FGO Singularity 1950 Germany- The Road to Paradise

by ColinHayworth

A story in an alternate WWII singularity where its mystery still reigns and the mana were unusually dense for its age. It has allowed all those who were beyond 1900 to become heroic spirits as long as their deeds are beyond any comprehension of human beings. And now this is where all those who remains to reach the truth of what happened

22. Final Revelation

Warning: This fanfic dealt with probably controversial themes and you may find it not suitable for you. If you still decide to read, then stay strong and brace yourself for what you are about to read. This story here happens in Arc 2 and thus may contain some spoilers.

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Chapter 22: Final Revelation

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"So where do we go now?" Arnold said as he doesn't have a clear idea of what to do next.

However, he noticed that Alfin has been oddly silent for a while. She seems to be looking towards something in the distance. Something so far away that he couldn't tell from here. Suddenly, she ran in that direction and left Arnold behind.

Arnold was confused at her sudden decision like that. He knew something isn't right is going on since Alfin would have informed him first-hand of what she would intend on doing. He quickly chases after her so that he won't lose sight of her.

"Alfin!" He yelled as he tried to pursue so that he won't lose sight of her

Chasing after her figure, he runs through the derelict street in order to make sure that she is okay. Everything around him was war-scarred buildings on their last legs, rubble scattered everywhere. The only color being present was black and white and everything in between them and thus only makes the situation bleaker than how it already is.

Navigating through the familiar streets yet feel so different. Arnold tried to keep up with her but she is strangely more nimble and agile than how he even expected and thus he has to quickly take a shortcut to catch up and by 'shortcut' he means brute-forcing through buildings. Not that they wouldn't collapse soon on their own though.

"Alfin!" He yelled again but Alfin still refuses to stop.

Many thoughts run through his mind as he tried to rationalize why is she doing something rash like this. And yet none of them are making any sense. All he hopes that things won't hard turn for the worse.

He doesn't know how far he has run. Without any meaningful indicator, he just ran blindly within a labyrinth of fallen concrete.

"Damn it! Don't do this to me, Alfin!" Arnold said as he still chases after her no matter what.

A lot more is at stake and this is an uncharted area that they are going through, hazard and danger abound and he can't afford to screw it all over after they have made it this far. To do so is to make all of their resolution completely moot and pointless.

"Damn it... Where did she go..." Arnold said as he finally loses sight of her and became confused at what he is supposed to do now.

Suddenly, he felt a blowing of winds and saw a shadow moving through a corridor. He chased after it thinking that it was Alfin. He got a good reason to think so but unfortunately... This empty world is not as empty as he may have thought.

A foreign language that he couldn't understand was spoken and Arnold barely avoided the bullet that would hit him in his head. He quickly retaliates at the figure that attacked him with his Luger. But to his surprise, the figure that he shot at collapsed entirely into dust and faded away.

"What?" Arnold said as he was perplexed at the situation.

He looked at where the figure once was and then he looked around the derelict street that he was in for anything that resembles them. In the end... only the sound of the wind bellowing remains here.

Arnold couldn't quite put any of them into words what is happening here. He knew this world doesn't follow the rule of anything sane but this is just confusion layering on more confusions.

"What if..." Arnold suddenly thought as he started to catch onto something.

This is Berlin in WW2. And the figure's spoken language isn't German or English... This has to be... the Red Army that was present here. He realized that this place is Alfin's proving ground and that she has to come to terms with her own WW2 atrocity. What she did wasn't accepting all she did but rather... She has been running away from it. He wouldn't blame her for it because no one else would even be able to do the same.

"That girl... Why did she think it was a good idea to abandon me and face such a burden alone like that?" Arnold said as he fully grasped the danger of the situation and quickly move out to resolve it.

In an empty world of a forgotten past. Only bleak and sorrowful memory remains within it. He came across many figures like it but none of them is actually active hostile like he thought. Some figures look like civilians who were caught in the crossfire between the German and Russian armies. Some soldiers were actively, deliberately hunting and killing innocent folks. Some causing destruction... Some trying to salvage the already bleak situation that no longer has any way to fix. But... none of those actually matters. They don't alter this world in any meaningful way... because they have already happened. They just keep on repeating monotonously like a film that was put on repeat.

Memoir... That's what Arnold eventually came to call them. They were the memory of what happened here... forever imprinted into this world. Forever playing out... even without any spectator or anything that may resemble them remaining here.

"Dear Lord... How much of those atrocities that were committed here..." Arnold said as he came across so many Memoirs that he thought he witnessed the whole war in itself.

It was no easy feat to even come to fully accept what happened to her here and let alone the entirety of WW2 itself. He knew that history is written by victors but at this point, he doesn't know if victory held any more meaning other than bragging right. Other than to denounce the others and get away with all of the atrocities that one committed.

And there is one thing... The Memoirs' placing indicates to him that they are pointing towards somewhere here in Berlin. The soldiers... all of them are charging and mobilizing toward somewhere in one direction. If that is what he could assume correctly, it might be where Alfin is heading.

Arnold swallowed his own breath before moving towards the place that the Memoirs are pointing out. With his motorcycle out, he quickly drives toward there in hope of finding her. And hope that he wasn't too late...

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All (F)or Nothing - Conflicting Paradox

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After a long drive on his Motorcycle. He came across probably the largest Memoir that he has seen. It was no individual local Memoir that he often saw but rather... It was for this entire area. A large warzone probably between the last bastion of German's force against the endless horde of Red Army soldiers. No bar is held, is all or nothing for both sides.

Bullets fly across the street he was in but they dissipated into the dust the moment he came into contact with them and thus they are just annoying at worst. Other than that, it was a leisure drive on the empty street.

But what was on his mind is how the soldiers are fighting each other. He obviously knew killing is impossible to avoid in warfare but... this was a whole new level of atrocity that he just witnessed.

They drafted everything that they could muster. Old people... barely teen children... Even the crippled... And the Red Army spent no hesitation to kill them in a merciless manner. He saw some German soldiers try to surrender but the Russian still kill them regardless even if they dropped their weapons on the ground.

It was brutal... merciless... cruel... And Arnold can't understand why such behavior is allowed to look past away because they were apparently... "heroes". Such conducting like that is a far cry from their supposed image that they are supposed to uphold and yet... they are still fundamentally the same...

And in a timely manner... He made it to another empty square... In front of him seems to be a governmental building but something isn't right...

The atmosphere is suffocating... his lung is burning from whatever he supposedly inhaled here. Such foreboding presence makes him feel completely unnerved. But that means he must be in the right location.

Reaffirming his stance and steeling his will, he looked up and saw that one familiar person flying up there and radiating some sort of aura. But there is nothing familiar about what he sees.

"Alfin..." He said in sorrow as he realized what she has become.

Her Noble Phantasm "Auschwitz's Ashes" is in full effect as surrounding her is a dark radiance. She is releasing some sort of miasma as everything around her darken into color as dark as despair. The sin... The atrocities... There was no forgiving for it. And she understood it... She bares all of them and they all crushed her underneath its weight.

Her eyes turned completely red as tears of blood flowed on her cheek. On her face locked a smile that was mocking yet so demented.

Arnold felt the intense emotions within her. All of them spiraling out of control and further increasing her madness. At this point... This isn't Alfin that he knew... but rather... No, he wouldn't sugarcoat it any longer... but he wanted to savor the last happy memory with her before he is faced down with a cruel fate.

"Alfin... She is someone I love and yet... If this is her then I have never fully understood her..." Arnold said as he closed his eyes in disbelief.

They looked at each other in the eyes. Arnold sees the lunacy in her eyes but further down beneath it was... emptiness? There was nothing there... Not even a sense of clarity or nothingness. She was... empty... in a literal sense.

"Alfin... No... Adolf Hitler... You have found your true self then..." Arnold said as he grits his teeth.

There was no response... But Arnold has already known her answer to him.

"Why?... How?... Perhaps... I know what you are getting at now... There is something that can't be spoken through just mere words alone but rather... with our own actions... with our feelings. I feeling it strongly now..." Arnold said as he opened his eyes once more without backing away.

He takes a gas mask out of the imaginary weapon rack. He never has used anything similar to it in his memory but rather... he saw it and he remembered it.

"I'll accept your challenge... This is our destiny, isn't it? I will fight... I won't run away!" Arnold said with an iron determination before he put on his gas mask.

Alfin or... what resembled her sneered at him before she descends down at the square. The two now face to face but any relation is put away. They are now two strangers, that are about to kill one another. There was no other way... For this was the inevitable outcome.

The reality around them distorted and the dark radiance around her disappeared or at least... faded away by a margin. It was as if she is testing him to see how much he would squirm against her before she would kill him in one single shot. Arnold knew that much but he won't exactly play by her rules, he will do anything in order to snap her out of the delusion that she got put in. Even if it means a brutal beatdown for both him and her.

The world around them stopped making any sense as everything started to turn into a delusional fantasy. Arnold braced himself for whatever "Adolf Hitler" is going to throw at him.

In a split of a second, an artillery cannon protrude through a burning portal now that it is completely blood red. And just another split, the shell fired directly towards his head.

Arnold however calmly tilted his head out of the shell's way as it barely grazes his hair. Knowing that the combat has been initiated, he quickly zeroes in towards her. Alfin fired another shot at him in which he grabbed his revolver and fired it with his aiming right directly at the shell itself. The moment two projectiles collided, they detonated into a large explosion before it would hit anything else.

Right after that, she took out her Innocent Sin which is now stained and dripping with blood, and then aim it at him. And the intense negative emotion she has right now will only increase the destructiveness of the gun itself.

She scoffed at him and then pulls the trigger as the torrent of rushing pellets would bound to shred him apart if he doesn't evade in time. But to Arnold however, the skill he has acquired from before has already prepared him for such an event like this. He quickly throws a breaching charge at his fist and detonated them. The force is powerful enough to push him above the oncoming storm of shrapnel.

Upon landing on the ground once more, he grabbed the T-Gewehr from his imaginary weapon rack and fired it at Alfin. She, however, just raises her hand forward and the bullet stopped dead right in its track while her palm is set ablaze. She then tossed the bullet away from her as the throw still somehow devastates everything that it landed nearby.

He fired his shot again in which she just deflected it like the last time. This time, she decided to not leave any opening and kill Arnold right on the spot. The Innocent Sin on her hand radiated in a bloody aura as she let out a demented smile on her face. It would have been one thing if it was on her enemy but unfortunately for Arnold... He is her enemy.

The trigger was pulled and a torrent of blood shrapnel was unleashed. The spread was so huge that there is virtually no way for him to escape or just jump at all. He couldn't dig his way out or deflect them due to their insanely huge power behind them. The sheer amount of rage and hatred instilled in each shrapnel scaled to the point of self-destruction itself. It was all game-over for him... hadn't for the fact that he still has another card to play.

Spirit Phaze

He mumbled beneath his lips as a faint glow enveloped his body. Those blood shrapnel phased through his body as if he doesn't present there at all. Arnold however was still pushed back to the government building due to just how powerful the torrent is. But at least he managed to get out of it unscathed.

The sheer power of the blood shrapnel shot razed the whole building to the ground. Dust scattered everywhere upon the collapse as Alfin looked at the wreckage intently for any vital sign. Beneath that cloud of dust, Arnold charged forward with angel wings sprouted from his back toward her. All of it occurred in such a short amount of time that Alfin didn't react quickly enough to it.

Arnold collided with her with such a force that it knocked her off into the ground. While it may appear not that powerful, it is far more painful and agonizing than how it would ever appear. Upon confirming the knockdown, Arnold turned around while still levitating with his wing. He whipped out his sawn-off and fired both the barrel and reload within a blink of an eye.

