"Tch… bothersome heretical magics!"
The barrier flashed as the Executor threw another punch into it. However, despite his annoyance, he wasn't able to shatter it like Sortiara had nights prior. It would not happen again; I swore that to myself.
"Give it up" I spoke with as much confidence I could muster, considering I had the focus of a murderous Executor. "You're not breaking through this with force."
Silence fell upon us as we stared at one another, the talismans holding their position, encircling him. The sounds of battle couldn't be heard, but the sounds of sirens rang out into the night, loud and clear. The only indication the war was the cause were the occasional red streaks of light shooting across the sky; Archer's work, but for what cause, I couldn't say from my position here.
Nathan…
Why? That was the question echoing in my mind. Why do this? Why go through all of this?! What was the reason? What was the point?! You said so yourself, dealing with berserker was stupid; suboptimal. So why bring everything to this point?!
And yet I let him go… Entrusted him to Saber…
…Or worse… I entrusted Saber to him… I didn't even know which was the case; it was all a confusing mess in my mind, and right now I didn't have the time to work through it. It only made everything feel worse.
"You look troubled, heretic" the Executor speaking snapped me back to reality.
"That easy to notice, huh" I dismissed.
"…I see now… The events playing out this night… they are by his design alone. How troublesome. How… vexing…"
"I'll be sure to lecture him about it when the night's through."
"Unfortunate. That lecture is not yours to give him before he returns to the embrace of the lord, but mine."
From within the encirclement of talismans a column of flame blazed to life. It was fleeting, momentary, but hot and bright. Within seconds it died out completely, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.
The Executor was still standing, looking completely untouched by the flames. The gentle smile, all too sinister on his face, given the circumstances, returned to his face. I couldn't comprehend what he'd just done, or why he was now smiling.
Until he took two steps forward… and walked right out of the encirclement of talismans.
"…Fascinating… I'll grant your heretical tricks that much" the Executor mused, looking down at the ground where the talismans now laid.
"You… you flushed out all your Od..." I took a step back, shocked, as the realization hit me.
"To bypass a barrier which… roots not people, but magical energy… Is that not the natural course to take?"
How did he-
"Big mistake on your part" I did my best to cover my nerves. "Not going to be able to fight now."
"Under other conditions, I could... perhaps... find it in myself to agree with a heretic like you. Alas..."
"What?"
"Three factors disillusion you to the reality of the situation at hand, child. One, the abundance of mana in the city makes the absence of Od negligible, at worse. Two, I have the will of the lord with me, while you do not. Thirdly…"
"…"
In the moment of silence, the Executor lunged at me with blinding speed. It was only thanks to the sheer distance between us that I managed to dodge the incoming lunge; I hadn't been expecting such an offensive, and was caught completely off guard. Yet in equal parts shock and horror, I couldn't help but notice that, in the distance he managed to close, with the speed in which he did so, there was no illuminating glow of his magical circuits. The absence of which meant only one thing.
That was without reinforcement magecraft!
"I don't need this… heretical art you call magecraft" the Executor shrugged as he turned to face me, a devilish grin plastered on his face. "Not to exterminate a heretic like you."
Shit!
Staring down the distinct possibility of death, I found my mothers words warning me.
"Against magi, you will never lose. In turn, against those who forsake or have no knowledge of magecraft, you shall never find victory."
…Gee, thanks for bringing up those words of encouragement, brain…
"That said… the use of magecraft in this case is rather… practical" the Executor mused, multiple black keys forming in each of his hands. "If I must momentarily stray in order to enforce the lord's will, so be it."
Black keys. Then… I have a chance. Still, I doubted I would last forever against a trained Executor. I needed to find the others, sooner the better.
"Fascinating lecture and all, but I have no intention of sticking around" I shouted as I took off running down the direction which I saw Nathan originally come from.
"In the name of the lord, I sentence thee, heretic!"
I turned back to look just in time to see multiple black keys flying my way. As they always seemed to be from the Executor, they were ablaze with fire.
1, 2, 3… 4 of them total!
In response, I called up four sets of talismans. Fighting an Executor, 1 on 1… this was not how I envisioned any part of the war going! This… I wasn't ready for this!
