Type-Moon: Root Seiko

"Is such a thing possible?"

Lying in bed, Joan of Arc murmured to herself, not entirely believing it.

Because she is currently using Karen's body to receive the flesh, the girl's consciousness is dormant inside.

Therefore, Joan of Arc cannot become a spirit like ordinary heroic spirits, and must still maintain human basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and transportation... that is, she has physiological needs including sleep.

Despite being a Servant who came to fight, she still has to rely on her Master's family for care, eating their food and sleeping in their bed...

This made Joan of Arc, who had taken over Karen's body and room, feel extremely ashamed, and she secretly vowed to herself that she must come in handy.

"...But honestly, who exactly is Luo Zhen?"

As a Heroic Spirit, Jeanne d'Arc was not a magician in her previous life. The moment she descended to the mortal world, she was instilled with a great deal of knowledge, and thus learned about the concept of the Root.

The root is the outflow of all things, the beginning and end of all laws and concepts.

Countless parallel worlds, pan-human history, and Lostbelts that were deemed useless branches and pruned.

The origin and the end of all of this is the root, the only absolute law that all concepts can perceive.

Because the Root contains all questions and answers, magicians, who are essentially seekers of the Way, also aim to reach the Root.

Historically, it's not unheard of for someone not to have done it; there have indeed been magicians who successfully reached the Root.

But in that instant, their existence will also vanish, and they will never return to the human world alive.

No one knows whether they died or were swallowed up by the root and became part of it.

However, given the nature of human spirituality, it is impossible to fully comprehend the root cause.

The moment they come into contact, they will inevitably dissolve, collapse, disappear, or sublimate into something different from humans.

Joan of Arc muttered to herself, "If we're talking about those who can come back, there are only five magicians, right?"

Could it be that Rozen was one of them? Joan of Arc secretly fantasized.

Chapter 34 The Saintess's Tragedy

The five magicians in human history are said to have all stolen a mystery from the Root or returned after discovering a way to access the Root.

Magic is a miracle that modern technology and magic cannot achieve; it is pure fantasy.

In the ancient age of gods, it is said that the origin was even closer to all things, and there were many more mysteries in the world.

At that time, magic and sorcery were almost indistinguishable, and magicians did not care about touching the source.

But as time progresses, the more things humans can do, the less magic there is.

After the Age of Gods passed away, and the mysterious laws of the world were reshaped by the first magic, "the negation of nothingness," only five kinds of magic remained.

These spells are not a single technique.

Rather, it is a law or concept that is completely different from what humans consider common sense, and the abilities it exhibits are merely subtle manifestations of this law in the real universe.

These five people are said to have reached the gate of the source, but instead of going deep, they stole a mystery and returned.

Some magicians despise sorcerers, considering them cowards who have betrayed the pursuit of magic.

But the power of magic is real.

Aside from the restraining forces that maintain world stability and prevent them from violating the "fragile" laws of the world, these magicians do indeed possess the ability to create miracles.

But Luo Zhen... he doesn't feel like a magician?

At least judging from Joan of Arc, Ryougi's words and actions were far too "human," unlike a strange person who had come into contact with a lot of non-human knowledge.

How did he manage to get to the root of the problem?

How did he manage to avoid a mental breakdown? It's even said he endured it for a very, very long time…

"……what?"

Joan of Arc was thinking with her eyes closed, her thoughts wandering aimlessly.

Then suddenly, in the instant she realized something was wrong, she was stunned.

Joan of Arc opened her eyes... only to find that she had no eyes.

She was trying to perceive her surroundings.

However, they discovered that they had lost their hands and feet, which enabled them to interact with the outside world, and even their entire body and facial features.

Joan of Arc felt herself cease to exist, submerged in a pitch-black void where nothing existed.

(Why?! Is this an enemy attack? Or some kind of sensory-depriving magic?!)

Even without Ruler's EX-rank Magic Resistance, Saber still possesses an A-rank Magic Resistance, meaning most modern magic is ineffective against her.

But Joan of Arc had lost all her senses at this moment.

Though one cannot see with one's own eyes, one can see the eternal darkness, which cannot be ignored.

Unable to hear it with their own ears, they must constantly listen to billions of noises, the ceaseless screams of the universe's birth and annihilation.

They don't even have a mouth or tongue to shout, and they aren't even allowed to give up thinking.

...Isn't this even a form of torture? Isn't this a form of punishment?

But I'm clearly in so much pain... and there's no point in even enduring the pain?

If it were just burning at the stake, I could accept it.

If it's just betrayal, I can understand it.

Because I understand human imperfections, I am willing to believe that my efforts can make the people of my country a little better and move them a little closer to a better world.

Even though he ultimately failed, and even though he was never exonerated in later generations.

They would be remembered as a liar... or even as a madwoman or prostitute depicted by a few unscrupulous playwrights.

But as long as you have a clear conscience about your life, you will eventually be able to accept it...

(But I never imagined it would be like this! What is the meaning of this nothingness?! Why should I have meaning in this nothingness?!)

Joan of Arc felt subjectively that she had lived through years or even decades of nothingness.

But the pain one suffers is meaningless, and even crying out can only occur in one's own consciousness.

There will be no change; even the torment itself will not exist.

Since there is no torment, there is even less possibility of liberation and redemption.

There is no God, no faith, no people here.

There is nothing I can trust, should trust, or can protect.

Then all this illusion that she currently possesses, now as the self-perception of the girl 'Jeanne d'Archc'... isn't it the only thing that feels out of place?

The only salvation that can be called salvation is to give up everything.

...I should close my eyes.

Abandon thinking, embrace this noisy, dark madness.

Good morning, time to get up.

"...Huh?"

Accompanied by a burning and liberating sensation, as if being pulled out of sticky asphalt, Joan of Arc finally heard normal speech.

The screams of birth and destruction that filled the brain ended, and the ancient darkness before us was illuminated.

His own consciousness was finally able to return... to the equally short "human" body that matched his short self-perception.

What Joan of Arc saw and heard was the hazy sunlight shining through the sunshade and the crisp birdsong of the morning.

The night has passed.

Joan of Arc fell asleep without realizing it, and the night passed in the blink of an eye.

Then, her Master, Rozen, was by the bedside.

He greeted himself, his calm eyes reflecting his possibly utterly disheveled face.

Then Joan of Arc could see that he frowned slightly, and then looked relieved:

"You must be dreaming. It's a dream of cognition connected by the Servant Contract; you've seen my past."

"...Is that all true?"

Joan of Arc moved her throat awkwardly, like a baby learning to speak for the first time, her voice dry and uncoordinated.

Only now did she belatedly realize that the despair she had just felt, like falling into a bottomless pit, was something she shared with her Master.

That was his feeling, his real experience... just a fleeting glimpse.

Joan of Arc's body was still numb, and she didn't have the strength to get up.

But she still couldn't wait to ask, her throat tightening with emotion:

“Master… how long did you spend there?… how could you not go mad…”

“I never said I wasn’t crazy,” Luo Zhen replied calmly.

He placed the change of clothes he had brought for Joan of Arc on the bedside table; they were all Orange's spare clothes.