Chapter Seventy-five: Eclipse
Crunch!
The sound of something cracking under the weight of force resounded,
Followed by an intense glare.
That glare belonged to Kotori.
Seated across from another girl who stubbornly avoided making eye contact.
"Strange," Kotori thought.
Very much so.
Over the past few weeks, everything had felt off. So much so that it was unsettling.
Not that she could fully explain why.
But lately, Spacequakes and Spirits had begun appearing as if out of nowhere.
And it wasn't Japan or Tengu alone.
It was across the entire world.
Of course, while it might not be a daily occurrence,
the rates at which these incidents are happening globally are high.
Right… their mission still hadn't changed.
But even so, their timings are nothing short of concerning.
Roughly two weeks ago, they sealed dual spirits.
What's more was a week after that, another spirit was detected.
Since when did they become so… how to put it, coordinated?
Kotori questioned.
Reine even showed her a rough chart earlier.
When comparing the statistics to thirty years ago, after the first Spacequake.
Slowly, it was aligning…
Whatever this meant, Kotori didn't know.
"Yet… I see someone in front of me claiming they are a spirit."
She leaned against her chair as she held the stick of the sweet in her mouth.
"What's more, they know what phenomena is currently happening."
It was inside a sealed room.
Metal walls surrounded everywhere, which looked like a lounge.
A dispenser, soft couches, a table in the middle of the small room.
Even flower pots.
It was a calming place, yet the figure in front was anything but calm.
'Kurukurucchi, you just had to snitch me off didn't you? Ahhh mou!'
The girl visibly paled under Kotori's sharp stare, doing her best to avoid eye contact.
Eventually, Nia swallowed, forcing a strained smile while closing one eye.
"Hahaha… well, I guess."
"You guess?"
Kotori's eyes narrowed even further, causing Nia's panic to spike.
She was still wearing her Astral Dress, and more importantly—
Nia knew full well that Fraxinus could already be measuring her Reiryoku.
And yet, she had approached them so openly, without any attempt at disguise.
Of course it looked suspicious.
She could practically feel it.
Everything she said was being recorded, rather, the entire room was.
And, from what she could tell, Shidou wasn't nearby, which was good.
His Reiryoku was even nearby.
It was distant.
Along with several other faint signatures which she assumed must belong to the remaining spirits.
'It seems like even without much intervention, he'd naturally awake.'
Nia heaved a sigh of relief.
Seriously, why was she doing this?
Being a mastermind character doesn't even suit her to begin with.
Damn those inhumane bosses and their vague orders, especially Morgan!
Just thinking about him made her shudder.
She didn't even dare consider opposing him.
«Laplace Demon», «Body Mind Unity», «Spatial Domination»…
What in the world was he preparing for?
It felt rude to pry.
But could she really help herself?
Raziel kept on feeding the information to her like patch notes.
Another side effect or so to say from developing new authority.
But, yes, it was because of this current phenomenon that was going on.
Similar to thirty years ago after the first massive spacequake.
"Eclipse."
Nia let out a quiet sigh as she muttered the word.
Hearing it, Kotori stiffened, blinking as the lollipop hung loosely from her lips.
She had considered how to phrase it.
But there was no clean way to explain the true cause behind what was happening.
Simply put,
Morgan's actions were accelerating events that were never meant to occur so soon.
Not to mention, his constant calculations were visibly starting to affect this world.
Rather, the otherworld.
And that otherworld was starting to reject those calculations, pushing back violently.
And that resistance was manifesting as the frequent, unstable Spacequakes.
Some outlier spirits were emerging from those Spacequakes as well.
But not all spacequakes had spirits coming out of them.
"W—wait, so you're saying—"
"This world is approaching its end, in a manner of speaking."
Kotori rubbed her forehead.
She was struggling to process the statement that had been delivered so casually.
Declaring the end of the world as if it were a news headline.
No, as a matter of fact.
Both girls were very troubled.
The only ones who were laid back are those groups of inhumane people.
Clocktower!
Even Kurumi, upon hearing about the end of the world, had merely smiled and said nothing.
None of them seemed concerned in the slightest.
"That's ridiculous!"
Kotori slammed her hand against the table, making Nia flinch as she nearly jumped.
The commander looked as though she might combust at any moment.
"Nngh— I know it sounds impossible, but please, you have to believe me."
Just as Nia said that—
…Tss!
The metallic door slid open, and a woman stepped inside.
It was Reine, wearing her usual droopy expression as she gave Kotori a small nod.
"Calm down, Kotori. At the very least, we should hear her out before making a decision."
Kotori turned her gaze toward Reine.
"You're saying we should believe her?"
Reine nodded slightly, prompting Kotori to let out a weary sigh.
But that wasn't all.
Reine stepped closer and handed Kotori a tablet.
On it, a map was displayed, followed by percentile numbers, and a graph.
In comparison was another page with the same layout.
"...I made a full analysis based on the rough draft from earlier and overlapped it."
She swiped the tablet.
"Look at this, it directly matches the data from thirty years ago."
"What's more, based on our calculations…"
Reine paused.
She turned her gaze toward Nia, who stared at her as though she'd just been saved.
The matured woman however simply nodded before continuing.
"I say we hear her out first."
"…Alright."
Kotori exhaled slowly.
"Then go on."
