Infinite Spectrum

Night of the final challenge

December 11th, 2050

Heaven’s Reach Shrine

Save this world? Exactly how did Daiki Tennojima use his power?

Rei was at a loss for words when he realized Keisuke had turned his back on him and signalled for his troops to move. Next thing Rei knew, several guns were pointed at them. He slowly put his hands up, as did Lucia and Souichiro.

“Please don’t worry,” Keisuke said. “This is nothing more than a precaution.”

Despite revealing his role in all this, Keisuke’s face remained that of a frail and caring old man. He was simply a retired figure who once managed the Tennojima Research Institute. A man who was Daiki Tennojima’s brother-in-law and Ruby’s granduncle.

The thought terrified Rei. Was Keisuke the one behind Daiki’s actions too? The experiments, the weapons, the assassinations?

“Let me ask you something,” Rei said. “If you’ve been looking for me all this time, why did you send Kujo to assassinate my father?”

Keisuke raised an eyebrow as if genuinely surprised.

“Kousuke Tsukihara,” Rei clarified. “Or are you saying Daiki Tennojima was responsible for that?”

Keisuke’s tired eyes widened a little, as if a light of regonition passed over them. “Ahhhh,” he said with a long drawl. “I get it now. I see… I don’t know of any Tsukihara, but I very much remember a Kousuke. This takes me back. He was a good scientist. Not the brightest, not by a mile, but he always got the job done. I remember people like that.”

“So then—”

“I’m surprised you know of the Kujos, though. Not even Ruby knew about them. Or Daiki for that matter… at least not to the extent you obviously do. Did I tell you Daiki was soft? I did. Guileless to a fault. Still, I’m surprised. Kousuke was the one who stole you from us? Hah! After all these years… he had balls, after all. He changed his name and raised you as his son. The sentimental fool.”

Rei could hardly breathe. Stole him? Father was a scientist and he stole him away from the institute? He was kind and he made sure Rei had the one thing he could ever need as a child. Family.

“Why…” Rei hissed under his breath. “Why did you have him killed?”

“Ahh,” Keisuke said, hanging his head low. “Unfortunately, he knew too much. I thought he quit the company because he didn’t have the stomach for the work we do behind the scenes, but now I know the truth. It’s a pity, really. We could’ve worked something out.”

And there it was. Just as the chief promised, Rei finally found what he was searching for all these years. The truth about his father and himself.

The faces of people Rei encountered from then until now flashed before his eyes. The kind old lady who took him in, the cakeshop owner in the lower ward, the members of Earthwall, the Tokyo police, the Ninomiya agency, and now the Tennojima family. He met so many people and touched so many lives to finally get to this point.

“I apologize, for what it’s worth,” Keisuke said with that vile mouth of his. “You must’ve been young when he died, but I’m sure you cared enough. As… a recompense, I could have your real family located. Biological one, that is. They were devastated to hear you had an ‘accident’, but I’m sure they’d be happy to see you after all this time. Just imagine the looks on their faces!”

Rei’s hands were shaking. No. It mustn’t show.

Hold it in, hold it in, hold it in.

Con, con, con.

He was a con artist right now. Maxim. Reiji Shimomura. Rei Tsukihara.

Rei looked up with confidence and smiled. “I would love that,” he said. “But now that it’s all cleared up, I’d very much like to have my prize. Daiki’s research, correct? His life’s work?”

Keisuke chuckled. “Hmm, yes. I suppose we could. I figured we would have that done at the warm comfort of the institute, but why not? It was meant to be shown here, after all, at the highest peak of the world. Dramatic, but that’s Daiki for you. I suppose it’s the best I could do to honor his memory.” He signaled for the security team to make space towards the black box in the middle of the shrine. “Bring the renegade and the other two,” he commanded. “This will be educational.”

With guns pointed at them, none of the others resisted as they were led towards the computer.

“Believe it or not, Rei,” Keisuke said, “this prize that Daiki set up is meant to be revealed to the world.”

“This is true!” Jirou followed. “The legal documents pertaining to the research paper itself will go to the winner. Patents and what not. But as for what it is, Daiki wanted all to know. I’m quite excited to see it myself, to be honest.”

