[707] Nineteen Thousand Worlds (1)
The Noskarta that had erupted in the southern Akad Desert only finally died out after sweeping through the central sands and reaching the northern desert's edge.
The desert tidal wave had wiped away every trace of life, and under the blazing sun the sand was hotter than usual.
"Shirone, water. Gimme some waaaater."
Shirone and his companions trudged across the vast wasteland with clumps of sand sticking to them.
"Again?"
Shirone cast a spell and filled the canteen; Kido gulped it down.
"Dunno. Maybe because it's magic-made? It doesn't really quench anything."
After downing an entire liter at once, Kido's already-protruding belly swelled further.
"By the way, how much farther? We've been walking two hours since we sent Ratusa. Didn't they say we were almost there?"
Noskarta's power had been such that even Kaidera were too exhausted to fly after breaking through it.
"We're heading the right way. Hang on a bit. Once we can see it, we'll get there by magic."
Rian glanced back along the path they'd come.
"No one's following. Were they wiped out?"
If even Kaidera were left spent, those who chased on Omek couldn't have survived.
"We still can't be careless."
What worried them was the leader of the Maga bandits — a woman who was also an executive of the Tenth Council — and whose strength far exceeded imagination.
"If it's her, she probably cut through Noskarta too. We can't dawdle. Walk faster."
"Shirone, I'm sooooo tired."
After another hour of walking, Shirone's party spotted a fortress on the horizon.
As befits a famous tourist site, people were gathering there.
"That's Andre."
Shirone cast an air spell and floated Kido and Rian as he flew toward it.
A ticket booth sat at the fortress gate.
"Welcome! This is the Andre Labyrinth! Adventurers seeking experiences more valuable than life itself, we welcome you!"
The attendant, dressed in Middle Eastern-style garb, noticed Shirone's skin tone and switched to the common tongue of the continent.
"This is...?"
One of the three great labyrinths where Ra Enemi was presumed to be.
"You've come at a perfect time! Due to Noskarta, admission is half-price for the next week! Don't miss out!"
They paused, momentarily stunned by the unnaturally upbeat voice, when those behind them began to hurry them along.
"Hurry up, will you? I'm melting here."
Pressed by their voices, Shirone glanced at Rian and Kido, then spoke to the ticket seller.
"Um... two adults and one goblin."
"Hmm? A goblin?"
The attendant smirked and sized up Kido.
"We don't have a special fee for goblins. Is the child under six? Infants under six are free."
Kido made a sulky face when Shirone looked back at him.
"Yes, I'm under six."
Kido's eyes went wide.
"All right. Two adults, four gold."
Even at half price it was expensive — fitting for a world-renowned attraction.
"Thank you! Enjoy your visit!"
Beyond the gate a well-paved road opened up, lined with countless shops, and even a fountain had been installed despite the desert.
Because the Empire administered it specially, the restaurants, taverns, lodgings, gambling houses, and souvenir shops were all upscale.
"Surprisingly crowded. I thought Noskarta would make it off-season."
"It must be even busier normally."
Nobles strolled with their families, and among them were several who looked notably powerful.
'Ordinary tourists or adventurers.'
Kido darted to a souvenir stall and peered at the items on display.
"Kido, we don't have time to buy anything."
They didn't know when the Maga bandits might arrive.
"Shirone, look at this."
When Shirone and Rian approached, Kido held up a three-dimensional model of Andre.
"Hmm, so it looks like this."
The structure was a chain of great chambers connected in sequence, and through the model's transparent ceiling you could see countless circular doors.
"No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like nineteen thousand."
The miniature showed only a few hundred doors at most, but even that was distinctive.
"It'll be different in person. Let's go."
Kido hesitated, toyed with the model once more, then returned it to the stall.
"Andre opens at 2 PM. Please queue if you wish to tour."
Following the attendant's instructions, Shirone's party joined the line and waited their turn.
"What is this? We're here to find Ra Enemi, right?"
The peaceful atmosphere wasn't unpleasant, but Rian kept his edge from slackening.
"I don't think Ra Enemi is here."
At Shirone's words, Rian and Kido both turned to him.
"Not here? Then why did we come?"
"Because only through this place can you meet Ra Enemi."
Shirone spoke the thoughts he'd been organizing.
"From the test at the Ivory Tower, I realized that finding Ra isn't like looking for a lost item."
"Because the incident is being manipulated?"
"Exactly. I'm not the one looking for Ra. Ra is making me find him. The subject and object are reversed."
Shirone raised an index finger.
"So when I say, 'I'll be where you seek,' it doesn't mean Ra will be waiting where I go. It means I must find where Ra is."
"A kind of hint."
"That's why I've been thinking. Where could I be searching for Ra? There's only one conclusion: wherever Ra is, it's everywhere."
Rian looked back at Andre's entrance.
