Thud! Thud! Thud!
Emiya walked upon the black mud, treading through the bottom of the abyss.
The great hollow had ceased producing monsters, not because it did not want to, but because it could not.
Countless swords hung in the sky, forming a "wheel of light" that covered the entire great hollow.
No matter the place, whenever the hollow tried to spawn a monster, a lance of light like divine punishment would fall and strangle the unborn enemy before it could take shape.
"Unlimited Blade Works · Chakravartin"
Grand Saber · Shirou Emiya's Noble Phantasm.
As a "Judgment Engine" constructed from all the "swords" before the time node of the "end age," it was the apparatus that defines, judges, proclaims, and witnesses the world's ending, an End of Anything.
Its form: a wheel of light composed of blades covering the empyrean, of which the initial diameter of a single small ring was 7,777 meters.
A countering Noble Phantasm, an all-weather surrounding and auto-moving battery. It possessed autonomous functions and could perform automatic defense.
Within the wheel was recorded humanity's offensive Noble Phantasms up to the end; its countermeasures included "light lances" launched from the termini of loaded weapons and "mass weapons" thrown as Noble Phantasms.
The former were beams of mana, each single shot comparable in power to a B-rank Noble Phantasm, while the latter were physical weapons, replicas of the sword-type Noble Phantasms recorded in Grand Saber's memory.
Depending on the enemy, "Unlimited Blade Works · Chakravartin" would autonomously select an appropriate Noble Phantasm to project.
When a "mass weapon" attack was launched, it automatically executed "True Name Release" and "Illusion Collapse," with average firepower comparable to King Arthur's holy sword (Excalibur).
Based on proximity to the "end age," it gained power bonus: the closer to the doomsday time node, the stronger the Noble Phantasm's power.
Depending on the user's doctrine, it could be a "salvation mechanism" or a "terminal device" that constructs the apocalypse.
Using "Chakravartin" to suppress the great hollow, Emiya together with the goddess Tiamat easily reached its deepest part.
Here, they finally saw the "hole" that connected to the sea of the Imaginary Numbers.
A hundred-meter-diameter jet-black hole continuously spewed black mud.
The goddess Tiamat bent down and cupped a handful of black mud with her soft hands; yet the seemingly viscous mud slid through the goddess's slender, long fingers like clear water.
As if resisting her touch.
The goddess Tiamat spoke in a sorrowful voice, "You are still here, still hating me..."
"You intend... to kill me...", A voice identical to the goddess's timbre echoed through the great hollow.
The black mud roiled, and before Emiya and the goddess, a figure slowly took form.
Blue long hair, purplish-red pupils, gigantic curved horns... a mirror image of the goddess, the "Beast · Tiamat", at last made her appearance.
"You intend... to kill me," "Tiamat" repeated the line, her speech seeming clumsy, like a child still babbling.
"Tiamat"'s exquisite face, like a finely crafted doll, wore no expression, yet Emiya still felt the overwhelming sadness upon her.
After experiencing the rebellion of her children (creations), "Tiamat" had been met by the greater betrayal of her mother.
"Tiamat" lifted her head; her hollow eyes gazed at the wheel of light in the sky.
"You... have won...", "Tiamat" said.
"Unlimited Blade Works · Chakravartin" hung silently in the firmament. Since the great hollow no longer produced monsters, it had no need to attack.
Meanwhile, the overflow of black mud gradually stopped; "Tiamat" had no intention of freeing her dragon body to fight to the death.
She stood peacefully before Emiya, exposing her vulnerable chest.
Having been denied, "Tiamat" decided to wage war against the humans who had decided "you are useless," driven by the primitive system imperative "if current humans are not expelled, I will be killed."
But at this moment something surpassed "Tiamat"'s survival instinct.
The reason was simple: because of her own (Goddess Tiamat's) child.
As a "fragment" of Goddess Tiamat, the "Beast · Tiamat" hesitated not at all and regarded the child the goddess was bearing as her own child as well.
In this world, "Beast · Tiamat" was invincible. Even one of the single most powerful Noble Phantasms in "Unlimited Blade Works · Chakravartin," [Enuma-Elish · Sundering the World's Horizon], could not deal even one percent damage to her.
Even the falling-blade strikes of "Unlimited Blade Works · Chakravartin" would not deal more than ten percent of her total life.
And "Beast · Tiamat" possessed the power "Eternity," which reset her vitality constantly; on top of that she had the highest degree of immortality.
