Chapter 2 - Welcome to Nasu's World

...

Well, this is certainly and odd turn of events. First, I have a trippy dream that looked like something someone who did PCP would see. Then, I wake up in a massive bedroom, most likely in a mansion. Now, I'm staring at the 'Little Murder Machine' herself, Illyasviel von Einzbern.

Have I been isekai'd? Or is this just some weird fucking hallucination?

I suppose this isn't all bad, in retrospect. I mean, Illya was my favorite girl in Fate/stay. Rin, Saber and the others were cute, but Illya was my favorite. Shame her route was cut.

I'm not a lolicon, I swear.

Downside, and this is a big one, I've been reincarnated in the Nasuverse. The Grail War? Wholly insignificant compared to the Moon Cell and the 40-meter long alien from Mercury off in South America.

This world, or perhaps worlds, are bat-shit insane death worlds on par with SAO.

And I just so happen to be staring dead into the beautiful, yet terrifying crimson eyes of a sadistic murder-loli.

"Erm... it's nice to meet you too, Illyasviel." I say, trying to be a bit polite.

"Oh, just call me Illya, Onii-chan!" She smiles again. God she is so cute. So, I shan't be deceived by the cuteness!

"Oh right, I never to you my name. I'm Samuel Rivers, but most people just call me Sam."

"Sam-onii-chan, then." She says again. Hang on a sec-

"Why are you calling me 'onii-chan' when your name doesn't sound Japanese at all?"

"My mama's side of the family is German, but my papa's is Japanese."

"Ah, that'd do it." I forgot that little detail.

"But are you sure you're okay? Liz did find you freezing to death outside." Say what?!

"Freezing outside? Where am I exactly?"

She tilts her head. "You... don't know?"

"Last I checked, I lived in Louisiana, in America. Not much snowfall there. On top of that, it's summer."

"You really are out of it, Onii-chan!" She says with a cute giggle. "You're in my family's home, in Germany." Yeah I figured I wasn't home. "Also, it's October, nowhere near summer."

"October?!" I slightly shout, eyes wide. It's supposed to be fucking June!

"Yup! October!"

"Great, first I have a crazy-ass dream, now I'm halfway around the world and four months into the future." I say future, but I know I'm in the past, unless Fate/stay canon has changed from January 2004 to 2022.

"What's this about a dream?" She inquires.

"I had a weird dream before I woke up here. I was in some kinda void. Then this ball of light showed up and I touched it. The ball disappeared and I saw a bunch of stuff fly past me. Eventually, it all became too much and I woke up."

"Ball of light? That sounds like-" She cuts herself off as her eyes widen. "Did you touch the Root?!" She shouts.

"I guess?" I ask, uneasily.

"This is unbelievable." She says, frustrated. Should I tell her about Fate/stay? I mean, Second Magic exists, so hopefully it won't shatter her world-view.

"You wanna know what's unbelievable? Ending up in the world of a series you're all too familiar with."

"What?"

"Well you know about Second Magic?" She nods, confused. Likely she didn't expect me to know magecraft or anything. "Well one theory is one that says 'all stories of fiction are stories of the events of another universe', or something like that.

What I'm getting at, is that it's nice to meet you, my favorite character in Fate/stay night." I say with a smile.

"Fate, stay night?"

"It's a somewhat old visual novel, showing the events of the Fifth Holy Grail War." Her eyes widen a considerable degree. "Considering we're in Germany, and it's October, the war hasn't started yet."

"No, not yet. It should start in January."

"Which means I'm in the past, not the future. It should be June 2022 by my perspective."

"And yet somehow you've touched the Root itself and ended up here, alive at that." She concludes.

"You're taking this awfully well, Illya." I say, eyebrow raised.

"This is crazy, but it's not insane. Like you said, Second Magic exists."

"That it does. So... what now?" I ask.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I know what's gonna happen in the Grail War, though I don't know which version of it we're in. Fate/stay was a visual novel that had three different main endings. Since it's the Fate series, no it's ending is really a happy one, so..." I pause, gathering my thoughts.

"So I suppose I could fuck with everything and make it so no one dies, or at least try to make sure no one dies."

"Fufu~ that's certainly a lofty goal, Onii-chan." She giggles into her hand. "I'm surprised you don't want the Grail for the wish."

"Yeah, I'd rather not touch that damn monkey's paw." Better tell her about this now and not later.

"What do you mean?"

"Your family were so desperate to get back their precious Third Magic, the broke their own damn rules and summoned an Avenger Class Servant in the Third War. Worst of all, it was Angra fucking Mainyu."

"Angra Mainyu?!"

"Yup. Apparently, he's the weakest Sevant. Can only really hurt humans, so your family kicked him out. He killed a bunch of people before being killed by Lancer. He returned to the Grail, but not the Throne of Heroes."

