Edward floated in the air with Ea before him. He was enclosed in a box, and his body looked strange, often showing double; it was as if time was rapidly moving. He opened his eyes at dawn and exhaled before the sun fully set.
"The real Ea should involve certain [Authorities], which complicates things given Akasha's existence." He did not know much about the use of [Authorities] or rules in this universe, but he knew even if his natural body was here, he could not use his rules.
And that's because Akasha, a way more powerful version of the Universe Will, does not allow anyone to meddle in the rules of this world, even if they meet the Willpower requirement. According to Edward's theory, completing the rule involves interacting or accessing the Root or Akasha's core, so True Magics should involve the Rules.
Time passed, and everyone woke up. Edward approached them after Tohsaka and Sakura had breakfast and were ready for school.
"A night has passed. You should be prepared to deal with Saber."
Tohsaka said nothing, so Edward explained, "As long as two servants remain, Gilgamesh can forcefully summon the grail. We don't have time for your indecisiveness."
"I'm not indecisive. I just did not want to say anything before her," said Tohsaka, motioning to Sakura, who continued to eat her food with her head lowered.
"It's not like anything will happen to Shirou. He was never supposed to partake in this battle in the first place."
Edward did go to school with them, but in the afternoon, he accompanied them to Shirou's house. They somehow agreed to an amiable fight and found a place to fight.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Saber rushed in a zigzag pattern, trying to evade these energy blasts, but it was useless. They were fast and moved irregularly. Furthermore, Archer had surrounded the place with invisible magic traps. Saber suddenly felt something and moved to the right. The place where she was suddenly released a fire inferno; it was like a volcano erupting.
Saber thought she had evaded this trap, but there was another. When she landed, vines came out of nowhere to bind her legs. She swiftly cut them with her swords, but Archer had already fired two golden energy beams.
Her battle instinct activated, and she blacked one, but the other penetrated her armor.
"Why don't you forfeit and end this pointless fight," said Edward.
"Never," replied Saber, half-kneeling on the floor and supporting herself with Excalibur. "Archer, you don't need the grail, so why are you continuing to fight?"
"I need it to build me a real body."
"I know you can create a body on your own."
"It's not that simple." Winning the grail is important to Edward because that's the only way he can become a full "citizen" of this world and not be restricted by Akasha.
"I thought you, of all people, should understand my desire."
"Your approach is wrong from the beginning," replied Edward. "Your pursuit should have been the second True Magic, which would have allowed travel between parallel dimensions. In this infinite cosmos, there is definitely a dimension where Camelot still exists or one where it's still in its infancy. You could have become an adviser to your younger self and prevented her from making the same mistake."
"Maybe you're right, or maybe it would not be the same if I walked that path," replied Saber, who slowly stood up. "Regardless, now that I still have an opportunity, I won't miss it. Let's go — Excalibur."
Saber's swords finally became visible before releasing an intense light. Edward calmly watched everything as a tear in the void appeared behind him, showing a massive cannon. The cannon fired intense light energy, blocking Saber's last desperate attack.
Once everything subsided, Edward was intact, but Saber's armor was gone, and she had many injuries. She was barely holding on.
"Saber," yelled Shirou, rushing to her side.
"Master, I'm sorry."
"No, I should be the one apologizing. I was too weak to help."
"No, you did your best, and that's all that matters," replied Saber, her voice becoming weaker with each passing second. As she slowly dissipated, Saber remembered everything she experienced. Although this grail was short, she still experienced warmth from her master. So, she dissipated with a smile on.
Edward looked in the distance. There was only one last piece to gain true freedom while accomplishing his primary goal of coming to this world. He left with Tohsaka while Sakura left to ensure her senpai was alright.
A few days later, Edward became invisible with Tohsaka to infiltrate the Einzibern family. As they had expected, Gilgamesh attacked Illya and Berserker. Illya is a homunculus created to be the vessel of the grail. So, Gilgamesh plans to kill Berserker and forcibly strip the grail from her body.
Edward had to be extra careful not to be detected by Gilgamesh's Clairvoyant Eyes. So, he used all his Anti-Divination and Anti-Detection Spells to watch the battle from afar.
Berserker was being massacred to save his master. His real identity was Hercules, and his Noble Phantasm prevented him from dying unless he was killed 12 times based on his 12 labors. Still, this ability was useless for Gilgamesh as he used his Gate of Babylon to bully Berserker. Even though the latter defied the odds and actually lived for a 13th life, it did not change the final outcome.
Bang!
A shield manifested to block the spear attacking Illya. Then, a white light enveloped her, and she disappeared.
