Chapter 248: The Death of Souren Araya

Old and young, male and female, black and white, magus and swordsman, they tumbled and fell to the ground, motionless. Both sides of Shiki's ribs were broken, and aside from her heart, her internal organs also suffered varying degrees of damage. She fell unconscious on the spot. Even so, she did not release the sword. Araya Souren's injuries were far more severe than Shiki's, but he did not lose consciousness. He simply turned his head and looked at the young girl not far away.

"In this state, you still resemble a girl of your age."

The magus shrouded in darkness remained motionless, and his anguished expression deepened further. The thing he desired was right in front of him, yet he couldn't move. That one strike was a final blow that could not be undone. Without any technique, it was a single instinctual strike, a poor strike, but also an immensely powerful strike. After receiving this strike, there was indeed only the path of death to tread.

"I didn't expect both of us to be equally harmed."

This was their karma, just like their first encounter on a rainy night two years ago and the confrontation before the collapse of the apartment.

"Awakening as an Originator brings limitations from the Origin—the target is within reach, yet the body cannot move, truly living up to the name of 'Stillness'."

Souren Araya said mockingly to himself, but it wasn't meant for anyone to hear. Beside the magus, a black-haired youth and a red-haired boy ran past, their clothes fluttering in the breeze as they bypassed Araya and rushed toward the girl in the kimono lying on the ground. At the same time, two ethereal figures descended from the sky, and the Saint known as "Lady Winter" scattered a golden light from her hands, stabilizing the Shiki's injuries.

The other ethereal figure approached Araya, his bloodless lips moved as if trying to say something.

Kirei Fujou's life from middle school until three months ago was granted by this magus, and her "dual existence" was also bestowed upon her by him. Without him, she would have died long ago. Without him, she wouldn't have had a chance to float, let alone meet the person who gave her a new life. But she did it all for her friend...

"Um... thank you, and I'm sorry," she said.

She expressed her gratitude for the gift of extended life and apologized for her actions today.

"Fujou Kirie, is it?" Araya shifted his gaze from Shiki to the girl he had personally chosen as a pawn. "There's no need to apologize, and no need to thank me. You don't owe me anything. I paid for your medical expenses, but that was for my purposes, and someone else has fulfilled that purpose for you."

"Even so, I still want to thank you."

Another Fujou Kirie appeared beside Araya, not as a spiritual entity but as a real physical body. The dual existence of the same person simultaneously bowed to Araya, speaking in unison.

"Without you, I wouldn't be who I am today."

"It's truly pathetic how there hasn't been the slightest change in you humans." Hearing Fujou Kirie's sincere gratitude, Araya's pained face didn't relax at all. Instead, it grew even more tense. "How sad, truly sad."

"Even if it's hypocritical, we still want to live."

With courage from an unknown source, Kirie expressed her thoughts to the terrifying magus.

"That's not sad at all. It's our human instinct, the proof of our existence."

"Yes, you're right. I'm hindered by this instinct. There's only one step left. This unconscious collective, which encompasses the survival instinct, hinders me. The path cannot be opened. Even those who are born with the path will be prevented. It's truly... truly ugly, this struggle before death! Nobody knows about the world's crisis, yet everyone unconsciously desires to live. Everyone indulges in pleasure without trying to save the decaying world, while unconsciously excluding anything harmful to their existence. What is this contradiction? The desire to live pollutes the prayers for survival. That malevolence is my enemy."

Souren Araya lifted his head and looked up at the starry sky, his voice filled with deep resentment.

This resentment was something that Fujou Kirie, with only twenty years of experience, couldn't understand. She could only remain silent until Araya finished speaking and showed no intention of continuing before she asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Someday, you will understand that your actions are not about gratitude or compassion, but merely self-satisfaction, meaningless."

Even now, Araya had no intention of changing his mindset.

"But this time, I'll accept your self-satisfaction. Help me contact Touko Aozaki. I have something to say to her."

...

Under the still cold moonlight, Touko's voice crossed the distance through radio waves.

"Araya, you've failed again this time." Araya didn't answer Touko's words.

"It's truly tragic, collecting people's deaths, creating hell, and experiencing their pain. Doing these things will only bring suffering, right? Why do you push yourself to such extremes? Are you still stubbornly pursuing the Paradox Spiral? Are you still seriously dreaming of saving humanity as a Taimitsu priest?"

"I... I've long forgotten the reason." After answering, Souren Araya fell into self-contemplation.

