The girl's words gave Shu a slight headache.
A Herrscher that isn't human... though that situation isn't exactly rare. A piece of data could become a Herrscher, not to mention even Divine Keys ran the risk of gaining sentience...
But... Shu looked silently at the girl before him, who showed absolutely no hostility, feeling conflicted.
A Herrscher helping humanity... What did that even mean?
Shu could accept that Herrschers had their own thoughts, preferences, and so on. But the idea of a Herrscher actively helping humanity was difficult for him to swallow.
He knew that in the original story, getting Herrschers to side with humanity came at a very steep price. What made this Herrscher before him different?
Could it be that this world also experienced...
"Let's start with why you're helping us," Shu decided to ask this question first. If Herrschers could genuinely be swayed, the probability of civilization's recovery would increase significantly.
"Because I don't want to die," the girl stated sincerely.
Shu: "...?"
Seeing the puzzled looks from the others, the girl repeated, "Because I don't want to die."
We get it, you really don't want to die. Shu felt a twitch in his eye. He shook his head, quickly summarizing the information she had revealed.
"Is it because the other Herrscher of Memory is hunting you, or [He] poses a threat to you?"
The girl didn't answer immediately, instead changing the subject. "This question is complicated... but I can tell you this—what I fear isn't death in the conventional sense."
"Then what is it?" Kiana scratched her head, confused. "Can [Death] have multiple meanings?"
"Of course." The girl answered firmly this time. "In this world, the definition of death is multifaceted.
"Some believe death is the cessation of the body—when breathing stops, the heart stops beating, the brain ceases to think. That moment is death.
"Others believe that true death occurs only when everyone in the world has forgotten a person's existence..."
"Oh... Is that how it is?" Kiana asked, somewhat confused and naive. She hadn't really thought deeply about the topic of death before. Whenever death was brought up, Kiana's instinctive response was always, "I won't let anyone die, and I don't want anyone to die." To her, any form of death was utterly unacceptable.
And for most people, their views were similar. Many have contemplated such questions throughout history: What comes after death? Where do we go? What will we encounter? Thus, concepts like soul reapers, underworlds, Death, Hell, Heaven emerged...
Yet, these elaborate beliefs offered little solace to the vast majority. People continued to fear death instinctively, using various reasons and means to avoid it. The fear of death is etched into the deepest layers of biological programming. Just like the Herrscher of Evolution.
But... there are always differences and exceptions.
Shu's eyes flickered slightly. He remembered the last words someone who faced death calmly had left him. Asking the same question.
["Tell me... what is true death?"]
The girl continued, "And the death I wish to avoid isn't any of the ones mentioned above... What I fear is dying forcedly, having achieved nothing."
Her words startled the group, but her expression remained deadpan, showing no sign of lying or joking. Or perhaps her face was always so taut they simply couldn't read her emotions.
"Then... Miss Herrscher," Mei hesitated over the address, "what is it that you wish to achieve?"
The girl lowered her eyes, looking at her own hand. "What I wish to achieve..."
"What [He] and I wish to achieve... has actually always been the same..."
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, the girl clenched her fists. She then looked at the group before her and bowed deeply, with exceptional solemnity.
"I will lead you to [His] hiding place and assist you wholeheartedly in defeating [Him]—
"And after that, please use our core to create a [Divine Key] specifically for data storage!"
She looked up, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on Shu. "I know you possess the ability to create Divine Keys. Our authority is memory; for data recording, our power is extremely suitable!
"Therefore, I offer our core in exchange, solely for one opportunity!"
"An opportunity—to remember the entire world!"
...
Silence followed the girl's words for a long time.
"But doing that... you'll die!" Kiana was the first to break the silence. For a Herrscher, removing the core was equivalent to ending its life, let alone being made into a Divine Key!
The girl shook her head. "Compared to that kind of [Death], I am more afraid of reaching an irreversible point having accomplished nothing."
"Could Bronya ask why you wish to remember the entire world...?" Bronya also voiced her question.
The girl's words were truly unexpected. A Herrscher, not thinking about destroying humanity, seeking revenge, annihilation, or creating its own world, but instead wanting to trade its life for a chance to remember the world? It was simply... baffling.
Bronya didn't understand. Shu didn't understand either.
So they needed an explanation, an answer.
The girl withdrew her gaze, turning to look at the white fragments of buildings floating in the void behind her. They once belonged to a village named Depascal. Now, apart from them, no one knew it had been reduced to ashes by Shu's sword.
Finally, she sighed.
"Because we have witnessed too much forgetting and neglect, seen too many important things reduced to unimportant dust..."
"We were born bearing these feelings in this blank place, so we don't want such blankness to spread across the entire world."
"We don't want a future where, one day, when people open history books, they only find a layer of dust that can be blown away by a breath."
"So you tried everything, eventually deciding to use atmospheric diffusion, using water vapor to record the world's memories, with yourselves acting as the base stations recording the entire world, correct?" Shu picked up the thread, asking.
The girl nodded.
"But I still have one question," Shu said, looking at the girl with complex emotions in his eyes. "Your plan isn't unfeasible. If you didn't help us, we wouldn't find [Him]. Why did you choose to betray [Him]?"
The girl met Shu's gaze, her eyes filled with sorrow.
"Because I cannot see the future..."