It all began with some far-off wish filled with bitterness and disappointment that spiraled into a depressing cacophony of regrets and lamentations.
Why couldn't something so easy be understood?
Why was it so difficult for someone to see something that was right in front of their face?
Why did this all have to happen?
A figure cradling their own face laughed morbidly, but the arrow had already been fired. Surely this time, what was never conveyed could finally be understood no matter the cost.
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A Different Kind of War
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With his back pressed up against the cold wood of his own shed, Shirou Emiya could see his life flashing before his eyes, as the figure of a blue-clad spearmen neared with a weapon poised towards his heart.
It was supposed to be like any other day, but ever since he'd gotten up in the morning, pulled on his blue and white long-sleeve, wore his pants, and then slipped on his shoes to leave the front door, the day all went wrong. Everything had been going as usual, but after school was over, and he decided to stay behind to clean up the club hall, everything deviated.
While on his way back home by crossing through the school field, he saw something he probably shouldn't have and was subsequently pursued to death.
Even now he could still vividly recall the sensation of being stabbed through the chest with a spear after being chased and cornered through Homurahara Academy by the very man who was trying to kill him again.
Blood running cold, Shirou swallowed indignantly, unresigned to his fate.
He couldn't die here. Not yet. Not without even being able to fulfill the promise he'd made!
Wind blew, flashes of iridescent azure light illuminating the magic circle drawn over the ground of his very shed.
Fate works in mysterious ways. In one instance, he'd go on to survive this encounter and fight in a two-week shadow war in Fuyuki, but this case was different from the start. Some foreign power was at play, and an indistinct energy circumvented the timeline.
Just as a blue-clad beauty manifested to block the spearman's thrust, intermittent flashed of light enveloped the whole room. In the same instance, other flashes of light abruptly flickered throughout the entire city of Fuyuki.
By the time the light died down, only silence remained.
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Shirou grunted while feeling his back smack into the ground from a fall. The earthy scent of soil pervaded his senses, as he rapidly tried to blink away his disorientation. His hands pushed up against the ground, fingers curling around what felt like dried leaves. Shaking his head, his vision finally began to orient itself from the light that had enveloped him.
He was in a forest?
His eyes squinted from the sunlight pouring down onto him from the canopy overhead. He raised an arm to shield him from the glare, before assessing the situation around him.
He really was in a forest. Vast trees and foliage surrounded him in all directions, the sound of wildlife and rustling leaves all too surreal.
Moreover, beside him was the woman he imagined had appeared to save him from the spearman.
She was donned in regal plate armour, a blue dress beneath with tracings of golden motifs styled into a flowing skirt. Her eyes were of a deep teal, her blond hair tied up into a neat bun. Most mysterious of all, however, was her posture. She stood in a guarded stance with both hands grasped together as if she were holding some invisible weapon.
"Master, are you alright?" She asked him, voice even.
'Master?'
The word registered in his mind, but with little recognition.
Regardless, the woman seemed to sense a connection with him, and a visual key that gave her, her own confirmation.
"I am Servant Saber," she introduced.
"What's going on?" He fired back, but with little response from the woman.
"Now…isn't the best time," Saber sounded tense.
Groggily, Shirou pushed his knees beneath him and staggered to his feet, not noticing the new red sigils branded on the back of his right hand. These were called Command Seals, and proof of his status as a Master in what was known as the Holy Grail War.
Seven Heroes of mankind would fight in a free for all with seven Masters for the sake of obtaining a wish- at least that was how Saber knew it was supposed to be. This, though? This was different.
Upon standing on his own feet, Shirou became keenly aware that he and Saber weren't the only one's present.
"Tohsaka, Sakura, Professor Kuzuki?" Shirou mouthed out dumbly upon recognizing a few of the faces in the crowd around him.
Rin Tohsaka, she was a popular student in Homurahara Academy and someone even Shirou had heard of. She was hard working, studious, and kind to her peers. Her black hair was braided into a two-side up hairstyle secured by black ribbons that framed the contours of her soft features. She wore a red-crossed turtleneck, a black skirt, and long dark stockings under brown leather flats.
