Why can't humans do it too?

Why can't humans do it too? (Author: Flower Fairy Dream)

Summary:

[Current World: No Game No Life Zero (Completed) - A Comprehensive World of Various Yokai (Completed). Actually, you only need to read the first volume; the rest are up to you.]

[This book contains no tragedies; the author favors happy endings. Not having read the original novel won't affect your reading experience.]

War, plague, famine, countless natural disasters—the earliest people, carrying torches, struggled along the rugged path of civilization. But Suer never imagined that one day he would be struggling under an even more terrifying despair, desperately trying to survive...

The ceaseless war between the divine race and their creations, the planet's surface being relentlessly altered like an oil painting, the entire world marching towards death...

Even humans themselves have this question—why do humans still exist?

as well as,

Why can't humans do it too?

With these questions in mind, Suer's long journey has only just begun...

[If you're bad at summarizing, please read the plot.]

Chapter One: Whispers

Tick.

Something was winding and gathering along the cracks in the stone wall, as if urging it on with an indescribable magic, never impatient, never slowing down.

Tick.

Following the jagged yet smoothed stone tips worn smooth by the long years, it seemed as if a long time had passed, yet it also seemed as if the last sound had just rang out, and those gathered, never late... quietly fell down.

Tick.

It landed on the calm water.

Even in this stone cave where no light was lit, the pitch-black environment could not stop the people present from imagining such a scene—subtle ripples, caused by this small disturbance, spread outwards until they disappeared.

Those were uncontrollable thoughts, or perhaps the true meaning behind the sound—urging something on.

Is it the suddenness of life? Or the silent murmur of death?

In this ever-deepening darkness, the terrifying fantasies become all the more horrifying, whether for those still conscious and present here, or for those in a state of half-dreaming, half-awake...

Tick.

Business as usual.

“…Sul…”

The unconscious murmurs, faint yet enough to ignite a sliver of life in the desolate darkness, were devoid of any sweetness or affection, and would not even evoke a moment of romantic fantasies. They were the most obvious sounds of unwillingness to give up—like a person falling off a cliff grasping at the last rope.

"...I can still..."

"I'm fine...I'm fine..."

"……Believe me……"

……

The faint, almost whispering sound lingered in the hollow cave like an inescapable curse, even faintly echoing. Yet, even an unsuspecting person entering this place would not feel the slightest fear—simply because of the weakness and powerlessness of the sound.

Each cry carried an inescapable plea and panic; it was a cry born from placing oneself in the most humble position, a cry born from the oppressive feeling created by the sound of dripping water.

Even while still in a state of half-awake, half-asleep chaos.

It was as if the drop of blood was his.

Or his life?

Click.

Amidst the maddening sound of dripping water and the murmurs of nightmares, a sound finally broke the endless loop—thank goodness.

Water flowing from the spout of the earthenware pot soaked the dried-out plate. This precious accumulated liquid triggered a strange reaction in a mineral that had been smashed into pieces and placed on the plate. Orange light flashed and shone until the mineral became completely bright.

The precious light once again dispelled the darkness in the stone cave, as if it had driven away the invasion of nameless demons. Even though it did not carry extra warmth, the person who was half-conscious and lying on a piece of mottled animal skin seemed to feel at ease and gradually relaxed his tense body.

“…Sul…”

He called out once again, and this time, his endless calls finally received the response he had been waiting for.

"Ah, Credor," the voice replied calmly, firmly grasping the right hand of the person lying on the animal skin, which was anxiously reaching out from beneath the thick layers of animal skin covering him, "I'm right here, don't worry..."

"You'll be fine."

His voice carried an undeniable certainty, and his hands, as if holding a constantly beating heart, tightened or loosened with each breath, burning hot.

The person lying down seemed to have taken in such assurances in a daze, and he continued to repeat them unconsciously.

“…Sul…”

“…Sul…”

"..."

"...Don't give up on me..."

Hu Chi.

The words changed suddenly.

The stones that were emitting an orange glow seemed to flicker for a moment after those words were spoken, but it was just an illusion, and everything remained as usual.

—Apart from the fact that the hand, which was contracting and expanding like a heart, couldn't help but clench tightly for a moment.

The sudden force caused the person lying on the animal skin, who had finally managed to relax and smooth their brows, to frown again and groan.

