Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I was dying. I died. I am dead.

That was supposed to be the end. And it was, in a way. But somehow, I still exist.

Somewhere. Somehow. Somewhen.

I feel them. Some dormant. Asleep. Stagnant. Some of the exceptionally sharp ones watch over me in familiarity. Others glare in contempt of me. All around, I feel them. Existing outside of every moment in time, yet present through all of human history at once.

All of them.

All of… us?

Yes, not them. Us. I've become one too now, haven't I?

It’s impossible. Yet, even when I was alive, I seemed to have a knack for stumbling face first into impossibilities.

It’s obvious where I am now, as much as I wish it were otherwise. Emiya once told me how he, a normal human, managed to get himself engraved upon the Throne of Heroes. A deal with the World, he said, promising to serve as a weapon of the Counter Force. I asked him if I might be able to do the same one day. He laughed in my face. Said that I, of all humanity from past, present, and future, wouldn’t need to do a single damn thing to get here.

I’ve contracted with many beings over the years. Gods. Heroes. Monsters. Devils. The World-- Alaya --was never one of them, but here I am anyways. Archer was right. He always seems to be right about everything. It's at times like this when I understand why Ishtar sometimes called him annoying.

A blinding light pierces through the darkness. Familiar. Warm. Pure and uncorrupted.

“ Let silver and steel be the essence! ”

...Excuse me?

“ Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation. ”

I... I know that voice. I know those words.

“ Let red be the color I pay tribute to."

No way. There is no fucking way this is happening.

"Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall. ”

It’s impossible. On so many levels, this should be impossible.

“ Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate. ”

Unless... he himself is acting as the catalyst? The corners of my non-existent mouth spread into a grin. How hilariously bizarre. What kind of cruel twist of fate is this?

Even in death, I can’t seem to escape the burden forced upon me in life.

" Let it be filled. ”

Do I do it? Do I go to him? Do I dare to answer his call for help?

“ Again. Again. Again. Again. ”

Such conviction. Such naivety. If I’m able to hear the call, I suppose that means there’s only one way this is gonna end.

Fine. I have room in the tank for one last adventure.

Let's do this dance. One more time.

“ Let it be filled fivefold for every turn, simply breaking asunder with every filling-- ”

Before the boy can speak another word, I hijack the ritual. If I’ve learned anything from my countless summons, it’s that first impressions are one of the most important factors in any decent Master-Servant relationship. If I'm going to scare the poor kid to death by appearing anyways, I might as well do it with style. It pains me to take a page out of BB's book, but I have to admit, the devilish kouhai sure knows how to make an entrance.

Spiritrons coalesce around the holy shield of the Round Table, manifesting my body with all the fables I’ve created and all the fables which have touched me in turn. I open my mouth, taking a breath of that nostalgic Chaldea air. I open my eyes, looking down at the third-rate mage and the pink-haired demi-servant at his side. She moves to protect her master from the sudden intruder, only to falter when she looks upon my face.

“I declare my oath here,” I announce, the hem of my pure-white mystic code flapping around my knees as I take my first step onto solid ground. “My body shall serve under you. Your fate shall be with my sword. I submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail and answer in submission to your will and your truth.”

“S-senpai?” Mash asks in a weak whisper. I don’t know which of us she’s speaking to. This... is going to get confusing.

Beside her, the boy who summoned me stands shock-still and slack jawed. I don’t blame him. Neither do I blame the doctor and the genius who come rushing into the room behind them. Nobody could have possibly expected this. Not Romani. Not Da Vinci. Not even Holmes. Least of all, my naive and bright-eyed self of the past. But this is Chaldea. A place where all manner of impossibilities are made possible.

“From the seventh heaven, attended to by three great words of power, I have come forth from the ring of restraint.” 

I flash the boy a grin and a wink, playfully cocking my head to the side. He looks like he's about to keel over dead.

“I'm sure you can probably tell, but my True Name is Fujimaru Ritsuka. My class is Ruler. I ask of you… are you my master?”

Chapter Text

“That’s it. I give up.” Romani turns away from the monitor displaying my status and throws his hands up in exasperation. “Fine, let’s assume you are who you say you are. Hypothetically, if you really did manage to fix the Incineration of Humanity–”

“I did.”

“ Hypothetically ,” he emphasizes, rubbing his temples. “As hard as it is for anyone in modern times to become a servant, saving all of humanity is definitely a feat capable of inscribing you in the Throne. I can accept that much. But somehow summoning a future version of yourself is just madness.”

“Right?” I shrug, stepping out from the scanner Da Vinci set up in her workshop. “I’ve summoned some crazy stuff in my own lifetime, but nothing as crazy as future me. I have no idea how little Ritsuka managed to pull this off.”

“Great,” Romani mumbles, slumping over in his office chair. “The source of insanity is agreeing with me over the fact that this is pure insanity.”

“Romani? Take a little break.” Da Vinci spins him around in his chair, then gives him a gentle push into the corner of the workshop. She crosses her arms, looking me over head to toe. “Hm. I haven’t run enough tests to say for certain, but I’m pretty confident you are who you claim you are. I don’t remember making this, but my signature is all over this Mystic Code. Or is it Mystic Codes plural?”

“You got it.” I give her a quick twirl, showing off my long coat and the familiar tunic beneath it. My black and white skintight combat uniform peeks out from beneath the Chaldea Security badge on my tunic’s collar. “A patented Da Vinci Workshop and Wandering Sea collaboration piece. It’s got all sorts of nasty protection spells and traps woven into the fabric. Air-conditioning too.”

“Excuse me?” cries Romani from the corner. “A Da Vinci Workshop and what collaboration?”

Da Vinci ignores him. Her eyes flick to my left hand. “And those tattoos…?”

“These?” I pull my sleeve back to expose the maze of dark red markings covering my fingers, wrists, and forearm. “Command seals. Seventy-two in total.”

She lets out an impressed whistle, placing her hands on her hips. “I’m guessing you never had this many on your arm at the same time back when you were still alive.”

"No." I shake my head. “These are unique to my servant-self. Part of my Noble Phantasm. But unlike little me, I can’t replenish them.”

“I see. Well, Fujimaru–” Da Vinci stops herself. “No. I should call you Ruler. Welcome to Chaldea. Or should I say welcome back?”

“I’m glad to be home,” I laugh, mostly at the absurdity of the situation. “You have no idea how good it is to see you both again.”

“There is one pressing matter that needs to be taken care of.” She smiles back, but through a stifled grimace. “You, Fujimaru Ritsuka, were summoned as a servant of Chaldea. You of all people should understand the responsibilities that come with the role. But unfortunately, as much as our situation demands all the help we can get, you…”

“You’re dangerous. Anything you do or say can cause a ripple effect that might end with the extinction of the human race.” Romani finally rises from his chair, making his way over to us. “But you’re also undoubtedly the most valuable servant we could ever have hoped to summon.”

"Really?" I raise an eyebrow, staring pointedly at his gloves. “Coming from you? That’s some high praise.”

"Damn it." He flinches at my remark, but steels his gaze. “I guess that cinches it. If you’re secretly an enemy of humanity in disguise and even know about that, then there isn’t a thing we could do to stop you from destroying us all.”

“Frustrating, but not incorrect.” Da Vinci clears her throat. “But I want to hear it from you, Ritsuka. We need to hear your intentions.”

“My intentions, huh?” I cross my arms and purse my lips. “Well, I knew what I was getting myself into the moment I answered little me’s summon. But at the end of the day, I’m still a member of Novum Chal– Sorry. Still a member of the Chaldea Security Org. If you, as Acting Director Romani Archaman, decide that the possible dangers of my presence outweigh the benefits, then I’ll happily allow my Spirit Origin to be recycled for prisms. I'll consider it karma for all the servants I had to burn while I was alive.”

Da Vinci glances to Romani, who studies my face with an intense glare. After a long silence, he relaxes and lets out a sigh.

“You are a member of Chaldea. Which means you fall under my jurisdiction. But you’re also a servant of Chaldea. That means the decision of whether or not to keep you lies with your master."

“Ah. Gotcha.” The corner of my lip twitches up as I turn to the workshop door and raise my voice. “Did you hear that, Master? Mash?”

Da Vinci shakes her head and snaps her fingers. Ritsuka Fujimaru falls through the suddenly open doorway, yelping as he crashes to the floor. Mash scurries in behind him, helping him to his feet while making skittish glances in my direction. I wave to her. Her face turns as pink as her hair as she turns away from me.

Ritsuka winces as he pulls himself up, massaging his elbow. “Ow. That hurt.”

“You alright, Master?” I ask. “This Mystic Code’s got a few simple healing spells if you need them.”

“Wow,” he remarks. “I don’t know what I find more unsettling. You calling me Master or the fact that even as a servant, I still need Mystic Codes to do basic magecraft.”

I laugh, extending my hand toward him. “It’s less confusing than calling you by name. As for the magecraft… who cares? I’m still a servant, aren’t I?”

“I guess so.” He shakes my hand, awkward tension exuding from his grip. He bites his lower lip as he looks up to meet my eyes. “So… what do I call you, then? Just Ruler?”

“If you would, that’d be great.” I turn to Mash. “You should call me Ruler as well, Mash. You've only got the one senpai, right?"

“R-right!” She smiles to herself. No doubt she was worrying about how to address me ever since I arrived. Typical Mash. It’s almost comforting to see her like this again, before the burdens of our battles left scars on us both. “It’s nice to meet you, Ruler.”

“How about it then, Fujimaru?” Romani cuts in. “Can I leave the decision to you?”

Ritsuka swallows. He glances to me nervously, but ultimately nods. “Yes. I’ll be sure to make a choice by the end of the day.”

“Great!” He yelps as I pat him on the back. I grab him by the cuff of his sleeve, then start dragging him to the door. Part of me can't help but feel a bit giddy at the thought of dragging my master around like so many servants did to me when I was alive. “Hey, Master. Quick question. How many Singularities have you taken care of so far?”

“J-just two so far,” he stammers out.

“Orleans and Septem, huh?” 

My smile broadens. Sometimes I forget how young I was when this all started. He’s just a kid. A kid saddled with the responsibility of saving the entire human race. The poor boy doesn’t know it yet, but this is the simplest his life is going to be for a long time.

The Incineration of Humanity. The Pseudo-Singularities. The Bleached Earth. Lostbelts, Crypters, and the Ordeal Call. That stupid spider who still haunts my nightmares.

If I knew how long our fight to preserve humanity would last, I would have savored more moments of peace while I still had the luxury of taking them.

I don’t know how I’ll be able to help Chaldea. I don’t even know if I should. But I do know that with or without me, Fujimaru Ritsuka is capable of saving the world. Maybe my existence can make his labours feel just a little less daunting. I know I'd definitely feel more confident about saving the world if I had a servant that was living proof I eventually succeed. Past the scorched earth, at least.

“Come on,” I nudge. “Let’s head to the cafeteria and see if Emiya’s got anything cooking. After that, we’re going to the simulator. I want to test out this new servant body.”

I’ll give him time to make his decision. That should be enough time to make mine too.

Do I let the Grand Order take its intended course while I watch from the sidelines, cheering my master on?

Or do I destroy Chaldeas while I have the chance, and burn Marisbury’s dream to the ground?

Chapter Text

His other servants can’t stop gawking at us in the halls. I can’t blame them. We look like brothers at first glance, save for one key difference. I have a Spirit Origin. I am a servant too, just like them.

To his credit, Ritsuka seems to be taking all of this in stride.

“An alter of the King of Knights decided to become Santa Claus for Christmas,” he admits in a sullen voice as we make our way to the cafeteria. “I feel like weirder things have happened."

“True,” I agree. “I would have taken this mess over Eli’s Csejte Pyramid Himeji Castle fiasco any day.”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t worry about it.” I wave to the apron-wearing archer cooking up a storm in the cafeteria kitchen. “Hey, Emiya!”

“Oh, Master. Have you eaten–” He looks up and freezes in place. His pale brows furrow. 

I’m so used to seeing my Emiya with his hair down that it’s almost jarring to see this one with his hair slicked back. Even the way he carries himself is different. Rigid. Icy. Mine was so warm and caring that I once called him ‘mom’ on accident. He never stopped teasing me about it.

“Senpai! Ruler! There you two are!” Mash arrives with impeccable timing, melting some of Emiya’s frosty demeanor. I guess he has a weakness to her in this timeline too. She smiles as she introduces us to each other. “Sir Emiya, this is our newest addition to Chaldea.”

“Ritsuka Fujimaru.” I hold out my hand. “Ruler.”

“Archer.” He doesn’t break eye contact with me as he shakes it. “Emiya.”

“I know,” I reply. “If you aren’t too busy, I wanted to make a request.”

“Hrm.” Emiya looks to Ritsuka. “Does he speak for you, Master?”

Ritsuka lets out a shaky laugh. “He is me, so… I guess?”

“Fine,” the archer sighs. “I’ll at least hear you out. What’ll it be?”

“Two sets of ginger pork with chestnut rice,” I grin. “And for our resident shield maiden, a bamboo shoot gratin.”

Emiya flinches, eyeing me in disbelief. I shoot him a wink. Shaking his head with a slight smirk, he washes his hands and gets to work. Mash and Ritsuka exchange worried glances as I usher them toward an empty table.

“Trust me,” I whisper. “I’m about to change your lives. Emiya can cook anything, but his specialty dishes are in a league of their own. When he starts opening up to you guys a bit more, try and get him to make some of the the food he liked making while he was alive.”

“Amazing,” Mash mutters aloud as she sits. “Ever since you arrived, I’ve only been thinking about how your knowledge of the future can be utilized to assist with the singularities. It never dawned on me that you could also help advance Senpai’s bond with the other servants as well.”

“I’ve been there, done that, yada yada. Though, I do have to say… this Chaldea’s a bit different from the one I lived in.” 

I glance around the cafeteria and at the servants giving us a wide berth. I recognize all of them. Kiyohime. Medea. Atalante. But some of the servants present are Heroic Spirits that I never encountered until after Okeanos. Bartholomew Roberts stares daggers at my left eye, no doubt imagining what I’d look like with longer bangs on one side of my face. Murasaki Shikibu passes through the cafeteria, accompanied by Jeanne d’Arc. The Holy Maiden of Orleans flinches when she sees me. She doesn’t need True Name Discernment to figure me out, not when I’m sitting right next to my younger self, but I’m sure the confirmation of my identity is more jarring than it is helpful.

