[365] The Worst Project (3)
"Miro's spacetime sits balanced at a midpoint between Heaven and here. To make it simple, think of it as pressure. In the end, both sides exert equal pressure, pressing down on the maze. But what happens if one side's pressure suddenly vanishes?"
Imagining Gaold's words sent a chill through Shirone.
"Boom. The maze would go to pieces. That's why you can't take the maze out. The moment it builds a dimensional wall, it's trapped there."
"But Heaven's position is different, right?"
"Right. Heaven doesn't care whether the maze lives or dies. They can just smash the dimensional wall and roll in. The crack in Miro's spacetime is a perfect example."
"Is that even possible? The pressure must be enormous."
"If the archangels conspire, it isn't impossible. They wield forces from the very moment the universe began. Ikael of amplification. Kariel of birth. Yuriel of destruction. Everything nearly ended. But Miro is also a genius you rarely see twice in the human world. That's why she became Geopin's successor, I suppose. Anyway, if they patched the crack, she's probably fallen into a deep trance. If she can't come to on her own, the situation worsens. So we need to reinforce our side. That's where you come in, Shirone."
A heavy burden pressed on Shirone's chest.
There are countless powerful beings in the world. He couldn't understand why Gaold singled him out over all of them.
"What could I possibly do?"
"In ancient times the Nephilim guided humans to Heaven. But after Geopin's erasure, it turned out no pure Nephilim remained. All that's left are Geopin's relics. In other words, Heaven has no way to reach us except through Geopin's relics. So we—"
Gaold paused. It was the caution that comes when a secret known only to Kangnan and himself finally has to be told to a third party.
"We'll hack the Akashic Record and change this world's coordinates."
"Hack the Akashic Record...?"
It was such an absurd statement that Shirone didn't even have the bandwidth to form an opinion.
Above all, the Akashic Record embodies the law by which the whole determines the parts. Regardless of feasibility, meddling with it could have catastrophic consequences.
"Is that really safe? If we change the coordinates—"
If the meaning of a single parameter shifts, this world would be utterly different. People speak casually about Geopin's erasure, but no one truly knows what the world was like before it.
"Of course it could be a disaster for humanity. But that won't happen. We're not changing planetary coordinates."
"Then...?"
Gaold raised a forefinger.
"We're changing the primordial coordinates."
Shirone fell silent. It took him a moment to grasp what Gaold meant.
"You mean the origin of the universe?"
"Yes. The coordinates that add time to three-dimensional space—four-dimensional coordinates. Technically it's eleven dimensions, but anyway. If you change the primordial coordinates, events after creation remain the same. Heaven simply won't be able to find us anymore."
"Even if relative values stay the same, the absolute values change."
This wasn't like Geopin's erasure. They weren't resetting the world; they were changing the reset point.
Gaold nodded, satisfied that Shirone understood.
"Exactly. If the coordinates change, the pressure on Miro disappears. Then we take her out and escape. After that we seal all of Geopin's relics scattered across the world. Then it's goodbye to Heaven for good."
Only now did the plan start to feel real to Shirone.
Success was still far from guaranteed, but at least it was theoretically possible. And if something is theoretically possible, humans will pursue it.
We could avert the final war. No one would have to die.
Having reached that thought, Shirone asked, "If I join the project, what would my role be?"
Gaold liked Shirone's hypothetical phrasing. He had a habit of assuming worst-case scenarios, and that caution would help the team.
"The Akashic Record is in Ingris of Jebul. But Heaven can freely travel only from higher to lower. So to enter Jebul by force, we must go through Arabot."
Shirone remembered what had happened in Heaven. If Ikael hadn't invited him to Arabot, he would never have even reached Jebul, the angels' sanctuary.
"So the key is how to get through Arabot. Heaven's security is mostly built as a mecha system. We'll paralyze the mecha system and infiltrate Ingris."
"Is that even possible?"
Having experienced Heaven's mecha systems firsthand, Shirone found it hard to agree.
"We'll use the ancient weapon Tagis. It generates a powerful electromagnetic pulse. If Tagis intercepts them, it can briefly knock the mecha system offline. But there's one unsettling factor."
Shirone's face tightened. Removing that uncertainty would be his responsibility.
"The Akashic Record in Ingris reboots within two minutes via a backup memory device upon abnormal termination. In other words, we have only two minutes to change the primordial coordinates."
"And what about using Tagis on the backup memory device?"
Gaold laughed when Shirone voiced the same thought.
"We considered that. But the investigation showed the backup memory device isn't a mecha system."
Mecha systems are magi-engineering technologies based on electromagnetism, optimized to systematically classify the Akashic Record.
"If it's not a mecha system, then how is the Akashic Record stored?"
Something suddenly struck Shirone.
"You don't mean..."
Gaold nodded gravely.
"Right. Besides Ingris, Heaven has another Akashic Record: Anke Ra."
Shirone's heart thudded as he realized what Gaold was implying.
"Anke Ra is presumed to be the first lifeform to perceive the universe. It created Ingris for perfect control. As long as that thing remains intact, we're racing against time. But if the opposite is true—if it's neutralized—the mission's success rate shoots up."
