Chapter 313: Aleph (Infinite)
"They are being dominated by Finality."
Aleph muttered as he processed his thoughts. His thinking—something that lasts thousands of years in a second—took care of everything.
He did not delay further.
The gray fog he deployed began to seep into the solar system. Once it was entirely covered, Aleph felt the influence of his Spirit World extending to this place.
Naturally, he felt the 'cage' containing this entire Lostbelt.
It was just that the two Earths have a loophole—that being Aleph's place of descent.
As such…
Zoom-!
Click-!
A phantom of the real solar system appeared inside the Lostbelt. It overlapped with the positions of the celestial bodies.
Crack-!
Shatter-!
Zoom-!
Aleph felt himself fleeing far away. His mind blanked out.
When he returned, he found himself standing at the exact same place… in the real universe, that is.
His Spirit World's influence ended in the scope of the solar system.
"I am… inside?"
The imaginary barrier of the real solar system remained unbroken. It confirmed he had returned to the real universe.
"Hm..?"
His slight touch sent huge ripples in the barrier. It produced waves of bright orange light.
Aleph became dazed. He stared outside the solar system blankly. He had to blink several times. He repeatedly processed what he saw inside his mind.
Outside, there was nothing.
A pure black space. Gone were the stars that shone with their brilliances. It ended.
"...No way."
His right hand trembled at the revelation.
Aside from the real solar system, everything else was gone. There were no stars, planets, star systems…
Not even Aeons' presences could be felt.
A literal cosmic horror.
Aleph drew a circle with his right hand. It prompted him to return inside the Lostbelt.
Zoom-!
He looked outside the solar system and found everything was normal. The presence of life, stars, and Gods.
It was as if the scenery from the real universe was nothing but a dream.
However…
Zoom-!
…it was truly gone.
"Hah…"
Aleph knew the culprit behind it.
Finality.
"While I was gone, they ended the real universe..?"
Earth was Aleph's ground zero. It was deeply tied onto him. It was shown several times that Finality's grasp does not extend completely on him.
Akivili can only play at their palms; Aleph can break the game.
A sense of unease welled up on him.
Instinctively, he used his Infinity in full power.
His body lost all features. He became the very being who bore the indescribable and all-encompassing light.
"Ah."
His 'deleted' memories began to come back. Aleph remembered how his Finality authority ended up being hijacked by Finality. Then, his meeting with Han Xiao.
All of the things they talked about popped up inside his mind. He was no longer as absent-minded as before.
"Their test… Why haven't they arrived yet?"
Throughout this entire time, Aleph thought that Finality's so-called test was to break the Lostbelt's constraints and return to the real universe. That was why his actions centered around finding a way to break out.
Now, Finality did not show any reactions.
"Was it Equilibrium? No…"
The test is not yet over.
It was as simple as that.
Thinking of the last face he saw…
"Mei."
Everything else other than the solar system was obliterated into nothingness by Finality. Aleph knew at this point. It included the very same Izumo he visited through the instance. Bosenmori Mei does not exist in the Lostbelt because her existence was eaten up by Finality.
Thus, her face being used by the incomprehensible Finality.
An unspeakable rage emerged from Aleph. It has been a long time since he felt angry.
"I will break this. Break this…"
He put aside his anger and began working on his agenda.
Hum-!
His incomprehensible light appeared like a dot. It swiftly turned into sharp lines, transforming into the shape of a tree.
It was similar to the Imaginary Tree in appearance.
Ten different light sources appeared atop it. Vague lines connected them. It formed an illustration of a crown.
Out of the ten light sources, only three were lit up.
Click-!
Soon, the vacant light sources sent out their very own streaks of light. All of them made their way towards the remaining active portion of the real universe.
Mu Continent.
Seven different lights streaked across the sky. To the eyes of others, they were pairs of shooting stars.
It was a different story for some people.
For Sakura, it was God's kingdom, Malkuth.
Then came Eden. She bore the world's foundation, Yesod. It was the promised land, Eden.
The paths diverged from there.
What came next was Divine majesty, Hod. It was given to Aponia.
Netsah, the Divine Endurance, was given to Mobius.
The paths converged once again.
The place where the convergence lies is Divine Beauty, Tifereh. It serves as the balance between two opposing ideologies. It was rightfully granted to Elysia.
Then came Divine Judgement (Gevurah) and Divine Mercy (Hesed). Hua/Senti and Vill-V took these places, respectively.
Further was Kurumi's position:
Divine Wisdom, Hokhmah.
Mei bore the corresponding Divine Intelligence.
Finally…
There was the Divine Crown, borne by the Scribe, Metatron.
God's advent has been completed.
Click-!
The entire tree phantom made of Aleph's indescribable light flickered. The light spots on its crown silhouette were filled up one by one.
Then, it slowly drifted apart. It began to converge into the spot where the phantom lied.
Once it was over, the Crown was completed.
"Spirit King."
Using ten anchors closest to him, Aleph can achieve godhood. It was the original plan devised by the First Spirit, Takamiya Mio.
Unfortunately for her, it was Aleph who realized it.
The moment he touched the Crown made of countless lights, he instinctively knew what it does.
Mio's original intention was to split her own power apart and push her lover to a God.
In Aleph's hands, it did not only give him ten different divine aspects (authorities) out of nowhere.
It gave him an indestructible anchor.
It is not the conventional external anchors per se. Aleph is his own anchor. His name carries his life; it reminds him of everything.
His mental state, purpose, personality, meaning, the people he loves...
No matter where he goes…
No matter what he does…
The Crown will remind him of everything.
Hum-!
The moment he wore it, his featureless appearance changed. His original features came back. He wore the original Fire MOTH overcoat he had. The ends of his coat fluttered. Spots of lights reminiscent of stars followed his beck and call.
It was the visible manifestation of time itself.
Lord of the Mysteries and the Spirit King overlapped. It did not end there. A light spot belonging to Spirit King shone with a brilliant light.
'...Metatron.'
The Scribe of God.
He now possesses both the Domain (Ein Sof) and Scribe (Metatron). It formed a direct resonance with Lord of the Mysteries. Spirit King further cemented his sense of self. Connected by the limitless possibilities, Aleph was brought to an entirely new level.
His pupils showed a divine glint. His very being emitted the majesty of a world's Controller.
At this moment, it isn't wrong to say that…
He surpassed the world itself.