Alfin however got back on her knee quickly and deflected most of the pellets before it would reach her. However, while she was deflecting the shotgun blast, Arnold changed the barrel of the gun and replaced it with the "Oblivion" and loaded the broken-charged 4-gauge shells. With his aim completely clear, he pulled the trigger of the gun.

A single loud blast followed with a torrent of tearing shrapnel. Alfin however quickly used her Innocent Sin and unleashes her storm of blood against him. The two powerful attacks collided with one another and created a huge gale burst upon collision. The blast shook everything as it spurs up the dust and anything around it. When the aftermath finally faded away, the two of them locked their eyes at one another with killing intents behind them.

Alfin attacked first as she leaped towards him with her hands held behind her head. Arnold realized what she is about to do as he jumped back away from her just right before she smashed the ground. He swore that the smash is exceedingly far more powerful than how it looks as the tremor raging across from the epicenter is already a blatant evident in itself.

Before she tried to smash him right where he stood, he has already reloaded the Oblivion and tried to fire at her while he is still airborne. The thing is... he tried. Alfin noticed once more as she jumped right before he pulled the trigger. With him completely missing the shot because he aimed most of it at the ground, Alfin materialized a spear in her hands as she tried to thrust it right through from his head downwards.

Arnold managed to notice what she is about to do as he barely avoids it in the last second. He quickly reloads the Oblivion once more as he tried to take her down swiftly this time. Alfin once again notices what Arnold tried to do again as this time, she punched the ground with such a force that it created a massive earthquake that shakes the entirety of Berlin to its core. And the aftermath was a massive cloud of dust were raised from where she punched it.

Alfin looked around for any vital sign around her and she quickly notices that Arnold is no longer in front of her. She tried to look around while the cloud of dust slowly dissipates away. When she turned around, that was when she realized that Arnold is flying above with his angel wings. With him holding his dominance over the sky, he takes out his MG08/15 and quickly opens fire at her.

With each bullet holding as much power as an artillery shell thanks to his Servants' modifier. Everything around her is being blasted apart and she knew what she has to do. Despite being consumed by her hatred and madness, she is strangely far more sensible and rational than how anyone would expect. She quickly moves out away from the barrage that Arnold is unleashing against her.

The ground beneath her started to crack up, Arnold's machine-gun barrage combined with her previous earth-shattering punch resulted in massive damage inflicted on the ground. Arnold's attacks are simply the last nail in the coffin for it.

The ground beneath her started to collapse into the depths below. Driving her instinct and reflex to the maximum, she leaps from each falling chunk of ground and quickly reaching the edge of the crater. When she reached there, she saw Arnold already landed and waiting for her there. Without a single shred of hesitation, she summoned an array of autocannons and open fire all of them at him without delay.

Before any of them reached him, Arnold has already aimed his Oblivion at her. He pulled the trigger faster than those cannon bullets approaching him as he unleashes a storm of shredding pellets that would dice everything in its way. The power of the broken-charged shells overwhelmed the cannon rounds as they deflected all of them away with a wall of lead.

Alfin however doesn't sit idly at all as she raised her hand and stopped the wall of lead dead in its track. She then tossed them away with a single swat of her blazing hand as if they were just a piece of paper to her. Right after that, Arnold quickly grabs the MG08/15 once more as he quickly opens fire at her. He already knew the difference in firepower between them is too staggering but he has to try no matter what.

Alfin looks at the barrage of rifle rounds coming at her. But instead of doing anything, she just turned her back. It may appear unorthodox but Arnold knew... that it will be disastrous.

Time started to slow down... The reality around them turned into pure white, all of the bullets he fired just float there in the air as if they were not even fired at all. Alfin turned back once more to face him and in her hand is the Innocent Sin which is now pointing at him. Arnold's mind also went into overdrive just so that he may have a chance to react when she finally attack.

But even then, he can't help but look into her eyes. Beneath all of those raging feelings is... loneliness and sorrow. It makes him wonder just what did she learn that it would push her into something like this.

Alfin pulled the trigger of her gun and the storm of blood annihilates everything within its path. With her control over nothingness wavers away immediately after she fired it, Arnold quickly activates "Spirit Phaze" just right before those blood shots reach him. The result would have been gruesome if he was any second too late.

Both of them looked at each other once again when the dust died down. Alfin still looks at him with those eyes that would kill just by looking alone. But Arnold felt something isn't right, something is going on behind the scene but she is basically stopping him from taking it to any different solution.

The reality around him flickers, flashes as if this illusion can't keep up with whatever Alfin is pushing it to. He doesn't know if Auschwitz's Ashes can alter reality or not but at this point, he might as well assume so.

And in just a blink of an eye, he found himself standing on a long railway bridge that seems to cross over a massive river. The scenery completely changed as he doesn't even know where he is right now. He was in Berlin and then he suddenly found himself here. Alfin stood there menacingly as the dreading aura started to get on his nerve. At this point, he decided to do anything that could help him.

He takes out a pigeon cage and Alfin quickly reacted by firing an artillery shell at him. Arnold realized what she is doing and he stomped the ground as hard as he could before the shell would reach him. The stomp ended up pulling a large chunk of the bridge's ground up and the shell impacts on it, resulting in a large explosion. He then tossed the pigeon up to the sky and he quickly kicked that chunk of reinforced concrete at her after he blocked that artillery shell.

Alfin upon seeing the chunk of concrete and steel flying at her. She quickly jumped and landed on top of it while it is still flying at her. She then quickly leaped towards him and quickly pull an overhead smash right at him. Arnold however quickly evaded that attack as artillery shells started to rain down upon their location. With the sheer power of the artillery barrage, the bridge then started to fall apart as they then started to fall down towards the river below.

Both of them landed on a chunk of the bridge that is falling down towards the river. For some reason, the chunk is falling but not even approaching the river surface at all. They are indeed falling because they are getting further away from the bridge's proper structure but they aren't getting anywhere closer to the river no matter if they wait or not.

But with how thing goes, they would fight each other rather than sit idly there.

Alfin quickly initiates combat first as she summons multiple machine guns through her blazing portal as she then immediately unleashing them against Arnold. Arnold however has no intention of continuing combat against her in this condition as he tried to scale up back to the bridge with the rubbles that are falling down. Servants are powerful enough to even defy gravity and the law of physics since their capability transcends beyond any human.

And of course, Alfin would even try to sabotage his effort by trying to shoot him down while simultaneously scaling up the collapsing bridge by leaping across the falling rubbles. It devolved into a race-slash-demolition as the stray shots and missed attacks ended up causing more damage to the bridge than how anyone would even imagine. Arnold focused mainly on getting back to the bridge while Alfin is focused on trying to kill him.

Within not even a split of a second, Arnold bashed away an artillery shell that Alfin fired at him before he quickly leaps across the falling rubbles. They were moving so fast in such little time that the whole thing didn't even go beyond one second after the initial destruction. That's just how fast they were.

When Arnold almost reached the top, he took out a bundle of dynamites and throw it at the opposite end of where he is currently. Alfin acted on her instinct without detecting what it was and preemptively fired at it without taking a good look. The dynamite blew up and collapsed the opposite end of the bridge as the structure completely give up and started to fall on top of her.

Realizing what she just did, she narrowly avoided a huge slab of concrete that would have otherwise crushed her into spaghetti sauce between the two rubble slabs like a sandwich. She grunted annoyingly before she quickly threw two of her chains and have them latches at the opposite side of where she is and pull herself towards them. Arnold by that point has already run away before she would reach the edge either way.

The damage that they inflicted in this battle would have assured this bridge will collapse entirely on them. Alfin saw Arnold is riding on his motorcycle as he tried to escape the certain destruction of this bridge. Alfin then used her power as a hulking mechanical humanoid falls out of the burning portal. It was the King Tiger that she used to control from long before.

Chains formed from her wrist as they shackled her to the King Tiger itself. The burning agony is nothing compared to the murderous desire to kill Arnold as it pushes her to do completely maddening decisions. Debris fell right in front of her as they block her way from pursuing him. But they are no longer her concern as everything within her sight is boiled down to just Arnold and she will do anything to kill him.

She leaped to the back of the King Tiger then quickly rode on it. The first thing she did was to control it to smash the wreckage in front of her. With a single swing of its fist, everything in front of it was blown apart into oblivion She then quickly pursue him as the bridge started to fall apart.

Enigma Codex

Two rocket muzzles formed right at the back of the King Tiger and with a sudden boost, it literally caught up with him in just a blink of an eye. Arnold became aware of what just happened as he quickly steered the motorcycle away from a blow that will literally turn him into gibs with a single strike.

The blow that is meant to decimate him impacted the bridge and shatter any structural integrity it still has. Everything started to come crashing down as both of them are still holding a grudge towards each other and try to kill each other first. Those soul-piercing gazes of theirs were as cold as ice as if there is no trace left of their relations. It doesn't even matter about their pledge for each other anymore. It all just devolved into madness and insanity.

And this time... there is nothing stopping them from falling into the river anymore. But they were far too powerful for any human limitation.

Arnold keeps throttling his bike as it ran on top of the water surface. Alfin's King Tiger meanwhile has been completely remodified to fly while still keeping the humanoid appearance. It all turned into a chase between the two of them as they move with a speed that makes everything man ever made to look like a snail. And when they thought they no longer have to deal with spatial manipulation fuckery, the river is now suddenly stretched to the size of an ocean with no land within sight.

The King Tiger punched and Arnold barely avoided that strike. The missing attack when landed on the water surface however created a massive splash the size of a nuclear bomb detonation within the sea. And it was just one... Alfin continuously does so as she wanted to take him down no matter the consequence or what would happen to her. The only reason that Arnold suffered none of it was that the speed he moves outran the shockwave's speed itself.

Alfin punched again in which Arnold quickly leaped from his motorcycle and takes out his MP18 and fired towards her head. She however quickly raised the King Tiger's hand to block all of the incoming attacks. Arnold then takes out a crate of dynamite and tossed all of them at her King Tiger. When the crate approaches her, he then takes out his T-Gewehr and aimed carefully at it.

Feeling time slows down as he focuses everything on it with all he has left. He pulled the trigger and what followed is a massive detonation that blasted Alfin away for a considerable distance which bought him some time so that he could take a deep breath. That peace didn't last long and he expected it as she zeroed in on him in a blink of an eye. With her fist raised, she quickly pulled a right hook down on him which he narrowly avoided a direct impact by a hair-breadth once more.

Arnold after that evade quickly jumped from his bike and aims at her with the Oblivion loaded. As if acting entirely on impulse, she quickly dived straight into the water before he fired at her. By that point, he was already too late.

He stood there atop his motorcycle as it moves independently from his control. Arnold looked around as he tried to look for where she might be and planning out in case of ambush in which she very well may attempt on him no matter what. And whether it was his instinct or dumb luck, Arnold tilted his head just in time to avoid a tank shell blasting through his head.

Upon realizing the imminent danger, he quickly gets back on his motorcycle and quickly threads his way through the undetectable danger beneath him shooting tank shells at him. Each shot bursts through the water surface like a geyser as the sheer size of them reached toward the sky with ease. And it wasn't just your standard tank's fire rate, this thing is firing tank shell at him with the fire rate that makes even an electrical Gatling gun look like they are flintlock pistol compared to her.

After half a minute that felt like an eternity to Arnold, she rosed up from the water's surface and fly through the sky, why did she do something like that? Nobody understood or know at all. But Arnold quickly takes that chance as he seems to charge something up within him. He then takes off his cloak which he has worn for so long that it is jarring to see him without it.

