"Uwaa, why did Shuvi have to die? After finally understanding what a heart is, she had to share it with others," said Koyuki as she cried after watching the anime No Game No Life: Zero.
"Yeah, it's like fate was toying with them. What's more, after Riku planned everything to get the Suniaster, it turned out he couldn't even touch it," said Mio.
"From the video, we can see that the Suniaster is like the core of a world—whoever gets it will become the ruler of that world," said Shiki.
"So Waka, what does this video have to do with our world?" asked Tomoe.
"What if I told you that the video you just watched is the future of this world?" said Makoto.
"What!? Are you joking, Waka?" Tomoe exclaimed in shock.
"Why would I joke with you all at a time like this?" said Makoto.
"But how can an anime be the future of a world, Waka-sama?" Mio asked, confused.
"Honestly, I don't know for sure either. But you all know I have memories from my previous life, right?" said Makoto.
"Yes, Waka-sama. You once told us you have memories from a past life," said Selena.
"I've been hesitant to tell you this, but now is the right time," said Makoto, looking at all of them.
"Actually, in my previous life, I knew all of you—Tomoe, Mio, Shiki, and Selena. I learned about you from an anime called Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu," said Makoto.
"So does that mean we're just characters in a story, Waka?" asked Tomoe.
"I don't really know for sure either. I have some theories about this world, but I haven't figured out which one is correct. I'm sorry—I've wanted to tell you all for a long time, but I never found the right moment," said Makoto.
Sigh—Tomoe let out a breath and said, "You don't need to apologize, Waka. Anyone would be confused if they found out they were just part of a made-up story. So did you also learn about this world from your past life?"
"No, Tomoe. In my previous life, I didn't know about No Game No Life: Zero, but I did know about the anime for Rimuru's world. For this world, I learned about it from an anime I bought in Akihabara when we went back to my original world to visit my family," said Makoto, shaking his head.
"Waka-sama, if we may ask, could you explain the theories you mentioned?" said Shiki.
Makoto then explained his theories: how a world might indirectly spread information about itself to other worlds, which then becomes stories like anime, movies, manga, or novels. He also talked about how this dimension could have formed from a higher one, along with other theories.
"What do you all think?" asked Makoto.
"All the theories you explained seem quite plausible—this is really confusing," said Selena, looking a bit puzzled.
"Why are we debating something that doesn't matter right now? The life we have now is far more important," Mio stated firmly.
After hearing Mio's words, they all fell silent and came to their senses.
"Mio's right. No matter what happens, we got to meet Waka, travel to other worlds, discover new things, and make every day really enjoyable—that's way more important than debating theories we can't even prove true or false," said Tomoe with a smile.
"We were so focused on the theories that we forgot about the precious time we have right now," said Shiki.
"So Waka-sama, where are we in this world's timeline?" asked Selena.
"From what I detected earlier, Riku has already lost one of his hands," said Makoto.
"Waka-sama—Is Shuvi still alive!?" Koyuki asked anxiously.
"Don't worry, Shuvi's still alive. Even though Riku has lost his hand, from what I can tell, his condition isn't as severe as when Shuvi was about to die," said Makoto.
Sigh—"Thank goodness for that," Koyuki said, relieved.
"So what will we do next, Waka?" asked Tomoe.
"I'm really interested in Riku. What if we go meet them?" said Makoto.
"That's a great idea, Waka-sama. We could even try to recruit them," said Shiki.
"In that case, Tomoe—head in the direction I'm pointing," said Makoto.
"Right away, Waka!" Tomoe said cheerfully.
Tomoe then piloted the Nova and flew toward the direction Makoto indicated. After flying for a while, they reached a hill.
"Let's get down—we'll need to walk for a bit," said Makoto.
"Why don't we just teleport, Waka-sama?" asked Koyuki.
"If we teleport and appear right in front of them, they'll think we're enemies. Also, can you all hide your ears and tails?" said Makoto.
"Oh, I understand, Waka-sama," said Koyuki.
After they all got off the Nova and walked for some time, following Makoto's guidance, they arrived at a cave.
"Let's go in," said Makoto, pulling out a flashlight and walking inside. After walking a short distance, he stopped and called out:
"We've come with good intentions—can we talk for a moment?"
After a brief silence, a voice responded:
"Who are you? How did you find this place?" Riku asked from inside the cave.
"My name is Makoto—these are my followers," said Makoto.
"Are you human? How can a human have such powerful magical energy?" Riku asked.
"What if I told you we're from another world? Would you believe me?" said Makoto.
"What proof do you have that you're from another world?" Riku asked after a moment's pause.
"You can see it from our different clothes, and this device I'm holding doesn't use magical energy at all," said Makoto.
"...For now, I'll trust you. Come this way—Shuvi, you can stand down," Riku said after thinking it over.
"Alright, Riku," Shuvi said as she emerged from her hiding spot.
Guided by Riku and Shuvi, they soon arrived in a spacious room with a table and several chairs.
"Please sit," said Riku.
