The monk, whom I had just called a 'lump,' stared at me with wide eyes, as if he hadn't expected to be addressed that way.
His eyes were already massive, so seeing them bulge further was honestly a bit much.
I was about to tell him to stop staring, but the monk's boisterous laughter cut me off.
"Hwahahat! A 'lump'? Forerunner, you are too cruel! Or perhaps you truly do not recognize me because my appearance has changed a little?"
"No, if anything, this look is more familiar. I'm just… surprised. I never imagined that little brat from back then would turn into this bald Dharma in just twenty years. I expected it to take at least a century, but you're much faster than I anticipated."
"Hwahahat! Dharma! Another word I've never heard before! Even with the passing of time, you still speak of things only you understand! Well… I suppose that is exactly why you are the Forerunner. Pay it no mind and speak your peace."
The monk… no, maybe it's better to call him 'Dharma' now.
Regardless, the way this Dharma fellow laughed so heartily was the spitting image of the Ichibe Hyosube from my memories. It was enough to give me goosebumps.
"So, what brings you here? The Soul King didn't come alone today—he even brought Dharma along. Not that I'm complaining; it makes my job easier."
I directed my question at the Soul King, but he merely glanced at me briefly before looking away in silence.
Yeah, well. I figured he'd do that.
"So, what's the story?"
"Hmph! I am nearing the end of my task of naming all things. I stopped by with the Soul King to see if you had created something new in my absence. But more importantly… it seems your guest list has grown since I last visited?"
"Oh, her?"
Dharma's gaze shifted toward the woman I had brought back.
Naturally, there was no way she could remain composed while facing the monk's oppressively large, staring eyes.
"Hiiiek!?"
The moment their eyes met, the woman dove behind my back, trembling violently. Dharma simply let out a loud laugh at the sight.
Listen here, you bastard. She's terrified of your face. Laughing like that only makes it worse.
I wanted to say that out loud, but since the woman had been terrified of my face too, I felt awkward commenting on someone else's looks.
Criticizing his face would be like spitting at the sky for me.
"Oho? Hwahahat! Indeed, it seems she is frightened by my eyes. It is never wise to judge a person by their appearance, yet I cannot fault one whose nature is simply timid. Hmm!"
"She's relatively normal compared to some others."
After all, there was a lunatic hiding behind that tree over there who was far more cowardly and dangerous than this woman.
A crazy bastard who decides that anything he doesn't understand is scary—and since it's scary, he should bash its head in and taxidermy it.
Thinking about it, I recalled a similar character… definitely…
What was it… a guy who was the final boss in another anime…
Unknown = Fear = Kill it all to remove the source of fear.
There was definitely a madman who had that shitty logic etched into his brain.
'Was it Asura?'
I didn't remember clearly, but it probably was.Anyway, if my disciple wasn't the crucial key to creating the world of the original series, I would have beaten him to death a long time ago.
'You can't just let a psycho like that loose in society.'
Indeed, indeed.
With those thoughts, I turned my head toward the direction where I sensed my disciple. I could see him lurking behind a tree, watching the Soul King.
Why does that guy get more sinister with every passing day?
…And now that I look closer, he hides behind that same tree every time the Soul King visits.
"What are you thinking so deeply about?"
"Hm? Oh… just this and that. Nothing important."
"Mmm. Those seemingly unimportant thoughts sometimes bring massive changes to another person's world. If you don't mind, could you share those 'trivial' thoughts with me?"
I told this crazy bastard to study philosophy, and he actually came back as a philosopher.
It's not even an era where actual philosophers have established anything yet, so whatever he says is just going to be pseudo-intellectual nonsense anyway…
'So that's why he aged so fast…'
I've committed a grave sin… I've ruined a man's hair follicles…
If he hadn't gone down the path of philosophy, he would've stayed youthful for at least thirty more years… while his beard is still lush, his scalp would have been much thicker than it is now…
I looked at 'Dharma' with a lukewarm expression before letting out a deep sigh and shaking my head.
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand, so why bother? Instead of that, take a look at this woman's name."
"A bit disappointing, but I suppose there will be plenty of opportunities to talk later. Anyway, her name… Hmmm, let's see…"
I don't know what he's so disappointed about. Regardless, Dharma widened his eyes again, peering at the woman.
Predictably, the woman shivered and buried herself deeper behind my back.
"Hmm… This is troublesome… I thought I couldn't see her name because she was hiding, but it turns out she simply has no name yet. I suppose it can't be helped. I shall bestow a name—"
Just as Hyosube was about to offer a name, the Soul King approached and spoke.