As the cloak soared across the wind, something started to fly past him. No... it wasn't just one, it was a flock of them. It was a flock of pure white pigeons as they quickly fly towards the King Tiger that Alfin is piloting.

They weren't any normal birds... There isn't anything normal about them at all. There was a faint glow that enveloped them as they all left behind a trail of feathers whenever they fly. As they quickly approach her, Alfin felt a sudden impulse to quickly avoid contact with them at all costs. She then quickly turn the King Tiger in order to evade them but against such a massive flock of them, she was bound to get hit by one of them.

And nobody expected the collision of a pigeon would do such huge damage like that either, not even Alfin or Arnold. The damage was high enough that it resulted in a huge chunk of her King Tiger's hull being severely damaged. The collision shock ended up knocking her down into the water below but even then, it is still functional enough for her to continue combat.

Arnold took another deep breath in order for him to continue planning out whatever he should do. He knew there is an underlying trap beneath all of these and yet all he could do is to continue this goddamn madness.

Alfin rose up from the water surface once more as she glared at him with those eyes that could kill him if it could. The tank cannon built within her King Tiger's arm transformed into something entirely as they quickly fired towards him. Arnold tried to throttle his way out but then he realized that they are homing at him no matter what he does.

Upon realizing that those homing missiles are about to zero in on him and the fact that Alfin is about to finish him off the moment those missiles detonated and threw him off guard doesn't make it any better. His mind went overdrive as he then quickly try to formulate a counterattack against this. Seconds left until his fate is sealed, he quickly stood atop of his motorbike then jumped from it.

The missiles detonated within the water as it raised a massive geyser right upon where they detonated, Alfin by then has already stood in front of him and prepared to take him down. However...

Arnold jumped out of the geyser with the sawn-off held in his hand. Alfin doesn't pay any heed as she quickly proceeds to strike just when her victory is getting closer. So much that she didn't notice that he has already activated the underslung Hookshot of the sawn-off itself. What he intended to do isn't fire at her with the Oblivion but rather...

He pulled something out of the geyser itself and the figure of his bike rushes in and flew past him. With the force that those homing missiles applied, the bike was moving at the re-entry speed as he deliberately steers it toward the damaged part of the King Tiger itself through the Hookshot of the sawn-off.

Unable to react in time, the bike went straight through the King Tiger's unprotected area as both his bike and the King Tiger itself exploded and obliterated each other into nothing but scraps and smithereens. And right at that moment, the spatial manipulation effects ended as they now suddenly found themselves at the edge of the river.

Both of them lost all of their vehicles and thus the battlefield turned back into even ground. Alfin tried to grab Arnold by his throat she could strangle him and Arnold acted upon her by his instinct as his body pulled a punch at her gut in an extremely close quarter with the distance approach to just an inch. He did so completely unconsciously without realizing it until he saw her flying into a mountain. And in the next second, she collided with such a force that the whole mountain just sundered in just a blink of his eyes.

Arnold landed on the ground and watches the damage that he unleashed subconsciously. He didn't even know he held such power like that at all. And before he even processed what just happened, he narrowly avoided a massive chunk of the mountain that was thrown at him. Alfin quickly burst through the rubble as she lunged at him in a completely ferocious and animalistic manner.

He saw it, the ashes that emanated around her. Even without breathing in it, he can still feel the malice, hatred, disgust, rage. All of the attacks she made left behind a trail of blood as if she stained her hand with so much blood that there was no way for her to cleanse them no matter the manner.

She threw another punch and Arnold tried to block it. It was the worst feeling and decision that he ever made. The mere agony and pain that he felt from even attempting to stop those bloody fists of her can only get him so far. Arnold can only put up a few counters or blocks before he has to quickly resort to the other plan.

He quickly leaped into the sky and use Spirit Phaze so that he will be able to fly and remain there as long as his dwindling mana reserve can hold. Reaching out for a weapon of distant past, one that he shouldn't have at all in his armory, and yet... he somehow managed to reach for it.

Six barrels, chromatic steel, shortened, linked with an ammo box. The thing was so long ago that he barely remembered it but what is important is that he remembered it.

Final Conda

It fires High-Velocity Armor Piercing Explosive Incendiary bullets, and it ran entirely on his life force. It is a double-edged sword but with how little choice he has left when he is facing what is literally the sinner that scarred the history. And he isn't gonna deny the fact that both he and Alfin are two sides of one same coin.

He pulled the trigger as the hail of a firestorm rained down upon her. Alfin started to focus as power surged inside her so much that even Arnold could tell that something bad is going to happen. All of those bullets that are supposed to hit her suddenly deflected immediately away from her the moment it was anywhere remotely near her. The bloodstained and ashen radiance around her started to turn even more visible.

Is it pain? Is it suffering? Is it anything that basically prevents Arnold from thinking of any better alternative? But all he could do was hold the trigger and hope that she would starve herself outright from pushing too hard. But he should have known that any logical reasoning is thrown out from long ago the moment he stepped into this unbearable nightmare.

And his hesitance ended up only dragging this madness for longer. With the power that she concentrated, she punched the ground with such a force that she created a volcanic eruption that was so powerful that it blasted Arnold straight into the stratosphere without resistance. He only used his Spirit Phaze to give him the angel wings to fly, not to protect himself from any attack that may reach him, and thus he paid the price for doing so.

As he flew across the sky, his mind was overwhelmed by the sheer pain he went through. In an attempt to find a way to get out of this predicament, his mind scoured the entirety of his memory for any clue that may help him. Even those that no longer appear vividly in his mind.

The world enraged you for its abandonment of you and in return, you threw it into a nightmare. You wanted a paradise, made out of your idea of what you know is beautiful. A world that can't be forgotten. After all that was done, can I even call you a monster or demon?

Denied of love since birth. Starved of any kindness and compassion. It is only true that I am my own worst enemy who has already cast my own judgment on myself. It was my own carelessness and rejection that sprouted the root of evil within myself. Can you even imagine an outcome for a life that never knew love, that didn't end in heartbreak or tragedy?

He soon landed upon the scorched earth. As he tried to stabilize his delirious mind, he quickly ducked just in time to avoid a firestorm that just swept through the area as it scorches everything apart into char. Feeling the blazing heat that is emanating, he wondered just where on earth did he land.

Reality flickered once more as everything around him changed. It was foggy and his vision was greatly hindered because of it. But his senses became extremely hypersensitive as it searches for anything that remotely resembles Alfin's. He quickly turned around and saw Alfin levitating there in the air as she raised her own hand up to the sky.

Soon, he saw a hail of artillery shells about to rain down upon him. Arnold's mind quickly turned to overdrive as he processes so much information that time started to slow down to a halt. He could feel his mind literally meltdown at any moment. But even when time supposedly stops, Alfin still moves as if she is completely unhindered. He knew... that she also has the same capability as him too.

In fact, they are moving so fast that time appeared to be moving to a halt. Their minds are forcing themselves to work to a capability that is pure unsustainable. As they brawl out with only their fists and punches. As their attacks connected upon each other, Arnold's mind was overdrive to the point that it just screams in emergence as it desperately scouring anything for a way to resolve this conflict.

Arnold, a proper human don't go suddenly lose one specific fragment of their memory, they either lose them all due to amnesia or not. The only memories I have are my childhood and WW2 and trust me, you don't want to see my memory of WW2's event. You don't want to see the atrocity I committed during those times

You tried to make yourself appeared brave, you tried to make yourself a monster so that no one would ever try to make you suffer anymore but in truth, you are still very much a gentle girl who desired love

His mind couldn't handle continue doing this as time started to flow back to normal for him. That is when those artillery shells impacted on the scarred ground as they tore everything around him apart. He felt the shrapnel and forces that are going to turn him into a cripple if they went on like this any longer. Just like that, he quickly charges toward him in a desperate attempt to breakthrough this assault.

Alfin watches as Arnold approaches her. Seeing how pitifully predictable it was, she decided to prepare a final attack that will finish him off in a single strike. But when she did so, her attack phased completely through him. Turns out... she attacked his afterimage.

And the real Arnold came forth as he punched her in the face with just one single attack. And the moment he did so, the whole world flickered once more as the scenery and surroundings changed completely.

This time, however... he stood there in a field of emptiness. A foreboding presence that makes his mind screams loudly in danger. It was overwhelming and completely unmatchable as if he is fighting something else entirely. He looked at her as his breathing becomes far more tedious despite just looking at her alone.

A dark radiance completely surrounding her as if she has awakened to something entirely unfathomable. Something that is beyond even his wildest imagination. The blood-red eyes that are dripping with tears of blood, a demented and mocking smile that is taunting him even further. The tattered dress and unkempt hair of her flew across the winds that were saturated with endless ashes.

And stood there the man who was a reflection of her, who hasn't learned the real truth, the real reason why she started to act this way. But no matter what words he may speak, she won't say anything to him about it but to kill him in a most merciless manner possible. To think that they were once sworn their oaths together underneath that rainy night illuminated by the warm light of that lamp.

The final desperate struggle between them and no matter what they do, someone is going to die...

"ALFIN!" Arnold screamed loudly at Alfin as he quickly charges toward her.

Spirit Phaze!

Spirit Phaze!

Arnold used Spirit Phaze multiple times as he charged towards her with those angel wings of his. However... he was repelled almost immediately without resistance as if none of his attacks are actually doing anything. He did it again and all it got him was to be knocked back into the ground.

Arnold stood up once more as he then quickly decided to use it to the full capacity he has, if one single attack isn't enough, he will literally burn his life apart if that is what it takes.

SPIRIT PHAZE!

Arnold yelled to the top of his lung as he charged at her once more. This time, he will attack her as many times as it damn could. He will continue to attack her until he irked a damn response from that demented look on her face.

He continuously collided with her, one time, two times, dozens of times, hundreds of times, all within a span of not even a second. And when the pain finally registered, she finally reacted as she swings her frail-looking yet ungodly powerful arm at him which blown him away hundreds of meters with a single strike and it somehow ignored Arnold's Spirit Phaze.

Despite receiving such a brutal attack like that, Arnold gets back on his feet immediately as he quickly rushed towards her once more. Alfin just simply attacks with her hand-to-hand combat despite having an ungodly arsenal that dwarfs Arnold easily which proves that she has gone completely insane and just fight for the sake of fighting. Not even to kill Arnold... not even because of any of her atrocity... but rather... She just completely lost.

Arnold took out his Oblivion and fired at her but she just swatted away all of his buckshot like they were nothing with her own hands. Seeing that none of his ranged weaponry is gonna work, he quickly used his Spirit Phaze once more as he charged towards her at 'godspeed'. She however just wards him off at bay with a simple gesture of her palm but it seems like he is about to break through it if she hesitated even for a brief moment.

He did it again in which she quickly punched into the ground with such a force that the shockwave released upon impact managed to halt his Spirit Phaze from reaching her. He reattempted it in which she did it again as the mere shockwave alone tore the sky above open in twain. He reattempted once more in which she punched the ground with a force that it cracked the whole ground beneath them.

However, she decided that she has enough of this charrade as the final punch caused a massive firestorm to erupt right from where she was. Arnold at that moment wasn't able to activate his Spirit Phaze in time before he flame would engulf him in the entirety.

Pain... So much of it... So much that it was overwhelming and flooding in every corner of his thought. He could feel his consciousness being incinerated as the agony searing into his own flesh. He could feel as if he was thrown into an incinerator much like how the victim of Auschwitz Concentration Camp went through. It was like a bitter pill that he was forced to taste on his own.

