Like a person slumbering in a dream suddenly awakening, as the darkness before his eyes and the sluggishness in his mind slowly receded, Souya was somewhat astonished to find himself standing on a familiar yet strange white stone path.
Only, compared to those paths in his somewhat distant memories, the one he stepped on now had undergone some changes.
Souya instinctively turned his head to observe these changes.
What met his eyes were rows of lush, spreading trees alongside the road.
And...
After scanning his surroundings, Souya's gaze slowly fell forward.
There was the end of this road.
The originally endless path leading toward a white horizon now had an end, and the scene at the end was a massive, crystal-clear lake.
Above the lake, there were three figures leaning on each other.
A knight clad in black armor lay quietly, as if asleep, in the embrace of a cold yet noble Queen. She had her head lowered, looking as if she were about to kiss the person in her arms, or perhaps gazing deeply into his eyes.
And resting upon the knight was a golden-haired young girl.
In Souya's eyes, the eyes of all three were closed, and their chests did not rise or fall. It was as if they were merely slices created from his memories and experiences.
Yet, Souya could clearly feel that the figure of that knight was not just a simple slice. A connection existed between him and himself.
"Is this... the ending?"
Looking at the scene before him and recalling the memories in his mind that felt like a lifetime ago, Souya couldn't help but sigh.
As if it had been waiting for him to say this, the system's voice appeared in Souya's mind almost the moment his words fell.
[It is not the ending, but merely the end of the main trunk of this path. Host, you still have eight paths left to walk. The ending is nowhere in sight~]
An illusory yet incredibly mechanical voice. Of course, to Souya's ears, it sounded just as punchable as ever.
"You mean I still have to undergo eight more Heroic Spirit simulation engravings?!"
Hearing the trash system's words, Souya's tone instantly became somewhat peculiar.
Eight times...
Barring any accidents, that means eight different lives.
With Souya's personality, he would definitely treat each one extremely seriously. But if it really went down like this, experiencing a full eight different lives—plus the Britain one he had already lived through—that would make nine people with different personalities, cognitions, and experiences.
Even though, under the effect of the "Heart of Eternal Clarity," Souya had already comprehended the principle of "I am me, and I am not me," clearly knowing that all those people were actually just himself in different periods, and their souls were all him, Kotomine Souya... But after going through this nine times, would he really not develop symptoms of schizophrenia?
Silently reflecting on his life and state of mind in Britain, Souya felt it was highly precarious.
After all, these were lives he had personally experienced and poured his emotions and feelings into.
But the trash system's answer was unexpected.
[Not necessarily, Host.]
"Hm?"
Hearing this, Souya, who had been feeling a headache coming on, froze for a moment and instinctively asked:
"Not necessarily? What does that mean? Isn't that how simulators are used?"
[Come on, Host, you're really being a drag, eh?]
Souya: ?
What's up with this heavy, old-school Taiwanese drama vibe?
[Host, you seem to have confused something. These nine paths are not a cheat code I brought you, but an ability you inherently possess due to being reincarnated in this world for special reasons. Didn't I tell you from the very beginning? My role is merely to act as a guide, leading you to develop and move forward.]
[The so-called simulation was just a rough term I went along with back then to make it easier for you to understand when my functions were incomplete. As for me now, I have accumulated enough power after you completed the first path.]
[The me now has surpassed the me of the past. I am Version 3.0!]
"Stop your blabbering, trash system. Even if you evolved to 3.0, it can't excuse the fact that you are trash."
Souya really couldn't stand this guy's cocky tone and instinctively started roasting it.
However, he was indeed intensely curious about the true function of the nine paths mentioned by the trash system, so he hurriedly urged it to continue.
Fortunately, this time the trash system didn't spout more nonsense, but straightforwardly told Souya.
[I told you, Host. The nine paths themselves represent your nine infinite possibilities.]
[Originally, Version 1.0 of me only roughly remembered this much because I had just replenished a tiny bit of energy. But now, I have completely filled in the information regarding them.]
"So what is it?"
Listening to the system's words, Souya couldn't help but hold his breath.
[The paths themselves are possibilities, indeed. But they are not limited to you having nine different lives. Nine possibilities also represent that you might have nine kinds of experiences.]
