Chapter 17: Inheritance
Takeru opened his eyes.
Where… am I?
He found himself lying on a mattress inside a room in one of the abandoned buildings. The room was very large, with the ceiling out of view, and the walls were cracked and aged. Some of them were broken, exposing the outside view of the rest of the floor and the rain pouring down from the heavens.
He took his time to gather what he could about his surroundings, then slowly sat up, rubbing his head. He looked around.
In the centre of the room, Takeru could make out a figure in a purple jacket standing next to a bed occupied by a body. The figure was typing on a holographic keyboard as more holographic panels floated around her. As his vision focused, he recognised the figure. It was Rani.
Rani turned to face Takeru.
"Welcome back, Takeru. Have you had a good rest?"
Takeru got up and walked over to the other beds.
"Rani, how are you-"
She held up her hand.
"Not important. For now, you can just consider me a vastly more reliable supporter to Rin. I found you lying on the floor next to these two, and Rin was nowhere to be seen."
Oh, right.
Memories of what happened slowly came back to Takeru. He had been holding off the enemy Berserker and his Master from finishing off Emu and Saber with the Tamamo no Mae Damashii he obtained on the Fourth Floor. He must have been successful, but he couldn't remember exactly what happened afterwards.
Did I faint from exertion?
"Anyways, where's-"
And then he realised.
The body lying on the bed next to Rani was Emu.
"Rani, what happened to them?" Takeru exclaimed, panicked.
She pointed to the screens. They all had complicated charts on them, but most of them were flashing exclamation marks and question marks.
"I've been trying to analyse his condition, but something's off. For all intents and purposes, he should be dead, but something inside of him is interfering with his death. I've tried all of my Code Casts, but his HP still remains at 0. I don't know what's going on."
"Then, where's Saber?" Takeru asked.
She put her hands into her jacket and pulled out the Saber Eyecon.
"I found her in this form. I believe that this is a vessel for her Spirit. She took too much damage during the fight and thus she retreated to Spirit Form, or in this case, this device. Normally, her Invictus Spiritus skill would activate, preventing her from dying from the enemy Berserker's Noble Phantasm, but said Noble Phantasm interferes with such anti-death methods, and as such, she is now in desperate need of our help. I measured that she only has enough for one more recovery from death, so it is imperative that we heal her. Someone needs to go into her Reality Marble and heal her from inside. That way, I can use her excess vitality to heal Emu."
Takeru took a second to take in all the information.
"Unfortunately," Rani continued. "I have never seen such a device before, so I am unable to enter it. I assume that you are able to?"
Takeru nodded.
"I understand now. Leave it to me."
He took the Eyecon from Rani's hand, and held it in his own. He closed his eyes, willing himself to be drawn into it, as he had done so with the other Eyecons he had encountered.
His form vanished and was absorbed into the Eyecon in his hand. Then, it fell to the floor with a clatter.
Takeru opened his eyes again.
This time, he was standing in a field in the middle of the countryside. On the horizon, he could see the sun set, and he felt a slight breeze on his face.
He looked forward and sees Saber kneeling on the ground. Her throat was sliced, and blood was seeping out. He slowly crept up to her, reaching out a hand. She opens her eyes and gasps, scaring Takeru.
"Forgive me. Takeru." She said weakly. "It is unsightly to be in this condition."
"No, not at all." Takeru responded.
He looked around.
"So, this is the inside of your soul, right?"
Saber nodded, grimacing in pain.
"That damned Noble Phantasm… I should have remembered. It guarantees the death of the victim, even if one has a Skill which prevents death. I tried to regress into this form, but now…"
She coughed blood.
"The Noble Phatasm forces you into an infinite loop of death."
Takeru understood.
"So this… is how you died?"
"Correct."
"Well then, we need to get you out of here. Come, I need to heal you, so you can heal Emu-"
"Wait."
Saber then raised her arm and gestured to him to come close. Takeru obliged.
"I know that I can be arrogant sometimes. That I steep my words with confidence and pride. That I maintain an annoyingly bright attitude even when it is uncalled for. I can be pushy. Insensitive. Flaunting. Obnoxious. For that, I apologise."
"No, no. It's fine." Takeru responded, wondering where it came from. "I never found you that annoying in the first place."
Saber smiled.
"Thank you. However, that attitude has lead Emu to think that I lived a life of auspices and joy. He believes that I am incapable of understanding anguish. Fear. Pain. Everything he feels now. As his Servant, I can feel it from him. I can feel that he suffers greatly, even now as he lies dying. Do you?"
Takeru nodded.
"So I need you to fight in my stead for him. Only a Noble Phantasm can counter his. But to release it, I need to tell you my True Name..."
She coughed.
"A Servant and Master possess two hearts beating as one, and the Servant will divulge their True Name as proof of that. I see now… why you are here. Not just as a warrior that wields the Heroic Spirits as allies, but as one who can connect with them. Interact with the soul of others. So that even when they cannot fight themselves, they can support Maestro and continue to help him."
