Chương 18: A world made up of lies
!!!!!Earth After Pan-Human Era 2.6 billion years ancient South America!!!!!!
On a lush green field where the skies where blue and the birds and ancient beasts roamed around. Beats like Triceratops and Ankylosaurus that existed along with ancient mammoths were peacefully grazing grass.
There were several insects like fireflies and butterflies still exited and have not gone extinct.
Everything was peaceful until a Kaleidoscopic hue appeared in the middle of the field barfing out two people.
Both having white hair.
One in normal civilian clothes with white shirt and white pants and another in full body black combat attire.
But unlike other times they did not land on their faces but on their feet.
Archer was breathing heavily from that encounter, the whole encounter with aliens was the most horrible experience. He fought other weird things like Chutulu monsters at one timeline and outer god decided to visit with an avatar. It did not end well. The whole timeline had to be pruned.
He has gotten roped into many things by Alaya and Zelrecht but this takes the cake, if he bets his two cents' things are going to be crazy from now here. According to his E-Rank luck everything that can go wrong will go wrong.
Archer looked beside him and saw his partner gawking at the sky like it is the most beautiful thing.
He had a question for that at why Edem does this, if he could remember when he visited a particular world while they were hopping one planet to another. Edem would always stare at the skies in wonder.
Now he has to make sure Edem does not hop to another world again and force him to spill the results his action is leading to; he is sick of being pushed around like this. Now it is for him to make a dominant stand.
!!!!!!Ado Edem POV!!!!
He was eager to eager to visit Earth.
He wanted to see how it looked like in its full glory and its beauty that was not sullied by Homo Sapiens and Aliens alike.
The things that her read about in the home base of Ether-Liners "Arendal" on how air pollution masked to night sky of the stars and how Carbon Emission caused global warning.
He wants to see it the sky without Sin and Without Blight.
No red smoke like the Land of Steel had when the sky that was covered in Red Clouds that was enchanted by the Six Witches to prevent other Aristoteles to enter earth, which in the end was useless.
If one day when time comes, he meets the Eldest Six Sister "Death" he will give a good bashing to her for her stupid decision. Not to mention the youngest sister "Judgement" owes him a limb or two.
Edem shook his head rapidly closing his eyes.
Those were bad memories he had when he killed the youngest sister with other Ether Liners.
He remembers how the captain if the Mission "Juno Ardon" ET-56 CODE- 459-Alpha had a hole blown in his stomach when he landed a killing blow on her. Not to mention the dying scream that tore apart the Western continent.
Sometimes he things he got lucky on that mission even though he got some of his limbs torn apart.
Did they even have a chance at that time? If not for Commander Mafty use his Knight Arm Divide-Integration to disperse the magical attacks that replicated the power of the sun, they would have lost that fight for sure.
Edem takes a deep breath. Bad times.
Edem looks at the Sky and with utter silence he lost his breath.
The sky stole his heart. If he had a century, he could keep on watching for that time without closing his eyes.
The fresh air around the world and the smell of vegetation all around that tickles his nostrils.
It was a welcome experience in his life full of Misery and Despair.
Now he wants to just lay down and bask in the sun that is energizing him with it's rays.
He feels stronger for some reason when he is under the sun.
Now that he remembers, does he not have something called Krytonian Gene grafted in his body by the Creator?
Edem opens his eyes and scrunches his face.
He cannot remember what happened when he unleashed his final strike on that spider, some memories are hazy and fleeting.
He did not ask or these concepts or blood implanted in his body. He was mentally drained to even give a damn what was happening to him. He was operating on instinct to survive and take down the beings who gave him such miserable fate of a failure of humanity with their sins on his shoulder. He just wanted to sever everything that binded to it.
Now he has another important work.
It is to check what was done to him when he was desperate and worn down with misery to even give a protest. All that fighting against those Types without any breaks had pushed him to madness as he saw his comrades beside him dropping like flies.
He hated this Fate.
He will cut it down and snatch his own.
Edem was bought out of his musing as he heard a coughing action beside him.
He saw that troublesome tag along that will ire him to no end.
With a sigh Edem turned around and gave this man his full attention.
For now, he needs his help.
Help to draw a Magic Circle to see what concepts are inside him that are active.
When he projected a sword, it felt like instead of making a sword he was making the concept of sword coming to life.
He knows what concepts are as it was used as a template for knight arm to awaken their abilities using Modern-Techno-Magecraft.
He needs to see what are his.
Edem looks at Archer and prepares himself for negotiations.
This would be a long day.
!!!!End of POV!!!!
