"Ugh~!"
This time it wasn't the black hole in her head. Right now, Artoria's eyes had turned into swirly eyes. When Ancient One stopped her magic, Artoria fell directly to the ground and began to vomit. Heaven knows how many times she had spun. Although she had stopped now, her head was still spinning, and she felt like she was going to die.
"Now you can have a good rest, Artoria."
Ancient One walked smilingly to Artoria and waved her hand, and the two appeared in the room. With a flick of her finger, the sweat and stains on Artoria's body disappeared. She was dragged from the ground to the bed by an unknown force. Looking at her masterpiece with satisfaction, Ancient One turned and left Artoria's room. Training would continue tomorrow until Artoria could master her magic power on her own.
Leaving only Artoria lying on the bed questioning her life, while the ceiling still seemed to be spinning.
"Merlin, Merlin."
Within the peaceful and serene Avalon, a series of angry female voices appeared, breaking its original tranquility. This nearly caused Merlin, who was drawing a magic circle, to slip and ruin it. He hurriedly stopped drawing the magic circle; this was no small matter. Even a one-millimeter error would mean the magic circle was as good as wasted, and the previous efforts plus the expensive materials would all be for nothing.
Wasting such materials made even him feel a bit of heartache. After stopping the magic circle drawing, Merlin focused his attention on the person who could transmit their voice into Avalon. This voice was very familiar. He thought carefully; wasn't this the willful woman from back then, the King's sister, Morgan? After all these years, this woman had actually become so powerful. Interesting.
"What is it, Morgan?"
Recalling Morgan, who had destroyed the King's great legacy for her own selfish desires, Merlin felt very helpless. It was he who had facilitated Morgan's path of magic, and it was he who had let the King's hidden danger slide. He comforted himself with the word 'fate,' but in the final analysis, he, Merlin, must be one of the reasons for the destruction of Holy Britain. He clearly knew everything but was unwilling to change it. He was just an observer and could not involve his personal feelings. Clearing his inner emotions, Merlin replied to Morgan's magic communication.
"Merlin, is Arthur still alive!"
At this moment, beneath an ancient castle, Morgan, dressed in a black gown, stood upon a massive magic circle. The pale purple magic circle set off her curvaceous figure, making her look hazy and seductive. Her face was hidden under a black veil, making it impossible to see her expression, but her tone was cold. Morgan spoke without a shred of emotion to this teacher who had once taught her.
"..."
How did she know? Why did this girl get the news so quickly? Facing Morgan's questioning, Merlin fell silent. Situated within Avalon, he couldn't come to the outside world right now. Even in parallel worlds, 'he' had no news regarding Arthur. On this timeline, King Arthur had finally reappeared, but Morgan, whose fate was closely linked with King Arthur's, had actually learned this news so quickly. This was truly a bit beyond his expectations.
"You should know the words I often said when I was teaching you magic, right, Morgan?"
He didn't answer Morgan's question directly, but in this way, he indirectly admitted that he knew the news of 'King Arthur' being alive. He directly shifted the topic.
"...Dinner's ready, Artoria."
Morgan thought about it; this guy used to shout this loudly even in his sleep. Even if her room was some distance from his, she could hear it clearly. At the time, she didn't know what it meant either. Are you going to tell me what it means now?
"Pfft! Cough cough."
He hadn't expected Morgan to say such a sentence. It reminded him of the days of being dominated by a gluttonous brat. Oh my God! Who could tell him how such a small kid could eat so much, to the point where he almost burned his beard off while grilling meat? These were truly 'wonderful' memories!
"Not that sentence. Never mind, keep listening."
"Everything in the world follows patterns that can be predicted and calculated; this is the charm of magic. magic is both the programming of the world and a part of the world's origin. But there is a kind of existence that is beyond the scope of magic's calculation, and that is..."
"Anomalies."
She didn't let Merlin continue his lecture; she certainly remembered that matter. Back then, she had been very curious about what an 'Anomaly' actually was. Why did magic have so little effect on them? Even now, she didn't understand much about this aspect. Her magic possessed powerful destructive force, but in terms of magical knowledge, Merlin and the bald woman who had warned her back then were both stronger than her. After all, for so many years, she had only researched magic related to resurrection from Death and hadn't delved much into other areas.
"Yes, an Anomaly."
"And your sister, King Arthur, Artoria Pendragon, is an Anomaly. When I met her back then, I couldn't see the timeline being able to linger on her for even a moment. She seemed like an independent entity beyond the world, growing up on her own—this is something I still cannot understand even now."
"The absence of a timeline should mean she doesn't exist, yet she does. This is an Anomaly. Her decisions can change the course of any future, yet she made her choice."
At this point, Merlin fell silent. As a multi-dimensional existence, he felt astonished for the first time. She clearly could have continued to live, and she clearly seemed to know, yet she chose to follow the arrangements of fate all the same.
"I understand."
Hearing this, Morgan also fell silent. She hadn't expected the situation to be like this.
"Morgan, I advise you to let it go! It's best not to get close to the current Arthur, because they might not be the same person."
The hope that had just risen was instantly shattered. Morgan felt a bit dizzy, her legs so weak she could only kneel on the ground. Without answering Merlin, Morgan simply remained in quiet silence.
"Alright, Morgan, take care of yourself. I need to send the Holy Sword out of Avalon. Don't do anything foolish."
Merlin, who had intended to cut off the communication, thought of excalibur. This sword belonged to King Arthur. He hoped Morgan wouldn't see a stranger holding the sword and suddenly lose her head and kill the person—that would be bad. This person was just someone he had entrusted to deliver the sword; he hoped they wouldn't fall into danger because of his mistake.
That young man is a good kid, very full of a sense of justice. He should be able to deliver the Holy Sword to Arthur's side, right?
Hearing this news, a flash of murderous intent crossed Morgan's eyes. Who dared touch her sister's sword? Merlin, you bastard, you actually dare to send the Holy Sword out to someone else? She, Morgan, would be the first to refuse. Morgan didn't answer Merlin and unilaterally cut off the communication.
Walking alone through the empty castle, Morgan fell into sorrow once again. How could matters of the heart be let go just by saying so? Merlin, you don't understand love.
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