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It was something unbelievable, which we could hardly even comprehend.
Yet we knew exactly that this was also… that this boy…
He wasn't Song.
Or well, he was him.
But not him.
Not the one that was born from the Heavenly Empress; he was Song, the one made from her memories.
The one we helped, the one we interacted with.
Somehow, my sponsorship brought him to life beyond the simulation.
Something simply… insane.
I had no idea my powers could do this.
I felt both conflicted and kind of amazed.
And maybe…
Maybe happy?
Yeah, I was happy.
There was a lot we needed to talk about right now, but at the same time, we simply couldn't do it in front of the child.
He was very hungry, so when we welcomed him inside, we quickly shared dinner with him.
Still feeling completely shocked; most of us didn't even talk.
"Is it tasty?" his mother asked as she saw Song eat noodles and drink soup.
"It is! Mama's cooking is the best!" little Song giggled, chirping as he ate.
Seeing Master so happy and smiling made me a bit sad too.
I know she's not dumb.
She knows he's part of the simulation; she knows that's not the son she gave birth to.
But at the same time, after all she had gone through, she couldn't help but embrace him without even hesitating.
And I can't…
I can't blame her for that.
If I were a mother…
I think I would feel the same, maybe.
After everything she went through.
Definitely.
"So what happened?" he wondered.
Song wasn't too young either; he was quite a smart boy; he was perceptive and could easily tell when something was weird, wrong, or awkward.
"I still don't know…" his mother sighed.
"But I was… everyone was happy and celebrating," the boy sighed. "Then… something happened, like… baam! And everything became… like, it stopped moving? It froze…"
He even remembers when the simulation ended?
He kept consciousness even then!
"I-I see…" Wai Tian muttered. "Little Song, do you know what else happened then? And how were you able to stay as… yourself, and not the rest?"
"Dunno…" he said. "But something within me was swelling up and keeping me conscious I think! It might have been the power Anna helped me awaken!"
Then everyone glared at me…
Ah, well…
"Y-Yeah…! Maybe?" I wondered. "Um, so how exactly did you break out of that? How did that happen?"
"I just used my powers to break out of the glass… when I walked out I realized everything was just glass, nobody was there other than… someone that looks like mama," said Song.
"Me?" the Will wondered.
"Yeah, you! Are you my big sister?" wondered Song, excited.
"No… I am your mother's Divine Will, a fragment of her mind and soul," she explained. "I'm not your sister… but… well, I don't mind if you call me like that either."
"Uh-huh…" Song was still confused, but he looked very sleepy. "Mama… I'm sleepy…"
"Alright then, want to go to bed, dear?" master smiled. "How about we take a bath first, hm? Have you gone to the bathroom yet?"
"Nope…" Song said. "I want to pee I think!"
"Hahah, alright, let's go then," his mother giggled, holding him and walking away.
And then we were left alone…
There was a lot to talk, but nobody said a word.
Until the Divine Will broke the ice.
"She did!" she pointed at me. "Your strange powers somehow turned a simulation to life! T-This is terrible! Master must be devastated, forced to do this, knowing that's not truly her child…"
"I-I know… it must have been my sponsorship, not even I know the true extent of these powers!" I confessed. "I just thought that once the simulation was over, he would simply just… fade away? And so the sponsorship. But somehow, that sponsorship has kept him… stable and conscious. It didn't even cost that much Plot Points, it's weird!"
"So not even Anna knows…" sighed Wai Tian. "It just happened… and this is a new mystery we somehow have to resolve, I suppose."
"But… master didn't look sad though," said Zero One. "If anything, I think she was very happy!"
"That's…" the Divine Will stopped bickering, falling in silence. "That's true… but it is happiness born from a lie… It's not good. Such happiness will eventually collapse, causing even more sorrow to the person than before. It's not healthy…"
"It's not a lie," said Yin Sheng. "That child exists and is alive right now; he was right in front of us. Even if he might be… let's say a clone. Now he's a living being, not an illusion. We can't just neglect him. And even less will Master do that; she'll happily take care of him, fully knowing he's not the real Song."
"I… guess so…" the Divine Will sighed again. "Ugh… I'm just… worried…"
"It's fine," I sighed, patting her head. "We'll do this together, solve the problem together… W-We can try, at least?"
"Hahh… I think I know what that child is…" the Divine Will said, suddenly making us shake in surprise a bit.
"Y-You know?!" I gasped. "Who could it be?"
"I'll talk once Master is back… But that child holds the same powers as the simulation. It's incredible what your sponsorship power did," she said. "Are you sure you're not a Constellation?"
"I'm pretty sure I am not one yet but… Wait," I muttered.
That's right…
I'm almost one, no?
Such powers would be ridiculous for a mortal.
But a Constellation could certainly do something like that.
Maybe my powers, my sponsorship, had evolved without me realizing?
Hmm…
Well, there was little we could talk right now, so once master brought her son to a room in the palace, an old room she had kept clean that once belonged to him, and confirmed he fell asleep not short after, she walked downstairs.
She looked serene, still smiling, as she sat down in front of the table, facing us all. In silence, she sipped some tea and then sighed.