Desperately holding onto any attempt to remain, he felt as if time refused to budge no matter what. He couldn't tell if a second has passed or not but his mind was already too overwhelmed by the pain to even notice. And then... he remembered something.

...live... for our sake...

At that moment, Arnold decided to put his mind into only one singular objective. Not letting the pain overwhelm him any longer, he decided to push his thought only towards one thing...

serenity...

The moment he managed to do so, he reached a trance-like state in which he is completely unbounded from all limitations. No pain... No suffering... No agony... Only one focus... to free her from whatever has turned her like this.

A flash appeared within his glint as his burnt and tattered cloth soars across this wind. The gas mask that he wore was burnt into char and thus become useless but he has no need for it any longer. The moment that firestorm came to an end. Arnold opened his eyes as there was nothing behind it. Only an empty gaze that looked beyond the horizon.

Last Promise

Arnold lunged towards her as he pulled a devastating left hook that was faster than Alfin's reflex. The collision impact was so powerful that Alfin got taken aback by it. Upon realizing what Arnold has become, she quickly unleashing an array of heavy weaponry of all kinds, ranging from autocannons to artilleries. She fired all of them without any sort of restraining towards Arnold.

Arnold however deflected all of them with his bare hand alone. As each deflected bullet tore apart the whole battlefield and ravage anything with their paths. Arnold whipped out his Luger again and focused so much power into one shot that the gun blew up upon firing. The bullet soars toward her as the shockwave it created knocked everything she fired at him in her path.

She used her unseen hands once more to block it but even then, the force was so tremendous that it pushed her back by hundreds of meters as the ground she stood on tore apart from the sheer friction. The moment she managed to deflect the bullet away, Arnold has already lunged toward her with his fist about to pull a right hook that would smash her head apart.

With virtually no time left to do anything else, all she could do is take the whole right hook right into her temple. The mere shockwave of the impact alone was so devastating that everything beside them was torn asunder if they haven't already. Despite receiving such a grievous blow, she whipped out her Innocent Sin and fired it with unbelievable precision.

Arnold quickly grabbed all of those bloodstained buckshots the moment she fired them and used all of them to his advantage by reflecting all of those kinetic energies back at her. She fired again right just after the initial shot and Arnold quickly threw back all of those pellets in his hand immediately so they don't lose any power. The moment those attacks connected, it created a massive storm of collision sparks that was so bright and powerful that they felt the fabric of the world is shaking like no tomorrow.

And within that moment, his mind flashes continuously back at the people who he considered comrades and allies that have fought together with him to this far. Shirou, Kuro, Kiritsugu, Irisviel, Larry, Desmond, Illya, Pierce, Richard... They have all stood up for him and never once falter or give up. If he gave up now, it would be an insult to all of their dignity.

The moment their attacks' collision ended, both Arnold and Alfin attacked at one same time as their fists collided with one another. The sheer strength of theirs resulted in a massive shockwave that spreads across the broken land and pushed them back at their starting point.

Both of them takes out their respective pistol and fired at each other only to have their bullets collided once more together as it created a deafening sound and sparks that it felt like they just witness an unstoppable object hitting an unmovable object. When it didn't work, they then zero in towards each other as they traded blows with their fist until Arnold swings his arm and knocked Alfin away right in her face. He then grabbed another Luger and fired it with all of his will put into it.

Suffered an injury from it, Alfin grabbed her shoulder as it visibly bleeding from where he shot at her and was visibly taken aback by his previous attack. Arnold realized that it is his only last chance to finish this madness off for once and for all. He lunged toward her and grabbed her by the neck then pull her up. He managed to grab something that was dropped beneath Alfin, her golden pistol.

He put the gun at her own head as he is visibly shaken from all of the toll and pain he went through. It will finally end, he has come so close and all it will take is a single trigger pull.

But... why does he feel so empty?...

Arnold keeps looking at her. Feeling the turmoil of emotions whirling maddeningly with virtually no way to resolve. He is so close to finishing off this horrific story and yet... why does he feel so bad about it?...

A lifetime of suffering... A lifetime of pain... His heart starts to waver as Alfin just remains so still that it is unnerving. And then within that bloodstained cheeks of her... formed a white line. It was her own genuine tears...

My fractured hearts blackened further upon seeing how far people are willing to go just to further their goals. Darkness started to shrouding my mind as I can't find myself trusting anyone without putting them away at arm's length to protect myself from backstabbers. And eventually... I became my own sworn enemies...

He shuddered in realization at what he has been doing. The moment their faith in each other wavers, that moment will snowball them towards their doom. The moment either one of them kills the other, they will kill themselves right immediately at that moment. Much like how Adolf Hitler killed himself at the end of WW2 in the Berlin Offensive. This world is a part of their illusion and memory and if they followed it through, it will end in mutual destruction.

You don't just attempt to follow your memory until the end, you have to avert your own fate and change it for the better if you don't want to fall for the same mistake of your past. To not falling for the very death that you wish to avoid repeating. Most people won't realize it until they were too late.

At that point, Arnold let go of Alfin and embrace her as tightly as he could. He doesn't want things to end this way, he wanted to change it to something better. He doesn't want to accept this as their only end. He cried as his tears fall roll down his cheeks, they were genuine and came from the depth of his soul. The moment his tears landed on Alfin's head, her resentment and hatred started to wash away like the barren dust underneath the rain.

Arnold looked around the place and realized that place they were at changed completely into something else. The stillness and the eerie atmosphere is making his nerve tinglings in fear and uneasiness. The bellowing wind carries the dust and ashes as there is only one color that was painted in this scenery... ashes...

His fear started to scale as he became more worried about what may come. As his dread becomes even more visible as he realized what is surrounding him and his fear for both of their safety becomes even more foreboding than ever.

And the final nail in the coffin of his belief that they are safe is just an entrance sign that was left desolate for so long that it seems like it was abandoned long ago. But what was written there is what ascertain his fear.

Auschwitz...

The place where the Holocaust happened. He could feel the suffocating ashes that make him felt sick and revolting the longer he breathes in them. He doesn't know how he turned up at this place but if there has to be a reason. There has to be...

Suddenly... He noticed the ground beneath him is starting to crack. Upon seeing it, he panics immediately as he tried to get away from the crack started to quickly spread across the ground. But no matter how fast he may try to move, it was all too late regardless of what he does.

Both him and Alfin fell down into the abyss below as the ground shatters like a pane of thin glass. As Arnold helplessly trying to find a way to get out of this situation, Alfin just falls downward with that same stillness from before. No words are spoken, no emotions are displayed, there was only one thing that Arnold can only feel from her.

Resignation...

Arnold doesn't know how deep are they falling, he couldn't see the bottom anywhere. All he could see was the fading light above him become even more distant as he and Alfin fall into the abyss below them.

As he finds himself diving even faster into the darkness beneath, he realized something isn't right. He looked at Alfin as she still falling in a lifeless manner. However, his mind is screaming at him to no end as he was left even more confused. And he sees it, a mountain of charred and burnt corpses that was scorched to beyond recognition.

"No..." Arnold thought as he realized just what is positioned atop the mountain of corpses itself.

It was a long, thin, and sharp spire. The one that looks like it could spear through a person without resistance. Why it was positioned there, he never knows but there was one more thing that was more concerning to him.

Alfin... she is falling towards it...

"Alfin!" Arnold yelled as he desperately tries to reach for her.

She still not responding... it was as if she has given up already. There isn't anything within her anymore. Her mind was completely in static and her body refused to do anything...

"Alfin!" Arnold yelled to the top of his lung as he desperately reaches for her hand.

As time started to run out as Alfin is about to fall into her death. Arnold yelled at her as he tried to get her attention. He pushed himself to the most he could so that he might be able to save her.

"Please! Don't do this to me!" Arnold said as he desperately reaches out for her.

Feeling the wind grazing across his body, when the split of a second is slowly slipping away from his hand. He tried to grab her hand in a desperate attempt to save the last person that held him together. He was so close and...

It was cruel...

Arnold's pupil shrunk as he realized that he was too late. There were many times where he was able to pull things off in time... but when it mattered the most, he was unable to do it.

Words of God: For this part, play Ever Present Feelings - Fate/stay night

He watches as the spire skewered Alfin through her chest, watches as her blood stains the whole spire as they drip down upon the charred corpses. He saw the horrifying expressions, the one of tremendous pain on her face. He can only look at her in sorrow as he watches the life in her slowly slipping away.

He finally reaches rock bottom as his body splashes into the bloody ground beneath. He looked at Alfin and directly into her eyes. He could feel his heart tearing itself apart as he watches the life in her eyes slowly fade away.

"Alfin!" Arnold yelled as he tried to pull himself up but the pain keeps dragging him down.

He gritted his teeth, to see himself so powerless like this at such a critical situation pain him far more than any torture that anyone could think of. He felt his throat slowly getting coarse as he tried to drag his tired and injured body towards the mountain of corpses.

Alfin looked at him weakly with a tear rolling down her face. With her last dying strength... she said to him with a sad mournful voice...

Arnold... I'm... so... sorry...

Her eyes turned lifeless completely in front of him. Her face no longer makes any emotion anymore. All that remained was a corpse now joined this forsaken land. At that moment, any last shred of his faith he still has is completely buried away... He watches as her body then collapses into golden dust. And soon, her body slowly vanishes until the only thing remaining was the spire that took her life. That last drop of tears falls into the pool of blood that he now stood on. The only last trace of her within this hell.

Arnold couldn't move... he couldn't speak... breathing became a chore... He felt half his heart was torn apart. His eyes were stung by the tears he cried as he desperately tries to swallow the lump in his throat.

His chest tightened as if being taunted by anger, misery, and a cold feeling of emptiness. He could feel it slowly building into a wave that is getting taller and taller and taller... Then it all came crashing down with a thunderous force into his shaken, unprepared mind. By this point... Arnold's rational mind was gone...

He didn't know how much time has passed. He didn't even know how long he stood there in front of where Alfin once was...

As his clothes were wet in blood, he looked around and realized just where he has found himself in...

It was a mass grave... bodies littered around haphazardly without a care as they were too disfigured to even recognize who they are. But there is one thing he knows for sure... there was no discrimination as dead bodies of all sizes can be found. Children, men, women... There was no mercy or hope to be found. Perhaps... this was his ultimate punishment... Doomed to suffer what he perpetrated after all along.

Arnold collapsed to his knee as he feels the icy grip around his heart. His mind finally registers the fact and now it will start to rationalize what it learned. Or at least... it tried to.

AAAALFIIIIIIIN!

He screamed to the top of his lung. His sorrowful cry soared across unto the heavens themselves. But no matter how loud he may scream, Alfin will never come back. She is gone... and that's all there is to it. There won't be any miracle... And there never will be one that is given to him.

He screamed until his voice gave out. And then again... and again... and again...

But it is all the same, his plea fell to deaf ears as everything falls back into the cold and unfeeling silence. No answers... There was just him and this very personal hell.

And then... he felt someone appeared. He turned to his left and see that one very familiar person standing there.

That toothbrush mustache is already an obvious hint to what he is. In his mind, only a seething rage that drives him to this point.

"Adolf Hitler... How could you?... We were from the same tale and yet... you refused to change..." Arnold said with animosity at that man in SS Waffen uniform whose face is still as unmoving as before.

Arnold tried to move his body towards him but his shattered heart make such action like that as impossible as it could get.

"How cruel... It never hits you after all, didn't it? Perhaps it was better for you this way... because you would have fallen for that same mistake she did... if you were to learn the real truth about yourself." Adolf said with a stern expression as if he is disappointed.

