Multiverse Adventure – My Journey Begins in Danmachi 86

Multiverse Adventure – My Journey Begins in Danmachi 86

---

Edited by: Tiny Fan Fiction

---

Chapter 86 Origin and Wishes

Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew.

The strands of hair on [Ryougi Shiki]’s cheek danced lightly, filling Noah’s nose with a faint fragrance.

Her eyes were pitch black yet bright, like a spiral mirror, threatening to draw Noah into that unfathomable abyss of light.

“…Me? Am I really that amazing?”

Did my presence change the future?

Noah wanted to say that he didn’t have such great abilities.

If it were about destroying worlds, Noah felt he could manage that with some effort, but leading the world towards a future even this Root incarnation couldn’t comprehend was a bit mystical.

It’s like, no matter how the chess moves change on the board, the total number must remain fixed.

No matter how much one slaughters, can they really kill the chess player?

Although Noah sought infinite transcendence, he never imagined he could reach a level beyond creation itself.

Lost in thought, Noah didn’t notice that [Ryougi Shiki] was looking at him with a complex gaze filled with curiosity, joy, sighs, and solitude.

“Noah-kun, you truly are very special.”

The gentle sigh, like a breeze, brought Noah back to reality, and he looked at the girl in front of him in confusion.

“Huh? Special? I don’t think so?”

Then, gracefully, he realized he had just spaced out.

If this were a battle, he would have probably died more than ten times by now.

Reflecting deep within, Noah believed this had nothing to do with [Ryougi Shiki]’s soul-stirring beauty.

If he had to find a reason, it was probably that Noah had already begun to believe in the notion that she was a Root incarnation.

Faced with a being capable of reshaping the world in the blink of an eye, he had given up the desire to fight.

“Then, why is it that when Noah-kun is with me, all that comes to mind is…”

Her tone paused slightly, and [Ryougi Shiki]’s gaze became a bit more complex and subtle.

Playful, Noah was sure that was the word!

Noah had to admit, when [Ryougi Shiki], an Elf female radiating ultimate gentleness and emptiness, suddenly showed such an expression, his heart raced.

This woman, damn her sweetness!

“…Random nonsense?”

This comment made Noah squint slightly, then blink helplessly.

Random nonsense?

Although he knew his thoughts were chaotic, without indulging in wild fantasies, what else could he think of?

“So what should I think? What to do depends on you, right? What I think matters?”

Like fearing the cold, [Ryougi Shiki] let out a slight breath, forming a wisp of white mist that scattered in the light.

“…Noah-kun, when you think of nothing at all, that in itself is already a kind of uniqueness.”

She turned to look at the city below the slope, her eyes were so empty and desolate, as if she was overlooking the entire world.

“In this world, countless Magus want to reach the Root, become all-knowing and all-powerful, even ordinary people who don’t know the Root are full of infinite desires…”

[Ryougi Shiki] stretched out her right hand, and a white wrist emerged from the moon-white wide sleeve, catching a snowflake falling from the sky.

Noah watched the snowflake melt slowly in her palm, which was whiter and more crystal clear than the snowflake, and the white jade-like slender wrist was illuminated by the street light, and the blue blood vessels under the skin could be seen clearly.

“Gulp”

After a slight swallowing sound came from his throat, Noah finally reacted.

Although the air was below freezing point, the water vapor he breathed out had not dissipated before it almost condensed into ice mist, but Noah felt his cheeks burning.

Fortunately, [Ryougi Shiki] didn’t hear it.

No, she should have heard it, but she didn’t care.

“What do you think, if those people were to meet me, what would they think? Probably half fear and half greed, right? After all, whether it’s escaping from the Enemy they can’t defeat or becoming a strong person who surpasses everything and controls everything, it’s the greatest instinct in people’s hearts.”

When [Ryougi Shiki] turned her head to look over, Noah suddenly felt his Breathing Technique stagnate.

[Ryougi Shiki]’s gaze didn’t become more aggressive, but rather remained gentle as always, yet it made Noah feel a chill as if his heart was being seen through.

“But you, Noah, neither want to escape nor want to kill me, why is that? Aren’t you targeting to surpass all strong people?”

