「With an incredibly complex heart, you return to Londinium.」
「Before that, you had already evacuated the army from the vicinity of the frontline castle.」
「You know full well the despairing state of mind Artoria will fall into, but you cannot accept her love under any circumstances—at least, not as 'Alwin'.」
「Because... aside from you, everyone else loves her. It feels incredibly ironic to say it, but she is not lacking in things like love.」
「And your witch...」
「Aside from you, no one loves her.」
「Alwin Pendragon's heart was long ago given to Morgan le Fay. It was an undying oath sworn to the unwitnessed night.」
「You return to the castle's great hall and receive the message that Morgan has left to assist Vortigern. Due to the chaotic time flow near the domain of the Star Anchor, it may take her several months to return to reality.」
「You are suddenly struck by the realization that today's events were a stratagem to lure the tiger from its mountain...」
「You understand why Artoria disguised herself as Morgan.」
「Because only then could she infiltrate this castle.」
「Londinium is now filled with shadow guards, hidden sentinels, and traps. Aside from lacking defensive cannons, you have built its defenses into an iron wall for Britain.」
「Even the blind Merlin would be immediately detected if he tried to sneak in. He alone could never destroy Vortigern's Britain-fused body—his magecraft has no offensive power to speak of.」
「And if the Knights of the Round Table were to invade, you could fly back in an instant and ensure it was a one-way trip for them.」
「Artoria, disguised as Morgan, was the perfect assassin. No one would stop her.」
「The irony is, she didn't choose to kill Vortigern. Instead, she came to see you...」
「You go to check on your daughter, who has fallen into a deep sleep in her bedroom. A smile that could melt hearts hangs on her lips as she sucks her thumb, murmuring her father's name.」
「Melusine. You don't plan to confine your daughter, but the situation outside the castle is not suitable for her to travel alone. So, just like your own past, she has grown up within the castle. You and Morgan are her entire world.」
「You silently tuck her in.」
「Under the night sky, in the dim great hall, you stand quietly beside Vortigern's throne, your dark, lightless figure seeming to melt into the shadows.」
「From this moment on, you will be stationed in Londinium to guard your father's physical body, not leaving for a moment until Morgan returns.」
「Your previous performance on the battlefield struck fear into the hearts of the Celtic army, and also made them pay increasing attention to you.」
「Their entire intelligence network begins to gather all sorts of information on you.」
「And so, in addition to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, your various deeds as Prince Regent gradually spread to the Celtic kingdom.」
「The former nobles hate you to the bone. Your reputation on this island becomes increasingly sinister and feared—the name 'The Ominous Son of the White Dragon' has completely overshadowed that of the Demonic Dragon Vortigern.」
「Because kindling is base, fit only for burning.」
「Combined with your appearance on the battlefield, wreathed in shadowy flames, just like the title of the 'Vile King'—they gradually begin to call you the 'King of Cinder', meaning 'a king as lowly as kindling'.」
「You find this new title of yours amusing.」
「The Soul of Cinder is the final boss of the main story in Dark Souls 3. Perhaps this implies that you are the ultimate villain in this process of the Age of Gods' decline.」
「King of Cinder, Alwin Pendragon. You are already an enemy to the entire world.」
「No one in this world understands you, except for a demonic dragon and a witch.」
「You, who defies the will of the world, are undoubtedly the savior... for those wicked ones who also fight against fate.」
「Your talents 'Fair-Faced Youth' and 'Tyrant's Disposition' have transformed—」
「Fair-Faced Youth & Tyrant's Disposition → Savior of the Wicked」
「Savior of the Wicked: EX」
「Sunk into the abyss, you gaze upon heaven. You are the savior of the wicked.