Her intelligent blue eyes appeared just as bewildered as Shirou after noticing the peculiarity of her situation.
Then there was Sakura, Shirou's school junior wearing the standard brown and white Homurahara Academy uniform. She had violet hair styled with a red ribbon on her left side. Her eyes too were of the same shade as her hair, her gentle features giving off the impression of something precious.
Shirou knew Sakura quite well as she often visited him in the mornings for breakfast, or to walk to school together.
Further away from both Sakura and Rin, was one of Shirou's school professors named Souichirou Kuzuki. The man was dressed in a formal grey dress suit, with unkempt hair, and wired oval glasses.
After assessing those he knew in the crowd, Shirou ended up glancing at the rest
Altogether, there were fifteen people, and he hardly knew any of them, aside from the white-haired girl he met in passing who called him 'brother.'
"Kirei, you're the invigilator! What's going on here?!" The one who spoke was Rin, practically grabbing at her hair, and staring accusingly at a confused priest. The man in red behind her, grew tense when everyone stared in Rin's direction, but no one came to blows.
The priest, Kirei, frowned impeccably, but wasn't even able to answer before being interrupted by an aggrieved magenta-haired woman.
"Kirei, you bastard!" A punch laced with potent magic energy stemming from glowing runes on her gloved right hand was cocked back and aimed at Kirei's face.
"Lancer," Kirei said only a single word while glancing at the blue-clad spearman who was staring at the violent magenta-haired woman in a daze.
Lancer didn't budge at the command, prompting Kirei to frown. "Lancer, intercept," he ordered to no avail.
"You're not my Master," Lancer blurted out in disbelief instead. His eyes then traced back to the magenta-haired where he felt a new connection form, and finally a savage grin cracked over his face.
Evidently, the magenta-haired woman seemed to understand something at this point too. "Lancer kill him!" She ordered.
Lancer's red eyes gleamed in confirmation, his red spear glinting in the light.
However, before the situation could escalate further, the cloaked woman floating behind Kuzuki manifested several magic circles that restrained everyone in place.
"Enough," the cloaked woman's voice was cold. "Something is obviously wrong with this Grail War, and attacking the invigilator without letting him explain solves no purpose."
A glint of amusement stirred in Kirei's lifeless eyes after seeing the emotions raging over the magenta-haired woman's face. Beneath the woman, tendrils of magic energy wrapped around her legs.
"That's right, Bazett. No hard feelings," Kirei said flatly.
Bazett snarled, but she eventually composed herself, still in disbelief that she was somehow alive. There was a story here between her, Kirei, and Lancer, but the cloaked woman had a point.
What exactly was happening here?
"I'll start by saying that this is an unforeseen incident, and in my power as invigilator of this Grail War, hereby declare a temporarily cessation of hostilities," Kirei spoke up. Much of what he said was lost on Shirou who knew the least of everyone present, but Kirei continued on. "Hence, I propose a moment of cooperation to deal with whatever third-force has intruded on this war. Is this acceptable?"
A round of silence followed before a few tentative nods were given.
Seeing as all Masters and Servants were present, and in the name of cooperation, a round of curt introductions occurred.
The cloaked woman introduced herself as, Caster.
The one with a blindfold, Rider.
The towering giant behind, Illya Einzbern, Berserker.
The man in red next to Rin, Archer.
The magenta haired woman was named Bazett, while the blue-clad spearman was Lancer. She and Lancer stayed away from Kirei, Bazett glowering at the man while trying to control her features.
The figure shrouded in a black cloak next to an old man who introduced himself as Zouken, was Assassin.
Finally, it was Shirou's turn after the woman next to him introduced herself as Saber.
"I'm Shirou Emiya, and I have no idea what's going on here," he said, noticing quickly how both Sakura and Rin were staring at him nervously. Rin was sighing, and Sakura had unconcealed worry.
