“Shall we move through the dimension gate now?”
I looked at the status window and nodded.
‘…Yes.’
I took a step back.
In front of me, a black mist wobbled in an oval shape.
It was my first time seeing it, but I instinctively understood.
‘Dimension gate.’
If I cross this, I can go rescue Eliya.
“Judas!”
The royal guard all rushed towards me.
Before I knew it, there were no intact lives around.
Only Epona, the Magic Tower Master, the royal guard, and Yuel remained.
Everyone was injured in various ways.
At least, no one had died, so that was a relief.
“What we just saw…”
Dillon trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who experienced that illusion.
The fire chariot soaring towards the sun.
Eliya ascending on it.
Eliya disappearing in ashes along with the Evil God.
“…It must be right.”
“Is that so…”
Dillon’s reaction was almost barren.
It was a ridiculous sight.
We gathered here to protect Eliya, yet we couldn’t do anything.
And among us, as the knight, I looked the most foolish.
“But… what is that?”
Lindell pointed to the dimension gate and asked.
How should I explain this?
There’s no time for a long explanation.
Even now, the chances of rescuing Eliya might be decreasing.
I felt like my blood was drying up in real-time.
“That’s probably… a passage to get the lady.”
His reaction was one of disbelief.
It’s no wonder.
But I had neither time nor the capability to explain it in detail.
Richard broke the awkward silence by tapping my arm.
“Well then, isn’t that a good thing? Why are you looking so gloomy?”
“……”
“Go ahead and come back quickly.”
Dillon chimed in from the side.
“We’ll take care of things here, so don’t worry and go.”
“…But can I come back?”
Suddenly, Lindell posed a basic question.
‘…Oh, can I not come back?’
Argon slapped Lindell on the back of the head.
“Hey! We were having a nice mood here, and you’re asking weird things!”
“Ah! But it’s important!”
A rather ordinary, clumsy scene unfolded.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I will definitely return.”
Richard nodded.
“Right. Just try not coming back. I swear I’ll…”
“To see Beninita’s wedding, I absolutely need to return.”
“…Get lost.”
My heart lightened a bit.
The royal guard all shouted and waved at me.
Dillon shook my hand lightly and hurriedly began to manage the situation.
There was one last person to say goodbye to.
Yuel ran up to me and rubbed her face against my body.
The Moon Deer, a being of the Molsin Church.
It suddenly struck me.
If the sun symbolizes life, then the moon represents death.
…Not that it means Yuel can help me or anything.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.”
I patted Yuel, scratched her, and hugged her enough.
“I promise I won’t collapse like last time.”
After pressing our foreheads together and making a promise, Yuel stepped back.
“I’ll go.”
I turned my body towards the dimension gate.
Something black and sluggish, like a dark cloud, was waiting for me.
“Phew…”
Taking a deep breath, I stepped through.
*
I can’t see anything.
I clearly opened my eyes, but everything around me was just white.
I couldn’t distinguish front from back, left from right.
An endless white space.
I could hear sounds.
My breathing, the clinking of my armor as I moved my limbs. Those things.
There’s either gravity, or I could at least distinguish up from down.
I couldn’t see the ground, but it felt like I was stepping on something.
‘Where am I… Is Eliya really here?’
As I looked around, I caught the sound of footsteps coming from somewhere.
Thud. Thud.
A steady rhythm.
It echoed throughout the space.
I turned my head in that direction.
“…?”
Someone was walking towards me.
Body, limbs.
It looked somewhat like a person.
But instead of a head, something bizarre was attached where the head should be.
A round and pitch-black object.
It resembled a globe made from the night sky.
Irregularly scattered stars sparkled like sugar.
There were two particularly bright objects within that round cosmic “head,” where the eyes would be if it were human.
The right eye was bright golden. The sun.
The left eye was a soft ivory hue. The moon.
That thing stopped a certain distance away.
“Nice to meet you.”
And spoke.
Although there was no mouth to be seen, it talked.
A gender-neutral voice that was hard to distinguish.
If I had to choose, it leaned more towards male.
…Though I wasn’t sure if gender even mattered.
It was about my height.
“…Who are you?”
It stared at me and rapidly blinked.
Could it even be considered looking?
It’s hard to tell given the lack of focus in its “eyes.”
“…Surprising. You really don’t know what I am?”
“What…”
“I am what you humans call a ‘God.’ Usually, people recognize it at first glance…but, you do have substantial intellect, I see.”
