Chapter Fifteen: The Tale of Kaguya (Black Zetsu Edition)
At this moment... How could Emiya Shirou be left to quietly ponder? How could Kurozetsu, having lived for over a thousand years, not know what to do?
When someone encounters information too overwhelming to accept, it’s easy for their mind to spiral into wild thoughts, even imagining conspiracies that threaten to destroy the world. At that time... no matter what further evidence they receive in the future, the idea of a world-ending conspiracy might cling to their mind, refusing to be shaken off.
Kurozetsu was acutely aware... it truly harbored a plot to destroy the world.
Especially since Emiya Shirou was originally from the ancient era and knew a great deal already. If left to his own wild imaginings, he might stumble upon the truth behind Kaguya Ōtsutsuki’s disappearance.
It had to seize this opportunity to implant its own thoughts into Emiya Shirou’s mind, to make him calmly accept his identity, fully embrace the so-called truth it fed him, and be completely brainwashed by this implanted truth.
“Listen to me until I finish.”
Kurozetsu felt the words it spoke were strangely familiar.
Indeed, they were somewhat familiar.
Because Emiya Shirou seemed to have just said those very words.
Kurozetsu thought this was truly a cycle of fate—it had no choice but to imitate Emiya Shirou’s manner and began recounting a story it had slightly fabricated and altered.
“In our time...”
“You must have heard the stories about the Divine Tree.”
“In the ancient era, the Divine Tree appeared in this world, becoming the object of humanity’s faith. Along with the Divine Tree descended Kaguya, who became the revered Maiden Goddess of humanity’s worship.”
“But...”
“What you don’t know is...”
“Even then, the people of that era were embroiled in endless strife.”
Kurozetsu strained its mind to paint its ‘mother’ in a more positive light: “The suffering people of that time prayed to Kaguya to quell the wars. Kaguya heard their prayers and used the power of the Divine Tree to bring peace to that era’s conflicts...”
“However...”
“That was not the end.”
“Even though Kaguya possessed godlike power...”
“Even though her power was as profound as your wisdom in human research, she eventually faced a powerless dilemma...”
Kurozetsu did not waste time; it had also learned some skills in communicating with humans, such as weaving Emiya Shirou into its story to evoke his empathy.
“Could it be...?”
Emiya Shirou furrowed his brow thoughtfully.
“That’s right.”
“There are too many humans in the world.”
Before Emiya Shirou could respond, Kurozetsu hurriedly spun another tale: “Kaguya wished to disperse her power—the chakra within her—seeking people like you with noble hearts to help rescue the suffering world…”
“Me?”
Emiya Shirou shook his head, refusing to accept Kurozetsu’s flattery: “I don’t have such noble character. I’m just a lucky one who happened to inherit the power of the Divine Tree’s remnants. I simply don’t want to waste this power, so I want to save the suffering world like the Maiden Goddess…”
“Don’t be modest.”
Kurozetsu resolutely refused to let Emiya Shirou decline and continued praising him: “I have wandered this world for a thousand years and have never seen a trace of anyone like you...”
“In this world...”
“People like you are incredibly rare.”
Kurozetsu sighed and, seizing this thread, continued the story: “However, Kaguya knew the influence of chakra was too great. She believed this power should not be given to the world casually, to prevent it from being used for evil...”
“Of course.”
“Noble-hearted humans are always rare...”
“Therefore, Kaguya’s plan was never smooth...”
“But...”
“This was no great obstacle for Kaguya.”
“Because Kaguya had a long life, she could live for endless years in this world, giving her enough time to find worthy bearers of chakra...”
“Caution is indeed warranted.”
Emiya Shirou nodded, seeming to agree with the Kaguya in Kurozetsu’s story: “If chakra were distributed recklessly...”
“Yes...”
Kurozetsu sighed softly and earnestly continued fabricating: “But Kaguya’s two sons did not think so...”
“Two sons!”
Emiya Shirou seemed to hear a completely new version.
“That’s right!”
Kurozetsu’s voice grew sinister: “Besides the Six Paths Sage, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, whom we know, Kaguya also had a son named Hamura Ōtsutsuki...”
“Because Kaguya’s two sons were born with chakra within them, they did not see chakra as a precious power. They thought their mother should willingly distribute chakra to the world and let humanity decide their own fate...”
Kurozetsu was evasive.
It did not speak ill of the Six Paths Sage too much.
Because the Six Paths Sage lived in the same era as Emiya Shirou.
Yet Kurozetsu knew these words were enough to stir Emiya Shirou’s displeasure toward the Six Paths Sage.
“This...”
Emiya Shirou’s brow furrowed again, seeming displeased with the approach of Kaguya’s two sons: “Carelessly distributing power that can harm the world—that’s a naive idea...”
“Indeed...”
Kurozetsu nodded in agreement and spoke softly: “Now we have seen the results of chakra being given to humanity...”
“Such naive ideas...”
“Naturally met Kaguya’s refusal.”
“Kaguya was stronger than anyone in the world, lived longer than anyone else, and with her exceptional insight and broad vision, she foresaw the outcome we witness today sooner than her two sons.”
“……”
The Maiden Goddess?
Exceptional insight, broad vision?
Could Kurozetsu really be serious?
Emiya Shirou suspected that Kurozetsu was mixing in too much personal agenda.
Yet he certainly would not interrupt now; he even feigned admiration for the Maiden Goddess Kaguya: “No wonder our people back then never forgot the Divine Tree and the Maiden Goddess who served it...”
“……”
Kurozetsu felt a bit embarrassed to respond and could only continue the story: “Regrettably, the naive sons could not understand their mother’s greatness. Kaguya, revered by the world, rarely communicated with others and did not know how to make her sons obey. Her excessive indulgence in them diminished her maternal authority...”
“The naive sons thought they knew better how to save the suffering world. Using the power granted by their mother, they launched a rebellion against her...”
“That near-world-ending catastrophe?”
Emiya Shirou’s expression suddenly changed as if recalling something.
In the ancient era, people experienced a great calamity. Even when Emiya Shirou crossed into this world, he still heard of people’s fear of that world-ending disaster.
“That’s right.”
“That was a war that nearly destroyed the world.”
Kurozetsu nodded and conveniently placed blame on the Ōtsutsuki brothers: “The two brothers, having matured, unleashed their powers for the first time...”
“They never realized how terrifying the full eruption of chakra was; a single strike could kill countless humans...”
“That was a true disaster.”
“This is precisely why Kaguya did not want the chakra power to spread.”
“If humans obtained chakra, they would inevitably use it to vie for power, causing more suffering for the world...”
“Kaguya originally did not want to use force against her sons, but she saw the world nearly destroyed by the conflict, and those who worshipped her dying in the aftermath...”
“This was a painful matter for Kaguya.”
“The people whose homes were destroyed, the innocents killed in the aftermath, and those opposing her were her two most beloved sons...”
“The Maiden Goddess was ultimately soft-hearted...”
“As a mother, she finally chose to yield in the war.”
Kurozetsu paused, looking at the engrossed Emiya Shirou with satisfaction before continuing the story’s conclusion.
“Eventually...”
“The war ended.”
“Kaguya, originally more powerful, was sealed away by her sons.”
At this point, Kurozetsu again found an excuse for the Six Paths Sage brothers, laying yet another burden on their shoulders.
“Because the brothers had limited lifespans, they feared their mother would reclaim the dispersed chakra after their deaths...”
“From then on...”
“The Maiden Goddess disappeared...”