Shirone felt as if he had been hit on the head with a hammer. It was plausible to believe that this place could be the afterlife, but encountering a god was something completely different.
"Are you God?"
"Can't you believe it?"
"Well, I didn't even know there was a god, and if there was, I didn't think they'd be so similar to humans."
The woman smiled.
"Every creature has no choice but to resemble its creator. It's as if any object made by humans inevitably contains human thoughts and forms. Plants, animals, mountains, and seas resemble God. But the degree is different. The norm is creativity. For example, a squirrel is more creative than a rock. In that sense, humans are quite similar to gods. And you, Shirone, among them, you are one of the people most similar to God."
The woman reached out and caressed Shirone's face.
"Shirone, would you like to create a world with me?"
Shirone was confused. Everything was too sudden and unknown. Above all, the woman's words that this place was not the afterlife remained in his mind. Perhaps that gave him a glimmer of hope.
"Is there no way to return?"
The woman looked surprised at Shirone and shook her head.
"Unfortunately, Shirone, there is no way to return. Wasn't it your choice to end your life? Do you want to return now?"
"No, that's not it. It was something I was prepared for, and if it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have come back to myself this way. Oh, this... Can I call you that?"
"Of course. God is just a concept. I don't have a name."
"Then can I ask you one more question?"
"Hehe, anything."
"Why do you lie?"
The woman's eyebrows furrowed. It seemed like her temple was trembling.
"God doesn't lie. No, God is a being that cannot lie."
If God is omnipotent, lying is impossible. It's because any statement can become a fact. But Shirone read it in the woman's eyes. She was hiding something.
"When I asked you if there was a way to return, you said there wasn't. But that's not true."
"Whether there is a way to return or not, as I said there wasn't, there is no way to return. That's the reason."
"That's a lie."
"You don't understand, Shirone. I said there's no way to return. So you can't return, never!"
"Then let me ask you again. Regardless of your will, what I want to hear is if there is any way to return to the original world."
"There is no such way!"
"Another lie!"
The woman's shoulders twitched. Shirone didn't overlook her reaction. While she panicked, the temple landscape swayed as if it were submerged in water.
"Are you really a god?"
It was suspicious from the beginning. Of course, there's no reason for the form of God imagined by humans to be the real God, but even so, the woman's reactions were too human.
The woman nodded as if she knew something.
"Shirone. We have different concepts of God. That's why there was a misunderstanding. God is not as sublime as you think. He's just the creator of the world."
When the woman extended her hand, a crystal sphere floated above her palm. Inside the crystal ball, there was a landscape of a small village with people standing dispersed.
"As you can see, I created this village. It's just a model, of course. But I can also move the people like this."
The woman inserted her finger into the crystal sphere and moved a farmer who was feeding his horse to a nearby field.
"Look, the farmer has moved. Space change means I've given him time. Can you find any difference between this world and the one you lived in, Shirone? There isn't any. That's what it's like to be a god. Now I am the god of this village."
The woman held the crystal sphere before Shirone's eyes.
"After all, a god is nothing more than a creator who can create a dimension one step below the one they inhabit. So why does a god feel like an absolute being? That's the funny part. This farmer will never be able to feel the force that moved him to the nearby field."
The woman pulled the crystal sphere backward and supported it with both palms. By extending her arms, the village expanded rapidly, covering the temple.
Shirone looked around. They had suddenly entered the village. The two were face to face, at opposite ends of a narrow path. The others remained motionless.
The woman approached the farmer who was tiling the field.
"This farmer doesn't know how incomplete my world is because he was born here. There's only one way to find out."
"The Immortal Function."
"That's right. The Immortal Function expands your senses to everything. This village is contained within the crystal sphere. So it's not an exaggeration to say that there's no
world beyond the crystal sphere."
The woman put her hand on the farmer's shoulder. The farmer turned into light and enveloped the entire sky. In that state, the woman clenched her fist, and the landscape shrank, enclosing the entire village back into the crystal globe.
Shirone silently watched the crystal globe, filled with light emanating from the farmer.
"This farmer expanded to everything through the Immortal Function. But even so, he cannot perceive my existence. Shirone, this also applies to you."
Shirone felt a connection with the state of the farmer. If the woman hadn't tried to kidnap him, he, too, would have dispersed into meaningless light.
"What do you want from me? Knowing such a fact, what can I do?"
"This is it, Shirone."
The woman placed the crystal sphere between her palms and pressed down. The globe shrank and condensed into a black dot.
"Spot..."
"Yes. This is the nature of the world we live in. The world you inhabit is also no more than a dot. But when you enter it, there is a vast world inside it. It's a spatiotemporal matrix."
The woman directly showed it to Shirone. When the scenario of the crystal sphere disappeared into a dot, a new world was born. A world within another world, and another world within that... Then, pressing the palms of her hands, the crystal sphere vanished. Billions of worlds extinguished in an instant.
"Please, enter the spacetime I have created. Create your own spacetime there. Then a perfect universe will be born."
For some reason, she seemed to desire innovation in her world. It wasn't an untimely suggestion. Becoming a god in another world in exchange for facing death seemed an acceptable outcome. (T/N: Imagine being Isekai'd but becoming a god instead of a hero).
"I cannot do that."
She asked, as if she couldn't understand it.
"Why? You have no grounds or reasons to refuse."