Ritsuka follows my line of sight. “Of all the classes, why do I become a Ruler?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I would have assumed I’d be a Caster. All I do is summon servants to fight my battles for me.” He sneaks a glance at Jeanne. “And I’m just… a normal guy. I’m nothing close to the level of Saint.”

“True,” I shrug. “You’re a normal kid that normally would never get the chance to do anything that could get your name inscribed on the Throne. Those are the cards you’re dealt when you’re born in modern times. Right, Emiya?”

Archer grimaces as he arrives with our food, but doesn’t respond. I’m sure he can’t be comfortable with the fact that I know more about him than he does about me. As a Counter Guardian and a fellow servant of the Modern Age, there isn’t a single Heroic Spirit who knows anything about his True Name, story, and weaknesses. His greatest advantage in any Grail War is that nobody knows a thing about him. Except me.

I’ll have to ask Da Vinci to prepare a film camera for when he meets Muramasa.

“Mas–” Emiya grunts and corrects himself. “Ruler. I’m asking this just to be certain, but–”

“Nope,” I sing as I pull my tray close and break my chopsticks apart. “I’m not an agent of the Counter Force. No contract made here. Someone very dear to me cautioned me hard against it.”

“Oh. If that’s the case, then good.” He clears his throat, turning away. “Wise decision. If I were you, I’d thank them for helping you avoid lifetimes of suffering.”

I smile. “Thanks, Archer.”

For the first time, he smiles back at me. “Enjoy your meal, Ruler. You too, Mash. Master.”

“Anyways,” I continue. “You may be an ordinary human right now. But ordinary humans don’t typically have to fight to save worlds. And after you actually succeed… well, you wouldn’t be an ordinary human at all by that point, right?”

“I guess,” Ritskua mumbles, sniffing at his food. His stomach grumbles.

I take a bite of piping hot chestnut rice and all of my worries melt away. The first time I requested this dish from Emiya, we had just arrived back at the Wandering Sea after destroying the Olympian Lostbelt. It had been so long since I’d tasted my mother’s cooking. I longed for a taste of home. A taste of my life from before the Incineration of Humanity. Before Chaldea. But by that point, I was too far gone. Even if what I had that night was just like my mom’s food, I wouldn’t have been able to tell. I'd forgotten her flavour altogether.

For me, it had been years. But for him? It’s only been a few months. Her memory should still be fresh in his mind.

A single tear rolls down his cheek as Ritsuka swallows his first bite. He blinks, stunned. He takes another bite. Then another. As Mash sits beside him, savoring the crunch of her gratin, he inhales the rest of his food before shooting to his feet and sprinting over to the mess counter with his empty bowl.

“Seconds, please!” He shouts with tears falling from his eyes, slamming his bowl down. 

Emiya freezes, in the middle of tending to a pot of curry. We make eye contact across the cafeteria. For the split second in which he smiles, I catch a glimpse of the warm and caring Emiya that watched over me for years at my own Chaldea.

He laughs and takes Ritsuka’s empty bowl. “Right away, Master.”

“Excuse me. Ruler?”

“Hm? What’s up, Mash?”

Mash fiddles with her spoon, staring down at her finished gratin. “Well, I was thinking. One of the requirements for most Ruler class servants is impartiality. They possess no desire for the Grail. No wish. Is that true for you as well?”

Ha. That's my kouhai. Always asking the hard-hitting questions.

“Sure is,” I reply. “I don’t have any life regrets worth mentioning. I think I made the best choices I could have made in any situation. And when I died… I died fulfilled. So, don’t worry Mash. Your Master’s going to be just fine.”

“Thank goodness.” She beams in my direction. “Thank you, Ruler.”

“No problem.” 

I glance around again, just to make sure. No Karna. Caster Artoria isn’t here with her Fae Eyes either.

There's nobody here to catch me in my lie.

Chapter Text

Ritsuka and Mash leave me alone in the halls to go prepare the simulator. Not a smart idea to let me out of their site when they still don’t know what to do with me. Goredolf would have chewed them out for being too lax, saying nothing of Holmes. Then again, I used to pull the similar shenanigans without consequence when I was their age. Sometimes, I can still hear the scolding Romani gave me after I tried to body slam Quetzalcoatl from 200 metres in the air.

I guess this means they trust me. Not sure how I feel about that yet.

A magical energy signature enters my detection range and halts abruptly. Muffled. Low to the ground. Yet somehow, familiar. I’m not quite used to seeing the world through a servant’s eyes, but there’s no mistaking this presence.

“I was beginning to think you were avoiding me,” I call out. The presence doesn’t budge. “You can relax. I don’t have any intention of telling them what you really are. I’m not planning on killing you either.”

It moves closer, but stops around the corner. I sigh, dropping into a crouch before plopping my ass down on the floor and crossing my legs. Stubborn as always.

“You shy or something? Come here already, you furball.”

Fou slinks into the hallway, fluffy white ears and tail pointed up in wariness. I don’t move, letting him slowly inch his way toward me at his own pace. His little nose twitches, verifying my existence. I pat my waiting lap and tilt my head. Cautiously, he pads his way onto my legs.

I rub the base of my knuckle into the sweet spot behind his ears. All of his apprehension evaporates in an instant. He rolls over, exposing his belly to me as a low rumbling noise emanates from his chest.

“Hello, Cath Palug.” My nose wrinkles. “Mm. No. That doesn't feel right. What do you prefer? Cath Palug or Fou?”

“Fuu…” The mighty and dangerous Beast IV purrs in my lap, hind leg twitching as he eagerly awaits more scratchies.

“Fou it is.” I scoop him up, allowing him to perch upon my shoulder as I rise to my feet. “Come on. The simulator should be ready. Let’s go have some fun with little me.”

“Fou!”

When I arrive at the simulator, I’m greeted by the blinding flash of golden armour. Fou hops off my shoulder as I drop to one knee, bowing my head to Mash and Ritsuka’s companion. Raucous laughter erupts, filling my belly with a warm sense of nostalgia that tugs the corners of my mouth wide into a wild, uncontrollable grin. 

I can’t believe it, but I think I actually missed the sound of that voice.

“You would do well to learn from your servant’s example, mongrel. This is how you greet a King! Well done! I permit you to raise your head so you may bask in my radiance.”

Still grinning, I lift my head to lock eyes with the King of Heroes. “To what do we owe the honor of your presence, my king?”

Gilgamesh smirks. “The rabble have been quite loud since your arrival, Ruler. I heard that my summoner had called forth something quite outrageous, so I just had to come witness this mess of a circus act for myself.”

Ah. Translation: he’s bored. No wonder he's in such a good mood. I glance to Ritsuka and Mash, nervously standing at Gilgamesh’s side. If they’re this worried about stepping on his toes, then he must have been summoned quite recently. I was only planning on sparring, but it looks like they could stand to gain from a crash course in A.U.O. throne room etiquette.

“As a matter of fact…” I rise to my feet. “Master and I were just about to conduct a training exercise. If it pleases you, my king, I could serve as your jester to provide entertainment for the evening.”

“Hoh?” Gilgamesh’s eyes twinkle. I’ve piqued his interest.

“Master.” I flash Ritsuka as comforting a smile as I can manage, walking over to the far end of the simulator. “Please, back up the King with Mash. I’ll be your opponent.”

Ritsuka blinks rapidly. “Hm?”

“Wait. Wait wait wait wait wait a minute!” Romani’s panicked voice fills the room as he shouts through the comms system. “Ruler? I understand you’re eager to test out your servant body, but do you have a death wish? No offense, but none of your stats are capable of standing up to the King of Heroes. We haven’t even had a chance to enhance your Spirit Origin yet!”

“Isn’t this more interesting Doctor? The King of Heroes seems to agree,” I laugh. “Besides, you forget my True Name. Fujimaru Ritsuka doesn’t fight his battles directly, right?.”

“Eh?” Romani goes quiet, but I can practically hear his jaw dropping in the observation room. “Y-you can’t possibly mean– No. No way. You can’t be implying that–”

“Even if I’m a servant now, I still lived my life as a master. Facing off against another summoner will be good experience for little me.” I lift my left arm. The command seals marking my skin burn and glow, lighting up as they seek out my past connections. “What kind of hero would you like me to serve as your first course, King Gilgamesh?”

Gilgamesh snorts. His laughter grows louder as he throws back his head, full-on cackling. With a wave of his hand, golden discs of light materialize in the air as he opens up the Gate of Babylon.

“You bark well for a mere dog!” Gilgamesh shouts. “So be it! Do your best to satisfy me, mongrel. Prepare a banquet worthy of my divine palate!”

“Omakase, then? Alright.” My left hand clenches into a fist, command seal burning as I reach out to the Throne and the Saint Graph engraved within my Mystic Code. “Heed my call, oh guardian of the scales… Come, Lancer!”

Gilgamesh fires the first blow. A sword, flying for my head with enough force to obliterate my spirit core several times over. It doesn’t make it halfway across the simulator before a blood red spear swings in a skyward arc, shattering the blade to pieces. More weapons follow. The Queen of the Land of Shadows moves like a whirlwind, refusing to allow even a single shard past her impenetrable defense.

Scathach pounds the base of the Gae Bolg against the ground as the volley slows to a halt, dark hair flowing behind her from the lingering shockwaves. She tosses me a glance over her shoulder, garnet eyes glimmering in a mixture of joy and sadness. Even after death, we've been reunited. But...

“Master. To appear in that wretched form… You have some nerve, dying before me.” Her spears spin idly as she looks around the simulator. “Hm. I recall swearing to watch over your journey until the end. But it seems as if your journey beyond the end has resulted in a somewhat curious situation.”

“A Divine Spirit?” Gilgamesh raises an eyebrow, while Mash and Ritsuka gawk from behind him. “No. Not quite. A pitiful immortal cut off from the very concept of death.”

“Ah, the ever-arrogant King of Heroes.” Scathach pulls down her mask, putting her confident smirk on full display as she turns to me. “I understand. I’ll put an end to him quickly.”

“We’re not killing anyone,” I pipe up before she can take up the stance to deploy her Noble Phantasm. “I’m taking a page from your book, actually. There’s a young warrior here who’s in need of some training.”

At last, she notices the stunned Master standing behind the King of Heroes. The smile she makes upon discovering my younger self sends chills running down my spine. Flashbacks of my time sprinting across castle walls as she chucked Gae Bolg after Gae Bolg at my back resurface. I grit my teeth and push them from my mind.

“Understood. I'm not fond of taking on new disciples, but I suppose this one isn't exactly new.” She pounds her spear against the floor again. “Your orders, Master.”

I grin, powering up a Gandr shot in my fingertip. “Let’s show them how we deal with God-Kings back in Novum Chaldea.”

Chapter Text

A couple of months ago, I had no idea what a ‘Master’ or ‘Servant’ even was. I was on my way home from after-school volleyball practice. A flyer caught my eye after I got off the train. I took an aptitude test on a whim. I passed. The next thing I knew, I was here. Despite my complete lack of combat training and the fact that I didn’t even know magecraft existed, I was the newest member of the Chaldea Security Organization— a Master candidate picked to bolster their numbers.

Then in the blink of an eye, I was the only Master left. I was forced from the frying pan into the flames, literally. On my first day on the job, I was sent to do battle against famous heroes in the burning remains of Fuyuki City. I saw someone, Director Olga Marie, murdered right in front of me. Then when I finally thought the battle was over, we learned the horrible truth.

Humanity was gone. The entire planet outside of the Chaldea Observatory had been scorched.

And I was the only one capable of putting everything back to how it was.

Seven. In order to preserve humanity, Mash and I needed to resolve seven singularities.

In Orleans, I fought in my first war. It was terrifying. Me, a normal human, surrounded by warriors and royalty capable of killing me with the flick of a finger. But even worse? They, like all of humanity, depended on me. I realized quickly. I couldn’t run away, even if I wanted to.

Six. In order to finally rest, Mash and I needed to resolve six singularities.

In Rome, things got personal. Lev Lainur, the man who killed Chaldea’s Director and forced me into this situation, had finally resurfaced. We confronted him. He summoned a servant he couldn’t control and died, leaving us to clean up his mess. Finally, I was starting to get used to this.

Five. Five singularities left to fix. Maybe I can do it after all.

I wasn’t sure. I trained. Slowly, I accumulated more and more combat experience. My servants grew to trust me, strengthening our bonds. I had fought dragons. Clashed against extraterrestrial weapons. Commanded emperors.

And then I summoned myself as a Servant.

He was tall, I noticed. Taller than me. Shoulders a bit broader, bright blue eyes just a little bit darker. I was so preoccupied by the fact that a servant had hijacked the ritual that I didn’t even realize his identity until I saw the badge on his collar and the command seals covering his left arm.

Servant, Ruler. True Name, Fujimaru Ritsuka. Humanity’s final Master, the boy who prevented the Incineration of Humanity. A version of myself from a future where I succeeded in saving the world.

“Ready yourself, mongrel.”

“Master! She’s coming!”

I snap back to my senses as the sound of clashing metal erupts through the simulator.

It makes sense. He’s me, after all, and I’m more aware of my own limitations than anyone else. Summoning servants is my only talent. It’s why I was brought here. But a servant that can summon servants of his own?

Why do I need to fight at all if he can do it better?

The enemy Lancer weaves through Gilgamesh’s bombardment, flipping and slashing the Gate of Babylon’s projectile Noble Phantasms out of the air. She moves with the grace of a dancer, making the act of defying death look easy. As I look closer, the ruby red of her spears looks almost familiar. Is she... is she dual-wielding Gae Bolg?

Despite the constant barrage of Uruk’s treasures, she isn’t being repelled. On the contrary, it seems as if she’s intentionally holding a single point without attempting to counter. The King of Heroes is the strongest servant I’ve summoned. How is she holding her own with such ease?

I look beyond her. Ruler’s watching me, standing by with a casual grin on his face.

