Chapter 282: Omnipresent (End)
They would never have imagined that Rowe would once again create a world with infinite potential.
Nor would they ever have imagined that a world steeped in the pollution of the Seven Great Old Ones would become Rowe's next stepping stone.
But before any of that—
"Artoria."
"Mr. Rowe."
Behind Rowe, the blonde girl in a sorcerer's robe smiled. She gave the staff in her hand a light wave through the air, and the beautiful line of her legs beneath her knee length skirt swayed with unhidden delight.
"I did it..."
She had succeeded.
She had truly accomplished what Artoria had always wished for.
She had fulfilled the promise Rowe made at the very beginning.
Rowe had freed this world from its dead future.
He had reignited the spark of life in it, allowing it to sublimate into a world that stood shoulder to shoulder with the Origin Universe.
And once that happened, the countless branch worldlines born from this world would also be allowed to continue.
That naturally included the world of the Horned God, Cernunnos.
And it included—
Morgan le Fay's world.
"I still cannot believe you actually pulled it off."
A woman with long silver hair stepped out from behind Artoria, her expression impossibly complicated.
She was a strikingly beautiful woman.
She wore a long robe, her full chest exposed, her soft fair abdomen glowing faintly in the dim light. Her waist narrowed into a delicate curve before sweeping down into the elegant fullness of her hips, and beneath them stretched long flawless legs partly concealed by the flowing hem of her garment.
She was Morgan le Fay of the Lostbelt, Queen of the Fairy Kingdom.
Because she possessed the ability to cross worlds, she had once traveled to the Origin Universe as well. Before the Origin Universe fully sublimated, she had manifested there using the Spirit Origin of that world's Morgan le Fay.
She had always known Rowe was extraordinary.
But she had never imagined this.
That he would truly do it.
That he would save her.
Save the Fairy Kingdom.
Morgan le Fay could cross worlds, yes. But crossing worlds was not the same as transcending them. Once her own origin world collapsed, she would not have been able to preserve herself.
"Since you are here, then all is well."
Now that she was here, there was nothing left for Rowe to hold back from.
The final step could at last be taken without reservation.
"Yes. You succeeded."
Morgan spoke softly. Watching Rowe's figure before her slowly blur and fade, her heart was filled with feelings too tangled to name toward this savior of hers.
Yet after that complexity passed, she glanced sideways at Artoria and suddenly smiled.
"Speaking of which... do you not think some of those Servants are a little... unusual?"
"Unusual?"
Rowe paused, then lifted his gaze toward the self summoned Heroic Spirits gathered in the Temple of Time.
Then he realized.
"Those are the Servants from the Origin Universe."
Enkidu. Ereshkigal. Ishtar. Atalanta. Athena in Einzbern's vessel.
Their appearances were the same, yet there was no mistaking it. The Heroes of the Origin Universe had, without anyone noticing, replaced their counterparts here and descended into this world using their own Spirit Origins.
As Rowe looked at them, they turned and looked back at him at the same time.
Then they smiled.
Mysteriously.
"Poseidon's lie has been found out."
"The reason they're here."
"You should understand it perfectly well."
Morgan le Fay's voice was light, but for some reason it carried the distinct trace of delight.
Rowe choked on the spot.
Of course he understood the reason. That was precisely the problem.
Fortunately, he was about to reclaim his true power.
"I'll come back."
His voice drifted with the wind.
Morgan looked up, and the sorcerer Artoria reached out, catching a ray of starlight falling from the sky.
Rowe's figure vanished beneath the immense starry vault of the Temple of Time.
The Origin World had already become incomparably strong.
The End World had already completely stabilized.
There was nothing else left to handle.
With Fujimaru Ritsuka as a savior, and with countless other saviors alive in that world, its future was destined to continue without limit.
Naturally, Rowe had to begin the final journey that belonged to him.
His body floated upward.
His consciousness pierced ever deeper through the endless world.
Then, in an instant—
"We meet again."
A soft laugh.
A peaceful greeting.
Rowe opened his eyes and saw sunlight shining brilliantly in the distance. Nearby, shadows swayed beneath a tree, and under it sat a gaunt figure looking at him with serene composure.
"The Awakened One... or rather, Shakyamuni."
Rowe stopped. He looked around at the wild grass swaying in the wind, then said,
"So you mean to stop me as well?"
This was, without a doubt, the place closest to the summit of the Seat.
And as the recorded point of the Awakened One who had transcended the universe, it could only exist in the region nearest to that summit.
And now the Awakened One had appeared here, in his own domain, waiting for him.
"Of course not."
Shakyamuni's expression remained calm.
"I only wished to ask whether you have truly thought this through."
"That power truly does belong to you."
"But the moment you accept it... you will become as I am."
"As you are?"
