IBHJ 1360

Time held its breath.

The newly arrived spirit giant caught Cosmic Alaya’s wrist mid-swing, stopping the arm before it could come down even an inch.

Of course it could. Because this giant… was also Cosmic Alaya. Just on different side. One that stood behind Future Gaia.

Right then, a wormhole flared open somewhere in deep space. Saturn roared through it like a war chariot, and on its back rode Arcueid and Altrouge, tumbling back into the solar system.

“We made it! We’re back, Sis!” Arcueid shouted, dragging Altrouge’s hand with a wild grin.

Altrouge yanked her hand away immediately, disgust plain on her face. “Ugh, don’t touch me. That’s gross. And can you not see what’s going on here? The vibe is seriously wrong.”

“Huh?” Arcueid blinked and looked around. Something was off. Like they’d crashed someone else’s family dinner.

Then her eyes went wide.

“Wait… three Alayas and two Gaias?” she mumbled, completely thrown off.

Atop the spirit giant’s head, Future Gaia glared down at Origin Gaia like she was ready to throw hands.

“What are you planning to do to my planet?” she asked sharply.

“‘Planning to do’?” Origin Gaia scoffed, arms folded, expression high and mighty. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten. It's natural to purge filth from the body.”

“Filth?” Future Gaia snapped. “The life on this planet isn’t filth. If you’re here to cause trouble—” She pointed at her. “Then get lost.”

“…What?” Origin Gaia’s eye twitched.

“You heard me. Out of my place, out of my body. Go crawl back to wherever you came from.”

Origin Gaia’s expression darkened. A vein popped near her temple.

“You—Alaya—!”

“—Sweetie!” Future Gaia barked back before Origin could finish.

The two Gaias stomped the ground at the same time, voices rising in sync as they gave their orders.

““Attack!!””

But neither Cosmic Alaya moved.

Instead, the two entities just stared at each other in silence.

“What are you doing, Alaya?! Why aren’t you acting? Destroy that heretical thing already!”

“And you! Sweetie! Move it! I went through hell putting you back together—I didn’t drag you here to watch! Get in there and help me kick them out!”

Cosmic Alaya: “……”

(...Both of them are our bosses. What are we supposed to do here?)

The two Cosmic Alayas glanced at each other, helpless. With both sides yelling at them, they quietly started pretending to look busy.

You push. I push back. They circled each other in slow, exaggerated moves—like kids pretending to fight so the teacher wouldn’t yell. Obviously stalling.

Meanwhile, Future Gaia and Origin Gaia were already in full verbal combat.

“What’s wrong with you!?” Origin Gaia snapped. “The planet’s body is falling apart. The only fix is a hard reset. Erase everything. Start over. That’s what needs to happen!”

“Shut up, you fossilized has-been! This is my world now! I’m not letting you nuke it just because your glory days are over!”

“If you don’t purge them, they’ll eat you alive within the next thousand years!”

“They won’t.” Future Gaia’s voice didn’t rise. It didn’t need to. There was a calm, anchored weight behind it—something unshakable.

She looked her past self in the eye. “I know. You were magnificent. No one’s ever shone like you did. You were beauty and terror wrapped in perfect form. There won’t ever be another civilization as dazzling as yours. I accept that.”

She paused—then stepped forward. “But I’ll make my own shine. Maybe it won’t be like yours. Maybe it’ll be different. But it’ll still be bright. And the new life growing here—they’ll prove it.”

Origin Gaia narrowed her eyes. “You? You’re just a leftover echo of me. And those disorganized, selfish things you protect? They disrespect everything about this planet. Where’s their brilliance supposed to come from?”

Future Gaia didn’t flinch. She simply raised an arm—and pointed.

“From Shirou.”

Shirou blinked. ‘Wait, what?’

His head turned automatically, stunned.

All he could do was give a bitter, resigned smile.

“…He’s just a liar,” Origin Gaia muttered with a scoff.

“No, he’s not,” Future Gaia shot back.

“Says who?”

“I do,” she said, without hesitation. “I said it—so it’s true.”

Origin Gaia let out a cold laugh. “You’re not even real. Just a fragment. A sensor that grew legs and a voice. You’re just part of me.”

“And I’m still Gaia,” Future Gaia said again.

A few paces away, the two Cosmic Alayas exchanged another nervous glance.

Then, like they’d rehearsed it, they dialed up the dramatics. One pushed with both hands, the other spun theatrically, and they both nearly tripped. The fake sparring looked more like a bad stage play than a serious battle.

Still, no one called them out. The Gaias were too focused to notice.

Their standoff didn’t shake planets or tear space apart. But somehow, it still felt like a sword locked against another sword, neither side giving even an inch.

And then, Origin Gaia sighed.

She raised both hands in the air like someone tossing away a fight.

“…Fine. I give up.”

The moment she spoke, it was like the cosmos itself exhaled. The weight pressing down started to ease.

And then, out of nowhere, a light pfft popped beside her. A soft, feminine voice followed.

“See? Told you so. This planet already has a new king, Big Sis.”

—What!?

Every head turned at once.

Shirou’s eyes widened as he spun around. A soft light bloomed beside Origin Gaia, and from it stepped a girl with golden hair and an aura that felt like starlight given form.

“Could it be…” he whispered. “Venus?”

The girl gave a small blink, then smiled like sunlight. “That’s me, Shirou.”

He frowned. “Didn’t you already burn your cognitive data?”

“I did,” Venus said, nodding once before gesturing toward Origin Gaia. “But Gaia handed over all her leftover data in this world… to me.”

Origin Gaia let out a sigh. “This annoying girl gave up everything—every scrap of thought, every last drop of emotion—just to calm me down. Seriously, such a pain. But after that… how could I let her disappear?”

“I’m not annoying,” Venus said brightly as she hugged Origin Gaia’s arm, blinking up at her. “Still, that makes you the loser, doesn’t it? First time I’ve ever seen Gaia lose. But they didn’t let you down, right? Not bad for a next-gen?”

Origin Gaia clicked her tongue. “…Barely passable.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Future Gaia cut in, eyes wide. “Can someone explain what’s going on!?”

Venus turned with a smile. “Well, Gaia had already started calming down a bit. So I made her a little bet.”

The moment she reached out and touched Origin Gaia, she’d poured everything into it—every thought, every feeling, all at once. Not words. Not logic. Just raw emotion. And in that one brief moment, Origin Gaia’s certainty wavered.

That was when the bet was made.

And the stakes? Shirou… and Future Gaia.

“Gaia was satisfied. So that means I win,” Venus said, beaming.

Future Gaia narrowed her eyes. “And if she hadn’t been?”

“I’d have gone through with the ecological reset,” Origin Gaia said flatly. “And you? I would’ve restructured you too.”

She flicked a glance toward Shirou, like she expected him to say something.

But he didn’t.

He just stood there, arms loose at his sides, eyes shut like he was somewhere else entirely.

Not ignoring her… just quiet.

For a second, she found herself staring.

And in that moment, she thought he looked… rather agreeable.