Author's Notes
Berserk is not a series meant for power-scaling, meaning characters in it are not all that powerful, because of that, you can expect buffs to the Berserk characters that appear in this series for them to hold up against Fate characters in this world. The most buffs will be given to the God Hand. To fit in the lore of Fate, they have been made into fragments of The Root.
This crossover requires you to have decent knowledge of Berserk and Fate as a whole, as there will be things such as the True Magics coming into play. The ending of Berserk in this crossover is more-so meant to be a 'bad' one, please keep this in mind when progressing the story.
Guts will not be introduced right away. Keep this in mind as well.
To avoid confusion when talking about Griffith's armies and identities, refer to the list below. This list is not official, I've simply used two different translations to distinguish between them in this story.
Band of the Hawk = Griffith's mercenary army built up of humans.
Hawk of Light = Human Griffith
Band of the Falcon = Falconia's army built up of both Apostles and humans.
Falcon of Light/Falcon of Darkness = Femto/Reborn Griffith
They are driven to pursue it, and they pursue it solely for their own sake, no other. One man's dream can hold dominion over the entire world, for one who dedicates his life to the forging of a single sword. While many can pursue their dreams in solitude, other dreams are like great storms blowing hundreds even thousands of dreams apart in their wake. Dreams breathe life into men, and can cage them in suffering. Men live and die by their dreams, but long after they've been abandoned, they still smolder deep in men's hearts. Some see nothing more than life and death. They are dead, for they have no dreams.
A feminine finger hovered over to a device on a table...
Click.
Two figures sat across a table in a dimly lit room, a single light above said table. You could barely make out who was in this room or what was happening on it, but one thing's for sure: There was a camera on the table. They were being recorded.
At first, a feminine voice was raised. "This is Kiara Sessyoin from the Seraphix department of Chaldea Security Organization. Today is the first day of prisoner 202156's therapy session, rehabilitation, if you will. I'm quite honored to be in your presence to be honest. How are we feeling today, sir?"
And then, from the other side of the table came a male voice. It was however, incredibly soft, yet lovely, to say the least. A tone oh so endearing, that even just his voice could put you to sleep as if it were a lullaby. "I could always be better."
"...My apologies. I didn't expect you to feel good after today's events anyways, that was a bad question to ask. I just wanted to lighten the mood."
"I understand."
"Alright..." Kiara let out a deep sigh. "Let's get straight to the point, there's no time to waste. We have a lot to catch up to. You seem quite like an interesting person. I want to study you, your mind, so why not start from the beginning? Tell me, how did you get here?"
"It has been quite a long journey, would you really like to know everything that's happened?"
"It's my job."
"Even to this day, you humans amaze me. Never have I seen any other creature as greedy as man. Greedy for knowledge, that is what you in specific are. As you can see, I cannot move a single finger, let alone escape, as such, I shall entertain both you and myself. I will start from the beginning, just as you asked of me."
"I'm listening."
Long ago...
A battle in the heart of nature...
Why would any man kill a child? Taking the life of an innocent child may be the most inhuman of all sins.
That is what the Black Swordsman has done. Under the moonlight, the Black Swordsman had impaled a young boy with hair as dark as the night sky. His eyes were now devoid of life. Next to the boy, there was a tanned woman with short, black hair. She was holding the child's now limp and lifeless left hand, an ocean of emotions slowly forming in her pearly eyes.
"G... Guts-"
"Casca! Get away from him already! He's gonna turn any second now!"
She didn't know what to do, really. She had entered such a state that she couldn't even think, only obeying the swordsman's orders and quickly backing away. The boy's attacker looked on with a stoic expression, but that didn't last very long. Even he broke down into tears in silence. Although, there didn't seem to be any other choice in ending the long conflict, it still tore him apart on the inside.
...
The Sun slowly started to shine. The long, unkept black hair of the child started to shift into a more curly, silky white hair which resembled clouds. His body aged up rapidly, turning into an adult in the matter of a few seconds. An absolutely strange phenomenon, that's for sure. In an instant, the child had turned into someone completely different. Both the swordsman and the child were basically nobodies, they never went down in history, but the person the child changed into did. He went down in history as the purest human to walk the Earth. His name is Griffith, he who brought utopia to the world, even if it was only temporary. Life quickly poured back into his now predator-like, sky blue eyes as he entered a state of shock, said eyes widening.
Through some unknown ability, both Guts and his sword were launched into the air, stopping after hitting a tree.
"Guts...!" Casca rushed over to him.
