Swirl of the Root

Root_Mahoyo.png|The Swirl of the Root in Mahoutsukai no Yoru.
Root.png|The Swirl of the Root in Kara no Kyoukai.
Vortex Root (Adventures).jpeg|The Swirl of the Root as seen by Gray in The Adventures of Lord El-Melloi II.
The is a metaphysical location that acts as the "force" that exists at the top of all theories in every dimension, as well as the source of all events and phenomena in the universe. It is also known as the , the , and occasionally, .
The Root is referred to as the "Outside of the World," as opposed to the World and its Reverse Side. Existing outside of time, it stores and archives information of all possibilities and events, past, present, and future, of the world. It is the place from where all souls, including those of Heroic Spirits recorded on the Throne of Heroes, originate from and to where they return after death. At least one dying soul heading towards it sees it as a lightless, colorless vortex that simultaneously contains nothing and everything.The Adventures of Lord El-Melloi II Volume 8: Fem's Casa (Lower) - Chapter 5
In Kara no Kyoukai, the Swirl of the Root, or Akashic Records, is the name used to pronounce 「　」 (quoted empty space, equivalent of " "). This term corresponds to the in the series' title. Although, because the Swirl of the Root is a name, it automatically can't be said to be the same anymore, since 「　」 is a space of nothingness that can't even have a name.
==Reaching the Root==
The ultimate ambition of the magi is to reach the Root and many focus their experiments into discovering a path to it. The First Magic and Fifth Magic were the result of reaching the Root, while the Second Magic, Third Magic, and Fourth Magic were meant as a means to reach it.Mahoutsukai no Yoru - Chapter 12: "Witch on the Holy Night II"
There are various methods used in attempts to reach the Root, usually involving reaching the pinnacle of a certain concept. There are also methods meant to reach it through manipulating certain systems, such as the Holy Grail War using Heroic Spirits returning to the Holy Grail as a way of making a hole to it. Once a route is used, it is closed for good upon becoming established. If one isn't entered, it can be left until someone does claim it, thus closing it off for good.
Although Magic was a goal for many magi before the creation of the Fifth Magic, it is not their ultimate objective. The main goal for magi remains the Root itself, and the "truth" of the universe that it holds.
Seeing the Root, touching it and then managing to understand it will completely erase the meaning of "impossible", granting the magus what some would describe as "the capabilities of God". Needless to say, this is impossible for even the most talented magi.
The heiress of the Ryougi family, Shiki Ryougi, belonging to the Demon Hunter Organization, is a special case. Shiki Ryougi was fated to be erased by the Counter Force before birth due to having the Origin of 「　」; however, the Ryougi used specific methods to prevent this from happening. Her third personality born from the body, 「Shiki Ryougi」, can be said to be directly connected to the Root because of her Origin, and she can even be called the Root itself. While Shiki Ryougi can see the Root with her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, 「Shiki Ryougi」 can go even deeper, connecting to where all cause and effect begin and everything and nothing exist. 
「Shiki Ryougi」 claims the ability to do anything she wishes, as being connected to it makes her an equivocal existence and she have a equivalence to a transcendence of abstract level of existence. She claims restructuring the laws governing atomic matter, going back in time to change the evolution and development of all life, and reconstructing the orders and laws of the world would be easy for her to accomplish. It is not actually changing the existing world, but instead annihilating the old world with a new world.
Manaka Sajyou possesses the ability to connect to the Swirl of the Root to interfere with reality much like Shiki Ryougi but is limited by the quantity of her Magic Circuits. Although she can use her connection to the Root in order to realize Saber's wish of an eternal Britain, the correcting force of the World's Quantum Time-Lock would easily reverse this. She intends to use Beast of 666 as a boost of magical energy for her abilities, overcoming the limits of her Magic Circuits quantity.
==Individuals with a Path to the Root==
*Magicians, such as Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg and Aoko Aozaki, draw their Magic directly from the Root.
*Shiki Ryougi's body is directly connected to the Root, due to her Origin being "Emptiness".
*Manaka Sajyou's body has been directly connected to the Root ever since she was born.
*Satsuki Kurogiri's Unified Language acts as a door to the Root. By extension, Dust of Osiris should have a connection as well, due to also being a user. 
==Notable Attempts to Reach the Root==
*Souren Araya attempted to reach it by using the path to the Root that Shiki Ryougi's body presented.
*Touko Aozaki studied the human body while aiming to recreate the original human body, under the belief that modern humans could no longer reach the Root after becoming too diversified genetically.
*Norikata Emiya wished to accelerate time to observe the end of the universe and the Root that would appear afterwards.
*Nagato Tohsaka, due to his martial arts background, believed that he could reach Akasha by attaining a state of .
*As it has no connection to this actual world, the Holy Church, which is only interested in this world, finds it completely meaningless.
Those who have touched it directly have never returned to the world. Those who have managed to touch it ceased to exist on the spot, as their human souls are either going back to "where they came from", becoming absorbed into the Root, or something similar. The exact details are unknown, so even Magi who have left their names in history have refrained from touching it.
There are also Magicians who have come close to it, but backed away before touching it, like Aoko Aozaki, and magi who have gotten close to it to stabilize their own magecraft in a hurry. Aoko believes that it is possible those who end up there "become God" in a sense, so there is no reason for them to come back. It is also possible they cannot come back because "being God" isn't truly such a wondrous event as humans may think. Both those who succeeded and failed touched it and couldn't return to the world. It may be they told people about it is because the first person to become God wanted companions out of loneliness, or that their work on that side was so massive that they needed other companions.Mahoutsukai no Yoru - Chapter 13: "A Story of the Stars"
==References==
vi:Akasha
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Category:Metaphysics
Category:Magecraft terminology
Category:Locations
Category:Cosmology