Viktor, the pioneer of arcane technology, is a well-known playable character in the multiplayer online tactical competitive game League of Legends, as well as the protagonist of a globally popular IP-based anime.
But for Locke, what was always etched in his memory was the mechanical pioneer who shouted "Flesh and blood are weak, mechanical ascension is eternal"—that was Viktor in the Alley of Sparks, holding a cup of hot fennel milk and speaking gently to children.
But that didn't stop him from choosing the mysterious pioneer Viktor, as the other version not only had better gameplay but was also more suitable for his role.
And in terms of ultimate combat power, this version of Viktor was not in the same dimension as the one he knew.
Moreover, his injured leg had fallen into the fire ignited by the black mud ten years ago, and Viktor's character card was a perfect match.
In other words, this card seemed tailor-made for him from the very beginning.
Locke's argument for being Viktor was as follows:
He limped, just like Viktor;
He had partners who walked side by side with him, like Jayce beside Viktor, Shirou Emiya beside him;
His desire to change the future of humanity with his intellect and find a path for those in distress was just like Viktor's desire to use technology to rewrite the living conditions of people at the bottom;
Even what he delved into were supernatural powers that the world did not allow—Viktor touched forbidden arcane arts, and he touched root magic.
And the most irrefutable proof:
He and Viktor had never appeared at the same time!
So the answer couldn't be more obvious: he was Viktor, and Viktor was him.
And the Jujutsu Kaisen Locke had proven that if the entire world were considered a theatrical performance, the closer his acting and plot were to the original story, the more popularity points he would receive.
So what should he do next? Of course, it was to help his partner resolve his dilemma and win the Holy Grail War.
And, incidentally, guide the other party to study "Hex Technology" alongside him.
The night of Fuyuki fell unusually quickly, but in an instant, the thousands of lights of the city of Fuyama were swallowed by the neon glow of the new capital.
An extended Lincoln smoothly glided along the glittering streets. Locke in the back seat was dressed in a homemade black haute couture suit, sunglasses hiding all emotions beneath his eyes, and in his hand was a carved, gold-plated custom cane.
At this moment, Locke's entire persona had completely disappeared against the soft, shy backdrop of a good three-good student. His entire body was wrapped in a cold, oppressive aura that was not befitting of a teenager.
The Lincoln steadily stopped in front of an underground casino disguised as a first-class private club.
As soon as the car door opened, the members of the Fujimura group, waiting beside him in black suits, immediately bowed. He first tapped his gold cane on the ground, then leisurely stepped out of the car.
The gangsters bowed in unison at a ninety-degree angle, their breathing very light, with extreme respect.
On the roadside, foreign tycoons who had come to Fuyuki to travel watched this scene and couldn't help but lower their voices to ask a local friend beside them about the teenager's background.
The friend hurriedly pulled his arm, not daring to speak loudly, and said with admiration in his voice: "This is the prince of the largest Fujimura group in the area. Although he's only an adopted son, everyone knows that the Fujimura group was able to expand so quickly in recent years because of the true core of the group."
"Huh? At that age?" The tycoon's face was full of shock. He looked at the back of the young man entering the club, gasped, and sincerely sighed: "Truly... young talents are unfathomable."
However, in the blind spot invisible to the tycoon's gaze, the friend sneered coldly and quietly mocked:
"For me, who has mastered this secret, it's just an ant colony."
Locke didn't care about the respect of others; he was even used to it. All of this before him was merely floating clouds to him.
If this world were an ordinary modern society, he might have chosen to fulfill the wish of the old man Fujimura, take over the family business, make it bigger, stronger, and create a genius.
It's a pity that after the fire burned him and awakened him ten years ago, he knew what he had to do. Especially after choosing a character card, it doomed his future.
He wanted to lead the people of this world toward a bright future and achieve a glorious evolution!
Following the instructions of his subordinates, Locke entered an exclusive private room on the top floor of the casino.
In front of the one-way floor-to-ceiling window, a handsome blond man casually swirled a crystal glass of crimson wine in his hand. The scarlet wine lazily traced an arc on the wall of the glass, and his gaze fell through the glass onto the noisy casino floor below.
Following his subordinates' guidance, Locke arrived at the private room on the top floor of the casino. The moment his subordinates bowed and retreated, the thick, soundproof solid wood door completely isolated the hustle and bustle of the casino.
Locke looked up. In the panoramic private room on the top floor of the casino, only a few cold crystal lamps were lit, highlighting the man's dazzling blond hair and straight back.
Turning his back to the door, leaning before the one-way floor-to-ceiling window, holding a burgundy crystal glass, he casually shook the soft red wine in the glass, his eyes lowered, surveying the brightly lit casino below through the glass.
