Ch.1313. Destination.

# 13. Destination.

In this era where all roads are covered in snow, it’s impossible to find them anymore, but in the time when I was alive, if you walked along a deserted road, you could often see weeds or flowers growing through the asphalt.

Those flowers, being on the roadside, couldn’t properly absorb nutrients and were in poor condition due to fine dust and car exhaust. They were small, withered, and their colors were utterly shabby.

Compared to the many flowers grown in specialized machines and facilities designed to produce beautiful blooms and delivered to flower shops, they were close to ‘garbage’ that no one would take even if offered.

To my eyes, accustomed to flowers sold in shops like bouquets wishing for recovery, there was no objective reason to find those roadside flowers ‘beautiful.’

Yet, despite this, those flowers appeared far more beautiful than any flower sold in shops or bouquets sent with wishes for recovery.

Was it because they were nature’s colors miraculously blooming on the bleak asphalt?

Was it because I identified with their tenacity, persevering despite an environment unfavorable for life to grow?

Or perhaps because of the cause-and-effect relationships humans unconsciously associate when looking at an object?

Whether it’s because the flower truly possessed beauty that transcended subjective perception, I cannot say.

I—we—often found positive emotions in such trivial and irregular things, even in a world where everything had become massive and regulated.

“When I see such tall and huge buildings lined up, sometimes I get goosebumps all over my body—what about you guys?”

So what about artificial objects, beyond nature?

Paintings, statues, and other mediums for conveying one’s aesthetics or emotions have been passed down since ancient times.

But sometimes, even things not intentionally created to convey emotions or similar sentiments felt beautiful and overwhelming. Namely, architecture.

Buildings of various kinds—stable and magnificent, with visible evidence of high mathematical and scientific considerations—evoke intense emotions completely different from flowers or paintings.

If I had to express this emotion in words, it would be ecstasy or grandeur.

Well, not always, but particularly in places where many impressive buildings are gathered together. Especially when looking down at buildings from above.

“How could they build such tall and huge buildings so densely? They couldn’t have stacked these massive structures, sometimes made of curves, one by one with human bodies.”

In the world of the past, each of these buildings would have been considered a city landmark, but here they’re just ordinary office buildings or houses packed tightly together.

It’s impressive how it seems to declare the incredible technological prowess of this future era, but it also raises questions.

It would be inefficient to build from the inside of a dense area outward… how did they create such a city?

“Surely they didn’t complete buildings elsewhere and drop them from above like in Tetris!”

It’s truly absurd, but then again, what isn’t absurd in this city?

And it’s not entirely far-fetched—even in the old days, they transported plaster houses by road trains.

If transportation methods like drones had developed tremendously, there’s no reason they couldn’t move even skyscrapers.

…If that were the case, it would have been incredibly entertaining to watch, albeit nerve-wracking.

“Oh, but I wonder if people of this era know about Tetris? It’s an extremely old and famous video game… I’ll explain it specially!”

It’s a game where blocks of various shapes—like buildings, sickles, or shotguns—fall from above, and you have to match them to complete and clear lines without gaps.

While explaining the rules of Tetris to anyone who might not know it, I slowly began climbing the building with a telescope in hand.

Earlier, I spoke about the beauty of natural objects and the various positive emotions one can feel from human-made architecture.

But what if there’s a building so enormous that human eyes can’t see it in its entirety?

If a building so large that you can’t tell where it begins or ends, whether it truly has an end, or how wide it is, looks down at me from that great height.

Could I express the same appreciation?

“Wow. It’s really high. To have all these tall and huge buildings beneath my feet—it’s an amazing feeling.”

I had previously marked the location of the tallest visible building on my map when I climbed up to find the superstore.

This was so I could climb it to find my next destination if the weather cleared.

While it doesn’t matter how I move within the city since I’m constantly making maps.

When leaving one city for another, I would climb to high places like this to confirm the direction and find cities that might still have people.

“The weather isn’t perfect, but at least it’s not snowing, right?”

It’s been several weeks since I visited this city.

But during that time, it snowed continuously, making it impossible to see far.

I have a good telescope that lets me see a few blocks away, but not as far as I can see now.

“Ah. Really, there are many depressing and frustrating things in this world… but when I see views like this, I think it’s fortunate to be alive. Don’t you think so too?”

It was well worth investing a day to climb the tallest building in the area.

