"Phew..."
As her consciousness projected into the temple towering in the void, Selene could even feel a refreshing breeze pass around her.
For the people of Chaldea, and most Heroic Spirits, this temple was a stifling mystic domain. But to Selene, it was not even the least bit unpleasant.
On the contrary, she felt a pleasant sensation—as if her magical energy was full to the brim, her Spirit Origin liberated.
It felt like...
Within Selene's body, the fused Spirit Origins of the Avenger Gorgon and Beast II, the Mother of Creation Tiamat, began to rejoice. It was as though they had returned to an age where the mystery of the world still thrived.
Compared to the faint suppression brought on by the present era's withering of the arcane, this place felt like a paradise. Selene couldn't help but relax her body and mind.
This was a truly extraordinary space.
Standing beyond the world, in the rift of infinite void, the inside of the temple was filled with life and splendor, a stark contrast to the still and dead darkness outside.
The sky stretched endlessly in deep azure, and the land below was a silver ocean of endless grasslands.
Floating mountains of all shapes and sizes encircled the temple like steps ascending to heaven, slowly rotating around the radiant and divine throne in the sky.
"Crown Temple of Time."
"This temple manifests the world as it was before Solomon's death, before mystery faded away...."
Sensing the unique nature of the temple's structure, Selene's crimson eyes gleamed with contemplation.
In some sense, this temple was King Solomon.
The second Noble Phantasm of King Solomon: Reality Marble - Temple of Time.
Located outside the universe, in a dimension severed even from time and space, its foundational structure was similar to that of the Greater Grail beneath Fuyuki City.
However, the Temple of Time was formed from Solomon's own magical circuits—meaning, the temple was his very body.
No wonder....
From the moment she stepped in, Selene had a strong sense of familiarity. Unlike the barren hill of swords in Archer's Unlimited Blade Works, this Reality Marble felt like a living organism.
"The Halo..." Her serpentine tail twisted as Selene raised her head, her eyes filled with subtle amusement.
Above the temple, the most striking sight was the continuously swirling halo—beautiful yet dangerous, radiating a transcendent terror.
At first glance, it appeared to be a decorative ring encircling the temple. In reality, it was a conglomeration of hundreds of millions of beams of light.
Each one carried power comparable to, or exceeding, an A-rank Noble Phantasm like Excalibur, and they were continuously accelerating and converging. This was a destructive weapon that transformed all of human history into heat.
There existed nothing on Earth that could surpass the thermal energy of this Noble Phantasm.
It was for the creation of this halo that Solomon orchestrated the seven Singularities and their mana sources. This temple was built to collect unimaginable magical energy from across human history, forming an extraordinary vortex of mana.
Buzz!
Suddenly, the temple trembled.
"Welcome to My world. This is the innermost space of imaginary numbers, severed from time. Its name is—the Crown Temple of Time."
As a voice rang out with the majesty of the heavens themselves—
At the edge of Selene's vision, a radiant mountain of divine brilliance rose from the earth. Atop the heavenly throne, surrounded by floating stars like a moon among constellations, a white-haired man who had waited long enough finally stood.
The man's stature wasn't particularly tall—about 1.8 meters—with slightly tanned skin and features somewhere between Caucasian and East Asian. He wore a red-and-white mage's robe.
"This should be our first meeting, sovereign of foreign gods. I am Solomon. King of Magecraft, Solomon."
"Selene."
With brief self-introductions complete, Selene looked down at the so-called King of Magecraft Solomon, her gaze tinged with subtle amusement.
In terms of sheer size, Selene was far larger than even the throne beneath the white-haired man's feet.
His crimson eyes mirrored her own—equally terrifying. Yet within his, there was none of the boundless wisdom supposedly belonging to the wise king Solomon.
What Selene saw beneath his mask was something she herself shared to some degree: cruelty, venom, brutality—a being fully loyal to his own desires.
"Oh really? King Solomon? To begin with a lie... how fittingly expected."
Selene's crimson pupils narrowed slightly. The massive avatar projection coiled before the throne began to rise, its towering shadow engulfing the so-called Solomon and the royal seat beneath him.
"...."
At this, a flash of red flickered through the man's eyes. Though his expression stiffened for a moment, he remained calm as he stared back at Selene in silence.
He had seen no vision of Selene violating their pact.
