Give children a little self-destruction shock to their worldview.

To be precise, she was sixteen or seventeen years old, Haga Mayumi.

Although she was about the same age as the Mayumi Haga she knew now, she could tell at a glance that this was probably Mayumi from a long time ago.

Because it was so embarrassing.

Like a drenched water ghost, it first struggled to reach out of the water with one hand and barely managed to grab onto the plants by the lake. That wrist was incredibly thin, even thinner than Mayumi's, who had been eating fast food for over fifty days straight, and it was also weak. It took it a long time to finally manage to climb out.

She was almost entirely covered in mud and seaweed that had somehow gotten tangled in her. She struggled to open her eyes, but didn't even have the strength to cough up the debris stuck in her trachea. She lay on the ground with her mouth agape like a dying fish, her face flushed red from holding her breath.

Finally, Mayumi Haga vomited up all the water in her stomach, and her eyes turned a physiological red.

For some reason, Hitomi Tono was still unable to touch Mayumi Haga, and could only anxiously circle around her. She only breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Mayumi had finally escaped her suffocation.

...It's so painful to watch.

Tono Hitomi was very worried about Haga Mayumi's condition, but whenever she reached out her hand, it would pass right through her body.

Because it was part of a memory, Mayumi Haga was unaware that her every move was being watched by others. Having barely crawled back from the brink of death, she no longer had the strength to get up, so she simply rolled over and lay on her back on the ground.

His chest rose and fell slightly, but his bright golden eyes shone terrifyingly.

“…Guardian…” Mayumi Haga murmured to herself, unable to help but utter the word that appeared in her mind, “Why choose…me?”

She was completely bewildered, having forgotten the content of her communication with the world's consciousness before the prophecy, and utterly unaware that her fate had been altered that very night.

She lay on the ground, her blurry vision quickly clearing, and finally she could see the full moon hanging in the sky.

My eyesight seems to have improved a lot.

This was the first time she had seen the moon so clearly. The enhancement of her five senses also allowed her to capture the sound of insects flapping their wings, the movement of air, the shadows of animals flashing in the depths of the forest, and even the smell of candles lit at night in a house in a distant village.

Mayumi Haga had never experienced such good health before... or rather, an excessively healthy state of being.

She was actually happy.

Despite being overly mature and composed due to her family background, Mayumi Haga subconsciously restrained her self-expression after realizing that her desires could harm those around her, and would clumsily conceal her emotions.

But at this point, she was still just a child.

After realizing that she might be able to get rid of the physical problem that had plagued her for nearly seventeen years, Mayumi Haga felt that the air was exceptionally sweet.

She wanted to go back and tell her mother the news so that she could take better care of her.

The more I can do, the more likely my mother's body will recover.

Tono Hitomi saw that after a short rest, Haga Mayumi suddenly had a smile on her face.

The smile grew brighter and brighter, as if the eyes were seeing an increasingly better future.

It was a sudden burst of hope in someone on the verge of despair, a euphoria that was almost uncontrollable.

At that moment, moonlight shone down on her, and a gentle breeze blew. Tono Hitomi saw Haga Mayumi get up from the ground and run home immediately without wasting a second.

Although she was not comparable to Mayumi Haga later in terms of physical ability, when she first became a Guardian, she ran with all her might and was only about the same as an ordinary person, and even stumbled.

But she maintained her top speed and still swept through the forest like the wind.

When she reached her doorstep, Mayumi Haga felt that if it weren't for her healing ability, her lungs would have exploded. But now, although she didn't have unlimited stamina,

Beads of sweat glistened on her nose, her face flushed, and she flung open the door: "Mom! Listen to me, I think..."

The child, overjoyed to bring the news, suddenly felt choked up upon seeing his mother sleeping peacefully on her sickbed.

...Oh right, Mom is already asleep.

Mayumi Haga realized that her voice was too loud and might wake her sleeping mother, so she shut her mouth.

Her breathing was heavy and disordered from running, and her sweat mixed with the mud from the bottom of the lake, emitting a subtle odor as her body temperature rose.

