Responsibilities.

—

After talking nonstop for three hours, understanding each other as normal humans should, since he didn't want to spoil the mood by directly accessing each other's thoughts—which could destroy the surprise effect that might give him a eureka moment—he then heard his melody's peevish exclamation about the two Doctors.

"Although on a personal level I am indebted to them for bringing you to me, I still don't like them as a local inhabitant of this world. How can they be so selfish as to make Ciri their pawn? And if not for you and your subsequent actions, I don't know if we would have been able to deal with the aftermath of the Second Conjunction."

Sighing, since he knew the previous characters of the two Doctors clearly and understood why they did what they did—transforming their kindness into something morally ambiguous—Yoriichi shook his head and started to give his opinion to help her understand better, "When you create something and it doesn't work properly, you feel frustrated, right?"

"Hmm. Depending on the circumstances, but yes, I would be frustrated if my automatic spell turned out to be a dud."

"Melitale, Lilith, and Dana Meadb are such creations. Their minds, after understanding what singularity means, have caused the inhabitants of this world to become more and more backward with each iteration."

Seeing Rita's confusion about what iteration means, he simply explained, "Iterations refer to the cycle of rebirth that creates this multiverse over and over again. Anyway, because they are higher-level beings whose wave functions or minds can affect lower-level beings, their thoughts essentially become reality, making mortals leave everything to gods and not wanting to advance further."

"So, because of that, after many long eras of initiating the Big Bang or this rebirth and trying to find someone new to take up the mantle, only a handful of people with the same mindset as the first three women were able to touch singularity."

"But every one of them rejected the duty. Even Gaunter O'Dimm, the most recent one I mentioned earlier, broke down and changed his mindset after learning the truth. Instead of advancing or halting like everyone else, he became a destroyer, as he somehow had the intuition that this would be the outcome."

Seeing her confusion about what singularity means, since she currently doesn't have the information Lanfear received from Melitele, Yoriichi started to explain what the throne is supposed to mean and the burden placed on the person who sits on it.

"What?! Why are they hiding this crucial information?! All Heralds are supposed to know this! Screw them for their so-called greater good!"

Seeing his melody's semibreve jiggle from the sudden standing up, Yoriichi played it, adding a variety of chords with different tunes and strains that made Rita emit a loud harmonic pitch. After a couple of minutes of tuning the frequency to ensure the intonation felt right, he removed his mouth full of white gruppetto and began to explain again.

"It's because there is no point in giving that throne to someone else when someone is already taking on the duty of being sacrificed. That's why Lanfear, Ciri, and Yennefer don't want to tell anyone."

"I-I know. Huff, huff, huff. Inhale, exhale. I understand that Ciri wants to hide it, but Yen and Lanfear?! Why do they need to hide it?! It's just foolish conjecture for them to think that anyone would want that throne!"

Raising his eyebrows, Yoriichi simply explained, "They want to hide it from me. Yennefer is doing it because of Ciri, and Lanfear is doing it because she wants to bed me. Becoming just a mathematical equation or an idea for inspiration doesn't bode well for our bodies."

"W-wait. Y-you mean?"

Pulling her close so they snuggled together again, Yoriichi explained while stroking her smooth back, "No, I don't think we need someone to sit on the throne anymore. Thanks to the dead equation of the two Doctors, this world will keep running forever like a machine. However, to prevent it from falling into total collapse or destruction, we need to keep pushing its limits so it can continue running indefinitely."

"And the fuel for that machine is our multiverse collection of ideas and inspiration. Since no conscious being sits on that throne to produce the fuel on its own, the machine requires other multiverses and their inhabitants' understanding to generate it. That's why the Conjoin and Conjunction happened. But the Mythic Path holders of this world are too dimwitted to understand it. Even the clues clearly plastered on their names still can't evolve their monkey brains."

Seeing her symphony let out a tsk sound with a hint of superiority, as if speaking to someone with a lower IQ, Margarita stayed silent, too scared to give her opinion. She feared he might shun her again, as he did last time when she wanted to create a Sa'angreal.

Shaking her head, she then continued, "So what should we do then? I know our goal is to always stay on top so people like O'Dimm don't end up sitting on that throne and destroying themselves with the world. But even at the first step, I'm still clueless about how to do it."

"Ours?"

"Yes, ours. It's now your goal and mine."

Shaking his head, he then said, "No. It's everyone's, Rita. This task is very daunting. And… and I don't want to take on this heavy duty. I just can't always stay on top to prevent someone from becoming the singularity of this world. It's too tiring. Not only that, after a couple of tests thrown at me, I realize I don't think I'm cut out for these kinds of things. I just want to play. Staying on top is hard, Rita."

"Then what should we do? I don't want my world and everyone else here to be destroyed."

"Well, we can guide them to reduce the probability. Take this Herald and the three Sa'angreal, for example. Since they're already running on their own, I want to cut ties with them and leave them to fate. Then we'll find others who will keep the Herald and Sa'angreal in check. Over and over again, until everyone is too afraid to press the nuclear button."

Seeing her confusion over the quirk of the modern world, Yoriichi explained, "In my world, every country keeps each other in check because the nuclear bomb can erase everyone from the Earth, with no exceptions. Because of this, they have a tacit understanding to avoid pressing the button."

Remembering a certain someone, Yoriichi continued, "But some might get itchy fingers just because it's fun. That's when we step in to take up the duty once more. As for the first step, we need to talk with representatives from other multiverses—Loki, Hamura, and Shazam—to press the Sonic Screwdrivers together."

Nodding her head, she then asked, "What about my world? Who will be the representatives? Me?"

"No. It's Melitele. Even though I have contempt for her shortsightedness in understanding what the Doctors want to do, I can still appreciate her fear and anxiety. So, you don't need to take up this duty and can focus on whatever you like."

Stunned, seeing that her harmony is heading towards a trajectory of free and unrestrained choices, she asked for confirmation, "Whatever I like?"

"Yes."

"Then can I be with you like Ciri and Moiraine did?"

"Hmm? I thought you were okay… I'm sorry…"

"Well, I still want to teach children magic. But managing all of these responsibilities is hindering my meaningful time."

"Sorry to put you through this, Rita."

Snuggling closer to his chest and letting out a breath of relaxation as she finally understood what she wanted as well, she replied while closing her eyes, "It's okay. It's just three weeks anyway. Moreover, Nenio and Ember are more suited to carry on this legacy. So you don't need to worry. Our dream will still be realized."

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