Chapter 1: Meeting of Boy and God

Opening my eyes, I had thought I would see something. However, I was quickly proven to be wrong. I had seen nothing. It was as if my vision didn't work; as if I had became blind. It was a bit disconcerting at first, as my vision worked perfectly last night. I had gone to sleep normally, and did everything that I did normally. Everything should've been the same: I would wake up in the morning, stretch, shower, eat my breakfast, and then get on the computer to watch whatever new anime came out today.

My life had long ago become empty. I did not care what happened to me, and so, I spent my days leisurely. And somehow, various events had still transpired, no matter how careful I was. Whether it was a break-in, or a shoot-out nearby. Or when I walk to the store, or whatever else: Something always bad happened to me. From the death of my parents, to the death of my friends, from me killing this guy, to that guy - I lived a terrible life. Somehow I wasn't locked up, and somehow it all felt as if I had gone through it a thousand times already. As if this wasn't the first time it had happened.

Perhaps I had lived a terrible life in one of my past lives? Or perhaps I was simply delusional and crazy from this horrible life I've lived.

Either way, that all didn't matter as I was now. I was blind, or perhaps in a place where I simply couldn't see. There was no sound. I couldn't smell or even feel anything really. I could move my limbs, or at least I think I could. I could still feel my heart beating, so I wasn't dead, at least. Maybe that wasn't a good thing, but I should probably count my chickens when they hatch, and not before I get hungry and decide to make some scrambled eggs.

Whether a chick popped out of the shell or not didn't matter - it was meat, and it would be tasty. Whether my conscious agreed or not.

Feeling myself blink, I waited. Possibly crossing my arms together, I did nothing. I stood, or floated there, in place, or moved about. I couldn't tell. I merely existed within this void.

Until I heard the voice, that is.

[WHO ART THOU THAT APPEARS BEFORE ME? MORTAL? GOD? NAY - YOU ARE MORTAL. SPEAK QUICKLY, LEST I BLAST YOU TO SMITHEREENS!] The voice was deep and disembodied, as if it had came from all around me. The inflation of the voice didn't change from when it first spoke up, to when it stopped. As the voice talked, I felt a pang against my chest, and a headache quickly formed. As I twisted around in pain, the voice had waited. Perhaps it had existed here for all time, which is why it had the patience of the Buddha itself, as it didn't immediately destroy me. I was thankful for that. Whatever the voice was, it could definitely accomplish its threat - it had to be a God, or simply an extremely powerful individual, or at least was the feeling I got from it.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I found no words had came out. I tired several times, but after a while, I simply gave up. I thought to myself for a few moments, and then the thought crossed my mind: could it read my mind? I formed this theory quickly, as if I had done this several times already, and decided to immediately test it.

'My name is, is Emile $%* .' I blinked in what had to be surprise, as my last name simply vanished. It was as if it didn't exist in the first place. What even was it, I had thought to myself a few moments later. Shaking my head, I dismissed the thought and turned my attention back to my introduction. 'Please do not destroy me. I have no idea how I managed to get here, so please, I ask this of you! Please let me return from whence I came!'

[Bah! Why should I take into consideration what someone of your race has to... Hm. Actually... Very well, puny and weak human! LISTEN UP, FOR I WILL NOT SAY THIS MORE THAN ONCE! I shall grant you an opportunity, but you must swear a vow. Do you want for power?]

Power? My thoughts turned towards the simple word with such force that I felt myself become surprised by my own self. Why would I want for power? What use was power if it wouldn't be used for another? Another? Why would I... I felt my eyebrows scrunch up, and a frown form on my face. I feel as if I was forgetting something, but... I might as well take up his offer! I mean, who would miss out on a chance to gain power from what had to be a God?

'Very well. I will swear your vow! But what power shall I gain from you?'

[I HAVE GAZED WITHIN YOU. To your very core, I have seen what you have seen, and what you have not seen, I have seen. I will grant you the power of what you know as ANIME, GAMES, and the such. As for what it will be - I will pick what I feel is best suited for you... NOW SWEAR THE SACRED VOW!]

Suddenly, and without warning, a white light formed before me. Though it should've blinded me from how suddenly it had appeared, lighting up this void, it was as if my eyes were used to the light. Bringing up my hand, I curled it up into a fist, and placed it over my heart. My mind was set on this. Drawing a deep breath, I exhaled and gazed forward with a determination that could shock anyone.

'I solemnly swear, on my very soul and being, offering my memories up to you, I lie down and beseech thee! GIVE UNTO ME YOUR POWER AND LET YOUR LIGHT BLAZE OVER MY BODY!' The words came to my mind, and I merely recited them, carving them into my heart with such ferocity it was as if I was cursing at someone.