It had been a long time since it became impossible to save humanity. As long as one is alive, there will always be people who offer no return. It's impossible to make everyone happy.

So, what about the humans who cannot be saved? How can we repay their lives?

There is no answer. The infinite and the finite are equal. If there were no people beyond redemption, there would be no people to save.

In that case, salvation is like flowing money. Those who are beyond saving, and a world without redemption, that is why he wants to record death.

Recording the end of things, recording the end of the world, in this way, everything can be thoroughly analyzed. Then, perhaps, we can determine what true happiness is.

If we can reconsider those without recompense and those we cannot save, we can determine what can be called happiness.

If we can understand that after the end of the world, these are the true meaning of humanity—the people who died for no reason at all—then they are bestowed with meaning as a whole.

If the world ends, then people can discern the value of humanity. Only this is the sole and universal redemption.

The crackling sound in the receiver brought Araya's consciousness back to the real world.

"You've even forgotten the reason? Your hope is nothing, and your origin is Stillness. So, what are you?"

"I am nothing. I just want to pursue the conclusion. These ugly, filthy, base, and ignorant humans, if all that remains after their death is this history—then I can obtain the conclusion that this ugliness is the true value of humanity. If I know that ugliness and the irredeemable existence are precisely what humanity is, then I can be at peace."

Though not in the same place, the two magus maintained the same posture, gazing up at the starry sky.

Touko asked, "So, is that why you want to reach the Swirl of the Root? There, all the records exist, and even if they don't, everything can return to nothingness. You want to eliminate all the ugly humans for your own sake."

"That's right. Ultimately, I am also seeking self-satisfaction."

The sound of a swallowed breath resounded, and the focus in their eyes disappeared. Even so, Araya remained motionless, still bearing a troubled expression on his face. The darkness and weight upon him were like those of a philosopher burdened with eternal unresolved questions.

"This body has reached its limit."

"Are you starting over again? How many times is this now? It seems you never learn."

This is precisely the spiral, a spiral paradox, and Araya never changes his expression until the end.

Touko's words carried obvious disdain—although she despised him, she didn't dislike this magus turned into a concept.

Taking a wrong step. No, if she hadn't taken the wrong step, she would have become the same thing. Not human, not even a living being, just a manifestation of pure theory. She now finds that deeply saddening.

Araya coughed, spitting out blood. His body began to turn into ashes, starting from the remaining left side.

"I didn't create a backup of my body. Until we meet again, it will probably be in the next century."

"By then, there might not be things like magus anymore. We probably won't see each other again! You're always alone in the end. Even so, you still won't stop, will you?"

"Of course not. I won't admit defeat."

After hearing that, Touko closed her eyes, concluding their brief exchange after years of separation.

In the end—she, as the Grand Magus Touko Aozaki, asked Souren Araya one last question.

"Araya, what are you pursuing?"

"True wisdom," the black magus replied as his feet crumbled.

"Where are you pursuing it, Araya?"

"Only within my own heart," he answered as his coat fell, and half of his body scattered in the wind. Touko watched this transformation.

"Araya, where is your goal?" 

Araya continued to fade away, leaving only his mouth before disappearing before his words could turn into sound.

—You already knew it, it's the end of this Paradox Spiral—

She felt as if this response had reached her. Touko pulled out a cigarette and lit it silently, but didn't put it to her lips. She simply watched as the wisps of smoke dispersed before her eyes, like an illusory mirage that didn't truly exist.

PS:

G: Araya is not death? Or does he survive even after losing his last backup?

 -He is effectively immortal in a sense due to his consciousness surviving even if his body should rot and crumble to dust. He differs from a Puppet Master who prepares bodies they create in advance in case they should die, and instead switches to a spare Puppet body that slowly acclimates to his soul. Unlike Touko, who has to die before switching to her next body, Araya has never experienced death and instead moves his consciousness to another body. The Magic Circuits, the wiring moving his physical form, reaches through the body and sublimates the temporary body into the real thing. With much experience in bringing physical bodies under his control, having gone through many bodies in his life, he can complete the process in half a day. He is a solitary existence, so he cannot flee if his body is destroyed, though after his last Puppet body is destroyed, both he and Touko note that he will eventually return in time since Shiki's Mystic Eyes of Death Perception only destroyed Araya's body and not his existence itself, due to having struck a different Line of Death.

G: A that explains why he is alive even after being struck by shiki, so he is able to take over another body even if it takes to long to completely turn into his own.

 -He's like Ozpin from RWBY.

G: A yeah i understand now

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