Why can't humans do it too?

Chapter Seventy-Five Above the Moon

"You all need to hurry, I can't hold on for much longer—" Yakumo Yukari warned Sue immediately, but her voice suddenly slowed down as she noticed something was wrong.

It was not beyond their expectations, but it was an anomaly they desperately wanted to avoid.

The mirror-like surface of the water remained unchanged; it was simply punctured. Some parts resembled growing blades of grass, while others looked like shaped smoke. It was undoubtedly an ominous black. It had no eyes or ears to observe the world, but the three of them could all sense that the unknown creatures emerging were observing the world.

Not a ripple appeared on the water's surface. In fact, after Yukari Yakumo used her unique power to connect the real and illusory moon, this place could no longer be called a mere surface of water.

Compared to the unidentified creature that made little noise, what caught Yakumo Yukari's attention more was Sul, or more accurately, the thing on Sul's body that was about to be exposed. It was vibrating and even protruding outward with its own power. With a tearing sound, it broke through Sul's clothes and flew out. Just as it was about to fall into the center of the pond, Sul caught it.

Among the long string of jet-black magatama, only one was a warm jade color. Yakumo Yukari recognized it at a glance. No wonder she didn't see the Yasakani no Magatama on the fox during the previous battle. It turned out it was on him.

Why have most of them turned black again?

Yakumo Yukari narrowed her eyes slightly.

Before he could say anything, as the string of magatama flew out of Suer's pocket, the unknown creature that had just barely shown a hint of its tip on the water's surface suddenly trembled. It had also noticed the unusual movement of the string of magatama, or rather, it had discovered its target, or prey. In an instant, it burst out of the water!

Completely beyond the limits of a yokai's vision, before Yukari Yakumo could even make out the shape of the suddenly appearing monster, a huge splash of water erupted before her eyes—it was Sull!

With lightning speed, the moment the creature, which had no time to reveal its form, suddenly attacked, Suer had already leaped forward and slammed it back, causing himself to fall into the pond as well.

No, it would be more accurate to say that they went to the moon.

When the water splashes up, it means that the connection created by Yukari Yakumo's special ability has been severed. The mirror-like surface of the water is no longer as calm as before. Instead, when the splashing water falls, it creates layers of ripples, and even the moon that shines in it is shattered into a patch of light.

The moment she fell into the water, she vanished from the reflection, leaving no trace in the pond. It was not intentional or deliberate for Yukari Yakumo to sever the connection between the moon and its reflection. More accurately, the fragile connection she had built by manipulating realms was forcibly broken after the man's sudden attack.

"...I haven't gone there yet?" Even with Yakumo Yukari's composure, she couldn't help but feel confused for a moment. She subconsciously glanced at the spot where Shinko had just been floating, and unsurprisingly, she didn't see the translucent soul beside her. The moment Suer leaped out, Shinko followed closely behind him.

The spell was shattered by the man's foot, and the ripples in the pond gradually calmed down. The full moon reappeared in the pond, but now that she had lost her help, Yukari Yakumo was unable to open the passage by herself. She could only sit there with her clothes soaked by the pond water.

"So what should we do now?"

Should we wait for them to come back?

"...Will they come back?"

Yukari Yakumo was lost in confusion.

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Holding the sun and moon in my hands and picking up stars, there is no one like me in the world.

Just kidding.

Sorting the poem that had suddenly popped into his head out of his mind, Su Er tried to appear more serious. After all, some people have 100,000-year soul rings, while others don't... Fortunately, he didn't have any.

He should indeed be on the moon by now.

Surprisingly, there was still air to breathe, and when Su Er boldly took a closer look, the air even seemed to have a slightly sweet taste.

There was nothing unusual about the outside of my head, and it felt normal to the touch, but I had a strange feeling of being submerged in water. It was also a bit like the feeling of someone who had never been to a high-altitude area before, with their ears blocked when they first set foot there. There was a constant, slight buzzing sound, but it didn't bother me. Instead, it gave me a unique sense of tranquility.

Laziness, the drowsiness that arises naturally, is by no means influenced by any supernatural force.

