The Atlas Institute in the Type-Moon universe was also known as the "Giant's Cellar." Hidden somewhere beneath the Atlas Mountains, it preserved an ancient form of alchemy vastly different from modern alchemy.
The foundation of this alchemy was "Thought Partition," which split the mind into multiple personalities. These personalities could rapidly connect with one another, exchange information, multiply their thoughts, and perform high-speed calculations.
How fast was it?
For example, splitting into three personalities meant 3 × 3 × 3 = 27, accelerating thought twenty-sevenfold. Splitting into four personalities meant 4 × 4 × 4 × 4 = 256, accelerating thought two hundred and fifty-sixfold!
It accelerated thought exponentially, turning the human brain into a supercomputer!
Thanks to the advantage of high-speed thought, the alchemists of Atlas constantly created weapons beyond the imagination of modern Magi. The most terrifying among them were the Seven Great Weapons of Destruction.
Thus, there had always been a rumor: never unseal Atlas, or the world would be destroyed seven times.
Old Tang raised his hand at just the right moment. "Let me ask something. What grudge does the world have against these ancient alchemists? Why do they always want to destroy the world?"
Old Tang had watched all kinds of movies and TV shows growing up, and what he hated most was villains in films getting traumatized and deciding to destroy the world. Damn it, if you had a grudge, settle it; if you had a grievance, resolve it. Why did you have to come out and destroy the world, leaving ordinary folks like them with no way to survive?
Emiya fell silent for a moment before saying, "They created world-destroying weapons to prevent the world from being destroyed."
"Huh??" Old Tang looked utterly shaken. He had never been this speechless in his life.
"Uh, their reasoning goes like this: to resolve a possible future World Destruction crisis, the weapon needs to possess performance on the same level."
For example, someday in the future, World Destruction might come in the form of an asteroid striking Earth. So an alchemist would create a gravitational weapon capable of making the asteroid veer away from Earth.
But what if the asteroid never came? Then all you had to do was use it in reverse, and it became something that could pull an asteroid over to strike Earth.
So weapons that saved the world and weapons that destroyed it were connected. It simply depended on who used them.
"...After hearing you explain that, brother, I'm starting to worry about humanity's future," Old Tang said with a troubled expression.
"They're a bunch of lunatic researchers. Forget whether they can solve a World Destruction crisis—I think they definitely have the ability to wipe humanity out before that happens."
Bro, it wasn't just the Atlas Institute that was full of lunatics. You could barely find a few normal people among all the Magi on the entire planet.
However, according to the development of Fate/Extra, this Atlas Institute would strangely lose its inheritance due to declining birthrates. By 2030, everyone would be dead except for a single artificial human. Clearly, they had been on the verge of dying out long before then...
Once the subject came up, the two began chatting away. Like ordinary men getting together, they talked freely about the state of the world, casually spouting passionate words and commenting on grand affairs... No one knew how long passed before a shout came from outside: Wa Lord had arrived.
A snake-like shadow swiftly darted over, accompanied by a clear, pleasant voice.
"Ah, I argued with those old fossils from the great clans for ages. We're finally close to reaching an agreement today. They actually thought a group of them could beat me alone? Hehehe, every last one of them was like eggs thrown at rocks—worthless rabble!"
Wa Lord looked immensely pleased with herself. In truth, she did not think it was anything worth showing off, but whenever she saw Emiya, she could not help revealing her true feelings and acting a little spoiled. She always seemed like a pretty young girl who loved showing off before him.
She wore light makeup today. Her long, straight black hair and blunt bangs framed delicate smoky brows, while her crimson lips added a touch of seductive color to her jade-pale, translucent cheeks.
She swayed her skirts and quickly sat beside Emiya. "Shirou, I've been busy with this and that lately, so I haven't had time to properly talk with you about the Thought Plate..."
What she was actually thinking was that ever since their last date, she had become extremely busy again and rarely saw Emiya. After carefully replaying it in her mind, she always felt that something had been missing from the final part of that candlelit dinner.
Decided! I'll drag him out for another drink. I've been busy for so long; it's time to indulge myself... Wa Lord seemed to have developed a new hobby.
"Uh, but I don't really understand that thing—"
Emiya only remembered that it was the foundation of the Type-Moon Shenzhou Magecraft System. Its principles resembled cloud computing: when casting magecraft, one could request vast computational resources and thus avoid being limited by one's individual circuits...
Honestly, anyone could talk theory on paper. But when it came to actual implementation, cloud computing had not even been proposed at this point in time.
"It's fine! You're the technical director. It can't hurt to tell us more about your thoughts."
As she spoke, Wa Lord's snake tail quietly climbed around his waist. It looked like a habitual movement, but Emiya's eyelids twitched. After not seeing her for several days, Wa Lord's serpentine body seemed to have become even stronger and more tightly coiled. He had the feeling her real intention was elsewhere, like Xiang Zhuang dancing with a sword...
"Oh, I suddenly remembered I have something to take care of!"
Old Tang understood instantly and reacted quickly. He whistled loudly, stood up, and left. Before going, he blinked his big eyes and gave a thumbs-up in encouragement.
"Brother Emiya, I'll be heading out for a few days, hahaha. I need to use my hunter contacts to bring in some North American goods. We should need them for the next operation!"
He was out of there.
Emiya's eyes widened as he stretched out a hand and shouted, "Hey, Old Tang!" How could he leave him behind alone?!
All that remained for Emiya was the sight of a lone figure walking away, both arms raised with his thumbs up. But from an outsider's perspective, he looked like a goofy fool so excited to run away that his escape posture had become utterly bizarre.
Wa Lord, seated beside Emiya, had doubled over laughing after watching the entire exchange. Her small chest heaved intensely as she gasped for breath. Once she finished laughing, she looked at Emiya and softly exhaled, "Shirou, explain the Thought Plate to me. Come on, the feast is ready. Return to the palace with me, and we can drink while we talk!"
"Uh, uh, can I say no—" Emiya remembered what had happened on the night they went out. Is this 'drink while we talk' thing actually proper? Don't tell me she plans to slip something else into it?
"You can't! Be good!" Wa Lord cut him off. Her snake tail flicked and tightened around him again, her eyes gleaming with overwhelming force. At that moment, she looked imposing and majestic.
Hiss, if he had known men could also be...
Late at night, on a bank somewhere by the Three Gorges Reservoir.
Old Tang gazed at the lonely river scenery, its surface sparkling with ripples. His pure golden eyes revealed a trace of nostalgia, but it vanished in an instant.
He was no longer the goofy Old Tang. He was Norton, the noble First Generation among the dragons of this world, son of the Black King, one of the Four Great Monarchs, and the King of Bronze and Fire who controlled the element of fire.
"Go. Bring up the 'Seven Deadly Sins.'"
Norton spoke to the river's surface.
A violent churning immediately rose from beneath the water, bubbles gurgling up in rapid succession. Moments later, an enormous shadow burst through the surface alongside scorching white vapor. Moonlight faintly illuminated its dark scales and dragon body as tall as several stories.
The dragon that emerged from the water carried an ancient box to the shore. Its Golden Eye trembled and shone as it faced Norton, seemingly filled with excitement and ecstatic joy. In the next second, it was about to raise its head and roar, welcoming the return of its king!
"Wait. Lower your head."
The dragon obeyed at once, lowering its lofty head in overwhelming excitement. Then it saw its always majestic king gently and affectionately stroking its head.
This unbelievable scene caused the longing and gratitude it had accumulated over thousands of years to overflow like the surging river—
Suddenly, it heard the great king mutter to himself:
"Thought Partition... where was I supposed to start cutting?"
"Roar?"
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