My bones were hate, malice was my flesh, and curses were my blood. For I was Angra Mainyu, the god of darkness, the king of daemons, and the source of all evil in the world.

Yet, right now, I was little more than a stain on the rim of the Holy Grail, poisoning the chalice for anyone who might drink from it. An unexpected result from the Einzberns cheating in the war over the Grail - there were only meant to be seven classes. Yet, I had been summoned seventy years ago as the Avenger Class, an eighth class that wasn't meant to exist.

For all their attempts at cheating, another magus family did it better by summoning two saber classes, the strongest of them all, and slew me. My Master perished as well. The lesser Grail had been destroyed during the Grail War, with no winner decided. I was meant to return to the Throne of Heroes, as all Servants did upon death. Instead, I found myself stuck to the Grail. Tainting it. Polluting it.

Most of the time, I wasn't truly aware. Time meant nothing to me. I was only roused from my slumber when I felt a pull upon my being. Then another. And another. And another and another. Slowly, I awoke. First I was curious about what had awoken me, but I quickly found my answer.

The Fourth Holy Grail War was upon us. Connections were being formed between the Holy Grail and the Servants it summoned and the Masters it chose. Each with a wish in their hearts that the Grail desired to grant.

I should have left it alone. I should have simply closed my eyes and returned to my slumber.

But I found myself curious. Another connection was made, a call to the Throne of Heroes for a Servant to appear. Yet the Throne of Heroes never received its call…

Instead, I answered.

…

I opened a thousand eyes as the light of my summoning faded - I found myself in a modern living room filled with the scent of blood and shit, directly across from a ginger-haired young man in his late teens or early twenties. There was the sound of a child screaming in horror, but it was unclear if it was because of my form or his dead parents that he was lying near. The ginger-haired man, my Master, stumbled back a half step at the sight of me.

"Cool! I thought it was just some lame occult book, but I really summoned a demon! Hahahaha!" He cheered happily, throwing his blood-covered hands up in victory. My eyes shifted to look at him, taking in his appearance in full - blue jeans, a white shirt underneath a purple button-down. Gold necklace. He was also very tall- no, I was just small at the moment.

My body grew - I had no true form. I was the embodiment of the void. I could appear however I wished, for evil appeared as a hideous eldritch abomination just as easily as it did in a handsome face, as my Master had so adequately proven. My body contorted, snapping and twisting until it grew into a humanoid shape.

"Hey, hey-" the young man started, only to stop when his gaze met mine. His jaw went slack as sheer unbridled enjoyment shone in his eyes. "You grew? That's so cool! Can you speak?" he asked me, practically bouncing from foot to foot. Then he seemed to catch himself, "Actually, I have a gift for you! Wanna eat this kid?"

I looked at the weeping child laying down in a puddle of his own urine, a rag over his face to muffle his screaming. The sheer terror in his gaze went beyond words. I stood in the center of a summoning circle made of the blood of his parents. The woman who was propped up against the wall barely looked human. She had been brutally mutilated and her intestines had been carved out of her stomach. I saw a severed limb that belonged to the father laying on the floor, who seemed to be in about the same shape.

"Humanity hasn't changed," I spoke, catching my Master's attention. He turned around before I moved - spider-like appendages erupted from my body, an eyeball at each joint, that carried me to him in a blink of an eye. With a red-tipped appendage, I stabbed him in the heart and I injected my blood into him. Curses filled the man, forcing him to let out a strangled gasp. Then his eyes glazed over.

Not in death, but something far worse.

The child continued to scream as I withdrew my appendage from my Master, a small black spot now marking his undershirt. My Master stood there, completely slack and unresponsive. He wouldn't even be able to close his eyes.

"I'm better suited to being Caster than Avenger," I remarked, and it was funny how that worked out. If I had been Caster in the last Grail War, I might have stood a chance. My stats were overall abysmal - E's across the board, except for Mana and Noble Phantasm, both of which were EX. I was still dead in a straight-up fight, but if I was in a straight-up fight as Caster, then something had gone very wrong.

