Heaven.
It is an abstract and mysterious place. Abrahamic scripts as well as Judaism suggests that it is the final destination of man after experiencing the "Rapture". There are only vague descriptions of the said place, mostly during prophets' dreams.
The most particular one is the Prophet Isaiah who had personally seen the "true form" of angels.
In the end, it pointed out to heaven's metaphysical features as well as its vagueness.
'It's really…'
True to its description, Heaven is an all-changing place. Its scenery shifted within every glance. It'd be extremely unbearable for mortals to see it within a few seconds, which explains why prophets carefully mentioned seeing the "true form" with their bare eyes; and how angels respect Him by not looking at Him directly.
It gave a lesson on how mortals shouldn't look too much in the presence of the divine.
This specific article was highlighted more than once in the [Modern Canon], the modern magic system that encompassed everything into one.
In one glance, it looks similar to a field of grass; in the next moment, it turns into nothing but the blue sky. It cemented the concept that [Heaven] itself acted more like a transient concept than anything else.
One of the scenes that repeated the most is the white pillars that held a huge pearly gate behind me.
'The fabled Gate of Heaven…'
Thinking about their myths, one of the most popular ones is the numerous confrontation between The Lord's Right Hand and Satan. One of the memorable battles is none other than their confrontation for Moses' body right after his death.
Moses, one of the greatest prophets who freed his people from Egypt, led them to the land of flowing milk and honey (Canaan).
When he died, Satan tried to mock His authority by denying His eternal life (afterlife) and possessing Moses' dead body, in which Michael personally came to fight him. In the end, Moses' body was buried by Him.
These random thoughts were cut off by Michael's neutral voice.
"Some questions are lingering within you. If it is within my authority, I shall answer them."
"..."
To be honest, my only meeting with Angels was when I retrieved the real [Lapis ex Illis Stellis] on the gap between realms. That was also the time when I learned of the predicament faced by the spirit realm—that they are facing their own "ends". Coupled with the fact that they are heavily restricted by the laws of the physical realm, they couldn't provide their full support.
It made sense on how they couldn't even support us a little during the twilight stages of our world.
Many questions swirled over my mind, but in the end, I decided to save them up during my meeting with Him.
"The Holy Grail looked strange from the beginning. Is it really "only" the cup where the Son of God drank?"
"It is either. It is as you have said, but it is more than that. His son's blood was supposed to flow on it, yet it does not exist." Michael replied. "It is abstract, so to speak, thus it became a part of our concept itself."
Our concept…
The concept of Judaism..?
No, it's much more than that.
"The story… The spiritual belief over Him… A portion of our concept was condensed to a single grail."
…
"...Do pardon me. I was surprised for a while."
"I do not mind."
The holy grail…
The reason why it was able to perform a miracle no matter how absurd it was…
If the portion of the entire [Belief] was materialized, it was something on the same level as the completed Philosopher's Stone. Moreover, if it wasn't just the [Belief] but something else... like the world's support or interference from somewhere...
It is for such a reason that it could grant any miracles no matter how ridiculous it was. I tried to wish for its assistance to reach the Akashic Records, and the only thing that it lacked was the "energy" required to pay off such a miracle.
Perhaps these limitations were its only "flaws".
With the current amount of miracles gathered in it by converting Lapis Judaicus' energy…
It should be enough to face the end.
Since I went to Akashic Records once, the price for me to go there has been lowered as well.
I dare not say that I am fully confident against the looming end, but there's some leverage to work on at the very least.
However…
'Even they couldn't brute-force through it.'
For once, I never believed that the grail alone was enough. If it was combined with the completed Philosopher's Stone, that should be the time when it'll suffice.
After all, two Sacraments supported by innumerable legends and concepts are bound to be extremely strong.
It isn't wrong to say that these Sacraments are on the paramount of a [World] itself. The [World] itself supports them, just like during the time I attempted to reconstruct the complete Philosopher's Stone.
It was the [Akashic Records] that affirmed my idea during the fifteenth iteration.
"I have nothing more to ask."
"Mn."
Our brief walk became a silent one. Neither Sir Michael nor I initiated another conversation.
Every now and then, his true appearance showed itself within my eyes. It was quite disrespectful, hence I learned how to "stop" it after a couple of tries.
By the time he stopped walking, we were in another place.
A boundless sky filled my sight. Pillars of light are present all over the place, with its ends as far-fetching as the clouds above.
A few angels were present every now and then, but I managed to grasp their identities with one look.
'Sir Gabriel… Sir Ariel… The seven Seraphs…'
A person greeted us soon after. He is wearing the traditional clothes of his time. He looks similar to an affluent prophet… no, scratch that.
He is that prophet.
Saint Peter.
One of the most famous Saints that spread the word of God all throughout Rome. His teachings coupled with the other prophets are also the source behind Kabbalah's accumulation in my world.
"Greetings."
"Greetings."
We exchanged a simple greeting as we passed by each other. He was carrying a stone tablet engraved with some important message.
It didn't take long before we reached our destination.
He is represented by a boundless white light.