The voice laughed, a deep, and hearty, laugh. [VERY WELL MORTAL. AS FOR PAYMENT, I SHALL TAKE THE MEMORIES HIDING WITHIN YOURSELF, AND THE MEMORIES YOU POSSESS CURRENTLY. I SHALL LEAVE YOU WITH ONLY A FEW THINGS - THAT OF ANIME AND GAMES, WHAT COULD BE USED FOR MORE POWER, AND CERTAIN EVENTS WITHIN YOUR LIFE. THE LOVE YOU FELT FROM YOUR PARENTS. THE FRIENDSHIPS YOU HAD WITH YOUR FRIENDS. ALL THAT COULD EMPOWER YOU, I WILL LET YOU KEEP. BUT THE REST WILL BE FORGOTTEN. YOUR REAL LIFE. THE TENS OF HUNDREDS OF LIVES YOU HAVE LED WITHIN THAT FAKE VOID. IT WILL ALL BE GONE FROM YOU! IN THE FUTURE, YOU WILL FIND ORBS. THESE ORBS, SACRIFICE THEM TO ME, AND YOU WILL GAIN MORE POWER! NOW, MORTAL! DRAW YOUR HAND FORWARD, AND LET THINE POWER WASH OVER YOU!]

Not even thinking about what the God had said, I reached my hand forward, towards the right. It was the same hand that I had placed over my heart. The dark void around me glowed golden, such a deep and rich color that I quickly, and easily, became mesmerized within it.

[THINE NAME IS OURANOS! PRIMORDIAL GOD OF THE SKY! NOW, BECOME MY SON AND LET THE EVILS OF THE WORLD WASH OVER YOU AS THE GOOD OF THE WORLD BURNS YOU!]

With those last words, I had experienced the most pain in my life. It was as if I was thrown into the ocean, into the deepest and darkest part of it. Then, even as the "water" suffocated me, and the "pressure" broke my body, I felt heat. Heat unlike any other, as if I resided within the sun, or the core of the earth. I burned, inflamed in flames. Within the waves of evil, I burned within the flames of good. I gritted my teeth, and hugged my body close to myself. I could feel my skin tear apart, my bones cracking apart, and my soul breaking apart. A small and insignificant shock traveled through my body at that moment, but it was mostly ignored as the other pains had suffocated it. The most pain anyone has ever felt, has been felt by me, at this moment and never again. Whatever you think to be the worst pain, this moment, right here, is clearly the worst by a far and wide margin. More so than stepping on a Lego, than getting shot, or stabbed, or whatever else. Nothing can compare to this soul-shattering, bone-breaking, experience that is this moment.

And then, I opened my eyes and beheld a new world.

When I opened my eyes for the second time in my life, I saw a new sight. At first, I had thought the pain was playing tricks on me. But I quickly realized that I no longer felt the pain and even the memory of it was fading from my mind. I looked around the area, seeing beautiful rolling hills covered in green grass, a blue sea in the distance with a port town next to it, a blue sky above, trees to my left, and a dirt road beneath my feet. It was truly a wonderful sight - to the point that I would even kiss the ground if I didn't have even a shred of dignity left within me.

I fidgeted in place, not really sure what I should do. I was new to this area, this world. I didn't know what could happen. Were there monsters? Barbarians, bandits, brigands? Would this world be out to get me, like the last? However, as I fidgeted in place, I heard a new sound: the sound of metal hitting metal. Looking down, I saw upon my body, something new. Armor and clothing that I neither wore nor owned. It lit a childish smile unto my face, and I quickly went to check out my new outfit. I examined every piece of it, using my eyes to see it and my fingers to feel it. It was simply wonderful, and it was a very comfortable fit on me, as if I had worn it my entire life.

I'll start with the clothing first, then move on to the armor. I wore a black shirt, that had a low, red collar with a small golden mark at the tips of the collar, and while the shoulders were bare, a strip of red fabric with a golden lining attached the part around my body and the part around my arms together. Albeit strange, I thought nothing of it; there were stranger things in games and anime, after all. The shirt could be said to continue on from just underneath my shoulders, and down to my wrist. A gold lining ran down to the cuffs of the sleeve, and at the top of it, where it continued from the missing strip of cloth covering the shoulder. I had on thin, black fingerless gloves that appeared to be made from leather. On the back of it, there was a golden circle in the middle, with four arrows pointing from it in four different directions. The same symbol was on the sleeves, just underneath the shoulders. As for pants, I had on black, slightly baggy, pants that ran down to my ankles, with a red line that has a golden outline running down the sides of the pants, starting from the waist, that crisscrossed back and forth three times, though the third time ended abruptly at the pants leg, just when the lines would've came back towards each other. The boots were the same as the gloves: black and appearing to be made from leather, though they didn't have the symbol that was etched upon the gloves, but they did have a gold lining to the sides and front.