The only way to kill the "Beast · Tiamat" was the death-chain of the goddess Tiamat.
But that would mean the unborn child would also die.
Between survival instinct and her own child, "Tiamat" hesitated not and chose the latter.
"[Effect of Self-Sealing] activated."
A wound-binding rope of self-harm bound "Tiamat."
"Tiamat," lamenting and hating the human collective unconscious declaration "we do not need you," still loved her child from the depths of her heart.
And on that foundation, not by using divine power, but by truly conceiving and bearing a child, was the supreme rite "Tiamat" had never experienced and longed for.
"Self-Sealing" was the embodiment of that love for the child.
She gave herself the seal, its pain equivalent to losing 99% of her full life each turn.
"Tiamat" entered Emiya's kill line.
On that basis, if one imparted the concept of "death" to her, slaying a god would no longer be impossible.
Goddess Tiamat bowed her head. Looking upon the scene, she could not help wiping tears from her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... it's all because of me."
Emiya said nothing; he only held the goddess Tiamat tightly with his left hand while raising his right.
A shining holy sword appeared in his hand.
"Thirteen Restraints Release, Goddess Resolution commence."
"This battle is a battle for survival. Acknowledged! —Hephaestus"
"This battle is a battle to maintain justice. Acknowledged! —Astraea"
"This battle is to fight for beautiful things. Acknowledged! —Freya"
"This battle is a battle with the goddess at my side. Acknowledged! —Artemis"
"This battle is to protect the earth. Acknowledged! —Demeter"
"This battle is to point the sword at the gods. Acknowledged! —Loki"
"This battle is for the honor of the goddess. Acknowledged! —Hera"
"This battle is to protect family. Acknowledged! —Parvati"
"This battle is to challenge a mighty enemy..Acknowledged! —Ereshkigal"
"This battle is to guard the rules. Acknowledged! —Amaterasu"
"This battle is for love. Acknowledged! —Kama"
"This battle is to protect the child. Acknowledged! —Tiamat"
"This battle is to save the world. Acknowledged! —Skadi"
The Goddess Resolution passed, and the holy sword sheathed forth.
[Excalibur · Tiamat, the Judging Holy Sword That Cuts Eternity]
A holy sword bearing the will of Goddess Tiamat, sufficient to cleave the Beast · Tiamat's immortality.
Emiya raised the holy sword and laid it across "Tiamat"'s neck.
"Tiamat" only looked at him calmly, without sorrow or reluctance.
"I can't do it," Emiya lowered the holy sword.
"Shirou...", Goddess Tiamat grasped Emiya's clothing.
"Tiamat"'s [Self-Sealing] was not permanent; her maternal love would not forever outweigh instinct. If they did not seize this chance, then...
But the goddess could not persuade this child to act either.
"Actually, there is another way," Emiya began softly, "From the start, I planned to do this."
Tiamat: "What..."
Emiya handed the holy sword to the goddess, "Goddess Tiamat, please use this sword to kill me once."
"Not truly to kill, but to let consciousness enter a suspended state. For me, the simplest way to do that is the interval of 'resurrection.'"
Grand Saber · Shirou Emiya, like that great Greek hero, had the ability of resurrection, more precisely, he possessed "immortality."
Tiamat: "Yo-you mean to..."
"The three elements are already gathered," Emiya said softly.
The Primordial Sea that connected to the Imaginary Space provided infinite mana supply.
The Clairvoyance that could see past, present, and future.
And lastly, the terminus that could confirm a planet's existence, the creator goddess Tiamat.
With those three conditions met, a technique recorded in the Throne of Heroes could be realized, soul-particle transfer.
Tiamat: "You want to change the past? That's impossible!"
"I do not intend to change the past; I intend to create the future," Emiya spoke quietly, "Or rather, to truly realize this world."
Goddess Tiamat widened her eyes; her breath quickened, her voice trembling, "Yo-you mean... I see, so that's how it is."
Realizing everything, Tiamat gave a sorrowful, soft moan, "So, from the very start—"
"Yes, from the very start, there was only this choice," Emiya stroked the goddess's hair, smiling faintly, and said, "So, do it."
———
Deep, long, boundless darkness.
In the vast, freezing, desolate void, tiny pinpricks of light shone.
Within the boundless darkness called time, these points of light that shaped meaning were the traces of the countless things born and dying in the world. The star-records of fate: the Inscription of Stars.