Reaching out, I grabbed hold of my Master - my flesh burned away his legs and one of his arms, keeping his Command Seals that marked the back of his hand. Once he was a bit more convenient to carry, I spared a glance at the child, who trembled like a leaf. He was hyperventilating, not even looking at me. I could imagine his fear.

I had been around the same age when my village chose me to bear the weight of all the evils in the world. Those same evils that they carved into my skin and inflicted upon me.

A tendril lashed out and cut through the child's bindings. A small act of mercy. One that was unlike me, but the answer for that was evident, I thought to myself as I headed to the front door, carrying what was left of my master.

I was no one, merely a nameless sacrifice. Because I was no one, I could be anyone.

I was myself and someone else. Just as a hero of legend could be summoned from any point of their life, I had been summoned as one of the many evils in the world. An evil that lurked in the heart of a man, but not one without mercy.

Stepping outside, I took in the view - the Grail offered general information, but I was surprised at how different the city looked after a mere seventy years. For me, I had blinked my eyes and now everything was different. Street lamps illuminated a neighborhood in the middle of the night, a few cars were parked on the sides of the road, but the streets and sidewalks were empty. A good thing too - I couldn't dematerialize on account of the fact that I had to carry my Master. Whose name I never learned.

Though, I suppose I didn't need to.

My body began to splinter, one whole form becoming thousands of smaller ones. Each one was no bigger than a fly, yet each, insectoid body was half teeth with a set of wings. Being broken into many did nothing to me - my body was my body, I controlled it with the same ease as I did when it was still whole. The insects grabbed hold of my Master and I lifted him into the air as a swirling swarm, carrying us both over the houses.

"Humanity hasn't changed," I repeated to myself. The cities were brighter and larger, and the quality of life had improved… yet humans were every bit as barbaric as they had been when humanity had been stuck in small villages by the riverside. My summoning was a sure sign of that. A boy orphaned for nothing other than the sick pleasure of a murderer. The only thing that had changed was that there were more humans. More curses. More hate.

As I flew above the city, letting my innate abilities as a Caster guide me towards my destination, to a leyline, I looked down at the twinkling city below. I had been summoned a second time - the first, I didn't have a wish. This time, my summoning had been more coincidental than anything. I still didn't have a wish.

But, I think I might have one now.

…

I dropped my Master off in the tunnels underneath Ryuudou temple, the second most powerful leyline in the city. The most powerful leyline was an obvious choice to avoid because humans were inherently selfish, and magi more so. The Tohsaka laid claim to the heart of the most mana-rich leyline intersection, while the Matou had their estate nearby. Both of them had participated in the last Grail War, though I knew little about them beyond that.

My former Master had kept me out of the fighting on account of my pathetic stats. She had hoped to coast through the Grail War and get the drop on whoever was last. I never stepped foot outside of the Einzbern manor upon being summoned, so everything I knew came second hand. I also knew from experience that being passive didn't work out because all it had gotten me was double teamed by two sabers.

Fucking Einzberns. They had helped make the damn grail and they couldn't even cheat properly. Idiots.

That being said, they did have a good choice in location when it came to setting up the Holy Grail. Underground, the dense stone trapped the mana that would then be fed into the Holy Grail, letting it soak it up over the course of decades to fill it. Once it reached the necessary amount of mana, the Grail War would begin. It also made it the perfect place for me to pick as my base of operations - the mana was so plentiful that I might not even need a Master to support my existence.

But waste not, want not.

"You should be able to survive for a few days on your own," I told my master, who continued to stare lifelessly at whatever was in front of him. The human mind really was too fragile. A few curses was all it took to destroy his mind. If I didn't feed and water him, he'd die of starvation or thirst in no time at all. Was this what it was like to have a pet? Seemed like more trouble than it was worth. Though, I did like him better like this. A mana battery that supplied a decent amount of mana, and being in this place would continuously top him off.

A tendril emerged from my body that I used to carve a sigil into the stone surface of the wall my master was propped up against. My curses soaked into the stone, blackening it as blood seemed to fill the engravings, and a bounded field was established - both to protect my mana battery by destroying the mind of whoever entered the bounded field without permission, and to alert me when the field was tripped.

