Are the Protoss not afraid of death?
In truth, they are.
When the black mud spreads unchecked, entire planets collapse into extinction. This has happened countless times across the cosmos.
It was precisely for this reason that Alaya and Gaia did not interfere with Rin Tohsaka's sacrificial rite. Nor did they stop Wanwan's destruction. Instead, they threw the Heroic Spirits from other nodes into Fuyuki City.
They wanted to test the power of the Eternal God's handmaid.
The answer had exceeded even their expectations.
The power of the Eternal God had surpassed not only this world but the entire Moonlit plane.
He was an existence that could save them.
Surrender was inevitable.
"Before anything else, I must first gather the offerings of my believers," Liu Che said, his voice resonant and calm. "Otherwise they cannot wait any longer."
"Yes," the two protoss voices echoed obediently.
Liu Che turned, descending from the heavens like a falling star. Alaya and Gaia flanked him like attendants, one on his left, the other on his right.
Rin Tohsaka stood rigid, gazing at the sky. Her heart clenched with fear that something might go wrong—until a blinding radiance tore through the heavens.
Her knees buckled. Tears welled in her eyes.
At last… He has come.
The God of Eternity.
Freedom at last.
More than ten Heroic Spirits tilted their heads skyward, staring at the descending radiance.
The light bathed the world, vast and unrelenting.
Thousands of nine-colored lightning bolts snaked across the heavens, twisting into thunder-dragons that soared above. Behind it all stretched the great River of Time, endless and unfathomable, flowing as a backdrop to His descent.
Gilgamesh and Enkidu both froze, shock carved onto their faces.
Gilgamesh—the demigod king.
Enkidu—the living weapon crafted by the divine.
Neither were ordinary heroes.
But before the God of Eternity, their souls trembled. They collapsed to their knees.
In that instant, they understood.
The God of Eternity was supreme.
Far beyond false divinities. Beyond all beings. Even the merest breath that leaked from His body was heavier and more terrifying than all the gods they knew—greater even than Tiamat, Mother of Creation herself.
Gilgamesh exhaled shakily, his golden eyes uncharacteristically somber. "So this… this is the true god Wanwan spoke of? Old friend… we are finished."
Enkidu's expression softened into something almost peaceful. His perception, honed to an S-rank, felt the truth in the divine aura.
"No. I think He does not come to kill us," Enkidu said quietly. "Though we are sacrifices, His intent carries no malice. Only gentleness. This is a merciful god."
Artoria Pendragon, the King of Knights, stared at the River of Time.
Her eyes widened as visions appeared one after another—her own life from birth to her final battle, and even countless scenes she had never personally witnessed.
"So… I truly failed the glory of the Knights…" she whispered.
In moments, she flipped through the entire history of Britain—its rise, its betrayal, its decline.
And in that instant, she was redeemed.
Wanwan's words echoed in her mind: It is not the knights who honor you. It is you who clings to their glory.
Gawain, still bound in chains, saw the softened expression on his king's face. Relief welled inside him. His own heart grew light.
Around the Tohsaka estate, the believers beheld the light descending.
One by one, they dropped to their knees, pressing their foreheads to the ground, praying fervently.
"Great God of Eternity, please descend! Bring the gospel to us, the ignorant!"
"Great God of Eternity, You are the only god in our hearts! You freed us from suffering—you are our only hope!"
Their chants rose higher and higher, weaving together with Rin Tohsaka's ritual incantations. The sound carried for miles, shaking the earth itself.
Then He appeared.
A colossal figure emerged in the heavens.
"Oh my god… is this some kind of three-dimensional projection?"
"No… His body is taller than the entire earth!"
"This must be a god…"
"What are those rivers behind Him? Past, present, future—I can see them all!"
"That's the River of Time! I saw the rise and fall of humanity. I saw a world shrouded in endless night!"
"Magicians claim to protect humans? Hah! They're nothing but executioners!"
Beside Rin, Sakura Tohsaka fell to her knees, clasping her hands tightly.
Through the river's visions, she saw her father's betrayal—how he had sold her to Zouken Matou like a piece of livestock. She heard the cruel conversation between her father and that decrepit magus.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
That beast… he deserved his death. He deserved the vengeance of the Vile Monster.
Everyone saw something different.
Each soul beheld the visions most meaningful to them.
Until the voice of God thundered through the world, and all was silenced.
"When I was born, the world had not yet appeared…"
"When I awoke, the world had only just been born…"
The voice was deep, resonant, ancient.
As though from eternity itself.
It struck into the core of every soul.
And a vision filled their minds: the primordial void, the first spark, the moment the world itself came into being.
So the God was this ancient, this vast.
The reason mankind had suffered was simple—after creating the world, the Eternal God had grown weary and fallen into slumber.
But now He had awakened.
Now He had returned to rescue His believers.