"I concealed my True Name from him until now because I was afraid of you learning of my bad reputation. However, I cannot tell him it in this state. Therefore…"
"Let me tell you a story."
She was born at dawn.
Not as the legitimate heir to the Emperor, but as nothing but a member of the royal family.
Perhaps as a response to her illegitimate origins, she loved strangers more than she loved her own family.
She loved the nameless masses more than the notable aristocrats.
But nobody understood that.
Her great wisdom let her quench a great fire in a single night.
After the execution of her mother, the people saw her as a ruthless despot.
That was how she parted with her mother, who had thrown the country into disorder out of self-interest.
Nobody could understand the anguish it put her through.
Her excellence, her work ethic, and her frequent bouts of moodiness no doubt led her to be painted as a freewheeling dictator.
Indeed, it seems she made a small error there.
Her love was egotistical. Rather than being applied to everything, it could not rest until it took everything.
She wished to respond to those she loved with her entire soul.
But such a love was naught but a flame.
The love that others cherish is a gentler, softer thing.
That was what she failed to understand.
In the end, a rebellion forced her from her position.
The title of the Emperor meant "first amongst the citizens"
No matter how much fault the Senate found in her, as long as the citizens didn't acknowledge it, he authority remained unwavering. The people served her devotedly, and her policies were beloved.
As such, she didn't think they would stand to see her forcibly abdicated.
But no such opposition came. The people simply stood by.
So she could do nothing else but end her life.
When the sun first set, she heard of voice call out to her, and she opened her eyes.
The sound was the cheers of her beloved citizens.
When the sun set a second time, she heard another auditory hallucination.
She opened her eyes, but she was alone in the wasteland.
And then, the sun set a third time.
Her loyal subjects came to her aid.
It was too late.
Saber fell silent as she finished.
Takeru mulled over the story.
Her way of addressing Emu. Her reference to the baths. Her Christmas Noble Phatasm. Invictus Spiritus. Her story.
It was all adding up in his head. Eventually, he stopped at one name.
"…thus ended the reign of the fifth Emperor of the Roman Empire. Nero Claudius."
Saber nodded her head.
"Correct."
Tears were starting to flow from her eyes.
"I died in despair, never having known the love of a father or mother, nor the love of the people. My life was one of a simple, lonely girl."
"But why tell me this?" Takeru asks.
"I can understand Emu's pain. He is on the brink of despair, having lost everything he held to be true, just like I did on this field. I do not know the nature of this conflict, but I know that it has reached a critical point. Please… help him."
"But Nero, what about you? Can't we save Emu together?"
She shook her head.
"The curse of that Berserker's Noble Phantasm remains. I can't be healed, as I will just keep on dying. We need to… defeat him… before… I can come back…"
The sun had almost reached its nadir. Her breathing became shorter and more rapid.
A drop of blood fell from her throat onto the ground. From the drop sprouted a beautiful red rose.
"That is why…"
She plucked the rose and, with a shivering hand, placed the flower onto Takeru's hand.
"I leave… the rest… to you…"
Then her head fell, and she went silent.
Takeru clutched the rose to his heart.
"I promise."
He got up and walked away as the night returned to twilight, keeping the cycle going.
Takeru opened his eyes again.
He was standing in the room once again next to Rani.
"Welcome back. Were you successful?"
Takeru shook his head.
"The curse of the Berserker's Noble Phatasm… I can't heal her, as it is still active. It will continuously kill her, even if I heal her. The only way to disable it is to defeat the Enemy Servant."
Rani nodded.
"Well, then, how are you able to fight? If your Servant is incapacitated-"
"It will be alright." Takeru said.
He held up his hands. In his right hand was the Saber Eyecon, and in his left, he held the red rose he obtained from Nero.
"I will carry out her will."
Rani paused for a moment.
Then, a small smile appeared on her face.
"I see. So that's how it is."
Takeru held the rose over the Eyecon.
The rose disappeared into golden mist and surrounded the Eyecon in fire. Its red became more glossy and vibrant, and the inside white scelera turned to gold. The Eyecon flared up, and the label on the top changed. It now read "ES-01 NERO".
Takeru now turned to Saber
"I've been able to obtain more information about him while you were away." Rani explained. "I believe that he is being possessed by the Deadface. The fact that he is unable to die is a signature symptom of Deadface possession."
Takeru had sensed that Emu was possessed by something for a while now, but the confirmation made him worried for his friend.
"Judging from his state as of now, his possession has reached an advanced stage. If we don't do something about it, then…"
She turned to Takeru. He didn't need her to finish the sentence to get the impression of what she was saying.
"Let me help him." Takeru said.
He walked over to Emu's body, taking out his Eyecon and places it over Emu's heart. Closing his eyes again, he willed himself to enter Emu's soul.
Don't worry, Emu. I'm coming to help you.
His form vanished, and his Eyecon entered Emu's body.