On the other side of the glass, the figures who could summon wind and rain in the world displayed their ugliness. High-ranking politicians sweated on their foreheads, holding chips. Cult leaders in black robes whispered words into their cards. Billionaires didn't change their expressions. Hostile underworld leaders stared at the roulette wheel. And swindlers turned the clouds and rain at the card table.
But no matter how high or low their status, or how strong their abilities, they were all the same in his eyes—merely clowns for his amusement.
He just stood quietly, with great interest tasting the greed, hatred, stupidity, and resentment of these mortals, adding a bit of fun to the long, boring wait for the Holy Grail War.
"Long time no see, Locke. I've been in your casino for so long, but today I came to find this king. Have you found the answer? Are you willing to tell this king?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Gilgamesh, the oldest king who had returned to his body through the black mud contaminated by the Holy Grail in the last Holy Grail War and had come into this world, had already raised his head and downed all the burgundy red wine from his cup.
The empty cup was casually placed on the gold-plated tray by the window. Before the soft sound of the cup's wall clashing had faded, he calmly turned around with a playful look of pleasure, and his gold-plated vertical pupils firmly locked onto Locke at the door.
In these eyes, there was no longer the indifference and scrutiny that regarded all living beings as mustard seeds when looking down at the gamblers below, but the solemnity and interest of a king, placing him fully on an equal footing with himself.
Locke didn't answer. He just held his gold cane, step by step leisurely walking past Gilgamesh's side. The soft sound of the cane on the marble floor was particularly clear in the quiet private room.
Finally, he stopped before the floor-to-ceiling windows that spanned the entire surface. Through the one-way glass, overlooking the brightly lit casino floor below, those beings madly engaged between chips and cards, he didn't speak for a long time.
"I've thought about it."
The corners of Gilgamesh's lips instantly curled into an open, mad smile. The anticipation and pleasure blazing in his gold-plated vertical pupils almost overflowed.
He knew too well that the soul of the young man before him was the only existence he had seen in this decadent world, and that soul was so dazzling that even he had to acknowledge its nobility and tenacity.
He had waited for this answer for ten years.
He had been waiting ever since ten years ago, when the fire burned half of Fuyuki, catching a glimpse of a dying boy among the ruins, yet with an extraordinariness in his eyes that even he himself couldn't see. And now, he had finally waited.
"Oh?"
"From the very first cry at birth, people suffer continuously."
Locke's voice remained calm, but his gaze had turned away from the gamblers below and fallen onto the boundless night outside the window.
"The Buddha said that the entire world is suffering, and one can only seek refuge in oneself. But the suffering and happiness in this world have always been like the front and back of a coin—either one or the other, and there has never been a possibility of reconciliation."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and pulled a gold casino chip from his suit pocket. His fingertips moved slightly, and the chip rapidly spun between his slender fingers. The light and shadow on its front and back flickered alternately, like the reincarnation of bitterness and joy in the world.
"If I truly have the talent to create miracles, as you said, then I have finally found where to use that talent."
His fingertips suddenly stopped. He tightly clenched the chip in his palm, slowly turned around, and held it up before Gilgamesh. The young man's eyes blazed with the light to burn the plains, word by word, clearly and firmly.
"I want to end all the suffering in this world. I want to lead humanity toward a truly glorious evolution and completely eliminate all innate suffering."
The playful smile on Gilgamesh's face suddenly froze, and a flicker of unexpected surprise appeared in his eyes.
At his feet lay the entire casino, immersed in desire. This top-floor private room was isolated from the noise, but the greed, hatred, and obsession constantly surging below were the dirtiest, most filthy places in the world. Yet the boy standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, in the most calm tone, had made such a pure to the extreme, noble to nearly impossible wish.
The highest filth and the highest sanctity collided in the most absurd contrast at this moment.
In the next second, Gilgamesh burst into wild laughter that shook the private room.
He laughed so hard he even lost his composure, and his laughter was not hidden from the madness of kings. It seemed he was laughing at the young centipede trying to shake a tree before him, and at his own naivety in attempting to rewrite the fate of humanity by himself.
It seemed he was laughing at himself, laughing at himself for waiting ten long years and finally waiting for such an absurd answer.
Or perhaps both.
After laughing, a strong curiosity arose in Gilgamesh's heart. He was too curious to know whether the arrogant man before him could fulfill the wish he had made—a wish that even he himself had been unable to fulfill.
Therefore, Gilgamesh decided to use his clairvoyance to take a careful look at his future.
To see whether this arrogant man could shape the future as he spoke.
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