Did the Heroic Spirit I conquered become a reality?

Leonidas, Ushiwakamaru, and the other heroic spirits of Uruk also fell silent. They gripped their weapons tightly, their eyes still retaining the will of warriors, but more so the heaviness and...despair of facing an invincible enemy.

Just as this despair was spreading like a plague—

A pink petal drifted down like a phantom, and Merlin's figure appeared beside the Chaldea group with unprecedented solemnity and urgency.

“Mr. Merlin!” Fujimaru Ritsuka cried out as if grasping at a last straw.

"The situation is... a million times worse than I imagined."

Merlin's voice was tinged with bitterness and disbelief as he gazed at Tiamat in the sky, which emanated an aura of endless destruction. "Mother... has fully awakened, and with boundless rage."

Almost the instant he finished speaking, a virtual projection screen unfolded in front of everyone, displaying Dr. Romani's extremely anxious face. His voice was intermittent due to severe signal interference:

"Ritsuka! Mashu! What on earth happened over there?! We just detected an immeasurable energy reaction, the index of which directly broke through Chaldea's observation limit! The spatial stability of the entire singularity is rapidly decreasing! What is that?! Could it be..."

“Doctor…” Mashu began with difficulty, “It’s…it’s Tiamat…her true form has descended…because…because of Mr. Tohsaka…”

"What happened to him?!" Romani's heart sank. He looked at the terrifying scene transmitted back in sync, which resembled a mythical apocalypse, and saw the sad and desperate expressions on Mash and Ritsuka's faces. A terrible guess surged into his mind.

“He was ambushed…it seems he is already…” Mash’s voice was barely audible.

On the projection screen, after listening, Dr. Romani was momentarily stunned.

"Tiamat's true form has descended... Tohsaka Yuu is dead...?"

This news was nothing short of a disaster for Chaldea.

Tiamat was already an almost unsolvable problem, and now she has descended upon Uruk in a state of extreme sadness and anger...

Is this really an enemy that can be dealt with by the Heroic Spirits and Chaldea alone?

Just when Chaldea was plunged into despair and deathly silence, and even the usually optimistic Romani was about to give up hope, Merlin's purple eyes, which always carried a cynical smile, suddenly flashed with an unusually sharp light.

He didn't look at Tiamat in the sky, but instead turned his gaze to the spot where Tohsaka Yu had fallen... There, apart from the remaining bloodstains, there was nothing.

“No…something’s not right,” Merlin suddenly said in a low voice, his brows furrowed.

"Mr. Merlin?" Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash looked at him in confusion.

“Tohsaka-kun’s condition is a bit strange.” Merlin’s voice carried a hint of confusion. “Logically speaking, he just suffered a fatal injury; even if he were dead, he shouldn’t be…”

He paused, as if confirming his senses, "It shouldn't be that even the body... no, it's that even the slightest trace of life has completely disappeared without a trace."

"Disappeared?"

Mashu was taken aback and quickly focused her mind to sense it.

Sure enough, the unique magical aura belonging to Tohsaka Yu that could be vaguely sensed before had completely disappeared, as if it had never existed at all!

“This is too strange…” Merlin stroked his chin, his eyes flickering. “Even if it were completely annihilated by magic, it couldn’t have disappeared so cleanly, without even the slightest trace left…”

He seemed to have thought of something and continued, "And after all, if Tohsaka Yu really died, then as his Servant, Princess Morgan should have been forcibly repatriated due to the loss of her magical energy supply and contractual connection! But I can still sense her presence... although it's very faint, she is indeed still in this singularity!"

Merlin's words were like a thunderclap, instantly reviving the Chaldeans who were plunged into despair!

"You mean... Mr. Tohsaka might still be alive?!" A glimmer of hope rekindled in Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes.

“I can’t be sure,” Merlin shook his head, “but at least it means there might still be a chance! He’s either not completely dead, or… he exists in some way we can’t understand!”

As he spoke, he looked at Tiamat, who was radiating an aura of endless destruction due to anger and sorrow, and couldn't help but feel a sense of powerlessness.

Although Merlin's words were full of determination and an attempt to ignite a glimmer of hope, the heavy sense of despair in the hearts of everyone present did not completely dissipate as a result.

Yes... finding Yu Tohsaka might be the only turning point.