My preparations were finished. I had established a base of operations, and I had a reliable supply of mana. As far as the checklist went, that was most of the boxes. Normally, I would spend my time preparing spells to use against the other Servants. The only issue with that was the fact that I didn't actually know any magic or magecraft. At least, nothing beyond what the Grail imparted for the sake of convenience for the Mage Association - to preserve mystery and hide the existence of magic from those that were born without magic circuits.

All I had were my curses.

My body broke into a swarm of carnivorous insects once again, since I found it a convenient means of travel, and flew through the tunnels. A minute later I emerged through a secret entrance and flew through the forest that covered the hill that the temple was seated upon. I knew that I was the last Servant to be summoned - Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Berserker, and Assassin had all been summoned, and there didn't seem to be any extra additions to the roster this time.

No point in waiting. Might as well get the Grail War over and done with.

…

Saber had gone by many names in her life - Artoria Pendragon, King Arthur, Wart as a child, and she was sure that her enemies had a great many more names for her. In this day and age, she was simply the Servant Saber, summoned to claim the Holy Grail for her Master, Kiritsugu Emiya. A man that she had spoken to exactly once since she had been summoned several days ago, and had instead been left in the care of his wife, Irisviel von Einzbern. A pleasant woman by all accounts, if one overly fond of playing dress-up with her.

"All the Servants have been summoned. The Grail War has officially begun," Irisviel informed her, ending the call with a had been having through the use of a satellite phone. Her hair was stark white, matching her unnaturally pale skin, which in turn made her blood-red eyes stand out that much more. Saber wasn't certain what Irisviel was exactly, but it was evident that she wasn't a normal human. For reasons beyond her albinism. She seemed disappointed with the news, yet resolute.

Irisviel wasn't her Master, but she was a suitable replacement.

Saber wished she could share in her disappointment, but she felt nothing but anticipation for the coming competition. For her entire existence revolved around the Holy Grail and the wish that it could grant her. The sooner the Grail War began, the sooner she could undo the fate that was caused by her misplaced arrogance.

Irisviel spared her a look, telling Saber that she hadn't managed to conceal her true thoughts from the woman. "We must be on guard at all times… but that does not mean you can't enjoy yourself, Master."

Irisviel smiled in response as they walked down the sidewalk in the afternoon sun. "Assassin has already been slain by Archer," she continued, happily looking at everything around them. Despite the information implanted into her, Saber found herself wishing to do the same. Camelot had been the shining jewel of her era, surpassing the likes of Rome or Paris with its brilliance. However, Fuyuki City was brilliant in its own way - the technology, the convenience. Hot or cold water with the twist of a knob, and plentiful food readily available for those that could afford it.

Worries of famine were something of the past for the modern era. While disease had yet to be conquered, diseases that had threatened entire communities' existence in her time were easily treated here with medicine that could be purchased over the counter of the local pharmacist for pocket change. Near two thousand years was a long time in human development, but that made it no less incredible to witness.

"I am not Assassin," Saber spoke with confidence. She was summoned as the most powerful Class. The one that was most commonly defeated by dishonorable curs, for few could stand to meet in battle. For that, Saber had no need to worry. Her Master Kiritsugu was as dishonorable as they came.

Irisviel giggled as they continued to walk, "My knight in shining armor," she responded happily as they 'window shopped'.

Saber allowed herself a slight smile, but her mind turned over the information she had been given. Assassin had been slain attempting to assassinate Archer's Master, Tokiomi Tohsaka. Archer was reported to be powerful - as far as she could tell, he was her most likely rival in the War. How he had dispatched Assassin was subject to conjecture, but it mattered not. Even he would fall to her blade. He had to.

The Grail must be hers.

Saber reached up to adjust her tie - she was dressed as a man - something she was well familiar with, though the styles had changed - wearing a dark on dark business suit with her hair tied off in a simple ponytail. She glanced over at her reflection in one of the windows - a white dress on the other end. It wouldn't fit her well. Her body had stopped aging at fifteen, leaving her with a slim build. It was as convenient as it was inconvenient - her feminine features were dismissed as a byproduct of the Fey, and her breasts remained a modest size, allowing her to easily conceal her gender. However, at fifteen, her body hadn't fully matured, leaving her on the short side and her physical abilities weren't what they could have been as a woman fully grown.

