Chapter 52: The Concept-Erasure Domain, Alnima — Part 1

—That's right. If I recall correctly, this was back when I was still working out the character profile for “Tierra As.”

"Hey. In the game, there was a mention of spirits being born in ‘Alnima,’ right? Something along those lines."

"That's right~"

"But I also seem to remember a description saying that they suddenly appear out of nowhere. And that's why they're worshipped... or something like that."

"Ah, I see. You're right. I suppose that part might be a little difficult for you to understand~"

We'd gotten reasonably close by then, but this guy's personality was still twisted. He had a knack for choosing words that rubbed me the wrong way every single time.

Had he lost his conversational skills catastrophically because he hadn't been able to interact with other people for so long? Or had he always been like this...?

"To begin with, the domain ‘Alnima’ and the composite world ‘Chaos’ are actually one and the same~"

That aside, whenever I asked him something, he'd explain it to me in different words and from different angles, trying every approach he could think of until I understood.

That was an incredibly helpful quality, and one of the reasons I couldn't bring myself to hate him completely.

...Wouldn't he be suited to teaching at a small cram school? Or maybe working as a private tutor?

"More precisely, they're places that exist at exactly the same coordinates. To put it in extremely simple terms, you could think of them as the two sides of a coin~"

...Whoops. Better focus on this guy's mock lesson for now.

I had no idea what information might prove useful. I couldn't afford to compromise—not when I was trying to save my little sister, Sorane.

"It all began with a mistake made by the world known as ‘Alnima.’ To fill the void created by the consequences of that sin, countless worlds were swallowed up and fused together~"

"In other words?"

"...Hmm, I'll explain the world's formation in greater detail later. For now, although it's not quite accurate, you can think of Chaos as having been built upon Alnima as its foundation~"

Oh, oh. That was relatively easy to understand.

"And so~ when a conceptual spirit born in Alnima is witnessed at the same coordinates in Chaos, it looks to those on the Chaos side as though the spirit has appeared out of nowhere~"

...Huh? No, I'd lost the thread again.

What exactly did he mean by the same coordinates?

"Um, so conceptual spirits are born in Alnima. And at the same time, they also appear in Chaos?"

"Well, for now~, you can think of it that way~"

Hmm. This was difficult.

Fundamentally, I just didn't have enough knowledge. Before setting foot in Chaos, I needed to get a somewhat better grasp of things.

...Wait a second. If conceptual spirits born in Alnima could be perceived in Chaos, then what about the reverse?

"Hey, does that mean people on the Chaos side can perceive Alnima, or even enter it?"

The fact that I was coming up with questions like this meant I was starting to understand a little more, didn't it?

"That's impossible~"

...He shot that down without a moment's hesitation.

"Ordinary intelligent life-forms can't see Alnima. And the more advanced their intelligence is—humans, for instance—the less possible it becomes~"

"What do you mean?"

"Because all ‘concepts’ have disappeared from that place~"

All concepts had disappeared?

What in the world did that mean? I didn't understand a single thing!

"My domain is ‘Nothingness.’ A secret hideout where I carefully, carefully concealed the sole concept of there being nothing at all."

I looked around.

Up and down, left and right, front and back. The entire space was pure white.

The voice explained that this was a product of the concept of “Nothingness,” and that my brain was simply perceiving it as “white.”

"‘That Thing's’ domain is ‘Everything.’ A lonely, greedy prison that has swallowed every conceivable concept."

I recalled the pitch-black space at the beginning of the game.

I see. That blackness was the result of everything being mixed together.

"Then what is Alnima?"

From the way our conversation had gone, there was one thing I could understand.

There were three mysterious domains beyond human comprehension: this white space, the black space belonging to “That Thing,” and “Alnima.”

The white space where “nothing exists.”

The black space where “everything exists.”

Then what was “Alnima”—?

"In Alnima, everything both exists and doesn't exist."

"No, which is it?!"

"A cat that isn't observed to be dead is equivalent to one that lives forever. That place is a hell that earnestly continues to carry out such a ridiculous, fundamentally flawed trick."

—I should have been standing right in front of the World Tree just moments ago. And yet, before I knew it, I was in a colorless space.

It was an odd way of putting it, but that was the only way I could describe it.

There was no color in this space. It was different from the pure-white space where I'd met Terra. It might have been close to being colorless and transparent, but it wasn't quite the same thing.

Most likely, no existing words could adequately describe this place. It was that sort of—

"...!"

My head felt like it was splitting apart. Pain throbbed behind my eyes, and I felt nauseated.

Don't go thinking a puke-prone heroine can take first place in a popularity poll! The demand for that kind of character is within the margin of error. No matter how you look at it, she's a product of gag-world logic, a total oddball character. This beautiful spirit girl, Tierra-chan, will never sink to that level!

