Following closely behind Tohsaka Zouken, Tohsaka Sakura couldn't help but look around curiously at everything in the Tohsaka household.
As a magician, and even more so as an immortal who had lived for over five hundred years,
Tohsaka Zouken was naturally not short of money.
He was even richer than the Tohsaka family, who served as the guardians of the Winterwood City's spiritual vein.
This could be seen from the living conditions of Tohsaka Shinji in the original storyline.
As such, the Tohsaka family's mansion was larger than imaginable.
It was almost the size of a dozen Tohsaka family villas.
Tohsaka Sakura, with her little short legs, had to run to keep up with Tohsaka Zouken.
Passing through a deep corridor, the girl arrived at a secret room.
Inside was a structure resembling an altar, appearing sacred yet somewhat eerie.
On the side of the altar, there was a summoning circle etched.
Tohsaka Sakura dared not speak, only quietly observing.
“Are you curious about what this is for?”
Perhaps sensing the girl's emotions beside him, Tohsaka Zouken turned his head with a smile and asked.
However, instead of calming her, his smile only made her more frightened!
The secret room was already dimly lit, very dark.
Combined with Tohsaka Zouken's terrifying old face, it was almost as scary as a horror movie scene.
The girl was so frightened that she backed away, almost falling to the ground.
Tohsaka Zouken: “................”
Tohsaka Zouken was speechless.
Was I really that scary?
If it was Tohsaka Shinji who was scared, he would only find it laughable.
But who could have known that Tohsaka Sakura was his chosen sacrificial object?
There was no other way.
He could only coax her.
He helped Tohsaka Sakura up, exercising the utmost patience. He first comforted the girl, who was still a little scared.
When her emotions completely stabilized, he spoke: “This altar is a sacred object that I use to offer sacrifices to the divine, Sakura. You needn't be afraid.”
“The divine is watching over you. All misfortune will stay away, unable to approach you.”
In the Fate world, the divine truly exists.
Some of them are tendrils of the Earth's will, while others are immigrants.
For example, the Greek mechani-gods.
Every single one of them is an extraterrestrial.
However, as the primordial magic faded, the age of gods passed, and all the deities entered the Sea of Stars.
Legends about the gods gradually turned into myths in the eyes of ordinary people.
But for magicians, the existence of the gods is no secret.
Tohsaka Sakura naturally also knew about such knowledge.
What the girl was curious about wasn't the fact that Tohsaka Zouken worshipped a certain god, and even built an altar.
She was curious about...................
“Grandpa, but haven't the divine beings in the Sea of Stars all gone? Can they really see Sakura?”
“Of course!”
Tohsaka Zouken said without hesitation, facing Tohsaka Sakura's doubt: “The divine will certainly watch over Sakura, because you are my chosen, the priestess I will offer to the divine!”
“Priestess?”
Tohsaka Sakura tilted her head, a big question mark appearing on her small head.
But..................
Didn't father say that I should come here to inherit the Tohsaka family's magic inscription?
Why did I become a priestess?
“Sakura, you must remember. The so-called gods in this world are all mere false gods! Because the true god has not yet descended, this group of false gods has the opportunity to steal the divine throne!”
“When the great All-Seeing One descends their gaze upon you, this world will welcome a true god!”
Noticing that his overly fervent tone might scare Sakura, Tohsaka Zouken quickly adjusted his mood and regained his usual calmness.
He crouched down, looking at Tohsaka Sakura at eye level, and said with sincerity: “Learn how to become a qualified priestess and serve the great god. From this moment on, this is your mission, understand, Sakura?”
Although she still didn't understand why Tohsaka Zouken said that the divine beings in the Sea of Stars were all just “false gods”,
Young Tohsaka Sakura didn't have enough knowledge to refute him.
She dared not refute.
She just nodded vigorously, silently memorizing the title "All-Seeing One" in her heart: “I understand, grandpa. Sakura will definitely become a qualified priestess!”
“That's good.”
Tohsaka Zouken stood up satisfied, taking Tohsaka Sakura to tour the entire altar.
He walked ahead, patiently explaining: “But Sakura, you're still too young to shoulder the responsibility of serving the divine. So, grandpa plans to find you a helper.”
“Helper?”
“Sakura, do you know why your father, Tohsaka Tokiomi, was so eager to have you adopted into the Tohsaka family?”
“Because father..............no, because Tohsaka-san wants me to inherit the Tohsaka family's magic inscription, right grandpa?”
Tohsaka Sakura asked tentatively.
For some reason, she felt that things weren't as simple as she imagined.
As expected, Tohsaka Zouken gave a more comprehensive explanation.
“The Holy Grail War.”
“This is a large-scale magical ritual jointly created by the Tohsaka family, the Tohsaka family, and the Einzbern family!”
“The victor will raise the omnipotent Holy Grail, go to the Root, and realize all the dreams of the magicians! In other words, those who fail will be killed by other magicians participating in the ritual! It is a very cruel ritual. Only those who become the ultimate victor are eligible to survive!”
“And Tohsaka Tokiomi is one of the participants in the fourth Holy Grail War!”
The Holy Grail War?!
Father, he actually participates in such a dangerous magical ritual???
Young Tohsaka Sakura had never been explicitly aware of what her father was doing.
Her pupils trembled, and she vaguely saw Tohsaka Tokiomi's demise!
This is...............
What?
Suddenly, an image flashed through her mind - Tohsaka Tokiomi was backstabbed to death by his good disciple, Kotomine Kirei, using the gem sword as a graduation gift!
Tohsaka Sakura hugged her head, her whole body trembling as she collapsed to the ground, her eyes glazed over.
She couldn't hear Tohsaka Zouken's worried inquiries. She instinctively looked up towards the center of the altar.
I saw it!
I saw it!
Tohsaka Sakura cried silently!
In the center of the altar, stood a faceless statue.
Behind it, billions of stars twinkled with brilliant, inextinguishable light!
It was as if they had existed since the beginning of the world.
Silently watching over the misery of the mortal world!
Without a doubt.
That is...............
God!
.....................................................................