Archer and Edem was looking at each other with piercing gaze trying to analyze or scrutinize any details about one's body language or facial expression.
But to both of them they both had still and relaxed posture and dead eyes which says a lot about a person's life.
Archer: Are we jumping to another planet now? If so, I don't want to tag along. I am sick of you jumping from universe to universe with no prior warning, goal or purpose known of each other. I want to sit down and have a long talk. What is your goal here by coming here? How do you know where you are actually going?
Edem: ...…..
Edem released a sigh and closed his eyes.
His Goal? His purpose? Does he have any?
Also how does he know about this universe and the previous one?
It was simple.
When he woke up, he was not seeing the world in a single perspective but he was seeing multiple realities and timeline with his gaze alone.
It was like he had omnipotence of God himself.
Looking at different universe and reading their huge data.
The only reason he can focus on single universe is because of the connection anchor with his partner.
He can gaze the connection of universe they are in through him.
If Archer was not here with him, it would take minutes or even hours to master his senses to see where he was.
The Advanced Form of Second Magic that he obtained was sure to drive any normal Magus insane.
Why was he not going insane? Simple he was not sane to begin with. Or it might be the fourth magic maintaining the over load of data.
But he still feels something other than the "Concept of Consciousness" is maintaining his ability. It was common knowledge that one must awaken their origin in order to master the Magic a Magus wants to. But there are dangers of the information of such concept overloading the user. So one must have to partially awaken and access the knowledge form the root.
The Akashic record does not only have a single record but it has records of the same "Concept" from multiple universe reality.
Now that he has access to Akashic Records he can now see what it actually is.
It was nothing but a hive mind collected together at a single point that branches multiple universes or in simple words.
"Strings that Bind the Box"
Edem: I need your help, Archer.
Archer raises his eyebrow and looks at Edem in a blank look.
Inside he was thinking how this was a chance that he can get an upper hand in negotiations to bring Edem in the table to get his input in planning in the course of mission planning.
Archer: My help? Do you not have the connection to the root?
Edem: I may have the connection but not the experience. Right now, my senses are dilated in a cosmic and universal scale. It was not so troublesome at first when I woke up as I was seeing the world in multiple parallel views across timeline. If not for you and your voice I would have been in trouble pinpointing my attention to a single universe where we got anchored.
Archer listened to Edems words and had guessed what was happening to make it seem Edem already knew the answers where he should go.
The Second Magic but an advanced form.
He remembers in one timeline he survived in the fifth holy grail war with the cost of his past self who had his Saber stolen by Rin.
The Best part was he and Saber got the time to spend together and had even confessed his origin and feeling to each other.
On all the Holy Grail he fought that was the only one where he somewhat got peace of mind with Illaya killing Shirou and Sakura becoming the vessel of Angra Mainyu.
It got so bad the counterforce had to contact him to make the jewel sword for his master to defeat Sakura and kill her.
Sad to say his master Rin was Traumatized leaving Fuyuki forever drowning herself in study and work.
The only good thing that came is the Wizard Marshel Taking her as a student and for him to observe the teaching of the master of the second.
He still remembers the day when Rin came home crying with a bottle of Alcohol and cried on his chest.
The Wizard Marshal made her see the world he sees.
She saw her parallel versions and different fifth holy grail war of parallel world with different masters and outcomes.
Rin was close to insanity at how things would have gone differently if she just had people to support her instead of being selfish in her exploits to discover the secrets at why her father chose to participate in this farce.
She learned the answer and it was not what she was hoping or expecting.
There was no grand scheme or reward in the end.
All that was present at the end of her path in the scorched earth of fire and death was despair.
Killing her sister and supposed to lover in extension by ignorance in her previous action.
Learning the betrayal Kirei did to his father.
She had no one in the end just like him.
Alone and broken betrayed by ones Ideals.
Even more broken by looking at the outcome using the Kaleidoscope to see a world she had it all.
Friends, Family and Love.
Just like that Rin Broke.
Archer still remembers the haunting scene with saber where Rin hanged her in her room after three years studying under the Wizard Marshel.
It was too much for her to continue with this power.
She had power and wealth in her hands but the things that matter was not in her hands.
Her had never hold anything.
Archer looks at Edem and thinks about the consequences using the advanced from of Kaleidoscope.
Either he will end up the same by looking at the multiple realities where he was happy or he would use to it to become something greater, something much more.
Something no one hoped to achieve.
So, he is curious what Edem sees using the advanced Kaleidoscope, he needs to probe carefully and see what is going on into that mind of a Magician.
Archer looks at Edem's eyes which he is sure reading his mind using fourth magic.
