Chapter 823: Even If It Is A Dream, Please Let Me Stay A Few More Seconds
"You... know Corone?" Riku asked, his voice tight with caution.
"Sort of," Ren answered vaguely.
His mind drifted back to the true dream, recalling the energetic young woman who always loved to pester him.
"Sort of..." Riku muttered.
Such an ambiguous answer did nothing to ease the heavy suspicion weighing on his chest.
"But that is not the important part," Ren continued, his tone casual yet carrying an obvious weight. "The real question is whether you want to revive your companions."
Riku lowered his head. Shadows obscured his eyes as his expression turned entirely grim.
This was a trap. It had to be. Putting aside the sheer impossibility of bringing the dead back to life, if this man actually possessed such miraculous power, the price for a transaction of this magnitude would be astronomical. As the current leader of Humanity, Riku carried the crushing burden of ensuring his race's survival. Every decision he made had to be coldly calculated. He had to weigh every benefit and every detriment. Allowing himself to be manipulated through emotional use was a fatal weakness.
To keep Humanity breathing in this apocalyptic world, he had already sacrificed so much. He would not hesitate to exhaust every resource, every tool, and even his own life if it meant seeing another tomorrow.
But... the lives of his fallen comrades...
For the first time since taking up the mantle of leadership, Riku found himself paralyzed by an agonizing internal struggle.
Shuvi observed his silence, her head tilting slightly. "Human, please answer Brother Ren's question," she prompted, her mechanical curiosity piercing the heavy atmosphere.
Riku's fists were clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, drawing thin crescents of blood. Slowly, agonizingly, he forced his fingers to uncurl. He lifted his head, meeting Ren's calm gaze.
"Please... revive them."
Forcing those three words past his lips seemed to drain every ounce of strength from his body. A bitter sense of self-mockery twisted in his chest. He could be utterly cold and ruthless toward his enemies. He could discard irrelevant matters without a second thought. But when it came to his own people... he simply could not do it.
"Heh. The correct choice." Ren smiled, casually pointing a thumb over his shoulder. "Look. Your companions have already returned."
Riku whipped around.
His breath hitched in his throat. The mangled, shattered corpses of his comrades—brutally slaughtered by the Demonia just moments ago—were glowing. Before his wide, disbelieving eyes, severed limbs reattached themselves. Gaping wounds sealed shut, leaving smooth, unblemished skin behind. The horrific damage reversed at a visible, terrifying speed.
Under Riku's bewildered gaze, his companions became completely whole. Then... they drew breath, awakening from their eternal slumber.
The two revived humans sat up, patting their chests and staring at their hands in utter confusion.
"Wait... didn't I die?" one muttered, his voice trembling.
"I... I remember my torso being cleaved in half by that Demonia," the other whispered, eyes wide with lingering terror.
They both looked up, spotting their leader standing nearby.
"Riku? Did you die too?"
"Are we in hell?"
The first man grimaced, looking at the desolate, ash-covered wasteland around them. "Well, considering how disgusting and real this environment feels, we definitely are not in heaven."
Riku lowered his head, his bangs shadowing his eyes as he took a shaky step forward. He dropped to his knees and pulled both men into a crushing embrace.
"Welcome back..." Riku choked out, his voice thick with emotion. "This is neither heaven nor hell. It is our human world... a place far harsher than hell."
He gripped their shoulders, his knuckles white. "I am sorry. I took the liberty of dragging you back to this nightmare. I... I still need your strength."
Despite his best efforts to maintain his stoic facade, hot tears pricked the corners of Riku's eyes. He had buried too many friends. He had carved too many names into his memory. He simply could not bear to lose any more.
Shuvi watched the tearful reunion, her head tilting to the other side as her processing units analyzed the data. "Brother Ren, this is also an emotion unique to Humanity. It is called friendship, correct?"
"You are right, Shuvi," Ren chuckled softly. "You learned something new again today, did you not?"
Shuvi nodded earnestly, her mechanical halo shifting slightly. "However, the emotion Shuvi understands the most deeply is love. Brother Ren, Shuvi will always love you."
Ren's smile softened. He reached out, gently rubbing her small, metallic-accented head. "I love you too."
A few minutes later, after the initial shock had somewhat settled, Riku quietly explained the current situation to his revived comrades.
The two men stared at Ren with sheer, unadulterated awe.
"Good heavens... they actually brought us back from the dead. Just what kind of beings are they?"
"I do not know either," Riku admitted, shaking his head slowly. "That young girl appears to be an Ex-Machina. As for the strange man... he claims to be human."
He shared the limited information he had gathered, hoping his trusted friends might offer a different perspective. A leader always needed counsel, after all.
