In the Bible, angels are often described as beings with many eyes.
An angel is an immaterial form that whispers holiness and is a heavenly beast representing the Lord. In fact, it’s difficult to explain with a single description because each Bible presents a different portrayal or form, but the basic concept remains the same: “an entity that represents the Lord.”
And then.
─Do not be afraid.
The angel that appeared before my eyes was a vast presence, made up of swirling letters and silent stars, with countless gazes.
Countless stars in the dawn sky, even beneath the blue-tinted heavens, sparkled brightly, watching over the world. The overwhelming presence, which took the entire night sky as its “eyes,” was so immense that even the term “giant” failed to capture its size, as it was held together only by the imagination of the words.
A distorted universe, in the shape of a human, was looking down at me.
─Homeros, Herodotus, and Sophocles, transcendent beings of literature.
With the angel’s voice, the world fell silent. A profound quietness, unlike anything I had ever experienced even in the womb, chilled even the always-moving time, causing the moment to settle in this place.
Falling leaves, the wind brushing against my cheek, the temptations that tickled my heart—all dared not move and stopped in place.
Time had stopped.
─Ascend to the sky.
In this world where everything had stopped, only the letters that made up the angel’s form slowly drifted.
It was a massive ladder connecting the sky and the earth—perhaps a staircase—circulating slowly.
This sight was rather familiar to me.
In fact, it wasn’t so different from an escalator I had seen frequently in my past life.
It seemed futile to resist the command of a cosmic entity, so I climbed Jacob’s Ladder. As I did, the surrounding scenery slowly, but quickly, receded, and the pace gradually accelerated.
The Earth moved farther away, the stars moved farther away, the galaxies moved farther away, and everything in the universe passed by at the speed of light.
And then.
After passing through the darkness of the universe, when everything seemed to become bright again.
I was.
“Ah! Welcome. Was the journey uncomfortable?”
“…It seems a little uncomfortable.”
“Oh, I apologize for that.”
I was in a massive library, with bookshelves stretching to the horizon.
In this scene that reminded me of the central library of the imperial capital, I called out the name of the person who greeted me warmly.
“It’s been a while, Gallen Rennion.”
The Alchemist.
A genius who had participated in a competition with the recipe for a potion that aligns the body with the mind—the so-called “Hyde Potion.”
He welcomed me.
“So, where are we?”
“Well! How does it look to you?”
“Um, it looks like a library.”
“Then, this is a library! Do you need further explanation?”
I hesitated for a moment and then answered.
“…No.”
“Haha! As expected, you are wise.”
“So, let’s assume this is a library… but why was I brought here?”
“Ah, it’s for transcendence.”
“Pardon?”
“Let’s take it slow, shall we? We can walk and talk.”
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As I walked with the alchemist through the library, I pulled out books from the shelves and read them one by one.
The books here were all books I had read. Not just the ones from “this world,” but also books from my past life, e-books, genre novels I had seen on platforms, articles I had read on online newspapers—everything was bound together as books and placed on the shelves.
“Should I wait for you?”
“No, these are all contents I’ve read before.”
“Indeed! It’s filled with what someone loves, yet in reality, it’s all things I already know, with no trace of interest, making this space truly malicious. Haha!”
After returning the book to the shelf, I turned to look at the alchemist.
“I thought some immaterial, spiritual… transcendental being, far beyond human cognition, would welcome me.”
“Surely, if it were an entity that transcends all things, would it not transcend kindness as well? Speaking at eye level with another is truly divine consideration!”
“So, is that why angels are described with eyes?”
“Perhaps it was just the only way to express sight, using ‘eyes.'”
The alchemist laughed cheerfully, as always.
Thanks to this, I wasn’t too anxious or uncomfortable. If this was “divine consideration,” then maybe gods were rather pleasant beings.
The alchemist spoke kindly as we walked through the library.
“You probably have many questions… but here, there’s plenty of time. Ask them one by one.”
“Well, first of all, what is transcendence?”
“It’s used to catch lions in the Scottish Highlands.”
MacGuffin… from Hitchcock.
Though there were no MacGuffins, Hitchcock, or Scotland in this world.
