Amidst the mist of the night, Fuyuki City remained active despite most of its iconic inhabitants taking their rest. However, the person—or perhaps it would be better to say, the being—that interested us was a certain golden-haired boy.
One might expect that seeing a child walking through the dark streets of the city would cause alarm, prompting calls to social services and quite a fuss, especially from the parents of said child.
But this was no ordinary child to worry about. Within the tiny body of a ten-year-old, a being far beyond humanity—even the gods—had been hiding in that childlike form for several weeks, out of simple boredom.
Until now.
The ancient King of Heroes had found something truly entertaining over four thousand years ago. Though he did not want to dismiss the efforts of his fellow king, the Rider of the Holy Grail War, this chance encounter had completely changed his perspective.
For the first time in a long while, he was excited—and King Gilgamesh wanted it now. However, much to his frustration, he had no choice but to wait.
Slightly disappointed, with a childish pout on his face that would undoubtedly leave most participants of the Fourth Holy Grail War dumbfounded, the blond entered Fuyuki's church, which was still faintly lit by the current priest.
The son of the previous priest was none other than Kotomine Kirei, a surviving participant of the Holy Grail War, and briefly his Master at the end of it.
One of the worst bastards he had ever met, yet one he himself had helped shape to bring out his true nature. After all, it had been the most interesting thing he had done during the Holy Grail War, though he might now have to replace it with a new source of entertainment.
But everything in due time.
Gilgamesh smiled in amusement as he watched his "companion" praying in front of the altar. It wasn't just amusing because of his false faith, but because the man was prostrated in the very spot where his father had been killed. Indeed, the existence known as Kotomine Kirei was truly unique.
"I see you're busy," the incarnated Heroic Spirit commented with some interest. "I've seen you do the same since the fire, and I'm sure it's not for the souls of the helpless."
Despite his words, the priest didn't flinch for a second.
"I thought you wouldn't have any interest in what I was doing," Kirei said, still on his knees, appearing as though he were praying. "Could it be that you're in a good mood by any chance?"
Little Gilgamesh hummed at the question. Setting aside the presence of the Divine Spirit in the city, he was certainly excited by the sighting of what could be considered his greatest creation—greater even than Kotomine Kirei.
But it required subtle and systematic work, gentle yet devastating. Perhaps it would take years, but after all, Rome wasn't built in a day... Did modern humans still use sayings like that?
"He's simply my next source of entertainment for the upcoming Holy Grail War, in case I don't find a worthy opponent," the golden-haired boy explained without offering too many details.
"Is that so? And what could possibly catch your attention in this mundane and disgusting world, my lord?" Kirei asked, raising his head slightly. Naturally, his interest was piqued by the king-turned-child. Ever since his last encounter with the broken image of Emiya Kiritsugu in the Fuyuki fire, nothing had filled the man's void.
If something had caught the King of Heroes' attention—especially given that his childish form was more restrained—it had to be something truly out of the ordinary.
Gilgamesh did not answer; he simply sat on one of the church benches and looked up at the ceiling—no, his gaze went beyond that, toward the distant stars.
"Even if the Throne of Heroes and the Holy Grail try, they will never completely seal my power as a true Heroic Spirit. These omniscient eyes will not lose sight of absolute omnipotence," the King of Heroes recited as he closed his eyes.
And then he saw it.
Just like the day he received that omen before his fateful meeting with Enkidu thousands of years ago.
A meeting predestined by the gods, one that quite literally sparked a war of unstoppable forces without mercy.
When he saw that red-haired child beside the Fallen God, another omen, dictated by the heavens, revealed itself to him.
And it revealed death.
That child, who could be the pinnacle of innocence, would grow over the years to possess a gaze so murderous that even the gods of war would envy him. A strength that not even the gods of the earth could bury. A will that not even the gods of heaven could overpower.
As a demon, that child would grow up solely to kill, wielding the power of both monsters and the divine to annihilate.
And the only one who would stand against him was...
