......And thus, the battle ended.
One who had wished for warfare to pervade the earth is now gone.
At the hands of someone who, like him,
had been no one in particular.
What the victor was awarded.
Who the survivor was.
Whether the omnipotent wish-granting device was in truth sufficient for the fulfillment of desires.
…...The one who knows the answers to those, now silently dissolves.
The
that reworks the future
according to the
of the one who acquires it.
That function is no more.
The Moon Cell Automaton has changed its very system of existence.
In acquiescence to the all too human desires of Kishinami Hakuno,
it has terminated its connection with the earth.
Good night―――I hear the sound of eyes closing.
Sleep, now―――I hear the sound of lights fading.
…...Please, rest in peace.
The observation apparatus returns to its original state, a machine lost in dreams.
―――and thus, everything came to an end―――
“No, it should not be so.
Have you lost your wits, Moon Cell?
It makes no sense for the indisputable victor to be erased!
If you say you have no use for that man,
then I shall have him!”
Brilliant light that seems to pierce through my closed eyelids.
I hear the tumultuous bustle of a million lives.
“So we’ve arrived at last.
I’d tried it out since it’s supposedly instantaneous,
but it would seem that jump drives do not quite live up to their name.
Well, it matters not. This place is just what I’d specified.
Wake now, Hakuno.
How long do you plan on sleeping?”
Obeying the voice, I open my eyes to see―――-
I open my eyes to see, literally, a whole new world before me.
At the top of a lofty, monumental tower I stand,
at an altitude of some 600 meters.
Below, frenetic flurries of brilliant light dance in discord.
What I had initially took to be a shimmering ocean were, in fact, the lights of sentient activity.
A golden city, expanding out as far as the eye can see.
Highways of spirit particles streaming through the sky.
I see, this is a port.
I instinctively recognized this place to be an airport.
This must be the control tower, then.
In this moment, I behold before me an unknown world brimming with light―――
“Hmph. How very dull of you. You don’t seem all that surprised.
And here I was hoping for you to be so shocked as to lose your balance and plunge straight down to the ground....”
And my Servant, as terrible as ever.
To make myself clear, it’s not that I’m calm.
It’s just that this has sailed right over the realm of surprise into utter incomprehensibility.
I had survived to become the victor of the Holy Grail War.
Entering the core of the Moon Cell, I had settled every issue,
and was disintegrated as the price.
And yet.
And yet.
I was rudely awakened to find myself smack in the middle of some outrageous sci-fi world.
Honestly, I’d like some praise for not passing out right here and now.
No, more importantly, explain.....!
Where is this, and what happened?!
Also, why the heck are you half-naked?!
“This place?
This is another virtual world. Not SE.RA.PH.,
but the network of another planet.
The Moon Cell said that it could not accept you,
and that it would delete you no matter what, you see.
So I abandoned it and flew out on impulse,
deciding to settle for any planet with sentient beings who place an emphasis on expenditure and advancement.
Well―――indeed, we’ve ended up some 1500 light years from Earth,
but you’ll have to make some allowances.
It is a mere triviality when compared with the scenery!”
Hahahahaha, the King of Heroes laughs merrily.
Uh.....another planet?
Flew out on impulse?
1500 light years away? Where’s that, Orion?!
“No, is it not somewhere before that, rather?
Look at the sky.
Do you not see a nebula shaped like a horse’s head?”
Forget the horse’s head!
L-L-Look at what you’ve done, you―――!
“Now, don’t rejoice so. You make even me embarrassed.
Besides, were you content with how matters ended?
You mean to say that you would rather have dissipated complacently?
That’s......well, it’s as he says.
At the time I’d resolved that there was no other alternative,
but to tell the truth, I really hadn’t wanted to disappear.
But―――I thought that would just be asking for too much―――
“I see no reason why one can’t ask for however much one wishes.
I, for one, was not satisfied.
In addition,
there’s one thing that you lack.
I thought I’d tell you.”
Something that I lack......?
Not experience, or maturity.....?
“Do you not see?
The joy of learning the new.
The instinct that sets the heart aflutter in excitement when facing the unknown.
The entertainment that enlivens one’s existence―――
that is to say, something called ‘pleasure.’”
Spreading his arms wide, Gilgamesh indicates the city below.
A brand new world awaits there.
A world I’ve yet to see.
A future ahead of me, where I can push on and strive and run to my heart’s content, free of all constraints.
“You had quite the talent for worrying over matters,
but zilch for enjoying them. That won’t do at all.
Here in this alien world, like it or not,
you will undoubtedly come to know of the joy of living, the meaning of having been born.
After all, this is a new frontier even for me.
It’s impossible to not feel elated.”
With a grin,
Gilgamesh holds out his hand.
Though that grin of his is as callous as ever,
it’s filled with the exuberance of a pioneer.
This time the hand is not to shake, but rather an invitation to go forth together.
―――I suppress a heartfelt sigh of exasperation.
Though I have no doubt I’ll be objecting in plenty later,
right now I can’t think of a single complaint.
For, as he says, before my eyes lies the “future”;
that which supersedes all else.
“That’s the spirit.
Then let us dive into a new journey.
Our conquest is the sea of stars.
We shall sample the joys that humanity’ll one day learn of, Master!”
I take the outstretched hand, nodding to the words of my partner,
who’s acting as high and mighty as always;
when really, here in this new world
he too is just some nameless level 1, the smallest of fry.
―――This is the final page of these
.
Even now, the future continues to hasten on and on. Even now, humanity continues to reach farther and farther still.
Aiming for the “end” that it will one day arrive at.
The journey of the Master who’d contracted with the anomalous Heroic Spirit
is truly on the verge of beginning, right here and now.
…...And so I make my wish.
Please, let the journey of the mighty king come to an end
before all his ridiculous demands leave me utterly exhausted―――
Originally Posted by Ossan99
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“You may as well say that it’s nothing at all.”
“Nothing cries more loudly of the transience of the world and the fleetingness of life than an empty vault.
“What? You mean to say that you don’t have another repository?
“You see――― Hassan hassan’t a penny to his name! 
“Very well, miserable one.
