Why do I have to add chapters bro

“Phew, new places, probably with new faces,” muttered Jason.“Better check whether our surroundings are safe,” returned the girl.Jason’s eyes hovered upon the scenery around him. He himself was aimlessly floating in the huge, black mass. Aside from himself, partial structures could be seen levitating, scattered across the void in no specific order. Furthermore, those broken pieces of construction resembled inhabitants where humans used to live, including a grassy field of an amusement park, a lounge with some bookshelves and books, and some rocky structures that appeared to be some kind of temple.“We can’t be the ones who destroyed them, right?” questioned Jason.“Eh, it’s most likely that they are in that way since the beginning,” answered the girl. “It’s quite fortunate for us not to be thrown into any danger, but this world is erratic enough. Though... is it just me, or are we being dragged upwards?”“In fact, yes, we’re being pulled by some kind of gravitation,” returned Jason. “More importantly, the voice also comes this way. We’re led on the right path.”“Well, will you mind doing the recon mission?”“I can’t see exactly what’s above us.”“Then, let time decide where we will end up.”Then Jason and the girl spent an eventful journey moving along whatever consistently pulled them. Conjunctions of huge buildings quickly hooked their attention, provoking a discussion on how everything there could possibly have gone on before their arrival. Shortly after that, they located huge clusters of buildings in amazement, especially when they actually found people living in these isolated places. They soon recognized that those giant clusters symbolized different worlds, yet most of them seemed pretty much identical, with too few differences to be actually differentiated. The lively chat went on until something appeared before them.“Ay, human, something ahead of us,” alerted the girl, in a vigilant voice.“Ay, Herrscher, roger that,” returned Jason. With a swipe of his index finger, he cast a temporary barrier to anchor himself and stared forward intently in quick scanning.Technically, nothing was spotted in his vision, and everything he could see was still blackness. Nonetheless, he could sense someone—an authentic human before him, carrying a loaded pistol, deduced to be feminine.“That’s a female, I think,” murmured Jason.“In ornate clothing,” added the girl. “Fancier than mine.”“She’s also got a gun,” pursued Jason.“Right, I mean, aimed right at us,” returned the girl, in a floppy voice, from which Jason could tell she already had a defeated look blooming on her cheeks, despite not really being sad or frightened.With a tiny disturbance in nerves, Jason didn’t psych either. In fact, he had adapted to scenes far more dangerous than simply being pointed at by a gun since a distant time ago. Nothing could obstruct his determination, not even the tiniest scrap of it. If anything, it would only reinforce it more. Apart from that, Jason personally preferred peaceful settlement and would avoid violence as much as possible.“Eh, hello madam,” spoke Jason. “We—uh oh, I’m a lone time traveler and I am kind of lost. Can you please tell me what’s above?”Jason withheld his stare into the blackness; no response received.“That disguise is the most horrible one I’ve heard in my life, dude,” teased the girl.“Come on. Not that bad... in my opinion, that is.” Jason pouted. “Maybe we need to pretend to be more innocent.”“No, be more of a hard-ass,” answered the girl. “The ones that show innocence can only be finely innocent guys or guys who are fine with being innocent.”“Eh, I guess you’re right. Hold on...”Jason cleared his throat.“Hey, I know you’re there. I am now friendly inviting you for a friendly chat. Will you please kindly accept this friendly offer?”He waited for a while, and continued after a period of silence.“I have totally no intention to do any harm! As you see, I am not carrying any weapon. I have suppressed my power to prevent unwanted infection as well, and my name is Jason, and I am feeling good today—”Suddenly, Jason sensed the figure before him budging in an instant. After a few seconds, the figure dashed aside into the void and vanished, unable to be spotted anymore.“Oh, awkward,” muttered Jason. “She’s startled, obviously.”“More specifically, at your name, I think,” returned the girl.“What’s wrong with the name ‘Jason’? Tons of people have that name! Just like a random kid called Jack.”“Perhaps people in this dimension aren’t usually addressed by British names. Besides, we’re in no normal world. The inhabitants here are likely acquaintances to each other and wary of newcomers.”