What is human nature?
Drawn to light, fearing shadow.
Loving flame, fearing ice.
No matter what, the unknown is always feared.
And in the eyes of all, the Ultimate One, representing the Planet's King, is no different.
Fearing Crimson Moon, afraid of Crimson Moon, distancing themselves from Crimson Moon… regardless of Crimson Moon's own thoughts, the humans of the Lunar Era were like this.
And after coming to Earth, the True Ancestors were even more so. They too feared the Moon King.
Even though Crimson Moon was like a mother to the True Ancestors, few truly followed her.
If not for Ryuya's existence, these True Ancestors might have left her to choose a different life.
Hearing Ryuya's words, Crimson Moon was momentarily stunned.
Coincidentally, the moonlight of the deep night fell through the ceiling of the Millennium Castle, draping the youth in a faint, illusory glow.
Never having seen such a warm, reassuring smile before, Crimson Moon's face froze for a rare moment, then she 'ferociously' kicked Ryuya, "What nonsense are you talking? Those True Ancestors clearly aren't following me willingly. Do you think I'm stupid?"
Looking into Ryuya's clear eyes, Crimson Moon didn't quite know how to respond to this sincere emotion. Her heart beat rapidly, and she felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
"Alright, maybe those guys are a bit dishonest. But I sincerely want to stay with you. You know that, Crimson Moon."
Smiling, Ryuya placed Crimson Moon's small foot back in his hands and continued.
"You get out right now and go practice your magecraft properly."
Not wanting to look at Ryuya's face, the more Crimson Moon thought about it, the angrier she felt. She simply stood up and pushed Ryuya out of the room.
"Get out!"
With her face slightly flushed, Crimson Moon closed the bedroom door.
"What's... wrong with me?"
She didn't know why, but seeing Ryuya's face made her feel strange. Over the years, Crimson Moon felt she was becoming less and less like herself.
Taking a deep breath, she felt her earlier reaction seemed almost afraid of Ryuya. That wouldn't do.
Outside the door, looking at the firmly shut door, Ryuya made a 'tsk tsk' sound.
Through these decades of interaction, he had come to understand Crimson Moon's personality quite well.
The so-called cold, arbitrary Moon King, the planet's strongest being who viewed all life as ants… in some ways, this girl was actually very similar to Morgan from back then.
Tsundere, lacking love, long-term loneliness had distorted Crimson Moon's personality. She no longer enjoyed interacting with humans, instead believing only her own strength could achieve her goals.
Pursuing the position of Earth's Ultimate One, wanting to replace Alaya and Gaia... what was her purpose in living? To replace a Counter Force?
No, that was just a reason Crimson Moon found for herself to keep living. This was evident from how Crimson Moon continuously created True Ancestors, and even hid within Arcueid's consciousness.
Perhaps what the Moon King needed was never to replace anyone, and what she wanted was simply companionship.
'I should let her calm down for a bit.'
Walking down from the top floor belonging to Crimson Moon, Ryuya saw the other True Ancestors in the Millennium Castle.
Because they had Ryuya's blood, these guys weren't tired at all now… instead, they were full of energy.
They bowed their knees to Ryuya respectfully. Passing by the True Ancestors, Ryuya arrived at the lowest level of the Millennium Castle.
"Gransurg, has anything happened in the outside world recently?"
Gransurg Blackmore, a Dead Apostle, or rather, a familiar… subordinate to Crimson Moon.
In the era just after Anno Domini began, he was known as the Lord of the Black Wing and possessed the Reality Marble Nevermore. But his true form was that of a crow, and his appearance somewhat resembled a plague doctor with a bird-beak mask.
Perhaps because his appearance differed greatly from other True Ancestors, he had poor relations with them, but he was one of the few utterly loyal to Crimson Moon.
"Bloodriver-sama, the development of humans outside has been steady recently. However, that human kingdom called the Roman Empire is somewhat beyond our expectations. Their progress is much faster than we imagined."
As True Ancestors, these planetary consciousnesses in the Millennium Castle naturally paid close attention to humans, always monitoring the outside situation.
Gransurg explained the changes in the outside world over the years to Ryuya.
"The Roman Empire? Claudius? Which emperor is it now?"
"It's the fourth now, my lord."
"The fourth?"
In his memory, the fifth emperor of the Roman Empire was the tyrant Nero Claudius. Not knowing if this Tsukihime World could connect with the Fate World, Ryuya remembered that although both works were by Nasuverse, many plots and details had issues.
"Hmm..."
After some thought, he felt that staying in the Millennium Castle wouldn't achieve much, as he didn't understand the plot of the Eternal Night Empire scenario. This was Ryuya's first time in a scenario where he didn't know the storyline.
Unlike Rashomon, Uruk, or Camelot, he simply didn't know what he should do.
Could he just romance Crimson Moon, then spend every day in bed making a few children?
Choosing to go out and see the world, he thought about going to the Roman Empire first.
Holding this idea, he brought it up to Crimson Moon occasionally in the following days.
However, her response to his desire to leave the Millennium Castle was simple.
"No!"
Expressionlessly rejecting Ryuya's wish to leave the Millennium Castle once again, Crimson Moon had unconsciously grown accustomed to someone's presence.
Drinking tea brewed by Ryuya, enjoying his massages, hearing his praise for the clothes she wore every day... Except for not being able to hold him while sleeping like when he was a child, Crimson Moon had grown used to having Ryuya by her side.
Bluntly rejecting Ryuya, Crimson Moon closed the book in her hands.
"Why not?"
Yearning for the mysterious future, wanting to explore the world's unsolved mysteries… Ryuya was never one to be content hiding in one place.
Although he currently appeared as a teenager of fourteen or fifteen on the surface, that was only due to accumulated potential.
In terms of actual strength, he now possessed all attributes at the SSS level. Although not comparable to Crimson Moon, none of the other True Ancestors in the Millennium Castle were his match.
"No reason. It's just not allowed."
She continued bluntly, but Crimson Moon couldn't meet Ryuya's gaze.
She declared that Ryuya could do whatever he wanted, except leave the Millennium Castle… this was Crimson Moon's final, ridiculous and childish insistence.
Staring seriously at Ryuya, the atmosphere between the two grew heavy with unspoken thoughts.