"Let's talk," she said. "First of all, for those doubting me, I am well aware that the child we saw today is not my Song. But at the same time, he's the same as him… I simply couldn't just leave him, not even he knows what he is. So let's… for now, pretend he is the real one, alright? For him… I believe he might come to understand over time."
"I guess… that's fair," I nodded.
Everyone agreed, nodding a bit.
"Now… let's go to the important talk," she said. "Who is this boy? He's the recreation of Song's Records of the World. You see, the tower itself and the simulation it materializes were made using a Fragment of the World's Records, plus the formation I made. The formation turns all records into temporary physical matter. While the records are… memories of the world, of extreme accuracy. Every world has these cores within their souls, which store Records, the Stories of their worlds. Did you know?"
"W-We didn't know…" said Wai Tian.
"Me neither… so that's what the tower was made of…" said Yin Sheng.
"I'm honestly shocked…" Fang Shuan said. "To think every world has such a powerful thing… Is this how Constellations are born?"
"I don't know, but I know they store Stories within them. Worlds record all of their history…" said master. "When a world faces its end, this history, this story… it shatters apart into fragments. Fragments filled with Stories."
The source of power of Constellations, aside from Cosmic Energy.
Stories.
To grow powerful, one must advance and gain Stories, weave your own story into realization.
That is not something anybody can easily do!
But if Worlds store Stories within their Cores…
Is this why the Void Rulers desire to devour them?
The World Records… this is what they feed on.
To devour an entire World's Story, an entire World's History…
Its past, present, and perhaps even hypothetical futures.
"But if a fragment of the Record was exposed to the outside world, then that means…" I muttered, realizing what was happening.
"Yeah, in the Apocalypse… an entity took… a bite out of our world," sighed the Venerable. "In the invasion, it came. A gigantic… thing. Incomprehensible, an endless sea of metal and wires. Its titanic limb clashed over our continent, piercing through everything and reaching the world's soul, its core, the Records. We stopped it with my ex-husband. But it managed to touch the Records, and ended up breaking several small pieces from them, which it ate…"
Wait, so that's really a Void Ruler of some bizarre kind!
They really appeared and attacked Bestia! Holy shit…
This is even worse than I imagined.
And if the Apocalypse is not over yet then, that thing must still be craving this world.
It wants to finish its meal…
"I never thought that one of such fragments would have remained on this island… When I found it, I immediately secured it in a safe place. To touch that crystal is to fall into an endless sea of stories and memories. And it is very easy… to get absorbed into it and lose yourself. To experience the past over and over, the good times… How intoxicating it is…" she sighed. "I speak from firsthand experience."
"Master…" I sighed, holding her hand. "I'm sorry.. I think… this happened because I sponsored Song."
"I know," she said. "I could feel your blessing within my child. I believe… my Divine Will also guessed what he is, right?"
"Yes, master…" her Divine Will nodded. "That boy is the Records, Memories, and the Story of Song, which is contained within the fragment. He's… the embodiment of those memories, while the World Record Fragment could be said to be his soul, or his core… the blessing from Anna must have not only awakened this Story and given it sentience, but it allowed the fragment to gain a soul."
"I granted it a soul?!" I gasped. "So it's really not Song…"
"It is Song…" said the Divine Will out of nowhere. "Technically, it is. Stories exists to embody a person's existence. Theoretically, it is Song… yet it isn't… It's confusing…"
"So he's a part of Song then?" wondered Wai Tian.
"Yeah! That's much simpler," nodded the Divine Will. "We could say that…"
Master drank tea again and then gently placed the cup on the table.
"Indeed," she knew all along. "That's why I love him because he's my son… He might not be his flesh and soul, but that is still my son, his records, his story, his legacy. Anna… made it possible for him to walk out of a simulation and realize his own existence. Maybe this is also happening because Song is suffering, or maybe… because he might soon lose his soul. It is as if the world itself is doing something to help him…"
"The World… and the Heavenly Will are different?" I wondered.
"Yes, yet at the same time, they're one, two faces of the same coin," nodded master. "The Heavenly Will might have died, but the World's Will remains, weakened… but still with some influence."
"I think I know what his true purpose is… Even if my sponsorship might have been an accident, this all feels predestined somehow," I sighed. "He might be the key to helping us save Song… To restore him from his Demon King status!"
"I… perhaps," Master nodded, smiling faintly. "Well, I think this solves most of our questions, right? I will eventually tell him the truth, but for now, let us train and live with him. I want him to relax, and also, I want to teach him; I want to spend time… with him."
Master…
A mother is a mother at the end.
"Of course…" I nodded. "Right guys?"
Everyone agreed, nodding.
"Yeah, no problem here," Yin Sheng said.
"I don't have one either," Fang Shuan said.
"Me neither!" said Wai Tian. "I also want to play with Song!"
"M-Me too… I'm still processing everything I learned today, but I'll do my best to help too," Zero One smiled timidly.
"Thank you…" Master cried. "Thank you, my disciples… You're all like a gift from the heavens… I'm very happy you're here with me… After I've felt so lonely… You're all like my kids; you're my treasures."
"Master…"
We were moved to tears at the end.
Dammit, this day has been filled with crying.
But tomorrow is a new day.
Slowly, hope is rising more within everyone's hearts, I can tell.
The final battle is slowly approaching.
And with Song here, I think we got a good shot now.
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