Kirei Kotomine was a soulless man. From as far back is his memory can recall, nothing that bought joy to the normal people around him would bring the same to him. In his entire life only one thing ever bought true joy, but that joy is wrought in sin; to cause negative emotions, particularly suffering, upon others.
As he gazed upon the summoning circle inscribed in his blood in front of him, the Commands Seals gifted upon his left hand by the Holy Grail 3 years past blazing crimson in the dim light of the Kotomine Church cellar, he wondered not for the first time why he was chosen.
"Silver and Iron to the origin. Gem and the Archduke of Contracts to the Cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg."
His father and mentor both say it is believed the Grail picks those it deems most worthy.
"The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate."
But what makes one worthy was the questioned again and again to himself. He was a man without ideals, cravings or dreams. So what made him worthy?
"Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).
"Repeat every five times.
"Simply, shatter once filled."
…No. That was wrong he realized as he watched the summoning circle flare to life with the same intensity as the brand on the back of his hand. He had one desire that he wished for with his entire being. So in this timeline, the soulless man that desired salvation prayed, he prayed to the Grail and any deity that would listen, and in doing so unknowingly changed the entire course of this War and the next, 'Holy Grail, if you truly chose me then I ask of you: help me find out my reason for living. Give me a servant that will answer the question I've asked my entire life!' With his prayer said he poured all of his focus into finishing the Ritual to summon a Heroic Spirit.
"I announce!
"Yourself is under me, my fate(salvation) is in your sword.
"In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer!
"Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the Good of the World of the Dead, I am the one who lays out all the Evil of the World of the Dead.
"You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O Keeper of the Balance!"
As Kotomine continued the incantation, the light from the summoning circle and the sigil on the back of his hand rose until they became blinding. Turning away and closing his eyes in an instinctual response to the sheer brightness, his magical senses started going haywire at the sheer presence and mana being exuded from the spirit in front of him as she materialized in the center of his spell.
Forcing his eyes open he gazed upon the Heroic Spirit that answered his call. It was a young girl, who appeared to be no more than 14, with waist length black hair with a scarlet ribbon tying her bangs back, her bright amethyst colored eyes gazing at him with an emotionless expression. Garbed in a dress that seemed to made of black feathers, it was far more provocative than he would expect from a 14 year old girl, a split between the breasts of the dress narrowing down to her belly button. Covering her legs were some thigh high purple diamond patterned socks leading down into some low black heels. From her back grew two large wing like appendages that appeared rather stylized, being nothing more than the same feathers that compose her dress hanging from a wing shaped rod. With the same emotionless face she ran her fingers through her hair, flaring it out in what his eyes could tell as a habit, and spoke "I am the Servant Archer for this Holy Grail War, I ask you, are you my Master?"
As he looked back into her eyes, he noted that they looked similar to his, yet he felt small and insignificant in front of this girl. Never the less he held up his left hand to show her the Command Seals and answered her question, "Yes, it was I who summoned you Archer."
As she set her gaze upon the three absolute commands, she nodded in response before she was shrouded in a bright purple glow. The glow then faded into a burst of feathers that soon faded away and she now stood in what appeared to be a modern Japanese middle school uniform with a beige over shirt, red bow tie and a black and white plaid skirt over black stockings. "Then shall we map out the area Master? I prefer to know my battle field if I can."
Kotomine eyed the schoolgirl uniform warily. 'I know that the Grail gives the spirits basic knowledge about the time period they're summoned in to prevent culture shock. But why would Archer instantly go with that outfit? Just who are you?' He thought to himself. Out loud however he nodded and said, "Very well then Archer. Then we will go meet with my Mentor to go over the plan."
Risei Kotomine, the newly appointed Master's father looked on from the doorway with a frown as his son and his Servant walked by him. The original plan was for Kirei to use the word Assassin as his catalyst to summon Hassan-i-Sabbah, the leader of the Hashshashin as the Servant Assassin. However for some reason his son decided to do no such thing and instead did the summoning with absolutely no catalyst, and as a result summoned a Hero that he could not recognize, which worried him greatly. 'Tokiomi must know of this development.' With that thought he headed off to his office to commune with the Tohsaka family head that was Kirei's mentor.
Kariya Matou coughed roughly into his hand, the worms inside his body writhing painfully at his angst at the beginning of the end finally having arrived. As he shakily pulled his hand away he frowned at the specks of blood on the palm of his hand.
"Well boy, I admit to being very surprised," a weathered voice cackled over the sound of the worms slithering everywhere around him. "To think you actually managed to survive a year of training at your age! Now let's see if you can continue to pull off these surprises. Who knows, you may even win me the Grail and little Sakura's freedom!" Slowly Kariya stood up and turn to face the short, bald old man leaning on his cane.
