“Aaaah~~!”

I unwittingly scream, but that moment of panic only lasts for a second before I realize my back has hit—the floor?

“...Huh?”

—It seems that we’re back in the Grand Archive.

“We’ve won, or so we thought.”

Lying face up on the floor of the main observation room surrounded by scattered piles of records, I hear Master’s voice coming from beside me.

“The universe was recreated almost exactly as it was. And for a while, we truly thought that we had won.”

I look to see Master saying that without attempting to get up, blankly facing the dark sky above.

“But from the outside, we eventually saw that something was wrong. we saw that nothing was changing… nothing could even [change]... everything was stuck in a causal temporal loop.”

Then with a suppressed laughter, one that is directed at himself this time, Master says to me.

“We’ve won, Steve, the stupid war ended and the game was over—but at the same time, we’ve lost. Because... hahaha~”

Laughing at the foolishness of everything, laughing at the foolishness of himself...

“Over and over again, everything repeats itself, do you know why?”

“How am I supposed to?”

—I’m just an ordinary person, after all… you’re the one who’s supposed to know [everything].

“Because we’re still [fictional]—” Master answers. “Even after getting rid of the Voice’s will, we’re still inside a [fictional reality], one that has gotten rid of its [creator]—of its [writer]. A fiction without a writer, how is it supposed to continue?”

"..."

Master lets out the next line along with a mix of sighing and laughter.

“We've caused this. In our attempt to break the cycle of destruction, we ended up creating another cycle of ignorance... In our quest for peace, we ended up turning the whole of existence so peaceful it’s basically static.”

"..."

"And that's it."

"That's my story up to this point. That's the [Second Truth] and the origin of this version of the universe."

"An endless fight that led to a [Perpetual], an unending loop with no way out. Do you think [we]'re to blame for all of this?"

Master stretches out both his hands as if reaching for some kind of answer in the empty air…

“Facing the gods and eldritch beings even if it meant having our bodies torn apart. Losing so many times and retrying, again and again, all so that we could obtain this shallow [victory]... I’m tired, really tired, and I thought that maybe this was enough...”

Master let both his arms fall to his side and went into a few seconds of silence... I know that there's really nothing I can say, so all I can do is listen.

Eventually, Master speaks up once more.

“—But then I met you.”

...Me? Again? Really?

“For an ordinary person, I’m beginning to feel like I have way too much to do with this whole thing.”

Master laughs a little at my intentionally out-of-place remark.

“I was just wandering around and recording information, looking for something that would disprove my hypothesis. Running into you was just a coincidence, talking to you was also just on a whim.

"But whatever the reason for our meeting was, you still asked me that question, ‘what makes me different from a [god]?’ and that was what made me realize.

"[Gods] are eternal and everlasting, they could grow but they couldn’t change. And no matter how powerful they grew to become they would never look for anything other than strength… but we could change, that’s how we’ve won!”

Master sits up straight, a confident smile once again appears on his lips.

“We changed the purpose of the war! We changed the will of the creator! With the ability to change, we’ve surpassed them in both power and knowledge, and admittedly in arrogance! The most ironic thing about the war to make gods, was that the only survivor who walked away from it is—!”

He jumps up to his feet, spreading his arms, and declares loudly with absolute certainty—

“[The most arrogant human in existence]!”

Then the white-haired man continues with rising enthusiasm.

“Despite everything, there are two things about us that will always be the same. If there’s something we want—we’ll make it! If there’s something we don’t like—we’ll change it!”

Letting everything out from the bottom of his heart, he says out loud.

“So, I can still keep going… for [one last victory]! If I just need to do whatever it takes to win one more time for all of our sacrifices to not be in vain, then what the hell am I hesitating for!? If everything can’t move forward because there’s no longer anyone who will write a new chapter, then... Hahaha~ Hahahaha~! Hahahahahahaha~♪! Then——!!”

Laughing maniacally, Master reveals his conclusion.

“—I’ll [write] them myself!”

Snap—!

Master pulls out his book from [The Astral Projector] and snaps his fingers. And the Grand Archive responds by delivering 2 large blackboards to the main observation room by sliding them along the railings.

“—Here are the rules for the victory condition. The process of yet another [Grand Scheme].”

Master says and begins to write on the blackboard using the white chalk that comes with it. He divides the board into 2 sides. With one side being the rules.

…——

<1st rule: Change>

—Any pre-existing or predetermined state of matter that unconditionally leads the course or a series of events to a certain outcome rather than any other quantifiable path, must not persist through multiple cycles and has to be erased and recreated each time to allow change.

“Basically, the outcome of an event that happened before must not always happen again.”

