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Chapter Text

Memories drift from place to place and yet Mr.Reca had never seen such a radiant gold in his life.

The shining cup, illuminated by the light of the theater, distracts the MemoKeeper from his thoughts. When Old Olti has requested his presence he did not know what the head of the Alfalfa Family wanted from him. He is merely a teacher now at Paperfold university and truly has no time with whatever the whims of this old man. Yet, as always Old Oti is a phenomenal actor that even Reca cannot fully understand. Truly, Old Olti is born to be a star in a film.

With Penacony currently dealing with the economic upgrades from the IPC that were established after the events of the actor Sunday, Reca wonders if Old Olti has finally lost it. It would be an interesting plot for the movie to watch a Pepeshi lose their sanity after buying off their planet to the company (IPC) but Reca doubts that's the case. With the news that the shareholders of Penacony (The Astral Express) have gone on another adventure, most of the current decisions are done via the IPC or more specifically the Stonehearts.

And to Reca's recollection, Old Olti had a good laugh the last time a Stoneheart was here.

"The more you stare at it the more it will do, no?" Old Olti jokes, giving a good laugh that brings Reca back from his thoughts. The MemoKeeper only laughs, shaking his head in a light-hearted manner.

"My apologies, Old Olti. I was just wondering why you called me on such short notice."

The Pepeshi just laughs. Reca only smiles as Old Olti points at the cup, his rings are reflecting on the brim of the cup. This cup is actually made of gold — it's not fake.

"You see, I want to hand this cup over to you," Old Olti begins. "While I was on my walk down the Memory Zone I noticed this shining beauty! Sadly, it's of no use for me."

Reca blinks. That's strange. Old Olti seeing no usage of something this strange. This is rather serious. Penacony's family not knowing what to do with an investment like this, writer's block truly is an actor's greatest enemy. To understand the act you play you must read the script, yet Old Olti couldn't produce any lines to compliment this discovery. A tragedy for anyone.

Reca looks at the cup before picking it up. It's light and portable but also extremely clean. Nobody would guess if any contents were placed inside the cup. Wine, water or even ice cream could have been in here but there is no such trace. Actually, no scratches are detectable which is fascinating since Old Olti doesn't mind to toss this on the table to see it's endurance.

Perhaps some special effects could help him figure out what this cup is used for.

Closing his eyes the MemoKeeper feels his physical body remain steady while his spiritual self enters the cup.

Reca waits patiently as his spirit constructs itself into the new space and opens his eyes to see a replica of another space. The lines of gold that encircle Reca are all connected perfectly to the golden cup that is floating in the middle of the space. Interesting. This cup is far from ordinary but Reca is aware that judging something or someone based on their appearances can lead to miscasting. Such a flaw that every film director suffers from as prejudice towards certain features not only causes a decline of intelligence but also of immersion. The amount of times that Reca had seen a comedy about the Foxians only to just cast regular Penaconians with fake ears and tails are too many to count. Truly, what a shameful display.

Reca steps forward in the domain, remaining on guard as the first film materialized before him. In there it was a battle between a young girl with blonde hair and green eyes. Her hands held something invisible which he could not distinguish. An axe? Or perhaps a lance? No, Reca had references a lot of moves from the Astral Express to know that a lance could never be held so strangely and an axe is something you only hold with two hands but not in the stance of that of a knight.

A sword then. A swords woman, huh.

Reca merely shakes his head. These pieces of information don't mean much to him for now. Whatever this woman is has already been analyzed. The question is who is she.

The classic question of the who done it, why done it that detective mystery flicks have produced can be the only way to successfully access the situation at hand. For only this method can be seen as the true method in the film language. By extending the question with the context clues, Reca could easily understand who this girl is. Her stance, her voice, her eyes and her aura. All of it points to one singular direction that Reca had never thought of before.

The grace of a knight but the aura of a king, only a fine MemoKeeper such as himself who had directed A Fading Nebula — a war/drama/mystery film integrating the clashing ideas between reality and romance, tenderness and brutality, as well as life and death in the 1,500 shots that make up the 200-minute film. The story took place in the Slaturg Nebula that fell half an Amber Era ago. Mr. Reca made the Intellitron leader who rules the nebula the protagonist and depicts the happenings during the final six months of the nebula from the leader's perspective — knows exactly who this young lady is!!

…….

…..

…

HE HAS NO CLUE!

No, that cannot be right. Surely this is miscast on his part. It couldn't be that someone like him would not know someone of this cosmos. As a MemoKeeper he should at least have access to the memories of anyone that enters this universe. On Fuli's memories, this is a completely new development!

Someone from beyond the boundary of this world? Ha! How marvelous!

Now this is worthy for the Garden of Recollections. How could he have not realized this. This cup is nothing but a genius device.

"Tell me, oh strange cup from beyond the cosmos," Reca begins, politely bowing to his newest actor. "What is your name and how may I serve you?"

The cup is silent but after a while it began to glow. The light burns through Reca's eyes but he dares not to blink. He must now see it through the end as a grand film shall finally be played!

The cup's shin stopped and finally Reca knows the identity of this mysterious object.

"I see. So you are a Holy Grail."

¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨

Story Quest 1: A Fateful Encounter

¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨

"The Holy Grail War is a competition among magi to obtain the Holy Grail, a wish-granting artifact, through battles between their summoned Heroic Spirits (Servants). The war is typically fought by seven Masters and their Servants, with the last pair standing claiming the Grail. The true goal of the war, however, is to reach the Root, the source of all magical knowledge.

The Holy Grail is a powerful artifact capable of granting any wish. However, its true purpose is not merely wish-granting, but rather a means to access the Root. In order to get the grail in the first place a Master must summon warriors from history to become their fighters, a Servant.

Servants are heroic spirits summoned by Masters to participate in the Holy Grail War. These spirits, often drawn from Earth's history, are categorized into classes: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin and Berserker. Each possessing unique abilities and strengths. Servants can also be Divine Spirits, Phantoms, or even living individuals under specific circumstances.

Servants possess Noble Phantasms, which are powerful, unique abilities or weapons tied to their legend and history. While the seven main classes are most common, there are also extra classes like Ruler, Avenger, and others. Servants can also be summoned in different forms, such as Shadow Servants (incomplete or degraded), Stray Servants (without a Master), or even as Pseudo-Servants, where a Heroic Spirit inhabits a human vessel.

There are also such a thing as Rogue Servants and Alters.

— and that's all the grail has told me."

Reca finishes explaining what the Holy Grail is to Old Olti who has been clapping with each piece of information. The Pepeshi only strokes his white beard in interest, finding the entire story entertaining and informative. To think that that he managed to find this holy device on a whim. Such fine luck!

"This is truly marvelous! Such a great story!" Old Olti cheers and Reca merely bows. The MemoKeeper merely smiling such as he is used for a famed film director.

"I agree," the MemoKeeper turns to the floating cup which has been glowing ever since Reca came back from the domain. "The grail is by no means something to just auction off and give to someone. While I myself am unaware of what The Root is, I have a feeling that this Root is similar to our Paths, no?"

Paths — are congregations of Imaginary energy, born as manifestations of universal philosophical concepts. Those who believe in and practice the concepts behind a certain path become Pathstriders, and the path that they happen to follow will change in accordance with their own philosophies and opinions. In some special cases, entities that manage to completely intertwine themselves with a path and explore its philosophical concepts to their entirety will become an Aeon.

If this Root is similar to a Path than this device doesn't have much value to showbiz folks like him or Mr.Reca but to well known scholars from the Genius Society (Followers of Erudition) than this device becomes a research phenomenon. The amount of money that only one Genius would want is incompressible, leaving no doubt in Old Olti's mind that this grail comes in a hefty some.

Even for the IPC.

But that's the part of him that is afraid. After all a device that deceives their players by stating that it can grant wishes, when in reality it's connected to the Root. Whatever the Root is to the owners of this cup it has of no real value here. The IPC would however find a way to use it. Using the lie of the grail itself that fighting for it so you can be granted a wish only for you to be exploited to aid the device in its own goal.

Only a power hungry fool would do this.

But Olti is neither a fool nor power hungry. But he is in need of entertainment.

"Mr.Reca," Olti begins cautiously. If anyone knows how to entertain him then certainly it could be this dashing MemoKeeper. "What do you think of the Holy Grail?"

Mr.Reca didn't say a word at first. His smile remains the same but his eyes keep flickering between the theater and the cup. Olti feels a smirk tugging on his lips. As expected, this MemoKeeper isn't telling him the full truth and wants to do something with this Grail. Something that would entertain not only him but all of Penacony.

"The Grail," Reca begins carefully "Is a device that would be perfect for a piece that I have yet to finish."

Olti risers his eyebrow and leans in closer. "Oh yeah? Entertain this old man on what that might be."

Mr.Reca merely laughs. "I apologize but I cannot tell you but I can tell you that there is someone that is capable of understanding the Grail and it's goal more than anyone here."

Old Olti laughs as well. Well, in that case; "Then the grail is in your hands! Go on, do as you wish with the Grail but please come back with a documentary on your findings!"

Mr.Reca merely bows and turns away with the Grail on his trail. Old Olti watches the MemoKeeper leave and with a sigh he strokes his beard again.

"A Holy Grail war….Hohohohohoho! What an interesting concept. I wonder what Mr.Reca will possibly do with it."

7 days after Mr.Reca touched the grail

He was truly lucky that one time.

Aventurine stares at his cornerstone with a mix of regret and relief. Regret that he is still alive and still working on the next project that the IPC has ready for him but also a relief that the people he left behind are still able to see him —even if those people do bottle down to his superior, a handful of cake cats and his guiding doctor. Still, for their sake he is glad that he at least made it.

Stationed in one of the many rooms within the IPC headquarters is Aventurine, a Stoneheart who has unique colored eyes and almost golden-ish blonde skin. The eyes are the most important feature to remember as those eyes belong to the now almost extinct race known as the Avign. Those people used to be kind barbaric with no sense of had a loving community and were all close with each other morality or grace, not to mention the fact that all of them are followers of Mother Goddess, Gaiathra Triclops who do not believe in an Aeon.

They are worth everything to Kakavasha nothing to Aventurine.

Aventurine put his cornerstone in his inventory and takes a deep breath. He doesn't stare in the mirror but he knows that he needs to keep his hair in check. He has no reflection to see if he is well dressed to meet Madam Jade. He is a lucky guy who knows how he looks like.

Straightening his jacket he stares at the door before him and puts on his best fake smile, one that never reaches his eyes. A smile that he perfected for so many years now it almost became second nature.

As he opens the door he walks in on an interesting scene; his fellow Stonehearts, Topaz and Jade, were in a back and forth conversation. Usually the very much admiring Topaz would be hanging on the tip of Jade's perfectly manicured nails about every detail of her praise but from the way Topaz is frowning and the way Jade is rubbing the bridge of her nose it was probably not one of those conversations.

Numby the Warper Trotter, Topaz' beloved pet, notices Aventurine's presence and immediately runs up to him. Knowing exactly what the Trotter wants, Aventurine threw in a golden coin for her and went to where his co-workers continued their….whatever is actually going on.

Noticing his arrival Jade greets him first. "Good day, Aventurine."

"Good day, Madam Jade. May I ask what causes your beautiful face to gain wrinkles so early in the morning?"

Jade smiles at the compliment and the snake that is hanging around her neck nuzzles her cheek in comfort. "Your kind words bring more energy in my body but sadly it is not enough to stop me from how I am currently feeling."

Aventurine freezes up a little before continuing on to have that fake smile. Madam Jade being frustrated with something? For all that he has been mentored under her he never once thought that she could ever be this visibly frustrated with something. The Madam Jade that he knows is diligent and cunning, a snake that strikes deals with those desperate enough to throw away anything to gain what they want by a contact that Jade can easily cut off when necessary.

So what frustrates must genuinely be blood boiling.

"Madam Jade, please let me handle this!" Topaz pleads as she raises up a piece of paper with red ink. "Whoever made this was definitely joking, let me handle something like this so that you can rest!"

Aventurine takes the paper from Topaz' hands before she could even register and reads the contents of it.

"Dear Interastral Peace Corporation, we the Alafafa family would gracefully invite you to a new entertainment piece that is hosted by the MemoKeeper Mr.Reca and miss Blackswan of the Garden of Recollections. The entertainment piece will be a grand way of showcasing who will gain full of access of Penacony and if the IPC wins they are given permission to renovate everything. The details of this entertainment will be explained after you are given a full scope by our surprise contenders."

Aventurine stares at this and then turns to his Stoneheart co-workers. All of them have the same thought as him when he reads it out loud;

How stupid.

Not only are the IPC shareholders of Penacony but so are the Astral Express who are currently on another trailblaze mission through the cosmos. Creating and entertainment piece without the approval of the Shareholders but then to also put the ownership of a whole planet on the line is just stupid.

It's stupid and greedy.

And something the IPC definitely agreed to.

"Six days ago during your trial," Jade begins, her face back to the gentle smile that she usually has, "a group of radial IPC employees under P45 led by someone named Skott went missing. Of the 16 only 1 came back and that was Skott himself, or so we thought."

Jade opens up a hologram to show the footage of the man named Skott. He doesn't look interesting and he is definitely a nobody that Aventurine would never remember. He remembers the beautiful sand in Sigonia more than this background character. Yet, Aventurine sees what Jade meant. The footage shows the man named Skott melt on the floor after giving the invitation.

The melted body then vanished and a woman appeared. This woman, whose hood didn't show what her face was like, had golden boots on and also a cat tail. Those two distinct features should make her easy to remember for any Stoneheart who has memorized every race recorded and colonized discovered by the IPC. Yet, Aventurine doesn't remember cat features at all in the database.

"So, this Skott person is a woman?" Aventurine jokes, trying to find some type of humor in this.

Topaz frowns but Jade chuckles. "If Skott was truly this woman then I wouldn't mind inviting her to my private chambers."

Too much information.

Topaz takes the paper again, a letter given by the the strange woman, out of Aventurine's hands and stares at it intensely. "The red ink is concerning but the golden liquid is even more suspicious."

"How so?" Golden liquid isn't that rare for IPC members, they are practically swimming in riches. Someone getting into Skott's pocket and melting gold, while entirely in the realm of improbability, is not impossible.

But what Topaz says afterwards makes him tense up:

"Because we just got the results and it's blood."

Aventurine feels his smile crack. Golden blood?

"And that's not all," Jade adds as she shows something that made Aventurine feel something uneasy.

In Madam Jade's hand are a few pictures. Three of them stand out to him the most;

One of a woman with dark pink hair in a ponytail with sunglasses on. Her eyes are covered but from the jacket alone Aventurine knows that this is Kafka, a member of the Stellaron Hunters and a terrorist that caused the Japella Rebellion. She also committed a bunch of crime such as; mass murder, mass property destruction, vandalism, usurpation, theft, conspiracy, assault and battery, vigilantism and brainwashing with many more.

The second one is a man with black and white mixed hair with a mostly metallic body. His sharp teeth are biting on a bullet while his arm is that of the form of a gun. This is Boothill from the Galaxy Rangers, a criminal of the IPC. After all the IPC colonized flourished his planet and gave his people freedom killed his family and friends, so he went after them. Aventurine witnessed first hand Boothill break into a private ship of the IPC where several Stonehearts were onboard including Jade, Topaz and himself.

The third and last picture however made his blood run even colder than Sigonia's winter.

A woman with long dark purple hair, matching eyes and a sword on her back. In the picture she is eating a peach while her hair is blown by the wind, covering one of her eyes and one of her hair locks is white. Acheron, the Emanator of Nihility. A sword woman that guides those that desire death, people like him and tells them what the end truly means.

"These three were given similar invitations. Whoever is behind this they are dragging more people into this nonsensical entertainment," Topaz explains, her frown deepening. "Whoever that woman is and whatever she has to do with Old Olti's game, they have invited….interesting guests."

Interesting doesn't really cut it. Inviting two terrorists and an Emanator who cut through the powers of a cornerstone and left a scar on Aventurine's body isn't exactly interesting. This is nothing more but a headache!

No wonder Topaz and Madam Jade looked so frustrated when he walked in. All of this is just annoying.

"Who else got invited to this entertainment?" Aventurine needs to know who else is going to be dragged into this shareholders war that this strange woman sent.

"From what we know at least Kafka, Boothill, Acheron, Dr.Ratio, miss Robin, another Galaxy Ranger named Rappa and us. Anyone else has not been notified yet," Topaz answers for him.

Ratio being sent an invitation to become the full time owner of Penacony?! Aventurine stares at his co-worker in pure confusion. Never mind inviting terrorists, Emanators, a popular pop-star who is part of the many families that have control over Penacony much less a Galaxy Ranger who only recently got on the IPC' attention — why would someone sent an invitation to a member of the Intelligentsia Guild, to a Mundanite? Ratio has far more important things to do than be a shareholder much less an owner of a whole planet based on dreams.

"'Why did they send an invitation to the dear doctor?', I hear you ask, Aventurine," Jade puts the pictures away and stands up. Her heels echo in the room as she motions the two to follow her.

Aventurine and Topaz follow after her with Numby on their tail. The trotter always felt uncomfortable around Jade, probably because of her snake or because she is the snake. Whatever it is Aventurine cannot hate Jade, he himself is just like her. A snake who lost his kin and only extends his fangs when luck is on his side.

And that luck will help him together with his co-workers get out of this situation.

Being invited to an "entertainment" event with the winner becoming the owner of Penacony is a waste of energy, credits and time.

"I do not know why people were invited for this but we must investigate and stop it immediately," Jade stops to turn and look at both Aventurine and Topaz. "This is not a matter of ownership but I have a feeling that we will be dragged into something that we shouldn't."

Aventurine nods as they continue to walk the Intelligentsia Guild. They need to speak to Dr.Ratio so that they can understand more on what exactly is going on.

It didn't take them long after taking a teleporter to the entrance of the Intelligentsia Guild to see a giant crowd trying to come in. Aventurine notes from how some of them are dressed they were all from the Veritas Prime university, Ratio's students.

"You damn smart asses, what did you do to our teacher!?" "Professor Ratio hasn't come to school for a week and we haven't heard anything from you people!" "Is the IPC holding you bastards by the tongue?! Let us in!"

Aventurine passes the crowd by entering the special entrance for VIP only. He glances at Topaz who also now begins to grow worried.

Sure Aventurine hasn't heard from Ratio either but that's because he messaged Aventurine stating that he was invited somewhere secretive. Has he really not said anything to his students at all? How strange. That's just not like him at all.

The three were quickly led by another scientist, named Martha, to a nearby room where Dr. Ratio stood with his handsome bust on.

"Ratio! You are alright!" Topaz can't help but smile as she almost runs to him. Aventurine also runs and hugs his friend together with Topaz. A grunt can be heard from the bust but Ratio slowly wraps his arms around his two friends too.

"Glad that you three were alright," Ratio says as he removes his bust. Aventurine stares at the bandage on Ratio's cheek which had not been there when he last saw them.

Jade steps forward but it is Aventurine who speaks first. "What happened to you?"

Ratio stares at him before turning away. Aventurine feels himself more tense on the situation. First Ratio gets dragged into something he has no interest in and now he is hurt and missing for a week? Just what in Mother Goddess's name is happening?

Who exactly would be so foolish to harm a consultant of the IPC? Ratio is a valuable man who has saved many planets from diseases with his sheer intelligence. Sure he is not a member of the Genius Society but Aventurine knows from experience that just because he isn't part of the big shots that doesn't mean he isn't equally as smart.

Ratio is an enigma of mundanity. There aren't — shouldn't be any enemies who would go after him, especially with such heavy security.

Ha, he is starting to sound like those crazy fans that caught a photo of him bathing. No wonder his students and fans were outside demanding answers for the sudden assault.

"Doctor," Jade speaks up. She raises a singular invitation letter up and tilts her head a bit.

Ratio nods. "Yes, what happened to me was related to the invitation letters."

"Could you go in detail with what happened?" Topaz asks, now holding onto Numby who has been shivering due to the tense atmosphere.

Before Ratio could speak a scientist barged in. The scientist is young and has a gentle face, hair a shining pink while she carries a white strange-like horse. Probably just a cushion because of the bags under her eyes. Aventurine would have found it cute was it not for the fact that she barged in and from the looks of it she needed Ratio.

