The year 500 AD was an era of utmost importance.In the East, civilization was fractured in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.In the West, the Eastern and Western Roman Empires were collapsing.
Yet in this age of division, countless legends arose in the West. Even if little trace of them would remain in later centuries, their names endured, known across generations.
The Knight of the Lake, Lancelot.The Sun Knight, Gawain.The Silver-Arm Knight, Bedivere...
It was an age where the knightly class first came into being.
The legend of the Eternal King Arthur, the knightly progenitor Subutai, and the Fairy Queen Morgan who twice reigned over spring and autumn, were stories known to the world.
Before them still were the "One-Day King" and the "Scourge of God," their identities blurring and growing indistinct with time.
The Past and Present of the Eternal Dynasty (1863)
The Arthurian legend tells that when the great Eternal King, Lord of all Knights, Arthur, returned at the head of his army, the holy Camelot—the Ideal Land of Faeries—was left with only the regent prince Mordred remaining.
The Knight Grand Duke who had safeguarded the kingdom, and the retired queen of years past, were nowhere to be found.
Their traces, gone.
[Though Merlin, at the cost of his own existence, briefly deceived Alaya—if you and Morgan remained active upon the surface world, within the long flow of time, Alaya would one day surely realize it][The surface could not be your refuge][After Solomon's retreat, after Merlin's disappearance][You and Morgan both understood this][And you had long since prepared your retreat][You would withdraw into the "Fairy Realm," dwelling within the Near Side of the Sea of Stars where mortals could not reach. There you would continue to inscribe the mysteries of the age—as the outermost layer of the Sea of Stars, the point where all mysteries flowed inward, you would record countless secrets][You did not bid farewell to Mordred, who remained wholly unaware of what had happened][You left only a letter][A letter written as "father," as "guide," as "vassal," and as "teacher"]
"Is this the letter left behind by 'Lord Su'...?"
In the royal court of Camelot, Artoria gazed in silence at the letter Mordred presented to her.
"Your Majesty, allow us to bring the Grand Duke back..."
Before the throne, Lancelot, Gawain, Bedivere, and the other knights stepped forth together, requesting permission.
Mordred hesitated to speak, then fell silent.
The golden-haired girl who sat upon the throne stroked the parchment for a long while without answering—the contents were not merely addressed to Mordred, but also to herself.
"In this eternal kingdom of faeries...""You ask me not to hide myself any longer...""So this is what you meant, when you said you would make me 'regret for life'?"
That day's division.That ruthless purge.It was, indeed, a trap you had set for me—deliberately leading me away from Camelot!
Along the road she had traveled, Artoria finally understood.She understood what her teacher, her most trusted knight, the one she bore feelings she should not have harbored... had done.
That man was always so "mischievous."
She rejected the knights' suggestion.She said:
"If Lord Su wishes to hide, even you could not find him."
Yet in her heart she thought: But one day, I will.
She declared:
"From this day forth, let it be announced.""Announce that my true name is 'Arthur'—and also 'Artoria Pendragon.'"
Her identity revealed!
[The year was 487 AD][You were thirty-seven years old]
From that day onward, time began to flow for the Eternal King.
The Arthurian Legend
"This land's mysteries are as dense as ever, just as in ages past!"
In 501 AD, a youthful-looking magus stepped upon the isle. He marveled at the thick mysteries suffusing this land—an island nation, encircled by sea, isolated from the world, where humans and faeries dwelled together.
He turned to his companion:"I have decided, Zelretch.""In the future, the headquarters of the Mage's Association—the Clock Tower—shall be established upon this very soil!""And, following my teacher's will... I will continue to gather here the non-human, ancient legacies of mystery.""And from them, I will forge a new magical system—'Inheritance.'"
One of the founders of the Mage's Association, eternal Dean of the Clock Tower, enigmatic Lord of the Department of Inheritance—Brishisan—personally compiled the original records of the British Isles.
He wrote that in the twilight of the Age of Gods, the isle experienced an intense regression of mystery.
He wrote that the folk tales of the Eternal Kingdom were true.
That it was the mystery woven by Subutai Equinus—successor of the "Scourge of God," disciple of Attila the Hun, Subutai Ujir—together with the "Twice Queen of Spring and Autumn," the "Witch of the Rain," Morgan le Fay, his wife.
And perhaps also aided by the magus who deceived the world—Merlin, the "Mage of Flowers."
Clock Tower: Department of Inheritance — Original Records (Vol. 3)
"Are you certain this path leads to the 'Fairy Realm,' to Avalon, Merly?"
"Eh? My name is actually 'Merlin'—my King, please don't keep calling me wrong..."
"No. You cannot be Merlin."
In the northern reaches of Britain, amidst fields of flowers, a tall figure clad in silver-white armor, with golden hair and blue eyes, wrapped in a sky-blue cloak, spoke to the silver-haired, red-eyed maiden before her:
"Though I dislike Merlin's ways...""He was indeed a loyal retainer—undeniable.""But you are not him. Your temperament is worse than his. You are merely a 'false thing' born while he slumbers."
"Ah, ah, ah... to say that wounds me... but I am no counterfeit. I am the otherworldly Merlin, come to complete the absence of this world's sleeping Merlin.""Still, putting that aside..."
"You say Merlin was a loyal retainer.""Then tell me—what was Subutai, the man you searched for all these years, even to the point of forsaking your throne?"
At these words, Artoria fell silent.She suddenly recalled Subutai's parting words—that he would make her "regret for life."
And before that...That night's conversation, before Mordred's birth.
"He... was not my retainer."
The matured King of Knights answered:"He was the one whose heart I never dared confess to—the one I loved, yet could not obtain."
"..."
Seeing Merly's astonished gaze, Artoria smiled faintly.
That man had told her long ago—there was no need to hide herself any longer.
The Eternal King vanished from the throne.
In legend, the child of the Hunnic Emperor and the Red Dragon, Mordred, inherited the eternal seat.
From that day onward, the Knights of the Round Table passed away one by one.The faeries' whispers grew few and faint.
Some said the Eternal King Arthur's final resting place was Avalon within the Sea of Stars. She had brought glory to the Eternal Kingdom, ruling as the Ideal King for decades, until she could finally relinquish supreme power and embody the dignity of a knight.
Others said she merely followed the knightly progenitor who forged the Eternal Dynasty, setting forth on a path with no return.
In time, Mordred, inheritor of the eternal throne, raised her crimson hunt once more in search of them.
She was called the "Crimson Wild Hunt."
But throughout her life, she never reached them.
Arthurian Legend: Epilogue
In 577 AD—
[After living sixty years in Avalon, you finally, at the venerable age of 127, passed away in Morgan's embrace, with two faerie knights at your side—your life as one who wielded the sword toward the heavens, called knight, yet truly magus, came to its end][In the end, Morgan softly called you "Onii-sama," fulfilling the promise you could not complete in your youth][Thus, you departed without regret]
End of Simulation.