<2nd rule: Coexistence>

—Any and all events that have the potential to be in a state where either or all outcomes have an equal, less, or higher chance to be true must all coexist in a state similar to that of superposition until observed, proven, or falsified.

“Basically, there have to be multiple timelines existing at the same time, where all outcomes happened instead of just one.”

<3rd rule: Uncertainty>

—God doesn’t play dice, but we do! :)

“It’s only in the universe where the future is truly undetermined that we can have free will. It can be cruel, but to me not being able to change anything at all is much crueler.”

“—And to achieve these conditions, I have created...”

With a swirl of his hand, Master calls my attention to another side of the board, where only a single line is written there.

—[The Conceptors Grand Archive]—

“Steve, why do you think this place exists?”

Master steps away from the blackboards and picks up one of the records on the floor.

“So that when the cycle ends and the universe resets… something that was temporarily changed can still be preserved and remembered.”

“So nothing is lost forever?”

“Sounds nice, doesn’t it?”

Yes, it kind of does… even if I died, in the Grand Archive something about me still exists. I believe many people would find comfort in that.

“But these records of people's lives’ experiences weren’t just collected to be preserved. They are also to be used.”

“...To do what?”

“To write [fates].”

Write, fates?

“But I thought you were trying to get rid of [fate]?”

Master smiles at my question and then answers me with another question.

“Steve, have you ever asked yourself the question of ‘if the universe resets every cycle, then why did he say that there are records of possible futures in the Grand Archive?’'.”

That doesn't make any sense, only if…

—Only if there’s something out there that is unaffected by the resets and causing all these alterations.

I sent a questioning look at Master who completed my thought process while still smiling like usual. 

“Yep, that something is us. We have been running across time and space to subtly alter the courses of people’s fate to different conclusions and record them. It’s a very important step in fulfilling the purpose that [The Conceptors Grand Archive] was created for.”

Noticing that I’m still confused, Master begins to write on the blackboards once more.

“Here are the 3 steps to become the writer of [The Six Eternities].”

…——  

<1st step: Writing>

—To get rid of fate, we need to write [fates], every possible [fates], manipulate the courses of each isolated set of events, and chronicle every quantifiable outcome individually—compile them in one compact set of quantum arrangement, compress that information into a single unit and then use it to create [an entirely new universe].

“Basically, that means we have to change the life of each individual person and thing in the universe. Then use the recorded information of the different outcomes and create another universe entirely where all of them exist at the same time.”

<2nd step: Editing>

—After creating another universe where both and all potential outcomes of the same series of events coexist at the same point in time and space. Set up a system where, depending on related indeterminable conditions, those points can bleed into one another and collide to create an artificial [timeline divergence].

“That means instead of a certain decision that someone makes splitting the universe and creating parallel timelines, the timelines are created first and they would have a chance to slip into it afterward. Like different routes in video games.”

<3rd step: Publishing>

—Recording and compiling different temporal fates of everything, sentient or inanimate, and preparing to turn them into permanent physical reality in the event called [The Conception]—that is the purpose of [The Conceptors Grand Archive]!

“That means that even if the universe is stuck infinitely looping for eternity—there are going to be more eternities to come, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, these 3 steps would be repeated again and again until there’s enough information to trigger the [ultimate convergence] where every single eternity is combined into one ever-changing universe that can grow and multiply, forever!”

"..."

Looking at the words written on the blackboards, questions spread through my mind as well as a little fear. It's a little difficult to follow it all, but if I understand everything correctly.

—A plan to artificially create infinity by adding to it one at a time. No matter how you cut it, that’s just—the very definition of [insanity].

“Only after that last step is complete, can [we] move on from being the master of the Grand Archive... ”

"Wait, we?"

—At that moment something in my mind clicks.

I look at Master, specifically at the book that he’s always holding onto…

And just like always, he knows what I want to ask.

“This is the master’s book. From it, you can access anything in the Grand Archive, quite neat actually—really convenient piece of gadget. But that’s not the true purpose of what it is designed to do.”

As he speaks, a feeling of dreadful realization creeps up my spine. 

“—To compile all of the information inside [The Conceptors Grand Archive], and compress them into a single unit inside my mind.”

I unconsciously take a deep breath….

“You said that, after all the information is compressed into a single unit, [The Conception] will begin...”

“Correct~”

“And what will happen to you, when that happens?”

To that question, Master shows me a faint smile. Then with a voice that sounds scary because of how calm it is, he simply says.

"The Master of the Grand Archive has to die, so that [everything] may move forward.”

—While wearing a smile on his face as always, the white-haired man says that.