Gilgamesh.
Even with a thousand weapons, it was one hundred and eight agonies, one hundred and eight fallen stars, one hundred and eight weapons, each handpicked for their quality to face all the treasures of humanity. It would not win in quantity, but it would challenge him in divine quality.
The child, who would become a demon king, would advance against the tempest, the downpour of weapons, and even eternity itself with a single motivation.
To cut down King Gilgamesh.
A single cut had caught his attention and pierced his skin. The future the demon held for him was dark, and yet ... Gilgamesh loved it.
Perhaps ... Would he have to transcend time and space to find it?
To a ... friend like Enkidu?
The king, now in the form of a child, clutched his chest—the place where the cut would be made, according to the vision he had seen. A cut not meant to kill him, yet the redhead had put all his intent into making it.
Someone who would give everything to defeat him ... Only Enkidu had ever done that, chaining him down. And although the thought of someone capable of doing something similar to his first and only friend felt like blasphemy to Enkidu's memory, a part of him couldn't help but feel a pleasant curiosity, wondering just how far that child could go.
"So yes, you could say that I am in a good mood because I have found something interesting," Gilgamesh said with an ominous smile before rising from the bench and heading toward the church chambers. But not before casting an amused glance at the object in Kirei's hands as he prayed. "Though in a bygone era, I might have desired what you hold, now it is nothing but trash."
His words did nothing to faze the priest, causing the blond to leave with a mocking pout as he made his way to his room, leaving the man alone.
In his hands was what appeared to be a long piece of metal, but upon closer inspection, one might realize it was a broken fragment of some kind of tiara. And for those familiar with the object that Emiya Kiritsugu kept in his home, they would recognize it as the missing part of that tiara.
Kirei looked up with an ominous smile, his eyes devoid of emotion except for one thing.
Desire.
"The Lord's crown of thorns has fallen into my hands ... I ask myself, when will the time come?"
...
Fuyuki was not the only city with a nightlife to envy; in the city of Misaki, there were also matters to attend to.
Especially when, from one day to the next, a massive pillar of solid, chiseled rock suddenly appeared on the outskirts of the city for no apparent reason. The worst part was that it hadn't appeared in the territory of a simple magus, but in that of a True Mage.
And although she would not handle the pillar herself due to maternity concerns, two of the people she trusted most would take charge of the matter.
The first was a young man in his twenties, with short black hair and grey eyes, dressed simply in a jacket over a shirt, jeans, and dark shoes. Faint scars could be seen on his arms and neck, barely visible through his clothes, and he wore a necklace.
This was Shizuki Soujuurou, one of the strongest individuals the Fifth Magician had ever encountered. Even though that power had waned over time, he remained one of the people she trusted most.
Soujuurou was leading the way directly to Misaki's stone pillar.
The black-haired man turned to his companion. "We're close now. Can you feel it, Mori?"
Then, Soujuurou's companion became more visible in the darkness of the night and through the branches of the trees.
His spiky brown hair and brown eyes, with unmistakable golden pupils, evoked a familiar image to some—especially those who knew Jin Mori's true appearance. However, there were a few differences from the original Monkey King.
His hair was slightly longer, tied back in a low ponytail, and his features were more defined and mature, unlike Jin Mori, who still had the appearance of a teenager. This supposed "Mori" was an adult, around the same age as Soujuurou.
He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, baggy black pants, and sneakers. A few colorful bracelets, the kind one could find in any store, adorned his arms.
"The atmosphere has certainly changed. Was this caused by the pillar? It almost feels like another world," 'Mori' said curiously, glancing around with a frown.
Soujuurou nodded gravely. "Yes, Alice hasn't wanted to get any closer than this."
"That explains why she's been staying home so much... more than usual," 'Mori' remarked thoughtfully. "Oh, by the way, I haven't thanked you yet for taking care of Yukiko-chan while Aoko and I were away."
The black-haired man smiled before continuing forward, closely followed by his companion and closest friend.
