White Lancer Artoria collapsed to the ground. Even though it wasn't a Shadow Game, she couldn't escape the period of weakness that followed. With her last ounce of strength, she threw Prisma Illya onto the back of her white horse.
"Dun Stallion, take Illya and run!"
"Where could you possibly run to in a time like this?"
The space around them had descended into chaos; any attempt to flee would only lead them in circles. Jiang You lunged forward and grabbed Dun Stallion's reins, trying to stop the horse. But as the mount of a TOP-tier Heroic Spirit, the stallion was no ordinary steed. Jiang You couldn't hold it back and was dragged along, his feet scrambling to keep up. To avoid being separated, he seized White Lancer Artoria's cloak at the last second, pulling her along with them as they careened down the corridor.
"You lost! Can't you just behave?" Jiang You grumbled, regretting not using a Gaess to force her obedience. "Besides, you're my summon. If I really wanted to harm you, I could just dismiss you. Why make things so difficult?"
White Lancer Artoria refused to answer. She believed Jiang You intended to turn her into a puppet for some demonic entity, just like Nero.
For a moment, the corridor was filled only with the clatter of iron hooves and the scraping of shoe soles and clothes against the floor.
"This isn't a good way to talk," Jiang You thought. "We need to go somewhere else."
This game didn't have cosmetic items, and Jiang You's shoes weren't Noble Phantasms. The intense friction had already worn his soles clean. If he didn't want to brake with the bottoms of his feet, he had to find a way to stop the horse. Fortunately, he could achieve the same effect by switching worlds.
With a burst of strength, Jiang You surged forward, grabbing the barely conscious Prisma Illya. He then pulled both her and White Lancer Artoria into the Library of the Transit World.
"Welcome back," Bubble said, closing her book and floating over. "How are you adjusting to your new Spirit Origin?"
"Don't even ask," Jiang You sighed. "I never thought I'd be the one inflicting mental pollution on others."
He should have been thrilled to learn about his new "skin" and its powerful Spirit Origin. But the fact that fully unleashing it would cause him to attack friend and foe alike with a wide-area assault was a bit too darkly humorous for his taste.
"Where... where is this?" Prisma Illya asked, quickly regaining consciousness now that Nero's ear-splitting singing had faded.
"The Transit World... Right, I forgot you haven't been here before."
The Transit World had been getting more visitors lately, and Jiang You expected even more in the future. Thanks to Bubble's generous sponsorship of the Library, he finally had a proper place to host them.
"Since things in your world aren't settled yet, I'll keep this brief," Jiang You said.
He then recounted the events at Chaldea and explained the situation regarding his True Name.
White Lancer Artoria only half-listened. Even without a True Name, a Servant's instincts would still guide them in combat. Jiang You's condition didn't seem like a simple loss of identity; it was more like Nero's case—a sudden fusion with something else. Still, she was completely powerless to resist him now. He could do whatever he wanted with her, yet he had patiently explained everything. Whatever his intentions, at least he didn't seem hostile for the moment.
"Azathoth? Who's that?"
Prisma Illya was still just an ordinary (perhaps) elementary school student. Her historical knowledge was limited; she couldn't even recognize all the Servants from proper history, let alone characters from a relatively niche sci-fi genre like the Cthulhu Mythos. Filled with curiosity, she turned to the most mature-looking person present, White Lancer Artoria, and asked her question.
White Lancer Artoria wasn't a regularly summoned Servant, and even if she were, she wouldn't possess such obscure knowledge. So, in truth, she didn't know either.
"In a sense, Azathoth is the origin of all things. This entire universe exists within its dream," Bubble explained simply. "If that's hard to imagine, think of Brahma from Hindu mythology. You're all familiar with the concept of 'Brahma's Dream,' right?"
"So, a Major God-class entity?"
White Lancer Artoria knew of Brahma. She considered Jiang You's Noble Phantasm—the world was indeed bending to his rules, which lent some credibility to the claim.
"Then why did you corrupt Nero into... that?" she demanded.
"That's just Nero's personality, okay?" Jiang You sighed, rubbing his temples. If Nero had fused with Venus as she normally would, she wouldn't have been so desperate to prove herself. Her beauty was universally acknowledged; even the God Ancestor had recognized her as the "Flower of Rome." But now, of all things, she had fused with a God of Music—one followed by entities like Tru'nembra, an Outer God incomprehensible to humans. This had only made her singing worse, and the negative impact on the entire music world was immeasurable.
"And how was I supposed to know it would turn out like this!" Jiang You exclaimed. "Speaking of which... Bubble, you should know how to suppress an Outer God's power, right? Nero's influence on Fuyuki is getting out of hand. It'd be best if we could eliminate it."
"Yes," Bubble, the walking encyclopedia, replied instantly. "You've heard of the Elder Sign, haven't you?"
"That thing they call one of the 'Three Artifacts' along with friends and a crowbar?" Jiang You didn't know much about Call of Cthulhu, but he knew the memes.
"But isn't that thing basically a block of shit to us?" Jiang You did have that much knowledge. The Elder Sign was to Mythos creatures what feces was to humans—repulsive. But if a Mythos creature could tolerate it or simply didn't care, it could still harm you. It was like that meme, "Tuoba Covered in Shit, Lu Bu Reborn." Before he was smeared, no one dared approach him. But once he was actually covered in it, it was anyone's guess who the real Lu Bu was.
"Your description is certainly... vivid," Bubble said, her expression turning strange. Since she had studied the Elder Sign, Jiang You's analogy implied she had been researching... She quickly cut off that line of thought. Can't go there.
"To be precise, I've already analyzed it. I have to admit, Nyarlathotep is truly a genius. That sense of unease is actually a form of suppression. As long as you create your own Elder Sign, none of the Outer Gods will be able to escape."
"So, where can I get one of those?"
Jiang You really needed to rein in Nero's state. Otherwise, she'd trigger an Outer God invasion at the drop of a hat—who could possibly handle that?
"Call now and get a 50% discount—"
Bubble teased, "—You thought I'd actually say that? Jiang You, please hold out your hand."
Jiang You did as she asked. Bubble then placed something in his palm.
"Now, this is your Elder Sign. Though, it's brand new. To be more accurate, should we call it a 'newly printed' one?"
Jiang You opened his hand and saw a card. It really was newly printed.
[Seal of Azathoth] Counter Trap Card.
1. When your opponent activates a card effect: You can activate this card; negate that effect, and until the start of the next turn, cards of the same type as the negated card cannot be used.
2. While this card is in the Graveyard, when your opponent successfully Special Summons a monster, you can activate this effect: Your opponent must return that card to their Deck. Then, banish this card.