boyutpedia Chapter 133 The Legend of Thor Mission (End)
Chapter 133 The Legend of Thor Mission (End)
Chapter Subtitle: Shadow: What's going on? This atmosphere where only I'm kept in the dark...
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"How are you able to return here again, and why do you look exactly the same as you did back then?"
"Back then? How many years have passed in your memory since you sent Mei away?" Kiana asked.
"...five hundred years."
"Five hundred years? No wonder you're so surprised..."
Kiana wanted to explain something, but the Thunder General on the other side spoke first.
"This duel is truly unforgettable. It feels like we've returned to the time when the eternal laws were first established, and your will now is comparable to that of then. In countless battles, you have never been defeated, nor have you hesitated in the slightest. Even when I laid bare all the eternal enemies before you, you remained steadfast."
"You deserve respect for your unwavering adherence to the rules. You are truly worthy of the title of Eternal Guardian."
Shadow responded, but Kiana really wanted to complain that as a manufactured puppet, although General Raiden had his own will, it was merely a will that was imposed upon him and was not free. It was a will that could only blindly guard eternity, a will that thought like a robot.
Before she is changed, she will inevitably continue to carry out the commands engraved in the core of her mind, and there is nothing particularly admirable about her.
"Since they have returned to this space again, it seems like fate has brought it to a close. Let us use this final battle to put an end to our five-hundred-year-old destiny."
"A final battle? Could it be that you've finally..." Shadow seemed to realize something, raising his sword to wary, "You two, step back!"
Realizing this would be the final battle, Shin led Kiana toward a safe place behind them.
At this moment, Ying thought a lot. Perhaps, as General Raiden said, this was fate. Since she and Kiana had come here together, making General Raiden believe that this would be the final battle, then she should also use all her strength.
"...I will be the next beginning. Because I am Lei Movie, promising my subjects a dream!"
The next moment, an astonishing power erupted from General Raiden. A pair of enormous puppet hands lifted him up, and a full arm, as tall as a person, extended from behind him. Holding in that arm was a scaled-up katana, named Dream of the Heart.
It was clear that the Thunder General on the other side had used all his strength, and even a Kage would have a tough battle against such an opponent.
But miraculously, Shadow felt incredibly light, and the sword in his hand resonated with him, unleashing a power he had never experienced before. Relying on this power, Shadow easily defeated the Thunder General who was using all his strength.
At this moment, General Raiden finally acknowledged that Shadow's will had not changed due to wear and tear.
“That’s it. You’ve won.” General Thunder sheathed his weapon and said, “I thought you couldn’t transcend the past, but it seems I was too presumptuous and underestimated your soul. An indestructible will can never truly embrace the future.”
At this point, General Thunder seemed a little lost in thought. For her, Shadow's change meant that she might have to walk alone in the future. Shadow saw this and offered her comfort.
"You need not worry about the future, nor do you need to walk alone. I know your strength best. If I were to fight alone, I would surely be the loser in this duel. However, the reason for drawing the sword determines the scope and limit of martial arts. What I bear is the weight of countless gazes cast towards the heavens."
Subconsciously, Shadow tightened his grip on the sword in his hand and said, "Every time I think of this, I can feel the strange movement coming from this sword of dreams. This sword that I received from Shin's hands, and Shin's will, are trying to remind me... to inspire me."
General Thunder agreed with this statement, because during the fierce battle just now, she did indeed feel that the sword, the shadow, and the true resonance behind the shadow released a brand new power.
"I felt it too. During the fierce battle just now, it seemed to have released a completely new power. This power was even beyond my comprehension."
"After all, this is my sword, and it will only respond to Shadow with all its might when Shadow truly understands and acknowledges me."
Shin stepped forward and explained, “Shadow, you’ve worked so hard all these years. Although you’ve made mistakes, you didn’t choose to run away but instead chose to admit them and try to change them. When you understand and agree with my thoughts, this dream sword will truly be handed over to you. Now, you are the true master of this sword.”
