Return of Paradise/The Shape of Evil to be Cut Off

Fouuu!

The air smells sweet, there's water and flowers everywhere you look, and there's a calm and gentle breeze... What is this place?

Wanna know what the most surprising part is? You're standing in almost the same spot that we Zero Sailed from.

Our location didn't change. The entire rest of this world did.

Thankfully, there are no hostiles in the immediate area. Let's begin by paying another visit to the town of Bichu.

...

Um, is something wrong, Pepe? You look kind of angry...

What's that? You're jealous of how soft and smooth my skin is? Why, it's all in the upkeep, hon!

Unlike Ms. Never-Changing Akuta, I actually have to work to make sure I look this good.

Go on, feel how supple my cheeks are for yourself. They're my pride and joy, you know♡

Th-that's okay...

Oh silly, there's no need to be shy.

But anywho, going to visit that town next sounds just dandy. The topography and plant life changes that come with a new yuga are all just surface-level details.

The thing that changed the most after what Arjuna did will have been the people.

？！

Understood. But make sure to keep the Border's location in mind at all times from now on, Fujimaru.

I don't want us to ever have to run for our lives like that again if we can help it.

？！

Fou, fooou! Fou!

Wow, there's not a single brick out of place now... In fact, this is exactly what the town looked like when I first came to this world!

I can't believe it... It's like the kali never attacked it at all. What in the world is going on?

Then there's the people going about their lives here... They all look happy now, they're practically beaming.

Great. Look who it is.

Goodness, you're all okay! This is wonderful news! Just wonderful!

This truly must be the god's will. All is right with the world once again...

...Oh, no, that isn't quite right, is it? First, I owe you all an apology.

No matter how dire the circumstances were at the time, I should never have spoken to you like that.

I know it won't be enough to truly make amends, but I'll be including all of you in my prayers from now on.

I only ask that you please not hold what I said against the people of this lovely town.

(Whaaa? Yesterday he wanted to run us out of town, and now he's all happy to see us!?)

Fou, fou.

？！

...Didn't you say we were godless heretics you wanted nothing to do with?

Don't be ridiculous! The fact that you're here now is proof you overcame the last yuga's difficulties with us.

That makes you all one of us now. You're our friends. Our family!

And not only that, today is the blessed first day of Kṛta Yuga, the yuga of peace.

Are you hungry? If you like, you're welcome to come and eat with me at my mansion.

Or would you prefer some fine ornaments for the young ladies? We also have plenty of beautiful flowers.

Y-yes, I'm afraid we have some pressing business we need to take care of. I appreciate the offer, but we really should be on our way.

？！

...I see. Well that's a pity. I was hoping to introduce you to the rest of the townspeople.

Oh, by the way, that mansion over there is my house. I'm afraid it ended up that big on account of my being mayor...

It's very embarrassing, living somewhere as ostentatious as that...but, it is not without meaning.

Please feel free to come visit whenever you have the time. You'll always be welcome in my home.

Good day then...

What the heck? I've never seen someone go from jerkwad to sweetheart in no time flat like that. He seemed elated.

It's probably because Kṛta Yuga's the yuga of happiness. Tends to make most of the locals friendly and kindhearted.

Though of course, I'm sure there are exceptions.

...Tch. You guys again.

Oh! Master, it's Ajai! He doesn't seem any different now than he did before.

I'm not judging either way, I'm just surprised how simply hearing him click his tongue again has made me feel so relieved.

And then there's

Ah, it's you guys! This is such a surprise!

So you made it to the new yuga, huh? That's great!

...Yes. It wasn't easy, but we did make it. I'm glad to see you're okay too, Asha.

I sure am! I prayed extra hard, so I didn't get hurt at all!

I see. That's wonderful.

Oh, but speaking of hurt, is your dogI mean, Vihan okay?

He hurt his leg before the Kali Yuga, right? I don't see him with you...

Huh?

...?

Who's Vihan?

...

Fou...

All right, it should be safe to discuss this now that we've come this far. What is the meaning of this?

This world runs on the yuga cycle. But needless to say, these aren't proper yugas.

