At the place where nothingness converged, the Jewel Mage flipped through the Record.
"I'm busy right now." He seemed to be talking to himself as he glanced behind him, where an old-fashioned telephone stood. "If you need something, come back later."
Millennium Lock, one of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, gave a low laugh.
"This is where every Worldline begins and changes. The Fifth Holy Grail War—a Master drawn into, no, destined to take part in that ritual—triggered the convergence and branching of parallel worlds."
The Jewel Mage looked away, his interest waning. The Record continued turning its own pages.
"You may have lost your memories, but I, a survivor, witnessed the possibility of every universe and parallel world being utterly destroyed.
"I'm looking for the Worldline the brother and sister lost. I want to see exactly how they left this universe, traveled to the myriad worlds, then returned through Reincarnation.
"So I have no time to bother with the rituals or outcomes of any parallel world's Holy Grail War. It's not as though I need to worry about them now."
Millennium Lock did not answer. The Jewel Mage turned his attention back to the Record he was observing. This Worldline had only recently become observable; it seemed to be a doomed ending the Counter Force had previously pruned and discarded.
Now that the Root's suppression of the Solar System had been lifted entirely, the Counter Force had, with the Root's permission, merged into the universe's Worldlines. Branches of true Infinity had emerged. Pruning and judgment were no longer concerns.
"If I want the truth, I'll have to search these discarded stories."
Pages rustled past, then abruptly stopped at one.
[The speeding silver light was about to sever ribs and pierce a heart. Dark clouds drifted on the cold wind.