"Does she know the truth?"
Philip asked Ao Hai with a sad tone, pertaining to Lulu's situation
[No...]
"Why not?"
[How could I?!!]
Ao Hai's face distorted into pure sorrow, regret, and a hint of cowardice
[How could I tell her the truth?! I've tried to put myself in her shoes and tried to simulate how I would feel to learn that I'm actually dead and that no one is waiting for me in the real world?! It's heart wrenching that I might fall into despair!]
"..."
The light from Philip's eyes dissipated after seeing Ao Hai trembling from the thought of revelation and fear of loneliness and truth on Lulu's situation
[If Lulu were to learn that... I don't know what might happen... She could become insane or who knows what, since she's sealed inside with me... Especially since she mentioned that she is an apprentice of the Witch of Icy Calamity...]
"Hm... Sounds to me like you avoided it for your own good..."
[Huh?]
"Witch of Icy Calamity apprentice? Definitely sounds dangerous... If she were to become insane and wreck havoc inside the katana? Yeah, you would get swept by her cold power... Even I almost died. What could you, a Sword Spirit with a depleted dragon power, do against her?"
[...]
Ao Hai's eyes trembled from Philip telling him the actual truth that he's been avoiding
"Well, I don't care too much about that. I understand what you did after all. I can't say if it was a good or bad decision, but good thing you stalled for time for this long"
[...?]
Ao Hai became confused from Philip's words
"In all honesty, I'm jealous of her situation. Dead. Slaughtered. No more family. Friends. Loved ones. I wish I was her... The only unfortunate thing is that she's not aware of her situation, which is very bad..."
[...]
Ao Hai's face crumpled from Philip's true feelings. He saw him in a different light, or rather darkness, with a feeling of disgust and fear
He then realized that Philip is actually going to be the wielder of Fuyu No Ame and that he's the Sword Concept
Philip then turned around back at Lulu and he slightly kneeled down to be on her eye level
[Wait, what are you going to do?!]
Ao Hai was alarmed. He's afraid of Philip, but in reality, he's more afraid of Lulu. Her power can freeze an entire ocean after all and that's more awful than being cut by the Sword Concept
"Ao Hai... Even though I don't know what I am and I am a lot... I'm not just the Sword Concept. I'm also not just the God of Darkness... I was the Fate Controller first before everything..."
[...?]
Looks like Ao Hai doesn't know what the title of Fate Controller means and entails, but from the words alone, he can deduce what it means. He just doesn't know the power if controlling fates. Besides, he doubt that Philip doesn't have control over fates
[What are you guys talking about earlier?]
Lulu asked in a demanding tone. She didn't seem to hear Philip and Ao Hai's conversation, even though they're talking loudly. She also spoke in a mature manner, different from her childlike personality earlier
Seems like Lulu is suffering from multiple personality changes because of her situation and how long she was sealed in the katana
At this point, even Philip doesn't know her true self, much like himself. But he do believe that the childlike personality she has is her true self because of how she cried earlier
Fear brings out the truth out of everything after all
"Lulu... Can I ask what you are?"
[I'm a winter fox spirit]
"Winter fox?"
[Yeah! We lived in the icy lands and mountains up in far north...]
"Why spirit then?"
[Our tribe believed that our race is a descendant of the spirits, so our bloodline should have the bloodline of the spirits. This was true because the winter fox tribe was capable of controlling the snow and cold in the icy mountains]
"I see! You said earlier that you're the apprentice of the Witch of Icy Calamity, can I ask about that?"
[You sure can! But I can't tell you her true name and where she lives]
"That's fine... Why is your mentor called the Witch of Icy Calamity?"
[It's because she has the power to command and conjure ice around her with her own will. She creates massive snow blizzards that cover the entire continent with snow! She's also capable of manifesting Red Ice, which she taught me the spells and witchcraft for it!]
"Why you?"
[Uuu... So many questions]
"This should be the last..."
[Fine... I just managed to stumble into her coven when I got lost in the mountains. When she spotted me, she just decided to make me her apprentice. She also promised me that I can protect the tribe when I complete my apprenticeship...]
"Hm, she has a good heart to allow you to learn her witchcraft"
[She is! I will never forget her kindness! I will show her my progress when I return to her]
"..."