Unlike Chaldea and humanity—those fated to be destroyed who yapped and snarled at his feet—Selene's mockery did not concern him. He could easily let her jabs go in one ear and out the other.
As long as nothing involved Chaldea directly, he was capable of considerable patience.
Their blood-red gazes held for a moment until Selene suddenly chuckled.
"No need to be tense."
"As an ally, and because your plan has brought me amusement, let me offer you this: You are who you are. You will never become him. No matter how perfect the disguise, it's just self-deception."
If Selene made no effort to hide the cold, destructive aura emanating from her form, then this man who claimed to be Solomon was doing the opposite—deliberately trying to mask himself as someone else.
The origin of modern magecraft, the one who severed humanity from the gods, the very symbol of mystery's disappearance, the apex of sorcery—the Grand Caster: King Solomon, was undoubtedly great and wise.
To mages on the path of the arcane, his presence was like the Root itself—perfect and omnipotent, a source of temptation and ruin.
Unfortunately, the man before her was no longer that King Solomon. Only the body remained; the thoughts and soul within had long since changed.
"Still refusing to acknowledge your true identity? Also, I must say—that ring on your left middle finger? It's clearly a fake."
'Solomon' wore ten silver rings, one on each finger—the famed "Ten Rings" from the epic. But that might fool ordinary people. Not Selene. And certainly not any Heroic Spirit with Clairvoyance.
The forgery was glaringly obvious.
"With things as they are, wouldn't it be easier to just be yourself?"
Maintaining his composure, 'Solomon' calmly replied, picking up where Selene had left off. "I see. For a foreign god-king, possessing a Clairvoyant ability isn't surprising...."
"In that case, you should also understand: I am Solomon."
"Ah yes, you are Solomon indeed. After all... this body is Solomon's. Your origin is Solomon. The power you wield comes from Solomon."
Selene chuckled softly, covered her mouth, and tapped her forehead as if tired of the conversation.
"Alright, let's drop the subject. I've no interest in digging through the domestic drama between you and your... other selves."
A perfectly timed show of strength suited her persona. In the world of Type-Moon, trickster gods were a common sight—some even king among their pantheons. And Selene, notably, wasn't one of this man's targets.
But if she pushed too far, it would no longer be fun. The time for confrontation hadn't yet come.
As for exposing the deception or tearing away the mask—that wasn't Selene's role. That was something for the protagonist of this human order showdown.
"So then, Solomon—how long until your Temple of Time fully merges with this world? The grand stage is already set. The show is starting, and I have little patience left to wait."
'Solomon' pondered for a moment before responding, devoid of joy or sorrow: "By your region's time, at dawn tomorrow, I shall begin merging the Temple of Time with this world."
"Good." Selene nodded, then added, "The Chaldeans—should I leave them for you?"
"No need. Reduced to ash and obliterated entirely—that is the fate that awaits them."
'Solomon' narrowed his gaze, speaking slowly.
"The outcome has already been determined. Be it Chaldea or the last Master of humanity, it matters not. From the moment humanity accepted death as its premise, their so-called perspectives and values became meaningless. How they meet their end is of no concern to me."
Selene casually inspected her nails, the amusement in her eyes growing ever stronger.
"But what about you, Selene?" 'Solomon' asked. "I'm curious—why would you wade into such a senseless, artless mess?"
"Because it's fun," Selene answered lazily, slouching on the steps as she looked at the 'Solomon' before her.
Undoubtedly, that was a lie. But also, the truth.
Because she did want to see it.
"Incineration of Human Order. The destruction of human history. Solomon, don't you think this could be a grand epic?"
"Will it end with the thousand-year plot of the King of Magecraft (barely suppressing a laugh) successfully annihilating humanity? Or with the final Master of mankind saving the world?"
"Whether it's your triumphal arrogance, or your howling despair in failure, or even your begging, or enlightenment before death—I want to see it all."
"I will not lose."
"Let's hope not...." Selene's projected consciousness began to fade, gradually vanishing from the Temple.
"....."
Once again, silence returned to the vast Temple of Time.
"Flauros... the ally you found has far exceeded My expectations. But... as long as they are a Servant, I fear nothing."
...
At Ryuudou Temple, Selene slowly opened her eyes and reined in her smile slightly.
"Your Eminence, it seems you've met with my king already."
Lev's eyes sparkled as he eagerly monitored Selene's every move. The thought of double the chaos thrilled him to no end.
