Even when faced with Lev Goetia's soul-searching question, Steve's smile remained unchanged—if anything, it grew even more serene. He simply took two steps forward and stood at the center of the command room, quietly surveying the four guests in front of him, guests invited forcefully from future timelines.
"My objective, you ask?" Steve chuckled, spreading his hands as if addressing the audience before a grand theater's opening. "My objective is simple, Lev—or perhaps, Chaldeans."
"I am nothing more than a fussy, contradictory audience member who cannot tolerate a bad script."
He turned to the young Master, Ritsuka Fujimaru, who had unconsciously straightened his back in the moment.
"Ritsuka Fujimaru, you saved humanity from incineration and braved the seven frozen Lostbelts."
"In truth, I have always been watching over your journey."
"I have borne witness to the tales that unfolded in eras where humanity was scorched or frozen."
"With your mortal body, you achieved feats most people on this planet could never dream of."
"Tell me, then—what do you think the reward should be for a hero who's accomplished such extraordinary deeds?"
Before Fujimaru could answer, Steve's voice took on a cold, mocking edge.
"It is forgetting."
"It is pure, merciless oblivion—stripping away everything you've experienced, all the bonds forged with your very soul."
The trophy of victory is laced with the poison of oblivion; only a blank page remains at the end of the hero's saga—this is the ending the World has prepared for you.
"No one is forcing you to quietly retire from Chaldea, bringing along over 400 close Servants. Your choice to return to an ordinary life is understandable. But to forcibly strip away all you've become—to render everything meaningless—that's an absurdity I cannot accept!"
"What a ludicrous, unreasonable ending! Utterly disgraceful!"
Suddenly, his voice rose, brimming with passionate contempt and rage toward such a fate.
"I cannot tolerate such a tale!"
"For the kings of Lostbelts who answered your call and came to destroy their home—for their resolve, and the final outcries of lost worlds that so desperately didn't want to be forgotten, to all be reduced to emptiness—I cannot accept it."
"For the phantasm born from your memory and existing from your aspirations—the very counterfeit witch of the dragon whose being stands as proof of your adventure—to vanish utterly, just because you forget... I refuse to accept that."
"For a man whose hard life led him to self-destruction, wholly resolved to return to nothing, for that to amount to he never even existed in reality—I simply cannot accept it!"
"So, yes, I interfered in others' affairs."
Steve's voice grew gentle again, though beneath that gentleness lay a will powerful enough to overturn the stars. "I did all this to rewrite this dreadful drama and grant you the ending you truly deserve."
"An ending where the hero is granted every medal, every precious memory."
"An ending where there is someone capable of facing the true mastermind of this tragedy, Marisbury Animusphere, as an equal—and serving as the final judgment for that coldhearted world of magi which he represents."
"Ritsuka Fujimaru,"
His gaze softened as if looking at his own child. "I know you have the resolve to sacrifice everything for the sake of humanity's restoration."
"This awareness is sublime, to an almost unbelievable degree. But because of this very awareness, your destination must never be a void."
"Your journey should not be cruelly erased with a single click. It should be remembered by you, at the very least, and celebrated by those close to you."
When Steve finished, an unprecedented depth of silence fell over the command room.
This was not the silence of anger or pain, but rather the stunned confusion that comes after being overwhelmed with information and world-shaking thoughts.
Ritsuka Fujimaru stood there dazed.
It felt as if an invisible hand had tightly gripped his heart.
He had forgotten... Yes, he remembered.
After everything ended, there was a deep sense of loss, as if a piece of his soul had been gouged out.
He accepted it, for it was the price for saving the world.
He told himself it was only natural.
But now, standing before him was an entity so powerful as to defy comprehension, and—
"It isn't natural—it's an insult," told him so.
He never imagined someone would point out, so clearly and solemnly, the pain he'd buried deep and tried to ignore.
An emotion hotter than he'd ever experienced rose within his chest and brought heat to his eyes.
These were not tears of sorrow.
No, it was an overwhelming feeling born from being understood, treasured, and affirmed.
Quietly, Mash stepped to Ritsuka's side and gently took his hand.
Her eyes also shimmered with tears, but there was a faint smile touching her lips. As the most loyal witness to those who had come before, she understood the weight of memory better than anyone.
Steve's words expressed everything she'd always wanted to say, but couldn't.
In this moment, she felt a pure sense of gratitude toward this mysterious Caster.
Olga Marie leaned her head against the wall, hidden behind her long silver hair. Steve's words had hit her with a different kind of shock.
She felt...jealousy.
Jealous that Ritsuka Fujimaru could receive such pure, selfless protection.
She refused to let her life and fate be so easily judged as a bad script by someone else.
But...she couldn't argue against it—because if she were in Ritsuka's place, she knew she would want the same ending.
These contradictory emotions tore at her heart, leaving her no choice but to hide her wavering with silence.
Lev Goetia was momentarily stunned, then gave a soft, almost self-mocking laugh.
He understood.
Fully understood.
The man before him was the same type as him, and yet wholly different;
He had wanted to correct the mistakes of humans, but this man wanted to correct the mistakes of the whole story.
Such arrogance—and yet, such righteousness!
He had tried to play God, only to end up a clown.
And maybe...this man was standing at a level even higher than the gods, looking down on everything.
"I see..." Lev Goetia said lowly. For the first time, a look of reverence and curiosity mingled in his golden eyes. "A drama staged for a perfect ending… How intriguing."
"So tell me, Caster—what is the first stage you've prepared for us protagonists?"
PS: No doubt. This author was FGO diehard fans and his MC was Gudao.
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