Chapter 190: Otherworld (?)

Once all stimuli vanished, I drifted aimlessly through the void.

Since this space didn't seem to exert much force unless I actively did something, I simply leaned back and kicked my legs, moving toward wherever the current took me.

Of course, in the process, my memories would occasionally slip away, or I’d forget what I had been doing just a moment before. Something massive and unrecognizable would glance my way before vanishing, but nothing major happened.

Or rather, nothing happened that significantly affected me. The environment itself was shifting by the second.

Islands plummeted from the sky. Stick-like figures floating within them watched me as they passed. A field made of nothing but countless shadow wolves appeared; they moved like undergrowth, tangled and entwined. At a glance, they were individual wolves, but upon closer inspection, they were like one giant field. They approached me, eyes gleaming, then parted to the left and right as if sensing I shouldn't be touched, leaving only the space where I stood empty before vanishing.

One odd thing was that they ran from my back toward the halo—from bottom to top... But then again, directions like that probably don't mean much in this space. Just as the "me" from a moment ago moved forward simply because I thought of it as "forward," the only thing that mattered was what I believed.

Huh. Is it really that simple?

"Hmm. Then a kid with a will strong enough to manifest Otherworld Erosion would find the Otherworld a bit more comfortable."

Since they would be changing the world to suit their own whims. Perhaps the reason I was drifting so peacefully through this space now was due to something similar. I was a bit stronger now than when I had first come to the Otherworld.

The woman from before, and these wolves just now... perhaps the reason they flocked together was that they lacked the individual will to fix the world in place on their own. That girl looked at the Mosaic Creatures as if they were vermin, yet that might be the very reason she led them around.

That’s a pretty decent thought, coming from me.

Thinking I might have actually hit the mark, I continued to bob along. I’d have to ask Al’shel when I saw him—whether my theory was right or not.

Amidst this ever-changing world, there was only one thing that remained constant. I stared at the halo adorning the far distance and quietly chewed on a date.

* * *

How long had I slept? By the time I had lost count and forgotten the very sense of time...

'Hey.'

A hazy voice called out.

I didn't want to get up. So, without moving a muscle, I simply opened my ears.

'...It’s almost impressive that you haven’t been swallowed even in this state.'

Swallowed? Was she talking about the things that had been clinging to me for a while now, trying to drain something?

'Right. Though it seems you just end up re-absorbing most of it. Regardless.'

She paused for a moment as if choosing her words, then spoke again.

'How long do you plan on staying here? You’re a nuisance.'

What was she talking about? I was just sleeping with my eyes closed.

'Fifty-six cycles. Because of you, the prey won't even come near this area; they all run away. Just go somewhere already.'

Even if she told me to go somewhere, my companions had to find me first. I was just waiting until then.

'You’re looking for someone else here? Are you insane?'

I have my ways.

'What ways? Can you tell me? I’ll help you with anything if it means you’ll get the hell out of here.'

I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell her this much.

"You see the green pouch at my waist?"

'What’s green? And what’s a waist?'

...

"The pouch that holds the things I was eating."

'Oh, you mean this. Ah, it looks delicious, but it didn't overlap. I don't want to be interfered with, either.'

"There’s magic on it. My comrades will find me based on that."

'Hmm. Magic, is it? I’ll take a look, so can you stop the interference for a moment?'

I didn't even know what this "interference" was.

'...Have you never been interfered with before? What are you, some kind of Star Maiden?'

That name reminded me of the Star Race.

'I don't know exactly what they are either. Just rumors that drift along the currents. Anyway, if you don't know what interference is... just try cutting off all your thoughts for a second.'

"I haven't been thinking anything because I was sleeping."

'That’s just not thinking. I mean cut everything off. Your existence. Your world. Your will.'

"Then what happens?"

'You won't be blended into your own world, and you'll fall under my influence, right?'

I had no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠idea what she was talking about.

'...I’ve never met anyone as stupid as you.'

Is she picking a fight?

A flicker of anger rose, but I was too lazy to move, so I just mulled over her suggestion. Ceasing to recognize myself as "me." Come to think of it, if my theory from earlier was correct, the reason I existed here was because my will willed it so. Then what would happen if I let go of that?

'You’ll go back to how you were when I first saw you. But even then, you were still here.'

Hmm. Did my immortality apply even when I didn't know what I was? If that was the case... fine. I’d cut it off for a moment.

the moment I thought that, everything began to shake.

Meat. Meat. Meat.

Magical Girl? Magical Girl. What is that.

You. Me. Us. Everyone.

The End and the Beginning.

Present. Future. Past.

What is a time axis?

The Hammer. The Hammer. The Hammer.

What is a world?

Singularity.

The Spectator. The Spectator. The Spectator.

Cheers. Cheers. Cheers.

Options. Cheers. Will.

Underground. The Spectator. Praise. The Planner. Doubt.

Self-awareness ceased. Every conceivable pain came rushing in.

My breath was stifled, my body was pulled, and I was crushed by something. Impacts felt from every direction; it felt as if my body was moving. All senses stopped, leaving only pain.

And then, I saw colors.

A red agony.
A golden pleasure.
A green of beautiful sounds.
A momentary white.
An eternal purple.