...And so, while casting healing magic on myself and trying to encourage myself with such utterly pointless thoughts, I suddenly remembered my conversation with Terra.

No “concepts” existed here.

Not the concept of “color,” nor “light,” nor “refraction” or “reflection.” On the other hand, concepts such as “blackness” and “nothingness” didn't exist either.

I wasn't particularly well-educated, so I couldn't say whether this was an accurate analogy, but in this space, everything was Schrödinger's little kitten.

You could say it existed, and you could also say it didn't. What's more, since concepts such as “light” and “mass” didn't exist, it was impossible to see or touch anything. There was no way to determine whether something existed or didn't, or whether it was alive or dead.

This was a world that had lost its rightful observer. The ultimate remains of what Chaos had once been, and a graveyard for those who had wished for eternity.

A cat with no one to observe it as dead was equivalent to one that lived forever.

At the very least, in this deranged space, such absurd logic was accepted. It actually worked.

"So this is Alnima, the place where spirits are said to be born? Good grief, what a thoroughly revolting place."

—To be precise, you're standing in front of its door. It's merely one of countless entrances. If you were to truly set foot inside this so-called Alnima, you wouldn't last even a single second.

Oh? Mother Earth had gone so far as to separate off a personality just to speak to me. ...But was it just my imagination, or did her voice sound displeased?

—Anyone would be displeased after being shown something so grotesque. At the very least, I pray that my children,『 I』, do not meet such a fate.

We won't end up like this. Never.

—Hmph. What an adorable child. ...I don't mind your confidence, but think seriously about what『 I』 said earlier.

What she'd said?

—That you wouldn't last even a second if this were the true Alnima. Think carefully about what I meant, along with the physical abnormalities you're experiencing right now.

...I see. So that's what she meant.

"So my soul isn't up to the task, then."

—That should go without saying.『 I』 have no desire to venture into such a revolting space, either. If you want to switch places, find someone else.

—She's saying that, but she's desperately doing everything she can to reduce the strain on your soul, O Little Star.

...I hadn't realized. Thank you, Mother Earth.

—So you wish to be killed, you worthless spirit?

—Eek! ...Ahem. You called, and here I am! At long last, it's my turn!

She changed the subject. ...But will the spirit be all right?

—Absolutely, completely, one hundred percent no problem! This place is practically my homeland, after all.

Who would've thought the lazy, rough-around-the-edges woman's personality would actually come in handy...

—Isn't the way you treat me just a little too harsh?!

Honestly. Humans are so fragile. Mother Earth aside, how can they cry uncle over a space like this?

Well then, in place of those feeble little humans, I'll make sure to get the job done properly.

Now then, I wonder where the one I'm looking for is...?

"........................................Nope! This is impossible!"

Yep. Searching for someone in a place this enormous would be a pain!

So instead...!

"You're here, aren't you?! Come on out already!!"

BANG! BANG!

BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!

I loudly called out while pounding the flat sides of my twin swords, 『葬送』 and 『回帰』, against each other.

Judging by the game knowledge “I” possessed, if I made this much of a racket, my target would definitely—

"You're so noisy! Who the hell is that?!"

BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!

BA-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BABABABABANG!

BABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABABANG—

"YOU'RE REALLY ANNOYING, YOU KNOW!!! Wait, are you wearing earplugs?! You make a racket loud enough to wake the dead, but you're the only one who gets to be safe from it?! What kind of jerk are you?!"

Ow!

Something hit me square in the back of the head. ...Was this a yellow fruit? It looked like the “mikan,” a citrus fruit from Earth, according to “my” knowledge.

Hmm. So that's how it is.

I removed the earplugs I'd been wearing in both ears.

"Looks like you've finally woken up, former spirit."

"...Why are you acting like we're about to have a perfectly normal conversation? Did you seriously come all the way here just to disturb my beauty sleep? What a nasty piece of work you are."

As I turned around and spoke, an irritated voice answered me.

I looked toward its source, and there I saw...

"I see. I knew about it from my knowledge, but this must be the legendary..."

The first thing that caught my eye was a wooden platform with a square surface facing upward.

There seemed to be supporting posts at all four corners, raising it slightly above the ground.

I say “seemed to be” because a thick, fluffy futon had been laid over it, concealing what lay underneath.

But I knew. More precisely, the answer was in the memories of the human who shared my existence: Hoshiji Ryuto.

Its interior was hollow, filled with a warm, cozy space where one could bask in the heat. Any intelligent life-form that entered it would have all its energy and motivation drained away, making it impossible to ever leave again.

The ultimate weapon created by the Golden Country of Zipangu.

"IT'S THE LEGENDARY K-O-T-A-T-S-U...!"

There, before me, was a talking kotatsu.