Archer: Like what you see? You can read my mind but not my input and experience, can you? It is not something you cannot do by looking at it. That is your weakness using the true magic is it not?
Edem closed his eyes and released a sigh.
He indeed had the knowledge but not the experience using these new powers.
There was a saying he read in one of the old books he read as his time as a knight.
Talent means nothing if one does not work hard with it.
Edem: Looks like you caught me, yes, I need to actually practice and experiment with my abilities. For that I need your input.
Archer: It will cost you and you can't force me. I have something to chain you with you know. If you go crazy or try to get rid of me, I can stop you.
Edem: The same goes for you, if you get in way of my mission, I can put you down. I am sure there are restrictions in the ability that was given to you that can restrain me?
Archer kept silence about it.
When the creator sent him with Edem implanting the ability to restrain Edem there was gaps and loopholes in it.
First of all is that he cannot harm Edem like wise or bring danger to him on his doorstep.
Second, he cannot plot against Edem if for some reason organizations like counter-force or Grands find some way to track them down. Which brings him to a question is why is the protective mechanism of his world doing? If the creator had to get involved and use his authority to snatch him away and Edem?
Archer has a haunting and gut-wrenching feeling with the second rule.
If for some reason Chaldea is used as a force to take them back.
Archer scrunched his face.
Now that he has switched royalty to the Creator of the very existence itself, he will have to persuade or drop the last master of Chaldea fast.
He has no idea what Edem would do to Ristsuka or Gudako.
If Edem is somehow back to the previous universe he was in there is a chance Gaia/Alaya can manipulate luck and Karma against him to make Ritsuka win like they always did from the multiple scenarios.
But if Ritsuka willingly comes to capture them out of the universe.
It's game over.
Because it is the territory Edem has homefield advantage in.
Edem: Are you out of you musing? We have bigger things to worry about than your so-called Master. Hmm Master how repulsive. Making heroes of Legend doing their bidding forcing them to obey their commands.
Archer came out of his musing and gave Edem a stink eye.
Archer: Can you stop reading my mind? Also, how much can you read anyway?
Edem: Only what you are thinking and some memories that are not guarded by the shields erected around your mind.
Archer had his eyes pop out.
Archer: I had mental shields?
Edem: Yes, I think the Creator did it on purpose so that I do no get valuable information until or unless you tell them on your own violation.
That was it! That was Archer was trying to grasp on. A business relationship to get a certain leeway to planning in further exploits in their missions.
Archer: I see then it looks like I have something valuable to offer?
Archer gave a cocky smile towards Edem with eyes filled with mirth.
Edem just gave a passive look not giving a comment, he has much more important issues to deal with.
Edem: I need your help to draw a magic circle with ether clumps mixed with mercury.
Archer raised his eyebrows.
He can do that easily heck even a child could draw one with bad drawing skills.
So only question was that the purpose behind it.
Archer: What for?
Edem: I need to check which concepts are fueling by ability to use all of the True Magic. Also, what the Creator did to my soul and my body.
Archer holds his chin and looks Edem up and down.
He was curious what and Ether-Liner was.
Archer: I can do that but!
Edem: ....
Edem knew it was coming, there was always something that needs to be paid if one needs something.
He hates it when he has to give something or someone away, if this person asks something too much, he will practice drawing one himself, even if it takes months.
Edem grits his teeth but he eventually gives a sigh and checks to see what his partner wants.
Edem: What do you want?
Sweet words of honey entered Archers ears; he needs to strike while the iron is hot.
Archer: I need you to include me in your planning on any mission you are planning. Also, I want to draw and accord that will put us in an equal partnership. A geis scroll would be enough to be signed and no cheating using True Magic.
Edem gives a blank look towards Archer.
Edem: Haven't I been doing it all the time?
Archer had his mouth open and closed it with his hand running down his face.
Archer: All you did is give me the bare minimum. I need the details. Why did you visit that woman and the planet. Why are we here in a godforsaken place with dinosaurs running around that would try to chomp on us at a moment's notice.
As if the world heard Archer's prayer a random T-Rex had gotten their scent and was now running towards them with break neck speed that caused the ground to shake.
Both of them felt the tremors on the ground and felt the danger due to their Eye of the Mind.
Edem and Archer turned to the right and saw a humongous Lizard running from the north.
Edem already knew that Dinosaur was coming towards them, he just hoped it ignored them but it seemed that peanut brain of T-Rex could not comprehend the danger.
With a wave of his hand he hypnotized it using the Fourth magic causing it to calm down and become obedient.
