In the next second, the cosmic aura of the three Stones surged outward, wrapping Alice's Tesseract-like body as though she were wearing an invisible cloak, each layer glowing with its own distinct color.
The Time Stone shimmered with a vibrant green. The Space Stone radiated a deep blue.
And the Power Stone pulsed with a dark, violent purple.
Since she did not yet possess the Reality Stone, Alice forcibly intertwined the powers of the three Stones to produce an imitation—an artificial effect mimicking reality manipulation.
Craaaakkk!
The space before Alice fractured, breaking apart like glass struck from within, revealing a rift that opened into something far beyond the limits of ordinary reality.
Seeing this, Rian smiled in satisfaction.
The mark was undeniable—Alice had truly succeeded in opening a gateway to the Meta-Multiverse.
"Safe travels, Alice," Rian called out warmly. "Ah… and if you can, bring me back a few souvenirs."
"Yes! Alice will be careful!" Alice replied with bright enthusiasm before entering the rift. "And about souvenirs—don't worry. Papa will definitely be satisfied!"
Without hesitation, Alice shot forward, piercing through the fractured reality. The moment she vanished inside, the crack let out a soft creaking sound before sealing shut, as if it had never existed at all.
After witnessing Alice's actions—beginning her first journey across realities entirely on her own—Rian turned and walked toward the storage shed in the yard, just beside his house.
***
Upon arriving at his destination, Rian stepped into the shed and descended the stairs leading to the basement.
As soon as he reached the bottom, he was greeted by stifling air and pitch-black darkness. To dispel it, Rian drew a lantern from his Infinity Ring.
Even though his Six Eyes allowed him to see clearly in the dark, a little extra light never hurt.
Before him lay a large summoning circle—an arcane ritual formation for calling forth spirits.
Rian intended to summon a Spirit to manifest as a Servant without using a catalyst, an essential component in a standard Holy Grail War summoning ritual.
Without a catalyst, luck played a significant role in determining whether the resulting Servant would be useful… or the complete opposite.
Even so, such a summoning ritual never truly failed. It was simply that the summoned Servant would inevitably possess some form of compatibility with the summoner's soul.
Before beginning the ritual, Rian took a moment to review a few important concepts regarding Spirits—or Servants.
In this world, there exist two classifications: Servants and Grand Servants.
First: Servants, or Heroic Spirits, as previously explained.
A Servant is the manifested soul of a legendary figure or mythical hero, summoned into the mortal world.
As a reminder, in a Holy Grail War, this summoning ritual is performed by a Master (a Magus) with the aid of the Grail, a magic circle, and a catalyst—usually a relic closely connected to the hero in question.
Once summoned, a Servant is bound to their Master through a Command Spell. They are spirits materialized from the Throne of Heroes—a realm that exists outside the axis of the world and time.
Summoned Servants possess high combat capabilities and fight on behalf of their Master.
Second: Grand Servants.
Unlike regular Servants, Grand Servants exist on a far higher tier and can only be summoned by the will of the world itself—the Counter Force—not by human hands.
A Grand Servant is a Heroic Spirit of far greater power, summoned through a special ritual performed by the world itself—not by the Grail.
Their primary purpose is to protect humanity from existential threats, such as the manifestations known as the Beasts.
It is important to note that these summons do not bring forth the original Heroic Spirit, but rather a copy derived from the Throne of Heroes.
However, what Rian was about to summon was neither a regular Servant nor a Grand Servant.
Due to the interference of the Infinity Room, Rian instead summoned an entity that exists outside the standard mechanics of the Holy Grail War—yet still carried the authority of a Servant granted by the Grail.
The essence of this summoning, influenced by the Infinity Room system, remained similar: it still "creates a copy."
But instead of drawing from the Throne of Heroes, the being that manifested was a copy based on a character from the Fate world itself, one that had a natural "compatibility" with Rian's soul.
In simple terms, the summoning Rian performed could only be described as a hybrid method, combining aspects of multiple systems.
Combining the summoning mechanism of Servants in the Holy Grail War with the method used by the Counter Force to call forth Grand Servants…
As a result, the Servant Rian summoned could be considered to possess around 50% of a Grand Servant's power—yet with a crucial caveat: their true potential was entirely dependent on Rian himself.
The stronger Rian became, the stronger the Servant would be.
