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

Chapter 329 Time Without People (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Humans often think of themselves as the "passengers." In reality, time is the passenger, and humans are more like the river that carries it.

—Smoke Mirror.
-
Conan himself never anticipated such an outcome.

An "accident" caused by his own plan actually yielded results greater than the plan itself.

But fate is so mysterious; it seems to love telling stories of miracles through unexpected events.

Who would have thought that a plan to bring Kiritsugu Emiya into the alliance would lead to such a huge discovery?

This seemingly mundane "preparation" is like a sharp blade, inadvertently revealing a corner of the "essence of time" in the Type-Moon universe.

……

With the activation of the [RSI Masking Mimicry] technique.

Those detached, unseen golden flames, those CYZ effects, began to take effect at an extremely microscopic scale.

If those "threads" made of neutron matter are like blades that can cut through the texture of a planet.

Now, what is being slowly woven is another, more intricate form of erosion.

These effects, which began to link together, subtly added something else to the fabric that constituted the "laws of physics".

For example, a tiny yet profoundly significant hole.

—From this moment on, the RSI value in the environment begins to decrease.

Current RSI environmental index: 103

Current RSI environmental index: 102

The value dropped very rapidly at first.

However, when the value drops below 101 and approaches 100, the amplitude immediately becomes sluggish and difficult to reach.

It was as if we had encountered an insurmountable barrier.

Even if we continue to advance within such a small space, the required CYZ effect immediately begins to surge.

The curve of the [RSI masking mimicry] consumption effect begins to jump.

From the initial "several hundred units of ordinary strings", it instantly skipped the "A string" level and directly jumped to the consumption of "flying strings".

—And one unit of flying string is equal to ten to the power of eight units of universal string.

The league still doesn't understand why it's so difficult to create an environment where the RSI value is 100.

In fact, when the researchers at the CYZ Effect Institute came to their senses and truly confronted the question about the "table," they suddenly realized—

Perhaps, the [real timeline] is some kind of true miracle creation.

This question seems to be like those ultimate questions about the cosmological constant.

Why is the gravitational constant this value?
Why is the speed of light like this?

Why is it that the RSI value in the actual timeline is exactly 100 at the very beginning?
But in any case, the league may never figure this out.

In fact, when the alliance was first established, it was only used with relatively rudimentary equipment to monitor that value.

[Research Level] It is currently impossible to determine whether its RSI value is exactly 100.

Even more cruel is—

Once this balance is broken, it can never be restored to its original state.

The timeline is a tangible existence within this universe.

After the [real timeline] was used to shape the other side of the "Möbius strip" and became the foundation for the construction of Universe 2, it has become completely "dead".

In other words, the "natural environment" with an RSI value of 100 has disappeared.

Even Conan Edogawa couldn't truly recreate that real timeline.

Because He already knew of the existence of the [real timeline].

When Conan attempted to use his power to turn back the timeline to that moment, his derivative effects had already undermined this premise.

So, if the closer to 100, the more CYZ effect is required, wouldn't it be impossible to reduce the environmental RSI value below 100?

In fact, this is precisely what Dr. Lighthouse Light of the CYZ Effect Research Institute firmly believes is that there must be some hidden reason behind it.

Because just like now—

At this moment, when the RSI environmental value in the hotel room was close to the true 100, it suddenly dropped below 100, as if the transition of electrons had to accept energy "one piece at a time".

Current RSI environmental index: 99.33

This defies common sense.

Yet it is undeniably true.

The fact is, it is indeed much easier to reduce the RSI to below 100 than to 100.

Of course, for Conan, this means—

At this moment, the "Detective Conan" theory, known as the "Timeline," has finally gained a slight advantage.

Spiritual particles, magic, spirit, magic circuits... or anything that is not "Science Fiction," now has to face "correction" from another [worldview].

Even if it's just for a fleeting moment.

But how long is a moment in terms of time itself?

Of course, this "correction" will undoubtedly have some negative impact on RSI values ​​greater than 100.

Fortunately, the technique at this moment is not intended to resist or destroy.

Its most crucial function is simply to "block" certain views that might be watching this place.

Therefore, under the control of the [Jump Terminal], some relatively normal "spaces" began to float slowly, like bubbles blown out of water, and approached the two fish that were "suffocating".

Having learned their lesson, the alliance is determined not to let the tragedy that befall Matou Kariya repeat itself.

