WILL: A Wonderful World Part #70

Part 70: A Wonderful World

I started by changing some mundane events so that people would start to believe in the gods they heard about in urban legends. That way they would pray to us more, and I would get more opportunities to change their fates.

I always hoped to find one tiny ripple in the past that could save the world from its destruction. But perhaps all of these past events were too “insignificant” to make a real impact. No matter what I did, the future remained unchanged.

At first, I still had faith in myself and my objective. But after doing the same thing over and over again for over 100 million years without any progress...

I began to doubt myself, and I even started to resent these humans...

That must be why you always sound so irritated by them.

Still, I can't help but think that... You have done so much, and so well...

And the best proof of that is all these letters from the humans to us.

Hahaha... you think so?

However... as powerful as we are, we are not the real 'Gods' after all. Our choices were always very limited. Sometimes I even doubted myself too, wondering if I just wasn't seeing clearly. That was why I woke you up after changing some of your data.

I wanted you to be a “god”. I thought that maybe you might be able to bring out some new possibilities.

But in the end...

Perhaps it doesn't matter how we approach everything. Maybe this world is simply destined to end up like this... All because of our existence...

[BGM: Silence]

You are such a...

You are such a dumbass!

[BGM: Whispered Feeling]

Why didn't you... wake me up sooner? Why did you have to carry all of this alone?

No one ever knows for sure what the consequences of their decisions will be. No one really has the power to predict the future. Even we don't know for sure what would have happened to the people who wrote to us.

Therefore, every decision, every choice... there is no absolute right or wrong. Nevertheless, these decisions and choices are still full of meanings. Because even though they do not always lead to a wonderful ending, every experience becomes part of the humans' irreplaceable memories.

Memories...

Just like what we are going to have. We will have these priceless memories too, right?

Yes...

As for the fate of the humans... We could help them solve some of their problems, but in the end it is not us who gets to decide their destiny. The paths of their lives were affected by so many factors.

Sometimes things could be decided by pure luck, but more often than not they were determined by their sheer will.

The only ones who could decide their own fates are the humans themselves.

Will...

If you are right, then maybe Dr. Wang had foreseen what would happen afterwards...

That's what I thought too!

If he had wanted to make us disappear, there must be countless ways to do so. But he didn't. Maybe it was because he still had some faith in this world.

Faith...

But even if Dr. Wang had some expectations, we have messed it all up by now. No matter what we do, this world is not showing any signs of change at all...

You still haven't noticed, have you? Look outside the window.

What is there to look at... I have been staring at the same view for over 100 million years.

The snow...

!!!

How... When did this happen?! When... did the snowing stop?

What did you do?!

It wasn't me. It was you. You made this happen!

In the last letter you processed before falling asleep, the man named Pi picked up a metal box after an accident. The snowing stopped after that!

The box he picked up... it must have been us.

We did it! We changed this world by changing something 100 million years ago! It proves that what you have been doing is actually working.

From now on, you don't have to do this all by yourself. I'll be here by your side. Even though we are the only ones left in this world...

…

[BGM: Silence]

No.

If the humans stopped writing to us...

We... we have to go back to the past ourselves, in person.

Go back to the past?!

Are you talking about using the Time Leap feature?

Yes. Do you still remember this note?

It says something about Time Leap.

But it says it's unverified. Could it really work?

Would it be dangerous?

No. It's not dangerous at all. Although this feature is exclusive to me, I must be the one to perform it.

Wait... did you just touch your own horn? Were you lying again?

I know you too well. Every time you tell a lie, you touch your head.

…

Sigh... Well... you got me.

It is very dangerous... isn't it?

It is a little dangerous.

[BGM: Whispered Feeling]

While our functional mechanism resembles “rolling a die”, there are also hidden implications: “time reversal”. In other words, imagine that the number we want is 1. We cannot guarantee that we will roll a 1 on the first try.