Philip became silent. He doesn't know if the witch is still alive, but Lulu's enthusiasm to go back is a sad story on its own
"By the way, Lulu... What is the last thing you saw before you were sealed in here? Do you remember?"
[The last thing I saw? Hmmm...]
Lulu pondered for a while before speaking
[I think there was intruders in our tribe and we eliminated them. Dead bodies surrounded the village and the houses were on fire, good thing we elimated all intruders before it got worse. The adults of our tribe were also running around, checking for surviving intruders and to make sure they are dead, as well as making sure that the other winter foxes are safe. I was in the middle of everything, looking for my father and mother when the wind became ice cold and an icy blizzard arrived. My mentor provided help, even though we were fine. It's probably because of me and she was worried. It was then that I felt a cold sensation around my chest and I lost consciousness. I thought that my mentor enveloped me with her cold witchcraft for some reason, but I found myself here. Ao Hai then told me that apparently I was sealed wrongfully and promised me to find a way out]
"..."
[...]
Philip frowned deeper and Ao Hai bit his lower lips and clenchex his hands as hard as he could
'A reversal of memory... Amnesia, manipulation, or a defense mechanism that was activated by her brain due to trauma or shock... It's so pitiful...'
By the way Lulu described her last moments, her brain switched specific parts of her memory that agrees to what she needed to avoid mental damage
'The dead bodies of the intruders should be her entire tribe and the adults of the tribe trying to make sure everyone's dead and safe are actually the intruders making sure that the winter fox tribe are dead and that there's no one hiding. Because of this, the Witch of Icy Calamity tried to save her apprentice, Lulu, but she was too late as Lulu was stabbed by the Winter Katana as the final piece of completion of the legends Seasonal Katana... After that, who knows what the witch did and how the katana survived...'
[Why do you ask anyway?]
"Well--"
[ Consequential Choices System ]
[ What will you do? ]
[ A. Tell Lulu the truth ]
[ B. Hide the truth from Lulu ]
[ C. Bring peace to Lulu and complete her death ]
[ D. Take advantage of her Red Ice ]
[ E. ??? ]
The entire space of the Sword Resonance froze as Ao Hai and Lulu are stationary. Even Philip's body is frozen, except for his mind
'What?!! God damnit... Whenever I get the consequential choices, I never had the chance to save! What if I made a wrong choice and I want to go back?!!'
「 ... 」
'Can I even make a save point now?'
「 ... 」
『 ... 』
'Might as well try... Create Save Point 3!'
「 ... 」
『 ... 』
'I can't believe it... Even Emily and the Omega System, the root system of the Consequential Choices System even, are frozen...'
「 ... 」
'Maybe I should try and cut this apart again... I have Twinblades Concept now and it's stronger than Sword Concept!'
[ ... ]
'Fine, I'll choose... I have made up my mind before the choices showed up after all!'
[ ... ]
'All choices are valid, but choice C is grim and I'm kinda tempted to choose it, for her own sake... But still, whenever Consequential Choices System activates, I always get an unknown choice. What does it mean???'
[ Asking permission... ]
'!!!'
Another box appeared below Choice E
[ Confirming order... ]
Accept
[ E. Plunder Lulu's Red Ice ]
The choice E box changed and showed the actual choice
'Plunder??? What???'
[ Timer: 10 seconds ]
A timer suddenly appeared beside the choices
'...'
Philip's brain worked overdrive whether to choose between his original choice and choice E
[ Timer: 5 seconds ]
'Four Absolute Rules of the universe... Plunder... Lulu's Red Ice... Steal... Forcefully take... Consequential Choices... Absolute results... No limits and restrictions...'
[ Timer: 3 seconds ]
Philip's [Future Vision] ability started to activate and blue light blazed around his eyes
'Tell her the truth? Unlock some conditions... Destruction... Denial... Help of Red Ice... Another asset... More power... Helpful companion... Hidden stories... Her origin... Her fate...'
[ Timer: 1 second ]
'Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth. Plunder. Truth.'
[ Timer: 0.5 seconds ]
'...'
At this moment, Philip was overloaded and his thought process halted. This split second pause costed him that the timer was exhausted before he could make a decision. He was distracted at the sudden revelation of the fifth choice that he was blinded by his curiosity. Not even [Bullet Time] activated to help him make a decision
[ Timer: 0 seconds ]
*Blip*
The entire consequential choices display disappeared and everything became normal. Philip flinched from the sudden change and he furrowed his eyebrows as he began to feel incredibly dizzy from confusion
"...!"