"It wasn't a problem; the problematic one is Shiki, after all, and she wanted to go with you."
'Mori' grimaced at his words. "Don't mention it. It was supposed to be work to secure things in Fuyuki because of the consequences of the Holy Grail, and we ended up just walking around ... " The brown-haired man sighed tiredly. "And Aoko doesn't help—she acts like a child instead of the mother of two girls."
Soujuurou chuckled. "There's no need to be so harsh; we're still young."
"And with responsibilities," 'Mori' pointed out seriously, before giving his friend a mocking look. "At least we know you and Alice will make good parents."
Suddenly, the atmosphere became more gloomy, but this time it had nothing to do with the stone pillar; rather, it was the cold animosity that Soujuurou began to express through his words.
"You know very well the reasons why Alice and I don't ... "
He didn't have time to continue when 'Mori' stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder, causing them to face each other. Cold grey eyes met fierce golden ones.
"I know that very well, but that doesn't mean there's nothing we can do. Aoko, Touko, and I will do everything possible so that both of you can be happy." The brown-haired young man's grip tightened, but without hurting him, offering reassurance. "Now let's finish checking the pillar so we can go back home."
The black-haired man nodded seriously, and so they both continued to the final point of their destination, where the stone pillar stood in a small clearing in the forest. Considerably smaller than the one in the Sea of Japan, its weight and firmness were not far behind that of its 'brother.'
"And here we are... What do you think?" Soujuurou asked his companion.
But he received no verbal response; instead, 'Mori' began to walk at a fast pace toward the pillar.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" the black-haired young man exclaimed, surprised by his sudden attitude.
"Now I understand why Alice didn't want to come closer..." 'Mori' said in a monotone voice, his eyes turning into fierce golden crosses mesmerized by the shape of the pillar. "This is not something that humans should touch."
"W-What are you talking about? Mori?!" Soujuurou stammered, trying to get closer to his friend, but suddenly he began to feel a pressure, a kind of wall that prevented him from moving forward against his will.
By this time, the brown-haired man was already standing in front of the stone pillar, with his hand just inches away from touching it.
"Not even the gods ... will be able to understand it."
And he touched it.
And followed the one will.
Calling it a stone pillar was an insult to its ancestral origin—originally a piece of rib from the epitome of power.
Ogre, also known as Kur in ancient times, was the very manifestation of Gaia's will.
The Ultimate One of Earth, the pinnacle of all Beasts on the planet, the ancestor of all dragons.
Kur was born to fulfill the will of the planet itself—the will of Çatalhöyük—without hesitation.
And protecting it was its highest priority, above maintaining the hierarchy of the beasts.
But what could possibly pose a danger to the planet's alpha predator, whose primordial existence caused the rest of Earth's Phantom Beasts to prostrate themselves in submission?
The most terrifying beings in existence.
The gods.
They were the ones who came to this virgin world, tainting it with their selfish desires.
Chaos. Ymir. Tezcatlipoca. The Jade Emperor. Ame-no-Minakanushi. Brahma. Balor. Ra.
And many more. But none was worse than ... Apsu, the god who incited the betrayal of the Beasts in favor of the gods.
Even with the dominating power of the gods, Kur's supreme strength was such that she could fight against them, with the help of her brothers and sisters, to keep the land from falling into their clutches.
It was a war without mercy, but for billions of years, it remained in a stalemate with no clear victor as time passed.
Until the high treason of Kur's most beloved sister.
Her sister, Tiamat.
Even exalted by the planet's supreme power as her daughter and the embodiment of its will, Kur's weakness had always been the trust she placed in others, and it was that very trust that led to her downfall.
Convinced by Apsu, Tiamat joined the side of the gods, along with many beasts, and they attacked Kur until her body was scattered across the planet.
The planet's first cry resounded with Kur's death.
With their greatest enemy defeated, the gods were able to inhabit their new home, using Kur's body to make it more habitable for themselves and the new species that would be born.