"Well then," Rian murmured with a slight nod, "let's test the luck of this handsome gacha roller."
Wasting no time, Rian began the ritual.
Mana surged from his body, flowing into the summoning circle beneath his feet.
Ancient symbols carved into the array glowed to life, igniting the air with a subtle hum.
"My will creates your body, and you create my destiny…" Rian intoned with a serious voice.
"With my name, Rian Andromeda… come forth and answer my call."
As the incantation left his lips, the light within the summoning circle swelled, spreading outward in rippling waves of energy that whipped the hem of Rian's trench coat and his long hair.
His brows knit in concentration, fully focused, waiting for the outcome.
In truth, the chant was nothing more than a form of self-hypnosis for Rian. He knew he could summon a Servant even without reciting a single word.
But to sharpen his focus, he chose to invoke it this time.
Moments later, strange shadows began to crawl across the walls—silhouettes of a humanoid figure with horns, cast by the radiance of the summoning circle.
Soon after, the energy within the circle condensed, merging into a solid form.
A figure gradually took shape, materializing from the swirling light—its body woven from the power flowing through the magic array, a power drawn directly from Rian himself.
Finally, the materialization completed.
Standing before Rian was a woman—smiling gently, warmly, like a mother welcoming her child home.
The woman stood at around 160 centimeters tall, a height that briefly reminded Rian of Akeno. But that wasn't what made him pause.
For a split second, Rian's entire world seemed to flicker, a sensation triggered not by memory, but by her presence.
She had briefly floated above the ground before gently lowering herself, her feet touching the dark floor with an almost divine grace.
Her skin was a radiant, pale white—like a pearl bathed in the soft glimmer of a goddess's tears—standing in stark contrast to the dim, shadowed basement.
Her body was draped in a layered gown of pale blue and white, resembling flowing, frozen water.
Every fold of the dress moved subtly, as though dancing with the faint remnants of magical energy drifting in the air.
Her hair was impossibly long—silvery blue, cascading down until it nearly brushed the floor.
Two thin braids, adorned with light-blue beads, framed her form, enhancing the elegant and mystical aura she carried.
From the top of her head rose a pair of gently curved horns, smooth and crystal-like, shimmering as though lit from within.
Her face was delicate and cool, yet her soft pink eyes—each marked with a white "X" symbol—looked at Rian with a depth of warmth and affection.
Her pointed ears made it unmistakably clear that this woman was not a being of the mortal world.
Behind her, a long, slender tail curled gracefully through the air, moving as if possessing a will of its own—an ethereal detail that only amplified the mystical aura surrounding her.
Before Rian could utter a single word, the woman suddenly stepped forward and wrapped him in a warm embrace, pressing her face gently against his chest.
"My child… Mom heard your call," she whispered, her voice soothing enough to melt stone. "Allow Mom to hold you for a moment."
Rian's mind immediately spiraled into chaos, thoughts scattering in every direction as he tried to process the situation—one he never could have anticipated.
For some reason, even with the clarity of his Six Eyes, he couldn't quite read the intentions of this newly manifested being.
And oddly enough… he didn't want the embrace to end.
Rian felt something strange—an overwhelming warmth and comfort, soothing and tender, like a child who had long been separated from his mother finally being held again.
Confronted with such an abnormal situation, both his soul and his Six Eyes demanded that he make a clear decision.
He gently pulled himself away from the mysterious woman—who was supposed to be his Servant.
"Wait… excuse me, ma'am," Rian said, his hands still resting lightly on her shoulders. "I think you've mistaken me for someone else. And… you are my Servant, right?"
Rian stared at the woman cautiously, a cold bead of sweat forming at his temple.
But the woman simply smiled—soft, serene, and impossibly gentle—before replying.
"There's no way Mom would be mistaken," she said. "You are my child… my Master. And I am… Tiamat. Umm… more precisely, Larva Tiamat."
"You may call me Larva, if you like," she continued, softly placing her hands over Rian's.
___
Additional Note (translated):
Ehehehe~ Rian calling a MILF, Larva Tiamat.
If you think about it, when Larva, Rian, and Fear walk together… don't they kind of look like a family?
Besides, Fear's physical traits are pretty similar to Larva Tiamat's, right?
Silvery-blue hair and red eyes (even though Larva's eyes are pink with a cross-shaped pattern).