Chapter 312: Event Horizon-Trigger
Chapter 312: Event Horizon-Trigger
A Mana Storm enveloped the surroundings.
Two chairs faced each other.
Sitting in the opposite chair was a Magical Girl who looked exactly like me, staring back.
It had been a while since I last visited this place.
Normally, I would have snapped at her, demanding to know who the hell she was.
But it didn't matter anymore.
I had already obtained information from The Queen regarding who "they" were.
So, ignoring my other self sitting upon a throne that appeared to be fashioned from human bones, I threw myself onto a sofa. It was a ragged thing, riddled with holes that allowed the stuffing to poke out in clumps.
“....”
Silence fell.
Neither of us opened our mouths.
I remained silent because I had nothing in particular to say, but I wondered about her.
Since she could read my thoughts, she surely knew I desired silence. If I had to pick a question I wanted to ask, it would be why I was sent here at this specific timing.
However, I didn't feel like voicing that either.
The fact that she hadn't spoken despite reading my thoughts meant she had no intention of answering.
And so, time continued to flow.
After a period longer than any previous visit—long enough for me to wonder why I hadn't been kicked out yet—she finally spoke.
“...Thou mortal. A word, if I may.”
The version of me sitting cross-legged and leaning precariously on the bone throne finally broke the silence.
The moment I heard her, a massive wave of bewilderment exploded inside me.
Why the hell was she talking like that?
Thou mortal?
Who uses words like that in everyday conversation?
“When one’s form is carved away by the long flow of time, nothing can maintain its original shape. Even I, the immortal, am no exception. However, the past information—that our fundamental roots are one and the same—is not bound by time. Thus, we have met like this.”
...Good god, "mortal" and "immortal" weren't the only problems.
The way this girl talked was just plain cringeworthy.
“Dost thou not think it problematic to judge me with words born of such flippancy? While it is somewhat intriguing that my past self might have been the same, that is not the primary ideology of this gathering. Since thou hast taken a step forward, the number of books thou canst unfold has increased accordingly. To think the day would come when I must thank The Queen of Contradiction dwelling in chaos. That she would be the guide for thy footsteps.”
Creeeak. Crack.
As she spoke, her appearance began to shift.
From a Magical Girl who looked exactly like me...
Her silver hair turned into a parched, lifeless gray, withered by the ages.
Her glowing red eyes became violet flames flickering within hollow, empty sockets.
The white and Blue Magical Girl outfit I always wore, adorned with various metal ornaments, transformed into a gray tailcoat decorated with black bones.
“...There’s a limit to how much you can overdo a concept.”
Gray hair, glowing eyes, and a bone-adorned tailcoat.
I could tolerate that much, but there was one element I absolutely could not stand.
Leaning against her throne was a massive scythe decorated with skulls.
It was likely her weapon.
Actually, looking closely and being pedantic, it wasn't exactly a scythe.
It was a weapon where the claw of The Hammer was so absurdly large that it looked like a scythe; depending on how you looked at it, you could still call it a hammer.
Scythes aren't exactly practical weapons for combat to begin with, but compared to that thing, a regular scythe would probably be more efficient.
From the weight distribution alone, I couldn't even fathom how one would swing it.
Since it looked impossible to actually cut anything with the blade-like part, if she actually used it in battle, she’d probably end up using the skull-decorated side to bludgeon things in some freakish fighting style.
“A 'concept,' thou sayest. Expressing one’s individuality was something I once pondered. Even to my own thoughts, my current form is nothing short of excessive. However, if one wishes to inform others of their existence, it is vital to match their appearance to the universal expectations of the masses to convey information without wasting time. Even if one escapes the path of mortality, time remains a precious thing.”
This is driving me crazy.
Her sentences are so long I can barely understand what she's saying.
Please, swap her out for someone else. Why is this the one running her mouth?
However, the Mutant before my eyes did not change.
The fact that they stayed quiet despite reading my thoughts meant none of them had any intention of switching.
