(T/N): Have an extra chapter since I only put out four yesterday
———-
"Unfortunately, it's time for me to take off this mask."
The black-haired Phainon curved his lips into a cold arc, his smile filled with mockery.
"In this deep sea constructed of memetic matter, you..."
He paused, then said, word by word, "Are not my opponent."
He slowly approached his prey.
Suddenly, a light flashed in Phainon's right hand, condensing into an Invasion Dawn burning with the morning sun.
Without the slightest hesitation, the sword's edge sharply turned, stabbing fiercely towards his own chest!
To sever the shackles with the will of The Hunt.
A hint of surprise flashed in the black-haired Phainon's eyes, quickly turning into a sneer.
"Heh, The Hunt? What a laughable struggle."
The next instant, Phainon had already torn through space, twin swords whipping up a storm, slashing down from above!
However, the black-haired Phainon merely raised his hand casually, his fingertips plucking a surgical knife, bright as a mirror, from thin air.
He used this small knife to lightly parry upwards.
Clang—!
Amidst the ear-splitting clang, Phainon felt all the power of his twin swords being completely devoured.
He gritted his teeth, veins bulging in his arms, yet he couldn't move it a single inch.
"What exactly are you?!"
"I told you, I am you."
The black-haired Phainon's smile grew even more sinister, as if he were admiring a toy.
"No, it should be... you are merely one of my masks."
"You..." The light in Phainon's eyes flickered violently.
Something was wrong.
A strong sense of incongruity stemming from the depths of his soul.
This 'self'... played the part too well, excessively well.
He mimicked his pain, mimicked his despair, and even mimicked that deeply hidden madness.
But what he mimicked was merely the superficial appearance of pain.
True pain, the pain of three hundred million cycles of reincarnation crushing his soul.
And supporting this pain was the obsession, also reincarnated three hundred million times, named "Saving Amphoreus"!
It was to await the manifestation of the "Pale Dawn"!
He only mimicked despair, but he didn't mimic the hope at the end of despair.
I understand.
"Hahahahaha..."
Suddenly, a low laugh escaped Phainon's throat.
He slowly raised his head, his eyes now filled only with insight, "You played it very well."
For the first time, the black-haired Phainon's smile froze on his face.
"It's just a pity, you miscalculated one thing," Phainon's voice was frighteningly calm.
"Three hundred million cycles of despair are indeed enough to crush any soul. But you forgot, or rather, you simply don't know..."
"Before I bore all of this, when I was still that 'ordinary college student,' I had already made a choice."
"Saving Amphoreus, that is not a destiny bestowed upon me by reincarnation, but a fate I, Phainon, chose myself!"
"These memories are not a cage! But a weapon I willingly bear!"
"No matter the reincarnation, no matter the world, no matter which Phainon, the same choice will be made!"
"You can mimic my power, you can mimic my pain, but you cannot mimic the resolve named Phainon!"
"So... who exactly are you?!"
The black-haired Phainon erased all expression from his face, his voice becoming utterly calm, "He was right, some things are predetermined."
He snorted coldly, "But there's one thing I didn't lie about."
"In the world of dreams, you are not my opponent."
He simply, lightly, snapped his fingers.
Clang—
The Invasion Dawn in Phainon's hand slammed to the ground.
His Dawnbreaker, along with his hands, was slowly dematerializing, as if they didn't exist in this world at all.
No, more precisely, Phainon's cognition of "hands" was being forcibly erased.
How is this possible, my hands!
No, do I have hands?
Did I... truly ever have hands?
"Since you refuse to peel away this memory, then I'll help you!"
With that, his finger pointed through the air towards Phainon's forehead, a light tap.
An invisible force, not attacking the soul, but like a data scalpel, precisely cutting into the deepest part of Phainon's memory, attempting to completely format the backup of over thirty million reincarnations!
"Cognition is reality! I will make you forget everything and turn you back into that powerless mortal!"
The identity cognition of "Phainon" was being erased from their very root.
At the same time, the system panel frantically popped up scarlet warnings!
"Warning! Eternal Reincarnation Data Backup No. 1 lost..."
"Warning! Eternal Reincarnation Data Backup No. 2 lost..."
"..."
"Warning! Eternal Reincarnation Data Backup No. 33550336 lost..."
The black-haired Phainon slowly disappeared into the shadows, "Remember, death is not the most terrifying thing; oblivion is."
—
Astral Express, Observation Car.
Phainon and Star, at the exact same moment, suddenly opened their eyes.
A single clear tear silently slid from Stelle's eye.
And Phainon, beside her, his chest heaving violently, was gasping for air in large gulps.
In his ice-blue pupils, a terrifying fright surged, along with a murderous intent that almost overflowed.
Pom-Pom was startled, immediately flying between the two.
"Passengers, what's wrong with you, Pom-Pom? What happened, Pom-Pom?"
Stelle subconsciously wiped away her tears, saying softly with lingering fear, "I... I dreamed I was cut by someone..."
"That was indeed a very scary nightmare, Pom-Pom!" Pom-Pom patted her affectionately, then turned to Phainon, "And you, Phainon?"
Phainon slowly raised his head, his voice hoarse.
He looked at his hands, then at Stelle beside him.
"I dreamed... I cut someone."
"Uh..." A few drops of cold sweat seeped from the fluff on Pom-Pom's head.
"You two... couldn't have had the same nightmare, Pom-Pom!"