Episode 4: The Chapter of Conclusion - And Everything Becomes Clear

"The future begins with coincidence
--Was that choice inevitable?"

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If you have not read Episode 1: The Chapter of Beginning,
please be sure to start here first.
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Seven years have passed since that day.

Kai was still painting, just as he always had.

Though, his self from seven years ago would be surprised to see him now.

One of the world's largest art festivals.

His own work was being exhibited in its central hall.

Many visitors had gathered at the venue.

They stopped in front of the artwork, talked, and took pictures.

Everyone was enjoying the work freely.

Kai watched the scene from a little distance away.

It was a strange feeling.

He had succeeded.

That is what the world said.

But he himself did not feel that way at all.

Because the path that led him here was nothing but a series of coincidences.

Failing to get into art school.

The part-time job he started to make a living.

The editor from a small publishing house he met there.

A single sketch he drew by chance.

The fact that the person who saw that painting
introduced it to yet another person.

If even one thing had been missing, I wouldn't be here now.

It wasn't something I had planned.

It couldn't be explained by effort alone.

Life was made of more coincidences than I had thought.

"Mr. Kai."

I turn around.

A young reporter was standing there.

"Could I ask you for an interview?"

Kai gave a wry smile.

"Please, don't call me 'Mr.'

The reporter laughed too.

And then asked a question.

"What do you think is the secret to your success?"

Kai thought for a moment.

The afternoon sun was streaming in through the venue's windows.

Seven years ago, I would have answered like this:

Luck.

But now, it's a little different.

"Coincidence."

The reporter nods while typing into their device.

However, Kai continued.

However, it is not just coincidence.

What do you mean by that?

Kai looked out the window.

Transport ships flowing through the sky.

People coming and going in the city.

Each of them is living while making choices.

Coincidence happens to everyone.

But how you accept that coincidence is something you decide yourself.

The reporter listens in silence.

Kai said quietly.

It is not coincidence that changes life.

It is the choice to believe in coincidence and take a step forward—that is what I think.

The reporter nodded deeply.

Whether those words will become an article or not, I do not know.

But for Kai, it was his true feelings.

The interview ends.

It was when he was about to leave the venue.

Something in his bag suddenly touched his fingertips.

It was that book.

"The Future Begins with Coincidence"

An old book I picked up seven years ago.

I still carry it with me even now.

Kai opened the page.

The final handwritten sentence.

Words I had read many times.

"Even if the future can be predicted, the first coincidence cannot be predicted."

Below that, characters that hadn't been there before were emerging.

Kai's eyes widened.

He thought it was an illusion.

But it was certainly written there.

"However, it is humans who give meaning to that coincidence."

Kai laughed in spite of himself.

He didn't know who had written it.

He didn't even know if the text had truly increased in the first place.

But, strangely, he could accept that phenomenon.

He left the venue.

The city at dusk spread out before him.

That was when it happened.

The large screens throughout the city all switched at once.

The advertisements vanished.

People stopped in their tracks.

What appeared on the screens was a familiar name.

Moira.

A murmur spread through the crowd.

A simultaneous global broadcast.

It was an extremely rare occurrence.

Then, text appeared.

To Humanity.

Silence fell.

Followed by the second line.

I can predict the future.

The third line.

But I cannot create the future.

Kai instinctively looked up at the sky.

He remembered the research building from seven years ago.

That old man.

That night.

That question.

"Which one will you choose?"

Then the final sentence appeared.

"It is you who creates the future."

For a while, no one moved.

Before long, the flow of people returned to the city.

Those heading to work.

Those hurrying home.

Those walking with their lovers.

Those who stop, lost in thought.

Each of them moves forward toward their own future.

Kai closed the book.

If he hadn't picked up the book that day.

If he had followed Moira's predictions.

His life would have been different from what it is now.

Perhaps that would have been happier.

No one knows that.

Because the future is not just one thing.

Suddenly, a breeze blew.

The pages of the book turned.

Kai looked up at the sky.

Beyond the madder-red sky, the first star is shining.

Just like that day.

Was it a coincidence?

Was it destiny?

There is no one who knows the answer.

But there was one thing that was certain.

The future begins with coincidence.

And, what determines what lies beyond that is—

Always oneself.

《《 End 》》

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You can read the first chapter, 'Beginning', here from here

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Thank you for reading this far.
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