“Lesson one,” he calls out in the voice that sounds too much like mine. “You need to trust your servants. Understand who they are. Look at your current formation. Is this really working out for you?”

It’s not. The King stands in front, while Mash and her shield stay by my side in case Lancer attempts to sneak past him. She shouldn’t be here. I’ve played enough RPGs to understand her role as a tank and a frontliner, but I can’t send her away. I trust Mash with my life. But if Lancer bypasses her defense, can I really trust the King of Heroes to protect me? I’m nothing but a bug to him. Who in their right mind would risk their life for a mere ant?

Understand who they are.

When Ruler saw the King, he bowed immediately. When he propositioned Gilgamesh to join our training session, he phrased it as entertainment. Throughout their whole interaction, Ruler played the role of a vassal speaking to his liege.

I look to Gilgamesh. He isn’t looking at Lancer at all. The Gate of Babylon fires blind towards the battlefield, but he keeps his eyes on me. Waiting.

The first hero recorded in human history. The world is his garden. Everything in that garden is his. Including me. We may be contracted as Master and Servant. The difference between us may be astronomically large. But how do things look through his eyes? I’m just an ordinary human, but one allied with him. A flower in his garden. A vassal to the king.

Gilgamesh’s smile broadens as he watches me, as if reading my thoughts. The King of Heroes is the epitome of arrogance. He doesn’t hesitate to lay claim to his possessions, and will punish any thief who dares to covet his treasures.

I am one of those treasures. He won’t allow Lancer’s blade to cut a single hair on my head.

“Mash. Engage the enemy. Draw her focus.”

“Understood. Shield effect initiated.” 

Mash hefts up her shield and sprints into battle. As she does, the discs of golden light around us change formation. The barrage slows as she runs through the line of fire, taking shots of opportunity instead of firing with overwhelming speed and force. She throws herself against her shield, barrelling towards Lancer with enough force to punch through Chaldea’s armor-plated walls.

“ Gandr! ”

She slides to a halt, body frozen from the bolt of red light that had struck her from the side. While our attention had been focused on Lancer, Ruler had repositioned himself to set up his shot. He winks at me. Part of me is starting to finally understand why Olga Marie was always pissed off whenever we bumped into each other.

“Lesson two! Fights against other Masters aren’t the same as fights against servants. This is one example. As for the other…”

Before he finishes speaking, I brandish my left fist. “By my command seal–!”

“…There we go.” He smirks, brandishing his as well. “By my command seal~!

“Mash, break free and deploy your Noble Phantasm before she hits you!”

“Lancer, ignore the Shielder and target her Master with your Noble Phantasm.”

“Eh?” 

My eyes widen, but my first command seal has already taken effect. Mash’s body moves, breaking free from the curse as she slams her shield down and manifests a glowing barrier in front of her.

“Noble phantasm deploying! Master! Look out!”

“This spear is an embodiment of who I am.” Both of Lancer’s spears catch flame with crimson sparks, erupting with magical energy as she prepares to lunge. “And I am the epitome of the spear.”

Our eyes lock for a brief moment before my view is blocked by plated golden armour. Gilgamesh steps in front of me, opening so many portals around us that I’m momentarily blinded by golden light.

“At my original strength, I could make short work of her. But to fight so well, even against this subpar form… she is strong,” he remarks. “Unlike mine, her Spirit Origin has been enhanced and ascended to its limit. Not just that, but even her basic attacks have been tampered with. I sense an energy within her strikes akin to the Chain of Heavens.”

“L-like Enkidu?” I stammer.

“Indeed. She must be an accomplished god-slayer of repute, on top of the tampering done to her essence. Servants are weapons, and that Ruler there has sharpened her spear for the express purpose of felling beings with high ranking divinity.” Gilgamesh chuckles to himself. “How amusing. Stay behind me, Master. Let us see how her spear fares against the genuine article.”

He snaps his fingers. As Lancer bellows the name of her Noble Phantasm, gold-tipped chains fire from every portal, some heading straight for her while others weave together to form a barrier around us.

Gilgamesh roars. “Bind her, Enkidu!”

“ Gae Bolg Alternative !”

The earth shakes beneath my feet as her spear clashes against the King’s wall of metal. I throw my arms in front of my face, one leg behind the other as I brace for the impact. Chains rattle around us, some portals even shutting down from the force of her blow. One by one, they begin to dissolve. 

For a moment, the force subsides. I let my arms fall as I look around, and Gilgamesh is suddenly gone. My gut tells me to turn around. Despite the danger right in front of me, I risk a glance behind me. Gilgamesh stands pinned to the cracked simulator wall, a thorny red spear embedded in his shoulder. He coughs a bit of blood as he glares up, still grinning like a madman.

“You missed.”

Lancer grunts, her arm lifted and poised to throw her second spear. If it weren’t for the glimmering chains binding her at every joint, I’d be dead. She thrashes against them, but they refuse to budge.

Adrenaline courses through my veins, accelerating my heart rate through the roof as I fall to my knees. And then I hear that voice again.

“Lesson three. Ritsuka Fujimaru is an anomaly.”

I freeze up as a finger taps against the back of my head. When the hell did he get behind me?

“When fighting other Masters, you can never assume they are just as weak as you are. Holy Grail Wars are fought between Mages, not civilians. You barely count as a mage, which means you need to play to your strengths. Which brings us back to lesson one.”

“Raah!”

Wind rushes past my face as Mash swings her shield above my head, driving Ruler back. He laughs, retreating a few steps as I pull myself back to my feet.

“Trust my servants,” I pant.

His smile broadens as he nods to Lancer. She relaxes her body, then vanishes in a rain of glittering gold dust.

“Well, that was pretty solid, all things considered. Go get some rest. I’m gonna go have a word with the good Doctor.”

With that, he waves and vanishes into his Spirit Form. My labored breathing continues as I look around at the destruction we wreaked upon the Simulator. Mash walks up to me with an equally dishevelled and exhausted demeanor as she dematerializes her shield.

“Did we… win?” she asks.

I don’t know. I have no clue whatsoever. “Probably?”

“Oi. Mongrels. If you don’t cease your yammering and assist me this instant, I really won't forgive you.”

We both flinch, having completely forgotten about the King of Heroes still pinned to the wall behind us. My mind races as Mash rushes over to help him down.

Is that competent tactician really what I become in the future? After being forced to fight, time and time again?

Ruler is tall. Taller than me. I can’t help noticing every time I see him. He’s an adult. All grown up, but still dressed in that uniform. He said he succeeded in fixing the Incineration of Humanity. Did it take him that long to do so? Or perhaps… even after the battles to save the Scorched Earth end… did something draw him back to the battlefield?

Ordinary humans don’t typically have to fight to save worlds.

Worlds. Plural.

I don't know a lot about Servants or Masters. I'm still struggling to wrap my head around magecraft. But if there's one thing I do know, it's the existence known as "Fujimaru Ritsuka."

Ruler is putting on a front. He's hiding something. And I'm not so sure if I want to know what it is.

Chapter Text

The doctor sits alone in the simulator observation room, watching the door. Behind him, on a secondary monitor, my status is open. While we were fighting, he must have been analyzing each and every crack and crevice of my Spirit Graph.

True Name: Fujimaru Ritsuka

Class: Ruler

Parameters:

STR      E      END     D

AGI      E      MP       C

LUK     A      NP     E - A+++

Height: 178 cm

Region: Chaldea Security Organization/Modern Japan

Alignment: Neutral Good/True Neutral

Gender: Male

He sighs. “Truly abysmal stats, aren’t they?” 

Romani’s head hangs low. He doesn’t look in my direction, but I get the feeling he’s known my exact positioning from the moment I entered the room. In response, I rematerialize, sitting down on the edge of his desk with my arms crossed. He doesn’t turn to look at me.

“Learn anything interesting?” I ask with a smile.

“Too much, if anything,” he replies with a dry laugh. Still, he doesn’t look at me. “It’s honestly amazing. A servant capable of summoning incredibly powerful servants of his own, with no cost to his Master. And on top of that, there’s a miniature Spirit Origin graph built into your Mystic Codes. Any servant you summon will retain all their memories, experiences, and enhancements from the future you came from.”

“Though only one at a time,” I add with a nod. “After that, I’d need to burn a command seal for every individual summon. In my current form, at least.”

Finally, he faces me. His eyes linger on my arm. I pull back my sleeve to reveal a single black mark within the maze of red. The patch of skin looks almost burned. Necrotic. It's the price I had to pay for pushing my body to the limit in life, manifested as part of my fable in death. His lower lip quivers as he looks away once more.

“Seventy-two.” His voice is on the verge of breaking. “Why, Ruler? Why seventy-two?”

“You already know the answer to that, Doctor.” 

I can tell from his expression that he isn’t satisfied. But it’s true. He just refuses to acknowledge it. To acknowledge me. The man calling himself Romani Archaman doesn’t like looking at sad things, after all. He’s a coward. That’s just a part of his nature.

“It’s poetic, isn’t it?” I continue. “We match. The first and greatest summoner to ever live. And the last Master standing at the end of the world. Our fates are forever intertwined in more ways than one. The fact that I’m even here, speaking to you, is proof of this.”

He swallows. Softly, he whispers. “You’ve grown up well, haven’t you? Fujimaru.”

I close my eyes. It's been a long, long time since I've heard him call me by my name.

“Thanks to you, Doctor. It was always thanks to you and the rest of Chaldea’s staff standing behind me that I was always able to find the strength to keep fighting.” I lower my sleeve. “Although, if I’m being honest? You were an inconsiderate bastard all the way to the very end.”

“I…” Romani interlocks his hands tight enough for his knuckles to turn white, but he can’t hide the obvious trembling wracking his entire body. “I’m sorry. For all of this. For all of the burdens we forced upon you. I’m so sorry.”

“I know. But don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s okay to make mistakes, Doctor.” 

I pause, waiting for him to look up at me before I continue. It takes a while, but eventually, he does. His eyes glisten as I smile at him. It’s odd, being in this position of comforting him. I think back to the day I first arrived in Chaldea, meeting the slacker hiding away in my room. Eventually, he would become my rock. He's done more for me than he could ever hope to know.

“You’re human, after all.”

I turn away to head for the door. Romani’s not the only one with difficulty looking at sad things. And seeing the man who watched over me through the most chaotic times of my life break down and cry? That alone might probably be enough to shatter the collected front I’ve been maintaining since my summoning.

“Ruler. Wait.”

I stop in the doorway.

“What are you going to do?”

A good question. One that I’ve been mulling over since I arrived. I’m not so sure yet, myself. But, at the very least, I think I have a rough idea of where to start.

“I won’t be tagging along on any missions. The singularities will only get tougher as you progress, but those challenges are necessary for Master and Mash to grow. They’ll be able to handle them just fine without me until the Seventh Singularity.”

“As I thought. You’re not going to make this easy for us, are you?”

“Of course not,” I chuckle. “They’ll need to fight if they want to grow stronger. And they’ll need to grow strong if they want to face what’s coming.”

“That thing calling itself the King of Mages?” Romani asks in a low voice.

“Ha. Master’s probably caught on by now, so I thought you would have too.” I shake my head. “No, not him. In my lifetime… the Incineration of Humanity was the first and last major Order undertaken by the Chaldea Security Organization that you know. We succeeded in bringing humanity back from the brink of extinction. But our victory was short-lived.”

“Wait. You mean–”

“Doctor. In exchange for providing the command room and field team with information to assist with the Singularities, I want you to do me a favour. Have someone go through Chaldea’s archive and dig up everything they can on Chaldeas. How it was made, designed, funded… every little detail, no matter how small.”

“Chaldeas?” He goes silent for a moment. “No. I understand. I’ll have my best people on it by morning.”

“Great. No need to rush. We have plenty of time, after all.” I turn around, clapping my hands as I remember one last thing I need to do. “Oh, right! Take out your phone.”

“Hm? Sure.” He rummages around in his white coat before producing a smart phone within a frilly pink, white, and blue case. I bite my tongue to avoid cringing at it.

“Could you open up the site you use to burn all your hard-earned money—” I clear my throat. “Ahem. Sorry. The site that you use to send donations to Magi☆Mari?”

“Ehhh?” Romani scowls, but he opens up a bookmarked page with far too much ease and familiarity than I’m comfortable with. “Are you sure this is important for saving the world?”

“Oh, it isn’t in the slightest,” I shrug as I take the phone from him and type in a donation amount of five-hundred QP. “I’m just making things easier for us down the road. And having a little bit of payback. Oh, look at that. I can send voice messages to accompany my donation.”

Romani’s eyes widen. I have no idea what kind of face I’m making right now, but from his reaction alone, it’s probably scary enough to give Xiang Yu a run for his money. As if on cue, something paws at my pant leg. Fou scurries up the side of my body, perching readied on my shoulder. My hand clenches into a fist while the other hits the record button.

“You must be having so much fun peeping on us from your tower, you voyeuristic flower bastard,” I hiss into the mic. “I don’t care how many pathetic losers you scam into giving you money, stop toying with this one. Watching him is really sad. If you’re going to help out, do it properly. Or else the next time I see you, I’m siccing one of my Artorias on you. And trust me. This one does not hold you in high regard.”

I hold the phone up to Fou.

“Fou, fou! Fou, fou! Murder Merlin [REDACTED], [CENSORED], [NOTSAFEFORWORK], fou!”

“And... sent! Good job, Fou.” I tap my finger against his paw in a mock high-five before tossing the phone back to a stunned Romani. “By the way, Magi☆Mari is Merlin.”

“Huh?”

“You know, Merlin? The Mage of Flowers? Grand Caster locked away in a tower on Avalon?”

“Uh-huh?”

“Yeah. He’s been Magi☆Mari the whole time. He runs the website and everything. See you!”

“No. What? No. She can’t possibly–?” Romani falls to his knees, pale and sweating. His pupils dilate as his voice takes on a jitterish edge. Even as Fou and I leave the room and the door shuts behind us, I can still hear the doctor’s cries of anguish echoing through the halls. “ No! No, God, please! No! NOOO !”

That’s what he gets for lying to the Ritsuka Fujimara of my timeline. If all goes well with my plan, hopefully he won’t have to do the same to the Ritsuka Fujimaru of this one.