No, was it a divine flame?
Wait a minute…
Before my mind could go into overload, I followed Sir Michael's kneeling with a bow of my own.
The moment I set my eyes on Him, a voice reached out to my mind.
{Welcome, my child.}
It was indescribable. It didn't sound like a man, woman, or a mix of them. It is similar to what I have experienced before.
His words become "thoughts" in my mind. His presence is on another level. If I would compare the goddess that we met in another world…
His (Ein Sof) existence is on a whole another level.
All of a sudden, time stopped… or so it looked like.
{Confusion is born within your mind. It shall be the time to clarify everything.}
Then…
There was no then.
A single flash of light was all it took before I found myself on my previous position.
Within this single moment…
I knew everything.
*****
Gods.
Most commonly, they are the entities present within the spirit realm. They exert their influence on the living (physical) world according to their agendas.
Some gods like to spread chaos, while the others love playing with humans. There are also gods who truly care about their believers and would assist them whenever they can.
The Abrahamic God.
He is one of the strongest beings within the spirit realm. Having one of the richest "history" such as the contribution for "creating" the physical realm and governing a huge part of it through the words of the prophets, the religion connected to Him grew extremely large.
While His influence could be seen everywhere, He only directly interfered with the development of the physical world thrice.
One, the banishment of "Adam" and "Eve" from the Garden of Eve.
Two, the freedom of His people in Egypt.
Three, the descent of His Son to "save" the people of Earth.
The final one, in particular, pushed Him to make a sacrifice.
It was at a time whereas the influence of the spirit realm became weaker. People started believing in idols as "gods", thus creating man-made disastrous gods that aren't fully developed within the spirit realm.
At the same time, people became more "reliant" on the said gods. Its adverse effect could be seen within Nobu's world, whereas the moment they (Magicians) broke free from the gods, it signified a huge change for the better.
Through the sacrifice of His Son, these two crises were averted. The so-called "Age of Man" was set in this world.
That is, until the arrival of the disastrous [Ultimate Ones] on Earth.
These creatures are destined to "destroy mankind" the moment Earth "dies". The latter event is an inevitable event that will occur in the future.
Thus, the fourth and final crisis of this world came.
It wasn't as if the other gods were inactive; it's just that most of them couldn't think of a way to influence the physical world. The spiritual realm itself was heavily damaged due to the White Titan's descent, leaving gods to 'downgrade' to Divine Spirits.
Throughout the endless parallel worlds, there is only a single world line where the [Age of Man] became successful.
(A/N: The universe of Space Ishtar as well as Mysterious Heroine X.)
To fight against this final crisis…
'A blank possibility has to be made.'
Nobu thought as he exited from Heaven. He found himself back to his former place.
Surprisingly, the young girl in front of his eyes is already putting off an untold amount of murderous intents until she sees him return.
"I apologize for the abrupt disappearance."
"No… It's fine. I know it's not your fault."
As the girl was sizing up Nobu, she felt some subtle differences when he went out of Heaven.
It's akin to a man carrying a huge responsibility.
At the same time, a strange feeling emanated from him—akin to an entire concept tied down to him.
'Heaven…'
"What were you trying to say before?" He asked.
"...No, it's nothing."
Although she was annoyed due to being interrupted several times, she then realized that it'd feel embarrassing to say it out loud.
"Orion… Are you well?"
"...Yes."
The Artemis of this world looked at him with concern. She could somehow feel that something was off on him.
Nobu proceeded to talk with others until he left the Reverse Side.
Seeing the familiar surroundings of the physical realm, he heaved a deep sigh.
'Saving two worlds at once… it might be more stressful than I expected.'
The responsibility behind the Holy Grail was revealed during his meeting with Him. It was an outside variable that should enable foreign interference within this world managed by the two wills.
Through Nobu's help, he could create a new possibility—a world where the Age of Man becomes a possibility.
Coincidentally, its nature overlapped with his deal with Zelretch.
The Spider was one of the Ultimate Ones that he will face. It was the first Ultimate One that came on Earth after receiving Gaia's distress signal thousands of years in advance.
'No matter what… I should face these things one at a time.'
For now, it is time for him to conclude the mess he had started.
*****
The Great Grail War.
It was an event that spanned over three weeks. The moment Yggdmillennia announced its detachment from the Clocktower, a war between magus began.
During the third week, it was concluded through the participation of a [Third Party] who introduced himself as a [Magician].
Interestingly, the Clocktower themselves closed this matter along with its future aftermath.
As for the main culprit?
"This is good coffee. You do treat even your former enemies right, Sir Vlad."
Surrounded by the servants of the Black Faction, he came to close some loose ends (in a good way).
"Your sudden visit eludes me, but if you came without any malicious intent, then we shall welcome a guest."
A meeting between a knight and a king had begun.
*****
A/N: Apocrypha arc should end within a chapter or two. It lasted for a total of 15 or so chapters, which I think is enough for some exposition. After this, we are going to the main focus of his [Return Arc]. Yes, it is none other than him fighting against the end itself.