[176] 2. Geuffin's Gate (3)
"The current head of that faction is Chieftain Kadum."
Shirone recalled the two kinds of looks he'd felt at the banquet. The elders who welcomed the Unlockers were probably the angel faction; those who glared were the anti-angel faction.
By that measure, Hasid, the chieftain's father, was anti-angel. So was Mahatu.
"Chieftain Kadum is ruining Kergo. It's ironic coming from me—a trafficker in Ruuf—to say this, but I don't think you should entrust a tribe's fate to a messenger of God. In fact, I'm of the anti-angel bloodline; I was meant to be born a slave. You must have heard about the human tours the Galliant Autonomous Government carried out. Most of the victims were from the anti-angel faction. My mother was also abducted by outsiders."
Amy decided to let go of the last sliver of resentment she harbored toward Mahatu. If his parents had suffered that, his hostility to outsiders was understandable.
"A hundred years ago the Kergo tribe was shaken by the encroachment of civilization. When the Galliant Autonomous Government began hunting humans, the anti-angel faction's fury boiled over. It felt like a third civil war was about to break out; destruction seemed inevitable. But someone turned it all around. To stop reckless flights to heaven, they designed the Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice and ended the strife. That person was Miro."
Shirone pictured Miro. He had sometimes felt a chill from the way her eyes shifted with sudden emotional changes. Yet before entering Miro's timestream, she had been a very human person.
"Even now there isn't total peace. But it's far better than it was then—thanks to Miro. If not for her, I would still be nothing but a slave."
"Where is Miro now?"
Shirone knew she lingered in an intermediate plane of Istas. Still, he also suspected she might exist everywhere at once.
"After designing the Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice, Miro entered Guphin's Gate. I wasn't there, but I heard she left word that she was going to meet Guphin."
Amy frowned. "Wait—Guphin was from two hundred and fifty years ago, right? How could she meet him?"
"I don't know. But that's what the records say."
Shirone found that entirely plausible.
To have installed Guphin's Gate was to be an Unlocker skilled in scale magic. If Miro excelled at spatial arts, perhaps Guphin excelled in time.
Armin, the Eternal Contemplator, came to mind. He had used stop magic to meditate for over a century; it wouldn't be strange if Guphin, by some means, still existed. Even Archmage Arkein hadn't held on biologically for a century and a half.
Kanis wasn't curious about Miro personally. But the Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice she designed was a key clue to who would ascend to heaven.
"Then where are the people who passed through Miro's timestream waiting? Now that Shirone's come, shouldn't they go with him?"
On reflection, Shirone wanted to know too.
Those who proved themselves inside Miro's timestream—if any still remained here, they might yield more clues.
"Whether companions go is up to the messenger of God, but currently there is no one. The last team left for heaven two years ago and never returned."
Two years ago. That was shocking. People were heading to heaven more often than expected.
Kadum had hidden that fact because he was of the angel faction. He wanted more of his people to go to heaven.
Amy asked another question. "All the Kergo believe in Ra, right? How could a faction arise that opposes the angels?"
"I'm anti-angel myself, but I don't know exactly how the first civil war began. Most records were lost in a volcanic eruption five hundred years ago. We call those the lost records. Honestly, we don't even know whether the eruption was the angels' doing. It's just a story that's been passed down."
Mahatu's words weighed on their judgment. Even if there might be a way back, it was a matter that demanded caution. They couldn't even form a clear idea of what heaven might be like.
"Even so, if you go... I won't stop you. No—there's nothing I can do to stop you. But know this: everyone who has passed through Miro's timestream so far was stronger than I am."
Mahatu hedged his words, but the meaning was clear: those people were stronger than Shirone's party. Even they hadn't come back from heaven.
A heavy silence settled as Shirone's group fell into thought. Mahatu bowed, seeing his sincerity had been received.
"I respect Shirone's resolve—unmoved by tribute. You must have come with some purpose beyond the common cravings of the world. For that reason, I felt I should tell you the truth. Whatever you decide is your own business, but please judge carefully."
"Yes. That's important information. Thank you."
When Mahatu left the chamber, silence followed.
Heaven remained alluring, but no one tried to sway Shirone.
Shirone's insight had been right. Only Shirone could decide; the rest could only follow.
"What did Principal Alpheas... know, exactly?"
Alpheas came to mind. If he knew Shirone was an Unlocker, why had he told them about the Kergo ruins?
"Probably he knew what we know. You said Miro was Principal Alpheas's student—he must have heard about her deeds."
"Then why allow it? What if the reality we're facing unfolds beyond his expectations? What should I do then?"
"That's a problem. I don't know how far he predicted, but I imagine he thought you wouldn't go to heaven. I would think so too. In the end, the problem is..."
Kanis tossed the metagate and said, "That I'm the variable."
Alpheas hadn't accounted for Kanis. Even if he had, he could never have imagined Kanis would find a route back.
All that remained was a choice.
At least there was an exit. Unless it was a world filled with poisonous gas, they wouldn't die the moment they arrived.
