Multiverse's Holy Right

Kabbalah is the mystical philosophy of Judaism. According to this esoteric doctrine, the universe is divided into four parts. As Aiwass explained, the world of Toaru Majutsu no Index adheres to this theory, while the world Roy originally came from—the so-called "real world"—exists outside of it.

Why did this "real world" have novels, anime, and manga depicting other worlds? Were those other worlds real? And why had he crossed over in the first place? These questions weighed so heavily on Roy that he could barely breathe.

He shook his head and turned to Aiwass.

"...Never mind. These aren't things I should be worrying about right now. Aiwass, can you still use your powers in this world?"

Aiwass, who had been curiously observing their surroundings, paused before answering, "...My abilities are severely restricted and weakened here."

Only then did Roy notice that Aiwass's voice no longer sounded as if it were veiled, the way it had in the Toaru world. Now, it was clear and distinctly feminine, making Roy suspect that the nature of this "real world" had drastically reduced the gap between their respective existences, allowing him to understand her words more easily.

Roy frowned, then grabbed a pen and paper to sketch out some magical diagrams and arcane symbols. Though he had been a third-rate magician in the Toaru world, he at least knew some basic spells.

"Magic still works, but as you said, Aiwass, its power is heavily suppressed here. Still, basic suggestion spells should be fine. As long as no other supernatural forces exist in this world, I could easily reach the top just by using suggestion alone—if I wanted to."

He shrugged, showing little excitement or enthusiasm. Compared to the vast, vibrant "2D" world he had left behind, this "real world" was painfully dull.

Unlike Aiwass—a "Secret Chief" who was fascinated by the unknown and the incomprehensible—Roy wasn't yet in a position to explore the mysteries of this reality.

This was like playing a game. If Aleister could be considered a max-level character, constantly pushing beyond his limits by encountering the unknown and acquiring more knowledge, then Roy was currently a level-one character. His current task was to find a way to level up to the maximum, not to explore what lay beyond that stage.

"Except my gaming life is slightly different. In most RPGs, the protagonist slowly levels up before facing the final boss, but I got to see the final boss right from the start—and was even killed by him... The developer of this game is even more ruthless than Hidetaka Miyazaki."

Roy chuckled self-deprecatingly and closed his eyes, trying to recall how exactly he had crossed worlds.

He had already lived in the world of A Certain Magical Index for over a decade. As an ordinary person before, he didn't possess an "Absolute Memory" ability, so trying to remember events from more than ten years ago was incredibly difficult.

"I remember that on the night I crossed over, I saw a strange incantation. Out of curiosity, I memorized it before going to bed... Then, when I woke up, I had already crossed into another world... No, wait—that night, I think I had a dream. In the dream, I accidentally recited the incantation."

The moment Roy thought of that incantation, its contents abruptly surfaced in his soul. The words were written in simple Chinese, yet strangely, Roy couldn't comprehend them at all. He recognized every character, but when strung together, they became something utterly incomprehensible.

He silently mouthed the words. Beside him, Aiwass noticed Roy's odd behavior and stared at him intently. As Roy uttered the final syllable, Aiwass's expression finally shifted dramatically. She let out a soft "Hm?"—and in the next instant, her luminous body vanished alongside Roy from the bedroom.

...

Roy felt his vision darken for a split second before he found himself in an unknown world.

It was like an endless wilderness. Roy stood at its very center, with a staircase leading upward into the sky not far ahead. The sky above was unnaturally low, barely a hundred meters high.

The heavens were a swirling mass of white mist-like chaotic currents, as though concealing infinite mysteries. Beneath Roy's feet, however, was what appeared to be a massive pane of transparent glass—and beneath that "glass" lay a vast cosmic expanse!

The starry sky resembled a vibrant oil painting, dyed in countless hues. The moment Roy gazed upon it, he instinctively knew that this cosmos was the world of A Certain Magical Index he had come from. If he wished, he could return to that starry sky at any time.

"I remember now... I came to this world in my dream once. Back then, it was still covered in white mist. I thought I was having a lucid dream, so I desperately imagined traveling to the world of anime... and then I was reborn in A Certain Magical Index..."

Many people must have experienced this before—suddenly becoming aware that they were dreaming while asleep. At such times, one could exert some control over the dream through sheer imagination. That was exactly what Roy had done back then.

But he never expected that his "dream" would become reality.

"Aiwass, do you recognize this place?"

