Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [314]
Once in the capital, he used enveiling magic to slip inside the Crystal Palace. He took stock of the layout and let himself into the imperial quarters. After that, it was simple. He waited for nightfall and made his way directly to the bedside of Gama Agrilius VII. Waking up the emperor, he calmly announced his business.
The emperor had been quite startled, of course, and—still in his nightclothes—prostrated himself in abject fear at Mitsuru’s feet. It was a better reaction than even he could’ve hoped for.
In the south, Mitsuru had few occasions to announce his status as Traveler to anyone, nor did his easy progress require him to do so at any point. Now, standing before the emperor, Mitsuru realized exactly what it meant to be a Traveler in Vision.
“We are quite enamored of the real world,” the emperor told him. “To us, it is a sacred land. A land of the gods. It is my most sincere wish to fashion my empire to be as much like the real world as I can make it.”
This revelation brought a smile to Mitsuru’s lips. Considering the wars and slaughter that had taken place in the real world, and comparing those to what he knew of the north, it seemed like the emperor had already been quite successful in his mission, whether he knew it or not. Still, something struck him as odd. Though he had learned it only in passing, Mitsuru was sure that the Northern Empire embraced the beliefs of the Old God rather than the Goddess. Travelers, everyone knew, were the servants of the Goddess—yet the emperor seemed quite pleased to make his acquaintance.
He asked about this, and the emperor hesitantly replied.
“Of course, as a Traveler you are well informed. I’m impressed to hear you know of our country’s religion. Indeed, our empire is, on the surface, a bastion of faith in the Old God. But this is merely a convenient means to an end. It became necessary to spread this religion to unite our people against the nations of the south where the Goddess is worshiped. That is all.”
“So, do you mean to say that you, in fact, worship the Goddess as Creator?”
The emperor laughed at the question. “No, no! Of course, the Tower of Destiny does exist somewhere here in Vision, and a Goddess surely lives there who controls the fates of those in the real world. But she is no god of Vision. The Goddess who sits in the Tower of Destiny is a goddess only to those from the real world. She has nothing to do with any of us who live here in Vision.”
The true creator of Vision is none other than the real world itself, the emperor explained. “Do you know how Vision was formed? Vision is a world created by the imaginative energies of people living in your world—the real world. It follows that the gods of Vision, if we must name them, are actually the people of the real world. Is this not so?”
It certainly did make logical sense. “Then why support a religion that teaches people to mistrust Travelers? That completely goes against what you just told me.”
The emperor waved away Mitsuru’s objection. “Master Mitsuru, we know that the Porta Nectere opens once every ten years. But we do not know what kind of person will visit us. If they are talented and wise, this is a good thing. But sometimes, they may be evil or weak. It falls to us to create a difficult environment to separate the good from the bad. If they are truly emissaries from the holy land, they will gain our admiration and worship.”
Mitsuru was stunned. Then he remembered something Wayfinder Lau had mentioned earlier. Many Travelers, he said, abandoned their journey, unable to stand the hardships along the way. They lost their lives somewhere in Vision, or disappeared, never to return to the real world.
“Yet you, Master Mitsuru, have reached our palace. All by yourself, you have penetrated its most heavily defended chamber.” The emperor bowed deeply. “You have proven your worth beyond all doubt. I’m honored to greet you as a guest in our world. You will be accorded all the respect an emissary of the gods