Four authorities intertwined here, unfolding a miraculous "creation" before Shu's eyes.
But this was merely creation!
Because the past had already happened. Shu didn't know if Ana had truly died, but he knew that no matter how much compensation, no matter how much guidance, the one standing here was Chen Tianwu, not Ana!
Even if everyone in this world believed it was Ana, the world would remember that it was Chen Tianwu!
The world would not actively change to cater to a person's subjectivity, or rather, to human subjectivity. It was just there, objective and impartial.
Humans could use their subjective initiative to change the world, but there was another saying... human strength has its limits!
To change a past fact based solely on subjectivity...
Shu suddenly froze.
Relying on subjectivity... to make the world cater to oneself?
He took a sharp breath. His weary heart suddenly throbbed forcefully, pumping a surge of hot blood to his brain.
And at that moment, amidst the dazzling light of the four different authorities, Chen Tianwu turned his head and looked at him.
Then, he spoke a fifth sentence to Shu.
"[Dream]! Let all that I know be truth! Let all that everyone sees be the truth! Let all that the world praises be the true name!!"
He roared, raising his hand to the sky, as if to grasp the entire world in his hand!
And at that moment, a brilliant light descended from the sky! It transformed into a magnificent scepter, declaring—
The authority of [Dream] was in his hands!
And along with the scepter came a massive amount of [Hope] from the base, just like the lingering [Hope] that the Xuanyuan Sword had once drawn!
Shu withdrew his hand. He stared intently at the person who, with just one glance, had made him willing to entrust his entire being. All his nervousness, doubt, and eager anticipation turned into the force of his nails digging into his palm, telling him with a trivial pain that this was not a dream.
This was his all-or-nothing gamble, even if it meant truly draining the entire base's defensive capabilities, he had to witness—
A miracle!
"[Hope]! Let the world's longing for the deceased be answered! Let the resurrection of the dead no longer be an empty fantasy, let her truly descend upon this world!"
Six different authorities, six different splendors, surrounded Chen Tianwu like pilgrims.
Shu could clearly sense that the world was changing. Everything was changing according to Chen Tianwu's fantasy.
The world was truly responding to all of Chen Tianwu's requests and expectations! If Chen Tianwu could truly blend these six different authorities, letting them completely merge.
This was the final obstacle, and the answer to this problem was already on the tip of Shu's tongue!
"Finally, I use [Binding] to connect all authorities, so that they no longer repel each other, so that they unite here, so that they are bestowed upon me! All for this one and only wish!"
If before, the six authorities were like pilgrims surrounding Chen Tianwu, merely completing their respective tasks, now, when Judah emitted the seventh splendor, all the "achievements" were unified at this moment!
The seven splendors blended, no longer distinguishable from each other. They went all out, just to complete that goal that could be called a miracle.
To grant her a body as it always was with Evolution; to grant her self-awareness and personality with Memory; to grant her a position in the world with Desire; to eliminate all loopholes that could expose the lie with Theory.
Then, to transform this "monstrous lie" into "truth" with Dream, and to make her wish come true with [Hope]!
And all of this was built on Binding.
Shu could even clearly sense a brand new personality... no, a brand new soul being generated here!
Wait...
Shu couldn't help but take half a step forward, the horror in his heart beyond measure.
How could it be generation?!
Resurrecting a person... wasn't it about piecing the soul back together, or bringing the soul of the deceased back from another place?
Why was it being generated from scratch like this?
Shu knew very well that this was the most difficult hurdle of the so-called "resurrection"—a hurdle that belonged solely to philosophy.
How is she, her? Is the one "resurrected" the original her, or another person with her memories, personality, and even all her experiences?
You know, even across time, this question still stands!
If it was just a simple body, memory, personality, positioning... then why was the final answer chosen by Otto in the original work a kind of "transmigration" based on the theory of quantum collapse?
Even Otto's final choice was to tell the whole world, "Among so many timelines, there is always one where Kallen is alive..."
He had truly created such a timeline, turning his time-traveling self into a "deus ex machina" that broke all predetermined timelines, and then used the self-growing trend of the Imaginary Tree to make it "inevitable."
And Otto's actions at that time and Chen Tianwu's actions at this time were so similar—weaving a lie, and then making the world believe it.
But the difference was... Otto's lie was indirect. He had never directly interfered with Kallen herself.
He had only killed a Honkai Beast, and Kallen had always been there, just as she was before.
But Chen Tianwu was direct! Ana's body, consciousness, the outside world's positioning of her... all of these were personally crafted by Chen Tianwu!
So, the "Ana" resurrected here would inevitably have a trace of Chen Tianwu's subjective image that the original Ana, the real Ana, did not have!
Perhaps it was the beautification in his memory, perhaps it was some small details that were subconsciously forgotten, or it could even be another side of Ana that Chen Tianwu had not been able to understand.
The one resurrected would only be the Ana in Chen Tianwu's heart... not the real...
"Ana..." A mumble from Chen Tianwu suddenly sounded. Shu looked up in astonishment, looking at the center of the grand ceremony.
At some point, two figures had appeared there.
Chen Tianwu was floating in the air, his face full of confusion. And when he looked back at the already formed soul of "Ana," Shu saw such clear strangeness in Chen Tianwu's eyes!
Strangeness?
Why... would Chen Tianwu feel strange towards "Ana"?
You know... Chen Tianwu should be more familiar with this "Ana" than the real Ana, because this Ana was all born based on Chen Tianwu...
Unless...
Chen Tianwu had never known Ana at all from the beginning.
That is, from beginning to end, in Chen Tianwu's world, besides the name "Ana," there was no memory of Ana at all.
Even including the association of this name.
How is this possible?!
If Chen Tianwu didn't know Ana, then why would he go to such great lengths to "resurrect Ana"?
How could someone go to such lengths for someone who "doesn't exist"? Even to die for her—
Shu's heart suddenly stopped. He opened his mouth, but couldn't even utter a single word from his dream.
Because there really was someone who could fight for someone who "doesn't exist."
He had seen it.
Kiana.