This was something that had bothered Souta for a long time.
Even when Re:CREATORS finished airing, the anime never addressed why Altair didn't just resurrect Setsuna.
Her abilities in the anime were practically godlike!
She could literally create an entire world!
With powers that insane, reviving her creator should be easy, right?
Souta: "By the way, Altair, I remember that in your Holopsicon ability set, you have a piece called Causality Reversal, which allows you to rewrite existing causal relationships, right?"
Altair: "Yes, that's true. What about it?"
Souta: "Then why didn't you just use it to change causality and bring back the real Setsuna Shimazaki? Setsuna died because of suicide—if you simply altered that cause-and-effect chain, she wouldn't have died in the first place, right?"
Altair: "Souta, I must remind you—I may have Holopsicon, but I am not an omnipotent god. Since you seem to know my abilities, you should also be aware that due to the 'Restoration Force' of the real world, I cannot freely use all of my abilities. If I forcefully activate certain powers, I will be ejected from reality."
Souta: "Wait, hold on! That doesn't add up. In the story, you pulled a bunch of characters from different works into the real world and used the clash of their worldviews to disrupt the Restoration Force. But even after causing that disturbance... you still didn't bring Setsuna back? Why?"
Altair: "Fine. I admit it—I can't do it. Even with the Restoration Force disrupted, even with Holopsicon at full power, there are limits to how much causality can be rewritten. Reversing life and death in the real world... that's too far beyond my reach."
So basically, her powers were all hype, but when it came down to it, they weren't as broken as they sounded.
On the surface, Holopsicon seemed overpowered.
But in reality? It wasn't all that.
The more Souta thought about it, the more it made sense.
It reminded him of the endless debates he'd seen online back in the day—especially fan wars about overpowered characters.
For example, in Touhou Project, Yukari Yakumo's ability was "Boundary Manipulation." That sounded ridiculously strong.
So, naturally, Touhou fans took it to the extreme.
They completely ignored how much actual effort she needed to exert and just wanked her to absurd levels.
They'd claim things like:
"Yukari can manipulate boundaries! That means she can destroy the multiverse with a thought!"
It's like saying that if someone had the "nuclear fusion" ability, they could create the Sun.
When in reality, they'd probably just be able to make a small hydrogen bomb at best.
The power gap between those two things? Absolutely massive.
There's no way anyone could bridge that gap with pure wank alone.
In the end, it got so ridiculous that even Souta, who actually liked Touhou, started avoiding the fandom.
Some fans were just too much.
Souta: "So, in your world, when fictional characters enter reality, their powers are limited, right?"
Altair: "Correct. No matter how exaggerated a character's abilities are in their story, if the 'Recognition Force' from the audience isn't strong enough, they cannot use their full power in reality."
Souta: "I see. That makes sense."
Suddenly, he recalled something from the ending of Re:CREATORS.
At the climax, Altair met the fake Setsuna Shimazaki.
Then, using the Recognition Force she had accumulated, she rewrote the absolute 0.5 seconds that took Setsuna's life—and created a new world where Setsuna could continue to exist.
That only worked inside the story.
Even then, it required outside audience support.
If it was already that difficult to bring Setsuna back within a fictional framework...
Then in the real world?
It was completely impossible.
Realizing this, Souta completely dropped his idea of creating an overpowered character in the Re:CREATORS world to protect himself.
Even if he did create one...
If the Recognition Force wasn't strong enough, that character's powers would be nerfed into the ground and might end up weaker than he was.
Besides, even if he gathered all 8 billion people on Earth to boost a character's Recognition Force, it still wouldn't guarantee a broken ability set.
Meanwhile, his system could literally just...
Summon an actual Magic God from A Certain Magical Index to chat over coffee.
Not even a competition.
Of course, Souta wasn't stupid enough to actually do that while he was still weak.
But the sheer difference in power levels was obvious.
Altair: "Souta... I feel lost."
Souta: "Huh? What's wrong?"
Altair: "If everything I've done is simply part of a 'story,' does continuing on even have meaning?"
Tokisaki Kurumi: "@Souta. I finished reading your announcement. Your theories are quite interesting."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "@Altair. Altair-san, don't overthink it. Souta's theory is plausible, but whether our worlds are actually part of some nesting-doll structure isn't confirmed. Just take it as interesting information, but don't dwell on it too much."
Souta: "Kurumi's right. Besides, now that you've joined this group, your future is already different from what it originally was. You don't have to worry about following the old story."
Souta thought for a moment, then gave her a suggestion.
Souta: "For example, instead of fixating on revenge, why not try reviving the real Setsuna Shimazaki?"
Altair: "But... I can't revive Setsuna."
Souta: "Just because you can't, doesn't mean others can't. There are countless characters across different worlds—surely someone out there has the power to do it. Unlike your world, where characters need audience 'Recognition' to use their abilities, other fictional characters can fully wield their powers as they should."
Altair: "Souta... Are you saying there's actually a way to bring Setsuna back!?"
Souta: "Maybe. The multiverse is deep. Nothing is impossible."
As soon as Souta sent that message—
His system phone vibrated violently!
Even Shinobu, who was watching anime on the laptop, was startled.
A new system notification popped up:
[New Member Quest Triggered]
Mission: Resurrect Setsuna Shimazaki
Description: Altair wants to bring back her creator, but her power alone isn't enough. Friends should help each other—prove your loyalty and assist Altair in reviving Setsuna!
Reward: 10,000 Points
Note: This is a team quest for up to five people. Participants will be selected by the group leader.
This is actually possible!?