"So, um, what exactly is going on right now?"
It was still that small room with a somewhat eerie atmosphere. The man in a white coat, dressed like a doctor, looked at the figure opposite him somewhat stiffly, pausing after every word.
The vaguely human-shaped existence—human enough to be called a "person," for the time being—spoke.
"If I'm not mistaken, you are the [Counter Force], correct?"
After hesitating for a moment, Roman voiced the identity of the person before him.
Bzzz—
The figure flickered for a moment before taking on a concrete form. It looked like a somewhat rigid young man, though the expression on his face was vividly animated.
"You got it right."
The Counter Force merely nodded, then casually picked up a cup from the tea table and took a sip.
Though Roman had no idea whether it was actually tea, or whether the Counter Force had truly swallowed it.
Roman stared at the Counter Force in shock, unable to speak for a long time.
The Counter Force actually possessed consciousness to this extent? Could that really exist?
Could something like the collective unconscious develop subjectivity?
"You need not worry about that, Romani Archaman." The Counter Force seemed to see through Roman's thoughts. It set the cup back down and tilted its head. "I have not developed subjectivity. In fact, the aggregate of the collective unconscious remains unconscious. What you see before you now is merely one manifestation of that unconsciousness."
"There are many other manifestations, but you likely would not wish to encounter them."
"After all, if a single person were to take on the perspective of all humanity—or even the entire Earth—they would go mad."
"Ah, I don't really understand, but I get it." Roman did not ask any further questions, merely nodding.
That did not