Chapter 1863: Chapter 1861: Life and Death
".........You......"
In the hall, a deathly silence reigned. The blue-haired boy stared dumbfounded at Fang Zheng, while the girl behind him widened her eyes, saying nothing.
"The struggles of mortals, laughable and ignorant, but indeed quite interesting. Is this your final choice?"
"———————!"
As Fang Zheng’s voice fell, suddenly, several flames emerged from beneath his feet, like a gigantic Evil Dragon, opening its mouth and swallowing all the dead from all directions.
Seeing this, the girls behind Fang Zheng had their expressions slightly change, but they did not step forward to stop it. They weren’t fools; after Fang Zheng spoke, they understood that the other party clearly tried to kill them, but Fang Zheng blocked it. Even though dying here wasn’t actually dying, not everyone wished to live as the dead!
"Wira, get out of here quickly!"
Watching the fiery snakes ravage the hall, the blue-haired boy hastily grabbed the hand of the black-haired girl sitting on the throne, trying to take her away. However, before he could move, the fiercely burning flames surrounded the entire hall. At the same time, Fang Zheng walked forward slowly.
"State your choice, Miss Wira."
"..........."
"Oh, you don’t need to worry. If you fear your power, I’ve already erased it."
"Wha....what?!"
At this moment, the blue-haired boy seemed to hear something unacceptable, his eyes widening as he stared at Fang Zheng, who merely smirked coldly.
"It’s an interesting myth, isn’t it? A deity bestowed death’s power upon Her Royal Highness to destroy her enemies? Mortals always like to attribute any unfathomable matters to deities. If that’s the case, then there’s nothing wrong with me reclaiming this power."
Fang Zheng raised his right hand, and at his fingertip, a black mist swirled slowly.
"This is not the power you should possess, young girl. Now, state your choice."
At this moment, an unparalleled pressure suddenly descended. Whether it was the black-haired girl, the blue-haired boy, those behind Fang Zheng, or the dead trying desperately to dodge the flames around them, they all paused, widening their eyes, watching the figure amidst the roaring flames. Unconsciously, they knelt on the ground—not out of reverence, but out of fear, instinctively sensing the overwhelming presence above them, like an ant sensing a human reaching a finger to crush it with ease.
This is a deity.
The blue-haired boy wanted to speak, but even as he exerted all his strength, his face turning red, he couldn’t make a sound. The black-haired girl—Wira opened her azure eyes, staring at Fang Zheng. A moment later, she softly asked.
"Why me?"
"Because you are the ruler of this city. You have the responsibility to decide these dead’s future, and...it was you who turned them into this, wasn’t it?"
"Shut up—————!!!"
The blue-haired boy screamed hysterically, while Fang Zheng fixed his gaze on Wira.
"I think you’ve sensed it too."
"........Yes."
Facing Fang Zheng’s gaze, Wira slowly lowered her head, hearing her answer the blue-haired boy looked at her with surprise.
"Wira, you......"
"I know, I seem different from others. I seem to possess some power, but I’m not quite sure what exactly it is. Today...until now, hearing it from this deity, I only realized......"
At this, Wira took a deep breath, closed her eyes, then opened them.
"Did I...kill people...is that right?"
"No, it’s not your fault, Wira!"
The blue-haired boy desperately tried to reach out, but at this moment, just speaking took all his strength.
"It’s us. We exploited your power! It’s not your responsibility! It’s us who used your power to eliminate those attempting to destroy Osta and made them our companions. It was all us! It was us!!"
"Those with power bear responsibility."
However, at the blue-haired boy’s angry shout, Fang Zheng didn’t even glance his way, continuing to focus on Wira.
"This city, all of Osta’s residents, one million two hundred thousand people—because of you, they became the dead. To be precise, you killed these one million two hundred thousand people. Therefore, you are the most suitable to decide their future, as it’s your responsibility and also your duty."
"........."
After hearing this, Wira was silent for a moment, then once again looked at Fang Zheng.
"Deity, I’d like to ask, what does it mean to become a ghost......?"
"In simple terms, becoming a spiritual body. They’ll retain their appearance from when they were alive but won’t be able to see the sunlight; they can only live in darkness, carrying a chilling cold, unable to coexist with the living, who cannot touch them. This coldness will erode the living, and if they stay near a ghost for too long, it’s like a person remaining in a cold cellar, eventually leading to death, though the degree varies."
"So, if Zicholi becomes a ghost, does that mean I can never touch him again?"
As she asked, Wira looked towards the blue-haired boy beside her, presumably his name.
"That’s essentially it."
"Then......Lord Deity, can you make me a ghost too?"
"What nonsense are you saying! Wira!"
Upon hearing this, the blue-haired boy immediately shouted, but Wira just looked at him.
"Do you want to die?!! Do you want me to watch you die?!"
"But isn’t this the truth?"
"......Huh?"
"I’m different from Zicholi."
Wira looked at the blue-haired boy and spoke to herself.
