Qiji truly lives up to his reputation as a genius; he actually came up with such a method!
In that instant, Huomu felt as if he had been shown the direction.
"Thank you, Qiji- san. I understand completely now!"
Teacher Tsukimi had previously said that he might never be able to awaken the Echo, which made Huomu quite depressed for a while.
But now, his hope has been rekindled!
He had already realized that Qiji was trying to teach him—
The method of awakening!
He must seize this opportunity!
Although the immortality of spirits can also be achieved in the Sea of Consciousness.
The problem is, without awakening Echo, one cannot enter the Sea of Consciousness; and without deeply experiencing life and death through the spiritual body, awakening is impossible.
It went into an infinite loop!
The Tide Grand Competition is his only chance!
Of course, ordinary death is not enough to meet the conditions for awakening. Otherwise, so many ordinary people would sign up to try their luck in every Tide Grand Competition, but very few would actually awaken Echo afterward.
However, Qiji- kun had already told him the correct method—
That is to die in a sufficiently powerful, sufficiently unique Echo!
Experience the Echo between life and death!
For a moment, if it weren't for the light barriers surrounding the arena, Huomu would have rushed up to hitch a ride on Qiji's awakened form.
"So, you mean that Qiji is currently in Sibel's [Time of Nonexistence], awakening her own Echo?"
After hearing Huomu's words, although everyone still looked incredulous, they vaguely felt that there seemed to be some truth to what Huomu said.
"But according to you, shouldn't the competition be over by now? Shouldn't Sibel have already won?"
Looking at the match results that hadn't appeared on the big screen yet, Liuli raised her question.
After all, to experience life and death, the spirit must actually die once.
Once the spirit body disintegrates, the Sea of Consciousness will immediately determine the winner.
"Huh? It seems that's really the case... Could it be that Qiji entered the [Time of Nonexistence], and his spirit is still alive?"
At this very moment, in [the Time of Nonexistence].
It's morning.
Qiji sat in a spacious and bright classroom.
A math textbook lay open in front of him. He stared at the formulas on it, his eyebrows furrowed, as if he were reading gibberish.
No, he only missed one summer vacation, how could he have forgotten everything the teacher taught him?
No, that's not right.
Besides mathematics, it seems he forgot something even more important...
Just as Qiji was scratching his head, trying to figure out what he had forgotten, lunch break arrived.
Sibel walked up to him and slammed a challenge letter onto Qiji's desk.
"Don't leave after school, come to the grove."
The school bell rang.
Sibel disappeared into the grove, five figures suddenly leaped out in front of her!
Qiji was in the center, with Huomu, Liuli, Setsuna, Bai Lili spreading out to the left and right, forming a standard encirclement formation.
Sibel was stunned. "Wait, why did you bring so many people?"
"You challenged me to a fight, but I'm not allowed to call for backup? What kind of fight is it if I don't call for help!"
At this moment, Qiji still remembered a sentence, though he didn't know who had said it—
Those who think they are powerful enough on their own are not qualified to be powerful.
"Who wants to fight with you? I like you! I'm here to confess my feelings to you! Didn't you see the love letter I wrote to you?"
"Huh? Isn't that a challenge?"
That's a love letter!!!
Huomu was standing nearby, was stunned and subconsciously asked, "Boss, are we still going to fight?"
"Attack!" Qiji wasn't fooled. He immediately waved his hand, signaling his brothers to grab their weapons and charge. "These kinds of people are the most cunning. If they can't beat you, they'll just say it's a love letter."
Liuli was the first to respond, rushing forward to pull Sibel's hair.
However, something terrifying happened—
Liuli's movements suddenly seemed to slow down countless times.
The arm moved forward inch by inch, looking quite eerie.
"What the heck, are they filming a movie?!"
Although he felt something was amiss, Qiji was a loyal friend, and upon seeing the situation, he immediately rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward to help.
However, these five people were only mortals and could not defeat Sibel, who possessed the power of time. One by one, they were whipped into spinning tops.
Qiji lay sprawled on the ground, staring blankly at his mask that had been knocked to the ground for a long, long time.
Something seems off.
mask?
Why would I wear a mask?
I'm so handsome, why would I wear a mask?
Isn't that stupid?
Hiding such a handsome face from others is a sin against heaven!
Something's wrong! Something's very wrong!
Besides the mask, there are many other, even bigger, things that are not right!
So, what exactly is that lingering sense of unease that's been nagging at us since just now?
Wait, what is this?
"Holy crap! Look! It's a mask! The 'Prisoner Ji Mask' fell out of the ball of light!"
"It's over, even the main body has been destroyed. It seems like Prisoner Ji is really gone this time!"
"So, where's the flashback? Why isn't the flashback coming up yet?"
Looking at the lines of comments scrolling by, Qiji thought he was seeing things and blinked hard.
But with each blink, his blurred vision seemed to worsen—
Not only did the barrage of comments keep increasing, but a small window displaying the video also appeared in the corner of my field of vision.
The scene also includes a Sibel, a Huomu, a Liuli, Setsuna, and Bai Lili.
And, there was also a mask.
Qiji's attention was subconsciously drawn to the small window, which suddenly appeared larger.
In the scene, Huomu is excitedly shouting:
"I see! Qiji- kun, you're using Sibel's [Time of Nonexistence] to awaken your own Echo!"
[Time of Nonexistence]?
Awakening?
Echo?
!!!
Suddenly, it was like a bolt of lightning ripped through the night.
Suddenly, Qiji remembered everything!
This is the time of Sibel's [Time of Nonexistence]!
He entered this place to awaken his own Echo!
The moment I realized it, the absurd campus world before me shattered like a mirror.
The challenge, the grove of trees, and the four little ones lying on the ground all turned into specks of light and vanished.
All around was plunged into pure darkness.
That's right, this is the [Time of Nonexistence] of Sibel!
A blank space that has never existed on any timeline and [shouldn't exist].
And at this moment, [he who shouldn't exist] exists within it!
That's right, absolutely right!
In an instant, Qiji sensed the ritual within his body vibrating wildly!
An Existence That Should Not Exist exists within [that should not exist].
[Ritual One], fully accomplished!
Next up is [the Blind Spot in Everyone's Attention] --
Without a doubt, Sibel's [Time of Nonexistence] is the only [blind spot] on the ring where everyone's eyes are focused, a spot that no one can observe.
[Ritual Three], accomplished!
In addition to the already completed [Ritual Two].
All three rituals are complete!
Now!
Use "Miracle"!
On the system interface, the "9.1" that Qiji had accumulated over nine years was instantly reduced to zero!
All the Miracle accumulated over nine years were unleashed in this moment!
In the depths of darkness, the core of the Qiji Echo Core begins to transform.
First, the ritual begins.
[An Existence That Should Not Exist].
"I should never have existed."
The moment the words fell, a pure black background spread from Qiji's body, like ink dripping into a clear spring.
Black is the origin of nothingness.
It is negation, it is dissolution, it is returning to nothingness.
Because he comes from nothingness, he controls nothingness.
Next comes ritual two.
[Falsehood Believed to Be True].
"I am a fake genius, but the fake itself is also my truth."
A pure white radiance burst forth from his chest, standing in stark contrast to the pure black background.
This is the origin of [having].
It is creation, it is manifestation, it is the bestowal of existence.
Because he created the truth through nine years of Lie, he has the truth.
Finally, the third ritual, at the critical point where black and white intertwine, is launched with a roar!
[The Blind Spot in Everyone's Attention].