"The truth? What truth? You are only lying to save any goddamn face you still have for some non-existence approval. You only resort to this because no matter how much we may try to convince... you will only swat all of them away meaninglessly. Is this... just how you wanted things to be?... To have fate toyed like something a kid enjoys?" Arnold said as his eyes turned into twin pools of fury and grief.

"This isn't about Alice and her power... This... is about who you are... If you don't intend to listen to me then I will force you the hard way.". Adolf said with disapproval.

"Then try you fucking moron! Try when I fucking tear that shit-eating mocking grin of you apart." Arnold said as he hurls his injured body towards him.

Adolf then does a simple hand gesture as he just raised his palm towards Arnold who is running pathetically towards Adolf. Suddenly, Arnold's eyes dilated and then lost its color. He falls over as he falls face-flat into the pool of blood that reaches his ankle.

His consciousness fades away... as it is going somewhere beyond his memory. Somewhere even further... beyond death itself...

...

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.

Arnold weakly opens his eyes, he noticed that he is within somewhere here. The rain fell ceaselessly as the dark clouds cover the whole sky. The only thing that illuminates this muddy and forsaken ground is the dimming light of the sky that managed to barely reach through. Corpses were scattered everywhere and they were left for so long that they were just skeletal remains.

And he saw someone who is moving, he quickly approaches him to check out. It was a soldier... and... he looks like he just moves on his own without a clear conscience of where to go. Just move without a goal in mind.

His face was rugged by the passage of time, and the picture that seems to peek out of his backpack signifies the differences that were so 'leap and bound' that you would have thought that the soldier now and the one in the picture were two different people.

Inside his eyes were empty. There was no life inside as he knew. The pain, the suffering, everything... they were all so much and took so much toll out of him that what remained was this empty husk that is desperately clinging onto life. To call him alive is stretching it.

He tried to observe and scrutinize that soldier for every detail he could but since he is unable to interact with anything here, all he could do is to assess the outside appearance or at least... things that were visible on the outside.

The soldier dropped something into the mud. It was from his left hand that he seems to cling onto for so long. He tried to analyze the item but the condition isn't exactly the best to do so. It was scruffed so much that even the carving got smudged away. The only thing that remained was... Millan... That was the only thing that he could read before the mud would cover it and forever buried it away.

That man... he is still going. He keeps walking, abandoning everything that he kept with him, just so he could delay the inevitable. He keeps walking as he sacrifices his mentality restrain, which prevents him from doing anything that could kill him, just so he could keep moving on.

He keeps walking and soon, he sacrificed the very madness that kept him for so long. He soon came to a stop and stood up straight, he looked up into the sky as the raindrops fell on his face.

Arnold slowly followed him and watches as the man dies a slow death full of regret. He watches the soldier's eyelids slowly closed upon those empty eyes. He doesn't know how long or how far he has pursued him but there is one thing that he felt regardless, something will happen and whatever that is... It will be his final revelation. One that will drive him to the brink of insanity.

He braces himself for whatever that truth is. Feeling his own heart beating erratically as his anxiety started to climb up, he can't calm himself down when something important is about to occur.

He turned around and saw something... something hazy... and white... He doesn't know what it is exactly but it definitely approaches this body. The truth is getting so close yet for some reason, his mind couldn't wrap around what it was supposed to be.

The hazy entity slowly approaches the corpse and Arnold felt something extremely familiar about it yet he can't put it into words. The spirit then suddenly move into the recently deceased body itself and it was the last flash of insight that Arnold needed. And then... he realized it... What if...

This was him before he becomes a Heroic Spirit? But it doesn't make sense at all! How could a random spirit have enough power to plow cities like a field? But no matter how he may try to yell or scream, only one person held that answer... and he may have already known it.

The corpse's finger twitches as if being slowly brought back to life... Or... more exactly as a rebirth of someone else using the said body. The soldier suddenly opened his eyes, looking confused at his surroundings. It was at this point that there is no denying that this was Arnold before he became a Heroic Spirit.

The soldier then slowly and tediously stood up as if he still haven't gotten used to the fact now that he has a body, slowly but surely, the soldier now started to move away. Looking for anything that may resemble a saving grace in this bleak and hopeless land.

Arnold's vision turned white completely as all his senses went completely oblivious to his surrounding. He can't hear, smell, or see, just as if he lost all of his senses. And it might as well be because after this... the revelation will hit him hard... hard like the bullet that will go through his head had he killed Alfin during the previous conflict.

...

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He returned back to the mass grave, still collapsed to his knee in the pool of blood. He looked at Adolf with a confused look in his eyes as there were too many things that he didn't understand. He was a soldier, not a magus.

"Let me tell you one thing... Why was your memory fractured in the first place?" Adolf said as he gives the only hint to Arnold's true origin.

And at that moment... Arnold's mind flashed back to everything that occurs so far, every information that was present to him. Everything suddenly laid out perfectly for him to revise what he learned.

* The spirit fusions did with this material acting as a catalyst has raised the Spirit Origin's value to a higher amount without any side effect. Also, it can be used to artificially raise the S.O's value by itself alone, allowing us to turn Phantom Spirit that was lacking mystery behind it into proper Heroic Spirit without repercussion.

* The moment he placed himself there, Hitler's Spirit Origin shattered into two fragments and a lot of wasted power...

* ...used to divide excess Spirit Origins and recycle them in order to refine into much better Heroic Spirits.

* Azerium grants its user the ability to increase their power with their strength of self-belief and faith. The stronger their will, the more powerful they become. As long as they don't falter against adversaries.

* He felt so much weaker than before and a huge chunk of his memory was lost...

* ...the difference was way too great... One was in WW1 and the other was back in pre-war time. However, they realized that one link that connects both of them, their sister...

At that point... He learned one thing that is common knowledge for mages. Just one piece of information and his perspective of everything flipped upside down. If someone had told him this first hand, he wouldn't have to suffer so much just to learn about this.

"Memories are stored in the soul..." Arnold mumbled beneath his lips in disbelief.

Just that... It was plain simple and yet... it was too late.

Think of the original Hitler's Spirit Origin as a brick wall. The moment his soul was shattered into pieces by the Spirit Divider, the brick wall broke into multiple parts. Hitler assumed that it broke into two parts because there were only two people who inherited them. But if assuming there were more fragments that keep scattering about due to the lack of a host, they continue to wander the empty world without a clear aim in sight.

And due to the special circumstances of this Singularity, the excess of Azerium in the air combined with the death of the entirety of the Waffen and Wehrmacht stationed there in Berlin. Spirit fusion went off without a hitch as the fragments of Hitler's soul continue to fuse the lost souls into them. And they incorporate the very memories within those souls themselves in a way so that it makes sense without causing huge contradictions.

They believed that it was their memories without questioning it because of how seamlessly it was thanks to Azerium acting as the catalyst for spirit fusion.

From that shattered brick wall, you got four major parts. Azerium can be considered the cement and the new bricks. From those four parts, you built a new wall entirely from each major part. Adolescent, WW1, WW2, last days. There can be some overlaps because there are some smaller fragments that may or may not have fused along into the major parts.

While it may technically be considered as one whole soul, the Azerium bricks held no substances and memories, and thus... the walls while may be considered whole, only the original parts are what truly have any value.

Alfin's wall is of her adolescent memories with many of her WW2 memories overlapped into them. Arnold's wall is of his WW1 memories and its end. Adolf Hitler's memories are of WW2 and Alice has the last days where she spent them living in grief and fear of her end.

All four of them were originally one and circumstances brought them into this world. And because of that, they were never Heroic Spirits, to begin with... or at least... not one that is supposed to be.

Because of that, their whole existences are but a fleeting passage within history. The moment they are done in this Singularity, it is all over for them. There won't be a second summon or anything close because they were not registered into the Throne of Heroes in the first place. They were a byproduct created from the unique conditions of this place. Artificial spirits believed themselves to be heroes because they have the strength to do the same.

"That girl... before she found her host... That girl has lost everything she held dear. Her hometown, her country, the people she knows, and the scenery she grew up in. All of them were razed to ashes. That girl wanders the empty city that was once of its glory before she finally one day... give up. That's when Alfin came across her and let her spirit take possession of that recently deceased. But there is one thing, that person... has to die of despair." Adolf said with such a stern voice that is unnerving.

And that's why Alfin turned out like this upon learning the real truth of her identity. It's not because of the atrocity she committed in her past memory but rather... to know that everything she fought for was meaningless. All of the sacrifice she has done was for a self-convinced lie. She didn't want to believe that everything she has stood up... all the experience she got... the heartfelt emotions and relations she managed to obtain... was just an ephemeral dream...

Unable to face herself against such hopeless and tragic realization... She snapped...

And Arnold stood there... unable to process what he should do next. No matter what decision he will do, there will be no future left for him to go to... Oblivion was his only fate and there won't be anything else he could do.

"How?... Why?..." Arnold's mind keeps repeating those two words as if a massive wave has crashed into his shaken and vulnerable mind.

Unable to control his emotions, his face contorts itself into an expression that is unable to even describe how he truly feels. The mess that is the turmoil of emotions in his heart wracked him to no end as his sorrowful tears keep falling into the blood below.

"What... was I... fighting for!?" Arnold yelled as he slammed his fist into the blood and splashes them into his clothes.

Adolf keeps looking at him as he is still as unmoving as before. When you committed so much atrocity, even the prospect of oblivion sounds more like a sweet release than a punishment.

Arnold keeps crying... Things have seemed to come to one conclusion... Arnold is doomed to stuck here in this hell for eternity. No matter what he does, death awaits him.

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Ar...nold...

...

Arnold suddenly turned his head towards somewhere that he thought the voice came from.

...

Please... Believe... in yourself...

...

Don't... break... your last...

promise... with me...

...

Because... if you can't... who else?...

After listening to the mysterious echoing voice. His tears finally stopped overflowing as he wonders just what that voice was come from. He then remembered what his old friends or... what his memories are telling him.

If you don't believe in yourself, who will?

At that point, he realized something else.

It doesn't matter if his whole life was a lie, a non-existent, fleeting fiction. If it shaped him to who he was today... then it doesn't matter if he was told it was a lie or not!

Arnold stood up straight for once as he looked straight at Adolf Hitler. With eyes filled with unbreakable determination... With unshaken and resolute will he stood proudly, he made a question for the man himself.

"Are you sure... that my whole tale was completely meaningless?" Arnold said with determination.

"What else? The person who we originally were is gone... All of your memories were a fabricated lie that your soul made to justify your existence." Adolf said those words straight like a horse intestine.

"Is that the only argument that you can make? To disregard completely of anything you deemed unnecessary? You have never changed after all... even when the world has ended long ago..." Arnold said as he steps forward toward Adolf.

When he made his first step in this personal hell, his will turned the blood around his feet into clear water. The suffocating atmosphere suddenly changed into a breath of fresh air. Arnold is asserting his place within this detestable illusion.

"All story always have their respective way of being told. How they started... how they ended... It is what ultimately aspires us to be something better... Through action, a Man becomes a Hero. Through death, a Hero becomes a Legend. Through time, a Legend becomes a Myth. And by learning from the Myth, a Man takes action. It has no requirement if said tales have to be real or authentic to their core. What truly matters... is how they shape us as human beings!" Arnold said as a gale was unleashed into this pit the moment Arnold finished his speech.

And from that gale, the area around him turned entirely into something else. The charred corpses turned into patches of poppies, the blood turned entirely into clear water, the stagnant air turned into a youthful wind. His own belief has created a boundary between life and death itself in this hell, separating him and Adolf to a fundamental level.