Emiya walked forward along that pleasant starlight.
Among these constellations, one light shone particularly long.
Ordinary human star-inscriptions lasted at most around a hundred years; records of the elven royal line could persist for a thousand.
The oldest ancient monster, the sea hegemon named Leviathan, held a life record approaching ten thousand years.
Above that, one life's long and enduring history was, hundreds of millions of years, back to the origin of the world.
Beneath the great hollow, "Tiamat" plucked a scale from her dragon wing and threw it through the "hole."
A newly born black dragon took the reverse scale from the mother's hand.
["Mother, wait for my return; I will make you see the sky again."]
The black dragon roared, beating its wings, and shot out of the great hollow. Waiting to intercept it on the surface were the "strongest hero" named Albert and the great wind spirit Aria.
"It's been a long time," "Tiamat" said softly.
At that moment she suddenly turned her head, as if looking at Emiya who was gazing at the Inscription of Stars.
"That feeling just now... it seemed my gaze met 'Tiamat's'..."
This was something that had happened a thousand years ago, the birth of the "Pitch-Black End."
This place was not Emiya's destination.
He advanced toward an even more distant age, far beyond many generations past.
Between these times, Emiya saw some interesting things in the star-inscriptions.
Like a white-haired girl who traversed roughly six thousand years; Emiya saw her, though the girl did not notice Emiya above. They were separated by a very great distance, and their backward-tracing star-records did not seem to connect.
Besides her, several others, an orange-haired girl and a pale-lilac-haired girl, crossed the star-inscriptions multiple times.
Yet they kept their eyes closed the whole time, unlike Emiya and the white-haired girl who watched the inscriptions as they traced back.
Emiya did not linger long on them and continued forward.
Soon he saw ancient humans and the history of their struggle against the great hollow.
Humans waved weapons while cursing and damning the "source of calamity" that constantly birthed monsters. Great dragon-shaped beasts wailed; in their laments, countless "primordial lives" shifted from bewildered ignorance to anger and hatred.
The war between "primordial life," not yet "monster," and "human" began, and the brilliant civilization forged by ancient humans was almost annihilated overnight.
This was a special time node.
Crossing this node would make quantum transfer a one-way street, unable to return to the original time by methods of "soul-particle transfer."
Even if everything was changed and a beautiful future constructed, that future might lack his existence.
Without a moment's hesitation, Emiya crossed that boundary.
———
"The basic structure of the world is complete; next remains only the 'gestation of life'," The creator goddess used one percent of her divine power to make an "automatic device" in her own likeness.
"I'll return in two hundred million years and take a look."
This was one hundred million years ago, the moment of the world's birth. Based on the speed of life's evolution, goddess Tiamat set a power-off period and then yawned and left the world.
After that, time passed swiftly: plants and plankton first grew.
About ten thousand years later, the "automatic device"'s gaze twitched slightly; something took her hand.
The "automatic device," lacking individual consciousness, would counteract malicious behavior and consciousness, but she gave no reaction to this hand-taking.
"Found you, Tiamat," Emiya, without a physical form, whispered. Resonating with the Primordial Sea, he took the other's hand and walked upon the still-barren land.
The "automatic device" had no individual consciousness and did not reply to Emiya, yet Emiya could not help but speak to her.
Such days continued for a year.
Suddenly, the "automatic device"'s footsteps stopped; her right hand hung at her side.
She stared blankly at the emptiness beside her; her fingers trembled almost imperceptibly.
As the world-creator "automatic device," she did not react to that abnormality but continued her work.
Until, ten thousand years later.
Once more, someone took her hand.
The "automatic device"'s fingers, for some reason, tightened a little.
Reunions separated by ten thousand years, this happened about three hundred times.
"I... you...", "Tiamat" uttered such words.
"Tiamat" began to gain self-awareness, this was the very starting point of everything.
———
The divine-power that existed as the "automatic device" begot individual consciousness.
This was an accident of probability on the order of one in a hundred million, a trillion, or more. Even Goddess Tiamat herself had never imagined such a thing could occur.
The goddess could not understand why this had happened and could only treat it as coincidence.
It was not coincidence, but the inevitability of Fate.
["Skill [Start of Everything] has activated."]
["[Start of Everything] and [End of Anything] begin integration."]
["[Falna] system error."]
["DataError"]
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