Chapter 244: Mana (True Name)

***Arc 10 One Who Doesn't Acknowledge, Chapter 244 Mana (True Name)***

The world is made up of many overlapping dimensions.

If the physical dimension is a book like the one Bery read to her――the world of stories, then there is also a dimension in which Bery and Krische, who were turning the pages of the book, exist.

If magic were to be likened to ink, it was the ink that could stop time, twist space, and change and alter the world itself as if altering the story.

A physical law is nothing more than 'one law that is currently stable', a single concept that moves the physical dimension through the correlation of particles.

If she were to use the ink called magic, stopping time or twisting space would be easy for her.

The problem lies in who and how the ink is used.

It is not a material entity.

Just as the inhabitants of the story do not add anything to their story by themself, it is certain that a higher-dimensional being can do this.

――Perhaps it was the one that many call God or soul.

Her body was floating gently.

She could see the Regalave, She could see the depression with the magical crystal cliffs, she could see the sky――was looking down on the physical world.

It was uncertain whether that expression was correct. It wasn't like she was looking down.

However, the expression "overlooking" seems to be correct.

At least from a place far above the physical plane, Krische was looking at everything.

She looked at a light pink rabbit.

It was the rabbit that Krische had killed earlier.

Floating as if diving into the material world, the form changes, transforming into a sphere emitting a faint red light.

"Ah", Krische remembered.

In this dimension, the body naturally becomes like that.

She looked at her hands and feet.

A translucent body tinged with red――countless blue magical lines ran to every corner, shaping it.

Although the spiritual body that turned purple certainly maintained its shape, if you looked closely, the magic at the tip of the feet faded, and the shape began to collapse――and she immediately adjusted its shape with magical power.

Her thoughts were foggy.

If there was no will to maintain herself, this body would easily turn into that sphere.

――No, not changing, but returning.

There was a conviction like that.

What was originally in that shape simply adapted to the container called the body.

It was the law of nature.

The soul is like a liquid, originally without a definite form.

If bottled, it will be maintained in that form, but once the container is lost, it will immediately return to its original form.

Spiritual matter only has the property of maintaining loose bonds, and its shape is nothing more than the shape of its container, so it was natural for it to form a sphere-like water floating in zero gravity.

"――――"

It was trying to become like that last time too.

If Kreschenta hadn't sent magical power into her body, her soul would have returned to its original form eventually.

She sensed the magic sent from Regalave to the material world's body and reassured, she followed the rabbit.

――Before she knew it, the material world had become invisible.

As she watched the rabbit, the world without sky or land suddenly turned into an iridescent mess of various colors.

She no longer knew where she was, and without the sensation of magic being sent into her material body, she wouldn't even know the way back.

*'――――even dragons were swallowed up by something deep within and disappeared. Stop. ...This is my advice as a friend, Krische.'*

Surely, the dragon must have changed into that sphere in the same way.

Just making an effort to maintain thought. The power trying to turn into a sphere was not necessarily strong, but there was an irresistibly pleasant feeling.

It's such a comfort that if you surrender to it, everything will disappear.

The irresistible temptation of not having to think about anything.

'―Ah, why was she here?'

She suddenly questioned it and shook her spirit body's head. It was to bring back Bery.

A momentary blank in thought distorted her thinking.

She had to have the will to maintain herself.

Looking at her hands and feet, she moved them. Through magic, she closed the spiritual body again with a cage of blue lines.

The sphere that was a rabbit went further ahead.

She followed after it.

There was no sense of direction.

Judging from the relative position of the magical power pouring into her material body, she guessed that she was heading to the depths of the earth.

In some faiths, it was often said that there is heaven in the sky.

But the truth was probably in the depths of the earth.

What is above is a vast material space and other stars.

Just as everything is bound to the earth by gravity, the soul is also bound to the earth.

When she suddenly looked around, she saw various spheres flying in the same direction as the rabbit.

Some had no limbs, but still retained their human form.

'I guess we have to think about the wooden plaque on the grave. What should we do with the string? ...Considering their feelings, Oba-san thinks it would be better for them to have a thicker string.''

Grace and Gorka had died in a bandit attack, and Gala asked about such things.

In the village's custom, for the deceased, wooden tags were tied to the trees with strings.

'...?'

'Krische-chan, it's your first time, right? The string that connects to the wooden tag is for connecting the souls of the departed. If you use a thick string, I'm sure their souls will watch over Krishe-chan for a long time to come."

