After finishing his posturing routine, Su Jin finally snapped out of it and turned his attention to the Q&A forum that had materialized in his mind.
The interface was hauntingly familiar. It mirrored a Q&A site from his past life called Zhihu, though stripped down to a stark, minimalist aesthetic.
At the very top sat Su Jin's profile picture, followed by an "Invite to Answer" section and his current point total. Below that, rows of question columns stretched out, mostly empty. Only the very top slot was occupied—a question posted by an ordinary member with the username "Kanao is so Cute."
Su Jin tried to click his profile picture with his thoughts, but it remained locked. The "Invite to Answer" section was the same. Shaking off his doubts, he focused on the only available lead.
He skimmed the content. Perhaps it was a side effect of his newly obtained Divinity, but his mind processed the information with supernatural clarity. Even a glance was enough to absorb every detail.
Then, Su Jin understood why "Kanao is so Cute" was so desperate.
The user had purchased an eleven-year-old girl from human traffickers two days ago and named her Kanao. The trauma of being kidnapped and sold had shattered the child's psyche. She had no sense of self, becoming a hollow "yes-man."
Kanao only moved when given a direct order. If no command came, she wouldn't even eat. She would simply sit there, starving, waiting for the word "eat" to be spoken.
The poster was frantic, searching for any way to fix the child's broken heart.
'So... is my Golden Finger just a forum for daughter-obsessed dads to exchange parenting tips?' Su Jin complained inwardly.
He shifted his focus to the points column. As expected, a prompt flickered into existence:
[Answering questions will earn points.]
Regardless of the forum's true nature, he needed points to unlock its secrets.
Su Jin thought for a moment, his fingers—or rather, his mind—composing a response. He leaned into the classic "expert" tone of his previous life.
[Thanks for the invite. Currently in Little Garden, just became a god. Since the question involves people in the circle and I'm afraid of being recognized, I'll post anonymously.]
[An 11-year-old child's self-awareness has already formed. The poster doesn't need to worry too much. The most important issue right now is that the child is suppressing her own instincts and forcing herself to obey external orders.]
[To be honest, this child's hostage mentality has reached a critical level; you could say she's been completely brainwashed by her trauma.]
[Since I cannot personally examine the child's condition, my suggestion is to use external tools to dig out her buried instincts.]
[Try giving the child a simple tool—a coin, perhaps—allowing her to judge how she should act based on the result. It will slowly awaken her dormant self-awareness.]
[This process cannot be rushed. To avoid further psychological harm, a gradual treatment is recommended. Looking forward to your next question.]
After hitting the send button, Su Jin felt a pang of regret for not studying psychology in his past life.
The next second, his points column flickered.
[Points: 10]
"Ten points per answer, it seems. I just don't know what they're worth yet."
He clicked the points column again, only to be met with a cold notification:
[Insufficient points. Feature not yet open.]
With nothing left to explore on the forum, Su Jin set it aside. He had something more pressing to attend to: the raw, unbridled power coursing through his veins.
He had just become a quasi-deity. His curiosity about his own transformation outweighed everything else. If the forum hadn't popped up, he would have already been deep in meditation, testing the limits of his Divinity.
On the other side of the room, Black Rabbit seemed to sense his shift in focus. Knowing the volatile state of a person who had just ascended, she quietly slipped out, giving him the silence he needed.
The corners of Su Jin's mouth curled into a faint smile. He closed his eyes and sank into a state of semi-slumber.
*Whoosh—*
As he breathed, tiny, faint sparks began to swirl around him. They were physical manifestations of the fire element, drawn in by the gravitational pull of a Divinity holder. Amidst the flickering embers, Su Jin's aura grew, pulsing with the heat of a newborn sun.
***
**Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba World, Taisho Era.**
Inside a quiet, Japanese-style estate, Kanae Kocho let out a soft, weary yawn.
She wore a simple cloak over her yukata, the flickering light of an oil lamp casting long shadows across the room. On the low wooden table before her sat a diary. Ever since her parents passed away, writing had become her only solace.
Tonight, her brush was heavy with worry.
"How can I get a child like Kanao to express her own opinion..." Kanae murmured, her brow furrowed in distress.
The girl she had rescued, Kanao Tsuyuri, was eleven. At that age, most girls were preparing for adulthood, yet Kanao was like a doll with its strings cut. She was deathly still.
Earlier that day, Kanao had grazed herself on a sharp edge. She hadn't cried. She hadn't even flinched. She simply followed Kanae, leaving a trail of blood on the floor without saying a word.
Even the act of survival required a command. Kanao knew how to eat, yet she would sit before a full bowl until Kanae told her to start. It was heartbreaking.
Kanae was a doctor, skilled in mending flesh and bone, but she was powerless against a shattered soul.
"Should I ask other doctors? I heard some foreigners arrived in Tokyo; perhaps they have a way..."
She sighed and set down her pen.
*Flip—!*
Suddenly, the diary's pages began to turn on their own. There was no wind.
Kanae froze as rows of sharp, black handwriting began to bleed into the paper.
[Thanks for the invite. Currently in Little Garden, just became a god. Since the question involves people in the circle and I'm afraid of being recognized, I'll post anonymously...]
"Who is there?!"
*Shring—!*
In a blur of motion, Kanae was on her feet, her Nichirin Sword unsheathed and gleaming in the lamplight. She scanned the room, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Silence.
The room was empty. Aside from the frantic rhythm of her own breathing, there wasn't a sound. Kanae gripped the hilt tighter, her knuckles white.
'...Is it a demon?'
In a world where man-eating monsters lurked in the dark, Kanae was a hunter. She knew of Blood Demon Arts—supernatural techniques that defied logic. A demon writing in her diary wasn't impossible; it was a provocation.
*Clack.*
The door behind her slid open.
A young girl with a side ponytail and a vacant expression stood there in a white yukata. Kanao had heard the commotion and come to investigate.
Kanae's blood ran cold.
"Kanao, get behind me!"
Kanao walked forward like a robot, standing exactly where she was told, her eyes hollow and unblinking.
Kanae stared into the shadows, her senses dialed to the limit. Her defenseless sister was right behind her, and an invisible predator was mocking her from the dark. In that moment, the scent of death felt thick enough to choke on.
She waited.
One second.
Ten seconds.
A full minute passed. Nothing moved. No claws lunged from the dark. No laughter echoed in the rafters.
Kanae's voice trembled as she finally spoke into the void:
"Um... Mr. Demon? Are you still there?"
***
**Little Garden, Underground Library.**
Su Jin, deep in the resonance of his Divinity, felt a sharp ping in his mind. He snapped his eyes open.
The forum interface shimmered before him.
["Kanao is so Cute" has sent you an invitation to answer:]
[Um... Mr. Demon, are you still there?]
Su Jin stared at the screen, his expression blank.
'Mr. Demon?'