She began to look away, only to freeze at the feeling of mana washing over her. Irisviel noticed it instantly, freezing in place. Saber stepped forward, ready to fight while her mind raced - A Servant? Here? Now? It was the middle of the day, and they were surrounded by people. One of the rules was that the conflicts of the Grail War must happen in abandoned places, and any witnesses must be slain. Did the Servant not care about the rules? Did they intend to fight them now?

Irisviel reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Saber, I think it's an invitation." she voiced her theory, and that… made a degree of sense. Meeting in a public place where they couldn't fight without breaking the rules. Clever.

"Do you wish to accept that invitation, Master?" Saber questioned her, suspecting the answer. Irisviel was not a woman that frightened easily. Unsurprisingly, she nodded her head firmly, ready to go forward even if she had to do it alone. She had great courage, but Saber had seen too many just as courageous die bloody deaths because of their courage. Each one was a failure on her as a King. She couldn't protect them all back then, but she resolved herself to protect Irisviel now.

With the decision made, Saber led the way, closing in on the source of the mana. The closer she got, the more… sinister it felt. Like oil washing over her skin, clogging her pores, and each breath seemed to coat her lungs with a layer of tar. It was so intense that even normal humans sensed it instinctively, crossing over to the other side of the street or quickly moving on with a sense of urgency that they were not consciously aware of. Saber spotted the building that housed the source, a cafe.

Swinging open the door revealed that the shop was nearly completely empty. The cashier had left her post, though it sounded like she was in the back room. All but one of the tables were empty, cups and plates left behind, most of them still having food or drink in them, as if the patrons of the establishment left in a hurry.

Sitting alone at a table set for three was a man.

He would have been handsome. Very much so. A raven black man of hair that was smoothed back over his head and pale amber-colored eyes - physically well built ,with broad shoulders and muscular arms that she noticed through his black jacket that was lined with white fur around the collar. Underneath his jacket was a white v-neck that revealed skin that appeared to have a healthy tan to it.

However, he was disfigured horribly. Words in an unknown language were carved into every inch of his skin - all over his face, down his neck, and on his hands. There was enough evidence to suggest that the carvings covered his entire body, even his eyelids. They overlapped one another, leaving no inch unmarked. The only evidence of his tan was in the gaps between the letters, small spaces at most. It suited the malevolent aura around him. Like a naked blade that promising that blood would be spilled. The air inside the cafe was heavy, almost to the point where it was difficult to breathe.

"The service in this place isn't that great, but I got coffee for everyone. It's pretty good," the Servant said, taking a sip out of a small cup, appearing completely at ease. Saber narrowed her eyes, her hand itching to summon Excaliber, and allow its holy light to burn away the foulness that permeated the air, but she held off. Despite the atmosphere in the cafe, he didn't appear to be hostile. Though, in a Grail War, she'd be a fool to trust that. "Care to have a seat?"

"Who are you?" Saber demanded, stepping forward. What class was-

"Caster class - Angra Mainyu," Angra Mainyu answered with a casual ease that didn't befit the reveal that he had just made. A Servant's name was something to treat with respect and keep secret at all costs, because the moment it was known, you would understand what that Servant was capable of, and the weaknesses they had had in life. In same way that if the enemy understood that she was King Authur, they would expect her Noble Phantasm. He offered a mockery of a smile, revealing startling white teeth. "No point in hiding it. Your Master already knows who I am."

Saber glanced at Irisviel, who seemed startled at his appearance. She offered a small nod, "He… was the Servant for the Einzberns in the last Grail War. But how are you here? You were killed," she pointed out, to say nothing that it had been a near-century since he was summoned.

Angra Mainyu offered a cheeky grin that didn't match the look in his eyes. "I see your family finally wizened up and summoned the Saber Class," he remarked lightly, earning a small glare from Saber. There should be no reason for him to know that. She was currently unarmed, and even with Excaliber in hand, it was covered in an invisible wind, obscuring it. The only way he could know her identity was if he had been watching them for far longer than she had expected and they hadn't noticed. "Guess they learned that cheaters never prosper."