"Yes. At dawn tomorrow, Solomon's Temple of Time will merge with this world. The countdown to the Incineration of Humanity begins."
"Lev, continue mapping the underground leyline network."
Tools must be used efficiently—thinking thus, Selene sent Lev back into the vast cavern beneath Ryuudou Temple.
If only she had more time, not just the Pacific—she could have connected every leyline on the planet.
"Sister Selene, Mei and I finished sweeping the Matou residence..."
At that moment, Kiana hopped onto Selene's shoulder, affectionately nuzzling her smooth yet fearsome cheek scales, speaking with a touch of embarrassment.
"But aside from that short old man, we didn't find any other targets. No sign of Matou Shinji, as intel suggested..."
"Lady Kiana, did you say Matou Shinji?" From the nearby veranda where she was preparing tea for Durandal, Fu Hua, and the others, Rita perked up and asked for confirmation.
Kiana blinked in confusion and nodded.
"Ah, I see. Apologies, Lady Kiana. It seems Rita may have stolen your prey." Rita gave a graceful curtsy, her smile dazzling.
"Kiana, are you sure there was nothing else?"
"Nothing. The Matou residence had been corrupted into something like an insect hive by that heretical sorcery. There were no signs of life. I burned it all down. Uh... Sister Selene, did I miss something?"
Hearing the question, Kiana thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"Miss something...? Never mind."
Murmuring softly, Selene vaguely recalled a certain tragic girl—something about crossing the moon, must-save techniques... flickers of forgotten memories passed through her mind.
"It's nothing. Just a few inconsequential details."
Shaking her head, she cast those thoughts aside. Her gaze fell on the motionless, half-buried form of Kirei lKotomine ying among the crystalline ruins before her.
"How did the Holy Church manage to collect so many leftover Command Seals? Aren't Command Seals supposed to be one of the Greater Grail System's ultimate creations? Used properly, they're a powerful resource for Servants."
"No clue...."
As Selene's serpentine tail twisted, the surface of the crystal mound suddenly distorted and caved in, instantly engulfing Kirei Kotomine. In the next moment, thick, violet-red liquid surged out from beneath Selene.
Sea of Imaginary Numbers: EX
An innate skill that awakened after Selene fused with Tiamat's Beast II Spirit Origin.
Beyond Selene's own Herrscher powers over imaginary numbers, this ability combines the effects of Tiamat's Sea of Life, Nega Genesis, and Womb of a Hundred Beasts.
Sea of Life: Selene is the sea of imaginary life itself. By cycling the True Ether of Earth's creation, this sea provides an infinite mana supply.
Anything it touches undergoes erosion and receives randomly applied modifications, such as biological transformation, ecosystem fusion, or individual multiplication. Once it emerges onto land, it forms a cellular-level contract with Beast II—a base-pair Geass—automatically marking all life it touches as enemies of humanity.
Nega Genesis: A conceptual barrier that allows her to overwrite creation myths and evolution. Grants Selene extreme resistance to Noble Phantasms born from Proper Human History.
In short—thicker skin, stronger magical and physical resistance, enhanced regeneration.
Womb of a Hundred Beasts: Anything born under Selene's authority cannot disobey her divine will. Doing so would be rejecting life itself. Creating magical beasts or giants is just the most basic use of this power.
And yet... when she activated it, Selene couldn't help but curse aloud.
What the hell?!
Staring at the glowing violet-red markings now lighting up around her abdomen, Selene was completely stunned.
What kind of performance is this supposed to be?
Then she remembered the cyan-blue power patterns on Tiamat's stomach, and thought—your divine symbols are placed in the weirdest spots.
Without a word, Selene quietly turned around and commanded her scales to multiply, sealing up everything from the waist down tightly.
"Phew...."
Thankfully, the markings weren't pink—or worse, shaped like hearts. If they had been, Selene might've self-destructed on the spot.
"Womb of a Hundred Beasts...."
"Huh? Spirit Origin restrictions? I can only summon and create beasts? I can't create human armies?"
Ugh. That cut the fun in half.
Not happy. There went her plan to call her Empire troops 'new humans' and mock Chaldea's 'old humanity.'
"Fine, fine, restrictions are restrictions. There's always next time... Sangheili should count, right? Those humanoid species from the Covenant... they're still within my creation range, right?"
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