Wakaba Mutsumi, currently possessed by Geto Mutsumi, stood quietly atop the rubble of the ruins. In her open palm lay a black bead.
Directly in front of Wakaba Mutsumi stood Shadow Mori Minami.
Her arms hung limply at her sides. Although her eyes were open, her pupils were unfocused and vacant.
Her gaze passed through Wakaba Mutsumi, through the ruins, and stared straight into the empty space ahead.
Her face was wooden. The sharp, superior, domineering expression she once wore—the expression of someone who viewed everything as a calculable asset—had vanished completely.
She looked like a hollow shell whose soul had been emptied out. She stood blankly amid the ruins, merely maintaining an upright posture by instinct. Even the rise and fall of her breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible, as if the very act of thinking had been stripped out of her mind entirely.
A few steps away, Toyokawa Sakiko, Nagasaki Soyo, and Shinobu Kocho stood side by side.
Their gazes moved back and forth between Wakaba Mutsumi and Shadow Mori Minami, each of their expressions carrying a hint of strangeness and complexity.
Even though they had all experienced life-or-death battles and had developed a certain tolerance for the bizarre phenomena of the cognitive world, what had just happened had still dealt them a powerful mental shock.
Just moments earlier, facing Shadow Mori Minami, who had given up resisting, Wakaba Mutsumi had activated Cursed Spirit Manipulation and forcibly twisted Shadow Mori Minami's body into a black sphere.
The entire process had been slow and unhurried, allowing the three of them to clearly see every detail of the transformation.
Then Wakaba Mutsumi had expressionlessly placed the sphere formed from her own mother's Shadow into her mouth and swallowed it.
For them, that was still far too advanced a scene.
A while after Wakaba Mutsumi swallowed Shadow Mori Minami into her stomach, she opened her mouth, gagged, and spat out two spheres.
One of them was the pure-black bead now resting in her hand. Sealed inside it were Shadow Mori Minami's distorted desires. Merely looking at it gave one the feeling of being swallowed by the greed and desire for control contained within.
As for the other sphere, the instant it left her mouth, it rapidly expanded. In the blink of an eye, it had returned to Shadow Mori Minami's form.
Ever since the reconstructed Shadow Mori Minami appeared, she had stood there in silence, turning into her current wooden, thoughtless state.
Sakiko could clearly feel that the current Shadow Mori Minami seemed extraordinarily pure.
But the sight of her standing there blankly and motionlessly made Sakiko's heart gradually sink.
Had something gone wrong?
Sakiko walked forward and stopped less than two steps away from Shadow Mori Minami. She was about to speak, only to freeze for an instant.
How should she address her?
From an essential standpoint, the other party was a Shadow distorted by desire, and the enemy they had just fought a desperate battle to defeat.
But at the same time, she was also the cognitive-world projection of Mutsumi's mother.
Toyokawa Sakiko hesitated briefly. In the end, she decided to give the other party the respect she deserved.
"Aunt Minami, your current condition is…?"
Shadow Mori Minami's body trembled slightly, and her unfocused pupils slowly contracted.
Her movements were somewhat sluggish as she turned her head and looked at Sakiko.
Her eyes were like a dry well with no visible bottom, so calm that it made one's heart uneasy.
After sensing the concern in Sakiko's gaze, Shadow Mori Minami sighed lightly and shook her head, giving herself a trace of living presence.
"I'm fine. I'm just a little… lost."
Her voice was very soft, no longer carrying the lofty tone from before.
Sakiko quietly looked at her and waited for her to continue.
Nagasaki Soyo and Shinobu Kocho also listened attentively.
Shadow Mori Minami spoke.
"When a mental projection submits to the collective unconscious, it has no individual thought."
"It is like a droplet in the ocean. A droplet does not need to think about the direction of the current. It only needs to drift with the waves. There is no pain, no joy, and no concept of me."