They created lands, seas, and skies. The chaotic state of Earth, once dominated by Kur, was reshaped and reinforced with her own body — her skin, flesh, organs — everything possible was used to give the planet a more defined form.
This is how the first textures of the planet were born.
Later, weapons were crafted from the remains of Kur's body to manipulate these textures.
The Yeoui, or Ruyi Jingu Bang, was one of those weapons.
Refined from one of the ribs of the deceased Alpha Predator to measure existence itself, it took the form of a pillar to follow Kur's will even in death.
Giving form to the vague, bringing order to chaos.
Though these were ambiguous concepts in some respects, in certain cases, they became very clear. But it all came down to one thing ...
To follow a single will—but whose?
Gaia's.
Thus, the planet's most beloved child was born: from the remains of a shattered god, nourished by Kur's corpse, and formed with the very energies of the universe...
From this emerged the second Beast of Gaia, known in ancient times by a name that only the oldest gods could remember...
The Guardian of Earth, Sun Wukong.
While Kur had been born to keep the beasts in check, Sun Wukong was created to sow chaos among the gods in accordance with Gaia's will. Even taking different forms in different realms, each incarnation had been the Sage who brought about drastic changes in the heavenly realms.
It was Dionysus, it was Loki, it was Quetzalcoatl, it was Kagutsuchi, it was Hanuman, it was Lugh, it was Horus, it was Marduk.
But especially, it was Sun Wukong.
Through countless experiences, he reached the rank of the gods—the only one worthy across the unbreakable sky and the eternal earth, deserving of humanity's homage.
His encounter with the stone pillar, held by the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, was no mere coincidence, as for a moment, golden letters flashed on one end of the pillar.
Ruyi Jingu Bang, the Yeoui, It Who Follows a Single Will... The Will of Gaia.
The weapon, crafted from the remains of Earth's First Guardian and masterfully wielded by its Second Guardian, embodied Sun Wukong's will, one and the same as the will of the planet itself.
Her most precious son. Her most powerful beast. The greatest god, whose will was synonymous with the will of the world. The one who brings primordial order to the divine chaos established by the invading gods. Gaia's greatest weapon.
But in one world, he was overthrown.
In one of the many universes that make up the infinite kaleidoscope, the possibilities are endless. While in some universes Sun Wukong fulfilled his mission given to him by his "mother," in others, the Great God of the Universe was defeated, killed, or completely exiled.
And this Yeoui came from one such world, broken by the clash of catastrophic forces with the Champion of the Gods, Satan. Banished by humanity, who betrayed him once more. Exiled by the power of the Holy Grail...
But at no point did Yeoui lose its purpose...
The single will...
The will of Gaia that it would follow...
And that would always serve the...
Only God of the Unbreakable Heavens.
...
"Mori! Mori! Come on, wake up!" Soujuurou exclaimed, shaking his friend, who was now in a trance.
When 'Mori' had approached the stone pillar and touched it, the invisible force that once repelled him vanished. But as soon as he reached the pillar, he fell into a complete trance, unresponsive, as though the pillar itself was relaying a story only he could hear.
But it wasn't the right time.
An abnormal presence appeared at the scene, instantly making Soujuurou's hair stand on end due to its dangerous aura—it was even worse than his friend Lugh Beowulf. In fact, even his friend "Mori" grew visibly tense, yet still didn't wake from his trance.
Then, the presence revealed itself... And for a moment, he thought he saw someone resembling "Mori."
Her burning eyes and golden pupils made Soujuurou tremble for a moment, but that was the only similarity she shared with 'Mori.' She was a woman with white hair and pale skin, dressed in traditional Chinese robes. The most notable detail was a bell earring in one of her ears.
The strange woman smiled. "I have to thank you for your help with this; it was impossible for me to get close to the staff."
"Staff?" Soujuurou murmured, glancing at the stone pillar.
"There's no point in discussing it. It's time to claim what's mine," the woman said before disappearing completely from sight.
