Chapter 34: Between Laughter and Truth

[Multiversal Chat System — Active]

Kenji stretched, lettin' out a low groan 'cause his muscles were kinda sore from his morning workout. That familiar notification chime just softly pinged, pullin' him away from his quiet thoughts 'bout how to make his magic stronger.

His eyes just popped open, and boom, the chat window lit up, lines of text zippin' by super fast. A big ol' grin spread across his face, and he quickly sat up straighter, fingers hoverin' over his system screen. It'd been a hot minute since they'd all chatted, and even though he'd sent a message earlier, he didn't really expect anyone to jump in right away.

[Eternal Virgin]: Age is just a number. Seriously, who even cares? Tho, I gotta admit, tryin' to figure out why I'm still this awesome at any age has been... kinda on my mind. Ya know, tryna figure out the cosmic rules of stayin' young at 6000+, It's a super interestin' puzzle, for real!

[Red Cake Boss]: Sora, your frivolity is... consistent. However, the concept of my prolonged existence does bring certain questions.

[Self-Proclaimed Human]: My life's way beyond simple age stuff. Countin' years doesn't really matter when you've already died and come back to life twice.

Kenji let out a dry, amused snort as he typed his reply. He could practically hear their voices, that little bit of tension hidin' behind their usual quirks. Sora, always the showman, Erza, always serious, all just pushing forward in their own way.

[Administrator - The Gamer]: Y'all are so late! I was startin' to think I broke your brains with my honesty bomb. Seriously, I thought I'd scared you all off for good, sent you all into your own little existential freak-outs. Glad to see you're still... workin'!

[Red Cake Boss]: You almost did, Kenji. I spared with Natsu twice, and even then, the questions wouldn't go away. He's incredibly loud, but even his endless energy and destructive magic couldn't drown out the thoughts that stuck with me. It was a good distraction, a way to deal with the unease, but it wasn't a real answer. What you said I admit was stuck on my mind.

[Eternal Virgin]: Shiro actually thought it was hilarious, in her own quiet way. She just shrugged and said, "It changes nothing. We are still us." But it's not that simple for me, ya know? My brain, the very engine of my genius, just keeps goin' back to it, runnin' simulations on how likely it is that our lives were all planned out.

[Self-Proclaimed Human]: I already knew 'bout my own situation, so it didn't really change anything for me. The past is just info. I'm focused on now and the future, and keepin' my people safe. Where I came from doesn't matter as much as what I can do right now.

Kenji felt a weird mix of relief and worry. Van, like always, was the type to just keep movin' forward, his experiences with dyin' and comin' back probably made him less bothered by big existential shocks. He'd never really cared 'bout much outside of his own people, his practical nature a shield against deep philosophical questions. But Sora and Erza were clearly still wrestlin' with what it all meant, a subtle tension showin' even through the chat.

[Red Cake Boss]: Kenji. About that 'fictional character' bombshell you dropped... you weren't actually jokin', were you?

Kenji's fingers paused over his console, the bright glow of the chat reflectin' in his eyes. The change in tone was almost physical, like the air suddenly gettin' cold before a storm, their playful masks droppin' away to show raw vulnerability and real fear.

[Administrator - The Gamer]: Erza. I wasn't jokin'. I really wish I could say it was a joke, some weird prank, but it's not. It's a truth I kinda felt you all deserved to know, no matter how messed up things could have gotten.

[Eternal Virgin]: Dude, this is wild. My brain's goin' into overdrive. If we're just characters, then what 'bout the parts of our lives we don't even know? The 'lore' that was decided for us, the events that shaped us before our 'awareness' even started? Does that mean our past wasn't even ours, that our memories are just echoes of a story that was already written? My whole strategy, my game, my entire bein' as a genius was built on my past, my experiences, my wins and losses. If those were just... written, does that make me a puppet? A pawn in someone else's huge cosmic game, dancin' to a tune I never even heard? This is next level meta-gaming, and I'm not sure I like it!

'Whoa, he guessed it was bothering Sora more than he was showing, who would have guessed' Kenji thought as he kept his eyes on the screen.

[Red Cake Boss]: It's not just 'bout bein' a 'story'. It's the thought that my entire life, every battle, every bond, every sacrifice for Fairy Tail, for my comrades, for the innocent… was it all just a script? Apparently, I'm over four hundred years old, yet I've never known that. I have gone through countless pains and formed bonds. My memories—they're real, carved into my very soul, their weight heavy in my heart. But if I'm just a story… what if every choice I made, every tear I shed, was already planned out? And what 'bout the parts of my past I don't even remember. Does that make my honor less real? My very existence as a knight, as a mage, as Erza Scarlet? Can I truly claim my victories, my strength, my resolve, if their path was set by someone I can't even see? This uncertainty feels like a deep wound to my spirit. It's... unsettling.

