"The principles behind this are quite different... Right now, you are like a walking wishing machine."
"You desperately desired for that little girl to become stronger, for that mother to have the ability to protect herself, and for them to survive this war."
"And so, the world responded to you."
"The power within your body began to unconsciously interfere with reality, forcibly twisting cause and effect, turning the impossible into the possible."
"It's like turning on a cheat code for them."
This outcome was completely beyond Asuka's expectations.
He looked down at his hands, having never imagined that he had been unconsciously influencing the people around him all this time.
"Then... is this harmful to them?" This was the question Asuka cared about the most.
"As of now, aside from slightly overdrawing their future potential, it's nothing serious. After all, if they die, they won't even have a future." The young man shrugged, looking completely indifferent.
Asuka breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze turning complex. "Since you're awake, I have a lot of things I want to ask you."
He spoke urgently, "What exactly is going on with this Holy Grail War? Why is there a Hollow that turned from a Soul Reaper? And..."
"Stop, stop, stop. One at a time."
The young man waved his hand, interrupting Asuka's barrage of questions.
His expression suddenly turned somewhat serious. "Asuka, listen well. This time, you've really gotten yourself into massive trouble."
"Trouble?"
"What do you think you're participating in? A trial of heroes? Or a miracle that grants wishes?"
The young man said coldly, "That so-called Holy Grail has been broken for a long time."
"Broken?" Asuka was taken aback.
Having personally tumbled out of the Heaven's Feel magic circle, he naturally knew the situation inside wasn't great, but he couldn't articulate the exact reason.
"That's right. During the Third Holy Grail War about sixty years ago, that cup was corrupted by something called Angra Mainyu."
"It is an amalgamation of curses gathering all the malice in the world, the materialization of humanity's original sin."
The young man waved his hand in the void, and an image appeared before Asuka's eyes.
It was a massive golden cup overflowing with black mud.
The black mud churned and roared, with countless twisted human faces wailing within it. Just a single glance was enough to send a profound chill to the depths of one's soul.
"The current Holy Grail is not a wishing machine at all, but a hole connected to hell."
"No matter what wish you make, it will grant it in the most twisted, malicious way possible."
"You want world peace? It will slaughter everyone."
"You want to resurrect the dead? It will turn the person you want to revive into a living corpse that only knows how to kill."
"Remember that little girl's wish? If she wanted her entire class to get a good night's sleep, everyone would probably just turn into vegetables and slumber forever. It's that vicious."
"This..." Asuka felt a chill crawl up his spine.
So, this war had been rotten to the core from the very beginning.
"If that's the case, then what's the point of fighting over it?" Asuka asked in confusion. "Risking our lives for such a piece of trash?"
"Because aside from a very small minority, most people don't know the truth."
The young man mocked, "Pitifully, they still act like moths drawn to a flame, sacrificing their lives for that illusory miracle."
"As for the Hollowfied Soul Reaper you mentioned... he is also a poor soul who has survived until now due to your influence..."
"If you hadn't brought the variable known as Shinobu Kocho, he probably would have left that world long ago. You could say you brought this upon yourself."
At this point, Asuka suddenly realized a problem.
He stared at the black-haired young man before him, his eyes full of doubt.
"Wait..."
"Then why do you know so much?"
Asuka furrowed his brows, his body involuntarily tensing up. "Haven't you existed inside me since I was a child?"
"Your memories should be consistent with mine... I've never heard of any Angra Mainyu, nor have I ever been to this world..."
"Where did you learn all these things?"
From the very beginning in the Rukongai to the later Demon Slayer Corps world, this young man always seemed to know many things that Asuka didn't.
Facing Asuka's interrogation, the black-haired young man showed no signs of panic.
He half-opened his dark eyes, simply looking quietly at Asuka, his profound gaze seemingly hiding endless secrets.
After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly.
"You and I are one. That point will never change."
He turned around, facing away from Asuka, and watched the white Reishi butterfly fluttering in the void.
"As for why I know..."
"Perhaps it's because I have seen too many futures... Perhaps it's because some special encounters allowed me to obtain this information. You will know, but not now."
The young man turned back around, ending the topic.
"Right now, the most important thing is that I must warn you about two things."
His expression carried a hint of warning. "First is the Holy Grail War—you must keep my warning firmly in mind. Do not harbor any thoughts of using the Holy Grail's power, or the losses will outweigh the gains."
"The other thing is, because of this traversal to another world, the power of 'Wishes' within your body has been mixed with fragments of the Holy Grail's malice, and it is becoming somewhat out of control."
"What do you mean?" An ominous premonition rose in Asuka's heart.
The young man pointed at the Reishi butterfly.
"Just like Shinobu Kocho and her companions."
"Because of your influence, their souls were extracted from their original world after death and appeared in the Soul Society, where they shouldn't have been."
The young man took a step closer, looking directly into Asuka's eyes.
"Your power is very dangerous. It can create miracles, but it can also bring disaster."
"We still do not know what kind of mutations those souls influenced by you will undergo, and now this power has been mixed with a sinister malice."
"But if you don't want to repeat the same mistakes—such as dragging that little girl Sumire Kamado into the Rukongai as well..."
"Do not interact too closely with anyone in this world, do not form deep bonds with them, and especially do not develop an obsession that you 'absolutely must save them'."
"Otherwise..."
The young man's voice became piercingly cold.
"When you leave this world, they will very likely be captured by the power of your wishes and fall into the spacetime crevice along with you."
"When that time comes, whether they live or die, or whether they turn into some kind of monster, I cannot guarantee."
Asuka froze in place.
He thought of those trusting eyes, and he thought of the courage Haruri had burst forth with to protect her daughter.
If, because of him, they were turned into wandering ghosts in another world...
"I understand," he nodded.
"Good."
Seeing that Asuka had taken his words to heart, the young man's expression softened slightly.
"Remember, you are just a passerby. Complete your war and find the way back. That is what you should do."
"As for the people of this world... that is their own fate."
Along with the young man's words, the surrounding chaotic void began to collapse, and light once again filled his vision.
"Now, prepare to welcome our guests."