Talia looks at a sky full of stars. She thinks she can reach out and touch them. The view from above the clouds is so much more beautiful without the light pollution. Every little light is a distant star in the vast expanse of space.

Even though her hair is messy from the strong winds at above five kilometers, the rare sight is definitely worth it.

"Shoddy, inferior, unacceptable!" Ozymandias says.

Unfortunately, the Cosmic Sphinx and its passengers aren't riding through the sky to sightsee.

"Is there no architecture in the modern era worthy of standing close to the splendor of my temple?" Ozymandias asks, his eyes scanning the city below him.

"P-Perhaps I could help you in your search if you tell me what to look for," Talia says.

"Fool, you do not possess the disposition of a pharaoh," Ozymandias says, not averting his eyes from the city. "Therefore, you cannot determine a suitable location. Hm?"

Talia follows his gaze as he abruptly stops. Ozymandias seems to be focusing on the forest area outside the city. Namely, an area with a magnificent castle in white.

"Tell me, what do you know of that castle there?" he asks.

"Uhm, if I remember correctly, that is the residence of the Einzbern Master," Talia replies. "According to information on the previous three Holy Grail Wars, they use that castle as their main base of operations every time they come to Fuyuki."

"Hmm, Berserker is the Servant of that homunculus if I recall correctly," Ozymandias contemplates. "Or so it seems..."

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"No, it was nothing," he says, waving his hand dismissively.

It clearly isn't nothing, but Talia doesn't press the matter.

"Those castle grounds should be adequate," he concludes.

The Cosmic Sphinx descends after those words and approaches the castle at a rapid pace. Talia holds onto the sphinx's skin with her hands as to not fall off. How Ozymandias can freely stand with no need to hold onto something at this speed, she will never know.

Everything seems quiet when two rays of sunlight shoot left and right past the sphinx. They each hit an axe that falls back to the ground.

"Very well, let us settle this!" Ozymandias shouts downwards.

The sphinx comes down to the ground. Talia carefully peeks over the cover of the sphinx and sees Ozymandias staring down Berserker who just collected his second axe off the ground. The enemy Servant looks at them with a blank expression.

There are a few seconds of silence. Only the leaves in the trees rustle due to the passing wind. Then...

"Heh," Ozymandias says. "Huhahahahahaha! I knew it!"

The Pharaoh bursts out laughing.

"You cannot fool me," he continues. "I know who you are imitating. Maddened or not, a ruler always carries himself with pride. You, on the other hand, are devoid of it! I can see it all over you that you do not even possess the tiniest sliver of the disposition of a ruler."

The Servant in question gradually shrinks in size, contorts, and his whole body turns to a shade of grey. A few seconds pass until a person about the same height as Ozymandias stands before them. He is draped in a white cloak, has lush green hair with matching turquoise eyes, and is barefoot. There are no visible weapons on this Servant.

Talia squints at the shapeshifting Heroic Spirit.

What a strange Servant. Despite having the face of a beautiful woman, all other parts of their body make the Servant appear male. It almost looks unnatural, like a doll or something.

"I suppose you are correct," Lancer replies calmly. "It was obvious that I could not keep this charade up indefinitely. I simply lack the emotion to properly emulate a human being. After all, I am nothing more than a weapon. And since you intrude upon this territory, I assume that you are prepared to die as well?"

"Nonsense," Ozymandias replies. "I shall show you the prowess of a godly pharaoh and permit you to die in despair!"

The air surrounding Lancer crackles as white lightning sparks, exuding a powerful aura. The Servant's emerald hair flutters behind him due to the sheer power generated.

"T-This is bad," Talia says with wide eyes. "His parameters are- are-"

STR: A
AGL: A
LUK: A
END: A
MP: A
NP: A++

"My Pharaoh, we need to retreat!" Talia says frantically. "This Servant's parameters all rose to A-rank just now!"

Either Ozymandias doesn't hear her or he chooses to ignore her. He narrows his eyes at the enemy in front of him.

"Now then," Lancer speaks up. "What shall I cut off first?"

Lancer thrusts his arms forward. Several chains with bladed tips shoot forth from his palms. The Cosmic Sphinx counters with a beam from its face. The chains stop and disintegrate.