Edem looked behind and saw Triceratops and Ankylosaurus from afar eating grass.
Edem released his mana pressure laced with killing intent throughout the place.
One must acknowledge the predator among the food chain. That was the rule of the dinosaurs.
Just like that the Triceratops and Ankylosaurus turned tail and ran away.
Slowly the T-Rex which previously had intention to turn both Archer and Edem into food came obediently to Edem as he commanded it. This sight baffled Archer every time seeing true magic.
with the T-Rex coming face to face with Edem and put its head down as an obedient pet.
Edem reached out and gently slapped on the lower Jaw of the T-Rex.
Edem: If you know who is the Apex predator then be sure to spread the word.
The T-Rex was shaking on its feet it saw something around that being that it cannot comprehend and the eyes that glowed in a rainbow hue gave it a premonition of death. The answer was clear, it was to kneel to this predator and ask for mercy.
One second, he was sneaking on an easy prey and the next second it saw an image of its head being severed.
Its instinct was screaming by the seconds as he saw the being Infront of it.
It was not prey but a monster.
Slowly commands seeped to its mind to spread the word and the T-Rex scurried away.
This being was scary.
Edem turned around now giving his attention to Archer.
Edem: What were you saying?
Archer looked at all this with open mouth.
It seems his help was not necessary, he already had swords projected on the reptile's head to kill it and obtain some food from it. But it seems he has to hunt some food later.
Is there any chicken looking dinosaurs running around?
Archer: Make a house using the first magic and some commodities from the memories you read in my head.
Edem: Okay I also wanted to talk to you anyway, before that let me make an armored mobile carrier.
Edem raised his left hand to the side and with a flash an armored vehicle appeared.
Archer marveled at the armor-plated vehicle and gave a nod to Edem.
Archer: So where to?
Edem: An open place with several rock valleys and a source of water.
Archer: What about a forest we can obtain several essentials like wood and water there.
Edem: If you want pre-historic mosquitos suck you dry of blood be my guest, not to mention hoard of them flying at night. I already saw danger 3 hours into the future using the Kaleidoscope. I would have burnt the whole forest down along with you killing innocent animals.
Archer: Point taken.
A shiver run down Archer's spine. He does not want to see what a pre-historic mosquito looks like. He was sure it was an Eldritch abomination.
With this last thought Edem and Archer went to the armored vehicle and opened the door.
Edem: Do you know how to operate a vehicle?
Archer: Somewhat but I have never seen or operated this vehicle.
Edem: I'll drive you go to the passenger seat. We'll head south from here.
Archer: Understood.
!!!!!!An hour later!!!!
There was silence in the car as Archer marveled at the era before humanity filled the whole Earth with sky-scrapers.
Clear skies with no excess clouds to obstruct the view of the view of the blue ozone. It was truly beautiful even Edem was gazing at the sky more than the road. Why is that?
He can also see some raptors running around beside the car.
Were they the ancestors of chickens?
A question to think about.
Archer looked beside his partner and decided to start a conversation even though he is not much of a talker.
He remembers the days of his counter-guardian missions where only a few people he used to talk to. One of them is Okita Souji Alter and the rest he did not care. Ryouma or his Old man.
Archer: It seems you have a fondness for the skies.
Edem: ...….
Edem gave a side-glance to gauge Archer's intention and reading his mind with eyes glowing green he saw it as a harmless question.
He had some hesitation to reveal something about to this stranger but a few words would suffice.
Edem: The place I come from I did not have much luxury to look at the sky. Therefore, the change of scenery is pleasant.
Archer: Hmm so could you not before?
Edem: Humanity lost the right to after they have taken Earth and its kindness for granted, which extends to me.
Archer: I am curious about the world you are from; any timelines I went to I did not hear a mention from Alaya.
Edem: Off course you won't after all it's a shadow war between Alaya and Gaia. The timeline I am from is quantum-time-locked. Any information or mention about it is restricted. The same for pan-human history where any change to it from outside information is disregarded and pruned.
Archer: Shadow war?
Edem: Ever heard of the spell Aylsebury-Valesti.
Archer closed his eyes and tried to remember this term, it seems like he heard this word before and it was something significant in his time as a counter-guardian.
Suddenly his thoughts came to a halt.
Archer: The resurrection spell for the Dark-Six and the effort by the dead apostles to resurrect Crimson Moon.
Edem: "BRUNESTUD!!!"
Archer recoiled from the huge killing intent coming out from Edem. Edem's eyes was bloodshot with saliva foaming from his mouth. The amount of hate he can feel is palpable around Edem.
Archer: Woa-h calm down! It seems you have a history with him.