Soon after, Rin ended up walking right up to Shirou and tentatively pulling him away under Saber's scrutiny. If Rin planned to harm Shirou in any way, she'd find herself at the pointed end of Saber's sword. However, Rin ended up only briefly explaining the situation to Shirou before telling him to treat her as an enemy in the war when everything was resolved.
Shirou hesitated, but by then, Rin kept glancing at Sakura and didn't notice.
The winds suddenly began to pick up at this moment, a sort of ill premonition sounding off in Shirou's senses. Glancing to his side, he noticed Saber tense, moving closer to him while everyone else began to feel a growing eeriness in the air.
Leaves rustled in the forest canopy above, and suddenly, Assassin craned his neck to look and hummed in thought.
"You all might want to take cover, and quickly," a voice called out in warning, leaving little time for anyone to reply before sounding again in a harsher tone. "It's coming. Keep low and use the cover of the trees."
From up high, distortions in space revealed a looming monstrosity with a white mask and fiery glowing eyes. Talons and furred appendages gave way to a mismatched creature exuding a malefic aura. A howl stretched across the horizon. The creature's head scanning low while the body drifted across the air from up high.
Recalling the words of the voice just now, Shirou ran up to Sakura and Rin before pulling them both into the bushes. Meanwhile, Saber, Rider, and Archer directly dematerialized along with the other Servants. Kuzuki pressed his back next to a tree, while Kirei, Bazett, and Illya fell into a crouch. No one bothered using any magecraft in the likely scenario that the thing above would detect it.
A tense moment passed in silence, the monstrosity sailing by before pausing, as it detected something else of interest further in the horizon.
Howling, it sped up and vanished.
Left behind, the unease Shirou was feeling gradually abated.
"Emiya-Senpai, w-what was that?" Sakura gasped for breath, having wilted under the twisted aura of the being that just passed by.
No one had any explanation, Kirei appearing thoughtful while Caster grimaced upon re-materializing.
"A Hollow," the same voice from before ended up answering before two figures jumped down from the trees.
One had raven black hair that reached down to her waist, and striking red eyes that contrasted to the black and red sailor uniform she wore with dark combat boots. The other was blond with a mane of shoulder-length hair, and wearing loose trousers and an exposed midriff.
The one who was speaking was the woman with blond hair and anamorphic cat features, a tail swishing behind her, and cat ears perked up.
"That was a Hollow, a low rank," she reiterated. "They're part of the White One's forces. We're all just lucky that it wasn't one of the higher levels. They're monsters." she said as if it would have any significant meaning.
It didn't for Shirou, and it didn't for everyone else near him.
"Who are you?" Bazett broached the topic. She was a Magus of the Enforcer division of the Clock Tower, and was rather blunt in her profession.
"Who we are matters little, but you can call me Leone," the blond woman introduced before gesturing to the other girl. "This is my partner, Akame."
Akame spoke not a word, her attention focused on Shirou the entire time, making him fidget when her hand kept gravitating to the sword at her waist. Her crimson eyes, flickered with murderous intent.
Leone elbowed Akame firmly.
"Akame. Enough." Leone warned, brows knitting together. "We've talked about this. Like the people from Chaldea said, we may need them as much as they'll need us."
Akame grimaced at the reminder, her hands balling into fists, but still ended up grudgingly shifting her attention away from Shirou.
"How weren't we able to notice you," Rider spoke up, the blindfold over her face making it difficult to discern her expression. She was a Servant much like six other Servant's along with her. It made no sense for anyone ordinary to be able to sneak up on them.
"Presence Concealment," Assassin offered with a rasp. "It's not at a truly impressive level, but it's there. Or at least some bastardized version."
"How?" Rin frowned. There were no way humans could possess the skills of a Servant.
"You haven't noticed, magus?" Caster drawled sharply. Without pause, she began to explain condescendingly. "They aren't human. At least not of flesh and bone. No one here is, including us."
"You're joking," Rin said, taken aback while eyeing her own body.
