The establishment of the Time Travelers Alliance began in the first year of Conan

Chapter 323 The Real Change in History... Or, the Real Beginning of Tragedy?
"Soul", "Body", "Spirit" —

Everything that primates in this [Type-Moon Universe] must possess in order to truly "exist".

Without a "soul," life loses its source.

Because it is not a collection of information or intelligence, but rather an existence flowing from the "intelligent life" itself.

This is a miracle.

Life without a soul is like a machine that has lost its purpose.

As for the "physical body".

That is a device that protects souls from higher places and allows them to act.

To use the words of those physicists—

The physical body must be the magnetic field that attracts the soul.

This "magnetic field" formed by life, like the magnetic field of a planet, protects the atmosphere from being stripped away by rays from the universe and solar winds from stars, and protects the soul itself.

But what about the third thing, that thing called "spirit"?
That should be something called "experience," "will," or "history."

For example--

Perhaps some people are born with sinful souls called “tyranny,” “gluttony,” and “lust.”

Perhaps some people are born with an unclean body, characterized by "disability," "deficiency," or "sickness."

Even so, deep within their hearts, a faint but firm voice may still emanate:

"I don't want to become that kind of person."

Therefore, whether it is because of the trust, pity, or care of others.

Their "spirit" told them that they did not want this "posture" and decided to abandon the first two things they already possessed and start anew.

This is the existence called "spirit," the final tool used by these fighters against fate to pry open destiny.

Those innate fears, anxieties, curses...

The stones of fate that once weighed on them...

And so it is tried to overcome through effort and conquered through acquired reason.

It was carved and moved by a child named "Spirit," hammer and chisel by hammer.

Whether they become more "degenerate" or more "bright" again, there will always be some people who will eventually succeed in changing their "state of being".

A minority of those who indulged in depravity will be branded by later history with names such as "tyrant" and "sinner".

Those who restrain themselves and serve reason and justice.

A portion of them will be crowned "heroes" because of their shining "spirit".

Their immortal achievements will be known as a legendary "epic" in future history.

……

This is precisely what makes "spirit" so peculiar.

It is neither like the "soul," which proclaims the miracle of "life";

It is not like the "physical body," which symbolizes "separation from the world" or the great possibility of "changing matter and reality."

As the most fragile, youngest, and most easily broken of the three elements of primates, "spirit" seems to be the least reliable entity.

But ironically, it possesses an irreplaceable and great ability:

It can be passed down.

Whether it is the spark of truth ignited by the soul or the experiential philosophy practiced by the body in the world.

Even knowledge and will from a higher level of the universe.

The "spirit" easily recorded and accumulated the activities of these two great figures.

Then, in doing so, one can touch the "soul," "body," and "spirit" of others.

Being in the same room as a naturally optimistic person will make those around him more optimistic as well.

Being in the same room with a complaining, nagging pessimist will likely make others more depressed and pessimistic as well.

But what if you were to be with a "hero"?

So even those born villains might be inspired by such "heroic" or "fearless" "spirit" and try to walk a more glorious path.

Just like Matou Sakura at this moment.

This "victim" was perhaps destined by "fate" to fall into darkness and evil.

Now, inspired and motivated by the "spirit" of a man named "Kaguya Matou," he is determined to embark on a path that is more painful than darkness but also closer to "light."

This six-year-old child is now trying to use that borrowed, yet uncomprehended "spirit" to overcome another version of himself.

……

In that pale, dreamlike space, they faced a dark being that seemed to exude resentment and madness.

Matou Sakura then asked [Matou Sakura] a question.

"You...who are you?"

But she received no response.

Behind that thick wall of memory, the blurry yet clear figure only revealed a terrifyingly empty gaze.

Those painful memories, tightly bound together, now stared at Matou Sakura like a corpse floating in a pond.

This information contains malicious intelligence and negative memories of an individual named [Matou Sakura].
An emotionless electronic notification sounded.

Sakura Matou lowered her head and looked at her wrist—it was that magical watch called TDD.

It tells Matou Sakura that it is currently in its own "dream" and that those are her lost memories.

Sakura Matou shook her head. She leaned against the glass that separated her from the other person and tried to look into the blurry reflection of herself.

