Inside Da Vinci's workshop, Romani and Da Vinci were analyzing the Possibility Doppelganger that Mash had summoned earlier that day.
Just as they'd predicted, this version of Mash also didn't suffer from any "lifespan" constraint.
With two cases confirming each other, they'd gained extremely valuable data.
At that moment, an ordinary-looking man suddenly appeared not far from Mash.
"Doctor, Da Vinci—this is Mr. Eisen, the chat group's owner from another world."
Mash introduced him to the two with barely-contained excitement.
Dr. Roman—who'd been buried in the data—snapped his head up. A bright, curious gleam flared in his eyes.
He strode over, the focused seriousness on his face instantly replaced by an enthusiastic grin, and extended his right hand.
"Oh wow! Chaldea is truly honored by the arrival of a savior from another world! Pleasure to meet you, pleasure to meet you! I'm Romani Archaman—just call me Roman. I'm in charge of medical operations here, and I handle a bit of everything on the side as well."
Roman spoke incredibly fast, clearly thrilled by the presence of an otherworldly visitor.
Eisen naturally shook his hand back, wearing a gentle smile with a hint of weary resignation.
"Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Roman. Just call me Eisen. I don't really deserve the title of 'savior'… because… I failed."
…Huh?
How am I supposed to respond to that?
Roman immediately began sweating bullets and pivoted to another topic at lightning speed.
"Ah—um—so I heard that in your world, everything was born from the First Flame, and maintained by it?"
Eisen sighed softly and nodded, his voice dropping a little.
"That's correct. The First Flame is the foundation of our world. So when the First Flame went out, the world reached its end as well."
"What an incredible… and heavy cosmology," Roman murmured. "It sounds a bit like the Root of our world, but the fundamental tone is completely different."
Eisen regarded the man in front of him with a calm, measuring gaze.
He could feel it—an immense, pure soul.
As expected of an organization carrying the responsibility of saving Human Order… talent truly did abound here.
Roman wanted to ask more, but he sharply noticed something strange in Eisen's eyes as Eisen looked at him.
His heart skipped.
Damn—did he see through me?
"Cough."
A light cough broke the fragile tension.
Da Vinci stepped forward at just the right time, wearing a perfect smile, and elegantly offered her hand to Eisen.
"Hello, Mr. Eisen. I'm Chaldea's technical advisor—Leonardo da Vinci. It's a pleasure to finally speak face-to-face!"
"I've long heard of you, the Universal Genius."
Eisen shook her hand politely, his tone sincere.
Her name was famous across countless worlds. Like Toyokawa Sakiko, she was one of those figures reflected across innumerable realities.
And in Mash's world, beings like Da Vinci didn't stop at one.
They had an entire Throne of Heroes.
The Root really did love draining other worlds dry, didn't it?
Da Vinci immediately cut to the core issue.
"Mash mentioned something important during your earlier communication: your group's interworld travel can't bring along other sapient lifeforms, but you can freely transport supplies. Is that correct?"
"Mm. In theory, yes." Eisen nodded.
The moment she heard a definite answer, Da Vinci's smile vanished. Her expression turned uncharacteristically serious.
"Then, Mr. Eisen—I would like, on behalf of Chaldea, to purchase a batch of supplies from you, or from any of your friends in the group."
Eisen paused, then looked genuinely troubled.
"Uh… Ms. Da Vinci, you may not be aware: the physical laws and material properties between worlds can differ. Materials from another world may not remain stable here—or they could lose their intended function entirely…"
Da Vinci gave him a look that was half amused, half exasperated.
"How could I not know that? I'm the Universal Genius. The moment Mash described it, I thought of those issues."
"What Chaldea urgently needs right now isn't magical materials. It's basic living supplies—things that keep human beings alive and the facility running."
"Basic… living supplies?"
This time Eisen was genuinely shocked. He looked from Roman to Mash, who was listening quietly.
"You're short on those? I thought Mash said you've already repaired the Orleans Singularity in France and the Septem Singularity in ancient Rome? Didn't you build good relationships with the leaders of those eras? Before the Singularity disappears, asking them for supply support shouldn't be too difficult."