As for armor, I had on a midnight black cuirass which covered my chest and back, with the edges being lined with silver. The cuirass didn't cover my shoulders either, unfortunately. Equipped around my arms, was a vambrace, of the same make as the cuirass, that covered my forearms, and the same could be said of the greaves strapped around my legs. Overall, it was a nice outfit that gave me the look of a knight - though not the kind that went in, sword swinging, but the kind that was more stealthy, due to the more darker theme of the outfit. It gave me the impression of a Skyrim player wearing light armor, creeping around in a cave, sword and bow at the ready for whatever kind of threat pops out behind the next corner. And like that thought, the armor I wore wasn't really that heavy, so it had to be a lighter version of steel armor, which only confirmed my little theory.

Then I looked down at my left waist, and at the sword that was attached to my black belt.

The scabbard the blade was sheathed within was black, with the top of it being a silver in color, with a red line running down the side of the scabbard. Gripping the handle, I drew the blade, and listened intently to the rasp the blade made being drawn. It was beautiful; whether it be the sound or the sword itself. After a few moments of staring at the blade, somehow, the image of the sword sparked a memory within me. This sword is definitely familiar to me, but from my knowledge, it had no name. In fact, after recognizing this blade, I recognized parts of my new outfit to be from the same character. The sword is from Sword Art Online belonging to the Imp Konno Yuuki, who was known as "Zekken" or "Absolute Sword".

It was a beautifully crafted black longsword, that was heavier than one might think. The black blade had a purple sheen to the edges and no crossguard, with the blade near the handle going outward, before pulling back, creating something of a "M" or "W", depending on how you're looking at it.

I smiled down at the blade, a warm gaze settling over my face. Though Yuuki wasn't in the series for long, she was a fun character that I had enjoyed, up until the moment that she died, of course. It was sad, there was nothing else you could say about it. And though SAO gets a lot of hate, it is a good series; it was just not done well. The premise was great, but the execution was unspectacular. Even then, I still enjoyed this series, though at the same time, I was bored of watching it at several points, and there were parts of it that I just disliked. It's not the best thing ever, but it definitely isn't as bad as others make it out to be.

After thinking all of this, I sheathed the blade back at my side. Sighing, I slipped my hands into my pants pockets, only to feel something within the right pocket. It felt thin, and had the form of a card, from what I could tell by simply touching it. Pulling the item out of my pocket, I gazed down at the card-like object I pulled out.

As I had thought, it was a card. But it was what was on the card that surprised me. The card was black with the edges being a dull golden and yellow color, with the word "Assassin" at the bottom, with the picture of a man wielding a dagger in each hand, just above it. He wore black clothing, though not a shirt, and had a white skull mask hiding his face. Somehow, I felt as if the card exerted a kind of aura-like smog from it. I felt my blood run cold, ever so slightly, as I stared down at the card I held in my right hand.

I didn't know much about these cards, but if memory serves me correctly, I think by using it you can take up the powers of a Servant? Or, did you use it on somebody else and they gained the power? Or perhaps it summoned a Servant? Various thoughts of what this card can do whirled themselves through my head, and I could barely suppress the urge to simply use the card and see what will happen. Though even if I decide to use the card here and now, I didn't even know how to use it. Maybe I'll just make a fool of myself, trying in vain to somehow use the card. Or I'll simply waste a one-time use item. A consumable, if you will. Such as a potion from certain games - you heal yourself once with that, and it disappears. Of course, you can have more, but it was still a consumable; a one-time use item. Which just led me to the same point; was this card multiple-use, or not?

Frowning, I tried to think to myself what could come from using this card now, or latter. If I use it now, and it turns out that I gain temporary powers from a Servant of the Assassin class, would the card disappear right after, or not? Or perhaps if I use it, will I summon a Servant to fight for me? Like the first, would the card disappear, and is the Servant summoned from it temporary or not? Scratching the back of my head with my other hand, I scowled. I should've looked these things up before I was somehow sent to this world, but how would I have known to do that? I can't prepare for everything, and even if I knew about the card, it didn't mean I would remember everything about it. For fucks sake, this is just ridiculous!

Sighing, I decided to just toss the card forward and see what happens. If nothing happens, I'll simply place the card into my pocket and go about my new life - until the day comes that I either figure out how to use the damned card, or if it starts to react, and it gets used somehow. Either way, I might as well do something, even if it proves to not work. I can at least say that I tried, right?

Raising the card up, I tossed it forward at a slight spin. The card spun around clockwise, and it slowly fell to the ground about five or ten meters away from me. As it hit the ground, I waited a few moments for a reaction, but none came. Sighing once more, I took a step forward with my right foot, when a blood red light welled up from within the card and shined forth, nearly blinding me in its crimson light. Shielding my eyes with my right arm, I squinted towards the source of the light. A kind of runic circle appeared around the card, the color of blood. It shined brighter than the card, though it didn't hurt my eyes, strangely enough.