"Western magecraft is sloppy; inefficient! Understands the transformative aspect of mana, but not the dualistic aspect of cyclical nature! Western magi see yang, attempt to fight it with yang. Stupid! Pointless! Don't fight yang with yang; embrace yang with yin! Accept the duality, embrace the cyclical nature of the universe, and there shall stand no obstacle which you cannot surmount!"
…Right. Accept the duality, embrace the cycle, and I would stand the victor of this conflict. There was no need to panic. I just needed to understand the cycle; find my place within it.
…Thank you, mother…
Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself as time seemed to slow to a crawl, certain death approaching. There was no question about the Executor's place in the cycle of this battle: he was yang. So, that meant I just had to be the yin. If he wished to advance first, then I would just have to retreat first.
And in doing so, I would stand victorious.
The four black keys slammed into intercepting talismans. The flames and blades disappeared, the magical energy flowing into the sets of talismans. The hilts, being physical objects rather than constructs of magical energy, bounced off the talismans harmlessly, falling to the ground.
I felt a tingle course up my right arm and throughout the rest of my body. I could… feel the magical energy flowing through the sets of talismans. Slowing. Calming. Stilling.
"There is no singular cycle in the universe. Cycles within cycles; yin and yang within yin and yang: this is the nature of the world."
In other words, this battle was more than just the cycle between the Executor and myself. I myself had my own cycle. One that needed to be allowed to flow.
"A cycle can be slowed. A cycle can be accelerated. What a cycle cannot be is stopped. It is not a question of if the cycle will overcome those who resist it, but when."
Yes… I could hold onto this magical energy; slow down the cycle. But only for a limited amount of time; not forever. Nowhere near as long as mother could. As I turned to yin to embrace and allow the Executor's yang to flow, I myself must turn to yang to continue my own cycle.
No time like the present, I suppose, seeing as the Executor was rapidly closing the distance my head start had given me.
Focusing on the tingling sensation, I took control of the magical energy flowing within the talismans. Pushed the energy through. Accelerated it. Passive to active. Yin to yang.
From the ends of the four sets of talismans, the magical energy exploded outwards, converting back into balls of flame. The fireballs shot back out at the Executor from different angles, forcing him to slow his chase in order to dodge effectively.
If only that actually meant something in the long run. I was already feeling tired, and I had no idea where I was going. As I was turning the corner to head down another street, I could already see the Executor making up the ground he'd lost.
"To reject the mercy our lord grants us is a great sin, heretic" the Executor taunted.
"An Executor speaking of mercy" I grunted, preparing more talismans as I spotted black keys alighting with flames. "Is that supposed to be some kind of twisted joke?"
"Who is an executor but one who provides a seamless transition from the pain of life, to the mercy at the lord's side?"
"You know… he's got a point kid!"
Ugh, I could already hear Nathan's laughter… Damnit brain, if you're going to distract me, at least call back mother's lessons! That shit could actually be helpful!
The flaming black keys sailed through the air, only to be intercepted by the talismans yet again. Focusing on the tingling feeling within me, I repeated the process: still the magical energy, take control over it, and release it.
Once again, the Executor dodged, losing some ground only momentarily. The cycle was flowing, but I could already tell it wasn't really working. This… I was just stalling the inevitable like this!
"That's the point of his move set; he doesn't kill well, but he stalls like a motherfucker if you know how to combo properly."
…God damnit, stop thinking about Nathan already! This isn't WotH! This isn't a game! Nothing he says is-
"Flip that on its head as an offensive strategy, and Guo Jia can theoretically lock down an entire team on his own."
I said fuck off alrea-
"Against magi, you will never lose."
"That's the point of his move set; he doesn't kill well, but he stalls like a motherfucker."
…Wait…
"A cycle can be slowed. A cycle can be accelerated."
"Flip that on its head as an offensive strategy, and you can theoretically lock down an entire team..."
…Against magi I never lose… because that's the point of my magecraft; my move set: to shut down other magi...