"Because if I enter your spacetime, I would have to sacrifice someone like me again."
A fleeting sadness crossed the woman's eyes. However, the emotional change was brief; she returned to a cold expression and addressed Shirone.
"What does it matter? After all, it's the world you created."
"But you are not God."
For the first time, hostility gleamed in the woman's eyes.
"You are a human being living in the same world as me. The fact that you brought me here before I was completely dismantled is proof. Shouldn't you be outside the world if you are truly God?"
The woman didn't deny it. However, the outcome remained unchanged.
"Shirone, you must heed my words. There is a purpose in calling you. If you want to refuse, you may undergo the dismantling process even now."
Her mind was reconstructed with the woman's ability. Therefore, it might be possible to freely reverse it. However, since there was even a slight chance of returning to the original world, Shirone had no intention of complying.
"I will not be dismantled."
The woman approached Shirone and cast the omnipotent disintegration upon him. However, Shirone was not disintegrated. It was because he had already entered the Spiritual Zone.
"You have resolved another problem. An excellent choice."
The woman's arm slowly lowered.
"Now I understand. The Spiritual Zone was also a point.
Points could deepen infinitely according to the principle of the spatiotemporal matrix. It was the reason why Shirone, a spiritual body, could re-enter the Spiritual Zone.
"And this place is... your Spiritual Zone."
Shirone focused the energy of light. The woman frowned, disgusted. The red glow emanating from Shirone's body pressed her with sinister energy.
***
The fifth day after Shirone's death.
All the students had regained their memories. Especially the children were confused. However, they were individuals gifted with exceptional mental strength, so the aftermath wasn't as severe as expected.
But now, the real problems began.
The incident where the academy was invaded by monsters exposed the vulnerability of the security facilities. Especially since the academy operated on a dormitory system, security had to be considered a top priority.
The biggest issue was that there had been a death among the students. Moreover, it was Arian Shirone, who was expected to be a promising student at the academy.
At the request of Eruki and Neid, Shirone was in the infirmary and not in the mourning room. Common sense dictated that a funeral should be held, but the teachers also found themselves in a delicate situation.
The student council had not yet made any moves to determine responsibilities for Shirone's death.
At its core, they were planning a strategy to avoid responsibilities by turning Shirone into a wandering spirit.
Of course, there were quite a few teachers who felt guilty about this approach. At this moment, they were gathered in the teachers' conference room, emphasizing the urgency of the situation.
"I insist that we hold Shirone's funeral immediately. We also need to inform the university students. If we don't deal with this now, the academy's policies will be criticized in the future."
"It's not an easy decision to make. If news of a student's death spreads, the consequences will be enormous. We could lose the reputation we've built in an instant."
"So, do we lie and say that the dead student is alive? Eventually, the truth will come out. What the academy needs to do now is a statement of conscience. The issue isn't the reputation, but the fact that the academy might have to close."
"Do you think I don't know that? Can't we take a little more time to think about it?"
"Why don't you understand that delaying it will only make things worse? Right now, the whereabouts of Arcane's disciples are also mysterious. Letting the criminals escape is also a fatal mistake. We have to act now."
At this moment, the teachers who were postponing Shirone's funeral were divided into two groups. Those making political calculations wanted to gain as much time as possible to win the sympathy of the students.
On the other hand, there were teachers who truly couldn't accept Shirone's death. Representatively, Ethella, Thad, and Siena, who were directly involved in the scene at that moment, were also in a position to doubt Shirone's death.
"Director, please tell us! I heard that the student council will be convened today. The teachers also have to act."
The influence of the student council also contributed to the teachers' anxiety. If the students, who bore numerous families on their shoulders, began to accuse the school, it would be too late to act.
"I maintain my position of observation."
Most of the teachers stood up.
"Director!"
Alpeas understood their feelings. The longer they took, the more disadvantaged the academy would be. However, he had something more important than the survival of the school. It was Shirone's exact status.
Is Shirone dead?
It was too trivial a topic to raise in a magic academy, a symbol of intellect.
That's why he was more cautious. If the deceased person wasn't Shirone, would they even have these doubts?
'I should think rationally. But I can't.'
Perhaps only Shirone received special treatment. But even knowing that fact, Alpeas couldn't shake off the subtle feeling that persisted in the back of his mind.
Translator's Notes:
So, the main theme this time is about point, spot, or point in dimension. With a quick result.
1. Geometry has 3 dimensions. Represented by 3 axes, e.g., X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis. Any object can be represented or located with the help of these 3 axes. Graphs can be plotted even for infinitely small values, given that the scales of the axes adjust accordingly.
2. It is assumed that a point has no dimensions solely to facilitate understanding, but as you zoom in at the microscopic level, the point becomes a circle that will have a radius and dimensions. Even atoms have dimensions, such as mass, distance, radius, etc. It's just that the scale of these dimensions is greatly magnified. We also don't calculate the mass of individual atoms when discussing the weight of an individual on a larger scale.
Therefore, technically, points are not dimensionless. The observation scale determines whether we consider them dimensionless or not.
Although lines are continuous points in the same direction, that only occurs when observation scales are adjusted and magnified. Otherwise, on a general scale (for example, mm), lines are considered to have a plausible continuity to be considered one-dimensional.
The only thing that matters is the observation scales.