Lancer tumbles to the right and avoids the beam. Ozymandias swings his scepter in his direction as several beams of light bombard the area he is in.

There is silence for a moment as they wait for the smoke to clear out. Once it does, they notice a small dome made of earth standing there. Lancer breaks out and charges towards the sphinx at an inhuman speed. His hand transforms into a blue-glowing blade.

The sphinx spreads its wings to take off but halts in place. Ozymandias looks down to see four small portals on the ground, a chain protruding from each one and halting the four limbs of the sphinx.

Lancer closes the gap and jumps up. He draws his bladed hand back to strike the Pharaoh. Ozymandias jumps backward off the sphinx and grabs Talia in the process.

Once he gains some distance again, he lets go of Talia who stumbles and lands on her butt.

The chains force the sphinx back onto the ground and continue to wrap around its body. It lets out a cry in helplessness.

"Mere chains restraining a divine beast?" Ozymandias mutters. "Impossible."

Lancer lands behind the sphinx as he takes a moment to analyze his enemy. He puts his hand on the ground and it begins to glow faintly. Multiple bladed weapons emerge from the earth, all pointing at Ozymandias.

The weapons all fire towards the Pharaoh, but he was already familiar with this kind of attack from his encounter with the Golden King. In perfect sync, several beams of light come down to each strike one of the weapons before they can reach their intended target.

Lancer furrows his brows at the tenacity of his adversary. It kind of reminds him of a certain someone, especially the laugh.

Ozymandias crosses his arms and stares Lancer down menacingly, his scepter still in his hand.

Unsure of what Rider is trying to pull here, Lancer opens a few portals behind him that shoot out more chains. He begins to charge shortly after.

The chains quickly close in on Ozymandias. He sidesteps left, right, and jumps back again. A few of the pointed ends graze his skin. Droplets of blood trickle down his body. How dare he spill his divine blood.

"To inflict injury upon the body of a pharaoh," he says. "I will burn you to ashes!"

Lancer is within striking distance of Ozymandias now. Talia watches as the Pharaoh does not attempt to dodge the bladed hand that is coming down towards him. He is about to die.

"Uraeus!" Ozymandias shouts.

Mere centimeters away from each other, Lancer is engulfed in a massive pillar of sunlight from the heavens.

The beam lasts about ten seconds as Lancer is burned alive under its might. Ozymandias smirks, but his attitude quickly changes into one of disbelief once the light subsides.

Talia watches in horror as Lancer, horribly disfigured and burned, still stands. Lancer takes a few steps back, taking ragged breaths as the remainder of his body contorts and molds itself.

Before their eyes, he fully regenerates his body and stares them down as if nothing has happened.

"I see now," Ozymandias says. "You are a weapon of the gods. The Chain that restrains the heavens."

Enkidu doesn't respond. His identity has been found out. How would his Master think of this? They probably shouldn't leave alive now. He looks up to the sky to where the devastating beam of light came from. There is definitely something there, but the clouds are obscuring it.

Enkidu looks back down. Rider has divinity. However, Enkidu knows that he also has an EX rank Noble Phantasm that could potentially nullify his Noble Phantasm. It has to be his ultimate trump card that he only uses in the direst of situations.

The battle comes to a stalemate. Enkidu can't afford to take another hit like this. It's not that he would die from this. The problem is that he only had the opportunity to regenerate because Rider was taken by surprise. Were he to take another hit like that, Rider would follow up with more attacks to counter his restoration. And if he does manage to destroy him faster than he can regenerate, he would lose.

Ozymandias, on the other hand, knows that the chant for his temple complex would give Enkidu enough time to kill him. Besides, dropping it from the sky is only an option if all other options have been exhausted. Luckily, enough time has now passed for the third participant of the fight to return to action.

The sound of chains being shattered reverberates behind Enkidu. He turns around just as the sphinx tackles him with its superheated body and rams him into the ground.

The ground splinters as the sphinx repeatedly hammers its front legs into Enkidu, but it doesn't last long. Around the divine beast, hundreds of weapons emerge from the ground and shower it like a hailstorm.