A real Kṛta Yuga, or Satya Yuga depending on who you ask, is supposed to last for forty-eight hundred years.

Then the Tretā Yuga is supposed to last for thirty-six hundred years, the Dvāpara Yuga for twenty-four hundred...

...and the Kali Yuga for twelve hundred.

And on top of that, these are in god years, where each one is equivalent to three-hundred and sixty human years.

Suffice to say, we're talking about a reeeally long cycle.

Whereas in this world, it would seem only the ratios have been preserved, given that each yuga is apparently four, three, two, and one day long, respectively.

That's right. But the people I've talked to here said things weren't always like this.

It used to be that the yuga cycle lasted for hundreds of years, or maybe even longer.

So that is what this world was like immediately after it was pruned away and became a Lostbelt?

Right. I'm sure the period where kali would show up had to have been proportionally longer back then...

...but I'd also bet they showed up much less frequently than they do now.

Otherwise, the people here would have gone extinct long ago.

But over time, the cycle got shorter and shorter, and now it only lasts ten days.

I have to think that drastically shortened cycle is why there are so many more kali now.

They used to only be let out a bit at a time, but now the floodgates have been opened, so to speak.

Why did Arjuna shorten the yuga cycle so much?

Part of it is thanks to that Disciple pouring poison in his ear, like I said earlier...

...and part of it is that the Tree of Emptiness has given him power he didn't have before that lets him do so.

Yes, I know that only addresses the how, not the why. I'm getting to that.

I think the reason he sped things up so much...is to reach whatever end he has in mind for all this that much faster.

In short, it looks like he's in a rush to create his perfect world.

？！

Okay, now I can finally answer the question that's been plaguing all of you:

What exactly happened earlier?

The answer...is that it's something unique Arjuna does. Something that isn't meant to happen in a normal yuga.

Whenever one of these shortened yuga cycles comes to an end, he purges everything he considers defective and unnecessary from this world.

He believes that by repeating that process over and over...

...he'll eventually arrive at a perfect world, devoid of anything it shouldn't have...or, as he thinks of it, evil.

...!

Damn. That's one hell of a destination.

I see. So this purging must include living things, not just inanimate objects.

Right. And as far as I can tell, when a living thing is purged...it's like it never even existed.

So that's what happened to the poor dog that couldn't run after breaking its leg.

I can't believe it... Asha loved that dog more than anything, and now, she doesn't even remember him...

Yeah... That's harsh.

It happens to anyone who's unlucky enough to be killed by a kali, too. That's a sort of disqualifying offense.

Same goes for people who end up as social pariahs, or if Arjuna himself ends up judging you to be flawed.

When the next yuga rolls around, they just cease to exist.

It might sound contradictory, but I think Arjuna adjusts for things like that whenever he remakes the world.

I see. That would explain how continuity and discontinuity can exist simultaneously in a new yuga.

For example, Asha may have completely forgotten her beloved dog, but she still remembered all of you.

But how does such a thing even work?

I'm not entirely sure myself, but I can tell you what that blabbermouth Disciple of the Foreign God said.

He said Arjuna collects every bit of data that makes up the world whenever he blows it away, kind of like a snapshot.

Then, when it's time to begin a new Kṛta Yuga, he uses that datalet's call it Snapshot Ato reassemble the world.

As he puts everything back together, he removes all the elements he deemed defective and unnecessary...

...and in the end, he has a new world based on Snapshot A, but reflecting the changes he's made.

Ohh, I get it. He's a cheater.

He's basically hacking his save data, changing the parameters to suit his preferences before reloading it.

Cheaters! The scum of gamers everywhere. Don't they know hacking saves takes all the fun out of it!?

He's not doing this to have fun. All he cares about is making what he considers to be a perfect world.

A world consisting only of what is truly necessary, with nothing wasted or evil to be found.

Aha... Now I know what genre he's playing, too. He's into 4X games.

？！

A 4X game is a simulation where the player just sets the initial parameters and then the world sort of plays out from there.

And if you're a cheater, if something happens in your sim that you don't likesay, if an enemy nation takes you by surprise and invades you...