Yuga Mayumi eagerly squatted down beside her mother's sickbed, thinking that she would take a shower in a little while, so that if her mother woke up now, she could tell her the good news as soon as possible.

……what?

After her breathing calmed down a bit, Mayumi Haga sensed that something was not quite right.

It seemed like only her own breathing could be heard in the room.

Realizing the problem, Mayumi Haga suddenly panicked.

My mother's health had already deteriorated this morning, and she hurriedly sought out the village's witch doctor, who managed to save her life... How... how could this be...?

At that moment, the contents of the contract with the world consciousness suddenly appeared in her mind.

[Give them the right to decide when to enter the river of life].

However, in contrast, after Junko Haga returns to the Naga River, Mayumi Haga will have to work for the world's consciousness as a guardian.

As if realizing something, Mayumi Haga quickly went over and grabbed her mother's cold hand.

The pain of the contract taking effect felt like being pricked by needles, but after a brief moment of pain, the mother slowly opened her eyes.

This might be a happy ending for everyone, because as long as Junko Haga doesn't give up on living, the mother and daughter can live together for a long time.

However, Junko Haga's health was still very poor. Extending her lifespan would not revitalize her increasingly deteriorating body, and sooner or later, she would still leave.

And that day is not far off.

All she could do was hurry up and finish what she needed to do, find a suitable person to entrust her daughter, who had become a guardian, to, and then leave this world peacefully.

Yuga Mayumi was also very sensible. She silently accepted everything, knowing that her contract only gave her mother the opportunity to arrange her own funeral, and she did not force her to stay with her.

She was just a little sad.

"...Don't worry, Mom." The guardian, whose hair hadn't yet turned white, was still quite clumsy at concealing her emotions. She just stared intently at the floor, not wanting her mother to see her tears. "I'll take good care of myself."

Junko Haga helplessly beckoned to her, letting her snuggle into her arms: "The truth?"

She felt her clothes slowly getting wet.

Mayumi Haga sobbed uncontrollably, "I...I knew you were leaving..."

She looked up, her eyes filled with tears, her voice thick with a nasal tone.

"But could you... could you please not go?"

Junko Haga patted her back and gently stroked her.

"You go too. Go and see what's outside, Little Feather."

Keep walking straight ahead along the only road...

As long as you keep moving forward, you won't be swallowed by sadness.

Text: Chapter 152: Mayumi Haga’s Cemetery

Keep moving forward.

Haga Mayumi didn't really understand the meaning of that sentence.

After her mother actually passed away, she was not so sad anymore.

She watched her mother peacefully close her eyes, watched her emaciated mother being placed into the coffin, and she simply stood quietly to the side, adding the last handful of soil.

It's strange. She cried so much when her mother was still alive, but when it came to the moment of parting, she couldn't squeeze out a single tear.

Perhaps from the day she was given that blessing of "forward," Mayumi Haga was also cursed by it.

So she only stayed at her mother's grave for a while, and when her senior, Urzana, came to fetch her, she decided to leave.

Not forever, but I certainly won't look back for it.

.................................................. .................................................. .

The cold, damp old train traveled through a long, dark tunnel. The red-haired woman came to her senses and found herself sitting on an old seat with her hands on her knees.

She stood up, and just then the train's dim lights came on. In the light, she saw two familiar figures beside her.

A teddy bear, which had been sitting neatly on the car seat, was finally able to move its limbs and stand up. It looked up and saw a pink-haired head in the seat in front of it.

Sugiyama Rika, Kokuma, and Tono Hitomi looked at each other in bewilderment.

This is a deeper layer of Mayumi Haga's spiritual world.

After becoming a Guardian, Mayumi Haga's mental world is completely different from that of an ordinary person. Although she is quite young compared to other Guardians, even arguably childish, the memories she carries cannot be fully explored through the usual process.

So what follows is all of Mayumi Haga's memories after she embarked on her journey, presented in a completely different way than before.

The three of them had just seen Mayumi Haga's memories from before she became a Guardian and embarked on her journey. In fact, they all appeared in that part of her memory, but they couldn't see each other or interact with Mayumi. Now that they were on the train, they could finally see each other's faces.