That was what I'd trained for, but-
The train of thought was killed as I frantically vaulted over the hood of a parked car in my path. Just in time too; I could practically feel the hand of the Executor around my neck as his lunge missed by mere inches.
"Do you really think damage is the point of your move set?"
I could hear his smug voice, see his irritating grin, but… no. The point of my magecraft wasn't to deal the killing blows. That was more Sortiara and Zach…
Sortiara, Zach, myself… Vanguard. Champion. …Strategist.
I nearly got impaled by a black key as I lost myself in the revelation. Fortunately, I wasn't completely out of it; I managed to raise a talisman barely in time. But it wasn't part of a good set; the magical energy flying out at the end wildly, setting the front of someone's lawn across the street on fire.
…But this was it, wasn't it? This was how Nathan saw the world; just a game. But I-
…I didn't want to admit it. Not now; I couldn't just accept his way of thinking now! Not when this was the result of his way of thinking! This pointless destruction! The potential death of who knows how many people!
…But I… saw it… Saw it… and can't un-see it. I could embrace it, reject it, or lie to myself and pretend it wasn't there; that I didn't see it…
"You need not like me. You need not even respect me. But you will listen to me. Let this match show you."
Another lunge, and I twisted out of his grasp, thinking it was enough. I didn't notice the follow-up punch until after it connected. It may not have been reinforced with magecraft, but in this state, it didn't need to be. I was still sent flying, coming to a stop sprawled out on the road. All I could feel was the stinging and burning of countless cuts and scrapes.
This was it, then. He had me.
"Listen to me."
Wincing with pain and with ragged breathing, I forced myself to stand. The Executor merely smiled, arms behind his back as he approached. Seemingly harmless, and not any worse for wear than when he'd first shown up, from what I saw. Effectively, I'd done nothing. Achieved nothing. No different than any other point in this war…
…Not like this. I refused to die here, like this! Not before I dragged Nathan through hell for this disaster of a night!
…But first, fine. This one last time.
I'll listen.
"That's the point of your move set; you don't kill well, but you stall like a motherfucker."
Yes, that was the point of my magecraft. To stall; shut down other magi; be the yin to the yang for Sortiara and Zach in the respective cycles.
"Flip that on its head as an offensive strategy."
…I couldn't flip those cycles though. Beyond the fact neither Sortiara nor Zach were present, they were both active, offensive, in their use of magecraft. They could never fill the role of yin in any cycle, so I could never play to yang, even if my magecraft was proficient in it, which I wasn't even sure it really was. By nature of duality, I should be capable of playing to yang, but-
"Cycles within cycles; yin and yang within yin and yang."
All the cycles we were a part of mattered! It wasn't like I could force the Executor to be the yin in our cycle here! No way he would ever; he'd just overpower as yang. That was the way of western magecraft. Fight fire with fire. Overcome by overpowering. So, what was I to flip here?!
"The terror in your eyes... why is it present, heretic? Is returning to the lord's side truly so… horrid a notion to you?"
He's taunting you. Block it out, focus on your own game.
Flip that on its head… If I can't flip the cycles themselves, then the only thing left to flip is-
…Is the nature. Cycles within cycles. Cycles alongside cycles. Focusing on fitting the flow of each cycle you're a part of… the nature of this magecraft. Flip that, and…
"There is no singular cycle in the universe."
That! Flip that on its head: there is only a singular cycle. My cycle. Focus entirely on my own cycle, and forget every other cycle exist.
"It appears your voice has already returned to the lord's side. Very well then, allow me to rejoin the rest of you with it."
"You just… juggled them…"
"Yeah."
"Like, for minutes on end…"
"Yeah."
…The kill didn't need to come quickly. It just needed to come. The damage numbers are irrelevant if your opponent can't do anything.
…The other cycles don't matter… if they don't exist…
…Because you never let them be formed in the first place.
"…Just juggle him" I whispered, choking on what must have been the most pathetic laugh I'd even had.
"Oh? By the grace of our lord, his voice has returned… if only just as muttered breaths. Any final words, heretic?"
