Chapter 293
Chapter 293
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 293
Chapter Title: The Great Secret (2)
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Armin nodded.
“That’s right. The reason Shirone was invited to the Kazra Royal Palace is because he possesses the Archangel’s ability.”
“I knew it. Those bastards! They weren’t just trying to find their biological son.”
Reina didn’t know about Heaven, so she couldn’t understand their conversation, but she kept quiet for the time being. It wouldn’t be too late to fill in the gaps after hearing the whole story.
Amy suddenly raised her hand.
“Wait a minute. But why did they try to kill Shirone? If Shirone dies, doesn’t Ataraxia disappear too?”
Armin’s lips tightened. A sharp point. But from the moment he decided to accept their help, he knew he couldn’t lie, so he spoke frankly.
“There’s a reason for that. The plan to kill Shirone was likely Arius’s idea. In fact, he probably wasn’t so determined at first. He likely just intended to infiltrate Shirone’s mind and duplicate Ataraxia. But he failed.”
“Why? Is it difficult to duplicate?”
“There could be several variables, but in my opinion, Ataraxia is not an ability a human can handle. Forcibly installing it at some point in the consciousness could drive a person mad. That’s why the original owner seems to have imprinted it in a very deep place.”
“A deep place?”
Armin raised his index finger.
“Stage One. It would be in the primal consciousness that governs instinct. If you plant something in the realm of instinct, it will be accepted as naturally as if it had always been there, no matter how bizarre the concept.”
Amy nodded. Things were finally starting to make sense.
Armin continued.
“Instinct is a safe space for the individual, but a terrifying place for an outsider. However, with Arius’s skill, it should be possible for him to dive into the primal consciousness for a short time. And it seems he has already tried. The fact that a door was installed proves it.”
“And yet, he failed to plunder it?”
“That’s the only way to think about it. It’s highly likely that it’s either protected by an encryption system that humans can’t solve, or it’s imprinted in the form of a capsule that not even Shirone can see inside. That’s why he decided to kill Shirone. The reason one can’t carelessly enter the primal consciousness is that the defensive instincts grow stronger the deeper one goes. Once the subconscious’s security system is triggered, even a world-class diver wouldn’t be able to escape and would drown.”
“I get it now. That’s why they aimed for Shirone’s neck…”
“Exactly. The human subconscious is rooted deep within the physical body. Therefore, if the neck is severed, the subconscious defense mechanisms collapse. Arius was aiming for that opportunity.”
Amy bit her lip, lost in thought. There was still one thing she couldn’t understand.
“Hey, something doesn’t add up. Even if Arius reaches Stage One after the subconscious collapses, what can he do there? If it’s not an ability a human can handle, he can’t use it even if he duplicates it, right? And he has no way of imprinting it on his own instincts like Shirone.”
Armin felt that the inevitable question had arrived. From this point on, the story was something that must never be revealed to the world.
‘I wanted to avoid revealing this if at all possible…’
But he couldn’t save Shirone without their help. To increase the mission’s chances of success, even by a little, they needed to understand this world.
“What you are about to hear is a top-secret matter, classified at the highest security level in any nation. Of course, no secret ever stays a secret, but I’ll tell you anyway.”
The two women nodded. They didn’t promise not to speak of it, because they understood Armin’s last words.
“The human mind… can be turned into an object.”
Amy blinked. The idea didn’t immediately register, and it felt somewhat anticlimactic compared to what she had been expecting.
But as Armin’s words gradually settled in her mind, she realized how preposterous a statement it was.
“So you’re saying the mind can become an object?”
Armin deferred his answer and asked an unrelated question.
“Have you ever heard the word ‘Drimo’?”
Reina shook her head first, and Amy followed with the same reaction.
Armin continued as if it were expected.
“Drimo is a multidimensional world of the mind. The human brain consumes energy to think. So, is thought energy? Some believe that energy is merely for operating the brain, and that thought is another concept entirely. A product created by energy. And that product must be discharged somewhere. That space is what we call a dream.”
“It’s a concept similar to the law of conservation of mass.”
“Correct. Drimo is a space you can enter from a dream if certain conditions are met. You could call it an imaginary complex where all thoughts gather. This leads to an incredible hypothesis. If thoughts can escape to Drimo, then conversely, thoughts from Drimo can be brought into reality.”
Amy asked with a dazed expression.
“Has anyone actually been to Drimo?”
“Of course. In fact, there have been countless people. They enter through dreams and then cleverly use the rules of equivalent exchange to smuggle things out. However, I’ve heard it’s not easy to smuggle concepts that don’t contain a powerful desire. In any case, that is how Arius plunders thoughts.”
“Wait a minute. Does that mean objects that have crossed over from Drimo already exist? If so, what on earth are they…?”
Amy’s eyes widened as she realized something.
“Don’t tell me, those objects are…”
Arius spoke with a bitter smile.
“That’s right. We call them Objets.”
Amy understood why Armin had been so intimidating. This was evidence that shattered the existing hypothesis that thought was merely energy.
“Literally, an Objet is the materialization of a human mind. That’s why the abilities of an Objet are based on extremely personal desires. Of course, within the realm of thought, there’s nothing strange about it. The problem is when it manifests in reality.”
