Chapter 394
Flap .
Before explaining, Theodore spread open his hands, and a robe appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around his body . Space wasn’t hot or cold, so this was a matter of atmosphere . Akashic saw through Theodore’s actions and felt in awe of him . [Denial of nothing? Reversing the phase of existence and non-existence . It is different from the recorded ‘Theodore Miller’ . ]
The robe hadn’t come from Theodore’s inventory, nor had it been made using existing materials . Creation magic had literally created the robe from nothing . It was one step beyond the realm of ultimate magic . Interfering with matter and non-matter was a metaphysical concept .
“It is pretty good for someone who just came back from the dead . Isn’t that right?” Theodore answered with a wry smile .
It would be difficult to catch a clue about this, even if he studied hard for more than a thousand years . The creation spell he used just now was just a minor amusement .
Theodore’s eyes widened as he stared at Akashic . “The throne of omnipotence . . . I didn’t know why it was called this, but now I know better than anyone else . A collection of dimensional information? That is ridiculous nonsense . It is just gathered information . It is the self-consciousness that can wield infinite power . ”
The origin of this mystery was denied by the source . However, Akashic didn’t refute the remark . He just waited quietly without saying if this matter was true or false . In the face of omnipotence, no concept was absolute . Good and evil, justice and injustice, yin and yang . . .
It was possible to end the universe at this moment and restore it at the next . Theodore was convinced when he saw the true Akashic Records .
[So?] Akashic asked . [Who am I?]
Theodore gave an answer that any scholar would give the rest of their lives to hear, “The Will of the Cosmos . ”
There were intelligent beings who called a planet ‘Earth . ’ That was a world which had developed at least four steps more than Theodore’s material world . It was a place where scientific civilization had developed due to the absence of mana .
Fractal cosmology was a delusion that some of the world’s fools had come up with . It was some nonsense about the similarity between the body and natural phenomena, a fancy notion that this universe could be someone’s body and that their body was made up of hundreds of universes .
“It is a little different but you are the consciousness of this universe . You have no choice but to be omnipotent . All the laws that make up the universe are part of you . Magic, shamanism, aura, science, gods . . . No matter what path they choose, the investigator is the same . It is like saying that a river will lead to the sea and the stars to the galaxy . ”
[Right . ] Akashic nodded in confirmation for the first time . [Birth and death . The beginning and the end are the same . Destruction is also the same . You all come from me and will return to me . ]
It was the same as the reincarnation cycle in Buddhism .
An investigator was a person who drowned in the power and wisdom they had longed for before meeting the end that would someday be met . They achieved this earnest desire by becoming one with Akashic, and they couldn’t return to what they originally were .
Therefore, Akashic requested from Theodore, [Answer me, Theodore Miller . ]
A figure who climbed back from the brink of infinity opened his mouth, “Now, where should I start . . . ”
The story wasn’t long .
* * *
The moment he stepped into the Akashic Records, Theodore realized his own stupidity .
0 . 1 seconds? 0 . 01 seconds? He couldn’t maintain his ego in the vortex for that long . Gluttony’s advice had been correct . Compared to the vastness of the universe, one planet was just a speck of dust . How light was the weight of the people living on it?
The moment it entered the Akashic Records, Theodore’s soul shattered and melted like butter in just a few seconds .
······ .
Theodore lost his ego and became a ghost, destined to wander for infinity .
The throne of omnipotence—it was a place where one second felt like one year and one centimeter felt like a galaxy . A place where all concepts were established and scattered, and the boundaries were meaningless . . . It was a place that suited the word ‘pāramitā . ’
[Idiot,] someone at the other side of the river shot at Theodore . [You couldn’t even grasp the subject . I didn’t realize the person who received my teachings was so stupid . ]
A person who had charred hair and eyes burning with indescribable wisdom gazed at the wreckage that was Theodore .
90% contempt and 10% pity… With these conflicting emotions, the existence picked up the wreckage . Based on the size of the wreckage, Theodore must’ve been torn into thousands of pieces .
The great man, Simon Magus, criticized Theodore coldly, [You would have gradually melted down in the normal way . Yet you rushed into the center, forcing your soul to be crushed . Just a few seconds would’ve been able to save the world . ]
Of course, that wouldn’t have been possible . It had been less than 10 years since Theodore reached the 9th circle . His original talent was insignificant, and he had borrowed the power of the grimoire Gluttony . Nevertheless, Simon had passed down his teachings to Theodore .