Although Matou Kariya stubbornly insisted that he could still endure such "torture".

But according to TDD's psychological analysis, if the league really does that a few more times—

Kariya Matou's only thought in this life will likely become to do everything in her power to commit suicide, in order to escape the possibility of being "timeline-ified" again.

This is also one of the reasons why the Alliance considers [Inherent Time Control] to be very important.

Since Matou Kariya was able to "return to normal," it was clearly due to the effectiveness of his own "character design."

Other ordinary people don't have such a "persona".

Therefore, based on the feedback from [Matou Kariya] himself.

If the Alliance doesn't want Conan to use the [Timeline] to grant everyone a fleeting moment of eternity in the future, it could turn into something like the failed "Disaster Flight," leaving five billion people in an infinitely fragmented corner of an infinitely divided spacetime, eternally agonizing and wailing...

In short, localization measures are essential.

……

At this moment, Kiritsugu and Maiya felt only a terrible sense of suffocation.

It was as if some kind of pressure from beneath the water was slowly compressing their existence.

Kiritsugu Emiya was never someone who was easily frightened.

Or rather, he is never afraid of any phenomenon—something only an imaginative child can do.

The flickering light of the lamps, a sudden flash of lightning ripping across the sky, and being trapped alone in the house...

These phenomena probably stopped frightening him after he left that hellish island.

He only fears the shattering of his ideals.

At most, now there's the added fear of losing family ties—the fear of losing someone important.

Whether it's the ritual scene with corpses lying everywhere and blood everywhere, or those despicable magicians using various magic tricks to create beings like "big brother".

Those things only made him angry, not afraid.

This will only strengthen his convictions and fuel his hatred and resentment towards magicians.

But at this moment, Kiritsugu Emiya realized he was wrong.

Moreover, I was terribly wrong.

If I had always lived on a fleet sailing on the sea of ​​time, my greatest concern about that deep ocean would have been nothing more than seeing my own reflection on its calm surface.

Now, because of his own carelessness, he has followed the tentacle reaching towards the surface of the sea and dived into the depths.

Kiritsugu will never forget this scene.

The light in the room, as always, reflected the same scene as it had been a few seconds ago, into his body, mind, and soul.

But isn't that the most terrifying scene?!
because--

How is this possible?
There are clearly so many strange and bizarre "times" here...

Why is my "outside" still the same?

Like a fish out of water, Kiritsugu instinctively tried to obtain oxygen from another kind of "air".

He found it difficult to describe how he felt at that moment.

It seemed as if gill-like organs had grown inside his body.

Those dense, constantly opening and closing "flesh-like tendrils" spread across its "back," attempting to absorb the "bubble" that envelops it, while trying to "push away" those thread-like "times."

There's just too much time.

There are so many it's insane.

Why is there so much time in the room?

This strange sense of contradiction nearly exhausted Kiritsugu's will and courage—

That thing called the soul kept telling him that less than a ten-millionth of a second had passed.

But what about his physical body?

His body, however, was screaming at his spirit, telling it that he had unlimited time to linger in this moment.

There is one minute left in every minute;

There is one hour left in every hour.

Time is cyclical, nested, and extended...

The moment he fell into that sea of ​​time, the sudden appearance of the vortex leading to the depths pulled Kiritsugu to the very depths of the depths, to the very end of the end.

—If it weren't for that sound.

"Kiritsugu, if you want to save the world..."

A voice suddenly appeared in his ear.

In that instant, the being named [Emiya Kiritsugu] suddenly became calm and composed.

All the fear, hatred, and escapism in his heart, all the terrible visions, could not bend the ideal of this "persona" itself.

Or rather, in the face of such terrible terror.

What Kiritsugu Emiya did was to strengthen himself again and again to fight against it.

In that vast and boundless moment, in that endless eternity, Kiritsugu uttered his first words in a hoarse voice.

"What...are you?"

No one of sound mind, or even a shred of reason, or any being who respects rationality, would consider such a scenario to be "benevolent."

What terrified and unsettled Kiritsugu the most was not the scene itself.

Instead, it was his assistant who answered the question.

“Kiritsugu, I know this is hard for you to believe... but the alliance is here to help us.”

Mai's voice rang in his ears, gentle, calm, and even carrying his usual trust and loyalty.

But Kiritsugu trembled all over.

