"The charge's momentum… advance, no retreat!"
"The will to break formations… death before surrender!"
This was the motto Ryuya had always favored, the very soul of Camelot's and Uruk's armies.
He saw them now. Within the Underworld, thousands upon thousands of heroic spirits were gathering… the legions of old.
Their armor was battered and broken, their faces weary yet alight with fervor, and their battle standards stood unwavering, never to fall.
"Those who sing the King's name are the King's subjects!"
As one soldier shouted the accolade, the entire army, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, roared in unison:
"Unforgotten Will, The Sun-Crowned King is Eternal!"
Lord of the End, Sun-Crowned King, Eternal Nation.
Whenever the King had need, no matter the distance across mountains and rivers, his countless subjects and soldiers would follow unto death itself.
Even though Ryuya hadn't brought the Blade of Vowed Obsession this time, even though this wasn't Camelot, even without the Rashomon or the Uruk Heroic Spirit Monument, the people of Camelot, the youkai of Rashomon, the warriors of Uruk… they would still charge their steeds into the very depths of the River Styx, fighting solely for their King!
Hearing the cries of the army behind him, the sound of steel and warhorses, of breaking through all obstacles, of warriors resolved to end this fate, Ryuya smiled.
"You all... truly... make this King of yours feel ashamed."
Gazing upon the figures transcending endless time and space, Ryuya's body, on the verge of collapse, grew strangely calm.
A final, long exhalation. Ryuya understood it was time to sever the boundary between reality and illusion.
"Soldiers, charge with your King."
Answering Ryuya's call, even knowing they were no match for the gods, the army of ordinary men never retreated.
"Unforgotten Will, The Sun-Crowned King is Eternal!"
Their voices, as if tearing through the Underworld itself, embodied a fearless, relentless advance. Perhaps numbers meant nothing to the gods, but the will that swore by the sea and sky, vowing to stand with their lord, drove the gods back step by step.
"Mortals! You are merely mortals! Lesser than mortals, mere heroic spirits! How dare you...!"
"Audacious! How long will you continue to defy the dignity of the gods?!"
While they struggled against Ryuya, dealing with these barely-there heroic spirits was no issue. Even the weakest god could slay hundreds of these military souls with a single motion.
Countless attacks erupted, swallowing whole sections of the army instantly.
Yet, faced with this, the soldiers behind them trampled over their comrades' corpses without hesitation, pressing forward fearlessly, one after another.
They were dying, dissipating, yet they showed no pain.
Just as they shouted, 'Unforgotten Will, The Sun-Crowned King is Eternal!', dying on the battlefield beside their King was their eternal glory.
"My King, advance forward."
They seemed to say.
"My King, continue on."
They were but souls, lingering attachments following their King. They could not exist forever, nor accompany their King permanently.
But it was enough.
"Even if the King stands alone, may you walk on forever."
Many had believed it was Ryuya, the King, who forged Camelot and Uruk.
But that was not so.
The true architects of this peaceful golden age were never the Kings alone.
It was every single subject, every warrior who went willingly to their death.
"Enough."
Gritting his teeth, he forced his body to move again. Watching warrior after warrior vanish before his eyes, Ryuya's heart became clear, as if empty of all things.
By the time the last heroic spirit faded, he understood he had nothing left to fear.
Rising the Ea in hand, he faced the final ten, the strongest gods.
"Heh... Haha... Hahahaha..."
He suddenly laughed. It was a laugh of release.
A gentle laugh.
A sorrowful laugh.
A laugh of final resolve.
"Damn it, he's about to…" Before the Sun God could finish, Ryuya's blade decapitated him instantly.
His eyes no longer saw the gods, for it was unnecessary now.
He simply gazed quietly at the sky. In an instant, the Underworld's space tore open. Ryuya saw the sky above Uruk, the heavens and earth of Mesopotamia.
The vast land, the third-generation gods and the Myriad Races' armies still locked in stalemate, the rain drifting between heaven and earth… it all began to fall into its final act.
"Alaya, I, Ryuya, have questions."
He gently closed his eyes. His voice was soft, yet it flowed between heaven and earth.
Boom!
With the sound of wind and rain in his ears, the first sword strike: the gods' armies disintegrated instantly.
"First Question: The state and its lands, seen in one glance. What crime did the Age of Gods commit?"
His body felt cold, but he was unafraid.
The second sword strike: the Underworld turned to nothingness… the gods were restored to their places.
"Second Question: Rebelling against the orthodox path, the Myriad Races locked in struggle. What crime did the people commit?"
The rain, still falling, abruptly stopped.
As a dark color enveloped all of Mesopotamia, countless people looked up at that figure.
"Third Question: The nation broken, mountains and rivers remain, life and death unchosen. What crime did the heroic souls commit?"
The third sword strike: the immense darkness was dispelled. Hazily, snow-colored clouds descended, illuminating the entire world.
"Fourth Question: Beacon fires rise, blades drawn on all sides. What crime did the gods commit?"
He thought of the one and only Creation Mother Goddess who always loved him, the Venus Goddess who rode the rocking horse with him, the Underworld Goddess who had never seen flowers bloom, the Chains of Heaven who was innocent of the world and wanted to eat candied fruits.
Ryuya's fourth sword fell.
Heaven and earth turned white. Thunder crashed from above, severing countless shackles. It marked the world separating humanity from the gods, Mesopotamia from everything else.
"Fifth Question: Heaven and earth are unfeeling. What crime did all living beings commit?"
The fifth sword strike, Heaven and Earth Surge, The Final Moment - The Eternal Babylon.
Since the beginning of this life, Ryuya had wondered: what was his limit?
Was it prolonging Uruk's era? The unceasing legacy? Defeating the gods' restrictions?
No. It was none of those anymore.
Knowing better than anyone the importance of the enduring land, the vast earth, Ryuya was resolved this time to sever the connection between Alaya and this world, to make Mesopotamia truly independent.
True, Alaya, as the collective will of humanity, would persist as long as humanity existed, but it was not indivisible.
Recalling the existence of the Synchronized Intellect Nation, Ryuya would not replicate the First Emperor's great feat of restricting people's thoughts.
But he had his own resolution.
"The Five Questions are done. I, Ryuya, will go to my death, solely for this prosperous age to endure, for the human heart... to know no regret!"
Gazing into the distance at this flourishing land, a vibrant, thriving energy permeated every corner.
He would replace Alaya with his own being, forge a new faith. All who sing the King's name shall be the King's subjects.
Living on this land, gazing into the distance in this golden age, the Sun-Crowned King named Ryuya would become the true will of humanity. Only by replacing Alaya could Ryuya reach his limit.
"This place... is Uruk."
"This place... is the Eternal Babylon!"
His final, hoarse cry sought to pierce through all restraints, to inform every person under the layered mountains and lakes, the vast soil, the boundless sky.
In the deepest Underworld, among countless heroic bones.
Hear the King's return, oh lords of the heavens.
Mesopotamia... endures!