The Beginning of All Origins

The quiet night, the cool breeze, the slightly chilled air—all of it brought a sense of pleasure to Yisha.

Of course, that was if a certain individual were excluded.

“Yisha, I look forward to your guidance in the future.”

The girl silently turned her head, pointedly ignoring the boy’s words. To spare him any awkwardness, Yina gracefully accepted his gesture with a smile.

“Indeed, we too look forward to your guidance.”

‘How troublesome. Wouldn’t it have been simpler to just leave?’

Though inwardly seething with irritation, Yisha knew she couldn’t openly display it. After a polite farewell, the two departed.

Shido watched their retreating figures—or rather, her retreating figure—and slowly clenched his hand.

“What’s wrong, you idiot Shido?”

Itsuka Kotori, still chewing on her Chupa Chups, couldn’t help but inquire, noticing the rare serious expression on Shido’s face.

“Kotori, Yisha—what’s her affection level towards me?”

The girl suddenly choked, unsure whether to reveal the truth.

“If I’m not mistaken, I haven’t even reached the ‘friend’ level, have I?”

“Oh, only at times like these is your intuition so sharp.”

Itsuka Kotori sighed, savoring the sweetness of her Chupa Chups. After gathering her thoughts, she began to explain the situation as they knew it.

“Yisha is truly unique. Other Spirits have limited time in the real world; Tohka’s ‘Silent Manifestation’ is, by all accounts, a rare occurrence. Thus, Spirits generally don’t possess extensive social common sense.”

Shido recalled his encounter with Yisha—her words, her demeanor, her every movement. Had he not known they were Spirits, who would ever associate her and Yina with a catastrophe?

“‘The Merchant’—that’s Yisha’s identity, moving between large organizations like ours. By reselling technology, she’s amassed vast sums of money, resources, and even connections.”

Itsuka Kotori let out a breath, a faint puff of air. To be honest, she had been utterly incredulous when they first uncovered Yisha’s identity as a merchant just yesterday.

No Spirit had ever integrated into society to such an extent; it was simply unheard of.

“A Spirit’s manifestation time is usually random. However, ‘Dancer’ is different; all her recorded Spatial Quakes so far have occurred on the 20th of every month.”

Shido listened intently, then suddenly realized something profound.

“The 20th—that’s today!”

“Indeed. So, Reine, did you see it?”

Itsuka Kotori offered a slight smile, then turned to her most capable subordinate (at least, cerebrally speaking) to inquire.

“Just moments ago, fluctuations appeared in Yisha and Yina’s Spirit Waves. We then lost track of their whereabouts, preliminarily concluding they’re ‘lost.’ As of now, AST units across various locations have reported no sightings of them.”

“Hmmph~ Quite interesting, indeed.”

Itsuka Kotori’s eyes narrowed slightly, an inscrutable expression deepening within their depths.

“Kotori…”

Shido continued to gaze in the direction Yisha and the others had departed, even though he knew from Itsuka Kotori and Reine’s conversation that they were no longer there.

“Oh, and one last thing: perhaps it’s because Yisha has exceptional control over her own powers, but ordinarily, neither she nor Yina register any Spirit Wave reactions. However, shortly after Yina helped her upstairs in that shop, we detected a specific Spirit Wave signature. Otherwise, we might never have known they were Spirits at all.”

Itsuka Kotori finished relaying all the current intelligence on Yisha and Yina. Without further ado, she turned and left the area.

Her task was complete; what remained was a matter only Shido could resolve.

‘I eagerly await your performance, big brother.’

“So, what’s the overall situation?”

Yisha stood with her hands on her hips, her face a picture of utter helplessness.

Before her lay a vast lake. Unlike ordinary bodies of water, its surface shimmered with an eerie green hue, and Yina was currently bathing within it.

“You must hurry. The rate of decay is accelerating now, and at this pace…”

Life, the entity behind Yisha, did not elaborate further. They both knew the grim number, calculated and re-calculated countless times.

“Spirits have only just begun appearing around me, and the decay rate has already sped up. Is this intentional?”

As Yina’s body was cleansed by the lake water, it seemed to shed its impurities, radiating a newfound brilliance. Yet, this spectacle did not distract Yisha’s gaze.

