Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/ Stay Night or any other related properties. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Blake

Shit. Shit! SHIT! There was nowhere he could go. He had to think. He could jump over the edge and let his pentacles catch him. If he did that, he needed to go now.

The diviner ran to the edge of the balcony, his legs and lungs burning from the efforts that had brought him this far. The fresh air around him only incentivized him more to make the jump. He wouldn't allow himself to be taken.

A cruel smile and white hair flashed into his mind.

No, never again. He would go out on his own devices if it came to it.

Several footsteps sounded from behind him, and the diviner turned to see about ten Magi file out through the door he had just come through. He was cornered. If he was going to jump over, it was now or never.

The diviner braced himself to jump, but soon found that he couldn't move. One of the magi was holding his hand up at Blake and was now chanting in a tongue he didn't understand.

Shit.

This wasn't good. Now he was really trapped. He couldn't move, and there was no one to save him. It was all over.

"Trace on."

Swords exploded from behind Blake and slammed into all of the other Magi in front of him. Every single one of them fell to the ground dead and Blake found himself free to move again.

The diviner spun around to find himself face to face with a red haired man. Relief washed over Blake as he recognized who this man was, but that relief quickly vanished when he saw the look in the man's eyes.

All that resided in those dull grey eyes was hatred. Not just hatred for the world, but hatred for him.

The diviner took a step back.

"So you're the one that Tohsaka spoke to Sakura about," Shirou Emiya growled. "Blake Ryan, the tarot card user."

Tohsaka…

For the first time since he woke up, everything began to return to him.

Rin…

Memories of Rin washed over Blake like a raging river. The more he tried to hold it back, the more the memories forced themselves forward. They were unrelenting and cruel.

Memories of the two magi laying on the roof, memories of them training, memories of them fighting together, and memories of her dying. Everything washed forward in a torrent of emotion. A torrent that Blake couldn't escape. A torrent that washed away all his strength and buckled his knees.

"That's me…" he mumbled as his eyes fell to the ground.

A boot slammed into Blake's gut and sent him crashing through the wall behind him.

As he laid there in the rubble, the diviner acknowledged that everything hurt, and that he quite possibly had several broken ribs, but he didn't care anymore. He didn't want to.

Emiya entered through the hole that he had made with Blake's body and lifted Blake's upper body up by his shirt.

"They killed Sakura because of you!" Emiya screamed as he slammed his fist into the diviner's face repeatedly. "Tohsaka betrayed the Mages' Association for you and they wanted to make her pay, so they went after her family!" The mage threw Blake's limp body into the air and kicked him in the gut, sending him flying into another wall. The impact created a crater and a Blake shaped indent. "So they killed Sakura and it's all your fault Ryan!"

Blake was seeing stars now. He was surprised that he was still conscious at all. He just wished that the white nothingness would take him. He didn't care if he died anymore. He wanted to. He had no one left. The Mages' Association had probably already gotten to his family. He had no one left. Nothing.

Emiya walked over, still in rage.

"Trace on," he growled, and a sword materialized in his hand. "Say something you bastard!"

"Kill...me…" Blake groaned in pain. "I don't want to live anymore."

Anger enveloped Emiya as he grit his teeth and raised his sword to strike.

This was it.

The sword traveled in a downward arch.

Blake could finally die.

It picked up speed and Blake closed his eyes.

It was over…

"You really gonna give up now?"

The sword slammed into a white pentacle shield.

Emiya's eyes widened in shock as Blake's mana began to surge at an incredible rate through his magic circuits. White bolts of magic trailed off of the diviner in devastating waves and forced the blade magus to back off.

Blake's eyes were just as wide. He had heard Ben's voice, but as he looked around he couldn't find the source. Was he hearing things now?

His breath caught in his throat as he felt two different hands on his back, pushing him forward. One felt large and firm, while the other felt smaller yet strong. When he looked behind him, no one was there.