But that only lasted a few seconds, because in an instant, she was next to 'Mori,' her hand about to touch the stone pillar...
Until suddenly, the pillar vanished entirely from sight... No, it was in 'Mori's' hand, as if it were a branch, its length even reduced to match.
"You say it's yours? I'm sorry, but..." 'Mori' looked at the woman with the same burning eyes and golden pupils. "This is my will, the will of the true Divine Emperor, Han Mori."
The woman looked at him, both surprised and angered by the sight and the words spoken by the brown-haired young man.
"So... Expand, Yeoui."
In less than a blink of an eye, the staff that Han Mori held out toward the woman extended to immense lengths and widths, passing through the stranger, who had no time to react. Her body was obliterated by the primordial force that the staff wielded.
Soujuurou looked at his old friend in disbelief, not only because of the impossible power he now commanded but also because of his transformed appearance as he swung the staff.
His once wild brown hair had turned a fiery red, like the flames of hell, with bright golden strands near his forehead that gleamed like the sun. His irises were a deep red with golden pupils, each bearing a symbol at its center: an omega symbol in the right eye and an alpha symbol in the left.
Finally, what looked like a golden tiara appeared around his head, with a symbol at the center: a burning eye resembling his own, bearing both the alpha and omega symbols enclosed within a third symbol—the delta.
"Now... the true king of the heavens has descended."
...
Mori suddenly woke up with a gasp, sitting up abruptly on his futon, struggling to catch his breath.
The turquoise-haired boy clutched his chest as if he'd just suffered a heart attack, trying in vain to steady his breathing in the solitude of his room, hoping with all his might not to attract the attention of Shirou or Kiritsugu.
The Fallen God didn't know what was happening to him at that moment. Was he having a panic attack? Was he experiencing convulsions due to the adverse effects of the Limit Remover? Were these the consequences of using martial arts? Thousands of questions raced through the young man's mind, yet nothing was clear to him. The only thing he knew for certain was that nothing seemed to help.
You are still alive.
You are greater than eternity.
I hope you can see yourself as I see you.
But suddenly, Taiga's words from that day returned to him, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility to the former Monkey King. Somehow, they comforted him as much as Xuanzang's words and fleeting presence had in the past.
Gradually, he calmed down and lay back on his futon without fear. He still didn't feel confident enough to sleep, so he simply stared at the ceiling, his breathing slightly rapid but otherwise normal.
Feeling calmer, he was able to recall the dream he'd had before waking so abruptly. He'd once again dreamed of his long journey: his arrogant pursuit of power, his tyranny in the Sage Kingdom, his war with the heavens, his punishment... And just when he began to understand the feelings of others, everything was taken away from him.
Although he had been able to live a new life as Jin Mori, the grandson of Jin Taejin, his karma had not forgotten his sins, restarting the cycle again in an endless chain of battles with the gods until he was ultimately betrayed by humans.
He dreamed of the old geezer, the Jade Emperor; the cursed Tathagata; and that bastard Park Mubong.
But before that, he had dreamed of his former master, the wise Subhuti; the mother goddess, Gaia; an omnipotent dragon... And then, of a strange woman and someone who looked uncannily like him...
Mori didn't understand the meaning of those dreams, but he just hoped he could finally get some sleep after all that... he needed his ten hours of sleep a day.
He could search for the meaning later, or maybe just forget about it.
...
In his quiet room, Waver couldn't help but collapse onto his bed after a long day working at the bar. It was late at night, and he just wanted to pass out right there.
He didn't even feel like playing Admirable Great Tactics because he was so tired. That was Rider's favorite game, and Waver had started to take a liking to it, either for its tactical options or simply because it was his Servant's favorite.
But he couldn't let himself be overcome by fatigue just yet; he had other things to do and needed to take advantage of the late-night hours to carry out his activities as a magus. He couldn't perform these tasks during the day due to his work schedule or to avoid exposing the Mackenzies any further to the world of magecraft.
