The mist suddenly pulsed violently. [He] sensed that the memories [He] had stored were being disturbed by something.
This had never happened before. Besides [Himself], what else in this world could possibly shake the memories [He] had collected?!
[He] frantically began to investigate, trying to find which memories were being pried open, whose memories they were.
But the memories in this space were too numerous and jumbled. [He] had only just obtained the authority to browse and retrieve; in such a short time, [He] couldn't possibly pinpoint the problem.
[He] had already dealt with that traitorous [Memory]... What could it be? What was tampering with these memories?
Meanwhile, in that shattered space, a completely new storm swirled around Shu's body.
Fragments of the broken space transformed into streams of silver mist, rapidly merging into Shu's form.
Shu lowered his gaze, looking at the coin in his palm.
Half of the coin's physical form had already vanished, yet the golden light emanating from it shimmered with the same color and brilliance as the [Hope] surrounding Shu's body.
Shu closed his eyes, clasping the coin tightly, pressing his fist gently against his heart.
"Kiana... Your [Wish]... I received it."
[From Kiana: Come home.]
Taking a deep breath, Shu looked up towards the distant mist.
Even with the close proximity, the wisp of mist still couldn't locate Shu. [He] relied on his newly acquired retrieval authority, clumsily and inefficiently scanning each memory.
If [He] hadn't obtained this authority yet, [He] would have used "destruction" and "modification" to forcefully pinpoint Shu's location.
But now, having "retrieval," the ability to access memories without damaging them, [He] abandoned destructive actions, instead using this entirely unfamiliar ability to scan memories one by one.
This was the answer the girl had provided.
She understood that [He], having mastered destruction and modification, wouldn't easily harm any memory.
So that's the Herrscher?
Shu gazed at the sky, watching the last speck of starlight vanish over the horizon.
The silver mist around him had also completely dissolved into his body.
At this moment, the Herrscher finally located Shu's "position." [He] furiously confronted Shu across the void.
"I must... remember... everyone... cannot... forget..." [He] stammered, the wisp of mist twisting into a grotesque monster.
Shu slightly raised his hand, extending his index finger and thumb, forming a gun gesture aimed at the colossal monster lunging towards him, blotting out the sky.
The coin had completely dissipated in Shu's palm, transforming into dense golden light coating his hand.
Suddenly, Shu didn't fire this "shot" at the Herrscher, even though he knew this single "shot" could easily destroy the Herrscher's avatar before him.
A being without even its Herrscher core posed no threat to Shu.
He pressed his finger against his own temple. Surrounded by mist, he needed to go back and find the person he had lost!
Because that person...
She had cried and screamed for him.
"Bang," he mouthed the sound, then let the golden light erupting from his finger pierce through his own head.
Yet there was no pain. It felt like the ground beneath his feet vanished. The surroundings began to distort and crumble. He started falling, falling into a bottomless abyss.
The instantaneous vertigo nearly made him lose consciousness.
But this time, he forced his eyes open a sliver, struggling to discern the shattering reality around him.
The helplessness of falling was deeply ingrained in his body, making it difficult to struggle, impossible to resist.
But he saw fragments flashing past like lightning, watched them unfold, branching into countless threads leading from unknown origins to unknown destinations.
Looking down, a colossal tree – roots immeasurably long, trunk immeasurably wide, branches extending to unseen reaches – floated silently in the void.
Barely controlling his descent, Shu looked down towards his landing point.
It was a single thread, also a branch extending from that vast tree.
Shu watched the branch wither from its tip inwards, shrinking, vanishing.
And the endpoint of that shrinkage was where he was about to fall.
He took a deep breath, regardless of whether air existed here, and plunged headfirst into the massive branch.
The withering stopped. In that instant, the branch gained new life and began to grow again.
...
"Shu... huh?"
Kiana tilted her head, writing on her hand, completely oblivious to the sudden look of dazed confusion that appeared on Shu's face beside her.
After pondering for a long time, Kiana turned back sheepishly to Shu. "What was your name again?"
Shu didn't answer. His eyes flickered, casting a blank gaze around before settling on Kiana, drawn by her voice.
"Um..." Being stared at so intently by Shu, Kiana felt a little creeped out and could only offer an awkward smile. "If... you don't want to say..."
Suddenly, faster than Kiana could react, Shu raised his hands and cupped Kiana's face.
"Mmph?!" Kiana's eyes instantly widened. Nearby, Mei and Bronya, who had been discussing something, paused their conversation, looking quizzically at Shu's unusual behavior.
"Wh-what's wrong?" Kiana resisted the urge to pull away, letting Shu hold her chubby cheeks, her eyes darting towards Mei, pleading for help.
Shu gently squished Kiana's cheeks, his eyes wide as he thoroughly examined her.
No cracks, whole, breathing, heartbeat, soft and chubby... and talking!!
"Shu, did something happen?" Mei, having received Kiana's SOS signal, spoke up, half exasperated, half concerned, trying to break the tension.
Shu turned his head, meeting Mei's gaze with eyes slightly bloodshot and tear-filled for two seconds before withdrawing his hands.
Kiana felt instantly pardoned, quickly shuffling away a couple of steps before letting out a huge sigh of relief, raising a hand to cover her face with lingering apprehension.
Okay, so I probably know this guy, but is our relationship really that good? He wasn't trying to take advantage of me, was he?!
No way! Her body belongs to Mei!!
She peeked up, then quickly looked down again.
Shu is still looking at her!!
What to do? What should I do? Should I make a fuss? Or...
Kiana, head bowed, suddenly saw a black marker pen being offered to her – the same one she had dropped in her panic earlier.
Startled, she looked up. Shu had somehow moved right in front of her, holding the pen.
His expression held an indescribable gentleness, his eyes carrying a deep, subtle gratitude. He said solemnly—
"My name is Shu. Shu, as in Wish. Shu, as in Dawn."