"Professor Ratio, please take care of your students!"

Ratio sighs and Aventurine watches him go out.

What the hell is going on?

6 days after Mr.Reca touched the grail

"Kafka…."

"Yes, I know Bladie, this letter doesn't fit in Elio's script."

Kafka stares at the invitation with mild interest. Currently the two Stellaron Hunters are at the Xianzhou Loufu, stationed at a tiny shop far away from the guards so that she can take care of Bladie's mara whispers. Nobody has come here at all besides a few guards but Kafka took care of them with her Whispers.

Yet, one individual managed to walk past the many sensors she set up and managed to walk straight to them. Kafka put on her best smile but on the inside she was wondering who this woman was and how she managed to walk past it.

Of course, those worries all flew out the window when she saw that it is her favorite raccoon.

"Stelle, what a surprise," Kafka smiles as she steps forward. The Trailblazer only smiles back and hands out an invitation.

"What is this?"

"It's part of the script. I'll see you at the announcement."

Before Kafka could ask for more Stelle was already gone.

The invitation letter's contents is strange.

"Dear Kafka, I am here to invite you personally to participate in an event hosted by a member of the Genius Society. We have noted of your great work and as such we would like to reward you. Together with many other participants you will fight a great enemy. What will the reward be? A Stellaron!"

Bladie stares at the invitation deep in thought. Kafka understands his worry. The invitation itself only asked her and not anyone else, notifying Elio about it would be for the best. The script that Stelle mentioned isn't the script that they follow, so it is strange that she even gave this to her.

"Kafka," Blade's low voice whispers and the Hunter looks up to see what he was referring to. A hologram of Silver Wolf stands in front of her and from the slight frown on her face, she is worried.

"Bladie recorded everything and I don't think that's Stelle," Silver Wolf says.

"But we just saw her and she gave me this —."

"Kafka, Stelle and Dan Heng have been out of the express to Trailblaze a planet. They haven't returned to the express in two weeks and the rest of the express is busy!"

Both Hunters turn to each other. Dan Heng and Stelle have been off mission for two weeks? Then if they are gone who did they…?

Before the two could process what is actually going on the sound of the guards alerts the two. They need to go somewhere else. Somewhere so that they can understand better what is going on.

"Kafka!" Yanqing's voice can be heard as the two Hunters sprint to the nearest ledge and jump off.

"Wait!"

Swords fly after them and Blade is the one who parries every single one of them at a time while Kafka takes her strings and aims it at the nearest side. Grabbing Blade with her legs by curling them around her shoulders, the two of them soar in the sky before landing on a getaway vehicle.

Both take on their seatbelt and Blade drives off.

As they drive, Kafka ignores the newest album that Ms. Robin has made recently to look back at the envelope she received from 'Stelle'.

While Kafka received her invitation letter — —

— — Feixiao takes a deep breath as she inhales the spices.

Together with Jiaoqiu would have been preferable but sadly the Foxian is undergoing surgery. After the Borison attack Jiaoqiu has been blinded for approximately three weeks now. Lingsha said that she would do everything she can to bring part of his vision back but depending on how much the damage has been done it could be permanent.

The Xianzhou isn't exactly kind to those with disabilities. How many times had Feixiao seen a blind child bullied mercilessly on the street that she passed by on her way to a meeting? If this happens on the street then she cannot imagine how it would go with the higher ups.

Of course she doesn't think any of the generals of the Xianzhou Alliance would view Jiaoqiu as a defect just because of his inability to see but it still worries her how it will go from here. Feixiao cannot imagine the pain he must be in mentally that he has to go through this when he made such a promise to her.

Feixiao licks the last drop of hot sauce and pays the bill for her meal. She passes by several citizens and works her way through the crowd to a morer quieter area. Feixiao looks back at what happened. How exactly will they try to bring back Jiaoqiu's vision? Bringing something back is never easy and especially not one of the many senses.

With a sigh she takes a seat at a nearby bench and looks over the sea of people. She would usually drag Moze and Jiaoqiu to the market place so that they would watch over the people but now that impossible.

"Excuse me, is that seat taken?"

Feixiao looks up to see a beautiful woman with blonde hair and green eyes. She wears a rather strange dress but it is magnificent on her. A true beauty that nobody has ever seen.

"Ah, of course."

Feixiao watches the woman crouch down to touch the bench and then sits on it gently. "What a beautiful sound of the people walking."

Beautiful sound? "Are you perhaps also blind?"

"Heh, from the sounds of it you know someone who also doesn't have a clear vision."

Feixiao smiles solemnly. "Yeah, a friend of mine. Something terrible happened to him and now his vision is gone."

"It seems like your friend and I are in a similar position," the woman smiles as she raises her hand and Feixiao sees a few golden strings manifesting and wrapping around Feixiao's fingers. Her index finger is pulled forward to touch the index of the blind woman.

The woman smiles and gives a light chuckle. "I lost my vision for the greater good. These strings are the only way I can see and hear. Even so, just because I lost my vision that doesn't mean I lost my ability to 'see'."

Feixiao feels herself become flustered when the woman touches her cheek. Her touch is light but even then the weight of her fingers make her heart beat for a second.

"Rather a romantic situation, no? I am blind yet I can still see. Unlike others in the world who are probably not even granted the same amount of luxury in the world, I am truly lucky, no?"

"That's a bit too confident, don't you think?" Feixiao tilts her head. While true that this woman has a more fortunate situation where she can feel and see things with these strings, putting down others with a disability isn't helping at all. "If these so called strings help you then why not share it with others?"

The woman lets out a sad chuckle. "I used to think I could share my pain with others. But the more the journey was recorded in history, the more I lost a bit of humanity. As romantic as my situation is, every romance has a tragedy."

Feixiao frowns. Something isn't adding up. What journey is speaking off? "Are you an adventurer? Or associated with the Astral Express?" If it's the second option than that makes more sense. They are the only faction that travels.

"The Astral Express," the woman says in a way that makes Feixiao ready herself. It isn't a tone of excitement, confusion or anger. It's more grief. As if she speaks of a deceased person.

"I apologize but no."

The golden strings slowly grab onto Feixiao's muscular warms and legs, keeping her in place. Feixiao knew that they sensed things but to also sense emotion is even more interesting. Whoever this woman is she isn't from the Xianzhou.

"I am not from the Astral Express but I do come from a planet that they had visited once. I am currently on a journey together with my family," the woman turns away from Feixiao to stare of in the distance. "My family is the only thing I have left."

"You still haven't exactly told me what type of journey it is," Feixiao quips. She isn't struggling against the strings knowing full well that they might cause the woman to run away. To get as much information as she can about her is of top priority.

"It's called the Era Nova (Flame-Chase)."

The woman stands up but not before slipping an invitation into Feixiao's hand. A ghost of a smile graces her beautiful face before she says the last thing;

"My name is Aglaea, The Goldweaver. Please remember me for when the war begins, future Master."

5 days after Mr.Reca touched the Grail

Boothill knew one thing about the new fella that joined their table. They ain't a simple shirtbag.

It all started an hour before the two sat on this lone table for a drink. Boothill found the man randomly while he was out to eat some bolts. He didn't know that doing some mundane muffins in your free time and suddenly a son of a nice lady pops up to request a duel. What's worse is that the shirtbag ain't even taking damage.

The muddle-fudger just remained stubborn as Boothill shot in his family jewels, mountain peaks and neck just to see how this shirtbag can keep up. Boothill didn't see any red blood poor out of the fudger but instead it was golden blood.

A strange fella with a strange pair of insides. Even got balls of steel too, or maybe he played with his balls a lot?

Not that Boothill can remember what that is like. The only meat on his new body is his head and even then the skin ain't real enough anymore.

And while Boothill already had plans to retreat the fight, another figure appeared to change the nature of the fight.

"Silvergun Shura! I came as fast as I could!" Rappa exclaims as she holds a few graffiti and aims it at the man with golden blood. "Step back, o fearsome enemy! I, The Dazzling Ninja, will defeat you by the hands of death. Prepare to be feared by the great ninja technique!"

"Wait, Rappa—!" "Hold on, I am half naked!"

— — and that's how the three of them ended up here, at a table in a special place where Rappa is doing a dogeza while the strange man cleans himself of the paint.

"I apologize deeply! Cosmic Ninjutsu teaches about the struggles of death, the overcoming of life struggles and yet I made one for you!" Rappa continues to bow and Boothill swears that blood is beginning to pool as she slams her head.

The man, who claimed to be named Mydeimos, only sighs. "It's alright. You caught me off guard and I congratulate your ability in stealth."

Rappa stands up and Boothill can practically see the Memtic Virus swirling in her eyes as a new nickname is made. "Thank you for understanding, Shogun Komainu!"

The man looks visibly confused. "Shogun? Komainu?"

"Yes! Your presence has a rich aura, almost as that of a god who rules over us mere ninjas that are trying to repel evil with the power of our Ninja Mantra! A beauty in both looks and soul, a true shogun!"

Mydeimos stares at Rappa for a while before turning to Boothill.

"She means to say you are a rich fudger," Boothill calmly explains but it's probably because of his censorship that Mydeimos looks even more confused.

"— as for Komainu, back in Edo Star there was this shrine with lion like statues. There were two types of statues but the one guardenian it stood out the most! It emanated a true sense of presence of a prince who would defend their nation against evil and not be drawn to it's temptation!"

Boothill almost sees Mydeimos flinch at the description.

"Rappa sure knows how to give new folks a fright," Boothill decides the change the topic, rubbing away the paint from his face. "Don't worry about it much, buddy. Rappa is the finest fighter here with the Galaxy Rangers."

Mydeimos only scoffs but he does not seem to do out of arrogance. Probably didn't like the way Rappa assisted the fight not that he doesn't blame him. Boothill doesn't like it either when paint is still on parts of his joints that he thought he cleaned up thoroughly only for it to still be there.

This does bring the question of who exactly is this man. He doesn't seem to care about any of the damage he takes and that blood of his is certainly strange too. Like a big pool of melted gold almost similar like the illustrations of the Destruction (Nanook), where the body of the aeon is ripped to pieces while THEIR blood drips down past THEIR disembodied body.

It gives Boothill some chills even though he isn't capable of having that.

"I appreciate the reassurance," Mydeimos speaks. "I also apologize for attacking you. I was ordered to give you something but I needed to be certain that you were perfect for this."

Boothill raises his eyebrow and Rappa also steadily stands guard. To give Boothill something after confirming if he was perfect for it? This could mean many things; a duel, a bounty or perhaps did the IPC sent off some prince of another planet to take his head in exchange for saving his planet with empty promises? Countless possibilities and yet none of them are as remotely interesting to him. Ever since his gray haired friend The Trailblazer has come along wherever they go Boothill goes as that is where the true fun lies.

Well, metaphorically speaking. Boothill cannot really hunt down the Astral Express on every adventure. After the events of Dr.Primitive Boothill wanted to rest anyway and Rappa accompanied him as she and Robin were planning on working on a song together. Boothill doesn't really understand what yougsters these days really do in their free time but he is to old to really dance to any hip new songs.

As long as the song isn't banana related than he is fine.

"Well, not like the fight ain't a refreshing activity to do after fudging around with the newest memetic oil that Penacony recently brought in," and I got addicted to is left unsaid but Boothill can feel Rappa's disapproving stare from the side of his vision, "but you gotta explain to me what type of test this was supposed prepare lil' old tin man like me for."

Mydeimos doesn't speak yet as he glances at Rappa. Is he perhaps scared she will attack him? With the way Rappa is guarding the only exit he probably has the right to feel that way. She is a real muddle fudger when it comes to that stuff, a real ninja dazzling warrior.

After a while of analyzing the lone sparkling Galaxy ranger, Mydeimos takes out two invitations. He hands one over to Rappa and one over to Boothill. Both Galaxy Rangers don't really understand what this Mydeimos wants from them but it's Rappa who reads the letter out loud.

"Dear Galaxy Rangers,

I, Mr.Reca of the Garden of Recollections, am here to invite both of you to a grandiose fight between warriors. The battle will be between 14 warriors against the heroes of a planet untouched. These heroes are the finest of the fine, with history so rich as wine and their blood as beautiful golden drops from The Ruin Author's (Nanook's) essence.

Of course I understand that you want to be given a reason as to why you must fight? That's simple! A single wish that you desire will be granted to you. A wish such as for example Mr.Boothill regaining his old body back or for Ms.Rappa to be cured of her memetic virus! All of these are capable of being granted!

Anymore information regarding the event will be told to you by your special summoned warriors that will come to you from 1 am till 2 am. Please note that the other participants are still anonymous until the battle begins. As for when the battle begins, that will be done in 3 days.

May all actors be blessed by The Remembrance (Fuli) and have a great day,

Cherishing the present before the future hits is a lesson nobody learns before it's too late.

Signed, Mr.Reca of The Garden of Recollections."

Boothill reads the letter again and again. A battle royal, huh? Interesting. Not that he truly cares about it but to be granted a wish is well….certainly something. How exactly are they capable of bringing back his old body back then? Boothill knows that there are a bunch of crazy monkeys out there like the Genius Society but why would someone go this far to make a battle royal for a wish?

Not only that but 'These heroes are the finest of the fine, with history so rich as wine and their blood as beautiful golden drops from The Ruin Author's (Nanook's) essence.' part still confuses him. Does that mean this guy, Mydeimos, is one of the people he will fight with? Makes sense why he came to test out if he was perfect for the battle but didn't he already spoil the surprise as to what his trump card is? A bod like that soaking up all types of damage — Boothill likes the challenge but something don't feel right.

And the requirements to summon those so-called warriors. Really? Why can't they just fight these so called heroes? MemoKeepers sure know how to make it seem impossible to predict what they will do, huh.

Still, he isn't exactly going to throw away the invitation. If something as greedy as a wish is involved than the IPC is going to jump in too. Those muddle-fudgers truly know how to make it terrible for others. Just imagining what those shirtbags will do once they make a wish…..

Boothill still thinks about her. His lovely daughter whose body had been turned into a crisp and her tears were dried up damp on the ground next to her. His body was in no condition to save her and yet — — he stubbornly wanted her to be in his arms.

He desperately wanted to comfort his daughter who was all alone.

Boothill turns to Rappa who has become uncharacteristically quiet. She is probably also thinking of what her true desire would be. She stares at the letter with a distant look, one he remembers when the two worked for the first time ever.

"If you have any questions," Mydeimos begins, startling both of them from their deep thoughts. They almost forgot that this guy exists too, "I would be willing to answer them but…"

"You are held under an oath of loyalty to not speak of the event more than you are allowed to, right, Shogun Komainu?" Rappa asks, her previously distant look gone for a more determined face.

Mydeimos nods at her assessment.

"Even though we are about to duel each other for the wish I am not allowed to speak more on the upcoming event than necessary. I apologize but I cannot help you with that."

Boothill crosses his arms, not at all buying it. "Oh, come on now, buddy. Free will is with everyone — no way a handsome fella' like you can't break a few rules?"

Rappa immediately steps in before Mydeimos could defend himself. "Silvergun Shura is correct! Cosmic Ninjutsu has such rules as well, if death is a path you are too afraid to take than it's alright to go through a route that brings you closer to your soul!"

Does it actually say that? Boothill wants to question his co-worker after hearing so much talk about the Cosmic Ninjas arts being mainly about striding the path of death and understanding your own worth. Unless, of course, he just mixed up Rappa's talk with the fake Galaxy Ranger.

Mydeimos looks at them with a thoughtful expression. He wants to say something but he cannot. Guess this guy got no free will after all.

"I appreciate the offer but I'm sorry. For your Cosmic Ninjutsu is nowhere near as important as the journey that the Chrysosheirs must complete."

Grief, determination and sorrow were the only emotions that the Galaxy Rangers could pick up from the strange man as he solemnly walks out of the room. Neither of them want to go after him as something he said made them really question things.

Besides the letter, besides the invitation to a battle royal and besides the golden blood —

— the term Chrysosheirs is something alien to them.

4 days after Mr.Reca touched the Grail

Acheron is lost again.

It's truly strange how the decision to go to the library ended up with her ending up in an unknown city, full of dying people and a black digital like mass covering half of it's residents.

The smell of burnt corpses is almost suffocating to bear but Acheron has went through worse.

But that's not all to this strange adventure since she has a companion.

"How did you manage to get here!?" Sparkle screams from the top of her lungs. She is currently on Acheron's back, rubbing her eyes after she took a nap while Acheron walked here. The Masked Fool made no effort to get off though and instead just climbed up to sit on her shoulders, still mad at the Emanator of Nihility for messing up simple directions.

"I followed the instructions…" Acheron tries to weakly defend herself but Sparkle interrupts her by pulling on her hair.

"You idiot! When I say go straight and then left I did not mean go straight into another planet and turn left to the first street you see!" Sparkle screams, borderline growling at this point. Acheron finds it amusing to see what a mad Masked Fool looks like.

Sparkle on the other hand is calming herself down by fanning her red face and adjusting her fox mask. "Alright, deep breaths. Aha will laugh at you and that's all that matters. In a way this is really funny!"

"Good to see you are no longer mad."

"Of course I am no longer mad," Sparkle giggles, quickly switching emotions but Acheron has already seen a whiff of the anger so there is no way she would forget. "Besides, that crude display of mine will be promptly forgotten by you. That shoulder rubbing IPC boy told me that you don't got the greatest memory."

"But I am well acquainted with a MemoKeeper. Who knows, once I get to Black Swan and ask her to turn that memory into a Lightcone I will never forget," Acheron teases and promptly is given a harsher hair tug.

"If you want to see me angry than speaking about the beautiful MemoKeeper is certainly a way to do it, Sparkle grits her teeth. "After all it was you who stole my dance with her!"

The two continue their one-sided bickering with Acheron adding nothing of value to the conversation while Sparkle uses her hair to tug her into different directions to prevent the Emanator to lose herself again.

The city itself is destroyed. Nothing of it is left except a black code like substance and bodies that lay forgotten on the side of the road. Acheron notes at least one hundred bodies in the entire district, which makes it hard for Acheron to comply with the instructions.

Acheron smells the scent of death. The trail of bodies are only proof of this fact that someone or something killed everyone here. From the lack of injuries the cause of death was due to a blade but something that you cannot defend yourself with. Acheron concludes from the way some of the bodies are positioned everyone fell from where they stood.

As if death walked passed them.

"Say, do you recognize any of these buildings?" Acheron asks as Sparkle oversees. The Masked Fool sighs and just shakes her head, tapping her fingers on Acheron's head in mild annoyance.

"Nope," Sparkle answers, "everything here looks similar like that one picture book miss MemoKeeper had in her room."

Acheron doesn't really show her confusion but Sparkle continues anyway. "It was a story about a planet gazed by the Remembrance, a planet so alien from other planets in the galaxy. The city within in the planet was rich with architecture and their people sang praises to their heroes."

"Hmm."

"Not that I care! The only real hero that I hear being praised these days is that crazy Knight of Beauty. His beautiful blood soaked hair that match the roses he has ready to seduce his fans, his emerald green eyes that could make poison look beautiful and his devout devotion top spread the word of his dead Aeon (Idrila)!" Sparkle narrates, a sudden bright light touching her shoulders as if she was on a stage fo give a show. Suddenly that light is gone and a dark expression rises up instead. "All while he rubs shoulders with those disgusting IPC jerks who are anything but beautiful!"

Acheron stops when Sparkle slumps over. Her black hair drapes over Acheron's breasts while the Masked Fool is rest her forehead on Acheron's neck. Craning her head side ways, the Emanator sees the Masked Fool rub her face before she sits up right.

"No! There is nothing funny about that boring guy! I know the chicken wing idol is far more entertaining!" Sparkle laughs crazily, almost as if she is convincing herself that it is funny. "She truly believes that her brother being out of Penacony will heal him! Had that girl never heard of a therapist?!"

Sparkle is silent again before she groans and rubs her face into Acheron's neck again. "Ahh! I got nothing!"

"Something wrong?"

"Yes, actually!" Sparkle immediately complains as if she wasn't sad a few seconds ago, "lately I have lost any form of entertainment!"

"A Masked Fool being bored is rather rare," Acheron comments. So this is what it looks like, a Fool without a joke. "Are you changing your career to that of a Mourning Actor?"