"She...she looks like...she's in a lot of pain."

The girl whispered, her voice as light as a bubble bursting in the air.

"Can you save her?"

The TDD smart device on my wrist was unusually slow to respond for a moment.
The light screen on my wrist paused slightly, like breathing, before resuming.

TDD tried to "understand" the "child's" demands.

We are currently calculating possible solutions to save Matou Sakura.
Then, this TDD encountered a problem.

How should it "save" "a memory"?

From a technical perspective, this negative information is merely a redundancy in memory that needs to be eliminated.

This is not a correct classification, simply because this child cannot yet understand the difference between "personality," "memory," and "others."

but--

TDD still "understood" the child's thoughts.

After all, the CYZ effect almost never makes a mistake, does it?

Its inherent ability to interfere with consciousness allowed this TDD to clearly understand Matou Sakura's needs.

Logically speaking, this is impossible.

The CYZ effect value of this TDD is simply insufficient for it to conduct more in-depth thinking.

Its mission is simply to ensure the safety of "Matou Sakura" and to maintain a series of monitoring tasks.

Unlike the main system, which possesses higher-order thinking capabilities to a certain extent.

When Hasegawa Tsuki created this TDD, she only gave it the bare minimum of redundancy.

But at this moment, it discovers that its [CYZ effect redundancy] is actually increasing on its own.

As for whether it was due to the girl's request or his own thinking, TDD hasn't figured that out yet.

However, the intended effect of that instruction was not achieved.

Now, this TDD will continue to invest the extra effect value gained from its own "thinking" into this problem.

How can I make that memory less painful?

"How can we save the child named Matou Sakura?"

TDD was thinking like this.

And so, the "thinking" that it shouldn't have had truly began at this moment.

It was this "thinking" that made it realize a fundamental problem.

……

One reason why the alliance doesn't endow TDD with too much intelligence when it uses the CYZ effect is that—

The CYZ effect is "transcendental".

Its "inevitability" and "disregard for logic" can directly provide a "correct" answer, a "final" answer.

In other words, this still holds true for a contradictory proposition.

Therefore, it will not be used correctly if it is not used in accordance with that brick-thick and extremely complicated "TDD Usage Guidelines".

Its effect value is very likely to be completely exhausted with a single command from the user.

Like now.

It is still thinking about that question:
How can we save the child named Matou Sakura?

This issue actually rests on the premise that the child named "Matou Sakura" has not yet been "truly" saved.

So it invoked its basic permissions on the [timeline], and with the help of the inexplicably added CYZ effect, this TDD allowed itself to continue iterating on the problem.

This may be a strange coincidence.

If this TDD had a higher level of thinking ability from the beginning, it could have stopped this pointless consumption immediately.

But the problem is-

That "command" was triggered even before the system itself optimized its intelligence.

In this situation, within the core instructions of TDD, making oneself smarter does not have a high priority compared to the commands of "Matou Sakura".

Thus, as it pondered, and as Matou Sakura made her resolute request—the ever-increasing CYZ effects surged toward this seemingly simple question.

Then, this TDD "senses" that abnormal feedback fluctuations are beginning to occur inside the system.

The influence of inheritance, one of the three elements known as "spirit," was detected.
An individual named [Matou Sakura] was detected to have fluctuating RSI values, which is related to continuous interaction with elements such as "spirit" and "memory".
An abnormal fluctuation in the construction of the [Inherent Boundary] has been detected.
Idealistic overlay phenomenon detected...
Error in identification: Repeated superposition — of of of of…
An anomaly was found in the RSI value of [Type-Moon Universe-001]: [Mind Image World After World·∞#%￥——]
Warning: You are under attack by [Spiritual Particle Structure].
Warning: You have been subjected to character design interference from [Matou Sakura].
Warning: External data contamination flag detected; attack effects detected from &%#@.
Warning: The form of existence has been defined as: "Maintaining [historical inertia] makes Matou Sakura a 'victim'."
Warning: Insufficient redundancy in the CYZ effect.
Warning: System self-perception imbalance.
Warning... Warning... Warning...
The most piercing alarm sound that Matou Sakura could imagine rang in her ears.

……

The sky in the dream was stained with a sickly red, like putrid blood, with twisted black lines.

