Our field of view was completely distorted; everything we saw was twisted, bent, or inverted. We were past the gate to the Divine Realm, where space-time was terribly chaotic. Misha and Sasha held on to my hands tightly as I crossed through the raging, ocean-like space. A light eventually came into view—the light of a vivid, radiant sky. We flew straight towards this firmament that shone a blue bluer than blue itself.
“Hmm. If the residents of this world learn of the First Day, the world will be destroyed by ‘those who defy order,’ huh?” I said. I thought about the tale of the formation of the world that Misha had just told us. “I don’t get it. If the world reaches its limit, the Goddess of Creation sacrifices herself to create a new god, and that god creates a new world. Knowing this shouldn’t change anything.”
“Maybe ‘those who defy order’ are somehow related to the world’s creation?” Sasha suggested, combing through her brains for possible interpretations.
“That doesn’t make sense either. ‘Those who defy order’ are what the gods call misfits, such as Graham and myself, no?” I asked.
“Most likely,” Misha answered.
“Hearing about the First Day doesn’t fill me with any particular urge to do anything. I doubt Graham would have taken any action either.”
“But there must be a reason why she said the world would be destroyed, right?” Sasha asked, looking over at Misha.
“Yeah,” Misha replied.
“This world exists because of the First Day. Perhaps traversing the path to destruction so many times has had some kind of impact on us residents of the world,” I said, guessing.
Though there was no telling what kind of impact that was. Why would the Goddesses of Creation pass down such words?
“But didn’t you make a promise to your mother? Are you sure it’s okay to tell us this?” I turned back to look at Misha, who nodded.
“The Goddesses of Creation have repeated this for eternity. We re-create the dying world, placing all our hopes in our children and entrusting them with the lives of the people. But the result has always been the same,” Misha said, staring into my eyes. “Something has to change. If I don’t do something different, nothing will change.”
Her wish couldn’t be granted if she were too afraid to ask. Even if there were risks in telling us about the First Day, she believed I would be able to overcome them.
“I’m sure my ancestors forgive me.”
I nodded in agreement, and Misha smiled.
“But the more I think about it, the stranger it sounds,” Sasha muttered, holding her hand to her chin in thought. “Life is supposed to cycle through destruction and creation if the balance between them is maintained. That means if the orders of destruction and creation are equal, there should be as many lives born as there are lives that die or perish. But if the world is headed towards destruction, where are the missing lives disappearing to?”
“I don’t know,” Misha said simply. “Like Elenesia said, this world might have been ruined from the start.”
“So the balance of order is all superficial, and the truth is something else?” Sasha asked.
Misha nodded.
“And that’s why you tried to become the world,” I concluded.
“Yeah...”
If the world had indeed reached the end of its lifespan, then it could potentially be revived if new life were brought into the world.
“I couldn’t discern the reason for the decreasing magic of the world just by observation. There was no flaw in the world to be found. Perhaps it’s invisible to those who live in the world,” Misha said.
“And so you thought if you couldn’t see it, you’d just re-create it from the bottom up.”
“I thought it was for the best,” she replied plainly.
By turning herself into the source of a new world, she could form a new foundation that didn’t rely on divine order. Creating everything over anew would resolve the issue of destruction, even if the cause of the destruction remained unknown.
“Just to confirm, Ennessone is currently an incomplete magic order, right?” I asked.
Misha nodded.
“I see.”
Sasha turned to me with a look of confusion. “Um, can you explain for the rest of us?”
“Ennessone is a magic order meant for a world without gods. In a world with gods, she is unable to use her order as originally intended,” Misha explained.
“Ennessone’s originally intended order...is to give birth to life that isn’t bound by the order of god, right?” Sasha asked.
Misha nodded again. “Sources born from Ennessone’s order will follow the cycle of death and rebirth perfectly. The total magic power of the world will stop decreasing.”
“I get that, but... What does that mean?” Sasha asked, looking even more confused.
“Let’s assume there’s a flaw in this world. A defect in order that Militia and the other Goddesses of Creation failed to find. That flaw is currently affecting Ennessone, making her an imperfect order,” I explained.
“Ah!” Sasha finally made a sound of comprehension. “So if Ennessone becomes a complete order, that would mean the defect in the world is gone!”
“Yes. The flaw in the world isn’t about to reveal itself, so Ennessone’s presence is crucial in detecting its existence.”
Ennessone defied both the order of birth and termination. This was due to her order acting contrary to the life cycle of the world. If the world had a defect, then it would clash intensely with Ennessone—she was the key that the other Goddesses of Creation lacked until now.
“Do you think they managed to follow us?” Sasha asked, looking over her shoulder. Since we went through the gate at different times, we were split up from Ennessone’s group.
Just then, a wind blew past us.