C368

Miyu glanced around, her eyes darting from left to right. She sensed that something was off with the room's atmosphere.

At first, the atmosphere was fairly calm, but when the uncle wearing a green top hat entered, it became slightly tense.

Then, as the uncle with white braided hair arrived, the atmosphere froze completely. Furthermore, it became somewhat heavy.

Miyu felt a bit suffocated, wanting to take a deep breath but hesitating to do so audibly.

As Shirou locked eyes with Solomon, who returned his gaze, he couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Solomon, also known as Caster, stood as the ultimate Heroic Spirit in the Caster class and was a fellow member of Clairvoyance Chat Group.

Although Solomon had been eager to meet him in the chat group, Shirou never imagined he would have the chance. Yet now, not only had Lev Lainur and Chaldea appeared, but even Solomon himself had time-traveled from over three thousand years ago to the present.

This rendered Shirou speechless and cast a heavy shadow over his mood.

He understood that with Solomon's presence, he had no opportunity to act against Lev Lainur.

After taking a deep breath, he turned his gaze towards the King of Magecraft and asked, "Solomon, in what manner have you materialized yourself now?"

Solomon returned his gaze and responded, "The form before you is not my living self, but rather the version of me that became a Heroic Spirit after death. I was summoned to this era through Chaldea's Guardian Heroic Spirit Summoning System."

"Guardian Heroic Spirit Summoning System?" Shirou raised an eyebrow.

Within the "FGO" setting, indeed, such a system mechanism exists.

In the world of "FGO," the initial entity summoned was Solomon, followed by the fusion of Galahad with Mash Kyrielight as the second entity, and the third entity being Da Vinci.

But how did they come up with this thing?

In the world of "FGO," the establishment of this Guardian Heroic Spirit Summoning System dates back to 2004 when Marisbury Animusphere summoned Solomon and emerged as the victor in the Holy Grail War, thus laying the foundation for its subsequent development.

A significant breakthrough occurred in 2010 when they successfully summoned Galahad. The crucial issue at hand is that the world of "FGO" has only one Holy Grail War. However, to date, there have been four Holy Grail Wars in this world!

How did it all get mixed up like this?

And to make things even more chaotic, there was also an invasion from the parallel world of Ainsworth...

Everything was in complete chaos!

Maybe right from the start, ever since he took the place of the original Shirou and joined the Fourth Holy Grail War as Caster, this world was bound to differ from the Type-Moon worlds he knew so well.

In the original idea of "Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya," Kiritsugu sacrificed his commitment to justice for Illya. As a result, the Fourth Holy Grail War concluded prematurely, altering the course of the world and paving the way for the events in "Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya."

And now, due to Shirou's action, this world has entered an uncharted timeline. But how did the Chaldea Heroic Spirit Guardian Summoning System come into existence in this particular world?

In response, Kenneth let out a contemptuous laugh, showing a touch of arrogance. He remarked, "The summoning rituals used by those three families in the Holy Grail War are nothing more than crude techniques practiced by unsophisticated magi from the countryside. It took me only a brief moment to completely decipher and comprehend them."

Shirou glanced at Kenneth, "Did you invent it?"

"Of course."

Sola chuckled and remarked, "You're making it sound too simple. Who dedicated five years of sleepless nights to studying and unraveling the crucial aspects of the summoning rituals?"

Kenneth replied helplessly, "Sola, there are some things that are best left unspoken!"

Sola covered her mouth and giggled.

Shirou massaged his temples, sensing a headache approaching.

Kenneth survived the Fourth Holy Grail War only to aid Marisbury Animusphere in the creation of such a thing.

"I understand your concerns, Eternal King," Solomon stated calmly, looking directly at him. "But you can be at ease knowing that the incineration of humanity will not happen."

"Are you sure?" Shirou raised an eyebrow, turned slightly, and directed his gaze towards Lev Lainur.

"Indeed, Flauros does share some connection with this young man. However, I assure you that this young man is not Flauros. Furthermore, based on the information you provided, I have already destroyed the 'Human Order Correction Ritual' and obliterated my own body, thus preventing the birth of Goetia."

The Human Order Correction was a system devised by Solomon, the King of Magecraft, with the aim of promoting rationality and order efficiently. In simpler terms, it served as the mechanism responsible for the creation of the seventy-two daemons of Solomon.

In the original timeline of "FGO," following Solomon's demise, the seventy-two daemons of Solomon acquired consciousness. Utilizing Solomon's deceased body, the Human Order Correction system, and their own collective thoughts, they brought forth the "Human Order Incineration." This ritual represents the combination of the seventy-two daemons of Solomon, known as Goetia.

If Solomon destroyed the "Human Order Correction" system and his own corpse prior to his death, then the necessary conditions for Goetia's birth would indeed not be fulfilled.

"Why did you come to this era, King Solomon? Don't tell me you were forcibly summoned. You should possess the ability to decline summoning."

Upon hearing this, Solomon paused briefly, then directed his gaze towards him, "I came here of my own volition."