"I'm not," Caster replied flatly. "Right now, everyone here, we're made out of spiritron particles. A projection-type mystery of some kind?" She mused.
"I don't know anything about what you're trying to say here, but Akame and I just hid as usual upon taking note of your arrival," Leone cut in tersely.
"So, you're admitting to having some form of knowledge to what's going on, here?" Kirei probed.
"We're not admitting to anything, and it's not like we have any reason to share anything with you all either, right now."
"Oh, we can give ya plenty of reasons," Lancer smirked jokingly. He was in a pleasant mood among other things, and a fight would only make it better.
Unfortunately, Leone tensed as another eerie presence began to permeate through the air.
"More Hollows are coming. We have to go," Leone grimaced before shaking her head and getting ready to move. Akame trailed behind her. "Listen, because I'm only going to say this once for your own good. If any of you want to survive in this world and be useful-" Leone solemnly pointed a finger at a bewildered Shirou. "You better not let him die. He dies here, you all die here."
"Is that a threat?" Saber's tone hardened, her features tensing.
"No. It's a fact," Leone shrugged. "Now you either follow us, and let us explain a bit of what's going on, or you do your own thing and pray- actually scratch that don't pray; you'll give your location away to the Holy One. That's a tip by the way, you all best heed it." Leone shivered, but didn't elaborate.
Without saying another word, Leone and Akame took off.
"Should we follow them?" Shirou broached.
Rin bit down on her lips. "They could have left without exposing themselves, but the fact that they did means that they may need something from us," she surmised.
"Better than staying here," Sakura whispered, shivering as the eerie aura continued to grow stronger.
"Information is key in anything," Caster waved a hand, and a sigil light below Kuzuki's feet, levitating him into the air before she gave chase to Leone and Akame.
The rest followed suit, Rin carried by Archer, Sakura by Rider, a silent Illya by Berserker, and Shirou by Saber. Kirei, Zouken, and Bazett, each had their own methods of travel, their Servants following behind them.
Leone and Akame weren't traveling fast. They likely expected them to follow if anything.
"Where are you leading us?" Shirou asked.
"Camp," was Akame's curt reply. She didn't even bother turning her head back to face anyone.
"Can you tell us anything about this place?" Rin asked, picking out bramble from her hair while held in Archer's arms.
"The outsiders in this war can explain the specifics," Akame's reply remained just as detached as before.
"Outsiders?"
"Some organization called Chaldea trying to 'correct' this Singularity as they called it," Leone explained as Akame went silent altogether.
"If they're outsiders, wouldn't they know less about the situation?" Caster logically pointed out with a grimace. "The two of you must have a leader of some kind. Why not let your leader-"
"We won't risk our leader for yours," Akame outright glared, teeth gnashing as she unhooked the lapel over her sword's sheath. "You may not even be allies," she muttered darkly under her breath.
"And you'd be driving them away with that attitude, Akame." Leone sighed from off to the side, pinching the bridge of her nose. "We know that it's dangerous to trust in this war, but like the Chaldea people proposed as uninvolved arbitrators, we need a genuine alliance if we want to survive, to win. We're already competing with monsters, and if we can't defeat them individually, banding together is our only option."
Taking a deep breath, Leone stared at everyone and acted as a representative of sorts.
"To reiterate, I am Leone from the 'Lord of Calla's' forces. We are seeking allies to contend against the 'White One,' and the 'Holy One.' I don't expect any of you to know these forces, but you'll come to understand the longer you stay in this world."
"Are we in some sort of war?" Kirei picked up the subtleties quickly from bits and pieces of information, a gleam over his features.
"Enough questions, we're here," Akame cut in as they all burst through the foliage of the forest to arrive into a bustling make-shift camp that was concealed into the side of a cliff face.
Tanned warriors in loose garb and animal furs easily punched down trees and carved hollow spaces into the rock. One particular tanned girl waved over at Akame and Leone, but her features hardened upon noticing Shirou and the rest. If the girl's stare lingered longer on Shirou, no one called her out on it.