...you save your game, hack your data, and reload...and it's like the enemy nation that was bothering you never existed.

That's the kind of thing we're talking about here, right? Arjuna's just doing that over and over until he wins, right?

I swear, what's the point of even playing if you're just gonna cheat to win! Death to cheaters, that's what I say!

？！

Video game analogies aside...

If that's true, it sounds like Arjuna isn't remaking the world from scratch every time he resets the cycle then.

Instead, he's basically treating the world like a model, adding new parts and removing old ones.

Then it would stand to reason that, strictly speaking, the people here may not be dying and being brought back to life.

Yeah. It seems more likely that everything down to their souls is being saved as data...

...and that their memories are being modified when they're put back into the new world.

And if that's the case, we're talking about a much smaller-scale feat than creating the entire universe from nothing.

It's still a big frigging deal, don't get me wrong.

But if Arjuna's got every Indian Divinity AND support from the Tree of Emptiness, it's theoretically possible.

Hmm... I'm beginning to see the larger picture.

There is something about this Lostbelt that is almost reminiscent of a Singularity.

The Russian, Scandinavian, and Chinese Lostbelts we've seen so far were all the result of a world where some definitive event happened in their respective pasts to dramatically change the course of history.

But this Indian Lostbelt is still in the middle of its definitive event.

Here, its king is continually trying to evolve this world by regularly recreating it with parameters that would be unthinkable in Proper Human History.

While he has yet to reach his goal of a perfected world, I suspect the reason this world was pruned...

...is that the very act of trying to change it in such a manner was considered a mistake.

Ahem.

Hm? What is it, Director Goredolf? If you have any questions, please, go right ahead.

Do you! Ever! Shut up!?

I don't mind you explaining things, but I insist you do so concisely, in a report I can read at my leisure!

You just gave me flashbacks to one of my teachers in my Clock Tower days who would lecture me for what felt like days on end!

Who cares if the people here are technically dying or not when this world is remade?

The part that actually matters is that WE will die if we get caught in that!

I suppose you do have a point.

Of course I do. Now then, I say we pivot this discussion to more practical matters. Namely, how do we stay safe, and what is our next course of action?

You there, Peperoncino! It's only by my good graces that you're running around outside instead of being confined in the Border under lock and key.

Now repay the favor by telling us something we can use, dammit!

Something you can use, hmm. Well, I guess I can think of one thing...

Pulling off a feat that massive takes a lot out of Arjuna, so he isn't able to move around much.

And I don't just mean that long stretch of time at the end of a Kali Yuga when he charges up that Noble Phantasm.

I'm pretty sure that, unlike most Servants, he doesn't do much of anything the rest of the time either.

I guess he just doesn't have access to the energy he would need to do more than ride that Vimana of his.

I think that's how he spends most of his time...just riding around the Tree of Emptiness on his Vimana.

Of course, he might look like he's spacing out up there, but I'm sure he's actually keeping a close eye out for the next bit of evil to purge.

It's probably got something to do with containing so many powerful Divinities within himself. It would also explain why he seems so devoid of personality.

But then...isn't that exactly why he would need other Servants to handle other things for him?

？！

Yeah, he did. I think he called himself a...Lōkapāla?

Lōkapāla... In original Indian mythology, Lōkapāla were said to protect the world... They were the guardians of all directions.

Though I don't know what that could mean.

We know who their Nezha is now, but who were those other two Servants?

I'm afraid I don't know. I was already on the outs with Arjuna when he got around to summoning them.

By that time, he just considered me an outsider he didn't need to worry about, though since I'm Aśvatthāmān's former Master, he did tell his Servants to eliminate me if they happened to see me.

Suffice to say I have no idea what their True Names are, though I get the feeling they're an Archer and a Caster.

I think I could make an educated guess, but there's no point in speculation at this point. We need solid info.

Well, this seems like a good time to tell you that those Servants are not the only enemies we face here.

There are also the sacred beasts...the Mystical creatures the people here referred to as the "agents of god."

