Taigong Wang's answer did not surprise Shiomi.
The gods who once governed the planet, along with the countless Phantasmal Species, had withdrawn from the surface with the end of the Age of Gods. The "fabric" of the planet's surface had gradually stabilized, shifting toward an environment better suited for human survival.
The Age of Gods was over. The era that truly belonged to humanity had lasted barely two thousand years.
But if the humans who established that era were to vanish from the planet, while the planet itself remained alive…
The answer would be exactly as Taigong Wang had said.
Just like the plains stretching beyond this canyon.
There were no humans.
Nowhere. Not even the faintest trace of them.
If you listened to the wind, there were no creatures speaking intelligible words.
If you looked across the land, there was no being that possessed culture or civilization.
There were species that stood at the top of the food chain, forming vast colonies, yet none ruled as primates and developed further.
None that could be called "human."
Even if some creatures formed groups resembling human communities, humanity itself had left no mark.
No sign of migration. No remnants of camps.
In the original Tunguska forest, traces of human activity would have been inevitable. Here, there was nothing.
The raven familiars circling through the canyon and weaving between the trees shared what they saw with Shiomi. Through a mana link, he passed that vision on to Morgan and the others.
All they saw was a world covered in unknown plants and animals.
A sanctuary for lifeforms that had never existed on the original Earth.
"So… within this Anomaly Domain, they've taken the place of primates?" Shiomi asked, standing at the cliff's edge and looking down at the strange clustered creatures below.
"You could say that. But it isn't entirely accurate," Taigong Wang replied. "They have not assumed the role or responsibility of primates. They merely stand in the position where humans ought to be."
"Is that so." Shiomi neither agreed nor disagreed.
This place was beautiful. Peaceful, like a hidden paradise.
There was no visible struggle or slaughter among living beings. They simply existed quietly in this environment, persisting only to continue existing.
In a sense, it was another kind of utopia.
"This pristine scene is merely one form of existence within this special domain. There are two forms here," Taigong Wang continued.
"Two?" Morgan asked.
"One is what you see now. I call it the Survival Domain. It is the natural cycle itself. There is no violence from a higher food chain. It is a paradise brimming with life," Taigong Wang explained calmly.
Scáthach raised a brow. "If there are only two forms, then even without seeing the other, I can guess. If this represents pure life, then the other must be something infinitely close to death. Or perhaps death itself, made manifest?"
"Correct," Taigong Wang said. "Follow the route I've outlined, and you will arrive at the next location. However, night is falling. Would you like to continue onward, or—"
Shiomi stood and glanced back at the mountainous area behind them. Though elevated, there was a wide enough clearing to rest for the night, even a shallow cave large enough to shelter several people in case of wind or rain.
Assuming, of course, that this Anomaly Domain could produce storms beyond the defensive outposts of its recreated weapons.
"Then I'll go prepare the camp," Artoria said, turning toward the rear.
"If there's nothing here, there's not much to prepare," Morgan reminded her. "I'll go with you and take the camping supplies out of the Imaginary Numbers Pocket."
The two of them headed toward the open ground near the slope and began setting up camp.
Only Scáthach remained, standing beside Shiomi as he continued to gaze over the Survival Domain.
Why Koyanskaya had created such an environment remained unclear.
But perhaps, if a planet's biosphere continued without humans, it would look something like this.
Shiomi did not go so far as to declare this the planet's correct form, nor did he deny the value of humanity's existence.
He was still thinking about the question from earlier.
About the Bleached Earth's surface.
About the fact that it was, in truth, the planet as observed by Chaldeas a hundred years in the future.
The extinction of humanity.
Even the other lifeforms on the planet perished alongside it. Only the planet itself remained.
It would likely take an unimaginably long time before new life, capable of adapting to that altered environment, would be born from the planet once more.
Seeing such a future, Goetia chose to start over from the beginning. He sought guidance from his Lord and attempted to create a human history that would never face extinction.
To do that, he was willing to destroy the existing Human Order once.
Following the Grand Order of "protecting Human Order," the Animusphere line chose another path. A path whose true nature, even now, had yet to be fully understood.
"Is humanity's extinction inevitable?" Shiomi asked quietly. "Or is it that humanity cannot avoid destruction before evolving far enough to leave the planet's cradle?"
"That is a question that stretches far into the future," Taigong Wang replied. "It is something Western Magi have tried to protect and preserve since before the Age of Gods receded. A chart for navigating a future in which humanity endures longer, more securely, and more prosperously."
In other words, what the world of Magecraft calls "Human Order."
"Of course, longevity, stability, and prosperity alone are not enough. Only the 'possibility of the world,' which allows humanity to develop in the greatest diversity of forms, can truly be called Human Order," Taigong Wang added solemnly. "You witnessed the meaning of possibility firsthand in the Atlantic Lostbelt, did you not?"
"I understand. But you still haven't answered my question, Taigong Wang-dono," Shiomi said with a faint, helpless smile.
"That is not a question I can answer." Taigong Wang smiled gently and raised a finger, pointing at Shiomi. "To the humans of this era, I am merely a shadow engraved in history. I can assist them, but I cannot decide their path for them."
He paused.
"But you are different. You truly belong to this era. You live as a human in this time. Whether extinction can be avoided, whether humanity can endure a hundred years into the future… you have the right to help humanity choose its continuation."
He smiled faintly.
"No, calling it a right would not be excessive."
"Power… is it."
Shiomi raised his hand and looked at it.
The weight of that word felt as though it had settled directly into his palm.