The circle... Isn't that a magic circle or something? I vaguely recognized it to be similar to the circle used to summon the Servants in Fate/Zero and Unlimited Blade Works, though to me, they all looked alike. From the Fate series to other anime that had magic - each of the magic circles may have looked a bit different, but they were all roughly the same, especially when you could hardly see it because of the light.

As the seconds ticked down, a white blob appeared within the blood red light, and as if it was a person, it stood up straight. Though the blob only came to about halfway up my chest, it felt ominous, as if it could kill me without a second thought. What had I summoned!? As I took in a breath, I suddenly started to cough. Bringing my right hand to my mouth, I coughed into my hand. When I brought it away from my face, I saw the red liquid of blood. Surprised, I wiped the back of my hand against my mouth, cleaning the blood from it. What I breathed in - it was like smog. The "smog" that I breathed in had flared up within my chest, hurting me from within with its disgusting taste and feel. Perhaps it was also due to summoning whatever creature I had summoned from the card, but I was getting a bit tired. My eyelids felt a bit heavy, but I couldn't fall asleep at a time like this. I had to see this "summoning" through to the end, no matter what may happen.

Staring into the blood red light before me, I noticed it had started to dim, and the blob had started to take on a more human-like shape. As the light gradually faded, I came face to face with a petite figure, though I couldn't actually see the face. The figure's features were hidden behind a tattered and ripped cloak, and though it looked strangely familiar, before I could think more on the subject, the figure bowed down to me on one leg and looked down at the ground.

"Are you my Master?"

The monotonous voice sounded forth from the lips of the Servant, and though there were hardly any inflections in the tone, it was unmistakably female. Wait... female? A petite female assassin. Who did that remind me of? I frowned in thought, but I decided to dismiss it for now. I simply have to ask the Servant before me her name, and I will be rewarded with it. So taking the time to remember it, is unnecessary. I licked my dry lips, and swallowed some saliva that collected at the back of my throat.

I breathed in a sharp breath through my nose and exhaled from my mouth.

"Yes." I answered, full of confidence. The pang in my chest grew at an astonishingly quick rate before I noticed it, from when I summoned the figure before me, and to now, so I placed my right hand on my chest, hoping the simply action could calm myself down and alleviate me of this sharp pain. "Mey..." I stumbled on the first word, twisting it to making it sound like something else, before taking a moment to recollect my thoughts and ease my nerves. "May I have your name, oh valiant Servant of mine?" Though my voice had quieted down to near a whisper at the end, the figure, the Assassin, before me still heard it perfectly.

Looking up, the Assassin's eyes met mine as the hood attached to her cloak fell back, revealing the short white hair and lime green eyes, that had a touch of silver within, of the Servant before me. On the right side of her face, there was a scar going up towards her right eye, and on the left, there was a scar going down from her left. Though the tattered and ripped black cloak, covered most of her body, it didn't conceal her legs completely, and I could vaguely see the sheaths of her daggers behind her and the long black boots she wore, as well as the collar of the "outfit" she wore. Though it was more of a choker than a collar, it was a part of the top she wore, so I didn't really know what to call it...

Either way, the Assassin, Jack the Ripper, looked up at me with an emotionless gaze, hardly a hint of a smile on her face.

"...Jack, is my name." She finally responded.

From what I could remember of Jack the Ripper, her wish for the grail was to return to inside of her mother. Honestly, it was a strange wish, but in the perspective of Jack, it was far from strange; it was natural. To Jack, who sought the warmth of a mother, it was a wish she deeply yearned for as the collection of wraiths born from the hatred and resentment of aborted children. She can be said to be a powerful Servant, one with a less than known, and rather young, history, but her use is more situational. For example, her Noble Phantasm is more effective as you complete each of the three conditions it has. The conditions being: Night, woman, and misty. That being said, it could still be used, but it would be much weaker. So if you were to summon Jack the Ripper, the Mater would want to fight during the nighttime so that at least one of these conditions were fulfilled, while her second Noble Phantasm which created mist, could fulfill a second condition. From there, you just had to fight a female Servant to get the maximum use out of Jack the Ripper...

However, at this moment, none of that mattered much to me. Jack the Ripper was one of my favorite Servants - of course Gilgamesh is number one, and Nero is just underneath him, with Jack the Ripper being said to be number three on the list - so I was flustered a bit on how to deal with her. It would be like meeting a famous basketball player of the team you followed. Perhaps he or she wasn't your "favorite" player, but it would still have the same effect. They were famous, you liked them, and you have finally met him. Dream completed, you know?

On another note, how do you have a conversation with a Legendary Serial Killer?