Oh, those? They're primitive guardian beasts Arjuna made to counteract the kali. They manifest naturally.

And since there are almost no kali during the peaceful Kṛta Yuga...

...the beasts are supposed to just wander around like normal animals.

I suspect the answer to that, and your next immediate course of action, will be clear to you soon enough.

Oh my, you're a better listener than I took you for. Attentiveness is a wonderful quality, you know♡

？！

Sacred beasts!

I guess that means Arjuna really doesn't want us here, then.

So of course, they'll attack us on sight now, just like the kali.

You said these beasts wander around just like ordinary animals, yes?

Then we clearly can't let our guard down just because it's Kṛta Yuga now.

Still, I don't know if it's the sunshine or what, but my body feels lighter now. This shouldn't take long!

Y-yeah! I'll show you guys how well I can hold my own in a fight! O-or at least, I hope I'll be able to...

Okay, now that we've gone over how things generally work in this Lostbelt...

...what do you think of it?

？！

Me neither. Asha and Vihan looked to me like they were the best of friends.

They were like...family...

And I'm positive that had nothing to do with how well Vihan could or couldn't run.

It didn't matter how well he could hunt or stand guard, either.

As far as Asha was concerned, she just loved him and wanted him to stay by her side...

Fou...

So if the god of this world just erased their relationship for his own reasons...

...what happens to all the love she had for him, all the happiness she felt when they were together?

Where does it go?

？！

Fou fou!

(Amazing... The same girl who used to resemble nothing so much as a living doll, expounding on love...)

(Oh, this is just precious... (Sniff) I think I'm going to cry.)

(Although... I wonder what Beryl would say if he saw this new Mash...?)

Allow me to offer some criticism of this world from a different perspective.

I'm sure it's been some time since a calendar meant anything in this world, but for the purposes of our discussion, let's say the year here is 2021.

As I'm sure you're aware from visiting the nearby town, civilization here has not advanced anything like as far as in Proper Human History.

That is not to say I only value postindustrial age advances, or that I have no appreciation for a life lived in harmony with nature. I assure you, neither is true.

I am merely saying that civilization as a whole has clearly not progressed here when compared to Proper Human History.

That aspect alone is enough for me to declare this world a far cry from anything approaching the ideal.

The march of civilization has stalled here just like in the Chinese Lostbelt, albeit for very different reasons.

And it hardly needs saying, but I don't like the way this god does things either. Cheaters get permabanned, that's what I say.

On another note... Is everything okay Rama? Something on your mind?

I just realized something.

Arjuna has obtained every Indian Divinity in this Lostbelt's history, right?

Then, that would mean...Sita is one of them.

？！

Just as I am an avatar of Vishnu, Sita is an avatar of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi.

Of course, that doesn't mean they are one and the same...but they're certainly close enough. So then, what should I do?

What else? I have to save her. That is who I am. It's my very reason for existing.

So love is your main motivator for defeating Arjuna... Well that's just beautiful.

What do you think of Arjuna, Pepe?

Me? It's like I said. I thought he and this world were a dead end the moment I met him.

Can't get much further from my type than this version of Arjuna. He might be a pretty face, but that soul of his is ugly as sin.

...

Master, there may not be any need for me to say this, but please let me say it again anyway.

Pepe is...a good person. I believe we can trust him, and I think we should work together with him on this.

？！

Aww, that's sweet♡ Thanks, you two.

Nonetheless, the fact remains that you are a Crypter.

Are you truly about to let your assigned Lostbelt be destroyed? What will you say to the others?

Why, I'll just say "I did my best, but it wasn't good enough. Oopsie."

I don't want to get on their bad side, either. I'm just going with the flow here.

Hmph, well I trust you even less now. If you're so easygoing, why did you join the Crypters in the first place?

You could have just turned them down from the start.

...Well that was a cruel thing to say.

H-huh...?

...Circumstantial change confirmed.

I have a proposal for you chosen ones. An offer for those of you who were cast aside.

If you desire acclamation, then choose rebirth. If you desire indolence, then choose eternal sleep.

It makes no difference to a god.

