Chapter 215: What Does a World on the Verge of Destruction Look Like? (1)
Imperial Year 378, July 4th.
I don’t know who brought it up first, but recently a problematic topic has emerged among me and my colleagues.
“How do we destroy the world?”
Truly, it’s a perplexing subject.
Although it’s a hypothesis, we’ve concluded that Artshever desires the world’s destruction, but even Aila couldn’t grasp the method he’d use.
Regarding this question, she said:
“Come to think of it, I don’t really know because I haven’t approached it from a methodological standpoint. This world isn’t some anthill, it’s not weak enough to be destroyed by simply overturning it. I do think that bastard has his own method, but I can’t even begin to guess. To begin with, I can’t even find a clue as to how I froze time. It’s just a matter of disrupting the world’s balance, but if you ask if that’s the path to destruction, then the answer is no. The world’s self-recovery and self-purification abilities are powerful, even if they aren’t noticeable.”
My thoughts are the same. If the world could be easily destroyed by one person’s ability, it wouldn’t have lasted this long. But if I simply say ‘I don’t know,’ wouldn’t that be irresponsible?
Al said this about the question:
“Just kill everyone.”
He’s saying that if you kill everyone living in this world, wouldn’t that be the end of it? But I don’t know which is more unrealistic, the world being destroyed or the entire population of the continent dying.
On the other hand, Levidian brought up a more fundamental comment:
“Seriously, do you think that’s even possible?”
Right now, even she’s questioning that point. Huh. Since the question started with the premise that it’s possible, her question wasn’t very helpful.
Joey, the owner of monstrous strength who lives in a world less robust than ours, scratched his chin and said:
“I think the world would be destroyed if the gods abandoned it, but what fool would starve to death with a feast laid out before them?”
I nodded, thinking his analogy was correct. He was saying that the gods, who live off faith, would never destroy this world and starve themselves to death, or commit suicide, or whatever you want to call it.
Namias, who was eating grapes next to Joey, commented succinctly in her usual manner:
“Impossible.”
Ah, yes. A devout believer, indeed. I applaud her strong faith that the world will not be destroyed as long as the Light does not abandon it.
Finally, feeling like giving up, I looked at Lucy. This cheerful, sometimes bizarre, and always woman-hungry mage, unlike other mages, spoke with a serious face:
“It’s not entirely impossible.”
Ah, of course you would say that. It’s not entirely impossible, what?!
“What did you just say?”
“I said it’s not impossible. Even diamonds shatter when hit with a hammer and burn when exposed to extreme heat. Everything in the world has its own way of being destroyed. This world is no different. You can’t just say it’s absolutely impossible.”
Lucy wasn’t joking. Then suddenly, I dredged up an old tale from the depths of my memory.
The villains who scream their last words while being defeated by the righteous heroes are usually evil ‘mages.’ Mages are said to be the most prone to madness among all professions in the world, right?
He said:
“Actually, mages are the ones who are closest to the destruction of the world. Because our job is to manipulate the world’s elements, creating, destroying, and modifying them at will. You know how they say powerful mages can even freeze time around them? Mages are the first to realize how easily manipulated this world is.”
And he wore a rather worried expression. Right now, he was speaking entirely as a mage. The absurd thought crossed my mind that maybe today was his once-a-year day of sanity.
“But there are those who can underestimate these mages. To be precise, there’s only one person right now.”
“One person?”
“Referndi. That red-haired woman. Her specialty is Fundamentals. And those Fundamental elements exist in this world as well. If you delve into the fundamentals of things, you’ll eventually reach the fundamentals of this world. What would happen if you changed the fundamental element of this world, which is currently ‘Existence,’ to ‘Destruction’? This world would inevitably be driven towards destruction, no matter what.”
Lucy said that much and let out a small sigh, placing his clasped hands on his knees. In that posture, he delved deeper into the topic.
“First of all, everything except the Primordial One is governed by time. You’ve heard of it, right? The fundamental law of Creation-Maintenance-Destruction. That’s why destruction will eventually come to this world as well. But a Fundamental mage, especially one of an incredibly high level, could hasten the destruction of this world through extensive preparation.”