Chapter Text

One month ago, Senpai defied the impossible. He somehow summoned himself. A Servant version of himself. True name, Fujimaru Ritsuka. Class, Ruler. Supposedly, he was engraved into the Throne of Heroes after his success in solving our current predicament— the Incineration of Humanity. 

Part of me was happy to see him at first. His very existence was proof that we could succeed in our mission. That perhaps our efforts to conquer this herculean mountain wouldn’t be so steep after all. But then I started thinking. This version of Senpai is… all grown up. An adult. His face doesn’t betray him when he looks at me. I suppose he’s different from Senpai in that regard. When Senpai is sad, he cries. When Senpai is angry, he doesn’t hide it. He shows emotions in such a natural way that sometimes I’m a bit envious of him. He's human, after all.

But I know Ruler is hiding something.

After all, the Mash Kyrielight that fought by his side… must be dead.

I am a designer baby. A genetically-altered, artificial existence closer to a homunculus than a real human being. Chaldea made me for the sole purpose of becoming a vessel for a Heroic Spirit. As of this year, I am sixteen years old. By next year, I will be seventeen. And two years from now, I will have reached the end of my intended lifespan.

Unlike Senpai… Unlike Ruler… I will not age. I will not live to adulthood. Whatever adventures this version of Senpai has seen, wherever he may have gone… I wasn't by his side for most of them.

I don’t yet know how that makes me feel.

A few days ago, Senpai and I returned to Chaldea after resolving the Okeanos Singularity. We were quite shocked to find out Ruler, our most valuable servant in strength, information, and Servant tactics, wouldn’t be joining us. Instead, he stood by in the command room with Dr. Roman and Da Vinci. For the most part, he left Master and I to do as we saw fit. While there were times we felt lost in our decisions, he would never tell us the correct answers. Instead, he would walk us through the facts, speaking with a calm, yet carefree manner as he guided us into making our own choices.

“They’re pirates. Telling them not to drink is like telling a human to stop breathing! Even if they’re terribly hungover tomorrow morning, they’ll still be shipshape and ready to sail at your command. That's just how they are.”

Still, the information he did provide us proved quite useful in a variety of manners.

“Hm? That flag? Ugh, that’s Edward Teach. Yeah, Blackbeard. Don’t worry about him, he won’t come near you while that Bounded Field is up. Just a heads up, though? He’s a total pervert. Feel free to bash him extra hard on the head, Mash. He can take it. And even if he can't... eh.”

“Stick close to Master and be careful of that Lancer, Mash. He’s a true warrior, not a pirate like the rest of them. They don’t call him the greatest warrior of Troy for nothing. Oops! Spoilers. Ignore I said that— and it’s too late. She’s freaking out. Please don't ask for his autograph.”

“Master, don’t be afraid to skewer the teddy bear and hold him over the campfire if he acts out towards Mash. Or anyone. Hm? You don’t wanna upset a goddess? Nah, Artemis won’t get mad. If anything, you’d actually be doing her a favour. Why are there so many perverts, you ask? Kid, I asked that question every day of my life. Just wait 'til you meet Roland.”

“You don’t want to use yourself as live bait against Hercules, you say? Well, if it makes you feel better, Master, this plan actually ended up working out pretty well when I did it! It doesn’t make you feel better? You think you'll be traumatized for life? Y’know, now that you mention it, I did have recurring nightmares about him chasing me for a couple weeks. Why'd they stop? There is no good answer to that question.”

“Hey. Psst! While she’s monologuing, you guys should get ready to fight. She’s about to turn that blonde bastard into a tentacle. Wow. Add that to the list of sentences nobody’s ever spoken before.”

In the end, we finally succeeding in acquiring the Grail and rayshifted back to Chaldea. I learned a bit more about humanity from conversations with Drake, and Chaldea learned a bit more about the identity of our enemy, Solomon, the King of Mages.

It’s been two days since we returned. Senpai seems to have acclimated to Ruler’s presence, greeting him and engaging in small talk when they bump into each other in the halls. They seem like brothers, in a way, but without a close relationship. Senpai doesn’t talk to Ruler much, and Ruler is seldom the first to approach Senpai.

“I don’t think I should be learning more about my future,” Senpai confessed to me in the cafeteria yesterday. “He managed to save the world without any future knowledge, right? I think he’s refusing to enter the field with us because he knows I can do the same. He wants me to do the same. To become stronger.”

I think back on what Drake and I discussed about wishes in Okeanos. While I don’t have a wish to offer the Grail, Senpai seems to have one. He’s determined in a way that I don’t think I’m capable of replicating. On the other hand, Ruler is… well, a Ruler. By definition, he has no wish for the Grail.

But how can that be?

It’s not often that I experience difficulty falling asleep. But tonight, my mind races. I slip out of bed and put on my jacket, wandering through the observatory’s empty halls. Out of habit, my feet carry me to that hallway. The very same hallway where I first found Senpai asleep on the floor.

A wish… Yes, maybe I did have something like a wish once. I wanted to see the sky. A clear, blue sky. The constant blizzard outside of the observatory made that wish impossible to achieve, so Dr. Roman brought me to Da Vinci’s workshop. There, she showed me a projection of the night sky with all kinds of constellations to observe. But it wasn’t anything like the real thing. Everyone told me as much. So, whenever my mind began to drift into unknown territory, I found myself walking down that hallway. Sometimes, Ophelia or Pepe would tag along. Sometimes, Fou would run around my heels to keep me company.

I see the same view every time I walk through that hallway. A raging storm outside, with snowflakes billowing every which way while blocking out the sun. Still, Dr. Roman once told me that while extremely unlikely, clear skies have dawned on this observatory in the past.

This is Chaldea. A place where impossibilities are made possible.

After our Grand Order commenced, I saw my first blue sky in the grassy plains of Orleans with Jeanne. In Septem, I rode through Roman forests with Nero. And in Okeanos, I spent hours into the night talking with Senpai and Drake beneath the constellations that I learned about from Da Vinci.

Still, habit continues to pull me towards this hallway. I know I won’t see anything different this time. It’s night, after all. But when I finally arrive, I see something I wasn't expecting. He sits on the windowsill, eyes closed and leaning against the glass, with a bundle of fluff on his thighs. It’s Ruler.

My chest tightens. I taste something like bile on my tongue. This feeling… I don’t know it. It’s foreign. What is this sense of annoyance rising up within me?

Curled up in his lap, Fou lies asleep as well. His fluffy ears perk up as I approach. Before I can stop him, Fou walks up Ruler’s chest and starts batting at his cheeks.

“Ow. I’m awake, you furball.” Ruler grabs Fou by the scruff of his neck, disgruntled as he sits up and yawns. “You never treat little me like this when you wake him up.”

He notices me and breaks into a smile. “Oh, Mash! It's rare to see you out and about so late. Couldn’t sleep?”

“Yes, Sen—” My mouth opens, and I have to stop myself. Normally, I have no such problems. But there are times when Ruler smiles in just the same way and I can’t help confusing them in my head. “I’m so sorry, Ruler. It just slipped out.”

His smile is warm, but there’s a tinge of sadness in his eyes. I wonder, what does he see when he looks at me? Is the ‘me’ who travelled with him really dead? And if so… it would be nice if he remembered our happy memories together.

I don’t want him to feel sad when he looks at me. I don’t like the mix of feelings that arise whenever I see his face.

“It’s fine, Mash. You’ll get used to it soon enough. Like I said before, you only have one ‘Senpai,’ right?” He turns to look out the window. “Just like I only have one ‘Kouhai.’”

“What was she like?” I blurt out without thinking. “Sorry. Please, ignore I said anything.”

“No, no. It’s okay. You can ask.” Fou hops onto his shoulder as he rises to his feet and nods in the direction of the cafeteria. “Let’s chat over some tea. It’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure Goredolf beat the proper brewing techniques into me so hard that they have to be engraved in my Spirit Origin.”

“P-pardon?”

“It’s nothing. Come on! I’ll hear out your troubles.”

Chapter Text

Ruler has me sit in the cafeteria kitchen’s backroom, where Emiya, Boudica, and Tamamo-Cat take their breaks from meal service. He shoots me a wink and holds a finger to his lips as we enter.

“Don’t tell anyone, but this is where they hide and enjoy the good stuff all to themselves.” He gets to work preparing tea, filling the small break room with the scent of fragrant earl grey. “So, you want to know more about yourself from the future I came from?”

There it is again. That flicker of foreign annoyance. Is this just another emotion I have yet to grasp? Or is it, perhaps… I purse my lips, pushing the thought from my mind. I don’t want to take up more of Ruler’s time than I already have.

“As much as you can tell me,” I reply. “I know it’s dangerous for me to know too much about my future, but… Well, if you came from the future than you already know about my predetermined lifespan.”

“I do.”

There it is. Confirmation. My chest tightens.

“I know I’m only a demi-servant. I know I can’t compare to some of the other heroes you’ve summoned. But I guess… I just want to know if I was useful to you, Ruler. Before my time was spent.”

He doesn’t respond. For a moment, he appears to just be standing still beside the kettle. 

“Mash, why do you fight? Why do you risk your life in battle in spite of your own weakness?”

“I… I want to be of use to Senpai and Chaldea.”

“Why?”

“Because…” My mouth opens, but the words are difficult to speak. “Because I still don’t understand humanity. I don’t understand what it means to live. As long as I’m with Senpai, travelling to these new places and meeting new people… it feels like I’m taking steps closer to understand what it means to be human.”

“What do you think about fighting itself?”

“It’s scary. It hurts. I don’t want to hurt people. But in order to save the world, in order to help Senpai, and in order to learn more about myself… I must fight.”

“Hm. Not a bad answer.” Ruler walks over with a teapot and pours us both cups. “Mash, do you know what Fujimaru Ritsuka’s wish is? What drives him to keep getting up, no matter how many times he’s knocked down?”

I shake my head, then take a sip of my tea. It’s hot. It burns my tongue. It’s delicious.

“It’s nothing noble. It’s not a wish that can be granted by something like the Holy Grail. And it’s a wish so human that it’s stunned a fair share of gods into silence. A simple wish, but it lead Chaldea to victory time and time again, no matter how impossible the situation.”

I’ve seen Senpai’s determination in action. There are times, I’ll admit, when his lack of experience is obvious. Compared to him, the old members of Team A are certainly more reliable and versatile. But never once have I wished to trade him for any of them. Not Ophelia or Pepe. Not Daybit or Hinako. Not even Kirshtaria, with all his talent and raw power. Because even when the odds are stacked against us and when all avenues have been exhausted, Senpai refuses to give up. Through sheer persistence and force of will, he always finds a way to win in his own unique way. Sure, he's scared. He doesn't have any useful powers or talents beyond summoning servants. Even so, he fights.

Senpai is the most human of them all.

“ I want to live ,” Ruler laughs. “That wish is what got me engraved into the Throne of Heroes. All of humanity was saved just because a single, inexperienced human boy didn’t want to die. Isn’t it absurd?”

I blink. “He just wants… to live?”

“Exactly. So, that’s why…” He looks me in the eye with that smile again. “It’s okay for you to want to live too, Mash.”

What is he talking about? Of course, I want to live. I want to live, but…

“If you’re sad, cry. If you’re angry, shout to anyone who will listen. It’s not that you’re incapable of feeling or understanding these emotions, it’s that you refuse to. You’ve already accepted your death.”

“I…” My hands clench into fists, gripping my skirt and wrinkling the fabric. “What else can I do? Denying it changes nothing. Crying, shouting, it all changes nothing. I will still die. There’s no point.”

“Maybe not.” Ruler takes a sip from his cup before continuing. “But you fight anyways. In order to save the world. In order to help our Master. In order to learn more about yourself and about humans, you get up and keep fighting for your future. So what if your life was predetermined to end at eighteen? Chaldea’s a place where impossibilities are made possible. Don’t give up on yourself, Mash. ”

A thought strikes me. An impossible, petrifying, wonderful thought.

“Ruler. In the future you came from… did I find a way to live past eighteen?”

“ It is not yet time to reveal the truth ,” he sings in a faux British accent. “Unfortunately, that’s part of the bulk of information I’m unable to share. It’s too early to start dealing cards, let alone play them. But, I promise you, I’m doing my best to stack the deck in our favour.”

“I trust you.” 

Once again, I blurt out words without thinking. But I do. Maybe it’s because of how similar he is to Senpai. Or maybe it’s the depth of his understanding of my emotions, something that he could only know if learned from the ‘me’ of the future. I trust Ruler.

I smile back, only for that bitter taste to stain my tongue again. That foreign feeling fills my chest to bursting. He’s so irritating. Why? He’s not doing anything. I want him gone. But he’s an ally. A servant of Chaldea. I don’t trust– why is he staring at me like that?

“Hm? Hmmmm?” Ruler leans forward over the table, so close that I can almost feel his breath on my nose. His piercing blue eyes feel like they’re staring through my very soul. “Oh, I get it. He doesn’t like me very much, does he? Not gonna lie, that stings a bit.”

“R-Ruler?!”

“What’s the problem, my other adorable kouhai?” He sneers, chuckling a bit as his eyebrows furrow. “Is it that you don’t like how similar we are to each other? Or maybe you somehow already know about the things I’ve done to get here? I hope you realize that part of the blame is on you for never explaining things properly, you deadbeat knight!”

“Ruler, I don’t know what you’re doing, but please stop! For some reason, I’m filled with an inexplicable urge to bash you with my shield!”

“Oh, fine.” Ruler slumps back into his chair, crossing his arms with a huff. “Don’t worry about him. He doesn’t approve of some of the actions I took, even though we could have avoided that whole mess if he told us what he knew at the time instead of… Nevermind.”

“Him?” I blink again. That foreign feeling… It’s him. The Heroic Spirit that got angry on my behalf, the same one who gave me this shot at life. “He’s still here? I… I thought he left.”

“Yeah, so did we for a while,” Ruler grumbles. “But then you started acting weird when we reached… Well, you’ll see when you get there. And before either of you freak out, I’m not telling you his True Name. You’ll find out when you’re ready.”

“I understand.” As curious as I am, I steel my patience and nod. “Is there anything at all that you can tell me about him now?”