But... even if he's still alive, even if he really can come back... will it be too late?

Faced with Tiamat in the sky, who seemed like the embodiment of the apocalypse, and the rage and sorrow she exuded that could freeze the soul, as well as the boundless, ever-spreading chaotic black mud and the newly born Rahmu... could they really hold out until then?

Let alone a minute, I'm afraid it would be difficult to withstand even ten seconds, right?

Mashu bit her lower lip tightly, and Fujimaru Ritsuka clenched her fists, feeling a sense of powerlessness that was almost suffocating. Although Leonidas, Ushiwakamaru, and other Heroic Spirits forced themselves to straighten their spines, they could not hide the dimness in their eyes when facing absolute power.

The hope... is too slim.

Ultimately, is there really anyone who can stop such a terrifying creature?

Just as this atmosphere of despair was about to completely engulf everyone—

A golden ray of light suddenly burst forth from the highest point of the Uruk city walls!

The light was not intense, but it carried an indescribable majesty and brilliance, instantly attracting the attention of everyone on the battlefield!

Within the light, a figure clad in golden armor, standing as tall as a mountain, slowly emerged.

His crimson eyes burned like flames as he looked down at the chaotic battlefield below and the enormous chaotic shadow in the sky. His face showed no fear or despair, only the absolute composure of a king and... a trace of cold anger.

It's Gilgamesh! The oldest hero-king of mankind!

He finally appeared in person on this desperate battlefield!

He looked down at the soldiers and spirits below, some limp, some trembling, some with dim eyes, listened to the desperate cries that filled the air, and felt the terrifying pressure that seemed to crush the world itself.

Then he spoke.

The sound wasn't loud, but it exploded like thunder deep into everyone's soul, instantly dispelling the suffocating despair.

"Are you going to give up because of this?!"

The king's question carried an undeniable authority, causing all those who had bowed their heads to involuntarily raise their gazes.

Gilgamesh's gaze swept over the crowd, over the soldiers whose faces were filled with fear and helplessness, over the heroic spirits who were almost losing their will to fight, and over the Chaldea Master from the future who seemed to have been defeated by despair.

He saw the wavering in their eyes and the fear in their hearts, but he offered no pity or comfort, only a more severe and fiery will!

"Look at you all! All it took was 'Mother' losing her temper a little, and a brief glimpse of primordial chaos, and you're already kneeling down, begging for mercy, and offering your necks for slaughter?"

"Have you forgotten who you are? You are the people of Uruk! You are the heroes under my rule! You are the humans who dare to defy the gods and create their own history!"

His voice grew more and more impassioned, pounding like a war drum in everyone's heart!

"Merlin is right, the hope is indeed slim! Whether that brat can return, and when he will return, is unknown! The enemy before us is indeed so powerful that it inspires despair!"

"but--"

Gilgamesh suddenly raised his voice, and a blinding light burst forth from his scarlet pupils, as if to pierce through the darkness in the sky!

"Even if it's only one in ten... no, even if it's only one in a billion, we will..."

He paused for a moment, then a unique, arrogant, and confident smile, characteristic of the Hero King, appeared on his face:

"—With these hands, grasp it firmly! Make it a reality!"

"So-called fate, so-called despair, are nothing but illusions waiting to be shattered before me!"

"Now raise your heads, grip your weapons tightly! Burn your souls!"

"Let that high and mighty chaos see just how brilliant this tiny yet tenacious human life can truly be!"

"For the glory of Uruk! For the dignity of humanity! For the meaning of your own existence!"

"Fight! Until the last drop of blood is shed! Until the last bit of magic is burned away!"

Gilgamesh opened his arms as if to embrace the entire battlefield. His voice, filled with unparalleled charm, resounded through the sky, drowning out Tiamat's unconscious cries of anguish and becoming the sole dominant melody in the world at that moment!

"because--"

He pointed sharply downwards to the still-lit city, dilapidated yet unyielding, and with all his might, uttered his final declaration, his voice filled with unwavering conviction and pride:

"—Uruk still exists here!!!"

Volume One: Chapter Thirty-Five - Return to the Present World

It's like being submerged in the deep sea, thousands of meters below the surface—cold, lifeless, and without light.

They could not perceive even the slightest bit of consciousness, sound, or even the concepts of time and space.

