The Holy Grail, the Saintess, and the Wish

"The Holy Grail War has reached its fourth iteration?"

"Yes, over two hundred years have passed, and this is now the Fourth Holy Grail War."

"Two hundred years?"

"That's right, to be precise, about two hundred and twenty years. Some ancient events weren't recorded in detail."

"Thank you."

After a brief exchange, a long silence fell.

Shiki didn't mind. He knew that time felt very different in this mental world compared to reality. As long as he consciously controlled it, even if he spent hours here, only a few minutes might have passed in the real world.

At this moment, he was also analyzing the information revealed in the Winter Saintess's words.

It was clear that the Holy Grail War reaching its fourth iteration far exceeded the Saintess's expectations. These long two hundred years had also made her realize that the passage of time had long deviated from her original plan.

It seemed that behind this Holy Grail ritual, there were secrets that even Zōken and the Tohsaka Family didn't know. As for whether the Einzbern Family knew, it was highly likely they didn't.

Shiki guessed that back then, the Three Founding Families all aimed for the "Root," but the Winter Saintess might have had other plans.

After about twenty minutes, the Winter Saintess finally made a move.

With a gentle wave of her hand, the originally pure white world instantly changed. Shiki felt a dizzying sensation, and in the blink of an eye, he found himself in a world of ice and snow.

The biting cold wind howled, making Shiki shiver involuntarily. "Hey, Your Excellency the Saintess, you can't just do something like this without even a word. Isn't that a bit rude?"

The Winter Saintess merely glanced at him indifferently, said nothing, and walked straight ahead. Her intention was clear – if he wanted answers, he should follow.

"Honestly, couldn't we just go straight to the destination? Why all this trouble?" Shiki grumbled, and with no other choice, he braced himself against the bone-chilling wind and followed the Winter Saintess's footsteps.

They passed through a dense forest and crossed an ice river that crunched under their feet. Finally, they arrived in front of a massive castle.

"This is the Einzbern of two hundred years ago."

As the Winter Saintess's words fell, the castle began to transform in Shiki's eyes. Countless figures flashed before him, like a movie playing in fast forward.

Soon, Shiki saw the Winter Saintess meeting two young people inside the castle.

In an instant, Shiki's senses also underwent a wondrous change. He entered the Winter Saintess's perspective, experiencing it all firsthand.

The voices echoing in his ears confirmed what he was seeing – these were the Saintess's experiences from back then.

The two young people at the foot of the stairs, judging by their attire and appearance, Shiki recognized them at a glance as representatives of the other two families of the Three Founding Families in the Holy Grail ritual.

The three began to converse.

One of the young men with long black hair spoke first, "Greetings, Great Magus. Please forgive our unannounced visit."

The Winter Saintess's expression was calm. "Welcome. May I ask why you have sought me out?"

The young man replied, "We dare not hide anything from you, Great Magus. We heard that the Einzbern Family wishes to recreate the Third Magic – the Cup of Heaven?"

The Winter Saintess's tone remained level. "Indeed, that is the case."

The other young man quickly added, "Great Magus, if you wish to recreate the Third Magic, perhaps we can cooperate."

The Winter Saintess remained silent for a moment before asking, "How shall we cooperate?"

Following that, the two young men elaborated on their ideas in detail.

Shiki then learned that the long-haired young man was a registered disciple of the Second True Ancestor, the Jeweled Sword Sage. In their conversation, this gave the Winter Saintess hope of recreating the Third Magic.

Immediately after, the scene before Shiki changed again, showing images of disaster and war.

More than two hundred years ago, Europe was in turmoil, and the entire world was in unrest. The colonial expansion wars of the Age of Discovery had cast a bloody shadow over the whole world.

Shiki could deeply feel that seeing these from the Saintess's perspective, her thoughts were quietly changing. From initially simply wanting to recreate the Third Magic, she gradually developed compassion for the people of the world and a dislike for the world's wars.

At the same time, he also heard the ideals and dreams of the other two members of the Three Founding Families.

"Reaching the Root is the dream of us Magus!" the long-haired young man shouted excitedly.

"I want to be a hero of justice and eliminate evil in the world," the young man who led the charge said firmly.

Finally, the scene returned to the interior of the Garden of Avalon.

By this time, more than ten years had passed, and the construction of the Holy Grail ritual had entered its final stage.

