"If you can still have hope for yourself, does it mean that you still have a direction for the future?"

When Aoi asked them this question not long ago, for the first time, the two, who had always kept close to each other, had diametrically opposed differences.

Yun Chuan's answer is no, she does not believe that hope is the factor that can determine the future; And he answered that he believed that hope was the driving force that led people to move forward.

"Looks like you're not learning your lesson at all."

For her answer, Yun Chuan can be said to have scoffed.

As the questioner, what is Aoi's own answer?

Three days after asking the question, Yun Chuan received an exaggerated gift.

It was a sculpture carved by Aoi himself, and it is incredibly beautiful.

Although it is only a copy of a masterpiece, even the sophistication of its complete authenticity is enough to make it absolutely expensive.

This masterpiece of sculpture, which is scaled down to a certain scale, is Aoi's answer.

That is the immortal work of the great Rodin, the Gates of Hell.

Those who enter this door must give up all hope.

To be honest, none of them understood Aoi's answer.

Because the postscript of the Aoi has only one sentence:

"Man can survive in his own hopes, but he cannot survive the hopes of others."

And for this postscript, Yun Chuan gave a sharp evaluation:

"I don't want to speculate about artists and philosophers in my life, because these guys always think that others have the same hobbies as them."

Although he somewhat agreed with Yun Chuan's evaluation, he could only deny her words at that time.

And the words of negation at that time were more or less her true thoughts.

"What's so strange? Just as scum is often human spirits, do you think their hobbies are different from mine? ”

So Yun Chuan didn't continue this topic.

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To be honest, the so-called hope is such a thing, and the dome himself has never thought too much about its meaning. This is because her attitude towards herself is somewhat casual wherever she goes.

While this may seem to others to be understood as a sign of self-confidence, Dome himself is well aware that it is just an irresponsible look. After all, in her eyes, how to define her current self is unclear enough, and how can she have the leisure to think about other things?

The current self does seem to have enough talent, but what supports her is never what she hopes for, but just makes up for the memories of the past. This is closer to some kind of compensatory psychology than to self-expectation.

I want to try to understand something I didn't understand in the past. What I couldn't do in the past was, but I wanted to try to do it.

If ordinary people rely on looking forward to their future, she relies on looking back on their past.

For her, hope is something of the past.

She doesn't actually know it, which is one of the reasons why she always has some illusory aura in the eyes of others.

People always have expectations for themselves, no matter how cowardly they are, they are willing to have hope for the future. But she is so different, so in the eyes of many people, she doesn't look like an ordinary person.

But there was at least one thing she understood somewhat......

（“Edith……”）

The sky, like a whisper, whispered. Although it was silent, it was as sharp as a needle.

"Woo......"

The high-pitched voice hit his head, nearly causing the Dome to fall from the sky. This had never happened before, and no one had ever been able to interfere with the application of her abilities.

The detector in his hand instantly indicated that it was pulled to the highest point, and then fell back to the zero position in a blink of an eye.

Whether it is high to the peak or down to nothing, it is extremely abnormal.

This extreme indication indicates that something strange is happening.

Although the detector is used to detect the spread of AIM, it is only indicative of a certain energy. The AIM diffusion stance is composed of complex waves unconsciously released outward, and the existing detection methods cannot separate the AIM diffusion stance alone, so what it detects is only the fluctuation change that contains the AIM diffusion stance.

(zero...... Even outside of the school city,It's impossible to be this number...... ）

Something must be wrong, though she couldn't tell what it was.

She has not done much research on AIM's diffusion stance, but she can be sure that the phenomenon of AIM's diffusion stance must fit the Dirac equation.

That is to say, the so-called zero position definitely does not mean that there is nothing.

Her hypothesis was tested almost immediately.

The value of the detector was instantly raised, and on the quantum potential energy map, it bulged like a needle peak in the blink of an eye. rapid degradation of the density matrix,

Not far from her, the weirdness was rising.

"That'...... That's ......"

She didn't know how to describe the strangeness she saw, and the only thing she could put into words was ......

"Fetal ......"

She muttered to herself in amazement.

Yes, that turquoise strange thing seems to be the only way to describe it.

But has anyone ever seen such a fetus?

It was like a twisted angel, the posture of an extremely strange fetus......

"Do you mean ......?"

Could it be that this is what Mitsuki Haihara once said, the relationship between the collective unconscious and individual reality?

Could it be that even this, he can easily see through it?

Although she has an almost adoring affection for her brother, she is not blind either. She knew what the probability was, it was almost so low that it was completely negligible.

If that's the case, then it's hard for her to believe that Mitsuki Umihara just got the answer based on the clues she already had.

