A second path spilt from the original flow, much like a forked road. From the depths underneath Millennia citadel, the Greater Holy Grail let off a green glow from its golden innards. Altercations had been set, changes would be made, and a new fate sealed. A tremor rippled through the fabric of the universe, and soon the bells would toll. A singularity had been made.
}--o--{
"Ugh, Gil, stop staring at Altera! She may be a cyborg, but that should not be a reason for your loss of concentration!" exclaimed a figure of a short stature. The comment caused Gilgamesh's gaze to level on the person who spoke.
"Tch," was his annoyed response. Shaking his head, he turned to face the battlefield in front of him. "Georgios, advance and eliminate d'Eon." The saint carried out the command and quickly dispatched the Knight of the White Lily. Chevalier dissipated into blue particles before reforming off to the side.
Across the way, Zhuge Liang (El-Melloi II posing as the Chinese tactician's vessel) scoffed and countered the King of Heroes' move, "Hektor, dispatch Georgios." The famed lancer from Troy bee-lined to his target, making a wide slash with his lance. Georgios' form was removed from the battlefield and deposited off to the opposing side.
A sigh came from Gilgamesh's left, "Are you positive you know what you are doing, brother?" Once again, Gilgamesh glared off to the left, fists clenched in anger.
"Quite sure, Amarenzu," the golden king gritted out. "If you know what to do so well, then why don't you show how to be a better commander." Huffing in response, the white haired sibling analyzed the playing field in front of her, electric blue eyes narrowed in thought.
From the sidelines, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne and Fionn mac Cumhaill gazed at the match before them. The two watched as Amarenzu made her move. Watched as Alexander took another of the siblings' soldiers -- one of the Hassan assassins. Watched as Gilgamesh regained his trademark smirk; even if the trap was set by the younger of the two, the King of Heroes played it as if he set it himself.
"I know I just started spectating, but... What is this?" Fionn inquired, glancing at his friend. Various moves were made, and one of the siblings' people was taken.
"Amarenzu stated it was an altered version of chess. Alexander and Zhuge Liang are the commanders of one side while Amarenzu and Gilgamesh command the other. Tamamo-No-Mae will be the overseer for the final game," Diarmuid explained, "some of the heroes join up to participate in this every century." Fionn nodded in understanding.
Amarenzu called for Cu Chulainn, but the tolling of a bell cut her off. No one made any movement as the bell continued its loud, baritone toll. Two short rings vibrated through the field.
A voice broke the silence that followed, "Saber!" Heimdall, located in the Throne of Heroes, stood as the announcer of each summon, so far there had been thirteen summons, fourteen including this one. After whatever war ended, all the heroes or whoever that was summoned eventually returned to the Moonlit Plains, a space where anyone with potential to be called on by the Holy Grail stayed indefinitely. Then, the heroes would wait to be summoned again. The routine was no different than going on vacation; however, once summoned into the Grail War, the hero's memory of the Plains was temporarily erased. Any information that the heroes would need outside of the life they lived would automatically be provided by the Grail. Programming that was a bitch.
Amarenzu sighed, "Geez, what kind of war is going on. That makes fourteen servants." She frowned before returning her thoughts to the practice match. The game resumed; however Amarenzu seemed to be distracted.
"Yes! We won!" Alexander exclaimed, his fist shot high in high. Amarenzu bristled, glaring off to the side while Zhuge Liang chuckled lightly.
Gilgamesh side glanced at his sibling with a mocking smirk plastered on his face, "Were you positive you knew what you were doing, dear sister?" Scoffing, the sibling in question scowled in response at the obvious jibe.
Regaining composure, she crossed her arms before turning away from where there battle was held, "No matter, it was simply a practice match. As much as I would love to stay and chat, I must converse with Heimdall." The remaining heroes gave their own good-byes as she walked off.
Heading towards the Throne of Heroes at the center of the Moonlit Plains, Amarenzu frowned upon seeing the overhead gloom surrounding the mountains in the distance. Her dimensional plain had been gradually getting corrupted ever since she aided in destroying the original Grail in Fuyuki; however with the destruction of the object of great power, the blasted thing started poking holes in time. Singularities started to form; luckily, Amarenzu had found some organization, Chaldea, who was already working on fixing the first few singularities that popped up.