"And this is from the lover of mine who I made my promise before I have reached here... I will live to the best of my capacity with this little fleeting time I have! As long as this heart of mine still beating, I am who I decide to be!" Arnold yelled as he prepared his combat stance.

Adolf looks at him with pitiful eyes but he can't help but let out a wry smile.

"How cruel... You understand fate yet you chose to fight against it... If only there were more people like you, tragedies may have been averted. But once again... it is too late..." Adolf said as he also prepared his combat stance.

Both of them locked their eyes at one another. They know what will happen next and neither of them will back down. As flame started to erupt within and the stagnating air started to torrent into gales. As their gazes land upon each other as their fists clench in steadfast determination. It is all or nothing... The final gamble...

---

"._.""._.""._."

Final Gamble - Oblivion and Rebirth

"._.""._.""._."

---

Words of God: For this part, play Cannonball - Megaman Zero 3

As everything within this mass grave started to fall apart, chunks of stone fall atop each other and pulverize themselves. As the crackling flame of what anyone would have thought to be the horizon burning brightly and illuminating this grave.

Within it stood two men, each standing above the water and blood. Whether it was rage or grief... it doesn't matter anymore. Arnold will settle the score so that no one will have to suffer through this. No one deserved to have their memories defiled like this.

Words flash through his vision. Memories and epiphanies flood in like a tidal wave. Arnold's mind tried to remain as calm as it could against the bombardment of unstable emotions.

Oblivion

Fake

Lies

Real

Imitation

Holocaust

Heroes

Azerium

WW2

...

Adolf Hitler...

With their stances assumed, they together rush toward each other and pull the same attack at the same time. Their attacks collided with one another created a massive recoil shockwave that shakes the whole grave apart.

After the first attack, Adolf punched the ground with such a force that it created a tremor and caused the rubbles to fall upon his location. Arnold quickly steps back to evade being struck by them. Adolf then whips out his pistol which was just a simple Walther PPK but since this is Servant's combat we are talking about. There might be something that might not follow the physical sense.

Adolf double-tapped the pistol in which they fired two shots. And by two shots, it is actually two bullets that are rushing at him with such a speed that it created space vacuums upon where it goes.

Arnold quickly deflected the two of them away with the swings of his arm alone. Upon doing that, he tried to take initiative by leaping toward Adolf and preparing for an overhead smash. However, Adolf saw it ahead and thus he quickly jumped and uppercut Arnold right at his chin. The attack connected and Arnold got knocked out into the ground.

Arnold however got back on his feet as quickly as he could as he immediately counterattacks Adolf the moment he landed on the ground. Such a window of opportunity didn't last long as Adolf quickly fall back and fired his pistol at Arnold once again. Arnold quickly deflected those shots away as he zero-in towards him so that he could keep the pressure up.

Unfortunately, though... Adolf punched the ground beneath him with such a force that the shockwave pushed Arnold back. Arnold then decided to fall back and threw his pickaxe towards him in a desperate attempt to find more weaknesses. However, Adolf swings his arm and deflected the pickaxe back to Arnold then quickly closes in on him.

Adolf when finally got close enough to Arnold... quickly pulled another jumping uppercut in which Arnold managed to barely avoid it by a hairbreadth as he falls back immediately from it. He already tasted it once, no need to put himself in that situation again if he could help it. And the moment when he is airborne, he quickly spins himself and holds the trigger of his pistol as they spray bullets everywhere he aimed like rainfall.

Arnold swings his arm into a wide arc as he deflected a huge chunk of the barrage away from him. The moment he did so, Arnold also takes out his pistol and fired a hail of bullets at Adolf. Although he could confirm a few hits, it is still not enough to deter Adolf from continuing to fight him.

Arnold quickly rushes in once more and Adolf decided to pick up the game a bit more as he raised what seems like spires from the ground up and surrounded him and shield him from outside interference. Arnold tried to force his way through in which he is easily proven that it didn't work. Adolf then proceeds to punch Arnold straight into his gut and then another one right straight into his face. The one to face was immensely stronger as Arnold flew straight into the wall as rubbles collapsed upon him and buried him beneath them.

After a few seconds, Arnold kicked the entire pile of rubbles that buried him as he quickly tries to get close to Adolf once more. That's what he planned it to be... at least... that's what he planned it to be initially.

Time froze... Arnold is fully aware of his surroundings as he looked at Adolf who is standing there like a statue. He felt an ominous presence is looming over him and it is unnerving him to each second. He turned his head around and saw someone who is standing behind him. It looks painfully familiar but it is because it was so familiar that Arnold felt ominous in the first place.

Long hair, captain hat with feathers attached to it. There isn't any color that he could discern but it doesn't take a genius to know who it was.

"Alfin... How?... How did you?..." Arnold said with disbelief as he could hardly believe what he sees is true.

Alfin looks like she could fade away at any moment's notice and how her figure is hardly able to remain materialized due to the fact that this is just a shadow of her former self.

"Look... This is a lot to say and my ability can't keep the flow of time from moving much longer. The fact that I can still materialize myself after death is a miracle in itself. But I have to say it regardless... Arnold... I'm so sorry... that I let myself fall into the pitfall of the past once more. To face the prospect of oblivion, the fact that I will forever disappear without amount to anything meaningful, the idea that all I have fought for will be for naught. It terrifies me more than how I could express it. But... to see you persevere like this even if that time is fleeting, makes me realize just how much of a coward I was. Because of that... I want to assist you as my apologies. No matter how small it is, you will still find it tremendously useful nonetheless." Alfin said as Arnold could feel the overwhelming sadness in her voice.

The spirit approaches Arnold and places her hand on his. Suddenly feeling a massive whirl of vigor, he felt all of the tiredness inside him completely incinerated away. Almost as if being remade into another person entirely.

"Alfin..." Arnold said as if he fears that this is an act of no return for her.

"Don't worry... I just share with you one of my abilities. I won't fade away... at least until we resolve this irritable fantasy. I'll assist you personally when the moves come for it." Alfin said with a faint smile on her face.

Arnold can't help but feel that he is trampling over her dignity but if this is what she wanted then he got no choice but to accept them for his sake.

With burning vigor within his palm, he focused his thought entirely on one thing. As power surges through his arm, the image of what he grasping for becomes clearer. And now, time started to turn back to normal.

He turned around with one pistol in each hand. His left hand wields the Luger while the right hand wields the golden pistol that originally belongs to Alfin. He dual wields them as he fired both of them at the same time towards Adolf. Seeing the sudden jump in Arnold's combat ability, all he could do at the moment is just deflect the shots Arnold fired at him. Arnold then easily closes in as he punched straight into Adolf's gut and staggered him.

Adolf quickly retaliated as he smashes the ground and caused rubbles to fall upon him. He however managed to swiftly evade them as he took out the Innocent Sin that originally belonged to Alfin and then aimed it at Adolf while trying to remain a clear focus of what he had to do. When the rubbles were completely done falling, Arnold fired the double-barrel shotgun and watches as the buck shots pelt Adolf's torso. And the attack clearly has the expelling property since he managed to push something out of Adolf.

It was something spiritual, ominous as its towering size is many times the size of both of them standing up. It took into the form of a massive wraith as its dark and dreading sight sent chills down his spine. It lets out an ear-piercing shriek as he felt disoriented upon hearing that impossibly loud sound it somehow unleashed.

Adolf took a step forward and Arnold instinctively took another one back. That is just to tell how dreading that sight was. However, Arnold isn't the only one to know that there is an unseen force assisting him.

"That power... you couldn't have..." Adolf said as his eyes focus on Arnold's left hand.

Arnold knew it too. He looks upon his left hand of his. Actually... It was both of his hands... Arnold takes a deep breath as he used one of Alfin's abilities that she granted him. Soulburst Forge... Unfortunately though... it has turned completely weak because Alfin is basically on the last leg when she did so. The best he could even create are pistol-caliber weaponry and the Innocent Sin, but even if such power is pitifully weak against the others, any help that he is given will benefit him more than when he is without them.

The faint and fiery aura enveloped his hands as he created a pair of steel knuckles which are worn on his arm immediately and thus increasing his combat capability tremendously. Adolf knew and thus in response, he seems to extract some power right from the wraith from behind. No... that wraith is something else given the form of a wraith.

It is evil itself... the atrocity, deceit, and sins that Adolf Hitler has committed in life, given form and manifestation in physical means. While serving no purpose when it is withdrawn, it will passively cause demoralization and boost Adolf's own power when it is given form. The only thing that might even damage it is holy and bless-based attacks, attacks with expelling property.

They looked at each other in contempt knowing that neither of them will go down so easily. They knew the meaningless of this test but neither of them will accept a victory that was given for free.

Adolf moves with such a speed that in a blink of an eye, he is already about to uppercut Arnold straight into the air. Arnold knew this trick already and had already taken a step back away from it.

Both of them quickly lashes out toward each other as some of their attacks managed to barely graze their bodies. Both of them then pull their fists back and attack at the same time as their fists collide with each other, causing a massive shockwave to unleash as the unholy mixture of clear water and blood that refuse to blend with each other ripples across the grave.

The wraith tried to attack Arnold but it was suddenly blocked by another spirit that appeared by firing her spiritual double-barrel shotgun point-blank at it. The wraith falls back and shrieked in pain at Alfin as she hazily stands behind Arnold who seems to try to protect her although he still has his own war to resolve.

Both of them took separate ways but still supported each other in any meaningful way they could. Alfin tried to fend off the wraith for as long as she could while Arnold and Adolf still duking it out.

Adolf fired his pistol many times at Arnold and he quickly deflects all of them away by the swing of his arms. Arnold then rushes in toward Adolf to which he quickly responded by trying to strike him. However, Arnold managed to jump over him and shot him right at his back before landing a critical strike right into his side. Adolf however gritted his teeth and bear the pain as he quickly pulls a counterattack and struck Arnold in his back.

Upon registering that pain, Arnold's mind quickly responds by grabbing his pickaxe and smacking Adolf straight into the face with the blunt side. That move however seems to trigger something as the wraith lets out a loud shriek and seemingly reanimates the corpses to attack him. Adolf managed to take a few down but he knew he will get overwhelmed if continue like this. It also seems that Adolf also planned out this as he quickly falls back away from him.

Alfin also appeared by his side, both of them looked at each other without speaking a word then just nodded as they together took down the horde of undead as fast as they could. Thankfully that they aren't much of an intelligent being because fighting their sheer number is already a huge nuisance. Whether by punching them so hard their heads are blown out of the body or blasted into gibs by their pistols, what truly matters for them is to reach Adolf before he would do something that will heavily detriment to them.

Just a pair of brass knuckles alone won't be enough, Arnold formed a steel rod as he bashed his enemy away with unbelievable proficiency despite never having any record of using one before, it does help as it keeps the distance between him and them to a good degree. Plus, it would help him take down a larger swath of enemies in a single sweep.

Alfin also helped with the very much little strength she still has, while she can't do any direct combat in this state, she just knew that something has to be done no matter what. Arnold then grabs his pickaxe and threw it as hard as he could as it cut through them effortlessly like a knife through butter.

With his path towards Adolf completely clear, Arnold rushes toward him with the pickaxe once more. Adolf sees what Arnold tried to do and quickly raised the spires as they immediately surround him to protect him from the duo that is about to approach. However... one same trick can't deceive twice.

