Shinji found himself here once again.
On the moon, in a dark realm where even light could not reach.
A familiar, small stone chamber.
Since the beginning of the new century, he had visited this place thousands of tis, so familiar that it felt no different from his room.
Skillfully navigating the boundary of the dark realm, he appeared in the corner of the stone chamber.
Skillfully, he walked across the golden sea, making creaking sounds as he did so.
Skillfully, he arrived beneath the temple, leaped onto the resting place of the giant deity.
Skillfully, he awakened the giant deity, who, despite being a bringer of destruction, was gentler than anyone else.
"Ti to wake up, Altera."
He whispered these words softly into the ear of the giant deity lying down. Although she believed she didn't possess the human function of sleep, she still enjoyed the way Shinji woke her up.
"Mmhm."
The beautiful giant deity slowly opened her eyes and, supporting herself on the bedside, sat up.
"Good morning, Altera."
Shinji greeted her skillfully. By this ti, a night had passed, and the morning sun was rising.
"Mm, good morning, Shinji."
She rubbed her eyes and responded just as skillfully.
"Did you sleep well?"
A simple, everyday question that would naturally be followed by a simple, everyday response.
"I slept well." —That's how it should have been, and that's how it always had been.
However, this ti, Altera didn't respond naturally. Instead, she let out an "Ah" as if suddenly realizing sothing. She then quickly covered her face with her hands, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
The saying "you can hide your head but not your tail" seems fitting here, though Altera wasn't hiding her head but rather her expression. Not that it helped much—Shinji could still see her flushed face through the gaps between her fingers.
"What's wrong, Altera?"
"Um... I..."
Her voice was so faint it was barely distinguishable from a mosquito's hum.
"I didn't do anything strange, did I? Or are you mad because I haven't visited in a while?"
"No, not at all."
Altera quickly dropped her hands, her flustered expression looking incredibly cute.
"W-Welco back. Did you finish what you needed to do?"
Shinji shook his head.
"Not yet. If things go smoothly, it'll take about a week. If not, it could take even longer."
Altera hesitated for a mont before asking, "Is... is it about sothing called the Holy Grail War?"
"Yeah—wait, how do you know that? I don't think I've ever ntioned its official na to you."
"Well, while you were away, I had a dream. It was sowhat like when I was on the plains, but also a little different, fragnted. In the dream, I was a Servant of so European girl, and it seed like I fought you at one point. And then... y-you-you... you touched ... there..."
As she spoke, Altera buried her face even deeper into her hands, entering an "ostrich mode" once more.
Shinji understood why Altera was acting so strangely and realized this was part of the reason he had co to the stone chamber this ti.
To fully concentrate on the Holy Grail War, he had temporarily ceased other activities, including exploring Mooncell. The reason for this rare visit was specifically because of Altera. He needed to find out if there was any connection between the Altera on Earth and the giant deity within Mooncell, and if so, how much of a connection.
From the looks of it, there was indeed so form of connection. Although the Altera on Earth had descended from the Throne of Heroes, her origin was still tied to the giant deity. It seed that the Altera on the moon could receive vague images through dreams.
As for touching her there, it wasn't about touching any private area. It referred to the white markings on Altera's body, which were akin to birthmarks.
In Altera's skill list, these markings were referred to as the Crest of the Star, which allowed her to consu magical energy through the patterns to enhance the capabilities of any part of her body. While it didn't provide the explosive power of Mana Burst, it consud significantly less energy.
During the process of subduing Altera, Shinji directly interfered with the Crest of the Star to disperse her magical power and strength. From a combat perspective, it was a justified and extrely effective tactic. However, for Altera, it seed a bit inappropriate because the Crest of the Star happened to be her sensitive spot.
Attacking or using weapons to harm her was fine, but Shinji, due to their relationship, had been too gentle, leaving Altera feeling uncertain. As a Servant, with her naturally cold deanor and viewing herself as a weapon, she wouldn't have minded. But the giant deity in the stone chamber was different. She was emotionally rich and delicate. Even though the event had only occurred in a dream and was a battle for victory, she still felt embarrassed.
Shinji could only apologize for this.
"I'm sorry. At the ti, I was trying to win without hurting you. I'll be more careful in the future."
Altera didn't insist on holding it against him, blushing as she explained, "A-Actually, I didn't mind that much. It's just that no one's ever done that before, so I-I'm just not used to it... I-I'll probably get used to it eventually."
The Altera in Mooncell wasn't like the one on Earth, who knew nothing about Shinji. Even if Shinji wanted to touch her, the one on Earth wouldn't give him the chance—though, judging by her tone, she didn't seem to mind such behavior.
Perhaps realizing the inappropriateness of her words, Altera hastily corrected herself, "N-No, I'm not saying you can touch ... or that you can't touch either..."
"What do you want, then?"
Shinji couldn't help but laugh—Altera was truly adorable, no matter what form she took.
"You... you're bullying ! G-Get out! I'll have soone else talk to you."
"Hey, wait, I'm not done talking yet..."
Before Shinji could protest, the flustered Altera grabbed him and tossed him out of the stone chamber, out of the dark realm, and into a grassland.
The grassland wasn't vast, but it was beautiful, with green hills, clear waters, and herds of cattle and sheep. In the center of the grassland stood a white yurt. In front of it, a woman wearing a brown robe and white dress stood quietly. Her appearance and attire were identical to the Altera on Earth.
This was the giant deity's most cherished mory, a manifestation of her dream, and a paradise Shinji had created for the imprisoned soul who had been confined for 14,000 years.
"Whatever you need to say to her, you can say to ."
In a cool voice, the woman caught Shinji.
"Stop bullying her."
"You're all the sa person," Shinji muttered, shaking his head in exasperation.
"You have similar entities by your side, don't you? Multiple personalities."
This version of Altera, in her Hun King form, was far more composed. Shinji didn't want to continue this pointless argunt with her.
"Fine, let's get to the main issue. Altera, do you want your dreams to be clearer? Do you want a stronger connection with your counterpart on Earth?"
"What do you an?"
"To put it bluntly, do you want to start a second life on Earth? Even though your perspective would be a bit unique—if you promise not to exceed Servant boundaries, I have a way."
Altera's eyes lit up instantly.
On the grasslands, outside the stone chamber, both of them spoke simultaneously.
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