[Your identity when experiencing these events can be yourself, Kotomine Souya, or it can exist in that period—meaning a past or future version of you.]
[Identity and body are not important. What's important is the soul. As long as your soul descends, that counts as one path.]
[In summary, Host, you just need to die nine times. Every time you die, it counts as a node, and that makes one path.]
[Well, this is roughly all I know from this update. If I explain any more clearly, my role as a guide would be too miserable.]
[If the Host wants to investigate it himself, you might as well look for answers in the Bible~ good luck～(∠・ω< )⌒☆!]
After listening to the system's words in silence, Souya felt his brain short-circuiting over and over.
Setting aside the issue that the trash system's composition seemed to have become somewhat complex due to the update, Souya roughly understood the so-called nine paths.
"What is this, 'I have died nine times' ah!!!"
The urge to roast was burning fiercely. Souya felt that after he died, his soul of roasting could definitely turn into a Noble Phantasm.
But fortunately, according to the system, it seemed he didn't need to worry about the issue of schizophrenia?
But will a person's mental state really be fine after dying nine times?
Sighing softly, Souya began to ponder what these nine paths had to do with the Bible, based on the system's final sentence.
Fortunately, Souya was not stupid. He had not forgotten the Christian knowledge he had learned under the strict supervision of his cheap dad, Kotomine Risei.
Nine paths, nine paths. Nine, and paths.
These two were undoubtedly the key factors.
The number nine represents many meanings in the Bible. It is the extreme of three times the holy number 3, representing spiritual perfection and completion, while also carrying implications of judgment and suffering.
At the same time, it symbolizes the fruit of endurance, meaning that one can only obtain the spiritual fruit through perseverance and forbearance.
Combined with the Stigmata on the back of his neck, the answer was obvious.
"The 'Path to Sainthood' belonging to me, huh?"
A wry smile couldn't help but tug at the corners of Souya's mouth.
As expected, there is a reason I was inexplicably favored by the pigeon [God]. It turns out the Almighty Lord wants me.
But even knowing this was meaningless. Frankly, Souya had a pretty good impression of the pigeon.
After all, growing up to this point, setting aside the fact that his achievements were all thanks to Him, the guy still responded to his needs and occasionally gave him revelations despite His busy schedule of going to the docks to get french fries every day.
That was already very decent of Him.
Thinking this, Souya stopped dwelling on this matter and turned to consider another issue.
"Hey, trash system. Did you forget to give me my reward for this path?"
Thinking of this, Souya, who hadn't fully recovered from his experiences in Britain, instantly became excited again.
He was desperately eager to become stronger.
But the system didn't think so.
[What reward? This system doesn't know anything about that.]
Souya: ?
What are you trying to pull?
"Stop pretending! Hurry up and bring out the reward I deserve!"
Souya already had a bad premonition, but he forced himself not to show it, silently comforting himself in his heart that no matter how trash the system was, it shouldn't go so far as to withhold the reward he deserved.
Not to mention turning Lamorak directly into a Class Card so I can do a Knight Transformation like other simulators, surely you can at least spare some skills and power?
Even if worst comes to worst, giving a Noble Phantasm and some parameters should be doable!
But all these expectations fell dead, and then turned to despair, amidst the trash system's silence.
Silence. Silence was the Cambridge of tonight.
After a long while, Souya slowly asked a question.
"System. Tell me exactly what you can do."
Trash System:
[~bye bye～(∠・ω< )⌒☆!]
Souya: FUCK YOU!.
***
When Souya broke free from the dream of the Nine Paths, he found that at some unknown point, the special plane for Holy Church agents he was on had arrived at his destination: Romania, the location of this Holy Grail Great War.
However, no matter how much the Yggdmillennia clan covered the sky with one hand in Romania, it was impossible for them to set the location of the war in a bustling metropolis. So after arriving in Romania, Souya still had to take a car to Sighisoara, the town closest to Trifas, where the Great War was taking place.
And this was also the border city closest to the Yggdmillennia clan's stronghold, the Fortress of Millennia, where their Servants wouldn't be able to detect his presence.
There, the first thing Souya had to do was go to the local church to meet his senior and superior for this mission, who was also his adopted brother: Shirou Kotomine (Amakusa Shirou).