Chapter 461: 461: This is Goodbye

Chapter 461: 461: This is Goodbye

Chapter 461: This is Goodbye

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The embrace ended, and Neji and the Kimi doll stood in a seemingly endless expanse of white space. As they parted, the stark, blank void around them felt strangely intimate, a private universe for just the two of them.

"Hng," Without a moment's hesitation, Kimi suddenly leaned in again, but this time not for a hug. Her eyes sparkled and before Neji could react, she kissed him deeply, a rush of warmth and affection pouring into the gesture.

Neji was taken aback for a moment, but before he could even think, he returned the kiss, feeling a connection that transcended the physical form in front of him. It was a moment of profound intimacy, a connection bridging the gap between reality and the echo in front of him.

Kimi backed off a minute later and wiped her lips, grinning at him. Her features, vividly reminiscent of the person Neji knew, beamed with an infectious energy.

"You got better than the last time, young master," she said, her voice bubbling with excitement. "I feel left out."

Despite her smile, a wave of sadness washed over Neji. Neji gazed at her in shock and amazement. "Kimi, are you... I mean, what are you exactly?" he asked, his voice a blend of curiosity and a subtle ache of longing.

Kimi's bright smile didn't waver. "I'm like a piece of the real Kimi, but not quite her~ A very small piece. Hmm, think of me as a special echo of her – with her memories, feelings, and a dash of extra cheerfulness!" She twirled around playfully, her cat ears twitching in delight.

'She sure is right about the extra part,' he thought. While Kimi was quite cheerful after her depression ended, this one felt weird. As if she was trying to recreate what she once was...Rêạd new chapters at novelhall.com

Neji's heart was a mix of emotions – but he knew this wasn't her. She just said it herself. Still, this was a part of her...

Neji pulled her by her waist and kissed her again. She gave in to the kiss, melting like cotton candy, and smiled at him with glossy lips when it ended.

"You're impatient."

"So, you're not the complete Kimi." He said mostly to remind himself. "Can you tell me about her? Where is the real Kimi now?"

Kimi stopped twirling and faced him, her smile didn't waver but her eyes lost their light. "It's complicated, young master. But, hmm, I don't know about it myself. I was created a few eons ago, so my memories aren't up to date."

"What?"

"So start..." she looked at the side. "Back in Fate World, that happened right? You were sent to the Prime by Eurynome."

Neji frowned. If she knew what happened in the Fate World, how was she not up to date with the other things?

"There, I picked you up. I showed you a glimpse of your first life."

"So you know I am a reincarnator..."

She put her arms behind her and looked at her feet, slowly waving her body weight over one foot. "Sorry... It's been a while for me. So yes, I do. I know many things."

"And you created that world? No wonder. I thought it felt too weird and convenient for Eurynome to create it for me."

Neji nodded in understanding, he was glad to be finally getting some answers.

However, Kimi looked awkward. "I am... sorry again. For not telling you. Actually, I was Lucille back then. Well, it was the real Kimi. She was trying to do an experiment with you. She failed, though. After she sent you back to the Fate world, she made this Doll that I am right now."

"...."

Neji looked at her.

'True, Lucille was acting off. But...'

No, Kimi had no reason to lie. But he was curious, "Why?"

"I couldn't exist twice at the same time, so I had to take some other form." She said and before he could ask what she meant, she answered. "I'm a time traveler... I returned from the distant past to meet you here. It's a lot more complicated than that, but I am not allowed to say everything. There are certain rules I need to follow. Only the real one can tell you everything."

"...." Neji frowned at her. She did give him answers, new information, but that only complicated things for him. And she was saying she couldn't tell him everything?

Neji gave her a frustrated look. "You... you're still keeping secrets from me after all this? When will you stop? No, have you ever been truthful with me? Have I always just been a pawn to you?!"

"Uh??" Kimi frowned and blinked. Seeing his weird expression, she quickly jumped at him. She pulled his face into her chest and held him down. He resisted a little but gave up himself.

'Dammit.' he was weak for this right now.

"...." Feeling his weird mood, a pang of worry and confusion filled the doll's heart. "What's... going on, young master? I am not sure about anything you just said."

Neji listened to her story till the end.

Her 'Perfect Run' began when she appeared in DxD world and ended when the spell broke loose and dragged back to the very beginning of the Cube Omniverse.

Neji realized then that the reason why Lady Luck said his five girls were scattered across five worlds, but there were signs of two girls in just DxD world, was because Kimi had left her tracks in both. Since she was in Bleach in the end, her trace was recorded to be there. Everything fell into place, like a puzzle solved.

"I am sorry." Neji apologized.

