IBHJ 1249

The universe itself is Akasha, and everything—including transcendent beings—exists within it. That's why even transcendent beings can only resist the [Akasha Arrow], never truly destroy it. The Incarnation's real invincibility didn't come from the Holy Spirit status granted by the Holy Grail, but from possessing Akasha Arrow!

Altera and the others rose up again to surround and attack her from all sides. They instinctively knew they absolutely couldn't let her fire that arrow, or everything would be over. But despite their desperate efforts, she neutralized their attacks with ease.

"Shirou, snap out of it!" Scathach called out while launching another attack against the Incarnation. "Stop daydreaming!"

"Right." He shook himself back to reality, nodded, and swung Caliburn to join the siege. But his eyes remained fixed on the arrow in the Incarnation's hand.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

His heart was pounding violently.

From the moment he first saw Akasha Arrow, his heart had been racing uncontrollably. He had this overwhelming feeling that, just like [Evil], Akasha Arrow was strongly connected to him by fate!

No, that wasn't quite right... The Akasha Arrow had strong karmic ties to the Inheritor of the Vortex!

This must be what Tethys was talking about before! The answer to defeating the Lord of Salvation!

But this Akasha Arrow wasn't his—it belonged to the Incarnation. And right now, it represented the greatest threat to him as the current Inheritor of the Vortex! Shirou shook his head to clear his mind and threw himself completely into the battle.

No matter what happened, they absolutely could not let her fire that Arrow!

Yet despite their all-out assault, she neutralized their attacks with ease. This wasn't surprising. If crossing into the realm of transcendent beings were so simple, then other transcendent beings would struggle to maintain universal peace.

"That arrow absolutely cannot be activated," Tiamat said with a heavy sigh. She moved gracefully to Gilgamesh's side and spoke softly. "Child, please return the key to me."

"Key?" Gilgamesh frowned in confusion until he noticed her gaze on his Sword of Rupture. His eyes widened in surprise. "This sword belongs to you, Primordial Goddess?"

She looked at the Sword of Rupture with a complex expression. "It's not a sword," she said gently. "It's my key."

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow.

As it turned out, the Sword of Rupture wasn't a weapon at all, but the activation key for Tiamat's creation power. She was a cosmic mothership created by an ancient civilization for interstellar warfare.

After the ancient civilization was destroyed by the Lord of Salvation, Tiamat was repurposed from a warship to a migration vessel. Her mission became to travel through space, finding suitable planets where civilization could be reborn. For safety reasons, however, Tiamat's most powerful weapon—her main cannon—was never dismantled.

And the [Sword of Rupture] was the key to activating that main cannon, known as [Abzu]!

While mythology portrayed Abzu as Tiamat's husband who helped her create the world, the reality was quite different. Tiamat had used the [Abzu] main cannon to transform planetary environments, making them suitable for new civilizations to flourish. In this sense, Abzu truly did help "create" worlds—which is why it came to be regarded as a god.

According to the story, the second-generation gods eventually betrayed Tiamat to pursue their own ambitions. They stole the Sword of Rupture, dismantled [Abzu] main cannon, and killed Tiamat.

After many twists and turns, the Sword of Rupture found its way to Gilgamesh. The sword gained its divine status because it had transformed the planet's environment—it was the tool that made Earth's surface, once covered in lava seas and toxic gases, break apart and stabilize. This is why it was truly a tool of creation.

But at its core, the Sword of Rupture's original purpose was always to be the key that unlocked Tiamat's full power.

"I understand now," Gilgamesh nodded. He looked down at the Sword of Rupture in his hand for a moment, then held it out to Tiamat. "Take it. It belongs to you."

"Gil..." Enkidu looked at his friend with concern. The reason Gilgamesh was honored as the King of Heroes who conquered the old world was because he possessed both the [Sword of the End], which symbolized destruction, and the [Sword of Rupture], which represented creation.

It was his power to destroy worlds that earned him the ability to easily qualify for Grand-class status. But now, even Grand-class servants were barely keeping up in this battle. If he returned the Sword of Rupture to Tiamat, what would he use to protect his pride?

Tiamat took the Sword of Rupture from his hands. "Thank you, my child. I'll return it to you when this is over."

"No need," Gilgamesh shook his head. "Since it's your treasure, you should keep it. Go ahead and show everyone your primordial power, Mother Goddess. Let the world know that even though Sumer is gone, the sun of Mesopotamia still shines just as bright!"

"Gil..." Enkidu looked worried.

Gilgamesh glanced at the Incarnation and the battle he couldn't meaningfully participate in, then turned back to his hesitant friend. "Come, Enkidu! We have our own path to carve. The King of Heroes does not sit idly by while others write history!"

Enkidu looked at his friend—so rational yet so passionate—and remembered something important: Gilgamesh's pride had never come from the things he owned, but from who he was. He could wield power, and he could just as easily let it go. The Sword of Rupture was merely a tool of creation—what did losing it matter to his pride?

"You're right," Enkidu nodded with a smile. "Let's do what we can, what we should do—just like in the old days!"

It felt wonderful to fight alongside Gil again.

‘If only you were here to see this, Priestess Siduri,’ Enkidu thought silently before charging into the mass of imperial soldiers with Gilgamesh at her side.

…

Tiamat gripped the Sword of Rupture tightly. With barely a thought, nine star phantoms materialized around her, then merged into the blade. In that moment, the Sword of Rupture began spinning with impossible speed—like a lost child finally returning to its mother's embrace. Immense magical energy and cosmic creation power swirled within the ancient tool.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Spider web-like fractures spread across the blade's surface, which was now covered in crimson star patterns. Through these cracks, the light of brilliant stars flickered and pulsed.

This was the power of world creation itself!

Gaia's expression suddenly changed to one of alarm. "Wait, Tiamat!" she shouted urgently. "Don't release [Abzu] now!"

But she completely ignored Gaia's warning. Without hesitation, she lifted the Sword of Rupture and brought it down toward the Incarnation.

"World Creation, Primordial Chaos Reenactment!" Tiamat's voice rang out, cold and clear as the Sword of Rupture unleashed a brilliant rainbow of creation.

BOOM!

Shirou and the others scrambled out of the way, desperate to avoid a strike even more powerful than Excalibur.

Zelretch watched with deeply furrowed brows. "The power of creation is impressive, but it still cannot reach the Root..."

He was right. The rainbow light of Abzu's creation simply dissolved into nothingness when it met Akasha Arrow. This was inevitable—just as a screenwriter might create a god for their story's background, can that fictional deity ever defy the screenwriter's pen? Of course not.

From this perspective, Akashic Records was the "screenwriter" crafting the story, while Akasha Arrow was simply the manifestation of those Records—the equivalent of the screenwriter's pen itself.