"When Sister Mazao discovered Zhu Jiu, Zhu Jiu no longer had a human form," Little Bowl said. "I don’t really know the details of this incident, but I later heard it from Sister Mazao. It was said that because the other party didn’t seem to have completely turned into a Sin Demon, they wanted to see if they could use the Power of Return to bring him back.
"The Power of Return is indeed valued by the planet’s natural will, and perhaps it’s precisely because of this importance that a mysterious power strengthened it? Although it couldn’t reset a fully ford Sin Demon into a survivor, it seems that at the ti, Zhu Jiu was right at this critical point, allowing Sister Mazao to restore him to a human form.
"However, this human form didn’t present the appearance of Zhu Jiu, but rather the childhood look of Zhu Shi... which is .
"To recover mories lost to frenzy is a miracle that only the Three-Life Stone Powder can achieve, a domain even the Power of Return finds hard to touch. Therefore, after waking up, I naturally had no mories of the past, nor did I know why I ended up there.
"At that ti, Sister Mazao had likely already left the Evangelical Institute and undergone the experience of betrayal and alienation for so ti. She was also all alone, not knowing who she was or where she ca from, and thus naturally ford a duo with . We lived together for a long ti until separated by the Catastrophe Demon."
I sorted through this information in my mind and then asked, "Why did you appear with ’the childhood appearance of Zhu Shi’ then? Since it was restored by Mazao’s Power of Return, shouldn’t it look like the original Zhu Jiu after restoration?
"Is it because Zhu Jiu turned into a ’Dream Avatar of Zhu Shi’ Spirit Summoning Container? But even so, the outward appearance should be that of the Spirit Summoning Container, not the Dream Avatar, right?"
Whether a cup contains salty water or sweet water, the shape of the cup itself does not change. According to records I found on Luo Mountain, when humans beco incarnate containers of either the Great Demon or Divine Son, it’s generally the temperant and speech that changes, not the appearance.
Even if so Spirit Summoning Containers have their appearances changed, it’s not because they beca containers, but because the incarnate within that container manually altered it using Illusion Techniques or other powers. An example is Changan—even though Yinyue was neither the Great Demon nor Divine Son, she forcibly achieved a similar spirit summoning phenonon with her own rule-breaking superpower, and her transford appearance as that demon girl was also due to her own Illusion Technique.
Is it because the Post-mortem World is a spiritual world that the shape arises from the mind, causing Spirit Summoning Containers to automatically change in special environnts? I speculated.
But Little Bowl provided a sowhat different answer.
"I can only speculate on this," Little Bowl said, "but I believe my conclusion is the truth. My soul tells itself this."
"Zhu Jiu’s wish, born of love for her daughter and the hope to make up for her own shortcomings—hoping her daughter can live a happy and fulfilling life in her place. When her soul was about to collapse, she beca a container and imbued her daughter’s dreams within herself, suggesting this factor.
"Thus, when the Power of Return tried to reconstruct Zhu Jiu as a human, Zhu Jiu’s soul ceded its position in this world to her daughter.
"As a result, Zhu Jiu’s soul was disassembled into materials during the demonization process, and then recombined during the restoration process into the childhood form of Zhu Shi. In so sense, it was like sacrificing herself as a living offering to resurrect the childhood form of Zhu Shi."
Little Bowl looked at the palm of her hand, paused montarily, and continued, "This Right Positioning Heavenly Phenona Power is evidence. This is a power Zhu Jiu did not possess.
"The Dream Avatar attached to Zhu Jiu does not originate from the current Zhu Shi but from when Zhu Shi was still the Divine Son. Though it’s just an aspect of her soul, it is undoubtedly still the Divine Son.
"To resurrect soone, either extrely stringent conditions must be t, or trendously powerful forces must be used... Throughout history, there have been examples of reviving soone at the expense of a direct relative. Zhu Jiu can be said to have accidentally t the requirents for a resurrection ceremony."
Yinyue once attempted to rejuvenate herself at the cost of her own son, whereas Zhu Jiu synthesized her own daughter using herself as material.
The two took opposite paths for the sa goal of resurrection.
"Of course, from the perspective of the resurrection ceremony, there are indeed many issues with this approach," Little Bowl continued. "Firstly, the resurrected Zhu Shi herself wasn’t truly dead, even saying ’her weaker self had died’ would be a bit far-fetched.
"Secondly, to resurrect the Divine Son, rely sacrificing a direct relative is not an equivalent exchange unless that relative themselves is the Divine Son.
