Omega Year 999 (3)
Gustav Sector.
Balkan looked at Zetaro's face and understood.
"He's already gone."
Balkan himself had been wounded and wasn't exactly fine, but Zetaro looked like a corpse.
"What about Natasha?"
"I sent her after Uorin. Why stand around? Habitz's already slipped through our fingers anyway."
"He just walked past me."
If it was Habitz, that fit perfectly.
"You're the gamemaker. Even if you can't kill Habitz yourself, hooking the Wizard to him is enough."
Zetaro exhaled and lowered his head. At that moment Natasha walked into the room and stuck out her tongue.
"Missed him."
"That woman isn't ordinary. She won't be caught easily. Still, keep at her."
"Why bother? Whatever happens to the Holy War doesn't matter. We only need to kill Habitz."
"Exactly."
Zetaro raised his head. Balkan continued.
"Tag is a small game. Of course the Wizard is strong, but if you asked me to bet, I wouldn't put money anywhere. My gambler's instinct says fifty-fifty."
It was that close.
"But gambling has no draws. You either split the pot or double down. Who comes here just to break even? The stakes will grow. Habitz will make the Holy War a mess. So we—"
The secretary entered then.
"Your Majesty, there's been contact from the conference hall. They report an emergency assembly of national representatives in twenty minutes."
"Very well."
Balkan looked at his allies.
"You see? Other nations know too. If this keeps going, it'll be total ruin."
When Balkan stood, Natasha supported him.
"Going?"
"Of course. Wake up, everyone. Nothing's over yet. A gambler's time is when others wear down. Natasha, go to Uorin." His eyes flashed with madness. "Do whatever it takes to keep him from attending the assembly."
"Understood."
Natasha left. Balkan changed clothes and rested a hand on Zetaro's shoulder.
"You haven't given up already, have you?"
"Balkan, I—"
"You're the gamemaker. An exceptional one. Do you know why?"
Zetaro lifted his head.
"Your rules are always fair. You make it so that even if you lose, there are no excuses. That's why Habitz liked your game."
"Even I, a gambler, couldn't predict the outcome of the game you made. Do you see? What entertains him isn't the Wizard—it's you."
Color returned to Zetaro's face.
'Habitz.'
Was it just delusion?
Four neighborhood kids had gathered and looked over the high wall, singing.
"Ha—Habitz? Habitz?"
The sky was streaked by the dusk.
Habitz glared at the Wizard.
"Ughhh."
The stars of the Ivory Tower read a hint of dismay on Habitz's distorted face.
'What's happening?'
Leader Bartok was among those watching, one who had trained with the Ten Mages' Council.
'To foil a Nising raised by the Five Great Stars… but Satan's reaction—'
He was a human weapon; surprise wasn't strange. Still, he looked somewhat sorrowful.
"Habitz."
The Wizard stepped forward.
"I love you. Don't run anymore."
"Hmph."
Unbelievable.
'You love me? No way. That's a lie—a trap to kill me.'
Still, Habitz couldn't simply repel it.
'What if it's true?'
Sensing that split-second hesitation, the Wizard broke through a single frame and struck Habitz hard.
"Guhk!"
Habitz rolled on the floor. The Ivory Tower's stars frowned, thoughtful.
'What was that? Just now… it felt like all humanity closed their eyes.'
Armin understood.
'The apex of space-time mastery. If Habitz has no fixed time, that kid erases space.'
They were the same, yet wholly different.
"Hoo. Hoo."
Blood streamed from Habitz's nose and mouth as he glared at the Wizard.
"You love me?"
"Yes."
Habitz's mouth split into a grin.
"Good."
For a moment the shadow of Siok seemed to appear, and the next instant the two of them vanished from the room.
"...They left?"
Even the Ivory Tower's stars couldn't meddle in what happened outside the Law.
"Probably, yes."
Armin pointed at the creaking door.
"Through a gap in space-time."
Habitz wasn't fast in the ordinary sense.
But actions that passed through each 0.666-second tick weren't recorded by the Law.
'Come and try to chase me then.'
It wasn't about faster or slower.
"Guhk!"
In that instant the Wizard transcended a frame and struck Habitz in the ribs.
"Are you just going to keep running?"
He wanted to snap his neck, but extreme hostility would have broken the rules.
"Kukuku."
Habitz laughed.
"Aren't you overdoing it? Honestly, I'm starting to doubt whether you really love me."
So what.
"I love you. Unless I break your fingers, that's the truth."
That was the rule.
"Fine, then—"
Using Siok to close the distance, Habitz wrapped himself around the Wizard and they collapsed to the floor.
Murderous intent surged in the Wizard; he clenched his fist but couldn't bring himself to strike.
'No.'
If he attacked now, the claim that he loved Habitz might become a lie.
