[175] 2. Goffin's Gate (1)
"My master is estimated to have gone to Heaven roughly eighty years ago. Do you know what that implies?"
"No, I don't."
"The master's rank before going to Heaven and after returning from Heaven were different—the Magic Association reclassified him. In other words, he grasped something in Heaven and became an Archmage. Any mage wants to become an Archmage. Knowing this and still not going to Heaven doesn't make sense."
Sirone had to concede. If Arcane came back from Heaven a third-class Archmage, it meant something there had awakened him.
Seeing Sirone waver, Kanis laid out the last scrap of information he had held in reserve.
"Most of what was on Master's note were single words, but at the very end there was one—only one—full sentence."
"What sentence?"
"It went like this: 'That place is the origin of all things. The wellspring of Schema and…'"
Rian's eyes lit up.
"Schema?"
Kanis ignored him and continued.
"…the forgotten ancient magic…"
Amy echoed him.
"Ancient magic?"
"…and the ancient weapons that lie silent—"
Tess burst out,
"Ancient weapons!"
Kanis knit his brows.
"…Are you doing that on purpose?"
"Hee-hee! Sorry. Go on."
Annoyed by Tess's theatrics, Kanis nevertheless recited the rest.
"'I leave it with this Meta Gate and depart.' That's what the note said."
It was a memo left so that anyone ignorant of Heaven couldn't access the information.
Even Harvest—who had inherited Arcane's memories—found that secret place only after roaming the continent. The very fact he smokescreened it to the end showed how badly Arcane wanted this truth kept hidden.
And yet, to leave even that much written… perhaps it was an incorrigible streak of mischief.
It was only a single sentence, but the note carried crucial information. First: there is Schema and magic in Heaven. Therefore, the probability that humans live there is high. On top of that, ancient relics must be piled there by the mountain.
Through the words, Arcane was saying this: Swordsmen and mages of the world—beyond the Meta Gate lie mountains of ancient relics.
Then what exactly are "ancient relics"? No history book records them.
Sirone began to get a feel for what Heaven was.
"Ancient magic. Ancient relics. The origin of all things."
"Right. Master knew. Since when did humans learn Schema and wield magic? If it were a biological principle, Schema would manifest in animals too. But no matter how far you trace history back, there's nothing about the birth of Schema and the Spirit Zone. Do you see what that means?"
"Humans knew it from the beginning. Paradoxical, but that's what you're saying, isn't it?"
"Exactly. To put it more plainly: Schema and magic existed before humans. Kadum called Heaven their homeland. It's only myth—but from here on, we have to use myth as our compass."
A prehistorical world was waiting for them. Humanity's origin—what no scholar had ever uncovered—might be hidden there, somewhere out among the stars at an immeasurable distance.
"I've told you everything I know. The conclusion is: I'm going. Not only to carry on Master's will, but to advance our magic. Arin and I have already agreed on this. Whatever happens, there will be no resentment."
"I—I'll go too!"
Amy declared she'd join.
For a mage, chances to raise one's level didn't come often. And the fact that Kanis and Arin would become rivals from the same school also tugged at her. However dangerous the place was, they had the Meta Gate, didn't they? When there's a way back, not even trying would be foolish.
"If Amy goes, I'm going too! Sirone, let's go!"
Tess sided with Amy. With masterless ancient weapons waiting, there was no reason not to.
The Meta Gate alone was worth an astronomical sum. Ancient weapons were made of metals unknown in this world. Even picking up a single pebble from that road would feel like profit.
"No. I'm not taking anyone. I'm not going either. It's too dangerous. I don't think going to Heaven is the right choice for us."
Everyone stared, dumbfounded at Sirone's words.
It was too precious to give up. This was a stroke of fortune that came to no mage in the world. Hadn't Arcane too, after gaining enlightenment in Heaven, risen to the rank of Archmage?
"I know it's dangerous. But Kanis has a way back, doesn't he?"
"That's not the point. Exit or no exit doesn't matter. The fact I can open the Gate to Heaven doesn't mean I can risk your lives."
Kanis ground his teeth.
He had known since the day Sirone flung himself off the cliff of an unbridgeable chasm that Sirone was a humanist to a fault. That's why he'd spun every strategy to drag things this far. And yet even this couldn't crack that ironclad stubbornness.
"If you're that scared, don't go. But we made a deal. You have to let Arin and me enter the Gate to Heaven."
"No. I'm not sending you either."
"You bastard! Are you betraying me now?"
"Think what you want—I can't help it. But now you're a classmate at our school. I can't open the door and shove you into a deathtrap."
"Who asked you to worry about my life? I'll handle mine! And we can come back anytime!"
Amy usually respected Sirone's wishes, but this time she sided with Kanis.
"Yeah, Sirone. It's a great chance. And weren't we accepting this level of risk from the start? You came all the way here to learn about the Labyrinth."
Sirone's voice rose.
"Put yourself in my place. If it were you, could you tell us to step through the Gate to Heaven? Could you tell us to go to that star we just saw?"