The enormous mirror that had once separated her from "another self" began to crumble layer by layer under some terrifying, irrational force.

Spiderweb-like cracks bloomed simultaneously on the mirror's surface, like a garden planted with malice.

Sakura Matou saw it—

It was as if countless spiders, invisible to the naked eye, with sinister red light emanating from their six compound eyes, were crawling along the "glass" that, in Sakura's eyes, was infinitely tall, sturdy, and gave her a sense of security.

Reflected by the spiderweb-like shattered mirrors, the tormented figure seemed to grow outward at an almost infinite speed.

Those rows and rows, from top to bottom and from left to right, are like bodies arranged on a supermarket shelf, or like bodies hanging on a factory assembly line, being "produced" out at an infinite speed.

Every wails, every pain, every thought of resentment they uttered was swiftly channeled into the doll named Matou Sakura, driven by that invisible force.

"Click."

The first crisp sound rang out, followed by a series of cracking sounds.

"Click, click, click..."

It was as if the entire dream had collapsed, as if she had returned to that sealed insect cave crawling with marking insects.

Sakura Matou slumped down on this side of the mirror.

Before me was an ocean of purple hair, rippling like waves in this dreamlike space.

She looked up and gazed across the street.

Countless pairs of dark purple pupils stared at him with empty, vacant eyes.

Do you/I still need to save you/me (us)?
That's the meaning behind those gazes.

Those figures—young girls, children, resentful, joyful, unrestrained, and restrained…

Those "spirits" and "souls" that lack conviction, are self-deprecating, patient, and conformist.

They all stared at the lucky six-year-old Matou Sakura.

Sakura Matou had no idea what was happening, nor did she understand the meaning or significance of this scene.

She just didn't understand—

Why do so many versions of myself seem to have suddenly appeared?

I just don't understand—

Why do I have so much "pain"?

The piercing alarm that had just been ringing in my ears had now become so faint as to have almost disappeared, as if it had been isolated by a wall made of [Matou Sakura].

She nodded subconsciously.

The next moment, it was as if a drowning ghost had found a body to be reborn.

Those jealous, resentful, longing, joyful, hopeful... those terrifying figures greedily rushed towards Matou Sakura's "collapse".

Whether it's with good intentions, malice, or even a mechanical instinct.

Every single one of these Matou Sakuras was shouting—

"That'smine!"

They spread like a swarm of thirsty insects, like moss yearning for light, wanting to seize this precious opportunity, wanting to take away another possible version of themselves.

It was as if they wanted to lick and dissect every inch of Matou Sakura's skin and every strand of her flesh.

These countless raging flames of karma hoped that this accidentally discovered drop of pure water would extinguish them and make them "clean".

Unfortunately, these images vanished the next moment.

TDD finally found the "solution".

Or rather, the "first step" in the "solution".

It was once a TDD that possessed a soul, spirit, and body for a fleeting moment.

No one knows exactly how long it iterated, or how deeply it delved into the question of "infinity".

The CYZ effect allows it to move toward that slim possibility in a particularly effective way.

That quality known as "constancy" allows TDD to transcend attempts to interfere with and attack itself.

Even at the very end of that question, due to that absolutely irresistible force, this life, whose core purpose was to "save [Matou Sakura]", was briefly born and then vanished.

But just like that statement about "spirit".

This watch, which once believed it existed, left behind a special plan.

As for Matou Sakura...

That dream, those painful "selves," that mirror that collapsed and then recovered...

It was as if it were all an illusion, as if it had never happened.

Apart from--

Below the mirrored wall, in front of her, a small hole appeared.

The plan has been completed.
Sakura Matou blinked, somewhat bewildered, as she heard the calm, mechanical voice leave a message for her.

Matou Sakura, if you want to save yourself—
The following plan needs to be followed.
The first step in the plan is to understand just how much pain you are in.

Staring blankly at the hole, Matou Sakura hesitated for a moment.

But in the end, the child carefully put one hand into the hole.

Those already blurred memories struck the child like lightning in that instant.

“Aa ...

Painful screams, desperate wails, and weak pleas for mercy convulsed in the child's soul.

……

"Sakura! How are you?!"

