After the Priest Master departed, Yosuke's soul underwent an extremely strange change—the seven-colored radiance around him grew brighter and brighter.
At the moment of his death, Yosuke's consciousness felt as if it had been exiled into a pitch-black, boundless ocean, drifting in a tiny boat tossed by violent waves.
No matter how he called out, he received no response.
Suddenly, a massive wave crashed down. Yosuke's small boat was shattered, and he fell into the sea. Water flooded his mouth and nose as his consciousness grew faint, and the scenes of his life flashed before him.
From the moment he was born, he had a terminal illness and could only wait in pain for death to come.
By a twist of fate, he became an immortal demon. He thought he would finally get to enjoy life, but he was completely wrong.
Immortality was no blessing—it was a curse. He watched the people around him die one after another, and the sorrow at first eventually numbed him completely.
After becoming a demon, his human emotions grew thinner and thinner. He could feel less and less of the basic joys and sorrows of humanity, so he had to pretend—pretend he still had emotions, pretend he wasn't turning cold—so others wouldn't see him as a monster.
Many times, Yosuke had asked himself: why was he so persistent? Kibutsuji Muzan's deeds had nothing to do with him. He could have just ignored it all and lived a carefree life. Why burden himself with such a heavy chain?
But Yosuke couldn't do it. Because whenever he thought of giving up, guilt surfaced—not because he had committed any sin, but because of the bloodline he shared with Muzan. It prevented him from standing aside.
Every person is born with responsibilities: responsibilities toward parents, toward siblings.
Kibutsuji Muzan became cruel and cold precisely because he abandoned the responsibilities of being human, completely drowning in his desires with no way out.
What restrains humans has never been emotion—it is responsibility.
People can control their actions, but not their emotions, for emotions shift without warning.
And this is also the greatest difference between humans and beasts. No matter how emotions fluctuate, responsibility keeps them from crossing the line. They adjust their feelings to maintain balance between duty and emotion.
Before dying, Yosuke's parents entrusted their responsibility to him, and Yousuke chose to bear it.
From then on, a heavy shackle was locked around him. His life was no longer the one he had imagined.
Every day, all he thought about was finding Muzan, or traveling on the road to find Muzan. The exhaustion was overwhelming.
Until he met Hakuji, Gyutaro, Koyuki, and Ume.
Hakuji and Koyuki were turned into demons by Yosuke. Honestly, he hadn't been sure whether the decision was right or wrong.
He feared that, with the passing of time, the deep and sincere feelings between Hakuji and Koyuki would fade, and they would become numb like him.
Fortunately, he had been wrong. Their love remained as deep as ever, and Gyutaro and Ume, saved by Hakuji, later joined their group.
Rather than saying Yosuke saved them, it would be truer to say they all saved each other. Hakuji and Koyuki saved Yosuke from his colorless, dark life; they added color back into it, reviving emotions he had nearly forgotten.
Later, he met Shinobu and Kanae of the Butterfly Estate, and Yosuke's life grew even more vibrant.
Humans were different from demons. They needed food and sleep; their wounds did not heal instantly. They were fragile.
Yosuke worried about whether they had eaten enough, whether they were hurt, whether they might encounter danger on solo missions… These feelings filled his life, reminding him of the richness of human emotions he once had.
Then came the battle against Kibutsuji Muzan, ending with the two of them perishing together.
Responsibility fulfilled. Shackles removed.
But Yosuke felt no joy—only serenity. A deep, profound peace.
He savored that peace; it had been so long since he felt anything so tranquil.
The flashbacks ended.
By then, Yosuke had completely forgotten he was not originally from this world. The memories of his encounters with everyone lingered endlessly in his mind.
"Thank you… truly, thank you, all of you, for accepting someone as flawed as me. Meeting you… has been such a blessing…"
Smiling, Yosuke closed his eyes and quietly awaited death.
"Yosuke-san! Wake up!"
"Yosuke-dono! Please don't fall asleep!"
"Master… please don't leave us…"
Suddenly, desperate voices echoed by his ears. In the pitch-black depths, a radiant light burst forth.
A hand emerged from the cluster of light and grasped Yosuke's as he continued to sink.
"Now is not your time to slumber. Your companions are calling you, Yosuke!"
One hand, then two, then countless hands extended from the light, pushing Yosuke upward from the ocean floor.
Outside, Yosuke's soul was transforming violently.
Under everyone's calls, his soul—the mass of seven-colored radiance—gradually sharpened into a clear human shape, eventually forming lifelike features.
But Yosuke's soul kept its eyes shut, showing no sign of awakening.
His consciousness drifted into a pure white space, where someone identical to him stood before him.
Yosuke asked uncertainly, "Are you… the system?"
The identical figure nodded. "Correct, it's me, Host. Before the Priest Master escaped, I absorbed part of the rule-power within Him. That's why I can appear to you in this form. I hope you don't mind."
Yosuke didn't understand what was happening outside and couldn't figure out why his system had absorbed the Priest Master's rule-power.
"Host, the situation is extremely urgent."
"What do you mean? Muzan is dead, and the Priest Master escaped. How is there still danger?"
"Because the Priest Master tried to absorb me. With everyone's help, I absorbed part of His rule-power instead. To prevent being completely absorbed, He forcibly severed the process and opened a void passage, fleeing into another world!"
"You mean the danger comes from the remaining rule-power inside Him?"
The system nodded and explained:
"Yes. The rule-powers of different worlds reject each other. A world can only have one rule-power. When two coexist, they must battle—either absorbing or being absorbed. If the Priest Master absorbs the rule-power of another world, our world will be destroyed.
But the real crisis is this: the rule-power the Priest Master lost is the Rule of Life. Now that He has escaped our world with it, this world's Life Rule is missing. That means no life in this world can die. If nothing can die, the balance collapses. Before long, the world will be destroyed."
"Then… you're suggesting…"
Yousuke had already guessed.
"I ask you, Host, to pursue the Priest Master!
Bring the Rule of Life back to this world!"
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