Aspentas stood, letting Enmei's hands fall limply to the glass sea beneath his feet.
"You are whole once more, Enmei. Now you know the truth of things. For my part I must say, it was interesting to see for myself what the old world was like."
Enmei's heart and mind were in turmoil. Conflicting emotions surged through him. Anger, despair, loss – relief to have Katsumi still alive and by his side after that first deadly journey to Aspentas.
But above it all was an overpowering sense that they had been wronged. Back in Tokyo, they had both been so happy to hear that Heaven would take them both. Even through the embarrassing antics the program had put them through they had still been perfectly safe, still had their futures together to look forward to. For it to all fall apart in the most surreal way possible, shoved thousands of years into the future and forced through this . . . it was crushing.
Enmei wanted his previous life back. Tokyo or Heaven, it didn't matter. Just not this. The Archwarden? Overseen? Amorphic Magicks? But somehow, Heaven had betrayed them. Downloaded their minds into some data archive. Hardly a legal action by any means, but Enmei hadn't even realized that kind of technology existed.
"Stand, Enmei. You will come to terms with your past in due time."
Enmei couldn't raise his eyes to look at their mechanoid protector. Aspentas bent down and grabbed his chin, not all too gently.
"Enmei. Unfortunately, now is not the time to process what I've given you to see. I have taken the little time I had to spare to let you two rest, and to make sure you knew who you were. But now it is time for the next phase of the operation."
Enmei's eyes widened, coming back to his senses. "What? You never said anything about–"
"I told you about this world and your place within it. Now I tell you about what comes next."
He snapped his fingers and Katsumi appeared beside them. "Stand," Aspentas said.
Enmei obliged, meeting Katsumi's hopeful eyes and smiling, then nodding in reassurance. His memories of her were restored. She smiled too, palpably relieved.
"As of now," Aspentas said, "you two are trespassers. There is only one way to become legitimate subjects of the Archwarden when entering from the outside, and that is by presenting yourselves before the First Stratum Warden as Candidates for Apotheosis. Are you familiar with the term apotheosis?"
"It means an elevation to godhood," Katsumi said. "But what does that have to do with entering the Overseen?"
"It has everything to do with it. Either you are born within the Strata of the Overseen as a mortal," Aspentas shot a finger upward to the starless sky above, "or you enter from Heaven as a Candidate. All others are trespassers and heretics."
"But we're not entering from Heaven." Enmei said.
"No, you are not. And Apollyon, the First Stratum Warden, will know this with certainty, because under his gaze he will have access to your minds and pasts just as I do now. Still, there is a way to guarantee your safe passage into the First Sanctum, and that is by claiming yourselves as humble Candidates and to prove your undying fealty to Apollyon and the Archwarden. Then Apollyon will be forced under Celestial Law to grant you entry into the Overseen."
"But that doesn't explain what a Candidate is," Katsumi said, narrowing her eyes.
"The Candidates are volunteers, conscripts, or any in need of redemption in the Archwarden's benevolent gaze. But becoming a Candidate is not a punishment – the Axioma, foremost book of our holy scriptures, tells of the Seraphim as the first to ascend to godhood under the Archwarden's rule. The Axioma tells that the Seraphim had descended from Heaven on the Archwarden's orders, and were bidden to prove themselves, to perfect themselves by climbing back through the ten Strata of the Overseen, back to Heaven itself, and to there stand alongside the Archwarden once more – not as a subjects, but as equals. Now the Seraphim look down upon us as gods, waiting for us to complete our own pilgrimage of apotheosis. Once we do, we will attain more than redemption, for we will become gods ourselves."
Aspentas's words boomed in the following silence. Enmei understood what the mechanoid had said, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it. He couldn't imagine what a process like that would even be like.
This just keeps getting more surreal, doesn't it? The future really is crazy.
"So you want us to begin that journey?" Enmei asked. "As Candidates?"
"Yes. Most will call you Holy Pilgrims or Sorcerers – megumasha in many mechanoid Kindred tongues. But whatever the case, a Candidate is in truth a prospect. We are fledgling gods."
"Aspentas, you speak of yourself as if you're a Candidate as well," Katsumi said. "What is your place in the Overseen? What are you, exactly?"
"Good question, mortal." Aspentas nodded appreciatively. "I am a Candidate for Apotheosis along with Matchlight and the rest of those who escorted you here. I have been for several hundred years, and my journey has taken me all the way to the Sixth Stratum."
"Several hundred years to only reach the sixth floor?"
"That is no small feat, mortal. Most will die before they reach the second. It is the Apocrypha's wish that such a fate does not befall the both of you, but in the end it must be you who proves yourselves to the Wardens. The Apocrypha does not hold sway over their magnificent minds."
"Will our journey take as long as yours?" Enmei said.
"There is no way around it. Many Candidates in the Strata above the Sixth have existed for millenia. Immortality is but the first step of true godhood. But you will come to understand all of this soon enough."
Aspentas tilted his head suddenly, as if listening for something. "Apollyon is getting closer, probing us with his mind. He wonders at the foreign presence in his domain." Aspentas sighed. "Unfortunately, it appears our time is running thin. The Overseen will teach you what you need to know. For now, you must content yourselves with this."
Aspentas extended an arm to the side, and the air began to crack and shatter into glimmering Glass. Matchlight's sword manifested there, defying gravity for a moment before dropping into Aspentas's metal palm.
"This blade is called Kelshra. In the right hands, the spirit within this weapon can be utilized for great effect. In your current human bodies, it is useless to you. Which is why when you enter the First Stratum, you must find a man named Neptune and give this weapon to him. Neptune is your next chaperone, who will guarantee your safety to the best of his ability during this next stage. I do not know where Neptune currently resides, but he has been awaiting your arrival for several months. He will most likely be in a major city, either Roth Phenex or Roth Logos. Katsumi, take the sword."
He held it hilt first out toward her. She grabbed the hilt reluctantly, and Aspentas spoke again. "Give the sword spirit this command: Kelshra, hide."
Katsumi repeated the words, and the sword shattered, the glass shards gradually dissipating and reforming with the air around where the blade had been.
Incredible, Enmei thought. The sword listened to her.
"It did, Enmei. As will it listen to any with the power to contain it. You have that power as well, but I would advise against manifesting the sword for any purpose. Should you find yourselves in dire circumstances and require a weapon greater than the ones you will find in the First Stratum, call the sword spirit's name and say the word 'appear,' and the blade will return to your hand. But should Kelshra's presence be discovered during the test, you two will be killed outright. You must not make its presence known, and you must hand it over to Neptune without causing a disturbance. Neptune will guide you from there."
He paused to make sure they understood.
"There is one last thing before you go," Aspentas continued, "I never told you exactly how to prove your fealty to Apollyon, did I?"