The Black-Winged Duke looked grimly at the scattered remnants of his forces gathered around him.
He had intended to fly into a rage, but recalling the scene of Rin casting her spell, he clenched his fists and ordered his defeated subordinates to maintain the siege on the Millennium Castle before spreading his wings and vanishing into the night.
The subordinates left behind by the Black-Winged Duke followed his instructions, gathering their surviving forces and recalling the few Ghouls left, subtly entering a standoff with the Millennium Castle side.
At the Human encampment, the people who had gained a moment of respite from the fierce battle had no other thoughts now except to quickly rebuild the defensive structures on their lines and recover their stamina.
In the Millennium Castle, the exhausted Gudako, accompanied by BB, carefully guarded the entrance to Rin's room, constantly scanning everyone who passed by. Having seen Rin so weak for the first time, Gudako understood that if the enemy intended to eliminate Rin, this would be their last chance.
In truth, Gudako was already quite fatigued after the intense battle, but she still politely refused Olga Marie's offer and kept the duty of protecting Rin for herself.
Inside the room, Olga Marie gazed at Rin's delicate profile as she slept soundly, resting her chin on her hand and staring intently. Fou was also quietly lying beside Rin's pillow, watching her with his bright, spirited eyes.
Rin, deep in sleep, seemed to have fallen into the dreamscape of some indescribable existence.
Through this dream, Rin seemed to experience the life of another version of herself—a fellow 'Transmigrator'—who had made choices completely different from her own.
Afraid of affecting the plot, she gave up on saving Sakura when they were children, watching helplessly as Sakura was sent to the Matou Family. During the Fourth Holy Grail War, she also followed the original plot and chose not to save her father, thus coldly facing the ruin of her own family according to the original story.
Afterward, seeking power, she also went to Miyako City and found Touko. However, unlike herself, who chose to become friends with Touko, that version of her used forbidden knowledge and various forms of Magic different from the Type-Moon system to keep Touko interested, establishing a relationship as trading partners.
Next was the Fifth Holy Grail War. The other self performed an act that Rin found unbelievable: she deliberately killed Shirou, whom Sakura loved, forcing Sakura to become corrupted (blacken). Then, through a mysterious ritual, she transferred Sakura's affection for Shirou onto herself, turning Sakura into a monster who only loved that version of Rin.
Afterward, that version of herself began to constantly employ schemes and tricks, swallowing up the entire world of mystery to become the 'Queen' of that world...
Rin, who had expected to continue watching the life of her other self, suddenly saw a distortion appear before her. Then, a temple located in the cosmos materialized in front of Rin, where countless twisted monsters were frantically beating invisible giant drums and playing flutes with monotonous tones, creating eerie music that made one want to retch.
Rin forced herself to endure the sensory discomfort and looked into the temple.
When Rin saw the figure in the temple being worshipped by countless twisted creatures, she could not help but let out a gasp of surprise.
Fortunately, Rin seemed to be in a peculiar state, as none of the twisted monsters around her noticed her presence.
But what was it that made Rin gasp in surprise... it was Rin herself!
The figure being worshipped by countless monsters in the center of the temple was not someone else, but Rin herself—no, it would be more accurate to say it was another version of herself.
That Rin, draped in a veil woven from chaotic matter, lay with her eyes tightly closed on a massive purple bed, appearing as if she were meditating or simply fast asleep.
Suddenly, the Rin lying on the bed opened her eyes and stared blankly at the Rin floating in the cosmos outside the temple.
As the other Rin's gaze turned toward the Rin floating in the cosmos, it was as if an anti-invisibility spell had been cast upon her; the temple and the countless twisted monsters surrounding it turned their heads in unison to look at Rin, emitting piercing screams.
The demonic sounds assaulted her ears, causing Rin, who was deep within the dream, to clutch her head in pain and cover her ears in an attempt to block out those screams.
Suddenly, a Sakura with a strange aura and draped in a black veil appeared behind Rin.
Sakura simply waved her hand, and a massive black veil instantly manifested in the cosmos, completely shrouding the entire temple.
Then, the black-veiled Sakura turned her head expressionlessly and said to Rin.
"You have come too early. Go back!"
As Sakura uttered the command to go back, it was as if Rin had been struck by something, and she instantly transformed into a streak of light, vanishing from the vicinity of the temple.
Just after Rin vanished from the vicinity of the temple, the black veil created by Sakura transformed into clusters of twisted mist and returned into her body.
With a twisted expression, Sakura gazed at the now-eyes-closed Rin within the temple and murmured.
"Elder Sister! Now is not the time for you to awaken!"
Rin, having been knocked away by Sakura, did not know how much time had passed—perhaps a second, perhaps a hundred million years. Regardless, the paralyzed Rin flew straight out of that eerie cosmos and departed from that bizarre dream.
However, just as Rin was being forced out of that cosmos, a man who resembled Gilgamesh but possessed a completely different temperament fired a beam of light from his hand, which departed alongside Rin.
In reality, Olga Marie and Fou watched nervously as Rin's body uncontrollably radiated magical energy. Unsure of what was happening to her, Olga Marie and Fou tried several times to rush to Rin's side to awaken her from her slumber, but their attempts ended in failure.
Even Gudako and BB, alarmed by the magical energy, tried to awaken Rin, but their efforts were also in vain.
Just as everyone was preparing to seek out Zelretch for help, Rin suddenly withdrew her magical energy and opened her eyes.
Gudako, Olga Marie, BB, and Fou rushed to the bedside almost simultaneously and asked Rin.
"Are you alright? (Master) (Elder Sister) (Fou)"
Rin rubbed her head, looking at the people gathered around her with a puzzled expression. Then, feeling as though she had forgotten something, she began to try to recall what it was.
Just as Rin attempted to recall, a sharp pain erupted from within her body, causing her to let out a wail and collapse onto the bed.
If someone were able to observe Rin from a higher-dimensional perspective at this moment, they would see a silver band of light circling her. Whenever Rin attempted to recall, this band of light would mercilessly constrict around her entire body, inflicting intense pain.
Seeing Rin's state, Olga Marie suddenly remembered something; she immediately stopped BB and Gudako, and while holding Fou, urged Rin.
"Elder Sister! Stop trying to recall! You must have been placed under some kind of seal! That is why you experience such intense pain every time you try to remember!"
Rin ceased her attempts to recall and first used magecraft to inspect her own body. Finding nothing, she asked Olga Marie.
"Do you know what it is?"
"Elder Sister! In a book I read, it was described that dream memories are typically sealed by Phantasmal Species that can manifest in dreams—such as fairies, elementals, or nightmares—or by certain gods who impose such seals to prevent those who encounter them in dreams from remembering what transpired. However, given Elder Sister's power, it would likely take an existence far more powerful than those to place such a seal upon you!"
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