To infinity (2)

"How foolish... Really, how foolish...

Even though he had approached her first and offered her coffee, she pushed his hand away without hesitation. Amy closed her eyes tightly as if she were averting her gaze from scenes dotted by her regret. Then she screamed with all her might.

"Shirone!"

Shirone smiled. It was fortunate that Amy had regained her memory. At least in the last moments, he could depart as Shirone, who remained in someone's memory.

"Thank you, Amy."

Shirone's tears fell onto Amy's cheeks.

"Why are you crying, Shirone?"

Amy was anxious. Something was wrong. Then, the moment she saw the will to live slowly slipping away from Shirone's eyes, she realized.

"Shirone! No!"

"I'm sorry. I couldn't keep my promise."

Shirone hugged Amy and fully activated the Immortal Function.

As his consciousness expanded infinitely, his ego began to fade as if dissolving in water.

'Goodbye, everyone...'

Father, mother, Ogent Family members, and academy friends. Receiving the love of so many people, Shirone could smile.

A huge light filled the area under the cliff. The falling students, Eruki and Neid, even Thad, were enveloped in the light.

The next moment, a massive flash surged vertically.

It was a massive teleportation that moved up to 400 people at once.

"Ah, I see."

Lying on the ground, Arcane watched as the flash over the cliff split into dozens of strands. In the final moments, he finally became convinced. Where he had been and what a wonderful life he had lived.

It's a playground where you wouldn't tire of playing your whole life. Isn't that right, Alpeas?

The legendary Archmage who ruled the world passed away like this.

"Master?"

Kanis stood gaping at Arcane's corpse. Wasn't he still his disciple? But he left without even leaving a will, doing only what he wanted until the end.

"Was it really nothing? Were we just tools?"

Kanis ran towards Arcane and shook his neck.

"Get up! How can this be! I should die in your place! Why did you leave me behind?"

Arin approached Kanis with sad eyes.

Reflected in the glass, his figure was that of a person made of viscous liquid. That figure didn't stay still for a moment, stretching like a liquid and rising again to take the form of a person.

"No, Kanis. He didn't die because of you. That man used us. He's a villain."

"Kekeke, what's wrong now? Seems like you've realized it."

Havist said in a muted voice.

"That's right, Kanis. We all die because of you. Arcane, me, and someday Arin will die too."

Arin, who had been staring at Havist, hurriedly turned his head towards Kanis. As expected, his figure had collapsed into watery liquid and clung to the ground.

"Why? What have I done? Because I survived in Radum? Because I'm an unfortunate child?"

"It's because you're weak."

Havist's conclusion was simple.

"How long are you going to live, waiting for others to recognize you? There's no such thing as having to live like that or having to die like that. Arcane just lived his life."

Arcane gave up his life to defend his evil beliefs. Havist fulfilled his contract as a magical creature, even choosing to self-destruct.

"I... Why would I die?"

He couldn't find anything. He was nothing more than a blindfolded wild horse. His life was nothing but hollow shells.

"Like Master..."

"Yes, and like that boy."

In the midst of the 400 scattered students, Shirone lay there. He said he wouldn't harm anyone and held onto his faith until the end.

Kanis approached Havist and checked on his condition.

"How are you?"

"If you ask me, I will die. Because if I don't parasitize a host, I can't live."

Said Arin.

"All you have to do is sign a Master-Servant contract with me. Kanis won't be able to endure because his mental strength is depleted."

Havist shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but that's not possible."

"What? Why? At this rate, you will die."

"Because my master is Kanis."

Havist's words pierced through Kanis' chest. Now was the time to defend his beliefs. Could he really bear it? If he wasn't careful, both would lose their lives.

"Havist. I'll accept you as my servant. But I won't forgive a second betrayal."

"Kekeke. Understood, Master."

"Kanis! It's too dangerous! If something goes wrong...!"

Arin stopped speaking. As the mud soaked Kanis' liquid-formed shape, it began to harden.

Will he ever have an unbreakable heart? Like Shirone, whom he admired as a genius.

Kanis placed his hand on Havist. As the subordination contract progressed, Havist began to suck the little life force Kanis had left. His consciousness sank into darkness, and his eyes slowly closed.

Far from Kanis and the others, Alpeas remained sad. He had saved his students with all his experience but had lost a lot.

"Director."

Ethella thought the same. From today, there will be significant changes in the magic academy. The students who have regained their memories will fall into confusion, and the error Alpeas made 40 years ago will also come to light.

"Ethella, I'm a sinner."

"Don't blame yourself too much. If even mistakes are unacceptable, human existence itself is a sin."

Alpeas shook his head. Anyone can make mistakes. But everything carries responsibility. Just like Arcane, he had no intention of fleeing.

"He elevated Dark Magic to the rank of great magic. Havist can be considered a great breakthrough in the field of memory transfer. Abyss Nova will be recorded as prescribed magic in the Magic Association."

In front of Arcane's corpse, Alpeas clasped his hands and mourned his death.

"Arcane, the Archmage who was always a young boy. The path of magic you've traversed will be passed down to future generations."

