In the place that resembledLimitless Blood Firmament, ten years passed by in the blink of an eye.
The entire topography and climate of the place that rested in 'Outside of the World' had changed in these ten years, though.
Giant stony hills and cliffs had sprung out of the blood ocean, enormous waves crashing against them as they roared out of their lungs.
Winds were blowing at hundreds of kilometers per hour, booming across horizons.
From time to time, a massive storm of yellow bolts of lightning kept thundering, covering every inch of the earth and heaven.
Their rumblings were so powerful and their appearance so haphazard that it felt like this place would cease to exist in the next moment.
However, despite the chaos caused by the hills and bloody waves, the roaring gusts of wind, and the storm of yellow lightning, there was an order to all this.
If one looked closely enough, then one would have realized that the storm of Haki was originating from a single point, spreading out in all directions spherically.
It felt less like a matter of destruction and more like… scanning the entire world.
The gusts of wind were abnormal, too.
This place had not carried any wind before.
Now, a telekinetic force was intentionally causing enormous changes in pressure, unsettling the entire world.
Like the case of the yellow bolts of lightning that were scanning the place, one needed to look extremely minutely to see the oddness with these winds as well.
Every gust of wind carried a yellowness within it.
This yellowness wasn't because of the flashes of the Haki storms, but because of the tiny glyphs that lingered within it like pollen grains, flying along with the wind.
These glyphs were the characters of Ancient Magical Script, getting released along with the storm of lightning. The wind itself was being used as a carrier of the Script, letting it interact with the world.
Each pulse of the Haki storm had a purpose — to understand the world better — to unravel its mysteries using the Ancient Magical Script.
With a crackling-boom, another spherical storm of lightning originated from a titanic pillar.
At the top of this pillar, wearing the Dress of Heaven, sat Black, the Yellow Sign flashing murderously in the middle of his forehead.
Slowly, Black opened his eyes and let the yellowness lingering over his black eyes fade away.
For the last ten years, he had been attuning himself to the experience of the fused version of Limitless Blood Firmament and Unlimited Blade Works — Limitless Blade Firmament!
In those few moments, he, Shirou, and Archer had connected not only magically but also spiritually.
Shirou and Archer must have sensed the connection he shared with Berserker-Kai through this connection, Black knew. But he didn't mind. In the grand scheme of things, they would have found it out sooner or later anyway.
Instead, Black focused on what he had learned through them.
The intricacies of their Magecraft — Gradation Air!
Also called Projection Magecraft, it involved the materialization of objects, in accordance with the caster's imagination, through the use of magical energy.
Shirou and Archer used a personal variation of this Magecraft, which they referred to as Tracing, because of the "Trace On" incantation that was unique to them.
Tracing greatly differed from normal Projection Magecraft, though.
Not only could it reproduce the shape and substance of an object, but it could also reproduce its entire history.
Byagoona, the Many-faced God, had suggested that Black take a page from Shirou and Archer's book.
With Ad Infinitum using all its processing power, along with a helping hand given by the strengthened Lucky Intuitions because of the rise of 50 Points in Luck Stat, Black had already mastered this book, per se.
From the use of Magic Circuits to the minutest piece of theory, Black now knew everything about Gradation Air.
But after ten years, it also made him realize one thing.
It wouldn't work for him — not in the way it worked for Shirou and Archer, at least.
Gradation Air let Shirou project an object. Even if Black had figured out its workings, he couldn't just copy Tracing, as it was unique to Shirou and Archer. Which meant Tracing already had a fixed place in The Root, linked to the Storyline Characters.
That's why, if Contestants wanted it as a power, their only option was to get it as a Blessing.
It was the same case as the Breathing Art from the Demon Slayer world. If Kai had accepted an existing Breathing Art instead of creating his own, then he would have received it as a Blessing.
For some, this way was enough.
For Kai…
No.
If he couldn't carve his own path, just like he had done with Selfless Breathing, then there was no point in gaining such a power at all.
"I am missing something," Black mumbled. "My Reality Marble is a… projection of my Individuality — Blood Devour. Unlike the swords that Shirou and Archer project after seeing them once, I have already devoured the creatures that are reborn in my Reality Marble. So… Tracing wouldn't work for me. I must… retrace their entire existence… studying the entire process of devouring their Blood Essence."
Thinking so, Black suddenly put his hand on his chest, sensing the thing that had lived with him since his resurrection. The same thing that exploded with millions of black tendrils every time he used his Glitch.
Kai had tried to study it on Island X, but even if he had had time then… he had lacked the assistance of Ad Infinitum and Lucky Intuition.
Look within… Black told himself. One step at a time…
So, closing his eyes, the Heroic Homunculus began unraveling the mystery of Blood Devour, retracing his steps… his experience… his life.
Another ten years flew by, along with the never-ceasing roaring winds.
After thirty more years, the intensity of the Haki storms shot through the roof, each pulse shattering the hills, making the blood ocean bleed.
In the next fifty years, slowly, a hotness began seeping out of Black's chest. It was like a painful throbbing at first, as if… something was trying to come out, knocking on his flesh.
When the 101st year was about to end, Black's flesh finally gave in — a tiny crack appearing in its place.
It was the same crack that had never appeared before, other than the times when Kai activated his Glitch.
It was the same crack that held the hungry beast within, ready to devour the monsters of the Multiverse.
From this crack, a tiny black tendril came slithering out, lashing at empty air.
At the same time, another tendril, but much, much bigger than the one on Black's chest, came slithering out of the Grail hole above his head, blood gurgling as the tendril lashed at it, mirroring the little tendril's movements.
And at that moment, the comprehension dawned on Black.
Gradation Air was for objects, but… Kai's Individuality wasn't about objects; it was about life. It was about blood. It was about eternal resurrection.
Slowly, Black's figure levitated and hovered down to the roaring blood ocean as he stretched out his right hand in a trance — the single black tendril coiling itself around his arm.
"Let me retrace my steps, then…" Black hummed, his Will making the entire world disintegrate. "Let me… use blood instead of air…"
The wind ceased to exist.
The crumbling of the hills stopped.
All the yellow bolts of lightning snaking across the world… collapsed.
In the horrifying silence that replaced a hundred years of roars and booms, Justeaze reappeared and looked at Black, her eyes widening in disbelief.
Under this magical, devastating atmosphere, Black opened his mouth and said those words, heralding the beginning of his myth.
"Retrace—"
Red-colored cracks surfaced on Black's entire body, the Magic Circuits he carried within him changing in nature.
"—On!"
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