IBHJ 1386

“Once, this planet—this entire star system—was a pinnacle of civilization. Advanced. United. But then came the plan of life… and the founding of the Empire.”

His voice turned bitter.

“And that… destroyed everything.”

“Life’s… evolution?”

Shirou’s voice was quiet, sharp with curiosity.

The village chief nodded solemnly.

“Yes. Once, we were just like the ordinary villagers Lord Shirou has met. Simple. Fragile. But then…” He looked upward, as if seeing it all unfold again.

“One day, a wave of pulse radiation swept through our star system. It came from the heavens—light without fire. After that, some among us… changed.”

His gaze grew distant.

“They became something more. Like me.” He raised a trembling hand. “We gained strength. The strength of gods. But not their hearts.”

“What followed was ruin. With our newfound power, we fell into endless civil wars. Greed, pride, madness… Civilization tore itself apart. Cities burned. Starships fell from the skies. Our once-great world turned to ash.”

Shirou said nothing.

“During that time,” the chief continued, “other star systems also birthed evolved beings. Together, they formed a vast interstellar empire. A cold empire. One built not on love or hope—but on classification, hierarchy, and control.”

“And they began to spread.” The chief’s tone soured. “They sent out collectors—soldiers dressed in light, power twisted into flesh. They came to every system, seeking those like us. To uplift, to conscript, or to erase. We called them angels.”

Shirou frowned. “But how did you gain evolution in the first place?”

The old man shook his head. “We don’t know. But at that time, what little remained of our interplanetary networks shared old stories—what myths they had left.”

He paused, then began to recite slowly, as if from memory:

‘The Fool crossed the stars, reached the edge of the universe, and slew a god.

But the other gods struck him down.

And from that Gate—where he fell—a new god emerged.

This new god granted evolution to all things,

Banished the old gods,

And built an empire of order.’

The chamber went still.

Shirou knew that myth.

And if it held any truth—if it was more than legend—then that new god was likely none other than the Golden Emperor.

But the part that chilled him was the gate.

The door at the edge of the universe.

Could it be… the Gate of Truth?

But that couldn’t be right. The Gate was supposed to be native to the Gaia Star Domain, born of Root activity.

…

“Master,” Tiamat interrupted. She was still scanning the dormant Pioneer vessel, her fingers glowing faintly. “This ship… it holds a star map of the Golden Universe.”

Shirou's eyes snapped to her. “Share it.”

Within seconds, data streamed into his vision. The star map unfolded before him—a glowing web of constellations, clusters, and intergalactic routes.

Vast.

But only two points caught his attention.

One was marked with an ominous symbol—a great citadel rising from a black sun.

The label read: 【Great Demon Lord】

The other was a strange, door-shaped glyph.

The label read: 【Origin】

He narrowed his eyes.

The Pioneer vessels—these ancient scouts—had completed their mission. They’d mapped the Golden Universe. But their energy had run dry before they could return.

And so, most of them were lost. Forgotten.

Buried like bones beneath an empire.

“Lord Shirou…” the village chief asked, eyes filled with hope. “Can you awaken this god?”

Shirou glanced at the dormant Pioneer vessel, then turned to Tiamat.

She scanned the hull one last time, then shook her head gently. “System components are heavily damaged. Core data is corrupted—irrecoverable. Unless it’s taken back to a Gaia star system facility and completely rebuilt, it’s dead.”

The chief’s shoulders sagged. Disappointment clouded his face, but he said nothing.

…

“One more thing,” Shirou asked, his tone shifting. “That angel—where did he land his flying ship?”

“In the village,” the chief answered simply.

Shirou and Tiamat headed topside—and the moment they stepped into the open air, it came into view.

A golden flying boat rested near the edge of the plain like a coiled blade.

He nodded toward it. “Tiamat. Can you extract its energy and convert it for yourself?”

“Yes,” she replied at once.

She placed her hands against the hull. Light flowed from the ship into her body like water drawn through a siphon. In an instant, he felt a warm surge ripple through his core—the immediate feedback of magical energy being shared through their contract.

Then the earth trembled.

A boom rumbled across the sky, followed by another. Then another.

Shirou looked up, eyes narrowing.

The skies were swarming with golden ships.

Hundreds. No—thousands.

“So,” he muttered, “they’ve found me.”

He turned back toward the village and took one last breath of the cave air.

Then, without warning, he raised his hand—and fired a beam of light straight into the village. The ground exploded into a cloud of dirt and smoke.

“Lord Shirou! What are you doing?!”

Ruka’s voice cracked as he ran forward, golden light trembling on his skin.

He stood between Shirou and the blast zone, fists clenched.

Shirou looked at him calmly. “You need to become a true hero, Ruka.”

Then he turned away.

…

Tiamat’s body shimmered, and in a burst of light, transformed back into her full starship form—sleek and massive.

Shirou leapt into the cockpit and took the helm.

The engines flared.

And then—they were gone. A streak of silver light vanishing into the sky as the golden ships began pursuit.

Ruka stepped forward as if to chase—but a hand landed on his shoulder.

He turned.

The village chief met his gaze, solemn.

“This village’s barrier will hold a little longer,” he said. “But we won't last forever. You… all of you… must become true heroes.”

Ruka stared at him—then nodded.

“Yes!”

…

Shirou smiled as he piloted Tiamat into the upper atmosphere, light rippling across the hull.

“Invader from the Gaia Star Domain—right here!” he shouted into the open sky. “Come on, you bastards!”

With that, he punched the throttle and bolted.

Alarms shrieked aboard the golden command vessels.

“Damn him!” the enemy commander roared. “He dares mock us?! Shoot it down! I want him captured—now!”

The golden fleet surged in pursuit like a swarm of predators.

But Shirou had an edge.

He was connected to Root. His awareness reached through folds of causality, his reflexes slipping half a second ahead of the present.

With a thought, he spun the controls, evading the golden fleet. Before long, he was gone from their sight.

“Hyperspace jump, Master?” Tiamat asked from the interface.

He shook his head and pointed casually at a location glowing on the star map—the glyph that read 【Origin】.

“No. Set course for that.”

She hesitated. “But continuing to provoke them in the Golden Universe… it’s far too dangerous.”

“That’s exactly why I’m here. Just go.”

“Yes, Master.”

He stared at the symbol marked 【Origin】.

That was where it had all started—if the Pioneer vessels were to be believed.

The supposed edge of the universe spoken of in Golden myth.

The door the Fool had once opened.

The place where a new god had emerged.

Shirou had a suspicion.

This was where the Golden Universe had first touched the Root.

Where the whispers of the Lord of Salvation began.

He couldn’t ignore it.

Because if there was even a hint—even the faintest trace—then it meant everything.

This was the reason he came.

With a surge of new energy, Tiamat’s starship roared through space, folding across galaxies and crossing the fabric of time-light until—

they arrived.

Shirou sat forward in his seat as the external view flickered into focus.

He frowned.

“…What the hell is this?”

Before them stretched a void.

No stars.

No planets.

No light.

Not even debris.

Just a vast, infinite emptiness—deeper than space. Blacker than black. A silence so profound it made the rest of the universe feel noisy by comparison.

“There’s nothing here,” he said quietly.

Nothing.