“That does make sense, though...”Jason pondered for a while. He would dare to justifiably attribute the figure’s sudden flee to getting distressed at his name. Yet he had to start moving again. He disabled the barrier and drifted upwards.Looking backwards, Jason found the panorama of world clusters in the void zooming out, spreading like ink on white paper. Moreover, the worlds were all aligned perfectly in lines, most of which seemed complete, while some seemed shattered into pieces, possibly turning into the remaining shreds of constructions scattered across the dimension.However, Jason kept going up, further and further from the aggregate of clusters. And he wasn’t bothered either. Bearing the mysterious voices he had heard before long in mind, Jason felt himself getting closer and closer to that voice.“Human, I can sense another world above us,” said the girl. “It seems like we’re orbiting around it. After a few minutes, we’ll begin a nosedive upon its surface.”“Yes, in fact, I can barely see it with my eyes here,” answered Jason.“Really? What does it look like?”“It... it’s exactly Earth.”The blue planet unveiled itself as Jason drew closer to its vicinity. Jason had been to the moon a time ago, but he could recall the image of Earth seen from there vividly, which could overlap seamlessly with the one in his eyes.“Wait, are you sure? Nothing but Earth?” retorted the girl.“Ah, there’s a smaller version of the sun over the Earth, to be more specific,” returned Jason. “But, as far as I can see, there’s no planet other than Earth itself... that’s pretty weird.”“Hmm, that contradicts common sense, also beyond laws of physics. As far as I am concerned, the other planets are forced to be cut off in a not harmonious manner, like... if this whole dimension is but a game, then its creator must have weeded out the unnecessary contents in order to save memory space.”“That’s an interesting analog. I’ve thought about the possibility where everything we’ve experienced are plots from a video game... but it doesn’t seem like we can get the answer anywhere. Anyway, it’s time to pick our landing.”“Wherever it will be, it’s better to check out the source of that voice.”“Oh, I did catch something...”Jason pointed at a faintly illuminated spot on the Earth, on a small island next to the vast mainland of Asia. It wasn’t city light, but a tailored beacon that shot perpendicular rays upwards, making it easy to be spotted by intruders like him.“There’s a specific signal, in Japan,” stated Jason. “Somebody wants us to head there, as though they have predicted that someone will come.”“Japan... oh, that small island country in East Asia,” remarked the girl, sounding uninterested. “Due to the lack of native resources, the Japanese usually have to depend on aggression to maintain their dominance. In spite of being renowned for being obliging and cultured, I can’t be convinced by that kind of impression its kind embarked on me.”“That being said, this world is in a worse situation,” returned Jason. “I failed to catch any aura of humans out there. Commonly, if there’s at least a small community of more than one thousand creatures inhabiting the planet, I should be able to sense them. This one feels... dead.”“Well, in fact, same for me,” said the girl. “This planet is in... similar condition to your homeland—demolished, lifeless, and god-forsaken.”“Weird, what’s making those voices then?”Jason scratched his head.“Supernatural events, maybe,” answered the girl.“It’s pretty peculiar for a world like this to arise,” answered Jason. “The previous worlds are pretty normal. I’d say they are in 2023, while this one should be in 102931, more typically, from apocalyptic sci-fi.”“It sounds like as if you are saying your world isn’t normal at all,” remarked the girl, in a jokingly banter.“Because it is.” Jason glared jokingly at her—glaring downwards upon his chest in reality. “I will never consider universal-wide epidemic or mutated monsters commonplace in other worlds. At least in the world that is definitely not ours, there won’t be such uncanny things...”Jason suddenly paused in utmost bewilderment.“The world that is not ours... what is that exactly?” he murmured.“Why, did your brain fail to catch up with your mouth again?” answered the girl.“...I can’t tell, can you? Like, have the answer?”“...I can’t, human.”“Hmm, not going to lie, that’s a good question to be pored over sometimes. Nevertheless, I can feel my linear velocity speeding up faster and faster. Our centripetal motion will soon come to an end.”“Then, we’re following that light beam.”“Of course we are.”After a brief adjustment in angle, Jason boosted himself drastically towards his scheduled landing. Friction of air sparkled on the energy wrapping him. He descended like a meteor, and before hitting the ground, he clutched his fist to haul himself backwards. He perfectly stopped at the ground, exactly at the moment his feet touched its surface. The sun was above him diagonally. Jason could tell it was afternoon from it.