“……..”
Well, it felt a bit unfair.
I had assumed it was a God.
Just a gut feeling.
But it could’ve been something else, right?
“So you asked on purpose because it might not be me, huh?”
“……..”
“Why are you so surprised? Reading thoughts of beings with free will is easy for a God. Of course, I would have to bear a burden to peek into the thoughts of an intelligent being… but here, it’s fine.”
For some reason, I really didn’t want to acknowledge it as a God.
It felt too annoying.
“…You call me annoying, but should I be amazed?”
It clearly intended to hear that, and it did.
“Pft…!”
Suddenly, the God burst into laughter.
I had no idea where its mouth was, but I understood it was roaring with laughter.
“Yeah, you really are you. Just like I remember. Hmm, incredible.”
“Look, your flattery is unnecessary. So, where is this? I came here because I heard I could save Eliya. Can I really save her?”
“Of course. If you pay a small price. You thought you’d pay any price for it, didn’t you?”
In that moment, I felt it was grinning wickedly.
Even though it had no expression at all.
“…That’s right. What price?”
“More importantly, do you not have other questions?”
“Can I please just get to the point? I’m in a hurry…”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve talked with an intelligent being; if you could entertain me a bit, I might answer your question. Do you know how long I’ve been stuck in this place?”
“Damn, I’ve got no time for your weirdness. Why would I care to entertain your boring self?”
“Hey, don’t be so harsh. There’s no need to rush. While you’re here, all time related to you will come to a halt.”
“Ha…”
“You should consider it an honor. You’re the first to ask a second-stage intellect to play with them.”
“Wow, what an honor.”
I begrudgingly decided to entertain it a little.
“You’ve finally made your decision!”
Please stop reading my thoughts.
This time it didn’t respond.
The so-called God snapped its fingers, and two chairs appeared.
I sat in one roughly, not liking the creature at all.
“Now, ask anything. Anything at all.”
It urged me eagerly, as if it were excited.
‘What should I ask… what should I ask….’
As I tried to squeeze something out, a thought naturally came to me.
“This world… So, what is this world that I belong to as Judas?”
“Well, what do you think it is?”
“If you told me to ask, then why are you asking me back?”
“Your answer is my answer.”
“What…”
“What does that world mean to you? Just a virtual world made by a game? Are you merely experiencing a vivid dream, swept up in a deeply implemented virtual experience? Or does that place exist as an equal reality to your previous life?”
“……..”
It suddenly became serious, leaving me flustered….
An unexpected existential question.
The things I experienced with Eliya.
My contemplation didn’t last long.
“It’s not a virtual world. It’s a real one.”
“Then it is indeed a real world. But of course, that’s not the answer I wanted to hear.”
It nodded, as if it knew everything.
“This world you crossed into is the same as the one you lived in before. A dimension that really exists in the universe.”
But I had encountered this world through a game in my previous life.
How could that be possible?
That God seemed to read my thoughts again and answered knowingly.
“Ever heard of the Infinite Hotel Paradox?”
“I don’t know.”
“I like your confidence. It’s one of the theories that spread in your previous world.”
Somehow, it seemed like a headache would soon ensue.
I wanted to hurry and rescue Eliya, but it appeared that I would have to listen to all this first.
At least, the fact that time wouldn’t flow here was a relief.
“There’s a hotel with an infinite number of rooms. Currently, all these rooms are occupied by guests. But let’s say a new guest arrives. What would happen?”
“Um… Would you recommend another hotel?”
“…That’s a refreshing answer, but not correct. You move one existing guest to the next room. Guest in Room 1 goes to Room 2, Guest in Room 2 goes to Room 3. As I said, this hotel has an infinite number of rooms, so all guests can move one room over. And then?”
“…Room 1 becomes vacant.”
“Smartening up in real-time.”
“And what does this have to do with our world?”
“Well, you haven’t quite smartened up.”
What would happen if I slapped this so-called God on the head?
Hmm. Better not.
“This universe is just like that. Your previous life is simply one among countless dimensions. And what if, in that space, someone creates a new world, albeit virtually? That also becomes part of this infinite dimension.”
“…Can that really happen?”
“It might be hard for your second-stage intellectual beings to accept, but yes, it can. And the proof is you.”
So, even if it’s a world created from fiction, it means it exists as a world somewhere in this universe from the moment it was born.
The God nodded at my understanding.
“Correct.”
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