When a stout old man with white hair, holding a Jewel Sword, stood before the three, it meant that the critical moment of the Holy Grail ritual had arrived.

The white-haired old man said, "I have understood the ideals of you three in reaching the Root. Now, Einzbern, Tohsaka, Makiri, the three families will work together to construct the Holy Grail ritual. Begin."

Shiki found that his perspective shifted with the Winter Saintess's movements. At this moment, the Winter Saintess was lying on the square altar.

The crucial ritual officially began, and stone pillars slowly descended from above the altar, approaching her.

"What the—!"

Shiki's heart leaped in surprise. What were they doing?

As the stone pillars drew closer, he could feel the excitement within the Winter Saintess. Her almost delirious words echoed in Shiki's mind.

"Open the gate to the Root and fulfill my wish!"

Even without seeing the Winter Saintess's expression, Shiki could imagine that her expression at this moment was perhaps a little deranged.

BOOM!

Darkness filled Shiki's vision for a moment.

When Shiki opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the pure white mental world. He shook his body, still able to recall the suffocating feeling of being crushed to death.

Looking at the Winter Saintess again, a strange look appeared in his eyes. This Winter Saintess, outwardly calm but so twisted inside, wasn't she a little abnormal?

"...Your Excellency, the Saintess, what are you trying to tell me by showing me this?"

Although he had a guess in his heart, Shiki still wanted her to say it herself.

Facing Shiki's question, the Winter Saintess tilted her head slightly. She didn't understand why he still had doubts when she had been so obvious.

Was it because of the language barrier? Even if the meaning could be conveyed, there was still a misunderstanding in comprehension? Or was it the generational gap caused by the two hundred years of changing times?

However, since this young man could awaken her, the Winter Saintess felt that he must have some ability, and perhaps she could tell him the origin and purpose of the Holy Grail War.

Perhaps he could fulfill her wish. After all, hearing the information about the "Fourth Holy Grail War" made her realize that this ritual might have undergone significant changes. The goal that could have been achieved in the first instance had been delayed until the fourth.

This was not the outcome she wanted to see.

So, she told Shiki the purpose of the ritual: "The purpose of the Holy Grail War ritual is to open the door to the 'Root.' After connecting to the Root, we can fulfill the wishes of our three families."

A simple sentence that directly revealed the essence of the Holy Grail War.

Of course, going to the "Root" to fulfill wishes was a matter for later.

Shiki still hadn't heard the information he most wanted to know.

"Your Excellency, the Saintess, if it's possible, I'd like to know what your wish is?"

This was what Shiki truly cared about; he needed to compare it with his own guess.

The Winter Saintess calmly stated her wish.

"To achieve the salvation of all humanity, connect to the Root, and spread the power of the Third Magic—the Cup of Heaven—across the entire world, so that all humanity can live forever without aging or dying. This way, there will be no more disasters or wars, and all humanity will live in eternal peace."

After hearing this, Shiki could only feel a headache.

As expected, this Saintess was also crazy, and her ideas were too naive.

He sighed helplessly. The thinking and knowledge of ancient people, even for the Winter Saintess, a Grand Magus, were childish in some aspects.

"Your Excellency, the Saintess, do you think that if your wish were truly realized, humanity would really achieve peace?"

The Winter Saintess nodded matter-of-factly: "If all humanity is immortal, without hunger or death, and without resource scarcity, then of course there will be no war. The world will naturally be at peace."

"...Do you really think so, Saintess?"

"Yes, that's what I think. Is there anything wrong with that? Isn't resources the root cause of human infighting?"

"Resources are indeed one of the main reasons, but it's not as simple as you imagine, Your Excellency."

The Saintess looked at Shiki with confusion: "Young man, why don't you agree with my wish? Isn't this a good thing?"

"Alas, how should I put this..."

Shiki didn't know how to explain it to her. Arguing wasn't his strong suit.

"Your Excellency, the Saintess, let me put it this way: if all humanity truly became immortal, the world would have only one outcome: destruction."

"Destruction? Why? Aren't humans immortal? How could they be destroyed?"

"Your Excellency, the Saintess, I mean human civilization would perish. When civilization perishes, even if humans exist, they lose their meaning."

"I don't understand. Since humans exist, civilization should also exist."