Sparkle gives her a deadpanned look. "That wasn't funny."

"It was a genuine question."

"I would never."

Sparkle straightens herself up and tugs on Acheron's hair again, signaling that they will continue their journey. "It's just that lately there has been nothing entertaining at all."

"Well, I suppose after the stunt that happened a few months ago I guess it's only natural that you would be bored," Acheron reasons, trying to understand the poor Fool's situation.

"Right?" Sparkle sighs and she lazily tugs Acheron's hair to the right where they enter a pair of stairs up what looks like a park. "Setting up bombs while everyone was distracted by the chicken wing boy from the Family and throwing Stelle into the sky where her girl toy would catch her was so much fun."

I suppose when she words it like that I can see why she is less entertained these days, Acheron thinks to herself remembering how after the reason before both got into this situation is mostly because Sparkle attempted to kill Acheron. Using her intimidation ability to transform into the Stellaron Hunters to try and stop her, again. It was lackluster and lazy, which was even more evident when not even two seconds after the confrontation she just wailed at Acheron's feet saying that she took her lady.

The Fool was so bored that she drunk herself into the Emanator of Nihility, if any other Fool saw this they would have a good laugh.

"And don't even get me started with my contact to Stelle," Sparkle complains further. "She hasn't been active in two weeks, hasn't even read any of my text messages until much later and even then the only thing she sent back is 'Fun will happen soon'. Can you believe that!?"

Acheron doesn't wince when Sparkle tugs harshly against Acheron's scalp to the left.

"O, by the Laughter (Aha) how am I ever going to get a good laugh again?" Sparkle wails loudly, leaning back so far while stretching her hands out as if she was begging for an answer. "O, Aeon of Elation, my entertaining Aeon, Aha! Please give me something funny!"

….

….

….

….

"I don't think THEY hear you," Acheron comments unhelpfully.

"Bleh, you are only saying that because I'm not asking your aeon."

"IX usually doesn't say anything whenever someone goes up to THEM."

"You Self-Annihilators sure are strict. So not fun."

Acheron only shrugs as the two continue.

Something entertaining huh…

"Since you have nothing better to do, how about we play a game?" Acheron suggests, craning her neck to look at the Fool who is just overseeing the path ahead. "Who knows, maybe a children's game would entertain you."

"I may be short but I am in my 20's."

"If it makes you feel better I am older than that yet I need a guide to help me."

"That's because someone associated with the Nihility would obviously forget basic instructions."

"So by your logic every Masked Fool has to be hilarious?"

Sparkle laughs at the question. "Of course we are funny. It's just that each one of us have a different ideology to it."

Acheron pauses in her step once she sees that the road ahead is blocked by some pillars. However someone else is also there, a woman with long red hair accompanying another woman with light purple hair.

The red haired woman raises her hand and the pillar slowly goes up and is placed back as if it is nothing. The two women quickly walk further, not at all turning back to the them.

Sparkle didn't seem to notice them but Acheron notes the way she lazily puts her palm on Acheron's head and leans in, the Emanator can only deduce that Sparkle is not at all invested in the two women.

The city is left in a state of destruction… Acheron is rather curious about who could these women possibly be but at the same time those two could be the cause of all this destruction and chaos. Caution is to be expected.

"Did you know that the ideology in Elation I follow is that anything that makes me laugh is important than the laughs of others?" Sparkle pipes up, playing with the part of Acheron's hair. Her red nails comb through the locks, piercing through the abyss of purple.

"My way of finding laughter is not a common thing. Our Emanator of Elation wishes for everyone to have a good laugh," Sparkle giggles a bit. "He is such a kind man wanting everyone else to laugh but to me that is only an impossible feet, not everyone can laugh at the same joke."

That is rather true. Acheron can't remember the amount of times a joke flew over her head and vice versa.

"— but now I sorta understand the appeal of a good laugh."

Acheron feels less weight on her shoulders and then watches how Sparkle gracefully lands in front of her. The once bored Masked Fool now has a sudden grin on her face, elated at the discovery of new life.

"Those two ladies certainly looked suspicious, almost as if they were hiding something," Sparkle grabs Acheron by the hand and drags her forward.

I guess she is in a good mood.

And with that the two go on their way to follow the two women — —

…..

……..

………..

…………

— which was an easier statement than expected.

"How did we get lost again!?"

Sparkle's scream pierces through the halls while Acheron swiftly takes care of the nearby enemy monsters. The Masked Fool only rolls on the ground in frustration, comedically not at all noting the chaos in the background while she is lamenting her current situation.

"Is there an Aeon of Topographical Disorientation or something?! I told you to go left, left damn it!" Sparkle curses out, not at all in her element as she feels anger boiling over the lid of her patience.

While Sparkle is manifesting thoughts of pure anger filled chaos, Acheron is steady in her steps. Dodging and parrying any attack that comes her way but her blade remains closed. These monsters are something that she isn't used to before. They look similar to the Anti-Matter legion yet they have a distinct uniqueness to them — as if they were something created to be destroyed.

This is not something she felt while killing the Annihilation Gang. Those followers of destruction weren't created to destroy, they were too soft and easily hurt. Within a matter of seconds they disbanded after Acheron had slain them.

This however felt different. She didn't kill a sentient being but at the same time she did. Not a soft person but a stone cold statue that crumbled to dust with every powerful kick and stab she gives.

With one final breath Acheron takes out her sword from her sheath and her hair turns white while her skin gains red flowers. Her eyes a once beautiful shade of purple turn into crimson and with one slash of her sword —

— swish !!

— all monsters crumble to dust.

Sparkle, finally regaining some composure, opens up the door to the room that the two were aiming to go. Acheron follows after her and this time tries to follow Sparkle directly and not to get lost in thought again, it would be rather bad if this happened again and the Fool lost her temper.

The journey went well alright — more monsters appeared which Acheron took care of while Sparkle tinkers with the mechanisms to try and get them to work. Acheron waits patiently as every door gets unlocked and every path is shown again.

"I never knew you were this good with puzzles," Acheron comments, creating small talk to ease up the tension is always good.

Sparkle only makes a humming sound, not at all really paying attention to Acheron as she finishes up the last puzzle. "Ah," Sparkle eventually speaks.

Acheron notes what exactly it is that has Sparkle tongue tied and she sees the two women again. One with long red hair holding 3 invitations and one with purple hair holding a big scythe.

Acheron notes that both wear rather strange dresses; both of them don't look like they come from any of the planets that Acheron (accidentally) visited. Even Dr.Ratio, who wears a similar type of aesthetic, doesn't look anything similar to the two women.

Before Acheron could speak though Sparkle opens her mouth first.

"Excuse me, beautiful ladies ~!"

The two jump in their skin and turn to Acheron and Sparkle. It seems like both didn't notice their presence at all, the two were tense and the purple haired girl aims at her scythe at them.

"We aren't here to cause harm," Acheron quickly says, "We got lost on our way."

"You got lost on your way," Sparkle corrects.

"…." Acheron only lowers her head.

The woman with the scythe is still tense however but the one with red hair is…. slightly less tense.

"Ah, I see," the red haired woman comments. "I apologize for this, we just don't get visitors much…um Cassie you can lower your weapon now."

Cassie only nods. "My apologies Lady Tribb— I mean Tribbios."

Tribbios doesn't seem to mind but she still looks tense. Whatever the two went through while everything else happened it seems like they are also victims of it. The last survivors……

…. Just like her.

"My name is Tribbios but I think for the future you may call me Archer and this is Castorice but you may also call her Assassin later on."

Archer and Assassin huh. For later on?

"Well if we are going to give each other nicknames," Sparkle indulges in the game of secrets. "I am Sparkle (Hanabi), a Masked Fool of the funniest Aeon in the galaxy Aha and this is…."

Acheron watches as Castorice tenses up when the Emanator steps forward for introduction.

"…The name I go by is Acheron, an Emanator of the path of Nihility and the sole Self-Emanator as of now," Acheron notes the way that both women are now tensing up. It seems that she scares them. Only natural she supposes, meeting an Emanator so casually does bring the average person a bit of stress.

"An Emanator….like a Lord Ravenger?" Castorice questions, her voice soft like a lullaby.

Sparkle only laughs at the notion. "Oh please, this little miss forgets-a-lot is nowhere near like those powerhouses."

She is belittling me…. Acheron cannot help but feel embarrassed.

"I see," Castorice sighs in relief. "We apologize but we aren't allowed to speak to you yet. The rules aren't in place yet and certain Masters haven't been invited yet…."

Acheron turns to Sparkle who at the same time glances as well. Seems like the two are on the same place.

"Cassie.." Tribbios begins, "I understand that you are under a lot of pressure but we have to remember what we promised Aggy."

Castorice looks more and more sad at the mention of this Aggy person. Acheron can only guess that whoever she is she must be important to both of them. Tribbios herself does look older than Castorice so perhaps Aggy is a friend?

Tribbios walks up to both of them and both Sparkle and Acheron notes the two invitation that she is holding.

"I know this is sudden but here." Two invitations with both having different symbols on them. "These two invitations should be opened on the 8th day," Tribbios explains.

Acheron looks over at the invitation before her eyes land on Castorice once more. The young woman looks delicate and soft but from her weapon and the look in her eyes — Acheron knows that whatever will happen in the future they will have no other choice to but to clash blades.

I should ask Mr.Welt about this.

"I will guide both of you out of Okhema now," Tribbios starts and —

Sparkle aims the gun at Tribbios' chest, not budging from her spot. Castorice dashes towards the Masked Fool, scythe ready to aim and kill Sparkle on sight but..

Clash! Cling! Smash—!

Scythe meets sword.

"Lady Tribbios!" "Sparkle!"

Both blade users grab their respective companion and face each other. Their intent to battle clear as day and yet that is not clearly what they both want either.

"I apologize for my companions behavior we appreciate the guidance home," Acheron says, preferring to not have the Fool make anymore decisions.

"I will come with all of you…for the sake of Lady Tribbios," Castorice fires back, her once tense expression gone for determination.

"Cassie—!" "Hey! I can take care of myself!"

"Lady Tribbios went through enough problems because of current situation! Pointing a weapon at her while she is trying to help you!"

"She said something that was suspicious," Sparkle tries to push away Acheron's arm but the strength of an Emanator is nowhere near the same as that of a Fool. Sparkle eventually just rest against her arm. "Okhema is not a city that is registered in the IPC geographic system and that washed up colonizer company has taken over too many planets to count."

"…!"

"We…" Tribbios stutters, trying to come up with an excuse. "We…are a small planet and…"

"A small planet going through a disaster from what I saw," Sparkle fires back. "Are you going to tell me that the IPC hasn't come over here to at least sell you an empty promises?"

The two stay silent.

Acheron is almost impressed at how attentive Sparkle is.

"We cannot answer any of your questions," Castorice says sternly, pointing her scythe at Sparkle's neck. "We will guide you out of Amphoreous and after that you will never come back."

"And what happens if we come back?" Acheron challenges, not at all liking the tone this Castorice has.

Castorice narrows her eyes and a purple aura surrounds her. Sparkle steps back, hiding behind Acheron while the Emanator slowly unsheathes her sword again. Tribbios tries to stop but for some reason she doesn't hold onto Castorice or say anything — as if she is afraid to touch her.

Castorice does a small spin while slashing her scythe behind her and a portal opens. Acheron watches in amazement as the head of a dragon pops out, glowering at them with it's beak open to show off the valley of teeth it has.

"If you come back to Amphoreous than I must apologize in advance but I will kill you."

It is neither a statement or a threat — simply a promise.

One that Acheron can accept.

"In that case," Acheron sheathes her sword and grabs a hold of Sparkle's arm. Without any warning she hauls the Masked Fool over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and turns around but not without giving one last glance at the woman who promised to kill her.

"— the next time we meet here I shall tell you my true name."

And with that Acheron left, ignoring the cries of Sparkle's dignity and she didn't turn back even when Tribbios runs after them to guide them out.

All left in the empty room is Castorice with her dragon who solemnly comforts her master.

If any of them had stayed longer than maybe one of them would have heard Castorice's plea.

"….when you come back please kill us so that they cannot be born."

3 days after Mr.Reca touched the Grail

Any normal child would feel cold when their feet touch the bare snow.

But for Clara this snow is her home and she feels uncomfortable to not be close to her home that she shares with her 'father'.

"Mr Svarog," Clara carefully whispers as she watches the giant robot watch over the settlement. For some reason he has been more tense than usual, a strange cloud of uncertainty hangs in the air and Clara can feel it.

The Robot Settlement has been quiet with many residents leaving to live in the city ever since Ms.Bronya made bug improvements in widening the wall. Apparently the Supreme Guardian has big plans to extend Belobog and restore the civilization of Jarilo IV back to it's former humanity. While Clara is happy about the decision the change is scary.

And that's exactly why Mr.Svarog is tense.

As a robot, Svarog does not convey emotions nor does he trust humans, believing them to be unpredictable and dangerous. The lone exception is Clara, who he treats as his daughter and protects her in battle. He's highly calculating, ensuring that all of his decisions are the right course of action to protect humanity, despising conflicts such ones that arise from Wildfire and the Vagrants."Preservation" is his responsibility, so he in turn longs for peace and coexistence.

But how does one preserve the current state of the only civilization of the world when the citizens desire anew? That is a question that has been plaguing the higher ups back in the Overworld and Underworld too many times.

The Eternal Freeze is over thanks to the Astral Express. They are no longer freezing over because of the Stellaron.

And yet habits are hard to let go of.

"Mr Svarog," Clara says again, this time much louder for her 'father' to hear. "If it's alright can I go for a walk near the settlement?"

The third series of the Monitoring Automaton Prototype turns to her, which has been the first in last two weeks since the council meeting, that he has done that. "I apologize, Clara. I was lost in thought. Request to take a stroll: access granted, possibility of danger : 0%. Please return in the estimate time of 30 minutes."

The young girl only smiles and nods before turning around and heading off to clear her mind.

……

……..

……….

"Sigh."

Clara sits down on a random rock and watches from a distance how a pair of children are playing happily. Clara isn't afraid of the human children, she is friends with Hook and engages sometimes in any sort of adventure with the Moles. It's just that she is different. Very different.

Found by Mr.Svarog, raised by him while being a genius in things that children her age aren't even capable of understanding and her being somehow not bothered by the ice at all — it scares some children and some adults.

Clara remembers how when she joined Mr.Svarog to go to the Overworld how several children there would laugh at her and call her horrible names while she was just waiting for Mr.Svarog to finish his meeting. The adults did nothing to stop it and just continued on with their day or merely laughed at a view of the 'jokes'.

It made Clara uneasy — it made her feel unwanted.

In the Underworld she didn't feel like that. The Moles were kind and even Sampo, the joker of the Wildfire, comforted her by telling her all sorts of stories about Edo Star. Clara really wants to visit the planet but if she is already laughed at by people from her planet how will locals from other planets react to her?

Clara just didn't understand how what to do. It's not like she can fix any of her problems in a heartbeat. She tries to wear shoes and she really felt uncomfortable with it. She has tried to dress up and wear accessories but they just got in the way of her work.

It just didn't feel right.

Clara brings her knees closer to her chin while hearing more children run past her from the other side of the road. She is so glad that nobody takes this intersection because of the rogue robots that will jump occasionally. Clara takes care of those robots though, not at all caring about any of the consequences that it might do for her sleep schedule. If Mr. Svarog cannot rest because of all those meetings than Clara shouldn't either!

It just wouldn't be fair for him.

"Little girl, look out!"

Before Clara can register who even warned her, she felt her body yoinked up as a rogue robot attacks the spot that she was previously on.

The young girl closes her eyes as the man who picked her up raised his weapon and sent the robot flying! Clara watches in amazement as the man puts her down (with one arm!) before playing around with his bat for a bit. Clara doesn't understand who he is or what he is doing here but one thing is for certain; he is extremely impressive.

"Phew, that was a close one!" The man laughs brightly like the sun before he looks down at Clara. The girl feels her neck pop with how far up she has to go.

Probably out of pity or to make her less scared, the man lowers himself on his knees until it no longer hurts to look up.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh…I am fine. Thank you for saving me, mr…?"

"Phainon, my name is Phainon."

Clara stares at him before she scanes him up and down. He isn't from Belobog.

Phainon isn't a Belobogian name.

"Fienon?"

"Not quite. It's p h a i n o n."

"Pienon?"

Clara sometimes wishes that her hair and skin weren't as white as snow so that all of this could have been less embarrassing. She feels her face heat up in embarrassment as the strange man patiently teaches her his name.

"I've never really had someone butcher my name so many times," Phainon laughs half-heartedly as Clara turns more and more like the color of her jacket.

Phainon eventually just points at his hair. "You can call me Snowy if things get too difficult. My teachers call me that sometimes because of my hair."

Clara immediately locks in on the white hair that the man has. For as far Clara knows there is only one person in Belobog with lifeless colored hair and that's her. To meet someone who also has white hair is a dream come true.

"M…me too! I also have snow white hair!" Clara claims with excitement.

Phainon only gasps before touching her long locks of hair. "Haha, we sorta look like siblings, no?"

I never really had a relative so I wouldn't know is what Clara wants to say but Pela has explained to her that "trauma dumping" on first meetings will make them instantly distance themselves from her. Best thing is to just nod along and agree.

"To be honest I don't exactly have any siblings myself," Phainon continues, pouting a bit as he sits down next to Clara. If the girl has to describe the situation she feels in right now the best way she can view it as a dog waggling his tail.

His smile is so bright…I am sad he isn't smiling. Clara hesitates but she does eventually pat Phainon's head which makes the big man smile again.

"Hehe, guess the little sister is comforting her older brother?"

"I have only met you for a few minutes but the sight of you sad is already breaking my heart."

Phainon laughs with his chest and Clara can't help but let her smile blossom her cold face. He really does look better with a smile!

"Anyway," Phainon says as he stands up. He extends his hand out and gives another wide smile. "Let's get you back to your parents!"

Clara gives a weak smile and follows Phainon to where Mr.Svarog is.

When the two of them return home Clara notes that Mr.Svarog is no where to be found but a note is left with a bag of money. Clara takes the note and reads at the containment before turning to Phainon.

"Mr. Svarog left to meet with Ms. Natasha so if it's possible…" Clara trails off, hoping that her face isn't too red.

"Sure, I will stay with you!" Phainon smiles and Clara feels happy knowing that she won't be alone for a while.

………

……….

The market of the Underworld really makes Clara look over Phainon's clothes once more and she is truly in shock how she didn't question him and his whereabouts before they entered.

Clara had to explain to him why Belobog is so underdeveloped, from retelling the history of the Eternal Freeze to explaining the arrival of the Astral Express and also to empathize a lot on the fact that Belobog doesn't have any heroes — Clara is really curious now where her new friend came from.

The two of them eventually stop near the entrance of the Great Mine where Clara notes a singular bench where the two of them can sit on and rest.

"Mr. Pie— I mean Mr. Snowy, where do you come from?"

"Ah, well, I come from a small village called Aedes Elysiae but if you ask which planet I come from…." Phainon answers with a mouth full of Crystal Lizard Satay. He swallows it and makes a lying down eight sigh.

"I am from a planet called Amphoreous (eternal recurrence)."

Clara tilts her head. She has never heard of a planet with that name but to his credit Clara didn't know a lot of names of the different planets out there — nobody in Belobog knew about other planets in the world because of the Eternal Freeze.

To learn more about other planets will definitely be a learning experience. "What is Amphoreous like?"

Just like before Phainon smiles as brightly as the sun. "It is rich planet with a lot of animals and landscape. I myself come from a village where the grass is a shining yellow color, similar to that of the sun. Almost impossible to forget even after so many years of not seeing it."

Clara nods along but she cannot stop her solemn expression. "I don't really know what grass looks like. Even now it took me awhile to understand the concept of a clear blue sky."

Ah. Clara quickly covers her mouth. She trauma dumped! Oh no, now Phainon will be very uncomfortable with her!

"I understand the feeling of change being very different," Phainon says, not at all minding the sad fact of her life that Clara dropped on him. "Actually my village was destroyed by an evil organization."

"Evil organization?" Could it be? "Did the IPC get to you?"