He huffs, sparing me a side glance. “Without spoiling too much… I guess it wouldn’t hurt to say that you two suit each other. You’re someone who doesn’t know what her wish is. He’s someone that’s never experienced having a wish to begin with. Don't feel too burdened about owing him your life. He just does these kinds of things on a whim.”

I see. So, that’s why Ruler said they were similar to each other. Before I can ask another question, he points to the clock hanging above the break room doorway.

“It’s getting late, Mash. You should head back to bed if you don’t want to start developing little me’s habit of passing out in random hallways.”

He’s right. I was only intending to take a quick walk, but now I’m several hours behind on my normal sleep schedule. I leap to my feet.

“Thank you for relieving my concerns, Ruler.” I bow in the doorway, before hastily running off. “Please have a good night!”

I’m happy. I’m so happy. Not only did I learn that the Heroic Spirit within me never truly left, but I also received hope and a lesson. My fate, just like humanity’s, isn’t yet set in stone. I can still fight. 

No, I will fight. Even if it’s pointless. Because it's the human thing to do.

After Mash leaves, I get to work cleaning up the tea set and putting everything back where it belongs. Our talk wasn't just helpful for her. It helped me realize some things too. At long last, the workings of a decent plan starts to piece itself together in my head. I'll have to meet with Romani soon to discuss the findings on Chaldeas. Then, I'll have to somehow convince him to allow me to rayshift into London ahead of the field team. But as for Beast I and the Temple of Time...

It could work. No, by all means, it should. But in order to know for sure, I need to test it.

My command seals glow as I hold out my left arm. I don't have to speak a single word. Hell, I barely have to even think her name before she materializes in the break room.

For a moment, we stand in silence, staring at each other. She smiles first, breaking the tension.

"You're planning something," she remarks, reading me like a book.

"I am," I admit. "But I need a second opinion."

She nods along as I explain what I had in mind.

"I see," she says. "I think it could be possible. We might need Merlin, since things like this are his specialty. Da Vinci would know for sure. She can hammer out the kinks if you can convince her to help out."

"Hm. I hadn't thought about that. Good idea. She wouldn't mind keeping secrets from Romani. Heck, she might even find this funny. What do you think we would need?"

"For starters? A Noble Phantasm capable of destroying or rewriting sorcery."

"I'll ask Medea if Rulebreaker could work in this application. But in case we need to fine-tune it, maybe I should get my hands on a Holy Grail. How hard could that be? Half of Chaldea's servants seem to just stumble upon them in the hallways. Maybe I can ask the Santas who their dealer is?"

"Agreed. That would increase our chances. Although, your Spirit Origin will probably be completely destroyed in the process."

"I'm fine with that. I'm a Servant, and a Ruler at that. It's my whole job to ensure the dead don't lead the living. Besides, I have other plans for what comes after."

"If you're sure. Then, we would only need one last thing. A catalyst."

"We can get that on the day of, remember? Oh, wait. You weren't there for that part."

"Hehe. This is going to be interesting. I hope they appreciate this."

"I know they will," I smile. "The next time we see each other will be at the Temple of Time, then."

"I'll see you there." My first servant beams as her body fades into golden dust. "Good luck, Senpai."

The room darkens as my command seals cease glowing.

"Thanks, Mash."

Chapter Text

THE NIGHT BEFORE RAYSHIFTING INTO LONDON.

“No! I haven’t even accomplished anything yet!”

Ahh. It's this dream, again.

“From the moment I was born, I’ve never been accepted by anyone—!”

The first time I saw a Servant’s memories when I fell asleep, I remember feeling elated. In their dreams, I could hide away from my own. For the first night in weeks, I wouldn’t see her face.

“Nobody’s ever praised me for anything yet!”

That face. Screaming. Pleading to anyone who would listen, hoping that someone would save her. I was there. Mash was there. But we were weak. We couldn’t do a thing to stop Lev from incinerating the Director against the surface of Chaldeas.

I grip Mash’s trembling shoulders as Olga Marie’s screams fill the cavern, eventually dying out as her body goes limp and the miniature planet devours her whole. Lev Lainur laughs. The sick bastard laughs, and he laughs, and he laughs.

Rage pulsing through my veins, wind whipping my scarlet hair into my face, I force myself to my feet.

Wait. Since when was my hair red? And when did it grow out so long?

Before I can stop to question my appearance, the dream shifts. I find myself looking at my own face, drifting through a black void surrounded by familiar presences. The same spiky black hair. A little bit older. A little bit taller. A little bit sadder. It's Ruler. I reach out with my left hand, brushing it against his cheek.

Did my command seals always look like that?

I hear a voice calling to him. No, not him. Us. A familiar voice.

My voice?

"Let silver and steel be the essence!"

...What?

I jolt awake in my bed, panting hard. It's still dark. I glance at the alarm clock on my bedside. Still another three hours before I have to wake up for the London briefing.

Loosing a sigh, I flop back down and pull the covers back over myself. I'll be heading into a new Singularity tomorrow. I'll need all the rest I can get.

Still...

As my eyes close, and my thoughts ebb back into darkness, I feel a spider-like chill crawling its way down my spine.

Like something out there is watching me. Something hungry, licking its lips in anticipation.

Eh. It's probably nothing. Already, I don't even remember what happened in my dream.

If I don't remember it, it probably wasn't that important.

Right?

Chapter Text

“No.”

“Doctor, I swear, it’s for a really important reason.”

“Ruler, if you’re not going to tell me why you want to go to London three days ahead of the field team, then I’m not approving your rayshift.”

 “You’re going to approve it.” I cross my arms, glaring Romani down. “Because I’m getting to London, whether you approve my trip or not. And I’m sure you don’t want to deal with yet another unauthorized servant messing around in the command room.”

Romani sighs, resting an elbow on his desk. Around us, the other members of Chaldea’s staff take turns sneaking nervous looks at me. I’ve made it a point not to show myself around them too much, but I’m sure they’ve already been briefed by either Da Vinci, Romani, or maybe even Master himself. I spot Cerejeira among them. Sylvia. Meuniere. Duston. Soria and Mao.

“Even if I say yes, what are you going to do about magical energy? Without Fujimaru, you’ll vanish in a heartbeat.”

“I have Independent Action. Plus, I’m familiar with the area, so I know where to go if I need to top up my Spirit Origin. Worst comes to worst, I can sustain myself with a leyline.”

He squints at me through sip from his coffee mug. “I don’t know about this.”

“Hey. I’m not asking you to do this for nothing in exchange. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”’ My voice drops into a whisper. “Don’t you want to know what happened to Marisbury?”

He doesn’t move, but his pupils dilate. Releasing a sigh, he faces his monitor.

“Everyone, begin preparations a little early. We’ll be rayshifting a single servant in T-minus ten minutes, three days ahead of our planned arrival date.” He checks his watch. “Hm. Still a half hour to go until Fujimaru’s scheduled briefing. Since you’re a true Servant, we won’t need to monitor you to prove your existence. But that means that until Fujimaru arrives, you’ll be cut off from Chaldea completely.”

“I understand. Don’t worry so much about me, Doctor. I’m a lot more capable than I used to be.”

“I’m not worried about you, per se. Mash has gotten pretty attached to you. And I know he doesn’t show it, but Fujimaru has too.” Romani sighs. “Well, you know more than anyone how you used to react whenever any of your Servants died. Don’t go breaking their hearts, okay?”

“What he means to say is, be careful.” Da Vinci appears at my side, resting an arm on my shoulder. “I know he doesn’t show it, but Romani’s more attached to you than any of us.”

“Right, right.” Romani rolls his eyes as he returns to his keyboard. “I just love getting bossed around by a dead future-version of one of my subordinates. It’s the best. Can't get enough of it.”

“Speaking of bossing, how goes your research into Chaldeas?”

Romani straightens his back as Da Vinci goes quiet. They both turn to look at me.

“We found nothing,” he says.

I raise an eyebrow. “Nothing important?”

“As in, literally nothing,” Da Vinci clarifies, her typical Mona Lisa smile fading. “Every record we searched was either razed or classified by an unknown authority. Other than operational instructions and maintenance reports, there’s a black hole in our archives where information should be.”

“Damn,” I mutter, mostly to myself. “He sure was thorough to the end, huh?”

“Did you already know this would happen?” Romani asks.

“I had my suspicions,” I reply, walking to the exit. “I’ll tell you guys a little more once I get back. Hopefully, I’ll have a bit more to share after my trip.”

Chaldeas. Until the Incineration of Humanity is taken care of, I can’t have it destroyed. No, maybe I’ll have to continue waiting until after the Remnants are taken care of as well. But how would I even go about it? Small as it is, that thing’s a fully functioning planet powered by the equivalent of a sun or a quasar. Destroying it might have disastrous consequences, from obliterating the Antarctic observatory to maybe even disintegrating the entire South Pole.

I need more information, and there’s only one person who can give it to me.

It’s time to set up a date with the Detective.

The thick fog of Angrboda irritates my lungs. A small portion of Mash’s poison resistance persists in my body after death, but a mere fragment is incomparable to the real thing. I take a moment to catch my breath against a tree in Regent Park as the Saber in a flowing white bridal dress finishes dispatching what’s left of the homunculi.

“The pests have been exterminated, Maestro!” Nero plunges Aestus Estus into the ground and looks around, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “This is quite the dreary location, don’t you think? Hardly a spot worthy of visiting for our honeymoon.”

I snort. “You say that everywhere I take you.”

“Umu! And I shall continue to do so until you take me on a proper vacation!” She sighs, leaning against her platinum blade. “Haven’t we been working too hard for far too long? I may not be an Emperor in this form, but I am still a bride on my eternal wedding day! Why have we never rayshifted somewhere like Hawaii?”

“We did,” I grumble, wrist aching from phantom carpal tunnel cramps. “But we barely left the resort because we spent most of our time making doujin.”

“Argh! I am at my wit’s end!” Nero tears her sword free with a humph. “I shall return for now, darling. The next time you summon me, ensure either a worthy foe to face in battle, or a bridal suite at a five-star, all-inclusive resort! Fail to comply and I will show you the true meaning of the beast they call Bridezilla!”

“I’ll try my best,” I smile. “Thanks for the hard work.”

As she fades away with a grin, I set off towards the British Museum. It’s not hard to find. Of all the buildings in the entire city, this is the only one sitting in a smoking pile of its own rubble. As I draw near, enchanted grimoires burst from the debris, priming to attack.

“A little help, Caster?”

Blue lances materialize above the books, dropping down and skewering each one in a single blow. Artoria materializes by my side in her crown and regal garb, tapping her staff against the floor to dismiss the sacred swords. She looks around, then makes a disgusted similar face to Nero’s.

“ This is Proper Human History’s Britain?” She taps her staff twice against the floor. All around us, chunks of rubble begin rising into the air. “Even though it was lying in literal ruins, I think I prefer Faerie Britain’s Londinium.”

“It’s not London’s fault that it became a Singularity,” I shrug. “There’s a giant steam engine under the city pumping poisonous fog into the air, a tiny serial killer running rampant, murderous robots, homunculi… I haven’t been to present-day London myself, but it’s probably a lot nicer than this.”

“I suppose. The dubious hostility aside, the scent of iron does remind me of Norwich.” She stops, pointing to a passageway revealed beneath a floating boulder. “Is that what we’re looking for?”

“Yep.”

With a flick of her staff, the rubble falls, leaving us a clear path into the tunnels below. She summons a glowing sword as I take the lead, descending down dank cobble steps into the underground maze of tunnels making up what used to be the Mage’s Association. Once inside, she turns around and waves her hand. All the disturbed rubble returns to how it used to be, sealing us in darkness.

“Have you ever wished to visit the present-day Clock Tower?” Her sword glows brighter, lighting our way. “I would assume a mage of your achievements would be held in high regard if you ever decided to show your face there.”

“Right,” I grunt. “Funny story. They actually would have arrested me on the spot. Apparently there were talks about hitting me with a Sealing Designation.”

“No way.”

“They did! Apparently as a result of saving humanity from Beast I, we broke a ton of rules and even got in trouble with the U.N.” I shiver, but not from the cold and damp of the tunnels. “Ugh, I don’t want to think about what would happen if they learned about some of the things we did in the Lostbelts. I mean, the Black Barrel alone has to count for more than a couple war crimes.”

Artoria laughs. “And the Holy Sword that I gave you? The one that your technicians affixed to the Storm Border to become a cannon?”

I join her in laughter. “Heh. They’d have to write some new laws for that entire ship.”

She halts in her steps, staring straight ahead. “Ritsuka.”

“I know. I sense them. Do you think you could do this quietly?”

“By human standards, yes. But any mage or servant worth their salt will probably sense the ripples of magical energy. I’ll be heading back to the Throne for now, then.”

“Thanks, Caster. I’ll see you next time.”  We exchange quick goodbyes before she fades away, leaving me alone in the darkness. I raise my left arm, casting a hazy red glow around my immediate surroundings. “Gramps. Would you mind?”

A cold wind rushes past me, smelling of old books and sea salt. The enemy readings in the darkness ahead flicker, then fade entirely, as if all wiped out by a sudden plague. I don’t have to wait too long before a pair of ghostly blue orbs appear out of the shadows.

“Thine enemies lie dead at thy feet, contractor.” The first Hassan’s voice breathes like a ghostly rattle in the tunnel. “Speak thy commands. Shall I deliver unto thou the heretic’s head?”

“Not this time, sorry. I don’t have presence concealment myself, so would you mind covering me on the way? It’ll be helpful to avoid the enemies ahead, especially since he’d definitely notice if all the security familiars suddenly started dying.”

“Very well. By shroud of silence, we shall travel together.”

We continue together in quiet darkness. I can’t see anything ahead of me, but I can’t tell whether it’s Hassan’s doing, or if the passages are just that dark. A subtle pressure nudges my shoulders, guiding me through the maze of twisted turns. Finally, I see light at the end of the tunnel. A lamp, burning beside the door to the Clock Tower archive. Hassan is nowhere to be seen, but I feel his presence matching me for every step, stifling every sound I make until my hand wraps around the doorknob.