Everyone here was part of a detachment group from the 'Lord of Calla's' forces. They had no set location since they weren't strong enough to maintain a region for themselves. Hence, like assassins, they moved from place to place under the instruction of their leader.
Stopping at the divide just before entering their camp, Leone and Akame gestured for everyone to stop, and take not a step further.
"Now if you'd head to that accommodation over there," Leone pointed out to the lone wooden cabin a distance away from the bustling crowd of people. It was clear from this distance alone that the level of trust wasn't quite mutual yet. "That's where the people of Chaldea are staying, and I'm sure that they'll be more than willing to answer your questions. Afterwards, you may contact me if you decide to form an alliance with us, otherwise, the next time we meet…we'll kill you."
Leone's features grew frosty, all emotion leaving her face.
Lancer could appreciate the murderous intent, and whistled, but he wasn't feeling that threatened from direct confrontation. If anything, the danger from Leone, Akame, and the people from their group, would be as assassins killing the Masters.
Pausing for only a moment, the group followed the arrangement and moved to knock on the door of the cabin. Rin was the one to knock after Archer had let her down back onto her feet.
A woman opened the door. She had white hair styled to the side and troubled brown eyes. She wore a white dress beneath a dark coat and red stockings up to her thighs.
The woman stared at Rin as if she were looking at a ghost, but she quickly steadied herself and regained her composure.
"You must be new, come in," the woman opened the door wider and gave room for everyone to pass.
The interior of the cabin was rather sparse, but there was a table, a few chairs, and a fireplace burning wood near the center.
"My name is Olga-Marie Animusphere, Director of the science and magic organization dedicated to the preservation of mankind's prosperity, Chaldea," the woman introduced herself when everyone pooled in.
"Animusphere, Clock Tower?" Kirei raised a brow at the name.
"Animusphere," Rin muttered in shock once Kirei pointed it out. Her mind began working on overdrive. "One of the top ten mage families in the Association, wielder of future prediction and observation magecraft."
"You'd be correct, young magus, but I don't think that's what you all came here for. Answers, right?" Olga raised a knowing brow, the stress lines under her eyes showing. "I'm sure my position may not mean much to you all considering the situation, but frankly, as the only third-party in this debacle, it's best to understand that we wish to resolve it. On that note, there's an important question I must ask you all before anything else."
"Go ahead," Shirou nodded in consent while everyone else remained silent in tacit agreement.
"Are you from before or after the events of Fuyuki?"
The events of Fuyuki?
Considering the Animusphere delved into the aspects of prediction and observation, there was meaning here.
"During," Caster answered bluntly, fed up with the feeling of being led on. "The Holy Grail War had barely even started before this mess disrupted me from summoning Servant Assassin."
"That's against the rules," Kirei pointed out in his acting role as Grail War arbitrator.
"So, should killing a Master during registration!" Bazett grimaced, fury blazing in her eyes while phantom pains ached over her once severed arm containing her Command Seals. "I trusted you," she accused.
Kirei shrugged. "The dead should have no opinion."
"And I care not for yours, magus." Caster scoffed at Kirei, sensing the ilk of another betrayer before glancing at the foul energies surrounding Zouken. "Now we have some decrepit old man in control of Assassin."
Everyone glanced at an indifferent Zouken; Sakura shivering with Rider shielding in front of her left largely unnoticed except by Olga who'd been staring at Rin and Rider from the start.
To Olga, the Rin and Rider were people she'd directly met in her own timeline before their passing. However, she wouldn't tell them, or risk creating another paradox that may lead to more participants in this world. Still, the oddity lingered.
"During, huh?" Olga pursed her lips, staring at Shirou as she bit the nail of her thumb a second later. She fell into contemplation, and the room went silent for a period of time, as she considered the implication.
"Is this a coincidence?" Olga finally murmured.
"You sound as if you weren't expecting this?" Rin broached the topic while the rest chose to observe.
"Because I wasn't," Olga explained truthfully. "Most of the leaders that the Lord of Calla's forces provided intelligence on appear to be from a timeline beyond Fuyuki. You all are the only ones summoned here during the events of Fuyuki. Don't you think that's coincidental?"
