"Nngh..."

Arriving to a series of headaches the moment I opened my eyes, I clutched my head instinctively to curb the pain.

Looking around me, I found myself in darkness. ...There wasn't really anything to see at all.

It took me a few minutes to adjust to the darkness; The contrast in brightness when I'm in the Soul Forest was drastically different.

I began to see things more clearly.

I was inside of a cave... different from the last place I had remembered myself in...

That means... Ruler had succeeded. She was messing with me at the end there after all... saying something ambiguous like that...

I heaved a sigh of relief, and called out.

"Status Check."

My voice echoed in the cold dark cave.

Name White Shigaraki Level 1 Unused SP 0 Rank 1 Race Hû̴̳̣̀̅ḿ̶͖̞̜̯̭͜a̸̟̱̺̪͇̽n̵̡͇͖̈́ Gender Male Occupation Undetermined Alignment Ņ̸̢̢̨̢͍͖̟̝̬̘͉̭̤̭͑̂͗̽̏̈́̂͜͝e̴͕̦̻͇͠ṵ̵̧̲̳͇̐̀̄t̸̨̮̤͙͖̳̑͛͐r̶̢̧̡̡̳͓̭͖̟̯͍̙̻̮̬̼̤͔̦̗̐͐̅̑̐̊̽͜a̷̟͔̙̺̞̱͚̖̥̳̪̙̜̣̪̰̮̘̞͜͠l̸̠̭̲̣̗̥̜̝͖̽̒̒͋̉̂̊͐̔̔̐̈́̚̚͠͝ Class Undetermined Health 50 Mana 0 Strength 1 Dexterity 1 Luck 2̵̩͙͖̫́̌̀͝3̵̮͈̙̜̈̈͘I̵̧̩̤͙̋I̴̻͌̂̉̓͐Ť̸̛͍͚g̸̥̀̃̌͂̚ẍ̶̢̛͇̻́̆̚͜-̴̲͂̈́̂̑͠7̵̝̹̗̽͛̽̄͂ Intelligence 426 Defense 0 Magic Defense 0 Equipment Tailored black clothes (Set), Pouch (i̴̡̡̢͔̿d̴̢̧̦̝͎̉̕G̵̪̻̪̿͛̀E̷̙̲̞̖̊̈N̸͎̜̔̋E̷̩͎̦̎Ȓ̷̞͓̿͆A̶͉̜͑̀͆̕͜Ţ̴̠̙̺̗̓͂́̓͝E̷̖̰̯͇͌̐̀̚-̸͎̫̃̂̎̉̾2̸̨̬̪͂2̵̫̑͛2̶̛̬̞͋3̶͉̄̿͛1̴̱̩̻̓̄̋3̸̳̽̀͛͛1̸̛̟̭̭͔͍̀͠-̷̹̆͌Ǫ̷̾̌͝b̵̟̖̗̩̍j̴̤̮̥̜̱̑e̶͍͔̟̠̪͛̚c̷̳̍̂͘t̸̬̼̺̺͙̾̂͋͘B̵̻̳̦̜͌͐̃́l̷̜̭̑o̵͕̤̲̙̱͑́̅̔̏c̴̣͈̲͖̱̔͌̓͠k̷̼̩͙̝̋̓͋̍͘ ID:TorchBlock x1 Traits ĭ̶͉͝d̵̛̠̗́̎̾G̵͎̮̓Ě̸̛̹̅N̸̟̪̈́̄̀́͗Ȩ̷͎͎̳͍͛R̸̨̝̰̅́͐̋̏Ä̴͍́̈̂͛̈́T̶̺̫̼̣̊́E̵͚̟̦̹͇̓͗́-̵̧̤̬͚̌̑̿͜2̷̰̞́͜4̴̭͎̽̚O̵̘̿̈̔̇b̸̧̛̰̹̤̓͊̓ͅj̶̠̎̓̉e̵̡̳̘̩̐̅́̇c̶̝̣̔t̴̘͖̊̔͆̕ͅB̷͕̘͈̜͇̈́̓l̵̲̑o̴̡̱̫͌̎̔̕c̵̰̾͊̿k̵̬͓̣̞̊̃̕ Titles Reincarnated One, Miracle of a Goddess, Murderer, Thief, Contradictory Existence, Acolyte of Suffering, Dominator, Demon King Candidate Passive Skills

