Inside the Reality Marble...
Iskandar continued his relentless charge.
"You have gathered dreams together and set your sights upon conquest. That passion is worthy of praise."
As Iskandar and his army drew ever closer, Gilgamesh finally made his move.
He extended one hand.
A golden ripple spread across the air above his palm, from which descended an oddly shaped golden short sword resembling a key.
It was the Key to the Gate of Babylon.
Among the countless Noble Phantasms stored within his treasury, it allowed him to instantly retrieve whichever one he desired.
Ordinarily, Gilgamesh could summon any Noble Phantasm directly so long as he had already decided upon it.
But as a gesture of respect toward Iskandar...
He chose to unlock his treasury with the key itself.
It was, in his eyes, a more fitting ceremony.
Grasping the golden key, Gilgamesh continued,
"But, warriors..."
"You must understand one truth."
"Dreams... are destined to end when one awakens."
He planted the golden key-sword upright before him.
With a slight twist of his wrist, the weapon began to rearrange itself like an intricate mechanical puzzle.
When the transformation was complete—
Countless crimson pathways spread upward from the blade, weaving together into an immense inverted pyramid.
At the same time...
It resembled a colossal World Tree, its branches stretching endlessly until they seemed to cover the entire sky.
"That's...!"
Both Iskandar and Waver were left awestruck by the magnificent sight.
With a mere thought from Gilgamesh, one crimson branch illuminated.
Following the labyrinthine network of glowing pathways downward, the light reached his hand in an instant.
The golden key vanished.
In its place floated a sphere of radiant golden light.
Within it rested the Noble Phantasm he had chosen.
Holding the sphere aloft in his right hand, Gilgamesh calmly finished what he had begun to say.
"And that..."
"...is why it is inevitable that I stand in the path of your conquest."
The golden sphere dissolved.
Slowly emerging from within was a weapon of overwhelming mystery and majesty.
It settled into Gilgamesh's grasp.
A golden hilt shaped like a spear.
A black cylindrical blade engraved with crimson patterns that seemed capable of rending the world itself, creating spatial fractures wherever they passed.
It was the supreme Noble Phantasm of the King of Heroes—
The Sword of Rupture, whose destructive power rivaled—or even surpassed—that of the Holy Sword of the Planet.
Ea, the Sword of Rupture.
"Come then, King of Conquerors."
"I shall show you the end of your endless dream."
"And I will personally teach you..."
"...the laws that govern this world."
As Gilgamesh's fighting spirit surged higher, the three segmented cylinders of Ea began rotating in opposite directions.
Scarlet spirals of compressed wind spread outward.
The pressure alone was enough to tear at the fabric of the Reality Marble.
From the very instant it awakened...
The foundations of the world began to tremble.
Seeing this, Iskandar's expression became solemn.
He knew perfectly well that Ea was the natural nemesis of Ionioi Hetairoi.
Yet...
He never slowed.
Because—
There are times when knowing something cannot be done and choosing not to try...
And knowing it cannot be done yet charging ahead anyway...
May lead to exactly the same outcome.
But courage and cowardice...
Were never choices to begin with.
Because—
"The world belongs to the truly brave!"
Iskandar roared.
The Ionioi Hetairoi answered with fearless determination.
"Rider...!"
Ever since Gilgamesh had drawn Ea, Waver had remained silent.
Now, unable to hold himself back any longer, he raised his head and shouted with every ounce of strength he possessed,
"I'm not afraid of you!!!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"That's exactly it!"
Iskandar laughed with heartfelt satisfaction.
"Waver Velvet!"
"At this very moment..."
"You have become..."
"A true hero!"
"It's coming!"
The golden king.
The crimson radiance.
The blinding light grew ever brighter.
Iskandar shouted his warning.
"Then awaken, Ea!"
Gilgamesh raised the Sword of Rupture high above his head.
"The stage worthy of you has already been prepared."
"King of Conquerors..."
"Behold!"
"Enuma Elish!"
The crimson spiral of compressed wind was the very embodiment of the legend of rending the world apart.
Gilgamesh swung Ea forward without emotion.
He did not need to aim.
For the world itself was Ea's target.
In the next instant—
BOOM!!
The golden desert split apart.
Pitch-black spatial fissures carved through the land.
The crimson storm scattered what should have been an endless sea of sand, exposing the barren bedrock beneath.
The charge of the Ionioi Hetairoi was shattered alongside it.
Countless Heroic Spirits, still sprinting toward their king's enemy, fell helplessly into bottomless voids.
There was no possibility of resistance.
No chance to recover.
Only annihilation.
"Boy!"
"Hold on tight!"
Around them echoed the cries and final shouts of countless soldiers.
Yet Iskandar never once looked back upon that hellish scene.
He continued charging forward.
Carrying with him the resolve of every warrior in his army.
Until the very last moment...
He refused to stop.
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