But if he ended the simulation here...
Then heâd be wasting his final simulation attempt for the day. Luluweiâs matter would be delayed by several more hours.
A few hours... probably wouldnât make much difference.
But...
What Kanzaki Rei cared about more was just how deep the opponentâs methods truly ran.
The moonlit sea churned, its surface reflecting a bright, silvery moon. In the distance, a massive eye hung suspended, trailing downward along pitch-black, nerve-like tendrils.
Rei felt his spiritual perception return once again with the shift in scenery.
He turned his awareness inward, observing his mindscape.
"So youâve finally woken up. I was starting to think you wouldnât."
Rei asked, "Ansu, whatâs the situation right now?"
Ansu chuckled softly. "Heh... not long after an hour ago, all of you fell into a deep sleep."
"Looks like itâs the work of that thing in the distance."
"A domain has already formed here. Any living being that enters it will probably fall into an inescapable illusion."
"But I didnât expect you to wake up through sheer willpower."
Rei paused.
Then asked, "Ansu... do you think Iâve really woken up?"
Caught off guard, Ansu shook his head slightly.
"Are you trying to discuss the ultimate philosophical question of this world?"
"Are we living inside a dream, or do we truly exist?"
"I can only tell you thisâif you were truly trapped in a perfect illusion, then no matter what method you used, you would never be able to distinguish reality from falsehood."
"But a perfect illusion indistinguishable from reality is the ultimate pursuit of illusionists. Most illusions canât reach that level."
"And any imperfect illusion... will definitely have flaws."
Rei looked around, then at Leng Qingying and Luluwei, both lying unconscious.
"Can I wake them up?"
Ansu replied, "You can try."
Rei placed his hand on Luluweiâs head and activated the spell [Guidance of the Dying].
Whooshâ
Within Luluweiâs mindscape, faint glimmers of light flickered to life.
Her consciousness... hadnât been contaminated yet.
Right. If itâs me right nowâ
Rei sensed the activation state of his talents.
Ascension Beyond Limits had been active since just moments ago.
And God-Tier · Future Simulation still had four remaining uses.
Future Simulation... could still be used?
If thatâs the caseâ
Rei slowly closed his eyes.
[God-Tier · Future Simulation]
When he opened them again, he felt himself already within a projected future state.
Under normal circumstances, a simulation couldnât be simulated again.
But now... Rei felt as if he was running two layers of Future Simulation simultaneously.
Thenâ
"My wish is: I am in the real world."
Rei made his second wish.
Dingâ
He felt the wish settle into place.
...but it did not come true.
That meantâ
He was inside an illusion.
Strangely enough, he wasnât sure whether to feel relieved that the wish hadnât been granted.
Because even if it had been granted, that result might itself have been part of the illusion.
On the contrary, the failure of the wish provedâno matter whatâthat he was not in reality.
So it really is...
I havenât gotten out.
Which means this layer of Future Simulation is fake.
"Ansu, if you were trapped in an illusion where you couldnât distinguish real from fake, what would you do?"
Ansu laughed lightly. "Me? Heh... Iâd simply enjoy it."
"Life is nothing more than an experience. If an illusion feels this real, what does it matter whether itâs true or not?"
That... was genuinely how Ansu thought.
So thenâ
Do I still need to destroy it first?
[Time of Death: 4095 Years]
That was what his eyes currently showedâthe opponentâs death time.
The effect of Unsolvable Paradox was still active.
But strangely, it didnât seem to have much influence over these illusions.
Rei shook his head.
He didnât act rashly. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the deck.
"Ansu."
"How much do you know about illusion techniques? And how much do you know about the Deep Layer?"
"If someone wanted to drag others into an illusion, what preparations would they need? What conditions must be met?"
He couldnât afford to rush anymore.
Raw destructive power alone wasnât enough to break this situation.
He needed to think.
If he relied solely on brute force, even when the simulation fully ended, he might still fail to escape...
"Illusions, huh."
"There are countless approaches. Some create afterimages and clones, others trap people in dreamscapes they canât escape..."
Rei remained seated in meditation.
Meanwhile, Ansu began explaining everything he knew about illusion techniques.
Most illusions that trap people inside them require a certain level of guidance...
Generally, a skilled illusionist would guide the illusion step by stepâcollecting key information about their target beforehand, then gradually leading them into the illusion without them realizing it.
But with the existence of the talent Unsolvable Paradox, illusions should be somewhat countered.
After all, others couldnât probe his information.
According to Ansuâs theory, most illusions cast on him should exhibit significant flaws.
And yet...
Rei felt that what he was experiencing now was fundamentally different from ordinary illusions.
Then again, illusions always blurred the line between truth and falsehood.
Even the possibilities Ansu provided could be false information.
Even if Rei could read Ansuâs thoughts and confirm he was telling the truthâ
There was no guarantee the illusion itself wasnât entirely fabricated.
Ansu fell into deep thought.
"If illusion techniques are connected to the Deep Layer..."
"Heh."
"If thatâs the case... perhaps during my cycle of reincarnation, research into the Deep Layer has made new breakthroughs."
"Kid, you said youâve already encountered two different illusions."
"How do those illusions compare to the real world?"
Rei replied, "In terms of... realism, they felt very real."
"If weâre just talking about the world itself, the experience was convincing."
"But in terms of internal logic... it fell short."
Ansu spoke again.
"But what if I told youâ"
"Everything thatâs happened... is just your own wishful thinking?"
"Perhaps... no one has ever attacked you."
"And youâve never encountered any enemies."
"Maybe... youâve simply never walked out."
The moment Ansu finished speaking, Reiâs mind exploded with realizationâlike a new door had just been thrown open.
I... was never attacked?
Everything is my own imagination?
Every illusion... created by myself?
Whooshâ
In that instant, memories surged like a tidal wave!
Memories from his first simulation entering the Deep Layerâmemories he shouldnât have knownânow surfaced clearly in his mind.
Memories of his spirituality being contaminated after that first simulationâmemories that had supposedly been erasedâreturned.
Beyond that, memories of his second exploration of the Deep Layer, and the contamination that followed, along with the erased aftermathâ
All of them resurfaced, one by one.
Everything... is fake?
Waaâwaaâwaaâ
A deafening ringing filled his ears. His vision blurred, the world around him dissolving into distortion.
Was he falling into an even deeper layer?
Orâ
The ringing gradually subsided. The blurred scenery sharpened once more.
"The Deep Layer... is a place that never truly existed."
"A place that doesnât exist, yet appears realâdoesnât that feel contradictory?"
"It seems... youâve finally awakened."
A voice echoed through his mind like a dreamlike murmur.
[You see a door standing openânow it finally has form. Go forth, and behold the knowledge long forbidden.]
"Congratulations. Youâve seen the true face of the Deep Layer."
"I am Shinkigenâyour guide to the Deep Layer."
"Meeting me means... you are no longer trapped within your own imagination."