"So pathetic, are you? So filled with rage, that you were willing to kill your own child... just what did you do...?" Griffith's head was spinning, his vision had gotten blurry. He looked at the palm of his own right hand... he was cracking, like a fragile porcelain doll, his ability was diminishing. His right hand had now gotten cracks all over it, much to his dismay.
Guts had already gotten past his sadness. "You'll find out in a second, asshole." He grit his teeth in anger. "All I know is that you're done. You're going to be getting sealed."
"Sealed? You and your weapon both - - ! You are pitiful! If you think that miserable object has the ability to 'seal' me, then I have to disappoint you. It seems that you have forgotten something; you are MEANT to be sacrificed. I'll crush you into bits and send you to your kingdom come, just as I should have done before."
"I didn't say this thing would be the one to seal you. Now! Get in here, kid!"
Upon being ordered, a green-haired witch of short stature leapt out from behind a tree. Before Griffith could realize it, she had placed her right hand on his wound from behind, only causing more and more blood to gush out of the large injury.
"Wha..."
Just as he was about to retaliate against the witch, a gap in reality itself opened up, and rode out of it a skeleton knight wielding a sword covered in eyes, mouths and noses. It had a blue glow to it. He was already up in Griffith's face before he could even react. The skeleton knight's weapon had cleaved deep into his right shoulder.
"Did you finish it? The seal." Guts said in a hurried manner.
"Yes... you can let go of him, now." The young witch had a worried tone of voice. Such is to be expected when you are going up against the governor of Causality.
A surprised look was left on his face, as if he were frozen. The skeleton knight pulled his weapon back, instantly causing the Falcon to drop to the ground.
He coughed crimson red blood onto the grass. "Wha... what is this? Blood...?"
"Indeed, it must be shocking for the Hand of God to witness his own blood, alas, you are mortal in the end."
"T- This is...! This is ridiculous! It could never happen!" He had entered such a state that he couldn't even move a finger. To think the greatest of all was defeated all because of a child in his body... "Impossible...! I'm...!"
Guts got back up from his position, walking over to his adversary. He had been surrounded now.
"Guts, is it over...?" The young witch said with worry in her voice.
"Yeah." He let out a deep sigh. "I suppose."
In Griffith's eyes, however, it was just the beginning. His eyes were locked on the ground, even though there was nothing there but his own blood staining the grass.
He had a different point of view.
Not too far away from his current position, there was a strange, crimson-colored, egg shaped object. It had the features of a human face. A nose, lips, two eyes placed all around it randomly with no order in mind. Looks like it was only visible in his eyes.
Just as Guts was about to finish off Griffith, Casca's voice called back out to him. "Guts! Wait! Please... wait!" Guts grit his teeth in frustration, turning around.
...
Griffith had shifted his focus to the imaginary Behelit, completely tuning out the conversation. The last time it called to him, he had many soldiers to sacrifice, but what does he have now? What does a man who has no emotions have to sacrifice?
...His dream. It tore him up on the inside, but clearly the Behelit was there because it was signaling to his dream. It was either sacrificing his own dream and living on, or dying, returning to the cycle of reincarnation.
He can't let it go to waste. All his efforts to take down a stationary god who does no good for those below him...
He can't let it go to waste.
He can't.
Griffith crawled over to the imaginary Behelit in anger and humiliation, taking the opportunity created by his former soldiers. The Behelit slowly starts to awaken, responding to his wishes; the human features of the Behelit moved around on their own, starting to form a proper face. Bloody tears run down his cheeks, just as they did the first time. The Sun draws its last breath before being blocked by the melancholic Moon in a matter of seconds.
He has to let go of his dream, his world: Falconia. With an almighty roar, the Behelit pulled him and his enemies to Hell itself.
...
None would ever find out what happened within the high and mighty confines of Falconia that day. It was strange, too. It was a harmonious kingdom. Men and bloodthirsty beasts known as Apostles used to live together. Wars were not uncommon, but the forces of Falconia never lost a single battle. It was a safe city. A peaceful one. Who could bring it down? Who could bring such a city down?
Historians were left confused without a definite answer, but a majority agreed on a guess: Around a thousand years before the Hundred Years War, there was a warlord who went by the name of Gaiseric. Lord Gaiseric had captured and tortured a wiseman. In turn, the man prayed to God, and he answered. Four or five angels, depending on who you ask, descended upon his kingdom afterwards and destroyed it.