Kariya Matou had never slept so soundly until that all-too-familiar scream of pain jolted him awake.

He sat up abruptly and instinctively rushed toward the source of the sound.

But his movements immediately paused—

Sakura stood by the window, perfectly fine, nothing seemed wrong.

With her trembling hands behind her back, Matou Sakura secretly used magic to "fix" her body in place like a tree stump.

She slowly turned her head to look at Yan Ye, her tone calm.

"Uncle Kariya...? Has something happened?"

That indifferent gaze, tinged with a hint of doubt, made Matou Kariya even think he was hallucinating.

He gave a wry smile and raised his hand to touch his forehead.

"It's nothing... I just had a nightmare."

Yes, it was probably just a dream.

After all, after joining that alliance...

Sakura... she should have truly freed herself from her painful fate.

……

Perhaps sensing its own awakening, that familiar and steady voice suddenly rang in its mind.

"Kariya, I need you to try to make contact with Zouken Matou this morning."

—It is his spirit who claims to be Sherlock Holmes.

I know you might be a little resistant to this.

To prevent Kariya from failing to fully utilize his "persona," Conan offered a rare explanation.

"But this step is very important."

"I need you to try to tell him that if he wants to regain his youth, he must immediately join the research on 'Heroic Spirit Summoning' and 'Spirit Origin Analysis' in the [Holy Grail System]."

"At the same time, have him send out a familiar to monitor the Tohsaka family's situation, and deliberately let Assassin discover this."

Kariya Matou simply smiled somewhat easily at Holmes's request.

It's just pretending to "go along with the crowd" again, so why would he feel resistant to it?

The so-called honor or glory, or the legitimacy of the method, or something else...

Matou Kariya doesn't have anything like that.

He was willing to give up anything, as long as he could achieve that one result.

"Just give the orders as long as Sakura can be saved, Holmes."

"Yes, this is the League's promise to you." Conan's voice also lowered, as if responding to his resolve. "We will definitely do our best to fulfill it."

Immediately afterwards, he continued to arrange what would happen after that with Yan Ye.

"At the same time, according to inertia, tonight must be the time when Assassin is killed by Archer."

"Therefore, Kariya, I still need you to corner Ryunosuke Uryuu by this afternoon and guide him to complete the summoning of Bluebeard."

"The specific action plan has been sent to your TDD."

As Conan finished speaking, Kariya's right hand sank.

He looked down and saw that there was a watch on his right wrist.

It looks like a children's watch, with a white case and a blue dial.

Another Noble Phantasm.

Dangdangdang!

The Detective's Anesthetic Watch Turret!
Conan then told Kariya about its function and usage.

"This watch can fire tracking tranquilizer darts. Once they hit, they can force the target into a 'coma' until the 'case,' I mean the [Holy Grail War], ends."

"In addition, if the target successfully dodges, you will also gain an Intuitive Dodge, which will allow you to completely evade the next attack."

"If the negotiations don't go well, use this to forcibly paralyze the enemy's Master and hand him over to Raymond. He will try to see if he can provide support."

"If no one shows up, place the unconscious Master near the observatory."

Yan Ye nodded subconsciously, "We understand."

……

Of course, Kariya ultimately overestimated his patience with Zouken Matou.

Rather, if he were still like a bloodsucker, making Kariya feel disgusted, repulsed, and hateful, then so be it.

But this ugly and disgusting creature!

He actually brought a lavish spread of food at lunchtime, and with that nauseatingly kind smile, he faced me and Sakura.

Yan Ye only glanced at the old bug out of the corner of his eye the entire time—otherwise, he felt he really wouldn't be able to resist attacking that face again.

Fortunately, the negotiation process went exceptionally smoothly.

When asked to hand over all the information about the Holy Grail System, that guy actually agreed very easily.

"Oh? Since it's Holmes' request, then of course I'll grant it."

Zouken Matou responded with a smile, but a very subtle hint of contempt flashed in his eyes.

He inwardly scoffed at this foolish "son".

He was ashamed that he still hadn't discovered the true face of that heroic spirit.

How could that heroic spirit possibly be Sherlock Holmes?!
Matou Zouken is very clear about this.

If it's about summoning a character who doesn't exist in history—such as someone from a fairy tale or story.