“This place seems desolate,” said Jason, wiping sweat on his forehead with his right arm. White steam emerged from his body parts where the heat still remained. “It seems we’re close to a city.”“More of a city abandoned a million years ago,” added the girl. “However, there is no evidence of assault or disaster. The buildings here are all decaying naturally. This turns this planet from a demolished, lifeless, god-forsaken place into a lifeless and god-forsaken place.”“The citizens might have had to leave their hometown for some reason. But, if it wasn’t for incoming disaster, there has to be someone left at least. I feel like the citizens here all vaporized for no reason.”“So, some supernatural power caused the sudden disappearance of everyone.”“That’s what I’ve been thinking about. Moreover, I can hear that mysterious voice clearer from here. It’s louder, and more painful, still a bunch of gibberish though. These voices could be the SOS from the original citizens.”“We need to monitor the fluctuation of its signal. I have a feeling that it originates from this city before us. That means we have to roll over the entirety of it on ourselves.”“Only if someone happens to be here, the woman we encountered must know something, yet we can no longer reach her. Anyway, let’s move on.”Jason treaded forward to the abandoned city. Before the entry covered by overgrowth, there was a square moss sign, utterly wrapped by moss to a point its original material got completely concealed. Jason carefully pried the moss on the surface, revealing a stone panel inside of it. Then he identified the words inscribed on it.“Tokyo, written in Japanese,” said Jason.“The capital of Japan, is it?” questioned the girl.“Yes. If someone has to be around, they can only be here.”“Then, no more yapping, let’s get straight to our business.”Jason’s wander in the city began there. He traversed through gravel and ashes, enjoying the wild wind that didn’t belong to the city blowing upon his chest at the same time. He was more than familiar with such a feeling. Back on his Earth, his love for it could only be diminished by his care for his mates and loved ones.He walked by several convenience stores. He attempted to inspect them in case of missing anything, fidgeting and fiddling with every kind of amenities that were supposed to be rotten to chip. To his shock, few of them could actually function properly, vending machines and auto massage chairs for instance. He hopped onto one of the massage chairs, laying down in a cozy gesture.“You know what? This massage chair is super comfortable,” stated Jason, in a satisfied smile. “I’ve checked the producers of those working machines, most of which are breaches of a corporation named Sunrise Foundation.”The girl pressed her thumb against her jaws, albeit no one could see it outside the core.“If its production has successfully withstood the wear of time, well... that’s an adequate high-tech wizardry, considering how downgraded other constructions look,” returned the girl. “That pointedly indicates a serious polarization between the poor and the rich—quite fit my stereotype towards Japan.”“Tacticians of our world can also construct such a thing if we don’t have to allocate all the funds to military and bio-weapons. Well... I’m happy about not being one of them, yet considering my current situation, I am already no different.”“Then this further strengthens the fact that this world isn’t destroyed by any type of disaster. Its natives are very likely... made disappear. The people here did live a great life, and we’ll find out the truth for them.”“Yes—return them a truth, even though they’re no longer here, nothing else than that,” said Jason, and he contemplated as he finished his sentence, seemingly caught up by his own reminiscence, and a patch of sudden sadness was revealed on a face in what could be shorter than a glimpse.“Human... don’t guilt over it, please,” the girl murmured, in a reasserting tone.His remorse seemed to have worsened in an instant, and in a swipe over his forehead, it vanished as if nothing happened. Jason got his face rewound back to the version a few seconds ago.“Heh, I know you are correct. It’s time to get moving, especially—”Whilst attempting to sit up from the massage chair, Jason noticed a red-haired girl standing at the door, in a weird wizard hat and dress, as well as a shocked face that could only be interpreted as shocked out of the blue, due to the fact that our azure pupils nearly shrunk to as tiny as dots.Jason struggled to get up as his heart pounded.