Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [322]
The rotten spy. In one corner of his mind, Mitsuru cursed the man and his prying eyes.
“I think this must be when you remember the real world you have left behind. When you recalled the faces of your friends, and those you loved. It must make one very lonely to be so far from home.”
Mitsuru did not reply, which Zophie took to be an affirmation. “Lupa said you must want to get to the Tower of Destiny as soon as possible. I think he is right. It is only natural.”
She paused. “Still, still—my father has good reason to make you wait, Master Mitsuru. Adju Lupa suggested that perhaps, with only the explanation my father gave you, you would not understand why. That is why he asked me to speak with you on this matter.”
Everything was on account of the Mirror of Eternal Shadow, she told him. “The thing that the Crown of the Seal holds at bay is the mirror. Only the noble gemstone set upon that crown has the power to resist the mirror’s horrible strength. This gemstone you seek, it is the stone we call the Gem of Darkness.”
The Gem of Darkness. Something inside Mitsuru’s chest stirred.
“This gem was brought from the Dark to Vision. That is why it is able to stop the Mirror of Eternal Shadow.”
Mitsuru couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer. “What exactly is this Mirror of Eternal Shadow? And this ‘Dark’? Is this another world, like the real world or Vision?”
A shadow came over Zophie’s lively features, and she seemed reluctant to speak. “It seems odd for me to be explaining this to you, Master Mitsuru, you being the Traveler, but please bear with me. The real world and Vision exist as a pair of opposites. But Vision exists only because the real world exists. Without the real world’s energies, Vision would cease to be. Between the two stands the Great Barrier of Light. And around them yawns the Abyss of Chaos.”
Mitsuru nodded and she continued. “To be more precise, we might say that the real world and Vision float in the abyss. We are but an ephemeral bubble drifting on the surface of an endless void. Yet I can think of no bubble more beautiful.
“A moment before, I said that the real world and Vision were a pair. This is true, yet their relationship is not equal. You see, while there is only one real world, there are many Visions. In addition to the Vision in which we live, there are many other Visions marking time beyond our knowledge.”
Wayfinder Lau hadn’t said anything of the sort, but Mitsuru wasn’t particularly surprised by this revelation. It made sense, considering that the imaginations of the real world created this one. There were many people living in the real world. With all that energy—all those thoughts and dreams and emotions—it made sense that there would be multiple Visions floating around.
“Parallel worlds, then?” Mitsuru asked, recalling something he had read in a science fiction novel once.
“Parallel?”
“No. Pay me no mind. Please, go on.”
Zophie looked to the side, as though she had lost her train of thought. This, too, seemed like a new experience for her. “In most cases, these Visions are peaceful worlds,” she continued, thinking while she spoke. “Much like the one that we live in here.”
“It is peaceful, now.”
“Yes,” she continued, choosing to ignore his comment, “but some of these Visions are filled with darkness and fear. They are dark worlds, casting shadows, knowing only animosity and destruction.”
“And these worlds are the Dark you mentioned?”
Zophie nodded. “I learned in my history lessons that the Dark are worlds that were meant to become Vision, yet failed. That is why they resent Vision, and would destroy it if they could. The darkness that swirls in those worlds yearns to infiltrate worlds like ours. It is waiting and watching always for that chance.
“Near the bottom of the Abyss of Chaos lie many seeds, as yet undifferentiated, yet each with the potential to become a new Vision,” she explained. “If they should rise and form a healthy Vision, then all is well, but if something goes wrong, and they become twisted