One Giant Leap for the World

What am I thinking?

It refreshes, awakens, and causes a slight head shake.

A jumble of thoughts collided in my mind, but all these distracting ideas were slain by my Sword of Wisdom before they could coalesce from the chaotic information into a tangible form.

—Kal'tsit ... Ah, I only really liked this character in my past Arknights. It was just one-sided wishful thinking, but things are different now. The lively person here isn't my two-dimensional wife from my past life. She has her own likes and dislikes, her own thoughts and desires.

—She doesn't dislike me...that's already proven. Although she always says some harsh things to me, if you simply treat her as a colleague with a bad temper and avoid too much contact, it's not actually that bad.

The girl's gaze seemed... or rather, materialized, sweeping over the Miss Lynx's graceful figure. She was certain that her heartbeat and emotions had surged for a moment, but she knew even more that this was not in accordance with her moral principles.

—Do I like her? Ah...I guess I do.

But how deep and heavy is this affection? Probably not that much.

—My affection for her in my past life, and my appreciation for her talent and intelligence while working with her in this life. Even combined, it probably doesn't reach the level of infatuation or love. Ultimately, my constant desire to be close to beautiful girls is nothing more than a pervert lusting after their bodies. If you call it love... ha, my love for her is indeed pure enough. But it's just transference; this affection is directed at the paper doll, that file, that image, not the real her.

I should learn to exercise self-control and understand the meaning of self-awareness.

She breathed softly, the allure and temptation fading little by little from the beauty she saw in her eyes. Her hand didn't intend to let go, but it cleanly severed at the elbow.

A new self extends from the severed hand, and a new hand extends from the severed elbow. The clone's form becomes invisible in the distortion of electromagnetism and light, while the newly generated limbs quickly gain activity and dexterity.

Unlike the previous timeline, this time, Kal'tsit didn't try to keep her in the dream. Perhaps Kal'tsit's dream this time was better than the last, or perhaps her presence really did have some effect.

But it doesn't matter; it's not a very important thing anymore. The current state, this bond, the status quo we're maintaining are good enough.

—On this planet, the only individual to whom I feel affection without any innate bias or favorability Persephone.

—Persephone, Persephone ... I will take good care of her until she doesn't need me anymore.

He reached out and grasped the sword that had appeared out of thin air. Laevateinn didn't care whether he was holding it with his hand or some other limb that had materialized, and the Warm Flame immediately filled his body, temporarily eliminating the sensory anomalies in the parts of his mind that were missing.

—Well then, it's time to do something else.

She thought to herself that she should get up, but paused slightly after taking a step—silently, a faint mark appeared on Kal'tsit's forehead. Only then did she leave the enclosed space.

This is just a small act of concern between friends, nothing more.

Then, she went outside, Persephone was waiting for her.

Chapter 153 A Giant Leap for the World

Persephone changed into those white stockings, and while she may have known everything that had happened in the ICU, she had no unique perspective on it.

She simply watched quietly as Miss Surtr froze for a moment after opening the door, then nodded to her and gestured for Miss Surtr to follow as she walked outwards.

"Persephone... um, how was your rest?"

"The Rhodes Island main ship will arrive in about five hours, and I have already been handling many matters related to the docking. In other words, I had plenty of time before those five hours. And I have something to tell you—and, I have had a good rest and am in excellent condition right now."

"Uh... ah? Oh... that's good, what is it?"

"First, let's talk about your dream-entering ability—as I mentioned, I was able to put together a preliminary summary report during the day. It's about 110,000 words in total. Do you want to read it now, or should I tell you the key parts?"

Miss Surtr blinked.

110,000 words...?

Do you want to go see for yourself?

Ah... indeed, content closely related to one's own abilities does require careful review. But that's a top-tier academic paper of 110,000 words, not a web novel! This isn't an easy task that can be handled in an hour or two!

"Um... I'll look at it carefully later. Hmm, could you please give me a brief overview now?"

The purple-haired girl nodded. She wasn't surprised by Miss Surtr's choice. She led Surtr out of the medical center, through streets that were deserted despite it being morning, and straight to the empty square in the center of Chernobog.

Persephone always had a great deal of control over her possessions.

"It's pretty much certain that your ability to enter dreams is quite related to your mind. Besides the information I've already given you, there's one thing you need to pay special attention to. That is, having companions shouldn't be a burden for you, but rather an aid."

Miss Surtr blinked.

"Assistance?"

"Yes, it helps. You may not have noticed, but when your mindset changes and you stop acting as a lone wolf, the world you enter also changes."

"...?"

Persephone held up three fingers.

"Lothric, Teyvat, the Earth you call the God Slayer World—have you noticed a huge difference between this world and the other two?"

"Differences? You mean Lothric ..." — I've been to Lothric before?

"Yes, Lothric." Persephone nodded. "Lothric is the world you chose before you changed your mind. And in that world, there is a lack of external change."

"Uh... I think Lothric has changed quite a bit." — Solaire is now an Emperor! And he's given me all this unnecessary stuff! How can it not have changed a lot!?

The girl secretly grumbled to herself.

However, Persephone simply shook his head slightly.

"I'm not referring to that kind of change, not natural evolution, not a natural phenomenon caused by your actions. The change I'm talking about is the kind that has nothing to do with you—the kind of change caused by other outsiders besides you."

Miss Surtr seemed to sense something.

"You mean... Kazami Yuuka?"

"Yes, it's her. That Kazami Yuuka, the outsider you know, who should absolutely not appear in that God Slayer Earth world. She has similar abilities to you, an outsider power that can drift and even travel in many dream worlds."

The Rhodes Island Doctor paused slightly as the two arrived at the center of the square. She then pulled Miss Surtr to sit down on a bench in the square.

"Surtr, have you ever thought about why you keep arriving at one dream world after another? Why do you visit the same dream world multiple times before things are resolved, and then after you finish your work, that dream world disappears from your dreams for a long time until another time when you need to be busy arrives?"

Why?

That's a good question. Miss Surtr has pondered these questions countless times, spending countless years on them. So when Persephone asked her, she was naturally able to answer quickly.

"Because someone needs me, something needs me, the world needs me—the reason I arrive at a particular dream realm is because the dream realm is calling to me. There are things I need to do, and difficulties I need to solve. And that is why I always arrive at dream realms with many things to do, and why it is difficult to return after they are done."

She heard Persephone clap her hands.

"You have a good sense of self, Surtr —that's right. You go to the dream world in your dreams not because you want to go, but because the world calls you. So you always have endless things to do there, and once you've done them, it's almost impossible for you to return to the same place—"

"But, Surtr, when you entered the dream, time in Terra was relatively still. This means that the dream world and Terra use two different spacetime systems. In other words, at every moment, you actually receive an infinite number of requests from an infinite number of dream worlds. So, how do you choose the one you need from among these requests?"