Seven Keys of Reality — Tertiary Timelines.
Seven Mirrors of Reality — Secondary Timelines.
Seven Pillars of Reality — Primary Timelines — the bedrock of a Bubble.
This was the core of the Sevenfold Path of Multiverse — the cosmic principle that dictated the flow of reality across all dimensions.
From Bubble's spontaneous origin to Bubble Entities' framework, from Timelines' cyclic Karmic Dissolution to their unquenchable greed for rising in status.
Black told Medea almost everything that he could without stepping into the boundary of Systems, preventing himself from being erased from existence.
A Medea of the Mirror Timeline might already know such things.
But this one didn't — giving Black the greatest chance to seal the bond between them.
Medea was a Magus from the Age of Gods. Her potential was as limitless as Shinobu and the other Hashiras'.
Black had intense plans for her after conquering this timeline. The more she knew now, the more she would trust him later, realizing the great risk he was taking by letting her know of something like this at this moment.
On the other hand, completely flabbergasted, despite her rich magical background, Medea stared at Black, her mouth slightly open.
The concept of different timelines wasn't unknown to her.
She was known to be a True Magician, despite not wielding True Magic. That's why she could use High-Speed Divine Words, letting her cast spells without chants, giving her the widest berth to use Mana itself however she wished.
Medea knew what kind of existence she was.
Like all Heroic Spirits, she had been freed from the constraints of time itself and removed from the ring of reincarnation before being moved to the Throne of Heroes.
That's where her true body was, resting for eternity.
She, sitting before Black, was just an emanation — destined to vanish for the Holy Grail's manifestation.
And because of this knowledge, Medea was the most dangerous among the Heroic Spirits as well — because she was a Magician.
Medea could unravel the Mysteries of the Holy Grail War itself. She could bend the rules to summon a Servant of her own. She could rip Command Seals off the Masters. She could make the Heroic Spirits her slaves.
Not only this, she knew the ways to materialize the Holy Grail even before all the Servants died.
Medea could do it right now if Black just wished for it.
However, such a Holy Grail wouldn't nearly be powerful enough to grant the wish that Black wanted it to.
So, yes.
Medea considered the knowledge she possessed her greatest weapon.
Yet, the more she repeated Black's words, if they weren't a lie, the more she felt she had missed out on one of the greatest secrets — to reach The Root.
"… Second Magic?!" Medea hissed, the tips of her fingers throbbing.
Black smiled at her and nodded. "A complete mastery over the Sevenfold Path of Multiverse can theoretically lead to Second Magic," he admitted, as his father had told him. "I am saying CAN because the Path itself has not been derived from the Second Magic."
Medea instantly asked, "… from where, then?"
Black shook his head.
Alan Stormborn had told Kai that the Sevenfold Path of Multiverse had originated from the Primordial Tower. Not from the puny beings that were the members of the Order of Immortal Lotus.
Letting a sigh, Medea slumped back on the sofa.
"… So, we are in a Key Timeline," Medea summarized. "And you want to claim it for yourself, hoping the Bubble Entity… Deep One… wouldn't smite you to death before winning the War."
"That's about it," Black nodded. He refrained from telling her that not only did he want to claim the timeline, but he also wanted to snatch it for himself, using his authority as an Outer One. However, discussing such a thing wouldn't be pragmatic.
"But you just said that the Keys, Mirrors, and Pillars are part of a Bubble's Realities," Medea said, her eyes narrowing at him. "How can one claim a Reality, without letting the Reality itself vanish? Wouldn't such a claim be an empty one?!"
Black's eyes almost widened. He hadn't even encroached on the matter of Outer One. Yet, here she was, already theorizing where an Outer One's authority lay.
"Why are you smiling?" Medea asked.
"You are smart."
"Isn't that obvious?" Medea smirked.
Caster would never get to know what it meant for Black to acknowledge her intelligence.
This acknowledgment came not only from him, but also from an AI that could outsmart any genius from the mythical era or otherwise. It also came from the Lucky Intuitions that could manipulate reality itself, making false the truth in Kai's benefit.
"Let's just say that I can... figure something out," Kai winked.
Even if they were under the protection of many Bounded Fields, it wasn't smart to discuss Nyarlathotep's status without unleashing his Reality Marble.
Medea let out an annoying grunt.
Curiosity was eating her from the inside.
Still, hoping that Black must have a good reason to not reveal everything to her, she didn't force him. As a Mage herself, she knew how mere learning of some secrets could bring disasters.
"But why a Key?" Medea asked. "If not a Pillar, you could have easily gone for a Mirror, right?"
"I knew you would ask that…" Black said.
With a wave of his hand, he created a massive book.
The pages of the book shuffled at a high rate until resting on one, having the title — Fifth Holy Grail.
"A Key is centered on one Event," Black explained as words began taking shape under the title. From the summoning of Berserker by Illya, the page listed the entire series of events till now. "Now imagine this Book represents this entire world."
Black flipped the pages, going back and showing the title — Clock Tower.
The page listed many things about the Clock Tower, but the ink kept thinning out until the words vanished altogether.
"This Key revolves around Fuyuki City," Black said, showing Medea more pages. "It doesn't mean organizations like Holy Church, Clock Tower, Wandering Sea, etc., don't exist. They do. But, in the Key, they will remain a fog, never fully coming into the picture. This lowers the number of unknown variables, leaving only Timeline and Bubble Entity for me to worry about."
Tapping on the book, Medea nodded. "I see. That's a great strategy."
And just as Medea said those words, somewhere in the Multiverse, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Deep One, nodded as well. "Great strategy indeed…"
*****************
AN: Up to 60 more chapters are available in advance across three Tiers. [Use the link in my webnovel profile to access all options]
You can even subscribe Trial Tier for just 1 dollar to have an experience of exclusive chapters for an entire month. I hope a few of you will consider supporting the work.
100 Power Stones: +1 Bonus Chapter