chapter 44— outside the story
While "Unknown" was training in the support techniques,
The majestic man moved to a place...
...But is it even accurate to call it a "place"? That's uncertain.
The closest comparison to where the majestic man arrived might be:
Randomness, error, glitch, illogical, irrational, indescribable, chaos.
That's the best approximation for this space.
When the majestic man arrived,
A cheerful voice called out to him:
"Look who's here—my dear friend!"
Then, a young man appeared beside him.
The young man looked strikingly similar to someone "Unknown" knew better than anyone.
He looked like "Adam"—but as a young adult.
Still, this version of Adam was slightly different from the Adam known to "Unknown."
His eyes and hair had a strange appearance...
In truth, they had no color at all.
It would be more accurate to say that colors no longer applied to him.
The majestic man looked at this young Adam and smiled:
"Hello, my dear friend."
His smile widened as he continued:
"Something truly interesting happened to me. Believe me—we're going to have a lot of fun."
Young Adam grinned widely—like a madman—and said:
"If even you say it's interesting, then it must be insane!
But to say we'll have fun?!! I better get myself ready right now!"
He began putting on armor—armor so ancient,
When the majestic man saw this, his face turned puzzled.
He asked:
"Why are you putting on that armor, specifically?"
Young Adam looked at him in confusion:
"What's strange about it?
If you're the one saying we'll have fun, that can only mean one thing:
You're going to flirt with death and challenge someone on Level 1."
The majestic man stared at Adam with deep understanding, then said:
"I didn't expect this from you, Adam!
Your insight and awareness… they're legendary!
How did I not think of that myself?"
He began criticizing himself for overlooking something so obvious.
Adam, seeing this, dropped the helmet he had been trying to wear,
Clutched his colorless hair, and exclaimed:
"I've done something terrible!"
He began scolding himself for saying what he said.
But in truth, he couldn't imagine any other reason that would make "Unknown" (the majestic man) describe something this way.
Then, young Adam turned to the majestic man and asked:
"If what I said isn't what you meant—then what exactly were you trying to tell me?"
The majestic man snapped out of his moment of realization and began recalling why he came.
His eyes lit up as he explained everything that had happened from the moment "Unknown" appeared at the Convergence Point until now.
Young Adam raised his eyebrows in surprise, a frown forming on his face:
"So, the summary of what you're saying is…
Your past self—somehow—was given a gift by..."
(His voice distorted as he said the name of that being.)
"...And because of that gift's power, he'll be able to escape the Convergence Point?
And because of your ability to leave, and that gift's influence, you want to make the story more interesting?"
Adam's eyes gleamed as he processed the summary.
He was literally boiling with excitement.
His very form began to bubble.
Then…
Young Adam and the majestic man burst into laughter!
After a while, their laughter subsided.
Adam looked at the majestic man and said:
"So... shall we invite our old friends?
They'd love this."
The majestic man nodded.
Then…
They both vanished.
They reappeared inside a grand hall...
And from that hall, countless threads branched out—leading to many different places.