[Fantasy Ending] Chainsaw Man : Reze Chapter - Fujimoto Tsuki's
Fantasy Novel : Makima and Denji 's Fictional Paradise
Chapter Six: The Death of the Self
The
interior of that black tower was not as gloomy and bloody as one might imagine;
instead, it was blindingly bright, so bright that it evoked a sense of pure
despair.
The
walls, floors, and ceiling were all made of an unnamed, flawless, pure white
material. There was no measure of time's passage, no wind's movement, and even
the scent of the air had been completely sucked away. This was an absolute
stillness , a cleansed ward for the soul. Makima led Dianzhi , stepping
silently onto the floor, towards the very top of the tower. There, there were
no superfluous decorations, only a large gray sofa facing a perpetually bright,
falsely radiant daylight.
" Denji-kun
, we've arrived." Makima sat down gracefully, patted her knees, and looked
at him with an almost maternal tenderness. "This is the end of our
journey. From today onward, you no longer need to fight, you no longer need to
think, and you no longer need to... bear the heavy burden of the identity of ' Denji
'."
Dianzhi
knelt blankly at Makima's feet. His body was still intact, but his soul was
like an old garment that had been repeatedly disassembled and hastily sewn back
together.
"What
is ' Denji ' ? " he asked in a low voice. His voice was so soft that if he
raised it even slightly, the name would dissipate like dust.
“‘ Yoji
’ is a name filled with pain, hunger, and filth .” Makima’s fingers, like
plucking delicate strings, gently pressed against his temples, the coldness of
her fingertips seeping into his cerebral cortex. “That name carries the burden
of a father who committed suicide due to debt, the guilt of being forced to eat
his own father, the humiliation of fighting for food with stray dogs in a
garbage dump… and those you thought you loved, who ultimately died because of
you.”
As she
spoke, the remaining fragments in Denji's mind began to burn .
He saw
Pochita curled up deep in his heart, whimpering uneasily.
He saw
Hayakawa Aki wearing that slightly faded apron, intently chopping scallions in
the cramped kitchen, the sound of the knife blade striking the cutting board
clearly audible.
He saw
Pava pointing at the cartoon on TV, laughing and revealing his sharp canine
teeth, declaring that he was the master of the world.
He saw
Leijie reach out her hand to him in the rain, her eyes filled with a sorrow he
couldn't understand at the time.
"These...
hurt so much." Denji sobbed, it was a physiological, instinctive reaction.
His consciousness had been numbed by Makima's dominance, but his body's cells
still remembered those emotions and were secreting tears for him.
"Yes,
because it's a deadly poison called 'Self'." Makima's voice was filled
with a deadly allure as she whispered in Denji 's ear, "Give it to me, and
you will gain eternal peace. You will become the perfect shell for Pochita, a
part of my will. You will no longer be Denji wandering the slums ; you will be
' Chainsaw Man ,' my hero, the only being in this world who doesn't have to
suffer."
Dianzhi
slowly closed his eyes.
Deep
within his consciousness, the "Forbidden Gate," which had always
existed and was covered with countless runes and chains, appeared before him.
This time, no terrifying memories surged forth from behind the gate, nor did
any childhood nightmares resurface; only an endless, all-consuming, deathly
blackness remained.
Pochita
let out a long, mournful wail in the darkness. It was his companion of many
years bidding him a final farewell.
"Pochita...
I 'm sorry," Denji whispered weakly in his heart . "I'm really tired.
Being human... it 's just too painful . If being a dog that doesn't need to
think, doesn't need to dream, and only needs to obey Miss Makima could bring
this kind of happiness of no longer getting hurt... would n't that be
nice?"
At that
very moment, Yodo felt a "crack" sound coming from the core of his
brain.
That
was the sound of a certain personality structure completely breaking and
shattering. His last trace of heartache for " Reige ", his brotherly
attachment to "Qiu", and his family-like promise to "Pawa"
all turned into pale ashes at this moment, evaporated by the strong light in
the tower .
His
ambition, his desires, and his foolish, though vulgar, energy—all vanished with
that snapping sound.
When Denji
opened his eyes again, those amber pupils, which had once been full of wild
beastly energy and sparkling with a desire for survival, had completely turned
into stagnant water, just like Makima's.
He
stopped crying.
He
stopped trembling.
Even
his breathing became extremely regular, like a finely tuned instrument.
"Miss
Makima," he spoke, his tone flat and cold, devoid of any emotion, like an
echo from the abyss, "please give your orders."
Looking
at the "masterpiece" before her, Makima revealed the most radiant and
satisfied smile of her life. She reached out and gently stroked his face as if
caressing a flawless piece of porcelain fresh from the kiln .
"Good
boy/girl."
Outside
the window, the false, intense sunlight still shone brightly on the gray
forest, while from somewhere came the mournful chirping of cicadas. The cries
were sharp and persistent, as if tolling a death knell for the final burial of
a soul.
The
trip has come to an end.
The boy
named Denji died in this beautiful white tower.
The one
who survived was merely a plaything with a veneer of decency, but whose heart
was completely filled with a sense of domination, possessing "perfect
happiness."
In some
corner of the world, the coffee shop where Reige once stayed, the dilapidated
apartment where the Hayakawa family once lived, and the decadent bar where
Kishibe once drank— the presence of "Denji" is rapidly fading until
it becomes completely transparent .
He
achieved the happiness he had always dreamed of: a life free from want and
loved.
The
price was that he disappeared from his own life forever. (...To be continued...)