[ . . . I can’t admit it . ]
This loser was the one who had received his teachings? Simon Magus couldn’t accept reality . Therefore, he raised his voice and cried out without hesitation, [I, Simon Magus, calls you! All investigators from the material world, please gather here!]
Despite being fully assimilated into the Akashic Records, the investigators’ souls protected their egos . There was no practical use, but they could be considered as single cells in an organism . Simon Magus could also be said to be a part of Akashic . Most of them hadn’t been able to make this distinction and had melted down . However, some investigators had managed to maintain a degree of personality .
[What? Is there something interesting?] A handsome man with a somewhat languid expression walked out from somewhere . He wore 10 rings on his fingers and was called Solomon .
[What did you call me for, grand master?] Ahasverus, the great magician who had followed Simon Magus during his life, looked at Simon with a questioning expression .
In addition to those two investigators, many other investigators gathered beside Simon . Simon had been at the forefront of the Age of Mythology when investigators had been the most common . He had been stronger than anyone else . It was the same inside the Akashic Records .
Around 100 people gathered, then Simon opened his mouth .
[I know the situation . ]
[Um . . . ]
[Ah . ]
[ . . . Hoh . ]
They were all part of Akashic . The investigators shared their observations in real time and nodded .
There was one person who spoke gruffly, [Yes, a crisis where our home will be crushed to pieces . So?]
[Faust . ]
[What does it have to do with us when we are just dust in the universe? I have no interest in peace or the lives of the living . ]
It was half right, half wrong . Some people lived with a sense of justice . On the other hand, there were those who indulged in wealth, fame, and beauty . Investigators had weak ids and directions in life . Nothing could be done about the deaths of the living .
[I am the same . ] Rather than denying it, Simon Magus accepted it . [Everyone who is gathered here will know . Living things are born, become old, get sick, and die . Nations will rise and fall, repeat the ebb and flow . A planet isn’t an exception . ]
[ . . . I know . Then why have you gathered us?]
[It is simple,] Simon Magus haughtily declared to the investigators with folded arms, [I don’t like it . ]
[What?]
[The fact that there is only one last investigator of this material world—I don’t like it . ]
The investigators were stunned while Simon showed them the wreckage of Theodore on his palms . The life of the magician called Theodore Miller—his life was given to the investigators . Simon Magus told them his reasoning, [Can you stand it? The magician who defended the place you called home? He was ashamed to see his child and jumped into the Akashic Records . ]
[······ . ]
[······ . ]
[I don’t know about you but I can’t admit it . I, Simon Magus, dedicated hundreds of years to exploring the truth . I gave up the honor of a human and lived while only exploring magic . But in an instant, he reached a level higher than me! The driving force of one young man!]
It was an end without any profit, but Theodore Miller had reached deeper into the Akashic Records than anyone else . The dumbfounded investigators suddenly opened their mouths .
[P-Puhat, puhahahaha!] Solomon broke the silence with a loud laugh .
[Ahahaha! What, are you jealous of that kid? You gathered us here to show us that?]
[Right . Is this it?]
[You gathered us together to motivate us?]
The rest of the investigators nodded in agreement .
Then Simon spat at them, [What do you know? I do this because I want to . I know that it isn’t something I can do alone, but I will still try . Anyway, we are all garbage . We have just become cosmic voyeurs! I don’t care if you aren’t interested . I am Simon Magus! This fact won’t change even if I become the dust of the universe!]
[······ . ]
[······ . ]
This was different from the previous silence . After Simon’s speech, the investigators started to think about it with different facial expressions . There was an investigator who came to a conclusion sooner than anyone else .
[Okay, let’s try it . ] The king of wisdom, Solomon raised a hand with a smile . [In any case, he seems to be someone who has a relationship with me . ]
[Lemegeton . ]
[That is right, but I can’t acknowledge him as my successor . ]
The second applicant appeared soon . It was a young man with a neutral type of beauty and a golden tail behind him . He was the transcendent born from a grimoire and great youkai—the strongest onmyōji in history, Abe no Seimei . [He is the one who granted my wishes . I will also help . ]
[Anything is fine . Anybody else?]
At that moment, a strange old voice was heard, [ . . . I would also like to participate . Is it okay?]
[Huh?]
The investigators turned their heads at the unfamiliar voice and saw an old man with an excellent physique . He had lost his life a few years ago and only recently regained his ego . The old man was Blundell Adruncus, a magician who had transcended the moment he breathed his last breath .
