The spiral staircase ended at the source of the waterfall, which was a circular pool. At the center of this pool stood a finely crafted spherical device composed of intertwined patterns of gleaming iron and silver, along with blue glass curved to perfection. Half of it was submerged in the endlessly flowing water. Even with just a glance, anyone could tell this was a magical device, as the water in the pool defied gravity, flowing upward into the spherical structure.
"I think I remember this thing," the boy gasped. "I know how to use it."
"Go now," Solomon snapped, instantly on edge.
Any time the boy recalled something, it meant they were one step closer to uncovering the mystery. Mount Fimbulwinter held all the answers. And to prevent them from reaching it, certain powerful beings from both upper and lower planes were willing to join forces just to kill the boy. Both the Arcanist and the witch reached for their weapons, and the boy—fully aware of the danger—cautiously stepped onto a beautifully carved marble platform that extended into the pool and walked toward the device. This self-awareness was an admirable trait; Solomon had no patience for people who lacked proper combat professionalism—like S.H.I.E.L.D. nowadays. Just seeing their sloppy behavior was enough to spike his blood pressure several points.
The boy reached out and touched the surface of the blue glass. In the next instant, a flash of light pulled him inside the device. After an initial moment of panic, he quickly calmed down.
"Stop! I'm fine!" he shouted, fearing that Solomon and the witch would overreact and destroy the device.
Bubbles streamed from his mouth, but he showed no signs of drowning. He didn't even seem to realize that he wasn't breathing despite being inside a liquid-filled sphere—and could still speak. But this wasn't the only violation of common sense. No one had the time to dig deeper into the details; only Solomon used his arcane sight to make a rough assessment of the device's mechanism. He believed it to be ceremonial in nature, not functional in the traditional sense, though its exact purpose was hard to determine.
"This is the device that leads to the 'Bridge to Heaven,'" the boy shouted loudly, in case the witch and Arcanist couldn't hear him from outside. The sphere lifted out of the water and eventually hovered in midair. "I can operate this!"
"Then hurry!" Bayonetta shouted, aiming her pistols at the golden light flickering throughout the cathedral and firing. The tall windows were now almost entirely filled with portals, and centaur-like lower angels were pouring out in overwhelming numbers. Solomon launched an assault. The explosive rifle roared with deafening blasts, the sound echoing painfully in the vast hall. Explosive rounds easily shattered the porcelain-like white skin of the lower angels, blasting their inhuman flesh into pulp. Simultaneously, lightning arced from Solomon's hand, incinerating nearly ten angels as effortlessly as brushing away dust.
"Get up here!" the boy called. The Arcanist and the witch didn't hesitate—they leapt onto the sphere. The surviving lower angels followed them up. Surprisingly, the sphere generated its own artificial gravity; no matter where one stood on it, it felt like standing on solid ground, with gravity always pulling toward the center. Solomon and Bayonetta quickly circled the sphere, slaying angels to prevent them from damaging the seemingly fragile orb.
The ascent did not go smoothly.
After Solomon and the witch eliminated all the centaur-like archangels named Honor and spellcaster archangels named Ecstasy that had landed on the sphere, a massive portal suddenly opened high above the cathedral's dome. Two enormous, man-sized, spiked golden flails chained together plummeted from above and slammed into them. Though they didn't land a direct hit, they completely destabilized the device, which tumbled uncontrollably downward. At the last second, the boy leapt from the falling device, transforming into a flying squirrel matching the color of his clothes and gliding toward a foothold on the cathedral wall. Bayonetta leapt onto Solomon's shoulder armor and, half-embraced by him, jumped off the orb and landed on a shrine that held a statue along the church wall.
Solomon looked up and saw that the stone gate in the dome, which the device was supposed to reach, remained tightly shut.
Even if the device had remained functional, they still wouldn't have made it to their destination by relying on it.
"Thrones like Dignity—I've lost count of how many of those I've killed," the witch said with a grin. "This should be a decent warm-up."
But the Throne ignored both her and Solomon, continuing its flight toward the cathedral's highest point. Infuriated, Bayonetta fired two shots at the creature, but even then, the Throne didn't turn to fight. Instead, using limbs made from the handles of its massive hammers, it smashed through the church wall and leapt out without looking back.
"That boy!" Bayonetta cried out urgently. "It's after the boy!"
The boy had gotten back to his feet and reverted from his flying squirrel form to human. Looking up, he realized he was already on the Bridge to Heaven.
The Bridge to Heaven was a passage built from massive stone blocks. It arched gracefully from the top of the waterfall cathedral all the way to Mount Fimbulwinter. Elegant torch stands lined both sides of the path. This was his destination. The bridge had originally collapsed, but under his power, its ruins had reformed into a walkable path. Even by modern standards, it was an astonishing feat of engineering, but the boy didn't care. He only wanted to reach Mount Fimbulwinter through this corridor, not analyze the historical context of its construction like Solomon—debating its artistic style and era, or musing over "Ionic" and "Corinthian" columns, concepts the boy didn't understand. He had no idea how the Arcanist could identify the rule of the witches and sages from a few columns.
The stone bridge beneath his feet began to tremble. Turning around, the boy saw an enormous angel climbing the broken base of the bridge. Seeing the massive hammer—larger than the boy himself—about to strike, he sprinted forward without a second thought. Every so often, he flung a card behind him, trying to slow the angel down. The Throne kept climbing after him while simultaneously destroying the bridge's connection to the cathedral, unable to properly respond to the boy's attacks. Each time it almost managed to climb up, one of the boy's cards knocked it back, leaving the angel clinging awkwardly to the edge like a struggling cat on a ledge.
The boy reached the place where the spherical device should have delivered them. In his memory, this was the destination. However, the stone gate that should have opened now looked as if it had been smashed—completely nonfunctional. He extended his hand and used a power he didn't fully understand to reverse time and restore the gate. The repaired gate slowly opened, but the boy had no time to wait, as the Throne had caught up—now with reinforcements. The ancient Greek-style columns surrounding the gate were shattered. The boy scrambled to dodge the incoming flails and flying debris.
Suddenly, two gray-blue hands, their nails painted blood-red, thrust into the gap between the doors and forced them open with brute strength. Madame Butterfly emerged from behind the gate, casually landing a punch to the face of the nearest Throne.
"This one's awfully violent," Solomon muttered as he descended through the now-open gate, still holding Bayonetta. The jet engine strapped to him blasted flames. Madame Butterfly seemed to hear his remark and disapprovingly tapped the top of his helmet with one finger. Judging by the look she gave, if Bayonetta hadn't still been in his arms, Madame Butterfly likely would've flicked his forehead instead.
(End of Chapter)
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