Chapter 242 – Element of Creation (Three)

How to recognize the Rainbow.

Those words raised two questions in Ray’s mind.

[So the Rainbow isn’t just a natural phenomenon but refers to some kind of being?]

The first was a question about what the Rainbow referred to.

[Earlier, the wizards said they made the Ring based on the shape of the vanished Rainbow. So where did the vanished Rainbow go?]

The second was the whereabouts of the Rainbow.

Blue stared intently into Ray’s pupils as it heard the successive questions.

And the moment Ray felt a strange sensation as if his inner thoughts were being read.

[Truly immense curiosity.]

Blue’s entire body, composed of transparent water, emitted an intense blue light along with the gemstone.

“……!”

By the time Ray grasped the situation.

Blue had already arrived right before his eyes, having become a luminous body.

[Showing you directly will be faster.]

The moment the boy’s and the spirit’s bodies intersected, the world was dyed in blue light.

Ray looked around at the scenery revealed as the light receded.

Swoooooosh──

The grasses covering the plain swayed and rustled in the blowing wind.

…He realized immediately.

This was a memory Blue was showing him.

Because no matter where he looked in the scenery, it was entirely monochrome.

White, black, gray… It felt as if he had stepped into the middle of a black-and-white photograph.

‘How far back in the past is this memory?’

Turning his head, he saw groups of the seven ancient races and various species of animals scattered across the plain.

But something was off.

He couldn’t shake an awkward feeling from their ceaselessly moving, active forms.

Like machines moving according to input commands, an unnatural feeling.

Moreover, no expression whatsoever appeared on their faces.

‘I’ve felt this before.’

The dolls created by the Doctor.

When he saw the Homunculi.

Not exactly the same, but a very similar feeling.

To be precise, it gave the impression that the Doctor had created the Homunculi by imitating the ancient races and animals Ray was now seeing.

Ray continued his observational gaze.

‘The Vessels have no emotion.’

He realized that the Vessels of every living being in his field of view were completely empty.

The anomaly occurred then.

───!

Light erupted from the far side of the plain.

Everyone turned their heads to look, and there stood an unidentified being whose entire body was composed of light.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue….

The being, containing countless other colors beyond measure, had the form of a small human.

A shiver ran down Ray’s spine.

‘That’s exactly the scene I saw in the mural at the ruins.’

The point where the long, black-and-white mural began to take on diverse colors.

The figure that appeared beneath the band of seven colors, at the junction of monochrome and polychrome.

He could be certain.

The figure in the mural.

The figure he was seeing now.

The two figures were the same person.

The being emitted multicolored light as it approached the center of the plain.

All the living beings on the plain merely stared blankly at the sight without any joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure.

The being raised its hand.

Instantly, erupted light scattered in all directions, dyeing the world in diverse colors.

Plants and trees were dyed green.

The flowing river took on a blue hue.

The earth began to change into a deep brown.

The ancient races and animals also began to don their respective colors.

How much time passed like that?

Finally, the scenery Ray saw was a world fully clothed in color and the colorful Mana overflowing in the atmosphere.

Only then did Ray realize.

Just who the figure was that created and spread Mana throughout the world.

‘It looks tired.’

Even after finishing its work, the being still emitted multicolored light.

However, as if much of its strength had left, the intensity of the light was less than a hundredth of what it had been before.

The being, its light somewhat dimmed, extended its palm toward the living beings of the plain.

Upon it rested seven gemstones, each emitting light of a different color.

───.

────.

Before they knew it, colorful emotions had blossomed within the Vessels of the watching ancient races.

Admiration, fear, joy, surprise.

Shock, disbelief, excitement, thrill….

As if resonating with those emotions, the seven gemstones emitted even stronger light.

The leaders of each race approached the being and knelt.

And, one by one, they received the gemstones.

After that, Blue’s memory played back at a very fast speed.

Tools appeared, buildings rose.

A village formed, the population increased.

The ancient races, close to a primitive state, began to develop rapidly.

Especially, emotions breathed vitality and life force into the ancient races, who had only known how to move with mechanical gestures.

They cried, laughed, got angry.

And made various corresponding expressions.

Emotion was a powerful source and driving force that led to specific actions.

The being moved among the developing ancient races, teaching them how to use Mana.

To light fires.

To stir winds.

To move heavy stones.

Ray knew what that was.

‘…Magic.’

It was precisely Magic.

Each time the ancient races used Magic, the Atmospheric Mana was rapidly depleted.

But thanks to the seven gemstones that emitted Mana like an inexhaustible spring, the Atmospheric Mana never ran dry.

Also.

─────.

Whenever crisis befell the ancient races, the being stepped forward personally and exerted its power.

It gathered and mixed its remaining light, using the resulting white light to shape terrain like mountains or rivers, or to block natural disasters.

…Each time it did so, the light the being emitted grew gradually dimmer.

Also, as if emotions were vanishing, the being’s movements became mechanical.

But even so.

The being seemed happy.

[─────.]

With the final sight of the being conveying some message to the ancient races.

Ray’s consciousness returned to reality.

“…….”

And he could see himself grabbing Blue’s horn with both hands and shaking it vigorously.

Coming to his senses immediately, he shook the horn even harder.

[Why stop here? What happened next?]

[Let go. I will not tolerate any further assaults on my dignity.]

Shake shake.

[What happened next? What did the Rainbow say at the end?]

[Why is your strength like this? Final warning. Let this go.]

Shake shake shake.

Feeling dizzy, Blue turned into water and created distance.

Blocking the pursuing Ray with a water barrier, it answered.

[I don’t remember what happened next.]

[Don’t lie. Spill everything you know before I pull out your horn.]