He didn't know how he made a sound—

The man didn't dare to think about it anymore.

Mai Mi...

Is this person who looks exactly like Hisa Umi really his assistant?

Fear finally breached the "defenses" built by reason.
Thus, filled with anger and extreme unease, Kiritsugu almost roared as he interrupted the attempt to soothe him:
"I'm asking you, what exactly are you?!"

……

Undoubtedly, the plan encountered a minor mishap.

After hearing Kiritsugu Emiya's almost roaring reaction, Hasegawa Tsuki's puzzled voice rang out:
"Commander Kudo? Kiritsugu Emiya, he..."

Conan's face darkened, and his eyebrows almost furrowed together.

Through the [Horizon Probe], Conan undoubtedly observed this instantaneous change as well.

In this low RSI field, where the timeline was slightly visible, he had observed that moment countless times.

His lips twitched slightly for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, a sentence rang out in the hall, spoken through gritted teeth:
"It's actually... an objective ideal timeline..."

As is well known, in general relativity, time is considered as one dimension of four-dimensional spacetime, constituting the "stage" for the movement of matter—which is the fundamental reason why no information or matter can exceed the speed of light.

In a sense, in this four-dimensional frame of reference, the total "spacetime velocity" of any particle is constant.

As the velocity in one direction or dimension increases, the velocity in other directions will decrease.

When your speed in the physical X, Y, and Z axes reaches the speed of light, then your speed in the time dimension, that is, the speed on the time axis, approaches zero.

Therefore, the faster the speed, the slower the time.

This is a fundamental phenomenon revealed by the theory of general relativity.

Unfortunately, this precise and elegant physical system is usually a false proposition in most worldview-based universes.

For example, in this universe, time does indeed have a clear linear structure;
For example, in the Conan Universe-002, time doesn't even exist; it only depends on a detective's "confession."
For example, there's the situation Kiritsugu is currently facing.

Although Conan is very reluctant to believe this fact, it has been clearly demonstrated.

In short, in the Type-Moon Universe-001, "time" depends on people's subjective perception.

"Yes, I see..."

This sudden discovery made Conan mutter to himself.

"This explains why Kariya and Gilgamesh are affected differently by the timeline, and why the same effort produces completely different results."

Conan currently believes this is objective idealism rather than subjective idealism, precisely because of the different behaviors of Kiritsugu and Maiya.

In fact, you can clearly see the origin of this "objectivity".

—Soul, body, spirit. This tangible entity, existing independently and objectively outside the material world, provides guidance for the time of the material world.

In fact, [Kyuu Maiya] did sense that the "time" around her had slowed down.

Her "soul" told her that time was not continuing to flow downwards.

Although her "spirit" did indeed experience a certain prolongation and stagnation;
But the stillness observed by her "body," where everything seemed normal, confirmed the "soul's" judgment.

Therefore, although this confusion made Hisayu Maiya feel a little flustered, that was all.

However, [Emiya Kiritsugu] is different.

He carries a special structure within him.

Just like he felt like "gills" had grown on his "back," it was indeed a good feeling.

That was the magic crest he inherited—

[Imperial Decree of the Time].

This allowed him to "perceive" "time" independently once again in a sense.

The "soul" told him about the immutability of time;
The "spirit" perceived this unusual "long duration".

And what about the "physical body"?

His "body" sensed the chaos and infinity surrounding him, which was called the "timeline".

Just as he sensed, he was being dragged into the endlessly evolving and nested sea of ​​time.

Therefore, none of the three elements that constitute its existence can verify its own existence.

If it weren't for Kiritsugu Emiya's character design forcibly binding him together...

He had long since disintegrated, like bubbles scattered in water.

……

Conan followed this line of reasoning and continued his analysis.

"In other words, rather than saying that 'time' is a kind of existence here, it is more like a 'consensus'."

"And in this way, the principle that the [Cut-off Items] can make the universe disappear becomes very simple. Because the [Pan-Human History] is clearly the unified and most powerful 'consensus' in this 'multiverse system'."

That's outrageous.

Conan couldn't help but think to himself, "How can the League possibly fight against an existence like this?"
But then, he immediately reaffirmed his resolve.

Such power is nothing compared to what's to come.

They are meaningless in the face of truly decisive factors.

Currently, there are two fundamental mechanisms that "cutting" cannot penetrate.

Firstly, there is the inertia of history.

