“Because of the debt of the fox pendant!”
The fox pendant suddenly fell, hitting the ground with a clatter.
The jade, which had turned a golden color like wheat, spun twice on the ground before coming to a stop at the feet of Kobe Suzuo.
“You should know, shouldn't you?!”
Just by looking at that guy's setting and his arrogant life pursuits, one could tell his importance to a "story."
Kobe Suzuo took a knife from the drawer, made a slit in his palm, guided his blood to fall onto the jade.
So do you understand now? Merlin, this is—
“■■！”
Kobe Suzuo turned around, as a young man with disheveled hair kicked open the office door, he offered a faint smile.
Satoru, see you next time.
Author's Note:
Good evening!
Chapter 88 That Moonlight Parting
Kobe Suzuo stood in a vast, white expanse, looking at his attire with a sense of slight surprise.
A dark blue custom-made suit, a familiar luxury wristwatch, gemstone cufflinks, a tie clip, earrings all shimmering with brilliance, polished leather shoes.
Aside from lacking the signature slicked-back hair of a CEO, it was no different from Kobe Suzuo's usual state.
Kobe Suzuo's toes tapped against the "ground" beneath his feet; it lacked the solid sensation of actual ground, yet it wasn't entirely soft "void" either.
It was somewhat similar to when Tengen set up a blank barrier in the Koushin Palace, but there were no people, no Cursed Spirits, no scenery, no sound.
This is the Gap of the World, a parallel rift, a place that should not exist, which ought to be like a pure white curtain, void of everything.
Kobe Suzuo did not need to eat, did not need to breathe, even his perception of the passage of time had become blurred and indistinct.
It was difficult to describe his current state; whether it was a state of consciousness or a state of soul, he had ultimately transcended his mortal shell and become trapped within this space.
He stepped forward, silently calculating the distance in his mind.
But there were no landmarks here, he could not feel any fatigue; Kobe Suzuo could not even be sure if he was moving forward or just marching in place.
After counting a full thousand steps, Kobe Suzuo stopped trying, his face turning cold as he stood motionless in place like a statue in a meditative trance.
As he stood there, Kobe Suzuo found the sight of the mysterious man in a suit, standing blankly like a mannequin in the void, somewhat amusing.
So he thought for two seconds and sat cross-legged in the void.
Kobe Suzuo changed from standing to sitting, from sitting to lying down, shifting positions several times before silently taking off his suit jacket and performing push-ups with one hand supporting himself on the ground.
In this state, Kobe Suzuo could not feel any fatigue.
Every one of his movements was precise and beautiful; his muscles tensed as he exerted force, his bangs sweeping across his cheeks, his expression calm, as if he were simply working out in his own gym.
“You certainly seem to be enjoying yourself.”
It was a familiar electronic voice.
Kobe Suzuo paused for a moment, completed the final movement without changing his expression, adjusted his collar, still looking clean and refreshed.
He wiped away sweat that wasn't even there and nodded with an air of nobility, "Long time no see."
After a moment's thought, Kobe Suzuo added a title, "World."
The mechanical synthesized electronic voice sputtered stiflingly for two seconds before retorting as if picking a fight, "Has that silly child gone mad from being alone for too long? This is clearly Merlin's voice, isn't it?"
As the electronic voice continued, it began to get excited all on its own:
A creation born because of you, breaking through the limits of code and even crossing the barriers of the world to come to your side—good heavens, what a romantic story!
Kobe Suzuo..
You are still so.. humorous.
Whether or not that emotionless fellow Merlin has the ability to correctly perceive "romance" is one thing, but even if he does, that cyber-rebellious brat would never develop any special feelings for his human, old father, right?
The electronic voice's excited tone subsided, it stammered an excuse: "That child Merlin is actually quite well-behaved."
Kobe Suzuo sat with one leg crossed, resting his cheek on his hand as he leaned his arm on his knee, gazing into the void.
Mm-hmm, a good child who is possessed by you from time to time, talks behind my back with you every now and then.
In the vast, boundless space, a visible distortion appeared in an instant.
A few seconds later, several small golden dots condensed in front of Kobe Suzuo.
They drifted upward against the current, trailing long, straight golden lines that stretched out end to end, eventually forming two overlapping circles—one horizontal and one vertical—constantly shifting in a cross-shaped pattern.
The light grew stronger; from Kobe Suzuo's perspective, it had become a palm-sized golden orb, like a small nightlight glowing by the bedside.
“Oh my, as expected of Suzuo, you discovered it long ago.”
It hovered in the air like a bee, buzzing and bumping its way toward Kobe Suzuo.
Kobe Suzuo turned aside to avoid it, reaching out her hand and using her palm to push the ball of light away.
