A rattling sound came from beyond. Like rain falling from the corners of his vision, the descending chains connected earth and sky, slowly narrowing the distance between the two concepts. In other words, the earth and the sky were being pulled toward each other.
Then, boom. With a tremendous roar, earth and sky collided.
Ian’s hair billowed in the massive shockwave, and the space that had vanished as if nothing had happened turned white again, resuming its work from the moment the chains struck down.
“…….”
Somehow, staring at it continuously made his head feel foggy, so Ian deliberately turned his head away to avoid focusing on it. Right then, the Outer God sitting beside him had also been looking at Ian.
“Hiek.”
She hastily turned her head. It seemed her pupils had momentarily doubled in number; apparently, she still wasn’t used to mimicry.
It was only natural. To an Outer God, humans were no different from ants, so mimicking a human body must have been her first time.
Just as there were no humans desperate to become ants, there would likely be no Outer Gods desperate to become human.
Nevertheless, the fact that she had taken human form was proof that she was being considerate of Ian in her own way. Thus, Ian didn’t show any sharp reactions toward her either. Instead, he took off his coat and set it down beside him.
“The Hermit’s Shackles.”
“……Uung.”
She answered.
She, whose name began with something like Car-, averted her gaze for a moment before openly taking in Ian’s face and body to her heart’s content.
If her eyes had been cameras, the sound of real-time shutter clicks would have echoed everywhere.
Honestly, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t displeased, but Ian took her reaction positively. After all, it meant she had no intention of harming him whatsoever.
He leaned his upper body slightly forward and opened his mouth.
“Do you happen to have a name I can call you? The Reconstruction of All Things told me to call her Rea.”
“Uh, um…… my true name…… ah, I guess that won’t work.”
“I can make out your true name up to the Car- part. I’m not sure why, though.”
“R-really?”
Her eyes widened before she broke into a bright smile and grabbed his hand. A metallic chill, completely different from human warmth, transmitted from her grip.
“That’s probably because you’re getting more and more used to us……! Or should I call it adapting……? Anyway, it means you’re getting closer to the Outer Gods, so it’s definitely a good thing……!”
“……Getting closer to the Outer Gods? What does that mean?”
Ian slightly furrowed his brow. She paused for a moment, then pursed her lips as if thinking hard.
“Hmmm…… simply put, your very existence is gradually becoming dyed as you get more deeply involved with the Outer Gods……? Yeah, I think that’s how you should understand it.”
She grinned.
“Fucking hell.”
Ian couldn’t laugh. He scrunched up his face and shook off her hand. She let out an “Ah” sigh, but there was no change in Ian’s expression.
“Does that mean I’m gradually changing to become more like an Outer God? In the end, will I get ejected into space like you guys too?”
“Ah, n-no. That’s not it. You’re human, and we have no intention of changing your species either…….”
“…….”
“F-from the start, this is a natural phenomenon…… from the moment you came into contact with the grimoires we wrote. Y-you’ve become close with us…….”
She snuggled a bit closer to Ian’s side. A faint scent of grapes wafted over.
“To handle a grimoire, you absolutely must get used to the energy of the Outer Gods. If your compatibility is low, you’ll go mad or transform into a kind of Mystery during the process. On the other hand, if it’s high, you can endure for a long time.”
“…….”
The faces of the girl who possessed “Lurie’s Submersion” and Railiere, who had once possessed it, naturally came to Ian’s mind.
They had been human, yet transformed into Oddities after possessing a grimoire—had they ended up in such forms because their compatibility was low?
If so, what was the current state of Walter, who now possessed the Mystery Apocalypse?
What level of compatibility did he have with the grimoire that he was still running the organization in a perfectly fine state?
‘Maybe he’s already gone mad, and then gone mad again so he acts somewhat like a normal person.’
It was a thought that suddenly occurred to him, but he buried it back in his mind because it was an unrealistic notion.
In the first place, what was immediately important to Ian was not others, but himself.
“Then what happens to me later? My compatibility is one hundred percent.”
He asked while maintaining a serious atmosphere.
The Outer God answered with a shy smile, as if embarrassed.
“Y-you’ll marry me…….”
“……?”
The corners of Ian’s eyes contorted. She placed both hands on her cheeks and twisted her body around.
Literally twisted—her upper and lower bodies grotesquely entangled.