Noah felt his face was frozen by the cold wind, and he couldn’t say a word.

“Because you’re not fighting for yourself, nor are you taking for yourself, although you yearn to defeat strong people and surpass them, but you only see it as a responsibility, right?”

For an instant, a fleeting glimmer flashed across Noah’s eyes, and then disappeared, and a coldness re-condensed.

“…Isn’t that right? In this world, everyone has their own position and mission, the weak are confused and sink, the strong are awake and bear the burden, each doing their part, and some things I do because no one else will!”

When did this idea appear?

Noah couldn’t remember, probably when he wondered why some people were so fragile, while he could endure.

The same suffering, for the strong and the weak, has a completely different weight.

Therefore, the strong can bear it, while the weak will break down in despair.

Then, isn’t it the responsibility of the strongest to bear all the suffering, the karma of killing, the despair, and the hatred in the world?

……This was the clear truth that Noah realized when he drew the Curse Sword of salvation and destruction.

If he is the strongest, then he will bear everything.

He must stand at the highest point above all beings, place all things equally under his sword, and mete out judgment and punishment.

That is the responsibility of Noah Cipher.

This equality includes his former mortal enemy, the so-called Demon King of Destruction… that was just an incarnation devoured by the Intent to Kill after being crushed by hatred, still a weakling.

“Yes, everyone has their own responsibility, just like every individual has their own Origin. Some things may be destined from the moment of birth… For example, you, Noah-kun, who possesses the ‘Rebellion’ Origin.”

The Whirlpool of the Root, in [Ryougi Shiki]’s eyes, is somewhat like the sea under the moon, but in reality, it’s a Void, containing everything yet having nothing.

The world is born in the Whirlpool of the Root, and all life, all things and existences are also born from it.

The moment each soul is born from the Whirlpool of the Root, its ‘Origin’ is already fixed, and it must develop in the direction of its cause of birth.

Most souls, after leaving the Whirlpool of the Root, will be polluted by the outside world… Their form may be manifested as the instincts of the creature in that form, the acquired education given by the environment, and so on.

Most people will never awaken their Origin in their entire lives.

Or rather, although the Origin will eventually awaken, because the time for most lives to remove the pollution from the outside world is quite short, so many people have already perished before they have time to awaken.

In the brief span of life, those who awaken to their Origin, their ‘personality’ of merely a hundred years, will inevitably be consumed by the Origin.

This is why, in [Ryougi Shiki]’s eyes, everything in the world seems so dull.

The Root is infinite; even the worlds derived from the Root, no matter how complex and vast, are finite.

All life born from the Whirlpool of the Root is the same.

Observing the finite with the infinite, then billions and one are indistinguishable, merely a speck of dust formed into a conclusion.

It’s like [Ryougi Shiki] is not the Root itself, but a part of the Root, yet an infinite fraction of infinity is still infinite.

However, at some unknown point, [Ryougi Shiki] suddenly discovered a very interesting Origin.

Whenever [Ryougi Shiki] observes it, the originally fixed trajectory of fate seems to undergo a Change once again.

Transcend?

Overcome?

Conquer?

No, [Ryougi Shiki] feels that none of those can accurately describe the form of its existence.

It feels more like a struggle and rebellion against a predetermined future.

Just like the world that existed before Noah, which was originally destined for destruction.

In that world, the true Demon King of fate was not the defeated impostor, but Noah Cipher himself!

Whether it be the prematurely departed relatives and villagers, or the bloodline hidden within the Body, it is the betrayal of comrades in the world, including the erosion of Strength, the corruption of power and wealth, the assimilation of hatred…

Everything in that world was pushing Noah towards the direction of the world-ending Demon King.

But Noah, with sheer force, rebelled against and rejected such a fate.

Everything lies beneath the sword; no one can surpass it, and nothing can change one’s own will… Noah relies on such arrogance to suppress the darkness and destruction hidden in his heart.

This rebellion and arrogance truly befits him, as he bears the names of both savior and rebel.

Yet, just as those who often seek to reach the Root can never fulfill their wishes, those who truly have the chance to reach the Root almost never harbor such intentions.