Jirou went to turn the computer back on, then fiddled with the tablet attached to it.

“And you’re fine with this, old man?” Souichiro said to Keisuke, his face not hiding a single inch of spite. “I don’t know what Daiki planned to reveal to the world, but you know the institute will be put under a microscope the minute its done. With all the skeletons in your closet, you sure you’re not actually planning to stop it from happening?” The aether inside Souichiro’s body flickered ever so slightly. “Just so you know, if this is some last-minute villain gloating before killing us off, I’m not going down without a fight. Riddle me with bullets all you want. I’m taking as many of you down with me as I can.”

Keisuke laughed softly. “Peace, young man. We checked all the silver medallions earlier tonight, and I know you have quite a number of them. I still mean to honor the reward.”

“Yeah, right,” Souichiro spat.

“Well, think what you must, then.” Keisuke shrugged. “But stop this information from going out? A villain, me? No, no, no. I’m the one who gave Daiki this idea. I may not be willing to part with our solution, but I am willing to accept aid in order to achieve it. Particularly if Rei did not come forward as per Daiki’s vision.”

The monitor above the black box flared back to life. It showed a familiar recording of Daiki Tennojima inside his laboratory, sitting on a chair, looking straight at the camera. This must be a continuation of the video from when he announced the challenge.

Rei felt weird looking at Daiki again. Shoulders that sagged, slightly disheveled hair, tired, tired eyes. This was the man responsible for Ruby’s suffering. She lived in constant fear of the secrets he was keeping. The Kujos, the weapons, Shinozuka, and who knows how many more. It was all because of him. Was it also his fault Ruby’s eye turned bronze? Did he—

Huh?

Wait, no.

Ruby loved this man. She cared for him.

“Did I tell you Daiki was soft? I did. Guileless to a fault.”

What?

No, Keisuke admitted he was behind everything.

Then, what was that vision of Ruby strapped to a machine?

Rei’s head started to hurt.

He looked at Keisuke and saw the old man watch the recording with indifference. As if he’d seen it several times.

“Congratulations,” Daiki Tennojima said. His voice was soft and had the raspy edge of someone struggling to speak. “What combination of people did our world get, I wonder? Or perhaps, you all chose to work together?”

The four remaining participants stood in complete silence.

“I designed this challenge with one winner in mind,” the video continued, “but I did not intend to deny the world of what I learned. Only the ownership will remain to you, dear winner, fragile as it may be.”

Keisuke grunted.

“The Artificial Intelligence I developed should’ve given you a great deal to ponder. Do forgive the cryptic nature of my questions. But how did your discussions go? My invention is not perfect by any means, but it thinks the way I do. Hopefully, it was able to mediate the final challenge and the winner it chooses is one who would put my research and solution to good use.”

Souichiro cackled a laugh.

“We never even got the chance to interact with the machine,” Lucia said, pointing out the irony. “It’s a shame.”

“Now, I suppose we should get to the meat of things,” Daiki continued, his tone and posture shifting to stoic solemnity. “Let’s talk about my life’s work.”

Aether was not something that could be felt from a video recording. Still, Rei knew that Daiki made aether flow through his body. It was the way his chest moved ever so slightly, the way aether tingles every pore of the skin. In seconds, Daiki’s eyes were completely covered in a golden sheen.

“Aetheric theory suggests that an exalt’s desires contributed a great deal to what ability they manifest. And there was nothing more I desired than to learn the truth of this world.”

“And thus, I gained these Alter Eyes. It was a name given by an old friend of mine.”

“Are you familiar with a man known as Satoru Hijiyama? The modern era remembers him as the exalt who reached full ascension and grew wings that took him to heaven. Those old as I am remember him as a hero, one of the first exalted who understood their power and used it for good.”

“But what people don’t know is that Satoru Hijiyama’s real ability wasn’t in his strength or his wings. It was what he called his ‘Alter Eyes’. He confided it to me, as the only scientist he claimed to trust. He told me—” Daiki broke into a smile as if remembering the man. “He told me he had the power to peer into the fabric of reality. To see the truth of the ascension itself.”

“For years I studied the man. Asked him what he meant. What he could see. ‘The end of the world’ he would say, but nothing more. He was a man who fought to save a world nobody knew was in danger.”

