Chapter 1 - Just(eaze) Born
Opening her eyes, the first sight in her new life was that of a glass pane. She was in a tube, somehow suspended in liquid yet not needing to breathe. She could see an old man with long white hair and a beard, clad in a white robe. In sharp contrast to him was a much younger man dressed in a suit and tie, with black hair. They seemed to be discussing something important, but the sound did not reach clearly inside of her pod.
Some knowledge pushed through her brain, implanted inside so that there was no need to spend any effort educating her. She was a Justeaze-late model homunculus manufactured by the Einzberns, for the purpose of acting as a lesser grail during the Third Holy Grail War.
But then a set of memories she was not designed for rushed through her brain, and she knew so much more. She was someone entrusted with a grand task, placed into the body of one Irisviel von Einzbern. Her old name was lost to her, but it was hardly important. There was so much work to be done.
She pressed against the glass, causing it to shatter. She was still basically a newborn, her muscles had never been utilized and she fell to the ground. The two men, who she now recognized as Jubstacheit von Einzbern and Kiritsugu Emiya, had very differing reactions to her behavior. Jubstacheit looked puzzled and irritated as he glared her way. Kiritisugu on the other hand rushed to her side and helped her up.
His eyes looked cold, yet there was the slightest warmth in them. "Are you alright?" He asked. Speaking from the perspective of a newborn homunculus, she could understand why Irisviel would fall so deeply in love with him. Homunculi are generally treated as subhuman, as tools. If all she had as comparison points was other homunculi and Kiritisigu, he would seem like one of the kindest people alive.
He wasn't truly that kind or anything, but it's all relative. With the perspective of having lived a normal human life added on - and knowing what she did about Kiritisugu's past - she was not charmed. But she was still grateful. She struggled to form words out of her newfound mouth, taking in her first breaths of air so that she could utilize her vocal cords. "Y-y-yes. T-thank you." She stuttered out, the burning sensation in her lungs fading as she acclimated to speaking.
Jubstacheit stepped up and ripped her from Kiritsugu's arms. It was then she realized she was actually naked. How embarrassing. She could feel magical energy running through her body as he seemed to be analyzing her physical state. Why did he look so angry? Oh right, homunculi aren't supposed to have 'free will' and 'hearts'. They're made to fulfill a purpose.
Even in her weak physical state, she could tell her magical circuits were top-notch. Having all the standard Einzbern knowledge pre-implanted in her brain made life so much easier. It would have been a pain to learn magecraft from the ground up. Still, she zoned back in as she heard Jubstacheit mutter. "Tch. Another defective one. I'll have to make another." Warning signs were going off in her head, intuition screaming that if she didn't act now she would surely die.
Something called out from inside of her, like another soul wanting to assist her in this time of need. Acting on instinct more than logic, she followed her impulses and let that soul wash over her, and she could see lines criss-crossing all over her sight. She used her magecraft to form a single hair into a needle, and jabbed at a line. Jubstacheit fell to the ground, but she began falling with him.
Damn. She should have realized he'd have a kill switch in case of emergencies. She saw with her abnormal eyes, countless lines snapped as Jubstacheit's death caused a chain reaction. Damn again. To think the kill switch would apply to the entire Einzbern factory. She apologized to all the now dead homunculi, and felt herself drawing closer to the call of death.
A burning anger then inflamed her soul. There was another spirit filled with anger towards her circumstances, towards the world, towards a lot of things really. It screamed at her as if to say 'you can't give up yet'. Blue flames sprouted from her body, coating every inch of her skin yet not damaging her in the slightest. Her heart, which had stopped due Jubstacheit's deadman's switch, began beating again. Her muscles that had never been used a day in her life seemed to gain definition as she slowly managed to stand up on her own two feet.
She didn't die. She didn't feel like she'd almost died. She felt more alive than she'd ever had. Of course when you've hardly been alive for a few minutes it doesn't mean much. She didn't care though. She laughed, and laughed, and laughed like it was going out of style. She laughed how she was a murderer of ten minutes old, she laughed at Kiritsugu's befuddled face who had his firearm trained on her, she laughed at how absurd the reality of her situation was, and she laughed at how close the world had just come to ending. While the future seemed bleak, she was just so very happy to be alive.
This was the world she recognized as the creative work of the company Type-MOON, but it was an AU. Things were even grimmer than the works she remembered. Mankind would end by the year 2040, the Earth and all its lifeforms with it. The only way out was to surmount all obstacles and lead humanity into the Age of Will. Singularities, Lost Belts, Beasts, Calamities, Vampires, Gods, TYPEs, Aliens, Eldritch Entities…there was a lot to overcome.
To that end, she'd been given 12 Class Cards…although calling them that was a bit of misnomer. They were more like 12 saint graphs embedded into her own, with a potential for growth that would let her reach beyond the limits of a class card. She could access more of their power by two methods: grow her own baseline power, and increase her affinity towards them. As it stood now, there were cards that would kill her if she used it even once. And the ones she could currently use were only usable for short bursts. They were the reason she had managed to kill Jubstacheit and survive the aftermath.
Part of the imparted knowledge of the cards let her know that every single one of the cards would be needed if humanity were to survive. Humanity was guaranteed extinction if she did not avert it. 'With great power, comes great responsibility.' She supposed. She was not even sure who or what granted her these powers, or why they chose her of all people. The Counter Force? An R.O.B.? She may never get these answers.
There was only one reward listed for her success in this great endeavor. The ability to travel multiverses. It wasn't really that great of a selling point, if she was honest. If she truly accomplished her objectives, then this world would be a great one to reside in. Mankind in the Age of Will? That would be wonderful to see. But she had to admit that not wanting to die along with the rest of the Earth is a good motivator too. While not directly stated, she had a feeling if she tried to cheat and run away from Earth alone she would perish.
So there was only one road she could take, really. She would save the world, or die trying. But first, she could use some clothes.