Unless......

Yes, unless he has been in contact with someone or something related to the incident.

Only in this way can this coincidence, which cannot be a coincidence, be explained. She even thought of a possibility.

It is a possibility that is deduced from what is seen in front of you.

Woo ~~~~~~~~~~~~

The strange whistling sound of the "fetus" seemed to pass through her hearing and hit her mind directly. But in her mind, a different voice echoed.

（“Edith……”）

Still, there was a whisper like a whisper. But even the roar that resounded through the sky could not be concealed.

The whispers of songs and weepings echoed.

"Physical changes...... This kind of ability, I can't even listen to ......"

She heard Mikoto Misaka not far away.

But she felt that it was not so. Or more correctly, not exactly.

Because she had seen this highest-level flesh change ability with her own eyes, she knew it.

She had been puzzled for a long time about the theoretical basis of the physical transformation ability, and the final conclusion was very close to the value of the detector at this time.

But the ability to change in the flesh is only partially present in this manifestation.

No, maybe it should be said that.

The essence of the body's ability to change is hidden in this phenomenon in front of us.

That's the possibility she imagined. Behind this incident, there must be the figure of that person, or the factor of that person.

That's her brother's senior sister, and she has such an ability.

If that's the case, then Mitsuki Haihara must have found so many clues through this path.

She knew the senior sister, or at least it didn't look like someone who would be involved in this.

Then, there must be another person who is related to this matter, at least indirectly. And that person must know that senior sister as well. Maybe, more familiar than his brother Mitsuki Haihara. Because with this kind of ability, it's definitely not possible to get data through occasional contact. It must be someone who has been in contact with that senior sister for a long time, and even worked with.

Did the senior sister herself know that person's role in this incident?

The moment she thought of this possibility, she felt a chill rush through her heart. But after thinking about it carefully, I felt that it should not be possible.

There was no basis for this, but she couldn't believe that someone her brother trusted would knowingly allow this to happen.

I'm afraid Mitsuki Umihara even thought of this. It's just that he shouldn't explain it to that senior sister. Qiongno knows Mitsuki Umihara's character very well, and he will never ask others to look at others with a suspicious eye without sufficient evidence.

If she could have had a little more time, maybe she would have thought of more. It's just that right now, there's no time for her to think about this. Because Mikoto Misaka has already launched a counterattack.

The thunderbolt hit the back of the "fetus" and did cause some damage. But in her opinion, this is simply not right.

"That's not right! Misaka-san! This is on the 'flip side'! ”

She shouted to Mikoto Misaka.

"The flip side? Kaihara-san? Why are you here? ”

"I don't have time to explain," her body came to Mikoto Misaka's side in an instant. The instantaneous change in distance made her voice seem to be slightly misaligned, "What matters now is ......"

As he spoke, the shape of the "fetus" swelled violently like a balloon that had been blown up.

The "fetus" suspended in mid-air is like being soaked in sticky amniotic fluid. Or rather, it is turning around itself into a viscous fluid similar to amniotic fluid.

From the "amniotic fluid", a few droplets are precipitated, and they quickly condense into crystals.

"Stand down, Kaihara-san!"

Ignoring Mikoto Misaka's warning, she just stared at the "fetus" with an unusually focused gaze.

"Misaka-senpai! Kaihara-senpai! ”

From behind them, the voice of Hatsuharu was heard.

"Chun Chun classmates? How could you ......"

Mikoto Misaka was shocked.

She knows a little bit about Dono's abilities, and she's the closest thing to LV.5 in Tokiwadai. And with the nature of her ability, even in such a situation, at least she doesn't have to worry about her own safety. But early spring is a different story.

"Misaka-san, I'll ask you for the early spring."

"Huh?"

Before Mikoto Misaka understood the meaning of her words, the huge crystal had already smashed head-on.

"Damn!"

Mikoto Misaka hurriedly prepared to make a move, but Dono, who seemed to have expected it for a long time, raised one hand.

Under her gaze, all the crystals that smashed at them suddenly appeared in an unbelievable position.

That's just above the "fetus".

The number is four, and there is no difference in the eyes of the firmament. Although it is often difficult for a spatial person to move multiple objects at the same time, she is different from most spatial abilities.

"Let's try it......"

Mikoto Misaka heard her say this.

As a result, the crystals that were transferred above the "fetus" began to change.

Suddenly, they all contracted violently inward.

"This ...... It's ......"

Mikoto Misaka is very familiar with this phenomenon. She's even touched this just now.

"The Void...... Blow up? ”

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PS: New Year's Day is out of the house.