A hand descends.
A gigantic hand, large enough to cover me and my companions, with plenty of room to spare.
Currently, aside from Wukong and Fighting Victory Buddha, who are separated in another space, the only remaining companions are Zeus, who resides within Leo’s body, and Sre.
“Hmph!”
Crackle!!
Zeus shot through the gigantic hand like a bolt of lightning.
Despite the Tathagata’s hand being significantly enhanced and this space itself being the Tathagata’s realm, it was surprisingly easy to destroy.
As expected from a God of the Celestial Sphere, it shows quite a strong power.
“I don’t like it, but I can’t let some Tathagata bastard defeat me.”
“That’s a good mindset.”
“Don’t cling to me like we’re friends. If I could get away from you, I’d have killed you long ago…”
“Then how about stopping that first?”
“What—”
Before he could finish, seven outstretched hands grabbed Zeus.
Zeus sparkled and emitted electricity, but the seven hands clung together protectively and didn’t break apart easily like before.
“Ha! You’ve gotten quite strong! The Buddha is nothing now, right Tathagata!!”
—Right.
“How ridiculous… what?”
A hum.
—I am no longer a Buddha. Thus, I will surely witness the truth of this world.
The power of the seven hands amplifies.
Buddhas who have reached the state of enlightenment and nirvana, like Fighting Victory Buddha, are generally not violent, unlike some unique beings.
Most of their attacks are rather soft, involving restraint, sealing, or strong suppression.
But the ‘now’ Tathagata was different.
“…?!”
The Tathagata’s hand glows yellow and is about to ‘explode’.
If all those hands burst, it would undoubtedly inflict tremendous damage not only to Leo but also to the true body connected to Zeus.
Zeus shines even brighter, but it’s futile.
Even if he wants to cut off the connection with Leo and escape, it’s impossible due to me.
“Damn it! Release it now! Tathagata! One Who Denies the Light!!”
“……”
“Release it! Can’t you hear me!!”
“Um…”
“You fucking—”
Just as the yellow glow erupting from the hand was about to explode,
Flap!
“Kraang!”
Kwaaaah!!
A pure white icy breath covered both the hand and Zeus.
As the explosion was momentarily delayed, Sre swung its front paw, breaking the assembly of the seven hands and swiftly snatched Leo.
Zeus, caught by the nape and wearing a bewildered expression.
And it’s only natural, as even Zeus’s true body couldn’t easily break free from the powerful binding that collapsed in a single claw from Sre.
Really, it must be some sort of cheating material.
The Tathagata’s face twisted once more into a myriad of colors.
—Is that child also one of the truths?
“Is that me?”
“…Well, you could say it’s similar.”
The ‘Fragment of Frigid Cold’ attached to Sre’s claws destroys all laws and principles of the world.
To be precise, it should be seen as freezing to a state of nothingness.
“However, that’s just one of dozens of truths. At least, it probably has nothing to do with this place.”
In the end, that fragment of frigid cold is just a part of one of the Six Demon Kings.
In this world, there are eight righteous and six demon kings. Additionally, there exist celestial and demonic deities, so there are at least 16 different truths.
It’s hard to say who is superior, but at least among the fourteen, not counting the two creator gods, they are ‘equal’ in some ways.
The Hand of Tathagata moves once again.
This time, the hand, now double in size, targets us.
It’s clear that the hand is more cautious and threatening while keeping an eye on Sre than before.
“Grawr?”
Swishhh!! The hand created a massive sealing sphere around Sre, missing him as if drawing a circle around him.
Sre emitted a blizzard of cold air, but as the seal showed no change, he let out an “U!” and launched himself into a headbutt.
Crackling!!
The violet claws shredded the seal as Sre successfully escaped.
“Hehe. I’m out… Huh?”
But the place he popped out to was another part of the Heavenly Realm.
Sre tore through this space and that, but no matter how much he shattered the surroundings, it only led to yet another space.
After spinning around endlessly for a while, Sre, looking exhausted, collapsed on the ground and fell asleep.
And I, watching all of this, couldn’t help but mutter in awe.
“That’s unexpected. I thought he’d just be crushed under the palm.”
No matter how nonsensical the weapon was, his opponent was merely a young dragon just starting to grow.
Considering the significant difference in size, most would try to suppress him through sheer strength.
From my experience, over 90% of strong monsters or gods tend to have this nature.
However, the Tathagata deliberately induced the breaking of the seal, sending him to a space that continued to manifest no matter how much it was destroyed.
Of course, if Sre could ‘use’ the Fragment of Frigid Cold, he might have smashed through all spaces and approached the Tathagata, but that fragment was literally just a ‘fragment.’
A fragment that held no will or power to manifest.