The Throne of Heroes was built using a lonely mountain as its foundation; thus, it also had a staircase leading up to the main building. Walking up the long set of stairs, Amarenzu wondered -- not for the first time either -- why she even built the Throne so high up. She breathed a sigh of blessed relief as she climbed the last step before proceeding to open the glided door. Going down the various hallways, Amarenzu reached the main room that held an ethereal blue pool in the center. The pool's glow was the only source of light in the room, yet there was still enough light to see clearly.
"Ah, Amarenzu!" a voice called out from her left, "I've been meaning to speak with you." Heimdall approached the white haired girl with a hand raised in the air as greeting. Upon her questioning gaze, he continued, "how are you holding up?."
"Figures," she sighed, "Is this all you wanted to speak with me about?" The two had moved to sit near the pool, Amarenzu's eyes reflecting its glow as her eyes traced random swirls moving around in the mana pool. Receiving a stern look from Heimdall, she shook her head in mild exasperation. Amarenzu dipped her fingertips in the pool, the liquid giving off a cool touch. Her circuits flared to life at the touch of pure mana.
She flinched. Heimdall eyed where a series of circuits failed to power on along the back of her neck. Small bolts of blue arched over the points where the malfunctioning circuits met with working ones. His eyes widened as one circuit branch flickered before a section of it dimmed.
"Does that answer your question?" she asked, removing her fingers from the pool. The circuits retreated as soon as her fingers left. "I may not be as powerful as I used to be, but that hasn't held me back so far. Besides, a few lost circuits is a small loss compared to what could have unfolded if we didn't destroy the Grail back in Fuyuki."
"Why did you even use your circuits to make the Grail?" Heimdall inquired.
"My circuits were the only thing powerful enough to power the thing at the time, and I wasn't exactly willing to use them either. That mage from back then had other ideas though," she replied, shrugging. "Anyways, what's with the fourteen summons recently?"
"About that, they have been summoned to participate in a war caused by a singularity. From what I could see, there are two sides that will fight; however, once one side has won, the remaining servants will battle till one remains," Heimdall explained, "there are a few troubling factors as well. Some of the summons were from the corrupted areas that have recently appeared. I would advise you to sort this one yourself."
"Huh?" Amarenzu frowned slightly, "why not the Master at Chaldea?"
Heimdall looked appalled by her question, "This matter is beyond Chaldea's only Master, and Chaldea currently has its hand tied with another singularity created by David's son, Solomon."
"Geez, David's son is proving to be meddlesome," Amarenzu stated, noting Heimdall's expression from before had faded. Looking to her left briefly, she saw Heimdall awaiting her decision. "Fine, fine. I'll remove this singularity. I'll be back after I --"
Amarenzu was cut off as the ringing of a bell vibrated through the empty room. Five long tolls rang. Heimdall was quick to make the announcement, "Ruler!" His voice would carry through the entirety of the Moonlit Plains. Shortly after, a golden mist traveled through the room. The mana pool in the center of the room let off its own mist that quickly formed a rift near the stone ceiling. The gold mist made its exit through the new opening; the portal closing as soon as it left.
Amarenzu's eyes narrowed, "I've changed my mind. I'll be leaving now. Heimdall, open a rift." Heimdall nodded before moving to one of the walls. He fiddled with something and a lever was revealed. After he pulled the lever, the pool made another portal above. Dissipating into a mist, Amarenzu followed whoever was summoned earlier.
}--o--{
Amarenzu could catch a glimpse of the soon-to-be Servant in front of her every now and then. Her own form started to materialize in the tunnel the two traveled in. Glancing down, she analyzed the change of clothes. Instead of her normal hooded cape, she had on a white button-less jacket on that divided near the end. She could feel the subtle weight of her thin, silver plated armor hidden behind the jacket. The rest had relatively stayed the same: a blue sash adorning her middle, an off-white tunic, dark blue form-fitting pants, silver ornate bangles hugged her wrists, and white boots that had silver trimming.
As she traveled through the tunnel, she caught a glimpse of red peeking out from under the sleeves that fanned out at the upper arm. She pulled the sleeve up to see Command Seals, each tribal-like, wrapping around her arm, not unlike a vine. Curious, she lifted the opposite sleeve. An identical set lay there.
Looking ahead, Amarenzu noticed that the figure in front of her had vanished. Soon, a flash of blinding light hindered her vision as she reached the end of the tunnel.
[--o--]
A flash of lightning struck the ground. Releasing a tremendous force upon the surroundings, a circle of fallen trees spread out from where the bolt struck. Left in the wake of the fading light was a figure. Blue eyes gazed from underneath white locks.