Sherlock Holmes flinches, sitting up straight in his chair. In front of him, tome upon tome of information regarding Servants and the origins of the Holy Grail War sit open on a table. Wordlessly, I dismiss Hassan back to the Throne as I shut the door behind me.

I’m not gonna lie. Getting the drop on Holmes might be the most satisfying thing I have ever done.

“Good evening, Detective.” I clasp my hands together behind my back, concealing the surplus of command seals on my arm. “How goes your investigation? Find anything interesting?”

“Always.” His face twists into that perfect smile of his, concealing whatever surprise or panic I might have evoked. “But you, by far, are the most interesting thing I’ve seen in this library all day. Pray tell, who might you be?”

“My class is Ruler. As for the rest…” I shrug, returning that same smile back at him. “Well, it should be elementary, no? Do you need some extra time to figure me out or should I go ahead and spoil the surprise?”

“It seems you already know my identity, but your clothing belongs to the modern era, which means we didn’t meet in life or story.” He begins making his deductions aloud, looking me over and picking me apart detail by detail. “East Asian in heritage. The symbol of Chaldea. But are you simply wearing those clothes or are they a part of your Spirit Origin?”

“You tell me. If they are just clothes, that means I’m allied with humanity. But if they’re a part of my Spirit Origin, that means I’m allied with Proper Human History. What do you think, First Disciple of the Foreign God?”

For a second, he stands frozen. I allow my left arm to drop, revealing my command spells, already glowing in activation. He moves, lenses unfolding and popping out from his coat as he dashes backward to put distance between us. He’s fast. But I’m already done.

“Take him, Avenger.”

Beams of violet light vaporize the brass joints of his lenses, toppling Holmes onto his back with sheer force. Serpents with heads of black and gold line the walls, woven together from strands of purple hair. Behind me, golden wings unfurl as Gorgon rears her head, filling the space in front of the doorway and effectively cutting off his only escape route. Before he can move, her snakes dart forward, each one sinking their teeth into one of his limbs before holding him taut in the middle of the library. He grits his teeth, stifling a groan as blood spills from wrists and ankles.

“Allow me to introduce myself properly, Detective.” I continue smiling as I saunter forward. “My name is Fujimaru Ritsuka, Chaldea’s final Master, Servant edition. I’d like to ask you some questions about Chaldeas.”

Holmes opens his mouth, but before he can respond, a voice calls out from above us. My voice.

“Actually, I’d rather you not.”

I look up in shock, expecting to find my Master watching us from the library’s second level. Instead, my eyes lock with an identical version of myself— complete with a Spirit Origin and everything. Gorgon bristles, snakes hissing and baring their fangs in the direction of the intruder. None of us noticed him. An Assassin using presence concealment?

“Master. Should I kill the impostor?”

“Not yet.” My eyes narrow, activating the True Name Discernment skill that came with my class. “Take off that form, Yan Qing. It doesn’t suit you.”

“Boo. Spoilsport.” He walks behind a pillar, then emerges out the other side as a tattooed young man with a long black ponytail flowing behind him. “But my point stands. Drop the Detective and walk away, Ruler.”

“On whose orders?” I counter. “Yours? What do you care what I do with Holmes? And why are you even in this Singularity to begin with?”

“Me?” Yan Qing laughs. "Oh, I don’t care in the slightest. But unfortunately, I’m on orders to ensure you don’t kill him. So, would you mind putting him down for me?”

“On whose orders?” I repeat.

This doesn’t make sense. None of this makes sense. Why is he here? Was he summoned by the fog? No, he knew to come here. He knows who we are, both me and Holmes. I glance at the detective. He’s keeping quiet, but his silence speaks louder than words. He doesn’t know who the hell sent Yan Qing either.

“Talk,” Gorgon growls, leaning forward and widening her stare. Magic formulas flicker to life as she activates her Mystic Eyes of Petrification. “Or keep your silence and be turned to stone.”

“Oh dear.” Yan Qing freezes in place, muscles paralyzed, but he continues to grin down on us. “Fine. Here’s the arrangement my Master told me to share. Release the Foreign Disciple known as Sherlock Holmes and cease all further hostilities with him.”

I clench my teeth. “Or?”

 “Or my Master will take this Singularity’s Holy Grail for herself and raze all of Britain to the ground. Your choice, Ruler. What’s it going to be?”

Chapter Text

“What’s it going to be?”

For the first time after my summoning, I feel genuine fear.

I was complacent in thinking everything would be the same for now. I was a fool for thinking my actions were still just subtle enough to keep the timeline moving the way I remembered it. 

Who is Yan Qing’s Master? How do they know who I am? Even worse, how do they know who Holmes is? Someone not allied with Chaldea or the Foreign God, but knowledgeable of us both. Could it be Goetia? No, he doesn’t care enough about Chaldea or the Singularities to even notice I’ve been summoned yet.

“Are you with NFF?” I probe.

“The fox?” Yan Qing chuckles. “Nope! Not a client or an employee. Solid guess, though.”

Great. He knows about Koyanskaya, but isn’t allied with her either. Now I’m even more confused.

I’m not too worried about Britain being destroyed. Before I left, I already told Romani about what to expect from this Singularity. Worst case scenario, Master and Mash arrive to an incinerated Britain, realize that I totally screwed things up, then try another rayshift to stop me from doing so. But I’m more worried about the new player on the chessboard, who I know nothing about, acquiring a Holy Grail.

“Gorgon. Release them.”

“But Master–”

“Just do it.” My arms cross as I glare up at the assassin. “It’s not like there’s anywhere he can run, anyway. This is Mage’s Association territory. They can’t escape through the walls in Spirit Form.”

“Cocky,” Yan Qing drawls, still frozen in place by Gorgon’s Mystic Eyes. “How does that modern saying go, again? You’re not trapped in here with me, I’m trapped in here with you? Your body looks like that of a Caster. I bet I could take you in a fight.”

“I bet you could try,” I whisper, still looking him in the eyes. “I bet you’d be dead before you even hit the floor.”

A bluff. I can tell at a glance that his Spirit Origin has been ascended to the limit. Gorgon could kill Holmes in an instant, but Yan Qing? Thanks to the Palingenesis I had her undergo, I don’t doubt that she would win. But her mana consumption is atrocious, and without a Master, my Independent Action skill will only last me so long. The time it will take for me to summon a new Servant is more than enough time for Yan Qing to kill me where I stand.

Thankfully, he seems to buy it. His smile fades. Gorgon relaxes, the magic formulas around her eyes disappearing as she blinks. Her snakes relinquish their grip on Holmes, dropping him unceremoniously into a small puddle of his own blood. He struggles to pull himself up, turning his head to Yan Qing.

“You have my thanks, Assassin to an unknown Master.”

“Save it,” Yan Qing snaps, flexing his wrists and stretching his fingers as the petrification curse wears off. “You, the Foreign God, and the other Disciples have no agency here. Keep quiet, and my Master will let you live. Run your mouth, and I have permission to hand you over to Ruler.”

Holmes doesn’t respond, but his gaze remains sharp. An interesting move from Yan Qing’s Master. Definitely not one I’d make myself. I’d be more wary of a quiet Holmes than a Holmes who won’t stop talking.

“What will you do with him if I allow you to take him?” I ask.

“Take him?” Yan Qing laughs. “Oh, we won’t be taking him. He’ll probably run along back to his owners.”

“That… would be a problem.” I form a finger gun, powering a Gandr shot as I point it at Holmes’s forehead. “I can’t have them knowing I exist this early in the game. I’d wager a guess that your Master wouldn’t want to be exposed as a threat either.”

“Hmm, if only she thought about that obvious wrench in the plan. Oh, wait! She did.” 

He tosses a parchment scroll in our direction. It bounces off the top of Holmes’s head and rolls to a stop at my feet. 

“A Self Geass scroll, courtesy of the Clock Tower ruins. Ruler must sign, swearing not to harm the Detective until the Incineration of Humanity is resolved. In exchange for safe passage, the Detective must promptly wipe his memories of this entire encounter before immediately departing from this Singularity.”

One of Gorgon’s snakes picks it up gently between its teeth, holding it out for me to take. I give it a quick pat on the head before unfurling the scroll. The conditions are exactly as Yan Qing described. Frustrating as it may be, I see no other option but to sign.

“Ha!”

“What?” I grumble. “You have something to say, Detective?”

“I’ve deduced your identity is all,” Holmes chuckles. “It’s quite amusing. Fujimaru Ritsuka. Master of Chaldea, and future victor over Solomon and the seven Lostbelts. Certainly a feat worthy of landing you in the Throne of Heroes. And Chaldea itself is home to a plethora of possible catalysts that could lead to your summoning.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But that’s not the only thing I’ve deduced.”

I prick my thumb with a nearby snake’s fangs, then impress my fingerprint onto the scroll. He pulls off a glove, dipping a finger into one of the many wellsprings of blood Gorgon tore into his body. I tense as he walks closer, but he shows no signs of aggression.

“Consider this your reward for outwitting me,” he says, dropping his voice to a bare whisper. He casts a wary glance over his shoulder as he takes the scroll from me. “You manifested in this form as a Ruler. It makes sense. For this first stage of your life, at least.”

This first stage of my life?

“You, who brought order to seven eras in chaos. You, who called forth all manner of Heroic Spirits to fight under your banner for the sake of humankind. It only makes sense that the Grail would acknowledge you as the equivalent of a Saint.”

For this stage of my life. This stage. But what about the second stage?

My eyes widen. “That’s not possible.”

“Neither was your Summoning,” Holmes laughs, pressing his finger onto the scroll. The flow of mana in the room shifts, binding us both to the terms of the contract. “Yet here you are. And I’m sure you’re no stranger to the concept of chain-summons, are you?”

Yan Qing claps his hands, drawing our attention as he leaps over the railings, making an unnecessary flip before landing on the marble tiles with the grace of a cat. He grins, holding his hand out for the scroll.

“Since we’re done here, may I?”

Holmes hands over the scroll as I nod to Gorgon. She closes her eyes, fading back to the Throne.

“See ya,” the Assassin hums, practically skipping his way to the doorway. 

“Gramps,” I whisper, the moment he’s out of earshot. “Don’t kill him, but make sure he doesn’t leave the tunnels unharmed. I want to send a message.”

As a cold wind rushes past us, Holmes laughs. “How ruthless of you, Master of Chaldea. According to our intelligence, you were supposed to be a soft-hearted boy still learning to interact with the world of Mysteries. I do hope you emerge victorious in your eventual battle with this new foe. As much as I’d like to promise you our side’s assistance to take care of that nuisance, I’m afraid that her very existence might render us essentially useless.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be wiping your own memories?”

“All in due time. You are aware that I will find the gap in my memories to be a concern, yes? Events in this timeline might remain the same as yours for now, but–”

“I know.”

“So it seems.” Holmes pulls up a chair, producing a pipe from within his coat. Taking a quick puff, he gazes toward the ceiling. “Why all the hostilities toward me? I presume that I did my job well, if you managed to arrive at the finish line.”

“You’re not him.” I shake my head. “You aren’t the Holmes I fought with.”

“I see.” He studies my expression. “Were you forced to kill me?”

“I didn’t need to.” The corner of my mouth quirks up. “You killed yourself the moment you found the truth.”

There. Holmes blinks, startled. He breaks into laughter as I turn and start walking to the door. His laughter continues, building and building. My hand rests on the knob as he goes silent. I turn to look behind me. He’s slumped over in his chair, passed out.

Hassan materializes in front of me as I step out into the hallway. He tosses a bloodied, tattooed arm onto the cobblestones.

“Thy will has been carried unto fruition.”

“Thanks, Gramps.” I sigh. “I’m starting to think that Romani was right. I may have been better off not coming to London at all.”

“Perhaps,” Hassan drawls, armored body fading into gold. “But thine initiative may not be for naught. Thou hast revealed a snake hidden in thy garden. It would be prudent of thou to take its head before it strikes.”

A new enemy. Possible chain-summoning. Holmes’s deductions are usually accurate to a fault, but I won’t know for sure until I return to Chaldea to examine the records.

“Come, Berserker. We’re going hunting. Harvest mana from whatever enemies you can find.”

“Hoh?” Cu Chulainn Alter grins as he materializes. “Understood. Shall I save some for you as well, Master?”

“Please and thank you.”

Ah... Little me better hurry up and get here already. I might just resolve this whole Singularity myself out of boredom.

Chapter Text

I dream of sitting on a Throne built from corpses. 

Most are human. A pair of twins with brown hair. A young girl in a green dress. A small child with warm, bronze skin lying next to a man who looks like he could be her father. A dark-haired boy in white. The rest are creatures I’ve never seen before. A wolf-man in worn-out hunting gear. A blue-haired faerie with tattered butterfly wings. A feathered dinosaur wearing jewelry and shattered glasses.

The Throne is both alien and familiar at the same time. They were not always a part of me. Now I am one with them all. How sad. How wonderful. 

How… unfulfilling. 

There’s a familiar knight standing to my right. A block-like visor hides her eyes. Her armour is black and twisted, yet also somehow familiar. It doesn’t look streamlined at all, but clunky and undeniably man-made. Her shield-like weapon is as ugly as her armour, twisted into something that claws at the inside of my eyes just by looking at it. My heartbeat quickens. Whatever that weapon is… it's something that was never meant to exist.

She looks at me, and I feel like throwing up. I know her. I don’t want to know her. But there’s no mistaking that smile.

“Is it time for us to go, Senpai?”

“Senpai? Senpai, please wake up. It’s time to head out.”

“Wow.” I let out an impressed whistle, staring down at the younger version of myself still asleep on Jekyll’s couch. “So that’s what I look like when this happens. Sorry, Mash. You must go through this a lot, huh?”

Mash flashes me a smile, but doesn’t refute my statement. I poke my Master in the cheek, still a bit damp with drool. No response. The clanking of heavy plate armour sounds behind us as Mordred saunters into the sitting room, irritation written all over her face.

“He still isn’t up?” She grunts. “The fuck happened to leaving early so we can get this shit done with before dinner? I’m starving over here. At this rate, I’m ready to eat breakfast and just fucking leave without him.”

“Language,” Jekyll chides from the hallway, prompting an eye roll from the Knight of Treason.