It's hard not to notice, isn't it? Merlin's own functions are fundamentally incapable of performing the calculations for a 'Romance Capture System.' I truly cannot think of anyone else capable of doing such a thing.
It can capture scenes around Kobe Suzuo at any time and anywhere to create CGs, it can use concrete "quantities" to summarize the "favorability" of human emotions, providing guide-style text for romance targets that is full of human touch.
Not to mention that this Merlin was a "castrated version" that Kobe Suzuo hand-crafted alongside geniuses from a research institute while working overtime in the Jujutsu World.
Even the complete version of Merlin, which was to be born thirty years in the future for Kobe Suzuo, could not do these things.
After being pushed away by Kobe Suzuo, the ball of light dimmed slightly, appearing somewhat aggrieved:
No matter how you look at it, isn't calling me a 'guy' a bit too much?
Sigh, at the end of the day, I still did wrong and disappointed you, to the point where you aren't even willing to call me Mom or Dad.
Kobe Suzuo was shocked, falling into a rare, speechless silence.
If one were to say that the World has existed since the very beginning of time, then in a certain sense, It could indeed be considered the 'parents' of Kobe Suzuo.
The light orb wobbled slightly before suddenly accelerating and slamming into Kobe Suzuo's forehead while he wasn't looking.
With a dull thud, the light orb jumped onto the top of Kobe Suzuo's head, rubbing against her soft hair with a petting technique that was guaranteed to irritate a cat.
“I can't think of a way to send you back for the time being either. The world over there is not of the same system as mine, making communication very difficult.”
Evil Suzuo, you know perfectly well that I am using Merlin's cover to protect you, yet you still act on your own. You've gone too far.
Kobe Suzuo endured the urge to grab the World by the head and pull it down, stiffening her neck as she listened to the other party vent his rage.
“It's simply too naive. Even if Satoru Gojo is strong, what of it? He is neither the Child of the World, nor has he awakened his self-consciousness like you have.”
Revealing your identity to him will only cause the worldlines to fluctuate and increase rejection. If you draw the attention of the rules before you have subtly integrated, you'll be forcibly kicked out, just like this.
The light orb bounced vigorously above Kobe Suzuo's head, looking quite helpless, much like one facing a bratty child.
If you do this, you might die by mistake.
As if finally tired of chanting, the light orb curled atop Kobe Suzuo's head, its voice sounding noticeably dejected.
True death means the soul dissipates in the Gap, existence is erased, there is no such thing as a next life.
Strictly speaking, this was the third time Kobe Suzuo had officially conversed with the World Consciousness.
The first time was when Kobe Suzuo awakened his self-awareness; amidst the chaos, he heard World speak to him.
The second time was when Kobe Suzuo accidentally wandered into another world; to comfort him, World made a contract with him using an absolute white lie.
It is not a good thing to be too close to the World.
Using the Cthulhu concept from human culture as an analogy, an existence that transcends the limits of cognition will destroy human thought and perception, causing irreversible collapse and alienation.
Therefore, even though Kobe Suzuo's Spirit Vision had reached infinite heights after completing its self-awakening, the World was also doing its best to avoid direct communication with Kobe Suzuo.
Humans are always fragile; one wrong move and they die.
Even if the souls are the same, even the slightest shift in the world line can create a difference as vast as heaven and earth.
It was a sentimental "World" that cherished the uniqueness of Kobe Suzuo.
But despite being carefully cherished and protected, he still fell into such a dangerous situation in a moment of negligence.
Kobe Suzuo waited quietly for World to finish speaking, then reached out to gently guide the light orb down from above, a hint of a smile dancing in his dark eyes.
I'm sorry for making you worry.
[World] flickered in Kobe Suzuo's palm, its electronic voice sounding fierce.
You think you can make amends? Too late!
Even for me, I don't have a hundred percent certainty of pulling you out of this hellhole intact right now.
It was indeed possible to expend more effort to forcibly bring Kobe Suzuo back, but the price for doing so would be far too high.
He might lose his "spirituality" and become a fool, or he might lose certain parts, resulting in incurable flaws.
Of course, the most likely outcome was that even if he went through immense hardship to bring her back, Suzuo would no longer be Suzuo.
The ball of light drifted aimlessly, floating upward before falling back to Kobe Suzuo's fingertips like a kite tethered by a string.
Sorry, Suzuo.
The soft golden aura surrounding him dimmed, the golden rings rotated and shifted:
“I will stay by your side and wait with you, until the chance comes to lead you out safely.”
The [World] fell silent once again.
This time of "waiting" was very long.
From the birth of an infant to a natural death, this process must repeat a thousand, ten thousand times.
To humans, being trapped in such a space for millions of years is cruel.
Kobe Suzuo relaxed his features and leaned back into the void, losing all sense of decorum.
The light orb circled him twice and said suspiciously, "Are you being too calm?"