Fine, then. Let’s try being as sarcastic as possible.
“What, did another version of me know how to use magic? Did you reach the pinnacle of necromancy and become a Ruler of Death or something?”
Or maybe she just went insane from killing people with a hammer and started running around spouting nonsense like, "I am Death itself."
“Indeed. My specialty was necromancy. However, as thou canst deduce from my presence here, I too am but a broken branch sprouting from a failed choice. Thus, my power—capable of commanding armies of hundreds of millions and overlaying six Pandemoniums upon the world—is nothing to boast of.”
...Armies of hundreds of millions? Six Pandemoniums?
A bunch of incomprehensible, bizarre terms were flying around, but that wasn't the important part.
The point was that this version of me could use magic.
What the hell? Am I the only one who can't use magic?
She uses necromancy?
Give me magic too!
“Nay, thou art not the only one. Hmm. Being one who is entangled in the loop of infinity and has laid eyes upon The Sea That Will Come Someday, it seems thou canst endure this for a brief moment.”
It was clearly an answer to my question, but it was such a bizarre response that I wondered if she had even understood what I asked.
Seriously, swap her out.
This was the first time since meeting these versions of myself that I’d found one capable of speaking at length without restrictions, so why was she spouting things even more incomprehensible than the others?
In the first place, didn't she call me here because she had something to say?
Where did the reason for my summoning go? Why is she just rambling?
“That, too, is one of the changes born of moving forward. Direct speech is merely a curiosity to draw the gaze of those above, whose ears itch for entertainment.”
...Isn't that The End?
Even if she's speaking indirectly, is it really okay to just blurt that out?
Despite mentioning a subject that everyone else avoided, she remained unchanged. She might be on a completely different level from the other versions of myself I’d seen so far.
Enough to be perfectly fine even after speaking boldly about The End.
“Can I ask one thing?”
“As much as thou desirest. I can show thee the book thou seekest. Unlike the others.”
“How many years has it been for you?”
“The starting points are countless. From which signpost dost thou measure the distance?”
God, her word choices are the worst.
“Since awakening.”
“In the calendar of my long-destroyed homeland, I ceased counting after five thousand. For I could find no meaning in it. To unfold one more piece of information—as thou mightest guess from being here—I did not reach the conclusion of the story. This is information that should not be revealed, but what power do the universal voyeurs have to do anything about it?”
Crunch.
The moment she said that, a portion of the skull throne she was sitting on crumbled.
It was as if it had been struck by a hammer I couldn't perceive.
“...Hmm. They show quite a hypersensitive reaction. As thou hast seen, those voyeurs have foul tempers. Most notably, there is that cowardly Hero of justice who settles for reality.”
Boom!
With a massive sound, the backrest of her chair was blown away. However, the self-proclaimed god of death didn't react to the phenomenon at all. She simply waved her hand to summon more skulls and fashioned a new backrest for her throne.
“I have never once referred to myself as a god of death.”
“Ah! Is that so?”
You were picking only the weirdest things to do, so that's just what my brain came up with.
Anyway, to think such a bizarre being shares the same roots as me.
My potential is seriously messed up.
“Strictly speaking, the foundational conditions were different, so that is another story. Though our essence was the same, I was female from birth. And I do not enjoy alcohol much.”
Fine, you're a different person from me.
“Only the essence is the same. What The Hammer guides is not the same individual, but those who share the same essence. Beings closer than any stranger, yet more distant than oneself.”
Oh, is that so.
Honestly, what she was saying was beyond my mental capacity to grasp, so I had no idea what she was talking about.
I didn't know why I was summoned here, and it didn't seem like this god of death had any intention of teaching me anything useful.
“Just let me out, will you? I’m busy fighting my adversary.”
“For the sake of eternal defeat? Thou art not busy. It is I who am busy. However, it would be wise to write my idle tale within thee.”
Saying so, she slowly rose.
She stood from her throne with an elegance that made it impossible to believe she was a being similar to me, and she walked toward me with a leisurely pace.