Thou art Wicked, what need is there for words? If pursuing a peaceful life is also a sin, then that sin is your justice.」
「Your heart, will, and conviction have won the admiration of the wicked. Those who meet you for the first time will find themselves naturally drawn to your charisma. For individuals of the 'Chaotic' or 'Evil' alignments, you will gain an extremely high favorability bonus.」
「While issuing orders to consolidate your army's formations, you care for your adorable daughter at home. You quietly stand guard in Londinium, acting as Vortiggen's final line of defense.」
「You were prepared for Artoria to launch a fierce assault, but to your surprise, a full two months pass with no movement from her side...」
Inside a magnificent and flawless castle palace, before an altar bathed in sunlight.
The summoned court magi stood in a respectful crowd behind the golden-haired girl.
Their tireless work had borne fruit, and the process had been far easier than expected.
The golden-haired girl's gaze was fixed on the pool of water before her.
In the clear, jade-green solution, a small embryo, beating like a heart, was submerged.
It was the child born from the union of her and her Senpai's bloodlines.
"As expected, the bloodlines of dragons are so compatible. This is fate, Alwin-senpai..."
The corners of Artoria's mouth slowly curled up into a sickly, twisted smile.
"Our daughter... has been born..."
"Lily..."
A perfect opportunity to kill Vortigern had been missed, just like that.
A bitter smile hung on the face of the blind nightmare.
The nightmare's heart could not comprehend human emotions.
Why? Why did Lily make such a choice?
His plan was logically flawless.
She clearly wanted Alwin, so shouldn't she have gone to kill Vortigern?
This wasn't fun anymore. There was nothing fun about it at all...
A distorted history was right before him, and he had lost his clairvoyance.
Blindness.
Coupled with the impending death from the Pruning Phenomenon.
A panic he had never felt before enveloped the nightmare's mind.
"Get away from me."
The nightmare's call didn't even earn him a single glance back.
Only a detached, ice-cold voice came from the golden-haired girl's back.
"I don't even want to see your clone. Do not appear before me again. I will cut you down every time I see you."
The nightmare wandered, lost and dejected, through the streets of Orkney. The sun was so bright, and the people were full of laughter and joy.
The sacred King Arthur had dismantled the nobility and enacted decrees that benefited the people. Everything was thriving; the country had never been so vibrant.
Hearing the people's laughter...
The expression on the nightmare's face grew slightly dazed.
What are you laughing at...
...What are you all laughing at?
The Human Order is being tampered with.
How can you still laugh?!
How can you possibly still be laughing?!
The joyous emotions were sniffed out and tasted by the nightmare's heart.
But Merlin could only... lick the taste of bitterness.
Ironic.
The people's laughter seemed to mock him, a stray dog who had lost his home.
...Why? Why had it come to this?
All his plans had deviated from their intended tracks.
The entire future had become a blur.
Stroking his rotted, gray eyeballs, an irrepressible venom filled Merlin's face.
Yes, that's it.
...It's all his fault.
It's all the fault of that guy who barged into this era—
You should never have appeared! You've destroyed everything! You're going to push our entire world into hell!
Alwin Pendragon!
He wanted him dead... to die in the most tragic, most painful way possible!
And yet, he couldn't do it himself.
Powerlessness.
A sense of loss.
A heavy feeling, as if his entire body was submerged in mercury.
"Alwin, I want you dead..."
The nightmare's body began to tremble. Covering his face, he let out a sound that was half-wail, half-sob.
He couldn't even maintain his basic invisibility anymore.
The people on the street all turned to look at him.
At this magus who had suddenly started whimpering in the daylight.
"Mommy, look, it's the Great Sage Merlin..."
"That's right, teehee. I'm the Great Sage, the Magus of Flowers, your big brother Merlin! Teeheehee~"
Merlin slowly turned his head, laughing and crying at the child.
His decayed eyes, trickling purple blood, were terrifying to behold.
"Stay... stay away from the Sage!"
The child was pulled away by his mother.
The crowd on the street quickly dispersed.
A mad sage. Anyone could see his mental state was not normal. How could any ordinary person dare to provoke a magus?
