The Divergence of Self and Burnout
"Phantoms of friendship, are they?"
"Those are Julia and Isadora."
After the phantoms of Mars and Lulu vanished, two of the four matches on Shan's body were extinguished.
In their place, the consciousness of the two of them gradually began to clear.
They caught sight of that streetlamp at a glance.
Both of them widened their eyes in shock, opening their mouths as if wanting to say something.
"Is that Senior Shan?"
"You're awake. I know this is hard for you to accept, but that is indeed him."
"Don't worry, we... we are very rational."
"Senior, why on earth are you doing this? You could have lived, you didn't have to become like this."
Mars and Lulu respectively gripped the sword and fire stick in their hands.
"Don't be hasty. We can't cause him any substantial harm right now; we can only clear away the phantoms he has summoned."
Just as Ayou was talking to the two of them, a ray of light shot over.
"Stop being sentimental, hurry up and move to the next step."
Walter used his greatsword to block that ray of light for them.
"Let's clear out those two phantoms together first."
The two phantoms of Isadora and Julia were clearly stronger and taller than their original selves.
Perhaps in Shan's heart, Isadora and Julia were just that imposing.
Isadora had helped him report to the Association, giving him a chance at redemption. They were companions from the same Office.
Isadora's sword and Walter's greatsword clashed together.
Walter looked at the girl he had grabbed to block the sword. For some reason, perhaps because of his E.G.O, a trace of guilt arose in his heart.
"If there is an afterlife, don't be my subordinate again."
Walter held off that gloomy streetlamp and Isadora all by himself.
Under the offensive of The Library's members, Julia was unable to resist and eventually dissipated into black smoke.
After Julia dissipated, another match on Shan's body extinguished, leaving only the last one remaining.
"Sister Julia, I... I'm very sorry."
After saying this, Lulu did not linger too long and turned to attack Isadora.
After turning back and seeing that Julia's phantom had been dealt with, Walter remarked,
"You guys finally finished. I've been holding them off for a long time."
No matter how imposing Isadora was, in the end, she was still just an ordinary person.
Isadora's phantom dissipated as well, and along with it, the last match was extinguished.
Roland looked at the now empty floor stage.
"Is this the end?"
Ayou reached out and twisted Roland's head toward the streetlamp over there.
"Don't forget, he is still there. Don't act rashly; there might still be some movement."
Sure enough, after all four matches were extinguished, the streetlamp grew brighter and brighter, until it was so bright that everyone couldn't open their eyes.
Roland watched, and as he watched, he covered his eyes and said,
"What the hell, why is there a third phase?"
Meanwhile, Walter, standing to the side, raised his sword.
"To survive, to protect my own will."
"Even so, I will struggle in The City and protect my own color."
Walter plunged his greatsword into the floor of the stage.
Subsequently, that wave of light seemed to be directly blocked, and in front of where Walter's greatsword was inserted, a barrier interwoven with deep blue and light blue formed.
The massive light wave impacted the barrier.
The people inside the barrier did not feel a hint of discomfort. As the light wave gradually weakened, it eventually faded into nothingness.
When everyone could see the scene clearly, the streetlamp had vanished. In its place was a grey book.
On the ground, Ayou looked at Shan, who had turned into a book, and said,
"It's finally over."
Walter, who was preparing to sneak away on the side, was discovered by Roland.
"Old man, where do you think you're going?"
"Uh, uh, look, look, I helped you guys too. I... can I... leave? Just pretend I was never here."
"What do you think?"
"Ah, I won't disturb you, I'm leaving."
"You can't leave."
"Don't come over here!"
While cleaning the stage, Ayou complained while carrying the book off the stage,
"Buddy, you're as hard as a steel bar."
Returning to the lobby, two different books were brought down, and Ayou handed them to Angela.
"Director, these two books are a bit different. They make me feel two divergent powers."
Roland asked,
"By the way, that state of Shan's was a Distortion, right?"
"Judging by the form, it should be."
"Distortion..."
Ayou said thoughtfully,
"I really didn't expect that guy would become like this."
Roland recalled his own past.
"It's truly painful. It was said that a Fixer shouldn't be bound by their own emotions. This might not be appropriate for me to say, but at least he did very well."
"What exactly is the cause of the Distortion?"
"Same as before, I don't know much either. It's just that it is the opposite of Walter's power. And the changes in Walter's form mostly appeared on his weapon. His body didn't seem to have much change. This should be what is called E.G.O."
"Both contain content different from before, and they also contain completely different powers. Although it's still very forced right now, one day, The Library will be able to fully draw out the power contained within them, and then transform it into the power to protect this place."
"The power to protect this place, huh..."
Ayou looked at the two different books. Walter's book was brighter and smoother.
"For them, which kind of ending is actually better?"
"Who knows?"
Roland looked at Walter's book. His thoughts gradually broadened.
"Is it something similar to weapon enhancement?"
"No, it is the manifestation of people's inner hearts, also known as E.G.O."
Ayou looked at his quill pen.
"It's the same E.G.O, why is the difference so big?"
Angela's mini-classroom is now in session!
"His E.G.O is a product guided by others, while yours comes from within, but it is somewhat incomplete and unstable."
"So, is there still hope for me?"
"Wait a moment, I'm going to ask something."
Ayou looked at Angela, who had walked away without answering his question, and felt a bit angry.
Sky-blue text appeared once again.
/These two people were made by you, right?/