“Likely not. After all, when decay reaches its end, there’s nothing left for it to toy with. You understand the principle that ‘a thousand-mile dike can collapse from an ant’s nest.’ If before it was merely a basin-sized hole, now it’s the size of a doorway. It grows larger and more numerous, ultimately leading to the dike’s collapse. At that point…”

Life gestured with an explosive motion. Yisha closed her eyes, softly uttering the answer that had long resided in her heart.

“This world will be destroyed, and everything will return to its very beginning.”

The atmosphere would be riddled with holes, all water sources utterly polluted, the soil transformed into toxins, and the ecosystem would collapse, rendering it incapable of nurturing life anew.

Amidst such desolation, devoid of all vitality, the world would then face a restart.

“If you wish for this vibrant beauty not to vanish, then strive. Destroy it, and bring back the Spirit Crystal.”

Yisha opened her eyes, looking towards where Yina had been. There, Yina had already finished bathing and changing, patiently awaiting her return.

“Oh, right.”

Just as the girl was about to leave, Life suddenly spoke.

“It seems your old injury has flared up again. You should go soak in the lake too.”

Yisha paused, turning a surprised gaze upon Life.

“We aren’t some rigid old men. Besides, you are the one we chose; who could possibly object?”

Life chuckled mirthfully, yet Yisha could clearly discern a hint of heartache in its eyes.

“If you’re feeling sorry for me, just say so directly. I’m not someone who lacks understanding.”

The girl waved her hand dismissively and departed, showing no intention of soaking in the lake, nor even a lingering glance.

Life sighed, turning its gaze to the lake it had cultivated with countless hours of effort and energy. Comparing its current scale to its past, a profound bitterness welled within it, defying articulation.

“What? She’s not soaking?”

Another figure materialized at the cliff’s summit. Unlike Life, adorned in a white gown embellished with green gemstones, this newcomer wore a dark red battle suit, practically screaming ‘I don’t need beauty’ on its face.

“Hmm, it seems she noticed my concern, so she refused to soak.”

“I told her to soak, and she must soak! My power won’t last much longer; am I not allowed to help her in other ways?!”

With that, it vanished.

Life froze for a moment, pondering the meaning of those words for a long while. Once comprehension dawned, its face instantly turned ashen.

“Damn it!”

A crimson light erupted halfway down the mountain, like a titan’s sword slash severing the peak, sending it toppling. Its descent was aimed directly at the lake.

From the mountaintop, an enraged voice was swallowed by the thunderous roar of the collapsing mountain.

“Slaughter, you just wait!”

Slaughter stood on the mountain, calmly observing the distant figure on the other peak. Once certain that figure had plunged into the lake, it lightly patted its chest and let out a long breath of relief.

As for the curses echoing from that individual, there was no need to pay them any mind. After all, it couldn’t defeat Slaughter, so why bother?

A gust of wind swept by, bringing a new presence and whisking away Slaughter’s tranquil mood.

“You really are something. You know how much effort Life poured into that lake, and now it’ll be difficult to fix.”

“Speak only if you can defeat me. You’re not unaware of her identity, are you?”

Slaughter gazed at the lake, its waters seemingly siphoned away by something unseen, causing the surface to visibly recede at an alarming rate.

“Next time, be gentler. Couldn’t you have just thrown her in directly? Such an awkward way to show concern for her. In the end, it’ll be Life and I who have to clean up the mess.”

“Yes, yes, I will next time. I still need to check on the seals. See you shortly.”

Destruction watched Slaughter’s retreating back, unable to suppress a sigh.

“You’re still the same, I suppose. Well, what can I do? You are the strongest among us, after all.”

It had initially intended to argue with Slaughter, but then abandoned its original idea.

As for the reason… it couldn’t resist the thought of seeing Life, with tear-filled eyes, coming to seek justice from it—a sight that seemed rather endearing.

“Waaah, waaaah, Destruction! Slaughter bullied me! You have to stand up for me! Waaahhhhhh!”

Speak of the devil, and they shall appear. Destruction embraced Life, who was utterly distraught and on the verge of tears (already crying, in fact), gently patting its back.

‘I hope all of this can still continue.’

As Destruction inhaled the faint fragrance from Life’s hair, it sighed inwardly.