Unwilling to wake… because reality is more terrifying than a nightmare…
In that instant, Joyce didn't know how to continue persuading Sirin…
You can't wake someone who is pretending to be asleep, especially when Sirin would rather become the Demon King in a nightmare, associating herself with it, than return to reality…
So the third Demon King… was Sirin herself…
The price paid by the first Demon King was too much for Sirin to bear. The second appeared as someone she couldn't understand, a "truly good person."
With two Demon Kings unable to be defeated, the story couldn't continue, and the dream couldn't be maintained…
So, Sirin chose to become the Demon King herself, to become the villain, the one who must be defeated.
But as Sirin firmly believed, only the dreams of good children were protected by Homu the Brave and other toys. With Sirin, the master of the dream, becoming the villain… where would the hero who could defeat the Demon King come from?
Without a hero, the Demon King was invincible.
---||---
Outside the mindscape, Shu suddenly felt the resistance on his sword increase. Sirin's will to "become a bad person" strengthened the Demon King's control over its authority.
The immense resistance pushed the pseudo-Xuanyuan Sword back bit by bit. Even with both hands, Shu could barely stop its slow retreat.
And even worse…
"Crack—"
A crisp cracking sound came from the pseudo-Xuanyuan Sword. Shu was, after all, fighting on enemy territory. With him losing ground in this clash of authorities, the Demon King's authority had begun to damage his sword.
His total [Hope] wasn't enough… There were too few people here. The hope provided by the toys and Homu had clearly reached its limit…
To win, either the Demon King had to make a mistake, or Shu had to gain more [Hope]…
Both seemed equally difficult!
Joyce was just as troubled. Inside the mindscape, she was restless. How could Sirin, who struggled to distinguish between black and white, make such a sacrifice?
And to sacrifice herself, no less?
Even many adults couldn't achieve this level of understanding!
Joyce understood sacrifice too, so she couldn't bring herself to tell Sirin to choose Shu, to choose them. Sirin couldn't abandon the children slumbering in reality, nor could she abandon John and the others.
After pacing around the small room, Joyce sat down on the chair, defeated. Sirin was still tightly wrapped in her blanket, not afraid of Joyce, but of the nightmare.
A person's life had three stages… Childhood, where they learned about the world, innocent and full of curiosity. What they gained and saw during this time shaped their "perspective."
But this "perspective" was often unsatisfactory… So people needed to change it. This was when they reached adolescence, gaining the ability and the goal to change.
People in this stage were full of self-confidence and dreams for the future.
But when someone truly tried to change the world, they would realize how small their own power was… Thus, their future crumbled, their dreams turned to dust, and they truly stepped into what adults called "growing up."
Go with the flow, give up, it's not like I can do anything anyway… This was old age, where one could no longer change, only accept.
Finally, when something came along that they could neither change nor accept, death arrived.
These were the four stages of life, like the four seasons of the year: budding spring, vibrant summer, withering autumn, and silent winter.
Sirin was curled up in the dark blanket, a small, tight ball, her eyes closed.
She wanted to change the world… to change the reality that she was alone in the Tower of Babylon, to fulfill everyone's promise, even willing to become the very person she hated most.
She didn't want to accept, so she didn't want to grow up. But now, she was truly powerless, and could only accept the nightmare, trying to prolong her fading "youth."
…
She had still lost her childhood, lost the spring of her life…
---||---
At the entrance of the Tower of Babel, Bella squatted in front of the reed seedling. A cold gust of wind suddenly blew past. Bella flinched, shielding the seedling with her hands.
The reeds swayed in the wind, yielding to its direction, letting the wind carry away their downy seeds, creating a "snowfall" in this place.
Only the seedling didn't know how to bend, nearly breaking in the wind. If not for Bella's protection, it might have perished.
The sudden drop in temperature was felt by everyone inside the Tower of Babel. Bella protected the seedling, but when she looked up, the clear sky was covered with a thick layer of dark clouds, bringing a nightmarish pressure.
Outside, Shu's sword was on the verge of shattering, the blade almost pushed out of the Demon King's neck.
[Hope]… even just one person's [Hope]! He was so close…
Must I… accept this?
Shu was unwilling… unwilling to accept this small gap… He had the chance, he could do it, so why couldn't he? Why should he take a step back and accept defeat?!
John was unwilling… Success had been so close, a victory he had traded everything for, so why had the Honkai so easily snatched it away?
Sirin was unwilling… She had tried so many times, but she always failed. She had even abandoned everything she could, just for the desired outcome, even if it meant she wouldn't be a part of it!
But why… why was she still failing?
Was it fate? Was it predestined, that this world only allowed those who went with the flow to survive?
No… I/I/I don't want this fate!! I don't want to achieve nothing! I don't accept this world that only rewards conformity!!
I want—to change this Reality!!
Reed seeds drifted in the wind, searching for a new home, swaying and yielding to its whims.
The world was too cold, too dry, filled with wind and sand, a living hell…
But the reeds took root here, nourished the water source, blocked the wind and sand, creating a wetland where even birds could find shelter.
Even though the world was so cruel, the reeds still gave their meager love to the world, a love filled with drifting humility and unwavering strength.
And the pride of taking root in this world.
This was the reed—a humble, yet proud love.
A light flew from Shu's heart, answering a wish he had received long ago, a wish that had been dormant for a very long time.
[From Sirin: Create a beautiful, fairytale "Reality."]