Some believe that Griffith had angered God, and because of that, he had been punished, but there were also other people who thought the opposite, that Griffith WAS God, and the disappearance of he and his kingdom were a sign of humanity simply not doing 'good enough,' and that he and his men all headed to Heaven. After all, one of Griffith's many miracles was manipulation of the soul, allowing his soldiers to see their families one last time before their departure to the afterlife.
The world will never know rest. The truth will never be revealed. Most of those who knew anything have already died, the rest have elected to stay silent.
A few years ago...
In a... Treehouse?
"Phew..." A man with white hair let out, wiping sweat off his forehead. He quickly took notice of a dusty, wooden chair nearby, taking a seat on it. Better than nothing, right? He was huffing and puffing, gasping for air.
Before he could receive any rest however, another man entered the treehouse, this one with pink hair and a soft tone of voice. "Hey, hey, Marisbury, get back up. We just got here, can't sit down!"
"Don't blame me, I'm not a Servant like you, Mr. Roman. I can only do so much!"
Ah, of course, the dynamic duo, the Master and the Servant. Doctor Romani and the director himself, Marisbury.
"We already had this conversation a million times, I'm a human now!" The two of them looked at each other with stoic expressions, but it didn't last. Five seconds later, the both of them burst out into laughter. "...Haha, sorry. It's been a long way here, I guess we both deserve some rest. It's just that I for once, can't wait to see the contents of this treehouse, even though it's not that..." Romani took a moment to look around the inside. "Not that big. Considering that you're sitting on a chair right now though, it's pretty well kept despite looking old."
"It's a magical tree after all."
The tree house was pretty small with all things considered. While it looked like a normal tree from the outside, the inside was shaped rectangularly. There wasn't much in it other than four wooden chairs placed around a table. There were three windows in it, one to the right, one to the left, and the last at the front wall. The windows allowed for sunlight to burst in, giving the small house a cozy feeling. Most notable of all however, there was a smaller table placed below the window at the front, on it was a book.
Roman slowly but surely made his way to said book, going to look at its first page. The sunlight helped him read it properly.
Schierke's Journal
Many mages have volunteered to put their life on the line to challenge the Hand of God. My mentor, Flora, fell long ago. This journal has been written to help the next generation of these mages should I fail in my purpose of subjugating these demons as well.
THE HAND OF GOD
The Root is the source of everything in this world. Every 216 years, an aspect of The Root splits off and develops consciousness as a human. These humans are extraordinary, unique. Geniuses among geniuses, beautiful among those beautiful, so on. Although, the Mage's Association is quick in dealing with these aspects of The Root before they could develop properly, some have gotten away.
Referred to as angels, these beings possess extraordinary abilities, the most dangerous of them all being the Causality manipulation they have been given in order to ensure the cycle of re-incarnation continues. Beyond that, each one of them even re-use Magic as a natural consequence being an aspect of The Root, as seen when Griffith used the Third Magic to allow his soldiers say goodbye to their families.
There can only be five members of the God Hand at a time. The next 216 years, they are absorbed back into The Root to avoid their greed for power growing far too large, but as souls are immortal, these members will essentially only have their mind recycled. As such, the five members of the God Hand are set in stone.
I only know of one member of the God Hand, I shall only speak of him here.
The Falcon of Darkness, Griffith
The Falcon of Light is in reality, the vanguard of the God Hand, their fifth member, the one who carried their plans into the real world by causing the Great Roar of the Astral World. Currently, he poses as a messiah, winning over the hearts of the people with ea-
Romani stopped reading immediately. "This book is a load of bullshit! What the hell?!"
"What is it? What did you read?"
"Apparently, Griffith was the Falcon of Darkness and a member of the God Hand. Apparently."
"Who wrote that?"
"Schiercake, it says here."
"Schierke."
"Ehe, sorry." Romani smiled sheepishly. "Do you happen to know anything about her?"
"Of course. One of the many martyrs who fell against the God Hand. She and her mentor both." Marisbury squinted his eyes. "But she must have written the truth there. If I recall correctly, according to the Mage's Association data, she went missing in action the same day as the kingdom of Falconia."
"I just can't see it. Not at all. Saint Griffith of all the people..."
"I can't either, but at the same time, I doubt a volunteer like her would lie. We have to take that journal back, sounds like it has some good information."
"Hope so, because the first page was unfortunately a load of crap. I can't stand it."
The Present
"...Were you aware of Marisbury's death?"
"Of course. I exist everywhere at once, after all."
"Could you have prevented it, then?"
"Do you think that was beyond my abilities? Who's to say I wasn't the one who killed him in the first place?"
"...You killed the director? But you weren't even alive at that time."
"You shouldn't take what I said as absolute confirmation. You're a therapist, right?"
