Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"Are you referring to those ridiculous lies? Then I could say a lot more."

“Hahaha, who knows.”

Watching the two chatting happily, Erise clicked her tongue in amazement: "How come these two are so familiar with each other?"

"They are actually quite familiar with each other already."

"Why? Isn't this our first meeting?! Could it be that we were acquaintances before?"

Eri looked at Cleopatra, who had suddenly spoken up to answer her, while the blue-haired woman who called herself Cleopatra smiled elegantly and said, "For alchemists of the Atlas Institute, making friends is not based on time, and if we are both alchemists, then it goes without saying."

"Indeed."

Chitose nodded. "Because the high-speed thinking of the Atlas Institute simulates the years of each other's lives."

Just as a fighter can discern the years of experience accumulated by his opponent through a short match, the alchemists of the Atlas Institute can understand the personality, character, and environment of another person through a small gesture or an unintentional word, and thus begin to use fragmented thinking to simulate the years of interaction between themselves and their opponent.

In other words, two alchemists from the Atlas Institute could become bosom friends or irreconcilable enemies in the blink of an eye.

“What a handy ability.”

Eri sighed.

She believes that if she had this ability, her life would be much more colorful.

however--

John Dee is now completely dumbfounded, because even though he can simulate the course of the world, he can't simulate anything about this person.

Chapter 517 The Awakener is a Girl

"This is Tokyo, the underworld, which has long since been reduced to ruins and submerged by the sea."

In the various mosaic cities of the new era, there are cities that provide the magic power for the residents or unmarked Servants to survive. However, there is almost no magic power in Tokyo. In fact, for Servants who cannot generate magic power on their own, staying here for even a second is torture.

But the shape of the sea was clearly visible.

In the Tokyo ruins reflected in the seabed, which resembles a starry sky, there is a faint light, as if some unseen force is supporting it. The overflowing seawater around it does not spill a drop, just as the Tokyo Tower, which has long been twisted as if punched from the sky, is still stubbornly holding on. But everywhere here is very quiet.

After meeting John, a night watchman in Tokyo, Eri and the others, led by him, slowly made their way forward.

The only sound in the silent seabed was a kind of indescribable sound. Eri thought that she used to like this silly-sounding sound and that kind of clattering feeling. But at this moment, Eri was clutching the clothes on her chest and shaking her head violently.

I can't come back... I can't come back yet.

How did I end up here because of that little bit of random information?

Eri knew exactly why.

Because she really wanted to come back, she was thinking about coming back all the time.

She wanted to run away on the spot, not even bothering to greet her grandmother, Tiamat, and the others in front of her, just like the day she left Tokyo nine years ago.

However, before Eri could escape, Novia reached out a hand and stopped her.

"Feel sorry."

A gentle breeze from the seabed tousled Novia's hair like piled-up snow. "I didn't expect you to dislike coming so much."

"no……"

It wasn't Novia's fault; I'm the one who should apologize to him.

Eri felt a surge of energy, her ears even felt hot, and she clenched her hands tightly together.

"I just feel like I'm doing the wrong thing..."

"Even if it's not right, it doesn't matter. Eri, you don't have to do anything for anyone."

"Woo..."

Eri saw the shadow of the Demon King in Novia before her.

It was that gentle, old-man-like guy who used to always argue with her.

Although the two seem to be walking on completely opposite and incompatible paths—one leading to the glory of the world's end, the other falling into the darkness of an abyss; one with a holy name, the other a notorious demon king—they are subtly similar.

No, no, I can't show such weakness, especially in front of someone other than the Demon King. Absolutely not.

"Yeah, that's right."

Eri immediately perked up, pointing her small, thin hand straight ahead. "I already made a promise with someone that I would go very far, so I don't need you to remind me."

Even doing so still won't allow me to regain what I've lost.

"Really? That's good."

Watching Novia turn around, Eriel relaxed her tense body and sighed.