Alpeas, opening his eyes, seemed renewed. On the other hand, Ethella remained worried. It was an incident where the lives of all the students were threatened, so it wasn't a problem that could be handled within the academy.

"Director, what do you plan to do next?"

"What can I say? I'm waiting for my own fate. Instead of worrying about punishment, how about honoring today's hero?"

Alpeas looked around to find Shirone. The more he looked, the more amazing the boy seemed to him. He couldn't guarantee that he could transport 400 people at once, even if he did it himself.

"It's a disaster!"

Where Shirone had collapsed, Amy sobbed.

Alpeas and Ethella, sensing the unusual atmosphere, hastened their steps. Eruki and Neid ran from afar.

However, before they arrived, Amy shouted first.

"Shirone isn't breathing!"

Shirone expanded massively and then dissipated. It permeated everything, forgetting even the persistent attachment to the world. Then, a powerful force drew him towards a single point. If there was something beyond life for a human being, it could be called the soul's abduction.

"Heave! Heave!"

While Shirone's mind was reassembling, memories returned from before attempting the Immortal Function. Trembling momentarily in fear of his death, he exhaled shakily and checked his body's condition. Aside from being naked, there didn't seem to be anything particularly wrong.

"Where am I?"

It was an empty white space. In this place where a monochrome landscape stretched infinitely, he couldn't sense any feeling of distance. He tried to move slowly, but he didn't even feel like he was going anywhere.

"It's very strange. It's as if my five senses are paralyzed."

Suddenly, a unique idea struck Shirone. As an experiment, he slowly bent his knee and took a step forward, as if climbing a staircase. Surprisingly, his body floated upwards.

"Eh?"

Shirone ascended the never-ending staircase. He stopped for a moment and looked around, speechless.

"..."

He didn't have the sensation of having climbed very high. No matter where he moved, it was the same white landscape.

"There's no distance."

If it couldn't be measured, then space wouldn't be established. To confirm his hypothesis, Shirone tried to descend this time. As expected, he hadn't moved anywhere.

As he found no more sense in moving, he heard a woman's voice.

"Impressive. You've understood the meaning of space. You are worthy to be here."

Shirone didn't look back. After all, in this place, the concept of direction didn't exist.

"Who are you? Am I dead?"

A beautiful woman emerged from a hole in the white landscape. As the sensation of distance appeared, the landscape changed instantly. A gigantic temple, unlike anything Shirone had seen before, loomed over him as if it would crush him.

"Wow..."

It was of an unimaginable scale. Not even ancient temples were so grand. Hundreds of pillars supported the ceiling, each reaching about 2 kilometers in height.

"Where on earth is this..."

"Pleased to meet you, Shirone. I've been waiting for you."

She was a woman with aquamarine-colored hair that reached her ankles. Shirone had never seen such a beautiful woman in his life. It wasn't a matter of appearance but the value of her existence. Just as a man in love feels that his beloved is the most beautiful person in the world, her value here was absolute.

"Oops!"

Shirone hastily covered himself. He had been confidently exposing his naked body without realizing it.

"Hehe. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Because this is not your world. Your body is still in the original world."

With a hand gesture, she instantly clothed him. Shirone stared, not understanding his own figure until he finally gave up. Only one thing came to his mind.

"Is this the afterlife?"

"No, it's not the afterlife. It's just a different 'Point' from where you lived."

Shirone tilted his head. A 'point' is a one-dimensional space without dimension. When a spot moves, it becomes a line, a line moves and becomes a plane, and a plane moves to form a three-dimensional space.

"Could it be...?"

Shirone remembered the white space he had been in a moment ago.

"That's it. That's the 'spot'. It's not without space but infinitely compressed."

If she was right, it made sense that he couldn't sense a feeling of distance. However, even though he was trapped in one dimension, his body was three-dimensional. If he could measure the distance between his right and left arms, wouldn't space exist?

"Ah, so there's a three-dimensional space within the one-dimensional space."

"You have incredible insight. That's right. That's the essence of space-time. No matter how vast the world is, from a distance, it appears as a mere point. Conversely, no matter how small a point is, if you delve into it, an infinite world unfolds."

Finally, Shirone felt at ease. There was no need to fear if this world allowed for logical conversation, even if it was the afterlife.

"So, who are you?"

The woman laughed strangely. Though it seemed eerie, it appeared beautiful to Shirone. She was the most valuable being in this place.

"I am God..."

***

The magic academy was in a state of total chaos.

It took 8 hours to clean Arcane's body and send the students back to their dormitories.

The students remained with blocked memories, lying in their rooms. If the teachers regained their memories, the work would be quicker, but the headache of dealing with the chaos that would erupt when all the students regained their senses was daunting.

To make matters worse, Kanis and Arin, the suspects in the case, disappeared. Thus, Neid, Eruki, and Amy were the only ones taking care of Shirone, who finally was transferred to the infirmary.

In truth, "taking care" wasn't the right term. Shirone wasn't breathing, and his heart had stopped. But nobody dared to utter the word "dead."