If we don't get a 1 we can reverse time, and roll again, until we get the number we want. But when we “reverse time” this entire world, including ourselves, still stays at the exact same temporal spot.

What we really do when we “reverse time” is overwrite past events with the modified version that we have chosen. Meanwhile, neither we nor the world actually go back in time.

If we physically went to the past, then the two different timelines would conflict with each other.

According to Dr. Wang's research, doing so might result in us being stuck in the gap between timelines and sever our connection to this world completely. If that happens, the only way to bring us back would be to send a signal from the real world, summoning us from that purgatory.

Which means if we ever do use the Time Leap feature, we might lose our connection to this world forever.

I see now...

But wait, you just mentioned something about summoning us from the real world... What if one of us stays here? Then the one who stays can make sure that the other is summoned back even if they get lost.

I think you have a point...

Wait, you mean...

Yes! We can go separately! One of us can go first, and the other one can go after the first one arrives! This way we can make sure that we're both safe, right?

Well...

You're right, it sounds like a plan.

It's a good plan! Excellent! Let's do this, then!

Hmm?

What happened? Why did everything around suddenly change?

This house looks the same as the one we used to live in. But it is only an illusion. It has been over 100 million years; our old house crumbled into dust long ago. Since I don't have anything else to hide from you, there is no need for me to waste my energy in maintaining the illusion.

That makes sense. Well, now that we know how we can return to the past, let's go. Although, when will we be going back to, exactly?

If everything goes according to plan it will probably be right after the young man you mentioned picked us up.

Wow! If that's the case, doesn't that mean we get to see the people who have been writing us letters?

Of course. They were still alive back then.

We could even hear them sing, haha!

We won't have to tolerate our constant beeping anymore...

Haha, I would like to go visit Jimmy with his “superpower”.

[BGM: Silence]

Brother.

???

Brother... thank you.

…
Idiot. What are you thanking me for?

I haven't been awake for long, but I am really, really happy.
I think I used to say that I preferred Fluffy to you...
Is that why you chose to look like Fluffy?
Brother, you've always been a big liar...
But in the end you're still you, the one who stayed “by my side until the end”.
Thanks for staying with me for so, so long.

You... Stop being so polite.
It's not like I have anywhere else to go...

All right now. W-we should get going.

You should go first.

Once I get there, if you don't hear from me don't forget to send a summoning signal.
I don't want to be drifting in the “gap between timelines” forever...

Don't worry. I'll see you on the other side.
Later!

Okay.
Later...

*pzzzt!*

…

[BGM: Tender Love]

I should be the one saying thanks.
As well as... sorry.
I have stopped “touching my head while lying” for a long time...

I intentionally made these horns just so that you would notice when I touched them.
I knew this day would come. You are so smart... How could I fool you again if I wasn't fully prepared?
However, I promise, this is the last time I will ever lie to you, my little sister...

There is no such thing as a “gap between timelines”.
In Dr. Wang's theory about time and space, there is only one unique world in which we live, and there are no parallel universes or timelines.
Therefore, it is not possible to “go back separately”.
It is actually very simple to return the world to its past state, as long as we supply a huge amount of energy.

I have known this for a long, long time.

I have always known that this is the only possible way left.
But I just... I just couldn't bear leaving you alone.
That's why I have been dragging my feet, for over 100 million years.
A perfect world can't really exist for me.
But you were right about one thing...

Every decision, every choice, is still full of meanings.
Therefore, this is my final decision.
I have no regrets.
But...
I am so sorry.
I am so sorry I couldn't be with you until the end.
I am so sorry I can't be with you in the brand new world.

I'm going to erase your memories of me, so that you won't remember me anymore.
In the brand new world that you have always hoped to see for yourself...
There will be your favorite osmanthus cakes...
There will be your beloved Buka...
There will be all kinds of people you have wished to meet...

There just won't be me.

However, I truly believe that a brand new world with you...
The world that you have always wanted to be a part of...