Inevitability [2]
I felt an intense sense of dissonance. It was just for a fleeting instant.
Snap.
Imagine there's a remote control that manipulates the entire world. If someone hit the mute button on it, wouldn't it feel like this?
The pleasant chirping of birds that had been swirling around my ears moments ago vanished.
The rustling of leaves in the wind stopped. Even the faint sounds from beyond the fence.
All those noises grew muffled, as if submerged underwater, then completely erased.
It wasn't just the sounds that disappeared. The wind halted, and the flow of air came to a standstill.
I don't know how I sensed it, but even the air flow had stiffened rigidly.
An eerily perfect vacuum state. And even stranger still, I was completely fine on my own.
Like time had stopped...?
"Wha—"
When a blocked sewer line clears, water gushes out.
When a massive dam collapses, billions of tons of pent-up water come crashing down.
A colossal creative energy that perceives time as a dimension. A tremendous presence that had concealed itself began to descend.
"Ah..."
In that moment, I instinctively knew. This was something only I could perceive.
The entire world had stopped... but I alone could perceive it clearly.
Vwooooooom....
The sun's light on that cloudless, bright midday began to fade in an instant.
The world's brightness dimmed sharply, and a massive aurora blending deep navy blue, mysterious purple, and brilliant gold engulfed the sky.
Colors beyond human perception. Yet somehow, I could see them clearly.
And the next moment.
Fwaaaah—!
From the tear in the ripped-open sky, a light so brilliant and pure white it could blind human nerves poured down like a waterfall.
The light didn't scatter into the air.
Instead, it coalesced, solidifying firmly toward the ground to form a massive staircase someone could descend upon.
"Holy... fuck."
All I could do was stand there dumbfounded.
The grand staircase of light, starting from the edge of the sky, crossed the heavens, pierced through the clouds, and began descending.
And it started moving slowly but with clear purpose.
Or, to be a bit more precise...
'Oh shit. It's coming this way.'
That enormous staircase of light was heading straight toward where I stood—not the Imperial Palace, not the academy, not the temple.
'What the...?'
At the very top of the light staircase, beyond the rift like a split dimension... a figure began to project.
It was a small stature, a familiar silhouette.
Beautiful features, and in that instant, I felt another wave of dissonance.
'...I've met her pretty often?'
Her presence was indescribable. The soft light emanating from her body outshone the sun in the sky.
Her silhouette sharpened gradually, revealing fluttering hair and facial contours.
'...'
I narrowed my eyes and shaded them with my hand. Of course, the light passed right through, so it was pointless.
It was definitely... a face I'd seen a lot. One I couldn't forget, maybe?
"Ah..."
And once again, the scenery began to shift. Like the world reassembling itself like a puzzle.
The viscous air melted away, and for a moment, it felt like the world was submerged in liquid.
Then, with a single blink, I was in my ideal haven.
The snow-covered cabin, that is.
Traces that had lingered only as images in my mind resurfaced.
A woman sitting in a rocking chair, eyeing me sideways with a smirk.
A girl sipping coffee by the crackling fireplace.
The girl who called me "mister," tossed cheeky jokes, and made me play the piano.
It was the Saintess. Though... probably just in appearance.
She—no, the Goddess—descended the staircase with light footsteps, click-clack, click-clack.
She must be wearing heels. That's what made that sound...
In the deathly silence as if the world had crumbled, only the clicking echoed.
'Should I prostrate myself on the ground?'
I seriously pondered it. What can I say... the situation felt so grave, yet it didn't feel real.
Too detached from reality to grasp it as such, maybe?
Anyway, that's how it was. I straightened my clothes and kept waiting in a daze.
The Goddess finally reached me. Our eyes met, and after a moment's thought, I spoke.
"Long time no see, Saintess?"
Whether she heard me or not, she just wore a subtle smile.
"Should I call you Goddess now?"
Was she listening or not?
It might be terribly irreverent, but I furrowed my brow slightly.
"Is the Saintess still alive in there?"
She finally reacted. She must have heard me. A faint smile spread across the Goddess's lips.
What was it... not exactly a divine, benevolent smile.
More like the soft, friendly, mischievous, utterly human smile she'd worn when teasing me at the cabin.
And then a voice echoed directly in my mind.