From inside a church, a white haired priest paused mid prayer and swiftly turned to look behind him. A Servant appeared beside the priest, "Is something wrong, Master?" The priest could not answer as he was lost in thought. He couldn't wipe the vision of a figure clad in white, silver, and blue from his mind. "Master?" his Servant tried once more.
The priest's expression returned to his normally passive look, "it seems another obstacle has appeared."
Ruler looked up from her seat in the back of someone's truck. The appearance of yet another Servant confirmed her suspicion of the Great Holy Grail War being abnormal. The blonde couldn't tell who's side the newest Servant was summoned for or if he or she was even on one. This war would be troubling indeed.
A Servant's presence was approaching, and Ruler could feel a killing intent.
}--o--{
Amarenzu gazed at the fallen trees around her, arms crossed. There were no notable features around to give her any insight to her location. Frowning, she tried to reach out for the Grail. Being summoned as a Servant -- forced or otherwise -- would have established a temporary connection to the existing Grail. If she was close enough Amarenzu would be able to feel that connection. She felt a faint tug coming from the south.
Well, it was something, so she couldn't really complain. The fact that the Grail had already formed was troubling; however, that was her only lead, even if it was extremely far away. Flying there was out of the question since it would reveal her presence to other Servants and their Masters along with catching the eye of random civilians. 'Might as well get some distance covered,' she thought as she dashed, heading south, her form disappearing in blue dust.
Even with the inhuman speed most Servants could achieve, some could even surpass it, getting to where ever the Grail was located was taking longer than Amarenzu wanted. She had been running for hours; the sun was well beyond the horizon and the moon was reaching the peak in its arch.
Finally reaching a city as the sun peaked out, Amarenzu decided to make a pit stop. The Grail's pull had gotten stronger. Amarenzu cut off the connection, there was no need for it until she set out again. Rematerializing where no one would see, Amarenzu quickly changed to more casual clothes -- the same set her previous Master from the Grail War in Fuyuki, Ayumi, had lent her.
Now adorning a loose, light blue shirt, white jacket, dark gray pants and her boots (she also kept on her bracelets), Amarenzu looked for a place to rest, preferably one that didn't cost money as she had none that would be acceptable. She found a small park with a few trees dotting the area that would work. Hoisting herself up to a high branch, she leaned against the trunk. The continuous amount of running she did put a toll on her body, unavoidable as it was for someone who ran for a whole day and a portion into the night.
From her spot in the tree, she analyzed the city in front of her. Whatever year it was, it wasn't as modern as the previous war. The sparse cars that drove by were of older models and the architecture in general was older though not by much. With little to do, Amarenzu did a quick check of her parameters. Everything seemed normal, however she noted that she was locked out of her brother's vault.
As she waited, she occasionally scanned for Servants, taking good care to keep her own presence concealed. Amarenzu also thought on the best way to introduce herself if the time arrived. She couldn't use "Caster" as those two slots were already filled and she wasn't there to replace one like in the 4th Grail War. "Ruler" was out of the question, and there already was the one who she followed here. One Ruler would be enough. There were fifteen Servants participating excluding her, so two of each plus Ruler left no class for her to pose as. 'If you don't have a place to fill, then make your own,' Amarenzu thought, dryly. If the demi-god recalled correctly, Chaldea had discovered new classes for Servants to fall under: Avenger, Beast, Alter Ego, and… something else. Conversely, she didn't fall under any of those, so that left her out of ideas. Giving her true identity could prove troublesome as well.
Why couldn't there be a class that was unknown, like "???" or something? The other Servants didn't really need to know what she classified as. For all they needed to know, she was a Master-less Servant. Hopefully her rank EX luck would pull through if she came face to face with Ruler, but that was about as rare as getting a five star servant summon from Chaldea's summon roll. Best to avoid Ruler if she didn't want her identity discovered.
On to the matter at hand, she needed to either get rid of the Grail or find some way to eliminate cause of the singularity. The fastest way would be the Grail since it had already formed, but some of the Servants might not be too happy about that. With the mass of Servants that were summoned, it would be wise to wait until only a few remained. It's not like she was in a hurry anyways, plus, Grail Wars didn't typically last too long.
Night soon approached, and Amarenzu had switched between a few trees. By some miracle, her clothes remained clean. Suddenly, a fog encased the city causing Amarenzu to go on alert. She quickly leapt higher into the tree she was resting in, fully concealing her presence, and materializing her Servant attire. She didn't dare move a muscle when a figure -- a girl -- appeared underneath the tree. The girl was a Servant given her outfit -- or lack of. The clothing was suited for agility and upon seeing the knives the girl carried, Amarenzu pegged her as Assassin. This could end poorly.
