-"Man, I hate fighting with mages."-Mordred complained as I dug her out of the crystals.
-"I'm not a pure mage. I can beat you in close combat if you want."-I suggested helpfully.
-"Piss off."-She scoffed.-"I can't understand what father sees in you with such a personality."
-"Who knows?"-I shrugged.
I healed everyone with a miracle, and was about to bid my farewells, when a screen with a red-haired man appeared near me.
-"Wait a moment. As someone who faced Solomon, can you tell us more about his strength?"
-"Don't you already know that? If I were to compare him and me, then he is stronger but can't do much damage to me. If I were to fight with him, I would win due to special circumstances, but the world wouldn't fare much better than if he were to just do what he wanted to do."
-"This…"
-"I'll be direct. Your organization might not be subordinate to Alaya, but it exists under their wing, while I'm contracted with Gaia. I might lend you a hand, but my objectives won't always align with yours. Would you trust a True Ancestor to assist you on your quest? So why do you want my input or assistance? World I'm connected to is at the edge of tolerance of the Counter Force, barely close to your Pan-Human history to not be pruned, yet far enough to be in danger. I won't go that far to say that I'm an enemy of your Pan-Human history, but I definitely benefit from its current troubles."
My words were a wake-up call to the people around me; they knew that I was not a hero from the Pan-Human history, but they couldn't know or understand my perspective. Due to my actions in the previous Holy Grail War, they assumed me to be Solomon's enemy, and thus their ally, but this is mistaken. At best, I'm a neutral party; at worst, a third force.
I looked at them and gave them one last piece of advice.
-"Solomon is just one enemy you are facing now; there are many more of those who won't feel sad if humanity were gone, and some of them would even make a move to achieve such a result if given an occasion. Alaya might baby you most of the time, but they are not an absolute force in this world, let alone outside."
I disappeared the moment the last of my words sounded.
I returned to Camelot and quickly got to work. First, I looked at the stone tablets from Ozymandias. Those were no random stones, but the Ten Commandments bestowed upon Moses by God. They were later shattered by him, but their original power still remained. Ozymandias must have gathered them later, a memento of his friend, but even such an item that would be priceless for many was nothing compared to his beloved.
To make it better serve my purpose, I modified and somewhat repaired said tablets, doing what I could. Restoring them fully was impossible for me; no matter how much magical energy I had, I lacked the required understanding and ability to do so, but what I could do should be just enough for my needs. But it wasn't an easy task; such a careful job took my full concentration for a long time, and before I noticed, another day passed by.
I put back the finished tablets and took a moment to reconnect with my Spectral Hawks, trying to catch up on what I missed. And there was a lot to catch up on. In just one day, the 'outsiders' were able to travel from Ozymandias domain to the mountain village, clashing with some knights in the process, gain recognition of the Old Man of the Mountain, then repel Tristan's intrusion into the mountains, encounter Lancelot and, finally, make him defect and join their side with refugees who failed the Holy Selection he was 'secretly' helping.
I needed to check thrice if it was only a little over a day since I saw them, but yes, they managed to achieve it all so quickly. Now they were gathering forces, trying to gain more support from Ozymandias and prepare for an assault at Camelot. But they indeed didn't have much time left; the Holy Selection is almost finished, only a few last souls remaining. So I didn't waste more time, leaving my quarters and heading to the throne room.
When I entered, I greeted the King sitting on her throne alone.
-"King."
-"My Justiciar, what brings you here?"-She opened her eyes and looked at me.
-"I'm here to ask for permission to be absent during the final fight."
She watched me in silence for a moment before nodding.
-"You may."
-"Thank you."
-"My Justiciar, I hope that whatever you are doing, you can do it with me present."
-"I will."
-"Good. Then I'll wait for you to accomplish everything."
I smiled at her awkward encouragement and left the room.
During the next three days, I disappeared from everyone's eyes. There was no trace of my actions at all, even things like my room disappeared. It was as if I was never there. But the world didn't stop because of that, and the day of the battle arrived at last.
