this infinite world

Chapter 1267 Part 1: The Savior of the World

(This may be a side story, or it may not be; it may be related to the main text, or it may not be.)
(Just something I wanted to write after watching Ave Mujica episode 11.)
(The article will be placed in the group, so readers do not need to subscribe, above.)
come down.

Keep falling.

When she came to her senses, she found herself falling into a bottomless abyss.

Why did I fall? Where did I fall to? What is my current situation?
Toyokawa Shoko knew nothing about what was happening now. The only thing she knew clearly was that she was falling all the way down.

Falling, it seems like an endless fall, falling continuously into the bottomless abyss.

Then, it fell to the bottom.

Not understanding why she suddenly fell to the ground, nor why she did not suffer any injuries after falling from an unknown height, Toyokawa Shoko just stood up in a daze and looked around.

dark.

Endless darkness.

Everywhere he looked, there was darkness - although he knew clearly that there was nothing wrong with his eyes, Xiangzi could understand that there was an indelible darkness before his eyes.

Darkness, darkness, darkness that covers everything.

"I'm probably dead."

I don't know why I'm here, but this seems to be the only explanation for the current situation.

In the darkness, Shoko Toyokawa gradually understood everything.

The feelings of a young girl are always immature. In a trance, the myths and legends she had read in the past flashed through her mind. Maybe this is hell, the bottom of hell, Tartarus where all hope cannot exist.

“…This isn’t some kind of hell.”

Suddenly, someone spoke to me.

I don't know where it came from, but in the darkness, a young man's voice said this.

Different from the strong uneasiness brought by the darkness all around, Xiangzi felt a long-lost warmth and an inexplicable sense of security from this voice, which also calmed the trembling body of the sixteen-year-old girl.

"Where is this place?"

A little sanity was restored from the fear, and then doubts arose.

Toyokawa Shoko is a strong person. Although she still feels uneasy about her environment, she cannot stand still since she knows she is not alone.

So, the girl carefully asked her question to the only person she could turn to... or perhaps the only person she could ask for help: "Also, who are you...?"

There was no answer, but a hoarse and unpleasant sound was heard, which seemed to be a response, but also like the roar of a wild beast.

"Alas……!"

Frightened by the sound, the girl's body suddenly curled up, and she instinctively took a defensive posture with her head in her hands. But as if in contrast to Xiangzi's reaction, when she made this move, the hoarse sound suddenly disappeared.

It was not until a long time later that Xiangzi lifted his defensive posture and poked his head out from under his wings like a bird: "Hey, are you still there?"

The next moment, the hoarse sound came again. Compared with the last time, this sound was more like some terrifying monster making an indescribable response, which frightened Xiangzi so much that he closed his eyes tightly and covered his ears.

But the magical thing is that once Xiangzi did this, the voice immediately disappeared, as if it had never appeared.

So, the cycle repeats.

Once Xiangzi opened his mouth to speak, the sound would respond, each time more hoarse and more unpleasant. At first, it could be heard as the roar of a beast, the response of a monster. But later, the response turned into some indescribable sound in Xiangzi's ears, a sound that made him feel terrified; and when Xiangzi kept silent and covered his ears, the sound would completely disappear.

——Stay away.

——As long as you don’t touch it, you won’t get hurt.

Xiangzi understood the current situation. If she curled up like a watermelon worm, she would not be hurt and could protect herself in the darkness.

...But this is not a solution.

Xiangzi didn't know where she was, nor did she know how to leave this darkness, and the young man's response and this indescribable voice were the only responses she got.

"Could there be a certain amount of connection between the two?"

An idea emerged in Xiangzi's mind.

Even though she didn't know whether her idea was correct, the past experiences of the girl named "Toyokawa Shoko" and her understanding of the current situation made her clear about one thing: if she stopped here, she would accomplish nothing.

And girls never lack the ability to take action.

"I won't be afraid, and I won't run away!"

Taking a deep breath, with the mentality of "no matter what, things can't get worse", Xiangzi gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He put down his hands that were covering his ears like a broken jar and shouted at the voice: "If you are really the one who responded to me before, then please answer me again--!"

At this moment, all the indescribable sounds in Xiangzi's ears disappeared in an instant.

Then, the gentle male voice from before sounded again.

"Ah...thank you for your 'courage'."

Just as Toyokawa Shoko mustered up the courage to respond to the indescribable sound, everything returned to its original state, and the man's voice once again reached the girl's ears: "I underestimated the malice of the 'Creator' towards you and this world, and I lack experience in this area. After all, I am just a novice..."

"However, we have finally established the corresponding 'anchor point'. This way, there will be no corresponding obstacles in the communication between you and me."

"Ahh-!"

Suddenly hearing the voice of a fellow human, Toyokawa Shoko couldn't help but burst into tears. She almost grasped a life-saving straw and said excitedly: "So where is this place?"

"Also, may I ask who you are...?"

“This is your inner world.”

The male voice answered the first question without hesitation, but his answer to Xiangzi's second question was not so quick. Instead, it was accompanied by a hint of uncertainty, which made Xiangzi's brain short-circuit: "As for my identity... um, an uninvited guest from outside the multiverse?"

"……what?"

This overly high-sounding title caused Xiangzi's brain to freeze instantly. "Well, don't you understand?"

Seeing that Xiangzi did not answer, the voice said in a puzzled tone: "That may be the cultural gap, but judging from the clothes you are wearing, they should be modern Earth attire, and from the looks of it, they are some kind of District 11 school uniforms."

"So, the difference in the rules of the universe is a problem like this. If I say 'observer' you definitely won't understand. Ah, this is so troublesome..."

