Babel (3): The Essence of Humanity
What is the essence of humanity? What makes humans human? I, who was once human and now was no longer, couldn't give a clear answer to that question, but I had a vague inkling.
What makes humans human. Humans who burn themselves out relentlessly, without pause or rest, during their fleeting lives—like matches set ablaze. At the root of that fierce existence and those raw emotions... surely lay desire.
Desire. The burning wish for something. What they crave differs from person to person, but one thing was certain. Humans lived lives charging forward heedlessly toward their desires. Even if a bottomless abyss yawned at the end of that mad rush.
After wandering the world for about a year, I returned to Babel. I'd swung by the Lizardmen's territories, traveled along the coastlines, even met humans venturing out to distant seas with their primitive navigation skills. It was all just a way to feel how rapidly the world was changing. Oh, right—speaking of which, I should drop by to see Thetis sometime. She might get upset if I keep putting it off. Thetis had a gentle personality, but it had been way too long since we'd met. A sweet-tempered girl getting mad is scary. Yeah.
Anyway.
"Why have you suddenly returned here?"
"Hm. Just... had some business to take care of."
"Business...?"
Tilting his head in confusion, the Hero walked with me toward the Temple of the Life Goddess. I wondered how many mana stones they'd collected in that year. If my guess was right, there should be a ton...
My expectations were promptly dashed.
"Hm. This much in a year."
"It is indeed more than before."
One box of decent size. For a year's worth, you might think it was impressive. But here's the thing.
According to my predictions—and the secret function I'd added to the inspector tool—it should have been at least five times this amount. I'd snuck in a feature to count the mana stones infused with fragments of darkness and report the numbers to me. Just in case.
Well. I'd planned to let it slide if they handed them over honestly. But now...
I couldn't just overlook this.
"Guess I need to pay a visit to the market."
"I'll set up a meeting for tomorrow, then."
"Nah, no need. Don't bother."
I stopped the red dragon child from contacting the market, then quietly made my way there. The Hero and the Beast God were stashed in a room at the Life Temple. I'd told them I'd be back after handling some quick business, so slipping away alone was no issue.
I cloaked my presence from prying eyes and strolled through the evening streets. In this era, once the sun set, the streets emptied out fast. Aside from the guards patrolling for security, you hardly saw a soul. And in this desert city, even firewood for torches was precious.
But Babel was the one city where magic using mana stones was freely wielded. Instead of torches on those pillars and walls, mana stone lights hung there—sources of faint glow.
A simple spell to make a bit of light. But in the pitch-black streets, even that tiny gleam felt precious, I suppose. Though to me, it just looked like a waste of money.
Hm. Once you decide someone's a sleazy bastard, suddenly everything they do looks shady. I knew that mindset wasn't great. But still, you can't help how you feel.
And so, I wandered the silent night streets—bathed only in that dim light, nothing else in sight—toward the massive tower looming in Babel.
Even after sunset, the tower buzzed with people working busily. Ignoring those on the first floor, lost in their tasks, I climbed the stairs. No human could sense me while I was cloaked anyway.
My steps didn't waver. Upward. Higher still. Up the spiral stairs of the tower, round and round.
My destination: the top. Following the trace of the merchant's mana I'd memorized from my last visit.
The tower narrowed like a drill the higher you went. At its tip, there was just one small room.
For a merchant who'd amassed vast wealth in a city before proper commerce was even invented, it was pathetically tiny. But size didn't matter.
What mattered was what was inside that room.
And there...
"Heh heh heh... Smooth sailing."
...was a small man swallowed by desire.
"The heavens must be aiding me. Just when my inspector tools were running low, she comes back to me. And she even fell for my slick talk, making me even more items to inspect."
Boxes stuffed with heaps of mana stones. Dozens of them piled up in the room.
In the midst of it all, the man picked up one mana stone from a box.
"Thanks to that, gathering these fragments has been a breeze. I suppose I owe her some gratitude."
He rolled the mana stone around in his palm, then pinched it between thumb and forefinger, bringing it to his nose.
And then...
"Sniiiiif."
Inhaling deeply, he stirred his mana. With it, something slowly seeped out from the stone—a tiny fragment of darkness slipping into his nostrils and body.
"Hoo. Good. So good. This power. This pleasure. This darkness keeps whispering to me. Heh heh... heh heh heh... At this rate... someday, I'll transcend humanity..."
"Hm. So that was your goal?"
I spoke in a cold voice.
"Wha—?! You?! How did you get here?!"
"How? Walked in the entrance and climbed the stairs."
While cloaked, of course.
"Guh. My staff should have blocked anyone from climbing the tower! Did you take them all down?! Babel's nine magicians?!"
What? Was there something like that?
Well, they wouldn't have sensed me anyway. Pointless.
"Let's skip the nonsense. So, all these are mana stones with darkness fragments? You've hoarded quite the stash."
I opened the lid of a nearby box and peered inside. Hm... definitely, tiny fragments, but they're there. And he's been snorting them like some drug? What the hell is he thinking?
"I told you to gather and hand them over, and you've been pocketing them. What were you planning to do with these... Fine. I'm confiscating them all. And your contract? Terminated."
"Kuh... ku ku ku. Guess I can't help it now that you've caught me."
His mana spread outward, filling the tiny room. Hm... for a human, that's an impressive amount. And mixed with darkness, no less. He's been using the fragments to boost his own mana? A mere human?
"Heh. How'd you even think of this? Those fragments are way too dangerous for a human to handle."
"Thanks to you. Ever since you told me about the darkness fragments in the mana stones, I've been researching nonstop."
"Wait, now it's my fault?"
"Not a fault—I'm grateful. Thanks to you, I can reach even greater heights."
The man flashed a sleazy grin and pointed his index finger skyward.
"These darkness fragments have been speaking to me. Telling me to gather them all. And to become a god."
"Become a god using those fragments? You're out of your mind."
Of course, humans could become minor gods with their bodies—some managed the underworld's layers, after all. But this? Using Erebos's fragments, the essence of the darkness god himself? Absurd. He'd be lucky not to get devoured.
"Out of my mind? Sure. No sane human would shove these into their body. But... aren't there those in the world who wield godlike power in human flesh?"
He pointed his index finger at me.
"The power to create anything. To make things from nothing. If a human like you can wield power rivaling a god's, why not me?"
Not my fault again? I'm not even human! I'm a dragon! I just look human right now!
"That's why I started collecting these darkness fragments. As the tiny pieces piled up inside me, I began to understand the darkness's true will, bit by bit."
Following his mana, darkness fragments seeped from the mana stones filling the room, flowing toward him.
"This darkness told me: become one. Gather us all and return to our original form."
"Heh."
The fragments had a will? They spoke? Bullshit. All that lingered in those shards were faint memory fragments. They couldn't form a will just by gathering.
If they did have a will... they'd owe me an apology first. For what he did. They'd have to beg forgiveness from me.
"Hoo... heh heh... I usually absorb just a little at a time... but this much... my body's gonna burst..."
The man's body began to change, dyed in darkness. His scrawny middle-aged frame thickened overall, muscles bulging visibly, his height stretching upward.
This was... just like an insect molting.