“Until one day he just… gave up. People say he flew to heaven, but the reality is, he was tired of his power, of his helplessness, so he left the city. He spent the last few years of his life a recluse and eventually passed away.”

Daiki looked down and smiled bitterly. “I know you must’ve realized the similarity between Satoru and myself. But let us press on.”

“The news of my friend’s death led me to pursue my own research on exalted eyes. The institute I built became successful, so with a wealth of resources, we gathered several promising exalts to develop abilities involving their eyes. The results were… less than stellar. Even when our backers shut the project down and we resorted to riskier methods, none proved successful.”

Flashes of Ruby forced to partake in this project appeared at the edge of Rei’s mind. The pain she must’ve felt. How many more suffered for this?

“And then, many years later, I myself was exalted and gained the same power as my friend. The Alter Eyes he finally explained in his last letter to me. My eyes opened and what I saw…”

“It was an infinite spectrum of worlds. Endless realities parallel to our own.”

Murmurs echoed across the shrine. Lucia was stunned. Souichiro looked confused. Even Hidenori who plastered a fake smile across his lips seemed perplexed.

Daiki’s eyes showed him alternate realities?

Rei felt his body shiver.

Did that mean…

“There are three simple truths you must understand,” Daiki explained. “The first is that our world—our reality—had been trampled with. The ascension. The exalted. None of these things were meant to happen. For hundreds of thousands of years our world was headed in one linear path of progress. Technology. We would’ve continued down that path and saw a very different future.”

“I’ve seen it with my Alter Eyes. An alternate reality where the moon still existed and technology advanced to staggering heights. Machines that could think. Vehicles that reached the stars. It is from this vision that I created my Artificial Intelligence. A pale imitation of what could’ve been.”

“But our world is different. In the year two thousand, the sky turned bronze, the land moved, and its people gained powers once impossible. Magic entered our reality.”

“The second truth you need to learn is that these events did not happen simultaneously. One caused the other. What started it all was the disappearance of the moon. It was devoured by the great bronze cloud. A curse of unknown origin that spelled the end of the world. We could’ve died then and there, bathed completely by the clouds we’ve now grown accustomed to. Other realities showed me as much.”

“But our world was spared thanks to what we now know as the ascension. Seven pillars of land rose from the ground to push back death from the sky. What sprouted from these lands were people with abilities that help fight it back.”

“How did any of this happen? I’m afraid, this is where I dive partly in speculation. The third truth you must accept. There are an infinite number of realities out there. Endless alternate worlds where ours sit in the middle.”

“On one end of the infinite spectrum of worlds is pure death. Realities where a bronze nebula devoured life and destruction thrived.”

“On the opposite end of the infinite spectrum of worlds is magic. Realities where nothing turned into something—a vibrant sphere where existence prospered.”

“These two ends of the infinite spectrum collided into our reality resulting in a world where both magic and incineration competed.”

“And that, unfortunately, is the extent my exalted vision could see. In every reality I peered into, life ended on earth when the bronze sky finally swallowed the land. The ascension only bought us time. When the highest peak reaches the clouds is when it will end.”

Daiki shifted from his seat and put his hands together.

“Is there a solution, I hear you ask. It exists somewhere, in the infinite spectrum. Worlds on the opposite end to destruction exists, after all. Best we can do is search for it.”

“And thus, my final bequeathal to you, dear winner. Whichever reality it may be that you belong to. Continue our research, make more exalted like me, or do nothing. You have my name and my institute’s full backing and support. All I ask is you make a decision. My hope is that this results in many alternate worlds where an answer is ultimately born. An answer that other realities can glimpse. As I failed to do.”

Daiki Tennojima smiled at the camera. At first, Rei thought the man found relief in speaking his truth to the world. To whoever listened to his recording. Instead, he realized the smile was for him specifically.

“One… other thing. If you who are watching this is from a reality where an exalt like me exists. Be it from our failed experiments, other ascension circles, or pure happenstance. How do you like the moon in other realities where bronze does not threaten the land? It’s magnificent, isn’t it? Know that I’ve had glimpses of you however brief they may be. You have given me hope.”