Suer stretched out his hand. The moonlight, which seemed particularly cold when it shone on the reed-covered plains, took on a slightly yellowish hue when touched at such close range, and looked exceptionally warm, even illuminating his palm.

"Is this the moon?" Suer couldn't help but ask.

“Isn’t this the moon?” Xin Ke answered him.

Besides that, there was nothing else around Suer.

That eerie black blade of grass... or rather, that unknown creature, was pushed back down by Sul the instant it sprang up, but Sul, who then plunged into the lunar surface, lost sight of it, as if it had never existed in the first place.

It's completely empty here; there's nothing here except for this full moon.

There were no stones, no uneven craters formed by meteorites from space, and no white soil. Suer felt as if he was stepping on a piece of glowing jade, and it really did seem like jade—transparent inside, with what appeared to be wispy, fuzzy material.

It's so flat, so flat that there's not a single bump or depression, no potholes or unevenness, not even any undulations. There's no steep slope basin, not even any large-scale undulations. You can see the starry sky as long as you look to the horizon, without any obstruction.

It's so fake, so unreal, that it even made Su Er doubt whether he had actually arrived on the moon or had fallen for Yakumo Yukari's trick and been sent to an unknown alternate dimension.

All you need to do is turn around and look up to see the Ashihara no Naka de la République behind you: the blue ocean, the brownish-yellow land, the islands dotting the edges, the green forests, and the monsters roaming the forest edges or mountain peaks. Thanks to their enormous size, they can still be seen even from where Sull is, making it a truly real-time, synchronized scene.

The only problem is perhaps the world as a whole.

It is square.

Chapter Seventy-Six: Under the Moon

The concept of a flat earth and a round heaven is a conclusion reached by ancient people in Suer's memory due to their limited means and conditions for understanding the world. It reflects their concept of space and time, and is not merely a literal flat-earth theory.

Of course, this was not the only thing that Su Er cared about. The only reason that made him recall this theory was that the Ashihara no Naka dea, which shines brightly in the distance with the moon, is indeed a square. The seawater rolls and disappears at the edge of the square, and then reappears on the other side, transcending space and time.

Suer finally confirmed a fact—this was indeed not the Earth he knew.

He was absolutely certain, and never doubted, that the world he lived in in his first life was a round planet.

Feeling somewhat lost and bewildered, for a fleeting moment he wanted to escape this world and search for a world with a modern metropolis that matched his memories, but then he remembered that the power of the one god who had brought them here had been exhausted.

What will the future of this world look like?

Will it become the way he wants it to be?

“Gather the power of the world’s origin and leave… Since you are in so much pain,” Xin Ke’s sudden words woke Su Er up. “Anyway, all of this is just a playground for us, just a game, isn’t it? Why make things difficult for yourself?”

“…No, it hasn’t reached that point yet,” Su Er said, shaking his head after a moment of silence.

Although he couldn't explain why, he still wanted to see more... to see the world again.

"Let's go, let's walk around and check it out," Suer said, putting aside her disappointment and confusion for the time being. "This moon just feels weird."

Rather than the moon, it's more like someone placed a glowing plate here.

With the terrain too flat and no objects obstructing the view, choosing a direction became meaningless, so Suer simply picked a random direction and moved forward with Xinke.

Even at the speed of flight, it would be impossible to reach the end in a short time. After flying for a while, Xin Ke also came to the conclusion that the surface of the moon beneath their feet had absolutely no curvature and was definitely not a sphere.

To be honest, even after learning of Xin Ke's judgment, Su Er was not greatly affected. He was absolutely certain that the moon beneath his feet was not a naturally formed product. It was more like a man-made thing, or something created by God, whose purpose was to be called the moon and to illuminate the earth at night.

Or perhaps it has some function that they don't yet know, but which certainly exists.

After a journey that was neither too long nor too short, Suer and Xinke finally arrived at the edge of the disc known as the Moon. The boundary connecting with the starry sky was already in sight, and with each step they took, they were one step closer.

Standing on the edge of this jade plate, Suer gazed at the exceptionally clear Milky Way. At this distance, he felt as if he were standing in the Milky Way itself, but in reality, the Milky Way was still resisting the intrusion of all external things.