Hearing the murmuring voices of the people around him, growing distant, noisy and chaotic...
They were all laughing at him.
"Teehee~ Teeheehee—"
He made a bizarre sound, somewhere between a whimper and a cheer.
His staggering steps seemed to have lost their soul.
"You're all laughing at me... all laughing at me, aren't you... I can taste it. This is all his fault—"
Under this vast, cloudless sky.
Under this brilliant, radiant sun.
Merlin looked up as if sensing something, his dull, lightless pupils gazing at the sun high in the sky.
A dark cloud happened to float by.
The brilliant sunlight shot through the gaps in the cloud, the fractured gold forming what looked like a cold, vertical pupil.
For some reason.
He heard that voice from the bottom of his heart again.
A faint smile gradually appeared on Merlin's dazed face.
"I see... I see...
"Your actions, Alwin, have turned this era... into a complete Singularity.
"The world will now do everything in its power to kill you. The final judgment is about to descend."
Learning this news...
The nightmare, as if grasping a ray of hope...
Began to laugh, hoarsely and madly.
"The Grand Class, sent down to subjugate a BEAST.
"Alwin, you have... fallen and become a Beast—"
On the quiet lake's surface, ripples trembled endlessly.
A burly old man was bound by chains on the lake, unable to move.
However, his gaze remained as deep as a幽邃 ancient well, without a trace of fluctuation.
Fissures were... continuously spreading across those chains.
With a delicate beauty identical to the witch's.
A silver-haired fae with a noble and sacred air stood before the old man, raising her palm, desperately trying to control the chains of the lake to imprison the demonic dragon.
A light sweat beaded on Vivian's forehead.
Even for her, the "Great Mother" of the Inner Sea of the Planet born from Avalon, imprisoning the demonic dragon Vortigern was no easy task.
Vortigern's will was the incarnation of Britannia.
To fight him was to fight the entire island.
Though he had abandoned his physical body, his spirit remained incredibly resilient—the unshakeable will of a demonic dragon that devours light.
Even after summoning the waters of this fae lake...
Vivian knew full well she could only delay him for a few more days at most, which would translate to a few years in reality.
She could only hope that Vortigern's physical body would be destroyed first.
Because with the light of the Star Anchor being devoured, the Holy Spear was about to be projected, its anchor lifted. The return of the Age of Gods was something the world could not tolerate.
Thus, the world would initiate its complete extermination mechanism against Vortigern.
"By seniority... you should call me uncle, Vivian. It was already with great reluctance that I crossed blades with Uther. Must we now do battle here as well? Why bother?"
Vortigern's face was calm, sighing as if with emotion. He knew Vivian was only buying time.
"If you are so reluctant, why has it come to this, Vortigern?"
Vivian's wrist trembled slightly. She was constantly under immense pressure from Vortigern.
"As the White Dragon, it would be easy for you to live on. As long as you give up on returning the Age of Gods, the Inner Sea of the Planet will no longer reject you."
"Live on? Perhaps..."
Vortigern said with a smile.
"—A pity my back is too straight to bend."
Even while bound in chains, bearing the immense weight of the entire lake...
The light-devouring demonic dragon still stood ramrod straight.
His words...
Left Vivian at a bitter loss for words.
Yes, there were always those in the world unwilling to merely "live on." Though she bore the duty of protecting the Inner Sea, Vortigern's determination to oppose the world had moved her.
"Too straight to bend... is it?"
The fae's expression grew dazed for a moment.
Suddenly...
Pshk—
A shadow dagger suddenly pierced through Vivian's back, causing her to vomit a mouthful of fluorescent blood.
"Guh—Morgan...?!"
Vivian's face was filled with utter shock. She hadn't sensed her approach at all.
She knew Morgan's strength better than anyone. Moreover, as opposite sides of the same coin, they had a natural sense for each other. How could this have been hidden from her...
Unless, her power had long since surpassed her own.