“A new [me] will be born from [The Eternal Sea], this new [me] will be a little different from me—but also the same as me. And through the master’s book, the new master will be given the past experiences of the old masters and all of our earlier incarnations.”

—So that the cycle can be continued until it is broken, so that everything may move forward.  

“This is the fate of the Master of the Grand Archive.”

I look at Master carefully, finally realizing that the man I’ve been talking to this entire time is insane—literally [insane].

“Well, that's why I went through that trouble to bring you here to be my friend. 

“There are two main reasons. First, by having someone else to bounce perspective from, I might be able to come to different conclusions regarding a few problems I’m trying to figure out.” 

“Second: to foresee a potential threat that could be posed to the Grand Archive There’s a total of two beings in existence that could be considered dangerous. First of which is me.”

—You consider yourself a threat?

Master pinches his chin, though instead of ‘trying to come up with an answer’, I’ve come to realize that this expression of his seems to only be his way of going ‘how much can I say?’.

“Just containing the information of the Grand Archive and the older masters is already wearing on me a little. There’s a chance that I would snap out of nowhere and when that happens...

“Oh, and the second being is Azathoth. But actually, on second thought, never mind about Azathoth, she’s….”

Master pauses, he looks genuinely perplexed this time.

“Yeah, dooooon’t… worry about her.”

“Okay?”

While I'm still wondering about the peculiarity of Master’s choice of words, he suddenly goes silent while looking up into the sky. Looking at his lonely figure, a question as to the reason why he's going so far to complete this 'grand scheme' appears in my mind. But in my mind, I also know that it’s a stupid question.

To make up for what he has done, to break free from this chain that tangles and binds all of us—the very chain of his own making.

“Let infinity and eternity consume you, but don’t ever forget your [Entste Singular].”

Staring up into [The Six Eternities] in the sky, Master whispers quietly.

"Entste as in the German word Entstehung which means [Origin]. Singular as in [Singular].”

“But... why German?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t come up with it.”

He turns to me and smiles.

“Because [we] would never have chosen that word, ever—anyways Steve, now that all the exposition is done and you now have the perfect idea as to what the premise of this story is about…”

Master suddenly regains his energy and starts to 'hustle and bustle' about. And while I wouldn't necessarily say whether I have the perfect grasp of all this, he says to me.

“Get your hat.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t have a hat…."

“Yes, If you don’t have anything better to do.”

“I did even ask any—"

—Is he even speaking to me? He isn’t, is he?

We stare silently at each other until I realize that he is waiting for me to ask him a question.

“...Are we going somewhere?”

“Eh, close enough—yes, we’re going somewhere! Quickly, Steve, ask me a question, what do you want to know?”

—Oh, so it’s the same as three days ago… I should probably choose carefully this time.

“Can I know how the Pyramid was built?”

“Aliens, boring, ask something else.”

“Wait, wait, wait, what?”

“I also don’t want to go to earth at all if not necessary, there’s someone around there, it’s one of those five people who know I exist and he really hates me.”

“But what about the alien thing!? Is that supposed to be a joke?!”

"Joke? Sure. Whatever makes you feel better."

"..."

When it becomes obvious that Master will not elaborate further on the topic. I sigh, and focus my mind to try to find any interesting topic or question I want to know the answer to that isn’t related to earth. Until I come up with one.

“Hey, Master….”

I carefully open.

“Does [Magic] exist?”

Then let out that question, to which responding to me is a moment of silence from Master and then…

“—Are you serious? Didn’t you see the tag? What genre do you think this is?”

“Well, if [Magic] really exists then I really want to see it.”

Master pulls out a stack of cards from his book and makes them fly around.

“How did you do that?!”

“There, magic, I learned this one when I was researching those party tricks, next question please...”

—While Master is dispassionately saying that, I quickly run up to grab his shoulder and ask him again, more specifically this time.

“I mean, [Magic]! Real [Magic] like in anime and mangas where they would shoot fires out of their eyeballs and spits trees out of their mouths.”

“...What kind of anime did you watch? Actually, don’t answer that, I already know—”

“Pleaaaaasssssee~! I just want to have my fantasy adventure with sword and sorcery!”

“Huuaaaa….. Fine.”

It seems that my innocent pleading gaze technique seems to have worked, for Master eventually gives in and complies with my request.

He raises his hand in the air and calls out.

“Calling 1st level. PCGI: 41644. Subject: Kyrias. 6th.”

[Authority Confirmed: Permission Granted to the Sixth Master of the Conceptors Grand Archive. Delivering Subject.]

A book flies into Master's hand, he puts it into [The Astral Projector], and once again my consciousness is projected to somewhere far, far away.