Cu's hardly a stranger to being summoned, but this? This is kinda new.
There's no Master in sight, and he can't feel one either, but he still has a steady stream of prana to maintain his physical form with. It seems to be coming from… the place he's standing in itself, but that can't be right. Cu slips into spirit form, partially just to see if he can and partially because he'd rather not be seen right now. It's not like there are any people around, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
He wanders through the hallway, looking around and taking in the sights. It seems like… a school of sorts? But it's empty of people, which is the strange part. The high concentration of prana in an area like this without any people, let alone mages? That's incredibly odd. Normally, Cu wouldn't be thinking about this; he's here to stab people, not think about why he's stabbing them. That's his Master's job-but that's the problem!
Where the fuck is his Master?
Come to think of it, there hadn't been a summoning circle where he'd been standing, either. This situation is just getting progressively weirder and weirder. It's not helped by the fact that those paintings are moving and talking like they're actually alive and that one of the stairs had just tried to kill him.
As he makes his way down, he can hear the distant sound of a bunch of voices talking. The concentration of prana is strongest from there; there must be an entire gathering of mages, if that's the case. Staying in spirit form, Cu approaches the heavy doors, poking his head inside.
There are hundreds of kids, all preteens to teenagers, with a handful of adults sitting off to a table on the side. The smell of food fills the air, but despite the chatter, there seems to be a nervous energy. Cu is familiar enough with anticipation and excitement to recognize it but just what could a group of mages be so interested in?
Their eyes all seem to be drawn towards the goblet in the center of the room, and Cu's eyes widen involuntarily-it looks like the Holy Grail! It almost feels like it, too, but it can't be; the energy it emits is much too weak. There's still something powerful about that goblet, though.
But… Cu doesn't have a Master. He knows for certain that the prana that he's using is coming from the school itself, so he shouldn't give a shit about the goblet, even if it were the Holy Grail. He has no desire for it. What had he been summoned for, then? This certainly isn't a Holy Grail War.
Suddenly, the chatter stops. All eyes move from the goblet to the old man with the ridiculous beard. "Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," announces the old man, to Cu's confusion. The goblet is making a decision? Well, that really shouldn't surprise him, honestly. The Holy Grail is a cup, but it's still sentient. But what is the goblet deciding? "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber where they will be receiving their first instructions."
Champions? Cu's starting to get a little annoyed at the lack of context here. He huffs to himself as he moves around to sit on the floor with a clear view of the goblet as the old man pulls out a wand and gives a sweeping wave. The candles in the room all immediately go out, plunging the hall into semi-darkness.
Impressive.
The goblet in the middle of the hall is brighter in comparison, and everyone's attention is fixed upon it once more-except Cu. He stiffens when he feels an annoyingly familiar presence in the hall-that damn Archer! There's no way Archer hasn't noticed him, either; that's pretty much in his class description. And it's not just Archer, either; he can sense the other Servants, save for Assassin, but it's unlikely they're not here.
Suddenly, the flames inside the goblet flare red, sparks flying wildly from it, and it spits out a charred scrap of parchment, which the old man catches and reads. "The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum," he calls, to which the entire hallway bursts into cheers. Cu's too busy trying to pinpoint exactly where Archer is. Does he have a Master, or is he in the same predicament Cu's in?
"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!" Cu barely even acknowledges the unnaturally attractive young woman as she steps into the chamber the old man had pointed out earlier. He's too on edge for that.
"The Hogwarts Champion is Cedric Diggory!"
Cu gets up to his feet and resists the urge to summon Gae Bolg. It wouldn't do to cause a ruckus in an area full of innocents. While he won't hesitate to take a witness out if ordered to, Cu doesn't like it, and would prefer to avoid it.
The old man keeps talking but suddenly cuts himself off. The entire hall goes utterly silent as he snatches the last shred of parchment. "Harry Potter."
There's… nothing. Cu gets the sense of-anger? Confusion? And, when he looks towards the staff table, they all seem to be conversing harshly with each other. He turns towards the place everyone else is looking, an utterly stricken boy with round glasses and a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Evidently this is… unprecedented.
But before there can be any outrage, the goblet spits out yet another piece of parchment. The old man's face is inscrutable as he takes it and reads it. "Ritsuka… Fujimaru."
A sixth piece doesn't wait for Fujimaru to stand up. Cu is willing to bet there's going to be a seventh. "Rin Tohsaka."
Tohsaka… that girl he'd helped out last time? Archer's Master?
He's right about the seventh piece. "Shirou Emiya."
Saber's Master?
"Would our last… four champions stand up?" Evidently, the old man doesn't recognize the last three. Cu casts a glance towards the boy-Harry Potter, apparently. The shocked expression and set to his shoulders still hasn't changed even as the people around him usher him towards the chamber. Truth be told, Cu feels kinda bad for him.
"I do not know of any of those students," states the shady-looking man, standing up.
"Neither do I," says the large woman.
"They aren't of Hogwarts, either," the old man murmurs. "Yet the goblet declared them worthy."
"None of them are of any of your schools." Cu freezes-he knows that voice, and he turns towards its owner. He's walking as nonchalantly as ever through the hall like he owns the damn place, and Cu feels his fingernails digging into his palms, tamping down on the urge to kill the bastard. "And it seems your Goblet of Fire has been influenced."
Kirei Kotomine comes to a halt at the center of the hall, ignoring the surprised shouts from the staff.
"Who are you? Influenced by what?!" demands the stern-looking woman who reminds Cu of a cat.
The damned priest ignores the woman's first question, a slow smile spreading across his face. "By the Holy Grail, of course."