“Please, find it in yourself to reach an answer… and prevent the bronze sky from descending upon us. Save our worlds.”

The video turned off.

*

Lucia finally remembered to breath.

That video of Daiki-sensei… it was too much to take in. Alternate realities? Other worlds?

Her phone rang several times during the video, but of course she didn’t dare look at it. Now she did. Three missed calls from Thomas, two from Alex. A single message.

‘You wouldn’t believe this secret file,’ Alex texted. ‘Alter was about alternate realities! They’re the root of the ascension! This is insane!'

Daiki-sensei did mean to let the world know. Perhaps as backup he sent Empy Tech the same information as the video, to pursue his work in case the Tennojima Research Institute ceased to.

But then, in this reality…

Lucia looked at Rei.

…the solution already existed. Or at least somebody who could glimpse it.

“This is why you altered the challenge and expediated searching for me,” Rei said as he slowly turned to face Keisuke. “Because in this… reality… you’re the one responsible for the institute’s secret experiments. Not Daiki.”

“Yes,” Keisuke replied. “I knew you were somewhere out there. Of course, it was still Daiki who saw your power in other realities. I simply gambled that this world I live in is where you existed and came back to us. If you didn’t step forward, then I would’ve simply seized the institute for myself and worked to find a different solution. Trust me, Rei, with the amount the institute has sacrificed… this reality has its fare share of successes.”

Keisuke turned to Souichiro with a satisfied look. “You see? I am the hero in all this. While Daiki left things to chance and probabilities, I took steps. I made decisions. I advanced research into the exalted more than he ever did. I intervened in this challenge so that Rei could come forward. And now I—”

A low hiss reverberated in the air, followed by a rising cackle that cut through the winter chill like puffs of hot steam.

But it wasn’t Souichiro that laughed. It was the man who stood at the opposite end of the group with guns pointed at his back.

Hidenori.

“What?” Keisuke said in disgust. “Was Daiki’s revelations hard to comprehend? I don’t blame you. Perhaps I can send a copy of the video to whatever prison they—”

“Rei’s existence isn’t the only one you’re responsible for,” Hidenori stated. “Your actions… your greed for exalted power… also resulted in mine.”

Keisuke snorted. “Why?” he said, barely stifling a laugh. “Because your father’s choices aligned with mine? Because he left you? Are you going to say that I’m responsible for the chaos your little faction has done because you joined them out of spite?”

“No,” Hidenori replied, shaking his head. “It’s because I am the savior of this world.” He raised his hand and pointed a palm towards Keisuke. The old man raised an eyebrow. “The armaments you confiscated. My comrades insisted I wear them for my safety. But the truth is, I couldn’t stand the damned things my father spent his entire life tinkering. I could never find it in myself to use them.”

“Um, sir,” one of the security officers interjected—the one holding onto Hidenori’s weapons. “I did not want to interrupt the video earlier but… I noticed these weapons have no aether in them, sir. They’re all empty.”

“What?” Keisuke reacted in surprise.

“I didn’t lie,” Hidenori said as if pained. “I, Kisaragi, commander of the Humanist Consortium, bearer of the torch of humanity… am ascended. Cursed by exaltation.”

Three lightning shots leapt out of his hands and pierced Keisuke straight to the chest.

The two guards watching Hidenori reacted too late. They fired their weapons in response, but Hidenori’s aether shimmered around his body like thick armor. It was strong enough to even deflect bullets.

Hidenori spun around to strike his guards, pushing them back with insane force. He then turned to look at Rei, but Lucia was quick enough to summon her ice shields to protect the man. Hidenori smiled at her, then disappeared in a blur.

Where did—

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me,” Souichiro cried. Lucia followed the man's line of sight and saw Hidenori standing near the front of the shrine, close to the steps. The exalt made his aether glow so bright he sprouted wings. “That copycat! How the hell is he doing this?”

Suddenly, several bursts of aether sent shockwaves all around the hill the shrine stood on. Lucia had never been good at detecting power from a distance, but with the amount of aether rippling in the air…

Wait a minute. She’s felt this particular sensation before. 

Except… not at this scale.

“This is not possible,” Lucia said in pure shock. “Several people… are ascending!”