Rain (2)
* * *
"Rain."
Rian, having sheathed his weapon, looked up at the sky.
Through the unknown dome-like veil that trapped them, he could see particles of light falling from the heavens.
"No — light, actually."
The demon realm Gaitan had opened had been eradicated without a trace by that pouring light.
"What, what is that?"
Survivors trapped under the dome rose one by one and drew the black clouds aside.
Part of some airborne vessel — its full size impossible to guess — jutted out beyond the clouds.
'This doesn't look good.'
Rian worried for Shirone, but he didn't dare step outside the blue dome.
In less than a minute the downpour had shredded a ten-meter-tall building to nothing.
Never mind dying — the moment they went outside their bodies would be crushed to oblivion.
Above all, the sight suggested this phenomenon was Shirone's doing.
Tatatatatata!
Every time a particle of destructive light struck a surface, it flashed.
So beautiful it hurt the eyes, the light emitted in a perfect hexagonal pattern.
"Hexa."
From the spire of the Great Earth Cathedral, Taesung watched the events unfolding over the Gustaf Empire.
Below the glass floor the planet lay visible, and Yahweh's clouds covered the empire.
"Teraforce."
A massive starship, half the size of the empire, was cutting through the black cloud.
Boom! Boom!
Taesung felt the floor vibrate and turned.
"You are—"
"The custodian of Gaia."
Gray skin, an elongated skull front and back, eyes glazed with oily film and large, a pointed chin.
A three-meter-tall alien, its thin arms fluttering awkwardly — the Teraforce Chief Justiciar — had approached.
"You've come in person."
"The Hexa program has been activated. Under user-protection rules, Teraforce will dispatch an ark."
The Justiciar standing beside Taesung watched the landscape on the screen.
Taesung asked, "…What is Hexa?"
"It appears to be a unit of the Ultima System, a kind of erasure code. A Hexa signal maps one-to-one onto all information and deletes its source from the Akashic Record."
The Justiciar, who had watched the world's information be erased by the rain of light, continued.
"This is the second time I've witnessed a purification with my own eyes."
"It happened in Gaia's era. If the ark has come, does that mean it's selecting two again?"
"Hexa cannot be stopped by anything. Even electromagnetic barriers will eventually break. We must select the two before that happens."
Two humans — one man and one woman — would board the ark and migrate to another world.
"Yahweh's wrath will only grow and cover the entire planet. It's over. He has closed this world."
"Not an eternal end, though." Hence the purification.
"Hmm. The chosen man and woman will settle another planet and call countless users there."
The Justiciar turned to Taesung.
"Long ago, two Gaian beings selected during a purification seeded humanity on this land." Taesung remained silent.
"I thought one still remained here — the only Gaia left in the photon plane, the first human of this planet."
"He's no longer human. He exists only as a small brain holding memories."
It had been his own choice.
"So, who are the two chosen this time?"
"We're reviewing many combinations. There are roughly three hundred candidates. The council will decide soon."
"To open a whole new world with just two people — that's cruel. Who are the candidates?"
"For example, Miro and Havitz."
Taesung blinked and regarded the Justiciar.
"Polar light and utter wickedness?"
"The best way to maintain the system. Miro will accept it. We must not repeat the previous mistake."
The first humans had erred.
"You mean Eve."
"She broke the rules. She tried to be everyone's mother. In the end, Eve's partner…"
"…remains alive as a brain, unable to perish."
"Anyway, that pairing can't succeed. That might have worked with the old Miro, but not now. She'll accept no one but Gaold."
"Thus the candidate list. We'll examine it closely. The council currently favors Etella and Shagal."
"Etella and Shagal?"
An odd match, but Taesung thought it over and understood.
"Maybe it could work."
Only when the Teraforce Justiciar personally led the ark did the situation finally sink in.
"It's over again." The Justiciar laid a hand on Taesung's shoulder.
"Do not be disheartened. This is only a stage of trial and error. Someday humanity will reach the ultimate."
"Is a perfect system truly possible?"
A world with nothing left to fix.
"Whatever a god creates is the god's perfection. True perfection is when we become gods ourselves."
Humans must define it.
"That's why gods are indifferent and do not interfere in this world. At most they can send…"
The Justiciar looked at Shirone.
"A signal borrowing a human body."
"Is that Yahweh?"
"If Buddha is the being who has grown farthest from humanity, Yahweh is the one closest to god. To love all things — that's what it might be. Still, Shirone is, in the end, still only human."
Faced with the eternal torment of the divine voice, even Shirone could choose duty over universal love.
"This time we'll start with a different pairing. We'll choose the best two. There's still plenty of time."
There were easily billions of years left.
"Search for planets for the ark. Preferably far from here."
"…Yes."