Suddenly, I feel a chill run down my spine. When we conquered the Pelasia Plain, Artshever came to me and made a bet. He said then:
That he had something else to ask Referndi to do.
I couldn’t even imagine what it could be at the time, but after hearing Lucy’s words, I’m getting goosebumps.
Could it be……? No way, right?
“First, I acknowledge that the world isn’t that weak. Mages can use magic because they recognize how easily manipulated this world is, but they also trust in its robustness. However, the Fundamental system breaks down even that robustness. On the other hand, the Spatial system is a bit more difficult, I think. It only utilizes Creation-Maintenance from the absolute laws. But the Fundamental system uses Creation-Maintenance-Destruction, all three.”
According to Lucy, the existing 9 schools of magic and the lost 15 schools of magic all utilize this Creation-Maintenance-Destruction. Among them, only the Fundamental school utilizes all three stages. Usually, they only apply two out of the three.
Aila nodded as she listened to Lucy.
“Indeed, if that’s the case, I see a possibility. I can combine magic and superpowers to cause specific phenomena in a certain area. However, the preparation period becomes incredibly long. The larger the ritual, the longer the preparation time. And it’s inefficient, so I don’t do it. Why do you think alchemy failed? You can create gold, but the cost is higher than the gold produced. But if it’s the destruction of the world…… it’s a reward worth the effort.”
Aila’s appearance as she strokes her chin, as if it’s truly worth trying, sends shivers down my spine. It’s definitely a playful gesture, but the weight of her words is anything but.
“So you’re saying the world could be destroyed?”
“Perhaps. I can’t guarantee it.”
“Since the situation has come to this…… Ah, do you think if we contact Mr. Dragon, he might give us some clues? We’ve already figured out as much as we can, so he might add to it or give us some hints.”
People nodded at Aila’s words. And I gently touched Brandione, which was hanging from my waist. His omniscience would relay our conversation to him almost in real-time as soon as we finished talking.
Brandiego, did you hear everything? Do you have anything to say?
「It seems you’ve already reached a conclusion.」
He doesn’t specifically talk to me, but he always answers when I ask him a question. He truly has the attitude of a well-prepared counselor.
We’ve concluded that we need to stop Artshever. It’s fine to replace the word “stop” with “kill,” right? But isn’t our conversation a bit absurd?
「If you’re talking about the possibility of the world’s destruction, I’d say it’s entirely possible. Since the creation of nearly infinite parallel dimensions, the gods have taken the stance that it doesn’t matter if one or two worlds are destroyed. I think they’re giving autonomy, but thanks to that, humans destroying their own worlds is more common than you think.」
Common? How common is it? No, to begin with, are worlds that easily destroyed? We’re thinking about it from our own perspective, but would it really be that easy to destroy?
「Easier than you think. For example, with the skills of your mage friend over there, he could destroy the world in about 50 years. The method is simple. Just summon sunlight into the sky without any filtration.」
Huh? Sunlight? What kind of filtration are you talking about?
Thanks to Brandiego’s kind explanation, I learned that sunlight is originally unimaginably hot, and that the thick layer of air in the sky weakens that light considerably, making it the life-sustaining light we know today. There was also a strange word called “atmosphere,” but let’s just skip that.
「Anyway, the gods are extremely lenient about the destruction of one or two worlds. Rather, they should be happy to be able to obtain samples of how worlds walk the path of destruction. In my lifetime, I’ve seen at least a thousand worlds destroyed.」
It would be easy for a dragon, connected to its counterparts in other parallel dimensions, to sense the destruction of a world. But to speak so lightly about a world’s destruction, as if it were the closure of some shop, is difficult to understand with human sensibilities.
Hmm, then I guess we have to acknowledge the possibility of the world’s destruction. So, is Artshever really planning to destroy the world?
「Remember what I said about his existence when you first met me? If you realize that, you won’t need to ask me again.」
Huh? What did you say back then? It was three years ago, there’s no way I’d remember it that clearly, wait a minute. Brandiego, can you hear me? Hello? You should say goodbye before you go! Hello! Hey!