"Bastard. It's you again," growled Gilgamesh.
"Yes, and it's time to finish things between us." Edward appeared with Tohsaka and Illya
"So, finally willing to face me? You're not going to run away again."
"Take care of her," he said to Tohsaka before walking toward Gilgamesh. Tohsakae held his arm, "You'll win, right?"
"Of course," he replied, smiling before patting her head. He looked at his opponent, "Netheril, it's time to shine again."
He immediately activated his Noble Phantasm, encasing him and Gilgamesh into a Reality Marble.
"Is this the legendary Netheril? It's so much more beautiful than I anticipated," said Gilgamesh as he saw the beautiful city floating in the distance. "I cannot wait for it to be mine."
Edward did not say anything but activated the Golem Legions, sending them to attack Gilgamesh and all the cannons in the city. Gilgamesh activated his Gate of Babylon to its highest ability, annihilating all the legions.
He summoned a golden book, and with it in his hand, Gilgamesh began spamming powerful spells. However, he was soon outmatched because Edward could use a similar tactic as him with his Mystic Codes.
Without hesitation, Gilgamesh summoned Ea and the Chains of Heaven. Ea released an energy wave that destroyed all the legions. Meanwhile, the chain headed to Edward, trying to seal them.
'An awakening, Ea? That's not enough,' thought Edward. 'And I won't give you room to breathe.' He released hundreds of spells to block the chains while the city continued a toggling battle with Ea.
Then, he activated his final trump card — the Void Cannon.
Boom!
The cannon was powerful, but it was still insufficient to overwhelm Ea. Luckily, its job was to distract Gilgamesh. A chain suddenly appeared behind and pierced the King of Heroes' arm. The worst part is the thing contained an extremely powerful and vile curse to ensure he was immobilized.
"Release me, you mongrel," screamed Gilgamesh.
"You could have easily won this battle had you used Ea's full powers," said Edward. "Unfortunately, your overinflated ego made you believe only one opponent was ever worthy of you using your full strength — your old friend, Enkidu."
"Stop talking nonsense and release me."
Edward ignored him. He used the floating city to cast the most powerful Sealing Spell he was capable of in this body to capture Ea and the Chains of Heaven. Then, he walked to Gilgamesh and ripped his eyes from their sockets.
"These would be perfect gifts for Luna," he muttered.
Today's my birthday, so here's a chapter.
-----
Flame enveloped Gilgamesh, and he evaporated. Edward calmly saved the Clairvoyant Eyes before quickly stepping out of the Reality Marble.
"You won?" asked Tohsaka.
"Of course," said Edward with a smile. "You said you wanted to see the floating city? This is your chance."
"Really?"
"Hurry up, we don't have much time." Keeping the Reality Marble functioning takes a lot of mana, and his current avatar cannot do so for very long. Edward looked at Illya, "You come to."
"W-why?"
"I need to remove the grail from your body without killing you."
"I-is that possible?"
"He's the Arcane Emperor. If someone can do it, it's him," said Tohsaka, and Illya finally agreed. Edward took them inside the Reality Marble to a lab in his floating city. He tasked a golem to give Tohsaka a tour as he helped Illya.
"Don't be scared," he reassured as she lay on a table with a magic circle drawn at the bottom. "Although you're a homunculus born from natural birth, this does not change your genetic makeup's defects. As such, you would not live past 30, and that's not considering the burden the grail has on your body and soul."
Ilya, this child, looked calm despite hearing these devastating words. That's because she knew and was prepared for an early death.
"Such a brave child," sighed Edward. No children should live with death looming over their heads. "After I remove the grail, I will construct a normal and healthy body for you. I will also heal the injuries to your soul that the grail caused."
Illya just nodded, so Edward asked, "Do you have any questions?"
"Will it hurt?"
"No. It will feel like a regular nap." With the state-of-the-art laboratory in the city, Edward can easily manage the pain.
"Okay."
Edward immediately started. Illya fell asleep, and soon after, an eerie aura in the shape of dark lightning emanated from her body. A golden cup tattered in a black goo slowly rose from her body: the corrupted grail. With a wave of his hand, Edward led the grail to another room. Meanwhile, Illya's body disintegrated before being rebuilt just the way it was. From now on, she will be just an ordinary girl.
Edward was rapidly analyzing the grail. The thing was a large mana source and contained the magic of Wish Granting. Edward and the Empire have studied Wish Granting Magic, which they found in relics of the Lemurian Civilization. There were two conclusions about this type of magic: the first one was that higher dimensional beings (including Gods and Cronai) were the ones granting the wish, and the other was Wish Granting Spells was a form of pure reality manipulation.
