We Weren't Meant to Die Anyway

He frowned and pondered for a good while before asking tentatively, "'Death does not exist'... does that mean everywhere He passes, all living things gain immortality and eternal life?"

Immortality and eternal life—the ultimate goals humanity had pursued since ancient times.

But now, it was a Calamity.

"What kind of world would that be... Wait, hold on?"

Ren Yi stopped mid-sentence as a realization struck him. A look of confusion crossed his face, and a thought flashed through his mind.

The Alliance... wasn't it exactly like that?

In the Alliance, there was no true death, no aging, and no sickness. Wasn't this exactly what Ren Man meant by "death does not exist"?

But wasn't the Alliance perfectly fine as it was?

"It's different." Ren Man shook his head, flatly dismissing the idea. An almost imperceptible flash of earnestness appeared in his eyes, as if he were correcting a fundamental misconception.

"The rules of most worlds are built upon 'death'."

Ren Man's words plunged Ren Yi into deep thought. He furrowed his brow, struggling to grasp the meaning.

Most world rules were built upon "death"?

In other words, death was the foundation for the normal operation of most worlds. Without death, the rules of those worlds would collapse, spiraling into chaos.

It took him a long time to reach a shaky understanding of the concept.

So, 【Death】 was a Calamity that directly attacked the underlying rules of a world?

The Alliance, however, was perhaps a unique existence. Its rules didn't depend on "death" to begin with, which was why it could maintain its balance.

Having worked that out, Ren Yi looked at Ren Man again and asked tentatively, "So, Brother, you hate Him because He prevents you from 'dissolving pain'?"

He reasoned that if there was no death wherever 【Death】 passed, then those suffering beings would never find release.

If so, Ren Man wouldn't be able to fulfill his "mission."

Ren Yi clearly saw Ren Man's expression sag slightly, the corners of his mouth twitching in a nearly invisible frown.

But he still shook his head. "Increases the workload."

"Uh..." Ren Yi froze, his expression turning to stone. It took him a long time to process that.

Increases the workload?

He never imagined that the reason Ren Man loathed 【Death】 was something so mundane.

After a few seconds, the image finally clicked in his mind.

Normally, when it was time for those beings to die, they would die naturally.

But where the Anomaly known as 【Death】 passed, death ceased to occur...

This meant Ren Man had to step in personally to "process" each and every instance of pain one by one.

For his brother, a world like that must be incredibly "noisy."

Once he understood, Ren Yi couldn't help but groan internally.

So that's what he meant by it being a bother!

Basically, 【Death】 was like a colleague who constantly caused trouble and dumped extra work on everyone else.

You could have finished your job by following the standard procedure, but because of Him, you had to do a mountain of extra labor.

No wonder Ren Man looked so irritable whenever 【Death】 was mentioned. He was just annoyed by the overtime.

Seeing the faint look of helplessness on Ren Man's face, Ren Yi found it secretly hilarious.

He also wisely decided to drop this topic before Ren Man lost his patience entirely.

"So, is the reason Anomalies don't die because of 【Death】's ability?"

"How could that be?"

Ren Man looked troubled, as if Ren Yi had asked a completely nonsensical question, like asking why we can't go to the moon just because airplanes can fly.

"We weren't meant to die anyway."

He tilted his head and asked back, "Why do you think we would die?"

That question stumped Ren Yi.

"Because..."

"Because humans die," Ren Man finished for him.

"But we aren't humans."

"No, that's not a matter of being human or not," Ren Yi countered. "As long as something is a living being, it should have a day when it dies."

"Then we aren't living beings."

Ren Man's single sentence once again choked back all of Ren Yi's counterarguments.

After saying that, he shut his mouth and rested his chin on his hands, watching Ren Yi.

Ren Yi understood. This was the signal that the conversation was over.

At this point, there was no way to squeeze anything else out of Ren Man.

"Fine," Ren Yi gave up. "Then why did the senior tell me today that death causes extreme exhaustion?"

"Since He's called 【Death】, there has to be some connection."

He had always been confused about why Anomalies in the Alliance didn't truly die.

Before, he had assumed it was due to the Alliance's rules.

But since a Calamity named 【Death】 existed, there was clearly a link.

This time, Ren Man's expression became hesitant. He frowned and remained silent for a few seconds.

A moment later, Ren Man spoke slowly. "If you die, you have to go to a very, very far place."

"He will help you return."

What did that mean? Ren Yi was baffled, a look of pure confusion on his face.

Going to a very, very far place? That sounded exactly like what adults in the human world told children to comfort them when they lost a loved one.

"They didn't die; they just went to a very, very far place."

If Ren Man's expression hadn't been so serious, without a hint of a joke in his eyes, Ren Yi would have thought he was being patronized.

So, those comforting words for children were actually true?

As if sensing the doubt in his eyes, Ren Man added another sentence: "【Death】 is not in the Alliance."

Ren Yi nodded, beginning to understand a little more.

【Death】 wasn't in the Alliance; He was somewhere outside of it.

Then the "very, very far place" Ren Man mentioned must be where 【Death】 was located.

Ren Man continued in his usual flat tone, as if stating a very ordinary fact. "The number of newborn Anomalies is too small to sustain Him."

"He needs to forage for Himself."

As Ren Man spoke, his expression carried a hint of subtle disdain.

It was as if he were saying, "He's out there making a mess."

So, the food of 【Death】 wasn't actual living beings, but the "concept of death"?

Most Anomalies in the Alliance didn't truly die, and the number of newborn Anomalies was small. The resulting "concept of death" was negligible, nowhere near enough to sustain 【Death】.

Therefore, He had to leave the Alliance and search for "food" elsewhere.

Dead Anomalies had to pass through 【Death】's domain, and since 【Death】 was outside the Alliance, those who died were naturally said to have "gone to a very, very far place."

Ren Yi leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh. Most of his confusion had finally been cleared up, and his whole being felt much lighter.

As Ren Yi tried to organize the information he had gathered from Ren Man today, he looked up to find his brother watching him with a frown.

"Why are you asking these things?"

Ren Man had an expression that said, "Why is a kid your age obsessed with life and death?"

"Because I heard the mortality rate for that exam is a bit high," Ren Yi replied.

At this, Ren Man's frown deepened.

Ren Yi looked at Ren Man and opened his mouth to say something more.

Just then, he suddenly realized that it had turned dark.

His thoughts lagged behind his visual feedback. In the instant Ren Yi tried to comprehend what was happening, his True Form suddenly collapsed, slapping against the floor.

It was a familiar scene, exactly like the night of his awakening.

Blackness overflowed from beneath Ren Man's feet, flooding the entire space.

But this time, Ren Yi had some experience.

His perception was cut off instantly. The moment his human shell collapsed, Ren Yi realized what might be happening and quickly retracted his senses.

If he let his perception wander, he might actually shatter!

Wait, Brother.

You can't just send me away just because I might die!