Shirone let out a slow breath.
"Are you telling me to assassinate Anke Ra?"
Gaold waved his hand as if to dismiss the notion.
"No, no. You're very mistaken. I'm telling you to blow Heaven away."
Shirone's eyes snapped wide.
Destroy Heaven? Beyond being absurd, it made no rational sense.
He could vividly picture Heaven's enormity. How on earth was he supposed to vaporize Heaven?
"How do you expect me to do what the Chairman himself can't?"
It was a cutting question, but Gaold's eyes were full of conviction.
"You can do it. No—Ataraxia can do it. I didn't stop your attack because Ataraxia was weak. Your photon cannon was underpowered."
Shirone couldn't deny that.
Ataraxia's original wielder had been Archangel Ikael. She once amplified Galliant's volcanic activity twenty thousandfold and wiped out a whole Kergo clan in an instant.
"But that's the problem. Only I can wield Ataraxia, and it's impossible to boost the photon cannon's power dramatically in a short time."
"So I'm asking you: you might—perhaps—find a way."
Shirone grew frustrated. Gaold was so absorbed in the project he seemed to forget how to explain it plainly.
"Even if you put it like that, how—?"
"Shirone."
Gaold's gaze pierced him.
"You can. No, you must. Raising the photon cannon's power is one option. But if that's impossible, find another. Ataraxia is a magic stronger than any ancient weapon the Order possesses. Study everything about Ataraxia and find a method. Speeding down someone else's path doesn't make a genius. A genius invents what didn't exist before. You've developed countless spells from your own notebook. I'm betting on that genius of yours."
Gaold raised a finger.
"One year. In one year, develop a magic capable of dealing destruction greater than Heaven's durability. Ideally, take out all seven heavens. If not, at least produce enough force to prevent the mecha system from being restored."
Shirone was speechless. His mind threatened to explode with possibilities. Gaold, by contrast, returned to a calm expression and lit a cigar.
"That's all I can offer as the condition for acceptance. If you pull this off—or even seize a sliver of possibility—you'll be part of the vanguard in a year."
Shirone considered carefully. Then he played his last reserved card.
"Do you really think I'd do that? Risking countless subjects' lives?"
"Well. That's something to decide in a year. I'll judge then. Even if you refuse, we'll go to Heaven. I won't blame you. If you join the project, you become an enemy of not just the Temple but the whole world. And I can give you nothing in return."
"One condition."
Kangnan looked back, puzzled, at the near-acceptance.
It was a death-defying mission that bordered on impossible. Failure would make him a traitor to the world; success would yield nothing.
Yet Shirone's answer held no calculus.
Even Gaold was surprised.
'Nothing will sway you except conviction? Hmm… perhaps you might be my savior.'
Feigning nonchalance, Gaold tapped ash from his cigar.
"All right, say it. If it helps the project, I'll support it."
"If I have the ability to destroy Heaven, and if I reach that point—"
"Reach that point?"
"If I'm going to cast the spell, it has to be after I meet someone I must meet. If that doesn't happen, I won't do anything."
"Hmm."
Gaold wedged the cigar between his fingers and stared at the ceiling. He had a vague idea who Shirone wanted to meet.
—Ikael.
The archangel who taught Shirone Ataraxia.
Meeting her was a personal motive, of course, but now there was another compelling reason to make that meeting happen.
Whether it was possible was another matter. Factoring that in would greatly increase the operation's difficulty.
But refusal wasn't an option. If Shirone truly found a way to neutralize Anke Ra, the result would outweigh any rise in difficulty.
"I won't ask who. But why do you want to meet them? Is it worth turning the world into your enemy?"
Shirone answered with a question of his own.
"Why are you willing to risk making the world your enemy to save Miro?"
A puff of cigar smoke burst from Gaold's mouth.
"Heh heh, I get it. It's classified. Stay here for a while. I'll provide anything that might help. It'll help with school life, too. You'd like to graduate before you die, wouldn't you?"
"Thank you."
There was no need to refuse. Now that they were in the same boat, that much support was natural.
When the conversation ended, Shirone rose from the sofa and headed for the door. He held the doorknob and lingered in thought before speaking with difficulty.
"I've met Miro before."
"...Is that so?"
The answer was unexpectedly flat.
The hijacking by Miro in the realm of Infinity was something only Alpheas and his friends had witnessed, but Gaold, who had been tracking Shirone, had suspected as much.
'Did I bring up something unnecessary?'
Shirone's words had come from a sense of responsibility. Gaold's composed response might even mean Shirone had been more wounded than his calm showed.
"Then I'll go."
As Shirone pulled the door, Gaold asked, "Is she... all right?"
Shirone remembered that meeting.
It hadn't been pleasant. She'd tried to trap him in Miro's spacetime, and he'd only returned to his body after passing through a black hole.
Turning back to Gaold, Shirone smiled.
"As I heard, she's eccentric."
"..."
Shirone left and the door closed.
Gaold sat lost in thought for a long time, then snorted and stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray with a smile.
"She's a good kid."
Kangnan said in his usual cold tone.
"Yes. Different from the Chairman."