The sharp contrast in Kotori's tone when addressing Reine versus when she spoke to her was overwhelming.
Still, Nia nodded.
Both Kotorichhi and that guy really were the same type of people.
Setting that aside, she cleared her throat.
"Ahem. So… where should I start? Right, like I introduced myself before."
Nia outstretched her hand before her.
A small circle of light appeared, slowly expanding and crackling with light.
Shadows covered some parts of the room, casting shade as the light appeared.
In the next moment, however, a book materialized as the light dimmed.
"I'm a spirit, just like you, Kotorichhi."
She then tilted her head to the side.
"Well, I believe you already know about me, hahaha…"
Despite smiling while rubbing her head, she did so nervously.
And even as she spoke, the two weren't even entertaining her.
Instead they coldly nodded.
"Right, the one who Esper and Nightmare saved, right?"
"That guy especially really did something flashy, didn't he?"
Kotori finished those words for her with raised eyebrows.
For reasons Nia didn't want to think about, sweat beaded down her face.
That topic was dangerous territory, one she desperately wanted to avoid.
"Speaking of which.. what did you do after you were freed?"
It was Reine who asked that question with hands on her chin.
Talk about timing.
Nia winced internally.
At this rate, they were bound to ask about her connection to Morgan.
Thankfully, she had prepared for that.
"Hahaha~"
With eyes closed, Nia waved a hand in front of her dismissively with a smile.
"Of course, what else, to make up for those times I'd missed. It was hell ya'know."
"I had to cover a serious amount of volumes and make a lot of explanations."
Emu Honjo, ahem, Nia Honjo was a mangaka.
If Ratatoskr had done their homework, they would already know that.
Seeing both Kotori and Reine nod in understanding, Nia finally exhaled in relief.
But she knew…
It wasn't as easy as that.
"And so?"
Kotori pressed further, prompting Nia to shake her head as immediately as Kotori asked.
"Mnm. Nope."
"What do you mean by that?"
Nia sighed.
"If you're asking about my benefactor… no. There's nothing I can say beyond the fact that I owe him a favor."
And, contextually speaking, this very situation was part of that favor.
Morgan had even given her the freedom to betray him if she wished.
But Nia simply wasn't that kind of person.
Even if she comes to grow fond of Shidou.
But right now.
"I think we've drifted away from the original reason I came here."
Kotori fell silent, thinking for a moment, before nodding in agreement.
Nia then continued further.
"Right now, there are three systems which are in a constant clash."
A drawing appeared on Raziel's page, showing three different circles.
In that drawing.
Two of those circles released a clashing circle outside of themselves.
Naturally this depicts Artemisia and DEM's current system.
But she didn't say it.
"These two are canceling each other by default which leaves the third."
"And this third one is currently what's affecting the world."
Kotori tried to piece it together, but the logic didn't connect.
How could a system create Spacequakes?
Surely, it wasn't like what Morgan had tried back in England since these ones were real.
Promptly, She glanced at Reine for clarity—
But even the woman looked lost despite contemplating it.
Nia too scratched her head.
How could she explain it, give them just enough without saying too much?
To be honest…
She didn't know.
The talk about the end of the world had always been a misdirection.
What he actually wanted Ratatoskr to prepare for was something else entirely.
"Argh… just think of it as a ridiculously powerful PC that can calculate reality."
"…and that system is doing a lot of nonsense right now. It's affecting everything."
She rushed through it, skipping over the finer details.
But at its core, that was the truth.
At this moment, Reine seemed to have a solemn look on her face.
But Kotori was even more confused.
"To begin with, what's even this system? And which stupid idiot let such a thing loose."
Nia's lips twisted into a wry smile.
They'd never believe me if I said it's actually two humans and an AI, she thought.
She doubted it.
"Well, DEM has one and as for the remaining two…"
Her voice trailed off.
Nothing more less.
She had explained the pieces of what she wanted to explain.
One month to this time will be the deciding factor of things.
As Kotori and Reine sat in silence, deep in thought, Nia could only hope.
That Morgan wouldn't end up destroying this world after all.
On the other hand—
Clocktower
Footsteps echoed through a long, silent hallway where three figures walked side by side.
Morgan. Artemisia. Cecile.
They stopped before a metallic door, which slid open as they approached.
It was an elevator.
They stepped inside, and the doors slowly shut.
Tsss!
A faint sound followed as the elevator began its descent deep underground.
"There's not much time anymore. How are things coming up?"
"Very well, the reactor is already in production and should be completed in the minimum of three weeks."
Artemisia replied, carefully tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Barely making it in time, huh?
Morgan stroked his chin as the thought crossed his mind.
"I see. What about the recent spikes?"
"Ashley and Leo have been dispatched. They have also been assigned to handle the radio issue."
Cecile answered next, making Morgan freeze.
Honestly, he didn't think he was really needed to begin with.
All he does is either cook up some tech or concepts.
But since Beta was now with them, their possibilities are even more endless.
Not to mention now that she has achieved Quantum Processing.
Then again, with the recent incidents, he'd estimated a month before everything spirals.
And that's why…
"Sia, Cee."
He called out their names, prompting them to blink, turning their attention to him.
"In a month's time, I'll be stepping down, and Cee, you will lead Clocktower."
Both girls stared for a moment, then their eyes slowly widened as everything went silent.
What!?