Avalon.
Inside the tower, time was like a still lake.
A silver-haired man in a white magus robe sat before the window. His deep violet eyes—reflecting all things in the world—had lost focus in this moment, distracted.
Merlin, the Magus of Flowers.
Even now he felt like something extraordinary, and he had never expected things to end in such failure.
To be… easily killed by a human magus.
Not by a Noble Phantasm—just by magecraft and force, killed before he could even analyze the other party's identity or origin.
—And despite that ending, he had been watching all along.
Even so, it was still a wonderful sensation.
"Merlin, your heartbeat is a little irregular… That's truly rare."
In that instant, a sharp voice—arrogant by nature—rang directly into the dreamer's heart.
Merlin snapped out of his trance and looked toward the corner of the tower.
In the shadows, a massive, beautiful lionlike beast as white as snow reclined with elegant ease. Its long, soft mane flowed like moonlight, its beastly eyes calmly watching him.
A Beast can have multiple candidates, but only one can be Grand upon the highest throne.
The magical beast before him was a Beast comparable to the Koyanskaya of Beast IV…
Fou—also called Cath Palug.
His evil came from the instincts of living things: to grow without limit by comparing and competing with others.
He continued to use surrounding life—especially humans—as objects of comparison, growing stronger by toppling them.
Hearing Fou's words, Merlin blanked for a moment, then said quietly.
"So you mean I'm panicking?"
"A person without emotion, without mood swings… panicking?"
"What an amusing joke."
Just then…
Thinking of that man from earlier, Merlin couldn't help frowning.
"Fou, I want to ask you something."
Fou stood and walked to the window, gazing out through the pane that led to the human world.
"Let me guess… You want to ask about Beast IV?"
Merlin's smile grew even more unreadable.
"After being with me so long, you've gotten smarter—"
Before he could finish, Fou's voice carried a faint solemnity.
"Because the comparison I rule has been covered over by another sin of the same origin."
A sinister silence fell over the tower.
After a while, Merlin's slightly dry voice sounded again.
"…What do you mean?"
"Yes."
Fou nodded gently.
"The Dark Koyanskaya… has taken that throne."
…
It was an intense sorrow.
Since her birth, she had never experienced such an emotion.
Light Koyanskaya understood the human system, knew how to use resources and information with maximum efficiency, and could command all beasts, monsters, and fantasy species on this planet…
The Dark Koyanskaya possessed the most primal force of catastrophe.
The union of light and darkness allowed her to rise to the supreme throne of Beast IV in the truest sense—something that should have been filled with joy.
But…
She lifted her gaze and looked forward.
The cold Siberian wind swept over frozen earth, bringing biting chill. Her long, sakura-colored hair whipped wildly.
The world—pushed to collapse by a civil war between two beasts—had already recovered to its original state.
Even the Counter Force's actions, which should have continued to move and cast down Grands, had suddenly ended.
The sun symbolizing the Counter Force quietly vanished, as if it had suddenly remembered something urgent and hastily taken its first step away.
The half-finished Light Koyanskaya might still have been cornered…
But now, this situation was no longer suitable for continued battle.
A complete Beast—within her domain—even if the Counter Force summoned multiple Grand Heroic Spirits, it would be hard to form a crusade. Much less here.
In this new world, Izaya floated quietly in midair—a spirit body formed of nearly transparent particles of light.
He flickered slightly within the ether flowing through the air, as if he might vanish into nothing in the next moment.
His body and his life had been completely burned out—
As a sacrifice.
"So this is what 'death' feels like?"
Izaya looked down at his almost transparent hand and murmured.
At that moment, Koyanskaya's figure quietly appeared before him.
Her black-and-white dress perfectly outlined a mature, thrilling figure; her elegant, enchanting posture was the most perfect and alluring posture human civilization could produce.
Behind her, nine enormous tails—the symbol of a Beast—swayed slowly like divine wings, moving in an unparalleled rhythm of harmony.
Yet now her face was full of anger, golden eyes fixed on the man before her.
"Are you insane…? Why would you do something like this?!"
But that anger didn't last long.
The next moment, she saw the man's spirit body reach out and gently stroke her face.
Yet those extremely illusory, translucent fingers passed through her beautiful cheek without resistance.
They produced only a few faint ripples in the ether.
The fury that had been raging stopped abruptly.
Light Koyanskaya's eyes went still as she stared blankly at the phantom palm passing through her cheek.
There was no… tactile sensation.
Because he could no longer touch this world.
"Anyway, I can't keep living, so I might as well do something at the end."
Izaya withdrew his hand and smiled quietly.
"By the way, I'm talking right now. Can the Dark Koyanskaya hear me?"
After the perfect fusion of light and darkness, she was both Light Koyanskaya and the Dark Koyanskaya. Their souls could transform at will, if they wished.
But he didn't know whether the Dark Koyanskaya was peeking right now.
The next moment, her temperament subtly changed. The sharp gaze that belonged to civilization disappeared, replaced by a beastlike coldness.
"What is it?"
She asked expressionlessly, voice lowered.
Izaya smiled.
"Nothing. I just wanted to see you one more time."
The Dark Koyanskaya said nothing, only lowered her eyes as if trying to calm herself.
Then Izaya suddenly thought of something.
"Come to think of it, I gave you a name, but it seems you never had one from the start."
"But this time… I can't think of a name."
"That's fine…"
"You are one of light and dark. The white one will be called Light Koyanskaya from now on, and the black one will be…"
Seeing the Dark Koyanskaya unconsciously look up, he smiled brightly.
"You can be called Dark Koyanskaya."
"From here on, I'll be gone. Don't fight all the time, okay? You're always fiercely stupid, but your pride is actually your own…"
"…Dazzling."
"Finally—"
The black-haired man smiled, extending his hand gently.
"Look at the world properly with your own eyes…"
[Light Koyanskaya's heart pounded violently. A powerful sorrow surged in her chest. In despair she stepped forward to grab your hand, but before her fingertips could touch—your body shattered completely, becoming warm particles of light that dissolved into the earth.]