"Human?" The two companions exchanged incredulous looks before shaking their heads in perfect unison.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
"Whew..." Riku let out a long, quiet breath, feeling a strange sense of relief wash over him. At least his own logical deductions were still sound.
"It does not matter whether he is human or not right now," Riku continued, his tone turning serious. "What matters is that he mentioned Corone. He seems to know her, and... he wants to visit our village."
Riku let out a helpless, weary sigh. "That is the price he demanded for resurrecting you."
"This..." The two men fell silent, exchanging uneasy glances. They understood the gravity of leading unknown, god-like entities directly to their hidden sanctuary.
One of them reached out, clapping a hand firmly onto Riku's shoulder. "Riku, do not let us become a burden to you," he said, his voice carrying a forced casualness.
"Yeah," the other agreed, offering a grim smile. "If bringing them back poses a threat to the village, just say the word. We are more than willing to throw away these worthless lives again."
Their absolute resolve made Riku's chest tighten. This was how it always was. Every single person in their camp was exactly like this—ready to lay down their lives at a moment's notice, sacrificing everything for the fragile hope of Humanity's survival.
"Whew..." Riku exhaled deeply, pushing the dark thoughts aside. His decision was already made.
"I told you both, I still need your help. Do not throw your lives away so easily." He paused, his gaze shifting toward the laid-back man standing a short distance away. "Besides... he might just bring a completely different future to Humanity."
Squaring his shoulders, Riku stepped forward, approaching Ren and Shuvi.
"As per our agreement," Riku stated, his voice steady, "I will guide you back to our village."
Ren's lips curved into an amused smirk. "You made the right choice."
"Though, actually, I do not really need your guidance to find your little gathering place," Ren added casually. "I can just do this."
Riku watched as Ren raised his right hand.
Snap.
The sharp sound of his fingers snapping echoed through the desolate wasteland.
The next instant, the world warped.
"Here..." Riku and his companions blinked, their vision swimming for a fraction of a second before snapping sharply into focus.
"This is... the village?!"
The familiar underground cavern, the crude but sturdy wooden structures, the dim lighting—everything was exactly as they had left it. There was no mistaking it. They were home.
But how?
The terrifying realization hit Riku like a physical blow. Ren possessed the ability to bypass all their carefully laid defenses and spatial misdirections. He could casually teleport directly into the heart of their sanctuary whenever he pleased.
A cold sweat broke out across Riku's back, soaking his ragged shirt. If he had made the wrong choice out there in the wasteland...
He shook his head, forcing his racing heart to calm down. He was overthinking it. If he had refused, the worst-case scenario would simply be his companions remaining dead. A being with this level of reality-bending power clearly had zero interest in taking Riku's insignificant life.
Clang!
The sharp, metallic clatter of an iron basin hitting the rocky ground shattered the silence.
Riku flinched, turning his head toward the source of the noise.
Standing a short distance away was a young woman with vibrant red hair. Corone.
Her hands were frozen in mid-air, her eyes wide and trembling violently. However, her shocked gaze was not fixed on Riku, nor was she looking at the two men who had supposedly died just hours ago.
Instead, her eyes were locked entirely on Ren's face.
Her breath hitched. Was she hallucinating? Was she still trapped in that incredibly vivid dream?
The Ren-kun from her dream... the man she had spent countless hours pestering and talking to in that ethereal space... was actually standing right there in the flesh.
At the exact same moment, her beloved Ren-kun turned his head and met her gaze.
He raised a hand, offering a lazy, familiar wave.
"Long time no see, Corone," he greeted, a warm smile spreading across his face.
Corone's mind short-circuited. She finally understood.
This had to be a dream. It was the only logical explanation.
But she did not care. She never wanted to wake up. Even if this was just a fleeting illusion conjured by her exhausted mind, she was finally seeing him again.
Without a second thought, she broke into a dead sprint.
She threw herself forward, crashing directly into Ren's embrace. Standing on her tiptoes, a choked sob escaped her throat as she pulled his face down, pressing her lips fiercely against his in a desperate, passionate kiss.
Ren blinked, surprised for only a fraction of a second, before a soft chuckle vibrated in his chest. Wrapping his arms around her slender waist, he pulled her closer, actively deepening the kiss and responding to her desperate affection.
Corone closed her eyes, a blissful tear slipping down her cheek.
'Even if this is just a dream... please, let me stay here for just a few more seconds.'
"Oh, oh..." Shuvi blinked her large, mechanical eyes, tilting her head as she observed the intense display of affection. Her processors whirred as she analyzed the data, before she innocently asked, "Is Brother Ren cheating on me?"
Meanwhile, Riku and his two revived companions stood frozen like stone statues.
Their jaws practically hit the floor, their minds entirely blank as a sea of imaginary question marks floated above their heads.
Just... what in the world was this situation?!
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