Enkidu uses this opportunity to free himself from the sphinx's grasp, turns his hands into giant mallets, jumps up, and uppercuts it twice midair. He lands on the head of the sphinx as he turns his hands into razor-sharp blades and jams them in.

The sphinx lets out a cry of agony. It thrashes around violently and shakes its assailant off. Enkidu lands and opens a few more portals behind him. Just as the chains begin to peek out, sun rays shoot them all down.

Enkidu glances toward Ozymandias, who is pointing his scepter at him. Enkidu tumbles sideways to dodge the next beams and transitions into a zigzag sprint around the wounded sphinx. He stretches out his hand towards the Pharaoh to fire another volley of weapons to impede his attacks.

The sphinx has regained its composure and stretches its wings to take flight. Enkidu takes to the skies as well and lands on the back of the sphinx. Multiple chains shoot out from his palms that wrap themselves around the neck of the beast. Like reins on a horse, Enkidu begins to yank on the chains to rudimentarily control the trajectory of the sphinx.

The lion bodied beast of the hot sands reacts by igniting its own body again, glowing in a fierce red. Enkidu endures through the fire even as it burns his feet. The sphinx flies arbitrarily through the air until Enkidu gains enough control to somewhat steer it.

He redirects it towards Ozymandias and makes a nosedive with it. Just as he calculated, Ozymandias does not shoot down his own divine beast. However, before crashing down into the ground, Ozymandias makes a big leap backward to evade this attack.

This is the moment Enkidu was waiting for.

He lets go of the sphinx and jumps into the air while the Pharaoh is building distance between them. His sights set on Talia, who is observing their fight from not too far away, he dashes towards her with his sword-like hands.

Ozymandias fires dozens of sunrays to shoot Enkidu down, but he simply deflects them midair with his created weapons from the ground.

Closer. Closer. Closer. Enkidu is about to strike down the first Master of this Holy Grail War. Ozymandias intensifies his barrage of sun rays, but even though a few manage to connect, the Weapon of the Gods continues.

The sunrays aren't enough, the sphinx is currently out of the fight, his chariot, and the temple would take too long to bring out.

Talia stumbles backward and lands on the ground out of panic. Running is no use against this Servant's agility, much less trying to fight him. She can't help but stare in utter fear at the frighteningly powerful Servant approaching.

Less than two meters away now, Enkidu draws one hand back to deliver the killing blow.

Talia shuts her eyes, preparing for the worst and grasping the earth below her.

But the blow doesn't land.

Mere centimeters away from one another, a giant pillar shoots out in front of her from the ground, launching Enkidu high into the sky. The Lancer Servant recovers from the blow after a while and lands a distance away. He stands there, looking at them with narrowed eyes.

Talia looks in disbelief at the earthly pillar in front of her, questioning if that was somehow the Pharaoh's doing. Before she can continue that line of thought further, said Pharaoh picks her up and places her onto the back of the sphinx that has recovered by now without a word.

"I seem to have miscalculated," Enkidu comments.

"So it would seem," Ozymandias replies. "However, I expected more of the Chain of the Heavens. To think that you would stoop so low and resort to such tactics is truly disappointing."

The sphinx takes off and holds its position just above the trees.

"You misunderstand," Enkidu says. "I merely carry out the orders of my Master. I would have liked for this fight to be purely between the two of us too. But a tool has no right to question the one wielding it."

"I see," Ozymandias says. "In that case, I shall see to it myself that the castle along with that Master of yours will be razed to the ground until nothing but ash remains."

"And I shall see to it that it does not come to pass," Enkidu responds.

"Until then," Ozymandias concludes.

The sphinx leaves the airspace of the Einzbern Castle.

Enkidu looks around the ruined forest area. A good portion of the ground is burned or shattered and several dozen trees have been toppled.

He sighs. "This will take a while to fix..."


The last couple of days have been chaotic. Participating in a battle royale to the death was just so out of her element. Thinking back on the fight between Ozymandias and Enkidu, the skirmish at the park doesn't even compare. She wonders if their destructive fight is a sign of things to come.

