[FMMIKA] Chapter 227: The Future of the World and Humanity

"My demand is the authority of this planet."

Artorius said calmly without hesitation.

"Only by placing this planet under my empire's rule can we concentrate all our power and resources for development and production. Within fifty years, we'll unify the entire Earth, and then within a hundred years, we'll unify the entire solar system. After that, we'll continue to develop for a while, and then we'll march into the depths of the galaxy."

Artorius continued in his calm tone:

"This is an advance and expansion from a spatial perspective. After that, it's an advance and expansion from a time perspective... as for this perspective, I haven't fully thought it out yet. But the rough plan is there—past, present, future; the empire will achieve unity over Earth along the timeline. Whether it's in future worlds or Age of Gods, the empire will endure for eternity."

"That..." Listening to Artorius, Gaia opened her mouth but found herself momentarily lost for words.

Among those Gaia was acquainted with, Crimson Moon probably had the greatest ambition. However, Crimson Moon's ambition was only to act as a substitute for Gaia, becoming the will of the Earth and providing a comprehensive defense against threats from the Alien, Foreigners, or Wandering Stars.

Ultimately, what Crimson Moon pursued was still self-protection. It was nothing like Artorius, whose ambition had surpassed Gaia's expectations.

"Is there a problem?" Artorius asked earnestly, looking at Gaia, who seemed somewhat awkward for some reason.

"Or perhaps... you feel you can't do it?" He continued.

Without waiting for Gaia's response, he pressed on, making her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"In a way, yes..." Gaia hesitated and nodded. "Even if I agree with your plan... strictly speaking when it comes to human affairs, they fall more under Alaya's jurisdiction..."

"If Artorius's plan becomes too 'grand' and deviates from proper human history, it will be subjected to Alaya's judgment... and the one who carries out the judgment won't be me but Alaya."

"Does Alaya have the capability?" Artorius squinted his eyes. "To interfere with humanity?"

"Yes, Alaya does."

As Gaia said this, Artorius began to realize and understand why, in the future, his empire had become powerful yet remained hidden, keeping all its strength concealed in the shadows, rather than revealing itself openly.

Because doing so would cause changes in proper human history, and eventually, when the empire became a 'Lostbelt', it would be judged by Alaya...

In the game's second storyline, the reason why so many Lostbelts weren't immediately judged and culled by Alaya wasn't that the Counter Force was ineffective. Instead, it was because those Lostbelts had obtained power from the alien, something called the 'Fantasy Tree', while he had not.

"..."

Thinking about this, Artorius turned his head to look at the Artorias, who could also be considered 'aliens.'

Without Artorius needing to say anything, the Artorias understood his intent.

"Alaya... there's no such thing in our world." Lion King spoke calmly.

As for why such a thing didn't exist, the Artorias didn't need to explain it; Artorius understood. In their world, there were no longer any humans. All humans had ascended and become Servants, yet their spirits never perished as they transcended with their spiritual energy.

When the substance is gone, how can the shadow remain?

The 'collective unconscious will of humanity' known as Alaya naturally vanished.

For this reason, the Servant Universe, or the Sapphire Galaxy, had been almost perfectly severed from proper human history.

They could be treated as Servants, they were indeed recorded in the Throne of Heroes, and they could even materialize through summoning. But they weren't truly humans anymore.

"Ascending the entire Earth's inhabitants would solve everything, right?" Z casually remarked.

"If it were that simple, we wouldn't have to work so hard." X retorted discontentedly from the other side.

"You're a Servant of the Sapphire Galaxy too, aren't you?" Z immediately felt irritated at X's opposing perspective, as if she was from this world.

"Ahem!"

At this moment, Lion King cleared her throat just in time, silencing everyone and putting an end to further conversation.

"I'll try to find a way in the Servant Universe, to see if we can separate this world from proper human history, but..."

"But?" Artorius inquired.

"But you should know, proper human history isn't just troublesome; it has its benefits too." Lion King gazed seriously at Artorius.

"I know." Artorius nodded. "Cutting off my world from proper human history is the last resort. If possible, what I truly want to do is to make my world the backbone of human history, and become proper human history. Even to the extent of..."

'Even to the extent of replacing Alaya, becoming the Counter Force of humanity, becoming human unconsciousness...'

Of course, this was equally difficult because, if Artorius became the Counter Force of humanity, two unfavorable scenarios could unfold.

