Prophecies, Rumors, Origins / A Shocking Fact (End of Volume 4)
She still has feelings for the club.
Shuya shook his head. "Think about it yourself, it's none of my business."
Mai patted her hair. "Kirino- chan, this is something you should decide for yourself."
"Um..."
Kirino nodded, pondering for the first time the matter of her changing identity.
Section 641, 599: Prophecy, Rumor, Origin
Shuya that Kirino was still hesitating, Xiu said, "How about this, take a few days to think it over, and then come back to train here."
He wasn't in a hurry for her to make a decision.
Rather than sending Kirino to train, it's more important for her to figure out her future path.
"Excuse me, senior."
Kirino bowed her head and apologized; the matter was temporarily settled.
After finishing their business, and seeing that it was almost time, Yukino and the others left one after another.
Haruno was going to university today and didn't stay.
Shuya stayed alone in the City Lord's Manor.
He wasn't in a hurry to go find the Heavenly God, knowing that He was always very idle, spending his days idly arguing with Inoue Hikoo, and there was no opportunity for Him to come to his door.
He's been very busy lately, so it's nice for him to relax and play with his pets occasionally.
"If the Alliance Leader is interested, would you like to take a few back to raise?"
At that moment, Otake-maru appeared with the puppy on his head.
"No, I only like playing with animals, not raising them."
Shuya withdrew his hand from the big orange cat's belly. These big cats alone must eat and poop a lot of meat every day, and he had no interest in scooping them up.
He checked the time; it was already past ten o'clock.
"I'm leaving. Please keep an eye on Ayase and the others."
"I understand, Alliance Leader, don't worry."
"Um."
After finishing speaking, Shuya teleported out of Mount Suzuka Seki Fortress to avoid being discovered.
He slowly flew towards the Divine Domain of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, and then easily encountered the Heavenly God.
Good morning, Inoue- kun.
The place where the Heavenly God resided was a pavilion.
In front of the pavilion was a lake, surrounded by various trees that were unrecognizable but very beautiful. He sipped his tea, admiring the lake view and the small animals that roamed freely there.
The atmosphere was very harmonious.
The Heavenly God saw Shuya arrive and gestured for him to sit down opposite him.
"Good morning."
Shuya greeted them and then sat down as instructed.
After the Heavenly God saw him sit down, he personally poured him tea, Shuya thanked him and took a sip.
The tea is fine, but unfortunately, I'm not a tea lover.
"That's great."
Shuya didn't have much of an opinion.
Compared to enjoying tea, dealing with Puberty Syndrome is more important.
He said, "Heavenly God- like figure, you should know why I've come."
Hmm.
The Heavenly God nodded and said, "I won't hide it from you, I have indeed received some information that I'm concerned about the Puberty Syndrome you mentioned earlier."
"Truly worthy of being called Heavenly God."
Shuya offered half-truths and half-joking compliments.
Ancient and powerful deities like the Heavenly God possess information sources that many new-generation powerhouses like Shuya lack.
He has acquaintances both inside and outside Japan, so if He requests help, His intelligence network would be formidable.
Therefore, Shuya always maintained his respect for Him.
The Heavenly God took a sip of tea, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Actually, I'm still verifying these messages, and I can't guarantee they're accurate... although I think they're highly likely to be true."
"It's alright, the Heavenly God- like being can speak for himself."
"In that case..."
After gathering his thoughts, the Heavenly God said, "Let me be blunt. The reason why Puberty Syndrome only occurs in Japan Administrative District is very likely related to you."
"Me?"
Shuya was stunned.
This... was quite sudden; Shuya never expected that the blame would be shifted onto him.
But the Heavenly God shook his head again. "Well, actually you're not the main reason, you're only part of it. Although your part was the fuse."
Shuya tilted his head and listened to Him continue.
Heavenly God: "Inoue -kun, you mentioned to me before that Puberty Syndrome might involve a collective human consciousness, right? I've been researching along that line ever since."