"Vivian, why do you think I wasted so much time talking to you?"
The lake's surface churned, and the chains binding Vortigern began to shatter.
"I was waiting for Morgan. Who were you waiting for?"
Clack.
With a sudden burst of strength, he snapped the final chain on his body.
"Farewell, cage."
Vortigern raised his gaze to the dimmed Star Anchor before him and opened his hand once more.
Light gathered, and the phantom of a holy spear grew more solid.
"Two more days..."
The witch's dark figure slowly materialized behind Vivian. She had seized the moment of her distraction to deliver this fatal backstab.
"This is to repay your kindness from last time, Vivian."
"I don't care about all the evil you poured into me; I don't care that you enjoyed fame while I suffered hatred.
"But you almost got my Alwin killed."
With the Lingering Ember buried inside her for three years, and being 'cultivated' day and night by the ultimate lifeform for three more, her magical energy was now far, far stronger than before.
The silver-haired fae coughed up blood with a bitter smile. As two sides of light and dark, they were each other's greatest counter.
"Morgan... that wasn't my intention... it was the fairies—"
"So what? What have you done all these years?"
The witch's expression was cold and detached, a chill seeming to freeze in her deep blue eyes.
"You sat in your fae lake, enjoying the praise and adoration of the people. Listen, 'Lady of the Lake,' what a beautiful name... Your legends and poems are spread across this island. People eagerly explore all sorts of secret realms just to catch a glimpse of your beauty."
The witch laughed.
"And so? What about me..."
Her voice flickered like a flame.
"—I was confined in a dark castle, singing my love to the shadows. No one welcomed me, including my own father. People avoided me like the plague, calling me a calamity, an ill omen, a monster...
"What did you do...
"—What did you do?!"
Asking this...
The witch herself shook her head and sneered.
"You did nothing."
"...I'm sorry."
Vivian smiled bitterly, speechless.
Because she really had done nothing.
She had accepted everyone's goodwill with a clear conscience. She was radiant, brilliant, loved and welcomed by the people. Separating good and evil was the fairies' doing; what did it have to do with her?
An apology was useless... so what about making amends now?
"Morgan, we can..."
Vivian raised her hand with some difficulty, as if wanting to comfort her darker self.
"—Become one again.
"You can become the undying Great Mother of Avalon. I'll give all my power back to you. This is my atonement..."
Her trembling wrist.
Was brushed aside without hesitation.
"I don't need it, Vivian. A dark shadow like me doesn't need a blinding light like you."
The witch said, word by word.
"Because I already have my own light."
Vivian was stunned.
She had been... rejected.
They were born from the same whole. If Morgan devoured her, she could instantly become the new master of Avalon.
Then, Vivian's 'good' side would influence Morgan's personality, and Morgan might be able to persuade Vortigern to stop.
But... Morgan refused.
Because she already had her own light.
"I see..."
Vivian raised her gaze with a bitter smile. She was the Lady of the Lake, the "Great Mother" of this Inner Sea. As long as Avalon was not completely destroyed, she could not be truly killed, but now...
"I'm sorry, Morgan. I actually knew you were coming...
"This, too, is for the sake of... protecting the world.
"Forgive me."
Dazed.
The light seemed to grow fiercer.
Before Morgan and Vortigern's slightly stunned expressions...
The light on Vivian's body instantly intensified, completely enveloping her.
The witch stared blankly as her other self's form collapsed, turning into countless threads of light that began to wind around her.
Vivian had sacrificed herself, annihilating her own consciousness.
Using the attraction of their two-sided nature, she began to forcibly merge with Morgan.
Even so, she could only delay Morgan here for half a day at most.
...Why? Why would she do this?
Morgan was momentarily stunned.
After the fusion, she could have immediately helped Vortiggen devour the Star Anchor's light.
Faintly realizing... Vivian's true purpose...
An expression of terror appeared on the witch's face.
"ALWIN—!!!"
