Time of Creation

Now then, I believe greetings are in order. Good day, Chaldeans.

I'm The Amazing Merlin the Great. I've actually been free for some time now, ever since Morgan was killed and her Garden disappeared.

Sorry for getting here so late! I needed some extra time to get everything ready.

That's me. I'm glad to see you in good health, Fujimaru.

By the way, why did you shout just now? It's because you're just that glad to see me safe and sound, isn't it?

It can't possibly be that you're upset I've been having fun watching from the sidelines all this time. Right?

Is that you, Cath Palug!? No fair staying behind in Chaldea without me!

I'm sorry, Merlin. That was just Senpai's Fou impression.

Is that a thing in Chaldea now!? Who said that could be a thing!?

？！

Whoops, sorry about that. I'm still a little shaky. I'm not exaggerating when I say this feels like a waking dream for me.

You see, I'm not actually there with you. What you're seeing right now is an illusion.

That also means I can only hear your voices.

I can't see what either you or Mash look like right now, Fujimaru.

So I'm afraid our joyful reunion will have to wait a little longer.

But don't worry. I'll get to see your grown-up faces in just a few hours.

I'll be waiting for you at the entrance to Avalon, making sure I look nice and respectable.

Merlin...? YOU'RE Merlin?

That's me. Is that the Child of Prophecy speaking? Sorry to surprise you like this.

I know we have a lot to catch up on, but I'm afraid our private conversation will have to wait until things are somewhat less...intense.

Let's see. I believe Mr. Goredolf is Chaldea's current commander, yes? Is he there now, too?

Y-yes, heI mean, I am. This is Goredolf Musik speaking. So, you're Merlin, are you?

I won't bother asking why you're just showing up now. You're right that we have more pressing matters than you barging in.

What I want to know is what you meant when you said there's still hope!

Nice! You pack a lotta bluster into that voice. It seems you're pretty much the exact opposite of the prior acting commander.

But I digress. When I said there's still hope, I meant there is still a way to stop this collapse.

Let me cut to the chase. I'd like you to send the faerie of paradise back here right away.

Altria, you've been hearing Avalon calling to you ever since you finished ringing the bells, right?

It's time for you to fulfill your duty as the faerie of paradise.

Once you have, it'll be possible to erase this Singularity and defeat Cernunnos.

？！

...But, I'm not qualified to

Qualifications, shmalifications. None of that matters.

Cernunnos's curse will weaken once the faerie of paradise who rang the Bells of Pilgrimage returns to paradise.

Won't get rid of it entirely, but it'll stop it from getting stronger.

The god of wisdom who pawned this power off on me confirmed as much. He might be from a different mythology, but he knows what he's talking about here.

Isn't that right, Ambrosius? My job is to get Altria to paradise, by hook or by crook.

As long as she's rung the Bells of Pilgrimage, it doesn't even matter if she's still alive.

Right... Of course. I should've known that's how this would go...

？！

So... I've...actually kind of known about it all along? I could see that's why Grímr was here the whole time, too.

...

That's expressly for the worst-case scenario, Grímr. We're nowhere near that point now.

She's in the best possible condition right now. I can't see it, but I can sense it.

I have no doubt that the faerie of paradisethe Avalon le Faewill fulfill her duty of her own volition.

Even if someone convinces her this is ridiculous...

...and we should all just give up and enjoy the time we have left.

Besides, you all have no choice but to come to Avalon.

There's a spirit cavern that leads to the planet's inner sea from the corpse of Albion, the border dragon that sank into the dark bog.

Now that Britain has begun to collapse, that path should be open again. All you need to do is go spelunking for one hour.

That said, we're still talking about the largest holy ground in the magecraft world. It won't let just anyone in.

But it should open for Fujimaru as a representative of humanity, Mash as a Knight of the Round Table...

...the faerie of paradise...and I guess there's room for her attendant, Muramasa, as well.

The rest of you will have to wait there until they get back.

Well, Goredolf? What would you have us do?

What else can we possibly do! Captain! Set a course for the dark bog at once!

That was in the Lake District, right!? Do you know the coordinates, Technical Advisor!?

Sure do! That part won't be a problem!

But apparently, the only ones who can enter this, uh, spirit cavern, are the four Merlin specified.

That's not a lot of fighters for a trip as potentially dangerous as this... And that's not even mentioning how much I wanted to see this for myself!

But it looks like we don't have any other choice but to send them off and trust things will work out! Are you ready to go, Fujimaru!?

？！

Nnn, I think I'll be fine! Besides, I'd just end up fighting with Grímr if I said no.

And you know, thinking about it some more, I'm actually kind of excited! This'll basically be my first time visiting home!

...

Understood. I'll update our strategy to include Merlin's instructions.

Fujimaru. Mash. Altria. Senji Muramasa.

You four will make your way through this spirit cavern and head for the planet's inner seathe paradise of Avalon.

The Storm Border will remain on station above the Lake District. Captain Nemo and Da Vinci will focus on piloting the Border.

If anything should try to attack us, Grímr and I will fend them off.

...Wait. Please.

This is all new and unfamiliar to me, so I doubt I'll be of much help...

But Britain is my home. It's only right that I should take part in any battles we may face.

Huh? Absolutely not! If anything, you should be resting right now!

You're in no shape to be fighting anymore, right!?

Your only job now is to get the treatment you need and recuperate until you're back to your old self!

That's an order from the Child of Prophecy! Got it!?

If you even think about defying me on this, I'll completely abandon my duty! Is that clear!?

...Yes, Child of Prophecy. I'll follow your orders.

I have to say, though... I never thought I'd see the day you got seriously mad at me.

You've always been one to keep your feelings in check and not make a fuss.

？！

Y-you think? I thought I've always been pretty open and forthcoming with my feelings, personally...

Sure, whenever you're just turning your brain off and doing something stupid. The rest of the time, you pretend to be a big old nervous Nellie.

What do you mean!? I've never done anything stupid! And what's a nervous Nellie, anyway, Muramasa!?

Like we discussed earlier, we'll be standing by in the Storm Border in Lake District airspace.

We expect the operation to take about three hours. That's all the time the shipno, Britain, has left.

We have no way of knowing what will happen in the spirit cavern.

So please, try to be as careful as you possibly can, Fujimaru.

？！

That...felt different from the Water Mirror that sent me to the past in Norwich...

Does this mean we're inside Albion's spirit cavern now? Can we still contact Chaldea?

...No, we can't. We're cut off now, just as Da Vinci predicted.

Gathering coordinate data now.

Ten... Twenty... Forty... Eighty... Eighty!?

Master, you're not going to believe this, but it looks like we're eighty km below ground now!

Damn, that's even deeper than the pit. A lot deeper. Are we...even sure this is underground?

It's completely pitch dark, and it doesn't even feel like I'm standing on anything.

You're not wrong. This world is in a whole other layeranother dimension, to put it simply.

You were just able to bypass all the ground in the way thanks to Albion.

But be warned that it goes much deeper.

In Proper Human History, the eighty-km mark is where Albion gave up the ghost...

But in this Lostbelt, Albion managed to make a route all the way to Avalon.

Unfortunately, the path wasn't wide enough for Albion to get through, so they still died on the surface.

？！

That's right. Though over there, it's known as the Spiritual Tomb.

In Proper Human History, the Spiritual Tomb of Albion ends at the eighty km mark.

Beyond that is a world known as the Fairy Realm, which no human can enter.

But since the British Lostbelt is ALL this world's Faerie Realm, there are no such restrictions here.

So we can keep going down as far as we like.

In real-world distance, you're starting at the four-hundred km mark and going further down to the "Beyond D" layer twenty-seven hundred km away.

That is where you'll find your destination: the planet's inner sea.

Wait. So we're eighty km below ground now, and our destination's twenty-seven hundred km below ground? How the hell can we cover that kind of distance?

Simple. You take a shortcut.

When I said it'd take an hour, I wasn't basing that on how fast you travel. I meant that's how long it'd take. Period.

I'll use a series of transit time reduction spells to bring you all to your destination.

Anyway, this must be pretty dull for you. How about we turn on the lights?

？！

So, what do you think? Doesn't this feel more like a cavern?

Now go on, keep moving. The transit time reduction I mentioned is kicking in with every step you take.

This place is Earth's memory. Well, more like a space made of pure information, really.

The idea is to skip past all the vague, hazy memories, and get you straight to your destination.

Th-that should be a huge help, but...um...

Is that...Merlin? (Third time she's asked)

So, finally showin' us what you really look like?

Hm? Is something wrong? Oh, I see. Struck dumb by my true glory. I get it.

Very well, then. Heap your praise upon me! You can even worship me if you like, Muramasa!

It's been a long time since I've shown up, after all. I need to leave as strong an impression as possible, given the short time I have!

？！

(...Good point. We probably shouldn't pry too deeply into this.)

More importantly... Senpai, that mural over there...

？！

Oh? Are you seeing the priestess's memories projected there? Perfect.

I'll take the hour you'll be traveling to tell you how this all began.

