Soul Image of the Soul's Essence

"Splash—!"

Right in front of Fang Li, the pitch-black ocean that had recorded countless deaths suddenly surged up, slowly rising from beneath the surface and spewing out large amounts of water.

Fang Li raised his head and looked over.

Under Fang Li's watchful gaze, the slowly rising seawater gradually condensed into a human shape, and finally, it transformed into a young girl.

She was a girl with extremely delicate features, wearing a kimono but with a red jacket over it, tall boots, a dagger at her waist, and shoulder-length short hair.

Despite being an extremely beautiful girl, she exuded an aloof and unapproachable aura, telling others that she didn't enjoy interacting with people.

Looking at the girl, Fang Li finally showed a look of astonishment.

This wasn't the first time Fang Li had confronted this girl face-to-face.

In the training grounds of the Main God Space, Fang Li had simulated his opponent many times and used them for combat training.

After all, the other party, like Fang Li, is a holder of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

At this point, the other party's identity becomes obvious.

There are only three people who possess the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

One is Fang Li.

One is the Ryougi Shiki.

One is Tohno Shiki.

Of the three, only one is a girl.

"The Ryougi Shiki..."

Yes.

At this very moment, what appears before Fang Li is Ryougi Shiki.

One of the Four Great Demon-Exterminating Families in the Type-Moon World, and the direct heir of the Ryougi Family.

To Fang Li's astonishment, the girl named Ryougi Shiki opened her tightly closed eyes, revealing a pair of eyes as dark as Fang Li's, and met Fang Li gaze.

Immediately, the other party spoke.

"There's nothing strange about it, is there?"

It was a very pleasant-sounding voice, yet it carried a masculine quality.

"What you are currently exploring is your own essence, and what you are pursuing is the end of death." Ryougi Shiki said coldly in a somewhat merciless tone, "And in your impression, the existence most similar to you is me, the existence closest to death is also me, plus we are both the owners of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, so what you see is my appearance."

Upon hearing this, the astonishment on Fang Li's face slowly faded, and he became calm.

After a moment of contemplation, Fang Li said, "So, you are my mental image, the manifestation of this Sea of Death, right?"

"You understand quite quickly." Ryougi Shiki's face showed an expression that seemed both pleased and indifferent. She lifted her foot and walked towards Fang Li, saying this to Fang Li.

"That's right. To put it simply, you can think of me as the human form that this ocean that records death takes on. And this form is shaped according to your mental image, the image that is closest to the essence you are pursuing. That's it."

After hearing Ryougi Shiki Shiki's words, Fang Li suddenly understood.

The other party is right.

In Fang Li's mind, if anyone could best embody the essence of death, it would be Ryougi Shiki.

As beings who also possess the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Ryougi Shiki Tohno Shiki.

Tohno Shiki simply opened the brain circuits connecting to the Root, essentially becoming a special group that awakened some kind of superpower.

However, the Ryougi Shiki is different.

In the world of Type-Moon, everyone has their own origin.

The so-called origin refers to the original essence of the human soul.

In the world of Type-Moon, everything originates from the Root and ultimately returns to the Root.

If that's the case, then humanity naturally originated from that Root.

The souls that flow from the Root all possess directionality and are inseparable from existence itself; they can be regarded as humanity's earliest ideology.

For example, if the direction of a soul is destruction, then when that soul is reborn as a human, it will follow this direction and act with destruction as its purpose.

For example, if the soul's direction is eating, then when this soul is reborn as a human, it will follow this direction and act with eating as its purpose.

In other words, it's equivalent to a desire, an impulse.

This is what is known as the origin.

After that, the human soul underwent countless reincarnations and began to develop humanity, thus concealing the soul's directionality.

However, this has also caused humanity to gradually drift away from the essence of the soul, and the connection with the Root has become weaker and weaker, and the distance between them has become farther and farther.

Therefore, once people rediscover their origins, they will be able to reach a higher realm and receive blessings beyond those of ordinary people.

However, by then, those who awaken to the origin will also be swayed by the directionality of their souls, devoured by the impulses and desires of the origin, and ultimately become comparable to wild beasts, no longer able to be called human.

The origin of Ryougi Shiki is "nothingness".

What does "nothing" represent?

It means there is nothing at all.

However, if there is nothing there, it means that it can hold a great many things.

It's like a box; you can only put things in it if it's empty inside. If it's already full, then there's no way to put anything in it.

If the origin of Ryougi Shiki is "nothingness," then it means that it can contain infinite things.

This concept aligns perfectly with the Root, which arises from nothingness, is the source of all things, records everything, and is thus infinite and the origin of existence.

Thus, the Ryougi Shiki, who awakened at the origin, became directly connected with the Root, allowing her to understand that death is as simple as breathing.

This is the same as in the Fang Li.

However, Fang Li records death using his own soul, while Ryougi Shiki records the Root of death using his own origin.

Both can be understood effortlessly, and both can be recognized as having an existence.

If Fang Li's ocean of souls shares the same nature and Root —both being records, and their objects limited to death—then when Fang Li seeks to understand its essence, the person closest to that essence is naturally Ryougi Shiki.

Therefore, the essence of the Sea of Death was transformed into the image of Ryougi Shiki.

"However, I don't know how to teach people."

Ryougi Shiki said this in a matter-of-fact tone.

All I can do is what you've always been doing.

"What I've been doing all along?" Fang Li was slightly taken aback.

"That's right." Ryougi Shiki's lips slowly curved into a cold smile as she drew the dagger from her waist and spoke.

That's murder.

As soon as she finished speaking, Ryougi Shiki's eyes transformed into Ice-Blue Demon Eyes.

Fang Li's gaze sharpened, and almost reflexively, he clenched his fist, gripping the Moon Blade that had appeared out of nowhere.

Almost simultaneously, Ryougi Shiki shattered the air beneath her feet and sped towards Fang Li.