Adam listened quietly as EMIYA spoke. It aligned almost exactly with what he had already guessed.
In the original course of events, the victor of this Holy Grail War had been the Old Director working together with the Mage King. The Old Director wished for enormous wealth to establish Chaldea. Once the organization was built, the Demi-Servant experiments began—the very same experiments that produced Mash.
After witnessing those experiments, Lev completely sided with the faction seeking the Incineration of Humanity.
The Mage King had wished upon the Grail to become an ordinary human being. His wish was granted, but his body was then stolen by Goetia, who used it as a vessel to launch the Incineration of Humanity.
Both of these decisive factors that led to the incineration of human history originated from the outcome of the 2004 Holy Grail War, in which the Old Director and the Mage King emerged victorious.
Therefore, once the Incineration of Humanity had begun, the Counter Force chose the most efficient solution: to interfere with the result of the 2004 Holy Grail War. They wanted the Saber faction to win instead.
That way, the Old Director would never obtain the Grail, Chaldea would never be funded or built, and the Mage King would never make his wish to live as a normal man and subsequently be possessed.
The two major triggers for the Incineration would never come to pass, and humanity might truly be spared.
From Lev and Goetia's perspective, this Singularity F—created by the Counter Force's intervention—was also an existence that needed to be destroyed if they were to complete their plan.
However…
If this Singularity were never resolved…
What would become of Chaldea's timeline in this world?
For Chaldea, the Old Director's victory in the 2004 Holy Grail War was what allowed the organization to be founded. If this Singularity continued developing as the Counter Force intended, that outcome would be overwritten. As a result, the entire timeline containing Ritsuka Fujimaru, Olga Marie, and Mash would likely disappear completely.
They would lose their future.
Singularity F had three opposing forces at play:
Chaldea.
The Counter Force.
The Incineration of Humanity.
To Chaldea, both the Counter Force that sought to erase their future and Goetia's faction that sought to destroy their past were enemies.
To the Counter Force, both Chaldea—which obstructed their correction of Human Order—and Goetia's side, the direct cause of the Incineration, were enemies as well.
And for those pursuing the Incineration, both the Counter Force and Chaldea were nothing more than obstacles standing in their way.
In a sense, Singularity F was an incredibly crowded battlefield.
Adam couldn't help but marvel at the complexity of it all.
"So, what will you choose?"
EMIYA suddenly asked him a somewhat unexpected question.
"What?"
Adam looked at him, momentarily confused.
EMIYA stared straight into Adam's eyes.
"Now that you understand the full picture, you should realize it. The decision made by the Counter Force is undoubtedly the optimal solution for the vast majority of people. Although it may sacrifice the future of a small number of individuals, it can guarantee the survival of everyone else!"
"And you!"
EMIYA weakly lifted his hand and pointed firmly at Adam.
"You are a special existence within this Singularity. You don't truly belong to any of the three factions."
"I don't know exactly who you are…"
"But…"
EMIYA glanced at Kiritsugu Emiya, who had been summoned by Adam. He then recalled the girl named Illya he had seen earlier outside the cave—she too had almost certainly been brought here by him. The same likely applied to Heracles and Medusa switching sides.
"You hold the power to influence the entire situation. To a certain extent, you could even decide who ultimately wins this Singularity."
"So tell me—how will you choose? Who will you help? Which side will you stand on?"
Faced with EMIYA's question, Adam fell silent.
It was true. Although he was currently fighting alongside Chaldea, which side he ultimately supported was still his personal decision to make.
Helping the Incineration faction was obviously out of the question.
That left the Counter Force—Artoria Alter and EMIYA. Without Adam's involvement, even if they managed to hold off Chaldea, they might not be able to stop Goetia and the Demon God Pillars. But if Adam joined their side, the outcome would change dramatically. Singularity F would persist, and the future belonging to Ritsuka, Mash, and Olga Marie would be completely erased. Their timeline would vanish.
In exchange, the Incineration of Humanity might never occur.
"Indeed…"
"It really does seem like helping the Counter Force would be the best choice."
Hearing Adam's words, EMIYA thought he was leaning toward their side.
"Exactly! So you should—"
However, before EMIYA could finish speaking, Adam abruptly cut him off, his expression turning serious. The atmosphere grew heavy.
"But I refuse!"
"What I, Adam, love most is saying 'No!' to a self-righteous Counter Force like you!"
EMIYA stared at him in shock.
What the—?
"You say the Counter Force wants to prevent the Incineration of Humanity? Then it's simple. I'll just defeat Goetia myself!"
"As for the Singularities created by the Incineration? I'll take Chaldea with me and correct them all!"
EMIYA furrowed his brows, unable to understand Adam's reasoning.
"There's clearly an easier and more convenient solution. If you simply allow this Singularity to continue as planned, the Incineration will never happen. So why choose the most troublesome option of helping Chaldea?"
Adam shook his head at EMIYA's words.
"It's not merely a question of convenience."
He turned back and looked at Mash. Memories of their shared journey flashed through his mind, followed by all the happy times he had spent with the entire Chaldea team.
Even though this was a different world and not his original Chaldea, Adam still refused to let this Chaldea's future be cut short.
"Perhaps this really is the most difficult choice…"
"But no matter how many times I'm asked, I will always choose this path."
"I will help the Chaldea of this world protect and continue the future that belongs to them."
***
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