'Until the string that connected you breaks', Gala said.

'On the other hand, thin strings that break easily are meant to help the souls of those who have passed away be reborn in the next life as quickly as possible without any regrets. Since Krische-chan is still small, I thought it would be better to tie it with a thicker string.'

'Hmm... Krische is fine alone, so a thin string is okay. Kaa-sam and Tou-sama don't have to worry about Krische, it's better if they depart soon――'

――Gala said that if there were lingering regrets, the soul wouldn't be able to travel properly.

Rabbits and beasts have no regrets, so they don't have the thinking ability to think about it, so they immediately turn into spheres.

On the other hand, those who have retained their human form may have regrets about their deaths.

Being here means they were dead, but they still maintained their forms without turning into spheres.

They must be thinking about something for a long time.

A place that is much farther away than where they were now――near the surface.

She saw many spirits there too.

At the same time, several surrounding pieces lost their shape as if melting.

They must have surrendered themselves.

It might be a happy thing, she thought, but somehow she felt frightened.

What was she afraid of?

She questioned that,

***"――――"***

When she noticed, she called her name.

—What about her?

Maybe her form had also disappeared.

If that was the case, what should she do?

She knew that if that happened, there would be nothing she could do about it.

She tried not to think about it and followed the rabbit.

She kept her will even as the tips of her limbs tried to melt again.

The Holy Spirit's hollow.

Ignoring the dirt on the negligee, the queen knelt, closed her eyes, and poured magic into the lying girl's body.

Blue light shone like four pairs of wings on her back.

They merely looked like wings.

The wings were constructed using an extremely precise magic formula.

It was just the insane density of the delicate blue lines that made it look like wings.

From its wings, a blue geometric line spread out into the surrounding space like a weave, filling all of the depressions.

Occasionally, a hard sound would be heard and a huge mass of magic crystal would break apart, and the line connected to it would flow into the wings, and from the wings into the girl's hand.

The girl didn't say anything, and neither did the dragon.

The warriors of Kreisharana who were present were unable to say anything and simply looked at the fantastical scene.

――It was one of the old creation myths before they settled in Arbyagel.

The God of Creation used his immense power to create many gods, create the earth and sky, and create the creatures that live there, including dragons.

Messengers of the heavens with eternal life and wings to fly freely in the sky――Humans were said to be the descendants of those who fell to earth for various reasons, and so their wings were lost along with their eternal life so that they could not return to heaven, where God resides.

It was a common story.

In the era when tribes were ruled by their own clans, there were many similar myths.

The creation myth of Alberan was also similar, and people believed in similar myths when Kreisharana was in the plains instead of Arbyagel.

For the most part, it was because of the era.

There was a common belief that warriors connected with their martial arts, the brave men who died with swords in their hands on the battlefield would be forgiven after death and returned to the kingdom of the gods.

In Kreisharana, faith in the Holy Spirit had replaced it, and that faith had become a mere shell due to the power of the god-like dragon, but what was happening before their eyes was enough to remind them of that fading myth.

The appearance of a girl with magical powers and wings in her hands――her divinity was just like a myth, just like the martial arts displayed by the sleeping girl.

She had enough beauty and persuasive power to overwhelm them, as a mythical existence

Alberan was a word meaning Child of God.

Despite the arrogant name, the girl's appearance was entirely fitting.

Regardless of the past kings of Alberan, at least no one would object to Queen Crescenta calling herself Alberan.

There was a sound of wings, and a girl riding a griffin landed beside them.

Just a cloth wrapped around her chest and waist――a simple but beautiful girl.

Although she was old enough to be called a woman, she still looked young.

Lira Sharana saw this scene and the men who didn't say a word, and then she turned to the Holy Spirit.

Then she looked at the Queen, Kreschenta.

"...Um, Your Majesty the Queen."

"Please be quiet for a moment. Onee-sama is about to die and I don't want to be distracted."

'Yes', Lira bows her head and looks at her brother.

Her brother nodded with a serious face, and Lila went to his side and fell silent.

The Holy Spirit, who had been having more conversations with Liea lately, was looking at the girl in front of Them without saying a word.

In that case, Lila had no choice but to remain silent and stare at the girl.

And Kreschenta had no room for composure, so anticipating and probing for every possible situation, she sent magic into Krische's body.

Kreschenta didn't know how Krische came back last time.

