of this world along with her:
“[Utopia].”
... ...
The sedan drove out from the winding mountain road and traveled across Kanamubi Bridge.
From here, the sea and the distant view of Kazenari Town were clearly visible.
“Airwen mentioned the outside world to you... Hmm, how should I put this to you?”
Amber’s voice was very gentle, yet slightly low.
“From her attitude, does it give you the feeling... that it’s a world more real, more beautiful, and more meaningful than this one?”
“But it’s not, you know.”
“At least, that’s not how Phoenix and I see it.”
“Except that it doesn’t cycle, that world... might still be far inferior to Kazenari Town.”
“The Abyss is everywhere, and the outside world is no exception. People there also live in a surrounded world—it’s just that the world is so vast that most people never realize it in their lifetimes.”
The car smoothly entered the streets at the edge of Kazenari Town, slowly stopping at an intersection, waiting patiently for the red light.
On the sidewalk by the road, a few housewives who had just returned from grocery shopping with eco-bags gathered together, enthusiastically sharing household gossip, their faces beaming with relaxed smiles.
“The highest person in charge of this project is Su Jingyan, known as the ‘most outstanding game designer of the modern era.’”
Amber held the steering wheel with both hands, her tone carrying a complex emotion, as if reminiscing or lamenting.
“She probably mentioned [L Corp] to you, right.”
“It’s not like those companies in Kazenari Town that are merely symbolic.”
“The word ‘company’ is special in the outside world. You can think of it as a behemoth—a massive organization capable of mobilizing vast territories, resources, and manpower.”
—This setting...?
Is it some kind of cyber○unk?
No, that’s not right either. With supernatural elements, it should be closer to a mutant world setting like Shadow R○n or Demon ○ity...
Could it actually be Lun○...
Lin Guang blinked, shaking off her wandering thoughts, and continued to listen intently.
The red light turned green.
The sedan continued heading toward the center of Kazenari Town.
“The essence of a company is profit-seeking. [L Corp] is relatively much better, with many idealists, but it can’t escape that scope either.”
“Whether for ambition or to fight the Abyss... in the outside world, almost all corporate decisions prioritize efficiency and profit above all.”
“So...”
“In the eyes of most board members, human lives and emotions are also things that can be quantified, calculated with specific numbers.”
“Plus, with the demon-people, demons, and monsters born from the Abyss running rampant...”
“That world is filled with countless tragic and unfortunate people.”
“Those who have lost loved ones, those with mutilated bodies, those burned all over...”
“There are quite a few people who don’t want to see their broken selves for another moment, who absolutely don’t want to live in that cold and cruel world... with such thoughts.”
“What Su Jingyan hoped for was to use the power of that gem-like [artifact] to turn this world—caught between virtual and reality—into a pure land where those people could take refuge.”
“...”
—Gem?
Lin Guang sharply caught that word.
At the end of the last cycle, when she looked outward, there really was a sensation as if viewing through some kind of medium.
“Hmm, even though you might not know what an [artifact] is... but if we talk about a gem, it should spark some connection, right?”
“...”
Lin Guang took a deep breath.
In that moment... she felt she had taken a big step closer to the truth.
“Soul... Gem?”
“That’s right.”
“This world, in essence, is a broken, contaminated Soul Gem.”
---
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