'No. Not even if I were dying.'
That was the kind of problem this was—separate from "danger."
If Sirone had come alone, and if today's conditions were in place, he would enter Heaven this instant.
But going in as an Unlocker bearing his friends' lives would be childish. Among this group, Sirone had the responsibility to make the most adult judgment.
Lost in thought, Amy flicked him on the forehead. Holding his stinging brow with a baffled look, Sirone heard her say,
"Of course I'm going to say we should go to Heaven. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance."
Amy lied.
Concern for a friend's safety is another factor that clouds cool judgment. In that case, lightening his burden had to come first.
But Sirone had already seen through her.
"Don't lie. This really is dangerous. Even with the Meta Gate, do you even know where that place is? And we're not going to pop in and pop right back out. The stronger your desire to go, the higher the danger—why don't you see that?"
"Then why did you bring me this far?"
"What? That's…"
"You said it yourself—you'd feel safe with me along. That's why you came to my house, isn't it? Or what—did you plan to tour the sights with a girl on your arm?"
Amy went on the attack. Whether it worked or not, Sirone was struck speechless. He'd dragged a graduating senior out to an island—he owed an accounting for that.
Thumping her chest, Tess backed Amy up.
"Same for me. Even if you're the one opening the door, going or not going is entirely my choice. You don't need to worry that far. And if we're going anyway, Rian and I will add plenty of firepower."
In any party, a swordsman matters. They possess a courage and an animal sense mages don't. The one second they carve out can be the fork between life and death for a mage.
As Sirone wrestled with himself, someone knocked at the door.
Kanis hid the Meta Gate. But the knocker didn't open the door until he was granted permission.
When Sirone allowed entry, Mahatu came in. An uninvited guest, if there ever was one.
With Sirone's group staring blankly, Mahatu hesitated, then spoke.
"I apologize for earlier. I came to offer a formal apology."
"It's fine. I've already forgotten it."
Of course, Amy hadn't forgotten. But she decided to let it go, thinking Mahatu hadn't come only to apologize.
As expected, Mahatu got to the point.
"Are you going to Heaven?"
Sirone didn't answer. His friends' forceful arguments had swayed him, but his mind was still a question mark.
"Do not go."
His friends' brows knit.
According to the chieftain, Sirone held the key to Kergo's rise or fall. It was unexpected for Mahatu—who knew that better than anyone—to dissuade him.
Kanis, who'd thought Sirone was just about convinced, bristled at Mahatu's cold water.
"What are you talking about? 'Don't go'?"
"Permit me to be rude for a moment."
Mahatu crossed his arms. As he inhaled, his muscles swelled and a fierce power blazed from his eyes.
It was overwhelming pressure.
Sirone's group felt as if their bodies were tipping backward. They might actually have been in the process of falling. If he had added killing intent, they wouldn't even have been able to breathe.
Not intending insult, Mahatu released the pressure quickly. Even so, the air remained heavy.
"My apologies. I overstepped and flaunted my poor skill."
No one believed the apology heartfelt.
There is no absolute in strength, but there is a clear boundary between master and novice. At Mahatu's level, he had to know his own might.
"I cannot go to Heaven. Because I failed to prove my strength in the Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice."
Sirone grasped his intent. He was using his own strength as the yardstick to suggest Heaven's difficulty.
You couldn't compare a warrior and a mage on the same scale, but it was convincing enough.
"Kergoans take the test too?"
"Of course. If you prove your strength in the Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice, even Kergo's warriors are given the qualification to go to Heaven."
"But to go there, you need…"
"Yes. There must be an Unlocker. When the Gate to Heaven buried in volcanic ash was restored, many set out for Heaven. But very few returned. That is why Lord Miro created the Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice—to have strength verified. Of course, Unlockers are the exception, but unless you can pass by sheer ability, you should not go."
It was startling enough that so few returned; more shocking still was hearing Miro's name from Mahatu's mouth.
"How do you know Miro? Don't tell me you met her yourself?"
"No. But most of the leadership knows of her."
"Can you tell us in detail? We came here to learn about Miro."
"I see—that was your purpose."
Mahatu realized why Sirone hadn't been swayed by gold or women. If he was entangled with Miro, he would indeed be different from the dissolute Unlockers.
"Five hundred years ago, a civil war broke out in Kergo—a conflict between those who followed the angel and those who opposed the angel. The anti-angel faction won. But then a sudden volcanic eruption drove the tribe to the brink of annihilation. The angel faction interprets the eruption as a disaster sent by the angel."
The scholars' view that Luf had sparked the civil war was wrong. The mere appearance of the word "angel" marked this as a top-secret known only to Kergo's leadership.
"Two hundred fifty years after that, an outsider came here. His name was MacLaine Goffin—an Unlocker like you, Sirone. He restored the Kergo ruins buried in ash and opened the Gate to Heaven. We call that door Goffin's Gate. But in the end, that incident triggered another turmoil. The strife from 250 years prior began to be fomented again—and this time, the faction that followed the angel won. The regime changed. That is the Kergo you see today."