After breakfast, Shichen and Kato Megumi—without bringing anyone else—headed for the end of the world.
That was where the resentment from the outer world resided.
The boundary between dimensions.
Megumi held Shichen's hand and led him—flying out of the planet, out of spacetime itself, straight to the border.
It was pitch-black here. There was nothing—nothing at all—like the very first moment of chaos.
Megumi raised a hand and flicked it. Light-particles appeared and scattered outward.
Tiny points of light, like stars, fell across the void and lit up this space.
"That is…"
Shichen noticed it—up ahead, not far away, a barrier-like wall… and a soft, indescribable gray mass was seeping through it.
His memories had returned, so he knew exactly what that strange substance was.
The resentment of the outer world.
There were many who loved this dimension, but just as many who hated it—whether from malice or instinct.
That was simply human nature.
Nothing can unify everyone's thoughts.
This dimension was the same.
Older generations who couldn't accept something so new would resist it.
People who didn't care would come to hate it because those around them were affected.
Those who were simply weary of life hated everything.
And then there were people who displaced their anger…
Those emotions would eventually become real, invading this dimension and harming it.
In the end, this dimension existed because of outsiders—and outsiders truly could destroy it with ease.
Outer-world resentment didn't become a beast or take human form. It slipped into worlds, influenced life and people, and pushed worlds toward ruin.
Each world had its own path. It should never be warped by outside forces.
The will of the worlds couldn't just watch the outer-world resentment destroy its body.
To it, all worlds were its body, and each world was a part of that body.
It tried to resist at first—helplessly. Some worlds were destroyed and vanished.
A dimensional strike.
With no other choice, it could only seek help from someone of the same origin.
Fortunately, many loved this dimension—and it was lucky enough to find Shichen, someone kind who also loved it.
It hadn't dragged him here purely for its own gain. It was because Shichen truly had no other way.
In truth, the will of the worlds gave Shichen a chance to start life over.
That was also why Shichen was willing to cooperate.
If it had been an entity that didn't care about his life and simply yanked him into this dimension, then even if he loved it, he would never have helped so readily.
He was kind—but he wasn't a saint.
At the very least, he would have killed the will of the worlds first, then done what he wanted.
Both paths still led to fighting the outer-world resentment, but the motivation was different.
One was active cooperation—mutual aid.
The other was simply for the sake of "them," the people he cared about.
"That is the outer-world resentment," Megumi said slowly, her expression heavy as she stared at it.
"Yeah. An old acquaintance." Shichen nodded.
"This time we'll win." Megumi tightened her grip on his hand, her voice firm.
Right now, the outer-world resentment was still far from fully formed. It posed no real threat yet—if they were on the same "level," even Mio could have dealt with it easily.
So at this moment, they didn't need to be completely fluent with the primal source power of the dimension, and they didn't need a full set of it.
Still—Shichen had already mastered it the moment his memories returned.
And Megumi didn't need to be told—she had been with that power the whole time.
"So what do we do?" Shichen couldn't help treating Megumi as his anchor.
All the way here, Megumi had been the one guiding him—reliable to the point he naturally relaxed and let her lead.
Having someone to lean on… really wasn't bad.
"It's simple."
Megumi turned her head and smiled at him. "We bombard it. Blast it until there isn't even dust left—hit it with our strongest power."
"That's it?"
"That's it. Outer-world resentment can't truly die as long as your original timeline still exists."
"Then we…"
"So we come here periodically and clean it up."
"…Isn't that too easy?"
To Shichen, "periodically cleaning it up" was no problem at all—he could even do it daily.
This place was special; ordinary beings couldn't reach it. Only someone who had fused with the world's will could come here.
In other words, only the world's will could come here.
"You only think it's easy because the conditions happened to be met," Megumi said softly.
"Without your special nature—without a second chance—this wouldn't be easy at all."
"…True." Shichen thought about it and realized she was right.
All "ease" was just the result of every necessary condition being fulfilled.
Without him, without the world's will, no one could oppose the outer-world resentment. This dimension would have been doomed.
"Let's finish quickly," Megumi said. "Don't keep everyone waiting so long that they start overthinking."
"Overthinking?"
"For example, thinking I've kidnapped you."
"Heh… they might actually think that."
Shichen laughed, then raised his hand—still interlaced with Megumi's fingers.
"Come forth—my familiars!"
"ROAR—!"
"SHRIEK—!"
"RUMBLE—!"
The roaring cries echoed through the void, deafening.
Around Shichen and Megumi, huge bodies in vivid colors manifested one after another:
The silver sacred bird—Lugia.
The golden divine bird—Ho-Oh.
The deep-blue leviathan—Kyogre.
The crimson behemoth—Groudon.
The dark-green dragon—Rayquaza.
The violet-white dragon-beast—Palkia.
The azure four-legged dragon—Dialga.
The platinum abyssal dragon—Giratina.
The white sacred dragon—Reshiram.
The black sacred dragon—Zekrom.
The ice-crystal tyrant dragon—Kyurem.
Eleven familiars—each bearing a different hue of divinity—appeared here, shaking the heavens and the void itself.
They were no longer ordinary familiars. Any one of them could destroy a planet with ease.
Their existence was no longer ordinary magic power, but divine power—power with rules, with the weight of worlds.
"Further still," Megumi called softly. The divine power around her resonated with the beasts behind her.
Behind them, Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza changed.
Their bodies grew larger; golden markings emerged, and the divine power within them surged like an endless sea.
Kyogre and Groudon returned to their primal forms—wild and ancient.
Rayquaza Mega Evolved—majestic and tyrannical.
"How are you doing that?" Shichen looked at Megumi, baffled.
They were his familiars, yet Megumi could control and strengthen them.
It made no sense.
"It's simple," Megumi smiled. "What's yours is mine."
"…Fair enough." Shichen sighed. "But I've got one too."
His divine power resonated with Kyurem.
"ROAR—!"
Bands of light linked Kyurem to Reshiram.
The two merged into something new.
Kyurem shifted into an upright stance; its left half took on Reshiram's features, wings formed from its arm, and its tail became turbine-like—glorious and dazzling.
White Kyurem.
"Of course it's you." Megumi smiled, pride shining in her eyes.
"Not really…" Shichen scratched his cheek, embarrassed. Megumi was basically praising him without thinking—maxing out his emotional support.
"Hehe. Then it's our turn."
Megumi extended her free hand. Golden ripples spread in the air. She reached into them and drew out a weapon—
A three-segment, spiral-shaped pillar-sword.
Ea.
"Even my Gate of Babylon is something you can just use whenever," Shichen shook his head, no longer surprised.
He extended his own free hand. Golden light gathered, forming a golden sword—
Heavy and immense, its silver blade reflecting a pale green gleam, the hilt and guard inlaid with gold.
Excalibur.
Shichen and Megumi raised their swords high. Divine power gathered, carrying a profound intent.
Together, they swung down at the outer-world resentment.
Behind them, every familiar gathered divine power, unleashed breath and beams, and bombarded the gray mass.
Nine-colored energies converged into one—an unstoppable torrent that slammed into the outer-world resentment.
The indescribable substance shattered in an instant.
"Again!" Megumi commanded sharply.
Endless divine power. Endless bombardment. They didn't leave a single scrap behind.
That day, every world began to rain.
It wasn't heavy—just a steady, unending drizzle.
Worlds in different seasons, yet the rain was the same.
Like spring rain—nourishing all things, bringing freshness, restoring life.