In the deep, boundless starry sky of the login interface, a bridge composed of countless stars spans the heavens.
It has no physical support or structure, yet it uses starlight as bricks and the Milky Way as ties, constructing an existence that transcends the material world.
Standing before the new Starry Sky Gate, Chen Yu looked at the prompt bar in front of the gate.
“Welcome to type-moon's world of magic!”
“Push open this door, and you will play the role of a mysterious Magus apprentice, heading to Fuyuki City to participate in the tense and exciting Holy Grail War.”
“Yes / No”
Chen Yu knew that the Type-Moon World's definition of magic differed from other worlds.
From the perspective of a Magus in Type-Moon, magic refers to the general term for human actions that artificially reproduce mysteries and miracles.
Even if it is an incredibly mysterious phenomenon, if it occurs naturally, it is not magic.
If it can be achieved by human technology in that era, then it is classified as “magic.”
Things that cannot be achieved in that era are “True Magic.”
Before humans learned to make fire by rubbing wood, flames were the embodiment of True Magic in people's eyes.
When humans discovered that fire could be produced by rubbing and striking wood and stone, fire was downgraded to magic.
So, in very ancient times, when human technology had not yet awakened, it could almost be said that all magic was True Magic.
But with the rise of technology, humans could do more and more things with it, and so only five True Magic remained.
Among them, the Third True Magic, the technique of materializing the soul, is the starting condition for a certain “miracle.”
This “miracle” is the large-scale magical ritual known as the Holy Grail War, a “miracle” said to grant any wish.
Superficially, the Holy Grail, which appears in Fuyuki City every 60 years, is said to possess the power to “instantly grant any wish.”
In reality, the so-called wish-granting machine is merely a deception to lure foreign Magi; its fundamental purpose is to use the souls of fallen Heroic Spirits to open and fix the “passage to the outside of the world”—the Root.
Entering the Root is the destination of all Magi, considered to be the “throne of God” located outside the world, “the beginning and end of all things, recording everything in this world, and creating everything in this world.”
However, the reason it has not been definitively exposed as a hoax by Magi is that, from their perspective, the Holy Grail War overflows with a huge amount of magical power, which can fulfill almost all wishes for a Magus.
Of course, the Holy Grail was already corrupted during the Third Holy Grail War, so after a wish is made, it will be fulfilled through evil methods.
For example, Kiritsugu Emiya's wish to eliminate evil was interpreted as destroying all of humanity, fulfilling the victor's wish in a twisted way.
But in Chen Yu's opinion, even if the Holy Grail as a wish-granting machine were not corrupted, the wishes it could grant would be very limited.
It's even less useful than the Dragon Balls.
Chen Yu rested his hand on his chin, beginning to recall the Fate series anime he had watched.
Since it was confirmed that the war was taking place in Fuyuki City, he just didn't know if it was the Fourth Holy Grail War or the Fifth Holy Grail War.
Although both occurred in Fuyuki City, there was a ten-year interval between them.
Moreover, the Fifth Holy Grail War had many branches.
Depending on the protagonist Shirou Emiya's choices, it could lead to three different routes: not only the Fate route—the continuation of a dream—but also the HF route and the UBW route, and even the timeline of the spin-off Magical Girl Illya.
Based on this simple text description, Chen Yu wasn't sure which timeline the world he was about to enter was.
But it didn't matter; it was just a game, and the important thing was to have fun.
Putting aside the Holy Grail War, Chen Yu was still very interested in the True Magic of the Type-Moon World.
To prevent the system from tricking him again, Chen Yu decisively activated his Magic Shield in advance and took out his Nimbus 2000 from his Serenitea Pot, just in case.
Looking at the constantly rotating Starry Sky Gate, Chen Yu stepped in without hesitation.
Pushing open the starlight gate, a familiar sucking sensation came over him.
Immediately after, the system's prompt sounded in his ears.
“Welcome to type-moon's world of magic.”
“Game loading...”
“Player's existing game character detected.”
“Game character loading...”
“Scene loading...”
It was the same old routine; after being sucked into the Starry Sky Gate again, he arrived at a pure white, flawless place, and the endless sensation of falling still tightly enveloped Chen Yu.
Once unfamiliar, twice familiar; now it was the third time, holding the flying broom, the sensation of falling no longer caused Chen Yu to panic.
“Game character loaded.”
“Scene loaded.”
“Warning: This game is a completely open-world, free-style game. Please treat your every choice with caution.”
