3 hours later,
After helping Illya shift to the Tohsaka Mansion and having dinner cooked by Sakura and Medea, everyone gathered at the chasm where the meteor had collided with Earth.
By the end of the Holy Grail War, Ryuudou Temple, Mt. Enzo, and hundreds of meters of earth under the mountain had been obliterated.
Not only that, the damage had spread for miles, killing almost everyone in the vicinity, especially when the corrupted Greater Grail had birthed Angra Mainyu, using the evil Betty Shaw as the new core.
Enkidu and Gilgamesh's final attacks had poured oil on the fire, changing the topography enough for it to be mistaken for a meteor-related incident.
However, the changes weren't limited to topography.
Something much worse had happened to this place.
As Black, Medea, Rider, Sakura, Rin, Shirou, and Illya stood in the middle of the chasm under the blackness of night, thick multicolored bolts of lightning were rumbling spontaneously in their surroundings.
This wasn't normal lightning, but was made of pure Mana… leaking Mana.
There was a reason that the three Magi Families had created the Greater Grail ritual in the Ryuudou Cavern under Mt. Enzo hundreds of years ago. There was a reason why Ryuudou Temple was considered the most ideal place to summon the Holy Grail at the end of the War.
There was a reason that the mountain that had ceased to exist was sacred.
It was all because Mt. Enzo was the convergence of Fuyuki City's Leylines!
As the rumbles distorted the space around them, Medea and Rin's faces contorted, Sakura hugging herself, shivering.
Even Shirou, who had only recently stepped onto the path of a true Magus, could feel it.
"… It's damaged…" Illya worded out the horror, her white face paling even more.
Leylines were a network of veins deep into the earth that produced Mana, filling the world and nature.
It was because of this that Magi across the globe weren't limited to their innate magical supply, otherwise known as Od. They could also use the Mana from the world itself, fueling their spells.
The same was true for the Magi of Fuyuki City as well.
The higher the strength of a Mage, the stronger they could feel the dissonance between undamaged and damaged Leylines.
If this continued, then even the likes of Medea, whose existence was now tethered to Fuyuki City within the timeline, would fall to the status of third-rank Mages.
"Can this be repaired?" Black asked.
If this were just any other Switched World, he wouldn't have cared, leaving the denizens of the timeline to suffer the consequences of his actions. He had already done this twice with the Pokémon and Pirates of the Caribbean timelines, leaving both places in a worse state than before his arrival there.
But this was his timeline now.
Fuyuki City would become a major gathering point, just like London in the Harry Potter World, hosting the Clock Tower once the timelines were fused.
So, these Leylines would not only power Fate timeline's Mana, but they would regulate all the Mana in the fused Verse Fusion timelines later.
Black couldn't have that.
Medea took a deep breath. "… Perhaps…" she said, recalling some spells. "We can make sure that the Leylines' state doesn't worsen anymore. Then, with time, they would naturally heal."
Rider nodded. "That would be for the best," she added. "Are you thinking of anchoring them using Holy Ridges?"
Medea raised a brow, getting slightly annoyed. "Like you know how to cast those spells," she said, scoffing.
Black felt a headache coming. "… Don't fight," he said, rolling his eyes. "What do you need, Medea?"
Medea's expression softened. "A Leyline is a metaphysical conduit that prefers stable structures," she explained. "Mountains, long rock formations, and temples act as anchors. With the Greater Grail gone, that anchor is missing…"
Rin hummed, feeling cold as well. "So we need to raise some structures?"
"Mountains," Medea corrected. "I would need two the size of Mt. Enzo to cast the ritual arrays on them barely. Let's not even talk about the sheer numbers of Bounded Fields it would need to keep those arrays intact from the leaking Mana here…"
A frown settled on all faces.
"… I see," Black nodded. "Wait."
Wait?! Shirou, Rin, Illya, and even the Servants shared a puzzled glance. What did he mean by that?!
Suddenly, a wave of power grabbed all of them, taking them high in the sky.
They all looked at Black, realizing he was using Telekinesis to take them up. But… Why?!
The answer appeared in their vision after only a few seconds, shocking the living breath out of them.
"Oh…" Rin gasped.
"… my…" Sakura's mouth hung low.
