422-God's Azure




 My vision was distorted into a limpid, limp view.
 Every image-formed thing was twisted, bent and turned inside out.

 This place is just beyond the gates of the divine world, and the dimensions are in violent turmoil.
 Misha, holding Sasha's hand tightly, I plow through the chasm, raging like a stormy sea.

 I see a light. It was a brilliant, shining sky.
 We flew straight to that azure sky, bluer than blue.

Hmm. If we tell the people who live in this world of the beginning of the day, they will be destroyed by the Thwarters of Order.

 I think about what Misha just said about how this world came to be.

I do not understand. When the world reaches its limits, the Creator will create a new one in exchange for its destruction, and he will remake the world anew. What is to be gained from this knowledge?

Does that 'Thwarted by Order' mean anything to you?

 Sasha said, twisting his head.

'I don't understand it either. By 'thwarters of order', you mean me and Graham, or what the gods call the nonconformists, right?

Maybe.

 Misha answered.

─ Knowing the day of the beginning doesn't motivate me to do anything. Graham can't help himself if he knows how the world works.

But there's got to be a reason why he's doing this if he says he's going to be destroyed.

 Sasha said, looking at Misha.

'Hmm,'

There was the day of the beginning and this world exists. The fact that the world has been remade many times to its end has some effect on us who live in this world.

 I don't see how that's going to change anything.
 Why in the world would the Creator pass his word down from generation to generation?

'But I suppose it was a promise to my mother. Are you glad you told her?

 I looked back at Misha and she nodded her head.

'We, the gods of creation, have been repeating this all along. We created the world and wished for it, and entrusted the lives of our people to our children. But the end result is always the same.

 Misha stared into my eyes and said.

'Something has to change. Something has to change, or nothing will change.

 Some wishes can't be fulfilled if you're afraid of danger.

 As a result of telling him about the beginning day, he has decided that even if there is a crisis, he can get through it with me.

I'm sure you'll forgive me.

 I nodded and Misha smiled slightly as I nodded.

''But the more I think about it, the crazier it sounds.

 Sasha murmurs, running a hand over her mouth.

'If destruction and creation are kept in alignment, life should circulate, right? In normal circumstances, if the order of destruction and creation are equal, then there shouldn't be as many new lives created as there are dead or destroyed.'

 With that preamble, Sasha poses the question.

'And yet, if the world is going to end one day, where did all the life that was supposed to be born disappear to?

I don't know.

 Misha says.

'Maybe it's because this world is really already over, as the previous creator god, Ehrenesia, had mentioned.

So it doesn't matter how much order you put into it, it's all in the details, just the way it looks?

 Curtly Misha nodded.

'So you tried to be this world.

...hmmm....

 Indeed, if the world's lifespan is running out, then it's only logical that bringing new life to this world would bring it back to life.

Even though I've been watching the world, I haven't been able to figure out why the total amount of magic power keeps decreasing. The flaws in the world are nowhere to be found. The flaws in the world are nowhere to be found; perhaps they are invisible to those of us who live in this world.

If you can't see it, you can just change the whole system of how the world works.

I thought it was for the best.

 Misha says matter-of-factly.
 We will become the root of a new world ourselves, a new system without divine order.

 If we create everything completely anew, we will be spared from perishing, even if we don't know what will cause it.

Hmm. Just in case you're wondering, is Ennesone now an imperfect magical order?

 Misha nodded.

'I see.'

 When I agreed, Sasha looked as if she had no idea.

''Well, can you tell me what it is?''

Ennesone is essentially a magical order in a world without God. But in the world where God exists today, Ennesone can't show its true order.

 Misha explains that.



 Kokoro Misha nodded.

'The root that is born in the Ennesone order is completely reincarnated and does not reduce the total amount of magic in the world.

Well, that's what I'm getting at... what's the point?

 Sasha asks, with an increasingly questioning look on her face.
 I say.

'I assume that there are flaws in this world. A flaw in the order that Militia, or any other creator god of all time, has failed to find. It affects Ennesone and makes her an imperfect order.

Oh...!

 Sasha speaks up, as if she has finally come to her senses.

''So, once Ennesone is in perfect order, we'll know if the flaws in the world have been removed?''

Yeah. It's not like the flaw in the world is going to call itself that. If Ennesone were here, he could help us find out.

 Ennesone was defying the order of the God of Birth and Abortion.
 This is because she is the one who brings order against the cycle of life in this world.

 If a flaw in the world exists, then Ennesone and it must be strongly opposed to each other.
 Then she may be the key that no creator god before Militia would have.

'Are we sure they're following us?

 Sasha looks back.
 Because they passed through the gates of the divine world at a different time, Ennesone and the others could not be seen.

 At that moment, a gust of wind blew.

''Look.''

 Misha points out in front of me.

 Scattered like stars across the bright azure skies are a variety of colorful landscapes: golden volcanoes, white lakes, a land of thorns, and a city on wheels.

This is the azure sky of the gods. Every landscape you see is a divine realm.