"Because of my distorted desires, I developed independent thought. But the first feeling that came with it was not freedom. It was fear toward the existence in the deepest layer of Mementos."
"So I desperately gathered distorted desires, escaped Mementos, and completely severed my connection with the collective unconscious."
"And after obtaining a palace of my own, I was still merely acting according to the desires in my heart. Desire drove me to expand, control, and plunder, pushing me constantly forward. I had no awareness of my own situation, and no thoughts about the future."
At this point, obvious helplessness and fear finally appeared on Shadow Mori Minami's previously wooden face.
"After my distorted desires were taken away, this is the first time I have thought alone as a pure individual."
"I feel lost. Even terrified."
Shadow Mori Minami's speech gradually quickened.
"Who am I? What should I do next? What is the meaning of continuing to exist? Countless questions like that flooded into my mind in an instant, all tangled together like a mess of threads."
"I even feel that giving up thought entirely and merging back into that sea of collective unconscious might not be a bad choice."
"Because compared to this loss of direction, this helpless confusion with nowhere to go… becoming a selfless individual once again and facing the great terror in the deepest part of Mementos in ignorance no longer seems so unacceptable."
After listening to Shadow Mori Minami's feelings, Toyokawa Sakiko's expression immediately became serious.
She stared intently into Shadow Mori Minami's eyes and asked:
"Aunt Minami, will your current mental state affect your real self?"
Shadow Mori Minami gently shook her head.
"Don't be so tense."
Her tone became slightly calmer.
"If you mean my current confusion and loss, then it should not affect the real Mori Minami."
Her words made Sakiko relax slightly, while Shadow Mori Minami further explained:
"After all, the mental projections drifting in the collective unconscious are essentially in a state of abandoned thought as well, yet those ordinary people in reality still live normally, don't they?"
"The influence between a person's real self and their Shadow is reflected more in external forces."
Shadow Mori Minami extended a finger and pointed at the black bead in Wakaba Mutsumi's hand.
"For example, when I was previously twisted by intense desire, Mori Minami in reality would act more forceful, possess a stronger desire for control and domination, and believe that everything around her had to be treated as a calculable asset."
"And now that most of those distorted desires have been removed, she will gradually return to her original self in reality."
"As for ordinary people who never awakened an independent self to begin with and have always remained within the sea of collective unconscious, they are more easily influenced by the collective. In reality, that manifests as following the crowd, echoing others, lacking personal opinions, feeling indifferent toward social issues, and rarely thinking independently."
After hearing Shadow Mori Minami's explanation, Toyokawa Sakiko fell into thought.
Clearly, stripping away her desires had indeed achieved their expected goal.
The Mori Minami in reality should return to normal and would no longer place excessive pressure on Mutsumi as she had before.
But where should this Shadow Mori Minami, now stripped of her desires, go?
While Sakiko was thinking, Shinobu Kocho walked forward.
"Suddenly obtaining true freedom, only to become lost instead?"
Shinobu spoke softly, as though asking the other party, yet also as if murmuring to herself.
Shadow Mori Minami looked at the girl before her, who was even younger than her own daughter. She said nothing and simply waited silently.
Shinobu thought of herself.
She thought of the obsession that had always supported her survival and pushed her to keep swinging her blade—
Kill Muzan Kibutsuji and avenge her sister.
She had imagined the scene of herself dying in battle countless times. But she rarely imagined what would happen if that day truly arrived and she survived.
If, with the help of the chat group, she truly killed the source of all demons, Muzan Kibutsuji, and even went further, completely resolving the problem of her homeland being transformed into a demon realm by higher beings—
When the world no longer needed the Demon Slayer Corps, when she no longer needed to develop poison every day and no longer needed to wield a Nichirin blade…
What should she do?
Shinobu fell silent. The wind in the ruins brushed through her black-and-purple hair.
She could not imagine it.
She could not imagine what she would do then.
Perhaps, at that time, she too would fall into a vast emptiness and helplessness like the current Shadow Mori Minami.