Illya gulped, seeing the two little dots on the horizon. "… god!"
The little dots kept becoming bigger and bigger as seconds passed by, even Medea and Rider sharing a shocked look between them.
And, soon, the dots finally revealed their true nature.
Two enormous mountains, as large as Mt. Enzo, with one bigger than the other. Making the Characters feel like ants beneath them, the two mountains slowly descended and perfectly lay next to each other, sealing the vast chasm.
"There…" Black said, smiling. "That was easy…"
The Characters would have jumped on shameless Black if someone else hadn't occupied their vision at the moment.
Earth gave out under Shirou's feet, despite him levitating midair. "… Gilgamesh?!"
Yes.
Under the starry sky, a figure hovered, wearing a regal golden armor.
Unlike Shirou, Rin, Sakura, and Illya, though, Rider and Medea instantly recognized that figure. Not because this figure had spiked white hair or his eyes were slitted and hazel. But because they had fought alongside him in the Holy Grail War.
"… Berserker…" Rider and Medea worded together, feeling… unnerved for the first time.
Because, unlike them, Berserker had become stronger than ever. Even the leaking Mana, taking the shapes of multicolored bolts of lightning, was bending around him, disappearing into the space.
When Black had truly gained Illya's Magic Circuits as his own, the Crest Worms Kai had assimilated within him after obtaining Zouken Matou's Inheritance had finally shown their nature, increasing Kai's MP Regeneration Rate by 300%.
Now, with Biokinesis, Kai could endlessly fuel the Crest Worms, maintaining the increased MP Regeneration Rate.
Momentarily, especially with the lack of Mana in the surroundings, Kai's Mana pool became even grander than Medea's.
It was only right for the two Servants to feel unnerved in his presence.
It was more so for Medea, who had a slight idea about the relationship his lover shared with this… entity.
She looked toward Black and found him looking back at her.
"… I became stronger, too, you know," he said humorously.
No… Medea decided, balling her fingers into fists. She… She must separate Black from Berserker…
Kai and Black almost laughed, reading Medea's thoughts like blocks of text.
"Alright," Black said. "It's time…"
A blue swirl of teleportation vortex materialized in front of them.
Emotions surged as they saw Black gliding toward it, facing them. "I will keep coming back… now and then," he said, winking at Medea, making her blush.
"Rascal!" Illya cursed, realizing what they were talking about.
"Black!" Shirou shouted. "… We haven't finished our duel!"
Black nodded at him and then swept his gaze over all of them.
Then, saying nothing else, he melted inside the teleportation vortex.
At the same moment, Kai descended from above, but stopped a step away from the swirling blueness, and looked over his shoulder.
Rin's heart skipped a beat.
"… Take care," Kai said, smirking.
Then, he vanished as well, leaving the Fate Bubble.
And the moment Kai left the timeline, a mutilated worm somewhere in the city cackled maniacally.
"… Fools…" The worm hissed, carrying a Video Camera on its tiny head. "A Cameraman never dies! Kekekeke!!"
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Volume 22 — The Fate Borrower — Ends!
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Author's Note:
Phew…
Over 150 Chapters. That was something, huh? I really hope you guys liked the developments in this volume. As I said before writing this volume, we will not cover any major Arcs related to Fate anymore. More like Demon Slayer, with small visits now and then.
You must have already realized that Fate timeline (and the Characters I mentioned in the last few chapters) will play a much bigger role in the future. So, look forward to seeing them grow… in a Multiverse Style.
If you have some time, and if you have not reviewed the work, you can consider typing a few words for the new readers.
If you are part of a community, you can also share the novel with your friends or fellow community members. It would be of great help for me if someone who has read novel this far were to recommend it to someone else as, by this point, you know the overall plot, theme, Characters, and writing style.
Alright. That's it from me.
Also, if you are financially capable, I hope a few of you would consider supporting the work. Writing a novel this big takes not only time but extreme efforts to keep it all together. Any contribution will be much appreciated. [All Links can be accessed using the Link in my Webnovel Profile]
If you do decide to support it, I would HIGHLY recommend accessing all the original Images of this Volume, and past ones as well, before reading ahead.
Good Luck.
Let's head toward the 1000th Chapter together.
droopyauthor
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