It was as if everything had been stripped away, leaving only the purest, floating "nothingness".

Where am I...?

Is it the world after death? Or... a deeper nothingness that even death itself has never reached?

Am I already dead...?

Just as this boundless darkness and silence were about to completely devour the last vestige of the ability to think—

Yu Tohsaka suddenly opened her eyes!

What came into view was no longer the blood-stained battlefield of Uruk, nor Tiamat's sorrowful and angry eyes, but... a familiar, slightly messy student dormitory.

He was sitting in his familiar chair at his computer desk, with the gloomy London sky outside the window and rain pattering against the glass.

The air was filled with a slightly damp scent.

"Is this...the Clock Tower?"

Yu Tohsaka looked around blankly at the familiar magic books on the bookshelf, the half-finished thesis spread out on the table, and the cup of black tea that had long since gone cold.

Everything was exactly the same as before he "left".

Could it be that... everything that has happened these past few days—Uruk, Tiamat, Gilgamesh, Chaldea...—was just a dream that felt too real?

Liu Yiqi Yin Ba Si Yue already "System?"

He subconsciously whispered a name, the "voice" that would occasionally pop into his mind with options and prompts.

However, there was no response.

It was as if the "cheat code" that accompanied him to the singularity had disappeared with the end of the dream.

"So...it really was a dream?"

Yu Tohsaka rubbed her still slightly aching chest—the spot where the golden beam had pierced through was now completely unharmed, without even a scar.

He turned his head to look at the rain outside the window... Logically speaking, he should be overjoyed to be back now, but instead of being happy, Yu Tohsaka felt an indescribable sense of loss and emptiness.

So... it really was just a dream.

That warm embrace, those pure red eyes, those thrilling battles, those complex emotions... were they all fake?

He slowly lowered his head, his gaze falling on the laptop screen in front of him.

The screen did not display the Clock Tower's intranet or thesis interface, but instead remained on a simple interface that emitted a faint glow—the same interface that appeared after he inserted that strange CD not long ago.

A massive golden turntable floated silently, its pointer firmly pointing to [Seventh Singularity: Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia].

Below the spinning wheel, a new line of text, seemingly carrying the weight of a final decision, is burning silently:

The singularity experience has ended.

[A significant shift has been detected at a key plot point; the world line convergence force is being corrected...]

[Your best option at this time: Confirm "Bad End - Return to Reality" and leave the subsequent corrections to the Pan-Human History Guardians. They possess sufficient power and determination to 'properly' resolve the out-of-control Primal Mother.]

Please confirm the final outcome: Y / N?

Yu Tohsaka stared at the text on the screen, his pupils suddenly contracting.

...Isn't that Meng Er 1 Yi Wu Qi Jiu l iu San Wa?!

Was everything that happened not long ago really true?!

The "game" or "system" that brought him to this world forcibly sent him back to the real world at the moment of his "death," and... gave him an "ending option" to leave and return to his original life!

If he chooses "Y", then everything he experienced in that singularity will truly end like a dream. He can return to the Clock Tower to continue his studies, graduate, return to Fuyuki City, return to Rin and Sakura, and live the peaceful and safe life of a transmigrator that he originally hoped for.

As for Uruk's fate, and Tiamat's destiny... those professionals at Chaldea will handle it. Just like in the "original work," they will gather the Heroic Spirits, make sacrifices, and ultimately defeat that "Mother" in an extremely tragic way, protecting humanity.

This... seems to be the best possible outcome for him?

No longer need to face that terrifying enemy, no longer need to be involved in that cruel war, no longer need to worry about that lonely 'mother'...

With just a touch, he can return to "normal".

However, as Yu Tohsaka looked at the screen, she suddenly laughed silently.

"Should I treat all my experiences over this period as a lie and then dump the mess on someone else?"

Involuntarily, Tiamat's pure, dependent red eyes appeared in his mind; he saw her clumsily communicating with him using her little notebook; he recalled the warm and reassuring touch of her holding him tightly in her arms...

She is neither a cold "Beast" nor a "human evil" that must be eliminated.

She was just... a pitiful woman who was too lonely, too lacking in love, and had been misunderstood and hurt by the whole world for too long.

He had promised her that he would stay with her and find a place where she could feel at ease.