If Aoko-nee is a Magician who has awakened the Fifth, the Jewel Old Man is a Magician of the Second, having mastered the Second Magic.
In the *Tsukihime* worldlines, he is a member of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors. Before the remake, he was ranked 4th; after the remake, he holds the 3rd seat… a truly overpowered old man. Furthermore, he is the one who looked after Arcueid Brunestud in her youth and witnessed the inception of the Holy Grail War—the root of all chaos in the TYPE-MOON worldlines. He manifests across multiple timelines, truly living up to his title as the 'Observer of Parallel Worlds.'
But why would someone like that...?
“How can the ceremony to confer a rank upon a magus proceed if a Magician is absent?”
“…Ah, yes.”
“Ahem, anyway. Aoko Aozaki, congratulations on reaching the Fifth Magic. So? What are your impressions of reaching the Root?”
“Honestly… it feels like it wasn't that big of a deal. What about you, Jewel Old Man? How was the Second?”
“I felt much the same! By the way… this is a rare experience indeed. I knew that 'Mystic Eyes' could act as a sort of singularity, but to think such a worldline would be observed.”
“If the Jewel Old Man has observed it personally, it means this worldline is at least confirmed as a reality.”
Zelretch‘s Second Magic is the observation and management of parallel worlds. Simply put, it is a power similar to Laplace‘s Demon, one of the famous 'demons' of scientific history.
He possesses near-omnipotent capabilities: observing countless existing parallel worlds, traveling freely between them, crossing dimensions, and even drawing magical energy from other timelines.
Depending on which worldline is observed, ORT might awaken, or disasters beyond humanity's capacity might occur. Thus, he measures parallel lines appropriately. Unlike Magics from the Fourth onwards, which are said to accelerate the end, he extends the lifespan of the world from the perspective of the Planet. Even if a future of destruction arrives, he suggests parallel lines where success is possible, reminding the world of its 'mistakes in choice.'
In other words, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this old man is also one of those protecting the Human Order.
“You seem to know quite a lot about Magic. Did you grasp the nature of my observation through the Root as well?”
“…I am not someone directly connected to the Root, like those with ’Omnipotence‘ or ’Boundaries.‘”
“Hoh. Then you are saying you brought back knowledge from beyond the Root only three months after being introduced to Magecraft…”
The Marshal of Wizardry suddenly stiffened his expression and spoke with a serious look.
“Listen, you.”
“…”
“How would you like to be my disciple?”
…Wait, is this crazy old geezer serious?
“Absolutely not. Besides, there‘s no way any disciple could survive your teaching, right? You‘re just a hack educator who turns everyone into a vegetable or leaves them half-insane.”
“A refusal? That is truly a shame. Even though the seat for the Second is completely full, I thought I could at least offer you some hints regarding the Root.”
“Even if you had them, I have no intention of going there, nor do I want to. This one eye is enough for me, old man.”
In the first place, there‘s no guarantee that having reached the Root would make things any better against the enemies I‘ll face in the future. I even question whether I would still be 'myself' upon reaching it.
And above all, not a single one of Zelretch‘s disciples has ever returned with their mind intact. Me, become his disciple? That's pure madness.
“Yes, yes. Being young is always a fine thing. It was fun playing around with Crimson Moon back in the day… but now that I‘ve aged, nothing is much fun except peeking into other worlds from my little corner.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed… anyway, I suppose this much will do.”
* * * * *
Aoko-nee apparently had things to discuss with the Magician and went off somewhere with Zelretch. I remained at home, fiddling with the object he had handed me.
“To receive a rank of Cause—the third tier—before even entering the Clock Tower. His judgment is truly something else.”
The Clock Tower has a total of seven ranks.
It starts from the rank of Frame, which any magus registered at the Clock Tower can receive, all the way up to the rank we all know well: Grand.
Grand, Brand, Pride, Fes, Cause, Count, Frame.
Grand… well, Touko Aozaki is a sufficient explanation for that rank. Brand is the rank held by the famous 'Mr. Incompetent'… no, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. He‘s a man who suffers in many ways, but excluding Kiritsugu‘s Origin Bullets—which are a natural hard counter—this man was the strongest magus in the Fourth Holy Grail War.
Not even the Mapo-Gundam who wrecked Kiritsugu could compare to this gentleman.
…That‘s the gist of Brand. As for Pride, it‘s the rank belonging to Nigel Sayward, the Master of Lancer in *Fragments of Sky Silver*.
This is the man who created a love potion effective even on a Heroic Spirit like Brynhildr. Of course, he was utterly crushed because his opponent was Manaka, but considering the Mystery level of a Heroic Spirit…
Aside from them, Fes is the rank held by members of the 'Death Squad' like Bazett, or our very own Great Big Ben London Star. The rank I received, Cause, is the same one Ritsuka Fujimaru received immediately after the restoration of the Human Order.
“I just don‘t get it.”
If he‘s the Jewel Old Man, he must have realized I possess the Rinnegan through his observation of parallel worlds.
However, he isn't the type to go around blabbing about it to everyone. How could the Clock Tower officially grant me the title of Cause?
I know the Director of the Clock Tower is someone who studied under Solomon alongside Zelretch, but I doubt they‘d just hand out ranks like this. …Probably.
“Actually, this worldline itself is just too strange.”
According to what I heard from Alice-san, Kishua Zelretch Schweinorg was incorporated into the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors because he was bitten by the 3rd rank of the Ancestors.
In the old *Tsukihime*, Primate Murder, who was ranked 1st, or Crimson Moon Brunestud, who died by Schweinorg‘s hand, were excluded from the Twenty-Seven Ancestors. Thus, it would be safe to say this world is based on the *Tsukihime* remake.
“And yet, a Holy Grail War actually took place.”
The Holy Grail War of Fuyuki City, hosted by the three families: Einzbern, Tohsaka, and Matou.
Originally, in a worldline where the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors exist, the Human Order is unstable, meaning Heroic Spirits cannot be summoned.
Of course, worldlines like *Fate/strange Fake* exist where both Dead Apostles and the Throne of Heroes coexist, but that is a world classified strictly as an outlier, and there are many strange aspects regarding the composition of Dead Apostles and the Throne of Heroes there as well.
“Then… let‘s summarize.”
The Third Holy Grail War happened, and the Einzberns making a mess of things by summoning Avenger is the same. But the 'French Incident' also officially occurred, and monsters like the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors are running rampant in this world too.
And yet, Kishua Zelretch has formally 'observed' such a world?
“…Just what the hell is about to happen?”