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"------ "
When the ice-blue Mystic Eyes once again surfaced within Fang Li's gaze, glittering with a chilling light, the familiar scenery entered his vision.
In his field of view, the world still looked like a dilapidated, crumbling house on the verge of collapse, with fractures everywhere.
Death Lines stretched across everything, like both spiderwebs and shattered glass, covering every corner of his sight.
The ceiling seemed as though it could cave in at any moment.
The floor looked ready to collapse without warning.
All around, Stone Giants, each body crisscrossed with Death Lines, roared as they charged violently toward him.
Though it was his first time seeing the Death Lines of Stone Giants, Fang Li felt an undeniable sense.
"Death Lines… there seem to be more of them than before?"
Not only were there more, but they were clearer.
It was as though Fang Li's understanding of "Death" had suddenly leapt forward by several ranks. He could now perceive more endings to things, and each of them was incomparably vivid.
Looking at those razor-clear Death Lines, Fang Li couldn't help but think:
"With this… no matter who it is, I can kill them for certain."
And with that thought, Fang Li immersed himself completely.
From an intuitive standpoint, Fang Li's soul possessed the effect of automatically recording death, allowing him to grasp "death" as naturally as breathing or eating.
Normally, this meant his soul already contained records of every death he had ever seen.
Even the death of worlds.
Even the death of concepts.
Yet Fang Li still could not kill the true world or the true concept.
Not because he failed to understand them, but because his recognition was limited.
The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception were, from the start, an ability bound to the brain.
Even if Fang Li's soul carried records of countless endings, after traversing several worlds, recording far more deaths than even TYPE-MOON's Root, it didn't matter. If Fang Li did not recognize something as a living being, the Mystic Eyes would never show its Death Line.
Tell someone, "You possess the power to destroy the world", would that person truly believe they could?
Of course not.
Even if it were true, no one would be so foolish as to actually destroy the world, dragging themselves into annihilation.
That was Fang Li's situation.
If he did not believe he could kill the world, then even if his soul held its death, he could not see its Death Line.
In Kara no Kyoukai, Ryougi Shiki, though connected to the Root that recorded all endings, was the same. Because of her recognition, she could still fail to kill the "undying."
Thus, for a bearer of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, understanding death alone was not enough. One also needed recognition of death.
To not be bound by oneself.
To not limit one's own vision.
When one could recognize the death of all things in this world, Then…
"As long as it lives… even a god can be killed."
In that split second, Fang Li entered a realm of sudden insight.
He ignored the Stone Giants thundering toward him. He paid no attention to the magic circles whirling on the walls. Like someone offering no resistance, Fang Li relaxed his body, standing perfectly still.
Only the crescent-moon dagger in his hand was raised slowly.
"There's no need to kill them one by one…"
Though the Stone Giants were individual beings, though the magic circles were numerous, in truth they were all formed from the same magic.
"There's no need to deal with them one by one…"
Even if Death Lines spread across the Stone Giants and magic arrays, he didn't need to target them separately.
Once, in the world of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, when facing a Fused Colony, Fang Li had despaired at the countless Death Lines. Formed from innumerable Kabane, it was impossible to kill them one by one.
Once, in the world of God Eater, Fang Li had fought Aragami, believing they were composed of countless Oracle Cells, each an individual. To kill each one separately was also impossible.
But if it were now? Fang Li would laugh at his past self's naivety.
Because those very thoughts, were precisely what had confined his recognition, and restricted the ability of his Mystic Eyes.
The truth was, there was never any need to go through such trouble.
"As long as I see it as a single entity to kill… that's enough."
Not killing countless Kabane, but killing the Fused Colony itself.
Not killing countless Oracle Cells, but killing the Aragami itself.
The same logic applied here.
For the Stone Giants charging from all directions, and the countless magic circles branded into the walls, there was no need to view them as separate individuals.
The one magic that composed the Stone Giants.
The one space that composed the magic circles.
If that was the case…
"Then killing that single magic and this single space… will be enough."
As he said this, Fang Li reversed his grip on the Moon Blade.
Ignoring the Stone Giants barreling toward him.
Ignoring the magic circles flaring to life one after another.
He set his eyes upon a single Death Line, one that seemed to pierce through the entire hall, running along the ground.
Fang Li slowly dropped to one knee.
And drove the lethal weapon into the floor.
"BANG------ !"
With a shattering sound, the space enclosed by the massive barrier fractured like broken glass, exploding outward.
In that instant, the barrier shattered.
In that instant, the magic shattered.
In that instant, space itself shattered.
In that instant, every mystery within Fang Li's sight came to an end.
All of them were killed, by Fang Li.
When the barrier-isolated space collapsed completely, its fragments dissolving into the void, the Stone Giants and magic circles vanished with it.
Leaving only Fang Li, kneeling alone, as though nothing unusual had ever happened.
Kneeling in the utterly silent exhibition hall.
"------ !"
Fang Li, as if awakening from a dream, felt shock ripple through him.
An expression of disbelief surfaced across his face.
"I… just now…"
Only then did Fang Li realize the enormity of what he had done.
"How could this be…?"
How had he suddenly grasped such an insight?
"What's going on…?"
Fang Li did not know that the transformation of his state of mind had raised the purity of his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception by an entire rank.
Once, Fang Li had been utterly indifferent to anyone's death. But now, because of his attachment to Sylvie's life, the way he perceived death had completely changed.
The result, was the expansion of recognition.
And the expansion of recognition naturally meant the evolution of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.
At this point, Fang Li might truly be able to kill even concepts.
Although the more abstract a concept, the harder it would be to perceive its Death Line, if he was willing to spend the time to decode it, eventually, Fang Li would still be able to kill it.
Yes, just like Ryougi Shiki.
Fang Li's Mystic Eyes had finally begun to catch up to hers.
Yet to others, all of this was utterly incomprehensible.
"What did you do, heretical monkey?!"
With that furious roar, a flash of light streaked across the hall, shooting violently toward Fang Li at terrifying speed.
(End Of This Chapter)