"A prison of space-time. Geffin's ruins."
"Right. The nineteen thousand worlds Geffin locked into individual prisons. If all those seals were broken, space-time here would tangle again..."
"Then we'd finally be able to meet the real Ra Enemi."
Shirone nodded.
"We'll know for sure once we see Andre up close, but..."
At that moment, Andre's entrance opened.
"Please enter. Viewing hours end at 4 PM."
The cave must have been enormous; the long line shortened instantly, and a coolness unfit for a desert washed over them as Shirone's group crossed Andre's threshold.
"Wow..."
Kido gaped at the overwhelming reality that differed from the model.
On every wall, ceiling, and floor were countless circular steel doors that looked like eyes.
At the center of each steel door was a round panel; lights glowed from them despite no visible power source.
Shirone read the number on one panel: 3256.
Looking around, each steel door bore a different number. The final one was probably 19,000.
"Legend has it..."
A guide began his explanation.
"This cavern once contained countless overlapping worlds. Then one day a great mage appeared, sorted them into nineteen thousand worlds, and sealed each behind its own door."
A tourist pointed at a door and asked, "So if you open this door and go in, a completely different world appears? Can we go in now?"
The guide smiled, but his face reddened slightly.
"Of course other worlds exist. But no one who has opened a door and gone in has ever returned."
"Then that's a lie. If no one ever came back, how do you know there's another world? Right, everyone?"
The crowd bristled at the interruption, and the man pushed his point.
"Why not open one and check? We don't have to go in. Isn't that enough?"
The guide bit back his words — his wage depended on keeping quiet.
'This is filthy work.'
According to the veteran guide's maxim, everyone thinks they're right, but in reality there's not a single person who truly is.
"Unfortunately, opening Andre's doors requires a magic-circuit specialist, and it's also a violation of Imperial law."
At the words "Imperial law" the man fell silent; the fun of his argument evaporated.
"Rian, this place is incredible."
Shirone gazed at the doors around them; everyone turned to see what had caught his attention.
"Oh! You have a keen eye. Yes — the doors here use a special code no information mage in history has been able to develop..."
The guide's words gained momentum, but they no longer reached Shirone's ears.
'How could this even be possible?'
What Shirone felt through the Ultima System was a perfect void and, surrounding it, pinpoint spots of Infinity.
'Being and nonbeing — he completely separated the two concepts.'
To take the Law's "two" and make each into an independent "one" — only Geffin could conceive of that.
Rian asked in a low voice, "Can you do it? Nineteen thousand worlds. If you break the seals one by one, it could take thousands of years."
"I don't plan on living that long."
Seeing Andre for himself, Shirone knew instinctively that only he could do it.
"I'll break them all at once. With the Wheel of the Void."
He would infinitely multiply the event bubbles and explore nineteen thousand worlds simultaneously.
Kido, who retained memories from drinking Shirone's blood, pushed up his glasses.
"You sure that's okay? You don't know what each world will put you through. That's totally different from multiplying an incident for one purpose."
Kido's concern was valid.
"If I spin the Wheel of the Void, nineteen thousand versions of me will each have different experiences. That will change how I think."
Rian looked worried.
"Will you be able to come back? If all those Shirones merge into one, you might snap."
Rian could only put it that way; what would happen to Shirone would be beyond mere madness.
"I'm not doing it because it's possible. I'm doing it because only I can do it."
Shirone scanned the great hall.
"It was Infinity at first. Then it was split into being and nonbeing. 'Many' and 'Infinity' aren't the same. Geffin didn't seal this place away; he reduced it to an area that could be examined."
"Do you think Geffin prepared it for you? Because he figured you'd master the Wheel of the Void?"
No one could say.
"I don't know that. But it reminds me of what Vanguard spoke of — the Wheel of the Law."
Fate.
"The things I've felt and realized in my life seem to fit this Andre perfectly, like a key matching a lock."
"You're saying Hexa is the key that can unlock Andre's seal?"
At Kido's question, Shirone nodded.
"Infinity is infinite. So the nineteen thousand worlds must be divisions made under Geffin's intent. If I go through them all..."
If that happened, maybe—
"I might understand Geffin a little better. And learn more about Hexa. That's what I think."
Rian and Kido couldn't think of a way to stop him.
"How long do you think it will take? To break the seals."
"With the Ultima System, I should be able to find a way out. It'll take at least seven days, I think."
If the Maga bandits were still intact, they'd probably reach Andre by tonight.
"Time's tight. Then Kido and I will—"
Just as Rian spoke, a loud bang came from outside the cave and terrified screams rolled in.
"What happened?"
As the tourists watched anxiously, a guard shouted from the cave entrance.
"Evacuate immediately! The bandits have attacked!"
Kido blinked in shock.
"What? Bandits?"
They had arrived far sooner than expected.