"elder sister…"
"But that kid called Sanbing was wrong of you."
"Sister, who is the skirmisher?"
"You...this! This is the first child you conceived!" Zhen said, exasperated.
"So it was him. But I remember I sealed him in the secret realm. How did you know, sister?"
"I'm talking to you...!"
General Thunder closed her eyes as she watched the two interacting before her. As the eternal guardian, she was extremely sensitive to changes in will. She not only sensed a completely new will within the Shadow's will, a will she had never felt before, but also felt a sense of relief and inheritance within the True Will.
At this moment, she had no reason to stop Ying anymore, because she had accepted her. Not only that, but even her true consciousness remnant had accepted Ying, so there was even less reason for her to oppose her.
Yes, compared to Kage, Raiden General, being a doll, realized Mei's relationship with Shin much earlier, and even saw that Shin's days were numbered. During that short time together, Shin's meticulous care made Raiden General unconsciously develop different feelings for her. However, Raiden General knew that Shin would one day disappear, and for this reason, Shin also told her that he hoped to see Kage grow up before she disappeared.
Originally a steadfast guardian of eternity, the Thunder General, upon hearing Shin's request, inexplicably defied his own underlying logic and decided to help Shin fulfill her wish.
It now seems that her actions did not disappoint Zhen; she truly witnessed Ying's growth before disappearing.
“I acknowledge it,” General Thunder said, interrupting the man who was currently instructing Shadow. “Your new will does not stem from wear and tear. I will no longer hinder your attempts to modify the laws. From this day forward, I will remain your assistant.”
“I will no longer set any unalterable rules.” Shadow said, walking up behind General Thunder. “You once represented my past, but from today onward, you are me. You have never treated me as a fearless weapon, and I should not treat you as a tool.”
"...Ha, you really have changed. This is what humans call growth. I understand. I will become your shadow, just as you were once a real shadow. But as a martial artist, I look forward to having the opportunity to fight like this again in the future."
"Just considering the outcome, you're still not entirely satisfied, are you?"
"I've never felt this way before. It's novel and worth reminiscing about. And it's not like I haven't completely surpassed you, for example, in terms of true consciousness, am I right, Shin-neechan?"
Hearing this, Ying turned around in surprise and looked at Zhen, who was somewhat embarrassed, with disbelief in his eyes. Zhen scratched his face awkwardly and finally sighed.
"In the end, it all came back to me."
Shin stepped forward and borrowed the sword that had once belonged to him from Kage, slowly channeling his remaining power. Sensing this power, the sword began to emit a soft, cherry-colored light, which then transformed into a seed that fell into Kage's hand.
"This is…"
Ying looked at the seed in her hand and asked a question, while Zhen gave her a gentle look and slowly explained.
"This is the last gift I'm leaving you. Originally, I left only a faint trace of my consciousness sealed within the Dream Heart, waiting for this day to come. After all, I knew that you would never listen to a word back then, so I used this roundabout method."
“I would never appear before you have fully matured. That was the original plan, but a miracle happened when you fought Mei during the ceremony for the hundredth Eye of God. My consciousness was transferred from Dream Isshin to Mei’s body. I can’t go into details about this child’s origins, but I can tell you that her relationship with us is extraordinary. It is through Mei’s body that I can often appear outside to experience Inazuma as he is now, and to spend these last moments with you.”
"The last moments... Could it be that, sister, you..."
"After all, I'm already dead," Makoto said with a bitter smile. "What's appearing before you now is just the remnant consciousness of Makoto in someone else's body. Sooner or later I will disappear completely, but before that, I still hope to see you grow. Now that my wish has been fulfilled, I can entrust Inazuma to you with peace of mind."
"elder sister…!"
"Alright, all good things must come to an end. Now, please plant it with my will."
"So, could this seed be...?"
"It is the miraculous tree that shelters all people. At this moment, it remains an unknown and unfamiliar existence. When it will fall to the ground and where it will sprout depends on the heart and dream of the blade that brought it into this world. So, grant it life, Shadow."