I didn't want to have to tell you this, but we didn't have any choice.

"Thawing the Coffins" might not sound like a big deal, but it's basically like recovering dead bodies.

We were all dead in there. We were never going to wake up from that darkness.

But then, the Foreign God came and told us:

"You may live on as a Crypter, or die as a Master."

And that was that.

...!

Honestly, I still don't know who or what this Foreign God is.

Kirschtaria seems like he does...but he's not one to talk.

All I know is, in exchange for being given new life, we were to be thrown out into this newly wiped-clean world...

...and put in charge of growing our respective Lostbelt's Tree of Emptiness.

Of course, I know we betrayed all of mankind when we chose to leave our Coffins as Crypters, so I'm not under any illusion that we're the real victims here.

I'll even admit that I thought this game to see who'll get to be king of the world sounded fun.

Whatever will be will be, you know? If an old monk friend of mine were here now, he'd probably say something like:

"You guys were just unlucky."

...

Still, there's nothing to be gained from cursing your fate, and besides, I was already getting bored with it.

So I'm just going to do the best I can, and try not to throw my life away for nothing.

I'm not going to sell out my fellow Crypters, and I have no desire to fight all of you to the death either.

And since that works out for both of us, isn't that good enough for now?

...Then, does that mean nobody on Team A willingly chose to side with the Foreign God?

Hehe, I don't know about all of us, but me, Kadoc, and Ophelia sure didn't. Oh, wait, I guess Ophelia's an exception.

She swore to become a Crypter for her own, very personal reasons.

...Then please, just tell me one thing. Where does the name "Crypters" come from?

Is it a code name for something? Did the Foreign God give it to you?

No waaay! You're really bringing that up now!? Oh, right, I just remembered!

You never knew this, did you, Mashie? Now it all makes sense!

The name "Crypters"...

...comes from Director Marisbury. It was the title he gave to the special Masters who were chosen for Team A.

Anywho! Let's talk about how exactly we can go about beating Arjuna!

'Cause I'll be honest, I've got nothing. Ahahaha!

This is no laughing matter. He even shrugged off my Noble Phantasm like it was nothing.

Although now I understand why... It's because his very divine existence is just that strong.

There's no trick or even magecraft involved. It's just what he is, plain and simple.

Geez, so he even cheats just by existing!? How in the world are we supposed to beat him then?

Honestly, you're in much worse shape to fight him now that Karnie's out of the picture.

I just don't see how Ganesha there could ever fill his shoes, no matter how hard she tries.

Hey, you don't have to rub it in. Believe me, I'm well aware.

？！

True, there could well be another Rogue Servant here. If we could find them and win them over, it would be the fastest and surest way of bolstering our ranks.

That would be great, but it is a big "if."

Well, if there is anyone else like Ganesha around here, there's a good chance someone in town might know about them.

Why don't we head back to Bichu again and see what we can find out?

Sounds good to me! Then what are we waiting for!? Like they say, no road is long with good company, and it's best to make hay while the sun shines! Eeeeee☆

Don't worry about a thing! I'll make sure we never run out of things to talk about on the way!

Ah...I can't say that was actually a concern...

...

(...)

We didn't have any choice.

(That's right... I'd forgotten that.)

(Everyone had their reasons for making the choices they did. That's why things ended up like this.)

(Nice people... Not so nice people... People who were interested in me... People who weren't interested in me...)

(I know everyone on Team A.)

(I'd forgotten I knew that. I only just remembered that they were also people who lived in Chaldea.)

(That's why, right now, I...)

(...If I was stronger, maybe I wouldn't be feeling so conflicted right now.)

(If only I was a perfect Demi-Servant, then)

？！

Fooou?

O-oh, sorry, it's nothing!

...It looks like we're almost there.

I already have an idea for who we can talk to first. It would be great if she knows something!

Other gods? Hmm... Ummm...

I guess you haven't heard anything then...

Maybe using the word "god" isn't the best way to go about it. It might be better to take a different approach.

We're looking for someone who is very much out of place in this world... In other words, someone who finds this place as wrong as we do.

