Chapter 359

From the very beginning—

From the very first Future Simulation, from the moment he stepped through that fissure into the Deep Ground—

Everything...

had been his own illusion.

The two simulations that followed had never existed.

They had never truly happened.

The so-called enemy—

was nothing more than an enemy he himself had imagined.

Just like a dream.

Half real, half false.

And even the people who appeared within it—

were all individuals he already knew.

But now—

the scene before him was completely blank.

A woman he had never seen before.

A setting entirely disconnected from everything prior.

This—

had already broken away from his own internal logic.

At the same time—

Kanzaki Rei sensed something else.

All of his talents—

had reset once again.

The second wish he had just made—

which hadn’t yet been fulfilled—

was now empty again.

Because that had been a dream.

A fantasy.

Using abilities within a dream did not consume real usage counts.

So in truth—

that second wish had never actually been made.

Kanzaki Rei made another wish.

But this time—

it was different.

"I am inside the Deep Ground."

Ding—

The wish was granted.

At this very moment—

he was indeed within the Deep Ground.

"I remain conscious."

Ding—

Another wish fulfilled.

While this didn’t guarantee absolute reality—

it significantly increased the credibility of the current state.

"So... you’re saying this is the real Deep Ground."

The indistinct girl replied,

"Actually... there’s no real distinction between ’real’ and ’false.’"

"In the Deep Ground, whatever you imagine... becomes reality."

"As long as you believe it to be true, it is true."

"But once you’ve perceived the truth of the Deep Ground..."

"You lose that ability."

A trace of regret lingered in her voice.

To know—

was to lose.

But at the same time—

it allowed one to truly witness the reality of the Deep Ground.

"Not many people awaken within the Deep Ground," the girl said as she began walking forward.

Kanzaki Rei followed behind her.

Whoosh—

Suddenly—

the girl vanished.

After a brief pause—

Whoosh—

She reappeared just as abruptly.

Her blurred face turned back toward him, alert.

"Please stay close to me."

"The space here is different from the real world."

"You must follow my exact steps, or we may end up walking onto completely different paths."

Kanzaki Rei extended his perception forward.

He detected nothing unusual.

...Should I keep trusting her?

He felt no malice from her.

And if the memories he had regained were real—

then he was still within a simulation.

There was no reason to attack her recklessly.

...Ansu was gone.

Of course.

If he had truly entered the Deep Ground—

Ansu wouldn’t have followed him here.

Everything before—

Ansu’s words, actions—

had all been constructed from Kanzaki Rei’s own understanding of him.

A projection of what he expected Ansu to say and do.

"You’re a guide here?"

"Where are you leading me?"

Kanzaki Rei asked as he walked.

"I am guiding you to witness the truth of the Deep Ground."

"Any being who reaches the Deep Ground..."

"has a chance to receive its inheritance."

"If you obtain that inheritance..."

"You can leave this place."

Kanzaki Rei asked,

"And if I don’t?"

The girl tilted her head slightly.

"Then you’ll remain here forever."

"And just so you know, getting angry at me won’t help."

"You were the one who chose to enter the Deep Ground."

"Who told you to walk in without knowing whether it was dangerous or not?"

"...What about my original body?"

"Your original body?" she replied casually.

"Isn’t that obvious?"

"If the soul leaves, what remains is just an empty shell."

"If there happens to be a soul-type expert skilled in possession nearby..."

"They might make some use of your body."

"But since you’re going to stay in the Deep Ground anyway..."

"Why care about that useless shell?"

...

A soul-type expert skilled in possession...

Kanzaki Rei’s lips twitched slightly.

What a coincidence.

There was one—

right inside his sea of consciousness.

"And... what about reincarnation?"

"If I die in the Deep Ground... can I still reincarnate?"

"Die?" the girl repeated, tilting her head.

"Sorry, but there’s no true concept of death in the Deep Ground."

"If you ’die’..."

"You’ll forget everything."

"And restart from a certain point in your memories—"

"falling back into your own illusion, just like the dream you experienced earlier."

"If you can awaken again, realizing that everything is your own imagination..."

"you can return here once more."

"But if you fail to awaken..."

"you’ll remain trapped in that beautiful dream forever."

"Generally speaking, once someone ’dies’ here..."

"loses all memory and starts anew..."

"they almost never awaken again."

"At least, based on what I’ve observed."

"Except for one."

"Someone called Ansu the Wanderer."

"He also entered the Deep Ground."

"But strangely..."

"after dying here, he disappeared completely."

Whoosh—

The girl raised her hand gently.

Above the pure white sky—

countless glowing spheres appeared, like colorful bubbles.

Inside each one—

was a figure.

Each sphere—

contained an entire world.

With his heightened spiritual sensitivity, Kanzaki Rei could feel it clearly—

those were the worlds each person had imagined.

The girl spoke softly,

"Every thought within a person’s mind..."

"forms their own world."

"These worlds have nothing to do with reality."

"They don’t require logic."

"As long as you believe—"

"they are real."

"That is the meaning of the Deep Ground."

As long as you imagine—

it becomes real.

...Is this a world of pure mind-substance?

A place where everyone becomes the foundation of their own reality?

Kanzaki Rei pondered silently.

That concept existed in fiction back on Earth.

But here—

it was real.

"We’re here."

Though there was nothing in front of them—

the girl spoke those words.

Kanzaki Rei followed her steps forward.

Two steps.

Whoosh—

In an instant—

a dense forest materialized before him.

At the center of the forest—

sat a smooth, round, white stone.

The girl said,

"If you still cannot distinguish between reality and illusion..."

"you can try touching this stone."

"I believe it will give you your answer."

Kanzaki Rei asked,

"What is it?"

The girl replied,

"A Truth Stone."

"A Level 9 illusionist must forget themselves to enter a perfect illusion."

"Even they can no longer distinguish what is real and what is false."

"So..."

"They must create something that can never exist in illusion—"

"and must exist in reality."

"No matter what space you are in..."

"If you can touch it, then you are not in an illusion."

"Otherwise..."

"you are still within one."

Kanzaki Rei looked at her.

"And how do I know you didn’t just make all that up?"

The girl smiled faintly.

"You’ll know once you touch it."