"Caster, state your intentions. Why are you here? Why did you reveal yourself?" Saber pressed, her tone harsh. Caster rankled her, unnerved her. If he had been in the previous Grail War, then he should not be here. Not unless he had purposely been summoned again, but unless he was like her, an incomplete Servant, Angra Mainyu shouldn't be able to remember the last Grail War.

"Take a seat. S'not like I'm hiding the answers from you. Just seems inconvenient to talk from across the room, ya' know?" Angra Mainyu responded, his tone flippant. Saber considered the offer, before Irisviel made the decision for them. She walked forward, forcing Saber to keep pace. Saber pulled out a chair for Irisviel before standing behind her, glaring down at the Servant Caster. Angra Mainyu didn't seem to mind as he took another sip of his coffee.

"What did you wish to discuss? Are you here speaking on behalf of your master?" Irisviel questioned, her tone serious and dignified.

There was a dangerous light in Angra Mainyu's eyes. "Master's currently indisposed, so I'm speaking for myself." By that, Saber suspected that his Master was already a thrall to his will. Something that Casters had a nasty habit of doing whenever summoned. All too often, the Caster's knowledge of magecraft outstripped that of their Masters. Irisviel didn't respond or give a reaction to that beyond politely taking a sip of her black coffee. Saber suspected that it lacked sugar. "I wanted to ask... what is your wish?" he asked them, catching both Irisviel and Saber by surprise.

He set his coffee down, "My last Master never bothered to tell me. After she saw my stats, she wrote me off. She was right to, of course. I died almost as soon as I saw the last Saber I encountered. Summoning two of them was just overkill. I'm just curious. You homunculus are churned out for a single purpose - to be sacrificed to complete the Third Magic and have a wish granted."

Saber tensed at his words- Irisviel would die?

The albino woman nodded, "That is correct." she confirmed, without hesitation or fear. That would mean… Saber swallowed a sigh as she kept her face impassive. Her heart felt heavy… but with the fall of Camelot, it was a familiar weight. She wouldn't dishonor Irisviel by insulting her resolve. "I am a sacrifice to complete the Holy Grail. Just as your previous Master was a sacrifice. I am the fourth, and hopefully the last."

That heavy, almost deadly glint in Angra Mainyu's eyes softened a fraction. "A sacrifice huh? For what?"

Irisviel nodded, "For a peaceful world where no one has to cry. That is the wish that I want to grant." A wish that Kiritsugu shared.

Angra Mainyu smiled at that. It was a truly hideous sight. "We have that in common," he said. Saber's lips thinned - while she might not be a full Servant, she did have access to the Throne of Heroes and those that dwelled within it. It allowed her to know about the heroes within, and their legends, regardless of when they happened or where. His was a sad tale. A truly wretched and tragic one. A young boy chosen to bear the weight of all evil, then forced to suffer those evils at the hands of those he loved. A sacrifice to evil to become the source of all evil.

It had been a sacrifice for the greater good. By bearing the weight of that evil, he spared others from suffering it. It was a noble sacrifice, but it was a sacrifice that had been inflicted upon him.

"I even think that our wishes are compatible," Angra Mainyu said, sounding thoughtful. Irisviel seemed surprised by that, earning a smile that was all teeth. "So surprised? I might be the source of all evil in the world, but that doesn't make me a bad guy, you know? After all… if there's no evil in the world… then maybe I'll be free of this personal hell of mine."

"You're purposing an alliance?" Saber asked, surprised. That wasn't what she expected. "To what end? For what purpose?"

To that, Angra Mainyu shrugged. "Why wouldn't I want to ally with the most powerful Servant? I learned firsthand how powerful you Sabers are, and since the Einzberns struck out with me, I bet you're as powerful as can be. Our wishes are compatible, we have a bit in common, so why not?" he purposed. The offer itself made a degree of sense, and it was clear that he benefited from the arrangement. She was his natural enemy, with a high magic resistance that reduced the effectiveness of his spells. By allying with them for a time, he was giving himself a shield and the time he needed to prepare before they betrayed each other.

