Chapter 205: The eternal and immortal Ra (2)

And what did this mean now?

From Arabot to here there was a barrier, and the distance was immense.

No matter how good Ikael’s sight was, the probability that he was observing this place was practically null.

“Do not be so disappointed. For angels, seeing is not the same as for humans. There are several ways of seeing, and among them, observing from above is the ability to see what you wish to see. In short, if they want to, they can see anything.”

It was difficult to imagine.

According to Peophe, it was enough to want to see something in order to see it.

Not even the monsters from stories with a hundred eyes had such an absurd ability.

“It is true. The reason Ikasa arrived first when the Liquor of Anecdotes was broken was because she was observing Shamayin. Well… I suppose that is why she is still a fallen angel, because of how petty she is.”

Since the fallen angels of the second heaven were below even the fairies of the fourth heaven, Peophe criticized Ikasa without restraint.

That made it clear how far an angel who had committed a sin could fall.

“But if they can see whatever they want, that means angels know everything, right?”

“Not necessarily. Deciding what to see is not so easy. Think about it. Even if you could observe from above, would you be able to cover the entire world?”

“No… it would be difficult.”

Shirone remembered when an angel arrived at the refuge of Nor.

Gardrak had said that, if an angel wanted to, they could find that place, but that they would not.

“No one checks their fingerprints every day.”

“Huh? You knew that story? That is exactly it. Anyway, if Lord Ikael is observing this place, he might respond to my voice.”

Canis was not satisfied.

By nature, mages did not like relying on probabilities, but this was excessive.

“It is an extremely small possibility. This place could be like one of his fingerprints. And even if he were observing us, there is no guarantee that he will help us.”

“There are no guarantees. I came to give you at least a small hope. Where we are going, the archangel Kariel awaits us. Do you understand what that means? You have no chance of winning.”

Shirone faced reality.

If the one who had his friends was an archangel, they needed at least an ally of the same level to have any chance of escaping.

“All right. Let us do it this way. I will trust you.”

Peophe clicked her tongue, thinking that the norians were too distrustful.

Even so, she had also decided to help based on a possibility.

Maybe angels did not check their fingerprints every day, but with Ikael who knew.

She had heard that he was compassionate and that he frequently observed the citizens.

“Then I will begin. When the communication starts, do not touch me under any circumstances. I do not want to commit a disrespect in front of the archangel.”

Peophe closed her eyes and concentrated her mind.

Her plea expanded forming concentric circles.

Shirone waited anxiously.

But even after five minutes, there was no change.

Was it impossible after all?

More than the disappointment of failure, what terrified him was losing the hope of rescuing his friends.

Just when the group began to sink into despair, Peophe’s body trembled.

Shortly after, warm tears began to fall from her closed eyes.

“Ah… Lord Ikael.”

Shirone turned his head abruptly.

It was evident that the communication had begun.

He barely managed to restrain himself from speaking, remembering Peophe’s warning.

Peophe and Ikael spoke for quite a long time.

She nodded repeatedly, and sometimes responded out loud.

“Yes… I understand.”

Peophe kept her eyes closed with a smile.

Still wrapped in emotion, she suddenly opened her eyes and began to move excitedly.

“Did you hear it? Did you hear it? He responded to my call! To my call!”

“Of course we did not hear it. What did he say?”

“Ah… Lord Ikael… has observed me!”

Seeing Peophe looking at the sky with eyes full of tears, Shirone did not dare interrupt her.

He waited for her to calm down before speaking.

“Then… will he release our friends?”

Peophe came back to her senses.

She had been so excited about speaking with an archangel that she forgot the most important thing.

Her expression became somewhat dim.

“No. He said that, since he has committed a sin, he cannot leave his room even a single step.”

“What? Then… did we fail?”

Peophe forced a smile.

“But he said he will help us. We will be able to enter Arabot. Although there is a condition…”

She fell silent, looking at the others.

Canis, at the limit of his patience, spoke bluntly.

“What is it? We do not have time, say it at once.”

“He said that he wants to see only the boy named Shirone… alone. But… who is Shirone?”

Canis and Rian looked toward Shirone.

Peophe still did not know any of their names.

They knew that names were key to manipulating life expectancy, so they had hidden them.

Seeing their gazes directed at a single person, Peophe opened her eyes in surprise.

‘So his name is Shirone.’

Until just now, Shirone had been for her only an accumulation of concepts.

Something diffuse, like a mist impossible to grasp.

But now it was different.

Shirone.

At the moment she thought of that name, his actions, thoughts, and emotions integrated clearly in her mind.

“Only Shirone? Is there some special reason?”

“I do not know. I wanted to ask, but it seemed that he did not want to reveal it.”

Canis thought that, in a way, it was better like that.

To make use of the little time they had, it was more efficient to split up than to move as a group.

“Then Shirone will go to see Ikael. In any case, without his help we will not be able to escape.”