"Timeline?"
"Ah yes. I almost forgot. That's what we're dealing with right now. Parallels of different worlds in a war against each other with only one anchoring point," Olga paused and pointed at Shirou. "Him, the idiot."
"Hey, how can you say that as if you know him!" Sakura blurted out in Shirou's defence before her cheeks coloured when everyone stared at her. Shirou was the only one who was flattered and sheepish, but Olga replied exasperatedly all the same.
"…Because I have my own," Olga pinched the bridge of her nose in such a relatable manner that many who've experienced Shirou's antics had no words. "He just isn't here, right now. He, along with my Servants and two other Chaldean Masters, are helping the Lord of Calla with enemy reconnaissance."
"What did you mean by anchoring point, and parallel worlds?" Saber spoke up for the first time in a while, having been too tense after noticing the looks targeted on her Master from the moment that they arrived in this world. She'd been vigilant and cautious ever since.
Olga shook her head ruefully. "I'm afraid I don't have all the answers as to why. I only have the basics at this point after Rayshifting from Chaldea, and even then, it's second-hand information. When Chaldea first arrived here to investigate, we were-"
"Let's put the Saber's inquiry aside," Zouken cut in with a rasp. "'He dies here, you all die here.' May you explain what that woman said before explaining anything else?"
Frowning at the interruption, Olga huffed. However, what Zouken asked was in everyone's best interests. Irritably, she flung back her hair, but decided to comply.
No matter what, Olga understood what was necessary right now, and where she and Chaldea stood in this world. Too little was known on her end, and even the Lord of Calla's end. The ones who may actually have some answers, such as the Holy One or the White One, were too powerful and antagonistic to even hope to question. Hence, an alliance was required.
It was best to start building bridges early if Chaldea could have any hope of solving this peculiar Singularity. An olive branch to divulge what had already been discovered would do wonders.
"Fine, I suppose I'll answer that question first," Olga relented under everyone's stares.
Kirei perked up, the presence of the golden Servant who'd languidly followed undetected, deciding to pay attention as well. If not for realizing that certain underlying factors existed in this world, Kirei would have already left on his own rather than choose to remain in such a shoddy group. The same was true for Bazett, Illya, Kuzuki, and Zouken who had too many thoughts in their minds. As respective Masters, their Servants would surely follow with them.
Only Shirou, Rin, and Sakura had no real qualms cooperating with each other.
"It stems back to the concept of an anchoring point, like how an ordinary Servant can't maintain itself for long without a Master," Olga began while straightening her posture. Her demeanor was strikingly similar to how professors in the Clock Tower lectured students. "For whatever reason, the anchoring point tying in all the respective groups and forces in this Singularity have Shirou in common. He is the 'Master,' and all those summoned with him, are 'Servants,' who can't exist if he dies."
"Highly unlikely," Caster snorted in her right as an ancient Magus. "The required power and complexity of the mystery to actualize anything remotely close to what you've described is unimaginable."
"And yet, you can't deny that the nature of this world points towards it," a voice answered.
Olga remained unperturbed as a beeping noise echoed and a blue projection screen appeared before them all. In front of the screen was a beautiful woman in flowery red, blue, and gold-motif garb. She had an oval face framed by soft brown hair on either side.
"DaVinci," Olga greeted. "Where's Romani?"
"Hello, Director," DaVinci replied with a wry smile. "Romani's keeping track of the others so he has his hands full at the moment. In any case, I'm reporting in on the analysis we had pertaining to this Singularity, and it's close to what we've hypothesized. Some sort of power source is fueling the collision of multi-dimensional lines into a single space, and it's distorting the original timeline. It has to be stopped."
Upon hearing confirmation, Olga turned solemn. Shaking her head, she pursed her lips and soldiered on, temporarily ignoring everyone else's inquiring expressions. "What of the data pertaining to the anchor points?"