"Thanks to this, I’ve beco an individual who inherits attributes from both sides but isn’t either. I possess the Right Positioning Heavenly Phenona of childhood Zhu Shi, and also Zhu Jiu’s high intelligence and character... If I had to define myself, I might be considered an ’uncontrolled Dream Avatar.’
I mulled over this term, "Uncontrolled...?"
"A normal Dream Avatar should have its own mission, just like the girl Lu Chan you encountered before, Brother Zhuang Cheng. Her mission was to return to Lu Youxun, helping him beco Lu Chan again. It didn’t matter even if she herself disappeared," Little Bowl said, "And my mission is to allow Zhu Shi of the real world to live the happy and fulfilling life she dread of in childhood—this is both Zhu Jiu’s obsession and childhood Zhu Shi’s dream.
"However, due to the interference of frenzy, I even forgot my inherent mission. And during my ti with Sister Mazao, I developed a ’desire of my own’ that a Dream Avatar shouldn’t have, which was to hope Sister Mazao can live a happy and fulfilling life."
"... I see."
Gradually, I digested all this information, crystallizing my own conclusions.
Ultimately, Little Bowl’s essence is still a form of "special Dream Avatar."
Her underlying ntal structure is neither quite human nor inhuman.
Humans are multifaceted beings, with both light and darkness, selflessness and selfishness, possessing a soul where purity and impurity coexist, and thus a three-dinsional spirit. However, Little Bowl is an existence in which only one aspect is extrely emphasized. Her spirit is pure and extre.
That’s why she can say things like she’ll stand by no matter what happens, and see it through without any distractions; she can also pray purely, sothing humans could never truly do, like breathing, twenty-four hours non-stop, allowing the power of blessings to continually uphold .
She’s like a girl who stepped out of a fantasy story, a stroke of beautiful yet illusory light.
"...Brother Zhuang Cheng, have I disappointed you?" she asked softly.
I asked back, "Why do you say that?"
She showed a faintly anxious expression and said, "...because I am not truly human, more akin to a peculiarity, a phenonon, or a malfunctioning automatic program. Do you feel like you’ve invested your emotions in an incorrect target? Perhaps, I’m not worth your cherishing that much..."
"You indeed cannot call yourself human," I said.
She lowered her head in disappointnt.
"But, Little Bowl, why do you hope Mazao can be happy in the future?" I asked, "This cos from your own inner wish. It’s not sothing anyone demanded you to think, but a wish you generated yourself, right?"
"...Yes." She admitted.
"Then that’s enough. Regardless of your origin, you are a life with independent will. I absolutely will not allow anyone to deny this," I said. "And at the sa ti, I still won’t retract my words. No matter what happens, I will be your partner, the embodint of your dream."
She stared intently at my face, "Brother Zhuang Cheng..."
"Moreover..." I switched the topic, "I don’t actually mind whether you are human, or rather, if you are truly a non-human peculiar entity, then I actually like you more for it."
"In such a good atmosphere, don’t say weird things like that." Little Bowl teased.
I did it on purpose. If the atmosphere’s too good, I can’t help but feel shy. So, it’s a kind of cover-up. Little Bowl’s intuition is so strong; might she see through ? I hope I covered it well.
"Now it’s your turn, Little Bowl," I said, "How do you see yourself, and how do you see ?"
Although I can determine through observation that her self-awareness hasn’t changed after regaining mories, I still want to hear that answer from her own mouth.
Facing my question, Little Bowl responded with action.
She stepped forward, reached out her arms, tightly hugged my waist, and gently rubbed her face against .
"I am still your Little Bowl," she said softly.
-
Little Bowl told about her real origin, and I chose to treat her as always. However, inside I knew that truly being "as always" was impossible. Even if it’s not visible yet, over ti, certain realistic conflicts due to Little Bowl’s true identity are bound to beco undeniable obstacles ahead of us.
And even when facing the tests of reality, my vow to Little Bowl will not change.
As for now, I feel I should probably call back No. 7, who is staying away to avoid awkwardness.
However, just before speaking, I suddenly rembered sothing I hadn’t asked and ntioned it to Little Bowl, "By the way, Little Bowl... earlier you said that after regaining your mories, you could answer why the Evangelical Institute Master Yama knew you were the Divine Son... but I didn’t catch any clues about that in what I’ve heard."
Perhaps due to the shock of regaining all her mories, Little Bowl also clearly forgot this issue. She rembered it when I brought it up and then replied, "The absence of clues is the biggest clue, aning the information wasn’t leaked from the past .
"Thus, the list of suspects can be narrowed down to just a few people. The answer is already obvious."
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