“And what will you do?”

“We will go to Jebul. From the seventh to the sixth heaven there is free passage. We will go first to where Amy is. If necessary, we will buy time.”

It was the best possible strategy in that situation.

Once decided, Shirone looked at Peophe.

He wanted her to take them to Arabot.

But Peophe did not know how either.

Just when, nervously, she tried to think of an excuse.

Light began to envelop them.

Peophe clasped her hands, excited.

“Ah… Lord Ikael.”

An immense light enveloped Shirone’s group.

The light was absorbed into a point and disappeared.

In the place where they were, nothing remained.

***

The seventh heaven, Arabot.

Shirone looked around with a trembling heart.

He had reached the most sacred place in heaven.

The top of the tower was hidden among the clouds.

Peophe said that at the very top resided Ange Ra.

Even her voice trembled as she explained it.

“Reaching the place where the throne of God is… is the most glorious day of my life.”

“Even so, you have only lived for one year.”

Peophe shot Canis a sharp glare.

“It does not matter whether it is one year or one hundred. Age has nothing to do with it. This is not a place you can come to just because you have lived a long time.”

“But for it to be like this, is it not too quiet? You say God lives here, but there are not even any guards.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“That no one is protecting the place where God lives.”

Peophe suddenly stopped and looked at Canis with a stunned expression.

As if she had just heard that one plus one was a window.

“Are you serious? Ra is the one who protects us! How are we supposed to protect God?”

Shirone finally understood and nodded.

“Ah… I see.”

Ra was not a king like those of the human world.

If he was an absolute being at the level of the universe, having someone protect him would even be an offense against his divinity.

Upon arriving at the tower of Arabot, Shirone’s group prepared to separate according to their respective missions.

Ikael wanted to meet with Shirone alone.

And since they needed the help of an archangel to recover Amy and the others, Rian and Canis raised no objections.

Peophe, whose mission was to guide Shirone to Ikael’s room, transmitted to Canis and Rian the memories she had received from Igirin.

An approximate map of Jebul was imprinted in their minds.

“The girls are probably in the Great Sanctuary of the East, at the eastern end. That is where Lord Kariel resides.”

Canis traced the location in his mind.

Even using teleportation, it was a considerable distance.

But the real problem was not the distance.

“The important thing is that not just anyone can enter the Great Sanctuary. It is a place that controls the movement of the world, so it is protected with the highest level of security.”

“Security? Do you mean obstacles?”

“If it were only that, it would be simple. In short… the Great Sanctuary is not even in Jebul.”

“Stop speaking in riddles and explain it properly.”

“There is technology from the meca system that can alter the information of a space. In other words, it was sent to another dimension. To enter the Great Sanctuary, we must first deactivate the meca system.”

“And how do we deactivate it?”

“If you look at the map of Jebul, there is a portal that leads to Ingris. It is the place that controls all the information of heaven. We can probably deactivate the meca system from there.”

“Ingris?”

It was a place Shirone had heard of before, when he made a contract with Chief Kergo.

Kadum had asked him to transmit his will in Ingris, but at that time he did not give it importance.

He had not received anything, so he had no obligation to fulfill it.

Seeing how things had turned out, he thought it had been a good decision to reject his hospitality.

But for Canis, Ingris had a special meaning.

It was the reason he had come to heaven even abandoning the Metagate.

And the place where it was believed that Arcane had obtained the knowledge to become a great mage.

While analyzing his master’s notes, Canis focused on mythology.

If heaven had influenced humanity for a long time, its records would not be in history, but in myths.

Thus he discovered that there was a place that appeared in different mythologies.

That place was Ingris.

The temple of knowledge where all the secrets of the world were recorded.

“I will take care of that. While Rian goes to the Great Sanctuary, I will deactivate the meca system. That way we will gain some time.”

It sounded like “buying time,” but in reality it meant throwing themselves directly into danger.

However, Rian thought that was precisely what he could do best.

“Alright. We will go to Jebul. Shirone, you make sure to find a way.”

“Yes. Be careful. I will go as fast as possible.”

Without even being able to watch them leave, Shirone entered the tower.

The interior was vast and without pillars.

The floor looked like glass, clean, without a single speck of dust.

Peophe, guided by Igirin’s memories, led Shirone toward a corner of the tower.

“Huh? Why is there nothing?”

According to her memories, there should have been an elevator in that place.

But there was no visible device.

At that moment, a light emerged from a crack in the floor.

A blinding flash illuminated everything.

When Shirone looked again, the scenery had changed.

Now he was in a place where corridors extended like the spine of a fish.

Every ten meters, paths opened on both sides.

At the end of the corridor, there was a golden iron door.

Peophe stopped in front of it and looked at Shirone.

“From here on is Lord Ikael’s territory. As I promised, I cannot enter. Angels can communicate with any being, so you will not need me. Just in case, I will also send you the map of Jebul.”