"Originally I was planning on lending you one of the many relics I have collected and having you summon him as the Servant Berzerker. Now though I think I'll have you summon a Servant without a catalyst, that way we can see if your luck continues to hold out." Again the withered husk that was once human began to cackle, the pit of ravenous worms on the floor clearing to reveal a summoning circle in front of Kariya.
Glaring down into the arrogant black and yellow eyes of his "father" with his one good eye, his now white hair hanging down into his eyes as he panted softly, the worms in his body getting agitated in response to his anger. Taking a deep breath to force himself to calm down, needing as much prana and focus as possible to complete this ritual he held out his hand towards the ancient spell inscribed on the floor.
"Silver and Iron to the origin. Gem and the Archduke of Contracts to the Cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg."
"The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate."
"Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).
"Repeat every five times.
"Simply, shatter once filled."
As he spoke those words of power he winced, his body struggling to keep up with the strain being placed upon his body by the Holy Grail. But he remembered what he was fighting for, Who, he was fighting for. With that thought and renewed vigor, he prayed to whatever being would answer him to help one little girl, 'Please, I beg of you. Please help me save Sakura-chan!'
"I announce!
"Yourself is under me, my fate(doom) is in your sword.
"In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer!
"Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the Good of the World of the Dead, I am the one who lays out all the Evil of the World of the Dead.
"You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O Keeper of the Balance!"
Closing his eyes as the light from the summoning circle builds to a crescendo, he collapsed as he began a rough coughing fit. "Hiya, I'm Servant-" he heard from a surprisingly young voice before it cutoff with a gasp and he then felt a soft hand on his back, followed by what felt like soothing waves washing through his body, a soft melody of violins singing through his head in time with the waves. With a gasp he realized he could breathe easier than he could in months, he sat back and looked at the Servant he had summoned. She was so young, maybe 13 or 14, with shoulder length blue hair with a fortissimo symbol hairclip on the side of her head. She wore an outfit that seemed almost like a romanticized knight's outfit, with a blue chest plate over a white shirt and a matching blue skirt. Poking out from under the short shirt he could see a blue jewel shaped almost like a stylized music note. A white cape, white stockings held up by blue belt garters, blue boots, and blue long gloves with white over gloves completed her knightly ensemble.
"Hey, you ok? Not something I was expecting to be summoned to." Nodding Kariya proceeded to slowly stand up, noticing that not only was he breathing easier, but his whole body felt better, and he thought he could even see a bit out of his bad eye. "Are you my Servant?" He asked, wanting to make sure. He wouldn't hesitate to do anything to save Sakura, but a part of him was hoping he wouldn't have to send a little girl to go fight Legendary Heroes, even if she was apparently one himself. "So you are my Master?" the young bluenette chirped as she stepped away with a small pirouette, striking a pose when she stopped moving. "Servant Caster, at your service!"
Suddenly, they were both distracted at the sudden sound of the old man began to cackle once again. "Interesting Servant you've summoned boy. To be able to heal the damage caused by the crest worms, such is to be expected of a Caster." Kariya and Caster both glared at the husk of a man. "Why would you do that to a person?" Caster gritted out through clenched teeth, a gleaming cutlass appearing in her hand with a simple clenching of her fist.
While Kariya looked at her in surprise, Zouken just chuckled harder. "A Caster class Servant that uses swords? My, my Kariya, you really are full of surprises. And I was so adamant in believing you were a useless sack of genes." In a bold display he turned around and began to walk away into the dark holes of the Worm Pit. "Keep this up and you may get the Grail yet. I'll be waiting here for your success or failure boy."
Clenching her teeth at being ignored by this Worm, Caster tensed as she prepared to cut the monster in half before being stopped by a hand on her shoulder from her Master. "Master, what are you-" "Caster, it's not worth killing him right now." Kariya cut her off. "Many before have tried and simply cutting him in half will not due. For now please, let us leave and find some place away from here." With a frown, she looked up at the man, the power flowing off of her finally registering in his brain causing a small bead of sweat to roll down his temple. 'This is a being far beyond a normal human,' he was reminded of this fact before she let out a sigh and dismissed the cutlass in a small flash of blue. "Fine. Let's hurry and leave this place. It gives me the creeps," with an not so exaggerated shudder, she put her hands behind her head and proceeded to disappear in blue particles to reduce the strain on his prana reserves. Agreeing with his new Servant's statement, he left the Matou manor in a hurry.
"Fill, fill, fill 'er up, fill..
"Repeat four times…"
"Wait, was it five times? Um, destroy each when filled…or something…?" Ryuunosuke Uryuu questioned to himself, turning away from the sloppily drawn satanic symbol he just finished drawing on the floor with his foot to look at the book in his hand.
"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill."
"All right, that makes five times!" He cheered softly to himself before the news on the television caught his eyes. "At all three murder scenes, a mysterious pentagram drawn with the victims' blood was found," the news reporter said. "Maybe I went a little too far." Ryuunosuke said, thinking aloud. "The purpose of the pentagrams remains unclear," continued the reporter. "Today we've invited a specialist in criminal psychology-"
Ryuunosuke turned away from the television, his eyes roaming over the beautiful blood splatters covering the entire dark living room, his eyes landing on a young boy about 8 years old. His arms and legs bound with take and a cloth covering his mouth, the little boy looked up in fear to the serial killer they were just talking about on the news, the remains of his family everywhere. "Do you think demons exist, kiddo?" Ryuunosuke asked as he began walking towards the child.
"All the papers and magazines call me a demon. But wouldn't that be kind of rude if demons really did exist? You've gotta be clear about these things." Suddenly he squatted down in front of the child, striking a strange pose over the frightened child. "Sup! I'm Ryuunosuke Uryuu, and I'm a demon!" The maniacal killer proudly proclaimed. "I dunno if that's how I should be introducing myself." He sighed after relaxing into a kind of dejected position.
"So like, I found this. It's some old book I found in the storehouse." Uryuu explained as he waved said book in the child's tearful face. "It looks like my ancestors were researching how to summon demons. So like, I've gotta find out if demons really do exist!" He exclaimed with a wild smirk. "But you know. If a demons really did come out, it'd be pretty dumb to just chat with it and have nothing to offer him." Uryuu continued to explain to the child as he stood up and put his arms behind his head.
"So, kiddo…If a demon really does show up, mind if we let it kill you?" He asked the child politely, taking a seat in one of the open chairs. The kids eyes widened in sheer panic as he started to thrash around at that question. Uryuu just sighed into his arm before bursting out in maniacal laughter. " I wonder what it's like, being killed by a demon! Not many people get to experience that – Ow!" Ryuunosuke was suddenly cut off as a bright red sigil inscribed itself on the back of his hand. "What's this?"
Standing suddenly, he turned to face the pentagram he had drawn on the floor as it started to glow and spark with life. The Holy Grail choosing and summoning it's last Servant for the War. Watching intently, the bloody mark was obscured by light and smoke, and as it faded, a girl who appeared to be 16 was left standing there. Her black hair done up in uneven twin tails, the one on her right being shorter than the one on the left, with a crimson net bow on top of her head. Her right eye tinted red, and her left having the façade of a golden clock. She was dressed in what appeared to be an expensive Gothic Lolita style dress made out of crimson and black frills completely with black panty hose.
Uryuu's eyes widen in surprise and excitement, before she started to speak. "Ooh? I ask you, who calls and seeks me, summoner who manifests me under the class of Assassin, I ask your name?" Blinking a few times to get his thoughts in order, he scratched the back of his head as he answered, "I'm Ryuunosuke Uryuu. I'm currently unemployed, and I like killing people, pretty much. Especially kids and young women."
The beautiful young woman looked at the young man curiously before bursting out into peels of insane laughter. "Truly I've gotten a wonderful summoner. Very well then, I'll accept you as my Master as long as you stay out of my way for the Grail." Ryuunosuke could only look at her confused, "The Gra…What? Anyway, how about a sacrifice. Wanna eat that kid?" After being gestured to by the killer and hearing his question, the child began to panic once again. "Ooh? You even summoned me with a snack ready?" Assassin let out a soft chuckle of happiness, before licking her lips seductively. "I'm starting to like Uryuu more and more as my Master."
What happened next could only have the human serial killer widen his eyes in surprise. Quickly all that was left was some messy blood smears as the kid was literally ripped apart by what looked like her shadow as she devoured the little boy, done so expertly that not a drop of blood landed on her dress. Turning to smirk at her Master, she put her fingers to her lips seductively and murmured, "Did you enjoy that? The sight of blood and darkness?"
Uryuu dropped the book that contained the summoning ritual and began to cheer. "Cool! You're awesome! You're so cool, man! Okay!" Reaching down he grabbed and started shaking her hand as Assassin just blinked in slight surprise. "I don't know about this Grail crap, but I'm following you from now on! Kill more! Show me even cooler ways to kill people!" The Master asked earnestly of his Servant, not viewing her as such. The girl just started to smirk, "Ryuunosuke, wasn't it? How fortunate of me to be blessed with an understanding Master like yourself. It feels like my dream is almost within my grasp."
Assassin just pulled her hand away and began to giggle insanely to herself, before turning to look at Uryuu when he began to speak. "Oh, yeah. I didn't get your name." Assassin just looked surprised for a second before tilting her head to the side, "My name?" she asked curiously. Putting her fingers to her lips again as she thought to herself. "I think I'll keep my name to myself for now. But if you don't want to call me Assassin, then," she smirked up at him, her red eye glowing brightly in the dark, blood stained living room, "you may call me Nightmare."