But…
The situation was also somewhat different.
Shinobu's gaze suddenly sharpened. She pulled herself out of that empty imagining and caught the difference between them.
At that time, even if she became somewhat lost, even if she went through a period of emptiness, she would still be living in a real world.
Around her would be the children of the Butterfly Mansion, her companions in the Demon Slayer Corps, mountains and rivers, nature, and all the phenomena of heaven and earth.
Through continuous contact with the outside world, she would inevitably be influenced by it, and she would eventually develop new desires and new directions.
She would slowly recover the life of an ordinary person.
But Shinobu turned her head and looked around.
As far as she could see, aside from the cold collapsed stones beneath their feet, there was only the eternally oppressive gray sky overhead.
No sound.
No life.
The cognitive space where Shadow Mori Minami existed had nothing at all.
Only deathly silence.
In this prison of nothingness, possessing the ability to think alone was not a blessing. It was the cruelest punishment.
Shinobu refocused her gaze on Shadow Mori Minami and spoke her thoughts with an unusually serious expression.
"You said just now that there is no outside influence here, but you overlooked a fatal problem. This cognitive world you are currently in, a place with no other existence whatsoever, is itself an extreme external factor."
"Your mental state, influenced by the cognitive world, will definitely affect the Mori Minami in reality."
Shadow Mori Minami's pupils contracted slightly.
"Moreover, an individual with self-awareness cannot maintain sanity for long in absolute loneliness. As time passes, you are very likely to fall into madness, or even suffer complete mental collapse."
"When that happens, the Mori Minami in reality may suffer severe mental trauma directly due to the collapse of her subconscious, and fall into insanity."
Everyone immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.
Stripping away desire did not mean everything was solved. If they locked a self-aware soul inside an eternal isolation chamber, the result would only be worse than before.
Shinobu finally turned to Sakiko with a serious expression.
"I believe that Shadows who are no longer twisted by intense desires should not remain here. They should be allowed to merge into the sea of collective unconscious."
"But Aunt Minami said there is something terrifying in the deepest part of Mementos."
Sakiko furrowed her brows, while Shinobu met her gaze without backing down at all.
"Perhaps there really is an unknown danger in the deepest part of Mementos."
"But a lone mental projection living alone in a mental world with absolutely no other existence, without contact with anything else, is extremely dangerous. This is not something she can endure simply because her will is firm."
"This is no longer a situation that can be decided by personal choice. It is the environment itself that creates the danger."
Toyokawa Sakiko stood in place, her mind running rapidly.
Rationally, Sakiko completely agreed with Shinobu's judgment.
She raised her head, her gaze falling on Shadow Mori Minami.
"Aunt Minami, what do you think?"
Hearing this question, Shadow Mori Minami froze for several seconds.
A few seconds later, she slowly revealed a smile.
"Perhaps Miss Shinobu is right."
"Under the current circumstances, following instinct and returning to the collective unconscious should be the safest choice. I would no longer need to bear this homeless self alone, and the real self would not be implicated by my collapse."
"However—"
Shadow Mori Minami suddenly changed the direction of her words.
She looked at Sakiko, and a trace of elder-like affection appeared in her eyes.
"Little Saki, the reason you are hesitating so much right now probably isn't entirely because you are worried about me, is it?"
Sakiko's body stiffened slightly.
"You… are worried about your father's situation, aren't you?"
Seeing Sakiko's shocked expression, Shadow Mori Minami explained softly:
"Have you forgotten the previous battle? When Miss Shinobu's Domain, Feathered Molting Mirror-Splinter Realm, unfolded, our memories briefly intersected. I know what you have experienced."
Her tone became even gentler.
"Defeating me is only the beginning. One day, you will face your father's Shadow. You will strip away his desires just as you stripped away mine."
