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Chapter 22: Blake
Blake didn't have much trouble finding the Einsbern mansion, as he had been there before, so the trip had been a fairly simple one. He had expected traps to line the woods, but it seemed like she wanted him to reach the mansion without delay.
That fact unnerved him greatly. The biggest trap she could plan could be waiting for him at the mansion, but he had to go regardless. This would be the only way he'd achieve mastery over his final higher arcana card and he couldn't allow Einsbern to be his anchor anymore.
As he walked through the deathly quiet woods, the moonlight sent dancing light through the foliage, setting his senses on permanent high alert. Yet, he couldn't help but let his mind wander to his dreams.
"I'll be seeing you soon, my pet," she had said.
So this must have been what she had meant. She had been haunting his dreams for the past six months and this was the true cause. But he couldn't help wondering how she had slipped into the world domain? He had been here for a month. Had she figured out Black's location before him, and simply arrived before he had?
He shrugged the thoughts away. He would find out soon enough. Einsbern was a talker after all.
He soon found himself at the edge of the clearing that surrounded the Einsbern estate, and as he looked around, his confusion deepened.
She really hadn't set any traps. What was she doing? Did she really expect to take him one on one now? He was many times more powerful than he had been when they first had fought. Ben and he had defeated her when she possessed the power of the grail. Einsbern was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. In fact, if he hadn't reversed the timeline, she would have defeated all of them.
He cautiously walked up to the door and tried the knob. It was unlocked. Obviously a trap.
He drew a card.
"Oh higher arcana, grant me the sight of the gods and allow me to view the one who would oppose me," he chanted. "Mastered Arcana: The High Priestess."
Inside the foyer, he saw Einsbern staring at the door next to a restrained Black. Ten sword familiars were aimed at the door, ready to strike as soon as it was opened.
That was why she hadn't placed any traps in the forest. She was hoping to lull him into a sense of security, and then ambush him at the door. It was a good plan, but...
Blake smirked as he looked to the window to his right.
He was prepared this time.
Blake moved away from the door and jumped straight through the window, using his High Priestess card to maintain a visual lock on Einsbern and her familiars.
Einsbern's eyes widened in shock, but before she could send her familiars at him, he was already drawing his card.
"Suit Series: Ten of Swords!" He called. And ten white swords demolished the ten familiars.
Without pause, Blake drew two more cards and flashed towards Einsbern and slashed through her without hesitation.
"Special Composition: Bladed Chariot."
As he turned to see both Einsbern and Black flicker out of the room. An illusion.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Einsbern's voice called out from behind him.
Before he could react, a glowing red rope appeared around his neck and pain shot through his body, bringing him to his knees.
"Down boy," she commanded.
He blacked out.
——-
Blake awoke to the most amount of inner peace he had felt in a while. Yes, he was still in the diviner realm, but he couldn't help but feel happy. He was getting stronger, he had all of his "Mastered Arcana", and he had finally gotten a good night's sleep, without any nightmares. On top of that, his arm was currently around the waist of the most beautiful and intelligent woman in the world. His life was perfect.
The dark haired magus turned in her sleep, making her face visible to him. Her face held a blissful smile as she softly snored away. She seemed at peace. A strand of hair fell onto her face and Blake gently stroked it back into place. Her face twisted in adorable distress at the touch and she tucked her face into his chest. He gave a light chuckle. That had to be about the cutest thing he had ever seen.
The chuckle was enough to vibrate his chest a bit. At the vibration, Rin groggily opened her eyes, and upon seeing him, let that endearing smile appear on her face.
"Hey," She whispered as her smile widened a bit.
"Hey, yourself," Blake smiled back.
"Sleep well?"
She shook her head, closed her eyes and nuzzled the side of her face into his chest. "No, because I'm not done yet." She said sleepily.
When she opened her eyes to see his face, she saw that he was still smiling at her.
"What are you all smiley about?" She asked with a cute little pout.
Blake's smile widened. "I never thought I'd get to have this with you."