Roy turned to look at the 'Holy Guardian Angel' behind him. At this moment, Aiwass seemed stunned, staring blankly at this strange place in astonishment.

After a long while, she finally snapped out of it and said, "...I'm sorry, Roy. Everything here is beyond the scope of my knowledge. The only reason I can manifest in this form is because of your presence."

"If even you don't understand this place, then I won't delve deeper for now... I can sense that I can return to the 'Toaru' world anytime here. But going back now would leave me alone and powerless to change anything. I should explore this strange place first."

Roy lowered his head and took a deep look at the oil-painting-like cosmic starscape beneath his feet before stepping forward. "...I clearly remember this staircase being sealed in my dream. Now there's actually a door at the top."

With great interest, he began ascending the hundred-meter-high staircase step by step, with Aiwass floating closely behind him.

"Aiwass, it suddenly occurred to me—if this place truly allows travel between different worlds, what would happen if I returned to the real world and forced those authors to rewrite their stories?"

Roy voiced this whimsical idea to Aiwass.

"That would be meaningless. The world is a complex whole composed of infinite variables, following fundamental logic. A world with overly contradictory logic would only endanger you... Moreover, do worlds from 'books' truly exist? It's better not to reverse this causality. My very existence is proof—the fact that I can appear in what you call the 'real world' proves I'm real, not just words on a page."

"...In other words, worlds exist first, and their information spreads through some incomprehensible means to become stories in books. This isn't unbelievable. Magic Gods can achieve this—sealing stories within books. You can't claim those book worlds are false. This mysterious space we're in now might have been created by an existence even more powerful than Magic Gods."

Aiwass explained this to Roy almost like a teacher. As the 'Holy Guardian Angel' said, she no longer intended to merely observe Roy but was willing to actively assist him.

"I see."

Roy nodded earnestly, taking Aiwass's words to heart rather than letting them go in one ear and out the other.

"You can treat the contents of those books as 'prophecies,' but don't rely on them too heavily. The human world has the 'butterfly effect' theory, which applies equally to fate. The more you know, the more bound by destiny you become. Only the unknown can create greater possibilities."

At this moment, Roy and Aiwass had reached the final step of the staircase. One more step forward would take them beyond the mist-like sky, into the other side of the door.

Roy paused and turned back to Aiwass, a glimmer of understanding in his eyes. "...What I need to know is 'only the necessary parts of necessary knowledge.' In other words, I just need to grasp the outline of a story and its key figures, but I must never actively seek out more—is that it?"

Roy understood Aiwass's meaning. It was like in the world of A Certain Magical Index—Roy knew it was that world and recognized some main characters, but his memories of the actual story were vague. Since he hadn't read the entire series, he had no idea about future developments.

Aiwass was warning Roy not to actively read ahead in the storybook, as knowing the future would make him powerless to change fate.

"That is precisely what I meant."

"I see... Aiwass, you too are bound by fate, which is why you seek the unknown to tear apart destiny's web."

Roy chuckled softly.

He knew Aiwass had her own motives for helping him, but as long as her goals didn't threaten his life, Roy didn't care. Like this time with Aleister—without Aiwass's aid, he might have already been mistakenly killed by him.

Roy's combined life experience of over thirty years across two lifetimes could only be described as ordinary. Compared to Aiwass's vast knowledge and experience, he was practically a novice. Having such a being assist him could only be beneficial.

Without hesitation, Roy took the final step across the threshold and arrived at the second layer of this mysterious space. Just as he had seen in his dream, the second layer was also shrouded in white mist. Ahead, another set of stairs ascended further, though the sky there was temporarily blocked.

"There's even more space above? How many layers does this world have?"

Roy muttered, gazing at the chaotic white expanse around him.

Aiwass didn't answer—she knew nothing about this place either.

Roy hadn't expected a response. After a moment of thought, he said, "...Who knows how many layers these stairs have or where they lead? To give it some meaning, let's call it the 'Ladder to Divinity.'"

The last time Roy had come to this world, he had been in a hazy dream. This time, he was fully conscious. Upon stepping into the second layer of this mysterious space, he instinctively understood how to use it.

It was like a wishing machine—but instead of directly granting wishes, it only provided an opportunity to fulfill them.

Roy pondered briefly before speaking slowly, "...Take me to a world where I can grow stronger quickly!"

As soon as the words left his lips, the faint, cloud-like white mist swirling in the space contracted violently, as if struck by a hurricane.

Roy's figure vanished into the pure white void.

***

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