"During a chance conversation, I chatted with some friends from Europe and overheard them talking about some things. Suddenly, something came to mind."
Shuya: "What is it?"
The Heavenly God asked, "You should know that this year is somewhat special."
"Year, year?"
Shuya wondered to himself, "It's 2010, what's so special about that?"
"The transition between two centuries inevitably brings a sense of unease to people's hearts, which is one of the factors that has led to changes in the collective consciousness of humanity."
Shuya was taken aback. Ten years had passed, yet it was still the turn of the century? Was that reasonable?
It sounds like a scam...
Shuya asked directly, "Really? If that's the case, does that mean Puberty Syndrome always occurs at the turn of the century?"
"There's no Puberty Syndrome, but strange things happen more often, and that's all documented."
"Is that so?"
Shuya genuinely didn't know either. "But these things have nothing to do with Puberty Syndrome, right?"
The Heavenly God themselves said that these things never happened before.
"Well, young man, be patient and let me explain slowly—by the way, Inoue -kun, have you ever heard of the doomsday prophecy?"
The Heavenly God shifted the focus and raised another topic.
What the hell?
"Doomsday prophecy."
The Heavenly God repeated it.
Shuya frowned. "..."
The thought flashed through my mind: He was definitely playing a trick on me...
But in his mind, the Heavenly God weren't such boring gods, so he was probably serious when he said that.
"Inoue- kun must have heard of these prophecies too."
The Heavenly God, seeing through Shuya's thoughts, smiled and asked.
"I've heard of it. But haven't all the previous prophecies been proven false?"
The 2012 doomsday prophecy from Shuya's past life was made so real, but in the end it was all fake.
"It's definitely fake. There have been countless doomsday prophecies throughout history, such as those in 1999 and 2000, during which many prophecies appeared—none of which came true."
Shuya nodded. "It also appeared in 2003, 2008, and other years, and then came the legendary 2012, right?"
Especially in 2012, it was even made into a movie, and the box office was quite impressive the year.
He knew it was fake and never paid any attention to it. Besides, the Earth Federation had never denied it, so he was even less concerned.
---It is common knowledge that only debunked rumors are true.
However, judging from the Heavenly God's tone, this matter seems to be more complicated than it appears.
Are you trying to say that this is true?
To be honest, Shuya still didn't believe it was true, otherwise he would definitely know about such a major event, and the world would surely be in chaos by now.
When faced with imminent death, would superhumans still act subservient? Since they're going to die anyway, many will definitely choose to cause a ruckus.
So the question arises: why would the Heavenly God specifically tell him such a rumor?
Just for fun?
Shuya carefully considered these words and then realized something from them.
He paused, startled. "Hmm? Rumors... rumors... where have I heard that before?"
The Heavenly God's eyes revealed a sense of aptitude, and he said, "The origin of Strange Arts... right?"
"..."
Shuya recalled what Li Shuhong had told him about the origins of Strange Arts:
In essence, Strange Arts begin with feigning supernatural powers and tricks.
From the fire of primitive Fire Seed to Totem, and then by fabricating stories to create a mythological system, the Strange Arts successfully deceived the entire world.
The concept of Strange Arts did not originally exist in the world, but it came into being as more people believed in it.
From nothing to something.
From deception to truth.
---How similar this is to the prophecies of the end of the world.
Section 642, Page 600: Shocking Facts (End of Volume IV)
Shuya realized this, and suddenly a chill ran down his spine.
Who is behind these prophecies?
Why hasn't the Earth Federation banned these rumors?
What is the connection between these doomsday prophecies and the collective consciousness of humanity?
How could any of the above be related to Puberty Syndrome?
These questions filled his mind for a moment.
Shuya suddenly realized a terrifying possibility. "Could it be that the Earth Federation is behind this?"
If that's the case, he can't resist. The power of the Federation is beyond his ability to contend with. If a real fight breaks out, he will have no choice but to retreat into the Spirit Realm to hide.