"Ssh!"
"Woosh!"
In the boundless sky, two streaks of radiant light tore through the air in quick succession, rapidly flying toward the far end of the horizon, drawing ever closer with each passing second.
Trailing brilliant sparks behind him, Rozen surged forward, his black feathered coat fluttering violently in the wind as he flew, all while surveying the land below.
Down there, magical beasts were crawling like ants across every corner of the earth — densely packed, moving in coordinated herds.
Faced with such a sight, anyone would think that this era's lands had already been overrun by magical beasts.
And as for humanity — not even a shadow of it could be seen.
Instead, what Rozen saw were several cities along the way, all without exception reduced to ruins, completely devoid of life. Only magical beasts roamed through their crumbled remains — it was a scene straight out of an apocalypse, enough to make anyone shudder.
Rozen silently took in the view, his thoughts heavy.
Then—
"It's honestly astounding. You're human, and yet you can fly fast enough to keep up with me. I've never met a human like you before."
The voice, filled with admiration and a touch of wonder, snapped Rozen from his thoughts. He turned to the speaker.
There beside him, Enkidu was flying effortlessly through the wind, maintaining his position just slightly ahead of Rozen. The look in his eyes as he glanced over was filled with sincere praise.
Rozen responded with a light smile.
"Is that really so surprising?" he replied casually. "Isn't this kind of thing pretty normal during the Age of Gods?"
After all, this era marked the dawn of human history — the final age of human fantasy — where just about any form of mystery could exist.
To Rozen, flying at this level shouldn't have been that extraordinary.
But that assumption was overly naive.
"True," Enkidu said, "this is an era where even gods may descend and stir chaos on the surface — but that only applies to the gods. Humans are still humans. To freely soar through the sky, trespassing upon the realm of the divine — that is not something humans are permitted to do."
Enkidu explained further.
"Generally, in this era, those who command mysteries are individuals directly connected to the gods — like priestesses or clergy who are granted the knowledge to wield magecraft. The high priestess of Uruk, for example, received her ability to read the stars from the gods. And beings like Gilgamesh, who are part human and part divine, are born with their power. But aside from that, even in the Age of Gods, the strength of humans is still limited to wielding weapons to slay their foes."
So, despite the age being rich with mystery, that mystery was concentrated in the hands of a chosen few.
Most humans remained ordinary — and that was exactly what Enkidu meant.
"I don't know what the future holds," Enkidu added thoughtfully, "but for someone like you — a human flying through the skies like a god — it's truly an incredible sight. Maybe it's precisely because of this uniqueness that you were chosen as humanity's final Master, and have made it this far in the journey to save the Human Order."
Clearly, Enkidu held Rozen in high regard. Whether he had realized it or not, Rozen's ability to soar through the sky was thanks to the jujutsu-infused artifact formed from Kinu, which resided in his body.
Between Gyokuto and Kinu, the former might be harder to perceive, but Kinu — being the golden sun bird — would likely be something even Enkidu could sense.
In that sense, just as Enkidu had stated, Rozen's ability to fly was indeed linked directly to a divine source.
Of course, Rozen could fly on his own as well — but since Kinu could handle the task, there was no reason to waste his own mana needlessly.
With that thought, Rozen shook his head.
"Let's put that aside. Tell me more about what's happening in this era," Rozen said to Enkidu. "Something pretty catastrophic is happening, isn't it?"
"It is." Enkidu's expression turned serious as his eyes focused ahead, gazing at the horizon. "Mesopotamia is on the verge of annihilation. Nearly 80% of its fortified cities have been destroyed. The survivors either remain unaware of the full situation or have fled to Uruk, struggling to resist the slowly encroaching end."
And what, exactly, was the cause of this annihilation?
The answer was simple.
"Gods."
Enkidu spoke the word with chilling calm.
"Three goddesses have manifested on Earth and are attempting to wipe out humanity. They've already taken control of 60% of Mesopotamia's lands."
Rozen narrowed his eyes upon hearing that.
"Gods, huh?" Rozen replied. "True, this is the Age of Gods, but if I recall correctly, this era is also where gods and humans begin to part ways. Shouldn't the deities have started withdrawing from the surface world by now? Even so, there are still divine manifestations?"
"Yes." Enkidu answered without hesitation. "The gods are everywhere — and they never overlook humanity's defiance. Add to that their fickle and volatile natures, and you can imagine the disasters they've brought upon the earth countless times in the past. That's why Gilgamesh, as the Wedge of Heaven, began to loathe the gods' arrogance. He believed that humans had no need for the gods, and under his reign, he left no room for divine interference. He proclaimed a severance from the gods, splitting the world of man and the world of the divine like heaven and earth."
At that point, Enkidu added another remark.
"That said, this era only declared its separation from the gods. The decline of the Age of Gods had actually begun much earlier."
This made Rozen furrow his brow.
"Earlier than this era?"
Rozen murmured the question.
"Exactly," Enkidu affirmed, and then began a deeper explanation.
"The fall of the Age of Gods happened in three phases."
"The first was decline."
"The second was separation."
"And the third — the opportunity."
"The opportunity has not yet come to pass. But from what you've described, it must occur in a future age — after the start of the Common Era — when the gods vanish completely from history. So for now, it remains an event yet to unfold."
"The decline, however, happened about ten thousand years ago. Back then, humanity's prehistorical mythic civilizations faced a tremendous catastrophe."
As Enkidu spoke those words, Rozen felt it — a powerful reaction from one of the Servants bonded to his soul.
Her aura, her mana — it all became wildly unstable.
Rozen froze momentarily.
But before he could respond, Enkidu continued.
"It's said that at that time, human civilization was flourishing to an extraordinary degree. The gods, too, existed as spirits of nature — not yet possessing the clear divinity or godhood we know today. They were one with the world — a far more ancient and unified form, the original state of all gods as we know them now."
"That era marked the peak of planetary civilization, and also the height of the Age of Gods. Both humans and gods possessed powers and meanings far beyond what exists today. It was a world that modern human history cannot even begin to imagine."
"Until one day — a great catastrophe descended. It destroyed everything — human civilization and the gods alike — erasing them from the earth."
"From that moment on, the planet's mystery began to wither away — as if it were being invaded and drained. That extreme decline led to the rise of modern human history, new civilizations, and newly structured gods with clear boundaries."
As Enkidu spoke, Rozen could feel it more and more — one of his Servants was growing increasingly agitated. Their emotional state was clearly unstable.
This caused Rozen to furrow his brow deeply — and fall silent.