IBHJ 1330

"When I first saw you, I thought you were nothing more than a passing glitch, something irrelevant. But then... with Buddha’s guidance, you kept rising after every failure. You took Tethys’s place. And now, here you are, standing in front of me." A soft sigh escaped his lips. "So, in these six months, I did nothing. If you ask why—" His voice softened. "This is your reward."

Shirou’s eyes narrowed. "Back then, when Buddha left... it was because of something you said to him at Ryuudou Temple, wasn’t it?"

He remembered Kiritsugu’s words—how, during the chaos in Fuyuki when the Forest of Einnashe swept through the city, Marisbury and Lev had taken shelter at Ryuudou Temple. But looking at Marisbury now, it was clear. That wasn't the whole story.

"Of course I told him," Marisbury said with a casual smile. "He was in the way. The moment I manifested through this man's body during the last reset, your bond with him was already severed."

Shirou’s hand tightened into a fist.

Marisbury watched him, amused. "There’s something else I should tell you. The Night of Wallachia, the Forest of Einnashe attacking Fuyuki… that was all under my guidance. I needed them to tear open a hole leading to the Root, to let more of my power seep through."

He let out a small chuckle, as if recounting a fond memory. "But then you went and sealed it. Honestly, that caught me off guard. So I thought—why not take this a bit more seriously? Tethys is gone, and without a proper enemy, things were starting to get dull."

Shirou lifted the Arrow of Akasha, eyes locked on Marisbury. "I will end you. With this arrow, I’ll wipe you out completely."

"Don’t be ridiculous," Marisbury said, shaking his head like a disappointed teacher. "I am the First Cause. Akasha itself. You think you can destroy the origin using something born from the origin? That arrow, everything you hold—none of it can touch me."

He snapped his fingers.

A swirling Vortex opened on the table between them, shaped like an inverted spiral. From within it, a star-filled sky twisted unnaturally, shimmering like it was alive.

"But let’s make things more interesting," he said. "Inside this game lies the key to erasing me for good… and also the means for me to step fully out of the Gate of Truth. Interested?"

He leaned slightly forward, like a merchant whispering a dangerous offer. "If you win, I disappear. Simple. But if I win, this universe becomes mine again. Of course, we won’t be alone. Others will interfere—Manaka, desperate to replace me, and Gaia, who's been scouring the nearby star fields for Alaya node."

He raised one hand and ticked off the names like cards in a deck. "My stakes are the Third through Seventh Beasts. Manaka has the First, Second, and Third. Gaia offers Alaya."

Then he pointed at Shirou. "And you? You’re putting up the Arrow of Akasha, and your Vortex."

A quiet moment passed before he smiled. "So, what do you say? Want to play a game that decides the fate of everything?"

Shirou met his gaze. "This is exactly why I came."

Marisbury let out a quiet chuckle, then slid off his glasses. His dark golden eyes shimmered with a wild, chaotic gleam.

The vortex on the table stirred. It pulsed once, then began expanding at a startling pace.

Shirou felt pressure build around him. The air thickened, the world twisting like hot wax. The Arrow of Akasha in his grip flared with radiant gold, as if answering an unseen call.

Something deep within him stirred. The vortex buried in his soul spun to life, and with a heavy roar, a colossal wheel surged into existence behind him, pushing back against the growing chaos.

Two opposing forces clashed. The space between them bent and groaned, and a hazy shape—a world not yet born—began to take form.

Then, the foundations of reality gave way.

The entire domain collapsed inward, and from the unraveling space, a gate appeared. Not just any gate, but that gate—the one sealed beyond reach, a truth untouched even by transcendents.

It drew them both in.

As the pull became impossible to resist, Shirou heard Marisbury’s voice come through the storm. "You’ll never defeat me, Shirou."

And just like that, they were gone.

…

The two vortexes, born from the same origin, finally collided.

Instead of tearing each other apart, they fused—growing, surging, swelling outward until they pierced through the Boundary. The surge of energy swept across the planet and every connection point connected, wrapping everything in its wake.

"What the hell is that!?"

"Is the sky... cracking?"

"God help us!"

Voices screamed from city streets and open fields alike. Fingers pointed at the skies as a ripple of panic spread across the world.

High above, something had appeared.

Mordred, lazily flipping through a book just moments ago, froze. Her eyes twitched, and she looked up. Her expression stiffened, confusion giving way to disbelief.

"...A vortex?" she muttered.

No—more than that.

It wasn't just a vortex. It was a gate. Towering and endless, it spun across the sky like a divine scar. Something ancient pressed against the other side, ready to descend. The one who would swallow all things—the so-called Lord of Salvation.

And in that exact moment, far beyond the Earth, Gaia paused her search for Alaya. Her eyes locked onto the blue planet.

Every Ultimate One turned to look.

Even the transcendents of Sukhavati, beings who rarely intervened, now cast their awareness across the cosmos. "It’s begun…"

Somewhere in the Universe, Chaos, whose sight had been taken by the Ideal King, also sensed Earth's anomaly through his connection with Zeus. "...So it begins,"

In the forgotten depths of the outer universe, the silence broke.

The Outer Gods awoke from their endless slumber. One by one, their consciousness drifted toward Earth, stretching across time and space.

"It’s begun… the second War of Azathoth."

No force remained to bind the Evil of the Root. If Fujimaru Shirou fell now—everything, every sliver of hope or despair, every thread of good and evil, would be devoured. All of it would return to the Root.

Across distant galaxies and silent star systems, countless beings turned their gaze toward the swirling storm around Earth.

Though their forms and thoughts differed—some ancient and cold, others vibrant and strange—they spoke the same truth in a thousand tongues.

They knew what this was.

The War of the Root had begun.

On one side stood the Lord of Salvation, the absolute evil born to erase all things. On the other, the challenger—the heir to the Vortex, carrying the Arrow of Akasha.

This wasn't just a battle. It was the war that would shape everything to come.

But Earth’s people didn’t know that.

All they saw was another disaster. Another incomprehensible event to fear.

On every continent, mutated beasts writhed with excitement, howling to the skies. They trembled not from fear, but from joy.

They could feel it.

The upheaval was coming. Their master was near.

But not everyone was blind to the truth.

One person understood. One person remembered.

Manaka.

"Mash," she said softly. "I’m leaving Ritsuka to you."

"Miss Manaka—wait!"

Mash reached out instinctively, but Manaka didn’t turn back.

Her teeth clenched, her eyes locked onto the sky, she flew up.

Toward the vortex looming at the highest point in the skies.

Toward the heart of everything.