With that in mind, not trying at all would be foolish. But human psychology could act as an unpredictable factor; they couldn't ignore the worst-case scenario of losing their chance to return.
Shirone couldn't sleep until dawn.
@
The next morning Shirone's group descended into the temple's depths. Chieftain Kadum led, with Hasid and Mahatu behind him.
Amy thought this place must be the secret chamber of a ruin the Spirit Zone couldn't scan.
At the lowest level lay a straight corridor marred by traces of a volcanic eruption. Gems set into the walls guided the way.
They opened an iron door and entered a hall. Priests stood along the walls, and in the center a solitary stone door stood—connected to nothing. Its presence made the possibility of heaven undeniable.
Shirone approached the door.
Guphin's Gate. Reborn by McClain Guphin, an Unlocker from two hundred and fifty years ago, it was the entrance to heaven. A red orb was set into it, and vertical seams were carved around the center.
Before coming, Shirone had ended his contract with Kadum. Kadum's request had been simple: go to Inglis, the angels' archive, and deliver the will of Kadum, chieftain of Kergo.
The angels' archive. Kadum had said it wasn't as daunting as a journey to God, but Shirone could only think it sounded like an impossible mission involving gods and angels.
Shirone met his friends' eyes. They might be able to return. Maybe. Having decided to go, there was nothing to do but keep a positive outlook.
When Amy nodded, Shirone placed his hand on the orb at the door's center.
He took a deep breath and activated Immortal Function. White sparks leapt from the orb.
"Oh—ooooo!"
A voice of awe rose. Even the anti-angel Mahatu dropped to his knees and cried out Anke Ra.
Shirone focused harder.
The door was not a mere stone wall. The scratches he'd thought were the marks of time glowed red and resolved into undecipherable magical script.
As the magic took effect, the stone wall began to flake away in dice-sized cubes.
Those pieces disassembled, ignoring gravity, crumbling to dust and finally being absorbed into the light.
A white radiance shot from the door and swallowed Shirone.
"Guphin's Gate has opened! Praise the angels!"
The priests prostrated and shouted Anke Ra.
Shirone couldn't hear their voices. Wrapped in light, all he could hear was his own heartbeat.
For the first time he felt fear. It was only one step, but it felt like an eternal distance. He didn't want to move.
A strong, warm hand settled on his shoulder. Rian.
Right. He wasn't alone. Rian wouldn't give up under any circumstance.
Tess's delicacy, Amy's quick mind, Kanis's defenses, Arin's mental fortitude. Even the Harvester was a dependable ally now.
This was a fine party, he thought. A little of his tension eased.
Shirone stepped through the door.
As the group left the altar, the white radiance condensed into gray particles and the stone wall began to reassemble.
The scattered cubes found their places; the magical script lost its glow.
Where the wall had closed, no one stood.
The hall fell silent.
@
Shirone gritted his teeth. Rainbow light raced around them.
What waited at the end of this? Or was there even an end? The dizzying melody of light didn't fade even when he closed his eyes.
Suddenly his vision snapped open like a cannonball shot from a barrel.
Everyone in the party felt the same. They simply prayed it wasn't a world of burning brimstone.
The first impression wasn't bad. The air was clear and cool. But the instant he realized where they were, a scream burst out.
How foolish to think that because Guphin's Gate had been on the ground they'd arrive on the ground.
They hung high above the clouds—at an altitude where one could see the edges of the sea in the distance.
The mages tried to teleport, but it was futile. Still under Guphin's Gate's influence, they fell faster than normal freefall toward the surface.
The sea swept away and a dense forest came into view.
Shirone spotted a city standing at the forest's center far below. It was exactly like the one they'd seen in Miro's timestream.
Two concentric rings surrounded it like ripples; the inner ring was divided into six sectors like slices of a pie.
Mechanical creatures resembling ladybugs flew overhead. For a moment Shirone thought they looked like human brains.
As altitude dropped, the city vanished and they plunged into the forest. Bursting through the canopy, they finally saw soil. If they slammed in at that speed, they'd die instantly.
Magic attempts failed. Only when pebbles skittering across the ground struck their retinas did Guphin's Gate release them.
3. The Forest of the Profane (1)
The outskirts of heaven. Purgatory.
Shirone, without a moment to take in his surroundings, clutched his head. His face had hit first; his skull should have been shattered.
He felt as if he'd blacked out for a moment, but when he came to, he was standing on his own two feet and uninjured.
Tess checked her body here and there. "Are we alive? Or are we dead?"
"I think we're alive? You're hungry, so I guess so."
Even now, Rian's talk of hunger showed his boldness—though in truth he was trying to reassure Tess.
"Maybe we didn't fall from the sky."
Shirone explained, drawing on his field of study.
"In other words, it's spatial transfer. We didn't just fall through a tunnel; space folded and we saw various landscapes."
In the end it was spatial transfer. But because the distance traveled defied common sense, strange phenomena had occurred.