A person's life could be lived in all sorts of ways.
Some people basked in success.
Some people lived in constant trepidation.
Some people had a bright future ahead of them.
Some people endured sorrow and hardship.
But for a child who was only two years old, none of these ways of living could possibly be realized.
So how should one describe the way this child lived?
Like walking on thin ice?
Consumed by fear?
At least, in the eyes of outsiders, this was how the child ought to have been living.
Of course, no matter what, a child who was only two years old could never understand the helplessness and suffering of life.
Therefore, even if God truly treated him unfairly and made him live this way, the child should have been unable to comprehend it.
Yet at this very moment, the child was truly "understanding" all of it.
The irregularity of his breathing was not caused by physical exhaustion.
The blurring of his consciousness was not caused by mental exhaustion.
Everything inside him was gradually slipping out of alignment.
No method was enough to sustain this existence that was about to fade away. None could offer even the slightest comfort.
This was everything the child could feel.
So he knew.
He was already preparing for the true meaning of—"the end."
However, the child did not have any particular feelings about it.
There was nothing he could do.
Long before this, the boy had already known that this day would come sooner or later.
It was just that this day had arrived a little too quickly.
According to the results produced by the most advanced computational device, the moment when he would "stop" should originally have come in about ten years.
In other words, facing his Fate on this day had not been part of the "plan."
But what difference did that make?
"Either way, arriving early or arriving late makes no difference."
Perhaps, if he had been an ordinary person, having ten more years would have allowed him to create countless beautiful memories.
That was how human beings were. Even knowing that one day they would enter the grave, they still fought desperately to live, simply so they could leave more traces and meaning behind in this world.
If he had been an ordinary person, he would certainly have complained about Fate's unfairness for forcibly taking away those precious ten years. He might even have roared at God and cursed the divine.
But even that was a luxury.
"Even if I had another ten years, I wouldn't be able to leave anything behind."
This was not because of some overly complicated reason. It was simply because he was "unable to act."
Like an old man whose life was about to run out, the boy's body could not support him in activities no different from those of an ordinary person.
In view of that, to put it bluntly, even with another ten years, the boy could only lie in bed. He could not take a single step toward the outside world.
No matter how small that step might be, it would make no difference.
Since that was the case...
"Why keep wasting time?"
This was neither self-pity nor giving up on himself. The boy had merely reached the conclusion that he "didn't want to continue like this."
Thus, at this very moment, the boy was calmly welcoming the ending that should have belonged to him.
The world turning.
Time passing.
Confusion.
Anxiety.
Fear.
None of these things had anything to do with the boy anymore.
The only things he could feel were himself and his gradually collapsing body.
Gradually, even this awareness began to drift farther away.
Measured in time, the boy's bodily functions would probably stop in a few more seconds.
In other words, he would die.
No—it should be called "dying young."
This was the boy's Fate.
In theory, it was a Fate that a two-year-old child should never have been able to comprehend.
In the modern era, no means of saving him existed.
Unless it was—"a miracle."
But in the modern era, could such a thing exist?
The boy thought about it.
At that moment, the boy never imagined that in the very next instant, he would obtain what he wanted.
"If this is what you lack, and God will not give it to you, then I shall give it to you."
When this voice rang out, the boy's spirit, which was on the verge of drying up, could not help but falter.
That was because this voice had not only entered the boy's gradually fading consciousness directly. It had even reached the depths of his soul, where it was recognized.
It was a voice carrying calmness and detachment—or, one could even say, not the slightest trace of the emotions that humans possessed.
Hearing this voice, the boy could only stare in bewilderment. He no longer had the strength to understand what was happening.
Although the boy could unbelievably understand everything he was facing at the age of only two, at most, he possessed "knowledge." He had no "experience."
Thus, the boy's frail consciousness, which was drifting farther away and could no longer even recognize itself, could only produce a question.
"Who are you?"
This was the only thought the boy had.
The other party answered.
Moreover, it was no longer the calm, detached voice devoid of even the slightest trace of human emotion.
"Me?"
After a long pause, the other party replied in an extremely complicated tone.
"I'm merely a 'human.'"
This existence, which was like a god to the boy, not only called itself a "human," but even gave the boy a sentence.
"I hope you can also continue living as an ordinary human being."
This was the last sentence the other party left the boy.
At the same time, it was a sentence spoken sincerely, from the bottom of their heart.
These words would accompany the boy throughout his life.
Naturally, the voice of the one who spoke those words would also greatly influence the boy's future Fate.
The boy knew none of this. He did not even have the right to reject any of it.
Right now, the boy knew only one thing.
That was...
"I... can keep living...?"
This question received a silent answer.
"----"
A dazzling, brilliant radiance suddenly illuminated the boy's entire world.
"Ah..."
Looking at that radiance, the boy cried out.
It was a sound that could only be made when one was moved to the extreme.
His instincts had understood it a step ahead of him.
That light would save him.
With that thought, the boy immersed his consciousness in it, as if trying to reach out to that light.
And at the very end, the last thing the boy saw was a single object.
A ring floating within the light. It was just as dazzling and brilliant as the radiance itself, yet it appeared exceedingly ancient, mysterious, and alluring.
Thus, the boy finally obtained a new life and was able to continue living as a human.
Unfortunately, this life could not be as "ordinary" as the master of that voice had said.