Chapter 393: Alaya and Gaia
"Since I'm already here, let's get straight to the point," Shirou said, looking at the women.
"Wait. This time, it is not just me who is asking a favor of you," Alaya said.
As soon as she finished speaking, a light portal opened in the air, with a deep, black vortex swirling inside. Another figure stepped out of the portal and stood before Shirou and Alaya.
She was a black-haired woman in black attire. Her transcendent demeanor surpassed even the most arrogant goddess, yet her presence felt intimate, like that of a mother—while simultaneously remaining chillingly indifferent.
Yes, in a sense, she represented the will of the Earth itself.
The black-haired woman looked over with an expressionless face and spoke: "Emiya Shirou, I have come here to entrust you with the task of stopping the White God."
"Hmph! To think that both major Counter Forces are begging me to do this... when you really think about it, it's terrifying. Isn't this asking too much? At the very least, within the confines of Earth, there shouldn't be anything you can't handle," Shirou said, sneering at himself.
Alaya shook her head: "Although we are omnipotent in theory, we are not all-powerful. I can only rely on the massive energy gathered from the collective subconscious of humanity to execute miracles within limited parameters—using just enough energy to solve the crisis at hand—to deal with dangers facing humanity or the Earth."
Gaia looked at Shirou and said: "The White God is outside our jurisdiction. The only one who can defeat that Creator God is he himself. That is to say, you, Emiya Shirou."
"Setting Alaya aside—though I cannot agree with her methods of 'saving' humanity, at least she stands on the human side—what about you? Gaia, the Counter Force born from the Earth's self-preservation instinct! To you, humans aren't important, right?" Shirou looked at the woman in black.
Having merged with the memories of his other selves from multiple worlds, Shirou understood many things; he knew exactly what kind of existence stood before him. She was the planetary consciousness born to protect the Earth, a Counter Force that prioritized the planet's safety above all else.
To her, humanity was not a necessity. On the contrary, as human science advanced rapidly—theoretically reaching the point where they could colonize other worlds—the "Earth Consciousness" felt a sensation for the first time: "Fear," directed at this alien race that she had birthed but no longer strictly relied upon for survival.
If Earth became unnecessary for human development, a thing that could be discarded at any time without regret, Gaia would not hesitate to spend any cost, using all her power to eradicate humanity—a dangerous race—from existence.
Upon hearing Shirou's question, Gaia remained expressionless. She did not deny his statement, saying: "Indeed, whether humans live or die has little to do with me; if anything, they are a threat. However, this era is different. The survival of humanity has begun to affect the Earth itself, so I must intervene."
Alaya smiled from the side: "Exactly. Just as I would have a headache if the Earth had problems, the Earth won't fare well if humanity has problems."
Alaya was the collective subconscious of humanity's instinct to survive, acting with the sole purpose of ensuring the continuation of the human race. Earth's safety was a condition for human survival, so most of the time, she cooperated with Gaia to save the world. However, if humans could reach other planets to continue their life, she would abandon Earth without a moment's hesitation.
"On this matter, our goals are aligned," Gaia nodded, agreeing.
"About this matter..." Shirou muttered.
Alaya smiled at the man and continued: "That is why we chose to join forces. However, the White God has already slipped beyond the Earth's control and formed his own lineage; we can no longer influence his actions. We have no choice but to rely on you, Shirou. Of course, you won't work for free! We have prepared your reward."
Gaia gave her guarantee: "As long as you sign a contract with me, after the White God is eliminated—even if you die in the process—the Earth has preserved your record. I can guarantee that, without affecting your memories, I will reconstruct a new soul for you and create an identical body, allowing you to resurrect. You will still be able to return to your world and continue living with your family."
Alaya suddenly stepped in front of Gaia, blocking her: "You don't have to sign a contract with her, you know. As long as you eliminate the White God, we can satisfy any request you have."
Shirou looked at the two Counter Forces and shook his head dismissively: "If you want to negotiate, don't play games. That 'me' became a god—no matter how I think about it, it was because of your indulgence, wasn't it?"
