When Mom and Dad disappeared, a gorgeous door appeared in front of me. Does that mean I should move on?
　Mom said there was only one more ordeal left to go, and I'm not sure it's the goal to go through this one...but what kind of ordeal is waiting for us next?

　I take a deep breath once in front of the door, and after making a firm decision and determination, I open the door.

''.......What is this?''

　I opened the door thinking about what kind of tough ordeal awaited me, how tough the place was going to be, but the view I saw was disappointingly empty. It was.
　There was only one straight path, and everything else was just a grassy field leading to the horizon....

　With a tilt of his head, he entered and closed the door... The door disappeared as if it had never existed in the first place, and all that was left was the blue sky, the grasslands, and a single path.
　Looking back, there is only the same grassland and path... does that mean we should follow this path?

　Part of me had my doubts, but I decided to go straight down the prepared path anyway and started walking.







　How long did I walk?　All of my tools except my watch, clothes and shoes seemed to have disappeared as soon as I entered this space, and I have no idea of the time.......but I've probably been walking for 'several hours'.
　My body isn't fatigued for that, so it doesn't seem like I'm going to be exhausted in this space.......but yeah. So that's how it is........this is the 'final trial'.

　The landscape doesn't change at all. A single road, a meadow without rocks or trees, a blue sky without clouds or sunshine, a space where you don't know how far or how long you have to keep walking to reach the end.
　This space itself is a test for me. What I have to do is very simple.......just keep walking on the same path.
　But how many days will that really be?　How many months?　How many years?　I keep walking through it with a non-fatigued body. It's like a race to the roots....

　It's great. I'm gonna have hundreds of years of service.
　I've received a lot of warm thoughts and feelings I've received a lot of courage I've received more love than I could ever carry and a powerful push to keep me going. I've had it done.
　So, I'm not going to be okay I'm sure of it.

　My heart will not be broken anymore.









　How many days have we been walking?　No, I don't have a complete sense of time anymore, so maybe it's been a few months.
　It's a strange feeling, somehow. My body doesn't get tired in this space. I'm not hungry or sleepy.
　However, my legs sometimes feel heavy from mental fatigue, so I have to get back into the swing of things at that time or else my pace will slow down.

　But strangely enough, I don't have a deterioration in my memory. I can remember conversations with Arisa and the others as if they were just moments ago. Is this really an ordeal that will literally only test your mental strength?
　Well, at any rate, there's no point in getting impatient. God knows exactly when it will end........

"...if, for example, the world is one story...

　I didn't have anything to do but think as I walked, so I decided to try singing a song for some reason. Illness taught me the song "A Little Story", which I later found out was Black's song....
　I like the song, and it seems to fit my current situation a little better.









　I just keep walking, just keep walking. I don't know how long I've been doing this anymore, but I'm pretty sure the years have passed.
　I feel like my singing is getting to a level where I can be called good at it, too. However, there is still no end in sight to the road.
　I can't help but wonder if I'm on the wrong track, or if there's no end in sight, or even if there's no end in sight... Yeah, well, that's just the way it is.

　When you're alive, you're going to have weaknesses and you're going to have doubts. I think the question is what to do with it then.
　No matter how far away it is, as long as this path leads to where Black and the others are, there is no stopping me.
　That's why I keep walking, walking along the same path. Forever and ever.....

　Somehow I feel that walking along a path with no end in sight is like life itself.









　How many years have passed?　The sense of time is long gone, so even if it feels like I've been walking for decades, maybe only a year or so has actually passed.
　If that's the case, is the end still to come?　But maybe it's because of this space, I don't feel like I've matured mentally... No, well, I'm just walking around after all, so if I say it doesn't change, it doesn't change....
　I thought I'd be able to become more relaxed and austere like Ozma, but I don't feel that way either. Maybe it's life experience and that kind of thing that's a big part of it?

　And as I've been walking endlessly I've been wondering, vaguely, what it was like. I wonder how everyone else was feeling?

