The interface provided by the System was clean, orderly, and easy to understand at a glance.
Rows upon rows of “files” were displayed across the panel projected onto Clarus’s retina, each accompanied by a cover image that was nothing short of a visual feast.
One showed flowers blooming and withering in an elegant, old-fashioned courtyard, where after putting a girl to sleep beneath the night sky, he stood alone facing a magnificent figure crowned with dragon horns.
Another showed him drinking and chatting merrily with a breathtakingly beautiful woman in a pavilion atop a mountain.
Yet another showed him walking alone toward a neon-lit high-rise, a vast shadow following behind him, though countless tiny points of light twinkled within that darkness.
“So many memories…
and so many familiar faces.” Clarus clicked his tongue in amazement.
These are all things that I…
or rather, my ‘reincarnations’ experienced?” [Yes.
These are only the memories that remained after the selection process.
Most memories consisting solely of mediocrity or suffering—lives destined only to become nourishment for this land—have already been removed for you.] Clarus shook his head.
“Even an ordinary person’s life has value.
Maybe they only shine once or twice in their entire lifetime, but that’s still enough.” […] The System didn’t respond.
It simply waited for Clarus to make his choice.
Clarus glanced around the interface.
“So, how long does receiving one of these memories take?
My body’s not going to starve or die of thirst out here while I’m experiencing it, right?” [It will not take very long.
Your consciousness has undergone fragmentation and reconstruction, making it substantially stronger than that of an ordinary person.
A single simulation will require no more than approximately two hours in reality.] Clarus browsed through the options for a while before finally selecting the memory whose cover showed him walking toward the neon-lit building with that shadow trailing behind him.
“This one.” The interface gradually began to change, and at the same time, something buried deep within his mind seemed to slowly rise toward the surface.
[Confirmed.
Beginning simulation.] [Human Technology’s General-Purpose AI, Intelligent Model VI, is dedicated to serving you.] …
[Terran Year 1070.] [Kazimierz, Kawalerielki—the Grand Knight Territory.] [You were born.] [Your family is considered relatively well-off by the standards of the Grand Knight Territory.
Your father works for the Kazimierz General Chamber of Commerce.
Simply possessing such a position already places him above the majority of people living in Kawalerielki, and his income allows your mother to remain at home as a full-time homemaker.] [Yet you were not born in one of the Grand Knight Territory’s advanced hospitals, but in your family’s own bedroom.] [The person who delivered you was your biological grandmother, and the first faces you ever saw belonged entirely to the family closest to you.] [As for why…] [A small protrusion on your back—a black crystal identical to the one growing from your mother’s back—silently provided the answer.] [This was a disaster.] [Five months into her pregnancy, your mother discovered a tiny crystal that had suddenly emerged from her back.
The sight struck her like a bolt from the blue.] [No one wishes for their child to be born afflicted with Oripathy, a disease feared as though it were a demonic curse.
But by then, it was already too late.
All your family could do was pray that heaven would show mercy and spare the child within her from the same disease.] [But God has always been like this, never opening their eyes to look upon the suffering of the world.] [Just as everyone feared, you inherited your mother’s Oripathy.] Within a bedroom illuminated by flickering lamplight, a newborn’s powerful cry rang out as an elderly woman carefully lifted the tiny new life in her hands and brought him to his mother’s side.
“Oh, oh…
There, there, sweet boy.
Don’t cry, don’t cry.” Tears still stained the woman’s cheeks from the agony of childbirth, but her watery eyes were now overflowing with love for the child in her arms.
The elderly woman who had delivered him—his grandmother—stepped off to the side, sighed softly, and quietly wiped at her eyes.
His mother noticed.
The words already at the tip of Lucia’s tongue faltered.
In the end, she said nothing, merely lowering her head slightly and looking at her child with eyes filled with tenderness, guilt, and regret.
“Come in.
It’s over.” The instant his grandmother spoke, the door flew open.
A well-dressed man hurried inside and practically threw himself toward the bedside.
“Lucia!
Lucia…
are you all right?
Is everything all right?” “Look, Cole.” Lucia propped herself halfway upright on one elbow while carefully cradling the tiny life against her chest.
“This is our child.
He’s healthy.
He’s wonderful.” “Our child…” Cole was a hardened man who could laugh and negotiate effortlessly with all manner of people out in society, yet at this moment even he couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
Lucia smiled blissfully at him, but little by little, that happiness turned bitter.
“I’m sorry, Cole.
This is my fault.
It’s all my fault…” A clear tear rolled down her cheek, and Cole hurriedly wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders, comforting her in a low voice.
Nearby, Grandmother Mia gently linked her arm through that of the elderly man who had just entered and let out a quiet sigh.
“Henry…
we’ve been happy our entire lives.
Does this world really have to make us suffer at least once?” The old man’s arm was still strong and powerful, and his features remained firm and resolute.
Yet now, the face weathered by countless years finally seemed to bear the weight of hardships he had once ignored.
The old Kuranta spoke in a deep voice, trying to sweep away the sorrow hanging over the room.
“I don’t know, Mia.
But I do know this: our grandson has been born.” [Fate has treated you unfairly, but fortunately, you still have a family that loves you.] [You should consider yourself fortunate that your father has a good job.
His income is sufficient to cover the cost of Oripathy suppressants and treatment for both you and your mother.] [Of course, anywhere on Terra, once others discover that a household contains someone with Oripathy, isolation and avoidance are almost guaranteed to follow.] [For the sake of your father’s career—and because he is the pillar supporting the entire family—your mother has little choice but to remain at home whenever possible.] [Fortunately, the Originium lesion is located on her back, so as long as she keeps it covered, she can still leave the house from time to time and get some fresh air.] [You’re given the name Clarus Veyr by your family.] [Your full name is Clarus Veyr Webster.] [As an infant, you are no different from any other child.
You sleep peacefully within your mother’s embrace.] [Your mother treasures you above all else, watching over you, protecting you, caring for you with meticulous devotion, and hoping…
that you will live long enough to grow up.] [Time passes little by little.] [You are now three years old.] [Terran Year 1073.
Summer.] Guests were coming to the house today.
Judging by how seriously even his grandfather and grandmother were taking their arrival, little Clarus guessed they had to be very important people.
Everyone in the family hurried back and forth making preparations, but Clarus had always been far more well-behaved than most children his age.
He simply sat quietly on the balcony, fiddling with the toy in his hands.
He hadn’t even taken out his favorite black plastic thrusting sword today, afraid that playing with it might get in the way of his family’s preparations.
Naturally, such good behavior only made his grandmother adore him even more, immediately subjecting him to another relentless round of kisses, hugs, and praise.
Then the guests arrived.
Clarus looked at the several golden Pegasi standing before him.
For some reason…
he felt as though they truly were shining.