With his knowledge, Edward started to work. He isolated the corruption from the grail, learning from Gilgamesh's mistake and ensuring his personality was not secretly affected. Then, with the immense mana and its ability to grant wishes, Edward broke his limitations as a Servant/Heroic Spirit and finally acquired a natural body.
"Still nothing compared to the main body, but better than being a spirit," commented Edward, who felt a lot of restrictions had been removed from him. The grail dispersed, and he did not interfere. He then canceled the Reality Marble, and the three returned to Illya's mansion.
"That was more exciting than I thought," said Tohsaka. "Couldn't you wait longer?"
"Even with a new body, I don't have the mana to keep such a Noble Phantasm going for so long," replied Edward.
"So, you've succeeded?"
"Of course," he replied before looking at Illya. "Do you want to stay with your brother?"
"Can I?"
"I'm sure he would love that." Although Edward does not like Shirou, he knows he would do his best to care for his adopted sister, even risking his life to ensure her safety. So, he took her to Shirou's house and explained their relationship.
"I didn't think you could do anything nice for Shirou," commented Tohsaka after they returned home.
"I did it for Illya," he replied. He would have revived her mother if it were up to him because she deserved better than what happened in Fate/Zero. However, Edward did not want to face the complications of finding her soul in this complicated world.
"if you say so. So, what's next?" asked Tohsaka.
"I'll keep my word and teach you magic. I also need to borrow your mansion's basement for research. After that, I should leave."
"You're…leaving?"
"Although it will take some time, yes," nodded Edward, looking in the distance. The room suddenly became somber until Edward talked again:
"Don't you have to report to the Clock Tower that you're the final winner?"
"I don't have to, but I must. This is a perfect opportunity to increase the influence of the Tohsaka Clan."
"You can tell them that your wish was to increase your strength and show them your new Magic Circuit."
"That's a good idea."
Tohsaka left for the Clock Tower, the Mage Association's headquarters. Meanwhile, Edward turned the mansion's basement into a Bounded Field for his research. His floating city cannot exist without the Reality Marble, which takes too much mana. So, he had to build a new laboratory to study Ea and the Chains of Heaven.
Three days later, Tohsaka returned and headed for the basement. "Done?" Edward asked as he put the final touch on the lab.
"Yeah. The Tohsaka Clan is officially one of the most powerful magic families in the world." Edward nodded but did not comment, knowing that this title meant very little since this world was complex and full of hidden secrets.
"I'm guessing all these families wanted to marry you?" he said, adding a new enchantment. "I bet some were even willing to allow their clan members to marry into the Tohsaka Clan as long as you agree to give your second child to them."
Tohsaka's mouth twitched, "Yeah, and they were insufferable."
"You should be more careful when dealing with these people. Some desperate families will do anything to ensure a talented successor."
"I know," she replied with gritted teeth.
"So, someone already tried?"
"They put something in my drink. I almost beat them to a pulp," said Tohsaka.
"At least you displayed your true power; that should scare most people."
"True."
"Alright, let's get started with the training," said Edward. "While teaching you Arcane Rune, I will also train you on controlling mana. It pains me every time I watch you cast a spell."
"It's not that bad."
"I have prepared a Virtual Reality helmet for you and the necessary potions. Don't expect much sleep in the following months. We don't have much time and plenty to learn."
Tohsaka suddenly paused before walking to the designated machine. The training lasted three months before Edward agreed she was an accepted mage. However, in the first month, she did not sleep a wink or eat, surviving only on potion. Luckily, in the second month, he allowed her to attend school and live a normal life.
Edward looked at his findings and could not help but frown. He had made the right decision to come to this world just because of the existence of the Chain of Heaven. This artifact was an Anti-Divinity Weapon, just like Asta's magic was Anti-Magic. Furthermore, the thing had almost no limit (Edward hadn't found it); the stronger a god, the more binding its effect was.
With it, he was confident to at least imprison the Time Guardian if he could catch him off guard. However, he has not entirely reverse-engineered this artifact yet and does not know whether he could leave this world with it.
Ea was the weapon of destruction he believed it was, and like the chain, he's missing one final piece to build his own: he must find the Root, and the only way to do so is through the True Magics.
'So, that's how it is,' thought Edward. 'Akasha allowed me to enter this world because it wants me to create the Sixth True Magic, adding more possibilities to this universe. No, if I think from a larger perspective, maybe Akash already knows of the war and wishes to prepare her world for the upcoming chaos.'
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