Amarenzu watched as Assassin looked around the small park with slumped shoulders and a frown. She breathed a sigh as Assassin disappeared into the fog that was likely the girl's doing. Quietly slipping down from the tree, the demi-god forgot why she was even hiding. The harder she tried to remember, the more it slipped away from her. Dismissing the thought, she gazed at the wall of fog before her.
Amarenzu turned to the closest building, sprinted up the side of it, grabbed the edge of the roof, and tossed herself up and over on to the rooftop. Thankfully the fog didn't go past the rooftops, and now that she could see clearly, she noticed the fog encased only a part of the town. She continued along the rooftops; she froze upon hearing a splash. Peeking over the edge of the roof and down into the alley below, Amarenzu spotted a girl who looked strangely familiar and blood smeared across one of the walls.
The girl looked up. As a reflex, Amarenzu leapt back. Wait, why did she leapt back..? She frowned. Her memory was being altered, but she couldn't figure out the trigger for it. She bit her bottom lip, whatever she leapt back from couldn't have been good. A Servant? There were only a few classes she would definitely have trouble with; maybe it was the identity of the Servant she was being cautious of?
The sound of liquid sloshing pulled her from her thoughts. Perhaps the best course of action was a temporary retreat. If the Servant could erase her memory of said Servant, then it would better to prepare for the fight before charging into battle. Amarenzu silently dashed off into the opposite direction, noting the appearance of the fog was the Servant's doing.
While Amarenzu zipped along the rooftops, she noticed there was hardly anyone out, not even a peep. Given that it was night, that wouldn't have been so odd, but there wasn't a single light on either. Surely there was at least one person who was up; it wasn't that late.
An explosion sounded in the distance followed by a burst of smoke. Almost tripping while skidding to a stop, Amarenzu turned to face the disturbance. Yeah, the city was either filled with citizens who were dead or deaf. With a new destination set, Amarenzu sprinted onwards. Finally, something exciting!
Amarenzu perched on the edge of one of the buildings. Electric blue eyes glowed as she enhanced her vision. Down on the street, a blonde knight looked around for something -- or rather someone. The fog had cleared; the Servant who caused it must have retreated. The knight, probably one of the two Sabers, dashed off. It was faint, but Amarenzu spotted the golden streaks of arrows shooting towards Saber. Following the direction the streaks originated from, she caught two figures on top of a building, one of them diving off the side.
Not wanting to get caught so soon, Amarenzu only dared a few buildings closer. She deemed going into spirit form useless since the Servants would still be able to see her. Her enhanced vision would do for now. The bowman was of Greek or Roman origin, though Amarenzu was leaning more towards Greek. Saber chased Archer down from the rooftop; however, he or she (it was hard to tell with all the armor, and men could have long hair too) was struck in the abdomen via some form of martial arts. She may have magically enhanced her vision, but it was by no means an Archer's eagle vision.
A crash sounded to her left. Glancing over, Amarenzu spotted the two Masters duking it out. The girl had a four armed mechanism attached. Given that the bottom two were primarily used as legs and the upper two were mainly for offense, Amarenzu guessed the girl was crippled in some way. The other Master was currently in the driver's seat of a car.
Amarenzu took a glance over to the two Servants; however one was missing and the other was running towards where the Masters were. Knowing that both parties would meet up eventually, she returned her gaze to where the Masters were.
[--o--]
Out of the demi-god's view, Saber of Red rushed over to where her Master, Kairi, was. The Knight of Treachery halted when she caught a glimpse of a white cloth up above, another Servant?! Her teal eyes widen upon looking up. There, perched on the edge, was a clash of white, silver and blue. The knight stared at the pale figure, how did she not notice his presence before? His short snowy hair reflecting the moon's brilliant gleam.
The Knight of Treachery briefly wondered if that priest from before sent him. Whoever it was didn't seem to be intervening anytime soon, so spying was the better bet. There was no indication of his class, but she was willing to guess that it was one of the Casters. The knight had only encountered both Assassins and Archer of Black, so really the white-haired boy could have been from either side.
The pale figure stood, revealing his detailed yet simple attire. She caught the glint of silver as the boy turned to walk off, disappearing in a cloud of blue particles. Storing the encounter for later, Mordred continued towards Kairi.