A faint glow enveloped the entirety of Arnold's body as he quickly links his spirit directly into Alfin's. How? Let just say it was Alfin who actually did the initiative and Arnold just unconditionally allowed it. Both of them then pushed themselves to the brink of spiritual clarity as time soon started to stand still. At that moment, Arnold used the inherited Soulburst Forge to the maximum efficiency he could even with how limited it was. He threw the pickaxe towards Adolf but it wasn't just the pickaxe alone itself.

There was a chain latched onto the handle itself and Arnold intend to use it like a whip as the pickaxe flew toward Adolf. And soon, time stopped moving as the whole reality's color went completely inverted in itself into a blank white nothingness. And when time stopped, physics cease making sense. Normally, they would only push it as slow as they could but when combined, they forcefully hold the arrow of time back in order to accomplish things that are otherwise ludicrous even by Servants' standard.

The pickaxe cleaves through the spires effortlessly as they shattered like brittle glasses. He whips the pickaxe around as he shatters the spire down to its foundation and Alfin seems to focus her power on creating something. It can't be a large caliber gun because of her condition and thus an alternative plan has to be devised. Fortunately, she already has an answer.

Using the fractured power she still has little control left, she created a magnet and threw it as hard as she could straight into Adolf. The sheer speed of the magnet ended up burrowing straight into Adolf's gut. And the moment it happened, time marches forward. And the sheer power that she charged into that magnet ended up pulling all of the shattered spire fragments straight at him as they stab him like a rain of needles piercing into his flesh and gut.

To have his own attack used against him like that. Adolf didn't take that kindly at all but he could hardly move when all of his senses are overwhelmed in agony and pain. While he stood there like a sitting duck, both Arnold and Alfin used their respective shotguns and knocked him down on the spot by firing at him point-blank. As he staggers back and falls to his knee while holding his arm in pain, Arnold can't help but realize something familiar about it. His mind can't tell how exactly but it was just there and stood out like a blot of ink on a white canvas.

However, they are getting close to ending this madness and it is just within one more trigger pull. Arnold quickly realized it as he pull the trigger at the same time as Alfin. At that moment, their attacks blended with each other created a hail of shredding pellets. Combined with Adolf's condition, he has no possible way to dodge them. That's what they thought... until...

A sudden dark aura was unleashed as that wraith from before appeared behind him. The unleashed shockwave was so powerful that it deflected all of their shots away and shake the fabric of reality itself. Arnold realized that something bad is bound to happen if he doesn't act fast enough and thus he quickly zero-in towards Adolf to beat him down as soon as he can. However, all of his attacks were stopped or deflected away because of something that enveloped Adolf itself.

Adolf stood up although looking tired, his eyes scream that Arnold is going to have a really bad time considering what he just did just now. Adolf whipped out his pistol and focused enough power to make it significantly more threatening than how it should be. Adolf quickly used his pickaxe to deflect the shot which somehow managed to withstand its magnitude.

Adolf fired another shot in which Arnold acrobatically jumped over it and used the Soulburst Forge to create a chain and latches it onto him. Arnold then pulls him over and smashes him with his pickaxe right into his head, with the blunt side because he just does not have enough time to maximize his attacks. Adolf then proceeds to pull a knee straight into Arnold's gut with such a force behind it that Alfin could feel it despite being dead.

Arnold retaliated by pulling a left hook and then a right straight into Adolf's temple. Despite receiving such a fierce blow like that, he somehow managed to recover swiftly and then proceeds to jump in the air and fire his pistol with unbelievable power behind them. When he received a grazing blow from them, he felt that his mind start to waver once more as Adolf's memory started to seep into his mind.

It becomes even more obvious that Adolf is getting the upper hand as both Arnold and Alfin are starting to take more beating than how they would admit. For the fact that he continuously becomes powerful to the point that not even one and a half Servant could fight him back.

Arnold stomped the ground hard to the point that a chunk of concrete got lifted up and both he and Alfin kicked it toward Adolf. However, he just smashes the entire chunk with a single swing of his arm as the broken chunks fly toward them. Alfin fired her gun and deflect a chunk away as Arnold created a steel rod and spin it around to deflect the rest of them.

Adolf takes advantage of it as he quickly approaches them and breaks apart their positioning and caused disarray among them. Both of them tried to fight back but which each blow received, their resolve started to waver. The afflicting memories that he gains from every time their fist clashed with each other don't make it feel any better. The atrocity he committed, the sins weighted on his shoulder, with each blow dealt and received, he slowly approached closer to the finality of his human life.

As doubt started to fill in like a dark cloud over the horizon, Adolf separated them by summoning the spires and cutting their formation off. With being left completely on his own, Arnold was helpless against the already ferocious onslaught now turning even worse as all of his attention completely focus on him. Unable to guard himself against the attacks, a single blow completely breaks his guard. And Adolf took advantage of that to hook where it hurts as he strikes Arnold many times in quick succession.

Each blow felt like the resonance of the past, the entirety of the Berlin Offensive, and its supposed end being denied play out in his mind. The divergent unfolded in his mind as the image of the cataclysm that forever crippled the world flashed in his already shaken and vulnerable mind. And finally... the Spirit Divider where the original soul of the Heroic Spirit Hitler shattered. That was the blow that sends him to fly straight into the wall and buried him deep in a mountain of rubbles.

His consciousness started to drift away as it barely withstood both the physical and mental onslaught it was forced to endure against. His eyes become heavy as he tried to reach out towards the image of Alfin that his mind hallucinated due to the trauma. Soon, he went completely limp as he remained buried there without hope of someone to dig him out.

Even when his mind ceased to keep up, his senses can still feel what is going on beyond the grave that he was buried in. He sees her, she is trying to fight Adolf back by herself. She knew that she won't have any chance of successfully fighting back, she knew that doing this is tantamount to suicide itself. The fact that she still continues to resist despite already being dead tells a whole different story.

But there can only be so much that a dying soul could stand up against the sinner. She is going to...

His senses are growing numb, his consciousness may actually leave him this time. If he doesn't do anything... it will be truly game over for them.

Arnold... you are a hero, right?

Arnold's mind seems to reach for something. Something that was so trivial and long distant ago that it was put into the furthest depth of his mind. His mind keeps playing those memories out while Adolf is giving Alfin the beating of her life... or death...

Hero? Please... I do not even remotely close to being considered one. I am way weaker compared to so many people here...

Alfin tried to fire at Adolf with the Innocent Sin that she recreated with the dwindling mana, but when she is about to fire them. Adolf punched the ground with such force that the gun flew off her hand.

I'm sorry for asking such a thing like that. But... can I count on you to cover me?

Alfin tried to stand back up but all she is doing is being beaten senselessly by Adolf. It is just a pure one-sided beat down at this point.

What are you gonna do if I am not the hero you considered me to be?

His senses can no longer feel anything outside. It is all just him remaining here. But... he clenched his fist so hard that his palm turned red with fury.

*chuckle* You are already a hero in my eyes...

And at that point, a flame ignited within Arnold's eyes. Muster all the strength he has, he kicked through the entirety of the mountain of rubbles out of his way. The flying rubbles flew toward Adolf as he noticed in time and cease his assault on Alfin immediately as the new threat emerged.

Arnold quickly runs toward Adolf as the memories of the people who he relied on and vice versa flash in his mind. His tale... is not a mistake.

The moment he got close to Adolf, Arnold unleashes his flurry of blows with extremely well-choreographed movements and mobility as if he entered a completely trance-like state. With such unprecedented ability and skills that he displayed, he slowly pushes Adolf back from his domination seat one by one as the doubts that surround him do little to hinder.

Each successful blow that he landed on Adolf is a doubt of his being struck down into the bloody pool beneath their feet. Shattering away the uncertainty and fear, his fist carries a conviction beyond just mere belief alone. They were his dignity and virtue as they were as pristine as a white dove amidst the scorching battlefield.

Slowly tearing his way through his own despair, with the final memory fragments completely disregard as his uppercut struck Adolf into his chin and knocked him back. The moment those hazy fogs that cloud his vision was cleared away, Arnold's mind conceived only the emptiness around him and Adolf. The wraith behind Adolf tried to demoralize him and undermine his ability as it forcefully tried to cloud his mind. But his vision cleaves away all of the notions that he deemed unnecessary like a flash of hope within eternal damnation, he jumped towards Adolf with his hands bunched together behind his head.

With nothing left to stop him, Arnold swung down an overhead smash towards Adolf's head as that smash heavily disorientated him. Seeing how Arnold is overflowing with power, she decided to link up with him just to restore some vigor so that she won't fade away immediately now. However, something unexpected happened.

As the overflowing vigor completely floods into her Spirit Origin, she felt as if being made anew as she was engulfed in bright light. In just a moment later, her flesh and blood completely returned to her as she stands on the bloody pool completely dumbfounded by what just occurred to her. However, her mind immediately shifted back towards the objective at hand as she whips out her Innocent Sin and fired it at the wraith that was linked to Adolf. This result in its connection being completely severed and without a proper link to its master, it started to fade out as it shrieked violently without stopping but that matters little to them anymore.

Alfin suddenly appeared behind Adolf's back and she fired her shotgun right at point-blank completely destroying any composure he has left. Both Arnold and Adolf slowly approach him while firing their shots at him until Arnold is close at an arm length.

At this point, it was clear who is the victor. Arnold looked down upon Adolf as he focuses as much strength into his fist as he could.

"This... is for me!" Arnold shouted as he pulled a devastating left hook at Adolf's temple. That left hook left an afterimage with him can be seen in it.

"This... is for Alfin!" Arnold shouted once more as he pulled a devastating right hook into Adolf's other temple. One that could possibly feel his skull cracks apart. That blow left an afterimage of Alfin behind.

"And this... is for..." Arnold said as he puts his hands behind his head while his body is trembling like no tomorrow.

Adolf at this point can only look at him as he is about to land the finishing blow upon him. Despite feeling so much agony and pain right now, he doesn't feel angry or pissed. In fact, he feels something else. Something that was so distant that he has forgotten about it but now he felt it so clearly...

He felt proud that Arnold has evolved into something far beyond how he ever could...

Alice!

Arnold shouted with a yell that could pierce the heavens as he plunges his fist down upon Adolf's head. That blow completely shatters Adolf's skull as the afterimage of his fist plummets leaves behind the image of Alice, melancholily gazing into the distance away...

The moment he did so, the reality around them started to crack up. Like a mirror stripped away all of its illusion and fallacy. It cracked... leaving behind a world of pure white emptiness as the light soon engulfed their bodies. Arnold looks into the emptiness... felt that he has finally done it.

A faint smile appeared on his face for a fraction of a moment before this masquerade of lies completely falls apart...

...

..

.

.

---

"._.""._.""._."

Ultimate Culmination - Defiers of Fate

"._.""._.""._."

---

As the white emptiness disappeared away, they found themselves at that same place once more. Their bodies are still intact with no visible wound or injury was shown. It turns out that this was all something that happened in their minds. But have they failed, they would have died for real.

They turned their eyes toward each other and the first thing they did is to hug each other tightly as if they fear that their partner would somehow disappear away when their gazes cease landing on each other. After all of what they have been through, it is easily forgivable for them to do so.

They looked towards where Adolf was supposed to be and saw him lie there completely wrecked, even if the pain was just something in their mind. It felt so vividly real that it physically impact their mental state.

Adolf slowly pulls himself up as Arnold and Alfin still look at him.

"Well done... You two... have proven yourselves..." Adolf said tiredly as he coughed in pain.

He slowly stood up although he looks like he could fall over at any moment. His mind was battered and barely holding onto itself after all of this. Even if all of these were an illusion, the struggle they went through is real and can't be denied.