Secondly, there is the [persona].

No matter how strong this "consensus" is, it is nothing in the face of these two.

Both Emiya Kiritsugu's recent actions and the mere disappearance of Misaki Town and Kanbuko City demonstrate this point.

As long as the Fourth Holy Grail War has not ended and continues according to the "historical inertia," the "cutting" cannot truly occur.

"On the other hand..."

Conan murmured to himself, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes, "This might actually be a major advantage for our alliance."

He immediately retrieved information about the "burning of human reason".

If he previously thought that the problem of providing "infinite energy" for the "infinite universe" was actually impossible to solve...

Now, he's starting to believe—

There might actually be a glimmer of hope.

This is like a boss character in some games.

Perhaps it will have an invincible mechanism, an infinite health bar, absolute defense, and instant-kill output.

However, as we all know, invincibility may be a positive trait for the protagonist, but it is usually a debuff for the villain.

There will always be a weapon that is "specifically designed for XX" or "specifically designed for XX to kill," so that others can defeat him.

what?
You're saying that an ordinary human being couldn't possibly defeat such a being?
Oh dear, I'm so sorry!

That's how it's written in the book!

……

"But this makes the existence of [Emiya Kiritsugu] even more important."

Hasegawa Tsuki took over the conversation, her tone calm yet sharp.

"Whether based on the inertia of history or his character design, he is the only one who ultimately entered the Holy Grail and was able to make a wish."

"Yeah." Conan nodded.

He deleted the plan to remain inactive and reap the benefits from the archives, and then continued:
"In that case, we do indeed have a need to tell him the truth."

"If the timeline of this universe, and even reality, depends on this 'consensus,' then if we are to finally break through the blockade of this 'historical inertia,' we must rely on his act of 'breaking the convention.'"

"Otherwise, even if you obtain the Holy Grail, it would be terrible to find that it is marked 'Only available to Kiritsugu Emiya'."

Conan paused, and a conjecture suddenly arose in his mind.

From this perspective, the "acquiescence" of the fourth party behind the scenes to the alliance's interference is very likely due to the same reason.

The process is completely unnecessary.

As long as you grasp the inevitable ending, that's enough.

If the alliance can guide the character design to break through the historical inertia to some extent.

So, just like Gilgamesh did—

On the other hand, you can also use mechanics to deal with the alliance.

……

But to be honest—

Even if it doesn't follow the "historical inertia", Kiritsugu Emiya completely distrusts this so-called "CYZ Alliance".

Fortunately, the truth is that he has no choice but to believe it.

The Alliance has far too much experience in persuading a deeply ingrained skeptic.

—You just need to choose the things he believes in to explain.

That mechanical, emotionless voice echoed through the space.

"...Regarding the Holy Grail being corrupted, you can ask Haid to verify what kind of being they illegally summoned during the Third Holy Grail War."

"Furthermore, the Holy Grail's wish-granting mechanism does not materialize what you ask for, but rather uses magic as a price to skip the process and achieve the result you want."

"Therefore, Kiritsugu Emiya, if you want to truly achieve 'world peace,' you must come up with a world model that is logically complete, structurally sound, and feasible to implement."

Otherwise, your wishes will ultimately be distorted.

"As for the specific principles involved, you can seek verification from either the Einzbern family or the Matou family, since the Matou family is the one responsible for perfecting the Holy Grail system."

"Our real goal is actually to leave this universe and go to the outside of the world."

……

Now, Kiritsugu Emiya is trying to understand what this being is telling him.

At this moment, all that appeared before him, and that he was communicating with, was a blurry shadow—

A non-humanoid creature composed of "timelines" and exhibiting geometric shapes that are difficult for humans to describe.

Moreover, it uses a language that is not any of those used by humans, yet it can directly understand the meaning of the language.

Kiritsugu can even hear its echoes simultaneously from many "timelines".

—The Alliance is an entity from another universe.

It was simply captured by its own universe by accident, and because it was not suitable for survival, it wanted to leave.

In fact, when Conan deliberately appeared in a way that made him look like an "alien," Kiritsugu Emiya was already mostly convinced.

The reasons that followed were far more convincing than any "friendly alliance rhetoric."

The league isn't here to help.

They were just doing something they had to do "in order to get out of here."

After Conan showed footage of the League building laboratories in several galaxies in the past, his claims became more credible.

