Chapter 28: Experiences |
The confirmation of a god's existence was deemed highly classified, never leaving the confines of that room. This was partly to ensure that word of it would never reach the ears of demons.
Kagaya then transitioned, leading the Hashira into a strategic discussion regarding the campaign against demons for the upcoming year.
The Hashira made suggestions and consulted with one another, though final authority rested solely with Kagaya. They proposed improvements to the training of demon slayers, discussed expanding recruitment efforts, and debated other logistical matters...
Makomo had little interest in the proceedings, sitting quietly with her eyes closed. Aside from the Sword Hashira, several others shared this sentiment, remaining silent through most of the meeting’s second half.
Meanwhile, on the other side of things.
Yeruashi couldn't have cared less about another gathering of the Hashira. He had only spared a fleeting glance at the headquarters when Kyojuro Rengoku and the others attempted to verify his existence.
After that, he refocused entirely on Tsuyuri.
From an outside perspective, it might have looked like he had brought the girl in just a few days ago, but a slight manipulation of the flow of time had extended the experiment for more than a year.
Throughout this entire period, Tsuyuri simply observed the world, her behavior showing no significant change.
However, these failures were not as crushing as one might expect; her condition had not deteriorated during that time, either.
So, Yeruashi continued to press on.
Until.
Finally, one of his attempts bore fruit.
Yeruashi forcibly extracted the slivers of the girl's consciousness and bestowed them upon a newborn, granting her the opportunity to live life once again.
Initially, Tsuyuri’s consciousness did not become that of the child; it simply withdrew, observing from the sidelines without interfering with the outside world.
Every newborn child generates a new soul. Since Tsuyuri’s consciousness did not wish to become the master of that soul, it eventually gave rise to a new identity.
Gradually, Tsuyuri’s mind became a sort of hidden sub-personality within the body. It refused to react or interact with the external world in any way, existing like a silent passenger, much like a parasite.
But.
Just as Yeruashi was ready to write off this experiment as another failure.
Astounding changes began to occur.
Tsuyuri's consciousness remained isolated from the outside world, but as she grew alongside the girl, her mind began to show activity!
Stunned, Yeruashi immediately accelerated the process using his control over time.
Though Tsuyuri’s mind took no action from start to finish, it began to stir—one could even say it began to reflect—which manifested in simple thoughts like 'this flower is beautiful' or 'this tastes good' and so on...
The emergence of such thoughts indicated that Tsuyuri was gradually abandoning her total detachment and beginning to view the world from a more human perspective.
'So, maintaining a human mindset through the experience of a human life helps one remain an individual and preserve emotions, preventing them from dissolving into an ocean of divine power...' Yeruashi mused.
He had read about the concept of 'ten million incarnations' in novels before. Thinking about it now, it seemed like an excellent way for a deity to maintain their persona.
To live a myriad of lives and experience an endless stream of every possible emotion, all to reaffirm one’s own existence. It was a way to avoid becoming an emotionless, cold monster with nothing in its soul but boundless power...
The severity of this problem depended entirely on the duration of the consciousness's existence.
A human mind cannot witness the universe from birth to death, but a tapestry of infinite lifetimes could surely withstand the corrosive influence of time.
'Should I give it a try?' Yeruashi thought, rewinding time to the beginning.
He wouldn't even need to create clones. Thanks to his time-manipulation abilities, he could perform this using only his true body.
His body would live one life after another, but his power would ensure that all these successive lifetimes occurred at the exact same moment.
Such a concept is so difficult for an ordinary person to grasp that they would likely dismiss it as a mere temporal glitch, but this was the true essence of the Illusory Clock's tenth ability: Time Control.
If the first nine abilities were still somewhat comprehensible, the tenth utterly shattered the very definition of time.
Unlocking the tenth ability turned time into something akin to a simple ribbon—one that could be touched, pulled, crumpled, or even rolled into a ball.
By this point, Yeruashi had a general understanding of what the final two abilities would be.
The eleventh ability would likely be the ultimate form of temporal control, allowing him to freely manipulate every timeline in both the past and the future.
By that stage, none of his strikes would have a limit to their power.
Literally.
Because then he could consolidate any number of strikes delivered throughout any period of time—past or future—into a single blow of infinite force.
The power of such a strike would essentially approach infinity...
Therefore, he would simply call the eleventh ability of the Illusory Clock 'Boundless.'
As for the final ability... if his intuition was correct, it would be the mastery of time itself, extending even to altering its very concept and definition. He would be able to express time in any form he desired.
Of course.
This was all just theory.
And the awakening of the eleventh ability was still a long way off.
Tick-tock!
Soon, the image of the Illusory Clock was reflected in Yeruashi's eyes, and the hand clicked slowly toward the numeral X.
To an observer, it might have seemed like an infinite number of Yeruashis scattered in different directions and vanished. But these were not clones; from beginning to end, it was a single, true body.
...
On that day.
A child was born in a small village.
He was born, grew up, and lived in poverty, spending his days chopping wood, hauling water, plowing fields, and hunting... until his brief life came to an end by the stove in his wooden home.
Now, return to the day of his birth.
An old man appeared on the outskirts of that village, introducing himself as a traveling carpenter. The skilled elder integrated well into the community. He even took in and raised several orphans before quietly passing away in his rocking chair.
And back to that day once more.
A child was born into the wealthiest family in that same village. He grew up in warmth and luxury before leaving to become a soldier. Later, he distinguished himself on the battlefield and rose to the rank of commander, only to march off to a certain war and never return.
Again, back to the starting point.
On that day, both paupers and noblemen were born; there were even several princes. Old men appeared in villages, hunters in the forests... new recruits joined the Demon Slayer Corps, and new demons appeared under Muzan’s command.
The world's population surged by nearly one percent in a single heartbeat.
But no one noticed.
Not even Muzan Kibutsuji.
Naturally, only Yeruashi could ensure that such an anomalous population spike went undetected. And in effect... Yeruashi himself was that entire percentage point.
He had meticulously selected the starting conditions and calculated the trajectory of every life to ensure they would not disrupt the general progression of the world.
Of course.
It is impossible to calculate absolutely everything.
Among that one percent of the world's population, there were inevitably lives that deviated from their original paths.
This is the story of one such life...