Still, since form was important, I decided to play along.
“But there are no lions in Scotland?”
“Ah, then transcendence is nothing!”
“…Was there any meaning in this joke?”
“It seems plausible but ultimately lacks substance, yes. Transcendence is nothing. Think of it as the process by which an entity that has already acquired power seeks confirmation from the Lord.”
“What is the Lord?”
“That’s something you should ask theologians. I’m an alchemist.”
“What happens if the power is confirmed by the Lord?”
“The possibilities of this world… Oh, do you know anything about magic?”
“I don’t know much.”
“To put it simply, this world is filled with countless possibilities. But someone seems to have played around with these possibilities. Whether a god or a human, it’s a game that was arranged even before this ‘universe’ was born.”
“What kind of game?”
“Among the infinite possibilities—after the birth of the universe, the formation of stars, the emergence of life, and the evolution of primates—only the infinite possibility where the ‘human’ race was born was preserved. Of all the infinite universes, only the one where ‘humans were born’ survived.”
“……”
“Transcendence exists as an extension of this ‘game.’ Of the infinite universes, only the one where ‘Homeros exists as the transcendent of literature’ survives.”
“It’s so grand in scale that I can’t quite grasp it. So, what changes?”
“You’ll be able to glimpse the future.”
“Pardon?”
“We’ve arrived.”
The library, which seemed to stretch to the horizon, did indeed have an end, and I was now standing before a massive wall.
The brick wall had “9 and 3/4” written on it.
Seeing this, the alchemist seemed slightly flustered.
“There should be a door here, but… huh?”
“If this is the same ‘Harry Potter’ I know, you should be able to just walk through.”
“This is a door? Fascinating. Anyway, from here on, we are in the realm of the future.”
As I passed through the wall, a library that was almost identical to what we had just passed appeared before me, but this one had a slightly more modern look.
The future newspapers, books published in the future, and perhaps the “future” books that I, too, would read were all lined up on the shelves.
“This is the future that ‘Homeros, the transcendent of literature’ could reach. Literally, infinite possibilities exist—countless novels in the case of Homeros! Most transcendent beings live eternally here. If someone dug into one possibility until they reached its peak and ascended to the heavens, this place would be inescapable.”
“……”
“So, now the real point begins!”
The alchemist, smiling lightly, asked in a casual tone.
“Would you like to enjoy infinite possibilities here? Or would you rather return to the mortal realm and live out just one possibility?”
“……”
Hmm.
Certainly, this place was an ideal one for me.
A place where infinite novels exist.
It was almost like heaven. If I had just reincarnated into this world, I would have chosen to live here.
In other words.
“…I’ll return to the mortal realm.”
That meant “I, as I am now,” would not choose this place.
.
.
.
The alchemist and I stepped onto the escalator together.
Not to go up, but to go back down.
“Waiting in front of a bookstore for newly published novels is part of the fun of literature. I can’t stand spoilers…”
“Hehe, is that so?”
“Yes. But how did you become transcendent, Alchemist?”
“Well, I completed the elixir of immortality, which is every alchemist’s dream! Back then, someone called ‘the transcendent of dragon slaying’ welcomed me. The reason he killed the dragon was rather absurd.”
“What was the reason?”
“He killed it because he thought he could, and was surprised when it actually died.”
“Heh.”
“Anyway, you’re going to have a hard time once you descend to the surface.”
“Excuse me?”
The alchemist took out a potion from their pouch and drank it.
Gradually turning transparent, they smiled faintly.
“You’ll likely be tormented for hundreds of years.”
With those words, we returned to the present world.
And then.
“Homer and Herodotus were the same person?! Sophocles, too?!”
“Long live the transcendence of literature! Long live the saint of literature!”
“So Homer… wrote a recommendation for his own novel?! What incredible confidence!”
The surface was in an uproar.
It seemed the angel’s voice had echoed across the entire world.
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.
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“As expected, Homer is truly remarkable!”
“H-Homer was H-Herodotus? T-Then… ah, wasn’t publishing The Count of Monte Cristo alongside the academy’s student journal meant to torment us?!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Homer did that to spur our growth through competition!”
“I-Is that so?”
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.
