Chapter Text
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There was a chamber underground, far from the carnage of that night. To say it was peaceful would be incorrect, however–rather, it was simply devoid of life. The cold of that chamber was greater than the outside’s winter chill, as if warmth itself was being drained from the interior.
That is not to say that it was empty. There were things existing inside of it. Crawling, burrowing, biting things. But there is a difference between ‘existing’ and ‘living’. Everyone who had entered this room ‘living’ had walked out merely ‘existing’.
The architect of such a place stood at the center of this room, hunched over in thought. He was a man who desperately clung to existing, but had stopped living centuries ago. Yet he chased after life, yearned for it, devoured it. It was only through the destruction of life that he could extend what he mistakenly called his own ‘life’. Yet he knew this could only last so long before even this facsimile of a life gave out. As such, he had chased after the Holy Grail for centuries now, waiting for the right opportunity to obtain his wish.
The opportunity seemed out of reach. This Holy Grail War had begun far too early, and the pieces were a mess. His pawns were pathetic, a failure of a Master and a weak Rider. That priest with the extra Servant, the Einzbern’s trump card, the witch at Ryudou Temple with a Servant of her own. All troubling.
But most troubling of all was an unexpected piece. Assassin. It was profoundly unlucky for such a servant to be summoned in Fuyuki. Her control of insects nullifies his magic and turns it against itself. While observing the conflict, he had tested his control of his familiars against hers, only briefly. When Berserker sent her flying, he sent one of his familiars in the outskirts of what he had guessed to be her range. He eliminated it right before it entered, but in the split second between its arrival and destruction, he felt his control of it slip.
“How troublesome…” He would have to fortify the familiars within him with strong wards against magecraft. If he strengthened them enough, he could hopefully make them resistant to control for at least enough time to escape. All the other familliars were expendable, if he even made an effort to use them. Indeed, this Servant seemed like the nail in the coffin of his willingness to enter this Grail War. He had already planned to sit this one out, and this Servant was the perfect reason to step back while his failure of a grandson played at being Master.
However…
There was something unusual about this Servant. That Master, despite his apparent ignorance, was the adopted son of Kiritsugu Emiya. He had been given a catalyst for one of the strongest Servant in the previous war, that Saber. If the Einzberns had recovered it, they would’ve put it to use, so it surely remained with him. If he had lost it in the conflagration following the last War, the figure would’ve found it by now. On top of this, that Saber was quite driven from his observations. Indeed, it was odd that she wasn’t summoned. He had heard that there were apparently infinite universes with infinite outcomes, however unlikely. It was not his area of expertise, but he wondered if this was one such unlikely universe.
Whatever the case may be, he began theorizing a possibility. That Servant, if beckoned correctly, would surely respond. Perhaps the cause of her absence was that Caster–she had summoned a Saber, or rather, an imitation of the class. It was only through a loophole that the samurai could even manifest through a Servant’s summons. He admittedly respected the ability to exploit such a loophole, but he was one of the architects of the very system Caster had exploited. Were he to use that False Saber as a catalyst, and conduct the summoning in the exact right way…he could obtain the strongest piece on the board.
Still, that alone wasn't enough to take on the risk of participating in this war. It was only a small possibility that his theory would prove correct. If he went through with it, he could simply end up summoning some other Saber of unknown ability. He would need a good reason to attempt such an uncertain plan.
It was then that footsteps resounded from the top of the staircase before stopping behind the figure.
The vessel stood still and waited for attention. His project he began a decade ago, the only reason to even entertain the notion of this rushed Grail War. It had been a gamble if one could even survive with fragments of the ruined grail inside of them. If they did, it was all too likely they would self-destruct long before the Grail War’s beginning.
But this subject of his had proved tenacious. It had a desire to live, in spite of everything. It had been in this room that devours life time and time again, yet life still remained dormant in it. ‘It’s a remarkably stable vessel. Too stable, even.’ Its stability made him feel that it was ill-suited to the current moment. It needed volatility for its role as vessel to be completed.
“You called for me, Grandfather.” It responded to his summons.
It was a shame, really. If he had another decade it would’ve reached its full potential-unless the next Grail War was similarly premature, the vessel may finally crumble before it gets the chance to fulfill its purpose. Far more pressing than that, that Assassin threatened to destroy this project of his. Even if its worms were fortified against control, the mere detection of them could throw everything off.
“Yes, Sakura. Things have become a bit troubling with the newest Servant. You will need to stay home until it is defeated.” Yes, it would be the best course of action to simply lay low. With Shinji’s defeat, the Matous will have been accounted for and no one would deign to investigate their plans.
“...! G-Grandfather…” The vessel spoke out of turn.
Oh? Now this was something. The vessel hadn’t spoken out of turn for years. He had noticed a subtle change within its emotions the last few days. It clearly had some attachment to that Emiya boy, and worried for him.
He grinned, a gesture that resembled a skull more than an expression of joy. This was it. The opening to break his project’s mind. Who knew when he would get another chance like this was such a perfect vessel?
He turned around with a feigned look of understanding. “Understand, Sakura, that this Servant can detect our magic. Were she to find you…well, she would surely tell her Master, you understand?” From the Crest Worm clutched around the vessel’s heart, he felt it speed up in worry. It had accepted his magic for years, accepted the violation and filth. Unlike previous users of Crest Worms, it appeared on the outside to be a normal girl. An image it clung to, especially around that boy. Its filth being exposed to him is something it fears more than death.
He continued the facsimile of concern. “Worry not, Sakura. As soon as the Servant is dealt with, things will go back to normal. The boy lacks the aptitude for other Servants to desire him. He’ll likely end this war in the Church’s care.” Once again, he feels an emotion from the vessel. A small glimmer of hope that the life it feared losing could be preserved. Now it only needed to be brought down to reality.
“It’s a shame, though…with the way it seems, that Tohsaka girl will surely win this one–she is clearly the best Master here.” It was a master-stroke–the vessel went still, a stillness that was hiding a crack within itself. A crack that could be seeped into to wrench out the contents. He began to laugh, a sound that resembled rusted metal scraping against stone.
He dismissed the vessel, newfound vigor within himself. There was still something to be gained in this Grail War. It was perhaps fitting that his ambition be pulled from seemingly horrible conditions. His laughter continued resounding through the dark chamber, echoed by a choir of crawling things with him as the conductor.
The Holy Grail was finally in reach.