"Huh? The [Alien God] reacted to what happened with you, Sensei?"
That night, after the eting where they discussed going to the ruins of Ka'an the next day to investigate Camazotz, Shiomi accompanied Olga Marie up to the roof of Tepeu's house to look at the stars. When she brought up what had happened during the day, she couldn't hide her surprise.
"Yeah. At least from what I saw in the mont, that's what it looked like," Shiomi answered honestly.
Olga Marie found it strange, like she'd caught hold of sothing, yet couldn't put it into words. She let out a silent sigh, hugged Shiomi, who still hadn't recovered his original size, and stared up at the night sky over Chichen Itza.
Mictlan was nothing more than a cylindrical underground world, with an artificial sun traveling back and forth between the First and Ninth Layers. And yet, for so reason, the sky at night still held specks of light that looked like stars.
"What do you think it ans, Sensei?" Olga Marie asked.
"If I said I think that reaction might be the key to solving the [Alien God] problem, would that bother you?" Shiomi asked.
"Not at all." Olga Marie shook her head frankly. "If anything, I've been worried. If even you and Ms. Morgan can't defeat the [Alien God] together, then we might not have any chance at all."
"Don't say that," Shiomi said softly. "Even if we weren't here, you still can't give up… unless you've truly lost the will to fight. That's a different matter."
Shiomi wasn't the type to force soone with no desire to fight into a battle they had little chance of winning.
Even so, humanity's survival now rested on Chaldea's shoulders.
"Mhm." Olga Marie nodded obediently, then returned to the earlier point. "So you think we found a breakthrough because the [Alien God] is moving around using my original body?"
"That's the only way I can interpret it," Shiomi said, thinking it over. "Even if you don't need to care about that body anymore, Marie, it's still a part of you. When the ti cos, you might need to take back whatever is still left in that vessel."
Olga Marie blinked. "You an the Animusphere Magic Crest? Or…"
"It's hard to put into words. You could call it information carved into the body itself." Shiomi shook his head. "Given the [Alien God]'s current state, we might be able to create an opening for you to try making contact with the 'Star God.'"
"Would that actually do anything?" Olga Marie asked, confused.
"I can't say for sure. But you, as the original you, a spirit and soul, coming into contact with the 'container' you were forced to abandon…" Shiomi paused. "It should create resonance."
"Resonance…" Olga Marie's eyes widened as she understood. "If it's possible, I want to try."
"Don't rush," Shiomi reassured her. "I can't guarantee it's completely safe. I'm not going to let you take that kind of risk. The [Alien God] could erase you without a trace with a single flick of a finger."
Hearing the depth of concern in his voice, and how clearly he didn't want to lose her, Olga Marie felt her chest fill with warmth. She hugged him tighter and answered firmly.
"I'll follow your lead, Sensei. Everything."
"Seriously… haven't you been a little too compliant lately?" Shiomi laughed. "Don't just let other people decide everything for you. You have the right to choose for yourself, not hand that right over to or anyone else."
"I am doing my job as Director properly," Olga Marie puffed out her cheeks. "It's just… you've been my biggest support through all of this. That's why I want to listen to you."
"Fair enough…" Shiomi understood.
He was the one who had pulled her out of the abyss, and the one who had saved her life.
No matter what, Tenkei Shiomi's importance to Olga Marie was already beyond words.
Especially now, when they'd crossed the most important line.
"Okay, enough. You know I've got a plan. I just need to know what I should do when the ti cos." Olga Marie rubbed her cheek against his hair, clinging to him as she spoke in a coaxing tone. "So for now, stay with and look at the stars, okay?"
"Stars, huh… We're underground. Are those really stars in the usual sense? Or are they symbols the Maya placed in the sky of this underworld?" Shiomi couldn't help grumbling.
Olga Marie raised her head and quietly felt it out for a mont. "They're probably… real, I think. Even just staring at them like this, I can feel the Mana hidden in that starry sky."
"Then it has to be a Maya Mystery," Shiomi said. "Kirschtaria said it's hard to build Magecraft here, because the constellations are completely different from Proper Human History."
"Even if he could use Magecraft, if it can't reach the sa output as it did in the Atlantic Lostbelt… then whether it's fighting Tezcatlipoca or fighting ORT, his power would still be a drop in the bucket, wouldn't it?" Olga Marie said.
"That's the theory, at least. Mictlan is a lot like the Britannia Lostbelt. There's no Proper Human History here in the true sense." Shiomi looked up again. "But… this place still doesn't deny the existence of Servants and Heroic Spirits."
"Tepeu said the Deinos slept for a very long ti." Olga Marie recalled what they'd talked about over dinner. "The ruins of Ka'an you're going to investigate tomorrow… those appeared here before the Deinos woke again and started moving around Mictlan."
"You an… Mictlan might have had humans once?" Shiomi sounded faintly surprised. "It's not impossible. But if that's the case, why don't we see any humans now…?"
With Olga Marie's speculation as a starting point, Shiomi followed the line of thought.
If it was true, then Camazotz, who was occupying the ruins of Ka'an and using them as a base, might know far more about Ka'an.
But Camazotz was an enemy. He wasn't going to just hand over the truth.
"You're really thinking about it," Olga Marie said, a little embarrassed. "I didn't an anything serious. I was just chatting and letting my mind wander."
"It's fine." Shiomi shook his head. "Thinking broadly like this is good. It helps with our work in Mictlan."
"But I'd rather be with you…" Olga Marie's cheeks flushed. She leaned in from behind Shiomi's shoulder, aiming to kiss him from the side. He didn't refuse, and just as he lowered his head to respond, hurried footsteps echoed up from below.
"Dad? Are you on the roof?" Karen's voice called.
At that question, Olga Marie imdiately let go of Shiomi and sat up straight, trying to look perfectly proper.
By the ti Karen climbed the stairs, all she saw was the two of them sitting there, enjoying the cool night air.
User Comments
0 comments from readers