Thus, it was used purely as a ‘weapon’ for Sre, leading him to ultimately give up on breaking through and fall asleep.
—It’s merely taking advantage of a child’s nature. Thankfully, even with a strong truth, it lacked the intent to kill.
“Is that so?”
—Indeed.
I glanced around.
Zeus, who had been tossed about by Sre, had detached somewhere in the middle and lay flat on the ground, lost in space.
The hands still filled the back of the Tathagata, hesitating to launch an attack.
The hands of Tathagata were filled behind him, yet he hesitated to attack.
I had already known that he couldn’t defeat me even if he used all of that.
Tathagata had simply been using his power to prove himself; fundamentally, he was an existence that observes the universe.
He’s not a fool who can’t gauge his opponent’s level.
“Are you planning to give up here…? What exactly do you want?”
What Tathagata desires.
‘Truth.’
What even is truth in the first place?
The secret surrounding this world? The powerful laws that govern it? Or the sixteen gods?
The origin of the birth of demons and the reasons they began to fight, the reconciliation that occurred after the primordial and the final wars…
“What do you want?”
I have a vague understanding, but there are still quite a few things I don’t know.
Especially the reconciliation that happened after the final war is an incomprehensible part.
If reconciliation was to happen, it wouldn’t be strange if thousands or tens of thousands—no, perhaps even more—hadn’t fought.
Tathagata’s hands sink.
As all the hands merged into one and seeped into Tathagata, I felt the Heavenly Realm tremble.
—It is the Origin.
“Origin…”
—This world is a bizarre place. A universe created by the Master of the Tower and Bonchobul. There live innumerable gods, and living beings strive to become stars of heaven.
Kugung!
—But why does this tower exist? As you well know, the tower is not a place that creates stars. To become a celestial, one needs stories and power beyond the tower.
Kugung!
─The Master and Bonchobul. No one has provided an answer. Was it for the sake of ascetic practice? No. They merely created the universe; it was not to lead foolish sentient beings. This is proven by the Master’s state of mind.
Kugung!
—Then why? For amusement? That’s also laughable. If they wanted to see that, there were much simpler paths; why engage in such unnecessary acts? What on earth is it? Why did the Master become the master of the tower, and why has Bonchobul stayed silent? Such questions. Deep, deep questions.
Tathagata’s body completely crumbled away.
As the flesh of Tathagata, which was like a massive mountain, shattered completely, a very small human form emerged.
The primordial Tathagata.
The Tathagata before he became a ‘star’ that observes the universe through repeated training.
Returning as a human, Tathagata stepped on the ground with two feet, yet the questions only grew larger.
“I cannot understand. What is this place even for?”
“……”
“After becoming a Buddha and entering the state of nirvana, I let go of everything. However, one, just one question remains beyond the state of nirvana.”
Someday, I fervently hope that the day will come when that question will be resolved.
“One Who Denies the Light. Lily Elbrite. Tell me, what is this place supposed to be?”
“…I wouldn’t know.”
“You don’t know either?”
“Yep.”
Others might think I’m an amazing person, but in the end, I’m just a mere human.
The past Lily Elbrite is so far above where I stand now.
Even if I go there, I won’t be able to learn everything, and that state is not even the final destination.
The face of Tathagata was shrouded in darkness.
To think I’ve gone this far but still can’t resolve the question.
“…However, there’s one thing I think I know.”
“…! What is it? What could the reason be…”
“It won’t be meaningless.”
Heavenly beings and the demon race might be trash, but they don’t do unnecessary things.
Just like no one thinks, ‘Should I eat that rock lying in the road?’
They don’t bother with ‘meaningless value’ that’s even worse than a rock.
“If what I think of them is correct, this place exists out of necessity. The reason for the tower being built, as well as why the Master of the Tower and Bonchobul keep their mouths shut, all must have their reasons.”
“…Necessity.”
“Also, speaking of deletions, I remember that originally they don’t do bothersome things like deletions.”
They just haphazardly fight and cause a ruckus on others’ lands until they disappear; that’s how heavenly beings and the demon race are.
Especially the damage caused by the demon race’s experiments has been enough to swallow up two or three small continents every year.
We bear all the aftermath and the damage.
“But, those heavenly beings and demons are creating a world for regresors and regularly deleting things?”
“This place might actually be more important than we think.”
“Why?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Well… if I had to guess, the most suspicious one is obviously the raccoon.
Considering the raccoon is climbing the tower for ‘growth’ at this moment.
I said that, but Tathagata still looked at me with a face full of questions.
“…Is it not you?”
“Me?”
“Yes. It seems like you are the one shaking the tower the most right now…”
“That can’t be true.”
I have no connection to this place.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