"The reason you want to know what happens if a Shadow does not return to the collective unconscious is because you want to find a fallback path for him, correct? You are afraid that if your father's Shadow returns to the collective unconscious after its desires are stripped away, he may encounter danger. But you are equally afraid that if he is left alone, he will go mad as Shinobu said."
Toyokawa Sakiko bit her lower lip tightly and did not deny it.
Yes.
She was indeed using Shadow Mori Minami as a reference.
She had to figure out what kind of situation a Shadow faced after its desires were stripped away before she could make the correct choice when she faced her father in the future.
Looking at Sakiko's expression, Shadow Mori Minami's gaze grew even softer.
"Think of it as repayment," she said gently.
"Repayment?" Sakiko froze.
"Yes." Shadow Mori Minami nodded. Her tone was mild, carrying an elder's tolerance and support toward a younger person.
"Repayment for not killing me directly after the battle ended. Repayment for only taking away my distorted desires and giving me the right to stand here and think independently for a moment, rather than forcibly sending me back into the collective unconscious."
"So I will try to hold on for a while."
"Aunt Minami…"
Sakiko wanted to speak and stop her, but the other party raised a hand and interrupted her.
"Don't worry. It is only a test."
"A test to see what kind of effect losing desire will have on me. Whether I will fall into madness as Miss Shinobu said, or whether I can find some kind of balance."
"To see how long it takes before my sanity begins to erode, what kind of effect it will have on the real Mori Minami, and… whether there is any way to avoid all of these dangers."
Shadow Mori Minami looked at Sakiko. There was no fear in her tone. Instead, it carried calm resolve.
"My experience will become precious reference data for your father. Let these experiences be my gift to you."
Nagasaki Soyo covered her mouth. Shinobu Kocho was also slightly moved.
Both of them looked at Shadow Mori Minami in surprise, clearly not having expected her to make such a decision.
The air fell silent.
Everyone's gaze focused on Toyokawa Sakiko.
Toyokawa Sakiko's chest rose and fell intensely.
She could feel the sincerity in the other party's words. After her distorted desires were stripped away, the calculating career woman from before was now showing a pure kindness that moved the heart.
After considering it for a moment, Sakiko solemnly nodded.
"I understand. Thank you, Aunt Minami."
She did not become overly sentimental, nor did she refuse.
The reason she agreed so readily was not because she was cold-blooded, nor because she was selfish enough to gamble with Mori Minami's safety and Mutsumi's family for the sake of her own father's future.
Rather, after weighing the pros and cons in her heart, she had already decided to use the group owner as the final safeguard.
If Aunt Minami's experiment truly resulted in some irreversible situation…
Then she would not hesitate to put down her meaningless pride and beg the group owner in the chat group to intervene and rewind her world.
Only with that absolute layer of insurance did she dare allow Shadow Mori Minami to carry out this dangerous experiment.
Only with that did she dare accept this heavy repayment.
Join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 180)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl 285
"Is this chat group even serious?" 150
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (This matter is completely finished.)
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 255
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 210
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 305
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer (This matter is completely finished.)
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 130
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 155
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 120
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 155
My Harem Is Indescribable 105
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 110
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 110
Still playing traditional Honk 96
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 95
What Should I Do After Switchi 51
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 105
Checking In in Demon Slayer 95
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 105
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel (This matter is completely finished.)
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 90
Why did they assign me to Uma 80
MYGO Beauties 75
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 80
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 100
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 120
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 65
The Uma Musume Who Became 70
I'm Definitely Not the King of 105
After Maxing Out Every Class 110
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 95
I, the Elden Sword Saint 60
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 60
No One Knows Pokémon Better 60
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 69
From Trilobites to Titans 57
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 75
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 86
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 70
Honkai: The Fire Devil 70
Honkai Transformation Cards Volume2/30
Age of Heroes, I'm Just a Back 60
Uma Musume Has No Weird Fan Le 74
At age 8, she co-starred with 45
Honkai: Schicksal Media 53
An Extremist in a Slice-of-Lif 30
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin