Chapter 358: The Fool

Swordlight, frost and snow bright, converging into the wings of Hun Shengtian.

When the Spirit Servant Emiya realized it, Tenzan Lixiang was already shielded behind a defense beyond the reach of the Sword of Separation.

The warning red light flashed incessantly; the dense magical energy exceeded Chaldea's maximum alert threshold. After briefly learning the situation from others, he felt he had been re-summoned to some strange sub-species Singularity.

Yes, that's right.

"This 'devouring the universe to save a loved one' plot is so cool, but it's happening right next to me and I can't be happy at all!" Tenzan Lixiang urged from behind Maggy's raised shield.

"Calm down, Emiya Mama! Let's all find a way to save the world—and save Dada Liya!"

"Going to extremes is never good!"

This must be a prank Singularity for April Fools' Day.

The Spirit Servant Emiya's expression twisted:

"It's your brains that need calming down! You yourself said it was a TV drama—why are you taking it seriously?!"

"Forcing me to drink the Spirit Elixir is bad enough, but pranking people has its limits!"

Tenzan Lixiang pointed behind Emiya Shilang and said:

"Don't you have any sense of your own? Where did this skill ever appear on your panel before?!"

The Spirit Servant Emiya stared at the sword-wings behind him and the dewy, dreamy gaze of Yang Wanli clinging to him, fell silent for several seconds:

"This is my hidden skill."

Tenzan Lixiang's lip twitched; he stepped past Maggy's shield and shouted at the Spirit Servant Emiya:

"Liar!! You clearly woke up after eating the higanbana!"

"Or did you have some grudge against me all along?!"

The Spirit Servant Emiya, one of Chaldea's earliest veteran Servants, still has a hidden skill? What else could that be but resentment toward his Master?

"Let's all calm down," Lord El-Melloi II said, taking a bite of a golden apple.

"Right now, Emiya himself seems just as confused. Personally, I lean toward the higanbana triggering memories of past-life skills, not memories."

"That's correct. Though the authenticity of that TV drama remains unverified, I suspect it's fake," Tai Gongwang stepped forward, no Divine Whip in hand, only sweeping his sleeve toward the Spirit Servant Emiya:

"Hmm, this clear sword intent and the flowing, spring-like spiritual energy—you were surely a cultivator in your past life."

Tenzan Lixiang blinked. "Why are you so certain, Tai Gong?"

"Because." Tai Gongwang turned to face the group, smiling as naturally as ever, calm and detached:

"If it were true, I wouldn't know what to do either."

Lord El-Melloi II: "..."

He had thought this man had spotted a flaw in the TV drama—or had other evidence.

Isn't this just giving up and escaping reality?!

Though he could understand it—after all, among these "Reversed" entities was Yuan Shi Tianzun.

"In any case, we have no evidence yet. Emiya, Mr. Emiya, could you please cooperate with our investigation?" Lord El-Melloi II had wanted to light a cigarette, but seeing Emiya's face after drinking the Youth Elixir, he decided to hold off:

"For instance—what is your current power?"

"Ten Directions Sword Art," the Spirit Servant Emiya replied honestly.

"In my dreams, I seemed to recall training in some sword sect, with indistinct shadows teaching me sword techniques—I woke up knowing them."

Calm down...

Lord El-Melloi II rubbed his face, about to dismiss his words, when the control room broadcast a message.

An Anomalous Band has formed! Time: 2004, Fuyuki. Worldline coordinates recorded in the database.

Is this the worldline where the Outer Universe's Creators descended?!

Worldline deviation! Something has shattered through the dimensional storm!?

A scene appeared via holographic projection in the public area where Tenzan Lixiang stood.

In the Sea of Imaginary Numbers, a colossal tree grew relentlessly, piercing through fissures, its branches extending into the Sea of Imaginary Numbers, continuing to grow, expand—phantom after phantom flickered into view, then vanished.

The image zoomed repeatedly, following the tree trunks, fast-forwarding into the world, rising from above the clouds to below—there lay Fuyuki City.

At the base of that colossal tree, within its hollow, nest-like roots.

Within the amber crystal.

The Black Dragon spread its wings, stepping upon an unknown matrix shaped like a cross.

"The 'Odin' among them is..."

"The Black Dragon, Nidhogg."

Tenzan Lixiang murmured:

"The God in the drama is real, Tianzun is real, Nidhogg is real too—rather, those twin dragon wings already proved his identity."

Some Servants glanced at the bewildered Spirit Servant Emiya; beside him, Tai Gongwang still smiled—but through the slit of his eyelids, he peered inward.

His pupils held not a glimmer of light.

Tai Gongwang said: "I think there must be some misunderstanding."

"There certainly is," BB rose from his chair, his smirk unhidden, a strange red glow flickering deep in his eyes:

"Come, Master. Let's meet these gods. Let's meet the one who should have slept in the Black Throne at the heart of Chaos, beyond the universe, ruling all time and space."

"Laughable! Reversed? The Fool?!"

That radiant smile now carried unmistakable mockery.

"The ignorant worm dons the cloak of legend, yet has no notion of what blind folly truly is."

"Try to fool us, Mister Fool."

The main peak of the Hörnichs Mountains, within the Source Fortress far above.

Yes, Miss Kelaien had moved the entire main peak here.

All preparatory work had long been completed; he had fully assimilated the extraordinary trait from Zarathustra, and dealt with the spiritual residues within it.

Advancement naturally carries some risk, but with the Source Fortress, becoming the Secret Master is his fate.

'Of course, whether this Secret Master is Yuanshi Tianzun or Zhou Mingrui remains unknown.'

He chuckled bitterly to himself.

Compared to the situation he originally faced, his current start was nothing short of a dream opening.

Using gaming terminology, it was like switching from Hell Mode to normal mode.

In other worlds, avoiding all enemies and their allies, without Amon, he only needed to focus on confronting Yuanshi Tianzun.

'Deceiving history, deceiving fate, no anchors, no excessive preparation—it doesn't matter. This body is a player; this world's history is history.' Kleine took a deep breath; though an Angel King had no need to breathe for relaxation, this habitual gesture helped ease mental pressure:

'There are many chances for trial and error, provided my original body does not suffer severe spiritual contamination.'

'Or, someone kills this body before Tianzun awakens.'

'Lu Mingfei and Su Lin are both excellent candidates—they wouldn't hesitate a bit.'

In fact, for Kleine's world, the crisis and oppression of the apocalypse were far less severe than before.

The situation between him and Amon had been completely reversed; having understood that the 'Fool Mr.' ascending to the Fool and fully controlling the Source Fortress was an unstoppable and uninterferable reality, Amon had vanished for a long time.

This was thanks to the Fallen Mother Goddess—no, it should be thanks to Su Lin.

But whether Amon or himself, both knew the final battle would only occur on the Source Fortress.

If, after becoming the Fool, he stopped and settled down to become a proper god, it would naturally spare Kleine a battle with risks outweighing gains—but.

The gift from fate had long secretly marked its price.

'Only by becoming a pillar can one lend help.'

He could not stop, nor could he remain complacent.

Kleine's mind flashed with faces as he gazed down at the modern city below.

He could make his world better, and only then could he pursue those long-gone people or things.

Without hesitation, his figure descended from the infinite heights of the Source Fortress to stand beneath the illusory World Tree; the main peak of the Honaichis Mountains appeared in the lower space of the World Tree.

Neither the peak of Honaichis, nor the World Tree nor the Black Dragon, affected the people living in Yuwen Mushi.

The streets still bustled with traffic; office workers leaving convenience stores after late-night overtime looked up at the starry sky, lost either in nostalgia for the past or confusion about the future.

He had caused the people of this nation to ignore their perception of 'anomalies,' borrowing a method from the Observer Path's influence on the subconscious ocean.

In a world without divine intervention or powerful sealed artifacts interfering, an Angel King's utilization of cosmic laws had been pushed to its utmost.

'Probably this month's performance will be at the bottom again.'

But this was also a decision agreed upon by all.

'You look very handsome,' Kleine, wearing a hat, a trench coat, and carrying a cane, complimented Lu Mingfei, saying:

'So, if I lose control later, you handle the cleanup.'

'You! #Can't we go somewhere else!? #' The Black Dragon's dragon tongue mixed modern vocabulary.

Kleine translated it roughly as: 'You trust me this much—don't you dare change locations!'

He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

The surrounding space began to be grafted, linking with the main peak of the Honaichis Mountains; Su Lin's Divine Kingdom of Light was also grafted in, where a figure of light and shadow sharpened a sword, eager to strike.

He had originally intended to use this world's Star Youjie—the esoteric realm of the Astral Plane, the Starry Realm—but decided against it: unnecessary, and the Inhibitor might interfere there.

Having finished all this, he stepped forward, holding the bronze eyeball filled with the waters of Zhihe, walking toward the palace atop the main peak.

With a heavy scraping sound, the great door slowly opened, revealing the scene within: a town from a dream.

The half-Fool, Antigonus, slept quietly in the depths of the dream.

He did not use spiritual transfer but entered directly through virtual-number navigation into a world whose storm walls had been pierced by the World Tree.

Tenzan Lixiang, watching from the deck of the spaceship, naturally observed how people moved about the city, utterly unaware.

The spaceship flew toward the World Tree; they wanted to investigate what had happened in this world, why such a drastic change had occurred within just a few days.

The previous few had claimed to have reached an agreement with the Inhibitor, but within a month, the Anomalous Zone had reformed.

And this appearance seemed to signal some monumental action.

Surely no one intends to treat the World Tree as an Imaginary Tree? If it were only that, it would truly be a relief.

'If you're that worried, why not assist us with a ritual?' BB grinned. 'We could even invite Mr. Fool to be our guest.'

That would be nearly the end of the world—give us back the normal BB!

Tenzan Lixiang chuckled awkwardly, then turned to Tai Gongwang and Nezha beside him.

Tai Gongwang nodded with a smile, and together with Nezha, flew from the deck toward a direction in the sky, where the Jade Pure Palace shimmered with divine light.

Only disciples of Jade Void were suitable to go there.

The rest turned their gazes to the base of the World Tree, which continued to grow and expand.

There, behind the Black Dragon, a vast city emerged, its amber crystalline surface inscribed with ancient, mysterious characters.

'That city...'

Before BB could finish speaking, the great door of a palace ahead of the Black Dragon burst open.

Everyone saw it: within the ancient, weathered palace, a semi-transparent dark cloak emerged, bearing a phantom mask with blank facial features.

Swiftly, as if sketched by an ink brush, Kleine's face appeared before them, and then—

Yuanzang Mountain

After finishing everything, Zhongli walked past the petrified Servants, sat down on his chair, and prepared to collect the empty teacup opposite him, while simultaneously controlling the Yuwen Mushi ley lines, ready to pour himself a cup.

The moment he lifted the teapot, his expression grew deeply confused.

He stared at the two cups before him, unsure which one to pour tea into, frozen in place.

And within the Great Hollow.

Su Lin, who had been maintaining the dimensional magic together with Yi Leina and had just completed transferring the Great Holy Grail along with the earth vein, stood frozen, staring in silence at Yi Leina, who lay asleep beside him.

When he came to his senses, he found a grease pencil in his hand.

"What did I just do?"

"Shit!"

He looked up toward the dome above, where the sky was gray and cloudless.

"Already?!"

Near Shuijing Peak, Tianhuo Peak where Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan was.

White Zunzhe was teaching Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan how to refine a newly developed pill; with this pill's aid, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's efficiency in breaking through to Star Dou Zong would increase dramatically.

But at this moment, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan forgot which herb he was supposed to add next.

He looked at Old Yao, and since the old man said nothing, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan said nothing either, merely controlling the flame with his inner thoughts.

Boom—!!!

When the Chaldea crew came to their senses, the ship had already crashed to the ground.

Tenzan Lixiang hurriedly looked around and found everyone was unharmed, though their postures were varied and some were disheveled.

"Master." BB, leaves stuck to her head, stood before them without warning; she slowly turned her head, her trembling pupils as if witnessing something unimaginable, whispered:

"Go back."

"Now! Immediately! Return to Chaldea!"

(End of Chapter)