Sugiyama Rika frowned, deep in thought. Though usually carefree, she had keenly observed something in Haga Mayumi's personality.

However, this conjecture needed more evidence to prove it, so she kept it to herself and tried her best to sort out the mess in her mind.

What exactly has been overlooked...?

Hitomi Tono, on the other hand, was much more direct. She appeared on the car seat, sobbing, and frantically wiping away her tears: "Mayumi..."

She didn't want to use the word "pitiful" to describe Mayumi, but she was indeed struck by something the moment she saw Mayumi Haga crying.

She could hardly imagine how Mayumi Haga could maintain her individuality in such a growing environment, transforming from fragile glass into the most resilient diamond... Just thinking about the hardships she endured made Hitomi Tono want to shed tears for Mayumi Haga.

She is a very empathetic person, which is both her strength and a source of trouble for her.

For example, right now, she is trapped in the pain of Mayumi Haga and cannot find a way out.

Next to Hitomi Tono, who was sobbing, was a teddy bear.

Despite the difficulty, perhaps because of her genuine emotions, the other two people present could see the sorrow in her small eyes.

The little bear didn't cry as dramatically as Hitomi Tono; she just sat there, completely stunned, not knowing what to say.

The words were on the tip of my tongue, but then I felt they were meaningless, so I swallowed them back down.

My brain was forced to go blank.

The little bear, who is most sensitive to emotions, has been completely drawn into Mayumi Haga's feelings and is finding it difficult to break free.

The three saw each other, but made no sound. They simply got up and walked towards the carriage in front.

The train continued to travel through the endless tunnel, the broken windows letting in a gust of wind, filling the ears with countless sounds, the wind almost blowing everyone over.

Next up is Mayumi Haga's next chapter in life.

In that instant, it was as if a huge silver screen lit up in front of me, showing a long road that seemed to stretch on forever.

The wind stopped.

The group disembarked from the train and began walking. Numerous red stone tablets lined the roadside; upon closer inspection, one could discern dates and specific times, and even…

[On the 27th of May, in the year 229 of the Alamos, he fell from a great height.]

[On the 27th of June, in the year 229 of the Alamos, his throat was bitten out by a wolf.]

[July 8th, Alamo 229, self-destruction.]

[July 8th, Alamo 229, self-destruction.]

[July 8th, Alamo 229, self-destruction.]

[July 8th, Alamo 229, self-destruction.]

……

These countless stone tablets bear horrifying inscriptions, seemingly recording the cause of someone's death. The soil beneath the tablets is fresh, with a faint hint of warm liquid seeping out. Initially, the tablets are spaced apart by a little time, and sometimes tablets with the same cause of death are grouped together, creating a very irregular pattern.

These stone tablets stretch for thousands of miles, leading straight to the end of the road. On this road woven with death, only the three of them walk.

The soil beneath our feet had a deeper, reddish hue.

The nasal cavity was filled with a strong smell of blood, and the sensation underfoot was even more subtle.

Sugiyama Rika subconsciously moved closer to the stone tablet closest to her, and the scene before her eyes changed.

[On June 16th, in the year 230 of the Alamo calendar, he was pushed into lava by a monster.]

Eighteen-year-old Mayumi Haga appeared before them.

Her entire body was encased in a thick, fire-resistant suit, like a can, revealing only a pair of bright golden eyes. She held an ice crystal capable of lowering the temperature in her mouth as she carefully climbed the rock face. The heat distorted the air, and the pungent smell of sulfur made it hard to breathe.

This is inside a volcano; a single misstep could result in being engulfed in lava and incinerated. However, Mayumi Haga has been entrusted with collecting Flame Fruits here and delivering them to the Snow Mountain region.

Because it was a small task, Urzana didn't stay to guide her. Mayumi Haga found her way here alone, and just as her eyes spotted the Flame Fruit plant in the crack of the rocks, she reached out to take it.

The moment she reached out, the foothold beneath her began to collapse, and with a sharp scream, her body was thrown into the air.

Haga Mayumi: "!"

Golden Eyes showed astonishment at that moment. Unlike later when he was not as composed as he was, the guardian had not yet opened his parachute before he fell.