Phainon shakes his head. "No, while I have heard things of the IPC our planet is protected by the Aeon of Remembrance and as such is hidden by many."

"The Aeon of Remembrance?" Clara tilts her head.

"Yes," Phainon's face looks visibly stressed out. As if he is lying to her and to himself.

"Then," Clara continues, "where did you go after your village was destroyed?"

"Oh, well me and a childhood friend of mine went to the holy city named Okhema," Phainon continues and Clara notes how much more relaxed he is. He is no longer lying is what she concludes.

"Okhema houses these heroes called the Chrysosheirs," Phainon explains further, throwing the stick of his satay over his head. Clara glances behind her and watches how the satay stick stabs a Vagrant in the eyes. The Vagrant runs away while the child he held by the neck runs away in fear.

"Chrysosheirs?"

"Yup. They are the heroes who each own a coreflame that houses their power — with each of them following their previous owner's footsteps."

"When you say owner…"

"Ah," Phainon's face tenses up again and he is scratching the back of his neck. "I say owner but it is actually more complicated than that."

"Mr. Snowy, I want you to know that each planet has different customs and it would be rude to make fun of them," Clara reassures him with a soft smile.

Phainon blinks at the sudden words but he does smile afterwards. "You are right. Well, to be honest the planet of Amphoreous has it's own fair share of gods that they believe in but we refer to them as Titans —

— The Titans are a group of divine beings born from Coreflames sent down by the gods of Amphoreus. Each Titan has an associated Coreflame, and whoever conquers a Coreflame's Trial can inherit the Titan's divinity and become a demigod.

Romance, Reason, Strife, Death, Trickery, Worldbearing, Sky, Ocean, Earth, Time, Law and Passage.

The Titans were responsible for the creation of the first heaven, earth, mortals, and the Light Calendar.At this point, all the Titans have fallen, and the Chrysos Heirs are prophesied to take up the Coreflames."

Clara feels herself get more and more excited from the description alone. An entire planet with a whole new system that is beyond the Aeons? No, these Titans sound very similar to Aeons. Could there be more divine concepts out there in the world than what was previously taught to them?

Clara has to know more.

"Are you also a Chrysosheir, Mr. Snowy?"

"Yes I am!" Phainon answers and shows off his neck where a sun tattoo with golden ink. "I have the Worldbearing Coreflame."

"What does Worldbearing imply exactly?"

"Kephale is one of the "Three Titans of Creation," representing omniscience and omnipotence. As the God of Creation, Kephale is a symbol of saviors and heroes," Phainon explains and flexes his arm a bit, showing off his muscle. "As such my main duty is to help people with the stretch that can carry a thousand suns, hence the other name that Kephale has, The Sunbearer."

"The sun…" Clara mumbles and she cannot look Phainon in the eye. The young hero notes of her sudden sadness and immediately drops his arm to try and comfort her.

"I'm sorry it's just that," Clara feels herself not being able to hold back as a tear slowly rolls down her face. "For years there was a never sun here. Even though I was lucky enough to be raised above ground there is never any sun here, only clouds and cold snow and became of that my skin and hair…"

Even though Phainon had white hair like her his skin is still a healthy complexion, while with Clara had she never worn red clothrs than nobody would even be able to differentiate herself from the surrounding area.

"But thanks to the Trailblazer you now have a bit of sun, no?"

Clara wipes away her tears. "I mean, yes we now have a clear sky but….the sudden change is too much."

"I get how you feel. Finding out about the concept of aeons was certainly a surprise to me as well."

He is really trying to cheer her up.

"So," Clara circles back to the topic. "How does one know that they are a Chrysosheir?"

"Our blood is golden."

Such a simple answer. Not that Clara minds. Simple answers are ultimately the best.

"Your planet sounds fun," Clara smiles happily. "I hope I get to visit it one day."

The two stay quiet for a while.

Eventually Phainon stands up and pats his pants before eventually taking out an envelope. "Here," Phainon gives the envelope to Clara who takes in the golden ink symbol on the seal. "I'm sorry that I cannot talk much with you, Clara."

Before the girl can comprehend how he knows her name even though she never had the opportunity to introduce herself, a blinding light appears and Phainon is gone. Confusion and fear creeps in as Clara sprints out of the market towards the Robot Settlement back to her home. Mr.Svarog still isn't back so she quickly goes to her room and shuts the door.

That….that was scary! Out of everything Clara had gone through in her life, interacting with a ghost is even more scarier. Or at least that's what she thinks Phainon is. Only a ghost can disappear like that.

Taking in a deep breath she turns back to the envelope and opens it. After finally calming down she reads the contents.

"Good day, Mr. Svarog's assistant

We hereby invite you to a private event called the Holy Grail War. This war is done between Masters and Servants. Do not fret — as your designated Servant will appear in a few days time.

You are also refrained from speaking to anyone, especially your master Svarog. If you do not comply than you shall be burned by the sun.

I hope that you remain vigilant, we don't want our Master to die too early.

Signed,

The Ruler of Amphoreous."

2 days after Mr.Reca touched the Grail

"How interesting."

The envelope that lays peacefully on her desk is covered in gold and yet the man that stands behind her desk, watching the galaxy outside remains same.

Ruan Mei had just awakened from a nap after her Sesame Cats had begged her to. The Genius can't do much when their sugary cuteness betrays her and gives her enough reason to take a nap. She had also been greeted with a rather strange man.

Clad in green, one singular eye and a strange gun in a holster. That is how Ruan Mei will remember him with. The Genius doesn't even have time to ask him a question as he already starts to cackle, a rather sinister one.

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!" the man laughs, his arms stretching out as if he wants to hug the view in front of him. "The stars so close yet so far and the planets…this is The World Beyond The Sky!"

Ruan Mei merely walks up to the strange man, not at all threatened despite his…odd behavior. Instead she lets him wonder, it's only a respectful thing to do after witnessing such a display of happiness.

"It's all like he said — no, scratch that, it is exactly as he said!" the man then turns around to Ruan Mei and the expression on his face tells the genius enough that she needs to know about him. He is like her. Crazy.

"You," the man points at Ruan Mei with an expression that the Genius can only describe as pure mad excitement. He takes the envelope from the counter and shoves it in Ruan Mei's hand, not at all caring about the force he puts on her.

The Genius lands on her butt, causing her Sesame Cats to jump after her in worry. All this while the man in green merely continues his monologue.

"I am Anaxagoras," the man begins, his excitement of discovery still clear on his face. "I hereby invite you to the Holy Grail War!"

….

…….

"…?" Even the sesame cats are confused.

The man must have realized his lack of context and immediately simmers down his excitement. Anaxagoras merely coughs in his fist and clears his throat. "I apologize for being a bit too excited. I almost forgot how I was supposed to treat a future Master."

"Apology accepted," Ruan Mei says, standing up and dusting off her labcoat. "I'm going to assume that the galaxy itself must have been one of your greatest wonders."

It was something she was excited about too when her parents let her discover the world beyond the sky. Nowadays though she spends most of her time in the Herta Space Station where the windows all but reveal the usual snowy mountains that Ruan Mei was used to. The stars in the mere empty abyss is truly beautiful, if not magnificent.

Yet — Ruan Mei has the feeling that her discovery of the galaxy is not on the same level as him.

Her childlike innocence is gone while his is that of a man on a mission. What could he have possibly lives through where something as normal as the galaxy is a big break through?

Interesting. Ruan Mei has no other choice but to listen and hear what that man has to say before she asks questions.

"One of the greatest wonders it is indeed. For I am Anaxagoras, a scholar of The Grove of Epiphany, where knowledge flourishes and philosophers are born. I am one of the Chrysosheirs that challenged the Coreflame of Reason."

Reason. A similar Path to Erudition or perhaps it is the same path?

Coreflame. Must be something similar to the Cornerstones that the IPC use in essence; a stone of power that holds all the power of the user.

The Chrysosheirs. A beautiful name for such an unknown group. Are they then perhaps part of the Knights of Beauty? No, Ruan Mei cannot make assumptions just because of a pretty name.

The Grove of Epiphany. Could that be similar to the Genius Society and Intelligentsia Guild?

"I am here to invite you to a simple competition between Masters and Servants — A Holy Grail War. However do not fear much as you will not fight alone."

A Holy Grail War. A simple competition it is not, it seems.

Between Masters and Servants. Interesting. New words that Ruan Mei is learning.

"The competition will begin in exactly a week. This envelope will go in more detail about all of it's wonders. However one thing you must remember is that you aren't fighting alone. The Servant shall help you."

Servant. A strange yet new word that will become important later on.

"Any further questions?"

And now it's Ruan Mei's term to ask question in this debate.

"You claim to be a Chrysosheir , correct? May I ask exactly what that is supposed to be?" Ruan Mei asks the first question, prefering to build things up slowly.

"The Chrysos Heirs are a group of individuals imbued with great power that rose up after the Titans of Amphoreus fell. Fused with "golden ichor," literally manifesting as golden blood, some of us, according to the Prophecy of Genesis from the Worldbearing Titan, Kephale, are tasked with plucking the Coreflames from the Titans and upholding the world, also known as a Flame-Chase (Era Nova) "

Interesting. From the wording Ruan Mei is under the impression that despite his position this man doesn't rather believe in his own task. "You say according, is it far fetched to assume that you don't believe in what your 'Titan' claims?"

At that Anaxagoras only crosses his arms and sniffs haughtily. "Even though I bear the Coreflame of Reason that does not mean I am a follower of those so called gods. No, to me those gods are mere fiction."

So he is a blasphemous individual Ruan Mei notes down in her head.

But Ruan Mei has now come to understand a few things. A Chrysosheir is someone of great importance, a hero and the Coreflame is their source of power with Reason being one of them. Similar to how a Pathrinder has a Path they chose that is entirely based on their ideology — the Coreflame is given to a Chrysosheir that bears golden blood whomst the concept have chosen to them.

A blasphemous scholar being given the Coreflame of Reason….rather fitting. Once you question basic questions like the quantum physics that objects hold than questions such as do gods exist become another. As in the brain of a genius anything without logic and reason is not fitting in their narrative.

Ruan Mei can only guess that the Grove of Epiphany is merely a place where a scholar such as himself can relax and relief his genius desires.

"The Holy Grail that you speak off," Ruan Mei continues next, "together with the Servants, what do you mean specifically?"

Anaxagoras stops crossing his arms and instead puts it behind his back while pacing back and forth. "The Holy Grail war is a concept that is not from this universe. To be precise it is from the planet earth but from another dimension."

Ah, dimension hopping. Herta had already discovered such a concept and wrote many essays about it, sadly Ruan Mei never truly had the chance to look further into it as the beautiful Genius told her that other dimensions didn't have her and as such were deemed not worth the time.

Ruan Mei has no other choice but to agree. A beauty such as Herta not being in any other universe — than what is even the point of visiting those universes?

"The Holy Grail," Anaxagoras continues on, oblivious to Ruan Mei's derailed train of thoughts, "is originally supposed to be between 7 mages and 7 heroic spirits, The Servants. However if a grail war has a malfunction such as double the amount of participants then a Ruler class has no other choice but to appear."

'Originally' being a keyword here.

"I see," Ruan Mei concludes after thinking it over. "By normal circumstances the Holy Grail would be done in that version of Earth but now the grail is here and we have no other choice but to participate."

The man of Reason simply nods. Ruan Mei finds it interesting how much trouble one can get herself into by just understanding the situation.

A holy grail war, an envelope with an invitation and a man who is there to personally invite her. Without her consent or knowledge Ruan Mei became a participant in the War.

"There is also another thing that you should know," Anaxagoras says as he slowly dissolves in golden dust. Ruan Mei's eyes slightly widens as the sudden leave.

"In a proper grail war it would be Masters and Servants fighting each other but in this war it shall be different," Anaxagoras explains as he slowly disappears. "The letter in the envelope will explain more until then —."

Ruan Mei watches as Anaxagoras turns to the window again and disappears after he says the following words.

" — may you Followers of Erudition wait till the fall of your Aeon."

When Anaxagoras finally is gone, Ruan Mei hastily opens the envelope to read the letter.

"Dear Genius of the Society of Geniuses,

I am Lycurgus, The Theoros — and I am here to warn you.

In a week the Holy Grail War shall begin in the Cosmos. Sadly, I couldn't send enough invitations in such short notice and as such only two participants shall be uninformed about the future battles that they shall face. Perhaps this is also a good thing, no? For as some shall be unable to understand the risks of the Grail are those who are the most willing to participate — or are those people just oblivious to their surroundings?

At any rate, as the wonderful Anaxagoras had explained you shall participate with a Servant that will be given to you on the end of the week. You have to seek other Masters and plan together with them for your own survival.

As the Erudition (Nous) shall fall and so will you.

The Chrysosheirs will make sure that they do."

1 day after Reca touched the Grail

Now then my dear readers and viewers allow Mr. Reca to explain this play to you.

In a crowd full of monster npc's who are beaten daily to gain XP and level up materials, a mere MemoKeeper stands on the stage together with his fellow Memetic entity Black Swan and Intellitron, Lygus.

Light is cast on them while in the background several pods can be shown with each housing a specific someone — a Chrysosheir.

Aglaea, The Weaver of Gold. A blind woman whose beauty rivals the gods and her romance to humanity as tragic as it seems.

Tribbios, The Triples of Fate. Three young children who are actually the remaining copies after the rest were killed off.

Cerydra, The Chessmaster Monarch. A tyrant whose royal charisma shines in every move of her chessboard, showcasing her power in strategies.

Nocturna, The Evernight. A mysterious guest who entered the doors of Amphoreous to search for something or someone.

Dan Heng, The Soaring Dragon without Restraint. A man who waited patiently for his friends to come back as he is the one who spreads permanace.

Helektra, Hysilens The Wave-strumming Knight. A loyal knight and right-hand of the Chessmaster Monarch. Even with the pod refraining her from all sorts of movement, she still has her body twisted to go to her Imperator's side.

Hyacinthia, Healer of Light. A young girl who is as adorable in pink as she is naive in goodness. Her white allicorn pet snuggling in her chest while frozen tears fly from her face within the pod.

Anaxagoras, Demised Scholar. A man who was the first to theorize that the world beyond the sky exists and also the first to be fallen for when the new plans begin.

Castorice, Servant of Fate. A lonely woman who is curled up in her pod yet so elegant as she is deadly.

Ciferia, The Fleet-Footed Traveler. A woman whose mischief of a cat can rival the funniest Masked Fool. Her lies will certainly be useful for when you put on show for a crowd such as this.

Mydeimos, The Last Prince. A mother's son who despite his brute force and mad fighting style is nothing more but a wise young man who knows how to handle himself in battle.

Stelle, The Trailblazer. A Stellaron inside of what could only be described as a fake human body or perhaps she has an actual human body? Such questions would be too tedious to ask for a story such as this.

The last and final pod is …..empty?

Of course it is empty.

Because the person that should be sitting in there is none other than Khaslana, The Deliverer.

The Deliverer sits amongst the crowd, his wings burning the monsters around him while the three explain what type of hell his friends have no other choice but to go through.

"The Holy Grail has it's main goal connected to the Roots. The Roots of that world is the equivalent of the Honkai."

The Honkai is a reoccurring cataclysm coming in different forms such as: Honkai Beasts, Herrschers, plagues, an ice age, illness, etc. for the sole purpose of exterminating civilization. Honkai corresponds with that civilization's advancement, meaning the more it progresses, the more Honkai does as well.

"I'm certain that Mr.Welt would explain more about it," Black Swan says while she watches the images of Welt and Himeko carefully trying to warm up the unconscious body of March 7th while she is encased with ice. "But he seems preoccupied."

Ah yes, the Herrscher of Reason and Sovereign of Anti-Entropy should be able to explain more in detail how disastrous and cruel the Honkai is.

But the Honkai is what a genius should ultimately understand, no? A pure power of destruction that leaves nothing but disaster on it's wake — is it not similar to the Stellaron?

That of course is the question. What is the Honkai? How far can it go? But also

— can it help develop The Irontomb?

Ah, such a question. Such a difficult question.

How about we ask the guest of today, Skott, what he thinks of it?

The curtain reveals a man connected to a bunch of test tubes. His eyes are rolled back, his body dangling in the air while the machinery around him suck out a strange liquid from his body. His current state? Definitely dead.

As you can read, Skott's main being was getting drained and liquidified.

From the tubes small drops of purplish-black liquid can be seen dropping into the pods where the Chrysosheirs slept in. Their system overriden by codes and firewalls all while Skott is slowly becoming nothing but forgotten flesh and bones.

Such a cruel fate that was made for this man. It's fine however — it was either him or the unfortunate genius that was almost dragged in with him.

No, he isn't a genius by the Society. He is but a mere mundane genius who was eventually sparred when — —

Wait. Why should we tell something that could potentially change the story forever? That's something Mr.Reca would never allow. A good show must always have it's twists and turns, spoiling that would be no fun.

And what would also be no fun is when the last secret two Masters were to be revealed. It would be truly tragic if that were to happen. Especially on an occasion such as this.

"Now then," Reca smiles as he takes out his clipping board. Lygus is behind him, setting the grail ready for the future summons.

All shall be given to the following Masters;

Ruan Mei, The Mad Genius.

Dr. Veritas Ratio, the Mundane Doctor.

Aventurine of the Stratagem.

Topaz of Debt Retrieval.

Jade of Credit.

Boothill, The Vengeful Cyborg.

Rappa, AK-A-3.

Feixiao, The Lacking General.

Kafka, The Fearless Hunter.

Clara, The Vagrant Girl.

Raiden Bosemori Mei, The Emanator of Nihility.

Hanabi, The Masked Fool of Aha.

Reca notes the two spare places where the two remaining Masters should be but alas considering how things have been done on such short notice it sadly had to be done like this.

"They should be ready now," Black Swan notes, floating behind another fellow MemoKeeper.

The pods open and the Chrysosheirs fall down on the stage while the strange black-ish liquid drips down their bodies. A big mess is made on the stage that doesn't stop as the mass continues until it touches the tip of Lygus' feet.

"Now then," Lygus merely removes his mask to show his true face. A sculpture like face within metal — a rather strange sight. "Station them well and make sure that they all give out the invitations as directed."

Each one is given an envelope.

"Hold on….." a mere voice whispers. Lygus turns to the redheads, the triplets who all but cling to each other in defiance. "….why…should we do your bidding?"

A good question. Why should his own creations even go so far as to follow his words again?

With a snap of his fingers and a miracle happened.

Or well, that's what should have happened.

An ear shattering scream errupts from the triplets as all three of them are molded into one. The other Chrysosheirs watch in horror as their teachers are gone and instead her former self appears.

"No…."

Her former self who lost her mother and family.

"No…!"

Her former self that never became chosen by the Titan Janus.

"No!"

Her former self who is all alone without Trianne and Trinnon to come and comfort her.

"NO!"

"Lady Tribbios!" Three voices shout as they all try to crawl to her despite the pain they are all in.

Castorice is close but her ability…she cannot comfort her teacher once more. She is unable to do anything.

Cipher is too far away for her to comfort the former triplets who helped raise her together with the Goldenweaver. Yet, her legs hurt and her strength is gone. She is unable to do anything.

Mydeimos tries to get close but he is neither close or far away. He is stuck and cannot do anything. He is unable to comfort the former triplets.

"Teacher…." Aglaea says through gritted teeth. Being close enough to her teacher and comforts her in their embrace.

The cries and screams continues, the begging and begging only brings more tragedy to the tale.

"I advice you to follow what I have to say," Lygus warns, his voice echoing in the now burning theater as Khaslana is glaring at him. His gaze that rivals the heat of the blazing sun — turned everyone in the makeshift theater into ashes.

"The holy grail shall begin a week from now on," Reca announces to the world, his voice booming over the crackling sound of the fire that will soon engulf him. "A spectacle, a show — a true comedy shall unfold before us all!"

The War of Amphoreous that's what he wants to call it but that is ultimately not the reason why Lygus agreed to this show. The true title to this tale is a simple one that holds no spoilers — as Reca is certain that the heroes shall prevail.

But who exactly are the heroes in the story?

A good question dear readers.

That shall be for you to figure out.

Now then watch — The Fall of The Titans.

Chapter Text

Robin cannot sleep.