As expected, no sun was seen, and Suer was not surprised. After all, when the moon rises, the sun sets. Isn't that common sense?

To be honest, Suer has opened his mind. From now on, he will not be shocked or unable to accept anything he sees in this world. Some things that seem strange to him are perfectly normal in this unfamiliar world. They are the rules of the world and theorems that have never changed from ancient times to the present.

The problem is with him, not the world.

Suer has fully accepted it; he can't be like an old-fashioned person.

"Let me do it."

"What nonsense are you talking about? How could I possibly let you stand in front of me at a time like this?"

After a brief exchange, Suer and Xinke decided who would go and explore the scene on the back of the large jade plate.

"What do you think might be on the other side of the moon?" Sul asked suddenly, squatting down on the edge of the moon and tapping the ground beneath his feet. Hearing the somewhat dull sound, he suddenly asked.

The edges that Suer saw further confirmed their conjecture that the moon in this world was nothing more than a smooth, large plate created by something. This was because the moon was not only not a sphere, but it was also a flat object, less than the width of a palm, astonishingly large, yet unimaginably thin.

You only need to peek out slightly to see what's on the other side of the moon.

"Who knows? It's definitely not a Tsukuyomi-type," Xin Ke shrugged casually. "How about I do it?"

The Moonlit Race is a race in Shinko's world. Shortly after the start of the Endless War, they fled to the moon along with the god who created them, living a peaceful and mysterious life.

“Don’t talk nonsense. I did say I would protect you… Well, anyway, this is definitely not a Tsukuyomi species, haha.” Naturally getting Xin Ke’s joke, Su Er laughed as she leaned over the edge to look at the other side of the moon. “You might not believe it, but if I could see a Tsukuyomi species in this place in this world, I would be so happy that I would dance…”

His words grew slower and slower, his voice grew softer and softer, and his expression gradually became blank. Before he could say anything more, Xin Ke grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him up. The force she used was so great that for a second, Su Er felt as if his throat had been cut off by his collar.

It's like the fishing line that the fishmonger cut off.

"Pfft, cough cough cough cough cough!!"

"How are you?! Suer! Are you alright?!" Before Suer could finish coughing, Xinke straddled him and shouted, forcibly prying open his eyelids with one hand to examine his eyeballs closely.

"It's nothing, it's nothing! It's really nothing! Cough! Really!!" Before he could even cough, Suer could only raise his hands and repeatedly assure everyone.

Xin Ke's intense reaction completely extinguished his little joke about pretending to be injured, which he had just been considering. To be honest, Su Er felt that if he showed any signs of being out of his mind or confused at this moment, he would probably be slapped on both sides by this forest elf.

Because just thinking about it makes me feel really hurt, I'd better not do it.

"Phew, I'm so glad you're alright," Xin Ke breathed a sigh of relief, then asked curiously, "So what did you see? That dark figure?"

"It wasn't exactly a shadowy figure...it's hard to describe," Suer recalled the scene he had just witnessed, suddenly finding himself at a loss for words. "A giant humanoid shape, or something like that, but it was embedded in something, and I don't know if it was dead or alive..."

"Corpse?"

"...Why don't we just come and see for ourselves? We didn't sense any danger just now." Getting a little confused, Suer simply took Xinke and flew over the edge of the moon.

Unlike before, when they could only peek from the edge, everything on the other side of the moon was now fully revealed to Suer and Xinke.

Chapter Seventy-Seven Glass Box

Compared to the smooth side facing Ashihara no Nakagoshima, the flat far side of the moon could be described as 'majestic peaks', but what was majestic was not some crater or mountain range created by a meteorite impact, but a human figure half-molded in brownish-black material.

The giant that Takeminakata transformed into was not even as long as a finger compared to the giant humanoid on the far side of the moon. This giant humanoid had skin as pale as gray rock, and its eyes were tightly closed. There were only two mottled slits where the eyes were, like barnacles growing on the bottom of a ship that had been sailing for many years, covered by chunks of rock.