"First, let me clarify one thing: the Holy Grail War is a ritual meant to complete the Third Magic, the Heaven's Feel."
"Magic!" Tohsaka Rin nearly shrieked; after all, Magic is the pursuit of every Magician.
"Initially, to pass down the Third Magic, the Third Magician took in many disciples. But no matter how talented they were, their aptitude for Magic remained mediocre. Thus, even when the Third Magician passed away, no one had mastered the Third Magic."
"That's right, Magic is simply not something normal people can learn."
Tohsaka Rin felt this deeply. She had seen the blueprints for the Jewel Sword in her family's possession; that thing couldn't be described merely as complex. No matter how she tried to break it down or simplify its surface layers, the result of researching its core was always the same: incomprehensible.
However, no one present could tell Tohsaka Rin that merely deciphering and decomposing the surface information was already an incredibly astonishing talent.
"After the Magician left, the disciples came up with a method: to create homunculi identical to their teacher, attempting to achieve the great feat of saving all of humanity. In the end, they both succeeded and failed."
Taking a sip of tea from Tohsaka Rin's cup and receiving another eye-roll from Sakura, Jean Stardust continued:
"That was the birth of the Saint of Winter—Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern. By pure coincidence, this homunculus capable of using the Third Magic was born. Although the Third Magic could be activated correctly, it took decades to save just one person, making the salvation of all humanity impossible."
Even if human hands can create things that transcend humanity, they cannot create something that can redeem humanity.
This was the conclusion the Magicians reached many years later. Because of this, they gave up and left, while the research was continued by the homunculi, eventually leading to a concrete plan up until about 200 years ago.
In the Winter Castle, Justeaze waited for her first collaborator: the Magician Makiri Zolgen, who sought to eradicate all the world's evils. Then, Tohsaka Nagato, who longed to reach the Root, also joined the plan.
Ultimately, through Justeaze's self-sacrifice, her internal circuits were disassembled and expanded into a large-scale magical device. Using the circuits she possessed, Heroic Spirits were summoned as Servants. Upon their death, their souls would enter the Lesser Grail—which is currently inside Illya. Finally, when these souls return to the Hall of Heroes, their power is used to open and stabilize the path to the Root in one fell swoop.
As for other functions, such as its nearly infinite magical energy, it earned the title of an omnipotent wish-granting machine.
"You should already know the rest of the story, right?"
After listening to Jean Stardust's explanation, Tohsaka Rin's expression looked a bit unpleasant. But that was to be expected; after all, as the head of the Tohsaka Family, one of the Three Founding Families, she had been completely unaware of such a major secret.
"I just feel like my ancestor's wish was a bit... ordinary," Tohsaka Rin said, frowning.
"So that's what you were concerned about!" Jean Stardust was speechless.
At this moment, Sakura raised her own question: "Then what is that black mud? During the last war, I saw it with my own eyes, constantly flowing out from the hole in the Holy Grail, eventually causing the fire in Shinto."
"That was likely caused by the irregular Servant from the Third War, Angra Mainyu, who was left behind in the Holy Grail. When the nature of 'All the World's Evils' encountered a massive amount of pure magical energy, the consequences are not hard to imagine. But, Sakura, besides the black mud, what else did you see?"
Jean Stardust was very curious about the outcome of the last war. After all, unlike the previous ones, the Fourth War had occurred only ten years later, and many factors left over from the previous war would influence this one.
"I'm not entirely sure; I was too young back then, and the magical energy in my body couldn't keep up. But I do remember that a god descended. A white god and the golden king were battling on a sea of black mud. Afterward, a violent explosion occurred, and all my scouting familiars died."
Although she didn't know what had happened, if it was against a god, Gilgamesh would probably win, given the Chains of Heaven and his large arsenal of anti-divine Noble Phantasms.
Moreover, facing the existence that Gilgamesh hated the most, he surely wouldn't show any mercy.
"Wait a minute? Doesn't that mean the Holy Grail can't be used?" Tohsaka Rin exclaimed, having just realized.
"Indeed. If you were to wish to become the richest person in the world, the Holy Grail would fulfill your wish by killing everyone else. Of course, this thing doesn't actually have the capability to do it on that scale."
"Then what about you? Why do you know all this, and why, despite that, do you still want to participate in the Holy Grail War?" Sakura asked, directing the critical question straight at Jean Stardust.
"The reason I know all this is because the place I come from is very special. In fact, some Heroic Spirits also know these things. On the other hand, what I am pursuing is neither the Root nor a wish, but the function of the Third Magic—the materialization of the soul itself. In other words, my objective will very likely lead to the end of the greater grail ritual entirely."
Jean Stardust stated its fundamental goal directly. Being evasive with those close to it was simply not its personality. At the same time, it wanted to see how the two would react. Besides, even if things went south, it would just mean stopping its free-loading of Tohsaka Rin's magical energy.
Conversely, if concealing and hiding the truth were to damage its relationship with these two sisters, that would be even more unacceptable to Jean Stardust, even though Sakura seemed to dislike it quite a bit right now.
But that God-High Rank lord had said that positive and negative affinity can be converted into one another.
Hearing Jean Stardust's confession, both of them fell into silence.
Sakura actually didn't care at all about the state of the Holy Grail. As for the matter of summoning Scáthach, it was just as Cú Chulainn had said: she simply didn't want to come.
If she wanted to, Cú Chulainn could never take her place; if she didn't want to, no matter how one tried, it would never succeed. Therefore, Sakura was now more concerned about her older sister's feelings.
Tohsaka Rin remained silent for a considerable amount of time, then, with that characteristic pride, looked straight into Jean Stardust's eyes and said:
"My goal has never changed: that is to participate in the Holy Grail War and achieve victory. If the Holy Grail War ends because of that, then that is simply the winner claiming her prize."
At this moment, Tohsaka Rin radiated a different kind of brilliance. She understood why her father had been so persistent, understood why the disaster had been born, and clarified her own will, as well as the partner with whom she would face the future.
Jean Stardust also watched with a smile as Tohsaka Rin delivered her declaration. Initially, it had just regarded her as a 2D waifu it liked a long time ago, just messing around, teasing her, and preparing to put her behind its back and easily take her to victory.
But at this moment, Jean Stardust's feeling changed. The girl before it was not a vase, but a comrade-in-arms who, relying on her inner determination, had stood by its side and could be relied upon.
Perhaps this was the charm of the girl known as Tohsaka Rin.
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