CHAPTER 485: CHAPTER 485, [FATE]

"Realm Master?"

Chewing on this term that seemed familiar, Zhu Haomiao furrowed his brows. Suddenly, from the dark sea of clouds beneath him, two gigantic serpent heads like mountains burst forth, swallowing Amaterasu and Thor in one bite.

Crunch crunch~

As if chewing on some hard shell, the two dark giant snakes’ mandibles gruesomely wriggled, spewing blinding golden-red flames and blue-green thunder from the gaps in their teeth.

Standing in a pitch-black void, two more pairs of long, majestic horns grew again from the top of Zhu Haomiao’s head.

[Greed]: LV.7→LV.9

[Anger]: LV.7→LV.9

[Gluttony]: LV.8→LV.9

[Pride]: LV.7→LV.9

At this point, all the Seven Deadly Sins had ascended to the limit of this plane. Pure black light that devoured all colors surged from Zhu Haomiao’s body, blooming like a black sun in the sky, radiating endless spirit light.

Boom!

Deep, distant thunder rumbled from beyond the Nine Heavens, as if hammering at the barrier, causing the entire gray-white world to tremble violently.

At the same time, as if a mysterious switch was triggered, the pervasive dark energy collapsed and contracted uncontrollably, swiftly returning to Zhu Haomiao’s body.

Soon, the infinite energy surged crazily, gathering at his skull top, injecting into the seven pairs of winding and menacing horns.

Buzz~

The mysterious golden patterns on the horns bloomed with dazzling divine light, a vast flood of energy flowing from the base all the way to the horn tips, ultimately pouring into the fiery, glowing golden crown floating in the void.

Rumble!

Ear-piercing thunder came from above the dome, the violently trembling barrier finally unable to withstand the power of heaven and earth, breaking like a bubble, revealing a vividly colored and true reality world.

Boom!

The Yin Yang Pavilion, the core support node of the barrier, was instantly blasted into the sky by the counterforce of the earth’s veins. Bricks and stones erupted like a volcano, and Abe Waka, holding the blood-spitting Yazaki Yu, barely escaped the explosion, looking up at the sky with a complex gaze.

In her sight, a black-clothed youth with twelve dark wings growing from his back and seven pairs of majestic long horns on his head stood atop the dome, appearing evil yet sacred, terrifying yet desirable.

But the bond between the two seemed to be hindered by a thick barrier; she couldn’t determine if that was her [Servant], or some indescribably evil monster.

"What is that?"

Not only Abe Waka, but half of Tokyo City’s residents saw that figure resembling a deity, and sounds of discussion quickly spread throughout the city.

However, Zhu Haomiao paid no heed to the locals’ discussions. He looked up at the golden crown gradually detaching from him, feeling the horns on his head meld as seven differently colored gems embedded into the crown.

Half of his boundless power was extracted, and the golden crown, as if having accumulated enough force, started to morph and wriggle, transforming into a once-familiar, magnificent Holy Grail.

Buzz~

Condensing from concept into entity, the golden Holy Grail hovered in the sky, making the entire world ring with unsettling hums, as if some intense change was silently taking place.

"What’s happening?"

The onmyoji protecting Abe Waka couldn’t help but tremble violently, feeling that on a level incomprehensible to mortals, the fundamental laws shaping the world were brewing an indescribable metamorphosis.

"Don’t be afraid, we’re opening the door to the [Root]."

"[Root]?!"

A tranquil, gentle whisper suddenly reached their ears, startling Abe Waka and the others, making them abruptly turn to look beside them.

Nearby, a white elderly man in a linen-hooded robe showed them a gentle smile, then raised his head to the sky, murmuring in a chant-like tone.

"[Root], it is the destination of all magicians, believed to exist outside the world as the [Beginning and End of All Things, recording all that is in the world, crafting all that is in the world—the Throne of God]."

"But... isn’t that an unprovable hypothesis?"

Abe Waka instinctively refuted, but the kindly old man beside her chuckled and shook his head.

"No, it is not a hypothesis. As long as you infuse the souls and source quality of all deceased heroic spirits into the Holy Grail, using their power to return to the [Heroic Spirit’s Throne] outside the world to pierce the world, and stabilize this breach with the immense magic power accumulated in the Holy Grail, you can create a door to the outside of the world."

Pausing, the elder looked at Abe Waka, smiling meaningfully.

"Using the [Holy Grail War] as a stage, gods from the heavens play the lead, composing a fate poem, ultimately completing the ascension of me and the world!"

"I call this secret ceremony [fate], isn’t it fitting?"

Buzz~

At this moment, the magnificent Holy Grail hovering in the sky shot a thread-thin seven-colored light into the sky, vanishing instantly.

The elder raised his head again to look to the sky, chuckling softly with anticipation in his eyes.

"Are you ready? I will lead you to the true world..."

Boom!

Indescribable ripples radiated from the sky, shattering the barrier between reality and illusion, a rumble blossomed from the depths of the soul, seeming to puncture the bubble-like illusory world.

Zhu Haomiao stiffly and slowly looked up, witnessing a familiar scene unfolding once more.

In the center of the boundless firmament, as if a glass mirror was shattered, an imperceptible crack spread like a spider web, permeating a radius of dozens of miles in an instant.

Crack!

In an instant, the sky seemed to explode like a glass mirror, revealing an indescribable chaos void.

Space at this moment displayed visible shapes to the naked eye, like shattered crystals falling upwards into the void, then obliterating and dissipating.

And in the center of the twisted black hole encompassing Tokyo City’s sky, a sliver of light quickly magnified, coupling with this world in an instant, revealing an upside-down, wondrous mirror-space.

There was a city equally sprawling and prosperous. Even their names were the same.

Tokyo!

The laws of the two worlds began to erode each other; Zhu Haomiao felt a bizarre gravitational pull, his body seemingly "falling" toward the mirror world in the sky.

In a daze, his five senses became disordered; Zhu Haomiao couldn’t tell if he was falling or ascending, only watching as the mirrored city in the black hole enlarged swiftly in his vision.

He vaguely could even see the shocked expressions of countless citizens looking up and discussing.

"What is that? A mirage?"

Woo woo woo woo woo~

Shrill alarms echoed throughout the city. Only now did people realize the impending danger, frantically searching for shelter.

In the dizzying sensation of weightlessness, like falling for ten thousand years or merely experiencing a moment, Zhu Haomiao felt he had passed through some invisible barrier, as if suddenly awakening from a chaotic, misty dream, the entire world becoming vivid and real.