Looking at the seed in her hand, Ying had a hunch. The Divine Child had once told her that the origin of the Divine Cherry Tree seemed to be the true consciousness space, but this space was only brought back and placed here five hundred years ago. If the Divine Cherry Tree had truly existed here since ancient times, then how could the true consciousness space, which only appeared here five hundred years ago, become the origin of the Divine Cherry Tree?
Now, this question has been answered. Following her intuition, Ying planted the seed in the center of this space.
"Eternity extends time infinitely, and dreams make every moment shine."
With the words of truth, the seed that fell to the ground quickly sprouted and transformed into a sapling, which then grew rapidly and spiraled upwards.
Suddenly, foxes appeared in the area, bypassing the crowd to stand guard over the saplings and watch them grow.
"The two complement each other, and the divine cherry blossom will eventually bloom from the darkness, free from the constraints of natural law."
As the sapling grows, a virtual Narukami Shrine blossoms and envelops the area, with the sacred cherry tree situated in the shrine's backyard.
"With this, the nightmare has vanished, reality has been fulfilled, and the future we both longed for still lies ahead. It's just a pity that I can no longer witness Inazuma's future, nor can I walk with you any longer."
At some point, her true consciousness left Mei's body and transformed into a cluster of petals floating in mid-air.
"You know what? Shadow, I'm so happy right now, because my last wish has come true. Your naginata saved me from countless calamities, and I've always felt indebted to you. Although it's just a small repayment, this divine cherry blossom will buy you time before you truly awaken and encounter new things. How about it? It should have already worked, right?"
"..."
"This time, it's really goodbye to Shadow."
After speaking, his true consciousness completely transformed into petals that drifted all around him. Ying watched the falling petals, unable to calm down for a long time.
She reached out and gently held a petal in her palm, placing it against her chest, and looked up at the sky.
Goodbye, Zhen.
In a secluded corner, unnoticed, a feather slowly fell into Kiana's hand. Kiana remained silent, carefully tucking it away. Just then, a notification sounded in Kiana and the others' minds indicating mission completion, and their next objective officially appeared in their thoughts.
Composing herself, Ying left the consciousness space and went to the shrine, where she told Yae no Miko everything that had happened.
"Now that the Shadow has planted the Divine Cherry Tree in the consciousness space, it has sprouted in the past Inazuma... No matter how you look at it, it's an incredible thing."
"These all come down to the power of truth. Her understanding of eternity is deeper than mine. Eternity is a concept intimately connected with time. Once you touch upon eternity, the concept of time becomes blurred."
"When I entered the space, I saw a wonderful sight. Time seemed to be moving forward, and it also seemed to be moving backward."
Mei chimed in, leaving Kiana alone to ponder the mission objective.
"Time itself has no meaning and cannot be explained by common sense... So this is the source of the chaos I felt. Perhaps this is also the reason why you were able to return to this point in time smoothly."
Yae no Miko revealed her guess, but the reason they were able to return safely was because Kiana intervened.
Based on her experience from entering the tunnel last time, Kiana successfully located and anchored their correct point in time. It was at that moment that Kiana sensed a force with the same power of time secretly helping them.
"..."
“I understand what you’re thinking. Perhaps there really is a higher power (Ishtar) involved…”
Kiana wasn't interested in what Mei and the others were discussing, but the Shadow's speculation confirmed some things for her. Istaru, according to the information her future self gave her, was one of the four rulers currently governing Teyvat, and also one of the four Shadows of Fanes.
It seems she was responsible for the cherry blossom tree sprouting and growing in the past. This means she must have reached some kind of agreement with Shin. Perhaps I can find a breakthrough through her, and...
Kiana looked at the mission target and couldn't help but smile bitterly. Her future self had painstakingly tried to forge a different path, but in the end, she had come full circle back to where she started. It seemed that she was somewhat dissatisfied with her future self's interference and had finally intervened.
Mission objective—to become the next Tenri.