If this was providence to preserve the system, there was no choice but to comply. Taesung's heart, however, felt as if it were being ripped apart.
'Shirone…'
Was it only imagination that the droplets of light annihilating the world felt like Shirone's tears?
'Are you really going to end it like this?' Eighth Legion Commander Mitura fought an intense battle over the sea with the Ivory Tower's Five Greats.
Many demons stood by, but none dared charge into the brutal combat.
"T-this…"
The combined assault of the four strongest human mages was terrifying, and Mitura was hard-pressed.
"Commander! Open the demon realm!" his exasperated subordinates shouted, and his face twisted into something wicked.
'You bastards! It's not your problem…'
If he opened the demon realm, he'd be erased forever.
'Should I really open it?'
As he dueled Fried, the thought crossed his mind.
"Ugh!"
Shing's Law bound Mitura's limbs, and Amanta's wheel struck his head.
With a crack his head whipped aside, and then—
Kiiiiiing!
Minerva's jet slammed into his solar plexus.
"Raaaah!" Pushed back kilometers by the force, the flying demons scrambled to follow.
"Commander! Quickly—open the demon realm—"
"AAAAH! Shut up!"
Innocent demons' heads were cut off.
"This is maddening."
Born and granted the authority of the demon realm, Mitura had taken pride in that special status, but when the moment came he couldn't steel himself.
'You expect me to return to eternal nothingness? For Lord Satan?' What on earth had Ammon been thinking when he opened the demon realm?
"Surprisingly timid."
Four of the Ivory Tower's Greats chased Mitura, flying in formation as Minerva said, "This is why demons fear Buddha. If you can't be reborn from hellfire, dying is the same."
Fried snorted.
"A coward like that is commanding a legion, huh."
Shing added, "Apart from being full of malice, they're not essentially different from humans. They should be easy enough to take down."
"Don't be overconfident. If you let your guard down, things get troublesome."
Unlike the Greats, who prepared for contingencies, Mitura's mind would not be swayed.
'This won't do. I must open the demon realm for Lord Satan. Open it! Open it! Open it!'
Flames burned in Mitura's eyes.
It still didn't feel right.
"Damn! Fight a little more! We can win!"
Just as he steeled himself, a huge ball of flame flew in and detonated above the surface.
Merania looked toward the horizon.
"Yahweh's tears."
The roar as particles of light drilled into objects across the empire was apocalyptic.
Merania's black umbrella wouldn't hold for long, but her expression was composed.
"This isn't a bad end."
According to the doctrines of the inner world, when Yahweh's tears overflow the world, it is annihilated.
Indeed.
The destructive force in the downpour could sweep away the empire's demon forces without difficulty.
"Do you know why we hate you?"
Merania approached Shirone and slowly cupped a Hexa particle in her hand.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
The falling light struck and her hand was blown away in an instant.
"If not like this…"
With her black umbrella gone, Merania, half-destroyed, clung to Shirone.
"You won't look at us."
Countless droplets of light lashed her body.
"What can you do about being born like this?" Even with a legion commander's durability, she could only last a few minutes longer than other demons.
"What is love?"
Demons — and Havitz's kind — simply did not know how to love.
"I could die for you. If you wanted, I could kill Satan for you. But—"
She had been waiting for Shirone's answer, and with a sad smile she spoke.
"I really don't know what that is."
Her beautiful face began to collapse; her flesh started to be carved away from the top down.
Shirone said nothing.
"Are you here?"
Existing only as a signal, Shirone moved swiftly toward the source of the voice.
"Where is this?"
The hexagonal particles quickly assembled into a human shape.
"No idea. Maybe the afterlife."
Before Shirone sat Ozent Gai, cross-legged, chin propped on his hand.
"Afterlife?"
Shirone saw, far in the dark, a beam of light connected to Gai.
"Do you see this light too? It's not pulling me, exactly, but it keeps calling—unpleasantly. Like an irresistible temptation."
Shirone checked his own body—there was no tether anywhere.
"Coming here made some things clearer. This must be the nature of the Idea. So maybe I'm the only one who actually died. Ah — you're dead too, I guess."
"We…died?"
He couldn't remember anything after being stabbed by Gai's sword.
'A dream?'
It didn't feel like reality.
"I'd like to explain in detail, but I have no way to. It's sending that kind of signal. Anyway, the reason I waited for you is to make you an offer."
"You're already dead, and you have an offer—"
"You can return alive." Even if it were a dream, the words were impossible to ignore.
"Ha… how do I explain this? If I don't follow this light, you can live. It's like I'm giving up my place — there's one spot left. Something like that."
"I don't understand. And why would you save me? You have no reason."
"You don't remember what you did at all, do you?"
Gai burst into laughter, the corners of his mouth lifting.
"Well then, are you a bit less angry now?"