The sea at night, surrounded by a terrifying silence. On it, Eden
absentmindedly gazed at the moon and slowly began to tell the story
that led to the present.
[…When the premise changes, the essence also changes. Perhaps, was
your second question already answered?]
[Y- Yes, my second question is… Shallow Vernal-sama should have had
prepared the Summoning Magic Circle 19000 years ago, just a thousand
years after we had invaded the God Realm. I didn't really understand
her motives thus far.]
[I don't know what Shallow Vernal's true motives were. If you're fine
with assumptions, should we talk about it?]
[Yes, please.]
For the sake of her beloved Kaito, Alice wants to gather as much
information as possible. Thus, she urged Eden to continue with a
serious expression on her face.
[It's just a guess but…"Shallow Vernal's purpose has changed once". No,
I guess it would be more appropriate to say that it had transformed.]
[…Transformed?]
[Yes, when she first created this world, I think Shallow Vernal was lost…
bewildered. Until then, she was just a phenomenon; she had no such
thing as a heart. No, she may already have a heart back then, but she
was not aware of it. To put it another way, when she first created this
world, Shallow Vernal's heart was that of a newborn baby.]
[I see, so Shallow Vernal-sama was bewildered about her own heart,
right?]
[That's just a guess though. Shallow Vernal herself didn't know what to
do after she created the world. For this reason, she created a half-body
of herself… and had thrown the decision over to her. But then,
something happened that transformed Shallow Vernal's mental state,
and she accepted that she had a "heart of her own".]
[…That should be the battle that took place twenty thousand years ago.]
Eden's guess was probably right. Shallow Vernal was confused about
the existence of her heart, and left it up to Kuromueina to decide what
to do.
But in that battle against Kuromueina, Shallow Vernal admitted that she
had a heart. Yes, that's where it all began.
[And with that transformation in her purpose, what Shallow Vernal
sought next… is Miyama Kaito. I don't know what future she saw, but
this premise is the most important one.]
[...…]
[Have you ever wondered about it? Why is it that Shallow Vernal had an
"abnormal" attachment to Miyama Kaito in the first place… She was so
attached to Miyama Kaito in a way that couldn't be explained by mere
interest.]
[…That's certainly something I should have thought about.]
Alice is also one of the few people in the world who has gained Shallow
Vernal's interest. However, Shallow Vernal isn't particularly attached to
Alice. At best, she remembers her name.
That's also the same case for the First Hero, Kujou Hikari… In other
words, Shallow Vernal clearly has a special interest to Kaito…
[And that's probably as it should be. If my guess is correct, she had been
seeking the being named Kaito Miyama for nearly 20000 years. The
future is always bending, always changing, but it can also be "fixed if
several factors are aligned".Perhaps, Shallow Vernal made a lot of
movements so that Miyama Kaito will be invited into this world.]
[To make the future of Kaito-san coming to this world definite…?]
[Yes, if you think about it on that premise, each of the actions Shallow
Vernal made are all connected. Thinking about this, don't you think the
movements she made were strange? Shallow Vernal, who had
previously maintained non-interference in both the Demon and Human
Realm, went along with Kujou Hikari's words and surprisingly easily
agreed to the Treaty of Friendship between the three realms, even
though Kujou Hikari should have been someone that she had only heard
from the Supreme Gods.]
[!? So that's how it is… The God Realm's, no… Shallow Vernal's
agreement to the Treaty of Friendship was…]
[It was because the Treaty of Friendship is needed to bring Kaito
Miyama into this world.]
Alice's eyes widened in astonishment at what Eden had told her. I guess
that was obvious… Because what she heard was that "everything led to
Shallow Vernal"…
The Hero Summoning that brought a major change in this world, and
the Treaty of Friendship between the three realms… All of these things
happened because Shallow Vernal was seeking for the being named
Miyama Kaito.
[This is also just a guess… but with those actions, "the future where
Miyama Kaito would come to this world was confirmed". For the last
thousand years or so, Shallow Vernal must have been in a better mood
than ever. She will even attend the once-in-a-decade Festival of Heroes
so often "even if she isn't interested at all"…]
[Please wait… There's something that's bugging me. Something
incredibly important…]
[…I said it earlier. When the premise changes, the essence also
changes… Please think about it on the premise that the future of
Miyama Kaito's arrival in this world was fixed a thousand years ago.]
[S- So that's what you meant!? I- In that case… Kaito would surely be
going to be caught up in the Hero Summoning at some point. That the
Hero Summoning Magic Circle…"was bound to get out of control one
day"… B- But that means… In that case…]
Yes, Alice immediately understood where their conversation led them.
The essence of the story, revolving around the being named Miyama
Kaito… and the "miscalculation" of the God named Shallow Vernal…
[Yes, the future of Miyama Kaito's arrival in this world was already
fixed. All Shallow Vernal had to do was wait. She was in a good mood…
but there are some people who intervened in the future that Shallow
Vernal wanted… beings that have "turned the clocks forward".]
[…Because Kuro-san can nullify Shallow Vernal-sama's power… She had
unintentionally changed the future that Shallow Vernal-sama had her
eyes on…]
[Exactly. I guess that's probably the most important part. This series of
stories that Shallow Vernal started, is modified by Kuromueina, and
finally converges back to Shallow Vernal.]
[......]
[I wonder how Shallow Vernal felt with this turn of events? I don't know
what kind of future it was that she was aiming for and was trying to
make. But the only thing I can say is that… This "isn't the future that
Shallow Vernal wanted"… That's why she started making great
movements.]
Hearing the words Eden nonchalantly said, Alice was just dumbfounded
and lost for words.
A story of cogwheels that derailed, a future different than the one she
sought… And Epilogue, who had set out to change that…
Shallow Vernal, who can even be called the pinnacle of this world,
stands before Kaito with her unfathomable attachment towards him.
What will the match between Shallow Vernal and Kaito be like… What
is it that Shallow Vernal is seeking with her actions…
Slowly, the stage began to change its aspect, leading towards its final
chapter