IBHJ 1283

Before Alaya stopped functioning, Mana had accepted its terms and become its foundation, allowing her to survive the Council's scheme. Thanks to Mana, some of Earth's survivors had managed to continue existing even after the destruction of humanity's foundation.

Those survivors were eventually taken in by Chaldea, becoming part of their organization. Throughout these difficult years, Mana had been searching for Shiki for an entire decade!

Now she had finally found her. But Shiki refused to leave with her!

Why was this happening?

--You shall all become me.

A chilling voice suddenly resonated within everyone's minds.

Shirou, Scathach, the Witch, Mana, Alaya—they all heard the message with perfect clarity.

"Lord of Salvation?" Shirou stared at Shiki in shock.

He could sense that the voice, that message, had come directly from Shiki.

That's right.

Shiki was also a vessel!

Shirou suddenly recalled Shiki's origins.

He, Manaka, and Shiki—they were all vessels!

Vessels capable of carrying the Lord of Salvation!

Shirou had gained his qualification as a vessel because he was a transmigrator—his record didn't exist in the [Root]. Manaka was naturally connected to the [Root] as an anomaly.

But Shiki was completely different. Shiki wasn't just connected to the [Root]—she was part of the [Root] itself!

The Ryougi family was one of Japan's ancient demon-hunting clans. Their secret technique for reaching the [Root] involved the creation of multiple personalities!

When a child was born into the family, before their true personality fully formed, they used secret techniques to create two distinct personalities: one with absolute control over the physical body, and another that served as a proxy. But by some cosmic coincidence, when the Ryougi family created these multiple personalities in Shiki, they accidentally gave consciousness to the physical personality itself, causing its true origin—the [Root]—to awaken. This awakened personality created multiple versions of Shiki based on itself, while it remained dormant.

This physical personality that had awakened to the [Root] wasn't human at all. It had no emotions, appeared without warning, vanished without warning—it was the Root itself. And the Lord of Salvation was the Evil of the Root. In that sense, Origin Shiki WAS the Lord of Salvation.

"You?" Shiki's penetrating gaze landed on Shirou. "The one whose record does not exist."

Shirou looked at Shiki with mild surprise, though it made sense—as the leader of the Council, how could she not know who he was?

In truth, Shiki had known Shirou for a very, very long time. It was back in 1994, during the incident when the Forest of Einnashe attacked Fuyuki City. Japan's demon-hunting families had gathered to contain the threat, and the Ryougi clan was among them!

It was then that Shiki had first observed Shirou. In fact, the black vortex that had emerged from Shiki ten years ago—the catastrophe that led to all the tragedy and the formation of the [Council]—had been triggered because Shiki had seen Shirou in Fuyuki City!

In the winter of 1993, Shirou defeated the corrupted Gilgamesh, won the Holy Grail War, and used the Grail to resurrect the people of Fuyuki City under the name Ultraseven.

The people of Fuyuki City hailed him as the Savior of Light, and his actions rewrote the history of the Ultra series.

But the miracle performed by the Holy Grail drew unwanted attention from both Marisbury and the Night of Wallachia. Driven mad by his inability to save the world, the Night of Wallachia came to seize the Holy Grail's crystallized power, which led to the Forest of Einnashe incident.

Japan's demon-hunting families received early warnings from the Clock Tower and gathered in Fuyuki City. The Ryougi family was among them, and Shiki had come along.

At that time, Shirou had just eliminated a Dead Apostle hiding in the church and was walking home when Shiki happened to see him as she passed by.

It was nothing more than a single glance. But with that one look, everything had become inevitable.

Shirou, the dimensional traveler who had fallen into endless cycles and possessed the Vortex, was the only being whose record was missing from the [Akashic Records]. That single encounter naturally awakened the dormant Origin Shiki.

From that awakening, the Lord of Salvation gained control over the fate lines of all people. In 2003, the Lord of Salvation's minions broke through the veil of reality into the physical world. Gaia, manifesting through Mooncell, gathered its forces and began a massive hunt against them.

To counter Gaia, they assembled people to form the [Council]. The first candidate was naturally Shiki, an anomaly like Manaka. The Lord of Salvation viewed Shiki as merely another piece, manipulating fate to manifest his power within Origin Shiki.

Origin Shiki inevitably went berserk! The manifested Vortex consumed Shiki's multiple personalities, the people around her, and everyone in the city. In the end, only Shiki herself survived—along with Mana, who had been chosen by Alaya.

As for why the power of the Lord of Salvation could erupt within Origin Shiki?

It was inevitable. Origin Shiki's true nature was the Origin—the Root itself. And the Root was inherently connected to the Lord of Salvation!

After the incident, the Beast approached her, claiming he would help her control her power and escape from the Root's influence. He formed the [Council] in her name. In truth, Origin Shiki desperately wanted to learn to control her power so she could restore everything she had destroyed. But tragically, the Beast had deceived her.

Instead of teaching Shiki to control her power for restoration, he taught her to channel the power of the Origin to better inherit the Lord of Salvation's abilities—to become the Lord of Salvation herself. By the time she realized this deception, it was already too late. She was inevitably becoming the Lord of Salvation when, fortunately, the Empire's Incarnation defeated her.

"I made a bet with the Emperor," Shiki explained. "If I lost to Him, I would stay far away from that line. I lost, and I cannot break my promise."

Shiki pointed downward. Shirou and the others looked at the ground and noticed a pure white line that seemed to blend perfectly with the white space around them. Without careful observation, it would be completely invisible. This simple line was what separated Shiki from Mana like an impenetrable wall.

"You should leave," Shiki said firmly. With those words, she turned and walked deeper into the endless white space.

Watching Shiki begin to walk away, Mana clenched her teeth in anger. "You—you murderer! You destroyed everything, and now you're just running away?"

Shiki stopped in her tracks.

"Whether you want to deny yourself, exile yourself, or even destroy yourself—I don't care! I can't care! But at least give me back what's mine!" Mana's voice rose with emotion. "You're part of the Origin, right? Then you can easily grant this wish, can't you?"

Shiki turned around slowly, her gaze landed on Mana. She shook her head. "Unfortunately, I cannot fulfill it. The hole that leads to the vortex has completely fallen under the True Lord's influence. I am merely a part of the hole cut by the True Lord, born with this body, who happened to gain intelligence through the Ryougi family's techniques."

The True Lord she referred to was undoubtedly the Evil of the Root—the Lord of Salvation.

"So that's it? You won't take responsibility?" Mana demanded.

"I am not human. I am just a monster of the [Root]," Shiki replied, her voice devoid of emotion. Then she added, "The world is now ruled by the Emperor. Everything I destroyed, everything you lost—it will all return in the Emperor's world. This is the best possible outcome."