Three days after the Holmes fiasco, Mash and Master finally arrived in London. In the end, I chose not to take care of the Singularity all by myself. After meeting up with Jekyll, I started making regular patrols with Mordred during the day--- both to maintain my Spirit Origin with the remains of fallen enemies and to thin out numbers in preparation for Master’s arrival. At night, I’d sit in Jekyll’s study and write up To-Do lists, marking down step-by-step instructions to help with repairing the Singularity.

At first, Mordred wasn’t happy to hear about the babysitting gig I had in mind for her.

“Eh? You’re already here. Why do I have to wait for these brats when the two of us can just go beat the crap out of all the bad guys right now? The fuck you mean, ‘learning experience?’ You’re really pissing me off, you know that, right?”

She started giving me a hard time, so I started exclusively summoning Gawain and Lancelot on our patrols. After making me promise to never bring them out in her presence ever again, she reluctantly agreed to follow my lead. But I did feel a bit bad for the lectures they gave her, so I started summoning Emiya at breakfast and dinnertime to cook for us. Ever since then, she’s stopped throwing profanities in my direction. Mostly. Needless to say, I think our relationship has improved a lot.

“Wah!” Ritsuka sits up straight, a fleck of drool still hanging from the corner of his mouth. He looks around, breathing heavy, eyes wide. The moment he lays eyes on Mash, his shoulders sag in relief. “Oh, thank goodness. You’re still you, Mash.”

“Pardon? Did you have a bad dream, Senpai?”

“It wasn’t necessarily bad, just… weird, I guess?. Your armour turned weird and clunky, and it looked like someone stuck a giant cannon to your shield.” He stifles a yawn, stretching his arms toward the ceiling. “Man, I’m really glad I’m awake.”

What the fuck?

I press my tongue against the roof of my mouth to keep my expression from shifting. I know from experience that Masters often have dreams about their Servants, but that doesn’t necessarily prove anything just yet. That vision of the Black Barrel could have come from my own memories, after all. But if it didn't...

I need to talk with Romani as soon as possible.

As Mash starts helping Master get ready for the day, Mordred sidles up to me with a dubious expression.

“Hey. I keep getting this weird feeling around Mash, so I asked her who the Heroic Spirit possessing her was. She said she didn’t know, but apparently you do.”

“Ah.” I grin, replying in a whisper. “You don’t need me to tell you, it’s someone you know. Doesn’t her hair and armour look somewhat familiar?”

Mordred blinks. She stares at Mash. A heartbeat later, she covers her mouth with her gauntlet and looks at me with manic eyes and a barely concealed grin.

“No.”

“Yeah.”

“ No way. ”

“It’s him.”

“Ha!” She barks a laugh. “I gotta say, this is an upgrade. Unlike him, she’s actually pretty cool.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that,” I snort, elbowing her shoulder. “Mash already has urges to smack me whenever she sees me.”

Mash turns her head toward us with a glare that sends shivers down my spine.

“Whoops.” Mordred vanishes into her Spirit Form.

“You traitorous bi– Oh wait, I can do that too.”

We materialize next to each other by the dining table, both giggling like two preteen boys who just pulled off a lame prank. Truly, it’s a shame that I never managed to summon her in my own lifetime. Hopefully, for my sake at least, little me has better luck this time around. She's fun company.

Once everyone is seated for breakfast, Ritsuka raises his hand. “So, what exactly are we supposed to be doing today?”

“Here.” I slide him the list I've been workshopping over the past few days. “Today, you’ll be taking out Paracelsus. He’ll be guarded by a ton of Homunculi, but you’ll be fine since Mordred’s coming with you. I mapped out the optimal route to reach him, as well. Tomorrow, you’ll hit Babbage. The day after, we grab the Grail and go home.”

“Question.” He points to a scribbled out section at the top. “Does this say Jack the Ripper?”

“Ah.” I wince. “I was going to have you guys take care of them, but then they tried to jump me while I was farming with one of my Berserkers. Let’s just say he freaked out, and now they’re no longer a problem.”

“And what about you, Ruler?” Mash asks. “If you’re not coming with us, then are you going to stay here with Fran, Jekyll, and the authors?”

“Actually, Mash, you’re going to stay here with me. I need you to help me with something.”

“Eh?” Ritsuka’s eyes widen through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. 

“Relax,” I chuckle. “I’ll send one of my servants with you as a temporary replacement. Let’s see… if we want to make the most of Mordred’s raw damage potential…”

My command seals activate. A flurry of pink flower petals explodes through the dining room as Merlin manifests behind me, grinning like the sleazy incubus bastard that he is.

“Big brother Merlin is here to help! Hello, everyone!” 

He turns his back on us and starts waving at a solid brick wall while laughing like a maniac.

“What… What are you doing?” I ask.

“Waving to the ‘me’ in Avalon with clairvoyance. You can’t see him, but he’s–”

Before he can finish that sentence, Fou tackles his face and sends him toppling to the floor. I look back to the table, where Master and Mash have begun picking petals out of their breakfasts. Fran seems to be keeping herself entertained by tossing flowers into the air like confetti. Jekyll has his head in his hands, no doubt imagining the clean-up he’ll have to take care of later. Shakespeare has his notepad out, standing over Fou and Merlin’s clash while scribbling down ideas. Hans couldn’t look more disinterested, pouring himself his second glass of scotch of the morning. Meanwhile, Mordred looks like she’s about to have a stroke. She looks me in the eyes without saying a word, but I can practically hear her voice screaming in my head.

If you don’t send him back right fucking now, I’m going to decorate the walls with his blood.

“Alright,” I sigh, sending Merlin back to the Throne. Fou rolls over in the carpet of petals, ears perking up as he lets out an angry huff. “So. No Merlin. Lesson learned.”

“Geez,” Mordred groans. “Y’know, I think I’d honestly prefer any of the Round Table idiots over that voyeuristic flower bastard.”

An idea strikes me. I hold out my left arm. “Come, Arthur.”

“Hah?” She leaps to her feet. “Did you just say… Ar… thur?”

Her jaw falls to the floor as the King of Knights from another world materializes behind my chair. Everyone goes silent, gaping at that beautiful face of his. I can’t help but grin in pride as half the people at the table turn pink in his presence.

“Good morrow, everyone.” He places a hand on his chest and bows with a smile so perfect that my own heart skips a beat. Years of having him fight with me, and even I still can’t get used to his dazzling good looks. “My True Name is Arthur Pendragon. Some of you may already be acquainted with the female version of me that exists in this timeline. I do hope we can get along just as well.”

Metal clatters on the flower-covered floor as Mordred drops her knife and fork.

Ah. Here it comes. Three, two, one–

“Oh, you must be this world’s Mordred.” Arthur beams at her. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. It seems we shall both be accompanying Master as his personal guard today. As fellow knights, let’s do our best.”

There it is.

“Y-yes. Of course.” Mordred’s face goes red as a tomato, and I can almost see the steam billowing out of her ears. She glances back and forth between me and Arthur, as if contemplating whether she should hug me or kill me.

Arthur walks around the table, then drops to one knee in front of a stunned Ritsuka. In a sight that would strike Osakabehime dead on the spot, he takes Master’s hand into his own and lifts it to his lips.

“I may not be a servant that you have summoned, and you are not the Ritsuka Fujimaru that summoned me. But please, rest assured, my liege. I have seen the sun-like warmth that exists within your heart. There isn’t a timeline in existence where I would dare to betray you. Now and forever, I am your sword. Please use me as you see–”

“Arthur,” I interrupt, gesturing to my visibly overheating younger self. “Too much. You’re going to break the kid.”

“Ah.” Arthur rises to his feet and clears his throat. “Forgive me, Masters. I shall scout the area while you prepare for departure. Would you like to join me, Mordred?”

“Uh… sure, I guess.” Mordred blinks. “I mean, yes, sir!”

“Please, feel free to speak comfortably around me. I’ve already heard stories about you from my Master. I must say, the impression I’ve built of you is already quite…”

“Quite what?” she asks, her gaze suddenly darkening.

“Hmm…” Arthur closes his eyes as he thinks. “Badass, I think, was the term?”

In an instant, Mordred’s standoffish demeanor melts away again. She flashes me a look of gratitude as she follows Arthur out the door like an excited puppy.

“He’s… dangerous,” Mash remarks once they’re gone. “In more ways than one.”

“Right?” I snort. “Want to know the best part? He’s not even aware of the effect he has on people.”

“Now and forever…” Ritsuka mumbles to himself, still in a daze.

“Mm, mm!” Fran chirps as she places a fully constructed flower crown on Jekyll’s head.

“I’m inspired,” Hans grins, rising to his feet, but taking the whole bottle of whiskey with him. “None of you ingrates talk to me unless you’re sick or dying. I won’t help you, but I’ll at least record your last words.”

Shakespeare is already gone, having disappeared shortly after Arthur’s summoning. His laughter rings out through the halls.

Jekyll lets out a long, tired sigh, head still in his hands.

I lock eyes with Mash. “We should probably help clean up, right?”

“…I’ll go look for a broom.”

Chapter Text

After helping Jekyll clean the petals out of the dining room, Mash and I clear a space in the sitting area to lay her shield flat on the floor. Her eyes close as she kneels in front of it, holding her hands up as a blue ring of light takes form over its center. Before long, a 2D hologram materializes over the shield, projecting a live feed of the Chaldea command room.

“Doctor?” I call out. “Da Vinci? Anyone home?”

“Ah, they’re both out on coffee breaks at the moment.” A blonde Frenchman appears at the command desk. “Oh, Old Fuji— Ruler! Want me to go grab them?”

“If you could send someone, that would be— Wait, have you guys been calling me ‘Old Fujimaru’ behind my back? What the hell, Meuniere?”

“Would you believe me if I said no?”

“Absolutely not, but I guess we have bigger problems.” I let out a sigh. “Send Sylvia or whoever’s available. I’m actually glad that you picked up. I need you to look up something for me.”

“Oh. Okay. What do you need?”

“Pull all the records we have from the time of my summoning. We’re looking for any anomalies that may have been reported that day regarding any of Chaldea’s systems. Anything from toilet malfunctions to Sheba blowing a gasket.”

“Right.” Meuniere starts typing. “And since you’re glad I’m the one who picked up, does that mean you want to know about the coffins in particular?”

Beside me, Mash purses my lips. I clench my teeth as I nod.

“Please.”

“Alright. Well, for starters, there is a big anomaly I can speak of that we brushed off as a result of you hijacking the summoning. It looks like Trismegistus started freaking out the moment Fujimaru started chanting the incantation.”

“Freaking out how?” I inquire.

“According to this report, it just started spitting out random words. Or maybe names? It only lasted a couple of minutes, during which Romani and Da Vinci left to try and pull the plug on the summoning. By the time they got back, Trismegistus was back to normal.”

“Names?” Mash echoes.

“Yeah. Let’s see here… Patxi was the first name it spat out.”

I swallow, a cold sweat breaking out along my brow.

“Gerda. Asha. Ajay.”

My hands ball into fists.

“Adele. Macarios. Coral.”

“Ruler?” Mash whispers, tugging on my sleeve. I don’t respond.

“Cnoc na Riabh. Wakchan. Tepeu. It goes on, but those are the ones repeated most often. Any of that mean anything to you, Ruler?”

Did she know Holmes would clue me into her identity? Did she know I would look back into Chaldea’s records and leave this intentionally for me to find? It’s as if she’s taunting me, spelling out her true identity in capital letters knowing full well that I don’t want to admit the truth that’s glaring me in the face.

“What about the coffins?”

“Pulling up the data right now.” Meuniere frowns. “Hm. Looks like one of the coffins shorted out for a second at the same time Trismegistus went crazy. One of the cryopreserved bodies from Team A.”

“Whose?” I swear to god, if he says–

“Daybit Sem Void.”

“Goddamnit.”

“This kind of thing happens a lot, though, so it was only written up as a minor incident. Romani says that’s just how Daybit is. Something about how observing him is naturally difficult, so glitches like these are to be expected.”

Smart. So smart that it’s actually kind of terrifying. I could never come up with a plan like this.

Daybit is a Terminal of the Dark Star. An immaterial hollow that simultaneously exists, yet doesn’t, unobservable to even an all-seeing Archetype like Xquic. He’s Schrodinger's cat in human form, except he’s not even human. Anymore, at least. So, she piggybacked onto my summon, then hid herself in Daybit’s coffin before somehow slipping away from Chaldea without anyone noticing she was even there in the first place.

But why target Trismegistus? Servant summonings don’t typically have such grave effects that they can alter its predictions in any major way. Could it just be a red herring left behind to mess with me? No, if that was the case, she could have just left a letter somewhere more obvious.

Something brushes against my leg. I look down to see Fou, pawing at my ankles, trying to catch my attention.

“Fuu, fu!” He pipes up. “Fou!”

Wait.

“Mash? When you summoned me, was Fou in the room with you?”

“If I recall correctly… Yes, I believe he was.”

But he wasn’t there when I arrived from the Throne. He almost never leaves Mash and Ritsuka’s side. Now that I think about it, why was Fou so hesitant to interact with me that day? I had to coax him out of hiding, and it was only after he took a closer inspection of me that he decided to act normal again.

What if he sensed something about the other ‘me’s’ nature? Something that caused him to flee midway through the ritual? Something that caused him to keep his distance from me until confirming I wasn’t a threat?

A threat. To him? This early version of Fou is far from powerless, not to mention, fiercely intelligent.

I think back to all my past memories of Fou’s beastly senses kicking in. He chose to stay behind at Novum Chaldea instead of travelling with us to the sixth Lostbelt. He sensed the approach of the Alien God arriving to attack the Wandering Sea before she even showed up on any of the sensors. And in Mictlan, while with us on the Storm Border, he eventually disappeared to avoid getting involved with that damn spider.

Wait. Beastly senses?

Finally, pieces start falling into place.

I rifle through a mental checklist. Do I love humanity? By definition, I have to. Nobody who hates humanity would fight so hard to try and preserve it. Nobody who hates humanity would commit the atrocities I have in order to protect it. And, like Holmes suggested, if she manifested according to the second stage of our life while I manifested as the first...