Da Vinci shook her head and sighed.
"Mr. Eisen—just like your travel can't bring other intelligent life, Chaldea's Rayshift system can only transfer entities with Rayshift aptitude. That includes the human body… and also worn equipment and carried weapons. Everything has to be made from specially engineered spiritron-compatible materials to go through."
Roman added with a bitter smile.
"So normally, the only things we can bring back from a Singularity are magical materials. Ordinary food, cloth, building materials, fuel… those can't be carried back to Chaldea via Rayshift."
"I see."
Eisen finally understood, and his expression turned solemn.
"Then don't talk about purchasing. As support for warriors who protect humanity's future, I'll personally—and as a friend—donate a batch of basic supplies to Chaldea."
Roman and Da Vinci both lit up with visible joy.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Eisen!" Roman blurted out immediately.
Eisen waved it off.
"But," he said, shifting gears.
"Before that, I want to test whether your universe can use the First Flame for time reversal. If it works, it might fundamentally change your situation—stopping the incineration of Human Order at the source. That would solve far more than any material aid."
Roman and Da Vinci exchanged a quick look—each seeing the other's caution and doubt.
Mash's prior reports said Eisen claimed the First Flame could reverse worlds… but so far, he hadn't successfully reversed time in any member's world.
Feasibility and safety both carried enormous question marks.
And Eisen had emphasized that the reversal couldn't cross certain "key nodes." In their universe, the key node might only exist after Human Order was incinerated—meaning the conditions for reversal might not exist at all.
Still, considering his promise of selfless aid, neither of them voiced their doubts.
Roman forced a smile that tried hard to look relaxed.
"Alright… then we'll be in your care. But please—be careful."
"Relax. This is only preliminary sensing."
Eisen nodded. He released the suppression on his perception—
and instantly knitted his brows.
"How is it?!" Roman's heart sank. He asked at once.
"Is reversal impossible? Is the Root rejecting interference from an outside law?"
Eisen nodded… then shook his head. That single motion made everyone's nerves tighten like wires.
"Reversal is indeed impossible. But the problem… isn't the Root."
"Not the Root?" Da Vinci seized the key point immediately. "You mean the Root itself isn't placing restrictions on our world's reversal?"
"Correct," Eisen said firmly.
"Your world's structure is extremely peculiar. Every so-called parallel world is a fully independent, self-contained universe. Their only commonality is that they all connect to the same Root—so traveling between worlds can only happen by passing through the Root as an intermediary."
"And if I limit the First Flame to your world alone, the Root doesn't care—because it won't affect the other parallel worlds."
Da Vinci nodded as well.
"Exactly. In our world, the only known safe and stable method for traveling between parallel worlds is the Second Magic—Kaleidoscope: interference with parallel worlds. Your description aligns perfectly. So then…"
Her expression grew heavier.
"If the Root doesn't oppose it—what's stopping the reversal?"
Eisen's face twisted into something profoundly awkward, and he spoke a single word.
"The will of Earth."
He remembered how, earlier, when Mash had asked him in the chat group, he'd dismissed Earth's will as unimportant.
Now he was being slapped in the face by reality.
"Gaia?" Roman blurted out, utterly confused.
"You mean the planet's suppression force? But Human Order Incineration destroys human history—not the planet itself. And besides… Gaia's scale compared to the whole universe—"
He didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was obvious:
How could a planet's will block a reversal of the world?
"No. Not Gaia."
Eisen shook his head again, absolute certainty in his tone.
"Earth. Or rather—an Earth-centered, universe-ordering World Will that represents the current operating order of your cosmos."
Roman, Da Vinci, and Mash all slowly produced the same reaction:
"…?"
What do you mean Earth has become the World Will?
Eisen continued without pause.
"This Earth Will is no longer confined to a single planet. It governs everything within a radius of 13.8 billion light-years centered on Earth."
Then his expression became even stranger.
