Death Does Not Exist

A sharp "clack" rang out, crisp and abrupt, snapping Ren Yi out of his messy thoughts and jolting him awake.

His mind was in a haze. He quickly looked up and saw that Ren Man had gently placed his chopsticks on the rim of the ceramic bowl, creating that sharp sound.

Ren Man then looked up, his gaze landing on Ren Yi. His eyes remained flat, as if what he had just done was merely an idle gesture.

"I'm finished." Ren Man's voice was still devoid of inflection. After speaking, he straightened his back, making a move to rise from the dining table.

Clearly, he had no intention of continuing the conversation regarding 【Death】.

"Hey, wait, Brother! I'm not done asking yet!"

Panicking, Ren Yi immediately threw his brief moment of sentimental wallowing and idle speculation to the back of his mind. He reached out and grabbed Ren Man's arm to stop him.

You had to be kidding—the questions were just getting to the most critical and exciting part, and Ren Man was trying to leave? That wasn't going to happen.

He felt a bit sorry for his brother, but it was rare for Ren Man to be willing to say more than a few words. He couldn't let him slip away now.

Ren Man stopped. His face remained expressionless as he looked down at the hand on his arm, then back up at Ren Yi. After a few seconds of silence, he slowly sat back down.

He didn't speak, but his gaze signaled: Speak quickly, don't waste time.

Ren Yi keenly sensed that ever since they started talking about 【Death】, Ren Man had been feeling a strange, inexplicable annoyance.

Even though it didn't show on his face and his tone remained flat, Ren Yi had spent enough time with him to catch subtle emotional shifts—like how he had set his chopsticks down a bit more forcefully than usual, or the nearly imperceptible flicker of irritation in his eyes, or the way his brow furrowed slightly as he sat back down.

Paradoxically, Ren Yi felt a subtle sense of... gratification?

One shouldn't forget that Ren Man still had an "autistic" setting, after all.

Though Ren Yi still didn't understand how someone like Ren Man could be classified as "autistic," or if there was even such a concept among Anomalies.

Regardless, Ren Yi found himself under the illusion that "his brother's condition was improving."

He quickly shook his head, forcefully pulling his straying thoughts back. He tapped his own temple, mentally cursing himself.

So, where were they? Ren Yi frowned, quickly retracing his thoughts until he finally remembered.

Right, death. Ren Man believed that death was a good thing—that the essence of his own Rules ultimately led to the serenity of death.

But if that were the case, why did he loathe 【Death】?

Was his understanding flawed?

Ren Yi looked directly at Ren Man, waiting for an answer.

Under Ren Yi's confused gaze, Ren Man slowly nodded, his tone as flat as ever. "It is a good thing."

It seemed Ren Yi hadn't guessed wrong. In Ren Man's world, death was indeed a positive thing.

But if death was good, why did Ren Man hate 【Death】?

Ren Man seemed to perceive the deeper confusion in his eyes. He fell silent for a moment, seemingly contemplating how to explain it in a way Ren Yi would understand.

After a moment, Ren Man spoke slowly, repeating himself once more: "Death dissolves pain."

"But where 【Death】 passes, death does not exist."

It sounded a bit convoluted. Ren Yi frowned slightly, subconsciously repeating the sentence twice in his mind until he grasped the meaning.

The first 【Death】 in that sentence likely referred to the Anomaly that made Ren Man so irritable.

The second "death" referred to death itself.

If he wasn't mistaken, the Anomaly named 【Death】 possessed a rather peculiar ability.

In the literary and cinematic works Ren Yi had seen in his previous life, the power of "Death"—which sounded cool and high-concept—had been used to death.

There were the midnight killers with giant scythes and black cloaks who specialized in harvesting the lives of the living;

There were Specials with the power of instant death upon touch or sight, where a simple contact could stop someone's heart;

There were notebooks that controlled death, where writing a name and the method of demise would make a person die exactly as prescribed;

And then there were infants born with an aura of death that withered everything for miles around, affecting every living soul with their presence...

However, those were all human imaginings of "death"—concrete forms and abilities that humans had projected onto the concept.

But in reality, Ren Yi knew that "death" itself had no inherent form or essence.

Death was not a process; it was a result.

It was the destination toward which all living things eventually gravitated, an irreversible Rule.

There were countless ways to die in the world, and every Anomaly could bring about death.

Forget Anomalies—even humans, tiny insects, insignificant plants, or even microscopic bacteria could bring death.

Hanging, strangulation, thirst, hunger, fright, overeating, drowning, falling, exhaustion, burning, scalding, poisoning, suffocation, crushing, freezing... Various forms of death permeated every corner of the world; they were everywhere.

So, when Ren Yi first learned that 【Death】 was an Anomaly, he had briefly found it impossible to imagine what His Rule or ability would look like.

The ability to bring death was far too common. Whether it was a powerful Anomaly or a weak living being, they could all do it.

Yet, interestingly, the Anomaly known as 【Death】 didn't seem to bring about "death" at all.

Where the rain of suffering falls, pain dissolves.

Where 【Death】 passes, death does not exist.