If someone like that exists, they'd probably be out fighting kali regardless of what yuga it is.

So the question we should be asking is...

Here, little miss, let me put it to you this way.

Have you heard any rumors about naughty heretics who don't obey your god's teachings? Oh, besides us, of course.

Oh! I think the mayor would probably know something about that!

Well, I wouldn't call them bad, exactly. Everything alive in this world is the god's creation, after all.

But I would say they're just a bit too focused on the wrong things, unfortunately.

Nonetheless, yes, I have heard there are people like that in the village on the other side of the mountain.

I'm told they spend most of their time taking up weapons and fighting the kali, in defiance of the god's teachings.

They certainly do things differently than we do in Bichu, where we accept god's trials with piety and grace...

...but I suppose that is just the way they choose to live their lives.

It's still a bit shocking how much more amiable he is now compared to when we first met him...

But at any rate, this is great! Now we have a promising lead! Let's head for this village right away, Master!

Sounds good to me, but just be aware that you might not be able to get there by nightfall.

I think it's better if we don't move around too much in the middle of the night, so if you find a good place to make camp, don't be shy about doing just that. Okay?

Don't worry about that! I hate going at a forced march. If I have to go hiking, I make sure to take it nice and slow.

As long as I'm around, I won't be letting anyone push themselves too hard. Not even if they want to!

(Zzz)

We'll be heading back out at dawn, Pepe. Are you sure you don't need to get some sleep?

What about you, Mashie? You're still standing watch this late?

I'm a Demi-Servant, so I'm fine going without sleep for a while.

Hmm. Funny how you're okay without sleep, but the Divine Spirit Servant over there apparently can't get enough...

Well, that's okay. This works out nicely for me. Mind if I stand watch with you for a while?

Uh, no, that's fine with me...

That was only a pretense, of course. I was actually just waiting for a good chance to ask you this.

...Did you get a chance to talk to Ophelia?

...Yes, I did.

We didn't have a lot of time...but I still feel like we said a lot.

Much more than we ever expressed to each other in Chaldea.

Hehe, I'm glad to hear that.

She always did want to have a good heart-to-heart with you. I could tell.

So? What'd you talk about?

Well, one of our topics...

...was romance.

No way! Seriously?

Aww, what I wouldn't give to have been a fly on the wall for that!

I can't think of anything better than Ophelia talking about romance.

I can just imagine the three of us chatting over a nice cup of tea, hours passing in the blink of an eye...

Do you...know what happened to everyone, Pepe...?

I heard what happened from Kirschtaria and the others, yes. But those are just boring old facts. That's not what I really want to know.

That's why I wanted to ask you about them directly.

...I see. I don't think there's anything I need to keep secret, so I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

Even though I'm a Crypter? Even though I'm your enemy?

Yes. I remembered that, despite everything that's happened...we were still both members of Team A.

That hasn't changed just because you're a Crypter now, too.

I see. Well thank you.

I'm sure Kadoc, Ophelia, and Akuta are frustrated by how things turned out...but I doubt they have any regrets.

So they all fought bravely, huh. And here I am, just pathetically doing whatever I can to survive.

I don't think that's anything you need to feel bad about...

Hey, I'm still on the Crypters' side. I can't help but be frustrated too.

No matter how hard it is to survive...I still find myself thinking there might've been a better way to end things.

Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring down the mood.

If things don't go your way even after you've struggled as much as you can, your only choice is to give up and move on. I just had to come to terms with that again.

That's just my lot in life, I'm afraid. Nothing I do ever quite seems to work out.

Really? But, you've always seemed to me like you excel at everything you do...

Hehe. That's only because I stick to things I know I can do. No, I'm talking about fate and destiny...

But hey, that can be extremely motivating in its own right. And it's not like I've given up on everything, you know?

...

All right, I think it's time I got to bed. A complexion this perfect requires pleeenty of sleep.

Besides, how could I look Ophelia in the eye if I neglected my own skin care after I kept admonishing her?

...Thank you for telling me what happened with the other Crypters, Mashie. Good night.

Of course. Good night, Pepe...