Only one Servant could have their wish granted. There was no other way that the alliance could end other than in betrayal.

It was a good proposal, but Saber didn't trust him. The very air around him became tainted with malice merely by being in his presence. He eyed them like he was debating on which one of them to murder first. Casters were inherently untrustworthy, but Angra Mainyu was… in a class of his own in that regard. Saber didn't see how an alliance with him could bring anything other than disaster upon them.

"May we have some time to think about your offer?" Irisviel requested, earning another uncaring shrug from the Caster class Servant.

Irisviel probably wished to consult Kiritsugu about it. Saber was against the idea, however. The little that she knew of her true master made her suspect that Kiritsugu would see the value of an alliance in the early stages of the war, despite what her instincts were telling her. Especially because Archer had revealed himself as a powerful threat.

"How about until sundown?" Angra Mainyu decided, and it was a reasonable timeline. They had about six hours until then, giving enough time for consideration while making it clear to his time wasn't to be wasted. It was fair. Which made Saber suspect it that much more. With his deadline set, Angra Mainyu didn't wait for an answer before he finished off his coffee with a gulp and set down the empty cup. He stood up, showing off that he was a full head taller than her.

Saber tensed as he walked by, their gazes meeting. There was hate in his eyes. Malice. Yet, at the same time, his gaze felt… hollow, empty. Flat.

She wondered what he saw in her gaze as he walked by her. Her caution proved to be unwarranted, because he simply left the building with the ringing of a bell. Almost as soon as he left, the vile presence in the cafe vanished, though the tension remained.

The cashier poked her head out when she heard the bell ring and looked visibly relieved when she didn't see Angra Mainyu. Saber spared her a look, but she seemed unharmed. Irisviel set her coffee down before she stood up, turning to Saber with a serious expression on her face. There was a silent question in her eyes.

Saber shook her head, giving her opinion on the offer. Irisviel bit her lip as she interlocked her arm with Saber's, sticking close to her in the event that there was a trap coming. "The last time he was summoned, it was as the Avenger Class. He was weak, weaker than even Assassin. But, before my predecessor died, she made a note that he was likely the most dangerous Servant in the Grail War." she explained as they left the cafe with no sign of Angra Mainyu nearby. Not that it meant anything. "She never gave a reason why, but… she called his summoning the greatest mistake of the Einzberns."

"You wish to keep him close to keep an eye on him?" Saber questioned as they continued their walk, the cheerful air they had prior now lost. That was a valid reason. One that she had implemented more than once as a King.

Irisviel nodded, "He's Caster now, but somethings wrong. The Einzberns still have the catalyst that was used to summon him, so unless another was found by another Master… the odds that he would be summoned again are astronomically low. Nor should he recall his prior summoning."

Saber found herself nodding in agreement. Angra Mainyu was leaving something unsaid about his origins, and his intentions.

Regardless of who he had been - a sacrifice to bear the weight of all evil, his legend was that of the source of all evil. While it was possible that he was like her - a Heroic Spirit that desired to undo their own legend, what qualified them for the Throne of Heroes, it was equally possible that he was simply lying. Given that vile aura around him, the latter seemed more likely.

However, Irisviel let out a content sigh, "Well, we'll just leave it to Kiritsugu to decide. Come on, Saber! That tea shop looks fantastic!" Irisviel eagerly pulled Saber along with a surprising amount of strength.

A sad smile appeared on Saber's face as she obeyed the order, Irisviel's eagerness to experience life was now explained with her rapidly approaching death. A death that was unavoidable for their wishes to be granted - for world peace, and Camelot's fall to be avoided.

"Of course, my Master," Saber agreed, matching her step for step. She could not save Irisviel, but the least she could do was make sure that she enjoyed the time that she had left.

…

So, this is one of those plot bunnies that just wouldn't leave me alone until I put words to paper. When I was done, I thought the story had potential and had an idea - basically, I'm doing something a little different with this story. This story has no set schedule. It'll update whenever I finish a chapter. Could be tomorrow or it could be a month from now. My other stories and commissions have priority, so I'll work on this story when I can.

Meaning that if you want more of it faster, then drop likes or comments to give me a dopamine hit to motivate me.