"Worse than can be imagined. Take a look," Saying this DaVinci typed something with her fingers, and the projection in front of everyone shifted from DaVinci's image into a 3-dimensinal model.
The model itself took the shape of a central sphere with numerous other spheres, big and small, tethered to the central point. At the tether points, data was entered, and a profile picture of Shirou showed up labeled as 'During Fuyuki,' in italics. Near this tether, was another tether labelled 'Lord of Calla,' with a picture of an older Shirou in what appeared to be foreign garbs.
Shirou's mouth dried seeing direct proof of an alternative of himself who was likely the 'Shirou' Akame and Leone were loyal to.
The rest appeared somewhat unsettled at proof appearing before their faces, Caster frowning.
"The central sphere is the world everyone is in, and each detected tether is an anchor point or version of Shirou Emiya. What's important to note is what these tethers are holding. Each is attached to their own spheres, the size of which dictates the presence of the original reality that they belong to."
No one said anything, but one look at the absolutely massive sphere tethered to the central point spoke volumes for what sort of people they'd be facing here. Worse, there was more than just one, with three in particular standing out while others were large, moderate, or just plain small.
As for the sphere tethered to this Shirou, the size of the world had yet to be determined by Chaldea.
"What happened to that one?" Shirou pointed out, mouth dry.
What Shirou was pointing to was a tether with an image of a grayed out Shirou.
"…" Olga didn't reply while DaVinci didn't answer for the longest time.
Soon however, DaVinci tapped a few buttons, and as if in rewind, the grayed tether and its anchored sphere remerged before a 'play' icon was clicked. Right before everyone's eyes, they watched as the tether was snapped, and the world held by it, deteriorated into particles siphoned off into some sort of vessel.
"The format of this Singularity appears to be like a rudimentary Grail War system that will actualize something, when all other participants are defeated," DaVinci explained grimly. "When an anchor is killed and severed, their whole world dies and is converted into a massive amount of stored energy. If this is anything like a Grail War, then a wish is likely involved for the winner. The capacity for a wish catalyzed by the magic power of entire worlds, can make anything possible."
"The Root," Zouken muttered, eyes widening on the side as he and everyone else listened in.
Shirou was horrified.
Olga shook her head. "We didn't want to believe what the Lord of Calla first told us upon our arrival, but the tether you see right now belonged to an Emiya labeled 'Cooking Path.' This Shirou was likely someone who chose to live the life of an ordinary chef. He and the people with him didn't stand a chance. Worse, the other leaders in this Singularity might have been here for longer than all of you, and may know more than anyone else about what's going on. However, with the fate of their worlds and loved ones on the line, tell me, Emiya," Olga looked directly at Shirou. "What would you do? What would any version of you do if the one who wins this War has a chance to save who they care for?"
Shirou opened and closed his mouth, but couldn't answer.
Olga sighed, and shook her head. She had a hunch that this Shirou who was summoned 'during' the events of Fuyuki may be considered the original, and in that case, would it not be in Chaldea's best interest to aid him? The Singularity had to be solved, but the main perpetrator of this mess likely wouldn't show themselves until the end. Of course, Chaldea could simply wait for the Shirou's to defeat each other until there was only one left, but in such a case where an overpowered Shirou won, what could Chaldea do on its own?
They needed allies that they could trust against Shirous like the 'White One,' 'Holy One,' or even 'Sacred Sword Wielder,' but their own information was limited as a third party.
Who should they help? What should be done?
At the very least, unlike the other Shirous who seemed to have an idea of what they needed to do, this Shirou was clueless, and perhaps this meant something?
"You don't have to answer that Emiya."
Olga blew out a breath, shoulders slumping from stress.
"After careful consideration, Chaldea has designated this anomaly as given and observed," she declared. "A Dissociative Record of Multi-Parallel Paradoxum: Emiya. Or in simplified terms,"
Olga shut her eyes, before gradually opening them with an air of solemnity for what was to come.
"A War of the Emiyas."
Next update: January 18th, 2022
P a treon. com (slash) Parcasious