“Oh—sorry! I didn’t know you were there! I’ll—”“WHO, ARE, YOU?” yelled the red-haired girl, fixing her azure eyes upon the fidgeting Jason.Jason was ejected from his rapid apology, and thrown into somewhat similar shock to what the red-haired girl before him had on her face as his face twisted up in an embarrassing way.“Oh damn it, she’s speaking Japanese,” stammered Jason, totally staggered. He had never had a proper command of Japanese other than knowing a bunch of words. “Help me out, Herrscher, please.”“Woah woah woah hold up—” stammered the girl. “Let me use my smart brain to translate it... She’s asking: Who are you?”“Ah, thank god, finally another person capable of conversing normally,” returned the red-haired girl, in a long sigh of relief, this time in English. “English won’t hinder communication. Well... I have never expected a new face to arise, especially when he straight up appears without steering spacecraft, so I just became kind of flustered, sorry.”“Oh—it’s okay. In fact, I was flustered as well,” returned Jason. “I am Jason Parstenach, a time traveler if you’d like to call me in that way. I traverse among different dimensions to study them and also possibly hire someone to join my dimensional expedition team. I’ve only got two members other than myself so far, by the way... You seem like someone with a good command of casting spells.”“It might be disappointing to hear, but everyone here is just different. We are comprised of soul and consciousness. Our bodies have vanished a long time ago. Even though we still digest and breathe like normal people, I don’t think there’s a way you can actually drag us away from this place,” said the red-haired girl, adjusting her hat upright. “Ah, also, my name is Miri Karasu, the first of the six observers residing in The Outpost. For decades, I’ve been living here to observe other worlds, after the cross-splitting incident. I’m also in fact not capable of casting any kind of magical spells.”“Oh, nevermind. It’s nice to meet you, Miss Miri. So, that cross-splitting incident actually hooks my attention. I’ve seen a lot of smaller versions of worlds out there in the void. Are they the results of that cross-splitting incident?”“Yes, they are. Well, in fact, my world, The Outpost, is the one closest to the original one. It was exactly 2000. The cross-splitting incident took place and shattered the original world into pieces, creating 1028 smaller worlds in the process, aligning on The World Axis, or Universe Tapestry, or Universe of the Universe, anyway you’d like to address this specific universe,” explained Miri. “Those worlds are replicas of the original one. You can see identical people in different worlds. Yet, as an observer, I can’t intervene with other worlds. One of us tried to do so, and... he was gone afterwards.”Miri lowered the brim of her hat, so did her eyelid that drooped down in a flash of sorrow. Noticing the subtle change, Jason decided to change another subject.“Well, okay, then... do you recognize a woman in ornate clothing and a gun?”“It must be Ivy, the fourth observer. She vowed to rectify the world as it was in a somewhat maniac way. Thus, she had the most knowledge of layers out of us. However, we’ve all lost track of her, and one of our friends Tori is out there to be against her plan. It may be good to hear that she’s still safe and sound,” responded Miri. “To be honest, I will think of her from time to time. She left us an answering machine the day she left, but—for years, we fail to receive any message. We hoped it was the machine needing a repair, but it has been functioning properly so far.”“Ah, she must be a brave and considerable person,” added Jason, whose voice softened. “She may have lost it for something cramping deep within her, and in reality, everyone may be the same—how about the term ‘layers’? Are they the same as dimensions?”“Hmm, you are probably denoting Parallel Layers. No, they’re not exactly the same. There’re Parallel Layers and Vertical Layers.”Jason returned a puzzled expression. His mind was hustled.“Like there’re some other worlds beneath yours?”“Yes, Jason, actually, you’re in Layer 4 now, and those worlds you saw are all called Layer 3. I can infer from your previous speaking that you are from a Parallel Layer 4, tantamount to an alternative dimension.”“Hmm... You’re indeed correct. I come from another dimension of fantasy, technology, and tragedy,” answered Jason. “I hope that no monsters are lurking around.”“Oh, of course we don’t have monsters. To be honest, I doubt whether you’re actually afraid of encountering monsters or not... you are pretty much someone good at combat, even superficially, I dare to say. You just feel... different from others.”Jason returned in a doubtful and somewhat witty pout.“Huh, from which aspects, to be specific?”