The most fundamental Root of Noah’s rebellion, however, is nothing at all.

Not for hatred, not for desire, not for profit, and even, not for himself.

Therefore, his future is completely unobservable.

Noah also knows what Origin is, but unexpectedly, he finds that he also possesses this thing.

Compared to knowing his own Origin, he is now more concerned about one thing.

“So, you, who are all-knowing and all-powerful, came to see me just to watch a play?”

Almost instantly, Noah understood why [Ryougi Shiki] had come to find him.

Because, in a sense, he considered himself and the other to be the same kind of person.

What Noah feared most was no longer having someone to surpass, no opponent to defeat.

And [Ryougi Shiki] had already been confirmed to have reached that level.

From this perspective, [Ryougi Shiki] was his future self.

Just imagine, if one day he truly reached the Invincible, the state of being all-knowing and all-powerful, then what he would want most, probably, would be an opponent who could surpass him, right?

If this individual had the potential to Growth to a level where it could kill him, then… even better!

However, after seeing his expression, [Ryougi Shiki] lowered her head slightly, like a child afraid of being scolded.

“The Whirlpool of the Root is a pure Void, and being all-knowing and all-powerful is not necessarily a good thing. Compared to the Root itself, which has no will, I, who have consciousness, find it somewhat unbearable to experience such extreme boredom… It’s really too tiring, so I can only see nothing, think nothing, hear nothing, and have a dream that isn’t even a dream…”

Noah ignored all these words, only slightly raising his tone.

“So, you came to me to see some fun?”

Although he knew Noah wasn’t angry, [Ryougi Shiki] still pursed her lips and lifted her eyes from beneath her hair.

She slowly extended a slender hand, holding a crystal-clear snowflake, towards Noah.

“I’m sorry, if there’s anything you desire, Noah-kun, I can grant your wish… Whether it’s modifying the laws of matter, or reversing the order of the world, or giving you supreme Strength, all of these are possible…”

[Ryougi Shiki] said this, and Noah, from deep within his intuition, believed what the other person said.

……This individual could give him anything.

But just as Noah, after encountering [Ryougi Shiki], had neither the desire to fight nor the urge to flee, his heart was now filled with a calmness that even he himself didn’t understand.

“…If that’s the case, then I’ll give this wish to you yourself.”

In [Ryougi Shiki]’s slightly widened eyes, Noah’s playful smile was reflected.

“Miss [Ryougi Shiki], who is all-knowing and all-powerful, use this wish to find your own desires, and then satisfy them.”

Before [Ryougi Shiki] could react, Noah reached out and roughly tousled her soft hair.

“Sorry, there are still 2 girls waiting to eat in the room, so I won’t keep you company, lovely miss.”

With that, Noah sidestepped and left [Ryougi Shiki]’s side.

Heh, messing with a god-level powerhouse’s head is really thrilling.

Run!

Although he knew it was useless, Noah couldn’t help but quicken his pace slightly.

Behind him, [Ryougi Shiki] stood quietly in place, feeling the tranquility and coldness as the wind and snow brushed against her body.

After an unknown amount of time, she slowly raised her head, touching her tousled hair, a slight curve forming at the corner of her lips.

“You really are something, Noah-kun…”

[Ryougi Shiki] had imagined being rejected by Noah, being required by Noah to eliminate herself and the Root itself, being granted by Noah the strength to surpass her own limits…

Just as she said, no matter what the requirement was, [Ryougi Shiki] would satisfy Noah, even if it meant erasing her own existence.

However, she never anticipated Noah’s method of handling things.

For an omniscient and omnipotent being to find something they cannot do and then achieve it… is there a more solid logical prison than this?

[Ryougi Shiki] had no doubt that she would be deeply trapped by this requirement until the day the Root perished.

But…

“Since it’s about fulfilling my wish, then Noah-kun, you should be included in that too, right?”

[Ryougi Shiki] tilted her head back, gazing into the boundless, deep snowy night, her empty eyes gradually filling with satisfaction.

“In the endless future, we will meet again… I will always, always, always watch over you in my dreams!”

The girl quietly gazed into the infinite time and space, observing every figure of that boy in the endless world.

---