This is the story of the British Lostbelt's genesis, and of what precisely the faerie of paradise's mission entails.

...

There you have it. You may have heard it before, but that's the story of Britain's creation.

Any questions?

？！

Indeed. The first six faeries, the progenitors of the six clans, killed Cernunnos.

The pit you saw on the surface is Cernunnos's grave, and the curse spilling out of it even as we speak is his rage.

But...why would the faeries do such a thing?

He was in their way.

This all happened fourteen thousand years ago.

When the six faeries came out from paradise and onto the surface, Earth was already covered in a sea of nothingness.

The one who ended up helping the six stranded faeries was a Celtic beast god who had come up to the surface just like they had...

A god who would later come to be known as Cernunnos.

Cernunnos and his priestess, the lone human who had managed to survive just like the faeries had, both did their best to protect the faeries.

At first, the faeries were grateful for their help.

But, the sea of nothingness never changed. No matter how much time passed, no land appeared.

The faeries blamed Cernunnos for that. They thought he just wasn't strong enough.

What's more, they didn't particularly like his priestess.

She was constantly telling them to sort themselves out, and consider the consequences of their actions.

Eventually, the faeries couldn't take it anymore, and decided to deal with Cernunnos. Permanently.

They figured that since they didn't have any land to stand on, they could find a substitute.

And since Cernunnos was so big, they thought his body could serve just fine as a small island.

But of course, Cernunnos was a god. They couldn't kill him easily. So they came up with a plan, and held a festival.

They told Cernunnos they were holding the festival in his honor, to worship him, and held a banquet with lots of wine.

Cernunnos was delighted that he was being celebrated for being the faeries' first official god.

He probably figured they were trying to change their thoughtless ways.

And so, against his priestess's wishes, Cernunnos attended the banquet, and

...And was poisoned to death when he drank their wine. Some rejoicing that turned out to be.

The faeries used her as the foundationno, the base ingredient, for the humans that came later.

The truth is, every human in the British Lostbelt is an inferior copy of the priestess who was killed during Britain's genesis.

？！

At any rate, as A-ray, the six faeries went on to create their own stone and forest children and grow their clans.

As time passed, they transformed more and more of Cernunnos's body into land.

But after a hundred years, things stopped going quite so well for the faeries.

Their children kept dying, turning into fallen trees, adrift on the sea.

New generations kept being born, so the number of faeries never decreased.

And thanks to the humans who had been copied from the priestess's cells, Britain slowly developed into a civilization.

With civilization came new societal roles. The faeries made new types of faeries, and their forests flourished like never before.

But, they also kept dying for no reason whatsoever.

Eventually, the six progenitor faeries realized Cernunnos's rage was the cause.

Even though Cernunnos's soul was gone, his body wasn't completely dead.

In fact, his heart alone still burned with the fire they used to cremate him.

Even in his death, Cernunnos's body continued to smolder with anger and curses.

He could very well have come back to life at any time.

The faeries were so shocked by this that they fled Cernunnos's body.

Fortunately, this was right around the time their children's corpses were starting to form new ground.

And faerie corpses are essentially made from the same stuff as the planet itself.

The fallen trees became earth and stone and quickly filled in the sea, almost as if they were trying to cover up the faeries' sins.

That's how this Lostbelt began. That's why this Isle of Britain uses faerie corpses to grow and expand.

After several thousand years, the faeries had acquired their very own Britain.

But all the while, Cernunnos's body was still there.

A divine grave that would let no ocean-filling fallen tree near it.

An indelible reminder of the faeries' sin a reminder that rejected their corpses.

Eventually, the fallen trees blocked off the ocean's water for good, and Cernunnos's body was left behind at the bottom of the sea.

That is the true nature of the pit. It's not actually a pit; it's the remains of a patch of dried-up ocean.

An island made by killing a god... The faeries' original sin...

It wasn't just Cernunnos they killed, but the priestess who served him as well.

No... She wasn't just killed. She was desecrated and used as a tool for all these fourteen thousand years.

No wonder Cernunnos is so pissed. I doubt even killing every faerie in Britain would be enough to satisfy him.

Although... Why'd he come to the surface anyway?

Isn't it kind of narrow-minded to curse the whole damn world just because you got killed? 'Specially after you went out of your way to get involved with the faeries?

That's probably because...

...Cernunnos was an envoy of paradise sent to reprimand the faeries.

That was the whole reason he came here: to punish them.

...I don't think his heart was in it, though.

Like this mural shows, Cernunnos was a very kind god by nature.

But the faeries might have found him terrifying simply because he existed.