Bypassing my eardrums, striking my soul directly... a clear, lively youthful voice.
Do you remember, mister?
The words she'd said in the dream cabin, snapping her fingers...
I told you, right? That next time I'd bring an offer you couldn't refuse, something really tempting.
This was... that offer? It was absurd.
"Did you read the future?"
Nope. And I'm not as omniscient as you think, mister.
"Then?"
Hmm... well, we'll talk about that later.
The Saintess pressed her index finger to her lips, and the scenery shifted once more.
A second later, the Saintess and I faced each other, and the Saintess—no, the Goddess—spoke.
"It'd be no fun spoiling it too soon, right? Anyway... you deserve to hear it, mister."
"Hear what, exactly?"
"For example, how I accepted the Goddess right after the mana curse vanished, or the circumstances of her entering my body, things like that?"
"Sounds boring."
The Saintess nodded.
"Yeah, it would be. So... to put it simply, the result is."
"Things turned out as I foresaw? The Goddess entered the Saintess's body? The vanished Goddess returned?"
The Saintess nodded solemnly.
"And as I said, I'm not all-powerful, thankfully... so I didn't go insane or anything."
I listened intently, staring at her as if urging more.
"?"
"?"
"That's it?"
"Yes. That's it."
I glanced around. Outside, a beautiful snowy landscape unfolded.
"So, you're done here?"
"Not quite... It's been a while, and I've come all this way as a welcome guest. At least treat me to a warm cup of coffee."
I stared at her in disbelief, and she just shrugged like, what're you gonna do? I could only sigh.
"By the way..."
"Yes, go ahead."
"Is there some problem if I ask for details?"
"No, nothing like that. Want me to tell you?"
Seemed like no big deal. Curiosity piqued, I asked her to explain.
"Well... for starters, the Saintess and the Goddess are fully merged without distinction. Not like I died, as you were worried."
"When did I say I was worried?"
The Saintess pouted playfully, then the atmosphere shifted. A sense of dignity emerged?
And she—no, the divine being—spoke.
"The longer I remained in this world watching over my creations, the worse things got."
The Goddess's voice carried deep sorrow.
"The infinite source energy I emit forcibly raised the world's mana density, accelerating the system's overload. With me here... all life was doomed to the curse and destruction. The only thing its creator could do to prevent my creations' demise was to isolate myself—the cause—in a 'void space' beyond time and space."
It was the story I'd heard before. Hearing it confirmed as fact felt... strange.
"I spent eons in that empty void. It wasn't so bad. I could just skip time."
I couldn't help but be stunned by her casual tone. Like it was the most natural thing.
"I waited desperately for someone to appear and fix the glitch in the tangled system I'd left behind. But... bound by this world's rules, mana users could never repair the mana system itself. They were just components inside it."
"So you noticed me? A soul from another world?"
"Exactly. I once took note of pianos, for tuning when they'd eventually be perfected."
I smacked my lips and said,
"So my life was played by the Goddess's hand?"
"No, not at all."
The Goddess shook her head earnestly.
"A single action spawns countless parallel worlds. I merely rolled the dice."
"How many at once?"
"Roughly... thirty? And they all landed on six. Lucky me. Thank you. Truly."
"..."
"Now for the important part, right? Make your wish. Anything."
I pondered seriously. A wish? I didn't need anything grand...
"Call me 'oppa' first."
"...?"
The Goddess paused, then chuckled. And said,
"Iman oppa?"
"Hmm... not quite as nice. My wish is..."
"Your wish?"
"Happiness?"
I said it offhand, and she widened her eyes, repeating it.
"That's all?"
"Not like the monkey's paw, right? Won't turn me autistic or something."
"No, no. I half-expected it, but you really wished for this."
Just in case she misunderstood, I added,
"Not just my happiness—Rozina, Serika, Haruna, all of them included?"
"Of course I got that."
The Goddess closed her eyes briefly, then laughed like it was truly amusing.
"Ah... seriously, oppa's amazing."
"What... did you see?"
"Nothing. I just came to see oppa become 'happy.' Wow... it's something else?"
Did I wish wrong?
"No, no. It's perfect. Oppa and your friends—Haruna, Rozina, little sister Serika—they'll all have 'happiness.'"
The Goddess laughed delightedly and snapped her fingers.