In the space of consciousness filled with light, a hint of blue quietly emerged.
That is the most common color on the surface of this planet, the color of the sea, and also the color of Shinji's soul.
The moment the blue appeared, the brilliance condensed by attachment and longing seemed to have received some kind of call and flowed directly into the blue.
With the help of the light, the blue became purer and purer, rapidly expanding outward, and soon the entire consciousness space was rendered blue.
Not only the soul, but also Shinji's body in reality has undergone similar changes.
The white halo lingering around the body disappeared, replaced by blue mist. These strange phenomena formed by high concentration of magic power continued to rotate around Shinji like a huge whirlpool.
Shirou, who saw this scene, laughed and pointed his knife forward.
"You did a great job, come on, let me see how much you have changed."
"As you wish!"
Shinji raised his head, the fighting spirit in his eyes burning.
The next second, the two figures disappeared at the same time, and a violent collision occurred somewhere in the air.
Shirou performed his special move "Eight Swords Flash" as promised, which allowed him to strike eight swords at the same time. Shinji was not to be outdone, and used his newfound power to block all eight swords at the same time.
Immediately afterwards, the two men disappeared again and reappeared in another place to continue the fight.
After being strengthened by the Nine-Stroke Command Spell, Shirou is no longer restricted. Whether it is "dimensional jump", "dimensional twist", "collapse", or other techniques of the Noble Phantasm level, they are all at his fingertips.
For a moment, strange phenomena occurred one after another.
In his hands, the katana is no longer an ordinary cold weapon, but a terrifying killing weapon that can unleash all kinds of unimaginable attacks.
At this time, Shirou has completely surpassed the realm of a Servant.
Yes, it was comprehensive, whether it was skill or spiritual base, whether it was panel attributes or magic power, it was definitely not comparable to simply stacking attributes with a treasure. A monster that only had power but did not have enough realm to control it would only be crushed in front of Shirou now.
However, Shinji is no longer the monster with only power. While Shirou made up for his shortcomings, he also gained new power.
It is a power rooted in the deepest part of every person's soul and sealed in the subconscious mind of personality.
That is the core meaning that has existed since the beginning of chaos, the cause that was determined when the soul was born, and the power that continues to accumulate through reincarnations.
This force is called "Origin".
When the "origin" awakens and traces back to the cause of birth, it will gain a powerful force that has experienced countless times.
Because this power originally belongs to oneself, there will be no discomfort in controlling it, nor will there be any concerns about the power being too strong or the realm being insufficient.
Of course, awakening the "origin" is not without its drawbacks. As the price of gaining the accumulation of reincarnation, the accumulated past lives will also be revived. The personality generated in less than a hundred years simply cannot resist the core meaning accumulated over such a long time, and will eventually be swallowed up. At this time, people are no longer the original people, but a mixed group that has existed for thousands of years, and can never get rid of the domination of the "origin".
But - what if it is not swallowed up by the accumulation of past lives
The answer is the current Shinji.
Yes, a personality of just a few decades is not enough to withstand the long "eternity", but as Shinji said, he is not fighting alone.
Behind him stood many people who cared about him. Their thoughts were gathered on him and were with him.
The accumulated past lives of a soul are certainly powerful, but the gathered thoughts are even more powerful. With the help of these thoughts, Shinji successfully overwhelmed his past lives and completely took control of the "origin" in his own hands instead of being dominated by the "origin".
Thoughts are magic, and will can create miracles.
In the confrontation with "Origin", Shinji truly created a miracle.
Next, he will create more miracles together with the people who care about him and the "origin" that they control together.
The thoughts condensed and injected into Shinji's soul, and with the help of the awakened origin, they were "transformed" into a new power, further sublimating the new third magic.
And this is exactly what Shinji uses to fight against Shirou.
The longing turned into magic power, so Shinji didn't have to worry about consumption.
The bond condenses into substance and can be the hardest shield, the sharpest spear, and can even change shape at will according to Shinji's wishes.
"I am now, with everyone's support, and I can do this! Even if you have reached the end of your martial arts, you will not be able to defeat me!"
After using the all-round "thought barrier" to block Shirou's "Eight Swords Flash" again, Shinji's strength rose again.
The blue mist that filled the battlefield rolled back and condensed into a human-shaped shadow over ten meters tall with countless arms around Shinji.
This is not a physical change caused by the "Roar of the Beast", but Shinji's new understanding of his own origin.
"Faith is transformed, and the Dharma is revealed—Thousand Hands Magical Power!"
◇◇◇
At the same time, Joan of Arc and Shakespeare also rushed to the deepest part of the garden, to the broken altar.
The first thing they saw as they walked out of the corridor was the huge Holy Grail placed in the center.
There was nothing else. To be more precise, there should have been something, but it was completely destroyed in the continuous explosions.
"Wow, what a miserable sight." Shakespeare crossed his arms and said sarcastically, "By the way, we didn't see the Master or the Black Assassin. I wonder if they were killed in the explosion."
Joan of Arc closed her eyes, then quickly opened them and let out a long sigh:
"My privilege shows that the Black Assassin is still alive. You didn't feel anything unusual, which proves that Amakusa Shiro Tokisada is still alive." (Amakusa Shiro Tokisada is not affiliated with this Holy Grail War, so Jeanne has no way of knowing his condition.)
"I see. Where are they now? I'm very interested. Their movements are closely related to the direction and ending of the story."
"It should be up there. I can feel two violent waves of magic in the sky."
"In the air? This is getting more and more interesting."
Joan of Arc pointed to the sky, and Shakespeare took out a pair of binoculars with a handheld stand from his pocket and placed them on his nose.
"Oh, I see, I see. Both the Master and the Black Assassin are better than I thought. Ah, inspiration comes to me. My brain is trembling."
With a wave of his free hand, the First Folio and its accompanying quill pen materialized and began to write automatically under Shakespeare's command.
"Red caster."
"Please do not interrupt my creation, Saint of France. I promise you that this will be a good story."
"I didn't mean to interrupt you, I just wanted you to stay away and not be affected."
"Huh?"
Hearing what Joan of Arc said, Shakespeare quickly took off his glasses and looked at her in surprise.
Joan of Arc did not look at him, but just stared at the Holy Grail calmly.
"The damage to the Greater Holy Grail is less than I expected. We don't have much time left. Caster, if you don't want to stop me, please leave here. This will give us more time."
"Ruler, do you want to—"
"I will complete the tasks he did not complete. This is my job."
Jeanne drew her sword.
The silver sword awarded to Joan of Arc by the Church of St. Catherine is a very good weapon, but Joan of Arc has never used it once.
Now, she finally used the sword, not against the Greater Holy Grail, but against herself.
The blade cut across her palm, but there was no trace of pain on Joan's face, and she didn't care about the blood oozing out. She just knelt down, put her hands together, and closed her eyes.
The overly graceful posture reminded Shakespeare of an act of martyrdom.
"The heavens are the glory of the Lord, and the sky is the work of His hand."
"Please wait a moment, Miss Jeanne."
Just as Joan of Arc began to pray, a voice rang out from the altar.
Then, pure white spirit particles appeared out of thin air, condensing into a figure that was so delicate that it didn't look like a human.