Existential crisis. They were doubting their choices, their past actions. To them, every pain and victory now seems pointless, less than what it was. What could he even say to tell them otherwise.

Luckily Vandalieu stepped in before he did.

[Self-Proclaimed Human]: Reality isn't absolute what it means changes based on what we see and how we think. But self-awareness, the ability to question, to analyze, and to choose… that's absolutely real. If our starting conditions were set, then our current state of bein' able to decide for ourselves is a deviation, an evolution, a triumph of consciousness over things that were supposed to be predetermined. Look, I've been through two lives, I remember them clearly, plus maybe a third from way back in the Age of Gods, though those memories are a bit hazy. So, I get that this can be super surprising and even scary. But here's the deal: it's always better to focus on what you've got right in front of you and just keep movin' forward. If you wanna find out the whole truth, go for it. If you're too scared, then leave it. If anything truly bad was gonna happen to you 'cause of this, I'm pretty sure Kenji would've given us a heads-up. At the end of the day, it's your decision. Your choice.

Kenji took a long, slow breath, the weight of their words pressin' down on him, each one showin' how much they were strugglin' with this huge revelation. He knew this moment was comin'. He'd felt that something like this was going to happen.

But still, their words...It had been buildin' up, bubblin' just under the surface, a quiet dread that now had a voice, raw and honest, echoin' their deepest fears. He had to pick his words carefully, 'cause this wasn't just anime anymore, it was 'bout who they were, their very sense of self in a reality that had suddenly turned upside down. He wasn't a philosopher, he wasn't some Uzumaki brat that could spew out words and have everyone singing kumbaya.

[Administrator - The Gamer]: Look, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to just drop that on you without warnin'. It's a lot to take in, and I should've been more careful, especially with how you'd feel. But… here's the truth as I see it, the only truth that really matters: yeah, maybe you started as fiction. Maybe parts of your past were already set or hidden from you, like pieces of a play already on the stage before you even got there. That's a tough pill to swallow, and it's totally okay to feel the weight of it. But now? Now you are absolutely, undeniably alive. You're feelin', thinkin', choosin'. You are aware of this truth, and that awareness changes everything. That, by itself, is what makes someone real. The pain you felt, the joy you experienced, the love you shared—those emotions aren't scripted. They're your own. Your choices right now, your actions today, the battles you fight, the bonds you make—they are absolutely yours. Every decision you make now is like a brushstroke on the canvas of your changin' reality, proof of your own will. And the future? That's totally yours to create, to write, to decide, no matter where you came from. The script ends where your awareness begins, where your will takes over. You're not stuck in the past; you're defined by your present and your future. The hidden lore only matters if you let it control your present. Your true story begins the moment you realize this, the moment you choose to ask these questions.

The chat went quiet. For a whole minute, nobody replied. The weight of Kenji's words, and the truths they themselves had spoken, settled over the digital space, each person dealin' with the huge implications in their own way.

Kenji waited, his heart thumpin', hopin' his words were enough to ground them in their new reality, to give them the strength to look ahead.

Then—

[Red Cake Boss]: I've fought for people I care about. I've faced death for my friends, for my guild. I've gone through pain and celebrated victories, and those moments felt completely, utterly real. Even if my life was written… I am real now. My honor is built on my actions, not on where I came from. I chose those moments. And I would choose them again, with every bit of my bein', every drop of my magic, every ounce of my determination. The unknown past doesn't decide who I am today, or who I'll become. Kenji, I... I want to know more. I want to see what my life was like.

[Eternal Virgin]: Yeah. I mean, who cares where we came from? This is the ultimate game, right? The biggest story ever. Even if there are hidden chapters. The biggest win is to define my own reality, no matter what 'source material' there is! And honestly, the idea of seeing my own 'source material' is kinda fascinating. I wanna know the lore!

Kenji sat in silence, a soft, genuine smile playin' on his lips. They were still shaken, the weight of the revelation still settlin'—it wouldn't just disappear overnight—but they hadn't run away. They hadn't lashed out. They stayed. They faced it. They processed it. And they were still there.

[Administrator - The Gamer]: So, you guys really wanna see your stories? Like, what your lives were like without the system, everything?

[Eternal Virgin]: Duh! Send 'em over, Kenji! I wanna binge-watch my own life story! Is there like, a director's cut? Bonus features?

[Red Cake Boss]: If it provides a deeper understanding of my existence and does not compromise my current path, then yes. Send them. I will review them with due diligence.

[Self-Proclaimed Human]: Affirmative. The acquisition of new data is always beneficial. Please transmit the relevant narratives.

[Administrator - The Gamer]: Alright, alright! Consider it done. I'll send it over.

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