Edem: "I WILL ERASE HIS DAMN ABOMINATION THE MOMENT I HAVE ALL MY POWER RELASED, DAMNED GAIA AND ALAYA AND THEIR FARCE OF A STALEMATE!"
Archer can only give silent prayers to the princess and Zelrecht. For Alaya he would be happy to be away from her clutches.
Archer had a glint in his eyes and now that Edem is angry and unstable he can get some juicy info about the future.
Archer: So, what did he do?
Edem: Lies Emiya lies. Everything was a hoax from the beginning. The false statement about the Age of God Ending and the lid Alaya stoppered to stop spread of mage craft so that it does not weaken.
Edem: ALL LIES!
Edem rammed the accelerator and with a burst of ignition and a jerk the vehicle sped up.
Archer was confused but intrigued by this revelation. It was known fact that Gods died at the hands of Sefar. Even well-known Gods died at its hands due to its special ability to get stronger the more it destroys.
It absorbed all the Spiriton information of the things she destroyed which included the mystery of Gods. He remembers that Alaya told him once that if instead of Ares all the Gods of Olympus fought her, they would have a chance of winning.
Biggest mistake was to send Ares and being food for the Celestial Invader. Not only did its Machine-God body destroyed but its authority absorbed.
The rest is history for the massacre to come.
Now Gaia and Alaya is using that timeline in a Quantum-Locked state to suppress the Gods. A sneaky play.
But the main question was.
Who was the one to set up this system of Quantum-Timelock int the first place. If all of the Gods were obliterated then who-
Archer: Aah!
Some dots soon began to collect.
Gods cannot materialize due to human order taking dominance around the whole world. Not to mention due to the absence of worship they cannot gather Mystery.
If they want to materialize with enough power and brute force to break it, they would need lots of mystery to break the quantum- timelock and manifest.
Even if they do get a body to have a vessel for worship, counter-guardians like him or Grands would neutralize them.
He remembers some of his missions he had to gang up with all of his fellow counter-guardians had to gang up on one of Indras materialization and kill him.
It was a hard battle to accomplish for all of them.
Divine-Spirts are not joke.
Quetzalcoatl is a prime example.
Suddenly Archer felt something amiss and strange as he recalled his memories.
Now that he has time to think about this mystery deepens and the statement the dots seem to become more aligned from the information he is remembering, even the ones Alaya just cleared up so that excess information about his mission do not bother his missions.
Some questions started to appear in his head.
If Sefar Obliterated all of the Gods who protected the Humans? Even if they were divine spirits after their death, they cannot fight them again as their true forms were obliterated.
Then there was Excalibur and its formation. How did the six fairies be calm in the face of annialation?
There seems to be something missing a big part of mystery.
The main pieces of puzzle that was missing.
Who protected the humans?
Who used Excalibur to kill Sefar?
Who put the quantum-time-lock to be placed and suppress the Gods from manifesting. The only thing he knows is about the old Epic of that arrogant jerk.
In the clock-tower he leaned that Gilgamesh who was made to renew the connection to the Gods had severed their link and ended at his age.
But the thing is one Gods name was still being spread after Arturia/Arthur had ended the last of the mystery along with her death.
Vortigern.
Suddenly a certain God's Image and a cross of a Church came to mind.
Archer's breath hitched as he finally had all the pieces on the board.
With a deep breath Archer looked at Edem who had a smug smile on his face.
Edem: It seems you are smarter than I thought.
Archer for confirmation projected a sword in his hand.
It was decorated with several treasures on its hilt.
With a red gem at its pommel.
A black sheen coming out of the blade.
The Blade was Durandel.
The blade given to Roland by Charlamagne.
Who was given the sword by an Angel who by all respect should not be able to materialize in the world after the Age of Gods ended.
Archer finally asked a question arriving at the answer.
He finally knew what was going on.
Archer: Not all Gods died, did they?
Edem: ...
Edem: Which religion do you think is still mostly worshipped after the Age of Gods Ended.
Archer: ...…..
Archer: Three in total.
Edem: Christanity, Islam, Hinduism.
Slowly a sinking feeling formed in Archer's stomach.
Archer: Fuck!
It was staring right at his face all the time.
Edem: I must say well played.
Edem: Shiva and God of the Bible. This partnership I did not expect.
Shiva and The Lord of Christianity. Archer cannot even comprehend this partnership. He was sure for the coming days he would have to come face to face with the Duo Shiva and Lord of the Bible.
He can only hope they are nothing like that priest and Gilgamesh.
That partnership still gives him nightmares from different timeline.
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