The diviner rose to his feet and held out his hand. His tarot deck materialized in front of him and began to spiral around him rapidly. All seventy remaining cards began to glow brilliantly and then the deck stacked back together.

He didn't have time for sadness. Even from the afterworld, his friends were pushing him to live.

"Suit series!" The diviner called out. "Two of Swords!"

Two glowing white swords - one with a turquoise aura and one with a red aura - materialized in his hands and he allowed mana to flow to his legs to allow him to explode towards the sword mage. He'd fight to his last breath. Any less would be an insult to his friends' memory.

"Trace on!" Shirou called out as dozens of swords exploded from behind him towards Blake.

Something clicked in him. An idea had formed. If it worked, it could change the flow of the battle.

"Suit series! Four of Pentacles!" Blake called in response. Four star shaped shields formed around him. He could only pray that it would work. "Form change! Pyramid formation!" The four pentacles, to his surprise, melded into a pyramid with the point facing Shirou.

The swords that Emiya had shot deflected harmlessly off of the shield and Blake maintained his momentum. He would win.

He had to.

Emiya took on a look of utter rage, but then took a deep breath and smiled. It was cold smile that didn't reach his eyes.

The sword mage held out his hand. "I am the bone of my sword," he began to chant.

Blake's blood went cold. How did Emiya have unlimited blade works?! This wasn't that route. If Emiya had ended up with Sakura, this should have been the Heaven's Feel Route. A route where Emiya didn't have unlimited blade works.

"Steel is my body, and fire is my blood," Shirou continued

Blake had to get to him. If Emiya finished his chant, there would be no guarantee that Blake could beat him.

"I have created over a thousand blades," Emiya sped up. "Unknown to death, nor known to life."

Panic gripped at the diviner. He was still too far away. He needed to speed up.

Another idea flashed in his mind.

"Suit series! Two of wands: fire!" He called.

Two glowing white and blue wands appeared at his heels and shot out fire; accelerating him towards Emiya.

"I have withstood great pain to create many weapons," Emiya continued without pause. "Yet these hands will never hold anything."

Blake was almost there. He could make it!

"As I pray."

"You're mine!!" Blake shouted as he entered within striking range.

The diviner drove his swords towards the blade mage with all the force he could.

Emiya smirked and four large swords blocked Blake's path. The diviner shattered through them, but it slowed his momentum enough for the final words to be spoken.

"Unlimited Blade Works."

The world shattered around them.

———

Everything seemed to twist and warp, disorienting Blake as he seemed to fly through open space. For a moment, he couldn't tell which way was up and dread ran cold through his body. He closed his eyes to try and focus.

As the world settled and Blake opened his eyes, his heart sank. Surrounding him was an endless wasteland of swords with the cogs of machinery hanging from the sky. The sky was a crimson red and the earth was cracked and scorched in a hellish manner. This was Emiya's trump card. A reality marble with an infinite number of swords and other weaponry. This was Unlimited Blade Works.

Instantly, a sword projected itself at the diviner. He attempted to throw up a pentacle shield, but the sword shattered right through and took a chunk of flesh from the right side of his abdomen. Blood began to soak through his shirt, and Blake bent over in pain.

Another sword projected itself at the man but he dodged to the side in time to avoid it. Yet, it seemed as if the swords had minds of their own. As soon as the sword passed him, it spun around and cracked towards him again; this time taking a chunk out of his left thigh. He fell to one knee.

What was going on? He hadn't even seen Emiya since they had appeared in the reality marble.

"So much for a diviner," Emiya's voice echoed. "You're supposed to be one of the most fearsome magi in the world, but here you are on your knees. No wonder Tohsaka ended up dead."

Emiya's words echoed in Blake's head as another blade boomed towards him.

No wonder Tohsaka ended up dead.

...ended up dead.

...dead…

Time stopped.

"How long are you going to pity yourself?" echoed a familiar male voice.

"Black?" Blake's voice echoed back.

