Silence, a silence that was permeating.
“————”
Silence, a silence that was enveloping.
“————”
Silence, a silence that was prevailing.
“————”
Silence, a silence that was engulfing.
As Fang Li regained consciousness, he felt the pervasive silence surrounding him.
Slowly, Fang Li opened his eyes.
Yet, all that met his gaze was darkness, intertwined with the prevailing silence.
Darkness stretched endlessly.
For there was nothing here.
And Fang Li floated within this void of darkness, akin to drifting on the surface of water, weightless yet chilled to the bone.
In this place, Fang Li could perceive only one thing.
A substance constituting the endless darkness around him.
“Mist?”
Indeed, it was mist.
Black mist continuously pervaded, as if isolating everything, informing Fang Li that the pervasive silence was due to this ubiquitous black mist.
This black mist, Fang Li knew it well.
Because it was something Fang Li was intimately familiar with.
“Death…”
Yes, this was death.
The death of a character named “Natsuki Subaru.”
In the moment when Natsuki Subaru was killed, Fang Li was swallowed by this mist.
In other words, Fang Li was drawn into the death of the character named “Natsuki Subaru.”
This was not a strange occurrence.
Considering Natsuki Subaru’s unique ability, perhaps this was the most normal development.
It would be more accurate to say that Fang Li came to this world for the sole purpose of observing this phenomenon.
“And since I have been drawn into it, yet able to maintain consciousness and memory here, it means that my initial hypothesis was at least correct.”
With these thoughts, Fang Li raised one of his hands.
“Clang…”
A faint light emanated from the device suspended in Fang Li’s hand, though it did not dispel the darkness named “Death” surrounding him, it illuminated itself.
That device, precisely, “Reiji Maigo (Midnight Lost Child).”
A Noble Phantasm (Treasure Tool) capable of interfering with time to a certain extent, causing time to be lost at midnight.
“Although I cannot avoid the rewinding of time, at least I can interfere with my own time in this irreversible regression. My initial hypothesis was indeed correct.”
Therefore, when the “Start from Zero Another World Life” Dungeon World became an option, Fang Li chose this world without hesitation and entered it.
For the sole purpose of observing the death of Natsuki Subaru.
“So, next is to see if this death can solve my doubts.”
Whispering thus, Fang Li stowed away the Reiji Maigo (Midnight Lost Child), raising his head within the fog of death, gazing forward.
“Hum…”
The black mist churned.
Within the black mist named ‘Death’, Fang Li’s eyes unconsciously transformed into ice-blue Mystic Eyes, encompassing everything around him.
Perhaps, this was the first time?
The first time using Mystic Eyes capable of staring straight at death to observe it.
The ability of Mystic Eyes of Death Perception was to render all deaths transparent before oneself, bringing all things to their end through the hands of the wielder.
However, at this moment, the ‘Death’ encompassed by Fang Li’s eyes was extremely vague.
Lines of death, akin to cracks, appeared and disappeared intermittently, like a mirage, flickering in and out of visibility, intensely stimulating to the eyes.
“Ugh…”
Fang Li couldn’t help but clutch his head.
Waves of needle-like stabs pierced Fang Li’s mind, causing a slight ache.
“Is this the burden that comes with using Mystic Eyes of Death Perception?”
Undoubtedly, this was the first time Fang Li experienced such a burden.
After all, Fang Li could comprehend all deaths, so using Mystic Eyes of Death Perception shouldn’t burden the mind.
However, at this moment, everything pervading Fang Li’s vision was already death.
Since it was already death, how could one find the Death Lines of death itself?
Therefore, this contradictory concept confused Fang Li’s Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, and his head began to ache like it was being pricked by needles.
At the same time, Fang Li also felt it.
Deep within his soul, the ocean recording all deaths began to churn.
“Even the soul is conflicted?”
Fang Li suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his soul.
Sensing this unprecedented change, Fang Li finally realized.
“So that’s how it is, Ryougi Shiki wanted me to see this?”
Ryougi Shiki had said that in order to resolve the hidden dangers of the soul, to find out one’s essence, Fang Li needed to observe those who were often accompanied by death.
At that time, Fang Li was actually quite doubtful.
“Compared to the countless deaths recorded in my ocean of souls, is it really useful to observe the death of one person?”
Before, Fang Li had said that the death of one person was too insignificant compared to the death of all things.
If that’s the case, is it really useful to observe such a small death for oneself?
With this doubt, Fang Li still followed Ryougi Shiki’s advice.
Until this moment, Fang Li finally understood.
“Perhaps, the death of one person is indeed very small, but what I am facing now is also the death of myself alone, and the weight is the same.”
Indeed, Fang Li’s soul recorded countless deaths, and ordinary deaths were simply insignificant before it.
However, what Fang Li needed to understand was not countless deaths, but why his own soul could record the essence of death.
“So, what I should see is not the death in that Sea of Death, but the souls that record these deaths.”
“And what I need to observe is not the death of a person, but the death itself of this person.”
In other words, Fang Li needed to observe death, not the people, things, or events that would die.
“But what does this ultimately explain?”
What is death?
It’s just death.
What else could it be?
“It feels like Ryougi Shiki wanted me to see more than just that.”
Fang Li stared with his ice-blue Mystic Eyes, the conflicting concept of death swirling in his soul and mind, almost causing Fang Li to collapse.
However, Fang Li ignored all of this, only to observe the death before him.
“What exactly is there inside?”
As Fang Li gazed at the death before him, suddenly, the surrounding black mist began to stir.
Fang Li’s ice-blue Mystic Eyes suddenly contracted.
Only to see, within this darkness where nothing existed, behind Fang Li, a pair of hands suddenly reached out, as if embracing Fang Li, wrapping around his neck from behind.
Those were the fair arms of a woman.
Shortly afterward, a voice murmured softly in Fang Li’s ear.
“————Death.”
As the words fell, the black mist surrounding Fang Li began to swirl berserkly, swallowing him up.
…
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