At this point, Talia accepts the fact that this is just the nature of war. Death and destruction are unavoidable in the end, specifically since there can only be one winner.

Before she even realizes it, the sphinx lands on the apartment complex where she lives. Ozymandias hops off without a word and marches inside, cupping his chin in thought. Talia rushes inside, goes past him, and takes out her keys to open the door in advance. It is imprudent to make a pharaoh wait, especially after this close confrontation with the Lancer of this war.

She can't even begin to imagine what is going on inside that head of his. Was he angry perhaps? Though the fight didn't have a clear winner, he got really worked up the longer the battle continued.

She holds the door open for him as he walks through, his golden ornaments making a small clanking noise with every step he takes. Once the door is shut, she observes him as he quietly makes his way to the living room and settles down in the comfy chair in the living room.

"Maybe he's in a bad mood..." Talia mutters. "Best to leave him alone for the moment."

She glances outside the window as she walks past it on her way to the kitchen. Thankfully, the sphinx has vanished. It would be a huge problem if any civilians were to see it. The Holy Church would just erase their memories to cover it up either way, but there is no need to push it.

After rummaging through the cupboard, she takes out a cup to make herself some tea. It's probably the best way to calm down after a near-death experience. She might as well make one for his majesty too.

A few minutes later, she enters the living room with a tray and two cups of tea. She carefully places it on the table in front of the couch and sits down. Upon reaching for one of the hot cups, she leans back, and takes a sip.

"Though it took you some time," Ozymandias says, examining his cup. "I shall regard this beverage as acceptable."

Talia glances over to him in confusion. She is expected to make him something to drink? At times he acts so entitled. Then again, he is a pharaoh.

"I am glad that the tea is to your liking," Talia says. "What about your wounds?"

"Fool, those were not even scratches," he replies. "As the almighty and invincible sun, I cannot be harmed in a meaningful way."

Best not to comment on that statement. Silence is golden as they say.

"Nevertheless, it was a splendid battle," he continues. "Comparable to the decisive battle against the Hittites. To imagine that both heroes of ancient Mesopotamia and a Saint would be in this war."

"What about the rest? There's still Assassin, Berserker, and Caster out there," she asks.

"I have no interest in cowards that hide in the shadows, boastful warriors, or mystic-conjuring mages," he says indifferently. "They are nothing more than beings ruled by me, all equal in the eyes of the Pharaoh. Their existence is inconsequential."

"Then, what is so special about the other three you mentioned?" she asks.

"Bold of you to question me like this," he says. "But I shall answer it in light of your recent accomplishment."

Ozymandias leans back in his chair.

"You see, there are few things that pique my interest," he continues. "The first is those who possess the disposition of a ruler. Ah, but do not mistake it for those born of royal bloodlines. What I speak of are people that are born with the power of a ruler and the understanding to properly wield such power."

That must be referring to that king in the golden armor we encountered at the park the other day.

"The second is Heroic Spirits who are pure and honest in nature. If they are heroes who have saved the world in the past, that makes them shine that much brighter. After all, these are the sort of people that the world needs, no matter the era."

"Then..." she says. "Does that apply to the Servant you just fought?"

"The Chain of the Heavens was made as a tool that gained a heart after walking alongside humanity," Ozymandias says somewhat disappointed. "However, instead of embracing that identity, it seems that he blindly obeys the whims of some mage."

That Servant seemed like a gentle spirit until the fight started. It was as if he had become a merciless killing machine.

"Lastly," Ozymandias says. "There are those who are considered Saints. You can see it as an extension of the previous type. There is nothing more that needs to be said about this matter."

"I-I see," Talia says.

"Well, my interest right now lies somewhere else," he adds. "Namely that move you used to repel Lancer when he attempted to take your life. From what I have observed so far, your abilities are nothing of note."

Talia thinks for a moment. She is indeed capable of earth magic, one of the five great elements, but she was never able to use it so quickly on that scale before. Perhaps this is one of those instances where one's own body goes beyond its limit in a situation of extreme stress?

"I-I don't know how exactly I did it to be completely honest," Talia responds. "I never had much time to develop my practical abilities because my family pretty much forced me to focus on studying alchemy, evocation, cel-"

"Fool," Ozymandias interrupts her. "I did not ask for your personal history. A pharaoh doesn't concern himself with the affairs of individuals. We instead rule them all equally."

