"If that's the case, I can just stop this world from ending and keep the present going, right? That's why I have to make King Arthur truly reborn!" Dr. Hartless continued.
"I won't let you succeed!" Waver stood in front of Dr. Hartless.
Just then, an idea popped into Tia's head.
Dr. Hartless's real name is Kujo Kazeno, from the Spirit Tomb Albion, the mining city of Margesphia. His father never returned after leaving the Spirit Tomb at the end of his term. After growing up, he formed a team with four companions and became excavators.
The Albion Spirit Tomb itself is actually the corpse of the last dragon, Albion.
In the history of the Moon World, as the Age of Gods ended and mystery disappeared, many fantasy races, including dragon species, chose to move to the inner side of the world. However, the Albion Dragon chose to stay on the surface of the world. When it finally accepted the arrival of the human age and chose to leave, the passage to the inner side of the world had already closed. Therefore, Albion chose to drill into the ground, trying to reach the inner side of the world physically, but eventually died of exhaustion.
After Albion died, its remains stayed underground, turning into a huge maze. This maze retains the mystery that had long disappeared in the human age, and many fantasy races that should have disappeared on the surface wander within it, so it is called the "Albion Spirit Tomb."
The Clock Tower is built on top of this, so it can be said that the Albion Spirit Tomb is the foundation of the Clock Tower.
Excavating the Albion Spirit Tomb has been something the Clock Tower has been doing since its establishment, and it has gradually become a separate organization.
And Kujo Kazeno was one of these people.
In the Albion Spirit Tomb, ordinary people are not allowed to come out, and may spend their entire lives there.
But Kujo Kazeno was different.
Due to long-term exposure to the Spirit Tomb, his Mystic Eyes allowed him to see unstable rifts leading to the outside world. When he first reached the surface, he met his future self - Hartless, the then head of the Department of Modern Magecraft. Later, he and his teammates became Hartless' disciples, and smuggled curse objects from the Spirit Tomb under Hartless' protection. Kujo became Hartless' favorite disciple, but he didn't know that his teammates were actually spies from other factions planted in the Spirit Tomb.
Then, one day in 1994, he was caught up in a factional struggle, eventually betrayed by his most trusted teammates, assassinated, and his body thrown into the "Void Hole."
The dying Kujo Kazeno was sent to the "Fairy Realm" by Hartless. In the Fairy Realm, he lost his heart, and something else replaced it where his heart used to be. When he returned to the surface again, he found himself back thirty years, and became the adopted son of the first head of the Department of Modern Magecraft, and then became Hartless.
Here's where things get important.
Tia always wanted to know how this world became like this, and Dr. Hartless in front of her was a good person to ask.
Originally, he went to extremes because of betrayal in the original story, but what did he experience in this alternate world?
Also, Tia remembers that during the Fourth War 10 years ago, Angra Mainyu said that 7 years before the Fourth War started, which was when Tia was born, the Fantasy Tree was planted in the Greater Grail, sucking up the magic power of the Greater Grail and the black mud of All the World's Evil inside.
Gilgamesh also said during the Fourth War that this alternate world should have been pruned 7 years ago, meaning that something must have happened in this world 17 years ago, before Tia was born.
Thinking of this, Tia planned to ask him, but the next second Tia subconsciously glanced at Lancelot, because Tia was worried that Dr. Hartless wouldn't pay attention to her words.
Because Dr. Hartless hadn't looked at her from start to finish.
And Lancelot naturally understood, and directly stepped forward and asked: "Dr. Hartless, why do you have to revive the King?"
At this time, Lancelot didn't ask directly, but first asked a key question about King Arthur.
"Even if I am reborn, I won't be able to help you achieve that wish, after all, I can't even achieve it myself..." King Arthur also added to Dr. Hartless.
"Then, I will help you complete that wish," Dr. Hartless suddenly said, "Let history start over, let others pull out the Sword in the Stone to lead Britannia, and you can avoid the destruction of Britannia, isn't that the wish you originally placed on the Holy Grail?"
"Why do you know!?" King Arthur was shocked by Dr. Hartless's words.
"These things, you just have to ask around," Dr. Hartless said as a matter of course.
"Is that so, then, you should already know about the Fantasy Tree," King Arthur calmed down.
"You must already know the relationship between the Master and the Fantasy Tree," Lancelot also said.
"Huh? Fantasy Tree? What's that?" Dr. Hartless looked surprised.
Tia was immediately surprised to hear that Dr. Hartless didn't know about the Fantasy Tree.
King Arthur, Waver, Alexander the Great and others who were present at the Fourth War also showed surprised expressions.
"Is there something I don't know?" Dr. Hartless frowned.
"It seems that you should have learned about the Fourth War 10 years ago from the priest Kotomine Kirei," Waver said. "Otherwise, I really can't figure out who else would deliberately not tell you about the existence of the Fantasy Tree, after all, there were only a few people who knew about the Fantasy Tree at the time."
"Kotomine Kirei, that priest actually hid the most important thing from me," the expression on Dr. Hartless's face immediately turned gloomy. "Fantasy Tree, what exactly is it?"
"Simply put, this world was about to be destroyed 17 years ago, but the Fantasy Tree suddenly descended into the Greater Grail at that time, forcibly extending the life of this world, and Tia was also born at the same time," Waver gave Dr. Hartless a brief explanation. "The Fantasy Tree is the foundation of the alternate world. An alternate world is a world that is pruned and abandoned by human history when it develops to the end and cannot make progress or faces destruction and cannot be saved, but the existence of the Fantasy Tree will allow such a world to forcibly continue to exist."
"A world that has been pruned? This world is a pruned world that is not allowed to exist?" Dr. Hartless was shocked by this news. "How is this possible! What happened in this world 17 years ago?"
"You don't know either? Dr. Hartless," Waver frowned.
Tia's heart sank when she heard this.
Yes, there are many people here who are over 17 years old, how could they not know what happened 17 years ago that nearly destroyed the world, but none of these people mentioned it, how could Dr. Hartless know, she was just dumb for a moment and didn't come back to her senses.
(End of this chapter)