The very concept of a soul was unknown to her, and she did not understand it.

She just sent the magic power to Krische based on speculation after speculation.

'...Please never blame yourself.'

Those words were the only thing filling her head.

When she moves forward――when she passes through the iridescent space.

What appeared there was a dazzling light.

A vast space where the end of sky and land couldn't be seen, and an incredibly enormous sphere.

No――it would be difficult to describe it as huge.

At least, although Krische has thought of dragons and mountains that way, she had never described the celestial bodies that she usually walked on as gigantic, nor has she ever thought of them that way.

It is a land that is only natural to exist and cannot be expressed with words such as gigantic.

It was just beyond comprehension.

If one were to see celestial bodies like stars, moons, and sun up close in the sky, they might think that way.

Krische couldn't see the whole thing, and the total amount of magic power it possessed couldn't be measured at a glance.

Just as it was foolish to compare a person's magic power with a dragon's magic power, it was even more so.

What was here was a fundamental power that could not even be compared to the magical power of a dragon.

A countless number of souls and floating magical powers were orbiting around the gigantic sphere.

As if being drawn in, as if being sucked in.

Simultaneously, a vast flow of magic power and souls, like small splashes, was expelled from it and flowed far away.

By observing this, the girl understood all the logic.

The magic power that didn't crystallize was guided here by gravity, and simultaneously, the magic power that splashed out like mist seeped into the atmosphere.

Souls were also guided here by gravity, splashing out like mist, settling into new vessels.

The cycle of reincarnation――and here was the end and beginning of it all.

――The Origin.

Without needing to chase the rabbit anymore, she began to drift with the flow.

The number of souls floating in the same way was not in units of tens of thousands.

A large number of souls, exceeding hundreds of millions, drifted around the Origin, orbiting it.

――Gradually getting closer to the Origin.

Finding one from there was like finding a grain of gold in the desert.

It was an instance that could be described as impossible.

However, the girl was an anomaly in this world.

Countless souls――she deduced clear rules from their orbital patterns.

It was much like an astronomer calculating the orbit of a star.

However, she didn't need years of trial and error verification.

From the countless souls, she instantly calculated and determined the relative speeds.

Recognizing the souls numbering in the tens of millions around her, excluding the souls splashing out as mist, capturing only the souls orbiting toward the Origin, she carefully examined and calculated how much time had passed since arriving here.

If a law exists, one could calculate it.

It was a natural task for the girl to do, and answers that could be obtained by calculations were the same as being displayed openly to her.

Grasping the surrounding magic power, creating numerous brains――magic calculation formulas.

As a result, a new formula was created, and the created formula created a new magic formula, a suitable environment for the girl was created around her in a self-sustaining manner.

If calculations take time, create brains that can perform calculations.

In the blink of an eye, she performed astronomical calculations in parallel, easily deriving solutions――there was nothing easier than this for her.

Even the answers to questions that a single civilization could only obtain after countless years were only within the reach of her hand.

It couldn't even become an obstacle.

That is, as long as it was a problem with a clear answer.

――She had heard that she had died the same day she went into battle.

If the soul left the body at that time, it would be easy to locate her by calculating backward.

The problem was the ambiguity of the assumed time and the current location.

The immense magical power that was pouring into her own body was now faint――it was far away.

"――――?"

The magical power had changed.

The quality of that magic power was something she knew well, but the name didn't come to her.

It was probably her sister.

Wondering, she tilted her head and realized that she didn't even know her own name.

'――Well, it doesn't matter', she thought and continued forward.

She easily grasped the immense magic power, orbited around the Origin, and observed everything around her.

She wasn't even sure who she was looking for.

She just needs to look for it.

Countless souls around her.

Some of them were fleeing from his surroundings, and some were approaching her.

Without hands, she manipulated spiritual bodies as if wielding something, collided, and scattered like mist.

"――?"

Without paying any attention to this, dozens of souls that had slightly retained their original form flew toward her.

As if thrusting with a spear, as if swinging a sword.

Colliding and dispersing, the girl tilted her head while erasing the approaching entities.

It was something extremely fragile.

Just by touching it, it crumbled and turned into droplets.

However, the girl's spirit body was not strong either, and every time she bumped into them, a disgusting tremor filled her insides.

Getting fed up, she created numerous small fragments and shot down and erased everything approaching.

After she finished cleaning, she looked down at her hands.

She felt like she had been doing the same thing over and over, and she was getting tired of it.