The combined Egyptian and Mountain Folk forces appeared on the horizon, heading toward the white walls of Camelot. The Servants were leading them, fully prepared for what was to come. But the Camelot created jointly by Artoria and me isn't something anyone can breach, so before their plan could even fully begin, they were met with cruel reality.
Their Noble Phantasms did nothing more than bounce off the white wall, not exactly a good start. But I'll give them that, they are stubborn and can use said stubbornness well. With assistance from their remote consultants, they calculated and planned out a method to break through the walls.
They started with Tamamo unleashing her Noble Phantasm, strengthening everyone else, then Ozymandias unleashed the full power of his Reality marble, together with assistance from Mordred, Atalanta, and Red Archer. Only the power of the five Noble Phantasms combined managed to breach the outer wall, allowing them entrance into Camelot. But this was only the first of the many battles that awaited them.
As this was happening, Artoria didn't change her plans, and having gathered the last soul, she started to turn her spear back into the tower, bringing the end of this world. The edges of the world I previously repaired crumbled again, quickly turning the entire world into nothing more than Camelot. But this was the moment I was waiting for.
While to an outside observer the world seemed to disappear, in truth, it only stopped being real, returning to the illusory other side of the world, taking everything with it. So when the parts that were repaired with my Originium Glintstone disappeared, my crystals entered the Inner Sea of the Planet, providing me with a way inside.
So soon, I found myself standing on a hill covered by pink flowers, a lone floating tower above this idyllic scenery. I flew to the top, landing on a small platform where a somewhat familiar figure stood. I blinked a few times in confusion before speaking carefully.
-"Merlin?"
-"Who else? But to think you'd manage to enter here. Sigh, you know how to make a surprise. Please make yourself at home."
-"Wait a second."-I put my hand up to slow the conversation down.-"You…"
Merlin looked at me, confused by my inability to form a sentence.
-"Speak up, don't be so strange."
-"You are a woman?"-I finally asked.
This made her freeze; the previously casual expression that I had seen many times on her male form was replaced by a mix of awkwardness and forced smile. Looking at her still like that, I had to admit that she was a beauty truly deserving to be the fairy of Avalon, though I still couldn't connect her with the Merlin outside. I waited for her to reboot, enjoying the scenery.
-"Eno."-She spoke up.-"Can you…"
-"Not tell Artoria or forget outright?"-I smiled.-"No can do."
-"You…"
-"Does that matter?"-I turned my head to her.-"No one would care about your gender, I bet that Artoria might even be a little happy."
She sighed and sat next to me, watching the scenery while speaking.
-"It's not that. Eno, what do you think of my looks?"
-"You are beautiful. From appearance alone, you'd be one of the prettiest people I've ever seen."
-"This is the problem. You see, I'm a Succubus, my appearance continually exudes a powerful charm, even those of pure heart can't fully resist it. That guy, I mean my male form, he doesn't have such a restriction, so I appear as him almost always."
-"Then why am I ok?"
-"You are not."-She smiled sweetly.-"I bet you are already thinking how to help me, even thinking that your current tasks are less important."
She was right; only when she mentioned it did I notice that.
-"That's why I stay here. I like seeing yours and Artoria's lives, so please don't cause her to change how she sees me."
I closed my eyes, deciding to collect my thoughts for a moment. I felt how she leaned on me, resting her head on my shoulder, enjoying the rare company. In the end, I couldn't help but sigh. She was right, I shouldn't meddle in something I have no ability to resolve, but leaving everything as is also sits wrong with me.
-"I won't mention it to others, but you'll help me with something."
-"Oh? What can I do?"
-"Be my partner in crime."-I smiled.
So we get to work.
The Inner Sea of the Planet is quite a special place; it stands in opposition to reality for a reason. Not only is it a higher dimension compared to the real world, but it's also a hyperdimensional space, with many overlapping layers. Avalon was one of such Layers, but it wasn't my destination as I looked for a different garden, Eden.
