Ch.122Ep.122 What I Must Lose, What I Can Gain

A white space where nothing exists.

Radios entered that place and only looked up at the sky.

He didn’t speak a word or take any action.

To make the other party speak first.

[Welcome, Radios Magnum. To you… I should call myself the Akashic Records, I suppose.]

“You really are the true Akashic Records, right?”

[I swear by the Multiverse Management Bureau that this is true.]

“Look at that. You know about the Bureau?”

[Yes. To be precise, there are no beings with as close a relationship to the Bureau as I have. Better than the Sword God or Poison Devil… I have a better relationship with the Bureau than those individuals. Though that’s an old story, of course.]

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but are you saying you have a connection to the Bureau?”

[More precisely, I once fought against the same enemy as the director of that place.]

Radios widened his eyes at this unexpected revelation.

He hadn’t thought the Akashic Records would have any connection to the Multiverse Management Bureau.

Just as he was wondering if Lilia’s advice to him was because of the Akashic Records…

The Akashic Records spoke with a nostalgic emotion, as if reminiscing about the past.

[Of course, she wouldn’t know me. The ‘Dream’ that fought alongside her was shattered into pieces and scattered across countless universes.]

“Wait… Isn’t the First Star of Dreams the director’s title? Then you are…?”

[The Witch of Dreams, Idra. That is my past.]

“The Idra I know… must be different.”

It must be the Idra of the multiverse.

The Idra that Radios knew was a being who had died relatively recently.

Which meant she couldn’t exist as the Akashic Records like this.

Although Radios wanted to save people as quickly as possible…

When the Akashic Records brought up the Bureau, he had no choice but to change the subject.

“Then you must also know why the Bureau was established?”

[Yes. In a way, it could be seen as due to my incompetence.]

“Incompetence?”

[I was weak. I died pathetically in the final battle, and because I was shattered into fragments, Lilia had quite a hard time finding me.]

“Hmm…”

Feeling like this might turn into TMI if he pursued it further, Radios cut the conversation there.

The reason Lilia established the Bureau.

He’d heard a little about the truth of that, which was enough.

But the Akashic Records, having loosened up, started rambling about things he hadn’t even asked about.

[Azathoth. That is, the Azathoth of the multiverse was once in the same position as Lilia, ruling the entire universe until the Bureau came into existence.]

“So the Azathoth from another universe was that powerful. That’s enough now–“

[To be precise, Lilia was much stronger and killed Azathoth, and the person who succeeded his position was Lilia. That’s why she established the Multiverse Management Bureau…]

“Enough! That’s enough, it’s my turn to ask questions!”

As the conversation started to go off on a tangent, Radios raised his voice to press the Akashic Records.

Only then did the Akashic Records seem to acknowledge its mistake, closing its mouth tightly and focusing on Radios’s words.

“I only want to ask one thing. Even as I am now, can I not change the predetermined fate?”

[The predetermined fate… haven’t you already seen what it is, Radios?]

“I saw it. It’s incredibly annoying how the book repairs itself immediately even if you tear it.”

[That’s what fate is. Sometimes people say that others intervene and change someone’s fate, but even that intervention is part of their fate.]

According to the Akashic Records’ logic, even if one knows their predetermined fate and tries to forge a new path, even succeeding in that endeavor…

It would still mean they hadn’t escaped the shackles of fate.

But Radios interpreted the Akashic Records’ words differently.

“So you’re saying that even if someone intervenes and changes fate, that too is part of the original fate?”

[That’s correct.]

“Then why doesn’t that apply to the dead? If fate ends with death, shouldn’t the intervention of others to change that death also be seen as an extension of fate?”

[That’s a reasonable argument.]

To summarize Radios’s argument:

If changes to a person’s fate due to someone’s intervention all fall within the category of fate…

Then even intervening in the fate of a dead person to change their fate should also fall within the category of fate.

It’s contradictory to assert that a person’s fate disappears simply because they died.

That was his argument.

But the Akashic Records also had logic to counter his rebuttal.

[Let me explain the concept of fate by comparing it to thread, to make it easier to understand.]

Imagine there is a very long thread.

Even if you twist, bunch, or tie that thread, the beginning and end are still fixed.

But what if that thread is burned or cut somewhere in the middle as it goes from beginning to end?

A broken thread cannot be reconnected.

And a thread that has reached its end cannot go any further.

[Applying this to fate, it works like this. When someone dies, that’s the end of their fate. Even if they were destined not to die, if someone intervenes and kills them, that person’s fate ends there. That’s the true concept of fate.]

“…”

Radios bit his lip at the Akashic Records’ rebuttal.

However, Radios didn’t back down either.

“You say it ends if it’s burned or cut? Not at all. If you wrap tape around that thread or tie it, the thread becomes connected again. And what? You can’t go further once you reach the end of the thread? Then just divide a long thread in two and forcibly extend it.”

[…]

“Am I wrong? Akashic Records.”

To summarize:

The Akashic Records’ argument was that the breaking of the thread itself signified the end of fate.

Radios’s argument was that if you forcibly make that end start again, fate doesn’t end.

But this was a topic that would be difficult to reach a conclusion on even if many people were asked.

Therefore, Radios and the Akashic Records simply pondered each other’s arguments without saying anything.

“I’ll ask one last thing.”

In the end, Radios was the first to speak.

He didn’t think he could win against the Akashic Records logically.

So he played his trump card.

“If I lose something, tell me what I can gain in return.”

[…]

“Beyond the truth, no. You, Akashic Records, received something from Azathoth and changed his fate. To be precise, that itself was Azathoth’s fate, but…”

If Azathoth hadn’t met what was beyond the truth, the thread would have been cut.

Thanks to meeting what was beyond the truth, the thread was divided in two, allowing life to continue.

“If I give you something, what can you give me in return?”

There’s a saying that kind words bring kind responses.

This can be shortened to:

Equivalent exchange.

Exchanging things of equal value.

Radios had played his final card, offering the Akashic Records a deal.

[What you want is… the resurrection of Kraud, Poseidon, and Veichel, correct?]

“Yes.”

[I’ll tell you the conclusion. If the Akashic Records itself is modified, they can be brought back to life.]

“Then…!”

[However!]

To Radios, who had found hope, the Akashic Records spoke with a resolute voice he had never heard before.

[If you want that… you must surrender your Ascended Order to me.]

“Why?”

[Modifying the Akashic Records requires a tremendous amount of causality. To modify the fate of three people, especially massive beings like Kraud, Poseidon, and Veichel, requires that much causality.]

“So what happens if causality is used?”

[Chaos comes to the world. As fates become jumbled, those who should die live, and those who should live die.]

“…”

[It means great chaos begins. To modify the fate of three people, to bear the causality that modifies that fate… your power is needed, Radios.]

“I see.”

There was nothing wrong with what Lilia had said.

Radios had two methods to save those three people.

The first was to resurrect them by consuming causality without sacrificing anything.

Radios would retain his power, but the world would fall into great chaos.

In such a chaotic world, the peace he desired would probably never come.

The second method was for Radios himself to give up everything and resurrect the three.

That would undoubtedly be the peaceful method.

Because only Radios would have to sacrifice himself.

‘So that’s what she meant…’

Perhaps Lilia had predicted even the future where Radios would cause a commotion at the Akashic Records.

Her two eyes had been shining with an unusually bright, star-like light.

She might have had a way to see the future.

After pondering the Akashic Records’ words for a long time, Radios…

“I…”

Finally made his decision.