And in that moment, she forgot what she was even trying to do.

She felt like she wanted to just melt away, but she suppressed it and explored her surroundings.

What is she looking for, she wondered again, as she randomly guessed and searched in the area.

She thought she'd know for sure if she could find it, but she can't seem to find anything.

She tilted her head again, wondering what and how she would know that she had found it, and felt like melting away, thinking that it was enough. The closer she got to something big, the stronger that feeling became.

It seemed like she would be very comfortable there.

She didn't have to think about anything.

But why was she searching for something so desperately and tirelessly?

"――――"

She would become happier, but the girl resisted.

She just thought that if she found it, she could bring it back――everything she wished for was there.

'...Little by little, let's find various ――-sama with me.'

Yes, she had to find it.

'Together...I hope from now on we can continue to be together like this forever.'

That was the promise.

She would always be with her.

She called the name she couldn't remember.

She couldn't hear the voice. Just as if she were calling in her memory.

She called the name over and over again.

Even though she forgot, it was the name of something she was searching for.

Over and over again.

Then suddenly, she caught sight of a soul and approached it.

――It was a different soul from the others.

The soul was covered by an extremely intricate magic formula in multiple layers.

It was a formula the girl knew well.

A magic formula that severed the space and stopped time, that was it.

And on top of that magic formula, there were layers upon layers of magic formulas to stop time.

She knew this magic well.

It belonged to someone she knew well.

The light pink soul inside was tinged with purple along with the magic formula carved all over its body, maintaining its perfect appearance.

It was what the girl was looking for.

――Beautiful, she thought

Among the hundreds of millions of souls that she had seen, only that one shone brightly no matter how far she looked.

Extremely precise blue lines werecarved into its light pink body.

The transparent light pink spiritual body, mixed purple, sat hugging its knees, just as the girl was familiar with.

A time-stopping magic formula envelops her like a shell――a small hole was made there, and the girl slips inside.

Then she reached out her hand, extinguishing the magic that had wrapped it around her carefully so that it wouldn't hurt her.

"――?"

However, when he tried to touch her body, there was a strong repulsion.

Her outstretched hand dissipated, and she hastily gathered it back, confused.

Not knowing what to do, she called out the name she remembered.

There was no reaction, and she didn't even look at her, still sitting holding her knee.

She called her again and again, at a loss, trying to figure out what to do.

After a while, she gave up and snuggled to her side.

She probably didn't even notice. She remained asleep the whole time.

Still, the girl was happy.

――Always together.

She was able to keep my promise and that was all that mattered.

If they could stay together like this, it might be fine to melt together.

Together forever, never changing.

'...Bery, do you hate it when――――scares people?'

'To be honest... yes. I do not like it'

She won't do things that Bery dislikes anymore, and there's no need for it.

'――But I know that ――――-sama is not doing this because she likes it, so it's okay.''

Always with the gentle Bery, just like Bery.

She hugged her knees as well, huddled closer to her side, and smiled.

But, speaking the truth, she wanted Bery to call her forgotten name once more.

In her soft and affectionate voice.

'Welcome back', that was all the words she wanted.

The girl called her name once again.

She didn't react and kept her eyes closed.

She was at a loss, but there was no other way.

'――When a noble is born, the parents give the child a secret hidden name. ...This is the first time I've said it out loud, and my parents are already dead, so the only one who knows it is ――――-sama okay'

Well, it doesn't matter, she was about to give up――

'Yes. There's no big meaning. It's just a word, it's my little secret.'

She suddenly remembered those words.

Just, I wanted to make a secret between me and ――――-sama.

She said, just once she hoped to be called that.

A secret word, a secret name just for the two of them.

'...I dedicate everything to you, along with my Mana (True Name) and body.'

One of the old etiquette ways to express your love.

It was some kind of whim.

She didn't respond, she didn't notice, so the girl got a little annoyed, just that.

It was something important that she had given to her, and it was a symbol of the happiness that the girl had finally achieved in her own life.

***――Lipus***

Whatever the intention, the girl did say that one word, calling her name lovingly.

She wasn't expecting a reply.

Just to convey being by her side, wanting her to know that, that was all――that's why,

***"――――"***

Her lips softly murmured, like sleep-talking, a voiceless voice.

The girl's eyes just widened at the indescribable love that those words evoked.

Without thinking about anything, she just pushed the emotions that flooded her.