"I don't know how your world's Earth did it. By all logic, your universe's absolute physical scale far exceeds 13.8 billion light-years… but Earth truly represents the World Will now."
"Cosmic expansion!" Da Vinci snapped instantly, voice sharp and decisive.
"The commonly accepted age of the universe is around 13.8 billion years. That means the farthest distance light could have traveled since the universe's birth is about 13.8 billion light-years—this is the range of the observable universe."
Her thoughts raced, crisp and ruthless.
"But! Because space itself expands faster than light, the universe's actual size far exceeds that number. The Earth Will you sensed used some method to blur the distinction between the observable universe and the absolute universe—forcing 13.8 billion light-years to become the 'omniscient domain' of the entire universe!"
"Beyond that boundary, the remaining cosmos is placed into a superposition of 'exists and does not exist.' In other words…"
Da Vinci's voice took on a thin edge of cold.
"Under that will's rule, 13.8 billion light-years is everything it defines as 'the universe.'"
Roman's face went gray. He clenched a fist instinctively.
"That's… an utterly horrifying revelation. Human Order Incineration is already an extinction-level blow to human history, but even if we defeat Goetia and repair Human Order… Earth—no, the universe ruled by this twisted World Will—will still contain a crisis that covers the entire cosmos."
In that instant, countless clues inside Roman's mind slammed together.
The vision he'd seen before abandoning Solomon's identity—a human history with no future.
Goetia, the Beast of Pity, deciding to launch Human Order Incineration.
A World Will that ruled a 13.8-billion-light-year omniscient domain…
Everything suddenly had an explanation.
Goetia must have sensed the existence of the same crisis—but saw no hope that humanity could solve it on its own.
So he planned to use Human Order Incineration to travel back to the planet's beginning, create new humanity—preserving the spark of mankind, while buying enough time to confront this world-will that blanketed 13.8 billion light-years.
Thank god I abandoned the idea of using my First Noble Phantasm—"The Time of Parting Has Come, I Cast Aside the World"—to erase my existence entirely and die together with Goetia…
Roman felt a deep, bitter relief.
If I'd truly done that, then when Chaldea faced this colossal crisis in the sea of stars… I really would've been a coward who ran away at the decisive moment.
Da Vinci didn't notice the storm inside Roman's heart. Her attention was locked on system-level analysis.
She looked to Eisen, her voice heavy.
"So this is the fundamental reason you can't reverse time? Because the Earth Will—now effectively equivalent to the World Will—has become the obstacle to using the First Flame for reversal? And without causing irreversible damage to the world itself, you have almost no way to defeat it or bypass it?"
Eisen nodded—grave, but unequivocal.
"Yes. That's the key."
In the suffocating silence, a girl's steady voice broke through.
Mash Kyrielight—who'd been quietly listening the whole time.
She stepped forward. There was no despair in her eyes—only a blazing determination.
"Then, Group Owner-senpai… if Chaldea can defeat this Earth Will with our own strength… you'll be able to safely use the First Flame to reverse our world, correct?"
Da Vinci snapped her head toward Mash in shock.
Even Roman—still reeling—looked up, eyes wide with disbelief.
Defeat a World Will that ruled an omniscient domain spanning 13.8 billion light-years?
Da Vinci opened her mouth, instinctively about to say:
"Mash, do you even understand what you're saying? That's—"
But the words "impossible" jammed in her throat.
She looked into Mash's pure, unwavering gaze, felt her own refusal to give up, and thought of the strongest Master in human history—Fujimaru Ritsuka…
The shock in Da Vinci's eyes faded, replaced by the pride of the Universal Genius and a pioneer of the stars.
Slowly, she curled her lips into a grin full of provocation.
"Mash… you're really bold, aren't you…"
Her tone remained soft, but then suddenly rose—bright with excitement and fierce fighting spirit.
"But—"
She whirled toward Eisen and Roman, eyes glittering like starlight, and declared with absolute conviction:
"The probability is not zero!"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 120)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 85)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter85)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter81)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter60)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter66)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 40
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 50
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