"I beg of you sir, please rest."

Twin candles at the ends of the wooden altar dimly lit the dilapidated temple. Still-burning joss sticks lazily dropped ash into the bowl they had been stuck into, their brightness pinpoints of vermillion in the darkness, wafting aromatic scents from their trails of smoke. A sob tore itself from Emiya Shirou's throat, as he knelt before the effigies of wood and gold; frozen, content painted smiles on porcelain faces rendered mocking in the flickering light.

His body was a mess. His hair clung to his head, slicked in place by dried blood. Gashes and scrapes littered his skin, caked with mud and grime. One arm hung uselessly at his side, limp from the shoulder.

"I couldn't… I couldn't stop it - couldn't stop the devouring" he choked out his confession to the monk behind him, clothed in the garb of an apprentice.

"It was already a miracle that these people were saved, do not be so harsh on yourself." the monk coaxed, "No one knows what brought that shadow to our lands - perhaps it is our punishment for the evils we have wrought on this earth. It has retreated for now, for reasons we do not know."

Twenty figures huddled in the main hall outside the little room they were in. They had numbered a small town in the morning.

A baby's cry, hurriedly shushed, echoed through the chamber.

"If I had been stronger… If only I had been stronger-!"

"You saved as many as you could this day. It...it was fate that they live now" the monk wavered.

"Fate. Fate." Emiya Shirou's voice was wooden; unfeeling. "Was it this fate then, that made them reach for me as I watched them die, as I ran the other way, as they were butchered like animals?" he hissed.

"You couldn't have saved everyon-"

"Then what?!" He exploded, steel-gray eyes bore into the monk's with their grief-filled depths. What would you do, if fate had handed you the sword that chooses who sees the light of the morning sun? Could you have picked those that would live, and those that would die?" he stumbled towards the monk, gaunt, haggard, yet somehow towering over the other. "Tell me!" his voice broke as he turned away, "Would you have measured the weight of their lives!?" he spat, venom in his voice.

The monk recoiled like he'd been slapped. Mouth silently working, he attempted to answer questions scant years of training had scarcely prepared him for. Several agonizing seconds passed in silence.

A gong tolled in the distance. As though snapped out a reverie, the apprentice jerked himself ramrod straight.

"The lama summons me." He made as though to leave, only to do a double take as he turned around and offered a shaky half-bow to Shirou

"I-I'm sorry. I hope you find peace." Nearly tripping over himself in his haste, the apprentice left the chamber, leaving Emiya Shirou crumpled to the ground.

Move, move!

The world swam around Archer as he pushed himself off the ground, barely able to think through the pounding headache that assaulted his senses. Instinct propelled, he stumbled, nearly losing his footing on the uneven terrain. He dropped onto all fours, willing the giddiness to subside as he struggled to get a grip on his surroundings.

A searing, luminous yellow blaze threatened to blind him the moment he cracked his eyes open. Mami's silhouette was barely visible through the glare, her body slightly afloat. Face blank, she moved as though in a trance, hands loosely held spreadeagled at her sides, as though on an invisible crucifix. Her soul gem, at the nexus of the glow, shone like a miniature sun. It flared, bathing its surroundings with blinding incandescence, as the bounded field was overwhelmed and repelled by the magecraft equivalent of raw sorcery muscle.

Mami grasped one end of the bow that she wore over her neck, drawing it from its perch and tossing it to the ground. The piece of fabric split into filigree strands, a network of grounded sunbeams that immediately matched the rival spell in its intricacy. Like a ravenous school of fish, they descended upon their targets, rooting out their prey and attacking the channels of mana. Chunks of rock flew in haphazard directions as a layer of earth was hewn away, the low hum of the field fading, as the the sorcery ceased to function.

