"A little." After a moment of silence, Seiji said, "To you, tragic stories … the tragedies of the world are equivalent to 'interesting' things."
Schadenfreude.
People with this mentality were everywhere, or it could be said that people generally had this kind of negative emotion.
Some people would show it openly, some people would show it on the Internet, some people would not show it to humans but would show it to animals, and some people would not show it at all but would laugh in their hearts …
It was quite normal for Itsuki Kamitani to have such negative emotions. As long as he didn't lose control, he would still be an ordinary person. However, Itsuki Kamitani was evidently no longer "normal".
Laughter rang out from the other side again.
"I'm happy that you understand. But, I don't think that's all you understand … You should be more direct with me," Kamitani stated.
"More frank? Are you sure you want me to do this? "Seiji asked coldly.
Speaking more "frankly" than before was tantamount to cursing.
"Don't use such a scary tone." Kamitani chuckled. "I'll ask you another question. How great a price are you willing to pay for your precious' peace '?"
"I don't want to talk to you anymore. Either you say what you need to say, or I'll hang up." Seiji refused to say anything more.
"Don't be so anxious. This topic is more or less related to what we should talk about." "Perhaps I should change the question. How many lives do you think it's appropriate to sacrifice in order to maintain 'peace'?"
Seiji narrowed his eyes.
"… What does this question mean?"
"You should know what that means. Stop acting like an idiot, my bro Haruta." Kamitani spoke directly to Haruta.
Seiji's eyes flickered.
"No matter how many people are sacrificed, it's not appropriate," he replied solemnly.
"This kind of standard answer is boring. I want to hear your real answer."
"This is my answer."
"No, you know what I ask, what I want to know."
Then there was silence.
Seiji was silent.
Kamitani waited.
The solemn silence lasted for a whole minute.
"Alright, I think I know your answer," Kamitani told him.
"I originally had another question, but there's no need to ask it."
"The reward for being a 'hero' this time is still information."
…
The cherry blossoms fell with the wind.
Hazy, blurry, beautiful, and illusory.
'I'm in a dream again …' Chiaki realized.
In front of him was a gigantic bright red torii. Behind the torii was a vast expanse of white, and there seemed to be a faint sound of singing.
All she could see was the Sakura Tree and the torii, so she naturally walked towards it.
As she got closer, the sound gradually became louder.
It was indeed singing, a very beautiful singing voice. It should have been sung by a girl, but he couldn't hear clearly what she was singing. It gave off a holy and pure feeling.
"Come … come …" The song seemed to be mixed with whispers.
Chiaki noticed this and listened carefully.
"No … I've … been … here …"
"Don't … come … over …"
Over and over again, it seemed to be saying "Don't come over"?
Chiaki could barely make out the person's gender, and she couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman.
She stopped in front of the torii.
There seemed to be an extremely thick white fog in front of them, making it impossible to see anything. Furthermore, it felt quite cold, as if they would be in danger if they walked in.
But if they didn't walk in, where else could they go? There were only flower petals and this torii in her field of vision. Passing through the flower petals was the only way forward.
Although there was a "warning," she could only vaguely make out what it was. Perhaps she had misheard.
Besides, this was only a dream.
'Nothing bad should happen in a dream …' Chiaki, whose consciousness was hazy, thought to herself as she started walking again.
When she stepped out with her right foot, she felt as if she had crossed a certain boundary. She instantly felt a bone-piercing chill!
This chill swiftly spread up her right foot, causing Chiaki to lose all feeling in her leg as if it had been frozen solid!
She was greatly shocked and hurriedly tried to retreat. However, she was unable to lift her right foot, as if it had been frozen to the ground.
Just as she was struggling in fear, a hand suddenly appeared in front of her and forcefully pushed her!
Chiaki fell backwards onto the ground. Her right foot retreated from the boundary, and the chill stopped spreading.
'Who pushed me just now?'
She looked in front of her, but she still saw nothing but white.
She really did see a hand just now … it could only have come from that white fog!
There was someone in the fog, or someone in front of her.
Who was on the other side of the torii?
The torii represented the entrance to the divine realm … the person on the other side was someone from the divine realm … someone from the divine realm stopped her from entering and saved her …
"Mom?" Chiaki finally recalled who it was.
She should have thought of it immediately, but because she was in this hazy dream, her thoughts were sluggish. She only realized it now.
"Mom … is that you?" she asked in a louder voice.
There was no response.
"Mom … I'm Chiaki, Wakaba Chiaki!" she shouted out her own name.
There was still no response.
Chiaki wanted to stand up. However, although the chill stopped spreading, it didn't subside. She was unable to move her right leg at all.
She tried again and again, but she was still unable to move.
'Is my leg … crippled?'
She couldn't help but panic when she thought of this.
"Mom …" She instinctively wanted to ask for help, but she couldn't see anyone.
'I should call out my mother's name, but I can't remember …' Chiaki's eyes welled up with tears.
She couldn't remember anything about her mother.
She only knew what her father told her … but she couldn't remember her mother's name … Besides, those were her father's memories, not her own.
She couldn't remember anything at all. This was too much.
Just what kind of evil god would do such an outrageous thing!?
Anger and hatred were all useless at this moment.
Chiaki had tears in her eyes as she looked at the other side of the torii. Her mother was definitely there, and she must have been the one who saved her just now. However, she couldn't even remember her mother's name.
Her mother's name … a name that she should have been familiar with … a name that she absolutely couldn't forget …
Cherry blossom petals kept falling onto her head and body, affecting her vision and senses.
An invisible force enveloped her and began exerting pressure on her, as if it was trying to drive her out of this realm.
"Mom!!" Chiaki shouted loudly in an attempt to resist this pressure.
She had clearly seen her mother just now … but she couldn't see her mother anymore. She was unwilling to accept this!
"I forgot about you. I'm sorry …
Dad still remembers you … although not much, he always remembered …
"He said that you raised me … I want to remember, but I can't. I'm sorry.
"I want to see you, Mom …
"I really want to see you … I really want to remember everything about you, and the time we spent together …
Her precious memories, the memories that should have existed, everything that she should have had but had lost.
She had lost everything to the point where she didn't even know it was gone. How pitiful was that?
Just imagining how her mother would feel after being forgotten like this caused Chiaki's chest to ache.
"I'm sorry" wouldn't be enough!
No matter how much she screamed, it wouldn't be enough.
She had to remember, even if it was only a fragment, even if it was only a name.
"Seiji … help me …" Due to the increasing pressure, Chiaki's consciousness became hazy as she reflexively asked her boyfriend for help.
She faintly felt something in her right hand, as if she was connected to something.
She turned around and saw something in her field of vision. Chiaki widened her eyes in astonishment.
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