Though the sky wasn’t completely clear, it wasn’t snowing for once, and from the rooftop I could see the gate located at the edge of the city.

Beyond the gate, I could take in the vast horizon and the pure white snow covering it entirely.

My legs, having climbed over 100 floors, were trembling as if about to collapse despite taking breaks along the way.

But the sensation of having beneath my feet a world that was impossible to properly observe from below was fantastically exhilarating.

“…But, what on earth is that?”

————However.

The sense of openness I felt while looking at the expansive world was devoured by a single architectural structure visible in the distance.

No, I’m not even sure if what I see in the distance is truly an architectural structure.

What kind of building could be visible from tens or hundreds of kilometers away?

The rectangular pillar-shaped structure, rising from the horizon as if to invade the sky again, looked like a visualization of humanity’s endless thirst for knowledge.

“What on earth did the people of this era dream of—what were they doing?”

There were certainly buildings tall enough to reach the sky in this city and in the cities I’ve passed through.

But a building as wide and massive as that… it hasn’t existed until now.

Black.

Chaotic.

Numerous stairs and floors, unstable iron bars that lean and protrude outward.

Even with a high-performance telescope, it’s impossible to imagine what purpose this pillar serves or how it was built.

“…With my imagination and knowledge, I can’t even guess why that structure exists or how it was constructed.”

How long might the length, width, and height of that structure be?

I’m simply overwhelmed.

While I felt positive emotions like ecstasy when looking at clusters of tall towers.

That black pillar, even seen from such a distance, makes me anxious and even uncomfortable.

“Alright. The next destination is… it seems to be there.”

I murmur in a voice much calmer than when I first reached the rooftop.

Even I, who thought I’d been walking through quite advanced cities until now, feel my instincts sending inexplicable warnings about this technological culmination that could freeze one in place.

…But the essence of technology is ultimately to solve deficiencies and make life abundant and stable.

The city near that pillar, which obviously used far more complex technology than this building and city I’m standing in.

It must have survived longer than this city, even if just a little.

*

“It seems it’s time to leave this city. I haven’t had such a clear destination in the past year, and while it’s a bit startling, it’s also convenient.”

After sitting on the rooftop for a long time making maps and planning for the future, I came down as the sky began to darken.

“Of course, I don’t plan to leave right away. To leave the city and go to another, you see that snowfield I saw from the rooftop earlier? I’ll have to cross that with just my body.”

So I needed to gather many things like thermos bottles for warm water, thick socks, and shoes to replace my worn-out ones.

“So I’ll go to the outskirts of the city over about three days, organize supplies… and wait for a day when the weather clears.”

No one knows how long it will take to leave one city and reach the next.

There are issues with my physical strength, and the weather might be unpredictable. I don’t even know if cities are separated by consistent distances.

Having walked alone through the snowfields several times before, I recalled those experiences and let out a deep sigh.

“Haah. This day has finally come.”

At least the city, though cruel and dark, is as clear as what meets the eye.

Except for occasional weapons hidden under the snow, everything that poses a direct threat is visible, and I can check in advance where I need to go and where I can stay safely.

But in the snowfield, nothing is visible. At the same time, nothing can be gauged.

Where I am now, where I need to go. How much longer, how many more days I need to endure to reach a safe place—it’s all unknown.

To safely cross the pure white land where all information, including myself, seems about to disappear, I needed not only to prepare everything I could but also to have luck on my side.

“Since I can’t control the weather, after preparing everything possible, I’ll just preserve my energy and pray to the heavens.”

I tightly clenched my fist and made a bed in an office a few floors down from the rooftop.

Being an office rather than a home, the windows were glass panels with drafts coming in from everywhere, making it cold.

But perhaps because there was nothing to eat in such offices, it retained its relatively intact appearance from when it was functional, which made me feel at ease.

“Ugh, I should also find a way to soak in warm water soon.”

And above all… perhaps because I’ve been pushing my body too hard these past few days, I simply couldn’t go down the dozens of flights of stairs.

Judging from the pain in my legs, I’d have to stay put here for at least two, no… three days.

[Aack, it would be terrible if you fell! Be careful!]

[Mori?]

“Yes. It’s Mori. I’m really glad to see you!”

The fortunate thing was that unlike before, I now had people to talk to even when I was alone and unable to do anything.

Firmly believing that with these friends, even the snowfield that had only been frightening until now could be crossed with a smile, I grinned broadly.