A Spacequake is the impact caused when a Spirit existing in the Neighboring World descends upon Earth, and its massive spiritual power interacts with the Earth's space.
Simply put, Spirits are visitors from another world. When they appear in the human world, they breach the world's barrier, and the Spacequake is the destruction they cause.
Historically, in human records, the most intense Spacequake was an accident 23 years ago.
At that time, the entire Earth was encompassed by the Spacequake's range… a terrifying, planet-engulfing phenomenon that was utterly despair-inducing.
But fortunately, for some unknown reason, that Spacequake vanished mysteriously.
Few knew the truth, but most believed it was stopped by another Spirit-like existence.
Classifying its existence as top secret, while humans hoped that Spirit would appear, they feared the unknown power even more.
Therefore, more details about the Spacequake 23 years ago were relegated to legend.
[You, possessing the Beast of the End, True Sun God, Earth King, Kabbalah Tree of Life, and Lord of the Three Realms, have been born.]
[Due to your bloodline, you were not born as a life form on Earth this time, but as an existence in the depths of space.]
[As time passed, you, located in the void of space, grew rapidly. In just a few days, you attained a form comparable to an adult and possessed immense power.]
[All of this was born from your talents. You are the chosen king, the hope placed upon the entire galaxy? No, the hope placed upon the entire universe.]
'The entire universe? Are you kidding me?'
The Earth King, the Beast of the End, and the True Sun God, at their strongest, were ultimately only planetary Ultimate Ones.
Even with the status of Lord of the Three Realms, Ryuya understood his current strength surpassed the planetary level but hadn't reached the galactic scale yet.
As for the universe... he was far from that. This wasn't a matter of geometric progression but a macro difference between two dimensions and four dimensions… they weren't even on the same plane.
'But having said that, this feeling of power... it's like I can control everything, yet it remains just out of reach.'
Closing his eyes, experiencing the stars in the universe, feeling the growth of all things, Ryuya felt as if he had returned to the time in Snowfield City during the Fourth Holy Grail War when he sealed the Root.
But unlike then, he now felt closer to those mysterious rules, a sensation he had never experienced before.
'Was this form what was known as a god of rules?'
'The Kabbalah Tree of Life, the Kingdom of the Lord of the End... perhaps... this is the correct path for me to become a true god, a god of the universe.'
Faintly glimpsing his own future, Ryuya shook his head and snapped out of that seemingly addictive state.
What he needed now was to return to Earth, to find Mio, Westcott, and the others.
After all, he didn't even know how much time had passed since he left, nor what events had occurred during his absence.
Returning to Earth from outside the world, skillfully controlling the power within him… although Ryuya possessed the Kabbalah Tree of Life, which was Spirit's spiritual power, he was also the Sun-Crowned King and the Earth King, so he naturally wouldn't cause any harm to the planet.
The moment he returned to Earth...
"Hmm? This scent is..."
Currently accompanying the girl named Hoshimiya Mukuro, continuing the tasks left in the diary Ryuya had given her, Mio had actually developed her own ideas over the years.
She had been continuously creating 'children' known as Spirits. She wanted to present Ryuya with a grand gift upon his return.
That gift was to let Ryuya devour all the Spirits, granting him immense power, power comparable to her own, enabling him to stay with her forever.
She didn't want to part, didn't want separation. For this ultimate goal, she was well aware of Ryuya's character. That man, the man she loved most, would definitely not agree with her plan.
But Mio wasn't afraid. Because she was strong enough. She was so strong that she had devised multiple methods to make Ryuya follow her plan. She would arrange everything, making her beloved the strongest in this world, then eternally enjoy an infinite, beautiful future with him.
Until then, she was even willing not to see Ryuya, solely because she had to complete her plan.
Moreover, she was afraid… afraid that if she saw Ryuya, just one word from her beloved would make her abandon her long-held resolve and obediently return to his embrace.
Sensing the return of that familiar scent, Mio froze for an instant.
"Nee-san? Did something happen?"
Hoshimiya Mukuro, originally adopted by an ordinary family, was now following Takami Mio. Her name remained Mukuro, mainly because Mio didn't want anyone else sharing Ryuya's surname, so she let Mukuro choose her own name.
She was somewhat stunned after seeing the sister who raised her suddenly burst into tears.
In Mukuro's memory, Mio had never shown such an expression, so why would the sister who was peerless and looked down on everything act like this?
"Mukuro, I'm fine."
Shaking her head, neither confirming nor denying her sister's concern, Mio forcibly suppressed the impulse in her heart to go find Ryuya.
She was, by nature, a Spirit with absolute persistence and obsession.
"Let's go, Mukuro. We have other things to do."
Taking one last distant look in Ryuya's direction, Mio said nothing more and continued leading Mukuro on their predetermined path.
On Ryuya's side...
"Hmm? Where is Mio?"
Logically, just by releasing a bit of his aura, given Mio's abilities, she should be able to find him and teleport over within 10 seconds.
He never doubted Mio's strength, as he had confirmed that during their time alone together.
But...
"Did she encounter something? Or doesn't she want to come? Or maybe she hasn't detected me?"
In Ryuya's view, there were only three possibilities for why Mio hadn't come to find him.
First, she encountered some enemy preventing her from coming, but this was almost impossible because Mio's power was the strongest in this world.
