The orb of light formed from Oko's consciousness floated silently within this strange, dim world, earnestly listening to the unfamiliar words entering her mind.
"But you are different from me."
"Simply because you are slow enough to fully enjoy all of this."
"Mother, friends, lovers, home."
"These things are truly wonderful."
"I envy you, and I am comforted as well, because you have lived out the life I once imagined."
"However, all things are relative."
"While gaining happiness, you have also endured much pain."
"Just like now."
"If you do not wish to fall into hell, then you cannot remain this slow any longer, can you?"
"If so, then change back for now."
"Do not be afraid. Do not be nervous. Just let go and do it."
"After all, what awaits you ahead is not some miracle that can only be created by staking everything on a single throw."
"Because, to a god, every outcome is inevitable."
The orb of light formed from Oko's consciousness could not understand the precise meaning of these unfamiliar words. It could only silently brand them into the depths of her mind.
Yet at the same time, she could clearly sense that the foundation of her soul had undergone some sort of change.
As if it had transformed.
Then, an unprecedented and strange power came surging into Oko's spiritual world.
Beneath that turbulent, majestic radiance, Oko finally came to clearly understand the essence of "space."
In the end, the orb of consciousness that Oko had submerged deep beneath the Lake of the Mind was carried by the dazzling radiance back toward the outside world—the lake's glittering, beautiful surface.
Thus, as the long-silent crimson eyes once more shone with the light of will, Oko's thoughts successfully returned to reality.
As for the journey of exploration Oko