Shirou thought to himself: 'As expected, one cannot trust these high-level existences. These two women are clearly the culprits behind this mess, having "nurtured a tiger that caused trouble," and now they are trying to trick me into dying for them.'
Gaia was the Earth's consciousness; Alaya was the collective subconscious of all humanity. Their existences were similar yet often contradictory. If one day the Earth were to reach the end of its life and its resources were exhausted, Gaia might accept the fate of the planet's death, but Alaya would never stand by and watch humanity wait for the end. Gaia wanted to protect the Earth, and if human existence threatened its continuation, she would eradicate them without hesitation.
In the internal affairs of Earth, Gaia and Alaya were undoubtedly the two highest existences. While the White God governed creation, his existence was still fundamentally predicated on the existence of the Earth. So-called gods, saints, and Demon God Pillars—as long as they were Earth-born creatures—were ultimately influenced by them; they were existences generated by the default settings of the Counter Force. Be it Heroic Spirits or the "True God" from other worldviews.
"Exposed, then..." Alaya sighed helplessly, looking at the black-haired woman with a look that asked, "Now what?"
Gaia remained unmoved, stating expressionlessly: "Emiya Shirou, we are not deceiving you. We simply made a judgment that revealing this information was unnecessary. Knowing this changes nothing. In the end, you must face the White God and eliminate him; that fact remains unchanged."
"No, it is very necessary! So please, explain everything clearly now, otherwise I cannot cooperate with you," Shirou crossed his arms, looking at them sternly.
"I understand... then let me start from the beginning of human history," Gaia agreed, beginning to recount the story of humanity.
Since she gained consciousness, the Earth had birthed countless species, from microorganisms invisible even to the most powerful microscopes to behemoths weighing hundreds of tons, and even divine races that could summon wind and rain. But among these, humans were the most special. They did not follow only survival instincts like beasts, nor were they satisfied with their original power like gods. From the moment they gained sentience, humans were constantly changing and progressing.
As the I Ching says, "Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs." Regardless of human existence, disasters that are meant to happen, will happen. Earth will still experience earthquakes and tsunamis; these disasters, from the perspective of the Earth, are merely natural phenomena of its movement. It will not change for anyone, and no one can change it.
But humans, facing these dilemmas, still chose to live. Therefore, a noble person should strive for self-improvement, moving forward constantly like the rotation of the stars.
However, neither sages nor kings were omnipotent. They truly achieved legendary status in their generations and led humanity to take a great leap forward, earning eternal fame and respect from posterity. Yet, they still left behind a mountain of unsolved problems. In the currents of history, when people faced problems, they made choices blindly, and those choices were rarely perfect. Sometimes they were shortsighted, creating new disadvantages even if immediate goals were met; sometimes they were simply foolish, leading to total loss.
Even wise men as insightful as Zhuge Liang could see their choices thwarted by external forces, artificial changes, or unpredictable "black swan" events, leading to failure. Ordinary
people could not see the future, and even sages and kings with the ability to glimpse it had limited power when facing truly great crises; they could not reverse the situation and turn danger into safety. They could only make the best of what was in front of them, often at the cost of terrible prices or self-sacrifice.
After the decline of the gods and the rise of humanity, they found an effective path called "science" and made rapid progress. In just over a hundred years, they realized numerous miracles that only gods could have performed millions of years ago. But as human science developed, this race became bloated and fragile. The harm they inflicted on the world grew, and the chances of a chance coincidence overturning the world's ecological balance overnight became infinite.
The Counter Forces Gaia and Alaya had to keep a constant watch on humanity, extinguishing events that might endanger the world or light the powder keg of destruction before they could even ignite.
At this moment, because of internal issues, the Earth was spiraling out of control, as if "world-ending" powder kegs were constantly appearing. Even with the control of the Counter Forces, there were times when they could not react in time. When the White God appeared, the two Counter Forces saw another "Child of Miracle" born on Earth: a Red Guardian willing to sacrifice himself to serve the people, a merciful savior, a messenger of justice appearing during humanity's moments of crisis.