'No, I didn't break his fingers, so it's fine. I'll believe Habitz.'
But certainty was nowhere to be found. If he misread things, the Satan he'd locked in the system could slip free again.
'How much does Habitz love me?'
There was no way to know.
In the end—since they didn't really know each other either—their odds were fifty-fifty.
Habitz rose.
"Alright. Your love is a 'fact.'"
That meant the Wizard would have to tolerate even harsher beatings, but he had no choice but to believe.
As Habitz stepped back, his face showed a little relief and a little unease.
'What do I want to do with this kid? Something inside me is filled, but… a deeper lack remains.'
"Come anytime."
With those words Habitz sprinted down the corridor. The Wizard bit his lip.
He stifled the urge to cry and replayed the scene in his head.
'I couldn't counterattack.'
He'd won trust, but the longer their meetings continued, the worse the intensity would get.
An equal exchange of affection and violence.
'Until when…'
Maybe forever.
Because we cannot know another's truth.
"What is truth?" Taesung asked.
"Sing, fact is truth. It's been true that I've protected humanity. You must trust me."
"Shut up."
Even as demonic forces were laying waste to the Ivory Tower, Sing did not waver.
"Demons are climbing up, Sing. This is the last chance. If I die, intellect dies with me."
"No, it's the opposite. You're the one stopping humanity's intellect from expanding outward."
A barrier to the outside world.
"Don't be so suffocating. Some things don't need proving. All of humanity has loved one another until now, and reaped the fruits of that. Do you deny even that?"
"Right."
Sing protested, voice wrung raw.
"Saying that physical relations feel beautiful is also just a system the administrators made. No matter how much flesh mixes, how many fluids exchange, you can't know the truth."
"What's so important about that? We've lived for so long without problems."
"This is different now. Humanity's fate hangs on this question. If you want to live, convince me. Prove it."
"But there's mental magic. People can directly check another's mind."
"That's a system too. Drimo, the inner world, everything's controlled by the administrators. There's no way to directly verify the heart. Logically, then, in this world the only being with a heart is me."
"That doesn't sound convincing."
"But you can't refute it. It's that kind of issue. If there's no contradiction, someone has to give. At least at humanity's last moment—in Omega Year 999."
"How do you expect us to prove it? There's no way to show a heart directly!"
"Exactly why it can't be trusted. No one knows another's truth. It's better to trust myself than to trust the outside world's administrators. All of humanity—"
Even as she spoke, doubt sprouted.
'Is this really right?'
Even she, the one with humanity's greatest force of conviction, was on the verge of a crack.
She clenched her teeth.
'Don't waver. Believe in me. As long as hearts can't be shared, everything is mine.'
"Sharing hearts…?"
Yorahan's expression went blank.
"Yes. It's called micro-world communion. You can connect with everything in the world. Hearts integrate and a new realm opens."
"Even a rock?"
The Hwa clan giggled.
"I told you—everything in the world can be assimilated. Grass, trees, wind, earth, birds, even squirrels. Of course, assimilation works better with some bloodlines than others."
"What does earth feel like?"
"Hm. How to put it… an absolute feeling of safety? Being protected without having to pay anything."
Members of the Hwa clan closed their eyes.
Watching their smiles lift little by little, Yorahan thought.
'Sharing hearts? The reason people can't be considerate is distrust and fear of each other.'
'But these people are different. Because they're connected, there are no misunderstandings, no suspicion.'
A thought struck her.
'If a person's heart is hell—'
Perhaps the Hwa clan could be humanity's only hope to pull people out of that abyss.
"Oh my, why such a face? Yorahan, you're so whimsical."
"This is huge."
"Hmm?"
"It'll be hard now, but someday all humans will welcome you."
The Hwa clan's cheeks flushed.
"Really… will that happen?"
"Of course! I promise. Oh—and can I try micro-world communion too?"
"Of course. Just a moment."
At that moment Armand cut in.
"Stop."
"Why? What's wrong?"
After three days together their speech had relaxed, but she was still difficult to deal with.
"I warned you. If you try any nonsense, I won't spare you."
"It's not dangerous."
"That depends on who's involved. If you harbor evil in your heart, this child will be hurt."
"I have no evil intentions."
"You might not know."
"So just test it then." Yorahan snapped her mouth shut stubbornly. She sighed and rose.
"All right, I'll give up."
Armand followed him, turning.
"Where are you going?"
"To my room. I want to jot down some thoughts from today."
"Not now. We have to go to the mountain." "Huh? Me?"
"Supplies ran out. If we go hunting I can't watch you, so of course you're coming."
"No, that's not—"
A sharp whistle cut the air.
"Aaagh! What was that?"
Yorahan dropped to her knees as a long sword flew into Armand's hand.
"Hey—how did you do that?"
She strapped the sword to her waist and said,
"Precision control."