In that case, the abilities of Heroic Spirits will not only usually not have the correction for [Legendary Status], but may even be downgraded to the form of "Phantom Spirit".

Otherwise, wouldn't it be better to just grab any comic book and summon some guy with an "S" on his chest?
He sneered inwardly.

"It seems... that so-called 'Sherlock Holmes' guy has already noticed that something is wrong with the Holy Grail War."

Zouken was wondering how he should make amends to the Heroic Spirit and secretly tell him the truth about the Holy Grail and Command Seals.

Now, it saves us the trouble.

……

All I can say is that the three people at this table are thinking about completely different things.

In Matou Sakura's view, after she regained consciousness, the deep-seated pain seemed to have miraculously disappeared.

Now, the girl quietly looked up at Uncle Yan Ye, who was sitting beside her, looking down at some kind of light screen that "others could not see".

Uncle Kariya must have gone through that kind of pain too.

But why...

Uncle Kariya doesn't seem to be in any pain at all.

According to the information from his watch, wearing that mask would be many times more painful than the pain he had just experienced.

Countless times...

That must have been a very, very painful experience.
Thinking this, she whispered to Matou Kariya beside her:

"Uncle Kariya, won't it hurt when you put on that mask...?"

Kariya Matou shifted his gaze from the light screen in front of him to Sakura Matou, who had an adult-like expression.

This is perhaps one of the man's eternal tragedies.

He clearly didn't understand what Matou Sakura was wondering about.

He hesitated for a moment, but still reached out his hand—

This time, Sakura no longer felt intimidated or afraid because of how terrible she looked back then.

Thinking this with a sense of happiness, Yan Ye gently ruffled Ying Tou's slightly purple hair, just like she would her own daughter.

"Because -"

With a tired, slightly silly smile, Yan Ye explained:
"Uncle is going to rescue... a poor child like Sakura in a little while."

I recall that heroic spirit who called himself "Sherlock Holmes"—

Recalling that contract and consensus born from despair, Yan Ye's voice unconsciously carried a touch of youthful exuberance.

He still quite enjoys reading comics.

"Just like Batman—a hero in the darkness!"

Sakura Matou paused for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully.

Since Uncle Kariya admires that person so much and calls him a hero...

She glanced down at the TDD on her wrist.

Sakura Matou decided to learn more about the hero called "Batman" later.

……

For Hasegawa Moon, who is far away at the observatory base.

During the time Conan spent "persuading" the golden, glittering Heroic Spirit who was loitering near the observatory back to the right path.

She immediately noticed the plan that had suddenly appeared in the TDD database held by Matou Sakura.

"A psychological intervention and training program for an individual named [Matou Sakura]?"

Hasegawa Tsuki raised an eyebrow slightly, swiping her finger across the virtual interface as she softly read out the title:
"To prevent the interference of idealistic 'historical inertia,' we attempted to guide them to gradually understand their past from a 'third-person' perspective, using a combination of dreamscapes and TDD (Time-Based Disorder) as a means of isolation?"

Next, her gaze fell on the "Reason for Application" section:
—"Because I want to save the memories of myself."

Hasegawa Tsuki let out a soft breath.

This seems to be fine.

"Approved."

After the approval, Hasegawa Tsuki thought for a moment and added a sentence below.

"It is necessary to ensure that the intervention process does not cause irreversible or excessive psychological trauma."

"At the same time, try to get them to start re-familiarizing themselves with the properties of [imaginary numbers]."

Hasegawa Tsuki dispersed the projection and tapped the table lightly with her finger.

Although emotionally she hoped that the child named "Matou Sakura" could have a normal childhood.

but……

Although I really don't want to say this, Hasegawa Tsuki has already mentally prepared herself.

When necessary, she will still make the choice that is most beneficial to the Alliance.

As things stand now, in any case, considering the setbacks of the "miniaturization" plan—

It is undoubtedly necessary to let Matou Sakura try to break free from the "inertia of history".

After all, what if the conversion experiment still yields no results in the end?

Therefore, she will be the only person in the alliance with the imaginary number attribute.

Considering the responsibility or even sacrifice that last child may ultimately face.

A low sigh echoed in the [Execution Hall].

(End of this chapter)