He immediately stood up and looked around as he see absolutely nothing in front of him. He then turned around to see Ao Hai and the floating holographic display of the Winter Katana
[What's the matter?]
"..."
Philip didn't respond to Ao Hai as he looked behind him again to check one more time
"---"
He then became incredibly confused to the point that he could think straight for the first time in a while
L̷̨̹̬͓̖̞̽̀ṵ̴̥̜͛̽̈́͘l̸̼̭̯̟̟͆͑̔͌̂̿͝ư̷͙̣̹̯̿ͅ wasn't in front of him. It was like she never existed to begin with, but he could remember his interaction with her earlier and all the story that she told him
After a while, he turned back at Ao Hai to confirm
"Lulu"
[Lulu?]
"Winter Fox Spirit"
[Hm? I don't know what you're talking about... There's no such thing as winter fox spirits]
"?????"
The edges of Philip's vision began to become static, like blood rushing to his head, and he lost balance
[Well, you have learned my story... I was the last piece to complete the Fuyu No Ame after I was sealed]
"..."
Philip was silent for a while. He racked his brain until he reached to a conclusion
He stood up and stared into nothingness with an expression full of regret, sorrow, pity, grief, amazement, slight fear, and despair all in one
'Lulu and everything related to her was deleted in the universe just like that... The Consequential Choices System is too powerful... Consequential choices that has a timer is more dangerous at that... If no choice was made before the timer runs out, the concept or existence in question will be deleted...'
[...]
'Though, I don't know if the Witch of Icy Calamity was also deleted... Since Lulu was deleted, the Winter Katana didn't need her to be complete to become a legendary sword and only needed Ao Hai... So, is this a good thing? It's regretful that such an asset was lost. Her Red Ice should've been useful... Well, all I need is to find the witch and ask about it...'
「 ... 」
'If I thought about it... Would Tenshi learn about it? Would Camille be aware of it?'
『 ... 』
'Why am I pondering all about this? It's not like she's that important... Well, maybe it's because I was interested in her power and I want her as an asset to further achieve my ultimate goal'
[...]
'Baaah! Who am I kidding? I just probably wanted to save that girl... Why would I wanted to choose to tell her the truth anyway? I could've just hid the truth from her or complete her death to rest her soul in peace...'
「 ... 」
'Well, despite all of that... I learned a lesson...'
『 ... 』
'Create Save Point 3'
『 What would you name Save Point 3? 』
'Lulu's Deletion'
『 Save Point 3: Lulu's Deletion has been saved! 』
'...'
「 ... 」
'The only problem would be... How will I know when Consequential Choices System will activate?? Maybe I just need practice or I need more awareness when an important point comes up... Maybe I shouldn't be too stingy about using too many Save Points...'
He then turned around and faced Ao Hai
[You're going to be my new wielder, right?]
"Yes, and I plan to gather the other Seasonal Katanas as well..."
[I see... It's an honor to be wielded by the Sword Concept]
"I appreciate it... I'll be leaving now"
[Alright, I'll be watching from here]
"..."
Philip closed his eyes and ended Sword Resonance
'I would ask about the two curses that lingered in this sword from him, but I don't have the mood for that...'
As he ended Sword Resonance, his consciousness passed by the wall of curses on his way back and his skin liquified into blood and his veins became violet. Though this just happened in a moment and his skin immediately healed in real time, as well as in the real world
"..."
Eventually, he opened his eyes and saw all the worried gazes because of his liquifying skin and popping veins
"Everything's fine... I just learned a lot of secrets on this katana!"
"Oh? What is it?"
Ken didn't waste any time and asked in interest
"I rather avoid the topic for now... Let's move on and finish this party..."
Philip has a very empty smile that everyone could see and sense. Only Tenshi could see the emptiness in his eyes. She tried to look through his thoughts, but she didn't see anything
'I thought so... You couldn't see anything, right Tenshi?'
'No... What is it?'
'I'll tell you later...'
'Alright...'
"So, who's next?"
"Hmph! I guess that'll be me!"
Ken declared while still sitting on his seat. It's the gods' turn for their gifts