“It’s... I don’t know specifically... hegemony? Superiority? I am inclined to describe it as some kind of defiance, yet it’s rather no arrogance,” returned Miri, doubting her own answer at the same time.“Perhaps...” responded Jason, looking away. “I do stop attaching importance to a lot of things that surround me. I mean, I still pay attention to them, but I just no longer care—except for this one, I guess.”“There’s something else than that—like, you feel exceptionally strong. Just standing beside you can make me feel getting crushed by your aura—”Jason extended his arms and waved them in denial.“Well, um, Miss Miri. I can’t really deny the fact that I’m very decent at fighting, but I am more specialized in intelligence activities. I don’t really engage in direct combat that often.”“Alright, but Miss Miri just sounds weird, Miri is good for Miri.”“Okay Miri, I have to ask you about something about the voices...”Jason meticulously explained his investigation towards the mysterious voices he heard earlier.“Oh my... do you have super hearing?” gasped Miri. “I have to muster my entire willpower to ears to catch that voice, and you just hear it?”“A man doing intelligence work always has a pair of ears that reach the corners. That’s what I would call professionalism,” returned Jason.“Is that what that phrase is even supposed to mean??” questioned Miri, whose entire face could illustrate a huge question mark. “You’re the all-rounder in literal meaning, like—someone with two pairs of ears and—”“TADA—”The girl suddenly revealed herself next to Jason, flapping her arms upwards wildly like a magician succeeding in her magic show, unfolding a smile full of pride afterwards.Jason and Miri stared at her, tacitly at a loss for words.“Ah, I thought you’d be smiling as well, Jason,” smiled the girl, albeit in evident embarrassment hung on her face, and then her lips arched downwards in dissatisfaction.“I will die of doing that,” replied Jason, in a deadpan manner.“Party pooper.” The girl spat, fading into thin air with a sulked face.“Who’s that, Jason?” asked Miri, in a changing of being skeptical to sinking in confusion.“That’s another subject—We can walk and talk about that on the way,” returned Jason.Jason and Miri walked out of the convenience store, strolling upon the cracked tiles of the concrete road, through the collapsed skyscrapers.“So, who was that girl standing aside?” asked Miri.“Hmm, in fact, she’s the one who lends me power. Whereas that’ll be an absurdly long story, it’s okay to regard us as friends,” answered Jason, listening attentively to the voices while fixing his eyes upon Miri.“So where is she now?” questioned Miri, still in confusion.“Right here,” said the girl. “My core of power was implanted in his body. I usually spend my days there since it doesn’t hinder communication or anything.”“Are you sure you aren’t going to walk around on yourself?”“Why should I walk when there’s someone walking for me?”“...It seems like you’ve taken a great care of your gir—good friend, Jason,” muttered Miri.“Don’t get me wrong, Miri. Actually, there’s not a thing called affection or sentiment between her and me, not metaphorically, not poetically, not hypothetically, not even in its literal meaning. In a considerable proportion of our lives, we merely view each other as companions. I did have someone I cared for, but... she’s just gone. I don’t mention her since then.”Jason finished another lecture without any emotion displayed on his face, neither in his tone.“Oh... alright, I feel sorry for that. Then, you must have accomplished tons of things together.”Miri lowered her head in remorse of asking that question. At the same time, she occasionally shot glances up under the brim of her hat nervously, but more expectantly, as though she had been eagerly anticipating something from him.“Yes, indeed—but which of them is it that you want to hear?”“Which of them... well, the first of them, I guess.”“The first of them was the riskiest one. I was pretty impetuous at that time. And... about the details, well, a malicious god destroyed my home, and so I went up to the moon and had a fight, along with my mates. We were like the only humans capable of battling at that time.”“Did you win?” gasped Miri, whose eyes widened in surprise.In response to Miri’s astonishment, Jason pulled up his sleeves and revealed several scars, resembling purple bruises, yet radiating with faint and queer purple glow, which was by no means normal radiation. In addition, below the joint of elbow, a dark, metallic ring was attached on the patch of wounded skin. Miri spotted a green indicator light, from which she inferred the ring to be a suppressor.