[Has a thinking existence fallen into our midst?]
The question startled Jin so much he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"W-who’s there!?"
[So you do indeed think. Can you comprehend my thoughts?]
"...I can," Jin replied aloud.
[There is no need to speak with your voice.]
"I figured as much. But it’s easier for me this way."
[Hoh, so you possess at least some level of logical thought. Interesting.]
"And who exactly are you? I’m Jin Nidou. Formerly... a person from Earth, but currently an Arsian."
[An Arsian—Arstrial, is it? May I recognize you as a species possessing a material civilization?]
"That’s right."
Upon hearing this, the voice echoing clearly inside Jin's head seemed to radiate joy.
[This is wonderful! Jin Nidou, I am one of the spiritual lifeforms that emerged in this world and continue to exist here.]
"Do you have a name? How should I address you?"
[Names and identification numbers do not exist for us at present. We identify one another through spiritual waves. If it is difficult for you, you may call me whatever you like.]
"Then... I’ll call you Ichi."
[Hmm....A numeral... the first of the natural numbers. I see, you have an interesting naming convention. In that case, would the next person you meet be Ni, or perhaps Futa?...Pardon me. I did not mean to do that.]
Jin felt a pang of unease upon realizing Ichi had been reading the thoughts inside his head. Ichi sensed this immediately and offered an apology.
[Since we keep no secrets from one another, we do not fully understand what makes beings with physical bodies like yours feel uncomfortable. Please forgive me.]
Ichi then offered a further explanation.
[We, too, possessed physical bodies in the distant past, but a long, long time has passed since we discarded them. We remember the concept as knowledge, but we cannot feel it through our senses. I hope you can understand.]
"No, I’m not that bothered by it," Jin replied.
He wanted to keep the encounter moving in a positive direction. In this desolate world where he had been cast away alone, he had finally met a being he could rely on—or at least one who could provide information.
[Now then, you likely have certain desires. We, too, have expectations of you.]
Ichi spoke to Jin in a friendly manner.
[I shall give you a disclaimer first. As I mentioned before, it has been an age since we discarded our bodies. There is a high probability that we do not fully understand what you require to maintain your life. If there is anything lacking or anything you want, please do not hesitate to ask.]
Having been told this, Jin suddenly remembered how terribly thirsty he was.
"In that case, I would like some water....Drinking water. The air here seems to be extremely dry."
Jin had started with just "water," then corrected himself to specify "drinking water." He also made sure to mention the humidity.
[Hmm, I see. We had not taken humidity into consideration. We assumed that since high humidity causes various adverse effects, the lower the level, the better.]
"It seems you don’t know everything, then?" Jin asked, not out of sarcasm, but as a simple point of confirmation.
[Of course not. To become omniscient would require infinite time and countless experiences.]
It was a philosophical answer that was somewhat difficult to respond to.
[Hehe, do not let it trouble you. Our thoughts are still immature enough that 'emotions' remain within us.]
As he spoke, Ichi caused a cup filled with water to appear before Jin's eyes.
[I allowed myself to read just a sliver of Jin Nidou's thoughts. Is this indeed what you desired?]
Jin grasped the cup with both hands. "The contents... is it water?"
[It is water. A substance formed by the combination of what you call 'hydrogen' and 'oxygen.' A liquid in which a very small amount of impurities, such as minerals, are dissolved.]
It seemed it wasn't ultrapure water, which was a relief.
"May I check it?"
[I do not mind. I will not feel any particular discomfort from that.]
Parched, Jin hastily performed an 'Analyze.' It was, without a doubt, drinking water. He drained the cup in one go.
[Hoh... You just did something interesting, didn't you?]
"Eh?"
It appeared that Ichi was seeing the 'Analyze' spell for the first time.
[Hmm, so it is called 'Craft Magic.' Very interesting.]
[Indeed.]
[To think such a method exists.]
[It seems we won't have to worry about being bored for the next few thousand years.]
"Whoa!"
Jin recoiled as a massive influx of thoughts suddenly echoed in his head.
[My apologies. Because you showed us something interesting, it seems my compatriots were drawn to you out of curiosity.]
Jin realized that these spiritual lifeforms apparently knew nothing of magic. From his perspective, however, their very existence seemed even more impossible than any spell.
[...I apologize for the confusion. From here on, I, Ichi, will be the only one to engage in dialogue with Jin Nidou.]
It seemed that all of Jin's actions would be relayed to the others through Ichi.
[Now then, Jin Nidou, what do you wish to do now? Do you want to return to your original world?]
"That goes without saying."
[That is excellent. We, too, find this phenomenon quite vexing.]
"Is that so?"
[Indeed. Our universe is old; therefore, its potential is low. Objects are constantly falling in from universes with which we make contact. It is a nuisance for us.]
The word 'potential' had come from Ichi. Jin decided to take the opportunity to ask about it. "What exactly do you mean by 'potential'?"
[If I were to use Jin Nidou's words, it is perhaps close to 'entropy.']
Entropy. Jin only had enough knowledge to know it was a concept forming the basis of thermodynamics; put very simply, it referred to 'disorder.' Ichi had likely read that definition as well, then deduced it through his own unique way of thinking.
[Young universes have 'bias.' As a world grows older, that 'bias' decreases. Because our universe is old, its 'bias' is small. Therefore, things migrate here from the universes we come into contact with.]
Ichi explained it using concepts that were easy for Jin to grasp.
[I shall add one thing. You may be thinking that anything can be conveyed through thought, but that is an error. The organ that governs Jin Nidou's thoughts... the brain, has very limited functions. If we conveyed information at our full capacity, it would be overloaded instantly.]
"...I understand."
To use an analogy, it was like trying to process the data volume of the modern internet on an 8-bit computer. Memory, storage, processing speed—none of it could keep up.
[Jin Nidou, we will support your return. However, for that, we require your cooperation.]
"I’ll do anything I’m capable of."
[Good. We wish to know the physical and spatial characteristics of your world. Because we cannot grasp them, we have experienced 'superposition' four times in the last 100,000 years. Before that, it was only six times in 30,000,000 years.]
Ichi explained that 'superposition' was meant in a macroscopic sense. He described the phenomenon where universes approach and partially overlap as 'superposition,' and the connection between universes that occurs during a single event as 'superposition contact.' He added that these contacts occur anywhere from several to over a dozen times per event.
[It was a stroke of luck that an intelligent entity such as Jin Nidou arrived. With your help, we can develop a means to prevent superposition contact.]
"Does that mean... you will use sub-ether waves?" Jin asked, recalling the countermeasures for the 'spirited away' incidents he had investigated.
[Sub-ether waves... That is correct. To begin with, we are existences composed of sub-ether.]
"Is that so?"
If they themselves were made of sub-ether, it was only natural that they could manipulate it. While Jin felt relieved, a small part of him couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy toward Ichi and his kind.