“Warning: Please always pay attention to your character's physical condition. The character's body, like the player's real body, can experience fatigue, hunger, illness, and even death.”
“Warning: Player character death signifies game over.”
“Have a pleasant game, player!”
After the system finished loading, looking at the red steel bridge below his feet, Chen Yu breathed a sigh of relief again.
This time, the system didn't pull any tricks.
Starting with low health and dying quickly upon landing isn't a popular trope anymore, okay?
Standing at the top of the bridge, he looked down.
The bridge was bustling with traffic, cars coming and going, a prosperous scene.
He just wondered how many people would still have the courage to drive across the bridge at night to witness the war between Heroic Spirits after the “gas explosion” incident happened a few days later.
Chen Yu opened the quest panel, intending to check what quests the system had issued, only to find that the quest log was a jumble of garbled code.
“What the hell is this now?”
Was the system pulling tricks again?
Just as Chen Yu was about to complain, he noticed that the surrounding environment began to twitch abnormally.
The celestial bodies in the sky completely reversed their normal patterns.
The sun rose in the west, the bright moon ascended in the west, stars twisted, and day and night rotated.
The boats on the Mien River below moved backward at high speed.
The vehicles coming and going beneath the Fuyuki Bridge also reversed at high speed.
The buildings of Miyama Town and Shinto were constantly changing.
Chen Yu saw a sudden large fire erupt in the distant city.
The fire destroyed most of the city, but the flames unnaturally kept shrinking.
A black sun emitting blue light appeared in Shinto, and black mud continuously poured into it.
Then the black sun disappeared, and the wreckage of a boat on the Mien River was also going from damaged to completely intact.
It was as if time was rapidly flowing backward.
Chen Yu was stunned by the sight.
By the time Chen Yu came back to his senses.
Chen Yu saw a different Fuyuki City again.
Looking at Fuyuki City, where the buildings on both sides had changed, Chen Yu fell into contemplation.
Does the system always have to pull a stunt every time it traverses?
Good heavens, this time it's time reversal?
After Chen Yu saw the changes in the surrounding environment, he opened the system page again and found that the system had updated its prompts.
“By the invitation of a certain will, welcome player to the time node of the Fourth Holy Grail War—ten years before the Fifth Holy Grail War.”
“Player, complete the main quest to return to the normal time period and continue the game.”
“Player, if the main quest fails, this world will permanently deny the player entry.”
“Player, if the main quest succeeds, this time node will be recorded in the game world's history as a historical text.”
“Note: Player cannot switch to other game worlds before returning to the normal game time node.”
A series of system prompts flashed before Chen Yu's eyes, letting him know what had happened.
Clearly, according to the system prompt, by the invitation of a certain will, he was now in the time period before the Fourth Holy Grail War in 1994.
This was not a normal time node, which prevented him from switching to other game worlds.
As for whether it was the world's will, gaia, or the collective unconscious, Alaya, that forcibly invited him to this time node, he wasn't sure.
It also couldn't be ruled out that these two guys were causing trouble simultaneously.
Chen Yu saw that he couldn't switch to other game worlds when returning to the normal time node, so he quickly tried to log off, fearing he would be trapped in this Type-Moon World.
He found that he could still log off and return to the real world via the Starry Sky Bridge, but trying to approach the Starry Sky Gates of other worlds displayed a red forbidden access sign.
Forcibly approaching would also trigger a red forbidden symbol, reminding the player that the Starry Sky Gate was unusable during the current special mission.
But being able to return to the real world without restrictions still made Chen Yu breathe a sigh of relief.
At least there was still a retreat, so all paths weren't locked off.
Looking at the buildings below that had subtly changed, Chen Yu decided to open the quest log and see what the main quests actually were.
This was the first time in the game that a quest had a penalty for failure.
“Main Quest: Prevent Magi from reaching the Root.”
“Quest content: The world rejects any Magus from reaching the Root. Please prevent the Magi in the Holy Grail War from reaching the Root.”
“Quest Reward: Random Item Card +10 or Random Skill Card +10”
“Main Quest: Prevent the Fuyuki Fire.”
“Quest content: Although countless wronged souls buried in the Fuyuki Fire don't know what happened, they still yearn for a miracle. Please prevent the Fuyuki Fire from occurring or spreading.”
“Quest Reward: Random Item Card +10 or Random Skill Card +10”
Did the first main quest mean that if he followed the plot of this game world, a Magus might reach the Root through the Holy Grail War?