"But shouldn't have be gone to the Throne? That's where Servants go when defeated."

"Nope." I'm actually surprised she didn't know this. "Servants go back to the Grail, the seven Servants are used to power the Grail to complete the wish."

"Seven?"

I stare her dead in the eye, with a deadpan expression. "The Grail War was created so that selfish Magi could summon literal heroes to get them to reach the Root. They use the heroes as familiars, why would they grant a familiar's wish? All seven Servants power the Grail to tear a path to the Root for whoever makes the 'wish'. I'm honestly surprised you don't know this."

She's silent for a long while, looking down in contemplation. "I didn't know that... I guess the Command Seals make even more sense now."

"Yeah. It's worse for you, since you can't exactly fuse your Lesser Grail with the Greater one. In the story, your father figured out something was wrong when the Greater Grail showed up and started spewing Angra's mud." Her attention shoots back to me instantly. "He used Saber's Noble Phantasm powered by three Command Seals to destroy it, but it just shot out a bunch of mud and absorbed the Noble Phantasm's power. Specifically, it gathered up fifty years worth of Mana, hence why the war is starting after only ten years, not sixty.

"That's... what happened to papa? He died destroying the Grail?"

"No. He survived. He was cursed by the mud and flames, though. It weakened him more and more until he died." I look her dead in the eyes once more. "You're father did try to come back for you. Angra's curse weakened him too much to fight your 'grandpa' to get you back."

She clenches her fists and quietly growls out. "So... grandfather lied to me about papa, huh?

We're both quiet for a while. Illya sighs deeply. "Oh well. I'll just have to pay dear grandfather a visit after this."

"Hmm..." I interject with a hum. "How about you get back at him later." She turns to me, confused. "Act like you don't know about Angra or what happened to your papa. Act as everything's normal, then, when he's truly vulnerable, get back at him."

Her composure breaks, and a cruel smile grows across her face. "That's a much better idea. My, you're quite cruel, aren't you, Onii-chan~?" She says, teasingly.

"I'm not cruel. I just know bad things happen to bad people, and your grandpa is a terrible fucking person." I feel a smile grow on my face as well. "This is just years' worth of bad karma coming back to bite him in the ass."

"Ahahaha!" She begins to laugh a beautiful laugh, reminiscent of wind chimes. "Oh I like you already, Onii-chan!"

"The feeling's mutual, Illya." I say with a smile. "Anyways, I oughtta get up, huh?"

"Oh?" She says with a sly grin. "I didn't know you were an exhibitionist, Onii-chan~"

"...I'm naked under here aren't I?"

"You were sopping wet and freezing to death earlier. Not that I would mind seeing more of you, you have a nice body~" Only now do I look at myself.

"Great different world, now different body." I can practically feel the question hanging in the air. "I've never been this muscular, Illya." My body is now that of a swimmers, lots of muscle hidden beneath a thin frame.

"Just another oddity about you, huh?"

"Guess so. Though, do you even have any men's clothes here?"

"Probably not." She smirks. She fucking smirks.

"Damn. I really do wish I could wear something." As though to answer that call, I feel something swell up within me. It moves outward and wraps around me.

"?!" Illya lets out a gasp. The, well I can only describe it as 'magic', wraps around me. It's colorless, formless. Suddenly, it stops moving and begins to change color. It also becomes solid. Once it's done, I am fully clothed. Stepping out from the covers, I realize I'm wearing a simple grey t-shirt, blue jeans and white tennis shoes.

"Did I just... make clothes with a thought?"

"That sounds like-"

"First Magic." I cut her off. "I did touch the Root, so I guess I'm a Magician now..."

Neither of us really know how to respond to that.

"This is pretty cool, huh Illya-chan?" Her eyes widen at the nickname, before relaxing. She then speaks again, a serene smile on her face.

"It is pretty cool, Onii-chan."

The mere prospect of being in the Nasuverse might be enough to terrify anyone to their core, but for some reason, seeing Illya's smile right now has made me calm.

Perhaps calmer than I've ever been.

AN

Chapter 2! It's longer!

Our boy has touched the Root and gotten imagination magic! Something I really love the concept of. Demonic magic in DxD was said to be fueled my imagination, but that was never really brought up again, nor was it ever utilized much. That's sad. I really liked the idea.

Then I remembered what First Magic was, and I was on board.

This week has been pretty okay as far as the humidity goes. June and early July was as hot as usual, temperate-wise. The humidity was the problem and made it hell, but it's been okay for the past week. It's still hot, just not a humid.

Also, if you all haven't read it, I also have a Date A Live story up. Give it a read, would you?

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the next!