Shiki frowned and patiently explained: "Your Excellency, the Saintess, humans being immortal might be a good thing at first. Society would progress rapidly for decades, reaching a very high level. But as time goes by, after hundreds of years, humanity would inevitably fall into a bottleneck. At that time, with no progress in sight, and no threat of hunger or death, in an immortal state, humans would gradually become lazy, civilization would cease to develop, and eventually perish."

"Moreover, Your Excellency, the Saintess, only the human body is immortal, but the spirit will continue to age. Once the spirit ages and perishes, humans would be no different from walking corpses. This is what I mean by the perishing of civilization, and the existence of humans losing its meaning."

"...The spirit will perish..."

The Winter Saintess fell into confusion. With Shiki's reminder, she realized that the spirit was also an important part of being human.

Just like the spiritual consciousness connecting her and Shiki at this moment.

Could the Third Magic achieve spiritual immortality?

No, the Third Magic only materialized the soul, achieving spiritual immortality, but it did not include the spiritual aspect.

In mysticism, humans are composed of the body, soul, and spirit. All three are indispensable for a complete human.

If only the soul and body were immortal, but the spirit lost its vitality or even perished, could humans still be called human?

Wouldn't they become the walking corpses the young man spoke of?

As this thought surfaced in her mind, the Winter Saintess felt a wave of confusion.

Her long-held wish seemed like it would actually lead to the destruction of the world and human civilization. Then, what was the meaning of all she had held onto?

The brilliance in her crimson eyes gradually faded. The immense flaw in her ideal left her at a loss for words.

Once the castle she had built her beliefs upon collapsed, it would likely be impossible to rebuild.

Shiki naturally noticed this. Not only did he see the change in the Winter Saintess, but he could also feel her despair through their spiritual connection.

This pure white mental world also dimmed along with the Saintess's emotions.

Shiki inwardly cursed his bad luck. If the Winter Saintess were to shut herself off now, all his previous efforts would be in vain.

Fortunately, he was prepared. "Begin executing Plan C."

Shiki quickly spoke up, "Your Excellency, the Saintess, in truth, in this era, there's no longer a need to save all of humanity. The world today isn't as chaotic as it was two hundred years ago, filled with war and disaster. Although some regions and factions are still at war, and some places suffer hardship, overall, the entire world is peaceful and stable."

Seeing that his words had captured the Saintess's attention, Shiki decided to press his advantage. "Your Excellency, the Saintess, allow me to tell you a story. In another world, there were no Magus, only a mystical power called Ninjutsu. In that world, there was a young man..."

Following this, Shiki recounted his experiences in the Ninja World to the Winter Saintess, detail by detail.

This included how he ended the wars in the Ninja World, restored world peace, rationally distributed global resources, created a new history for ninjas, diversified their abilities, and made the world a better place.

In his telling, the Divine Tree, after being modified, was no longer a scourge upon the Ninja World but instead became its pillar of support, revitalizing the land and raising the world's energy ceiling.

He had also modified the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan, transforming the Tsukuyomi space into a recreational area for humans, as well as a place to resolve conflicts.

Conflicts between individuals, and even between nations, could be settled within the Tsukuyomi space. While it couldn't resolve every single conflict, it at least eliminated large-scale wars, turning the Ninja World into a relatively better place.

"Infinite Tsukuyomi... the Eye of the Moon Plan..."

Upon hearing this story, especially about the illusionary space of Infinite Tsukuyomi, the Winter Saintess's eyes lit up.

She found the story Shiki told to be incredibly brilliant, and everything the people in the story did was also wonderful.

It caused no great harm to the world, yet it effectively resolved the conflicts within the human world. In fact, if operated correctly, it might even be able to revitalize the Earth.

The Winter Saintess stared at Shiki excitedly, "Then, young man, can you achieve that level? If you can, I will support you with all my might and help you achieve final victory in the Holy Grail War."

"..."

Shiki felt a sense of helplessness. Did the Winter Saintess only glean that one idea from this story?

His intention in telling her this story was to convey that she should stop clinging to impractical notions. Humans have their own lives and their own ideas; they don't need her to impose her will upon them.

But seeing the expectant look in the Winter Saintess's eyes, Shiki sighed, "To be honest, I'm not sure."

However, the Saintess did not feel discouraged by this answer. Instead, she became even more excited, her expression almost contorted as she smiled somewhat unnaturally.

No denial meant there was still a possibility.

"Young man, Hōraisan Shiki, let us cooperate. Together, let us make the world a better place."