Chapter 52: Avesta—Activation!
The great sword in his hand, releasing a brilliant golden light, was unleashing a power sufficient to sever a star in an instant, in a way that even caused Goetia to feel terror.
"Impossible... impossible... how can there be such immense power!?"
A power like that of a supernova explosion was continuously causing an incomparable shock to Goetia.
"My enemy, my hatred, my destiny—"
Everything was eclipsed beneath that brilliant golden radiance; the sword, which shattered even the stars, was swung down toward Goetia.
Tearing, destruction—the Temple of Time shattered and disintegrated beneath this massive energy, turning into dust drifting through the universe.
As the Temple of Time perished, the bodies of the Heroic Spirits transformed into streams of light. Some chose to return to the Throne of Heroes, while others chose to stay. Given this rare opportunity, and the fact that there was an option to remain, these remaining Heroic Spirits wanted to experience the modern world.
And the ticket to the modern era was none other than that red-haired boy.
In other words, as long as one asked him properly—
"Hey, mongrel, take this King out to play!"
Following Gilgamesh's words, the rest of the Heroic Spirits helplessly clutched their foreheads.
"That is hardly the attitude for making a request, Gil," Enkidu sighed.
Gilgamesh was a bit stunned.
"Being able to be commanded by this King—is that not the best reward itself?"
Karna and Arjuna naturally did not leave either.
"Until a winner is decided, you are not allowed to escape, Karna."
"That goes without saying. Come at me with everything you have, Arjuna."
Additionally, the members of the Round Table Knights remained; after all, their King was here, and they had no desire to leave at all.
Gilles de Rais also wanted to stay, but because his behavior had been too disgraceful, Jeanne kicked him back to the Throne of Heroes in disgust.
Just as everyone was chatting lively with one another, the starry sky of this Singularity suddenly exhibited strange colors. The original blue band of light changed into an orange-red hue, as if scorched by flames.
"What is happening? Wasn't the King of Demon Gods, Goetia, destroyed? Why does the Singularity still exist!?"
Romani's voice, full of surprise, came through the communication device. Romani, who had even been prepared to come and help if things went wrong for Gudako, had intended to obediently continue serving as logistics support after seeing Shirou's performance; if they could continue living well, that would naturally be for the best.
Following Romani's exclamation, the Heroic Spirits one after another cast vigilant gazes toward the band of light in the sky.
Cracks, fissures—vast stretches of the void appeared as if torn apart, and then, they saw an existence even larger than the planet itself.
"What exactly is that..."
Gudako gasped, feeling an unprecedented sense of smallness, for in front of this existence, the planet was but a drop in the ocean. To describe it, it was a sun that had grown eyes. It was an astronomical body that should have kept all things in the world from being in a state of cooling and boundless darkness, yet at this moment, it brought only destruction.
"This is... Chaos?"
Shirou could not help but frown.
The Father of Origins, Chaos; an ultra-giant mothership for interstellar navigation; a celestial-type space-time fortress; a Dyson sphere; the most ancient Machine God—Chaos.
In Greek mythology, it is the beginning of everything, the primordial order, space, time, and the carrier itself, symbolizing the void and darkness. According to the Theogony by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, the first god born was Chaos, followed by Gaia (Earth), Tartarus (Hell), and Eros (Love and Desire). The four gods existed side by side, propagating the subsequent world and gods. The most common belief regarding his descendants is the eldest son Erebus (God of Darkness, the embodiment of eternal darkness) and the eldest daughter Nyx (Goddess of Night, the true body of the night).
Chaos is a mechanical product built by a civilization from a certain universe, an ultra-giant interstellar mothership powered by stars. As the universe it originally inhabited approached its end, Chaos consumed 97% of its own functionality to transport the other Machine Gods to another universe, shouldering the task of reviving its mother planet.
The Machine God fleet navigated the universe for tens of thousands of years, long having deviated from its intended route. Drifting aimlessly for a long time eventually led to infighting within the fleet. The mechanical bodies of Zeus and the other Olympian gods were the final
surviving warships remaining after that internal conflict. In search of a planet upon which to land, they discovered Earth just as their energy was about to be exhausted.
The group of Machine Gods descended to Earth and, through their powerful functions, were worshipped by humans, evolving step-by-step into the gods known in human history through Greek mythology. After spending a long time with humans, the Machine Gods gradually developed emotions—albeit mechanical ones.
"How did this guy end up here..." Shirou frowned.
Although Shirou knew of this existence, he never expected to encounter it in this Singularity; after all, it should have existed within a Lostbelt... well, currently, quite a few guys had run to him from Lostbelts already.
If one were to investigate the cause of all this chaos, the true culprit was actually Shirou himself, whose repeated deaths had triggered the attraction and merging of parallel worlds.
Suddenly, Shirou noticed an anomaly and hurriedly cast his gaze toward Chaos. Without any unnecessary movement, that eye released a beam of light.
It was a terrifying energy capable of shattering any planet, transcending the existence of the world itself. It was absolutely not something the Heroic Spirits could withstand.
"—'Avesta,' activate!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Shirou's pale golden eyes were dyed blood-red, as if infused with fresh blood, and he reached out to grip the incoming beam of light.
"—Universe stars invert, oppose it in sequence!!! 'Another Cosmology'!"
A gorgeous and dazzling radiance bloomed in Shirou's hand, as if the stars of the universe began to turn at this very moment.
This was the first time Shirou had activated "Another Cosmology," so he could feel with utmost clarity that a certain invisible power contained within this light was interfering with, influencing, and even tampering with this world.
And the true form of this power was the mystery at the center of the pantheon—the dualism of good and evil from Zoroastrianism!
In an instant, the incomparably dazzling starlight incorporated the surrounding world into a universe polarized between good and evil, constantly revolving!
Rumble—!
The energy between the universes was manipulated by Shirou as he pleased; the entire Singularity began to vibrate.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting