I think… I was watching a dream.
It's been 21 years since it happened. Why won't you forget it?
Because… how could you forget that something as horrifying as that ever happened?
But the fact is that you're here now. The year 1983 has passed a long time ago. The eternally repeating June won't happen anymore.
I… I've lived for more than a hundred years. I've been killed and revived countless of times, and I've remembered every single one of them. Sometimes… I wonder if I've ever really escaped that nightmare.
You have. You don't have to be the witch anymore.
The witch. The one called Bernkastel. Once, I was trapped in that Fragment. I was a witch.
I was a witch. I watched all of my friends get killed over and over again. I was helpless. I couldn't overcome that dead end of fate.
Everyone was there to help you. There's nothing to be afraid of anymore.
I'm sorry. I don't know why I've drifted back into that memory.
I'm sorry, too. But things have changed. You're not the witch anymore. Let all those Fragments disperse. You've already killed the dice.
That's right. The Fragments disperse. Everything will be over… when they cry.
Fuyuki City
January 31, 2004
"Hey Rika, wake up! We're almost here."
Bright light shines on my eyes. I feel a long rumble as I wake up. I start to rub my eyes and look at my surroundings.
Where was I again?
"Rika, get a hold of yourself! We're about to arrive at the station!"
Oh yeah. We're on a train. I look to my side.
A woman past mid-30s is beside me. She starts standing and picks up our stuff from the baggage compartment above us.
"Oi, Rika, hurry up and help me here." The woman beside me is Mion Sonozaki. She's currently the representative of Hinamizawa in Congress. Pretty impressive, huh? The Sonozaki family back in Hinamizawa actually has quite a lot of influence both inside the town and outside it. I've been friends with Mion ever since I was still a kid, so we're pretty close.
Oh, I forgot to mention. I'm Rika Furude, head priestess of the Hinamizawa shrine. Like I said, I've been friends with Mion for as long as I can remember. Right now, we're headed towards Fuyuki City. Mion has some sort of conference to attend here. I get to tag along and see Fuyuki City along the way. There are a lot of benefits to being friends with a politician, after all.
Too bad the others aren't able to come with us.
The train starts to slow down as we approach our destination.
Fuyuki City. Fuyuki City.
The monotonous voice rings out, announcing the station's name. The two of us alight from the train.
"So, Mion, where is this conference supposed to be anyway?"
Mion shuffles through her bag and takes out a small map of Fuyuki City. "Hm. According to this, it's supposed to be in a hotel in the Shinto district…"
I take a look at the map. It doesn't seem to be too far from the train station.
"Okay, let's head for the Shinto district, then."
Einzbern Forest
Gasp. Gasp. Gasp.
Someone is gasping for breath. A young girl with long, white hair is approaching a young man with flaming red hair. Beside them… was a gargantuan man holding a strange, axe-like weapon. The giant's eyes lack any sense of rationality. Anyone who stares into those eyes will only feel a strong bloodlust emanating from them.
"Kiritsugu didn't give you much of a fighting chance, huh… How disappointing. You're not even much of a challenge…" As the young lady spoke these words, the giant beside him starts swinging the axe towards the young man on the ground.
Close by, a young woman heard the explosive sounds emanating from the forest. The battle with a foregone conclusion is still ongoing, and with each blow by the giant, the explosive force rumbles through the forest.
What the heck is going on there? The young woman runs towards the source of the sounds. As she runs, she takes out her phone. She punches in a couple of numbers and puts the phone to her ears.
"Hello? This is Fu-"
Sorry. The number you are trying to reach is out of service range.
"Shit…" On the next step that the young woman takes, a powerful shock emanates from the ground and hits her.
Before the giant could swing the axe, the young lady commands it to stop.
"Berserker, stop. There's someone who wants to spoil my fun…"
The giant grunts in dissatisfaction. The young man on the ground is beaten badly, and is breathing quite heavily. The young woman walks slowly towards him.
"Sorry, Shirou. I'll play with you later, I promise." The giant called Berserker and the young lady begin to walk outside of the castle.
Run.
Each step the woman takes should take her further away from the monster.
Run.
The loud, thundering footsteps follow closely behind her. She doesn't know if she'll make it.
Run.
But why doesn't the monster seem any further away from her? She runs and she runs and she nearly stumbles…
Just in front of her was a large castle. She would've stopped to consider and deduce what the castle is doing in the middle of this dense forest, but there's no time for that now…
The thundering footsteps grow louder. The young woman enters the castle. On the floor's lobby, she finds a young man with flaming red hair, battered and badly beaten.
"You! What are you doing here?"
The young man could only mutter helplessly. He was of no use right now. But…
"Tch. Why'd there have to be someone else in here?" She takes the young man and carries him over her shoulders. He was heavy, but manageable. She starts climbing the staircase in front of her.
Behind them, the door crashes open. The giant is there, along with the long-haired girl.
"Hey. Why are you taking my toy with you? I'm not done playing with him yet…" The girl's eyes are staring into the young woman. The young woman is immediately fixated on the spot.
I… can't move!
"Berserker… you can kill both of them now."
Just as the girl utters those words, she collapses. The charm binding the young woman to the floor is released. The young woman stares at the collapsed girl. The giant called Berserker lets out a loud, painful roar before collapsing.
The young woman approaches the bodies on the floor. The white-haired girl is glowing, as if she was on fire. Tattoos on her entire body were glowing.
The young woman remains calm. She knew that panicking won't accomplish anything. She runs inside the castle to look for medical supplies.
As the young woman runs inside the castle, she starts sorting out the events that just occurred.
First of all, I've been attacked by a white-haired girl commanding a giant wielding an axe. Then I ran into this gigantic castle and found a teenaged man with red hair badly beaten up on the floor. Then when the giant entered, just as they tried to kill me, the girl collapsed and started glowing. The giant collapsed as well…
The young woman sees a large door. She pushes the door open and enters the room. It was a large study, filled with large shelves with huge volumes of text.
A study? Then… putting together the information I have now, the white-haired girl…
"No, that can't be right. There's no such thing as magic… is there?"
That won't work… no, this isn't a mystery!
"Then… that giant must be some sort of familiar to the girl. And if that's the case… then the girl… is some sort of magician?"
What the hell…
The young woman sifts through volumes and volumes of text and finds a memoir. Marked on the cover is the word "Einzbern".
Simply by the existence of this memoir, all my theories will be confirmed. This level of reasoning is possible for Furudo Erika.
"What do you think…?"
Kotomine Kirei paces back and forth around the chapel. A thin smile crosses his lips as he is surrounded by the magical circles and inscriptions while creating the game board. He adds a few more lines and inscriptions and finishes up.
The priest walks towards the altar and faces the heavens, as if making an invocation. He opens his mouth to speak. His voice reverberates loud and clear throughout the chapel.
"As the Game Master of this Fragment, I, Kotomine Kirei, announce the beginning of this game. You Witches of the Senate, please make sure that you are watching this. I will spin a tale that will surely entertain all of you. I welcome you all to Fuyuki City."