"Really?"
Alaya also realized the crucial point here. If she could truly leave the Throne of Heroes to go play, she might forgive Aslan's transgressions.
"Not sure, but we can give it a try."
Aslan stroked his chin, speaking with slight uncertainty. After all, trying wouldn't cost him anything.
The worldline he was currently visiting had already become his own. Aslan didn't want the two Counter Forces in his worldline acting recklessly.
Even though he had delayed the end of Steel of the Land by several centuries, Ais had no hearts.
They might not remember his kindness and would continue doing exactly what they were programmed to do.
Aslan was deeply suspicious. If he accidentally revealed his power and made the Gaia and Alaya of his worldline feel threatened—would they do it again?
"Either way, I can't tolerate the Counter Forces in my worldline."
The feeling of being rejected by the world was utterly unpleasant.
Hearing Aslan's words, Gaia and Alaya exchanged awkward smiles. They fully understood what Counter Forces were like.
"We'll discuss that later. Anyway, which way is the Root?"
Honestly, Aslan suspected one reason why most people who entered the outside world through the "hole" never returned was because they got lost.
Beyond this world, in a place beyond the time axis, there was no direction at all.
"You don't know the way to the Root?"
Alaya asked in disbelief. That meant this powerful being named Aslan hadn't awakened his Origin, wasn't a Magician, and didn't have a fragment of the Root inside him?
But that was impossible, wasn't it? Normally, everyone's Origin was determined at birth.
And Magicians could only use True Magic if they had once entered the Root.
Gods were beings who possessed fragments of the Root within them—essentially, they were tentacles of the Root, tentacles of Gaia.
It could be said that in the entire Type-Moon world, there was no entity unrelated to the Root.
For this very reason, they wouldn't face difficulty finding the way to the Root. The pull from their Origin alone was enough to guide them.
"Of course, if you want to go, there's a path to the Root right here in the Throne of Heroes."
Gaia said casually. After all, for an existence on Aslan's level, entering and exiting the Root was as easy as going home.
In a sense, arriving at the Throne of Heroes was far more difficult than reaching the Root.
Access to the Root was generally managed by the Counter Forces—not by them.
They couldn't control anything about it.
As she spoke, Gaia waved her hand and opened a path toward the Root.
Without hesitation, Aslan stepped straight into the Root.
"The Root… this place is too empty, huh?"
"I thought there'd be something interesting to see."
Looking at the vast emptiness—a symbol of absolute void, yet also the origin of all things—Aslan couldn't help but complain.
"Whatever, forget it. Better to find Sakura's Origin first."
Locating a specific Origin within the swirling depths of the Root wasn't easy.
Fortunately, however, the Root would never reject any request. Within the Root, every desire would be fulfilled, and every idea would manifest.
Provided you could withstand the "gift" the Root offered.
Like Yog-Sothoth, it would never turn away anyone seeking knowledge, always generously granting boundless wisdom to whoever asked.
The Root was the same. Of course, if you couldn't endure the Root's "gift" you'd dissolve into it instantly.
Yet Aslan remained unmoved by this illusion of omnipotence.
"It feels… no better than Gifts from Little Garden's Central Core. Too fake."
Aslan shook his head. The Gifts granted by Little Garden's Central Core were permanent and irreversible, unlike this Root, where nothing inside truly mattered.
Only what you carried out became truly yours.
But this also made things easier for Aslan. With strong intent, he quickly located Sakura's Origin.
Of course, Aslan didn't forget about Manaka. However, as the Princess of the Root, naturally connected to it, in a sense, she could perform self-convergence.
When Aslan asked Manaka, though, the girl wore a terrible expression.
"I won't let those bitches steal my Prince from me!"
Thus, Manaka deliberately hid information about the Prince she'd found, to avoid being discovered by other worldline versions of herself.
Besides, for Manaka, self-convergence was an extremely brutal and bloody process—since each Sajyou Manaka might not recognize another Sajyou Manaka.
The end result would be the most vicious battle to determine the one true Sajyou Manaka.
Sajyou Manaka differed from Shiki Ryougi, who was also connected to the Root. Shiki Ryougi was born from her Origin—[Nothingness]. She could be considered the consciousness of [Nothingness] itself. She was unique, yet it could also be said that every worldline containing a Shiki Ryougi contained one Shiki.
Only Shiki was too laid-back. She didn't care about anything, sleeping without self-awareness like Manaka.
After locating Manaka's Origin, Aslan effortlessly transformed it into a Spirit Status, establishing Manaka as the sole existence.
Manakas from other worlds were merely manifestations of the individual named Manaka.
Only then did he proceed to search for Sakura's Origin.
Seeing the countless tragic worldlines branching from Sakura's Origin—and so few happy ones—
Aslan took a deep breath, struggling to suppress his anger.
He used a technique learned from Algol, altering the pivotal points in Sakura's personal history—key moments in her life.
Then he stepped in, just as he had when first arriving in the Type-Moon world, catching the falling Sakura, and burning Zouken and all his worms to ashes.
At that moment, Aslan was practically saving every Sakura sent into the worm nest.
But Aslan didn't dwell on that.
After rescuing Sakura, to minimize impact on history and avoid retaliation from Human History, he could only regretfully say he'd return later to exterminate that old worm.
Sakura was a supporting character, unimportant in the Holy Grail War worldline. She was merely a tragic figure.
So, to conceal historical traces, Aslan created a massive fire, declaring Sakura lost in the blaze that consumed the Matou household.
In truth, he had unified all Sakuras. As for Sakura's existence in other worlds, he'd restore her once she grew up.