Something's wrong with how I'm watching anime.

However, in order to conserve magic power and facilitate movement in the mortal world, its usual form is that of a cute, bright yellow rag doll.

"Hello"

With a lovely smile, Cerberus greeted Kazama in front of him.

However, Kazama stared blankly at Cerberus for a moment.

It's one thing for things from animation to appear in reality.

But seeing an illusory object actually display such extraordinary power is another matter entirely.

"Ok?"

Cerberus flew to Kazama's side, waved in front of him, and then looked around.

It seemed that he saw the bookshelf full of Chinese books and then understood.

"Is this China? I've actually come to China during the time I was asleep."

Xiao Ke switched languages ​​and spoke fluent Chinese.

Clow Reed's father was British and his mother was Chinese, making him half Chinese. He spent a considerable amount of time traveling the Eastern continent during his exploration of magic.

In a sense, Clow Reed's magic is a fusion of Eastern and Western styles.

For example, the Clow Cards.

The prototype is the Western Tarot, but it also has the influence of Eastern talismanic arts.

As a familiar that accompanies Clow Reed, it's not surprising that Cerberus is fluent in Chinese.

"Hello..."

Kazama also came to his senses at this moment and nodded slightly to Cerberus.

Seeing that Kazama had realized what was happening, Kerberos continued to speak.

"Haha, thank you for waking me up with this book..."

"My name is Cerberus, and I am the guardian of this sealed book."

"What I'm protecting, as you can see, is these cards..."

"These cards were created by the great mage Clow Reed and possess unimaginable power..."

Cerberus suddenly stopped speaking and looked at Kazama, saying:

"You don't seem surprised at all by what I said. Are you a magician too...? No, according to Eastern terminology, you should be called a cultivator..."

"You obtained the Book of Seals of Clow Reed? And you know that it belongs to Clow Reed?"

“No…” Kazama shook his head.

"I am not the kind of person who possesses supernatural powers as you think."

"But I do know about Clow Reed and the Clow Cards..."

Kazama suddenly reached out and poked Cerberus's belly, feeling a soft touch on his fingertips.

However, after being poked by Kazama, Kerberos quickly retreated.

"It itches... What are you doing?!" Cerberus protested, clutching his stomach and raising his hand.

"nothing..."

Kazama withdrew his hand.

"I just find it incredibly incredible, and amazing..."

"Clow Reed, this great mage is truly amazing in terms of his backstory..."

"Settings? What's that term?"

"Cerberus asked, but he didn't dwell on the word for long," Kerberus asked.

Hearing Kazama's praise of his creator, Cerberus proudly raised his head.

"That's natural..."

"Clow Reed was the most powerful magician of his time, and I think there is probably no one in the history of magic who can stand shoulder to shoulder with him."

"This set of Clow Cards is proof of that; it is the greatest creation left behind by Clow Reed."

“No…” Kazama retorted.

Upon hearing Kazama's words, Kerberos instinctively frowned.

The person in front of me actually questioned the Clow Cards, a creation that embodies Clow Reed's life's work and wisdom.

But he suddenly felt a burning gaze, also from the person in front of him.

Kazama was staring intently at Cerberus.

"The greatest creation... should be followed by one of them. I think you and Yue are also among Clow Reed's great creations."

"ha..."

Hearing Kazama's sudden change of tone, Kerberos immediately became a little embarrassed, but then touched the back of his head with his short little hands.

"You're right, you're quite knowledgeable..."

Looking at Cerberus's appearance, Kazama sighed inwardly.

Humans are insignificant. Compared to nature and the divine, we are so insignificant that we cannot even create the smallest insect.

Humanity is ignorant. So ignorant that it doesn't even know what wisdom and consciousness are. While attempting to imbue its creations with consciousness, humanity is making attempts in related fields—the field of artificial intelligence, which has yet to achieve a qualitative breakthrough.

But this does not mean that humans are incompetent.

Because the creation of life is the domain of the divine.

For it is the power of the gods to bestow wisdom.

However, Clow Reed used the power of magic to create Cerberus and the moon.

Are these two considered life?

Of course it counts... In Kazama's eyes, such a magical creation is already a life.

Do these two possess self-awareness and wisdom?

Of course, both can act according to their own ideas and have independent thoughts.

The material reality makes these things difficult for humans to access, but extraordinary powers, powers that exist only in fantasy, are achievable.

Such fantasies and extraordinary experiences reappeared before his eyes.

Kazama cannot comment on it, nor can he understand it.

The only thing I can do now is to comfort myself with the phrase "existence is its own justification" and solidify my already crumbling worldview.

Thinking of something, Kazama made up his mind and spoke.

“I know about Clow Reed and the Clow Cards.”

"Your purpose in protecting the Clow Cards is to find a suitable successor for Clow Reed, isn't it?"

"You really do know a lot..."

Cerberus nodded.

“That’s right, my duty is to protect the Clow Cards until they have a new owner.”

"Clow Reed once prophesied that one day someone would awaken me from the sealed book, and that person would be the successor of the Clow Cards."

"Kuroreid's prophecy is very likely referring to you..."

"To be honest, I thought the successor would be a girl..."

After all, the key-and-staff that Clow Reed equipped with the Book of Seals was pink.

Kuroide's prophecy is unlikely to be wrong.

There's only one explanation: the heir likes pink.

Cerberus's gaze toward Kazama began to turn somewhat strange.

It's quite rare to find a man who likes pink.

I've heard that the more virile a man is, the more he likes...

Kazama, however, did not notice the strange expression on Cerberus's face, and instead said seriously:

"Cerberus... I'll still call you Little Cerberus."

"Xiao Ke, I have something to tell you now."

"But don't be afraid of what I'm about to say."

Seeing Kazama's seriousness, Kerberos also became serious.

"What's so serious... But it's okay."

"I am Clow Reed's creation, and I have accompanied Clow Reed on his travels across the world, seeing far and wide, and I am a man of great knowledge and wisdom."

"I'm a professional, I'm not afraid, go ahead and say it."

"You come from an animation."

"Ah... huh?!!"

Chapter Four: Brain in a Vat

There is a famous idea called the 'brain in a vat'.

Imagine an evil scientist cuts out your brain and places it in a tank containing a special nutrient solution to keep it alive, with the brain's nerve endings connected to a supercomputer.

This scientist used a targeted memory erasure method to completely erase all memories of the time spent in the vat. Moreover, because the computer is so advanced, it can give your brain the illusion that everything is normal, and all the sensations and experiences you have are exactly the same as those you had before, so you cannot realize that you are just a brain in a vat.

At first glance, this idea seems far-fetched, but upon closer examination, it contains the deepest, most profound fears.

This idea denies 'existence' and shakes the foundation of 'reality'.

The saying "Hearing is believing, seeing is believing" evolved into "Seeing is not necessarily believing," then further to "Feeling is not necessarily believing," and finally to "What you think is not necessarily believing."

However, this is a refutation, so there is no need to worry.