Chapter 60: Terrifying Light and Shadow from History
The Astral Realm is not a world for mortals, yet it is not the exclusive domain of the gods; it is the place where the immortals dwell. Heretic Gods who have broken away from mythology, Campiones who have slain them to become Kings, and existences who have become immortal for various reasons—these are the residents of this world.
The structure of this world is close to the dwellings of the gods, but its laws lean toward the mortal realm, adhering to the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak. There are hierarchies here too; at the summit are a group of figures known as "Faerie Kings." These heavyweights either build kingdoms or carve out territories, forming the political ecology of the Astral Realm.
Annie, the Campione of North America—who roams Los Angeles under the alias "John Pluto Smith" and amuses herself by fighting rogue sorcerers—is one such Faerie King of the Astral Realm. However, those who know her true identity and don't actually believe she is a man are few and far between, whether in the Astral Realm or the mortal world.
Liliana was not one of those in the know. In fact, as far as Hikigaya (who knew Annie's identity) was concerned, he hadn't told anyone except his fellow Campione, Alexander—and even then, only to prevent Alexander from accidentally getting them both killed by saying the wrong thing.
What Hikigaya didn't know was that his discretion regarding Annie's identity had earned him a great deal of favor from her. In her heart, she had decided that no matter how pitiful her old friend was, she would stand on Hikigaya's side.
At this moment, Liliana was being led by Annie (disguised as a man) into the territory of this Campione within the Astral Realm. The Mansion of Plutarch—that was the name of this temple and Annie's domain.
"My old friend has always lived here," Annie explained to Liliana as they walked.
Incidentally, Princess Alice had not been granted permission to enter the temple. Even if she was mischievous and liked to talk back, the Princess was quite well-behaved when faced with a direct prohibition from a Campione. Annie wasn't Alexander; they weren't on familiar terms. Since Annie instructed the Princess to wait outside, the Princess had to comply, no matter how reluctant she was.
The structure of the temple was somewhat different from what Liliana had imagined. Following Annie inside, the two walked directly down a staircase leading underground.
"The ability to travel through time is not unique to Madame Aisha. There are many gods and faeries with the same ability; they can cross time and space and travel between different worlds without hindrance. As far as I know, Hachiman himself possesses such power," Annie said as they descended.
Liliana acknowledged this. Many gods indeed possessed power over time and space within their respective myths, and Hikigaya's abilities in this area originated from such sources.
"To be honest, many people are toyed with by the gods and drift into past eras. However, ordinary people lack the power to trigger events that significantly change history. Even if they do, the influence they cause is usually erased by the power of time."
"I suppose... that is so." Liliana had no desire to argue with this.
Her attitude gained Annie's approval, so she continued: "However, as great as the power of time is, it still encounters a few changes that cannot be corrected. In such cases, a 'Guardian' must step in. My old friend is such a person."
"Do 'uncorrectable changes' refer to gods or Campiones?" Driven by a mix of unease and curiosity, Liliana asked. "And if things cannot be salvaged, what kind of situation would occur?"
"It's impossible for me to know. Perhaps, like in a novel, parallel worlds would be created, or the era one lives in would be directly altered. Likely no one has a definitive answer."
As Annie said this, they reached the bottom of the stairs. They entered a corridor roughly eight meters wide that seemed to have no end. Upon closer inspection, there were several forks, making it as complex as a labyrinth. Furthermore, a large number of stone tablets floated in the air, swaying within the corridor as if in a zero-gravity environment. The tablets were densely engraved with letters.
Liliana glanced at them; the language appeared to be Latin.
"There's nothing to see there, let's keep going," Annie said, stepping forward. Liliana hurried to keep up.
Orange flames flickered into existence in front of Annie, flying slowly like guide-spirits. Annie followed the fire's lead, and the stone tablets floating in the air moved aside to clear a path. Annie's boots made rhythmic tapping sounds on the stone floor. Within that sound and the dim light of the flames, Liliana seemed to see all sorts of images within the fire.
Those were flickers of light and shadow leaking from the endless river of time, filled with hope, love, hatred, and cunning. Liliana realized this because she saw Hikigaya in the flames. One second she saw him wave a hand to cleave the sea; the next, she saw several knights kneeling before him while he held a golden cup.
She saw him before a massive statue, transformed into fire and enveloping several people while countless ancient people prostrated themselves on the ground around them. An ancient monarch reached out toward him in anger, only to be burned, while the monarch's guards scattered in fear, not daring to assist their master.
Then Liliana saw an utterly terrifying scene: Hikigaya, holding a bow and arrow, shooting a brilliant, blazing sun toward a city below...
"Lord Smith, what is... this?"
"You witches can read the Akashic records within the Astral Plane to receive revelations of divine vision," Annie answered.
In this place, the images each person sees are different. Annie didn't know what Liliana had seen or why her emotions were so intense, but she knew what was happening.
"The tablets collected in this temple... the texts engraved upon them are the Akashic records—the history of our world."
"Every single one of them!?"
"The world of the living, the world of the immortal gods, the boundary between life and immortality—this place encompasses the past history of the three realms and current events. This is what you call the 'Akashic records.' It is only natural that your inspiration is stimulated when coming to the place where memories are kept."
"So that's how it is..." Liliana was stunned. The images just now told her that Hikigaya Hachiman had likely caused a great deal of trouble throughout history. She just didn't know which events he had already done and which he had yet to do.
Unaware of this, Annie continued speaking. "Most people think that those with divine vision can foresee the future. But correctly speaking, this ability uses inspiration to read what is happening in the present, then subconsciously predicts what might happen in the future—or so the man in charge of this place told me."
"Is that person the Guardian of Time, the Master of the Mansion of Plutarch?"
"By human standards, he is a Transcendent, unbound by fate, and his power far exceeds that of an average magus. But in the end, he is neither a god nor a Campione. In other words, he lacks the ability to stop a Campione," Annie explained in a humorous tone.
"For the past 150 years, a certain woman has put a great deal of pressure on him. That woman is both a Campione and a time-traveler—a troublesome person who can easily rewrite established history... Well, you'll see once you meet him."
Ahead stood a large metal door. Annie opened it to reveal a room. The tablets here were not floating but scattered on the floor. There were so many that it was difficult to even find a place to step. In the center of the room stood an old man with white hair and a white beard, facing a tripod easel.
On the easel sat not a canvas, but one of the stone tablets. The old man was dressed in an ancient Roman tunic, holding a bronze stylus.
"At the end of this year—the Suebi, the Vandals, and the Alans' cavalry will pass near Mogontiacum... the Burgundian King and his tribe have entered the left bank of the Rhine to interfere with Gaul... soon, the Goths will also arrive..." The old man looked at the tablet, muttering to himself.
"But three Barbarian Kings who shouldn't be there have gathered in that place, along with a King of the Huns from the original era who shouldn't be there either—fine, this time it's more correction, correction, correction, endless correction! Heavens, this guy is even more reckless than that woman!" The old man shouted excitedly.
Then he looked at Annie as she entered the room.
"O King, listen to me! I can no longer stand this job! The history of our humanity, continued until this day, has been tampered with again! And it is a catastrophic change sufficient to overthrow the history of this era!"
At this moment, the old man's expression was incredibly vivid.
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