　
　For example, Black.......I don't know his actual age, but he's been seeking what he's wanted since he was born for tens of thousands of years.
　For example, Alice.........probably even longer than Black, had been living with her best friend's last wish.

Besides, how many months had White lived?　How many hundreds of millions of years is it?　Or is it trillions of years?　Could it be more than that?

　Thousands of years, tens of thousands of years, hundreds of millions of years... It's easy to put into words. But when you actually think about it, it's really a tremendous amount of time.
　I wonder how we all lived through those long days.　If it means walking for a long time, I thought I might understand that feeling a little bit, but.......hmmm.
　After all, life is different for each of us, and maybe it's difficult to truly understand how we feel.
　That's why I imagine. You want to share your thoughts and feelings with that person in order to be a little closer to them....

　Come to think of it, what did Shiro-san want to do in the end?　Erasing my memory... is that what you wanted to do, White?　No, I still think it's kind of tricky.
　Well, there's still a lot of time left, so I'll take this opportunity to think about it. The feelings of the God who created the world....










　I really don't know how long I've been walking for, but as long as this is an ordeal, it's going to end.
　As I continued walking along the unchanging landscape and path I suddenly saw the world's ocean beyond the horizon.
　And a woman with long white hair, with her back to us, looking out at the ocean. She smiles a little when she sees it, but still keeps walking, not changing the speed at which she walks.

　And when I reached just behind her back, I threw a voice at her with a smile.

''........Surprisingly, that was fast. Is this the goal?
....
"...well, why do you look so unhappy?

　Shiro-san turned around in response to my voice, how can I say..........................His expression was expressionless, but his cheeks were puffed out, and I could tell that he seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

''........Let's answer in order. That's right, this is the goal. And I am very dissatisfied.
That's because I passed the ordeal, right?
'No, it's not. It's good that you made it through the ordeal... but I'm very unhappy that you got 'almost the shortest time possible' to clear it.
Uh-huh?

　What's the shortest time I've ever been on the road?　When I nodded my head, not understanding what White was trying to say, he continued to speak with a vague sense of dissatisfaction.

This ordeal is an eternal.......unchanging path. It was 'the goal if you continue walking for 100 years,' but we made it so that every time you stop or veer off to a different path along the way, 'the number of years to the goal will grow exponentially.'
...hmm.
And while we were at it, we were also planting all sorts of weaknesses that would come up if we stopped and made it difficult to start walking again.
...It's a hell of an ordeal.

　In other words, it was built to get stuck in a vicious cycle if you were weak or lost.

''........And yet, it was cleared in almost the shortest amount of time. Or rather, Kaito-san really didn't stop even once.......I'm very dissatisfied.
'..........Well, after all, does that mean I've passed the ordeal?
....

　I asked with a little bit of dismay to Mr. White, who told me in a somewhat sultry tone that he was unhappy with me repeatedly. Then Shiro-san let out a sigh and nodded after being silent for a bit.

''........Yes. You have overcome the four trials I prepared for you. Your.........victory.

　After announcing that, Shiro-san lightly waved his finger and a luxurious door appeared right next to me.

''I won't say that I'm not frustrated. Nor do I say that I'm not frustrated. Still.........it was brilliant. Miyama Kaito........You have indeed defeated God (me).
....

　After announcing this in a somewhat lonely voice, Shiro-san gave a small smile.

''Come on, it's time to wake up. Go back through that door with your heart in your hands. To your place, waiting for your return....
Yes.

　I nodded at Shiro-san's words and put my hand on the door... then I suddenly remembered that I hadn't said what I needed to say, so I turned back to Shiro-san and opened my mouth.

'.........White-san....
What is it?
Thank you.
....

　Shiro-san opened his eyes slightly at the words I told him and then smiled kindly.


Yes, thanks to Mr. White ... firmly.
That's good to hear.
So, Mr. White I'll see you on the other side.
Yes.