Finally, he's gone. This kind of overly concerned guy is the easiest to misunderstand and gain favor with. He already has Tiamat and… that tyrant Chitose, can't he be a little more self-aware? What a nuisance…

That being said, Erise couldn't deny that he and the Demon King were somewhat similar, but they were different nonetheless. The Demon King, on an unknown journey, couldn't possibly exist here... nor should he be here. If he really were...

If such a miracle could really happen, it would certainly have significance.

Yes, absolutely.

Eri encouraged herself.

Even though I am as lowly as I am, the destiny we both hold in our hands must be waiting for me somewhere unknown.

Above them was not a sky, but a dark blue sea. The group walked through the ruins of Tokyo, which had sunk into the sea. Soon after, a building that looked like a temple stood in one of the ruins.

At the same time, a huge door that looked more than ten times the height of a normal person, as if disrupting the sense of distance, blocked their way.

"Although I said before that I hoped you would have a good time here, there are some things I would like to tell you."

Dee said with a serious expression, "Please don't tell anyone else what happens next."

"Is this why you didn't tell the city in the communications, John?"

“Yes, Your Highness, I think this matter should be kept secret as much as possible, because it is extremely dangerous.”

“I understand, you’re doing this for the safety of Mosaic City, and I can understand that.”

After pushing open the temple's enormous door, the group entered a peculiar corridor, one that was completely devoid of echoes.

At the end of the corridor was a huge plaza with no walls on any side.

Looking up at the plaza above, which has no ceiling, one sees an underwater scene reflected in the sky, like a starry night.

The part on the ground is a 17-meter-tall Buddha statue, just like those placed in a temple.

John began, “There were no temples in this location in Tokyo before, but they suddenly appeared recently. I’ve lived in Tokyo for many years, so I’m very familiar with the locations in the ruins, and I noticed something was wrong at a glance.”

"What's wrong?"

“It would be too much trouble for me to say everything, so please let this Buddha statue answer it itself.”

The alchemist thus declared.

“…Really.”

The Buddha statue standing before them resembled a fledgling bird hatching from its shell. In the next instant, a blue-haired girl with a compassionate and gentle expression sat cross-legged on the pedestal, and the fragments around her transformed into lotus flowers with thousands of petals.

"In that case, I have no choice but to speak."

"……Who are you?"

"Ah, just in case, let me say this in advance: this isn't remote operation or anything like that. My body is just like this right now. It's really stupid; if someone in this world hadn't used other means to activate me, I probably would have just kept sleeping like this."

The blue-haired girl shook her head as she spoke to the crowd a name that was very familiar to Novia herself.

The prince of Kapilavastu, having abandoned the ideal path of the Chakravartin (universal monarch) who ruled the world, found enlightenment as the savior of the 'end' in the path of rejection.

“My name is Vairocana.”

The Buddha has three bodies. The Sambhogakaya is the body of retribution that the Buddha attained through the cause and effect of his practice. It is the manifestation of perfect practice and complete enlightenment.

Vairocana Buddha is the Sambhogakaya of Shakyamuni.

Vairocana Buddha is the Dharmakaya of Shakyamuni.

The most artistically valuable piece in the Longmen Grottoes is the Vairocana Buddha, modeled after Empress Wu Zetian. To some extent, it is thus given a female image. However, Wu Zetian would rather be Maitreya, the future savior of the world, than the idealized embodiment of Buddha, Vairocana.

“Then, what is lost here is the fruition and wisdom of Vairocana Buddha.”

The blue-haired girl, who was using the meditation mudra, raised her hands to her forehead and touched the six small black dots that were not ordination scars. She then spoke these words to Novia, who showed no reaction.

Faced with the gentle girl who exuded a gentle aura, Erise and Chitose, grandmother and granddaughter, were speechless.

How should we accept this?

This girl is actually the incarnation of the famous enlightened one, Gautama? Although Eri has seen examples of Servants who were male but whose limit was female in history, this is still too shocking. He is a savior whose fame is comparable to that of Jesus...

He—no, she—Gautama Siddhartha was actually a woman!