Understanding dawned upon the masses.
Ninety-five percent of humanity cried out in unison within their hearts:
Great God of Eternity, I am Your believer!
The divine power pouring from the heavens was overwhelming. Terrifying. Awe-inspiring.
Slowly, the figure shrank, condensing until He hovered in the skies directly above Fuyuki City.
Sacred, radiant, eternal.
And beside Him floated two small girls.
Little lolis—no, divine envoys.
The one on the left spoke first, her voice steady. "I am Alaya, one of the planet's protoss consciousnesses. Many of you in the Magus Association know me by another name—Counter Force."
The girl on the right added: "I am Gaia. Together, we were tasked with protecting the development of the earth and ensuring humanity's survival. But our strength was too weak. Even after creating the Heroic Spirits, we could not protect you. We can no longer continue."
They looked to the believers with solemn eyes.
"So, from this moment, we surrender to the Lord of Eternity. We hand over the fate of this earth to Him. Pray with us, and together we shall be freed from suffering."
The people were stunned.
The earth itself had consciousness.
And that consciousness had surrendered at God's feet.
What reason remained not to submit?
Wanwan, who had been watching from below, shot into the sky, bowing her head. "My Lord God! Did I fulfill Your mission perfectly? Oh… wait, why did You hit me?!"
Time froze.
Wanwan squealed as a sharp slap landed on her backside.
Liu Che's voice rumbled in mild annoyance. "I gave you a mission. Is this what you call fulfilling it?"
Time rewound.
Wanwan watched the replay—herself lazing about, drinking, singing karaoke. Only in the beginning and the final day had she put in effort.
Her face burned crimson. She bit her lip, showing an aggrieved pout.
But she knew.
If the God had truly been angry, He would not have merely frozen time.
He simply missed her.
The God who spoke one thing and felt another.
Time flowed once more.
Below, the Heroic Spirits fell into collective silence.
Question: What do you do when your final boss joins another man's camp?
Answer: You submit.
In the Moonlit World, ordinary heroes could not compare to legendary ones. Legendary heroes fell short of mythical figures. And even mythic heroes were nothing before true gods.
And now even the planetary consciousness had bowed.
Resistance was meaningless.
The altar surged with divine light.
A system notification chimed in Liu Che's ears:
"Ding… Your followers sacrificed thirteen Heroic Spirits. Triggering a ten-million-fold increase, you have obtained the hidden function of the system—activation of the Heroic Spirit System."
Note: The Heroic Spirit System is native to the Moonlit World. It is a minor system, a pendant to the true Eternal System.
"Ding… Your followers sacrificed the corrupted Holy Grail. Triggering a thousand-fold increase, you have obtained a five-star artifact: The Dark Holy Grail."
Dark Holy Grail – A vessel of pure corruption, capable of blackening even the purest power. The stronger the purity, the stronger the corruption.
"Ding… Your followers sacrificed the corrupted Grail, which carried immense fate. An additional reward has been triggered. You have obtained the Daughter of Fate—artificial homunculus Alice Phil von Einzbern."
"Ding… You have absorbed more than eighty percent of the world's fate. The planetary system allows you to charge the world. Will you proceed?"
"Warning: This is a plane world. Charging will trigger a plane war!"
Liu Che's lips curved proudly. "Of course I'll charge it. Charge me!!!"
Thunder cracked across the stars.
Its roar spread to every corner of the cosmos.
The Void Realm.
The Moonlit Grail.
The Demon Beast Front.
Fragmented worlds trembled, their people staring in fear at the sound that rolled across the heavens.
Then, above every planet, a foreign sky appeared—vast, boundless, suffocating.
Two complete laws revealed themselves openly: the Law of Time, the Law of Love.
Their echo shook the Lunar Plane itself.
The plane resisted, unwilling to surrender. But Liu Che's power, amplified sixfold, broke its will.
By the time the Moonlit Plane realized what had happened, it was already too late.
Liu Che had swallowed the planet, vanishing with it into his Divine Domain.
Before leaving, he even seized the coordinates of another world—preparing for the inevitable future war of planes.
Within the Divine Domain, a new planet appeared, orbiting beside the Fairy World.
On its left was the Martial God World. On its right, the Immortal Realm.
The Moonlit World had been fully absorbed.
Liu Che renamed it The Star Spirit World.
Artoria gazed at her restored body, wonder flickering across her face.
So this was the power of God…
"My King, we are together once more!"
She turned—and there they were. The Knights of the Round Table. Gawain, Lancelot, Tristan, and more—all gathered by her side.
Her eyes softened. This was enough.
Elsewhere, Gilgamesh clutched his head as his memories surged back. A bitter laugh slipped from his lips.
"As the King of Heroes, to be bound by the Heroic Spirit System like some puppet… truly, it was unbearable…"