"Archer."
"Lancer."
"Rider."
"Assassin."
"Caster"
"Berserker."
A man spoke six foreign words. Six words that were meaningless to most people. To those who understood the meaning of his list, they would feel a chill run down their spine. Six names for six classes.
"The final piece is falling into place. Truly, this is the greatest outcome I could have hoped for."
The man professed his joy in an emotionless tone, his face blank as his voice echoed across the large church. Broken glass was scattered about, covering the ground like dust. It littered the pews in reds, blue and green. The visage of the Holy Mother had been shattered. A broken priest in a broken church, officiating a broken ritual. His garments were tattered, his hands worn and covered in scars. They could barely be seen underneath the long robes that covered his body, his grey hair fell out of the hood that hid his face.
"Hah- Saber is late to the party."
An anomaly spoke. Something that intruded on the nature of the moment. An existence that shouldn't exist was present in this church, it's voice was static. A being that should not be present in this era, let alone the ruined church in which it sat. At a glance, it looked like any other person you might see walking down the street. But when you looked closer, deeper into the core of the being, you would arrive at the same thought as everyone else to have observed it. This thing should not exist, it is not possible.
"I wonder if it will be her. The king we all admired, too perfect to be human."
It spoke again. The static clawed it's way into the ears of the priest, forcing it's way into his mind. He had not gotten used to this feeling, even after the ten years he had spent with the thing. The feeling of the mind being defiled as information was directly fed into it, not absorbed in the usual way. The priest shuddered, the first emotion that he had shown that day was one of disgust.
"What was the order again? Caster was first, then Archer, then Rider and Lancer on the same night?"
It asked the priest, it knew the answer of course. It was attempting to make meaningless small talk, or perhaps it was attempting to toy with the priest. It smiled, a grin that made the priest feel sick to his stomach as he stood at the altar. His lips twitched as he attempted to hide his disgust from the thing.
"Caster was summoned first, four months before the second servant. Archer was summoned next, two weeks ago. Rider and Lancer were summoned three days after that. Assassin was summoned four days ago. Berserker was summoned today, by the Einzbern pawn."
The priest spat out the name of Einzbern as if it were a curse. The word seemed to have left a foul taste in his mouth as he scowled momentarily. He had recounted the order of the summonings to the thing. He was the overseer of this war, the second Holy Grail War that he would oversee.
"A legendary conqueror, the Greek craftsman and a samurai who was never wounded. This will be something worth witnessing."
The thing voiced it's interest in a tone that could only be described as repulsive, speaking directly into the priest's mind.
"Yes, the outcome will be spectacular. A crowning glory worthy of the final Holy Grail War."
The priest smiled, although it could not be seen underneath his hood. His smile held no malice, but a sense of relief coupled with melancholy. The Holy Grail Wars that he had spent his life overseeing would soon end and his purpose would be fulfilled.