With renewed resolve, the young man with black hair got out of bed before sleep could claim him prematurely. He approached his work table and took his new toy from a drawer.
Or at least its pieces.
What he took out and placed on the table at first looked like the shattered fragments of what could have been a broken vase. However, Waver quickly ruled out it being an ordinary vase due to the unique shapes of the pieces, which curved in peculiar ways.
Moreover, the magical traces it held—like special seals, as if it contained a miniature Bounded Field—instantly drew his attention. A series of ancient characters, impossible for him to decipher but certainly of Asian origin, were inscribed on the pieces.
Asian magecraft was foreign territory for the black-haired man, both literally and metaphorically. He was from England, the source of the classic and most widely used thaumaturgical system in the world, though certainly not the only one.
Different ancient traditions had given rise to distinct systems, and Asia itself had what could be called a kind of "Mage's Association," with its own thaumaturgical system that, in turn, branched into various forms depending on the country or region.
Although fascinating, Waver couldn't study it in depth for several reasons. First, the Asian system was entirely incompatible with the Western one. Second, Asian magi were extremely protective of their magecraft, even more so than in London, and restricted teachings only to their most favored disciples. And the third reason was the most obvious of all... Waver simply lacked the natural talent for magecraft.
He might have been a great magic researcher, but actually executing it was another matter entirely.
But that didn't stop him from trying to decipher the mystery he held in his hands—quite literally. In no time, the young man with black hair was nearly finished piecing the broken fragments together, forming something that looked more familiar, though still somewhat strange to Waver's foreign eyes.
It had taken the shape of a... gourd? That was the best he could call it, though he recalled seeing similar objects in some artistic depictions of Japanese warriors, soldiers, or generals from the Edo period or thereabouts. Hollow gourds used as a sort of canteen.
Here's the corrected version:
Now the question was...
"Why was this in the ruins of the fire?" the London magus couldn't help but wonder, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling, his eyes somewhat red from lack of sleep.
He had certainly gone to the site of the disaster to try to understand what had caused it. In the end, he concluded it might have been related to the Holy Grail—possibly due to the clash of forces between Saber and Archer? He couldn't be certain, but perhaps it had something to do with it.
However, the only remarkable thing he found were these broken pieces of a gourd that were completely intact, showing no signs of damage from fire, heat, or other external influences. The material it was made of remained entirely unaffected.
If high temperatures couldn't damage this gourd... then what could have broken it in the first place? And where did it come from? It wasn't the kind of artifact you'd typically find in a museum, and he doubted there were any Chinese magi nearby, nor could he imagine any of the other participants possessing something like this. Given its age, it was surely a Mystic Code of considerable power—one that might have shifted the course of the Holy Grail War.
The only conclusion Waver could draw was that someone had simply lost it... As ridiculous as it sounded, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of irritation at the thought that someone could have been careless enough to misplace something potentially so valuable.
Although, for now, its value was somewhat questionable due to the breaks it had, and possibly its main function had been lost, you couldn't just discard things like that! You're a magus; you should have some decency and throw magical things into the sea so that no one finds them!
"Thank you very much for letting me find it," Waver said with a smile as he finished assembling the gourd, missing only one piece. "Now, with this last piece... and a little reinforcement..."
He muttered as he placed the final piece, while blue-green interface lines covered his hand and the piece, extending across the entire gourd. This subtle touch made the breaks disappear, restoring it to its original appearance before it had shattered into several pieces.
It was magnificent, something worthy of a king...
The black-haired man couldn't help but sigh in satisfaction... until suddenly, an image appeared right where the final piece had been placed.
A dark, burning eye with a golden pupil shone from the gourd, catching Waver's attention as he watched, fascinated...
Then, without warning, a gust of wind burst from the gourd's opening, engulfing him and instantly sucking him inside.
"Why is this happening to me?!" was all he managed to exclaim as he was pulled into the gourd, though his cry fell on deaf ears.
Or did it?
...