The suited stranger whipped his arms forward, shooting thin strands that gleamed with power at Mami. Her ribbons immediately responded to the attack. Intercepting the restraining threads with the force of bullets. The spiderweb ricocheted uselessly in haphazard directions, and the man found himself bound in a magical straightjacket of ribbons. A single one shot at the floating gourd, piercing its side. A whoosh escaped the artefact, magecraft pouring from the puncture. The vessel turned lifeless and inanimate, clattering uselessly to the ground as it shattered, fragments crumbling to dust. Homura emerged from within, weapon still in hand. She sized up the situation in an instant, leveling her gun at the now-bound man.

Hearing a whimper escape Mami, Archer and Homura turned to look. Her head lolled to the side as she stirred, coming to rest on solid ground. Her berserk magic cooled, soul gem receding to its normal appearance. Half lidded eyes snapped open; she jerked upwards into a sitting position, gasping for breath like she had been drowning. The girl looked frantically at her surroundings, unable to conceal the look of joyous relief that spread over her face when she noticed her companions' gazes. Pushing herself off the ground, she took off at a sprint to Homura, throwing herself into the bemused girl's arms.

"You're alive, you're alive," she repeated the phrase like a mantra, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks as she held Homura as though she might disappear into thin air the moment she let go. Archer walked over to the two, prying Mami from her friend. He held her gaze with an even look, grasping her shoulders firmly.

"Tomoe Mami, get a hold on yourself," he forced the edge from his voice. "Focus. That was a memory you were in. You're safe now." he watched as realization slowly dawned across her features, taking care to hold her still while the weight of hysteria lifted from her eyes.

"Archer, I..." she looked looked like she was about to say something, but she bit her lip, suppressing whatever she was going to tell him. She eased herself from his grip, summoning a musket and pointing it at her prisoner, joining Homura in the standoff. Archer turned to address him.

"Getting taken down by young girls now; that's a new low, even for you," he smirked. "Give it up. You don't have any other tricks at your disposal."

"My, my brer Shirou, if it wasn't for this one over here, with your magic resistanc-" a clang sounded as a blade glanced off one of his earrings, embedding itself into the armchair still behind him.

No one mentioned Archer's magic resistance.

He shrugged, the action comical in his binds. "Isn't my problem if you can't even defend against a bounded field

"You know him, Archer?" Mami asked.

"Slight change of plans. This guy is with us; or at least, not an enemy. While I woudn't go as far as to call him merciful, we would have been a lot worse off if he had seriously tried to kill us." He indicated the man with a jerk of his head. "Call him Anansi. We've never worked together before, but his skills are recognizable, once you learn the signs. Those people you see around you, they aren't real." He gestured to the hostages still frozen in position, casting a sidelong glance at Anansi, "Proving it to them might save you a few bullets through your head."

"Ever at your service, brer Shirou," Anansi chuckled, eyes glowing for a second as a swell of mana rippled outwards from him.

The 'hostages' adopted a similar, slouching position, kneeling on the ground. Colours of hair, clothes and skin segued into a uniform dirt-brown, while smooth skin gave way to crusty earth. The puppets, like the destroyed gourd, similarly disintegrated into the air around them with the spells undoing.

"Clay dolls, that he uses as decoys; as well as for other purposes." Archer said. "They can perfectly mimic normal humans in their appearances, though their behaviour is not as easy to manipulate. Their speed is not fast enough for them to be used for a surprise attack, though once formed, they can be far from harmless. Mami, release him. I'll make sure he stays out of trouble."

"There is no need for that. If he tries anything, I'll kill him."

"Goddess is she always so difficult?"

"Um, she might be a little more like you than I said she was..."

The ribbons that had trussed up the suited man unravelled, reconvening as a single strand in Mami's hand. Anansi rubbed his wrists where the magic had dug into his skin, "I simply loosened the hold of your soul on your memories. Some of the stronger or more… unpleasant ones may have drifted to the fore as a result. I apologize if they caused you any discomfort." He smiled like he'd just eaten a particularly delicious meal.

"Hmph, call your voyeurism what you like." Archer shot back, "More importantly, whose orders are you acting on?"

As though in reply to the question, an invisible throb reverberated through the four. Each felt the distinctive sensation of a bath of ice-cold water dunked onto them without warning, and they instinctively froze in their tracks.