That was some kind of irrefutable "evidence"—

A magnificent and imposing system of machinery orbiting various planets and stars, fleets and spaceships traversing galaxies and dimensions...

This is so true.

"For the Alliance, helping the beings on a planet achieve peace is an extremely simple matter."

"Before we leave, we can even assign ownership of a planet to everyone on this planet."

"As long as the resource allocation system functions properly, this state... can be maintained for billions of years."

The light flickered, as if observing Kiritsugu's changing expression.

"I think you should be able to accept this condition."

Conditional goodwill is sometimes more acceptable than unconditional goodwill.

A contract with a price is often more real and reliable than a favor given without reason.

Although Kiritsugu Emiya remained silent.

However, this silence, rather than a refusal, is already a statement.

And it seems as if they knew Kiritsugu's last question.

The voice spoke first:
"As for why I chose you."

"Because—you are the [optimal solution] that the [Alliance] has derived after observing the entire timeline of this universe."

"...The optimal solution?" Kiritsugu asked instinctively.

His question relieved Conan.

Even though some additional disturbances occurred during the implementation of the plan, Kiritsugu Emiya still took the bait.

He presented a vague, fabricated image based on his knowledge of historical inertia.

"Yes."

"According to the Alliance's timeline observations, after Irisviel's death, as part of the Holy Grail vessel, she will choose you to come into contact with herself."

"This is the core logic behind your selection."

"Because in this universe, there exists a corrective force field called [Fate]."

"Since we are an entity that fell into this situation by accident, our current energy reserves are insufficient to directly counteract or rewrite this 'inertia'."

"Therefore, we must choose the key points that are most likely to deviate from history."

These are undoubtedly the truth.

And the truth is also the easiest thing to cause misunderstanding.

Kiritsugu Emiya can sense the "time" around him, and in his view, the future that this "timeline" life shows him should be completely real.

In fact, if it weren't for the "miracle" that was unfolding before him, this man named Emiya Kiritsugu would have already collapsed by this conclusion.

The voice now sounded tinged with madness: "So... I'm destined to fail?"

"exactly."

Then another calm voice rang out, as if stating a fact.

"Therefore, if you are willing to finally break through 'inertia' and make the wish to go to the [Root]."

"The Alliance will plan a timeline for you that will allow you to fulfill your wish for 'world peace' while ensuring the survival of individuals named [Kuyu Maiya] and [Irisviel]."

A perfect timeline is presented.

Now, Kiritsugu has plenty of time to think about this.

And faced with such a beautiful ending...

In that oppressive atmosphere of pain and doubt, Kiritsugu... finally agreed.

Then, a thread, like a “weave of time,” slowly approached him.

Finally, silently, along with that most extreme memory and will, it sank into the [Local Time Control] and [Command Seals].

Even if it takes a whole string of CYZ effect.

But Conan knew it was undoubtedly worth it.

Now, the being named [Emiya Kiritsugu] has "betrayed" the universe itself.

Driven by his "ideas," his mind and body became "open" to the alliance.

And so, at the instant time began to flow again.

More "vision probes" that split off from the [Leap Terminal] immediately rushed toward the edge of the broken ley line around [Fuyuki City].

Conan is very clear that if "time" is a kind of "consensus".

Those who possess a defined persona will obviously have a greater share of "consensus" than the other billions of people combined.

Similarly, the ley lines are Gaia's "memory".

Therefore, the "memories" of Fuyuki City may be more important than those of any other place on the entire planet.

Regardless of how effective it may be in the end.

The plan to transform this city into a time-bound, enchanted magical entity has now begun.

Furthermore, considering that Kiritsugu Emiya's "Inherent Time Control" is only set to delay Genji by one or two seconds, in order to prevent the enemy, who has not yet revealed their presence, from forcibly anchoring such a result using "historical inertia".

From this moment on, the Alliance will inscribe this [spell] throughout Fuyuki City every second.

Given that the Holy Grail War will last for the next seven days—

This technique will be repeatedly inscribed more than 604,800 times in this area.

PS: The unit conversion for the CYZ effect is:

1弦= 10^23普弦= 10^18阿弦= 10^15飞弦= 10^12皮弦= 10^9纳弦= 10^6微弦
So, everyone understands how wasteful the Alliance's use of the CYZ effect was back in this universe, right? (●''●)
(End of this chapter)