Alaya wanted a helper perfectly compatible with her; Gaia hoped to gain a powerful "defender of Earth," an ultimate weapon.
But they both failed.
"Because the speed of the White God's evolution exceeded our expectations. Originally, his path to godhood relied on faith—gathering all his counterparts from parallel worlds into a single existence. This was something that should have taken long, long ages to achieve. After all, even if they were counterparts with the same soul, they had different experiences and different thoughts.
"However, the White God's resolve and determination to save the world were actually shared by all his counterparts. Every Emiya Shirou in every world acknowledged the god's ideal of saving the world and voluntarily entrusted their power to him. This allowed the White God to merge with all his parallel-world selves at an impossible speed, becoming a conceptual entity transcending the Earth.
"He hid himself in an independent space; even we cannot reach his domain anymore. We can only watch as he 'saves' humanity in his reckless way. At first, he maintained his rationality, but now, he is nearing his breaking point," Gaia said.
"It was then that we discovered you—a 'New Human' created by chance, representing the idealized image of Emiya Shirou. You possess the same power as the god, and as the 'ideal' self, you are bound to surpass the original," Alaya added.
"So... Emiya Shirou, do you have any other questions?" Gaia asked.
"One more question. To you two, what exactly is this White God?" Shirou asked curiously.
Alaya shook her finger: "Actually, in my eyes, the White God isn't necessarily a 'mistake.' However, his excessive, intense love for humanity might ultimately bring about their destruction."
Gaia retorted coldly: "How can it not be a mistake? He constantly creates parallel worlds, which may affect the lifespan of the Earth itself!"
The Earth had its limits. To save the victims of these disasters, the White God moved them out of their original worlds, creating environments to sustain them, but he could not stop natural disasters from occurring. People continued to suffer because of the worlds they lived in and faced the danger of losing their lives, ultimately having to return to the natural environment to live.
"Shirou, instead of helping Gaia protect the Earth, why not sign a contract with me and become the Guardian of Humanity?" Alaya said with a playful smile.
Gaia pushed Alaya aside with her hands: "Guardians are slaves without freedom. Sign a contract with me, and you can obtain the greatest freedom! As long as you agree to protect the Earth forever, I can give you the greatest freedom and authority. You can retain the power of the White God, gain more abilities, and become immortal. Even if humanity goes extinct, as long as the Earth exists, you will not perish."
Shirou shook his head and refused: "All I care about now are the people by my side. If I can, of course I want to return to my original world and live with my family and companions, even if I have to be an ordinary person working nine-to-five for the rest of my life."
"There is no hurry; you can consider it slowly during this time," Gaia said, showing no intention of giving up easily.
"Mm, then let's get to the point. Emiya Shirou, you are not at your strongest yet. I imagine you have already guessed the way to confront the White God," Alaya said with a smile.
"Mm." Shirou nodded. Since the Counter Forces had explained everything, he had to face reality. To solve the problems left by the White God, he was not yet strong enough. He needed to obtain some key "keys."
He had to go to two other "forgotten worlds" to retrieve what the White God had left behind. He believed that when that time came, he would be able to settle everything.
Alaya said: "Yes, you are one of the keys. The remaining two keys are in the other two worlds left behind by the White God—the worlds of Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou."
"Then, without further delay, I am setting off," Shirou said softly.
"Very well! We will have our systems assist you," Alaya and Gaia agreed decisively.
His White Mystic Eyes unfolded simultaneously. Within the white radiance, he began searching through the multiverse and parallel worlds. Using the connection to the Holy Grail as a thread, he locked onto a target: "The world where Rin Tohsaka resides"...
Warning: The target world contains anomalies. Transmission may be unstable.
"Initiate!" Shirou said.
Target—2004, Fuyuki City!!!
The white light portal opened.
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