"Kuchiki."
"Wait, what? She really was a Kuchiki?"
Seriously? Her? This creature, who was like a pure manifestation of fluctuating emotions, was the ancestor of that stone-faced Kuchiki clan?
I blinked in disbelief, and the Soul King, after watching the woman for a moment, continued.
"Kuchiki Myoren. That is her name."
"Hm. I see."
If the Soul King said it with that much certainty, then she really must be the Kuchiki ancestor.
I had my suspicions, but for it to be true…
So, the names gathered so far are Tsunayashiro, Shihoin, Shiba, and Kuchiki. That makes four.
If one more shows up, it'll be the Five Noble Houses, or else…
'Wait. They said the Shiba clan was expelled, yet they were still part of the Four Great Noble Houses…'
That means there's still one more left.
I don't even know the name of the last one. Who could it be?
"Kuchiki… Myoren…"
"Whoa, are you still stuck to my back?"
Leaving the woman… no, Kuchiki, behind me, I walked toward the Soul King.
The Soul King acknowledged my approach and stepped beside me.
"Let us move elsewhere."
"Sure."
The Soul King nodded and blinked. A truly bizarre sensation enveloped my body and vanished in an instant.
When I opened my eyes as the feeling faded, the surrounding scenery had completely changed.
It was the boundary where the desert met the plains.
The very place where I had fled desperately from the Soul King, and where he had relentlessly pursued me.
"This place…"
"It is where we first met. And… where my end shall be."
That single sentence, uttered in a low voice as if it were nothing special, was enough to strike me dumb.
Why was he saying this now? What was he thinking?
I knew why. It meant his work was done.
Dharma, the disciple, the tomboy, the Shiba guy, and the crybaby. Thinking about it, that makes exactly five.
'I recall Dharma not being involved in the betrayal, but was I wrong?'
No, there was something more important to say first.
"I told you to stop cutting out the context and dropping bombs on me out of nowhere."
As I said that and looked at him, the Soul King gazed toward the endless horizon, slowly blinking his eyes.
I could vaguely guess the grand design he was drawing and the mindset he lived by, but…
'I still have no idea what's going on in his head.'
Letting out a deep sigh, I stood beside the Soul King and looked in the same direction.
To the west, the setting sun, and to the east, the rising moon decorated the sky.
"Soon, I shall disappear."
"Yeah, you'll probably get stabbed in the back by my disciple and sealed away."
*Chuckles.*
"?"
What, did this guy just laugh? For real?
Startled, I looked at the Soul King, but he had already returned to his usual expressionless face.
"I mean that my existence shall vanish. Not in some distant future, but very soon."
"…What does that mean?"
"It means exactly what it sounds like. Soon, I shall completely lose my reason (Iji) and become the seed of destruction that devours the world."
This was something that hadn't appeared in the original story.
No, I had a vague inkling. Tsunayashiro had said 'The Soul King's existence is a threat to the world.'
But I had assumed that the Soul King had 'guided' Tsunayashiro to think that way.
After all, the Soul King had shown human emotions in front of me before. He seemed like a 'person' who accepted his end, calling it 'the end for a beginning,' and prepared for what came next while knowing his fate.
"Is that the 'end' you spoke of?"
"Yes."
Even in a situation like this, he gives me one-word answers.
As I thought that, the Soul King looked me straight in the eye.
"Do you have a reason for being born?"
"…That's a tough question."
Normally, I would have said I hate philosophy, but I couldn't bring myself to do it this time. I had to think for a long while.
A reason for being born. A reason… can appearing in this world even be called being born? I don't know.
After long deliberation, there was only one answer.
"I have a reason to live, but I have no reason for being born."
"I (Watashi)… No, 'I' (Ware), the moment I was born into this world, was granted a reason for my existence. Do you know what it is?"
The Soul King fell silent, as if waiting for my response.
In the end, for better or worse, the conversation wouldn't continue unless I provided an answer.
"Eradicating Hollows?"
"Similar, but different. I was born to eliminate the malignancy that harms this world. Hollows are included in that… but so are those who break the balance, or pose a risk of breaking it."
"Does that mean… the monk and the other four are included too?"
"Yes. It refers to beings with reason (Iji), like you who have already crossed the boundary, or those I have named. Their existence will eventually greatly impact the balance of the world. Therefore, if I were to lose my reason, I would surely attempt to eradicate them."
"…"
"Therefore, I ask you to protect them. So that I do not kill them."
So that those who might become a new beginning are not ended.
It is something only you can do.
As the Soul King spoke, his face looked profoundly sad.