An Interlude Conversation

"Is that so... That's wonderful... being able to fight and forge ahead alongside the seniors."

Type-Moon Li Ke scratched his head. For some reason, compared to his own Type-Moon World, he seemed even more excited about Prehistoric Li Ke's world.

That world felt incredibly real. Even immortals only had a few special abilities, and the various great deities weren't as lofty and unreachable as they were in myths. They were real people, moving forward alongside humanity.

Nuwa molded humans from clay simply because she'd discovered that hot water could help pregnant women give birth. The vessel used to heat the water was made of clay, and so was the stove.

To the people of that world, Nuwa had gathered a great deal of earth and mixed it together. When she returned, new life had appeared.

That was the story of Nuwa creating humanity, as told by Li Ke of the Prehistoric World.

And ever since his birth, Li Ke had worked to help his people live better lives. His results had been pretty poor, since some things simply didn't exist in that era, but his life had always been fulfilling.

By comparison, the people he'd met in the Type-Moon World all seemed to be a little...

Missing something?

After sharing memories again and seeing his own world through someone else's eyes, Type-Moon Li Ke realized what that feeling—that something was missing—really meant.

More precisely, it lacked a certain sense of grounded reality. The entire worldview seemed to exude an extreme quality.

Even Scathach, the most mature woman he'd met, had an extreme personality. It seemed she truly cared about nothing but battle, and her coldness was frightening.

It made him feel as though the people he saw were only one-sided, not whole people.

"You're starting to sound kind of edgy. What's there to envy about his world, when it's just as empty as mine? So sentimental... The environment really can change a person."

Apocalypse Li Ke folded his arms and voiced his criticism.

Apocalypse Li Ke understood human nature better than anyone. He believed that if this space couldn't share their memories and powers, and could only share supplies, then the Li Kes would scheme against one another and even turn on each other.

That was why he understood Type-Moon Li Ke's problem better than anyone. But he didn't think it was a big deal; he'd only made a passing comment.

He did, however, have one important question.

"But there's no point envying him. Your problem now is that the Counter Force has its eye on you. You'd better make plans soon. Better yet, do what I did and set your sights on defeating the world."

Apocalypse Li Ke, whose demeanor was like that of a poet, pressed down on his cowboy hat and spoke in a brazenly arrogant tone.

Women, wealth, power, pleasure—none of it mattered to him. He barely cared about his own life. But he wanted his world to return to normal. He didn't want to see children forced to learn deceit and treachery just to survive.

In his world, kindness was a trait that could truly get you and others killed.

Lately, after receiving seeds from Daily Life Li Ke, he'd been thinking about whether a world where even five-year-olds longed to kill others and steal their supplies and flesh was still worth saving—and how it could be saved.

Then he'd come to a conclusion.

He truly loathed his world—everyone in it, everything about it. If there were any chance of escaping, he would leave.

But it was still his world.

So if he wanted to change it, he had to become a triune being: the Holy Father, representing omnipotence; the Holy Son, representing boundless hope; and the Holy Mother, representing forgiveness and compassion.

His world was a naughty child, so he would use discipline, guidance, and generous benefits to force it to become a good child again.

Type-Moon Li Ke felt a little helpless. He was confused, too. For no apparent reason, the Counter Force had decided to come after him.

So he thought it over.

"That's true. Then I'll make killing the Counter Force my goal for now. They've already sent people to kill me, so naturally I'll have to figure out how to take them down."

Type-Moon Li Ke spread his hands.

"But if I kill them, I don't know whether it'll cause problems... Still, who cares? Once I'm capable, I'll kill them first."

He truly couldn't make heads or tails of the Counter Force in the Type-Moon World. He didn't know what it was like and couldn't see or touch it.

Killing it would probably require a series of studies and experiments.

"Come to think of it, I'll also need to figure out how to make money and plan for the aftermath."

Rubbing his chin, Li Ke began thinking about how to make money in the Type-Moon World.

After all, research cost money, and the project of figuring out how to kill the Counter Force would obviously require a great deal of it.

"You'd better be careful. What if killing the Counter Force destroyed Earth and humanity along with it? Don't forget, the Counter Force in your world is the consciousnesses of Gaia and Alaya. It'd be a disaster if that happened, so you'd better figure things out before you do anything—or wait for a Li Ke with the talent to comprehend the Heavenly Dao to show up."

Daily Life Li Ke stepped forward to remind him.

"True. But who knows how long that'll take? I'll still have to work it out myself... Though, why does the Counter Force seem like a giant toad? What a disgusting thing."

Type-Moon Li Ke felt a little disgusted with his own world.

"Every world is different, and our talents work differently in each one. This is no exception... What did you expect? You're in the Type-Moon World."

As Daily Life Li Ke spoke, he suddenly thought of something.

"By the way, Apocalypse me, does time pass most differently between our worlds? How are the crops doing? It looked like you were planning to establish a base."

Apocalypse Li Ke nodded. He'd last visited three months ago, but only one day had passed for Type-Moon Li Ke. He wondered whether that would improve as Black Mist Space became more stable.

"Yeah. My world absolutely needs an undisputed ruler. Since nobody else is up to the task, it can only be me. The crops weren't as ridiculously productive as they were in your world, but they were pretty close. We've already harvested them once. Everyone's really happy."

Apocalypse Li Ke answered with a smile, then looked at Daily Life Li Ke with a hint of exasperation.

"But I'm still jealous of your world."

Daily Life Li Ke looked a little awkward. He knew what Apocalypse Li Ke meant.

"Your world doesn't need some strong person bearing the burden of everything just to live a normal life. What a wonderful world..."

Apocalypse Li Ke sighed.

Daily Life Li Ke's world was absurdly peaceful. Even the criminals mostly just robbed banks, or else were bandits and highwaymen in remote mountain regions.

And there were people who maintained order and punished wrongdoers. The king in his world was fairly competent, too.

So for Daily Life Li Ke—

His daily life consisted of bullying children!