By the time all of it was being branded into my mind as sentences—

Tap.

The sound and sensation of something tapping my head. Simultaneously, everything returned.

"...You’re ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a monster, aren't you?"

A familiar voice, as if muffled by a thick fog.

...Is it over?

"Yeah. I didn't expect you to go berserk. I lost a terminal because of you."

At those words, I opened my eyes for the first time to see what had happened.

There was a room. A familiar living room. No, it wasn't familiar. It must have been twenty-eight years since I last saw it. Yet, the moment I laid eyes on it, the memory surfaced naturally. The place where I first made my contract.

Everything looked exactly as it did thirty years ago, but it was all cracked and shattered. It wasn't that the objects or walls were broken; the world itself was misaligned, like a reflection in a cracked mirror.

And inside that bizarre room, two beings existed.

There was me, clutching The Hammer with my arms crossed over my chest. And then there was that entity, merged with the shadows.

However, she was a bit different this time. Perhaps because there were no shadows around, her body had a blurred boundary with the surrounding world. It looked as if someone unskilled had cut a photo out with scissors and pasted it there.

There were two other peculiarities. Her boundaries were slowly fading, emitting black smoke, and one of her hands floating in the air had taken on a completely different form. Not the shadow-mosaic hand that suited her, but a human hand familiar to me.

"Ah, this? It’s interference. It’ll fix itself later. More importantly, could you get rid of this world?"

"Get rid of the world?"

"Right here. This residence. I’m blocking the interference for now, but if I leave it, I feel like I’m going to disappear."

"Then wouldn't it be fine if I just stayed? Looking back, you were trying to kill me too, so we're even."

"...If you don't want to see your comrades, then suit yourself. You probably won't find them for an eternity without my help."

Hmm. If it’s a threat, I have no choice. Actually, I didn't have any particular ill will; I just wanted to tease the being in front of me. It wasn't that I had yielded to the threat, either. It was just that when she said the word "eternity," her tone was subtly strange. Al’shel probably would have found me eventually; it just would have taken time.

"Truly. Truly. Truly. You are the worst. Meeting you was a mistake from the start."

"Think whatever you want."

Anyway, she said "world," right? I just had to cut it off the same way I had cut myself off earlier.

The moment I thought that—

Clink.

With the sound of glass shattering—a sound that didn't belong in this world—everything collapsed. The fragments glowed like shards of glass for only a moment. Soon, nothing remained but the void, with the Mosaic Creatures staring blankly at me.

"Fine. You kept your promise. Now it’s my turn."

As she spoke, she took the left eyeball held in her remaining hand and shoved it into her empty eye socket. With two eyeballs now set in her face, her empty hand reached out and grabbed the air.

Creeeeeak.

With a grotesque sound, the shadows surrounding her began to solidify. A massive spear appeared in her hand—a spear made of shadows, larger than she was.

She swung it and spoke.

"Sacrifice. The fifth child born in the alternating cycle."

Gurgle.

Somewhere in the distance, one of the Mosaic Creatures made that sound and collapsed.

"Sacrifice. The second parent born in the current cycle."

Crunch.

Somewhere else, a square shattered with that echoing sound.

【Opening】

【Amplification】

She shouted as she sliced through the air with her spear, revealing a blackness beyond. It was clearly the same black, yet it led to a place that felt even deeper.

"I’ve cut through the barrier ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blocking the signal. If you cross that, you’ll be able to meet your comrades... probably."

"I just walk through there?"

"Yeah. I’d appreciate it if you went quickly. I can't hold it for long."

Fine cracks began to appear on her face as she spoke. Square shapes started falling from her features, bit by bit.

She seemed to be overexerting herself.

Feeling a bit sorry for her, I stretched my stiffened body and slowly moved toward the boundary she had created.

By the way, a barrier, huh? Al’shel hadn't mentioned any warning like that.

Just before crossing the threshold, I gripped the edge of the boundary and looked back at her. Perhaps because it was almost over, a genuine emotion finally flickered across her face, which had been frozen in a stern expression. A pure emotion, not a manufactured one.

Anxiety.

'Next time, I need to be more careful when choosing my prey.'

I heard her muttering to herself from somewhere.

I see. Now I think I understand.

This being was likely creating a hunting ground—a hunting ground that isolated everything from its surroundings. She could easily pull other beings in, but it was the kind of hunting ground that was difficult to exit, to the point where she had to literally kick me out. I had just been unlucky enough to get caught in it.

In other words, despite all her talk about me being a "nuisance," this whole catastrophe happened from start to finish because she made a bad choice.

Still, I didn't feel like getting angry. It had been a more enjoyable stimulus than I expected.

So.

"Hey. You."

"What? Just go already."

To her, who flinched at my voice, I threw what was in my hand. Three dark-red, oval-shaped objects.

"A gift for the help. Do better next time."

Was she starving, just like the other Mosaic Creatures? She moved frantically, catching the three dates in her hands, and stared blankly at me as I crossed the boundary.

And the moment I took one more step past the threshold—

"...The Demon Train is coming. If you don't run away quickly, even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠someone like you will be devoured."

With her blunt, indifferent warning as the final word, I met a new darkness.