"Since I was young, I’ve noticed. Zicholi has always been like this, and others too, but I’m different. I remember very clearly, I was just a little child originally, but every day I wake up, my height changes. Before, I was only up to Zicholi’s waist, but now, I’m just a little shorter than Zicholi."
"........."
A girl raised by the dead, completely unaware of worldly knowledge, different from others, surrounded by no one who grew up with her, no companions to compare height with, and no one meeting her after some time to say she’s become prettier. Everything remains unchanged. The people she sees, the people she encounters, everyone around her, all are the same forever, but she’s the only one different.
If such an observation doesn’t generate questions, then it wouldn’t just be natural, it would be idiocy.
Yet, the girl before him was evidently much smarter.
"I know my eyes can affect people in some way, and I also know you’re desperately hiding this from me, but I’ve never understood what I’ve actually done. However, I feel it’s inconsequential even if it’s like this, if everyone doesn’t want me to know, then maybe it doesn’t matter if I remain ignorant."
"........."
Hearing this, Fang Zheng’s girls behind him were dumbfounded, and Ai was surprised, staring wide-eyed at Wira.
"Honestly, I still don’t quite understand what killing truly means in this world, even though the Deity has told me. But some sighed with relief, while others sighed in dismay. Those who originally fought with weapons stopped fighting and came to Osta, while others chose to head into the wild. Yet everyone showed an expression as if they were liberated..."
While speaking, Wira looked at Fang Zheng.
"Deity, is my existence... is death bad?"
"That’s cowardice."
Fang Zheng quietly offered an answer.
"It’s cowardice when mortals try to evade the rules of order, of course, everyone has their own reasons, but the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death is an inseparable part of order. This world isn’t naive enough to grant you whatever you want without cost, the desire to live is every creature’s instinct, just as avoiding death is. At its core, they seek eternity, but there is no eternity in this world. All things have their day of demise, death exists to impart this truth rather than serve as an excuse to keep evading."
At this point, Fang Zheng pointed to the blue-haired boy in front of them.
"If I were to set him on fire here, how would you feel? If you don’t understand, let me clarify further— you’ll never see him again, he won’t speak to you again, smile at you, you won’t have a future together, your calls will never be answered, he’ll disappear forever—this is true death."
With every word Fang Zheng spoke, Wira’s expression became more pained, she reached out, pressing her hand to her chest.
"Is this... death?"
"Exactly, death is indeed like this, separating the dead from the living, both sides divided by life and death, never to meet again."
"This... it’s unbearably painful!"
"But precisely because of the fear of such pain, you cherish the presence of the other, don’t you?"
"........Eh?"
"Thinking there might be a day when the other suddenly disappears, suddenly dies, shouldn’t this compel you to value the present together? However, after becoming immortal, would feelings still remain pure? Ten years, twenty years might be fine, but what about a hundred, two hundred years? Since both sides can’t die, at that point, would you still cherish each other?"
Here, Fang Zheng chuckled.
"But you’re still just a little girl, not at that stage yet. Maybe you’ll experience it firsthand after living hundreds of years, but for now... make a choice."
"........."
Faced with Fang Zheng’s request, Wira fell silent once more.
"I... I don’t know if my choice is correct."
"There’s no such thing as a correct choice, often the choice you make might result in something entirely different from what you intended. You might regret ’Why did I do that then?’, or be grateful ’Good thing I did that then.’ What matters is that you made a choice."
"........."
Finally, Wira fell silent for a long time, then lifted her head.
"I understand."
The road to the Core Zone remained as dark as ever, even somewhat chilly, yet the crowd seemed unconcerned.
"Mr. Fang Zheng truly is a Deity..."
Saten Reiko, walking at the rear, whispered to Misaka Mikoto and the others, while the other girls also wore an expression of disbelief.
"I really thought he was just joking..."
Misaka Mikoto, too, wore a face indicating she was at a loss for words. Although they had always been close with Fang Zheng, it was precisely for this reason that they continued to believe Fang Zheng was merely joking when he called himself a Deity. But at that moment, they undeniably felt that kind of aura.
That almost irresistible, far beyond ordinary aura, the kind no human could possess, even Shihou Souki could not create such a sensation. No matter how she manipulates minds, she couldn’t possibly have such a degree of pressure.
But... it’s still unimaginable!
"Kuroko, what do you think... Kuroko?"
Thinking this, Misaka Mikoto looked at Kuroko Shirai beside her, instinctively wanting to ask her opinion, but to Misaka Mikoto’s surprise, Kuroko Shirai had a complex expression, silent and not speaking—a never-before-seen expression on Kuroko Shirai’s face.
"Kuroko? Are you okay?"
"Eh? Ah? Sister Dear?"
Hearing Misaka Mikoto’s call, Kuroko Shirai was momentarily stunned before coming back to herself.
"Nothing, I just got a little scared."
At this point, Kuroko looked again at Fang Zheng’s back.
"Indeed... just a little scared..."
