Chapter 314: Just Finality

To be able to shape an entire world with one's will…

To be able to alter reality itself…

Aleph did not say much. It was useless to spit out countless paragraphs' worth of monologues.

His true enemy…

"Fu…"

He calmed down for a while. He did not expect that Spirit King's full power was enough to push him at this level.

Thinking of Mio Takamiya, Aleph did not have much doubts.

The First Spirit was told to have been born by humans' tampering of nature itself. They touched upon the equivalent of 'The Root' in their world. That was done by concentrating all the world's mana at a single point—to do it stably and practically was impossible.

The impossibility birthed such a level of existence.

Her powers were boundless enough to reshape reality… at least from what he had 'seen'.

"Concept nullification… It remains unknown how far it works…"

Ever since she was born, Mio only used her power in the vicinity of Earth.

The conquest of the universe?

Nope.

In her eyes, it does not matter as much as reviving her dead lover.

Either way, Aleph did not think much of it. His [Spirit King] authority originated from Kurumi's world. Once it reached its full potential, it reached the same level as the Lord of the Mysteries.

The two overlapped, formed a strange resonance, and pushed [Infinity] to the next level.

Thus, he gained the status of a Controller.

"Infinity makes everything possible…"

There was no use examining it further.

He tested his 'power' in a place outside of the solar system.

Like an eraser…

"It worked."

…several planets appeared out of nowhere.

Hum-!

Buzz-!

Another force threatened the newly-recaptured celestial bodies. It fought back with Aleph's control. It resulted in a stalemate where half of the planets' bodies were gone.

Fwoosh-!

Layers of gray fog seeped out of the void. It began to cover one planet. It was further illuminated by an indescribable brilliance.

Only then did the planet retain its form as a whole. Time passed for a while.

"Hm..?"

Aleph found out that his power was increasing unstoppably. He looked at the clear blue planet and knew the answer.

"The indestructible anchors… My Infinity knows what I can handle."

Without Aleph's restraints over his sense of self (i.e., humanity), his power began to grow exponentially.

This turned out to be the main reason why he achieved the Controller status. It was not because of the two authorities' fusion.

Flop.

Aleph's surroundings shifted like a reversed tape. He stepped forth into the Spirit World. He overlooked its entirety atop its highest point. He noticed how the gray fog grew thicker. Each fog contained a small brilliance of Aleph's light.

It slowly evolved into the direction of an entire universe. The infinite possibilities… the Ein Sof placed on it warranted such an effect.

"I can use this entire world to launch an attack."

A smile crept up to his face. He did not hesitate on what he needed to do.

His vision extended beyond the real universe.

For the second time, he saw the real appearance of the Imaginary Tree. It was still wrapped by golden threads. The influence of Equilibrium remained. It was isolated from the outside world. Both the real universe and the Lostbelt existed in the form of a trunk and branch, respectively.

Meaning, the Imaginary Tree lies somewhere beyond the physical universe. Just like his fight against Voracity, Aleph can easily step in this battlefield.

But, he would not do such a stupid thing.

There is a reason why he kept Finality's grasp over him until now.

"You like conceptual hijacking, right?"

It was Finality's time to taste their own medicine.

*****

The entire system borne out of the Imaginary Tree is flawed. It could be seen on Aeons in a single glance.

They did not have the restrictions from someone like the Original Creator. Yet, they suffered from the same setbacks on their own.

Their biggest flaw is their attachment to their concepts. They thrive because of it, and as such, they also suffer because of it.

They can only act according to their concepts. Their supposed free will is imperceptibly affected by that flaw. Destruction causes havoc; Abundance gives endless life; Elation seeks fun; Remembrance preserves memories; Preservation continues to build an amber wall to protect…

In that regard, only the Trailblaze path differed. They are not limited to any concepts. They do not need to mindlessly cause destruction; or to seek the universe's truth; or to fight against Abundance's denizens.

They are free. They can do whatever they want. Trailblazing realizes the possibilities of the future. That by moving forward, people can achieve numerous things.

It is a lower version of the Infinity authority. 

Precisely because of that did Terminus choose Akivili in their test. The latter failed, unfortunately.

Then, Infinity came.

Their intent is clear at this point.

Drip.

I am inside the thread-wrapped Imaginary Tree. Equilibrium is facing Terminus. The former got beaten up badly—the typical one-versus-ten scenarios where you get beat up.

Drip.

The surrounding space is similar to the red sand… the very same place where Otto Apocalypse did his thing.

The Imaginary Space.

Aleph… I arrived inside. 

The very first thing I did was to assume Equilibrium's identity. Gone was the Aeon who maintained the balance.

The Aeon of Perpetuity, in.

Drip.

 I do not know how to describe it. I did everything in a flash. 

Equilibrium confronted Finality… who used Bosenmori Mei's appearance.

Yamato, which is in my grasp, pierced the body of my beloved friend.

She is in front of me.

I looked up and saw her gaze. There is nothing wrong with it. She is the Bosenmori Mei I know.

She is merely being used as a narrative… as an image.

It disgusts me.

Sou-!

Countless silver lines surrounded us. The moment I sheathed my blade, everything came crashing down like a broken mirror.

Flop.

I caught Mei with my right arm. Aside from being unconscious, she did not suffer any damages. What I cut is Finality's connection to her.

Since I said so, it is now gone.

The narrative of Finality using my friend? I cut it off.

Fun fact: I did not only cut that.

I did something else that made me smile.

Hum.

A bed made of gray fog emerged on the red sand. I placed the unconscious Bosenmori Mei and sent her into the Spirit World.

Simultaneously, the golden threads broke. Equilibrium no longer held any influence over this place.

Only the Imaginary Tree made of orange-white light stood still.

A blink later, a black silhouette appeared in front of me.

…

…

…

Finality.