？！

That's right. That's the point where this Lostbelt diverged from Proper Human History, and its greatest mistake.

You see, fourteen thousand years ago was the greatest turning point for all of humanity.

Maybe you heard something about the planetary envoy that almost destroyed Earth's past ancient civilization back in Olympus?

Yes, we did. It was a white civilization-destroying giant named Sefar, who fell from a shooting star.

Sefar wiped out countless pantheons, and almost destroyed every civilization on Earth...

In the end, it was humans who managed to defeat it, not gods.

I heard they did so using Divine Constructsweapons made in the planet's inner sea meant to combat planetary threats.

I also heard that the sacred sword Excalibur was the greatest such weapon, and that it was...

...That it was...created in Britain...

...That's right. I just realized that nobody here has ever mentioned it.

The very idea of a sacred sword just doesn't exist in this version of Britain.

So that must mean

Those have to be fake. They were just borrowing their names from the Round Table of Proper Human History.

'Sides, Barghest's Galatine was her horn, and Mélusine's Arondight was just crystallized magical energy.

So yeah, it's pretty clear that no sacred sword was ever made in this Britain.

？！

That's right. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you what happened as a result.

In this "what if" world, humanity never had the means to defeat Sefar.

That's why they were wiped out.

Sefar destroyed all the planet's landmasses and took them for itself, leaving only a sea of nothingness with a few aquatic life-forms.

So why was the sacred sword never made? The reason for that is both exceedingly simple and unsurprising.

Its creators slacked off.

The A-raythat is, the six faeries who were supposed to forge it in the planet's inner sea...

...decided it would be okay to take a day off just this once, and went off to have fun.

It was only once they noticed something had gone wrong with the world and went up to the surface that they realized the consequences of their choices.

But, they figured there was no changing the past, and refused to accept that the world's destruction was their fault.

So Cernunnos, the one god who had taken shelter in paradise to keep his priestess safe...

...was sent to reprimand them, and make them atone for their sins.

But then, the faeries killed Cernunnos and his priestess, the last surviving human.

At that point, they could no longer return to the planet's inner sea.

"Only those free of sin may pass." Meaning, only faeries without sin can go to paradise.

It's the same for all of Britain's faeries, as they're all descended from those original six.

None of them can enter the planet's inner sea. And so, they continued to suffer on that island of sin to atone.

？！

That's right. It all started with the sacred sword never being made.

Eventually, faeries chosen from the planet's inner sea were sent to the surface to correct this mistake.

The first one was Viviane, and the second one was you, Caster.

Your mission is to have the six clans admit to their mistake and inherit the Mystic needed to create the sacred sword.

The Bells of Pilgrimage indicate that the clan heads have accepted their sins, and the faerie who rings all of them becomes the sacred sword itself.

But as Morgan, Viviane refused to do that.

After all, once the sacred sword was made, the very premise on which this Lostbelt is built would cease to be.

I'm sure you learned about this yourself when you rang the bell in Orkney, Caster.

And in spite of that, you continued on your path, defeated Morgan, and now, you're here with Fujimaru.

You must have had to face down so many doubts to come this far.

In fact, you may never be entirely free of them.

But even so, you're still here, which is why I believe you have what it takes to see this through to the end.

...Anyway, I know that was a lot of talking, but we're almost at our destination now.

The convictions of the last dragon are waiting up ahead to see if you all are qualified to proceed.

"Only those free of sin may pass"...

That sin doesn't refer to the original sin you're born with, or the sins you've committed in your life thus far.

It refers to what you're about to do, and what your hearts are resolved to now.

It's your reason for living. Your principle for existence and prosperity.

The way to the land of hope will only open for those who demonstrate true strength in these regards.

It's gone. Everything on the surface is gone.

The sky, the sea... Life... Everything I've ever seen.

My records will never again grow in number.

I will never again know new joys.

You who would choose the sacred sword's wielder. You who would chant the king's name.

If you seek a new world, then leave all traces of the old behind.

My name is ■■■■■■. I am the last dragon, the one who chose to continue flying above the ground instead of returning to the inner sea.

If you can overcome these tears, I will offer my heart to the forger of stars.

...Ahh. I can hear the bells tolling...

My heart may have stopped, but yours yet beats strong.

Welcome home, Avalon le Fae. May the sound of hope echo into the future...

？！

That's right. That's the entrance to the planet's inner sea.

This is the Land of the Young, Tír na nÓg, the Eternal Spring. This is the place many life-forms have dreamed of finding.

Welcome to an Avalon whose time has come. This is where the journey of the planet's birth ends.