Глава 14

'Uni...verse'? What's a 'universe'?

No language that you are familiar with has such a word.

It is a concept far wider than the land and the sky. It is all of space and time, and everything contained within them.

Even the most arrogant of 'gods' are unable to claim mastery over it as a whole, because the word itself signifies infinity, as well as the possibility for constant change.

However, Originium is able to incorporate it in its entirety, all in finest detail, forming an 'Assimilated Universe' within—

Okay, stop.

In short, we got two things.

One, for some unknown reason, we were dragged into the Originium along with the airship—not that anybody knows how tiny little rocks can have this huge place inside of them.

Two, we're not dead, and we don't know how we're still alive inside this... 'universe' in the Originium, right?

...A reasonably accurate summation of the matter.

Eh? No reaction, not even a raised eyebrow?

W!

Did you just... throw a bomb into the sea?

What else would I throw?

I had to test the waters <i>somehow</i>. That bomb's as good as my hand, right?

The old hag said that we got stuck inside the Originium. Maybe I could have oh-so-conveniently blown a hole—

Look out!

—What the hell just happened?!

It was like... there was something pulling on me.

The yellow stuff down there is liquid Originium, right? What else could the bomb have blown up?

It would not have ignited. There is no energy present to fuel a reaction.

I cannot sense any Originium within this Originium sea.

...Perhaps I should phrase it differently. As all Originium outside this realm exists in a combination with other matter, so too must it abide by the laws of the external 'universe'.

But here, those laws are dictated by the Originium itself.

You're not making any more sense than the old hag.

We have entered a place that operates on its own grammar.

I can sense the... language contained within this ocean of Originium. Vast, boundless, without limit. As of yet, I have been unable to thoroughly analyze it.

Stop, Logos.

Do not attempt to comprehend this 'language' for now. We should not... disturb it.

Although it is highly likely that we are already within danger's sights, the fact that this ship is permitted to exist is proof enough that we are safe, at least for now.

Rhodes Island?;The ship and the Originium sea...

This Rhodes Island exists because of you, Dr. {@nickname}.

We should have been assimilated by the Originium and become part of the ocean. Thanks to you, we were not.

You have changed... No, redefined a portion of the law.

Under circumstances that you yourself could not perceive, you have used this 'language'.

The one I spoke earlier? I don't remember it.;Sometimes it's in my brain, sometimes it's not.

Hah, who would have thought you had that sort of thing in you? Don't tell me that those weird dioramas on the ship were all your dream or something?

Those 'heart-warming' illusions were... disgusting.

...;I didn't like them either.

...Hmph.

W turns her head, pondering as she looks ahead.

She has barely even glanced at you since you entered the Assimilated Universe.

The real question is, now that we've barged into the Originium, how do we get out?

Can this haunted ship take us somewhere?

Rhodes Island sails atop the aureate sea. It resembles a mirror of purest gold more than anything else, its surface unblemished, nary a ripple in sight.

A question suddenly comes to mind: are you really sailing?

The ocean's surface seems static. Everything does, really.

It's too quiet. I can't feel anything. Flowing emotions, rich memories... It's all faded away.

Dr. Kal'tsit, this is inside Originium, right? I don't understand. It's already devoured so much...

Cities destroyed by Catastrophe, people died of Oripathy... Shouldn't traces of all those lives be here in this sea?

Why is there nothing here?

Because this is the end.

Everything sealed away by the Originium is trapped in this unchanging, undying end.

Oh, how wonderful! A 'good' place where even the dead can't die. Not even the Laterans could think up of something so heavenly.

No wonder that there's no Sarkaz aboard the ship. How could a sweet, blissful place like this have devils like us?

No Sarkaz?

You might be right. Other than you and Logos, I haven't seen a single Sarkaz since we arrived.

The Sarkaz... They are closely connected with Originium, but where are they?

Did the ship ram into something?;Is there something on the water?!

'SIGHT'.

Those shadows are Sarkaz! They're—

—Marching.

The war eternal continues, no matter if it is on the battlefield outside, or in here. No matter if they are dead or alive.

Countless Sarkaz shadows appear above the surface of the sea.

Wendigos, Diαblos, Nachzehrers, Banshees, along with many ancient clans lost to time.

They grasp clubs and spears, or crossbows and greatswords. Some even bear witchcraft cannons on their backs.

The water is calm, but the many shadows form a torrent, surging forward.

Charge. Fight.

Forever without rest.

War.

The Sarkaz's war against everything, persisting through millennia, never ends.

This is where the myriad souls of the Sarkaz return.

'I see cities, devastated.'

'I see Originium, blanketing the land.'

Rhodes Island is straight ahead! Hang on!

(Panting heavily)

I—

Shining? What's wrong?!

...The door has been opened.

The distance between life and death is closer than ever now.

It is something that all Sarkaz can hear.

We need to survive this round of impacts! The airship's been eaten up by Originium, which means the Royal Court casters are distracted! This is our only chance. There's too much damage to the vertebrae—

Hoederer?

I can hear it...

Did the Feranmut speak to you again? What did it say?

No... It's something else...

...I can hear all of history's wars, happening at once.

Look, Vina! Is it just me, or did that big red thing above Londinium get even bigger?!

Not just bigger, the red's darkened now.

It's like the entire sky's turning into Originium...

Storm's not calming down, either.

The Sighs of Kings can't cover a range that wide. The Sarkaz will destroy the entire city, and far, far more besides.

Amiya...

You must make it in time.

The myriad souls bar our way.

Here, in this place where everything is stilled by Originium, only they continue to fight.

Everyone hears the low roars resounding above the golden sea.

The Sarkaz's war will never stop. The Sarkaz's anger will never end.

How interesting. Looks like a bunch of long-dead Sarkaz heroes are still fighting their asses off. I guess this is what they meant by 'a living hell'.

But why are they blocking us off...?