With Merlin's assistance, I was able to enter it without an issue. Similarly to Avalon, it was also an idyllic place, a beautiful garden filled with life and magic, with a giant tree towering over it, the Tree of Life. Over it, a great flaming sword, the guardian of the paradise. Normally, it would attack anyone who stepped into the Eden, but since a few days ago, I used Night to cover myself, hiding my existence from the world itself.
Inside, I placed the tablets in the center, writing runes around the whole space to create a formation. Time worked differently here; the Inner Sea of the Planet existed outside the Time Axis, so with Merlin's help, I had as long as I needed. So I worked, and worked… and worked…
Before I noticed, almost a year had passed. I finished the whole formation, an exact copy of the formation under the fortress in Azure Dream, one I've been working on and of since my arrival back in Britain. The only difference was the stone tablets left in the central position at the roots of the Tree of Life. After checking everything once again, I left the Garden of Eden.
Before returning to reality, I spent a month in Avalon, spending time with Merlin and arranging a smaller formation that would allow her entrance into my Azure Dream, a permanent link between my Inner World and Avalon. She enjoyed this month far more than she admitted, though there were some issues. On my side, preventing myself from being influenced by her was challenging at times, while she had a hard time with her Succubus' impulses.
But both of us still had a great time, so when it was time for me to leave, it was harder than expected. It was hard to explain how much allure there is in living in paradise, especially with someone like Merlin to accompany you, but I had to go. So Merlin sent me away with a deep kiss, promising to visit often.
When I returned to reality, Artoria was ending her fight with everyone else. I watched how she accepted her sword, finally showing some emotions. It was a touching scene, but everything was about to take a drastic turn for the worse once again.
-"Rise up, Bedivere."-She spoke to the kneeling knight.
-"King."
-"I see your loyalty, you are indeed a splendid knight."-She turned to the people watching.-"And you, CHALDEAS, thank you for bringing him to me."
-"We did what we thought was right."-Rin answered her.
-"But we still have our own tasks."-Luvia reminded everyone.-"King, we need to ask something of you."
-"What is it?"
-"The Holy Grail. We need it to repair this singularity and restore the Human Order."
-"This…"-Their ask made her troubled.
-"King?"
-"I was indeed in possession of the Grail, but it's no longer in my hands."-She explained.-"I bestowed its full power upon my closest knight."
-"Closest knight? Who would that be?"-Sakura asked, both due to their tasks as well as interest in the romantic lives of heroic figures.
-"My Justiciar, Enoch."-Her answer silenced everyone.
-"Speaking of the devil, where the hell is he?"-Rin finally broke the silence with her annoyed voice.-"Don't tell me he got himself wiped by that thing."
-"Eno isn't someone who would do something like that."-Sakura defended me.
-"He is…"-Artoria was about to answer, but looked to the spot next to her, where a barely visible silhouette appeared at some point.-"Here."
Existing in a layer beneath their space, I formed a small Texture using Artoria's spear and my crystals. I could see their 'shadows' from there, but we were existing on different layers of existence, Phase Shifted. I stood there, gathering my breath and strength. When I was ready, I opened my eyes and slowly let go of the Night powers covering me, revealing myself to the world, along with all the actions I took in secret.
I felt how the world started to respond, the power of the Planet gathering to resist me. The emotion in my eyes disappeared as I pushed the divinity to the extreme. Blue flames ignited all around, severing most of the connection between the world outside and this place, leaving only a small link between. This was the reason for my preparations, creating this perfect opportunity for my plans.
The uniqueness of this space was that it existed precisely at the edge of this world. A place inside the world, but not in it at the same time, a perfect pirate ship for my purpose. My eyes looked forward to where the power of the world gathered, a space morphing and breaking, Gaia both trying to reject and throw me out, while restrained by my preparations and the sum of other circumstances.
The formation that was woven into the Camelot lit up, turning this space into an ashen battlefield from my false memories, a Reality Marble achieved through pure magic. Now I only had to defend this space, preventing it from collapsing or the connection to the world from being fully severed, while the ceremony I set up took place behind me. So I took out my Carian Sword and spoke the words of prayer aloud.
~"Anar'elore'dor..."