“Y-you won’t be in any danger no matter how much time passes. You’ll continue living as a human; as time goes by, the only thing that increases is the p-part of us you can come into contact with…….”
“…….”
“For now, it’s just talking like this…… later, even names…… and later still, you’ll be fine even after seeing our true forms, and th-then after that, children too…… H-hehehe…….”
“……What.”
“Y-yes, if you’re okay with it, I’ll send only my powerless shell to Earth to live with you, and we’ll grow old and die together…… and when we die like that, in our own space out in the universe…… th-th…… we’ll m-mate a lot…….”
At that incomparably sinister delusion, Ian was left speechless. Meanwhile, she had already returned to human form at some point, wiggling her toes and snickering.
“Honey…….”
Her head gradually stretched toward Ian. Her neck elongating in real time was reminiscent of a giraffe.
Ian scrunched up his face, grabbed the pillow from the bed, and smacked her head.
“Get lost!”
“Kweek!”
Her head spun 540 degrees.
*
Ian’s bedroom. Lying neatly on the bed, he scrunched his face and waved his arm.
“Get lost…….”
Fwip.
His outstretched arm struck the shelf where the grimoire and music box were placed. But the music box, already bound by chains, didn’t budge. Instead, the Hand of Re-creation and the Abyssal Chronicle vibrated briefly.
[Uung.]
[Uung!!]
To others’ ears, it would sound no different from a phone vibrating, but the reality was different. The two grimoires alternately stared at the motionless Book of Contracts and Ian’s sleeping face, tilting their bodies left and right.
The Abyssal Chronicle got annoyed.
A grimoire of the Outer Sea capable of directly receiving the emotions, thoughts, and will harbored by the Lord of the Outer Sea glared at the Book of Contracts as if to kill it, dripping black seawater from the tip of its corner.
Likewise, the Hand of Re-creation, connected to the Reconstruction of All Things, pretended to be calm as it slightly tilted its body to gaze at the Book of Contracts, emitting vibrations in an eerie tone.
Roughly interpreted, it was suggesting they beat it half to death so that it couldn’t even make a sound for a while after returning to reality. The Abyssal Chronicle violently agreed with that opinion.
Then, it happened. The Book of Contracts suddenly vibrated roughly and flew through the air.
Thud!
The grimoire, having performed a splendid 540-degree spin, fell upside down onto the floor. Thanks to that, the music box was smashed into the floor, and the grimoire stood askew.
Because the music box was bound to the cover with an iron chain, the two items didn’t come apart. Instead, the back cover of the smooth grimoire was fully exposed.
The Hand of Re-creation trembled as if pleased by the sight, but then stopped vibrating at a sudden thought, staring intently at the Book of Contracts.
[Uung?]
The Abyssal Chronicle tilted its corner as if asking what was wrong. The Hand of Re-creation remained silent for a moment before conveying its thought to the Chronicle.
[Uung. Ung. Uuuung.]
The vibration starting from its cover shook the entire grimoire as if earnestly explaining something.
When interpreted, the content was a rational hypothesis: ‘If we stick fast to the back of the Book of Contracts, wouldn’t we creators be able to enter the Master’s dream as well?’
[Uung!]
The Abyssal Chronicle violently agreed. The two grimoires briefly exchanged glances before, without hesitation, plummeting and crashing onto the floor with a thud.
At that moment, Amelia, who had woken from sleep, knocked on the door.
“Oppa, are you asleep……?”
There was no answer. So Amelia carefully turned the doorknob and poked only her head through the cracked door.
“Ack.”
Her golden irises quickly took in the full view of the bedroom. And she discovered Ian sleeping without moving, and two grimoires rolling about on the floor.
“…….”
At the circus of grimoires she was seeing for the first time in her life, she was rendered speechless. However, an instinctive warning that she shouldn’t interfere rose in her mind, so she bowed her head as if she had seen nothing and closed the door again.
“Good night…….”
Click.
Silence settled again inside the bedroom behind the closed door. Regardless, the two grimoires stuck fast to the back of the Book of Contracts, which stood askew because of the music box, and squirmed.
At that moment, the tone of the quiet music box changed.
Dozens, hundreds of dissonances mixed together, bursting out as music resembling screams, which soon turned into noise as the music box’s figurine began to rotate again.
[……Huu.]
[Ahaha!]
Between the faint noises, something like a breath and a laugh mixed in.