Reina said.
“I know about Objets. A mage I know told me they are objects that violate the laws of the universe. But hearing this now, it seems they didn't know the full story either.”
Armin agreed.
“That’s likely. Very few people, even among the upper class or royalty, know about Drimo. It’s probably top secret, aside from the king and the dedicated department. An Objet may seem to ignore causality, but if you accept the hypothesis that thought is a type of matter, it doesn’t defy the laws of the universe. However, much about the interaction between reality and Drimo remains unknown.”
Reina said.
“Like .”
“Oh, you knew about that?”
Reina blushed and shook her head.
“No. I only know what it’s called. I went to a royal gathering as a musician, and I overheard a lot because of my sharp hearing. I’m sorry. I just spoke up because I heard something I recognized…”
Armin smiled as if to say it was fine and recounted the tale of . Amy, who had been listening with interest, shuddered at the final incident.
“Did that really happen?”
“The incident is real. However, opinions are divided on whether it was the act of a psychopathic family head or a phenomenon to balance the dimensions. The clear fact is that they experienced something unbelievable, and in the end, an Objet was left in that place. It’s possible someone in the family made contact with Drimo. I can’t reveal the conditions for going to Drimo, but the probability of entering by chance is not zero.”
Amy was curious about those conditions, but she thought it would be impolite to press further and held her tongue.
“In any case, the relationship between Drimo and reality is not something humans can predict. That’s why every nation considers the act of accessing Drimo a grave crime. In truth, Dive magic itself is not so bad. It’s used to treat patients with mental illnesses. You need a formal diver’s license for it. But Arius is abusing it. That’s why he’s called a plunderer, not a diver. Accessing Drimo is taboo in every nation. That’s why Arius is a Double S-class criminal, hunted by the entire world.”
Reina’s face paled.
“In a way… we have to face a truly formidable person.”
Armin admitted it wouldn’t be easy.
“Frankly, if he weren’t a criminal, he could be considered a truly brilliant intellectual. Diving is a task that requires immense intellectual capacity.”
Amy outlined the situation based on what she had heard so far.
“Let me summarize. Arius is after Ataraxia. He planned to murder Shirone to break down his subconscious and is currently heading for Stage One. From there, he’ll steal Ataraxia and go to Drimo. Then he’ll smuggle it back into reality. If that happens…?”
The mere thought gave Amy goosebumps. And that was precisely why Armin had come here, even going so far as to bind Keira with Stop magic.
“Correct. Ataraxia will become an Objet. The Archangel’s ability will become a tool that anyone can use. This is a truly grave matter.”
“…”
Faced with a reality they didn’t want to accept, the two women fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.
@
To be trapped in a time field does not mean one becomes a fool.
The acceleration of thought, emotion, and perception remains the same; only the speed at which they unfold is slowed.
Therefore, Shirone was still impulsive, and that impulse was developing into an even more intense impulse within the slow flow of time.
Similarly, the wire was digging into Shirone’s neck, embedding its powerful energy within the slow passage of time.
The sound of flesh tearing spread slowly, and even more slowly… the thin line etched on Shirone’s neck was stained with blood.
@
Flash!
The world outside the window was momentarily bathed in golden light.
Rumble! Crack! Cra-crack!
A thunderclap, loud enough to tear the heavens and earth apart, shook the world.
Amy stared out the window with a frightened expression. It was a violent natural phenomenon rarely heard even in reality.
She thought she was past the age of being scared of thunder, but upon hearing the cataclysmic roar, a primal human fear seized her heart.
“That’s truly incredible. It sounds like the thunder is striking right in front of us.”
Armin said as he surveyed the outside.
“The fear of death being accepted by the subconscious has risen to the surface. But this is actually quite mild. If an ordinary person were in this situation, it would have been pandemonium by now. It’s only because it’s Shirone that he’s holding on.”
Amy gave a sad smile. Unlike her, who had just been chided, Armin acknowledged Shirone.
What would it feel like to be acknowledged by such a great mage? That’s why it was so sad that Shirone wasn’t here.
‘Then again, all of this is Shirone…’
Armin warned himself against getting lost in sentiment.
“Even now, the wire is tightening around Shirone’s neck. It will get progressively worse, and he will start to collapse from the bottom up. The aftermath can be seen in the current state of Stage Eleven. Eventually, the minimum conditions for Arius to dive into the deep sea will be met.”
Amy quickly regained her sense of reality.
“Is there no way? A way to save Shirone.”
Stopping Arius and Zion wouldn't be the end of it. If the time field were released as things stood, Shirone would die instantly.
“As of now, there is only one way. We must also pass through the REM zone and delve into the deep consciousness. It’s already too late to undo anything in reality. But if we can plant something in the depths of his mind, it might be possible.”
Everything that happens in Shirone’s consciousness immediately becomes his own. The idea was to plant a method of response in his subconscious beforehand, for when the moment of crisis arrived.
“Like Ataraxia, are you going to implant magic?”
Armin scratched his head.
“That would be impossible. To be honest, I don’t know how Shirone came to possess that magic either. The Archangel must have had some unique method. But it’s impossible for us. However, if we go deep enough, we should be able to imprint a simple behavioral directive.”