One, all of humanity would be influenced by Artorius's spirit, turning into entities similar to Artorius's avatars.

Two, Artorius would be influenced by all of humanity, becoming as chaotic and unpredictable as Alaya.

Striking a balance between preserving his own ideological freedom, enjoying the benefits of the Counter Force, and ensuring humanity remained unchanged was nearly impossible.

"Well, umm..." Just at that moment, Gaia, who had been ignored by everyone, spoke up timidly.

"What is it?" Artorius asked.

"There is, in fact, another way to minimize the influence of the Counter Force..." Gaia continued hesitantly. "Expansion. When humanity spreads across the universe, Alaya's influence will be reduced to a minimum... to the point where it might not even have any effect. When that day truly comes, proper human history might not be able to expel it, and you might really succeed in making this world a proper history, just as you expect..." Gaia concluded.

"As I thought..." Artorius said slowly, nodding. "So, what if I want to unify the entire Earth before that?"

"It's probably best not to..." Gaia continued to mutter.

"I see..." Artorius replied. "I understand what needs to be done now."

As he said these words, Artorius initially appeared disappointed and dissatisfied. However, it quickly transformed into determination and resolve.

===

The communication between the Dragon Emperor and the Counter Force—Gaia came to an end, with both sides exchanging their views and making plans for the future of the world—to continue on the path they had been on.

The hope of the future would eventually descend upon Earth.

Whether this was the correct course of history or a correction to history, no one knew. Regardless, Artorius Pendragon continued down the same path as the timeline of the future empire he had visited during the Holy Grail War.

He concealed true power behind a veil of mystery, keeping his world hidden from the proper human history, much like a husky infiltrating a pack of wolves, always coveting the position of the 'proper history'.

'I will ultimately achieve victory.'

In the midst of the support from his mothers, the Dragon Emperor who toyed with an apple in his hand silently swore.

'Proper human history, huh? Goetia can stir, Alien Gods can stir, so why can't I stir as well?'

Though, if Artorius were to describe it himself, perhaps he should call it 'Human History Overwrite' or 'Human History Rewrite'?

Nevertheless, whether it was an overwrite or a rewrite, a battle with the Counter Force was inevitable.

This time, the enemy was not the feeble Gaia, but the lurking chaos Alaya.

Alaya seemingly didn't have its own thought, it was merely a collective unconscious will of humanity, thus extremely chaotic, driven solely by simple desire and logic.

True, it had indeed protected humanity in countless wars. But at the same time, it had obstructed humanity's progress on numerous occasions.

It was akin to religion, a tyrant, a guardian—no, that might not be quite right.

It was more like a 'logic', a 'program.'

Placing humanity's hopes and future in such a thing was, in itself, a mistake and a problem.

According to the original story, Alaya had not truly saved humanity in the future, but instead, like ninety-nine percent of civilizations in this universe, humanity perished before it could leave the cradle, turning into dust of failure.

'Rather than that, it's better if I...'

With these thoughts in his heart, Artorius had already made his decision. He did it for justice, for humanity's future—he was the true savior and representative of humanity.

"Mmhh...!"

"Sorry, did that hurt?"

At this moment, a soft hum mixed with complex emotions came from the front of Artorius.

This immediately halted Artorius's movements.

Before this, due to his emotional investment in this matter, Artorius hadn't paid much attention to the strength of his hands, causing the person in front of him to make a somewhat ambiguous noise.

Considering her physical constitution, it was probably a mixture of pleasure and pain.

The sensation of kneading a 'soft melon' around was the best. The supplier of that 'melon' was Lion King.

As one of the primary candidates for Artorius's harem queen, she was also the only one, besides him, who could control the Artoria Species from the Servant Universe.

The Artoria Species from the Servant Universe had already returned, about half of them. The remaining half had joined the Empire's Mystery Side—the Illuminati, the Mage's Association, and the Imperial Mystery Bureau.

They usually stayed by Artorius's side, although they also had other tasks to perform, whether it was military training, scientific research, or being studied by others. As long as they could be by his side occasionally, it was enough to make them happy.

Managing them was not too difficult for him.

The difficulty lay in the Artoria Species who returned to the Servant Universe.

Lion King, as the only one who could handle the Artoria Species, also had to return. To unite everyone and avoid a civil war.

As a result, Artorius wouldn't be able to see her for quite a long time in the near future.

Hence, he needed to make every minute and every second count.