The singer has always been someone who puts herself in danger for the sake of others. She remembers that time when she held a show for the victims of a genocide merely to sooth their wounded spirits only for her to be shot in the neck. Robin knew that it was foolish to step into a warzone and sing as loud as she could over bombs and gunfire to the victims that were starved and shot dead.

It was Robin getting shot however that made the genocide end as the Family was not one anyone could mess with, especially not a bunch of fools that claimed they were blessed by the gaze of the Harmony (Xipe).

Ever since her return she felt like a bird stuck in a cage that was only let out to sing.

Despite her charity work and her constant help to aid others in the cosmos — the Halovian is still plagued by uncertainty if the injustices around the world will one day finally end.

It didn't help that her brother was also in a terrible place.

While Robin was doing as much as she can to save others from their suffering, Sunday suffered as well. Robin only later on in life understood that grooming is not something physical, it can take many different forms and the one her brother was a victim of is the religious type.

Following the Order instead of the Harmony all to create a Utopia that everyone was exactly the same only for him to neglect the individuality that all humans have — it still breaks Robin's heart knowing that her brother, who she had clung onto ever since the Stellaron disaster that left her home in ruins covered in green, would go so far in his pursuit for his version of "good".

Robin only later found out via a MemoKeeper how badly her brother suffered under the sickening nature of Penacony. Where people would sell their children for the sake of coming to this one paradise….a paradise covered in hollow entertainment and cheap pleasure.

In a world like Penacony the sentence "cannot sleep" is seen as normal. It is something everyone can do.

But just because it's normal that doesn't mean it should be ignored.

"Let's see," Robin mumbles as she checks herself in the mirror again. Her dark blue coat that hides most of her body is perfect. Her hair that is up in a bun is done and a pair of sunglasses plus a mask covering her face? Also perfect. The disguise that created the controversy that she was dating a man is complete.

"Perfect."

With a big sigh she sneaks out of the building and walks down the still busy streets of Golden Hour. The music is buzzing through the air and the cars and motorcycles are still driving. Robin notes that there are still a lot of people here so it is going to be panic inducing to walk on her own.

Sadly, this is the life she must live in order to do something as mundane like talking to a pair of friends.

With a deep breath she marches through.

"Say, have you heard?"

Robin moves her wings from her ears so that she is able to hear the conversation better. News these days is rare to hear in a planet where people only want to go away from the real life struggles. Wars, genocides and Stellaron Disasters are the last thing they want to hear and the news only interests them when it comes to an upcoming album that Robin made.

Yet, the news that the three people in front of her spoke of is not like the other.

"You mean that whole Holy Grail War show that the Cremator made?" The Pepeshi on top of his Foxian friend's shoulder asks. He snorts, possibly the arrogant type. "Cremators aren't great filmmakers. Mr.Reca talks big but all of his stuff is just memories from past souls."

"No, listen this one is gonna be legit good!" The Intellitrons tries to convince. Her robotic voice continues on even though her mouth doesn't move. "Apparently the show is going to have 14 guests with two of them being IPC wanted terrorists!"

"Huh!? You mean….The Stellaron Hunters?"

Robin frowns at the information. Why would Stellaron Hunters even want to participate in an event like that? There isn't anything valuable in Penacony based tv shows, Robin speaks from experience that most of them are just not at all necessary.

"Not only that but apparently that Galaxy Rangers Boothill will also be involved!" The Intellitrons says but then makes a disgusted sound. "To think that horrible man would be involved in such a TV show. I genuinely hope that he dies in the first episode."

The Foxian whistles. "Woah, what's gotten you so all riled up?"

The Intellitrons only scoffs. "Obviously it's the fact that this Boothill is so barbaric! Remember what he did in the Wardance Festival? I bet he is like those dirty Avgins. You know, those types who steal and stuff? I bet he wasn't satisfied enough with that the Company gave him and he went rogue."

"And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"Just look at the guy! If my planet was saved by the IPC I would be grateful instead of trying to destroy things!"

Robin passes in her step. Right. She sometimes forget that there are people in the world that choose to be ignorant. They will ignore the cries of the victims just because the perpetrators are giving them advance luxury.

The IPC, despite doing dealings with them as well, is anything but good. Robin knows certain people there whose morality wasn't always originally like that but the quick road to credits left them in a state of….well, Robin doesn't use this word often but it basically made them greedy bastards.

The only one she has heard who is a bit good is Aventurine but her source for that is Boothill. Not that she doesn't trust the old cowboy it's just that she knows from experience to trust her own unbiased eyes, even when her source is someone she should trust.

Robin waits for the three to move away so that she can continue her journey to the location she needs to go.

Robin passes through the particular street where the Tavern is and stops in her tracks when she sees an unfamiliar scene.

The Emanator and the Masked Fool standing together.

"Ugh, that trip back is so not worth it," Sparkle groans as she glares daggers at the Emanator. "Next time you get lost I will throw you into a black hole!"

Acheron only crosses her arms. It takes a minute for Sparkle to scream in frustration as she realized exactly what she just said.

"I'll let the Nihility (IX) know that a follower of Aha sent me —."

"Do not finish that sentence!"

Robin merely passes them, not in the mood to talk to them.

¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨

Mission 1: The Singer, The Rangers and the Heroic Spirits

¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨

The elevator down is quiet and relaxing. A big contrast to the loud music and drunk passengers. Robin prefers it this way, quiet but relaxing.

The cramped alleyway of Dreamsflux Reef isn't as scary as others claim it is. Just the average poverty that Robin is used to when it comes to planets that present themselves as rich and "freedom for everyone". Maybe it's because she is born in Penacony and knows all these tactics at heart but Robin knows that whenever a planet claims they are good for tourists, they simultaneously say that they have a lot of poverty.

Narrow Alley, whose only source of light is the Penacony Grand Theater, guides her to the meeting spot. She passes by several broke Pepeshi who fight on a trash container and also ignores the pair of teenagers smoking a cigarette.

She continues on her journey until she enters Timesplit Square where two Galaxy Rangers are waiting for her arrival.

"Songstress Ninja!" Rappa shouts and Robin quickly runs up to her with a smile. Next to the rapper is Boothill, who only munches on a bunch of bullets.

The friendship these three have still baffles Robin. She has heard of Boothill a number of times but she never knew much about him. After the events of Dr.Primitiv and the Monkey ordeal did the two sit down and have a serious talk about themselves.

Robin found out that despite his young appearance Boothill is someone in his early 30's and had a daughter. His planet was destroyed by the IPC and as such his one goal in life is to get his vengeance. His ideology to hunt down anyone who was the cause for the death of his family is what caused him to walk the path of the Hunt.

Robin felt a sense of respect for the man. Despite her situation where she had no other choice but to let the IPC become the Shareholders of Penacony after the events that her brother created, she was never one to actually respect the IPC. Her dislike for them only grew with Boothill's story.

He himself also got to hear her story and as such held a sense of respect for her too. In Boothill's words "I have never seen a city princess such as yourself go out of their way to stick her neck out for victims of a genocide. If only those shirtbags in the government who speak nonsense about the right of something could be like you."

Pleased to say that Robin felt like she has achieved the type of friendship that she always wanted. With someone whose sense of justice is as blazing as hers.

With Rappa though that's a different story.

Robin would be a fool to say that she doesn't admire the things Rappa does.

A science experiment who found a way to cope through her suffering via manga and music, Rappa rose above the ashes to fight against Dr.Primitiv but to also make sure that Paperfold University had a splendid concert. It is also thanks to Rappa that she found a new type of music genre that she wants to make a new album for. A common critique from her haters is that her music type is always the same and that she needs something compelling.

Robin at first didn't understand what they meant by that until she saw Rappa.

Wild, reckless but also herself. The three things that Robin never had the opportunity to be.

In Robin's eyes, Rappa is the light that she needed to find a whole new world.

"Sorry for being late," Robin apologizes as she catches her breath. She wants to remove her heavy coat but all three of them knew that if she were to do that then word would spread fast.

"No worries, birdie," Boothill reassures with the nickname that he has given her instead of her regular name. Robin usually prefers it when someone who is her type calls her by that nickname but as of late songstress had become her preference in…those types of situations.

Rappa nods, grabbing Robin by her wrist and drags her towards the Auto Band. That's the place where the three of them come together when it comes to their music tastes.

The two Galaxy Rangers stop every now and then to speak to any of the citizens here just to make sure none of them would make pictures of Robin or spread any rumors around of her being two Rangers, one of which is a wanted criminal.

After making sure that the coast is clear, Rappa is the first to speak. "Songstress Ninja, here is the newest lyrics that I made for your original song!"

Robin smiles and takes the script from the ninja. The song that Robin wants to sing is for her brother who has embarked on a journey together with the Astral Express. A form of self-banishment to reavulate his actions and also a way to heal himself from the past suffering he led but also purported.

Many would call him a villain but Robin knows that her brother isn't evil.

The Order is too stiff - But it makes no diff

Freedom is a gift to give, oh

Make sure you love - the new cadence

It is much better than Family Cages, yeah

Heads up in the sky - shout real loud, oh!

We are here to being a new show, yeah!

Come this way because you are my family

Make sure that you bring that family jerky!

"Family jerky?" Robin questions as she reads through the content.

"Silvergun Shura recommended that line," Rappa admits and the silver cowboy only chuckles while he is replaying some old country music. "He said that he wanted to aim a jab at Goofwood."

"Gopher Wood," Robin clarifies with a laugh.

"As you can read the rap is supposed to convey your position on his actions. How you do not view him as an evil villain and how the Weeping Ninja should not be tied to his past suffering."

Robin rereads the lyrics again and smiles at the meaning. As expected, Rappa brings a new form of art into her life.

The two girls continue on to listen to music and note down important lyrics that they can use for their song as well. Boothill merely follows after them and making sure no crazy 'muddle-fudger', as he usually says, tries to do anything funny while Robin is enjoying her time with Rappa.

"This song is really good!" Robin beams and her wings move with her emotions. "The voice carries the song perfectly and the lyrics hold so much meaning in their words!"

"Yeah, bet it would be even better once you do something in the background," Boothill comments, playing with his gun for a bit before stuffing it back in the holster. "Actually, birdie do you have any hobbies 'sides singing?"

Robin pauses in her actions to really think about it. Besides doing charity work, reading, singing and walking she doesn't really do much…. actually wait. There is something she has been doing lately.

"Actually I have been doing some mundane training in the private area of the Grand Theater," Robin admits. "After my brother used the theater to act his plan to create utopia for everyone, the Grand Theater has been left unused."

Robin has spotted a few members of the Alfalfe family there to drink to another a successful day at Oti Mall. Not only that but a week ago she even noted that Mr.Reca visited the theater as well to speak with Old Olti with a strange golden glow.

"Whatcha sneaking in there for?"

Robin's face becomes a bit red out of shame. She will definitely get both Rangers to laugh at this — "I do fitness training in the theater."

That's correct. Robin Oak, Penacony's number 1 idol and most beautiful Halovian in all the twelve main discrete dream worlds, has become a fitness junkie.

The idea of doing fitness training already entered her mind when she was in several warzones. Her lack of strength in her upper body made it difficult for her to help out victims under the rubbles or to run fast enough when bombs were thrown her way.

The moment she actually decided to do physical training was when she saw how much everyone was fighting and Robin just…couldn't.

That moment of clarity brought her to the conclusion to get some exercise done. The main problem at the time was to find a good place to do it. Sure she can run a bit better thanks to the stalkerish paparazzi that demanded her every opinion but if she wants to run fast enough to one day catch her brother while he fell from the sky then she has to continue!

"Songstress Ninja!" Rappa has excitement in her eyes while Boothill cackles beside her. Two different reactions that Robin already predicted when she was rehearsing this confession to the mirror. "The Cosmic Ninjutsu Inscriptions teach us a lot about the body and mind. To hone the arts of death one must understand life itself. It's only natural that I, Dazzling Ninja Rappa, share these arts with you!"

" I reckon'," Boothill interprets, "that lil' Rappa over here would be mighty glad if you joined her on our hunting sessions. We usually do a lot of physical activities anyway and with the way we move you will get abs in no time!"

Although Boothill's abs were metallic and definitely a replica of his former human body, Rappa's body is a bit muscular. Her mesomoprh body is impressive to Robin at least. She enjoys seeing it whenever the two meet.

"Silvergun Shura is correct!" Rappa smiles, her cheeks becoming a bit pink. "Do not fret, Songstress Ninja, I, Rappa, will make certain that your body will be in top shape!"

Robin cannot help but smile at the thought. Yeah, that sounds nice.

"You are so sweet," Robin says and without much thought she gives the Galaxy Ranger a kiss on the cheek.

The Halovian turns away quickly enough that she doesn't notice Rappa becoming more and more red and she somehow ended up far enough that she didn't hear the way Boothill is whistling.

The cowboy leans in close to his co-worker. "Gotcha' all red, huh?"

Rappa only stutters out denial but Boothill grins throughout the whole ordeal.

While the rangers bicker between each other, Robin watches in rapid attention as the miniature stage is set for her. Bygoneville doesn't have many resident at this hour and Jessie's Snack is also very much empty at the moment. Micah has also made sure that no word would leave the Dreamsflux as this was a special day. The day that a fictional character sadly left his last act.

Robin isn't truly sure how Fictionologists work yet. Masked Fools and Enigmata followers are not one and the same so when she was told by Stelle how Gallagher, the man that kidnapped her brother to have the two of them reunite, helped Penacony in the end. As such, Robin is truly grateful for that.

Singing for the dead may seem meaningless to many pathstriders but to Robin, who has watched calamity first hand, singing for the dead is always a good thing.

"Songstress Ninja!" Rappa shouts as she waves at the Halovian. Robin waves back while taking her last sip of water and then walks towards the stage that has been set.

"Phew, that's a good ol' work out for my joints," Boothill whines a little, sitting down on a chair with Rappa settling down on the table next to him.

Micah, rather unsure what to do, just sits down near the grave area. Not too far away from the stage but also not close enough to where his old friend is.

"Is everyone ready?" Robin asks after she tests out the mic. The three give a thumbs up but wait as a few customers of Jessie's Snacks sit down nearby and Jessie herself also makes herself comfortable.

"Ready!" Micah calls out.

Robin nods and the music starts.

"Gallagher didn't really listen to any hip-hop or rap like a lot of kids nowadays like," Robin remembers Micah's words a few days before the agreement. "Though he always liked jazz. Always played a fine tune with that instrument of his. Sometimes a Masked Fool…Sparkle is her name..would join him."

Robin smiles to herself a little. Who knew that Masked Fool has such a cute side.

With a deep breath Robin signals for the music to start and she readies herself for the lyrics that she practiced.

"Do you hear?

Your howl brought us here

Our hearts are sincere

The fundamental things apply

As times goes by."

The jazz music pierces Robin's ears as she watches the crowd sway to her voice. It isn't really something she is used to — this type of singing but Robin understands why Gallagher likes it so much.

She could get used to this type of feeling.

"And when the Trailblazer is near

They will say hello to you

The love that they give is only for you

No matter what the future brings

As times go by."

Robin pauses a bit to let the solo of the instruments marinate the soothing feeling. Micah began to cry a bit while some residents hug each other, probably in a moment of nostalgia as the music brings back a time when they once had dreams that were more organic.

Robin feels a slight bitter feeling in her chest. This endless dreaming….why did her brother want such a thing? That question has already been answered so many times over and over again — yet Robin still doesn't know how to fully respond to it. She never got to properly hug him goodbye when he left for his journey of self reflection.

"The Charmony bird flies in the sky

Yet you are so low, within the gravel soil

Even as times goes by

You deserve a proper break."

A few origami birds sway to the beat as well. Their chirping quiet for once as Robin closes her eyes and puts as much effort in the next few lines.

"It's still the same old you

A fictional man in red

Where the drinks click in protest

We bring peace just for you

May time go by well,

Old friend Gallagher."

Robin waits a bit as the music stops and opens her eyes again to watch the small crowd clap in amazement. Rappa even stands up and whistles as hard as she can while Boothill shouts that she did a good job. Robin smiles at both Rangers who both became her dearest friends in such a short period of time.

Robin steps down from the stage and walks towards Micah, who has been sobbing after the first few lines.

"Ms. Robin…" Micah sniffs, trying desperately to remove his tears. "Thank you for this."

"It's only natural that the dead deserve a proper goodbye," Robin smiles.

— it's sadly not what many people get.

"Geez, to think this guy gets a whole musical from someone like you anyone would assume that he was a great hero," a voice in the crowd says. Many residents turn to glare at the stranger, including Boothill who for some reason has his hand on his gun. Rappa immediately runs towards Robin and shields her from the stranger.

"What's this? You are acting as if I want to harm her," a giggle escapes as the stranger steps forward with a mischievous smile.

Robin watches as a a young woman with feline characteristics steps in. She has medium length, light-gray hair, the left side tied into a braid with a white bow while the right hangs freely over her shoulder. Her eyes are a bright cyan color, with dark blue pupils and golden rings around her irises. Her feline traits are evident by her cat ears and tail, the former covered by her hood and the latter fading from white to dark brown from the base to the end. 

Robin notes that she isn't really dressed like your average Penaconian. Her outfit consists of an open-backed, black and blue hooded bodysuit with gold details, which has various cutouts to expose her chest and stomach as well as a white undershirt and shorts. Her body is very curveous too, her waist practically begging for someone to grab….or maybe that's just Robin's thoughts going a different route.

Her shirt collar has a black choker, hanging from it a one-eyed cat-like accessory. Her thighs sport garter-like straps, hanging from the left side a black bow and bell, while the right has a crescent moon accessory. On her left thigh is a black buckled strap, and on both her shoulders and back there are pink and cyan cat-eyed gems. Her long sleeves fade in a gradient from black to blue, and she wears black fingerless gloves that show off sharp, yellow-painted nails. On her legs she wears metallic, golden thigh-high heeled boots.

Also a beauty mark on the left side of her breast. A very important detail that Robin stares at for a very long time.

The cat woman giggles and with a gentle finger she guides Robin's chin back up. "Eyes up here, princess."

If Robin wasn't blushing so much right now she would notice the fuming Rappa next to her.

"Excuse me!" Micah shouts, gaining the attention of everyone. The Grave Keeper walks forward and many step backwards as the angry man is not one to mess with. Rappa gently pushes Robin backwards as Micah is in the stranger's face, veins popping out and an icy glare aimed at the cat woman.

"You have some nerve to come here and insult the name of my good friend."

"Your good friend was merely a dog that followed the orders of his Master. You know, as a cat he isn't really my type~!".

"I don't care if you're a horse or a fly, keep my friend's name out of your ungrateful mouth."

The woman steps forward, forehead pushing that of Micah's as anger suddenly crashes over her face. Her cat fangs visible as she glares at Micah. "Ungrateful?! You better watch your damn mouth! I have done a lot of things for the people that I protect and I do it on my own!"

"And you claim that Gallagher didn't do that? To protect people on his own accord?"

"Beggers can't be choosers and from what I know he was probably the biggest begger in all of begdom."

Robin quickly stands in front of the stranger as Micah raises his fist, ready to punch her in the mouth. He quickly halts, only a hair away from Robin's face.

"Miss Robin..!" "!!"

Robin knows that both Rappa and Boothill are on guard in case of a fight, she knows that what this woman is saying is awful and she knows that she shouldn't be protecting this woman but.

"—! I have done a lot of things for the people that I protect and I do it on my own!"

Robin knows what she hears. That voice isn't one of arrogance and pride and it also wasn't one of ignorance either.

It is a plea. This woman is for some reason begging for help.

And Robin wants to know what exactly it is that the woman needs help with.

"Why…?" The woman asks but quickly shakes herself out of it. "Heh! You think acting as the prince will make me less willing to insult your friend?"

Robin doesn't answer and instead just listens to her voice. She sounds scared and wants help. Pity rains down on Robin quickly as she realizes that this woman is driving all the negative attention to herself as a form of begging. A beg to be noticed by someone while they are in danger.

"I have to apologize, Mr Micah, but I do not want to see physical violence near Gallagher's grave. It would be ungraceful," Robin reasons.

Micah wants to argue more but something compels him to listen to Robin's words. Without much resistance the Grave Keeper nods and turns away — leaving the singer with the cat.

The woman watches Micah leave before turning to Robin.