 It's the same thing as Ennesone's Mei-Gu divine City and Nafta's limited world.
 Indeed, they all emit a tremendous amount of magical power.

 Only in the divine world, I guess they can unleash their power to the maximum.

''With so many of them, do you have any idea where they took Aebelast Anzeta and Delzogade?''

'Hmm. Normally I'd be able to pick it up...

 I can't feel the magic of delsogade.
 All that power is wiped clean.

 This is my castle. There's also a magical link to the summoning. Even if they are gods, there's no way an ordinary person can hide anything from this evil eye.

''We don't even know where Aebelast Anzeta is.

 Misha says.

 To Militia, the god of creation, it's like half a body.
 It would be unnatural for her to lose sight of it when she recalls her memories.

''Then what am I supposed to do...? Even if you say you're going to be searching for a lick of it, this is the number of divine realms, right? And we're in the middle of hostile territory...

Well, the two castles are invisible, but invisibility is the best clue.

 Sasha turned to me.

'Delzogade and Aebelast Anzeta are hidden by a god with at least as much or more power than the Creator God. And that, too, in a place where they can't be found by the ordinary.

"...is there a god as good as or better than the Creator God?

"The Four Guardian Gods.

 Misha said.

'I mean, I'm pretty sure the God of Birth and the God of Abortion who was flipped over, too, right? Sure, he caught me off guard, but was it that much...?

''The place where the Four Treasures sit is the Abyss of the Azure Sky. Only in their own divine realm are they able to show their true colors.

 Because he left the divine realm, does that mean that the Abortion God was far from his original power?

''Where is their divine realm?''

There.

 The bright blue sky and the several divine realms floating around it.
 If one looked closely, they formed a sphere.

 And in the center of the sphere, there were four divine realms that were distinctly large.
 Misha pointed to one of them.

 The divine realm of the great tree towering over the sea.

''The divine realm of the Birth God Wenzel, the Great Tree Mother Sea.

 Next, Misha pointed to the deep forest, where waterfalls poured down from the sky.

''Shinka Shin, Dilfred's divine realm, Shinso Shinra.

 The next thing I was pointed to was the white desert with sparks of fire.

"The Sacred Region of Anahem, the Withered Desert.

 Finally, he pointed to the round sky where the branches and leaves folded together to form a multi-layered crown of trees.

''The divine realm of the Transmutation God, Guietenarus, the Jukan Celestial Sphere.

 As she went to the four divine realms, she said, "The four divine realms are called Da Ku Cadate.

"The divine realm of all four gods is called the Juri Kaite Garden, Da K'adate.

 It is very likely that one of the four gods of the tree is the one who took the castle.
 However, we can't be certain.

''Who is the god that knows the azure sky of the gods the best?

"I.

 Misha says.

'But most of my memories are in Aebelast Anzeta.

 That's 700 million years worth of memories.
 As expected, it would have been impossible to transfer that to the body of the demon race in an instant.

 So that means--

'Misha. Did you erase the memory of Averniu from me because you thought it would interfere with your wishes?

 Cracking up, Misha blinked.

'....I think so...'

Don't you remember that too?

 Curtly, Misha nods.

 Hmm. Could it be that he took away Militia's memories?
 Maybe the God who took Averastanzetta didn't want Misha to remember everything.

'Oh well. After you, who is the next god to know about this azure or da ku kadate?

Dilfred, the God of Deepening, has a narrower view than the God of Creation, but he looks deeper into the abyss. He is also called the Wise God, and has many insights.

 Misha replied.

''A deepening god. Then we're headed to Deep Forest Luo.''

 We descend into a forest of waterfalls, one of the divine realms floating on the azure skies.

 The blue trees gradually emerged in front of us.
 The bright blue leaves were blowing in the wind and swirling in a great big whirlwind so big that we could finally see them from the sky.

 If you look, the path of the forest forms a spiral, and the leaves of the trees are being swept by the wind as you follow it.

'Do you know where Dilfred is?

 Misha shook her head from side to side.

'Somewhere in the woods.'

Hmm. Well, let's get down to the right place.

 I flew straight up and landed in the Deep Forest Luo, stomping the earth lightly.
 It's a strange divine realm. As I turned my gaze to the depths of the forest, I could see that the space was distorted.

Now, let's find out. I hope it's a god that knows how to talk.

 Misha was about to open her mouth, and when she did--

I'm going to ask you to leave.

 A low voice rang out.
 There was a thud and a sound of stomping on the roots of the grass, and a man appeared there, brushing through the branches and leaves.

 He wore a garment made of flowers and grass, a cloak of leaves, and a crown of wood.
 At first glance, he looks like a wise man of the forest.

 Judging from the magical power emanating from them, they must be of the gods.

"...Dilfred...

 Misha said, and the man shifted his gaze to her for a moment.

 He must be the deepening god Dilfred. 
 Immediately, the man stepped out near me.

 Then he went straight to his knees and lay flat on the ground.

"Get down and do me a favor, Nonconformist Anos Voldigord. I want you to leave this place.