The black keys were already prepared and waiting. Should that fail, he'd lunge. There was no way for me, exhausted and in pain, to dodge. I'd have to absorb at least that much. Let that be the start of my cycle, and start with- No, that was wrong. Strike first. Don't let him form a cycle with you. Be your own cycle, and never let one with him start!
…If you were in this position, Yaldabaoth, what would you do…? You can't play for your signature late game. You're cornered; down. Need to surprise your opponent to take back the initiative…
…Something you probably rarely ever entertained the notion of doing, let alone actually did. If all your games were control oriented, late game oriented, as I knew they were, then the answer was simple. You rush your opponent. Blitz them. Blaze a win through the early game like…
Like fire…
"I suppose I got a couple, but I doubt you'd understand them" I spoke with as shaky a voice I dared, trying to play the part of someone who knew they were defeated without giving the game away as I prepared the needed talismans.
For the first time in a long time, maybe even the first time ever, I would be playing the yang in a cycle. I couldn't rely on the magical energy of others, like I'm used to doing, for that to work. Yang had to be active, not reactive. So… I would need to flow my own magical energy through the talismans…
"True, I most likely would not understand the final words of heretics. But nonetheless, seeing as you were not a… fully willing participant of tonight's events, I shall allow you to speak them before I return you to the embrace of the lord."
You'll regret that, Executor!
"Then… I suppose I'll say them…" I closed my eyes and let out a resigned sigh, buying me time to adjust to this familiar yet altogether different sensation of magical energy flowing into the talismans.
…Still starting my cycle with yin, huh? Fine then, the cycle can't be stopped, but it can be slowed. Hold it...
"…Speak quickly, heretic-"
Hold it…
"For even my patience has-"
Now!
"White Wildfire!"
A/N
Ok, this is going to be a doozy of an A/N, and there probably won't be a TL;DR (if you're seeing this, then that is indeed the case), so this is your fair warning, should you wish to start reading this.
First, I'd like to apologize to anyone and everyone who actually knows eastern philosophical theory and/or culture, because I'm sure I've just botched the notion of Yin-Yang completely. Truly, looking back on it now, I have no idea why I thought trying to create a character who uses FATE's version of Eastern Magecraft, when I couldn't find ANY info on it AT ALL, was a good idea!
…Truly, my arrogance is unmatched by even Gilgamesh himself. But perhaps some of you have already realized this from reading my writing. If it wasn't apparent to you by now, the whole reason I actually started writing a FATE fic specifically is, well... I hate the vast majority of FATE, and in my arrogance, despite having no writing experience to my name, I thought to myself "You know who could do this base concept better? I could do it better. Hell, I'll even do it better using their own systems!"
…Yeah, I'm a little shit. But hey, at least I'm an HONEST little shit xD
Anyways, this was my attempt at trying to show off the... processes? Methodologies? Basically, I was trying to show off how Johnathan's magecraft works. Doubt I did a good job at it, so I'll try again in simple words here below:
Essentially, my idea for Johnathan at the start was a magi who's magecraft countered magi, but was otherwise useless. The only magical energy he himself expends is the nigh-inexistent amount it takes to move the talismans around. For everything else, well... they basically just work on their own. Magical energy projectiles, like black keys and fireballs? In one talisman, flow through the connected series, and out the other, redirected at the original caster at essentially no cost to himself. The barriers, domes and/or shields he does? He moves them in place, but after that they're powered by either natural mana, or other magical energy hitting it, and entering the circular flow. As for what they do... they basically create what's, in essence, a bounded field type effect where mana can't cross through. Granted, he still feels the magical energy flowing through the talismans; still needs his magical circuits to process and let it flow through 'him'.
It was like that how, when working with Sortiara earlier, he could contain and constrict the magical energy used to power her wind magecraft to create more powerful, joint spells, such as vacuum cannon. Of course, the barriers could be bested in 2 ways. The first way, as we saw, was that you could overload the talismans; overpower and break the cycle, basically. For someone like Sortiara, and western magecraft, seems fitting, no? The second way, as you just read, is to simply be devoid of magical energy, as the barrier doesn't stop physical beings or objects from crossing, only magical energy. So, as a human, if you purge your body of Od... then poof. You can just walk on through.