"Heh, nice trick you have there. If you are willing you could become a good their."

"I apologize but I have no interest in stealing from the rich or poor. I would rather help people in need, I think it would also suit you…."

Robin trails a bit in her sentence hoping for the woman to introduce herself. The cat lady only giggles as she boops Robin's nose with a grin.

"Oh, you are so adorable!" The woman giggles as she slowly wraps her arm around Robin's waist. Since the Halovian is rather busy dealing with her she doesn't notice Boothill holding a very ferociously angry Rappa by her arm.

"Well, since I did your little song I don't mind exchanging my name," the woman giggles again before picking Robin up and throwing her over her shoulder, "not in the open though!"

"Huh?!" "HUH?!

Rappa's scream were the last thing Robin hears before she is suddenly somewhere completely different.

Without much grace Robin is thrown onto the ground. Before she can even sit up the woman suddenly pounces her and pins her down on the ground.

"My name is Cipher but you may call me Assassin for now, dear princess "

The girl's ears rang in the fantasia with the words conversed on that day.

"This sword wasn't hard to pull out at all, Merlin."

"Indeed. Becoming the king everyone wishes for won't be hard for you at all, given that I'm guiding you. However, Arturia... The hard part is that you can't always meet everyone's expectations."

"Then they can choose a more fitting king by that time. I won't protest."

"But what if such a person will never exist?"

"...Then I'll do my best to meet everyone's expectations."

Now, the girl had long since become aware of how profound that tragedy would be. Would she have chosen to give up if she were to return to that moment where everything began?

The king does not speak and simply grasps the sword tightly.

The stone again gives out a thundering roar as the sword is pulled out.

….that girl, will she hear the song of the angel that sings for the people?

The king — the Saber class Servant senses a tug. As if someone is desperately calling for her.

Who could such a Master be? What type of danger are they involved in while summoning her?

Such questions are not necessary now. Not when her Master is in danger.

With no hesitations Saber steps forward towards the light.

"Assassin?"

Robin scrambles back as the woman no longer is on top of her. Titles are usually something extravagant, even Boothill has a big name around the IPC billboards. To simply be called Assassin, which is more of a classification then a title, is probably to hide her identity.

But if that is true why did she reveal her real name?

Assassin just giggles, not at all concerned about the fact that she revealed a piece of information about herself to the enemy. "Yeah! It is all part of a really fun game that I will force you to participate in."

Robin summons her microphone. It isn't a weapon but it does make sure that her voice is high enough that her Tuning cannot be deflected by anyone or anything. Still, she is scared. What kind of game does this Cipher woman want her to participate in? Robin doesn't want to know, she is already scared as it is when she was so easily taken away from everyone before she could even blink.

Assassin steps forward but Robin only keeps crawling backwards.

"Don't be so scared ~!" Assassin teases, her eyes full of mirth as if all of this is a game. "It won't hurt one bit. I'm very fast."

"You won't even tell me what the game is and you're already threatening me with murder," Robin taunts albeit it doesn't sound as convincing because of how much she is shivering. "This game is trash."

"I cannot really disagree with you there," Assassin laughs and then raises her claw-like nails. Malice oozes out of her as she aims to slash Robin's throat.

Robin squeezes her eyes shut and ducks away, causing her hand to violent slam on the ground —

Shhhh

"Huh?"

— right on top of a strange circle.

Golden light erupts from the circle, blinding both women before eventually Cipher is launched at the other side of the Dreamscape. Robin only clutches onto her microphone staff with one hand while the other one is practically clawing at the ground.

The light eventually disappears. Robin releases a sigh of relief before she notices the metallic shoes in front of her. Metallic glove is extended towards her and that's when Robin sits up straight does she see the beauty that came out of the circle.

A youthful woman with golden blonde hair and green eyes kneels before Robin. Her robes that of a beautiful blue and white, something that her brother also wore when he eventually left for his journey of self-discovery. Her hair in a braided bun , a blue ribbon holding it in place and some framing her face. Robin also notices the armor with a strange blue symbol on her chest armor.

Robin, completely awestruck by her beauty, accepts her hand and is now standing as well. The aching pain in her right hand is there but she is too distracted to truly look at any injuries she might have sustained. The woman only looks her over before nodding, in satisfaction or relief Robin doesn't know.

"I am relieved to see that you don't have any life threatening injuries, Master." The woman voices her relief but Robin can only blush. She sounds so beautiful.

"Wait," Robin is already out of disbelief once she hears that word, "Master? I am not that type of Family member."

The woman only tilts her head in confusion. "Family? Are you then not the one who summoned me?"

Is she perhaps unaware of the Family? In Penacony? "Summoned you?"

Before Robin can ask further the woman quickly grabs her by the waist and jumps away in time to dodge a speeding blue blaze. The blaze stops and reveals Assassin instead, her grin now manical. "Yes, yes, YES! FINALLY A SERVANT!"

Robin doesn't understand anything but she quickly hides behind the woman clad in armor when she steps forward as defense. Assassin giggles more and more until it just became laughter. "Oh, this is beyond fun! Who knew that this Holy Grail war would finally become exciting! I knew stalling would bring results."

The woman tightens her hold on the invisible weapon that she is wielding. "So, you are also a Servant fighting for the Grail? State your class and reasoning for attacking a Servant-less Master."

Assassin only sighs, her catlike stance lowered to mimic a sitting cat as she inspects her nails. "I won't go into too much detail on why I attacked princess dove over there," Assassin says, grinning a bit with a teasing eyebrow quirk as she notes the way both women stand on guard.

"You…." Robin can't help but almost shout. Her previous fear gone and I stead disbelief colors her face. "You disrespect a local friend, mocked him, tried to instigate a fight with a Grave Keeper, kidnapped me and then tried to murder me!"

The woman's eyes narrow at Assassin, who comically turns away. "You make it sound so serious then it already is."

Robin has enough and steps forward, not at all accepting this display of mockery from a stranger. "Whatever faction you belong to does not concern me but threatening a member of the Family is a grave crime here in Penacony!"

Assassin hums at that. She tilts her head as she glances at the blonde woman next to Robin. "You catch all that, Servant from beyond the stars?"

The woman doesn't speak and instead just dashes forward, slashing her sword onto Assassin. The cat woman quickly runs away, almost teleporting with her speed far away. The woman wants to catch up with her but suddenly the floor under her starts to move. Robin feels her legs wobble before she eventually unwraps hers wings from her waist and holds onto the blonde woman's arm.

"Hold on!" Robin shouts as she flies right into an open door that leads straight into the hallway.

Assassin, seeing that her two opponents are no longer in the area, prepares to go after them but —

"Giant whale!"

— with the delicacy of a cat with their head stuck in a cup, Cipher scrambles away from the whale but is too late as it slams her onto the now turned ceiling.

That isn't enough to knock her out however as with one last breath she takes out her phone and diales a number.

"Immortal little prince…..release the fans!"

And with that she passes out.

Robin settles the blonde woman down and wraps her wings back around her waist. She should really retake her wing training again so that her appendages can carry at least one person with armor on.

"Master, your hand."

Robin looks down and sees that the glove of her right hand is off. The blonde woman holds it up but that's not all. On her right hand a strange red mark is there, one that Robin definitely didn't put on there herself.

"Those are command seals," the woman answers the silent question. "They are proof that you summoned me, whether accidentally or intentionally."

Robin accepts the glove that the woman gives to her. Tugging on the finger tips after she puts it on for good measure, the Halovian addresses the Memetic Entity in the room. "Who are you?"

"My true name is hidden for reasons that concern the Holy Grail war," the woman answers, "as such it is best that you refer to me by my class name, Saber."

"Saber," Robin tests the name on her tongue for a bit. Hmmm. It sounds distant.

"Since I am your Master doesn't that mean you have to say your true name to me?"

"That is true however revealing my true name will cost us failure as the true name of Servants also reveal our weaknesses."

Robin frowns at that piece of information. "That's strange. That woman who calls herself Assassin told me her true name before her Servant title."

Saber's eyes frown. "Strange, what would one gain from exposing their weakness to a Servantless Master?"

"Does the name Cipher ring a bell to you, Saber?"

The knight only shakes her head. "I apologize, Master, as much as I am also known as a local legend within human history, the name Cipher is completely foreign to me."

Saber pauses and glances at Robin's face or more specifically at her wings. The Halovian automatically smiles, an automatic response that Robin has taught herself incase she would meet IPC fanatics who would spread their racist views on different types of species in the cosmos.

"Master," Saber begins slowly. Robin notes the clear hesitation as she points at the halo on top of her head.

"Do forgive me but Master are you an angel?"

Robin blinks. An angel?

"Do you perhaps mean Halovian?"

Saber shakes her head.

"I am not truly sure what an angel exactly is but I am an Halovian," Robin kindly explains. "I have heard of the term angel but that was during a tour that I had with the Genius Society member Screwllum and the Mundanite Dr. Veritas Ratio."

Saber only nods. "The term genius society does match the information I received during my summoning."

"Summoning…" Robin trails off, glancing at her right hand. "So, you're not from this place?"

"This place that you refer to is not only the planet that we are currently in," Saber explains without a hint of emotion about how she feels. Her eyes are kind but determined and her stance is defensive, waiting for any ambush by the Assassin to happen. "I fear that my arrival will take a long time to explain."

"Then in that case it's best if we move somewhere safe to discuss things," Robin turns to the hallway. As expected, the Dreamscape is a maze that not many can get out from.

"A wise decision, Master."

The two continue to venture through the Reverie. Saber high on guard while Robin merely tries to keep calm in this situation. She takes out her phone to try and contact Rappa and Boothill but she stops before she even taps on the icon.

That Cipher woman is still out there for her. Venturing out to an area where Penaconians will be resting would be dangerous. So the Drink Lounge would be a terrible place to rest. That woman Cipher had no qualms in disrespecting a well beloved hero of the community, not to mention kidnapping a civilian — she would not hold much a thought of drawing blood.

The Dreamscape Lobby is also a terrible place to rest. Many visitors come there and if Cipher is alright with bloodshed than attacking guests who arrive in the Dreamscape would definitely be something they are alright with. The Reverie is big and houses up to a million Dreamers, the amounts of victims that Cipher would attack is nauseating to think about.

The VIP Lounge Corridor and the Monitor Room are the only places that Robin can think of that are good to stay in. The Monitor Room to try and track down Cipher but also to see if her friends are here as well and the VIP Lounge Corridor to make sure that no innocents get attacked. Though, will Saber agree to that?

"Saber," Robin begins as she stops in front of a door that leads to a crossing. Robin knows that those four paths lead to different places and two of them is towards the destinations that the Halovian wants to rest in, "there are two places where we can discuss everything. The Monitor Room and the VIP Lounge Corridor. Which one do you think is the best for our current situation?"

The knight simply just closes her eyes, a small bow as she answers her Master. "The VIP Lounge sounds like an excellent place to rest in however our enemy is quick and sharp. You are more aware of our surrounding than she is, so the Monitor Room will be the best for now."

Robin smiles as she is about to open the door.

"Hey! I may not know this place well but I am not stupid!"

Before Robin can even blink a strong gust of wind sends Cipher flying and Robin quickly grabs her hand and rushes inside of the lounge. Without much to lose or grace, Robin drags Saber to the other side of the crossing. The Monitor Room is a no go for now. Cipher is too fast — and being too fast is useless when you are relying on cameras.

Staying in an enclosed area where there is limited space one to run in is for the best.

"Running won't save you!" Cipher shouts as she dashes towards the two at hypersonic speed.

Saber let's go of Robin and slashes twice with her invisible weapon , creating more gusts of wind that will hold the Assassin back. Cipher dodges the first gust of wind but the second one does knock her off her feet. Without giving Cipher any time to move, Saber moves in and attacks the Assassin.

Robin watches from the side as Cipher parkours towards different objects that are floating in the air to launch at Saber. Sharp nails and golden boots clashing against something metallic from the invisible weapon that Saber holds. Robin sees sparks fly but neither of them stop their fighting, only continuing without taking a break.

Robin frantically looks around and spots a nearby Dreamjolt Bubble Hound, Spring Loader and Beyond Overcooked. Near the three creatures is also a Bubble Tower.

Perfect.

Robin runs towards the three creatures, making sure to avoid being in the way of Assassin and Saber's fight. Once she is close enough to the creatures she activates her tuning and all three of them become submissive in her presence.

"Please help my friend, the beautiful woman with the blonde hair," Robin tunes her command and without much question the creatures do as she says.

"Huh!?" Assassin can only scream in disbelief as she gets tail whipped to the side of the wall as she is almost within reach of clawing Saber's eyes.

"What are these creatures?" "No time to explain!"

Robin quickly grabs a hold of Saber's arm and drags her to the Bubble Tower. With a simple touch she gains three bubbles and with that she sprints to the nearby wall and walks over it.

Saber holds onto Robin in protection but she eventually becomes amazed at the sudden change in gravity.

"Master…what is this?"

"A Bubble Tower. These Bubble Chargers will keep us safe while traveling to our hideout."

The two quickly run off, the sound of Cipher's annoyed scream echoing in the hallway as they escape.

"This way!" Robin says, dragging Saber into another corridor. "The VIP Lounge is not that far from here!"

Saber looks over her shoulder a few times to make sure that Assassin doesn't follow them. Even when Robin opens the door to the VIP room, Saber still is on guard and when the door finally closes both release a sigh of relief.

Robin feels her muscles scream at her. Her face is red and her ankles hurt. She sits down on the couch and flaps her wings a bit to get rid of the sweat.

I should have gone to the gym with Rappa and Boothill instead of just watching them is what Robin laments in her head. She isn't unathletic since running from her fans has been a big workout and her diet does require her to do cardio, it's just that she doesn't always do that in heels.

"Master, are you alright?" Saber asks, not at all tired.

Robin only waves her off with a small smile. "Don't worry about it," Robin reassures. "These VIP rooms are only available to members of the Family."

"So in other words she cannot enter," Saber concludes. "The Monitor Room would have been a safer location but with such limited space it would be an advantage for us."

"Yeah," Robin agrees. She lets out another sigh before she slaps herself in the face, keeping herself awake as she turns to Saber."But also here we can discuss everything without being disturbed."

Saber nods and takes a seat next to Robin when she motions to sit next to her.

"First thing I would like to know is what exactly is this Grail War?"

Bullets fly everywhere as Boothill reloads a new round into his gun. The cowboy curses through the sound, his filter doing all but make every dirty word sound child friendly.

Dreamjolt monsters are everywhere but they are not attacking Boothill. No, many of them are scared to move. Some are daring too and those daring ones to attack the man in red and gold get ripped to shreds with golden gloved hands.

Boothill runs out of his hiding spot to release another wave of bullets onto the man but none of the bullets brought him down. If anything, every bullet hole gave him more strength as golden liquid streams down his wounds onto the floor but his face of determination and smugness remains.

Boothill only whistles, a smirk evidently on his face. "When you said that you were testing us for a game I didn't know that the game started now, Shogun Komainu?"

Shogun Komainu — the nickname given to the man Mydeimos who had given both him and Rappa an invitation a few days ago. A tall, well-built man with long, messy beige and red hair. He has a lock of braided hair hanging on his right side, as well as a large golden earing on his left ear which is embedded with a small sapphire gemstone. His eyes are yellow, with his irises in the shape of a sun. Mydei's body is covered in crimson tattoos which light up when using certain abilities. He is adorned with a large necklace, featuring golden plates and sapphire gems.

Boothill should have known that this guy was different. He didn't want to assume someone's identity based on their appearance but Boothill is certain that this guy and that consultant from the IPC, Ratio or whatever, are from the same planet in some way. A dark maroon and bright red robe, which travels down his left shoulder and hangs past his knees. Also on his left shoulder he wears a golden pauldron, and a metallic cuff on his right bicep. Mydei possesses two identical golden gauntlets, and a black and gold belt with a large, sun-like buckle. An outfit you don't see often in Penacony.

Mydeimos only rolls his eyes, not at all liking the nickname. "You can spare me the sobbing monologue that we could have been friends," Mydeimos says, throwing the body of a Bubble Hound towards Boothill who jumps out of the way. The juice of the Hound flies everywhere, a cheap imitation of blood but still just as gory.

"Friends? Us?" Boothill mocks, his gun ready to release another wave of bullets. "We could definitely be friends but isn't what we are doing now also very friendly? Just two warriors communicating via fighting."

"Ha!" Mydeimos laughs, a genuine one Boothill is unsure off but it might have been the first time that the cowboy sees generosity in those eyes. "Had we not been enemies out of circumstances than I would have invited you to Kremnos! You and I would have been great friends."

"Huh, does that mean you don't have any other friends?"

"I have friends, family, teachers and—!"

Almost immediately a red lightening erupts from Mydeimos. His once clear eyes became clouded again and his mouth is shut. Boothill curses as his attempts of bringing him back to sanity is cut off once again. Boothill changes his strategy and instead taps a nearby Bubble Tower to scale up the walls.

When Robin got kidnapped, Boothill immediately activate the Songstress Tracking app that three of them made with the help of the Astral Express. With that app the two Rangers quickly entered the Reverie and searched everywhere for the missing singer. When the two separated however is when Mydeimos had attacked, his body on autopilot and his eyes rolled in the back of his mind as if whate he is doing is not on his own accord.

Boothill loves fighting but he also knows when a fight isn't equal. He likes equal fights.

This isn't anything like that.

"Come on, you tongue tied fudger! Follow the leader!"

Boothill dashes off into another corridor. Best thing he can do for now is to create space and go somewhere safe. Mydeimos launches at him, defying the laws of gravity and aiming his fist at the spot Boothill once stood. The cowboy dodges the punch in time, watching in fascination as despite having no gravity to support his weight Mydeimos has his fingers deep in the floor.

The cowboy fires another round, hoping that at this angle the invincible man could at least be immobile for a while. The joints were shot at but the bullets are deflected by the armor, making it practically impossible. Mydeimos only barks a laugh before using his free hand to dig into the ceiling and throw a chunk of it towards Boothill.

Jumping away, Boothill transforms his arm into a cannon and fires directly at the giant chunk of marbled floor. The Bubble Charger changes his gravity so that he is now standing on the side of the wall and Mydeimos has no choice but to let go of the ceiling, which is perfect for Boothill to fire another cannon into Mydeimos' chest.

Golden liquid streams down Mydeimos' chest. No, it's golden blood. Boothill whistles before sprinting out of the room when he sees a nearby door.

It doesn't take long before Mydeimos dashes after him. His wounds are slowly closing and so is the distance between the two. Boothill transforms his hand into a gun and fires a few rounds blindly behind him. He doesn't know if any of them land but that's not his biggest priority right now.

Robin told me that there is a monitor room not that that far from 'ere Boothill thinks to himself as he alerts another few monsters in the area to stall Mydeimos. The cowboy ducks when a Bubble Hound's head flying past him, the juice sprinkling everywhere.

"Running won't save you!" Mydeimos shouts, his voice rumbling through the hall. Boothill doesn't care either way as he isn't a fan of running away. However, strategy is everything.

"Bleeding all over the dang floor won't make you win either!"

Boothill sprints towards the next sets of doors. If he is right than this is where Gallagher's pet is located. Little Sleepy. That Memetic Entity is one of son of a nice lady alright, constantly stabbing folks that happen to be nearby.

The only problem is how does he get Sleepy to attack Mydeimos?

The Memetic Entity has been in a depressive state ever since Gallagher died. Not many were able to communicate with them, even though people in Slumbertown wanted to bring the Memetic Entity to the funeral. Not only that but if people get to close they end up stabbed and wake up in the reality.

A quick fella like them would give Mydeimos a nice time while Boothill searches for Robin and Rappa, like he was originally supposed to do. It isn't his fault that a nice gentleman would just attack him like that in broad daylight….err well as daylight as it can be in the Reverie.

When he finally arrives at the location Boothill skits to a halt in the middle. He is so preoccupied with Mydeimos that he doesn't at all see the circle on the ground. The red glow is almost pulsating, almost as if it is begging for Boothill to summon something.

But Boothill is too busy to care about any of that.

Mydeimos punches through the doors, destroying it and Boothill ducks as one of the doors almost beheads him. His right hand touches the ground, keeping him in balance but also it activates the circle.

