The closer they drew to the World Tree—also known as the Fantasy Tree—the more overwhelming its Mana became.
Shiomi still remembered the sight of the seven Fantasy Trees descending from the sky, crashing into the Earth.
Were they the same as the Aliens that had invaded the planet fourteen thousand years ago, born of some distant cosmos? Or... were they something else, a special kind of creation?
Either way, this towering giant certainly deserved to be called a World Tree. In fact, it even matched the image he carried from Norse myth.
The only difference was that the World Tree in his mind was lush and teeming with life, not this barren, ominous presence steeped in menace.
The Mana flowing from it was of the Age of Gods. Even brushing against it was enough to feel its vast, indescribable scale.
The closest point of comparison Shiomi could think of was the Holy Grail the King of Magecraft had placed in the Seventh Singularity.
And yet, the two were fundamentally different.
Shiomi wasn't skilled in analyzing Magecraft. Faced with something of this magnitude, all he could do was stand guard while Aesc investigated the Fantasy Tree.
He worried that a being radiating such overwhelming magical power might instinctively lash out against any life that drew too close. But in reality, it didn't.
Perhaps because neither he nor Aesc showed any hostility, the Fantasy Tree's Mana responded to their presence, but went no further.
This thing could roll back human order itself, bleach the surface of the planet into a blank page, then take root and inscribe a new world and a new history.
Who had created it—and why?
Questions long pushed aside rose again now that they stood before this unnatural, towering tree.
Back then, BB hadn't said much. Only that he was to deal with the seven Lostbelts, and by doing so, decide the fate of the planet.
Remembering what Grímr had told him, Shiomi found himself circling back to the very first question.
Why him?
There was no answer.
Whoever knew the truth—human or god—kept silent, waiting for the right time.
"My husband." Aesc's clear voice rang out, though her tone was heavy. "You've waited long enough."
Shiomi pulled himself from his thoughts, looking toward her as she stepped away from the roots of the Fantasy Tree and walked toward him.
"Have you figured it out?" Shiomi asked.
"More or less." Aesc lowered her gaze. "This isn't so much a World Tree as it is... a reenactment of a vanished history. A tree that fixes lost events onto this bleached planet and brings them back—the Fantasy Tree."
"I know." Shiomi folded his arms. "That's exactly why I came here."
"Why?"
"Because otherwise, we never would have met at all." His voice was quiet, almost gentle. "For some reason I still don't know, the you of the future turned into a Servant while still alive and came to my side. So I have to do the same. That's all there is to it."
"But what if even our meeting—and these centuries we've spent together—are just results the Fantasy Tree calculated after inserting you as a variable?" Aesc gripped his arm. "What would you think then?"
Shiomi thought for a moment, then decided action was the better answer.
As naturally as if it were part of his daily routine, he kissed his wife.
Aesc blinked in surprise, then—as always—accepted it without resistance. A quiet sigh welled up inside her. It was because he always understood her feelings like this that their years traveling Britannia had been so full of joy.
The knowledge they had gained from the World Tree, and the distracting thoughts it stirred, dissolved completely in that moment.
If only he hadn't followed it with one of his teasing tricks.
"Does it hurt?" Shiomi asked.
"It's not just pain. A lot of feelings are tangled together," Aesc frowned, though without anger. "But why so suddenly? To distract me?"
"Whether it's pleasure or pain, what matters is that you can feel it. That means this isn't some dream or illusion. You're here, I'm here—everything is real."
"But—" Aesc's unease showed.
"The Fantasy Tree rooted itself in this planet, reviving pruned events and overwriting the original history." Shiomi looked into her eyes. "I know the proper choice would be to abandon this world, let it meet its end, and allow it to erase itself. That's the path I should take as someone of Proper Human History."
He pressed his forehead against hers. "But I can't. I won't throw you away just to save the world. So even if this is all wrong, I won't change my decision. I'll let this history continue for millennia. I'll pull you out of fantasy and anchor you here on this planet."
"You're so stubborn." Aesc's voice carried both joy and sorrow.
And she understood exactly what it meant.
For her sake, he was willing to turn against the world he had once fought to protect... Could he really cast aside so much for her?
"The Mana of the Fantasy Tree is among the greatest I've ever seen." Shiomi raised his head, staring at the roots stretching out until they nearly blotted out the sky.
Aesc pressed her cheek into his hand. "This tree won't actively interfere with Britannia. But if you tried to cut it down, it would certainly retaliate. To make it ours, we'd have to drain its Mana all at once."
"Wouldn't that cause this world to collapse?" Shiomi asked. "Isn't this tree what keeps it alive?"
"...No. I know how to handle it. But there's no need yet." Aesc shook her head.
"As long as the Fantasy Tree won't threaten you, that's enough." Shiomi's words were firm.
"My husband really does... only think about me."
Aesc smiled, a single tear slipping down her cheek.
[History]
In the year 3670 of the Fairy Calendar, the sound of the Pilgrim's Bell rang from Orkney in northern Britannia, echoing across the land.
The sound of the Pilgrim's Bell was the voice of souls accepting their sins.
It declared the existence of the Fairy of Paradise. The four clans who once took part in destroying the Rain Clan each dispatched a new investigation team.
This time, the teams returned, but found nothing.
During that same period, the Mirror Clan—possessors of foresight, though rarely involving themselves in worldly affairs—welcomed two special visitors.
For in their prophecies, the coming of the "Sage of the Foreign Land" and the "Fairy of the Garden" had long been foretold.