Holding a little girl's hand, the silver-haired young man strolled with her through the garden under the night sky.
Smooth silver hair cascaded down her back, and a pair of small dragon horns grew from her forehead. Her face was like a pink jade carving, and her deep blue eyes had inherited her mother's stunning beauty, as bright as stars, as tranquil as a lake.
"Daddy, when is Mommy coming back?"
The silver-haired young man smiled, teaching his daughter the names of the flowers. All the beauty in the garden combined was not worth a ten-thousandth of Melusine's cuteness.
"She'll be back soon..."
In a daze, as if sensing something.
Su Shu raised his head and looked at the dim, cloudless night sky.
"My wife...?"
The blazing sun hung high, and all things grew.
In the vast, cloudless sky, a sudden scream echoed.
"Waaah... not... not from high up again! Mash!"
"Grab onto my waist, Senpai!"
BOOM—
The two figures, holding a large shield, crashed to the ground like a meteorite, kicking up a cloud of dust that spread throughout the dense forest.
"Guda, we've landed safely..."
The red-haired girl rubbed her head and slowly looked up, only to see the blushing face of her purple-haired junior, whom she was pinning underneath her.
"Senpai... we were holding each other very tightly just now."
Being stared at by her junior like that...
Tsk, a little embarrassing.
"S-Sorry—"
Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately scrambled up, looking around at the forest environment. For a moment, it felt like something was missing.
"Wait, where's Fou?"
"Ahem... ahem—"
A gentle, pleasant voice, like a spring breeze, cleared its throat and spoke before them.
"Welcome, everyone, to Britannia. I am the Magus of Flowers..."
POW!
A small, snow-white beast shot out like a spiral, viciously slapping the nightmare magus across the face.
"MERLIN, GO DIE!!!"
"Yaaah—!"
The nightmare fell to the ground.
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash stared, slightly bewildered, as man and beast began to wrestle on the ground.
"Fou?"
"I see, Lord Merlin. So Fou was a familiar you once raised... no, two of the same entity can't exist in the same timeline, so the two Fous' Spirit Origins merged."
Fujimaru Ritsuka murmured this information, looking up at the magus before them.
"By the way, your eyes..."
The nightmare magus before them was undeniably charming.
However, his eyes remained shut, and two streaks of deep purple blood trickled down from their sockets.
He was blind. The legendary Great Sage Merlin was actually blind.
"That's... a long story, Ritsuka-kun..."
Merlin smiled pleasantly.
"The terrifying enemy you are about to face... I once tried to stop him, and well... this happened."
Hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash couldn't help but gasp.
"What... what a terrible person..."
"No, I was just too weak," the nightmare sighed, shaking his head with a smile. "So, you must not be careless. You cannot defeat that person with even the slightest lapse in concentration."
"R-Right! Thank you for the advice."
As they roasted wild game over a campfire in the forest, the red-haired girl pondered the information about this Singularity, her expression incredibly grave.
A screen of light unfolded before her, and the solemn voice of a man in a white lab coat with a ponytail sounded out.
"The mission to stop the Goddess Rhongomyniad has failed, Ritsuka... No, that wasn't the Goddess Rhongomyniad at all—it was King Arthur herself. Our judgment was completely flawed."
Fujimaru Ritsuka clenched her fist.
That's right. It was a huge mistake.
"Why did it happen? Using the Holy Spear to plant a Holy Tree, wanting to prune the world and eternally loop Britain's history... the one committing this world-ending act wasn't the Goddess's will, but the noble King Arthur herself."
Recalling her previous encounter with her comrade-in-arms, an unspeakable sadness filled the red-haired girl's face.
Beside her, Mash gently squeezed her hand.
They were humanity's last Master, from the organization for the preservation of the Human Order, Chaldea.
They had already restored the Human Order several times, witnessing all sorts of sad farewells along the way.
The most recent was in Jerusalem, 1273 AD, a Singularity with a Foundation of Human Order value of EX.
