Archetype: Earth's words were seared deep into Steve's soul, becoming a signpost for his final ambitions. In the great tides of the stars and the leap of civilization, forty years passed like a fleeting moment.
These forty years were those of a "hidden seeker"—and of humanity completely embracing the starry sea.
Under Steve's near-omnipotent "Astonishing Wisdom," star-weapon Colossus—saw a revolutionary overhaul. It no longer required draining the lifeforce of all civilization; instead, it learned to harness energy efficiently from cosmic microwave background and stellar winds.
The universal energy, SIN, so omnipresent like dark matter, now orchestrated by Steve, had nearly supplanted old-world electricity. Star weapons grew so optimized in destructive power that they could now erase "Concepts" themselves.
When the project culminated, Steve didn't hold a ceremony or inform anyone. Alone in a Side-3 lab, he calmly pressed the launch button.
The spear of causality, unseen by human eyes and traveling faster than light, precisely struck the nightmare lurking below South America. No shockwaves, no spectacle—only silence, as the Predatory Planet ORT, rooted here for millions of years, was utterly erased.
The last, greatest crisis for Earth faded away.
Entering the Universal Century, humanity grew further and further from the planet, new generations seeing Earth as no more than a distant 'cradle'—sacred in textbooks, but not a home.
Their gaze turned outward. Exploration and discovery became not just dream but genetic imperative. AI robots piloted ships between the stars, humankind still master of its destiny. The flame of "humanity" did not fade in convenience.
Steve knew that the smoothness of all this was because he'd sensed Gaia's power had earlier dominated in this world. In the past, with Alaya's force so weak the Heroic Spirit system couldn't even fully form, any big attempt to deviate from the norm would have meant disaster upon disaster.
Now, not only Alaya but even its suppression mechanism, [Moon Cancer], would surely have caused him endless troubles and possibly destroyed him outright if he'd tried such feats in a standard FGO worldline.
As it stood, with a strengthened Alaya, the pan-human defense was no longer easily threatened—even if the old multimillenial Federation Steve had built as a bulwark would not, and should not, last forever. Steve chose to abdicate forty years ago, letting future generations thrive and forge ahead.
For forty years, the Federation kept its pioneering spirit—but began slowly showing signs of slackening and internal division. Most surprising of all, though, was the comprehensive revival of old-age magi.
In the first twenty years forcibly sent to space colonies, these magi languished, missing the source-magic foundation of their home planet, cradling their magic crests in exile and despairing their roots.
But the New Human transformation program opened new doors. By surgical enhancement, they gained New Humanity abilities—able to absorb and convert SIN dust into magical power even in otherwise poisonous space conditions, attaining "true ether" on par with, if not above, gods. This ensured the mysteries of magic would never again vanish.
While the shortfall of ether in space was mitigated, universal revival birthed a flourishing New Age of Magic. Steve's role was to help lay these foundations, guiding the transfer of mystic knowledge from planetary to cosmic, his historical importance rivaling that of a Magecraft King.
In truth, the old Magecraft King merely pioneered new human-centric magecraft systems as the gods' mysteries faded. Steve's contribution was, in effect, to restore the very magic of the gods.
No matter how deeply they studied, old magecraft was tied to the Earth—true strength had distinctive limits. In contrast, the new age of magic, born from cosmic energy and space, would be defined at the scale of galaxies and above.
Most magi families quickly dropped old hangups and enthusiastically embraced cosmic mystery. They would strive endlessly for the Root (Akasha), just as always.
Steve knew the story did not end here. The [New Humanity], adapted body and soul to space, and the [Old Humanity], using tools to conquer it, would inevitably clash in the future. It was a new Primate age with both the old and new coexisting—a world balanced like the strange peace between Heroic Spirits and the Dead Apostle Ancestors.
And in a FATE world where Alaya absolutely reigns—in the name of "human love"—the disasters called [BEAST] would sooner or later re-emerge from the shadows of civilization itself. People would continue to fight for peace.
But all that... was no longer Steve's concern.
His mission—destroying the Predatory Planet ORT and ushering in the great galactic age—was complete. The foundation was set; the journey's direction established. Coming storms would be for the new navigators to face.
…
2077, Summer. Steve, Age 116.
Time had left its mark: silver hair, a face lined with wisdom, once-tall frame stooped, walking stick at the ready. But in his eyes, the stars still shone.
He refused every life-extension proposal—vampirization, organ replacement, mechanical transcendence—content to face the end as an ordinary human.
This day, on a small, elegant private spaceship, he and his beloved wife set foot on Earth once more. Sion, his life's companion, carried not a single sign of ages past. She was still the violet-haired, purple-eyed girl he first met, in her tailored research uniform—but now her beautiful eyes brimming with a century's love.
She supported him gently, as if he were a priceless treasure.
Millennium Castle's ruins were now unrecognizable—nature's wonderland, thick vines and moss covering the ancient walls, the square transformed into a sea of brilliant flowers, clear streams bubbling through the stones, butterflies and birds in the trees, the air rich with intoxicating floral scents.
And there she was: under a towering ancient tree, as if she'd waited forty years to meet them.
Archetype: Earth.
Long moonlit hair, crimson eyes, eternal white dress. At the sight of Steve, for a moment, a rare emotion—perhaps surprise—flared in her eyes at the sight of his irremediable human aging.
Supported by Sion, Steve leaned on his staff, hobbled forward, but with clarity and steadiness.
"Long time no see, Archetype: Earth," he said, voice old but clear. "I've come again, with the same question as forty years ago—are you satisfied with the world as it is today?"
She hesitated, gazed between him and Sion, then spoke—her voice like the dream of Earth's very soul.
"...I'm dreaming."
"A deep, gentle, sweet dream, undisturbed by nightmares. The wind sings, the water whispers, the mountains sleep. For the first time since my birth... the best of times."
Her words drew a gentle smile from Steve's wrinkled face. She offered her hand—exquisitely beautiful. Softly, she enclosed his aged, trembling hand in hers.
"You were a foreign element.
But you have woven a new 'dream' into this world: a dream of stars, wisdom, and love.
You are this planet's 'Dream Weaver.'
My 'satisfaction'... has long since surpassed mere words."
In her true scarlet demon eyes, Steve saw his own weathered face and Sion's loving gaze reflected behind him.
"A world birthed by a story like yours, ending so peacefully—it's the perfect masterpiece.
Your existence is my answer."
Steve felt his last strength ebb from his body. He turned to Sion, smiled with the last of his energy. Sion smiled through her tears and kissed his forehead deeply.
Watcher, always a shadow at his lord's side, now faded away, sighing as Steve's life force raced to an end and passed fully into spirit.
In his final consciousness, Steve heard Archetype's last blessing—a smile from the Earth. It sounded like a cosmic lullaby.
"Rest well, Dream Weaver.
Your story will not end.
It will become this planet's heartbeat—a legend among the stars.
Close your eyes, and return to the starlight.
You will always be the brightest, lighting the future you shaped."
So, Steve closed his eyes peacefully. In his lover's arms, under gazes of Earth and humankind, he at last fulfilled his life as "Steve Weis."
…