Chapter 183: String Theory! (II)

『"It’s all just... strings."』

The inside of the aircraft was quiet, but in a weird way. They were all too exhausted, and everyone was still trying to decide what to say about everything that had just happened.

Hiro lay strapped to one of the medical beds near the rear of the cabin, a blanket pulled over his body.

The medic checked the monitor again. "You seem to be doing better. How are you feeling?"

Hiro did a fake cough, his face looking weary. "Apparently, I’m at a six."

Sophia looked over from the seat beside him and smacked his foot.

"Ow," Hiro winced. "Not the leg." He pulled up the blanket. "I’m very delicate right now."

Across the cabin, Raj had finally returned to normal, though the transformation had left him looking utterly drained. His hands rested between his knees, his head lowered.

He hadn’t said much since they boarded.

Amara sat beside him. She also hadn’t said anything about what had happened.

She reached out and took Raj’s hand, gently rubbing the back of it with her thumb. He was still unnaturally cold, but he was back.

He glanced down at her hand on his and smiled.

Yeah, Raj was back. At least for now.

Dante stood near the open section between the seats, arms folded, unusually quiet.

His gaze drifted toward the open rear ramp before it slowly closed. "Ishigami and Yelena are still out there."

"Yeah," Ethan said, his back resting against the wall of the cargo bay.

Maya looked between them. "We’re going back for them, right?"

Ethan hesitated. "They know where the landing site is," he finally said. "The Director trusts Ishigami for some reason. And we know Yelena can hold her own..."

Maya’s eyes shifted to Dante’s clenched jaw, and she sighed. "We’ll give them fifteen minutes. If they’re not back by then, we’ll send a search party. How’s that?"

Ethan nodded. "Agreed. But I can’t go with them. I have to stay here and keep supporting the aircraft. Otherwise we’re all sinking into that chasm."

That’s right, he was still holding them all up. Amara glanced toward Ethan.

Sophia nodded as well. "I’ll go." Her eyes drifted to the windows. "And it’s not for Creepy McString."

Hiro sat up slowly. "In that case, I’m coming too. Someone has to make sure you don’t ditch Ishigami if you find Yelena first."

Raj hunched lower. "That’s if the Apostle didn’t kill them."

For a moment, the aircraft fell quiet again, the uncomfortable kind.

Eventually, Amara rose from beside Raj and moved to the seat next to Ethan, gently tapping Raj’s arm as she passed.

"You okay?"

He gave her a tired look. "No."

Amara smiled faintly. "I owe you an apology, Ethan. I’m sorry." She tucked a loc behind her ear. "I should have tried better to understand your reasons."

Ethan placed his hand on her lap. "I get it. You have such a big heart, Amara." His gaze was focused on her eyes now. "That’s one of the reasons I love you."

Amara’s cheeks turned red. Her eyes dropped to his hand on her thigh, then to his feet. "I believe I also owe you a foot massage."

Ethan grinned. "Yeah?"

Amara looked at Raj. "As soon as we’re all okay, definitely."

Ethan followed her line of sight to Raj, then leaned his head back against the wall. "I’d really like that."

The pilot’s voice came through the cabin speakers. "So what’s the decision? We taking off?"

Ethan looked toward the cockpit. "We aren’t. I’ll hold us up for as long as it takes."

Amara smiled, resting her head on Ethan’s shoulder.

***

"...Now imagine what all those little pebbles would do," Monet said.

Toing!

A sharp sound echoed across the battlefield as Ishigami’s fingers twitched. Every pebble hanging in the air simply vanished.

Hundreds of thousands of fragments. Gone in an instant.

Ishigami lowered his head and placed a hand over his face. "Not cool, Apostle lady." He sighed. "That’s twice now."

Monet’s eyes widened. Her grip tightened around her brush as genuine irritation crossed her face. "It was foolish of me to try and deal with the Russian first."

Her brush moved vertically through the air, and a thin black line appeared. Then she grasped it.

The line expanded into a blade, its surface completely colorless, as though the weapon had been carved out of the absence of reality itself.

Monet studied it for a moment. "I call it Euphoria..." She gave the blade an experimental swing.

"A blade that should not logically exist." She exhaled, exhaustion finally catching up with her. "To ensure there’s no contradiction in reality, it erases conceptually."

Her eyes settled on Ishigami and she smiled faintly despite the fatigue. "This will do nicely."

Ishigami frowned, but he wasn’t looking at Monet or the sword. His expression became strangely distant. Then he pulled his arm backward.

The world seemed to shudder, and Monet’s eyes widened as her body began to unravel.

Skin. Hair. Clothing. Flesh. Every part of her form broke apart into countless luminous strings, unraveling faster than the eye could follow.

The same thing happened to the blade in her hand. Its edge dissolved, and its shape disappeared.

Then the strings themselves began coming apart, unraveling into nothingness until there was no Monet or sword. No trace that either had ever existed.

Silence returned to the battlefield, and Ishigami slowly lowered his arm. "I really hate doing that." He sighed.

Yelena stared at the empty space where Monet had been. "Huh..."

Ishigami looked toward the sky. "Once you start looking at everything as strings, you stop seeing things as things."

His eyes lowered. "A person becomes a pattern. A tree becomes a pattern. A planet becomes a pattern."

He rubbed his fingers together. "And eventually you start wondering whether there’s actually anything in the universe worth calling real."

He paused, taking a deep breath. "That’s depressing."

Yelena stared at him, dismissing her blade. Then she raised a hand. "Why didn’t you just do that from beginning?"

Ishigami’s expression became completely dead. "I don’t know... life?"

Yelena blinked. "You are very strange man."

"Thank you." He took it as a compliment. "I think I need a break from the Institute."

Yelena looked back the way they’d come. "We should go."

Ishigami glanced at her. "Back to the landing site?"

"Da. It will be long walk."

Ishigami looked toward the distant horizon. "You think they’re alright?"

Yelena was silent for a moment. "I don’t know."

They began walking.

After several steps, Ishigami rubbed his shoulders. "I’m cold."

Yelena looked at him. "Of course you are."

"A shirt would be nice." He sighed. "Can’t seem to find mine anymore."

Yelena sighed. Then her body temperature began to rise, and a gentle wave of heat spread outward from her, warming the air around them.

Ishigami visibly relaxed. "Thanks."

Yelena shook her head. "You really are strange man."

Ishigami stared ahead.