Once everyone was seated, Makoto spoke up:
"It seems you have a lot of questions—feel free to ask anything I can answer."
Riku then asked various questions to confirm that Makoto and his group were from another world. Makoto answered all of them and even pulled out some modern items like a smartphone and snacks he had brought when he visited Eryndal.
"Now I believe you're from another world. So what do you want from us?" Riku asked seriously.
"First—what if I heal your body first? Talking to someone who's practically dying makes me uncomfortable," said Makoto.
"WHAT!? YOU CAN HEAL RIKU!?" Shuvi exclaimed in shock.
"Of course. Healing him is very easy for me. As long as a person's soul is intact, I can even bring them back to life," said Makoto.
"Riku..." Shuvi said, looking at Riku pleadingly.
"Ugh... Alright. If you can heal my body, I'll be forever in your debt," Riku said seriously to Makoto.
"No need to be so serious—I told you it's not difficult," said Makoto casually.
Makoto then used healing magic to treat Riku's wounds from black ash contamination. He also regrew Riku's lost hand and repaired his damaged left eye. Seeing Riku fully healed, Shuvi couldn't hold back her tears and hugged him tightly.
"RIKU!?" Shuvi cried as she embraced him.
"This is truly a miracle," Riku said, staring at his newly regrown left hand.
"As long as you understand magic and how to use it, healing an arm isn't hard," said Makoto.
"But humans in this world can't use magical energy," Riku pointed out.
"It's not that you can't use it—you just don't know how to use magic properly," said Makoto.
"I apologize for my rude behavior earlier. Let me reintroduce myself—I'm Riku, and this is Shuvi," said Riku.
"No need to apologize. I know our sudden arrival would make you suspicious and on guard, Riku," said Makoto.
"Even so, I owe you a great debt for healing me," Riku said seriously.
"In that case, let's talk about serious matters. Mio—prepare some food and drinks first," said Makoto.
"Right away, Waka-sama," said Mio.
After Mio had prepared food and drinks for everyone, Makoto began to speak:
"First off—we didn't come to this world with any specific purpose. I know it might be hard to believe, but we chose this world at random with no special reason," said Makoto.
"Then how did you find this place?" Riku asked.
"When we first arrived in this world, I used my abilities to learn everything that's happening here. So finding this place wasn't difficult," said Makoto.
"WHAT!? How is that possible? Even the Old Deus Artosh doesn't have power that strong," Riku said in shock.
"If you knew who Waka really is, you wouldn't be surprised, Riku," said Tomoe.
"Just who is Makoto-san?" Riku asked, confused.
"Don't be shocked, Riku—Waka is the absolute ruler of a world. If he wanted to, he could easily create a world just like this one," Tomoe said proudly.
"Is that true, Makoto-san... I mean, Makoto-sama?" Riku asked.
"It's true—I can create a new world. But why would I make so many worlds when the one I already have still has so few inhabitants?" said Makoto.
"Why does Makoto-sama's world have so few people? Are there special requirements to live there?" Riku asked.
"No special requirements—my world only formed a few months ago, so I've only recruited a small number of people from other worlds so far," said Makoto.
"Makoto-sama is truly amazing. Why don't you create your own race like the gods in this world?" Shuvi asked.
"If I created my own race, social inequality would quickly become a huge problem. It's not that I've never thought about making a new race—but if I did, it would be hard to stop them from thinking they're special just because I created them. Compared to people who come from other worlds and live in mine, over time a system like slavery would inevitably emerge. Oppressed races would rebel, and conflicts and wars would break out over their differing interests, leading to mutual hatred," said Makoto.
"Why not create a race like the Ex-Machina, like me? They'd surely be loyal to Makoto-sama," Shuvi asked, confused.
"Why would I create a race with no emotions or individual thoughts? Sure, they'd be extremely loyal to me—but wouldn't that be boring? From what I know, you're the only Ex-Machina who's ever managed to have and understand a heart. Making all Ex-Machina understand what a heart is would be easy—you'd just have to share your heart with all of them. But could you do that?" said Makoto with a smile.
"I don't want to! My feelings and my heart are only mine—I won't share them with anyone," Shuvi said, clutching her chest tightly.
"After understanding hearts and emotions, you've learned how precious they are. That's what makes you a complete being—not a puppet just following orders," said Makoto.
"Makoto-sama—would you be willing to accept the humans of this world to live in your world?" Riku asked after thinking for a moment.
"That's fine with me. But before that, I want to resolve the conflicts in this world and fix the damage caused by the war between races," said Makoto.
"Is Makoto-sama willing to resolve the conflicts here?" Riku asked excitedly.
"Of course. Seeing a world destroyed by war makes me sad too. Even though I have great power now, I used to be an ordinary human with no abilities at all," said Makoto.
"I thought you were joking when you said you were once human," Riku said, awestruck.
"Hahaha—when you think about it, our ages aren't that different, Riku," said Makoto happily.
"Really!?" Riku exclaimed, too shocked to say anything more.