Second, she herself didn't want to come. Perhaps she was angry about his departure, or had some other thought? So she was deliberately avoiding him?
Third, the final possibility: Mio might have traveled through time, gone to a different timeline or world, and was temporarily absent, hence why she hadn't come.
Regardless of the option, the fact that Mio hadn't come to find him was somewhat unexpected for Ryuya.
After some thought, he decided not to rush.
"Let's first see what the current timeline is, then try to find Westcott and the others?"
Deciding on his next course of action, Ryuya arrived on the streets, only to be met with an ear-piercing alarm sound.
"Warning, warning. Spacequake detected. All residents, please evacuate immediately."
"Warning, warning. Spacequake detected. All residents, please proceed to safe zones immediately. Repeat, this is not a drill. All residents, please evacuate immediately to safe zones!"
As the loud sirens blared, Ryuya instantly felt it… a strange, powerful tremor in the air, causing intense vibrations.
"A Spacequake? A Spirit is manifesting? That shouldn't be right. Mio shouldn't have the desire to create Spirits?"
Spirits, to be precise, were 'daughters' created by Mio.
Unlike the Spirit of Origin, who could freely control her power, beings known as Spirits were transcendent beings unable to master their own existence. Their appearance in the real world more or less caused some accidents.
What Ryuya was experiencing now was the situation described in the original work when Spirits appeared in the human world.
"Strange, it shouldn't be... but..."
Although curious about the Spirit's appearance, as the Earth King and the Sun-Crowned King, Ryuya naturally had to quell this human disaster.
Raising his hand, vast magical power precisely extended from him, covering the entire city, suppressing the world barrier agitated by the Spirit.
Under his control, the blaring Spacequake alarm instantly ceased.
"What's going on?"
"The alarm stopped?"
"False alarm?"
"Impossible, look at the streets. Clearly, someone prevented the Spirit's descent."
As people emerged from underground shelters and buildings, looking at the wind-swept city, most were grateful the Spacequake had lasted only a short time before disappearing.
But they were even more curious about what had happened? Who restored the Spacequake anomaly? Could it be the same unknown existence that stopped the world crisis 23 years ago?
Unaware of human thoughts, and not caring about these matters, Ryuya simply focused on sensing the spiritual power of the Spirit in the air.
"Not good, I can't find it."
After all, he had just acquired the Kabbalah Tree of Life and was still somewhat unfamiliar with using spiritual power.
Plus, the manifested Spirit seemed intent on hiding herself, so Ryuya couldn't find her no matter what.
After some thought, he temporarily gave up on that plan, thinking it better to find a place to understand the current state of the world and check if there was a DEM or something similar.
Sitting down in a random café, he only realized after ordering that it was a cat café.
'Heh... If it were Yukino, she'd definitely love this place.'
Remembering that Yukino particularly liked places with small cats, as did Irisviel, Ryuya idly beckoned to the cats.
As expected, with his status as Earth King, all life on Earth held a strong affinity for him. Instantly, all the cats in the café ran to his feet, lining up for pets and cuddles.
"Oh my god, is this a joke?"
"Who is that guy? How did he do that?"
"I'm so jealous of that person!"
Many expressed admiration for Ryuya's presence, and some cat lovers even wanted to approach him to learn his secrets.
"There, there, good kitties."
Oblivious to the surrounding stares, Ryuya found no information about DEM online.
'Strange. In the original work, Westcott and the others definitely created the massive DEM company, publicly researching Spirits through various industries and providing funding.'
'Yet, after searching for a while, I still found nothing. It seemed they had other ideas… either they hadn't established DEM, or they were operating in a more concealed manner.'
"As expected of my disciples, they're really good at hiding."
Sighing, just as Ryuya felt somewhat helpless about the derailed plot...
"Sir, could you tell me how you made these cats like you so much?"
A voice full of charm that made one's bones feel weak just hearing it. The girl who spoke walked directly to Ryuya's side, making no attempt to hide her fondness for the cats surrounding him.
"Ah? How to make these little ones like me? It's innate, can't be taught."
With his appearance and aura having reached the human limit, Ryuya was long accustomed to the envious looks from others.
Coupled with his powerful presence, many actually had a high initial favorability towards him, but simply didn't dare to strike up a conversation.
Surprised that someone actively spoke to him, he put down the meowing kitten in his arms and looked up.
What he saw was a girl wearing black-and-white gothic lolita attire, with a medical eyepatch over her left eye.
"Innate? That's a pity then."
Her exquisite beauty wasn't conventional… it was a maturity and allure born from complex experiences.
The girl herself didn't possess a powerful aura, but the devilish charm about her was akin to the ruthlessness emanating from Ryuya's Evil Holy Grail or the All the World's Evils.
Shaking her head, the girl looked at Ryuya, revealing a captivating smile, then spoke softly, "Sir, have we met? I feel a very familiar scent from you."
Gently licking her lips, a slight blush appeared on her face as she spoke, as if genuinely feeling shy.
Showing unabashed interest in Ryuya's presence, the girl Ryuya encountered was none other than the terror known as the Worst Spirit.
The one... who had significant appearances even in Chat Groups or other Comprehensive Anime Fanfictions, the Time Spirit whose true name is Tokisaki Kurumi!