The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

The darkness was all-encompassing, stretching endlessly.

Asley knew nothing — not when or where he was, or why he was here.

The blast of arcane energy unleashed by Lucifer had swallowed him whole.

And yet, here he was, trapped in an endless void.

Despite being battered and worn, he was still breathing.

“Ugh…!”

When he opened his eyes, there was nothing before him.

Such was understandable, considering there was no light in this abyss.

However, Asley, in the midst of a battle against the Devil King just moments ago, knew otherwise. He did not perceive this as darkness; rather, he considered it as a temporary blindness from the shock.

“R-rise! Middle Cure!”

First, the recovery magic was directed at his eyes, and then his other wounds.

It brought a little bit of calmness back to Asley’s mind.

“W-what the hell…!”

He tried touching his face, and now knew for sure that he still had his senses.

His voice echoed, and the burnt scent from his mantle lingered.

“I’m… I’m alive?”

Soon enough, he realized that darkness was indeed enveloping this space.

“Rise! Torch!”

He finally opted for a light source spell.

The surroundings were illuminated, revealing his location.

What caught his eye first was a floating beaker.

“Hey, that’s…! Pochibitan D!?”

Without hesitation, he grabbed it — something he thought he had lost along with his memories — and gulped it down.

With his strength restored, he tried surveying his surroundings again.

This time, he saw countless things — his random belongings.

“…Oh, I see.”

Asley had been swallowed by Lucifer’s arcane energy blast.

However, it was not only him — At the same time, the Storeroom he had summoned was swallowed as well.

“So before the energy blast destroyed me, it caused the Storeroom to collapse… and in the process, the Storeroom swallowed me up instead!”

From the outside, it would seem as if Asley, the Storeroom, and the arcane energy blast had disappeared all at once.

“THAT is why I’m still alive! …Oh no! Pochi!”

Understanding now that he had indeed survived, he acted swiftly.

Asley used Giving Magic to replenish his arcane energy, then healed all of his wounds and searched for a way to escape.

“Rise! Storeroom! …Tch, how come this doesn’t work!?”

Attempting to summon the Storeroom from within yielded no response from the Spell Circle.

He tried searching through his belongings floating before him, but found neither a single hint nor method to escape the storeroom.

In this empty space, his breath grew ragged, and mental fatigue set in — by now, the time of his Biological Clock had ticked over to the next day.

“…No, this isn’t good… There’s no way everyone can hold out for this long…!”

He had no idea what time it was on the outside.

However, Asley’s Biological Clock magecraft indicated that several hours had passed since his battle with Lucifer. Though Asley’s arcane energy has been restored, there was nobody to use it on. Asley, realizing that he was not in a position to help anyone, proceeded to vent his frustration, sadness, and anger.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit!! What’s the point of being humanity’s hope if I can’t do anything!? I was never meant to be able to do anything from the start! How could anyone!? How could anyone defeat that monster!?”

Asley lashed out, throwing things around and lamenting his powerlessness.

Then… then, Asley fell silent.

In the empty space, he held his body, curled up, and shed streams of tears.

“Pochi… Lina… Tifa… Irene… Fuyu… Haruhana… Lylia… Bruce… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!”

Wiping sweat, tears, and snot, Asley continued murmuring his comrades’ names.

“Baladd… Hornel… Natsu… Lala… Mana… Reid… Adolf… Ryan… Reyna… Barun… Idéa… Midors…”

Numerous names surfaced, each evoking memories.

Blazer, Betty, the Black Emperor Warren, the Dainty Tiger Dragan, Egd, Konoha — the list seemed endless. However, as Asley recited everyone’s names, his mouth suddenly stopped at two in particular.

“Minerva… Blue… Minerva… Minerva?”

When Asley mentioned those two names, it dawned on him — Had Minerva, who had promised reinforcements, ever actually been present on the battlefield?

Asley had headed to Lucifer’s location right after the war began.

If Minerva had come with the cavalry, that would have been fine. However, Minerva’s arcane energy ranked among the most potent, even among mages. Even in the midst of battle, Asley could not have missed Minerva’s arrival.

Trying to recall, Asley realized he had no memory of sensing Minerva’s arcane energy.

“..Why…?”

Minerva had been a sympathetic ear for Asley, offering advice and aiding in the restoration of his arcane energy blockage — very much a benefactor. As Asley pondered why Minerva could not participate in the battle, he found no answers.

However, a certain message from someone close to Minerva resurfaced in his memory.

It was a message relayed by Minerva’s disciple, Sayaka, to Asley.

[Ah, I almost forgot… I have one last message from my master.]

[You don’t say…]

[‘The final battle is an inevitability. If you find yourself in trouble, remember what you have been doing…’]

When Asley recalled the message, his sweating, tears, and runny nose all abruptly ceased.

“…W-was that not the final battle? Was that why she didn’t come to our aid? Why did she not show up, anyway? Wait, no, that’s not the important part. If I find myself in trouble, I’m supposed to remember what I have been doing… Well, I am in big trouble right now, so… There’s only one thing I must do!”

Remember.

Asley retraced his memories the best he could — all the steps he had taken throughout this journey.

Before long, he realized it — and when he did, he promptly straightened his curled-up body.

“…! ‘Not yet the right time’! That’s it!”

What Asley remembered a certain sentence — a minute fraction of the message conveyed by Shi’shichou from Chappie.

“I’m the only one who knows about the Storeroom! Only I can open it! In the past, throughout my memories, there’s no record of me coming out of the Storeroom — because if there was, it would alter history! But I know — there IS someone who showed interest in my Storeroom! Someone with the ability to create it by himself! Someone who taught me!! So that’s it. That’s it! That’s what it is, Miss Minerva!! Haha… ahahaha!!”

Asley’s face brimmed with joy.

It doesn’t take long for Asley, who would have solved all the mysteries, to assume a determined expression.

“…Okay, I don’t have much time… But once I overcome the initial obstacle, the rest… will be easy! Wait for me, Pochi! Wait for me, everyone!!”

And so the Eternal Fool set forth once more — Towards the end of the seemingly endless path.