Prologue
Fate/Eternity's Wind: -66d, 8h, 55m
Kobayashi Mansion, Sendai, Japan
Masumi's heart pounded in her chest as she slammed the door shut behind her, sliding both latches into place and turning the lock. She slumped to the ground, gasping for air with each laboured breath. Evening sun trickled in through the windows, illuminating the old family library of the Kobayashi mansion.
"No time to lose..." she pulled herself up by the doorknob. "It won't take him long to find me. I need to figure out some kind of defence."
She pulled out her old ornate hairpin, quickly twisting her hair up into a knot to keep it out of her face while she worked. Moving to the table in the center of the room, she cast aside stray books until she found the one she had been looking for: Einzelheiten des Heiligen Gral Krieg, a German volume bound in ancient leather and iron. Sweeping aside a large enough space for it, she sat down at the table and set her mind to study.
Thanks to the bookmark, she quickly opened to the page on summoning rituals and Servants. This ancient tome detailed a war, some kind of immensely powerful and ancient war in which seven magi would summon seven heroic spirits to do battle. A year ago, this book had been little more than an amusing fantasy, yet now it may hold the key to her survival. Someone was coming for her life, someone too powerful to fight, and she needed a servant - now.
A cold sensation hit her, like liquid ice being poured through her spine. Someone had broken through the barrier she had established over the mansion - by force, no less. He was close, she had no time left to dawdle. Spilling the ingredients held into her bag over the table, she hurriedly began to create a summoning circle on the floor, as detailed in the book. There were decorations and sacrifices and-
CRACK!
The telltale sound of the front door shattering echoed through the house. She didn't have much longer, he would certainly be able to hear her once the ritual started. There was no time for sacrifices, she would have to hope this worked without it. Standing before the circle with her arms raised in the air, she began to speak.
"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill!
Repeat five times,
But destroy each when filled,
A base of silver and steel!"
A silence fell over the mansion and the summoning circle began to glow faintly blue, indicating the recognition of the magic spell.
"I hereby propose:
My will shall create thy body,
And thy sword shalt create my fate,
Abiding by the summons of the Holy Grail,
If thou dost accede to this will and reason, answer me!"
Even through her chant, the sound of heavy footfalls could be heard approaching the door. Her pursuit was getting close.
"I hereby swear,
I will be all that is good in this world,
I will be the disposer of evil in the world!"
Her chant was nearly completed. Someone was fumbling at the door, trying to open it. There was a snapping sound as the doorknob was twisted off from the other side.
"Thou, clad with the Great Trinity,"
The door creaked and groaned as it was pushed open a bit before catching the chain latches that had sealed it shut.
"Come forth from the circle of constraint,"
The door shattered and flew across the room, arcing over Masumi's head to crash into one of the many bookshelves lining the walls. An explosion of dust and smoke sent splinters and shredded books flying through the room, each illuminated by the luminous aura generated by the summoning.
"Guardian of the Heavenly Scales!" she screamed to complete the ritual.
A huge frame of a man stepped through the door just as the bright, intense light of the summoning enveloped the room. Masumi scrambled backwards through the dust and chaos, bumping into the legs of someone standing behind her. Yelping in fear, she looked up behind her to see the vaguely obscured outline of someone, still glowing with heavenly energies after the summoning.
"Are you my master?"
