Although it was called a temple, in reality it had no connection whatsoever to any god on this planet. After all, this was not a miracle born of faith, but an expression of knowledge; not a divine gift, but a continuation of civilization. Unbidden, fragments of memories from a far future—beyond the modern age—surfaced in Steve's mind.
Back then, he was neither a Heroic Spirit nor a Magus. He was merely a soul from another world—a pure ordinary person. The amount and quality of his magic circuits were perhaps even inferior to those of a certain magus family. He knew nothing of mysteries, yet that did not prevent him from understanding their true essence.
With the power renowned as "Wisdom that Shakes the World," he performed divine acts within the body of a human being. Steve Weis understood the heart of humanity's problems and foresaw the last monster lurking in earth's depths: ORT. To protect this blue planet and ensure humanity's survival, he set forth an audacious, almost insane plan: the "Earth Sanctuary Project."
He still remembered the pained expressions on the faces of the ancient magus families' heads when all humanity was forced to migrate into outer space colonies [SIDE]. They were leaving behind the planet's lifeblood—the magical veins, their means of survival. In an instant, the magical foundations passed down for centuries or even millennia turned into useless data, and intricate magical engravings became as powerless as circuit boards without electricity. It seemed the era of magic would perish with their generation.
Naturally, people began to curse Steve—the one who had forced them into colonies and torn them from earth's gravity—labeling him, ironically, as the "Mystery Terminator," a more thorough destroyer than any magus. Yet, before long, they fell silent, for Steve had opened the door to a new era for both them and humanity.
He invented a marvel of genetic engineering known as the "Reformation," an operation that could reconstruct living beings. Those altered could survive even in the vacuum of space—becoming "New Humans." More importantly, they gained an entirely new sense: the ability to perceive and absorb cosmic dust, a form of energy particle existing throughout the Universe, its purity and potency surpassing even the legendary "True Ether" of the Age of the Gods.
When the first magus-turned-Neo-Human successfully unleashed a rune in the void, drawing power from [SIN] as his energy source—far stronger than any before—the entire magical world was shaken to its core. Monsters who had slept for millennia in the Wandering Sea, dismissing modern magecraft as mere tricks and pursuing only the magic of the Age of the Gods, emerged from seclusion in this space era, when ancient mysteries were fully revived.
So too did the Lords of the Clock Tower cast aside their arrogance in one swift motion, lining up eagerly before Steve's research lab, begging to undergo the transformation. Tradition and inheritance—so-called "roots"—seemed fragile before the new, broader, and more efficient road. Bottles and jars of the old quickly discarded, they gladly embraced this new era, dubbed "Cosmic Magecraft." From then on, the stage of human civilization expanded from this tiny planet to the endless sea of stars.
Everything was sparked by Steve—the one who "forged the age." In death, Steve's heroic exploits became part of his power as a Heroic Spirit. The "King of Heroes" who boasted he'd collected "all the world's treasures" really did hold the key to humanity's storehouse. The so-called "King of Magecraft" who claimed to know "every magecraft in the world," truly seemed to wield magic over all. Thus, Steve gained the power to use every form of magecraft invented by New Humans in the Space Age.
Of course, this power was greatly restricted here, in this era, on this planet. Earth's atmosphere isolated most [SIN], and by Gaia's will, the supply of true ether to the planet's surface had been shut off ages ago. Now, from his vast knowledge base, he could only use a handful of "fundamental applications," energetically cheap yet advanced, on par with Age of Gods magecraft.
Still, that was enough.
From dawn to dusk, in less than half a day, he constructed the "temple," using no physical materials at all: his own magecraft served as the "printer," the spiritual leyline of Ryuudou as the "ink," and the blueprint in his head as "data." By the time the sun's last rays disappeared beneath the horizon, he slowly lowered his hand.
The entirety of Ryuudou's guest quarters, even the mountain beneath, had been utterly transformed. From outside, Ryuudou still seemed a quiet, reserved temple—but to Steve and Ken, it had already become a sea of stars. The walls turned translucent, with uncountable spell-galaxies flowing across them. The floor became a jet-black mirror, reflecting a slowly spinning nebula conjured by magic above. The air was filled with pure, refreshing energy; every breath seemed to cleanse the soul.
"It's finished…?" Ken looked up, staring blankly at everything, murmuring to himself. "It's finished," Steve replied with a smile.
He could distinctly feel his bond with the spiritual leyline beneath the temple and mountain. Torrents of magical energy flowed through his spirit core like blood; he no longer needed to borrow a drop from Ken. Here, in this place, his magecraft was infinite.
"From today on, this is our stronghold and temporary home for the Holy Grail War."
He walked over to Ken, gently placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "No one here can hurt you, I promise."
His voice, his oath, and the incomparable miracle before his eyes finally dissipated the last of the child's lingering anxiety. Ken leaned against him, feeling the vast, warm aura radiating from him like a starry sky, and soon fell into a deep sleep. It was the first moment of true peace for someone who had lost their family.