…He served as the 'yin' to everyone else's 'yang', was the idea: passive as a magus, letting other people's actions cycle into him (flow from yang to yin), then recommence the cycle by throwing one's own 'yang' back at them. Of course, flip that on it's head, and, well... you'll see, if you keep reading xD
…But that was what I came up with I couldn't find anything concrete on Eastern Magecraft on any FATE forum or wiki I visited. Yet, due to my arrogance, I refused to drop the notion of playing with the idea in the first place.
So yeah, to anyone I offended with what I'm sure is absolute butchering of Yin-Yang philosophical thought and ideas, again, I'm sorry. I really am just that arrogant to do it anyways though, what people think be damned.
As for questions I got since last post, I'll start that here.
FIRST QUESTION: Where to start... as for why most are "decent to OP', yes, the widespread adoption (popularity) of Christianity, not so much The Bible specifically, is why they tend to be strong. FATE has a system which applies a 'Fame Bonus' onto servants when summoned, tied to where they currently are in the world. So, for someone like Cu Chulainn, this would be huge for him in Ireland (he is known as the 'Irish Heracles' for a reason), but because he isn't well known outside of Ireland, well... if you've seen the original FATE works, in Japan, while still a solid servant, the 'Fame Bonus' he gets there can't compare to that of Artoria (King Arthur) and ESPECIALLY the global renown of Heracles himself, arguably the most famous hero in all of mythology.
Of course, the 'Fame Bonus' doesn't mean everything in FATE (Vlad only 'matched' Karna in Apocrypha, after all, despite the war being in Romania, and even in Romania Vlad can't harm Achilles at all in Apocrypha if Chiron doesn't hit his heel first, due to his invincibility), but for a lot of Servants from the Bible... I'm sure in most cases, the 'Fame Bonus' is fairly big, and that it does help.
As for the ones you listed as not being OP, and the reasons you provided... I'll go in order.
DAVID: I can't speak on if Archer David is the strongest form of David, as I haven't seen David in anything but FGO, and I haven't looked up anything on him in terms of possible classes he can be summoned as. However, in my opinion, I'd be surprised if Archer WASN'T his strongest possible class, simply due to his biggest claim to fame being his duel against Goliath, where he won with a slingshot (hence the Archer Class). Also, to suggest David isn't OP is, I'd argue, silly. Now, while he himself may not come off as much, the key to David being summoned is, when he does get summoned, so does the Ark of the Covenant. Now, the Ark spawns separated from David, so he won't have it around him immediately on summon, but if you can find it... Look, all I'm saying is don't knock a servant who, when summoned, has an artifact summoned alongside him that is so powerful that even an accidental touch can kill though most (if not all) of Heracles' God Hand and basically one shot one of the most disgustingly impossible Servants to kill. That's pretty damn OP, if you ask me.
SALOME: Yeah, Salome not being as well known will definitely hurt her, as her 'Fame Bonus' is probably fairly low most everywhere. But also remember she doesn't really do much that's... heroic, in life. Even if she was super famous (like Heracles level famous) she still probably wouldn't amount to much, because really, what the hell did she really do to compare to other Heroic Spirits? What does she really have to her name as a hero, anti-hero, or villain? If you ask me, it's a miracle she's a servant at all.