I frowned. This person, no, this dragon, should at least say goodbye before leaving. What am I supposed to do when he suddenly pops out and then disappears without a word!
“Risel, what’s wrong?”
“No answer?”
“It would have been better if he hadn’t said anything at all……”
I roughly relayed the conversation I had with Brandiego, and after instructing Al to hit Lucy on the head as he stroked his chin, saying it sounded doable, and a faint scream echoed, I fell into thought.
What did Brandiego say about Artshever?
Meeting the dragon is one of the most intense memories of my life. I think I remember everything from that time. But no matter how intense it is, it’s bound to fade with time.
It was a story from three years ago, and I’ve been so busy in the meantime that my memory tends to be a bit buried. I brushed away the thick dust of oblivion from my memories and began the restoration process.
Meanwhile, the people gathered around chatted amongst themselves.
“So, if we just occupy the Imperial Capital, the war will be over?”
“Generally, yes. But war isn’t just about battles ending. There’s post-war processing, reorganizing the system after occupation, and finishing up the restoration. It’s been a war with remarkably little damage, but there will be aftereffects.”
“But, Noona, the amount of supplies consumed this time is quite significant, isn’t it? I’m worried if there will be anything left for post-war recovery.”
“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that. The place we’re going to now is the Imperial Capital, and there are many nobles there. We’ll just squeeze it out of them. It’s the misfortune of those who couldn’t surrender. You know what happened to the Salain Dukedom’s assets, right?”
“They were completely cleaned out.”
“Al, I think the expression ‘cleaned out’ is inappropriate. It’s the conqueror’s right.”
“But we didn’t get anything out of it. Tsk. That Duke’s mage was a mediocre fellow, wasn’t he? I thought I’d get to touch something shiny this time.”
“Like this?”
“Aila, don’t use Will of Destruction for something like this.”
“Yes-! Mom!”
“Stop calling me Mom.”
“Ah, come to think of it, Aila is Risel’s future daughter, right? Hmm, her parents are going to have a hard time. Having a child like this.”
“It’s a mountain of worry.”
“Wait! Mr. Lucy, if I’ve been neglected because of my dad and mom, I’ve never been neglected because of me, have I?”
“I can’t say that’s not true.”
“Ugh……!”
“Ooh! Al, that was amazing wit! As expected of my friend!”
“But I’m curious, Noona Aila, you said you’d go back after the war is over, right? Is it because it would harm the Noona who will be born in the future?”
“Well, there’s that too. Once the war is over, I have nothing left to do here, and it would have an adverse effect on the me who will be born in the future. Not materially, but supernaturally. In the worst case scenario, my soul could transfer to the child that will be born, but that’s unlikely, and even the best case scenario isn’t something I consider good.”
“What kind of scenario?”
“Well, Mr. Lucy, think about it. How would you feel if a child was born and, by the age of three, had the intelligence to outwit you?”
“I’d want to die. Ah, is that the best case scenario? Being influenced by an already mature, identical consciousness?”
“To be precise, it would be a Resonance Phenomenon. In Artshever’s case, it seems like he’s somehow preventing it, but originally, multiple identical beings cannot exist in one dimension. What was it called? That dimensional something restriction.”
“Restriction on the Coexistence of Multiple Unique Entities within a Dimension.”
“Ah! That’s right, Namias! That’s it. Except for dragons, ordinary people living in parallel dimensions are prevented from influencing their counterparts in other parallel dimensions. That’s why travel between parallel dimensions was prohibited in the first place. I’m fine because I haven’t been born yet, but Risel’s situation is a bit more complicated. However, based on my long observations, it seems like the Resonance Phenomenon has been suppressed as much as possible.”
“I still find this kind of talk difficult to understand. I have a feeling this Resonance Phenomenon is quite dangerous, is that right?”
“Yes. I envy your sharp intuition, Unni. This Resonance Phenomenon is quite dangerous. Because they are the same being, they can clearly feel each other’s thoughts, and if this progresses, the distinction between the self and the other disappears. In that case, the two become completely identical beings. Because it violates the Restriction on the Coexistence of Multiple Unique Entities within a Dimension, it merges two individuals who could be called different into one.”
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