The idea that "By cutting off the Three Corpses, one can become an Immortal was extremely popular in ancient times, especially during times when people sought immortality. Even today, this concept appears frequently in fantasy novels.
Of course, Touko didn't read such novels, but she had read a lot of Taoist texts, and this concept piqued her curiosity.
"How do you cut them?"
"By using the mysteries of relics, the blood of the True Ancestor, and Noble Phantasms as sustenance, I can sever my good thoughts, evil thoughts, and obsessions."
As he explained, the human Shinji pointed to the Golden Shinji for good thoughts, to the vampire Shinji for evil thoughts, and finally, he pointed to himself for obsessions.
The human Shinji's explanation sounded reasonable, but it made Touko frown.
"Good thoughts, evil thoughts, and obsession? The Three Corpses I remember are selfishness, desire for food, and lust. They all represent evil desires."
"Who knows? Maybe I've read too many novels and got confused."
"You can eat whatever you like, but you can't say whatever you want. Be careful, or I'll sue you for defamation."
A fourth, similar voice appeared.
Compared to the previous incarnations of good, evil, and obsession, this one had the weakest aura, the most ordinary appearance, and the simplest way of showing up.
His clothes were tattered, and unlike the others, he couldn't fly or burrow underground. He just emerged from the woods, sweat dripping from his forehead.
Glancing at this newcomer, the incarnation of obsession shrugged nonchalantly: "Go ahead and sue if you have the guts. You'd be suing yourself. Do you think the court will accept the case?"
"How could I have an incarnation like you?"
The ordinary Shinji rolled his eyes, and the incarnation of obsession did the same.
"You should ask yourself. You're the real person, and I'm just a side character. If you don't know the answer, how would I?"
"That... makes so much sense, I'm speechless."
While the ordinary Shinji was left speechless, the others, particularly the girls around him, were not. After hearing the conversation, how could they not realize who the last person to appear was?
"Shinji, is that you?"
"You're back?"
"Are you really back?"
Shinji turned to look at the people in front of him, those who had a deep connection with him, and he spoke in the most sincere tone.
"Yeah, I'm back. I'm sorry for making you worry."
"I'm just glad you're back, so glad," Justeaze said, pressing a hand to her chest, exhaling with a smile that brimmed with tears.
"Don't worry about us right now; you still have things to finish."
"Indeed."
Shinji retracted his instinctive step forward and nodded.
"Touko, please keep an eye on Roa or Kotomine Kirei. Old Man, please watch Crimson Moon. I'll only take a moment."
"Sure, sure. What are you going to do?"
Touko, observing nearby, flashed and stood in front of Kirei, pushing the incarnation of obsession toward Shinji.
"Are you going to merge the Three Corpses into one and become Immortal?"
"I did have that idea initially, and I probably could do it if I tried. But I might not be myself anymore. The human heart is more than just good and evil. I mainly wanted to trick these two and conduct an experiment."
Shinji didn't hide anything and spoke frankly.
As he spoke, he reached out and gave the incarnation of obsession a hard pat on the back.
In the next instant, the incarnation of obsession dissolved into spirit particles, and the surrounding fog dissipated.
Immediately afterward, Shinji did the same to the evil incarnation and the good incarnation, patting them on the back of their heads. The former turned back into shadows, while the latter disintegrated into countless fragments.
On the surface, it seemed like the incarnations were used up and destroyed, but Zelretch and Aoko saw something different.
"You want to—"
"Is this possible? Interesting, very interesting. How can I not participate in such a fascinating idea?"
A sky-blue light flashed in Aoko's eyes, and her hair instantly turned red, indicating that she had activated the Fifth Magic.
"I'll help too."
At the same time, Zelretch struck his cane on the ground, and three portals opened near the spirit particles, shadows, and fragments.
"Thank you very much."
Seeing this, Shinji clasped his hands together and said gratefully.
"Go to the Throne of Heroes with your obsession, to the Seat of God with your good thoughts, and to the gap between worlds with your evil thoughts. May you find the path we've been searching for."
The treasure that the incarnation of obsession carried came from the Throne of Heroes, so it was only fitting for it to return to its origin.
In Buddhism, there is a place for the gods, so the good incarnation, based on Buddhist principles, could go there.
The gap between worlds is the most dangerous place, where survival is the top priority, so they sent the evil incarnation, which had a bad personality but a strong survival instinct.
There was no doubt that all of this was the power of the Third Magic. What Zelretch and Aoko did was merely speed up the process and ensure the smooth execution of the Magic. More bluntly, they were preventing the Counter Force from interfering through various means.
Even though Shinji now looked the same as before—perhaps even weaker, because he had given all his external possessions to his incarnations—this was only outward appearance. His inner self, his soul, had ascended to a whole new level. The fact that his three incarnations were holding back the giant god, Crimson Moon, and the Beast-transformed Kotomine Kirei spoke volumes.
If you compared this to the original state, it would've taken everything they had to deal with the weakest one, and even then, they might not have won. Let alone facing multiple opponents at once.
And this still wasn't the full extent of the Third Magic.
After sending off the three incarnations, allowing them to embark on a journey toward transcending world lines, the newly ascended Third Magician wasted no more time. His body floated in the air, and he approached the giant god, who was now without an opponent.
"Shinji..."
The giant Altera opened her mouth with difficulty. Without the help of the Vajra scriptures, her destructive instincts were reawakening and could devour her sanity at any moment.
"Altera..."
Shinji was also conflicted. On the way back, Zelretch used the Second Magic to convey the current state of the world to him. He knew exactly why Altera had ended up like this.
To help Altera develop a deeper sense of self-awareness, Shinji used his authority to establish a connection between Earth and Mooncell. The Servants on Earth and the Titan on the Moon began to influence each other, becoming increasingly interconnected. The prisoners on the Moon saw the changes on Earth, and the Servants on Earth understood their true selves, remembering the friend they had known for five years.
By the time the purification ceremony began, the synchronization rate between Earth and Moon had exceeded 90%. Due to her kind nature and her agreement with Shinji, Altera remained a Servant. Because she wasn't good at expressing herself, she had kept her changes hidden from everyone, including her Master, Lorelei.
Until Shinji was disappeared, the culprit, driven by the concept of the Sea of Life, couldn't just kill but also wanted to harm Shinji and his family.