"Why?"

"Because I have always wanted to meet you."

Shirou: "?????"

He was taken aback, his expression filled with confusion. He couldn't understand this situation. Was this some kind of weird long-distance romance spanning three thousand years? What was happening?

"You wanted to meet me? What exactly do you want to do?"

"I want to know, what exactly is a human being?" Solomon said in a flat tone.

The room fell into a stunned silence as everyone present couldn't help but be taken aback.

Even Marisbury Animusphere, known for his gentle smile, was momentarily stunned by Solomon's words.

The legendary King of Magecraft, the founder of magecraft, the all-knowing and almighty king of mankind, was asking what humanity truly is!

"It's been a year since you used Clairvoyance to inform me about the incineration of humanity and mentioned that I would become human if I made a wish with the Holy Grail. I've been thinking about it a lot ever since."

Solomon paused, deep in thought, before continuing, "I am like a mirror, devoid of human existence. I possess infinite knowledge and power, fulfilling the wishes of others without feeling or understanding what it means to be human. Logically speaking, it wouldn't make sense for me to wish for humanity even if I obtained the Holy Grail. But you, on the other hand, have no motive to deceive me. That's why I've been pondering this question ceaselessly, reflecting on it time and again. And witnessing your interaction with King Gilgamesh has sparked a longing within me."

Solomon explained, "As beings with Clairvoyance, whether it's me, Gilgamesh, you, or even Merlin, we're all anomalies compared to humans. And yet, I can't help but wonder why you and Gilgamesh possess such intense emotions. And in your case, especially, it intrigues me. I want to understand it, to study that kind of emotion within you. That's why I'm here. I have so many doubts and I'm seeking answers from you."

Shirou raised an eyebrow, considering Solomon's proposition. "I don't have any objections to your study of human emotions. However, couldn't we use Clairvoyance to communicate and discuss these questions?"

He replied, his expression serious. "Specifics cannot be obtained through indirect observation and communication alone."

Shirou: "..."

His head spun as he tried to process the situation The whole ordeal with the parallel world hadn't even been resolved yet, and now Solomon suddenly showed up, declaring his intention to study him?

The idea of one grown man studying another grown man... Wasn't it just plain disgusting?

But wait a minute!

Speaking of the invasion from the parallel world...

He glanced at Solomon, deep in thought, and absentmindedly rubbed his chin. 

If Merlin or Guinevere were around to witness the expression on his face, they would definitely find it stomach-churning.

Whenever Shirou gave them that kind of look, it always seemed to result in a whole heap of new problems for them to deal with!

After pondering for a moment, he spoke up, "If you really want to study me, fine. But just so you know, I'm leaving now and I have no intention of sticking around. So, how exactly do you plan on studying me?"

Solomon turned to Animusphere, "Marisbury..."

Understanding the unspoken words, Marisbury nodded, his smile gentle. "I get it, Solomon. We made a deal that when you meet the Eternal King, we'd temporarily go our separate ways. However, our contract binds you to me, so you can't stray too far. Besides, I can't leave London at the moment. Let's find another time to discuss this."

Solomon's expression carried a hint of regret, but he nodded nonetheless. "I understand."

Shirou shifted his gaze to Marisbury and posed a sudden question, "By the way, what's the purpose behind establishing Chaldea?"

Marisbury responded with sincerity, "It's to guarantee the enduring and resilient progression of human history. And our current mission is to investigate the impending crisis of humanity's extinction in 2004."

The crisis of humanity's extinction in 2004...

Shirou's mind flashed back to the earlier warning from Gilgamesh. His Clairvoyance couldn't see beyond the year 2004.

"This is precisely why Lord El-Melloi is wholeheartedly assisting me."

Kenneth snorted, "If the world ends up getting destroyed, wouldn't all my research be utterly pointless?"

The year 2004, which Gil's Clairvoyance couldn't see...

The year 2004, marked by Marisbury and others as the year of humanity's extinction...

And now, it was already May, with just a little over six months remaining until 2004.

But the pressing concern at the moment was the invasion from the parallel world...

Hold on a second!

Could it be that Clairvoyance's inability to see beyond 2004 was somehow connected to the invasion from the parallel world?

When considering it from this perspective... does it imply that the invasion from the parallel world had indeed succeeded? And that the world had been effectively taken over by the Age of Gods from that parallel world, resulting in the extinction of humanity?

The mere thought that in this world, Goetia would not be born, and the Human Order Incineration would not take place, only to be replaced by the world being obliterated by the invasion from the parallel world, seemed utterly ridiculous!

He furrowed his brow. 

With just a little over six months remaining until 2004, time was ticking away.

If Clairvoyance's inability to see beyond 2004 was indeed due to the successful invasion from the parallel world... then that meant the countdown to the destruction of this world was merely six months away, or maybe less.

A feeling of impending doom washed over him, like an approaching storm on the horizon.

He had to make his way back to Fuyuki City as soon as possible!

As soon as possible!

...

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