Глава 15

The Cautus has never thought that oncoming doom, especially one pressing down on their neck, could be something to be accepted calmly.

I-I could never be so indifferent if I had to live through everyone and everything I love being destroyed.

I don't understand how you—

It's not indifference, but instead a belief in the absolute equality of the universe. It's a shame you arrived just a little bit late.

This ship had just encountered a star going supernova several thousand light-years away and made a smooth withdrawal.

If you see that sight with your own eyes, perhaps you will understand my meaning.

The instruments in the hall begin to spin rapidly, until they are moving too fast for the Cautus to see with the naked eye.

Then, she sees a multitude of lights and shadows appear and float through the air.

I see a giant sphere emitting a deep, dark red light, and a small indigo dot speeding across its surface.

But... it seems like it's the big sphere rotating around the blue dot?

The one you call the 'blue dot' is the pulsar that just went supernova I mentioned.

The red star which is gradually being torn apart is its partner, now doomed to die as well.

They once harbored many interesting primitive lifeforms. I have many fond memories of wandering through the planets of that star system.

It's a pity they were snuffed out before they could see the world beyond the sky.

...Why are you showing this to me?

Simply sharing the knowledge we have with you, traveler.

One-sided paranoia and ignorance are often barriers to effective information transfer. I have no knowledge of your history, either.

The Cautus has barely had the time to comprehend these words before suddenly, her newly-acquired knowledge begins to assault her mind.

The land... may see life be born twice? These stars fallen from the sky... can harbor life of their own?

Ruination's end... is not despair.

We're... not special, when it comes to the land?

A celestial body that can sustain life loves all that live upon it equally, no matter where they hail from. This is a law of nature.

Don't be too greedy in lapping up that knowledge you can't fully understand yet.

I saw you among all that information. You once had many of your people by your side, but suddenly—

'The Presence'. That's what a lot of people call you, right?

I am just a wandering presence, true. Like I said, when true destruction bore down on me and my fellows, I was powerless.

...What exactly is this destruction you keep talking about?

I've seen plenty of things here I can only describe as 'divine acts'. What could possibly threaten people like you?

I'm afraid that nobody on this ship can answer your question, traveler.

In your eyes, we possess knowledge that many lifeforms in this universe would consider 'divine acts'...

But in this boundless cosmos, even we have limits to what we can explore and investigate.

Are you disappointed?

So there's definitely no eternal kingdom, a paradise where everyone can experience endless joy and happiness?

Would you like such a place to exist?

The Cautus hesitates for a moment before nodding.

Nothing lives forever. Looking back through the history I know, I have come across legendary civilizations that have conquered countless star systems, spreading across the cosmos for millions of years.

But as far as the universe cares, what they left behind was, in the end, utterly insignificant.

We once blindly chased after non-existent principles and ideals... In the midst of that golden age beyond recollection, we believed our existences to have a sure purpose.

But in the end?

Any lifeform born with intelligence insists on declaring itself the center of its world, but whether or not it is right, in the universe's eyes—

From start to finish, we are nothing. This is the first thing you must learn before you can understand it.

Remember that brilliant supernova you just saw?

From that tomb, life will be born anew, and there will come a day when those beings will understand what we have carved on our grave.

That we once had lives of our own. That we existed.

...I don't understand anything that you're saying.

How were we born on this land?

Was there an even more glorious civilization here before us?

Are we going to be wiped out in the foreseeable future?

But what I really want to know is, all this pain and suffering that Originium brings with it... Can it be eliminated?

I beg you, show me the way to the answers I seek...

I can't answer any of your questions. Your first three have been asked in a myriad of languages in a myriad of ways across the universe. Only you can answer them yourself.

As for your final question... I'm terribly sorry, but I've never heard of this 'Originium', and I can't find anything related to it in our databases.

However, I do know someone rather interesting, who also happens to be the master of this ship. Perhaps she will be able to solve your riddle.

The master of this ship?

She's a linguist of wide renown. Her name is—

'Priestess'.

No time to be lost in your thoughts, Doctor!

Grab onto me!

—!;Did you see that, Amiya?

I can't break my focus right now. Weaving together a way to the singularity is incredibly difficult.

Even if Theresa were here to help...

Did you see something, Doctor?!

You see a familiar figure.

Go, 'Doctor'. Go solve your conundrums.

Keep focusing, Amiya.;Stick to the plan.;Keep building that 'bridge'!

I will! I'm doing everything I can right now to stabilize the connection points, Doctor.

Theresa has marked all the records Dr. Kal'tsit searched through earlier. I'm trying to link them all together.

But I still need an anchor point, one that can guide me back—

I will keep watch here, and serve as your anchor.

Press onwards, Amiya.

Pink, silken threads begin to gather.

The meandering threads interweave and spiral, gradually spreading out from the boundary into the distance.

Beyond its walls, the path to the singularity slowly takes shape.

It's working!

Originium Arts don't seem to work here, but applying the logic behind casting them to the information here does!

Can you build the 'bridge' using completely unknown information?

No, this place is full of information I can't analyze, not even with the help of Civilight Eterna. I wouldn't have been able to make this way forward alone.

But thankfully, Dr. Kal'tsit's access left records, and with Theresa's help, I can grasp onto her research data.

That's more than enough for me.

The pink threads continue to slowly spiral, linking together the many pieces of complex data that Kal'tsit left her mark on.

String by interwoven string, the path forward gradually forms.

'I can tell how you're feeling, Kal'tsit.'

'By analyzing the emotional matrix I constructed of you without your permission, I see your tenseness is not only because of my sharing an appearance with Theresa. You have something even heavier on your mind.'

'I will try to adjust. I don't want my personal emotional changes to interfere with the objectivity of those who come after me when they query these records.'

'Yet they are still changing, Kal'tsit. Are you afraid?'

It's not the most efficient way to build a bridge, but it should hold.

I'm going to try to get closer to the singularity.

I'll go with you.

'Yes, I'm afraid.'

'I'm afraid Amiya and the Doctor won't be able to find the information I leave behind, and I'm afraid...'

'That if the situation worsens to the point that they are forced to take such extreme measures, the trail I cleared for them would no longer be of use...'

'Or that I might mistakenly lead these seekers of knowledge towards a threat I dare not speak of.'

No, Doctor. I won't let you, not before I check its condition myself.

Amiya...

Sorry, I know I'm being stubborn about it, but this is my decision.

The bridge, formed from countless strands of entwined information, stretches out into the distance to touch upon the singularity.

Without the slightest hesitation, Amiya steps onto it, her first step outside the walls of the boundary—

A surge.

This feeling, it's like the information has formed some sort of great wave. But why—

This is only the beginning, I'm afraid.;'The closer you get to the singularity, the denser the information will become.'