[It’s not a lie. The next part of the memory was stored in the lake.]

Ray stared piercingly at Blue.

But from this utterly infuriating Rockdeer’s Vessel, he couldn’t detect any emotional fluctuation.

[Why would you leave such an important memory in the lake and wander around?]

[Because the amount of memory the main body can hold has a limit. However, regarding the current situation, isn’t the responsibility more on the boy who absorbed all the lake’s water than on me?]

[You could have carried it. From now on, make sure to always carry important memories with you.]

[Why are you diverting the conversation?]

Ignoring Blue’s interrogation, Ray fired off several questions.

[Why did the Rainbow disappear?]

[I don’t know. That memory was stored in the lake.]

[Who won the war?]

[I don’t know that either. That was also a memory stored in the lake.]

[You don’t know anything.]

[Do you want to get hit with a horn?]

All answers converged on the same words, and there wasn’t much information to be gained through Blue.

‘So ultimately, I have to recall it myself by absorbing the lake’s memories.’

Focusing his mind, he perceived the countless fragments of memory drifting through his thoughts.

For some reason, it reminded him of the tens of thousands of scrap metal pieces drifting in the Elton River.

This much memory.

Should be organizable right away.

The moment he reached out to one nearby memory fragment for classification.

────!

From the depths of his mind, he saw a flood of memories, similar in volume to what was piled before him now, rushing in.

Ray quietly withdrew from his contemplation.

‘Let’s organize it later.’

Even if he devoted a whole day to classification work, it would probably take at least several years.

Feeling slightly dizzy, Ray first organized the information he had secured.

First, the Rainbow refers not only to a natural phenomenon but also to the figure who breathed color and emotion into the world.

The Rainbow, wielding the power of creation and caring for the ancient races, is presumed to have used up all its power and vanished.

After that, a great war broke out among the ancient races.

‘And as a result, the land and Mana began to deteriorate. The traces of that are likely the current land above ground and the Atmospheric Mana.’

Continuing his contemplation, Ray asked Blue a question.

[But what does it mean that the Rainbow will return? Wasn’t it that the Rainbow weakened and completely vanished?]

[I don’t know that precisely either. My first Contractor, the Purple Guardian, she merely said that.]

[You said she told you a way to recognize the Rainbow no matter what form it takes. Can you tell me?]

Unlike before, Blue did not answer immediately and fell into a long silence.

After several seconds of exchanged gazes.

[I don’t remember.]

It answered.

As it was the expected answer, he wasn’t particularly disappointed, and Ray changed the subject to ask.

[By any chance, do you know any facts about the crimson sphere above the clouds?]

[I can answer that. I too have been making constant efforts recently to destroy that sphere.]

Blue’s answer followed immediately.

[The sphere emitting ominous energy appeared above the clouds near the island five years ago. It periodically shot needles toward the island where we spirits live, and over time, it was seen gradually increasing in size.]

‘…Five years ago, you say.’

The words of the Doctor’s avatar, the Crimson Giant, flashed through Ray’s mind.

「I don’t know how much or what you’ve figured out, but it’s all useless. My research is already on the verge of completion.」

…Could that research be referring to the crimson sphere?

That thought occurred to him.

If so, then the crimson sphere is related to the Doctor’s goal of returning the world to its original state.

And also, it seemed the sphere’s appearance wouldn’t end with just this one time.

As Ray’s barrage of questions ceased, Blue asked.

[May I ask a question now?]

[If it’s something I can answer.]

[How did you get up to this island?]

[I flew up from the top of the World Tree using a flying device.]

Ray summarized the situation leading up to his arrival on the island, explaining without omitting any parts.

[To think you came up here out of mere curiosity about the history of the Ancient Era. Truly immense determination and ability to act.]

Blue couldn’t help but admire Ray’s motivation for action.

[Amazing. You gathered Dwarves and Elves in one place. Among the races whose relations soured after the war, those two had the most severe conflict.]

It expressed surprise at the statement that Dwarves and Elves had built a shared home.

[So the person called the Doctor is the one who created the crimson sphere and is presumed to be the Red Guardian? Boy, hearing the evidence you’ve presented, I think it’s not entirely without possibility.]

It showed some agreement with the speculation about the Red Guardian.

Ray felt a bit puzzled.

[You believe everything I said? Just like that, straightforwardly?]

[That’s because you, boy, have formed a Contract with a spirit.]

According to Blue’s following words, spirits never form Contracts with impure individuals.

[As the Atmospheric Mana deteriorated due to the war, spirits were forced to form Contracts with wizards possessing Rings for survival.]

A wrong Contract could lead to a threat to their very existence.

Therefore, they steadily cultivated the ability to detect a wizard’s purity.

And a wizard who has formed a Contract with a spirit becomes a token of trust by their very existence.

[I didn’t know that.]

[If someone who hadn’t formed a Contract had entered the island, they would have immediately been attacked by all the spirits.]

Ray recalled that the spirits of the Last Forest had often shown a strangely friendly demeanor.

Afterwards, Blue gave orders and sent the spirits back to their respective nests.

[Blue Horn! Trying to monopolize that boy’s Mana! Utterly greedy!]

[I knew it all along! Every day, you go outside the island, eat delicious things alone, and come back!]

[I saw it! I saw you coming back with Mana smeared around your mou─! Mmph! I didn’t say anything!]

There were dissatisfied spirits, but they were swiftly suppressed by Blue’s cold gaze.

After a bit of commotion.

Silence descended upon the basin.

[I’ll ask the question I most wanted to ask.]

[…….]

[Boy, how is it that you possess two fragments of the Rainbow?]

Blue looked straight at Ray and asked.

And a moment later.

Three colors of light erupted and covered the basin.