Tiamat, on the other hand, was relatively calm, merely looking at Lushena with considerable curiosity.

Buddhism? Never heard of it. In India, wasn't it Bharata? The children there, like Yama, are completely different... Are they the second generation of gods who ended the reign of the first generation? I remember the children there were very mean, treating other children like toys.

Since Tiamat had never encountered Buddhism, her memories only suggested it was something like a pantheon that overthrew the previous generation.

In contrast, Vairocana calmly asked, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

"No, that..."

Eri was so shocked that she couldn't utter a word, becoming a creature that could only barely open and close her lips.

"No...Lord Novia should understand Lunash's condition, right?"

Dee smiled ambiguously at the silent Novia, "As fellow alchemists from the Atlas Academy, Novia, you must have already figured it out, right?"

Of course, as Gautama's teacher, and the Buddhist monks Dipankara and Maitreya, how could Novia not recognize Gautama?

If that guy were a girl, how could Novia, who had been her teacher since childhood, not know?

And given that guy's personality, it's absolutely impossible for an ordinary person to summon him.

"This is indeed 'Rushena,' a replica of the personality known from the relics, copied by the alchemists of the Atlas Institute. If the world war hadn't happened, in another hundred years or so, modern science would probably be able to use artificial intelligence to mimic an individual's personality."

"But imitating personality and imitating soul are two different things, aren't they?"

Eri couldn't help but retort.

Because humans are divided into three elements: body, mind, and soul, in other words, the soul is not a metaphysical existence, but a real one.

"According to the alchemist John's estimate, there is a 99% or higher probability that I will say the same things as I did in life. Well, as Vairocana, not Vairocana Buddha, I won't bring up this topic, anyway, I don't know."

Barefoot, Vairocana joyfully leaped down from the pedestal, followed closely by the thousands of lotus petals.

"Anyway, you can treat me as a girl who claims to be Vairocana and possesses Gautama's memories. Whether it's real or fake, that part doesn't matter, right?"

Novia asked, "You say you are Vairocana, not Vairocana Buddha, why is that?"

"Because I do not yet possess the Buddha's fruition and Buddha's wisdom."

As he spoke, Vairocana straightened his chest, which remained completely still.

"The Buddha’s true wisdom is revealed through the practice of the Six Perfections and myriad virtues. This is the Sambhogakaya that I, Vairocana Buddha, should manifest for Bodhisattvas of the first stage and above. The Sambhogakaya resides in the Pure Land of Real Reward. However, I do not know who stole my Buddhahood and Buddha wisdom. Originally, I should not have been here. It was only because of that alchemist that I was able to maintain the status quo."

"Hehe, that's it."

Dee laughed, "I met Vairocana by chance a few days ago, and learned from her that her Buddhahood and wisdom had been stolen, causing a significant drop in her strength. Although I can't tell whether it's a good or bad omen, if it was stolen by someone with ulterior motives, it would surely have a great impact. After all, the strength of a Buddha is like that of Amaterasu, and it might even cause the destruction of the world..."

Will the world end?

Faced with Novia's question, John, who believed he was an alchemist from the Atlas Academy, was not confused, but replied very seriously:

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to reveal your achievements, Novia."

"Because some people genuinely want to save the world, they will constantly resist destruction. That's why the tragedy will never end. The more thoughts there are about resisting destruction, the more destruction will occur in the world."

Every time Atlas devises a strategy to avoid annihilation, it also becomes a means that could lead to annihilation.

"...Are they all beyond redemption?"

Dee stroked her chin and asked tentatively, "Novia, is this what you wanted to say?"

Since he was unable to simulate everything about Novia using high-speed thinking and cutting thinking, Dee became wary of Novia.

How can this be?

How could there be someone in this world that I can't even imitate? Unless he's not human... No, even a heretical god couldn't escape my imitation. The alchemist who created the 'angel' destroyed the entire academy... Could he be a purely inanimate object?

But how can there be dead things in the gift of God, in the image of all things, in the abundance of life?