After saying a lot of words that Xiangzi couldn't understand, the voice seemed to have made up its mind: "There's no other way, let's do it this way..."

The next moment, a small white glowing ball suddenly appeared in front of Toyokawa Shoko.

"……This is?"

Light is the most essential desire of mankind.

Seeing the ball of light suddenly appear in the darkness, Toyokawa Shoko first subconsciously covered her eyes, but when she found that her eyes would not be hurt by the sudden light source, she subconsciously looked into the darkness, seeking answers from the voice.

"A carrier of information... or something like a 'system panel'."

When Xiangzi finally regained consciousness and responded, the voice replied: "You can try to touch it."

Hearing this, Xiangzi poked the ball of light with his finger out of curiosity, and felt warm wherever he touched.

"Come to think of it, it should have implanted everything in your mind..."

When he was halfway through his words, the man suddenly stopped talking. After a few seconds, he coughed twice and said, "Sorry, it's a professional habit I developed before... I got off the stage."

For some reason, Xiangzi could hear the silence in that voice: "Nothing, just think of it as some professional habits I have developed from the past, I am just being a bit off the track..."

"In short, it was the world will of your box that sent a commission to the outside of the multiverse in order to protect KiraKiraDokiDoki's worldview and to respond to the anger of the excited 'Observers'. And I just happened to pass by your box..."

"So, you are the best candidate, Toyokawa Shoko." The voice said: "In order to fight against the malice from the 'Creator' and for your own future, you will become the savior of this multiverse."

"……Savior?"

Toyokawa Shoko slowly typed a question mark.

Am I really the savior?

"Can't understand? This is a natural result. After all, you were just an ordinary person with a little bit of genius before this. It's normal that you can't understand these things... But from my point of view, the malice from the 'creator' in you is simply not concealed."

Since the beginning of the conversation, that gentle voice revealed an emotion similar to "unhappiness" for the first time: "My mother died young, my father was defrauded, the band I just formed disbanded soon after, I became a stranger to my friends, I had to bear the burden of the family at a young age, and even had to support my father who was in a state of depression. I gained happiness but lost it in an instant, just like a dream..."

The more he spoke, the heavier the voice became: "The darkness of the Toyokawa family, the family's genetic disease history, the heavy feelings of good friends, the thousand-faced personality, the unfulfilled promise, the twin aunts... Oh, but for these, the world line has not yet been anchored."

"Since it's not completely anchored, there's still a chance for change..."

What is anchoring a world line? What is he talking about?
Hearing that voice, it was like turning a page, turning her life, her past, and even her future to pieces, Toyokawa Shoko finally remembered the other person's self-proclaimed name. She swallowed her saliva and said in a trembling voice: "No, don't say it... Who are you!"

"Is it a nightmare? Or a person with super powers? Or a god who plays with other people's hearts?"

"God? No, it's you, Ms. Toyokawa Shoko, who is more like a 'god' than me."

The voice seemed amused: "After all, in other world lines, you have been called 'God-sama' more than once."

——Me? God? Is there any?

"Of course. Don't underestimate yourself. After all, although you are not the absolute protagonist of this world, you are at least one of the most important people. The 'threads' extending from you and the corresponding possibilities are as dense as a spider's web in my eyes."

There was a smile and emotion in that voice: "Cyberpunk 2077, Magical Girl, Kivotos, Azure Files, Kamen Rider...Your experience is really rich and colorful."

It was like flipping through a book called "Toyokawa Shoko" or watching some movies that only he could see. The owner of the voice had a tone of surprise: "Huh? There are actually world lines intersecting with the 'Main God Space'? And there are more than one. Some have just entered, and some have returned after the adventure..."

"I see. That's why I'm here. Your experience is quite similar to mine."

"Listen, I don't understand desuwa!" Listening to these completely incomprehensible words, Xiangzi's eyes turned into mosquito coil-like circles. She even accidentally said out her habits when she was a young lady.

"Well, it's really too early to tell this to a girl who just entered high school. Sorry, this is my problem."

The voice apologized frankly: "To put it simply, your experience and desire called me, and I happened to pass by this box, so the two of us had a corresponding intersection."

"Since I have chosen you, and the will of this world has chosen you, then you need to assume the corresponding responsibilities."

"Should I go fight a powerful monster?"

Although to some extent, every boy and girl dreams of becoming a superhero/magical girl, when such an opportunity really comes to them one day, and it is a "savior" of a lofty level, Toyokawa Shoko only feels a huge pressure: "For example, Godzilla--"

"No, why would you think that?"

Hearing Xiangzi's question, the voice couldn't help but laugh: "You don't have to fight any monsters. This is not a cruel world. An ordinary high school girl like you should enjoy the happiness that a high school girl should have."

As these words rang out, the white light ball in front of Xiangzi shone brightly, dispelling the surrounding darkness and illuminating everything around him. In this light that seemed to be able to heal and warm everything, Xiangzi only heard the voice saying, "Well, just now, I have solved your genetic disease, which can prevent you from dying early like your grandmother and mother."

"Don't worry. I have some knowledge about 'genes', but there are no gene locks in this multiverse..."

“…Who are you?!”

Feeling her consciousness gradually fading away, Toyokawa Shoko shouted with all her might: "You said these words to me, you did these things, what exactly do you want me to do——"

"You don't have to do anything."

Then, Toyokawa Shoko got a rather surprising answer: "You just need 'happiness', that's enough."

In the warm but not intense light, Xiangzi only heard the last sentence:

"If there is something I want you to do..."

"That is to make all Toyokawa Shoko in the entire multiverse achieve true 'happiness'."

The next moment, accompanied by a certain coldness and trembling touch—

A sixteen-year-old high school girl opened her eyes in the small room.

(End of this chapter)