“No, there was a slight error. It is not my story.”
Thump.
The Hammer-scythe she held struck the ground.
“It is 'our' story.”
Thump.
From the spot where The Hammer-scythe struck, a massive power surged forth.
A power even greater than the crimson 20-second burst that I struggled to even hold.
...Did she say five thousand years?
Those weren't empty words.
But why show me such immense power?
It wasn't to attack me.
The delicately controlled force passed over me without causing any impact, disappearing into the distance.
Unable to tell what this power was meant to do, I stared at her expressionless face for a moment.
“The second? Oh, that guy.”
“I don't know because I lost to the first one. Is he that tough?”
“Oh, he’s tough. Most of the versions probably failed at the first or second.”
“What, you had the Eye of The End.”
“You think that’s enough?”
“Uh, excuse me. What are the 'first' and 'second'?”
“You wouldn't know, since you died an hour after awakening.”
“Hey, I told you that wasn't my fault, you bastards! And frankly, you guys are weaker than me.”
“I can't hear the words of a moron who exploded because he couldn't control his power.”
“Can everyone just shut up? You guys are awfully loud for people who haven't even seen the ■th.”
“You shut up too. I passed the ■th and still failed, okay?”
“Wait, that thing was actually beatable? It seemed impossible to me.”
“If it wasn't beatable, would we be here? I want to rest too, but I was dragged here by that damn hammer. I never thought I wouldn't be able to retire even in death.”
“Everyone, smile! Everything’s fine if you just smile!”
“Someone grab that psycho.”
“He passed the ■th too, so it’ll be hard to stop him.”
“Huh?”
A massive cacophony poured into my ears. When I turned my head, the Mana Storm that had surrounded me was gone.
I was sitting in the middle of somewhere.
A place that looked like a lecture hall.
There were tiers of seating, allowing everyone to look down at the center.
Unlike a normal classroom, the seats were arranged in a circle, surrounding the middle.
...A perfect word came to mind.
A Colosseum.
But the people sitting in the audience were bizarre beyond belief.
Countless individuals—so many it felt infinite—sat in chairs of all different designs, looking down at me.
They were all talking at once, their gazes fixed on me.
On me, sitting in the center, dazed.
Because a torrent of countless languages was washing over me, I couldn't catch a single thing.
“Is it the quark-sized conscience of those loathsome high-and-mighty ones? It seems they’ve agreed it’s not a rule violation since I used my own power. There’s no reaction.”
The one closest to me.
Only the voice of the one who had cleared the Mana Storm could be heard clearly.
“...What is this?”
“I would like to explain, but my time is almost up, so I shall skip the commentary.”
A time limit.
That was definitely something that came up every time.
“Since I am feeling generous, I shall answer quickly. The second repeats. Everything from the beginning. But it is not perfect. This is not due to a mistake or inherent limitation. If everything were perfect, one could not obtain what they desire; thus, it is an intentional imperfection.”
Wait, what are you saying? Give me a moment to remember this.
You were wasting time with meaningless sentences until just now, and now you're dumping information because you're in a hurry?
“It matters not if thou canst not remember it all. Thou wilt not remember this conversation anyway. That is likely why those beings are not interfering in this situation. Thus, I shall continue with peace of mind. Because of that imperfection, the second can obtain what they desire, but conversely, that acts as the second’s weakness.”
“Anyone! Is there anyone among you sitting there who can give a more normal explanation than her?”
I gave up on trying to understand the woman in front of me and shouted.
But my other possibilities, chatting noisily among themselves, paid no heed to my words and simply continued their own conversations.
“Time is up. Then, when thy mortal existence is extinguished, let us meet again. Ah, this is a bonus. The blade known as a 'powerful event' leaves a wound. A wound that others cannot touch. This time was meant to carve that wound.”
Click. Click.
Along with the sound of gears, my consciousness began to be dyed in black.
* * *
Perhaps it was because of the sunlight reflecting off the windshield.
My train of thought cut off for a moment.