“Hello…”
“Oh, Chief Mage?”
“The teleportation gate from the Magic Tower has been connected here… May we build a tower here?”
“This is our house, though.”
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“It’s been a while, Father Homeros. How have you been?”
“Ah, yes, Cardinal Garnier.”
“I hate to trouble you, but could you record any testimonies about the angel’s appearance? The Vatican archives are pressing me quite a bit.”
“Ah, of course. No problem.”
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.
.
“Geez, isn’t this a bit much?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sophocles! You published it in Harren, not the Empire. I even sponsored you!”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Hehe, I’m just kidding! But you’re a citizen of the Empire, aren’t you? That makes you one of my people as well.”
“Excuse me?”
“Please be more careful in the future.”
“…Yes.”
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.
.
“You’re causing a commotion across the kingdom right now.”
“Yes, Your Eternal Majesty.”
“Ugh, just call me the Lazy King. Anyway, the fact that you’re Homer and Herodotus has left quite an impression on the officials.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed. Many of them are your fans.”
“Excuse me?”
“They’ve been asking me to get your autograph, you know.”
“…”
“Don’t look at me like that.”
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.
.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Hm?”
“Hiding the fact that you’re Homer from me and hearing me praise Homer—did you find that amusing?”
“Uh, no, that wasn’t my intention.”
“Were you secretly laughing at me while I was praising Homer?”
“Of course not.”
“Then fine. I’m leaving.”
“…Did you come all the way from Duke Kapeter’s domain just to ask that?”
“…Yes.”
“Since you’re here, why not stay at the mansion? My father would be delighted to see his niece.”
“I can’t. I don’t know what I might do.”
“Uh?”
.
.
.
Although there was a big commotion, things gradually settled down.
After all, it wasn’t so strange for a writer to use multiple pen names. Though transcendence was a bit of a big deal… it wasn’t the first time in history. If anything, people’s faith in Homer grew even stronger, with a perception akin to reverence.
And personally…
“Hmm, this works better.”
Since achieving transcendence, I’ve been able to glimpse the future “impact” of the novels I’ve plagiarized.
While the alchemist could discover recipes without trial and error, as a “plagiarist” who seeks only literary progress rather than true authorship, my “potential” seemed to manifest in this way.
For a while, I managed the foundation by adjusting this potential, focusing on minimizing side effects.
I became so engrossed in foundation work that I hadn’t read a novel in days, worrying Sion immensely. Is it really such a big deal if I don’t read?
“Senior? You’re not reading a book today?”
“Oh, yeah. My eyes feel a bit tired lately.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? It’s not cataracts or glaucoma, right?”
“No, of course not. Stop overreacting.”
“I can’t imagine you not reading because of tired eyes…”
“Stop imagining and look at what’s in front of you. I’m right here.”
Hm.
Come to think of it, it was similar in my previous life.
Anyway.
After sorting out a few things, I visited the academy.
“Oh my goodness! It’s Homer, the Transcendent of Literature!”
“The Savior of Literature, who is also Herodotus and Sophocles!”
“…Heh.”
“Homer smiled!”
“He smiled at me!”
“No, he smiled because of my voice!”
What chaos.
To bring the atmosphere under control, I got straight to the point.
“I’d like to hold a literary competition with reader votes again.”
“Will you be competing under another pen name this time?”
“No.”
“……”
“This time, all authors will participate anonymously, including myself.”
“Excuse me?”
With the entire Empire buzzing from the excitement of my transcendence, I decided to take advantage of this fervor to more actively promote the “Library Revitalization” and “Writing Culture Promotion” projects I had been preparing.
“Additionally, the competition will be open to not only academy students but to everyone in the Empire. The foundation I operate will guarantee publication for all entries.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Furthermore, we plan to exhibit all submissions at libraries managed by the foundation to encourage reader participation.”
“……”
“Let’s compete solely based on the quality of the works.”
The initiative would simultaneously promote library usage, the foundation’s “Public Lending Rights” policy, and support for aspiring authors’ publications.
Want to read the works of Homer, the Transcendent of Literature?
Then read all the submissions in the competition. One of them will be mine.
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[Call me Ishmael.]
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