MARTHA: To say Martha is weak is, I think, massively underselling her. Now, I'm assuming you're talking about Rider Martha here, and not the Summer Ruler version of her in FGO. Otherwise, I'd say that's just straight crazy, as the Ruler Class immediately makes anyone, by default, at least decent, due to the inherently busted nature of the Ruler class itself. But, as a Rider, Martha still offers A LOT. First and foremost, she has the Miracle skill. Now, in FGO it just heals and cleanses debuffs, but that's because FGO is a mobile game. In lore, Miracle works, at it's base, similar to the skill Pioneer of the Stars. While the scenarios that the two skills can be applied to differ, in practice, it gives Martha the ability to YOLO NOPE out of the most insane shit, including other Noble Phantasms, just... because she can... By creating miracles... Does it always work? Nope. But, like Pioneer of the Stars, it grants one the theoretic ability to clutch the desired outcome so long as even a 1% chance for it to happen exist (which is most things). She also has Protection of the Faith, a form of divine protection, at A rank, which is nuts. She has Divinity, allowing her to break through divine-based protections (like Achilles' invincibility). She has Magic Resist at rank A, making her basically immune to the magecraft of modern magi in FATE (making her a real good magus killer; something you WANT in a Holy Grail War). She has an ACTUAL DRAGON for a Noble Phantasm in the form of the Tarasque, which she can also ride; not because she's a Rider servant, mind you (most Rider's can't ride dragons), but because she has the Riding skill at a rank of A++ (in the vast majority of cases, that might as well just be EX rank). If that doesn't qualify a servant as AT LEAST decent... then what UTTERLY CURSED metrics are we going by here o.O
Now, for the lack of heavy hitters from the Bible... All I can say to that is, uh, WHAT?!
In a Holy Grail War, Martha is a slam GOD BLESSED dunk if you can summon her. I'm sorry, but she just is (look at the insane shit above!). Saint George is an absolute MONSTER of a defensive Servant. Not only that, and not only can he make anything a Dragon, Saint George himself actually does have Anti-Dragon properties. He's inherently excellent against all servants that are inherently dragons (which there are quite a few), can become excellent against any servant if he can turn them into a dragon by passing on the trait, and is excellent in all cases where you're on the defensive, not the offensive. Let the other masters and servants run into Saint George, and just laugh as the slam themselves into a brick shithouse of a servant. So on this, no, I don't agree. Yes, we don't have Moses, and honestly, I wouldn't even expect Noah to be good as a servant (more like Salome) in a Holy Grail War, but MOST Servants you could summon from the stories within The Bible are SUPER HEAVY HITTERS is played to their strengths.
SECOND QUESTION: I do have fanfics planned after this. First off, I actually do (technically speaking) have another, non-FATE fic going, though I haven't touched it in months because, as it turns out, writing is harder and takes longer than I thought (my arrogance blinding me to the truth, fancy that...). Once this is done, I plan on NEVER setting myself a schedule for posts ever again, and returning to that (because I adamantly REFUSE to drop anything; find it to be too sad a fate for written works to be abandoned forever and forgotten, left unfinished).
I also have another FATE work I will be going into right after this is done. Most likely, I'll alternate posting for the new FATE work, and the other work. As for what I plan to do with the next FATE work... I'll have to see... I want to do something as grand in scope, at least, as the Lostbelts storyline in FGO (Gilgamesh TRULY CANNOT rival this arrogance xD), but to do what I have in mind right now, well... I need to first figure out how two things work. The first is Void Space (or Infinite Number Space, take your pick of the terminology). The second is The Moon Cell specifically (which is also a part of Void Space, technically). …It's going to be a nightmare, for sure, but if I can find a way to make this idea work as I want it to now... Oh, I think it'd be SO MUCH FUN, if nothing else...
Other than those two... I don't really know. I took a peek on this website and noticed that Soul Sacrifice only had 6 works total, which is an absolute CRIME OF HUMANITY. Soul Sacrifice was an amazing game (I'd say the only game worth buying for the PS VITA, at least in NA where it died), with an amazing story and an amazing world. How there's only SIX works for it, I have no clue! Two things making me hesitate on that though, first being 'do I really want to try and write 3 works at once' (answer is no, by the way; I'm smooth brain, but not THAT smooth brain), and the second is 'would it even get read'. Considering there are only 6 works total, I'd say no, as hardly anyone seems to know about the game.
That said... I recommend to EVERYONE reading this to go watch a 100% playthrough of Soul Sacrifice. While the combat isn't the most fun to watch (it really was a game meant to be PLAYED, not spectated), the story, characters, presentation and the thematics... I hold Soul Sacrifice to the same level I hold Persona 5 Royal and the best of FATE: pinnacles of the beauty of humanity. Who knows, you might even find something I carried over from my time playing Soul Sacrifice to this work ;)
Phew, that deals with everything I wanted to say!
As always, thanks to all you who have read to this point o7