"I-I'm sorry," she stutters.

Ozymandias sighs. "I suppose it cannot be helped. Step forward, two or three steps should suffice. I am going to peer into your eyes."

Talia does as she is told and approaches him a little hesitantly.

"Do be careful not to meet my gaze directly," he adds. "After all, I am the brilliance of the sun itself. You may lose your eyesight."

A few moments of silence pass as she stands in front of him, looking awkwardly to the side or the floor.

"Hmm, a complete lack of regality," Ozymandias mutters. "No trace of a soldier's fire. Some potential as a mage, though far too unrefined to merit a position as a mage in my empire. Not a hint of a sage's wisdom."

There is another brief moment of silence. Was he finished?

"That..." Ozymandias says. "No, it must be my imagination."

"Huh?" Talia says with a puzzled look on her face.

"You may go rest now," he says. "I have some other matters to think about for the moment."

Unsure of what to make of what just happened, Talia leaves the room and prepares to sleep.

Ozymandias watches her leave. Once she is gone, he rests his head on his right hand and looks down at the tea he hasn't finished.

"She managed to summon me without a catalyst," he says to himself. "And those eyes... Surely it could not be?"


"Alright, that should do it," I say as I take a step back to admire my work.

I've set up a pinboard on one of the walls in the living room with the information we've gathered so far. There's a map of Fuyuki with all the important locations marked along with all the known Servant-Master pairs we know of. Additionally, the four possible locations for the Holy Grail to appear at are also marked. That being Ryuudou Temple, Tohsaka manor, the Fuyuki Church, and the Fuyuki Theater.

"Let's review everything that we know so far," I say.

Jeanne and I are standing next to each other, looking at the board.

"There can only be seven Servants in a standard Holy Grail War," Jeanne says. "The eighth slot is reserved for the Ruler-class in case of rule violations."

"We've already met six other Servants," I continue. "Let's go over them one more time. First, we have Gilgamesh as the Archer of this war. His Master, thanks to the clue he gave me and some digging of my own, is a mage named James Lawson. He's your standard mage that is backed by the Clock Tower and only in it for either prestige or the Root. Coincidentally, there's a yacht stationed just outside Fuyuki that belongs to him."

"The Rider is Ozymandias," Jeanne says. "He announced that in front of everyone else without a second thought. I do worry about the girl that seems to be his Master though. Why is someone as young as her participating in such a battle…"

"Beats me," I say. "Next, we have the shapeshifting Servant belonging to the Einzbern Master. Considering that Lancer and Caster are unaccounted for, I'd put that Servant into the Lancer class due to his prowess in battle. I doubt that a Caster would be able to pull off moves like that and evade both Archer and Rider simultaneously."

"Our first battle was against the real Berserker," Jeanne says. "You said that his Master is an executor of the church even though they are supposed to be neutral."

"Clearly they have their own agenda," I say. "Then we have Assassin in the form of Jack the Ripper. His Master has to be either Tokiomi Tohsaka or one of the Matous. There is no way they would sit out a Holy Grail War."

"Which brings us to the self-proclaimed Archer in red," Jeanne says. "He said that he is after a target, but didn't elaborate further on the matter. Other than that, the swords he used seemed to be of a lesser quality than they looked."

"Projection magic perhaps?" I say. "But still, that wouldn't be enough to qualify him as a Caster, assuming he just lied about his class. There's something else going on that we don't know yet. Maybe someone is breaking the rules again."

"Again?" Jeanne repeats. "What do you mean?"

"On my way to Fuyuki," I reply. "I read up about the previous Holy Grail War that took place here. Apparently, someone broke the rules and summoned an Avenger-class Servant. Unfortunately, their plan backfired and he or she got killed rather early on. The conclusion of that war remains a mystery though."

"Could the red Archer be a remnant of that war?" she asks.

"That's a good point," I say. "At any rate, we should be wary of him as long as we don't know his goals. Let's hope there aren't more like him out there."


Author's Note:

I wish you all a happy new year :)