"...You'll be alright..." The person sitting by the stone bed, probably the one lying down, murmured softly, no longer knowing who he was speaking to. He then looked up at the cave ceiling he had seen countless times and fell silent.

Wearing a brown hooded coat, though it was more of a thin sheet of cloth than a coat, barely enough to keep out raindrops, and only good for blocking snowflakes at best. But thankfully, the current weather meant there was no need to worry about raindrops. Ah, raindrops…

How familiar those words are.

Even with his eyes closed, Suer could clearly recall the image of the towering stone pillars above his head. He wasn't thinking; he was simply clearing out some unnecessary and useless junk from his mind.

The raised brow bone arched wildly upwards, as if even the eyebrows were protesting something. The so-called sword eyebrows, at their peak, were probably no more than this. However, this beauty stopped when the gaze fell on the right forehead—a healed scar stretched diagonally from the center of the eyebrow towards the top of the skull.

The eyebrows on the scar have long since disappeared, but this ruined remains do not evoke any sense of regret. Even now, with its eyes closed, it exudes an aura of confidence... or something else entirely.

It was the kind of person who, just by looking at them, made you think—ah, this person is probably the kind of iron block that stubbornly charges forward even knowing that there will be knife points aimed at its eyes.

In fact, at this moment, this is all that can be seen. Starting from below the bridge of his nose, there are two layers of thin cloth stretched taut over his face, completely covering the mouth and nose of this man named Suer. Perhaps the only thing still exposed is his full head of platinum blonde hair.

At the very least, if it were up to Ke'er, the village's steward, this young man who always wrapped himself up so tightly was really wasting his beautiful hair—incidentally, the title of steward was given to Ke'er by Suer.

Although he didn't know why, he was met with strong protests the first time he called Ke'er that.

knock knock.

With two soft knocks, the wooden door at the entrance of the cave was gently pushed open, and a young woman with red hair, carrying a light source similar to that used inside the cave, carefully walked in.

It was none other than the steward named by Suer—Ke'er.

“…Sul?”

Chapter Two: Ke'er

A surprised, questioning voice.

“…I thought you hadn’t lit the lamp again, Sue.”

Although it uses a very unscientific mineral light source, it is still correct to call it a lamp.

To avoid waste, Ke'er, with her beautiful red hair, turned around and walked to the corner, pouring the water from her tray there. In another corner of the cave, there was a small tributary of an underground river flowing through a crevice, and the quietly flowing water could be seen through a small opening.

Even though placing a patient in such a damp place is against the rules, and even though it is very convenient to get water, it is the best-ventilated place in the entire settlement—of course, it is also the farthest place from the people in the settlement, and the closest place to the outside world.

Without answering Ke'er's question, Suer silently raised her finger and pointed to her cheek, or more accurately, to what was covering her face.

To be honest, his reaction was a bit rude, but nobody here cares about such pointless things.

From any perspective.

"I know, I know~, really, Suer is always so strict..." With an exaggerated long sigh, Ke'er helplessly lifted the mask around her neck to cover her mouth and nose.

The acting was so exaggerated that Su Er didn't need to try to guess why the woman was doing this; he could understand it perfectly well.

“There’s no other way. If there’s a large-scale infection when we’re short-handed, it will be even more troublesome. So please be more vigilant.” Suer, who was sitting on the stone bed, moved aside to make room for Ke’er who was approaching.

A location that is far from the patient.

Perhaps because he hadn't spoken for so long, his voice sounded a little hoarse, but as soon as he finished speaking, the hoarseness disappeared.

His voice sounded a little immature; after all, the man with the scar on his forehead was only seventeen years old.

"I've told you so many times, Suer, don't interrupt me! This is something I should be saying, something I should be reminding you of!" The red-haired girl's face was full of dissatisfaction. It was clear that she wanted to loudly reprimand the man next to her, but out of consideration for the patient's need for rest, she gave up on such a thought.

What a wonderful woman.

"If we're talking about not getting infected, Sul, aren't you the one who should be? If you suddenly fall ill, the camp will panic, even Riku will panic! So you should rest well!" Although she didn't raise her voice, Ko'er still whispered a warning in Sul's ear.

Suer's lips, hidden beneath the thin cloth, curved into a barely perceptible smile.