Ding!
Kanzaki Rei had only touched his own destiny lightly, yet that tiny contact alone caused every single name within the entire space to move!
Rustle—
"My…"
"My destiny is… a new world?"
A distant vision unfolded before his eyes.
In the vision, he himself was nailed upon a massive altar. Beneath the altar, every existence stood with solemn expressions.
In lands unimaginably far away, Kanzaki Rei saw dazzling radiance.He saw profound darkness.He saw flesh and vegetation growing together in savage fusion.He saw roaring flames and colossal furnaces…
He also saw Izparut, Aehkator, and even the legendary Yakatikto.
All of them stood beneath the altar.
Looking up at him.
Waiting for him to be… offered as a sacrifice.
Kanzaki Rei lowered his gaze toward the altar below, but the structure was far too complex.
The ritual patterns were not merely engraved across an unknown number of trillions of kilometers of rocky earth.
They extended into every inch of the air itself. Into the sky. Into existence.
Although Kanzaki Rei was already extraordinarily knowledgeable—
A ritual of this level…
He could only barely infer that it was a ritual connected to the entire world itself.
"I…"
Ding—
His consciousness snapped back.
So this… is my destiny…
"I don't believe in this bullshit destiny."
Another voice suddenly echoed within his mind.
It was not his own voice.
Ever since obtaining the Deepest Truth, that second voice within him had gradually quieted down.
Kanzaki Rei could distinguish which thoughts truly belonged to himself, and because of that, he was no longer swayed by the stray thoughts that appeared within his mind.
But now—
That corrupted voice had resurfaced once more.
"Heh. I really don't believe in this sort of thing. Destiny can be changed."
"Besides… I can make wishes too."
Yet the voice continued like an intrusive whisper:
"But… you've already realized it, haven't you? With that clever little brain of your Scholar of Mysteries class, you've already noticed the details."
"Izparut may not actually be my friend."
"I'm special. The world does not contain me. It does not accept me. I have no previous life, no destiny, not even a traceable fate."
"I've realized it."
"I'm not some beloved child of the world. I'm more like an existence abandoned by it."
"Perhaps this entire world rejects me."
None of those thoughts were originally his.
They poured endlessly from the Sea of Consciousness.
Yet Kanzaki Rei remained completely unaffected as he replied calmly:
"Isn't that a little too paranoid…"
"The whole world rejecting me alone? That sounds painfully edgy."
"So what comes next? Am I supposed to go full villain?"
Kanzaki Rei muttered inwardly.
"I may look like I don't believe these thoughts, but in reality, I cannot deny the possibility."
"After all, this is the answer derived through unraveling mysteries."
"It seems that growing stronger has made me lose my sense of reverence. Lose my humility."
"I forgot just how vast this world truly is. Above me still exist beings on the level of the Moon Sovereigns."
That foreign consciousness surfaced again within his mind.
Kanzaki Rei sighed softly.
"Enough already…"
"Would you stop narrating?"
Dong—
A ripple of destiny spread outward.
Kanzaki Rei looked toward where Shin Senka was.
She had also touched her own name. Ripples spread around her as well…
A trace of fear flickered through her eyes.
But it quickly settled down again.
After touching her name, Shin Senka looked toward Kanzaki Rei with a complicated expression.
Just moments ago, Kanzaki Rei had casually transported her over 1.5 trillion kilometers away in an instant.
It was not merely that he could perceive such distances.
He could instantly teleport across them.
What kind of unheard-of ability was that?
Within Shin Senka's mind, Kanzaki Rei had already become an unfathomable mystery.
"And then…"
"Kanzaki Rei, can you take me to Lady Lotti's location?"
Lotti's name glowed with a hazy white light, roughly 300 billion kilometers away, positioned very close to Naraku's.
Kanzaki Rei casually raised a hand.
Swish!
Shin Senka was instantly transferred directly beside Lotti's name.
No matter what Shin Senka did, Kanzaki Rei did not care.
After all, everything occurring within Future Simulation was not truly happening.
Shin Senka landed before Lotti's name.
She gently touched it.
Then a single droplet of pure white water appeared within her palm.
Drip—
The droplet merged into Lotti's name and vanished.
"Done. Once we obtain the Eighth Forbidden Magic—Destiny—I'll have completed my mission."
"What trial were you given?" Shin Senka asked.
Kanzaki Rei blinked.
"A trial?"
Shin Senka looked confused.
"Yeah. Didn't you sense the Trial of Destiny assigned to you?"
"After touching our names, we see our destiny and are given a corresponding trial…"
At that moment, the voice within Kanzaki Rei's mind spoke again:
"My trial is to oppose the entire world."
"As long as you sincerely acknowledge my thoughts from the bottom of your heart, you will pass the trial."
Kanzaki Rei replied flatly:
"Enough already… stop trying to brainwash me."
His attitude toward the voice in his mind was simple:
He would not listen.He would not believe it.No matter what it said, he would reject it completely.
After all, those thoughts were not originally his.
Rather than wasting time distinguishing which statements were true and which were false, it was easier to reject everything from the start and remain unmoved.
Shin Senka said, "Maybe everyone's trial is different. Yours might be hidden."
"My trial is already complete."
The instant she touched her name earlier, it seemed she had already undergone the trial.
"What was your trial?" Kanzaki Rei asked.
"Mm… I had to choose between fantasy and reality. After all, I'm a lifeform born from fantasy. No matter how human I appear, I'm still fundamentally unreal."
"My purpose for existing is to serve Lady Lotti."
"So destiny forced me to make a choice. If I betrayed Lady Lotti, I could become a complete and real lifeform…"
Kanzaki Rei fell silent for a moment before asking:
"So what did you choose?"
Shin Senka answered softly:
"In truth… becoming real doesn't seem that important."
"Lady Lotti is the one who allowed me to become a unique lifeform in the first place. I would never betray her."
Kanzaki Rei nodded faintly.
"I see."
Shin Senka then asked:
"What about you? What did you see?"
Kanzaki Rei thought for a moment before answering:
"As for me…"
"I saw myself bound upon an altar, unable to move. A number of extremely powerful beings surrounded me and watched me."
"Some of them were friends I trusted."
"It seemed like I was about to be offered as a sacrifice…"
"But that was all I saw. There was nothing beyond that."
Shin Senka's thought process was uniquely bizarre.
Her attention was not on the fact that Kanzaki Rei had been tied to an altar.
Instead, she immediately asked:
"Was Lady Lotti there too?"