Adam manipulated the system and summoned Ereshkigal.
Of course, that wasn't what he had actually forgotten.
He had called her specifically to store Olga Marie's soul inside her cage for safekeeping.
There were two other important matters as well. The first was that Ereshkigal frequently livestreamed from Chaldea. Adam had previously asked her to explain to the other Servants through her stream why he had suddenly disappeared.
After all, his abrupt vanishing would likely cause quite a commotion among the Servants back in his original Chaldea.
The second issue that concerned him was the difference in time flow between the two worlds.
He planned to verify this using Ereshkigal, Stheno, and Euryale.
By measuring the time gap between summoning the Servants, sending them back, and resummoning them, he could determine the exact time dilation ratio.
In the end, the answer he received from Ereshkigal was clear: the time flow difference between the two worlds was massive.
From this side, he had only just summoned Ereshkigal and sent her back. In her perception, she had barely arrived in Chaldea and was about to start explaining Adam's disappearance on stream before being pulled away again. To her, barely a second had passed.
The time ratio was extreme. In Adam's original Chaldea, time had nearly come to a standstill.
After confirming this, Adam prepared to transfer Olga Marie's soul into Ereshkigal's cage.
Before departing, Olga Marie issued a warning to the group.
"This Singularity has been repaired. The spacetime here will soon return to its original state. You should initiate the Rayshift as quickly as possible."
Ritsuka Fujimaru frowned.
"What happens if we don't Rayshift in time?"
Olga Marie looked at her with dead seriousness.
"You will undoubtedly be devoured by the collapsing spacetime."
Ritsuka swallowed nervously.
At that moment, Dr. Roman's voice came through like a much-needed boost.
"Don't worry! We've already prepared the Rayshift on our end."
Ritsuka let out a sigh of relief.
Once he confirmed Olga Marie's soul was safely secured, Adam dismissed Ereshkigal.
All that was left was to Rayshift back to this world's Chaldea, reconstruct Olga Marie's body, and reintegrate her soul.
Just as Adam was organizing his thoughts, a violent distortion suddenly rippled through the surrounding space.
The Singularity was reaching its limit.
If they didn't start the Rayshift soon, they would all be swallowed by the collapsing dimension.
Mash shouted urgently, "Doctor! Please initiate the Rayshift immediately!"
Dr. Roman sounded flustered as he fumbled.
"Okay! Starting the Rayshift now!"
"Wait, it should be this button, right?"
He seemed to be desperately searching for the activation key, too nervous to find it at first.
"Doctor!!!" ×4
After being yelled at by the group, Roman finally located the correct button.
"Found it! This is the one!"
He pressed the key on the screen.
Ritsuka and Mash vanished instantly, successfully escaping the Singularity.
However…
Only Ritsuka and Mash had been transported away.
Adam: "..."
Mash: "..."
Adam: "Crap."
He had fallen into his usual routine and assumed it would work the same way.
Both he and Mash had subconsciously expected to be sent back as well.
The space around them continued to twist and warp violently. The distortions were now impossible to ignore.
After a brief stunned pause, Mash's eyes widened in panic.
"Senpai… I just realized! We don't have Rayshift capability here!"
"What are we going to do?!"
"Stay calm~"
Even though he told her not to panic, Adam's brows furrowed. A flicker of anxiety passed through him as well.
Still, his vast experience allowed him to quickly regain composure. He entered a focused state and rapidly searched for a solution.
Suddenly, an idea hit him.
He glanced at Mash, then turned his attention to the Servant deployment interface.
Mash was his currently deployed Servant. Right beside her was the dismissal button.
Adam immediately dismissed her.
"Mash, you head back first."
Mash understood his intention instantly, but instead of relief, worry for him filled her face. Her safety was guaranteed, but his wasn't. That wasn't acceptable to her.
"Senp—"
Before she could finish speaking, her figure disappeared. She had returned to Chaldea.
After sending Mash back, Adam turned his focus to his massive Servant roster.
The solution lay somewhere within it.
But the spacetime around him was growing dangerously unstable, rapidly approaching a breaking point. It felt ready to collapse at any moment.
Adam scrolled through hundreds of Servants.
"Where are you…? Dora A-Shiki?"
He was, of course, looking for Ryougi Shiki. More precisely, Void Shiki.
Although her physical body limited her combat ability to roughly average Servant level, her direct connection to the Root granted her near-omniscient knowledge and the ability to perform feats that defied ordinary logic.
Void Shiki had once casually mentioned that crossing simple spacetime barriers was well within her power.
The spacetime around Adam had already begun visibly crumbling. Just as the collapse was about to reach him—
He finally located Ryougi Shiki and prepared to deploy her.
But it seemed he was already too late.
The surrounding space had completely distorted.
This was bad~
At that critical moment of crisis, Adam's figure suddenly vanished from Singularity F. He wasn't swallowed by the collapsing spacetime. Instead, it felt as though something had pulled him away.
——————————
Year 2015.
Antarctica.
Chaldea.
A figure suddenly appeared in one of Chaldea's corridors.
Adam came back to his senses. Looking around at the familiar hallway, he realized he was already inside Chaldea.
"What just happened?"
At that moment, a voice he knew all too well spoke from beside him.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
Adam turned his head. A gentle face entered his view.
It was Ryougi Shiki.
More precisely…
Void Shiki.
——————
Meanwhile, Manaka Sajyou's consciousness wandered through the Root. She had been searching for a certain answer deep within its depths.
But no matter how long she searched, she couldn't find it.
Just as she was beginning to feel discouraged, a small ripple appeared in the Root, catching her attention.
Although that ripple was quickly erased by some external force, Manaka's sharp senses still managed to capture a fragment of information from it.
And that fragment was exactly what she had been looking for.
A genuine smile bloomed on her face.
"Found you~"
***
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