Presence Awareness LV2, Spatial Awareness LV3, Aspect of a Ruler, Mental Resistance LV10, Displacement Resistance LV10

Active Skills

Status Check, Field of Memories, Origin

Foreign Elements

G̷̨̢̣̪̹͋̐̋̽̂͌͑́́͋̈̾͆͛̓̇͛͌̒̔͘ē̷̡̛͎̳̖̘̩̭͖̟̻͍̻̈́̀̄̓̓͌͒́̿͘͝ͅņ̸̢̨̻̳̗͕͖̺̮̰̲͇̝̋͆̔̽̅̽̔̈́̈́̕͝ͅͅę̷̟̖͙̗͖̞̣̝̩̗̯͔̺̪̮̘́̋͋̾̾̅̃̃͘ͅr̸̥͔̳̱̘̓̇͐͂͂̉̚͜a̸̢̩͇̜͍̟̫̰͙̮̯̠̖̦̘̤̺͚̦͓͒̊̀̋̈̈ͅt̵̡̖͇̅̋ě̵̛̛͉̞́̐̔͛̈̿͒̍͐̉͗̏͂̃̿͘͠͝ ̷̨̢̰͍̜̩̭̙̯̯̖̞͈͖̟̖̳̗̈́̈̈́͋̇́̉̓̑͆͛̊̂̿͊͑̌̿̂͝ͅͅͅI̶̤̰̲͕̜̙͉̻̝̫̥̱̰̟͋̋̅̀̋͋̈́̍̿̈́̈́͆̓͝͠ͅḐ̶͖̖͖̬͈̭̬͉̠̖̘͇̜̱̜̬͖͙̭̌͒͆͌͌̀̇̅̐̚̕͜͝͝ͅ

"What's that..., aren't you just a pile of glitched text? Haha..." (mutters) I chuckled with a wry smile on my face.

It lifted my spirits a little when I saw that he was mostly unidentifiable by the System.

"Right... Then, next is... 'Protect my status' please."

The System promptly replied to my assistance request.

Please select Status Protection options.

Obscure All

[Rank is not high enough to obscure the following.]

Name Level Rank

[Choose]

Obscure Selected Clauses

Open Selection Window

[Choose]

I tapped on the left option to 'obscure all of my status except my name, level and rank' swiftly.

Status Protection Complete.

..Alright. I should be done with this. And then...

...Suzuhara... Soma...

...Shinkawa Hikari, Lestia.

Having this ability gave me access to many things I had not known about these two girls before.

...That's right. She was a girl all along. Hikari, was a frail girl wrapped around in misfortune like me.

I shook away these idling thoughts, and concentrated again.

...I may just be playing the role of an arrogant, self-righteous bastard.

But... I need to do it. I must do it. Because no one else will.

Am I doing this for their sakes or mine? ...I don't want to think too much about it anymore.

It's too pitiable. They have no one else left in this strange world who can understand them anymore.

They are broken, trapped in their past.

So I have to save them.

I must save them.

Because I understand their pain.

I took out a Torch Block from my pouch, a translucent and colorless cube with a very smooth surface. I had to use both hands to hold it just in case it slipped off.

I was told it was as fragile as glassworks after all.

Then I recited the words to use it.

"Console Command. Torch Block."

A few seconds passed by in silence.

ID #942220: Torch Block has been activated for: 310,000,000 seconds.

When the System's declaration announced that the Torch Block had been activated, I tightened my grip on the Torch Block with both hands. The block did not expel heat like the Light Stone, and was comfortably sitting on my palms.

The cube started to glow cyan in the unending darkness, and I could begin to make out where I had been transported.

Following the path from the memories of that girl, I slowly made my way through a narrow tunnel.

In the middle of that tunnel, I found the crack in the wall I was looking for. Since it was wide enough for someone as skinny as me to pass through, I worked my way inside the crack with a slow crawl.

...Finally, I got my entire body inside.

The interior of the crack was about 10 square meters.

As I began to breath more heavily due to the effort used to crawl through the crack, I took in a musty smell through my nostrils.

The cube lit up the place, revealing countless cobwebs strewn all over the interior of this small space.

There was a shabbily made 'bookshelf' on the left which were just concaves in the walls, housing a few books with dusty covers. There were traces of candlewax stuck on the ground, and burnt out wax candles on the other concave on my right, which also stored many empty flasks. Some of them were shattered.

