Inside the Fuyuki City library, a gray-haired man wearing a black coat sat at a desk. Many books were spread out before him: mythological texts about Uruk, legends and epics of King Arthur, historical anecdotes about Iskandar the King of Conquerors, various analyses of the prototype of Bluebeard from fairy tales, and stories of the Fianna Knights from Celtic mythology.
The young man seriously and carefully transcribed the knowledge recorded in those books into his own notebook.
The man's appearance was clearly extraordinary, yet not a single passerby spared him even a second's glance, as if he were the most inconspicuous and insignificant background element in the crowd.
When all the aforementioned myths, epics, and historical records were transcribed into the man's seemingly endless notebook, a blue screen appeared before him that only he could see.
[The Fourth Holy Grail War in the original timeline:...]
The blue screen used text to narrate how the story would have unfolded if Caelus had not participated in this Holy Grail War.
The gray-haired man, Caelus, transcribed those stories into his notebook.
As time gradually passed, some people left and others arrived. Everyone had their own business and purposes. Brief encounters and rapid partings, everyone was an insignificant part of the background, yet every person was the absolute protagonist of their own story.
Just like the beings from those myths and legends pulled into this Holy Grail War. For the final winner, those supposedly powerful heroes of myth were nothing more than defeated opponents, a part of the supporting cast.
But those heroes were the true protagonists in their own stories. Perhaps their journeys were convoluted, perhaps their stories were full of sorrow, perhaps the final ending was still regrettable and frustrating, but undeniably, those stories were entirely their own footnotes.
Caelus recorded the heroes he had fought against in his book, along with the two versions of the story of this Holy Grail War, making them part of the experiences of his journey.
After the recording was finished, Caelus closed the book and looked at the originally grayish-white, old quill in his hand. He found that it seemed less old, and the feather at the top seemed to have gained a hint of pink, though it was very faint.
Caelus put away the book and the quill and walked out of the library. He stepped into the bustling crowd. People did not know about the battle between heroes that had occurred in this city, nor would they know that the hero who had rewritten history and saved many people had just brushed past them.
People simply continued to live their peaceful and tranquil daily lives.
That was their own hero story.
Returning to the extremely empty train carriage, Caelus sat cross-legged on the floor and opened the blue screen.
"Where should I spend these ten thousand System Currency?"
Caelus opened the system shop and began slowly browsing through the densely packed variety of items.
[Pangu Essence Blood, value: 88.88 million System Currency. Includes the cost of auxiliary refinement functions. After exchange, the system's assistance in refinement will allow the Host to directly reach the seventh order life status.]
Caelus glanced at this so called Pangu Essence Blood. If the various myths and historical records he had read in the library were correct, this seemed to be the name of the creator god who split the heavens and earth in that ancient Eastern nation.
However, such high value items had nothing to do with him.
After browsing the system shop for quite a while, Caelus filtered the system items to those valued at 10,000 and below.
After another long search, Caelus locked onto the item he wanted to exchange for.
[Path of Remembrance, value: 10,000 System Currency. After exchange, the Host will obtain the power of the Path of Remembrance.]
Although Caelus did not know why he wanted the Path of Remembrance, he felt as if he needed it.
As the exchange concluded, accompanied by the sound of frost freezing, Caelus instinctively looked out the window. There, in the silent dark void, he saw a figure so massive that it stretched across countless galaxies.
It was like a statue carved from crystal, wearing a six beaded crown with hanging tassels, leaning against a lotus, and draped in brilliant radiance. The figure exuded an aura of noble majesty. Its face was blurred, its features repeatedly refracted by prisms, making it difficult to see any detail.
Caelus watched the being through the window. Whether it was an illusion or not, he felt a gaze from beneath those indistinguishable features crossing the dimensions of space and time, falling upon him with a tangible weight he could sense.
Then incomprehensible whispers reached his ears, sounds like frost freezing or crystal shattering, containing unknown information and emotions.
After the figure disappeared, Caelus could feel an extra power within him. It was not like an increase in some actually existing energy, nor was it like gaining a new ability out of thin air. It was more like a vague concept, as if a seed had been planted inside him. What this seed would grow into depended entirely on himself.
Caelus then took out the notebook he used for writing stories and his quill. He found that the notebook, which had been plain black, had now turned azure like ice crystals, decorated with the sun, moon, and stars. The quill was no longer old. Its grayish-white feather had become a soft pink, looking very much like something a young girl would own.
This time, without the system saying anything, Caelus could faintly sense that some being resided within the pink quill. However, she was still asleep. He would need to let the seed of remembrance planted in his body take root and sprout before he could wake her.
With a gentle wave of the quill, Caelus quickly formed a picture and words. Then the person in the drawing stepped out from the void. Although the colors on this person were still very faint, as if faded, they were at least no longer completely grayish-white like before.
Caelus looked at the summoned Shadow Gilgamesh and found that the figure lacked the familiar arrogance that looked down on everything. His face was expressionless, and his eyes were a dull grayish-white with no sense of life. He felt like a wax statue, realistic at first glance, but a moment's scrutiny revealed that he was not a real person at all.
"Well, as the power of remembrance continues to take root and sprout, perhaps I can create the Gilgamesh from my memories."
After speaking, Caelus wiped away the "Memory Reflection" before him, the name he had given to this ability.
[System: Why does it feel like the Host's development is getting a bit strange? Well, personal development is always up to the individual, so I will not comment further.]
["Host, why don't you add some furniture to this empty carriage?"]
"I'm out of money."
["Uh, how about in the next world you find a way to get some money, buy some furniture at a shop, store it in the system space, and then place it here?"]
"Fine."
["Then let's head to the next world. Let me see... found it. The destination for this crossing is Terra."]
"Huh?"
The remnants left over from the transmigrator throbbed wildly, as if extremely uneasy.
Caelus looked utterly bewildered. Why would that "me" have such a strong reaction to this name?
(To be continued.)
Junkdog's note: Thank you so much for the reviews, these are the bonus promised. Now let's hit 200 PS for the next bonus! xD
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ If you enjoy the story, please consider leaving a review, it helps a lot!
◇ Don't forget to add the book to your library.