"Yes."
"Let's keep it a secret, then. If you want to know the truth, you'll have to work for it, but I'll say this, sometimes, I don't like to get my own hands dirty..."
Years ago...
Chaldea Security Organization's Headquarters
"Romani? Hey, Dr. Roman, wakey wakey! No way you fell asleep on the job!" Jested a woman with long brown hair, poking a resting Romani's back. Romani had fallen asleep while seated on a stool, his head resting on a counter in front of him.
"Ugh..." Growled the good doctor as his eyes slowly shifted open, the blinding light of the room immediately coming in contact with them. He rubbed his eyes, slowly lifting his counter off the table.
"Well well well, look who's finally up and about. Good morning, sleeping beauty; or should I say good night." The woman's tone was playful, not as angry as one would expect when one sleeps on the job.
"Wha... what?" It took Romani a moment to recover from his deep slumber, turning to her. "Hey, hi, sorry... how long has it been?"
"About four hours or so. I already finished our Servant summoning attempts for today. It's a tiring job, I let you get all the rest you could. Just hoping it doesn't mess up your sleep schedule."
"Thanks for letting me get some rest, don't worry though, I'll find a way to put myself to sleep. Just please don't tell the director or else, she'll kick my butt."
A wide, cheeky grin was placed upon her face. "Ooohhhh, Olga Marie Animusp-!"
"Don't, don't! Stop! Da Vinci!"
"Hehe, I'm just messing with you."
"Not a good time." Roman looked around. "Er, any new Servants?"
Da Vinci's grin was washed off her face the moment she heard that. "I think you already know the answer."
"Sadly. I suppose I'll have to make up for my time sleeping here, I'm gonna stay up for a while and get more attempts in with FATE for the rest day just so I can tire myself out."
"As you wish. Make sure to get your sleep after you're done regardless, preferably in a bed this time."
"I'll try. Good night, Da Vinci."
"Good night, Dr. Roman."
With a nod, Da Vinci turned the other way, walking away, leaving Roman all to himself. Archaman sighed, putting his hands over his face, rubbing his eyes once more before looking to a clipboard and pen placed near him on the same counter that he was resting his head on. He reached over to it, dragging it over to himself to see what was written on it.
It was a list of the summoning attempts. From number one all the way to two hundred and sixteen. All of them had a cross next to them. That must indicate failure. With a deep sigh, Romani now reached over to the pen before writing down on the first paper on the clipboard.
Attempt 217.
His eyes then shifted to a panel not too far away. It was incredibly straight forward, there were two buttons and a sensor on it. The buttons were simple; one to summon, and the other to cancel the summoning. The sensor looked like some sort of fingerprint scanner. He took both the clipboard and pen with him using his left hand, walking over to it. Unable to use his left hand due to the items he was holding, he bit onto the glove on his right hand, taking it off before putting his thumb on the scanner. It only took two seconds to register.
"Welcome, Dr. Romani Archaman! Feel free to use the Heroic Spirit Summoning System, FATE."
He grabbed the glove in his mouth with his right hand, throwing it onto the counter the clipboard was on. He then dragged over his right hand to the summoning button, clicking it without any hesitation whatsoever. A bright beam of light shattered the heavens and arrived in front of Romani. Extreme winds blew his hair backwards, but he remained casual. Expecting yet another failed Servant summoning attempt, he placed his right the elbow on the panel. His right hand formed into a fist, before he rest his chin on his knuckles.
Something he didn't notice however...
Strands of silky white hair barely made it out of the beam before being sucked back in. It's not that Romani was blind, rather, the hair blended in with the rest of the light a bit too well.
The summoning finalized at last; the beam of light disappeared to reveal perhaps the most beautiful creature to have ever existed. It wasn't an exaggeration. Not one bit.
The summoned Servant had curly yet silky hair. His build was slim, he wore an elegant, shining armor with avian motifs on it accompanied with a long white cape. Most of his beauty came from his own body, however. Both his body and face were built in such a way that it was androgynous, appealing to all, no matter who you are. There was no escape from that beauty.
Romani backed away in shock, gasping. The Servant had arrived on all fours, now getting up from that position. Doing so revealed his sky blue, predator-like eyes. He was otherworldly.
Even without speaking a word, the Servant had already broken the charisma chart.
"Are you..." Even his voice was soft, elegant. Crystal clear like a flowing river; so endearing... like a lullaby. "...My Master?"
"Erm-" Roman was visibly panicked, surprised. Obviously, didn't quite know how to answer, quickly coming up with something on the spot. "M- Maybe! And you are?!"