There was a 'bed' where she slept in, which was just a large rock with many pieces of clothing put on top of it.

This place...

There were many horrible things that had transpired in here...

...!!!

My mind started to hurt again, as the vivid images of violence and unspeakable acts of taboo unfolded before my eyes, re-enacted from the past.

I resisted the urge to puke, but my screams were let loose wildly when the mental strain surged into my mind all of a sudden.

"AaaaARRrRrRgGhghHHHhhHhHhH!!!!"

No, I need to pull... through... I can't... falter here.

I can't give in. I can't give in. I can't give innn...!!! I can't...!!! I can't do it after all?!!! Is this the extent of my capabilities?!!!

...It's too early for you. Let me tak-

I gritted my teeth.

"...Nnnrrrgghhhhh... ...N-no... AaArRrRgGHHhHhHH... ...not yet. I must...Nnghhhharghhhhh...!!!... I must see this... through... myself..."

...Looks like you're serious, you're really hanging on this time~ ... well I'll just keep the more unsettling ones out of view then. ...Don't break yourself for nothing again, ...you idiot. I'm going to experience the same thing as well if you don't do it right...

The voices in my head started to lessen, as I began to be able to breathe properly again with a clearer mind thanks to his interference.

"Haahhh... Who are you calling... idiot... haahhh... haahhh... ..."

I retorted to no one in particular, as I wiped off the sweat forming on my forehead.

The mental and distorted landscape had settled down, but still haunted the murkier ends of my mind. I had to concentrate to keep them there.

I then looked around and found the spot on the wall where the 'bed' was leaning on. There was a small indentation on it.

I pressed on it like a button.

Just like the door of a secret base, the wall suddenly shook and created a light tremor as it gave way and slid open to the left, revealing another short but narrow passageway.

Gulping down a mouthful of saliva, I walked through to the end of the passage, which was connected to another large open area.

"Hmmm~ hmmm~ hmm~ hm hm~"

I could hear someone humming.

I looked around this new place. There were several cart-like carriages broken beyond repair at the sides, obscured by shades. There were other tunnels that also seemingly led to different places in this cave as well, but it was more naturally formed than that short one I had just passed through. It had been dug through after all.

More importantly, I quickly redirected my eyes to where the humming was coming from.

From the top, I saw a large hole in the middle of the ceiling shining moonlight onto a stone altar at the center of a field of blue flowers, illuminating the figure of a young girl sitting on top of it.

As I worked my way down to see who this person was, I was instantly mesmerized by her light blue hair, flowing freely through the air current coming from the top of the hole; the strands of her hair glittered brightly like sapphire. Her eyes were closed, as if she was indulging herself as a conductor of a symphony.

She looked at the ceiling happily, uncaring of her surroundings. Her small legs swayed back and forth in a rhythmic pace, which lulled me slowly into the tempo of her soft tune.

The flowers around her complemented her beauty with powder blue and hints of periwinkle. I looked at the girl breathtakingly; She had truly blended into her surroundings like a beautiful painting.

"Hmhmhm~ Hmmmhm~ Hmm~"

It was a melody that did not make me feel out of place, and instead made me feel at peace. I was reminded of the times I spent with my parents when I was younger.

...Tears went down my face uncontrollably, as various emotions ebbed and flowed like the rocking of a fishing boat in the middle of a calm, gentle sea.

I listened in for a long time, until she finally ended.

When her performance was finally over, I unconsciously gave a round of applause.

The girl finally noticed me and opened her clear blue eyes slowly.

She noticed a boy, clapping loudly with a very satisfied expression yet his face was filled with tears.

She did not question my presence in this place, and instead asked me with a worried look.

"Big brother...? Why are you crying?"

Her pure and innocent puppy eyes prompted me to reply her in response.

"... ...It was... a very emotional piece of music. ...What is the song called?"

"Ah, I haven't named it yet! Hmmm..."

The girl fell into deep thought, and suddenly widened her expression in glee as if a brilliant idea had just came to her mind.

"I know! Big Brother, you're the first audience that I've ever had, so why don't you name it for me? You know, to commemorate this occasion~?"

"... ...You want... Big Brother to name it for you...? I... suck at naming things though..."

"Un! It's fine, because I'm sure you'll come up with something nice!"

"I... see... then...

Home."

"Home...? ...Why?"

I nodded my head slowly.

"...Because... I've come, to pick you up... Inaho.

...I've come... to bring you back home..."