Rin smiled back at him. "But you don't, silly." She said.
Blake's eyes widened. That voice hadn't been Rin's. That voice. It had been Einsbern's.
Suddenly, the room went cold, and Rin morphed into Einsbern in her Sage form. He instantly jumped out of the bed and reached for his deck, only to find that he didn't have it. He looked back and a naked Sagebern gracefully got up from the bed. Blake looked at her in horror.
"What's wrong?" She giggled. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Isn't this what you wanted. To see Sage naked? To have your way with her?"
"Like hell!" Blake yelled. "Where's Rin! What did you do with her?"
Then he remembered. Rin wasn't there. She was in the Realm of Life. Einsbern has ambushed him in the World Domain.
Sagebern rolled her eyes and materialized a white and gold gown onto her body. "It's always about that Tohsaka bitch with you, isn't it? Rin this. Rin that. Don't you remember?" Sagebern laughed. "You killed her!"
The girl pointed behind him and he spun around. He somehow found himself back in the Einsbern dining hall. A battered Rin was slumped against a crater in the wall. Her breathing was labored and uneven. Blake ran to her.
"Rin!" He shouted as he slid next to her. "It's ok! Everything's going to be ok!"
Had Einsbern somehow brought Rin here? But how?
That's when he heard the sickening sound of a blade sinking into flesh. He looked down and began to scream as he saw that he had just impaled her with his ace of swords. He tried desperately to let go of it, but his hand seemed to have a mind of its own. Instead, I twisted the blade deeper into her.
"Why?" Rin croaked out. "Why did you kill me?"
Blake panicked. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Hadn't he saved her? He had saved her! Why was this happening?! Why was she dying by his hand again?!
Rin let out her last breath and her eyes glazed over.
Blake heard laughter and clapping behind him. He turned to see it was coming from Sagebern.
"See?" She laughed. "You killed her again. Home many times are you going to kill that poor girl? She doesn't deserve this." Einsbern's expressions of fake sadness were made even more disturbing on Sage's face. Yet, she was right. He ended up killing Rin once again. He didn't want to do this anymore. He should just die.
The girl then laughed again. "Oh no." She said in feigned concern. "Did I break you already?" Her face went into thought and then she snapped her fingers. "I know! Since you're the worst piece of garbage imaginable, why don't you come under my command again? If you do, I promise that you'll feel no pain. You won't even remember who you are. It'll be a clean slate. All you have to do is say yes."
Blake looked up at Sagebern with defeated eyes. If he couldn't save Rin, then there was no point to anything anymore.
"I..."
Rin sat in a ball on her bed. Countless thoughts crashed through her mind like a tsunami, each one making her feel more and more frustrated.
Had everything they had done, really been for nothing? Was there really no hope in bringing Blake back? Who even was Blake? Had Charlotte's death truly been for nothing? Had Ben and her almost getting killed by that monster been for nothing? Had the past couple of weeks of recreating the gate been for nothing?
That couldn't be...
"Please stop!" Sakura had pleaded with her.
Even her own sister had seen the problem with Rin.
The magus didn't know how to stop. She couldn't stop. Ever since the end of the grail war, she had lived with an unfillable pit in her heart. Lived with the feeling that something was terribly off. That something was missing. Could she really just stop? She didn't know if she could, even if she wanted to.
It was like the constant feeling of having something on the tip of your tongue, but never figuring out what it was. It was annoying, and nagging, and it tugged at her very being. It was almost as if a limb was missing.
"He will return to you," the hooded figure had said.
Could she really just wait around for Blake to just magically appear?
No! She refused to give up! She refused to lose hope. She would keep going even if the other gave up.
She sprung up from her bed and looked at herself in the mirror.
She was Rin Flipping Tohsaka. Beautiful, intelligent, and stubborn as all hell! Things weren't interesting unless they were a challenge. She was the head of the Tohsaka family. A top tier magus! She wouldn't crumble under a little bit of pressure! She wasn't allowed to crumble under any kind of pressure. She would figure something out! She always did! They could all go-
Rin jumped when she noticed the presence of something in her room.