That meant that Singularity's history had deviated severely.
It was King Arthur, summoned by the Demon God King Goetia, wielding the Holy Spear. She established the Holy City of Camelot in the Jerusalem desert and used the Holy Spear to create a Holy Tree, intending to prune the world and perpetuate Britain's history.
Led by the former Knight of the Round Table, Bedivere, Fujimaru Ritsuka's party embarked on a journey to return the Holy Sword.
The noble King Arthur couldn't possibly want to destroy humanity.
So they concluded that it was the Holy Spear Rhongomyniad that had taken over King Arthur's will.
If they returned the Holy Sword, King Arthur's consciousness could regain control, thus restoring the Singularity.
But...
—They failed.
They had reached the final step. Sir Bedivere had given up everything, upholding fifteen hundred years of loyalty and perseverance, to present the Holy Sword to the dark king.
However, all he received was her incredibly cold response.
"Get out."
Despair.
Complete despair enveloped everyone's hearts.
They were wrong.
It wasn't the Goddess Rhongomyniad—it was King Arthur herself.
It was her own will that sought to destroy the world.
"To save the King, we must go to that day..."
Bedivere had completely sacrificed the last of his lifespan, gifting his shattered silver arm to Fujimaru Ritsuka and teleporting them back to Chaldea.
The original Singularity was still burning the foundation of humanity.
And a new, more terrifying Singularity set off massive alarms in Chaldea.
It was Britannia, 527 AD. A massive crisis that threatened to overturn the entire world, not caused by Goetia... but a mutated Singularity of some kind.
The Ever-Spiraling City of Night: Londinium
"Found it!" The image of a brown-haired girl in a lavish blue and red dress urgently squeezed into the communication. "The era you've entered... the Vile King Vortigern is about to draw the Holy Spear and return Britannia to the Age of Gods... I see, so it's this famous history of the battle between the Red Dragon and the White Dragon!
"Ritsuka, you must correct this error. You might even be able to solve the Jerusalem Singularity in the process! The Foundation of Human Order value here is..."
Da Vinci's voice... paused in utter shock.
"It's... it's... ERROR."
"CHALDEAS cannot make a judgment. This is..."
"Error... is it?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka browsed the information sent from Chaldea, clenching her fist slightly and lowering her golden eyes.
On her arm was a silver marking, like the blade of a sword.
It was the broken Silver Arm, the brand of the Holy Sword of the Planet, gifted to her by Bedivere as he burned the last of his life.
"Leave it to me, Da Vinci-san. This is a promise made by humanity's last Master...
"—I will definitely not betray Sir Bedivere's determination."
"Wait...! Ritsuka! Mash!" the woman's anxious voice called out again. "CHALDEAS has also detected two other Servants... summoned by the Counter Force into this era to assist you in restoring the Human Order.
"Their Spirit Origin intensity is..."
Da Vinci's voice paused again. She swallowed hard.
"It's—Grand Class?!"
Cloudless night, brilliant stars.
By a pool reflecting the dazzling starry sky, a barefoot man with long hair in a white scholar's robe was fishing.
He held a simple bamboo rod, a woven basket beside him. But there was no bait on the line, only a bare hook swaying in the water, creating faint ripples.
From the man's shadow, two wisps of deep blue flame suddenly ignited. Like will-o'-the-wisps, they slowly floated behind him.
"You won't catch any fish like that, Jiang Shang."
A deep, humming voice sounded from behind.
The long-haired man with his hair tied in a topknot looked up, smiling as he gazed at the towering, mountain-like figure with a skull helmet.
"But didn't I... manage to fish you out, Hassan?"
"Use all your strength to kill me."
Tiamat 200 Chapter (Final)
Honkai 130 Chapter
Lobotomy 110 Chapter
MushokuTensei 40 Chapter
'Pure Evil' Simulator 78 Chapter
Crossover Fic Blue-Eyes 99 Chapter