[You are new . Isn’t your ego still unstable? If things go wrong, you might not be able to regain your personality again . ]
[It doesn’t matter . That rotten boy is giving me a great-grandchild . ]
[Indeed, then I won’t refuse . ]
There were four of them . Even a transcendent person felt the instinct to go with the flow . There were those who were bored, those who were interested, or those who felt jealous like Simon . With the exception of a few pessimists, the investigators stepped forward . Faust grunted in an awkward manner because he had no choice but to cooperate .
[I can’t forgive anyone who knows the pain of a child . ]
[Go back and look after the child!]
[Aren’t you like a nagging wife? I bet that I’ll be back in 10 years . ]
[ . . . Weren’t you poisoned to death while cheating?]
[He is too young to end up this way . ]
The hundreds of people added their voices, making it hard to hear . This was a rebellion of the investigators, led by Simon Magus . No, since they were also part of Akashic, it was more of a ‘deviation’ than ‘rebellion . ’ How far could the single cells go?
Simon smiled on behalf of all investigators of the material world .
[Okay, I will twist a finger . ]
Who knew? Simon Magus and the investigators were successful .
* * *
[······ . ] Akashic was speechless after hearing Theodore’s story . Was it checking the facts with its cells? Just as Theodore had this thought . . .
[Hah . ] Akashic gave a small smile . [Interesting . There were movements inside me that I wasn’t aware of . Based on your explanation, it wasn’t you who destroyed Wrath . ]
“Yes . ”
[It is mysterious . I didn’t manage the investigators who make up a part of me . There was no reason or need for it . The investigators who became one with me aren’t able to do anything . I didn’t think hundreds of investigators would cooperate for ‘another’ . ]
The transcendents were monsters with their own ego . They did things for their own sake, like the grimoires . There was someone who changed a country for an experiment and someone else who sacrificed their kin . Even Simon Magus had been unable to make them move, until now .
[This is the first time . ]
The investigators throughout the history of this planet had devoted themselves to one person and lent their strength . In retrospect, this had never happened before . Simon Magus was the one who had called for help, but the investigators were also part of the Akashic Records . It was possible to make ‘Akashic’ move if they gathered their strength . However, there was no case where this possibility had occurred .
[I’m glad I didn’t observe the future . This is so interesting I don’t know if I can see it again in the future . Theodore Miller, I will take the part of me that you took as an admission fee . ]
“Yes, take it . ” There was no reason to argue, so Theodore nodded without hesitation and looked at the blue star far away .
It was blue and green . A planet with an ecological environment like this material world was rare in the Akashic Records . The average planet’s environment was said to vary because the atmosphere was so thin, and there were extreme temperature changes . Collisions with asteroids were also frequent .
[Do you want to go back?]
Theodore immediately nodded at Akashic’s question, “Yes . ”
[ . . . There is no hesitation in your heart . Good . I will take it back . Before that, let me know one more thing,] Akashic opened his mouth with no expression . [When you became one with me, you were omnipotent . You would’ve realized it after the investigators restored your soul . Isn’t that right?]
“That’s right . ”
[How can you give up that power? There are some investigators who came to me after training for a long time and didn’t lose consciousness for a while . But they were also attracted by the temptation of this omnipotence and became a part of ‘me . ’ I’m sorry but it is hard to say that your mental strength is higher than theirs . ]
The pleasure born of being almighty was beyond imagination . They could go anywhere and do anything .
It was more addictive than drugs . Theodore thought for a moment and answered without difficulty, “I wasn’t looking for you or hoping for this . ”
Akashic laughed and clapped for the first time . It was the answer he wanted to hear… that in this world, there was something more precious than omnipotence .
[ . . . Indeed, indeed! Those who are left in this world are more important than omnipotence! Good . Let’s go back to your world, magician! I respect you for not choosing to sit on the omnipotent throne and return to dust again!] The jubilant Akashic said to Theodore . [A human has chosen to return to being a bug . Some people might say you are stupid but you did what no one else could . This spirit led to the investigators stepping forward . I will wait for our reunion one day, Theodore Miller!]
“Then we will meet again . Farewell, Akashic . ”
[Huhahahaha! This is the first time someone has said this to me . I will see you again at the end of your life . Then, goodbye!]
There was a brilliant radiance, and Theodore closed his eyes .
* * *
“ . . . Eh?” Theodore realized he was lying on the ground .
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