Rowe raised a brow.
"Exactly."
Shakyamuni let out a quiet breath.
"A Transcendent has already stepped beyond the world. Such a being can project form anywhere within the universe at will."
"And yet the true body can never again return to that universe."
That was the price.
And also the responsibility.
That was why, across the endless cosmos, many beings powerful enough to transcend still chose to remain within the universe instead.
A Transcendent was no longer bound by the universe.
But precisely because of that, returning to it became almost impossible.
"So that's how it is."
Rowe suddenly laughed.
"I thought it would be something like this."
"No wonder I sought death countless times and never found it."
At last he understood.
Those countless attempts to die in the past had not failed because he could not die.
They had failed because he was not allowed to die.
"Accepting that power does not necessarily mean I must become a Transcendent."
"So long as I have a Spirit Origin large enough to sustain me..."
"I can still remain within the world."
Perhaps that had been the true reason he entered the world to begin with.
Transcendents were powerful.
But the emptiness beyond time and space was dull beyond measure.
So from the very beginning he had been obsessed with death, and all his actions since then had unconsciously been carving out enough room for himself to continue moving within the world.
At that—
The Sea of Stars in the Origin Universe began to boil.
The Phantasmal Tree standing at the center of the universe shook violently.
In the End Universe, the Temple of Time trembled, and countless Heroes lifted their heads at once.
From past to present to future.
Across different worldlines.
Across different times and spaces.
Every trace Rowe had ever left behind had become a Spirit Origin carrying a portion of his existence.
Everything connected outward from him had likewise become a world capable of sustaining his activity in the present.
In the void, spiritual light flickered.
The Spirit that had once bestowed upon Rowe the name Yahweh laughed joyfully and accepted him without hesitation, becoming a part of him.
In the dark side of the universe, within the ultimate abyss, countless Great Old Ones beat drums of chaotic disorder.
Then, in the next instant, they shattered.
At the very center of that abyss, Azathoth, the blind idiot god who represented the source of the universe's dark side, opened his eyes.
But those eyes were no longer clouded by blind disorder.
Now, they were filled with reason.
Because he was Azathoth.
The blind idiot god and the chaos core.
And now—
He was also Rowe.
Rowe's final destiny, after seizing the chaos core, had always been to become Azathoth.
Whichever one proved stronger would become the true Azathoth.
And there was no doubt at all that Rowe, having reclaimed the power that rested at the highest point of the Seat, had already surpassed the original chaos core in sheer scale.
"Rebellious son—"
The Great Old Ones scattered and fled, but none of them could escape the grasp of the source of the abyss.
In the end, only the Three Pillar Gods remained.
Countless traces converged into him.
In the wilderness, beneath swaying tree shadows under the blazing sun, the Awakened One lowered his head and stepped aside, choosing to yield the path.
At the highest point of the Seat, amid swirling vortexes, the Crown of the Root was bestowed upon Rowe.
Infinite.
Boundless.
Omniscient.
Omnipotent.
Within Chaldeas of the Origin Universe, the interworld passage built atop the towering Phantasmal Tree, light descended in a flood of celestial brilliance.
Rowe slowly opened his eyes.
"Mr. Rowe...?"
A surprised voice reached him.
It belonged to the young Artoria, the sorcerer of the Lostbelt Fairy Kingdom.
"I'm back."
Rowe smiled and nodded.
Then he lifted his gaze.
He could see the Sea of Stars.
Those were the eyes of the Transcendents who existed outside the universe.
All of them were watching him.
Some in confusion.
Some in envy.
Whatever they felt, it no longer mattered.
"I will not become as you are."
Rowe smiled faintly.
"Because I..."
"...am everywhere."
So.
If you are everywhere, could you explain exactly what Poseidon's Promise is?
...
Rowe turned around.
He found a group of girls glaring at him from behind.
Explain?
Explain my foot.
"Lia."
"Mr. Rowe?"
"Run."
"Eh? Ehh!?"
At the same time, at the highest point of Chaldeas, a slender pale hand rose gently and traced ripples through the air with a single finger.
Morgan le Fay, the Queen of the Fairy Kingdom, who had already taken up residence in Chaldeas of the Origin Universe after her resurrection, revealed a smile that came straight from the heart.
He really had come back.
"It seems the days ahead are going to be quite entertaining, don't you think?"
"What do you think, Merlin?"
"Of course."
The white haired flower magician smiled in return.
"Fou!"
In a panic, the small white beast leapt onto Rowe's shoulder, rubbing its fur against his cheek and trembling with excitement as it chirped.
Rowe, who had been just about to flee the danger entirely, paused.
He looked at the crowd gathered behind him.
Then he let out a bitter laugh.
The future.
Yes.
It certainly was going to be very interesting.