She nodded without him saying what he was sorry for. "It's alright, mistakes happen. It was a tiny detail, it's not weird that you forgot. And even if you hadn't forgotten and told me, I doubt I would have sat still."

"The [Armor of Singularity] passive skill is undeniably the cause behind all this." Kimi continued, "It stops time travel in the timeline you are on, to keep you safe. It's the thing that kept blocking my Regression spell from reaching you. But we can't blame it, that's also the same thing that has stopped thousands of others from time-sniping you."

And if there was someone strong enough to time travel in his timeline, they'd have to confront the Beyond Omnipotent beings. Their fates were sealed.

From what she told him, she was Tier 50 back when she made the biggest jump. Surely, that wasn't strong enough to time travel in his timeline? Otherwise, the OBOP would be busy all day taking care of stray time travelers; Tier 50 was nothing in the grand scale of things, after all.

"Then how did you manage to make that jump?"

"I didn't travel in your timeline. My spell was made to search for you though, but it was also only designed to go to the past. So I kept being tossed backward in time as my spell kept searching for you—until there was nothing left to search and I formed before the Big Bang." she said. "There, the feminine part of the Beyond Omnipotence picked me up. She was beyond the realm of time, so she knew I came from the future. She would have killed me, but since I was your... woman, she let me be. I did have to go through punishment though; it was not fun. They're not nice people."

"Eons later, at one point, Kimi sent a part of herself to the future. I am not allowed to disclose why, and the reason for that is that she's embarrassed – she wants to tell this to you by herself. Anyways, the real Kimi appeared in the present time and met you as Lucille and she kept you stuck in a time-loop for a few years, trying to finish an experiment. It was a failure till the end. Time ran out and she sent you back to Fate world. Before she returned back in time because her own time was running out, she made this doll –me– and left me to meet you here~ This is the reason why I don't have the latest memories. That wraps up the story in a circle."

Saying so, she fell silent. Now Neji had a clear picture of what happened to Kimi after the teleportation happened in the Hero Academia world. And he blamed himself for all this, for the careless mistake of letting her learn that spell to begin with—and to not have warned her about the danger of using it.

It also gave him a good idea about how... old she was. Despite the amount of time that had passed, she still loved him. Neji had nothing to say.

"That's all. I can't talk any further," she said, sighing. "You'll have to ask my real self to know the latter details. I am not sure why she's not with you yet.

Neji nodded. He understood. He wasn't fully satisfied with half the story, but it was enough. "Then where can I find the real you?"

"The Kimi you know is deep within the... Director." With a sad tone, she said. Neji's veins cooled. "So from what you said, it's too late to meet her. If she's been killed by the Primordial, it's the end. I... your Kimi is really dead."

Neji didn't show any reaction. Despite the false hope that Godmother had tried to give him earlier, he had already taken it for granted that Kimi was gone. One way or another, she was dead. Still, he couldn't keep a pang of pain away from his heart.

"Aha," the Kimi doll looked down at her hands. It was turning white, mixing with the surroundings. "Looks like I'm at my limit. So the Director truly is dead... if she was around, I could have sustained this for a much longer period."

"Tell me. How do I bring her back?" Neji grabbed her shoulders and demanded. "There must be a way. There has to be one!"

She smiled bitterly, "There isn't a way like that, young master. She was killed by the Primordial. No revival magic can bring back a person killed by the Primordial. He is the pinnacle of both of the Omniverses, hailed as the Slayer of Omnipotents. It's... just how things have turned out." Her eyes were teary. Clearly, she didn't want this either.

"No," Gears rolled in Neji's head. "There is someone. Someone beyond him. If... If it's them, will they be able to help? You should know if you're from the past. Come on, tell me before you go!"

Almost her entire body was white now. She looked just so similar to the star-like appearance of the Director right now.

Even in her last moments, her blue eyes trembled. "It's not a good idea to make deals with the Beyond Omnipotents. They're a bunch of bastards. Someone like me isn't worth that much effort."

"I-"

"Shh, young master," she pressed her lips on him one last time. "I... will miss you. A lot. I'm sure you will too. At least I'm glad I got to confess to you properly, one time. Hopefully, I managed to clear my image, that I'm not someone who manipulated you. I feel extremely sad... it's gut-wrenchingly painful that the real me can't even witness this last moment of ours." She raised her head and smiled, even while tears fell down her cheeks. "Goodbye, young master."

With her last words, her entire body burst into particles of light. The light spread around and the garden regained its color.

"...."

He slowly sat down on the soft soil and looked up at the distant sky.

Neji let out a roar that seemed to shake reality.

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