As of now, the only one whose goal was to reach the Root was Tokiomi Tohsaka.
If the inherently flawed Kirei Kotomine hadn't awakened his “pleasure” essence, with Jin Shan Shan's support, his chances of winning on the surface were quite high; Saber, without the protection of her scabbard, was no match for Jin Shan Shan.
Moreover, only Tokiomi Tohsaka not only understood the essence of the Holy Grail but was also a genuine Magus whose goal was to reach the Root.
As for the other Magi participating in the Holy Grail War, either they didn't understand the essence of the Holy Grail War, or their wishes had nothing to do with reaching the Root.
Kiritsugu Emiya—Saber's Master, the “Magus Killer,” affiliated with the noble Einzbern Family.
His reason for participating in the Holy Grail War was to obtain the Holy Grail, rumored to be a wish-granting machine, hoping it could fulfill his wish. He believed that through the Holy Grail, he could achieve his ideal, eliminate war and death, and avoid sacrificing a part of humanity to save another part.
Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald—Lancer's Master, head of the Archibald Family, a talented Magus with outstanding achievements, serving as a First-Rank Lecturer in the Department of Spiritualism at the Mage's Association headquarters.
He participated in the Holy Grail War not for any necessary or urgent reason, but to add an anecdote, regarded as a “military achievement,” to his personal experience.
To put it bluntly, he just wanted to polish his resume and make it look better.
Waver Velvet—Rider's Master, a Clock Tower student.
His reason for participating in the Holy Grail War was dissatisfaction with his mentor, Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald's, dismissal of him. To gain everyone's recognition of his abilities, he stole his mentor's Heroic Spirit relic and participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War, hoping to demonstrate his strength and gain everyone's acknowledgment.
He was a ambitious young man dissatisfied with his mentor's arrangements, eager to prove himself.
Ryunosuke Uryuu—Caster's Master, a perverted serial killer.
He had no interest in the Holy Grail and wasn't even aware of its existence before summoning Caster.
He was merely an ordinary serial killer with Magus blood, who had never studied any magic knowledge, accidentally summoned Caster, and became a Master.
If Ryunosuke Uryuu hadn't accidentally found a document for summoning “demons” in a warehouse, wanting to try a new method of killing, and then repeatedly tried to draw a magic circle to summon “demons” with the victims' blood during a home invasion, he wouldn't have accidentally summoned Caster during the Fourth Holy Grail War.
Kirei Kotomine—Assassin's Master, former Executor of the Holy Church, affiliated with the Tohsaka Family before his betrayal.
He was once a first-rate Executor of the Holy Church, then transferred to the Mage's Association in a “dispatch” capacity from the Church. Through his father's introduction, he temporarily became a disciple of the Japanese Magus Tokiomi Tohsaka to learn magic abilities and knowledge.
His initial participation in the Holy Grail War was merely to ensure it proceeded normally under the Church's supervision. Even after he awakened his “pleasure” essence later and his purpose changed, neither change was related to reaching the Root.
Matou Kariya—Berserker's Master, affiliated with the Matou Family, the second son of the Matou Family, who participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War to save Matou Sakura's fate.
Although born into a Magus family, he was inherently kind. Because he couldn't accept the ugly worm magic and didn't want to be Zouken's puppet, he decided to break free from the family's constraints, resolutely severing ties with magic, and lived as an ordinary person before Sakura was sent to the Matou Family.
Upon learning that his rival, Tokiomi Tohsaka, had sent Sakura to the Matou Family as an adopted daughter, subjecting her to abuse, he felt that Tokiomi had trampled on the mother and daughter's happiness, and at the same time fell into self-reproach, thinking, “If I hadn't left back then, Sakura wouldn't have to suffer like this.”
So Matou Kariya made a deal with Zouken Matou: if he could win the Holy Grail, Zouken would return Sakura to the Tohsaka Family.
Therefore, Matou Kariya's reason for participating in the Holy Grail was simple: to fight to free Sakura from her suffering.
The second quest was also clear: prevent Saber from cutting the lesser grail, and convince Kiritsugu Emiya to issue a Command Seal.
Having confirmed the quest objectives, Chen Yu scratched his head, gazing at the bustling traffic below, which was once again flowing normally.
Drink today, worry tomorrow.
Never mind. Since the Holy Grail War hasn't started yet, he should find a place to stay first.
He couldn't possibly spend his first day in the Type-Moon World inside the Serenitea Pot, could he?