In the far corner, away from her bed, stood a hooded man in white robes. The same robes that the one at the pier had been wearing. Yet, she could tell this was a different man. He was thinner in frame, and his posture was a lot different. More like a hawk.
"You seek answers," an unidentifiable voice whispered in her head. It was as if his voice was being muffled and twisted at the same time, but oddly enough she could still understand him.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"Who I am is less important than what I can offer you," the man whispered.
Rin felt irritation rise within her. "And what is it that you can offer me?" She spat.
"Blake Ryan," the man said.
Rin's eyes went wide. Was this really the answer to all of their problems? Could he really do that?
"I assume you'll want something in return," Rin sighed, putting on her magus face. "What is it?"
The man cocked his head to the side as if confused.
"I want nothing," he responded. "Only to help someone in distress."
Rin narrowed her eyes at the hooded man. Every nerve in her screamed not to trust him, but she couldn't help but bite.
"And how will you give me Blake Ryan?" She asked.
"I can't give him to you," the man's voice echoed. He then raised his hand. "But I can give you the means to find him."
A glowing white gate with the infinity sign materialized at the foot of Rin's bed.
Her jaw dropped.
There it was! The gate that would take her to the Diviner Realm! Just like that, it was before her. It was like a dream come true.
She then shook her head.
"Sure, Rin. Go through the shady door that the shady man just summoned," she mocked herself in her head. "MAYBE HE'LL HAVE CANDY!"
"How do I know that I can trust you?" Rin asked. "And why only show this to me?"
"Because it appears that you are the only one who hasn't given up," The man sighed. "And I believe that that perseverance is something to be admired. And as for the trust part, you can't know if you can trust me. But you can trust that I am trying to do the best thing by Blake."
The way he had said that last part sent alarm bells down her spine.
"You should also know,". The figure said as he turned around and began to walk towards the gate. "That you have about thirty seconds to walk through before this chance goes away and the gate closes."
That got her moving. She couldn't help herself. Rin immediately threw on her boots and coat, grabbed her gem pouch, and stepped in front of the gate.
"There's no catch?" She asked.
The man shook his head. "By stepping through that gate, your debt will be paid in full."
Alarm bells kept sounding in her head, but taking one look at the gate, she couldn't bring herself to listen to them.
She stepped through.
———
Shirou's phone began to ring as Sakura and he were sitting down in Rin's living room.
He picked up.
"Emiya!" Ben's voice called through the phone. "Did you guys succeed in creating a gate?!"
Shirou raised an eyebrow and looked over at Sakura. "No, Ben," responded. "Our last one was a bust. Why?"
"Well I just picked up a diviner mana signature coming from London," Ben said. "Where's Rin? She's not picking up."
"She went upstairs to process and-" that's when he too felt something off in the air. A presence that hadn't been there before. "Shit."
"What?" Ben asked, but Shirou and Sakura we're flying up the stairs already.
They heard voices inside, but couldn't make out what they were saying. One was Rin's and the other was too muffled to hear. Shirou tried the door. It was locked. He then pressed his hand against the lock.
"Trace on," he chanted. He saw everything in the lock mechanism and projected a key to match the lock.
He turned the key and slid the door open only to catch a glimpse of Rin stepping through the very gate that they had been trying to create.
The gate vanished.
Shirou raised his phone to his ear. "Ben, either Tohsaka just died, or she went to the Diviner Realm without us."
"Shit," the two men muttered at the same time.
A/N: Another chapter already?! Whaaaatttttt! I know, I know. It's crazy. Three chapter in almost as many days. What is happening? Well your dear writer is laid up in bed right now with the good ol' Covid. But don't worry. I'm fine and I'm making a speedy recovery. But anyways, this chapter had a lot in it. It's probably the longest chapter in this story so far. But like always, please drop a review and let me know what you think of the story so far. Your reviews do matter to me and I do read them. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and are having a wonderful day!
-B