“No, unfortunately, I didn’t... it was by that time I received help from my companion, saving me... or resuscitating me in the process to make me stand up again. I did wound it in some way, but it defeated me in the last, so I had to flee from there.”“Then... those scars, they are...”“Left during the battle, by that creepy—damn god of demise. They do smart from time to time, but I am okay with that. Nevertheless, I still had to suppress them, to prevent them from infecting other people who aren’t supposed to be exposed to such power. But they can still possibly amputate themselves during fierce battles, so it’s advised to stay away from me if I have to fight.”“Ah, okay... What about your mates?”“Mostly dead, few survived. Tragically, battlers like me won’t leave a corpse after K.I.A. As far as I could recall, humanity was essentially doomed. A fighter can die at any time. Our base was in a mountain area. At first we broke down rocks for tombs. Then we collected decomposed concretes from city ruins because someone believed it could bring them back to their home. Despite we all knew that they had become prevalent everywhere at the end of universe and time.”“God... I thought soldiers like you would always fall into trauma, yet... it might be a bit offensive, but... you just don’t seem to be caught up by any.”“I’m not offended. I’ve made peace with inevitable loss. It’s useless to shed any tear to mourn for it as it won’t change any fact that the outcome has already been decided,” returned Jason, whose tone turned grimmer. “There is little room for mood swing termed grievance.”Miri did not respond at once. In fact, she was rather intimidated than discombobulated. Her pupils flicked in an elusive manner, yet she still kept her glances on him from time to time.“Ah... alright, I get it...”“Hey, it’s my bad for talking to you in that kind of villain tone,” added Jason, who was now in a peaceful smile. “How about we talk about our favorite food or weather?”In lively chat, Jason and Miri strolled through another few blocks. Alongside merriments, Jason tightly followed the mysterious voice, closer and closer to peaking. Eventually, Jason and Miri both stopped before a humble, unremarkable, three-story building, among a packed cluster of multiple buildings alike in appearance.“This place has that voice I am looking for,” said Jason.“Eh, unluckily, it also happens to be our settlement,” returned Miri. “I can provide accommodation if you need it. While, food and drinks and anything related to electricity are not included. We are on a lack of resource and can barely make ends meet.”“Thank you very much for your kindness. In fact, I’m leaving after getting my job done. I won’t be interrupting your daily life or regular works or anything—”Miri’s face turned pale in a sudden.“Wait!” remarked Miri, with an evident agitation in her mood. “I know it’s impolite to detain any visitor, but I’m in desperate need of help. It... it’s relevant to someone’s entire life!”Jason turned at Miri, his eyes widening in alarm. He swiped over his cheeks with his right hand, pausing for a second or more, and finally he spoke.“...I’d like to hear it out.”“I heard you talking about the Sunrise Foundation. Its founder, Setsuki, the third observer, sacrificed himself earlier to save his child, but—he failed. He was now gone and his daughter has been trapped within a specific layer below us. She definitely needs help from above—I... I can only indirectly influence the layer she’s in, which doesn’t suffice. So I have to ask you to... bridge the layers and...”“No, Miri, but, no.”Jason responded instantly, as though triggered by something, and every of his words pounded like an iron hitting the ground.“But—that’s about the life and death of—!”“No, I am terribly sorry, Miri, but I just can’t let myself make the same mistake again. It will hurt you more than it hurts me—it will kill all of you.”Miri gazed upon Jason, too shocked to spit out any word.“Hear me out, Miri. There’s not a single person apart from that malicious god and myself that can bear the cost of holding time-bending power. Such radical and highly infectious power, once you’re infected, you are sentenced to death. You won’t die of sickness or aging. You will be seized by time itself, and crushed into nothingness. And once you’re marked by time, by no means will people around you be safe from that.”Now Miri became speechless, faltering and flinching with her begging, hollow eyes that still fixed upon Jason, whereas Jason adapted himself to not waver before such dilemma anymore.“...I wasn’t criticizing your choice from any perspective, Miri. Maybe we could change a topic, like hanging around your settlement, so we can get familiar with each other more quickly, and it will help establish connections more easily,” said Jason.“Alright... follow me.”