This wasn't a Lostbelt.
Those were the thoughts of a man in the shabby white uniform of Chaldea and raggedy cloak. He had been investigating for over a week now, and nothing here could distinguish it from Proper Human History. It was different from his history, true, but variances from timeline to timeline was to be expected. Nothing here signaled that it was a Singularity or a Missing Belt either.
For Fujimaru to be summoned to a parallel human history, well, something drastic must have been happening here. It wouldn't go against his promise to back off so long as he didn't directly interfere, so it was fine for him to just scout out. Besides, something here was bothering him.
The man walked to Mount Enzou, using his own magecraft to counter that Caster's scrying. She might have been in the top five, but he was above her, so it was an easy task. He walked past the barrier around the mountain, circling around it until he found what he was looking for. A false wall, covering the entrance to a cavern. Carefully, he walked into the cavern, going deeper down to where it was located. He scoffed at himself. Not even two years ago, he would had laughed at the thought of being careful around this thing, but after the Temple of Time, he had been humbled, his view completely flipped. How arrogant he was.
The cavern itself was dark and silent, as if all life was absent from it. To any other person, it would send a chill up their spine, but the man from Chaldea was unflappable. The cavern soon was bathed in a red light and opened up, nearly three kilometers in diameter. In the center of it all stood a grail. No servants were dead yet, so it wasn't active, but the Man from Chaldea knew if left alone, it would become dangerous... however.
"No... you're not the reason he's here," The man spoke, whether if it was to the entity in the grail or to himself, even he was not sure. "You... you are something that the people of this timeline can overcome themselves. You are not an anomaly. You don't even have a mind to conceive who he is, do you?" Six billion curses, but not sentient. A candidate to be a Beast, but on its own, could not reach it. It needed a host. So then what was it?
He left the cavern, quietly walking to his next destination. All around him, the signs of life flourished, people living their lives, letting the small happiness keep them moving through life. But there was one place where such peace and joy did not exist in the slightest. The sounds of bugs grew loud as he approached the Matou home, a horrible abomination taking the form of a shriveled old man was waiting for him outside.
"And who might you be...?" The old man asked, the innocent question loaded with a double meaning.
"Makiri Zolgen," The man from Chaldea spoke, avoiding the question and catching the old man's attention. "I had come to see if the impossible had happened, and it seems my worries were misplaced,"
"Oh, caring for an old man such as myself? How touching," Zouken taunted, but he did not get a rise out of the man.
"You have been touched by something outside of your control. Your plans are doomed to failed," The man said simply. "Even if I know not exactly what it is you're planning, I know you will not succeed. I would ask you to just die with grace and dignity, but we both know you'd never do that. Even Barbatos knew when to give it up," Zouken could only laugh at this declaration.
"The plan is nearing completion. It is too late for one such as him to make a difference,"
"I too once uttered those words, and it led to my defeat," The Man from Chaldea turned his back to Zolgen. "But, no matter how seriously or not you take him, you are doomed. Treasure your final days on this Earth, Makiri Zolgen," The man walked away, leaving the old man behind.
With that, the Man from Chaldea was convinced. He could help Fujimaru, but he wasn't going to coddle the boy. This wasn't something he couldn't take care of himself, not so long as the will to live was inside him. Satisfied with this answer, the Man from Chaldea left this timeline, entrusting it all to one boy from Chaldea.