Boothill doesn't notice it and stands right back up, not seeing the red mark carving itself onto his metallic hand and not noticing that red lightening erupts from the circle. He just fires another few rounds into Mydeimos', who only charges at him like a berserk man.

It almost happens in slow motion; the circle erupts with a bright light, Boothill takes a step back to try and dodge the attack from Mydeimos while Mydeimos is inches away from Boothill.

*Gush

If Boothill still had a heart he would have felt his heartbeat beating against his chest. A red spear is stabbed right into Mydeimos' chest, where his heart is and golden blood slowly trickles down on the floor as the man who holds the spear whistles.

"It's not everyday that you get summoned by someone while in a fight," the man laughs, a smirk on his face as he removes the spear and kicks Mydeimos to the other side of the room. The man coughs out blood before sliding to the floor.

Boothill turns to see a blue haired, red eyed man who wears a deep ultramarine full body tights, covered with something that Boothill cannot detect, grey metallic pauldrons, and a metal plate over his lowest abdominal section. He wears his hair in a rattail that reaches his mid-back. He also wears a pair of silver earrings. In his hand he has a long red spear with a blade at both ends, one being a bit longer. He swirls his spear around for a bit, inspecting the golden blood before turning to Boothill. Noting down the red mark on his hand he smirks again.

"Yo, Servant Lancer at your service. Need a hand in fighting this guy, Master?"

Boothill raises his eyebrow at the random guy but he shrugs. "As much as I would love to fight with ya, this muddle-fudger is impossible to beat. Not only that but I gotta find two of my comrades that I lost on the way here."

"Huh, that's quit a handful isn't it?" Lancer muses as he rests his spear on his shoulder. Boothill has to admit that this Lancer guy is dangerous. A sort of beast like presence comes off from him.

"So, is there any reason why you are fighting him?"

"He said something that I was a perfect candidate for a game. Don't know what type of game but I enjoyed the fight, just not the right time for it."

"Ahh, I get how ya feel. Sometimes a good fight happens when you are in the mood."

"Exactly."

The two cut their conversation short as a large chunk of marbled floor is thrown at them. Boothill dodges while Lancer spins his spear to destroy the debris, standing ready as Mydeimos emerges from the smoke. As Boothill expected, his wounds healed.

"Be careful about this guy," Boothill warns Lancer. "He is practically invincible."

"Invincible is not the right word," Mydeimos says, he crosses his arms with a smile on his face. One smile that is full of malice and anger but Boothill sees that he isn't fully himself.

"Immortal then perhaps?" Lancer guesses.

"That would be correct, Servant of the Lance."

"Oh? So you're aware of what I am, are you also a Servant?"

Mydeimos stands ready and sprints towards Lancer, blade against fist while the royal man speaks his title, "I go under the Berserker class."

Boothill got no clue what's going on but he still fires shots on the side of Mydeimos' body. Golden blood trickles out and Lancer kicks Mydeimos back.

"Berserker? Since when could your class talk?" Lancer taunts, readying his spear and begins to fight once more.

Boothill watches from a distance as the fight concludes between these two Servants. He can barely keep up with them but Boothill has to admit that they look like they are having fun.

Lancer seems to hold himself rather fine as he seems to realize halfway that relying fully on his spear would be useless against someone who is clearly a great fighter. The Servant as such uses his spear more for momentum, kicking and punching a lot more while stabbing into Mydeimos' when the Berserker is too open on the attack to focus on the defense.

Boothill as much as he wants to continue to stay and watch, he needs to do something more important; wake Sleepy up.

Now how does a cowboy like me wake up a Memetic Entity Boothill thinks to himself. There is really no way that he can just summon Sleepy like he just did with Lancer, even though he still got no clue who this Lancer person is.

Wait. Boothill feels up on his trousers and finds the special whistle that Micah gave to him. It's in the shape of a dog, it's eyes similar to the purplish red color that Gallagher has. The Sleepy Whistle is what Micah named it. A perfect replica of Gallagher's whistle to summon Sleepy.

"Lancer!" Boothill calls as the spearman is tackling Mydeimos down, "dodge in time and do not attack the monster when you see it!"

"!?" That's all Lancer can muster as Boothill whistles. Sensing something disturbing, Lancer jumps away in time as a giant creature comes out of the shadows and stabs Mydeimos in chest.

Sleepy releases a screech, dragging Mydeimos through the floor into another corridor and dissapears without warning. Lancer watches in disbelief and Boothill quickly takes him by the arm. "Come on, Sleepy won't hold him off for a while! We need to go to the monitor room!"

Lancer only nods and the two sprint off towards the direction of the Monitor Room.

"What was that thing?" Lancer asks when the two finally arrive at the Monitor Room.

"A Memetic Entity," Boothill answers casually. "Their name is Sleepy and recently their owner died so they have been super hostile for a while. Luckily his owner left a whistle specifically designed to summon the fudging thing."

Lancer raises his eyebrow. "Fudging?"

Boothill shrugs. "Don't pay too much attention to the censorships. It's annoying but you have to blame the fudger that installed it into my system."

Lancer nods at the information, not inclined to talk too much about it if his Master is uncomfortable with it. Instead he marvels over the giant room. "You know, this place is super foreign to me. I thought we were in a building but the information I have been given suggests this is supposed to be a district."

"Questioning the logic of the Reverie will give you a headache," Boothill says with a laugh. He opens the security of the Monitors that Robin once gave him and looks over the footage to see if he can find his fellow Ranger and Halovian. "Trust me, I am a Galaxy Ranger and I have been trespassing this place for practically six months now."

"Breaking and entering? What a daring Master I got indeed," Lancer jokes and stands by his side to look over the monitors.

"So, do you know what that guy Mydeimos was talking about?"

"Revealing a Servant's true name would also reveal their weakness," Lancer frowns as he tries to think, "but the name Mydeimos feels foreign for some reason….unless you're referring to a Greek deity?"

Boothill pauses in his search to turn to Lancer. "What is Greek?"

….

"Huh?"

"Greek. What is that?"

"It's an ethnicity…"

"Never heard of it."

"Really?"

Lancer pauses, he looks over the room and to his master before he finally came to a conclusion. "Just where did the Holy Grail send me to?"

"If you are wondering where we are; we are in Penacony, the planet of Dreams."

Lancer shakes his head. "No, not that. Upon my summoning I am already aware of a lot of information of this world, or universe I suppose but all this information feels foreign to me from what I am so used to."

"Is it similar to being told about who you gotta hunt down but the description of the location is so far detached from what you're used to seeing that you end up lost?" Boothill rattles off, continuing his search for Rappa and Robin.

"Yes, exactly right," Lancer nods, relieved that he has a Master who understands his language. "You ever had that happen?"

"As a Galaxy Ranger it is my job to hunt down people regardless from where they come from, so getting lost in locations I am not used to is normal," Boothill explains. "But you are different, you got summoned here."

"That I am," Lancer admits, sitting down on a nearby tv.

"Care to explain what any of this means?"

"Sure," Lancer says casually.

"Tell me, Master, have you ever heard of the Holy Grail?".

Rappa sighs heavily as she hides behind a nearby wall. She has been searching for Robin close to an hour now with no hair or feather to find of the Halovian.

The Ninja Ranger has been paint surfing all over the Reverie, taking out hostile Memetic creatures on the way and using the Bubble Tower as a means to parkour her way to many other locations. It is because of that reckless parkour that she lost track of Boothill, her co-worker and friend, while ascending up the elevator to the vacant Dream Lobby. She has completed Jiggzaw puzzles to see if any of them lead to some kind of secret room but all she got was a stuck Pepeshi.

Rappa was close to giving up had it not been for her spotting the catwoman from before. She was laying on the ground when Rappa found her, golden blood oozing out of her mouth as she dragged herself up on shaky legs. The Ranger was hiding behind a wall to make sure she wasn't spotted and to overhear as a hologram appears. The woman that appears in front of the cat woman is rather short with blue hair and a crown.

"Hmmph, I didn't think that the Fleet-Footed Thief would be on the ground groveling in defeat," the short woman says with a calm yet demanding voice. In her hand is a red chess piece that, even though she is a hologram, flares up with electricity. "Our Ruler would be dissapointed with such a display."

The catwoman only coughs out some blood but to Rappa's surprise there is no malice as she addresses the rude woman. "Cerydra….how is Aglaea doing?"

The woman in the hologram, Cerydra, frowns slightly at the question. "Dux Goldweaver is doing better now. Tribbios has finally been separated again but…"

The cat woman laughs bitterly. "Seems like that damned Ruler is keeping his word afterall. As long as we win the grail and give it to him then the Irontomb can be revived and…"

"Cifera," Cerydra cuts the woman's rant. "There are eyes and ears everywhere. Mind where you are and remember only one thing; All of this is for our win."

Cifera only nods and wipes away some golden blood. "Got it," she nods before stretching herself like a cat. "Being a rogue Servant sure has it's perks I suppose! Glad that the Memokeepers are feeding us enough energy through that Skott guy."

Rappa frowns at the information that she has been receiving. Grail, Ruler, Goldweaver? All of these words are foreign to her. Perhaps another lord of evil has emerged like Dr. Primitiv and his monkeys! No, this is less about monkeys and more about new life that are probably held hostage. Still, if Memokeepers are involved with this than sadly there is a chance that evil is lurking in the corner!

"Alright, that's enough for a break! The little immortal prince will take care of any other intruder! I will go and find that angel girly," Cifera decides and although Rappa cannot see her she has a slight feeling that the next sentence is said with a very….inappropriate face; "Who knows how she looks like without her shiny clothes that would sell a fortune on this planet's market."

Evil! Pure evil!

"Stop right there, you evil fiend!" Rappa shouts, taking out her giant blade from her inventory and pointing it at the cat woman. Cifera jumps out of her skin while Cerydra looks…almost impressed at the display in front of her. "According to the Cosmic Ninjutsu Scriptures any form of thievery is thievery, regardless of it's reason! Stealing the robes of a fair maiden such as Robin Oak shall only bring you closer to the forces of darkness that hides amongst the greediest of fiends!"

"Huh?" "I think she called you scum." "HUH?!"

Rappa only stands ready in her fighting position and readies her canvas full of paint. "Stand ready, you evil vermin!"

Cifera also stands ready, her hands on the floor and back arching in the air like a feline. "Who in Mnestia's name are you calling a vermin and scum, huh!?"

Cerydra only shakes her head and that's all Rappa sees of her before the woman left and Cifera jumps her.

Rappa remains calm as Cifera uses her claws to try and scratch her but the ninja uses her canvas as bombs. The explosion of paint only dirties the suit that the cat woman is wearing but Cifera isn't at all worried about it. No, Rappa can sense that Cifera has more interest in beating her than worrying about the clothes. Rappa decides that only using paint, however, is a cowardly move. She swings her weapon instead, aiming to at least disable Cifera for a bit. Any serious injury in the Dreamscape can be healed once that person wakes up, so cutting off Cifera's limbs won't be an issue.

The first swing didn't cut anything but the air. The second swing made a cut in Cifera's legs, who annoyingly jumps out of the way when the third swing came. "Not so fast!" Rappa shouts as she uses her paint surfboard to ride the waves of colors that brighten her world and goes after Cifera. The cat woman touches the Bubble Tower, using it to scale the wales and ceiling and then —

*BAM!

— Cifera drops down ontop of Rappa. The ninja gasps and tries to turn but Cifera's claws scratch Rappa's exposed back. "Argh!", Rappa groans but doesn't have time to look at the damage as Cifera follows with a roundhouse kick. Rappa feels her balance loose footing but she quickly recovers by using her surfboard to escape.

With inhumae speed the two fighters run through the maze of doors and dreams. Rappa, glances behind her only to see that the catwoman is right on her tail. Cursing under her breath, Rappa takes the first turn she sees and does a sharp U-turn. The sudden movement under normal circumstances would throw her enemies off but Cifera isn't like any other enemy. She uses the momentum to run on the walls, using the Bubble Charges from earlier as her way of doing these impossible feet within the Dreamscape.

"I'm gonna get ya!" Cifera playfully mocks, jumping right into Rappa as they almost pass a pair of doors. The two tumble into the new room, which Rappa knows is the main vacant room where many Memetic Entities roam freely, and Cifera is kicked off by Rappa onto a nearby Memetic Entity.

"Damn," Rappa curses when she finally feels that stingy feeling on her back and stomach. Memoria is slowly oozing out of her wounds but Rappa remains vigilant.

Though that vigilance is cut short as Cifera throws a bunch of ripped limbs from the Entities. Rappa dodges all of them and uses one of her other canvas as a ninja smoke bomb, disappearing behind a wall while Cifera is blind.

Rappa sprints through the hallways, hoping that Cifera will be distracted for a while as she escapes to a nearby Teleport Waypoint for healing. Cifera doesn't seem to be really familiar with the norms around the Reverie, so jumping from one place to another should be in Rappa's favor but with Cifera's speed. Rappa fears that she will at some point reach her end here.

Rappa sees a nearby Waypoint and smiles. Finally! A place to heal so that she can continue punish that evil kitty!

The Galaxy Ranger is close. Extremely close! Almost a hairbreath away from being healed and to fight once again —!

"It seems we meet again, Ranger."

Rappa looses her footing when a red spike suddenly erupts from the ground. The cosmic ninja rolls on the red carpet, feeling her skin sear in pair and her wounds opening up more. She coughs out some memoria, wiping it away before turning to see the half-naked man that she saw once before. Red tattoos, blond hair and golden armor. The aura of a king — a true shogun that Rappa read in those manga's while she was in the institute.

The dust settles and Rappa feels her body become cold as a giant beast is behind Mydeimos. Several eyes on top of it's spine, sharp blades, long yet thin wings and gold decorating it. Rappa knows exactly who and what this creature is and from the way that it is hovering over Mydeimos, almost protectively, Rappa is sadly aware now that she is not safe. Not safe at all.

"Ah, the immortal little prince!" Cifera laughs as she catches up to Rappa. Without a second thought the cat lady appears behind Mydeimos and puts her arm around his rather tall frame.

Mydeimos groans in irritation as Cifera tussles his hair. Sleepy in the meanwhile flies straight towards Rappa, their claws ready to rip her to shreds.

"Cosmic Ninja Distraction!" Rappa practically screams, throwing the can of paint onto the ground and making a run for it with the Waypoint.

Rappa doesn't at first register where she is but after taking multiple breaths she realizes that she is in the lobby. Even though she has been fighting for a long time, this fight in particular felt too exhausting for her. She stumbles further into the lobby, not at all noticing a circle in the middle of the room.

"Damn it….Robin…Boothill.." Rappa coughs out the names of her friends. She isn't calling them by the nicknames she gives them, she isn't trying to use Cosmic Ninjutsu to try and appease her mind while it's racing.

Mydeimos had said previously that there would be a game where you can wish for whatever you want. The invitation alone was already a sign that the two Rangers would participate but none of them knew how it would go. The woman, Cifera, is his obvious companion. The two had a form of normalcy that Rappa and Boothill have similarly — in other words, those two are her enemies.

But Mydeimos isn't evil and neither is Cifera. Both are in this position for reasons outside of their own freedom. They are forced to work under conditions that doesn't recognize them as human.

Similar to how she was denied humanity and treated like the lowest of the low, as if the scientists were Aeons themselves.

Wobbling on her feet, Rappa finally felt exhaustion wash over her and she fell on her knees. Healing with Waypoints was fast but that didn't mean the pain would go away so easily. The painful aching feeling in Rappa's legs eventually became too much and she fell on the circle.

"Aww, are you tired?"

Rappa freezes and turns around to see the intimidating forms of Mydeimos, Cifera and Sleepy. Her eyes widen in shock, wondering how they got here so fast.

"It was hard finding you at first but," Cifera takes off the cat-like jewelry from her choker and throws it in the air, it happens for a slip second but she appears on the other side of Mydeimos, "I am faster than those pesky waypoints."

"Only….only the Trailblazer knows about them…" Rappa weakly mumbles, exhaustion slowly overtaking her. She doesn't have the energy anymore to keep her confidence in tact.

"Mph, that deliverer told us how it all works," Cifera monologues with a smile.

"There is only one Deliverer in the cosmos," Mydeimos argues, his arms still crossed but he is now glaring at his comrade.

Cifera blinks before placing her hands on her hips, not at all amused by her friend. "Huh? Oh, come on you and I both know he goes by a different name now!"

"Hks is the only deliverer and that's final," Mydeimos argues, glaring daggers at the woman.

Cifera only scoffs. "Alright, fine! Khaslana is the only deliverer."

"His name is Phainon."

"Will you stop being so picky already?!"

Rappa doesn't even pay attention anymore to the conversation. These two know the Trailblazer, the Trailblazer told them how the waypoints works — The Astral Express became an enemy out of circumstances due to the game she isn't at all familiar with. Rappa in all this chaos cannot understand anything.

Rappa lowers her hands on the ground. While the two allies are arguing back and worth about a topic that Rappa has no knowledge off (the names Kremnos and Aglaea are used a lot), the Ranger takes multiple breaths to gain her energy back. She needs to fight. There are friends waiting for her outside of the Dreamscape, she cannot disappoint them with this humiliating defeat.

That determination to fight….that burning passion of hers….it calls upon a certain spirit.

And then the circle shins brightly, blinding the entire room.

Rappa doesn't even register it until she feels something painful burning her skin. She lets out a quiet gasp, holding her hand as a red symbol forms on her hand. The two warriors also stop their bickering, shielding one another as the light became too bright. Sleepy on the other hand screams in pain and quickly flies after the light, hoping to stab the source to death.

However the Memetic Entity didn't go very far. The sound of flesh being cut fills the air and Rappa watches in shock as a warrior emerges from the light. Platinum pink hair, bright colored eyes and a strange blue haori similar to what Rappa has read in those manga's that originate from Edo Star.

The woman turns to Rappa for a second, glances at her hand before turning to the two warriors who are ready to fight as well.

"Ha! You managed to summon a Saber Servant? Impressive," Cifera laughs as she and Mydei stand ready to fight the newly arrived fighter.

Rappa doesn't truly understand what they mean. Is she also part of the game? No, she doesn't look the part. She doesn't look like someone who would enforce someone to fight for the death — claiming that they were doing it for the greater good only to do terrible things towards their research subjects.

This woman has the soul of a warrior. A true hero that Rappa once read about. A warrior that took out her sword, ready to fight for her honor and also against the evil monkey's that plagued the cosmos.

The woman stares at the two warriors before eventually slowly stepping towards Rappa. She turns around, the light of the lobby shining down on her platinum hair. Her pale turquoise haori shines brightly while her hakama hide the vision of the two warriors from Rappa's tired eyes. Her sword is long and sharp, she can definitely cut through Sleepy in an instant unlike Rappa who struggled to fight against the Memetic Entity.

Saber — that's the name that Cifera calls her. Rappa doesn't under what this means. Her beautiful resilience radiates towards the ninja, who remembers her first reaction to when she saw the ending of the Cosmic Ninjutsu comic she read as a child — when her humanity was stripped away from her.

The privilege to be a hero was a luxury in the eyes of A-KA 3. As a Galaxy Ranger, Rappa could be a hero yet nobody wants her to be. Her unique and eccentric personality restricts others from seeing her that way.

Does this woman feel the same? To watch a proud Galaxy Ranger on her knees and exhausted?

Rappa has no such time to think about it as Saber's voice, one that holds authority and courage, echoes through the room.

"Shinsengumi's first unit's captain, Okita Sōji, arrives. Are you my Master?"

It takes a while for Robin to truly understand what she just heard but that didn't stop the sickening feeling in her stomach.

"A battle royal…" Robin whispers after Saber is finally done with her explanation. The story of the Holy Grail War, a battle for a wish granting device where seven mages and seven Servants fight to the death, Servants, Heroic Spirits, True Names and the blood bath that will come with it. Such mindless destruction all for the sake of a wish, if Robin wasn't sure of it than the Halovian might have mistaken this for a Stellaron.

The command seals on Robin's hand is proof that she is a Master and her fate to fight for this mindless bloodshed has been sealed.

Saber went into detail about the classifications that every Servant follows depending on their legend and mythology. Sabers using a sword, lancers using spears, archers using a bow and arrow, Riders with their mounts, Casters use magic, Assassins use stealth and a Berserker are mad. Robin was also told that Sabers are the most wanted class mostly because the more powerful heroes tend to be in those classes.

