The Harvester of Hearts
As I said before, Oze is not what you would call someone with multiple personalities.
Within Oze, all of you are always there at the same time. Aochi, Oomi, the three of you together are one person. Since boarding this ship, for whatever reason, he even summoned Kaori-san and Mamoru, the ones he himself killed.
Look closely. Each time you feel something, even if others see only one person, you should notice that many versions of yourself start clamoring inside.
They may seem to be unrelated individuals of different ages and genders.
But they are undeniably you. All of them live simultaneously within a single self. Interesting, isn’t it?
As for us? Such a phenomenon does not occur within us, cells of God.
And then, those versions of you fight and kill each other. When the main body decides one can live without another—or rather, when it judges one as a hindrance, as unnecessary—that is when it happens.
In Oze’s case, Kaori-san and Mamoru-kun must have become unnecessary as he grew into an adult. More likely, being with them interfered with his social life, so he killed them.
The separate selves also kill one another even without the main body’s awareness.
To Oomi, Oze had been “a stranger” until recently.
He lived long within Oze’s heart without ever making contact with the main body. Even if they shared memories, he had never spoken with the main body.
Yet instinctively, Oomi could tell which ones were a hindrance to Oze.
Those were the ones he erased. At least, until Aochi appeared.
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After meeting Aochi, that venom faded.
This time, rather than wanting to protect a main body he had never met, he leaned toward wanting to protect Aochi.
Because Oomi was constantly haunted by the dead he had killed, Aochi—who is naturally caring—could not leave him alone and paid him much attention.
As for Oze, the main body, he often remained alone. Pitiful, isn’t it?
As you know, that ship is made from the body of a Harvester.
During this voyage, we wait for the main body to choose who will remain as the final one. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the main body himself. He could even yield the seat of the main body to someone else.
Harvesters urge that there be only one person left aboard the ship in time for departure—everyone except me, that is.
Rhone’s method of forcing someone to drink his blood to kill themselves is out of the question, but in another sense, perhaps it is kind.
The main body’s sense of guilt would be lessened. He would not have to feel “I chose them, I erased them.”
Instead, he could believe, “The Harvester chose them. They died on their own.”
That boy who saved the bird with a heart stuffed with black cosmos noticed it immediately upon boarding the ship.
He realized he had to make the choice himself. Without burdening the Harvester, he decided in an instant.
He was a strong child. To say that strength is a battle with oneself is no mistake. It is true in the literal sense.
And now, about God’s nature.
That rule we are desperately resisting—that “only one can be taken to the next world.”
I told you before not to blame God. That was from the heart. And I want you not to blame Oze, the main body, either. From here on, he will carry an even heavier burden than you.
Let me add this to the story that a person saved by eating my heart will never meet again in the next world.
For Oomi, Aochi, and Mamoru, the next world will simply be a place where they cannot reunite with the others. They will probably allow new companions to dwell within themselves again.
The problem lies with Oze, the main body. If the Watcher Bird’s words are true, the main body will never again be able to create companions within his heart, no matter how many times he is reborn in the next world. In other words, he will always be alone.
For Oze, true solitude begins now.
If God comes this far, he will have two purposes.
One, to forcibly carry out the selection in order to save Oze, the main body, from eternal solitude.Two, to return me to his own body and release me from being a Harvester.
All Harvesters other than me—including Rhone—once the transfer is complete, are healed by God’s right hand along with the body that has housed the ship, preparing for the next transfer.
This time, God intends to relieve me of that role. Last time we met, God said to me: “Be my left eye. From now on, stay with me forever.”
I do not want to be God’s eye. Even while aware that what I am doing is cruel, I still do not want to quit being a Harvester.