His eyes shone. "Saver. Grand Saver."
"Wha... a Grand?! And what is that- Is that your name? Or did you mean Saber?"
"You are mistaken. That is my class."
"Saver isn't a class!"
"I understand. It's quite a rare one; only granted to messiah-like figures. I am such, beyond that however, I also stand above the rest of my peers as a Grand. I am the greatest humanity has to offer in terms of this class."
"Messiah figure...? Your armor, your appearance..." Romani focused on mainly the bird symbolism all around his armor. That sure does bring a certain someone to mind, right? "You're-!"
"The Falcon of Light, is that what you want to say? Yes, I am. My name is Griffith... I must thank you for pulling me back into the material world once more. You have not told me your name yet, however... Master."
"I... Your majesty, welcome, please-" Romani was almost about to bow, before Griffith put his hand up, stopping him.
"Nay. I will not allow you to bow. After all, you are the Master."
"Oh, sorry for that, I won't bow, I guess... and I thought you were supposed to get information on your Master when you got summoned."
"I like to be friendly, that is all."
"That's nice of you, I'll return your kindness. I'm Romani Archaman, one of the workers here at Chaldea. I'll be sure to pass you onto the Director with a Command Seal whenever I can. You're a Servant of great caliber, I can tell already."
"Are you sure? You seem like quite a nice man."
"Yeah. I'm sure she'll have plenty of uses for you anyways, I don't have any. Welcome to Chaldea, sorry if it's a bit bright here."
"You needn't worry about these lights. Can I meet this director?"
"Later. It's night out there, she's asleep. With that said, I'll also have to go to sleep. You can stay up as long as you like, not that you will get tired anyways, since you are a Servant."
"I do need the rest..."
"No. I just said it, you're a Servant. Servants don't need rest, your Mana will be provided by Chaldea itself."
"I must make myself feel human with self-imposed rules, so I shall head to sleep. Just like you."
"Alright, then. We should go to sleep. I'll see you tomo-"
"...We? Together, do you mean?"
Roman's face turned red. "W- What?! No! I didn't mean it like that! You can have your own room!"
"That's a relief."
"Yeah, sure is. Anyways, come with me, I'm gonna show you around."
Romani turned around with a smile. Finally, another Servant. He started to walk towards the exit, Griffith following closely. As he made his way to the exit, he drew a checkmark next to attempt 217. He put the clipboard and pen back on the counter right before grabbing the glove he had thrown, putting it back on.
"I must say, you are dressed quite fancily."
"Thanks. You too, really." It didn't take long for them to exit the FATE room, now entering the equally bright hallways of Chaldea. They were the only ones in said hallways. Griffith's appearance was so capturing that Romani had completely forgotten what was written in that journal, until now, that is. "Are your looks really completely natural? I have to say, you look like an angel."
He realized it then. The word angel brought him back into reality, as he remembered...
The Falcon of Light is in reality, the vanguard of the God Hand, their fifth member...
"Yes, yes it is. My appearance just naturally... forms into this, even after I take a bath. It can't be helped."
Romani didn't respond. He was in thought. Could a man like him really be evil?
"Say... is it true that one day, you manipulated the souls of your deceased men and materialized them in order to allow them to meet their families one last time?"
"That is true. It was a pleasure doing that, allowing them to bid farewell."
"Sooooo... where'd you get the Third Magic from?"
"The third what?"
"The Third Magic. Materialization and manipulation of the soul."
"I've never heard of that. My hands have always been healing, they have always taken away the scars of those around me."
"Like the messiah, then?"
"Hah." Griffith let out a dry scoff. There was no emotion in it whatsoever. "I wish. I am only human in the end, I can never reach his great position."
Those words only made Romani think more and more. They went on and on without saying a word after their conversation, until Romani stopped at a door, turning to it.
"This here can be your room. There's like, a thousand empty ones or so. Just saying, they're all the same, but if you like this one in specific, then-"
"I like it."
"...Alright. Good night, your maje-"
"Saver. Or Griffith. If you don't want to reveal my identity, I prefer the former."
"That's fine by me. Good night, Saver."
"Good night, sir Archaman."
Romani then left, and boy, was he sweating bullets. Is he really a member of the God Hand? Or is he an actual miraculous being? Even if he is a member of the God Hand, what can Chaldea do exactly other than getting down on their knees and praying to the Counter Force?
But then, there's also the fact that the God Hand get recycled, there's no way he could be one.
Sweet dreams, Roman. It's going to be a harsh night.