"There is something I still do not understand," Robin says after a minute of taking in the information. "You say that Servants only attack other Servants but Assassin attacked me before I was even aware what was truly going on."

Saber only lowers her head, eyes closed as she thinks about it as well. "There is a chance that the war is going to have a bunch of troublemakers."

"Will there be precautions?"

"Usually a Ruler class would be summoned if things don't go as it is supposed to but there is a chance that they have someone with very high clairvoyance,"Saber tries to reason but even to the newly contracted Master it did not seem like a of-sound mind conclusion.

Still, Robin understands now that Cipher went out to get her specifically. Whoever is on her side they are targeting Robin specifically.

"Master, if I may be so bold as to ask a question." Robin snaps out of her thoughts to acknolwdge Saber and her question. The Servant has been only here for awhile and she has answered all of her questions and explained anything that she didn't get, not once did Saber ask a question in return.

"Go ahead."

"Upon my summoning I receive information of the timeline that I am summoned in," Saber begins as her green eyes glance around the room. "However from my understanding the time, or should I say, the planet I am in is not one I am familiar with. Even with this amount of information….I."

"You would like a more personal tour around Penacony?"

"…Penacony….I would be honored to be given a tour, Master."

Robin smiles a bit but the fact she is called Master does make her uncomfortable

"For now, I think it's best if we find Boothill and Rappa," Robin states, standing up and walking to the door. "We are currently in the VIP Lounge, we are close where the Monitor Room is."

"I don't sense any Servants in the area but be careful, Master," Saber warns as she walks closely behind her Master.

The two walk down the hallways of the Reverie. On the way Saber was told about Waypoints, a device that the Trailblazer sets up for healing and to teleport, and they used it to teleport close to the Monitor Room.

"Master!" Saber calls out, quickly standing in front of her when she sees the Dream-troupe. Robin only places a hand on her shoulder, a smile on her face as she summons her microphone.

"Don't worry, let me handle this."

Saber watches in fascination as Robin opens her mouth and sings a small song. Immediately the enemies stop moving and then dance to Robin's song. Saber watches with fascination but quickly snaps out of that thinking process. The two continue through the Reverie — nearby enemies keep dancing at the song and Saber only watches in fascination as her Master eventually ends up at the double doors of the Monitor Room.

"Alright, Saber we are here," Robin says as she opens the door.

"Wait, Lancer—!" "Master!"

Robin barely has any time to react as the red spear clashes with the invisible blade of Saber's sword. The Halovian looks past the man with blue hair and red eyes to see her cowboy friend. "Boothill!" Robin shouts in excitement, happy that she is finally reunited with her friend.

"Oh, shoot," Lancer steps back from swordswoman once he realizes that the Master and Servant duo he sensed is the woman that his master spoke about. "My bad, little lady."

"Lancer," Saber says, glaring at her apponent of a former grail war. "It is not often that your spear is sloppily pointed at someone."

Lancer only scoffs. "Don't shoot your shot at your ally, Saber, if you are here than you're aware of Berserker and Assassin."

"There is a second one?!" Robin gasps as Boothill scans her, to see if the pop-star gained any injuries.

"A man in gold and red," Lancer answers, his spear twirling around his wrist. "A man who is also very much immortal."

Saber frowns at the information. "An immortal….an opponent like that would be difficult to fight."

"Where is Rappa?" Robin asks Boothill, who finally stops checking to see if she is injured. The Ranger gives a small laugh before pointing at the monitors.

"Don't worry about her, little lady, Rappa is a professional."

Robin blinks at the sudden boost in confidence and decides to see for herself. She looks over the footage, she doesn't notice that Saber quickly stands behind her protectively.

"I am not that barbaric as to attack your Master, Saber."

"Be quiet, Lancer, my Master might be friends with your Master but I still do not trust you."

She ignores the noises behind her to search for the color pink. Robin feels a smile tug her face when she finally sees Rappa on the tv monitor.

Okita Souji was the captain of the first unit of the Shinsengumi, a public order organization that was mostly active in the Kyoto. Even among the Shinsengumi, which was feared as a band of master swordsmen, the one admired as the strongest genius swordsman was Okita.

Or swords-woman in this case.

During her childhood, while she was still an apprentice at the Shieikan, the dojo of the Tennen Rishin-ryuu in Edo's Ichigaya area, Okita Souji met Hijikata Toshizo and Kondo Isami, core figures of the Shinsengumi in the future. She was skillful enough to serve as the head coach of the Shieikan at a young age, and there was no person who was superior to her regarding the talent with the sword.

Hence why she became a Saber class Servant. A swordswoman of her skill and determination would surely rise above the ranks in the Grail War and grant her Master the device of wishes, a form of proof that she accomplished what other Servants were incapable of doing.

Yet, at this very moment Okita stands before two warriors who are a challenge for her by the simple fact that she is unfamiliar with them. A half-naked man with golden armor barely hiding any vital points, a woman with a cat tail and golden boots with an annoying smug look on her face and a giant creature that towers over Okita and her Master.

The information she is given regarding this new battlefield is, to put it bluntly, complex. New gods that Okita has never heard of, planets that Okita once upon a time had no interest in learning about and also names of factions she cannot help but disapprove of. By all means, the battlefield that she is in is foreign to her.

But that hardly matters when a fight between Servants arise. Despite her knowing next to nothing about the two individuals that stand before her, she senses their presence as a Servant. In other words they are her opponent.

"Say, little immortal prince," the woman with golden boots smiles as she refers to the man with golden leg armor, "remember that move that we practiced back when the Grove was attacked by Nikador's minions?"

The man in golden leg armor only huffs but he smirks nonetheless, "If you're ready for it than go by all means, Assassin."

Okita narrows her eyes as she takes out her sword and stands ready. No matter the class, no matter the origin of the warrior — she will strike them down in one fell swoop.

"Master, find somewhere to hide," Okita warns. She has seen the condition her Master is in; there is no physical injuries but exhaustion and fatigue is very clear on her face. Getting her anywhere safe would be a death wish to not only her but also to Okita herself. Okita cannot seem to understand how two Servants failed at killing a mere human unless there is a reason for it. Another reason to take them both down. Playing with your opponent is not honorable at all in a fight.

Her Master, a woman with long pink hair and wears a rather (in Okita's opinion) uniquely stylish outfit, only slowly rises to her feet but she falls down again. "I can fight..! Those evil enemies who dare to hurt the Songstress Ninja shall pay, even when it is the shogun!"

Okita doesn't move from her spot but those words alone tell her anything she needs to know. She has no clue who the Songstress Ninja is but if she will go so far as to fight the Shogun to save her than Okita truly has no choice but to thank whatever god is out there that she managed to get such an honorable Master. She will not disappoint her new Master.

"Shogun? What's that?" Assassin turns to her companion, not at all familiar with the title.

"A shogun," Okita begins catching both Servants by surprise, "is a commander in chief, one who rules the country and all decisions fell on them to make."

"It is very admirable that you would go so far for your friend," the man in golden boots says, a red aura surrounds him as red spikes slowly erupt from the ground.

"Sadly, your end is here."

Okita quickly grabs her Master by the waist and both of them jump out of the way. Okita twists her body fast enough to clash her blade against Assassin's boots. Sparks fly as Okita pushes the catwoman away and cuts an incoming rock. However as she cut it in half, the man appears in her face with his fist ready to punch her. Okita dodges in time by jumping over the man, watching as the ground she once stood on got destroyed.

Okita lands and is immediately met by more rocks. Okita grits her teeth as she has no choice but to run away, parrying smaller rocks that can definitely stab her. The Saber jumps up on the lobby desk and this is where Assassin appears, her nails out like claws and cutting through Okita's skin.

The Saber creates distance but notes how she doesn't feel any poison despite being harmed. Did this assassin not practice with poison? Interesting, seems like this Assassin is less pathetic than Okita is used to.

Assassin appears behind her again but Okita quickly dodges, flicking her wrist to cut the cat woman but another giant red rock erupt from the ground. Okita doesn't waver at all and jumps in time, using her footing on the tip of the red rock to jump backwards towards a bunch of coaches. The furniture sinks a bit but Okita acts fast and uses the not sharp part of her blade to throw a bunch of pillows towards Assassin, who cuts the pillows and is met with a wave of feathers.

The sound the Assassin makes is not dignified and akin to an actual cat. Okita would have find it cute was it not for the fact that this woman is her enemy. Without any remorse, Okita prepares her blade to stab the woman.

"What?!" Okita gasps, watching in shock as the real Assassin appears before her. The Saber braces herself as the roundhouse kick to her stomach sends her to the other end of the lobby. Okita coughs out a lot of blood, the red liquid drips down on the carpet floor. The stain is barely recognizable but Okita doesn't care much how much of her own blood she spills.

"—!?" Okita quickly regains herself and dodged the incoming red rock that looks very similar to a lions head, the giant rock destroys the wall she rested her back on. Okita sprints towards the immortal prince and readies her blade.

Using her noble phantasm so early in the game would be stupid. Her True Name, as nonexistent as it is in this world, will be exposed to her enemies and so will her weakness. Okita Souji does not exist in this world but the possibility of there being another version of her is possible. One of the key factors that the grail provided her information about are the planets, including the destroyed ones. A planet named after the British city Camelot would only mean that there is a planet that similar to Kyoto.

Exposing her True Name would be a death wish, even if she is in another world.

With her strength, Okita readies her blade and with a slash she cuts the immortal prince's head smooth off. Golden blood gushes out like a fountain, spraying Okita like a shower on a cold autumn day. That is one. Now, the other Servant —

"?!"

Okita barely has time to dodge as a giant magnet is yanking her sword away from her hands. The cause is none other than the Assassin, a smile tugging her face. "Don't worry, little prince! Big sister Cipher will distract the mean Servant while you get your head back!"

Okita's eyes widen as she sees the beheaded prince give a thumbs up in the direction of where the Assassin is shouting. The samurai cannot believe it…a headless man. Her shock is only temporary as the Assassin, whose name is revealed as Cipher, laughs maniacally while running off with the sword.

"Not so fast!" Okita shouts, running after the Assassin with inhumane speed. The Assassin is much faster however, laughing all the while carrying a comically large magnet.

"Sorry, that's not really my thing!" Assassin shouts back as she eventually throws the whole magnet back. Okita scrambles a bit but she does eventually catch the giant magnet and places it on the ground. Her sword is still stuck though.

Assassin giggles behind her. "Take all the time you need with that~! The immortal prince needs to get his head back anyway."

Okita huffs but she does grab the handle of her sword and quickly takes it from the magnet. Assassin whistles with a laugh and Okita just steps forward and cuts her in half as well in one motion. Unlike the immortal prince, Assassin's body explodes in smoke and a bunch of feathers come in place.

"Alright, break time is over!" Assassin yells somewhere from behind Okita. The Saber quickly turns around just in time to dodge the barrage of rocks erupting from the ground. The Saber jumps away when another lion head launches at her but she almost falls off the edge.

"Now, Sleepy!" The immortal prince shouts from the back.

Okita feels chills down her spine as the creature from earlier comes behind her. The samurai wants to cut herself with how she didn't notice the absence of the creature throughout the entire fight. This isn't like her to get so side tracked in a fight when such an obvious big creature is there hovering over them.

Okita tries to run. She tries to dodge or fight back but for some reason her body is not moving.

The claws of the creature is close. Her neck is almost cut. She will be greatly injured and fail her Master….!

She cannot under any circumstances allow that to happen!

If only her damn body could move!

"Hold tight!"

Okita gasps in shock as a pair of arms wrap themselves on her waist. Okita looks down to see her Master, no longer exhausted, with a look of determination desperately grab onto her. Okita feels like everything is in slow motion as she hears Assassin screech in surprise and the creature cry out in pain as paint splashes over it's eyes.

When time felt normal again, Okita watches how everything is fast as her Master is surfing on a pink surfboard, colorful paint guiding her as they go off the edge of the Lobby.

"Master!" "Don't worry!"

Her Master twists her body and grabs a hold off the edge of a nearby floor. Okita watches in amazement as the paint from the surfboard explodes, giving her Master more room to raise her and the Servant from the railing.

"It's gonna be very nauseating but bear with it!"

Okita barely has any time to ask what her Master means until she feels her stomach twist in pain. Just as she is about to hold her stomach she no longer feels the ground underneath her feet. Hard wind blasts through the Saber as she opens her eyes to see a giant city. The lights are bright and the people are lively. It looks very modern, something that Okita isn't at all familiar with her time period.

Just as Okita feels like she is dreaming, the realization that she is falling from the sky finally settles in and the swords-woman quickly twists her body to aim and land on her feet. She watches how the ground is slowly coming closer and closer, at this point the Saber just hopes she won't break too many bones that it will cause her Master to use too much mana to replenish her.

With an earth shattering sound Okita lands on the ground. Dust covers her vision but that isn't a concern for her as the swords-woman rises to her full height, dusting herself off once her vision is clear.

The city that she saw in the sky is even bigger when she is standing in it.

A whistle brings her attention back to her surroundings. Okita turns back to see four people, two of which are Servants. One man who is dressed as a cowboy but clearly most of his body is made of machinery, a beautiful woman with long white hair and angel wings, a Lancer servant in blue and a….

Okita blinks a few times to see that she isn't seeing things. The other Servant, another Saber, look exactly like her! Well, not a copy of hers but there are too many features go just think this is a coincidense. Okita has never heard that the Grail just copies facial features from other Servants, especially those from another country, with another. That just seems rude.

But not only that but from the way how she stands, the way she holds the invisible weapon in her hands and her guarded body — no doubt about it, another Saber Servant?

"Oh my," the angel woman says, look of shock evident on her face as she turns to the other Saber.

"Another Saber to join the grail war? This usually doesn't happen," Lancer mumbles to himself, not seemingly worried about the possibility of a double class.

"Y'all better make some room," the cowboy warns as he points beyond Okita's vision, "Rappa is comin'!"

Rappa. That must be the name of her Master. Okita turns around and a giant projectile flies past her. Another cloud dust blocks her vision but Okita can clearly see the shadow silhouette of her Master as clear as day.

"Yo, Rappa," the cowboy calls out. "You good—?"

"Hahahaha!" Rappa jumps out of the cloud dust, in high spirits and full of energy. "Do not fear, Silvergun Shura, for I am unharmed!"

Silvergun…Shura?

"Silvergun Shura?" Lancer questions behind Okita, probably asking it to his Master.

"It's a nickname she gives others," the angel woman explains.

"Cosmic Ninjutsu Inscriptions have foretold me many times before that I would face powerful opponents from beyond this aeonic universe—!"

"Really now." Silvergun Shura hums nonchalant.

"The age of destiny is slowly coming for us. A battle for our spirits begin, so will our soul transcend the arbitrary of aeons and step into a new dawn—!"

"That sounds like a really tough battle," the angel woman, that Okita realizes might be the Songstress Ninja that Rappa mentioned earlier, replies gently.

"The way of the ninja shines like a thousand rays of light. As the Cosmic Ninjutsu Inscriptions read, "At the end of hell, there is light that illuminates all the darkness in the world." Shall we become that light that those darkened soul took —?"

"That fight must have been really exhausting for you, huh," Silvergun Shura says, hands on his hips while he waits for Rappa to stop…whatever she is doing.

"Is she always like this?" Lancer asks again, leaning into his spear.

Songstress Ninja giggles, a soft and melodic harmony coming out of her lips. "Yeah, this usually happens when Rappa is inspired by something or someone."

Okita wonders who inspired her Master in such short notice.

"You!" Rappa then points at Okita with a sparkle in her eyes that the swords-woman has never seen before, "Samurai Ninja, your soul is pure and brave to walk the path of the Cosmic Ninjutsu Inscriptions!"

Silence falls over the group. Okita herself can only tilts her head in confusion, not at all understanding what her Master means. Also, Samurai Ninja?

Before the group can get any more words out of Rappa a can of paint falls on her head. The woman loses balance and holds her head with a pout.

"Haha, Master are you okay?" Okita smiles as she steps up and holds Rappa by her shoulders.

Rappa only frowns. "While I appreciate your help, Samurai Ninja, I have to ask you to not use the title of Master onto me. Free will should be a norm that everyone can be granted, no one is another test subject or plaything."

Okita's eyes widen as her Master, Rappa, turns to her fully. Her beautiful eyes are brave, the types of eyes that Okita once held in her youth before her eventual death. With a strong hand Rappa holds the Saber's right hand says:

"From today on wards you're my hero. You and I shall face the forces of evil together as one soul together in two bodies. Life is as fleeting as night dew, hard to sever from the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death. May our time together be a reward to our efforts."

Heh. Seems like her Master isn't a coward or a bastard of a Master. This is good. Great even. A Master such as this will make the fight for the grail more fun. Okita realizes, given the information that was imprinted, that the humans here aren't fragile. They can at least keep up with the strength of a Servant, albeit not as much but still superhuman.

If she can fight side by side with her Rappa than all shall be fine in Okita's eyes.

"I am the class Servant Saber. I am your sword, your shield and your warrior but if we will face the forces of evil together," Okita wraps her hand around Rappa's, similar to that of a bro-hand shake, "than I shall gladly share a piece of my breath with you, Master."

Rappa smiles at the acceptance and Okita feels herself smile as well.

…..

……

………

From a distance the other four watch with amazement at the development.

"Huh," Robin says out loud. "I didn't think that it would go over that quickly."

"Rappa usually has that charm where her yapping conflicts people into thinking she is dumb until she starts putting her heart on her sleeve," Boothill says with a proud smile. Robin can only nod, agreeing with her friend on this.

Lancer looks over the new Master-Servant duo with a smile tugging on his lips. He turns to Boothill, his Master. "I am going to assume that she isn't going to be our enemy for the war?"

"Rappa is my co-worker and friend," Boothill explains as if it is the most obvious thing in the world. "If we will have anyone as our enemy it has to be those shirtbags IPC goons."

"I am rather worried about that," Saber voices after being quiet for so long. "This world, no — this universe is nothing like ours. Our True Names have no true function within the realm of this world either but we aren't registered within the IPC system. If we aren't too careful we will get spotted."

Robin nods in agreement with her Servant. "That is right. Best we can do is to give a reasonable explanation why some of you are here or hide you in parts of Penacony where the IPC haven't touched the soil of."

"Or," Boothill suggests as a bullet comes out of his mouth. "We can kill them on sight?"

Lancer laughs as Boothill gulps back the bullet in while Saber looks…rather interested.

"Let's decide all of this later," Robin says, "for now we should probably be given a proper introduction to each other now that the danger is gone."

"A True Name is vital to our being," Saber warns her master but she glances at the other Saber who bears a striking resemblance. "However, I do see the benefits of it."

"I'm alright with it too," Lancer says confidently. "Even when others know my True Name, none of them will be able to defeat me anyway."

"Now that's the type of confidence I love to hear!" Boothill laughs, his voice loud.

Saber only sighs but nods to the Lancer. He has a point, even when they know her weakness Saber is still certain she can win the war.

"In that case I will start first," Lancer adjusts his spear. "I am Cū Chullain, Blue Spearman of the Wind, Child of Light, Hound of Culann, Snarling Hound and the Vigorous Warrior. I come here under the Lancer class."

Boothill whistles, a smirk on his face. "A bunch of fancy hooting titles. You must really be a good sparring partner."

"I'm game," Lancer says confidently.

Robin eyes Saber curiously. The blonde knight has no choice but to answer the burning question. "I am under the Saber class but my true name is Arturia Pendragon, the King of Camelot and the one that pulled the sword Excalibur from the stone."

"Camelot…" Robin mumbles, "we had a a planet with a similar name a few Amber Eras ago but it sadly was destroyed by the Legion ."

Arturia only closes her eyes, mourning the planet that bears the name of her kingdom. "My condolences."

Robin only smiles and shakes her head.

"Well then, Arturia, I am Robin Oak and I hope the two of us can get along with each other in the future."

"Same with me here, Cū. The name is Boothill, a Galaxy Ranger and officially wanted criminal of the IPC."

The Masters and Servants continue to talk further with each other, all getting along and enjoying each other's company.

And so, a new adventure and challenges begin for these new heroes that will step forward into dawn's light.