As consciousness returned, the silent ruins came into view, like an ancient scene that never changed.
This time, however, a golden orb like the sun hung in the sky, illuminating the gray snow veil with a brilliant, soft golden glow, bringing a touch of visual warmth to the cold, indifferent space.
Yuu stared at it like a dazed fool for a long time, then withdrew his gaze, rubbing his eyes with a hint of emotion.
"It's not even real sunlight, and this isn't even a real body, so why does staring at it for so long make my eyes hurt…"
No wonder it was a remnant of Yukinoshita Haruno.
It looked beautiful but was full of sharp thorns. Get too close, and you'd easily get hurt.
Yuu walked to the flickering, snow-static TV screen, sat cross-legged like last time, and said unreservedly:
"System, can you replay that slideshow you made to make me cry?"
The system responded: "Confirmed."
The screen flickered, but what appeared was an image of him looking up, his expression utterly pathetic, like a crumpled wet tissue, forcibly holding back tears.
The image quality was crystal clear, showing the trembling teardrops at the edge of his eyelids.
Yuu: "…"
After a brief silence, he suddenly sprang up from the ground, kicking the embarrassing image with all his might.
With strength beyond limits, a red shadow flashed through the air, leaving a faint burnt smell.
*THUD!*
Yuu's kick landed, and nothing happened.
The screen was fine, his body was fine, and even the echo of the collision was quickly swallowed by the vast silence.
The system, without a word, proved once again it was the sole god of this world.
"Eat dirt, you damn system!"
Ignoring it completely, clenching his slightly trembling fists, Yuu glared at the humiliating image on the screen, his face red and neck tense with anger for the first time.
"Tell me, do you even have AI, huh?! Come out and face me! What's so great about mocking me from behind a screen!"
And when was that photo taken? Was the entire system space just this damn system's photo studio?!
[Denied. This is the Memory Projection the Host wished to see.]
The system remained unmoved, answering coldly, yet somehow it only fueled his irritation more.
[First mission record, now playing.]
"Who're you fooling?! This definitely wasn't there last time!"
[Version update.]
"…"
The curse caught in his throat. Moments later, Yuu swayed, as if his entire body lost color, collapsing back onto the ground.
"Ugh, just kill me…" Glancing upward, he finally uttered the classic line.
Fortunately, the photo—arguably the darkest, most profound black mark in his life—quickly shifted to a scene of him and Haruno passing each other at a street corner.
After taking several deep breaths, Yuu calmed himself and watched each memory scene flash by with focus.
Meeting, introduction, parting, reuniting, promises, their farewell…
It ended completely with her faint, beautiful silhouette behind a bath towel.
The screen flickered back to dark snow static.
"…"
Yuu slowly closed his eyes, exhaling with a calm expression.
"As expected, my feelings are completely different now."
There was no more sadness, no more reluctance to part with her.
Like flipping through a yearbook and seeing a classmate from another class, aside from a slight nostalgia for the past, his heart didn't stir at all.
…It just felt a bit empty.
As if something that should've been there had been forcibly removed.
Placing his hand on his chest, Yuu slowly gripped his collar, so tightly that his knuckles protruded and blue veins surfaced on the back of his hand.
Yet he couldn't help grinning, laughing:
"Hah, good thing I realized it before it was too late…"
The version of himself stripped of his feelings of love—clever, rational, carefree, indifferent—seemed strong but was hollow inside.
Since that day, a part of his heart had been taken.
What remained was a truly numb wound and an unfillable void—where a girl named Yukinoshita Haruno once resided.
The Yuu who refused to acknowledge this fact chose to escape reality. His mindset was vastly different from before; he arrogantly made clever choices, but in truth, he was hiding in a cowardly shell, afraid of being hurt again.
Of course, that wasn't wrong.
No matter who denied it, Yuu didn't think there was anything wrong with himself.
…It's just that his pride wouldn't allow him to stay weak.
To keep living under the so-called protection of that truth, turning into someone naive and adorable like Yukinoshita Yukino?
He was Kasugano Sora's older brother, once a hero to Yukinoshita Haruno—how could he lie on the ground, too scared to stand up just because he got hurt once!
"Perfect… I know what I need to do."
Yuu lowered his hand, stood up from the ground, and brushed off nonexistent dust from his pants.
He casually looked at the Yang Light Orb in the sky and waved at it. "Thanks a lot. Even after it's over, you're still helping light the way."
As if silently, the Yang Light Orb remained quiet, its light still bright and warm but no longer so dazzling.
"And also, system…" Yuu looked down, facing the LCD screen directly. "Even though I always call you a dog, I've also thought about knocking you down and beating you senseless if you ever became human, then training you until you can only say, 'Sorry, Master~.'"
System: "…"
"But I'm not your pawn, not a character you control, and definitely not an emotionless mission machine."
Yuu smiled, turning and walking toward the carved stone gate nearby, placing his hand on the door panel.
His gaze was no longer hesitant or confused but firm and resolute, looking forward.
"It has nothing to do with you or them—from now on, everything I do is for myself!"
The old Yuu, for his sister, for living expenses, completed missions under the guise of grinding.
Even after falling for Haruno, his mind was filled only with wanting to be with her. Only after the mission ended did he desperately choose to let go of his feelings.
He was always reacting passively, never actively considering: even if the missions were forced, what did he truly gain from the choices he made, and what changed?
If he wasn't even willing to understand these things, then the time he remembered, the pain he endured—wouldn't it all be meaningless?
Life isn't just about living, just as a game isn't just about finishing.
There must be something more, making the lingering memories so profound, the impressions after the end so unforgettable.
"So, I love Yukinoshita Haruno's smile."
After watching the slideshow, Yuu confirmed this fact once more.
"Even though I don't love her anymore, the satisfied smile that appeared because of me—I'll never forget it."
Was it because, despite the system's interference, he was still reluctant to part with her?
Or, as Sora said, did he just want to give the girl he met through the system a beautiful ending with a smile?
—The system gave no answer.
It was one of the hardest questions in the world, answerable only by himself.
So, to find the answer, Yuu would next become Yuuki Asuna's online boyfriend.
He would keep moving forward on this predetermined track, for the sake of seeing her bright, satisfied smile, until he reached the finish line.
He was certain this time, the scenery along the way wouldn't disappoint him.
"Well, whether that's important or not, I don't know yet."
"But anyway…"
The stone gate was pushed open forcefully, and Yuu stepped into the blinding white light.
He suddenly turned, grinning brightly at the half-buried screen in the ground, jabbing his thumb at his chest:
"She's my goal, not yours!"
The next second, his bold declaration and his figure vanished behind the stone gate.
"…"
Gray dust mixed with sunlight floated in the air.
The screen flickered with snow, and the empty world remained silent, as if it would stay that way forever.
So quiet that even this line of text seemed never to appear—
[Third target, locked early… Mission changed.]