Edward floated in the air with Ea before him. He was enclosed in a box, and his body looked strange, often showing double; it was as if time was rapidly moving. He opened his eyes at dawn and exhaled before the sun fully set.
"The real Ea should involve certain [Authorities], which complicates things given Akasha's existence." He did not know much about the use of [Authorities] or rules in this universe, but he knew even if his natural body was here, he could not use his rules.
And that's because Akasha, a way more powerful version of the Universe Will, does not allow anyone to meddle in the rules of this world, even if they meet the Willpower requirement. According to Edward's theory, completing the rule involves interacting or accessing the Root or Akasha's core, so True Magics should involve the Rules.
Time passed, and everyone woke up. Edward approached them after Tohsaka and Sakura had breakfast and were ready for school.
"A night has passed. You should be prepared to deal with Saber."
Tohsaka said nothing, so Edward explained, "As long as two servants remain, Gilgamesh can forcefully summon the grail. We don't have time for your indecisiveness."
"I'm not indecisive. I just did not want to say anything before her," said Tohsaka, motioning to Sakura, who continued to eat her food with her head lowered.
"It's not like anything will happen to Shirou. He was never supposed to partake in this battle in the first place."
Edward did go to school with them, but in the afternoon, he accompanied them to Shirou's house. They somehow agreed to an amiable fight and found a place to fight.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Saber rushed in a zigzag pattern, trying to evade these energy blasts, but it was useless. They were fast and moved irregularly. Furthermore, Archer had surrounded the place with invisible magic traps. Saber suddenly felt something and moved to the right. The place where she was suddenly released a fire inferno; it was like a volcano erupting.
Saber thought she had evaded this trap, but there was another. When she landed, vines came out of nowhere to bind her legs. She swiftly cut them with her swords, but Archer had already fired two golden energy beams.
Her battle instinct activated, and she blacked one, but the other penetrated her armor.
"Why don't you forfeit and end this pointless fight," said Edward.
"Never," replied Saber, half-kneeling on the floor and supporting herself with Excalibur. "Archer, you don't need the grail, so why are you continuing to fight?"
"I need it to build me a real body."
"I know you can create a body on your own."
"It's not that simple." Winning the grail is important to Edward because that's the only way he can become a full "citizen" of this world and not be restricted by Akasha.
"I thought you, of all people, should understand my desire."
"Your approach is wrong from the beginning," replied Edward. "Your pursuit should have been the second True Magic, which would have allowed travel between parallel dimensions. In this infinite cosmos, there is definitely a dimension where Camelot still exists or one where it's still in its infancy. You could have become an adviser to your younger self and prevented her from making the same mistake."
"Maybe you're right, or maybe it would not be the same if I walked that path," replied Saber, who slowly stood up. "Regardless, now that I still have an opportunity, I won't miss it. Let's go — Excalibur."
Saber's swords finally became visible before releasing an intense light. Edward calmly watched everything as a tear in the void appeared behind him, showing a massive cannon. The cannon fired intense light energy, blocking Saber's last desperate attack.
Once everything subsided, Edward was intact, but Saber's armor was gone, and she had many injuries. She was barely holding on.
"Saber," yelled Shirou, rushing to her side.
"Master, I'm sorry."
"No, I should be the one apologizing. I was too weak to help."
"No, you did your best, and that's all that matters," replied Saber, her voice becoming weaker with each passing second. As she slowly dissipated, Saber remembered everything she experienced. Although this grail was short, she still experienced warmth from her master. So, she dissipated with a smile on.
Edward looked in the distance. There was only one last piece to gain true freedom while accomplishing his primary goal of coming to this world. He left with Tohsaka while Sakura left to ensure her senpai was alright.
A few days later, Edward became invisible with Tohsaka to infiltrate the Einzibern family. As they had expected, Gilgamesh attacked Illya and Berserker. Illya is a homunculus created to be the vessel of the grail. So, Gilgamesh plans to kill Berserker and forcibly strip the grail from her body.
Edward had to be extra careful not to be detected by Gilgamesh's Clairvoyant Eyes. So, he used all his Anti-Divination and Anti-Detection Spells to watch the battle from afar.
Berserker was being massacred to save his master. His real identity was Hercules, and his Noble Phantasm prevented him from dying unless he was killed 12 times based on his 12 labors. Still, this ability was useless for Gilgamesh as he used his Gate of Babylon to bully Berserker. Even though the latter defied the odds and actually lived for a 13th life, it did not change the final outcome.
Bang!
A shield manifested to block the spear attacking Illya. Then, a white light enveloped her, and she disappeared.
"Bastard. It's you again," growled Gilgamesh.
"Yes, and it's time to finish things between us." Edward appeared with Tohsaka and Illya
"So, finally willing to face me? You're not going to run away again."
"Take care of her," he said to Tohsaka before walking toward Gilgamesh. Tohsakae held his arm, "You'll win, right?"
"Of course," he replied, smiling before patting her head. He looked at his opponent, "Netheril, it's time to shine again."
He immediately activated his Noble Phantasm, encasing him and Gilgamesh into a Reality Marble.
"Is this the legendary Netheril? It's so much more beautiful than I anticipated," said Gilgamesh as he saw the beautiful city floating in the distance. "I cannot wait for it to be mine."
Edward did not say anything but activated the Golem Legions, sending them to attack Gilgamesh and all the cannons in the city. Gilgamesh activated his Gate of Babylon to its highest ability, annihilating all the legions.
He summoned a golden book, and with it in his hand, Gilgamesh began spamming powerful spells. However, he was soon outmatched because Edward could use a similar tactic as him with his Mystic Codes.
Without hesitation, Gilgamesh summoned Ea and the Chains of Heaven. Ea released an energy wave that destroyed all the legions. Meanwhile, the chain headed to Edward, trying to seal them.
'An awakening, Ea? That's not enough,' thought Edward. 'And I won't give you room to breathe.' He released hundreds of spells to block the chains while the city continued a toggling battle with Ea.
Then, he activated his final trump card — the Void Cannon.
Boom!
The cannon was powerful, but it was still insufficient to overwhelm Ea. Luckily, its job was to distract Gilgamesh. A chain suddenly appeared behind and pierced the King of Heroes' arm. The worst part is the thing contained an extremely powerful and vile curse to ensure he was immobilized.
"Release me, you mongrel," screamed Gilgamesh.
"You could have easily won this battle had you used Ea's full powers," said Edward. "Unfortunately, your overinflated ego made you believe only one opponent was ever worthy of you using your full strength — your old friend, Enkidu."
"Stop talking nonsense and release me."
Edward ignored him. He used the floating city to cast the most powerful Sealing Spell he was capable of in this body to capture Ea and the Chains of Heaven. Then, he walked to Gilgamesh and ripped his eyes from their sockets.
"These would be perfect gifts for Luna," he muttered.