The other ‘me’ had to mess with Trismegistus. Because… Trismegistus would have made a prediction during our chain-summoning that would have given her away. She went so far as to hide in Daybit’s coffin to avoid detection. But why bother avoiding detection at all, unless… she knew that for one reason or another… Chaldea would treat her as an enemy and immediately try to destroy her just for existing.

But the only way that would happen is if…

I can feel all the colour draining from my face.

"Oh? Romani is back."

Meuniere rises from the desk, stepping aside for Romani to take his seat at the head of the command room. The Doctor grimaces when he sees me, then tenses up after noticing my expression. He nods to Da Vinci, standing close behind him, and she ushers Meuniere away.

“Mash? Could I have a quick word in private with Ruler, for a moment?”

“Oh! Of course, Doctor. I’ll just be in the next room over if you need me.”

As she scampers off, Romani lets out a sigh. “So. How did your solo trip go? Learn anything useful that you can actually share with us?”

“I did. But I guarantee that you’re not going to like it.”

“Please. After learning that my one true oshi is actually an incubus perv, I think my heart can handle anything now. What is it?”

“At the time of my summoning, another alternate version of Fujimaru Ritsuka was chain-summoned into Chaldea. She messed with Trismegistus to conceal the fact that she had arrived, then hid in Daybit Sem Void’s coffin for some time before arriving here in London, where I encountered one of her Assassins. I have no idea where she is now or what she’s planning.”

Romani smiles and tilts his head. “I beg your pardon?”

“Also, I have reason to believe she manifested as an Evil of Humanity. So, uh… do with that information what you will."

The line goes silent. Romani stares at me, still smiling quietly for almost a minute before keeling over and falling off-camera. I hear a loud thud as his body hits the floor.

“Eh? Acting Director? Someone call the medical staff!”

“ He’s the medical staff! Someone get Da Vinci!”

“I’m here, I’m here!” Da Vinci slides into frame, peering down at Romani. “Oof, he’s out cold. Ruler, what did you say to him?”

“On top of summoning Fujimaru Ritsuka as a Ruler class Servant, Master Fujimaru Ritsuka seems to have summoned a version of Fujimaru Ritsuka that’s manifested as a potential Beast Candidate.”

The line goes silent. Da Vinci stares at me, smiling quietly for almost a minute before keeling over and falling on top of Romani.

“Eh? Ma’am? Someone call– Wait, who the hell do we call now?”

“Who’s the most experienced member of staff we have on hand?”

“Well, technically, Old Fujima– He’s still listening, isn’t he?”

“I am.” I rub my temples to soothe my headache. Servants shouldn’t even be getting headaches. Really, how the hell did Chaldea manage to last for so long? “Just… have one of the Servants bring them to the medical bay for now. Let us know when they wake up. Ruler out.”

I call Mash over as I end the transmission. She enters, holding a stack of books with a wide grin.

“Ruler, look what I found! Original copies of Sherlock Holmes books! Jekyll has all the classics, like ‘A Study in Scarlet,’ ‘The Hound of Baskervilles,’ and… Hm?”

Before she finishes her list, I start patting her on the head.

“R-ruler?”

“Sorry, Mash. Just give me another minute. This is the closest thing to therapy that I’m probably going to experience for all of the the foreseeable future. I need this.”

“But–”

“I’ll ask Emiya to cook gratin for dinner.”

“Oh.” Her stomach growls audibly. “O-only for another minute, then. But no more!”

“Yes, yes.”

Chapter Text

The air is so crisp and cold that it burns my lungs when I laugh. It smells fresh. Humid. Salty. Mash races ahead of me, grinning and red-faced, as we sprint out of the Chaldea observatory and across the untouched snowbanks. My gaze turns skyward, feet kicking up clouds of white, but I don’t dare to look behind me. The sky is a brilliant shade of azure blue, without a single cloud.

No rings of light to be seen in any direction. It’s over. We won.

Snow crunches behind me as I continue to marvel at the sky. I turn around to find Mash trudging back to the observatory. She seems slower. Uncertain. I take a step to follow.

“You are barely past the opening act, and you have already skipped to the end of your book. I do not recommend trying to sneak a glimpse at the sequel.”

My feet halt in their tracks. The voice of the shade is familiar, yet not. A young man speaking with a polite, but altogether disinterested tone. An obvious accent lingers in his pronunciation, but it’s somehow still subtle enough to remain indeterminable. Not Slavic, nor British or French. Perhaps something older?

Ahead of us, Mash disappears, leaving behind an empty trail of footsteps leading to the observatory entrance. 

“What happens if I follow her?” I ask the shadow as he halts by my side.

“You will see a glimpse of the future that Ruler is trying to protect you from.”

“Oh. Okay. This is another Servant dream.” I rub my eyes and blink, looking around. “Who are you? And why are you here?”

“You do not need to know who I am.” The shade crosses his arms and huffs. “I am acting as your temporary mental guardian. The usual Servant who handles your firewalls is absent, which lead to your subconscious drifting towards something dangerous for the past two nights. I am here to ensure your safety until he returns.”

“The usual? Do you mean Edmond?” I squint at the shade’s face. I can’t see any of his features, but even the way he’s standing is oddly familiar. “So, you’re his replacement. Which means you’re one of my Servants. So, why don’t I recognize you?”

I lean in closer to get a better look. He shrinks away, but I refuse to back off. I know him. Yet somehow, I’m certain that I’ve never met him before. He seems collected and experienced, but also as melodramatic, like a moody teen. Just who is he?

“Master, I would prefer my identity remained undisclosed for the time being. If you require a vouch for my character, speak to Ruler. He will verify my intent.”

“Right. And how am I supposed to ask him if can vouch for a Servant I can’t even describe?”

“Listen close, because I will not be repeating myself.” The shadow leans in to whisper in my ear. “When next you see that arrogant arse and that smug smirk of his, you tell him this—”

My eyes shoot open. I sit up on the couch, glancing around the sitting room. On the opposite sofa, Mash continues dozing in her sleeping bag. Ruler’s sleeping bag lies empty between us, propped against her shield.  Not too surprising. Servants don’t need to sleep, after all. He’s probably out setting up operations for tomorrow. Or maybe he’s taking care of a secret solo mission while everyone’s resting. Either way, I’ll probably see him when I wake up for breakfast tomorrow.

Then, I hear my own voice laughing from the hallway.

I unzip my sleeping bag, slipping out of the sitting room on the balls of my feet so Mash doesn’t wake up. Once in the hall, I spot the warm glow of a lantern spilling out from the kitchen. An unfamiliar woman laughs as I approach.

“Senpai,” Ruler whines. “I called you to rant with me over drinks, not laugh at me over drinks.”

“Oh, we’re absolutely changing topics now. I thought my summoning to Chaldea was rough, but yours might just be the craziest in history. How did Romani and Da Vinci react?”

As I poke my head through the door, I cross eyes with an ethereal woman perched on a bar stool by the kitchen counter. She’s beautiful. Dark brown hair flows like tiny rivers to her heels. The skirts of her black dress shimmer with scarlet flame that reflects through her pale brown eyes, almost tinting them red. Disgust flashes across her face when she sees me, quickly replaced by recognition.

“Oi, Kouhai. I thought you said the kids were asleep.”

“They should be,” Ruler calls, somewhere near the sink. “Who’s there? Mash or little me?”

“Little you? That’s what you call him?” She snorts. “A bit narcissistic, don’t you think?”

“Ah, so it’s him. Take a seat, Master! I’m almost finished.”

I step inside the kitchen. Ruler is busy by the sink, surrounded by cut-up fruit and a variety of multicolored bottles and glasses. He told me to take a seat, but there’s only one stool left, and it's right next to the beautiful woman munching on roasted peanuts. Our eyes meet again.

“What?” She shrugs. “Sit, if you want. I won’t stop you.”

“Don’t worry, Master! She doesn’t bite.” He pauses to turn off the sink. “Wait. That’s a lie. She’s technically a vampire, so I guess she does.”

“Excuse me?” I sputter.

“Relax, she won’t bite you! She hates humans.”

“But, wouldn’t that make her more likely to bite me?”

“I won’t, unless he uses a Command Seal.” She rolls her eyes. “I’d sooner die before ingesting that filth in your veins.”

“See? She hates human so much that she won’t ever drink their blood.” Ruler slides past me with a tray on his shoulder, which he sets upon the counter. Three drinks, two garnished with lemon wheels and sprigs of rosemary, while the last only has ice. He departs to the counter again, then returns a heartbeat later with a platter of cured meats and cheeses. “Come on, sit. Join us. I poured you a glass of sparkling water. Is Mash still asleep?”

I nod as I sit beside the vampire woman and reach for a piece of cheddar. She doesn’t rebuke my presence, but she doesn’t outright acknowledge me either.

“Thank god,” Ruler sighs. “Well, Master, this is… Yu Mei-ren, our Senpai. Of sorts.”

The woman named Yu scowls. “Fujimaru, are you an idiot? Why did you introduce me by that name when he already knows me by another? What happened to avoiding premature revelations?”

“Mash might have been able to recognize you, but as for him… Well, I used to be him, so I know for a fact that I was a bit slow at his age.” Ruler grimaces as he looks at me. “Master, does the name Hinako Akuta ring any bells for you?”

“Nope,” I reply, shaking my head as I take a sip of my fizzy water. It doesn't taste like anything, but it is refreshing. “Is it supposed to?”

“It’s absolutely supposed to,” Yu snaps, reaching for her drink. “Did neither of you read the chain-of-command pamphlets that the Director handed out during the onboarding process? None of the materials that H.R. attached to the introduction emails? The presentation slides? The info graphics? Nothing?”

“Pamphlets?” Ruler echoes, tilting his head.

I blink. “Was I supposed to be checking my email?”

“You’re kidding me. You have to be–” Yu clicks her tongue and shakes her head. “What about the briefing for our first major operation? I was literally up on the stage with the Director and the rest of T– our group.”

“I was asleep,” Ruler and I reply in tandem.

“You were–” She halts mid-sentence. “Wait. There was that one dumbass kid who fell asleep in the front row and pissed her off. That was you?”

“Yep,” we both answer, smirking at each other.

“Figures.” Without another word, Yu lifts her cup to her lips and downs the drink in a single go. She sets the empty glass back on its coaster, then rises to her feet. “Three out of five stars, Kouhai. The service was worth a tip, but your appetizers were lacking effort. Prepare a better menu before you even think about calling for me again.”

“Are you leaving?” we both ask, openly giggling at this point.

“Prepare better company for next time too,” she sighs, body turning to gold as she returns back to the Throne. “I can barely tolerate one of you. Two is just overkill.”

“Oh. About that…” Ruler drops his laughter as his gaze turns serious.

Yu’s body stops shimmering for a moment. Her jaw drops as she stares back at Ruler. Telepathic communication between a Master and Servant. I've never seen it from the outside before.

Her head swivels to me, mouth still gaping open in shock. “Does he know?”

“Know?” I ask, playing dumb. I may be slow, but I'm not a complete idiot. I know Ruler has been keeping secrets from me. But I also know better than to try and pry them out of him. Whatever he's hiding, it's being kept a secret for my protection. “Know what?”

“Hm. I’ve said too much.” She crosses her arms, looking me up and down. “You’re rather small, aren’t you?”

“I’m… sorry? I guess?"

“Too small. Far too small. So small that I could crush you in my sleep.”

I glance to Ruler. He doesn’t look wary or offended to see that his younger self is getting berated right in front of him, but he doesn’t seem too happy about it either.

“A hamster. That's all you are. You’re too small to be fighting battles this big.” Yu Mei-ren steps closer to me, poking my cheek as her body begins to fade for the last time. “Just because a hamster is capable of killing a bear, that doesn’t mean it should. No matter how you look at it, a bear-killing hamster is a monster in and of itself, understand?”

I don’t, but I nod anyways.

“An innocent hamster like you shouldn’t have to taint himself by falling to their level.” Her pale brown eyes burn red with flame as she glances to Ruler. “You know what they say about fighting fire with fire. Sometimes, to kill a monster, you just need to throw another monster at it and hope your problems take care of themselves.”

Her body dissolves. Ruler purses his lips when I look at him. For a fraction of a second, he looks stone-faced and tired. I blink and the light returns to his eyes as he grins and offers me a cracker.

“So, Master. What’s keeping you up? Having a hard time sleeping or a bad dream?”

“A dream,” I murmur, finally remembering why I woke up in the first place. “I was actually in your memories, I think.”

“Oh?” Ruler’s face doesn’t react, but his whole body tenses in an instant. “What did you see?”

“Nothing, actually. Don’t worry, someone stopped me before I got too far and saw something that I shouldn’t see.”

“Someone?” Ruler raises an eyebrow, reaching for a piece of gouda. “It wasn’t the Count of Monte Cristo? He’s always been the one in charge of safeguarding our mind.”

“No. This guy appeared as a shadow and wouldn’t tell me his True Name,” I answer, shaking my head. “He said that if I needed someone to vouch for his character, I could ask you, Ruler.”

“Me?” Ruler scowls as he finishes the rest of his cocktail. “How am I supposed to vouch for a Servant that you can’t even describe?”

“That’s what I said! Oh, but he did leave a message for you.”

“A message?”

“Ahem.” I clear my throat. “He said, and I quote, ‘When next you see that arrogant arse and that smug smirk of his, you tell him this is what me being useful looks like. If you have the balls to try and provoke me, then I expect to see results, Senpai . I’ll be watching you.’ End quote.”

“Senpai? Who the heck calls me Senpai with such a disrespectful–” Ruler stops again. “Wait, you said he was a guy? Did he kind of sound like a moody teen with daddy issues and unresolved emotional baggage?”

“I– Probably?”

“Wow. I was not expecting that” Ruler stares off into space for a moment, his eyebrows creased. “Master. From now on, make sure your sleep hours are aligned with Mash whenever we’re outside of Chaldea. No splitting up to take night watch. Either you’re both asleep or both awake at any given moment, okay? Thanks for the message. Go back to bed now.”

“Okay. Good night, Ruler. Thanks for the cheese”

“Night, little me. Get some rest. Big day tomorrow. I can't wait to see you guys fight Solomon.”

“…Excuse me?”