"So this is it... Alice... I'm afraid that I can't continue my role with you anymore. I thought I was trying to find a purpose... a reason to continue clinging onto this broken world. But in reality... I was deceiving myself. Continuously running away from my past yet never be able to outrun it. How cruel... No matter the time or age... It is all the same..." Adolf said as he slowly dragged his body towards her

Suddenly... the air froze... literally frozen for a brief second. It was a dreading omen that everybody's soul could feel and tell despite never feeling it before then. That is just how foreboding it was.

"Alice?" Arnold said underneath his lips as he gazed onto her.

The aura of light around her grew unstable as underlying emotions beneath her seems to grow desperately out of control. Adolf knew what this is and he quickly tried to calm her down.

"Alice? What's going on!? Calm down!" Adolf tried to calm her down emotionally but it seems that something wrong is occurring inside her.

The aura of light around her grew unstable as the jewel emplaced on her chest seems to glow more brightly as if a star is growing far larger until it reaches critical mass.

"Adolf! Step back!" Both Arnold and Alfin shouted at Adolf but it was too late...

A massive amount of energy was discharged. One that was so huge that they felt that the power of a billion suns was unleashed right at that location alone. The force blasted Adolf away from where Alice once was straight into the barrier and shattered it like glass. That was how powerful that explosion is. If not even any Noble Phantasm could potentially damage it then just imagine colliding with him is far more devastating than any known power of any Servants.

He collided with the wall and falls over down to the floor. He looks like he has seen better days and no amount of healing could ever patch him back up.

"Ha... ha... So... this is.. my karmic... retribution... eh?... Alice... Arnold... Alfin... I'm sorry... for using all of you... to my own end." Adolf said weakly before his body went completely limp.

The barrier shattered and the team is no longer separated. The Chaldean team was left confused at what just happened because of the change of heart that Adolf has.

"Arnold... Did something happen?" The first person to approach him was Gudao, surprisingly out of consideration.

"Wait... Don't tell me that time didn't even progress that long here?" Adolf said as he found out that the perspective of the outsiders isn't exactly the same as his.

"What?! Not even half a minute has passed until now! But considering what Adolf Hitler is capable of, I wouldn't be surprised that he might have mind-raped your time perceptions." Gudao said as he tried to approach the altar that Alice stood on.

When they finally reached there, they don't find her at all. All they found is a large fracture in reality that seems to widen itself if given time. Beyond it is a vast empty space that can't possibly be perceived of how vast it is.

"That dumbass... It took thousands of years to even create a True Magic and this moron managed to create one in a span of 6 years... Who could have guessed what happened next..." Kiritsugu said with a sarcastic voice as he tried to clear the thoughts within his mind but was completely aware of how potentially dangerous the situation has become.

Everyone right now is looking at each other, not sure if there is even any way to proceed with this. They are already at their wit's end and there is no solution for them within sight.

"What do we do now?" Shirou said as he looked at the fracture.

The fractured hole in their reality continues to grow wider like corruption. It slowly becomes wider as the reality around it started to fragmentated off like a piece of glass.

Suddenly, the communicator in Gudao's pocket blared to life as he quickly tried to answer the call in hope that Da Vinci may know an answer.

But the only person behind it was Void Shiki...

"Void Shiki! Why are you here!? And what's going on right now?!" Gudao said to her in a panic as the fracture grew closer and closer to them.

"So... it finally happened then... At least you were right in time when that happened..." Void Shiki said with such a calm voice that it physically unnerves Gudao himself.

"Void Shiki! What's the meaning of this!?" Gudao said to her as his anxiety scales out of the chart.

"With the way of how things work and proceeds. This was inevitable... But you were all equipped for this, right? And plus... you know that unless they fade away, that Servant isn't dead, right?" Void Shiki said as she lets out a smile.

At that moment, they turned their gaze upon Adolf. He seems to be awakened for a slow bit just now but most likely will drift away in a few minutes. Adolf also seems to gesture something towards Arnold as if he is trying to tell Arnold about something

Arnold approaches him and tried to listen to what Adolf is trying to say. Adolf then flicked him over something towards him in which Arnold caught it in his hand.

It was a medal... one seems to be similar to the Iron Cross but the rim outside is completely plated in gold. One could feel the symbol of prestige it represents and the honor that required to wear it with pride.

And within his subconscious mind, he blurted out his name despite never seeing it or knowing it before...

Star of Grand Cross

The ultimate symbol of valor that is given to the most outstanding personnels for their conduct, above even the Grand Cross themselves. Only two ever recorded to earn it and the prototype of WW2 here will remain never have an owner. With a painful smile on his face, Adolf tried to encourage his 'younger self'.

"Please... save her... She... is just... a little girl... who yearned... to be a part... of your band of heroes... Please!... Save her!" Adolf said painfully before his consciousness drifted away once more.

Arnold and Alfin can only look at the limp body of Adolf who just lies there so... motionlessly... Arnold looks at the medal in his hand before he closes his eyes in solemn. He took a deep breath before he wore it on his shirt.

"I will... And I will fulfill her wish..." Arnold said with conviction as a tear slowly crept from his eyes.

"Azerium Corruption... Pushing your luck is one thing but it seems that she has held out to her best capability before completely giving in to the corruption itself. Great power comes with great price... and the due itself... was it even worth it?" Alfin said as she looked at the fracture of this reality.

"By the way... I should speak to you about this but... This doesn't just concern this timeline alone anymore... The entire fate of this universe is now lying on your hands alone. If you fail, there will be no escape for the entirety of Pan Human History and all we fought for will be naught. You understood?" Void Shiki said as this is the first time she ever displays a serious expression on her face.

"Things turned this bad already?... You know what... This isn't the first time humanity isn't at stake either and I will do to my best capability to resolve this crisis no matter what." Gudao said with conviction in his eyes.

"You have come a long way... Oh... And there is a slight change of plan too. I used to think that all of you would simply be enough to avoid facing her full wrath. But thinking back again, I decided that the whole deck will be used and thus I sent over the rest of the Emiya family your way. Don't worry... I cleared a path for them already..." Void Shiki said with a deadpan smile on her face.

"What!?" Shirou said as he remembered how there is a massive horde of phantasmal beasts on the fourth layer hunting anything in their sight or senses.

And just after those words leave his mouth, two familiar Servants appeared wearing those same Azerium cloaks that enabled them to get here without triggering the EKS.

"HELLO! Can't believe that it takes me this long just to get here! But at least that I didn't miss the final climax, am I right?" A loud and boisterous woman voice was spoken belonging to a strong yet unbelievably unreasonable woman.

"Taiga!?" Shirou said in surprise that he didn't believe that she would be able to get here at all.

Taiga... the woman who wears a tight black business shirt and pants. She has yellow-orangeish hair with animal ears right on top. Her shirt was also unbuttoned at the top revealing the huge cleavage beneath it. She also wields a naginata and seems to be in a real serious mindset right now when she is informed about the situation. Normally she would act far from anywhere professional and act completely mischievous like a manchild.

But if there is anyone that she loves unconditionally... that would be Shirou. That love isn't of romantical sense but rather... familial senses. She acted as if she was his big sister, always telling him what he should do or not. While their judgment differs, Shirou couldn't deny the fact that Taiga cares a lot about him. While she may act like a buffoon to others, she is always dead serious whenever Shirou is involved.

Her True Name is Jaguar Warrior, one of the Aztec Divine Spirits. If she were to enter the Singularity without the Azerium cloak, she would be annihilated right on the spot. Shirou looked at her as her jaguar tails wagging around and her ears twitching as she looks at him with familial love.

"Taiga... I know what you wanted to say so let us skip to the-" Shirou tried to clear the atmosphere by skipping the subject but Taiga just jump the gun first either way.

"What!? Is this how you respond to your own big sister-slash-caretaker!? Do you know how long I have to sit in that damn empty room waiting for you or doing some dumb shit to pass the time until you come back so that we can spend some family time!? It wasn't that bad when Sitonai and Miyu are still around so that I can at least have someone to talk with. And when they decided to go and do their things, I was left alone once more! I risked my life so that I can visit you so I can join you in the final combat and this is just how you treat me!? A nuisance!?" Taiga said as if she is yelling at his face without leaving Shirou any room to say.

"I didn't say anything about that! And what do you mean by joining me in the final fight? Don't tell me-" Shirou said when he finally got his chance to say and Taiga just cut him in once more.

She flashes a pendant with an azure stone lodged into it. It was clear what it was, Azerium Ward. The only protection that is capable of resisting against Alice's tremendous and stellar might.

"I thought we ran out of them!" Shirou said as he could hardly believe what he is seeing on Taiga's... cleavage...

"Bold of you to assume that it was the only crate, onii-chan." Another voice said to Shirou in which the family realized who it was right away.

Another person appeared and even when the team knew who it was, they can't help but gasp in surprise.

It's Miyu, the girl who is also a part of the family themselves. She has short black hair with a pigtail at her side. Normally she would wear the magical girl dress like Illya but this time, she wore a shrine maiden dress and uses a wand that seems to be a separate version from the Sapphire Kaleidostick. Most likely because Illya is holding the Sapphire in her stead.

"Don't worry about whether or not I could use the Kaleidostick ability or not. I can still use them to the fundamentally same level just like before." Miyu said with a reassuring voice.

"Don't tell me that you two are joining us in the final battle..." Kuro said as she doesn't feel right about having two more members at such a time like this.

"Look, you said that the family will stick together no matter what... didn't you!? Plus... I have already had enough pain of separation for a lifetime already. Even if Shirou is going to enter the land of no return, I will join with him no matter what. Even if what lies at the end is oblivion, I will still go because at least... I know that I will see it through to the end with him." Taiga said with all of her emotions in them.

"Yeah... Even if we may not return from this... At least... Let us see it through alongside our own family!" Miyu said as she puts all her heart into it.

The rest of the Emiya family looks at them before reaching an easy consensus. Shirou steps ahead toward them as he pats his hand on Taiga's shoulder then he pats his beloved little sister's head.

"You think that we would deny you from entering it? Trust me, we may have already seen many fair shares of pain and suffering together by now but it was this very family that changed us to the person we are right now. Without each other, we may have been nowhere near who we are today. Because of that, none of us will leave any of us behind!" Shirou said as he lets out a sincere smile.

Taiga smiled at him and Miyu too. The Emiya spent their time bonding with each other as the already unbreakable bond between them become even more meaningful.

Gudao just looked at them and can't help but smile at the sight ahead of him too. This is a perfect moral boost for this final battle that awaits them beyond this fracture that leads to somewhere beyond their comprehension.

"Gudao... Let me tell you one thing... Once you entered that fracture, there will be no turning back. And there won't be any guarantee that you will return from it either. But are you still sure that you will enter it now?" Void Shiki said as she asked if he is determined enough to make this decision.

"Void Shiki, I went through 6 Lostbelts... There won't be any decision that is hard to accept and swallow like them at all. And plus, you did say that the entire universe is at stake, right? Because of that, I will have to go no matter what." Gudao said as he looked into the darkness within that fracture.

"Heh... Guess that I have nothing left to say if you wanted to proceed or not. But let me tell you one more thing before you enter it. You have to subdue her... not kill her." Void Shiki said with a serious expression as if she knew the dire consequence of doing so.

If Void Shiki said something with a serious attitude, you better take it to your heart.

Gudao nodded before he assembled the rest of his Servants. With their final preparation completed, they nodded together before they all jumped into the fracture itself. As the abyss consumes them and their vision is completely taken away. They all held their breaths, knowing that they will be facing something far greater than their wildest imagination.