Mount Enzou, located west of Miyamachi in Fuyuki City, was merely an inconspicuous little mountain.
Halfway up the mountain stood a temple called Ryūdō Temple.
But none of that mattered at this moment. What truly mattered was that hidden within Mount Enzou's hollowed interior lay the most crucial existence in the Holy Grail War—the Greater Grail.
Entering the mountain through a hidden passage, Shiki was instantly met by the dense aura of mystery in the air.
Shiki could not help but smile as he muttered, "Greater Grail, let me uncover your secrets."
His eyes remained fixed on the altar at the center of the vast cavern, where the Holy Grail had once descended.
Thanks to the inheritance he had received from the old monster Zōken, Shiki knew quite a few secrets about the Greater Grail.
He gave the order. "Sir Lancelot, begin."
The Black Knight, Lancelot, swiftly got to work, setting up a temporary base.
Lights, bedding, drinking water, and other supplies were quickly put in place. Before long, a simple yet orderly temporary camp had been completed.
"Master, the camp is ready."
Shiki, who had been studying the altar intently, turned around and looked at the camp with great satisfaction. "Thank you, Sir Lancelot."
"It is my duty, Master. If you need anything, call for me at any time."
After saying that, Lancelot dematerialized and vanished from Shiki's sight.
Servants usually dematerialized whenever possible to reduce unnecessary mana consumption. Even though Shiki possessed an immense source of mana, he did not wish to squander it excessively.
After all, controlling mana required a considerable amount of his attention, and overexerting himself was something Shiki did not want to see.
Now that he had no worries holding him back, studying the altar became Shiki's sole focus.
It was a square altar that looked like a stone bed.
Despite the passage of time, the altar remained completely spotless.
Together with the small pool nearby, the place gave anyone who saw it a sense of deep mystery, as though some supernatural event might happen at any moment.
"But in truth, an extremely important supernatural event did happen here."
Shiki pondered as he ran his fingers over the altar, feeling the patterns carved upon it.
What had the Winter Saintess been thinking back then? She had actually chosen to sacrifice herself to construct such a Greater Grail.
"That old bastard Zōken did not record this matter in detail either. What a pity."
As one of the Three Founding Families that had built the Holy Grail System, the original Makiri Zōken had left behind quite a few records concerning the Greater Grail system.
Shiki, who enjoyed reading, had gone through all of those materials, but Zōken had failed to mention certain crucial matters.
However, from Zōken's records, Shiki could sense that the old monster seemed to have held special feelings for the Winter Saintess.
The records concerning the Winter Saintess were exceptionally detailed, every line filled with longing, while the head of the Tohsaka Family, another of the Three Founding Families, received only a few sparse mentions.
That old monster had actually been young once too. How had he ended up becoming like that later on?
Shiki stopped dwelling on it.
"Then, let's begin."
A kaleidoscope of light flashed in Shiki's eyes. His right eye instantly transformed into a Mystic Eye, blooming with an intense green glow.
Using his vast mana as a source, he activated the powers of the Human Path and Hell Path.
Powerful mental fluctuations passed through the altar and connected with the Greater Grail. At the same time, he used the power of the Hell Path, attempting to search for the Winter Saintess, who was hidden within the Greater Grail in the form of a soul.
Boom!
A bell rang within his mind, radiating through the Greater Grail like a signal.
The tremors in his mind continued for more than thirty seconds.
Maintaining the Mystic Eye's power beyond its limits for so long caused Shiki's right eye to become bloodshot. The capillaries at the corner of his eye burst, and a thread of blood slid down his cheek.
The swelling pain in his eye was unbearable, but Shiki did not give up.
To him, even if this eye were ruined, it would not matter. Mystic Eyes were abilities that existed on the level of consciousness and soul. The physical eye was merely a vessel for assimilation. Even if he went blind, he could replace it with another eye and regenerate the Mystic Eye all the same. He would still be able to use it.
Two minutes later.
At last, his efforts were rewarded. The dual stimulation of mind and soul awakened a consciousness sleeping within the Greater Grail.
Still connected to the altar through his Mystic Eye, Shiki instantly felt his surroundings change. He went from the dim cavern into a world of pure white.
The place was empty and white, as pure as snow.
"An awareness space... It could also be called a spiritual world."
Shiki was no stranger to such spaces. More precisely, he was very familiar with them.
But this was the first time he had seen an awareness space as pure as snow.
People were complicated, their good and evil intertwined, so their spiritual worlds were generally colorful. Pure people existed as well, but they were exceedingly rare, and they could not possibly be this utterly white.
Suddenly, Shiki sensed something. Before he could turn around, a cold female voice sounded by his ear, and at the same time, another layer of meaning entered his consciousness.
"Wer bist du? (Who... are you?)"
"..."
Shiki felt helpless. He always forgot that this was not the Ninja World, but Earth. There were over two hundred countries in the world, and their languages were not unified.
Naturally, the languages spoken by these foreigners differed from the one he knew.
Fortunately, their mental connection meant that even if he could not understand her language, he could still grasp her meaning.
He came back to himself and turned toward the speaker, only to be instantly stunned by the woman before him.
The young woman before him was not very tall. She wore a gorgeous white ceremonial dress adorned with golden patterns. It was solemn and weighty, sacred yet somewhat alluring.
After all, what kind of sacred ceremonial dress exposed flesh in a circular design from the collarbone down to the abdomen? The exposed portion at the waist was even decorated with a gem-studded hem, while her legs were clad in pure white stockings resembling an absolute territory.
Most captivating of all were her long silver-white hair and gem-red eyes. Combined with her delicate features, she looked like a Nordic elf untouched by the mortal world.
"Who... are you?"
The woman asked again, and only then did Shiki snap out of it.
"My apologies. I lost my composure for a moment."
It was not as though he had never seen beautiful women before, but whether it was her appearance, hair color, or eye color, the woman before him suited his tastes exceptionally well.
After all, as someone with the soul of the Heavenly Dynasty, white and red held a special appeal for him.
Shiki could somewhat understand why the old monster, in his younger days, had harbored unusual feelings for the Winter Saintess.
The Saintess was simply breathtakingly beautiful.
He gathered his thoughts, calmed himself, and began his introduction. "I am Hōraisan Shiki, a Magus who was accidentally drawn into the Fourth Holy Grail War. I feel that the Holy Grail War is far too cruel, so I wished to trace it back to its source. That is why I sought you out, Lady Winter Saintess, in hopes of learning about the origin and purpose of the Holy Grail War."
Shiki had always pursued the Root. Other Magi had the same goal, and the Three Founding Families were no exception.
But he did not know the thoughts of the Einzbern Family, or rather, the Winter Saintess. If he wanted to achieve his goal, he first had to understand what she wanted. Otherwise, his plans would be difficult to advance.
After hearing Shiki's words, the Winter Saintess also frowned.
She had encountered the same problem Shiki had faced earlier—there was a language barrier.
She could only use their mentally connected channel to understand his meaning. She fell silent for a moment, sorting through Shiki's words, analyzing and extracting relevant memories as she tried to find the key information in what he had said.
Very quickly, she noticed the crucial phrase, "Fourth Holy Grail War."
The Holy Grail War had already been fought four times?
That seemed different from what she had originally envisioned.
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