Homura looked as the depths in the largest fissure in the ground pulsed; its shadow, like a trick of the light, bent itself upwards and *grew*. It crept upwards, projecting itself on some unseen surface, its intangible silhouette steadily filling as more darkness seeped through. She would have called it miasma, but it was far thicker, like it had been compressed. It oozed out steadily; pus from a necrotic wound that sullied the very land it touched. Its presence was just one step from being intangible; she might have missed it completely had she not been looking. Yet, merely by existing, the slight figure filled its surroundings with a dread, a trill of madness threading itself in the very air that sent shivers up her spine.

Try as she might, she could feel no sort of intent from the apparition. It wasn't the wild rage and despair of the magical beasts but it felt so much more... base. If the miasma could be compared to a light fog, what she felt now was a choking haze of negativity that had blanked itself over the party. Through the corner of her eye, she saw Mami fight her instincts to not cringe at the sight. Anansi still wore his grin, but his widened eyes remained transfixed on the shadow; clearly he hadn't anticipated this turn of events.

But it was Archer who caught her attention. Stoic and unreadable since she had met him, yet there was no mistaking the fleeting, undisguised fear that flashed across his face. Later on, if she had been asked, she would have sworn that she had heard him gasp. As quickly as it came, the moment passed. The chink in his armor had vanished, the only sign of what had transpired in the rigid set of his jaw.

The shadow began to inch towards the party, slowly but steadily. The two-dimensional centre shifted outwards, filling out into a vaguely dome-shaped outline; an unnatural, almost mechanical display. Black tentacles filled out from its depths, waving lazily despite the windless air. The same ones Kyubey had told her about, but far more tangible, far more dangerous.

She instinctively knew, given the chance, it would have devoured her where she stood.

"Fall back. If the main body even touches you, you are done for. Anything short of cutting yourselves from it will be useless." Archer barked. His voice brooked no argument. "The battle is over for all of you. Leave. Now."

Hello again, and apologies for the long wait for the next chapter! Life gets in the way of things, as usual. On the bright side, chapter 11 is 89-90% done, and it's a big one. No kidding. Until then, I'd love to hear what you think of this!

Servant stats sheet for Anansi down below. Other than that, that's all from me!

Anansi - the Spider Trickster God

Noble Phantasms:

Mtandao - Clayline Border
Rank: E~C+
Anti-Army

Anansi lays down tiny clay strands that act as temporary leylines, channeling his mana through them to create a bounded field that is the basis of the Noble Phantasm.

The Noble Phantasm conjures a direct magical attack on the soul. It cannot be guarded against, and only the innate magic resistance of the affected party is effective against it. Bodily charms, runes, even some defenses granted by the body itself, if the soul is not strongly attached to the body, will be unusable against it. The rank of the Noble Phantasm depends on the number of lines Anansi can lay on the battlefield beforehand, making up for its relatively weak rank with its powerful effect.

The soul is attacked directly, allowing Anansi to pull victims into his 'stories', illusions where Anansi is omnipotent. The victim may not know that he or she is in the field, although being aware slightly decreases its power. To cause maximum damage, Anansi can choose to rend the soul, inflicting direct damage to it.

Kibuyu - the Calabash
Rank: B
Anti-Army

Anansi summons a human body-sized calabash that connects the space of reality to a separate dimension, maintained by the form of the Noble Phantasm, that makes up the interior. Anything can be stored in the calabash, whether it is of material or immaterial form, and in extreme cases, concepts. The utility of this Noble Phantasm depends on the time and mana available to Anansi.

However the calabash is physically delicate, and can easily be smashed with a blow from a weapon. Whatever is stored inside returns to reality on its destruction.

Clay dolls
Rank: D
Support

Anansi creates lifelike humans from clay in the ground. While they look exactly like real humans, they cannot speak, and can only move slowly. Anansi can detonate these dolls with a surge of mana to inflict explosive damage to anything they are close to.

Divinity
Rank: A
Anansi is the son of the sky god Nyame and earth goddess Asase ya.