Steve carefully lifted him and laid him on the soft, energy-formed bed in the corner of the room, covering him with a thin blanket woven from starlight. Then, alone, he walked to the very heart of the "temple" and closed his eyes.
Instantly, Steve's mind transcended physical barriers, linking into the spiritual web of all Fuyuki City. His "temple" was a gigantic signal amplifier and receiver.
Now then, let's have a look. Who else, apart from himself, had participated in this ancient ritual known as the "Holy Grail War"?
Just as he was about to find out, as expected, an incident began near his temple.
After all, his temple was, in essence, a miniature "other world," a singularity forcibly formatting Earth's ecosystem into a space environment. This caused the ether that permeated the "Edge of Stars"—filtered through planetary layers harmless to surface life, i.e. "air"—to revert to its most primitive, extremely toxic "cosmic dust ([SIN])" form. This act was equivalent to building a factory that constantly pumped "poison gas" into a nation's capital.
Whatever his original intent, to the will of the planet, known as "Gaia," this was plain invasion and pollution.
A warning was inevitable. As expected, the moment the temple's energy cycle stabilized, Steve felt it: a cold, ancient, emotionless rejection surged along the spiritual leyline straight for his temples, like an invisible wave. The local leylines of Ryuudou began to ominously resonate, as though the planet's nervous endings were firing warning signals of pain.
This… was the whisper of Gaia—the subtlest and sternest warning from the god to this "foreign object." "Stop, or be annihilated."
Steve expected this. Without any intention of resistance, he merely closed his eyes. Defying the planet's will?
Foolishness.
Instead, he reached out, communicating and demonstrating, showing that his existence was not a threat but… a new mode of protection.
Thus, at this very moment, Steve's core—containing the essence of [Saver], hidden within the [Caster] Class—awakened in silence. He used another aspect of his Second Noble Phantasm, [Promissum Humanitas].
No earth-shaking light, no space-tearing force; he simply sent a pure, information-laden magical signal through his temple gently into the restless leyline at his feet. Not an attack, but an equal introduction across species and time.
Within that signal was the imprint of Steve's entire life—an immortal oath engraved in human history.
Deep in Earth's mineral veins, Gaia received the torrent of information. It "saw" the one who had steered declining humanity's civilization to the stars and seas—the one known for miracles as "wisdom that shakes the world." He had not run away, but safeguarded something precious.
Steve had implemented the "Earth Purification Plan," lightening Earth's burden by sending ninety percent of humanity into space, massively reinforcing "Alaya"—the force that binds humanity's survival—while indefinitely postponing the awakening of the alien invader known as ORT.
Gaia "saw" him leading a new fleet against cosmic harvesters and utterly destroying them without harming the planet. He single-handedly removed two threats that could have ended Earth. Gaia then witnessed the most incredible thing: billions of years in the future, more than a decade after that man's natural death, when human civilization had long become a vast interstellar empire, people still upheld Steve's ancient pledge.
As the sun entered its red giant phase to swallow everything, humanity's fleet returned, refusing to abandon their former "home"—this blue world. They installed tens of thousands of planetary engines upon Earth and the Moon, firing blue flames of power that shook the stars. Slowly, they towed both worlds from the dying solar system through a stargate into a new galaxy, thousands of trillions of light-years away, for a new journey.
Earth and Moon were towed through the gate, seeking a temporary home until the universe's end, until all ascended with their kind. It was a wondrous act of gratitude and protection—proof that their vow to "live with the stars, die with the stars" had reached its ultimate conclusion.
The flood of information ended. Leyline turbulence gradually settled, ancient, cold rejection receding like the tide. Silence—almost a "default" tranquility—remained.
Gaia… trusted Steve.
Gaia believed that a soul capable of such legacy, whose heroic ideal was to protect both humanity and Earth, would never harm the planet. So, an exception was made: permission was granted for Steve's presence, and for his power to turn Earth's blood into another form of energy.
Feeling the calm return to the land veins, Steve slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath. The greatest hidden threat was eliminated.
Now, it was time to deal with the next urgent source of pollution on this land.
With that, Steve's form transformed into starry motes, silently passing through the temple floor and thick bedrock, descending deep under Ryuudou mountain. Soon, he arrived in a huge natural cavern—like an underground temple. In the middle stood a colossal device made of magical arrays and circuits: the core of the Grail system.
Visually ordinary, but under Steve's enhanced perception, the pure core was smothered by a viscous, pitch-black, oily mud—
All the Evils of this World. Angra Mainyu.
Thanks to the wreckage from the Third Grail War, this all-powerful wish-granting engine had become a blighted, curse-spreading cauldron.
Steve extended his right hand toward the writhing darkness. Pure silver-blue light—cosmic magecraft—gathered at his fingertips.
Cleansing… began.
…