"How long are you going to remain on your knees; victim to a man who has been consumed by his own rage?"

"I can't beat him… he's too strong…"

"Maybe at this moment. But you possess something he does not."

"What's that?"

"A reason to fight. Now use what remains of my power to bring this man to his senses. Use my power."

Another surge of mana found its way through Blake's magic circuits. A familiar feeling. Almost as familiar to him as his own mana. Wait. That's because it was. The power consumed him and bonded to him mixing with his white mana so thoroughly that it turned gray.

Two of his higher arcana cards activated.

The Chariot!

Strength!

"True Enhancement," The diviner found himself saying as he blurred out of view of the sword magus and reappeared right in front of him with his gray and turquoise sword.

Emiya summoned his twin blades to block, but the blow was still enough to send the man flying backwards and shatter the two weapons.

Before Emiya could even land on his feet, Blake flashed behind him and kicked him in the back. Luckily for the sword mage, he was able to summon a sword to take the brunt of the force. Blake's kick bent the sword in half and sent Emiya skidding across the ground.

As he slid, Emiya sent a barrage of swords towards Blake, but the diviner once again flashed out of view and appeared near the sword mage; kicking him in the gut and sending him flying into the air.

"Suit series: Ten of Swords!" Blake called, and ten swords materialized and fired at Emiya.

Before the swords could make contact, a glowing barrier, in the shape of a flower, stopped their progress.

"Rho Aies!" Emiya announced as he held his hand out.

"Like it would be that easy!" Blake yelled as he exploded upwards with a tremendous leap.

The diviner flew like a missile and shattered through Emiya's barrier with his sword. He then spun around in the air and brought his heel cracking down onto the sword Mage's face; sending him crashing back down to the earth.

As Emiya attempted to stand, Blake crashed down over him, piercing the ground next to his head. The shockwave from the impact was enough to make Emiya freeze; eyes wide with confusion.

The hellish landscape of Unlimited Blade Works dissipated and the two magi found themselves on the roof of the clock tower once again.

———

"You could have killed me just now," Shirou whispered. "Why didn't you? I would have killed you if I had gotten the opening I was looking for."

Ryan gave an exhausted sigh. "Because Rin wouldn't have wanted me to. You were her friend and brother-in-law. She wouldn't want us to fight like this. I didn't know Sakura, but I don't think she would have wanted us to fight either."

Blood roared in Shirou's ears. "What do you know! I had to watch the woman I love die!"

Ryan's fist slammed down next to the sword Mage's head; creating a mini crater. Shirou's eyes went wide as he saw the pain and anger in the diviner's eyes. Realization washed over him. It was the same pain he felt. The same anger.

Blake Ryan wasn't his enemy.

"I had to watch everyone I love die." Ryan hissed. "So don't think for a second that you're the only one who's in pain. The only one who feels the weight of loss."

"Tohsaka was more than just an ally to you, wasn't she?" Shirou asked. Yet the question was in form only. He could tell that she had meant more to Ryan than that.

Ryan nodded. "I held the woman I loved in my arms as she died."

An image of a purple haired woman dying in his arms flashed through Shirou's head. They had experienced the same event. The same pain. The same loss.

"So what now?" Shirou asked.

"Well that all depends. How much do you hate the Association?"

Shirou stared in thought for a moment.

"They took the most important person in my life from me. I hate them with all of my being."

"Then we join forces. We get stronger. Then we change the Association. You in?"

Ryan stuck his hand out towards him.

Shirou looked at the diviner's outstretched hand for a moment and took it, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet.

"I'm in."

Ryan gave an empty smile.

"Then let's get to it."

--

5 years later

"You went too far, Blake," Shirou called from behind the diviner. "You didn't have to toy with him like that."

Blake stopped in his tracks and cocked his head over his shoulder.

"He deserved it," the diviner said with no emotion.

"He had a family."

"He was trafficking children to turn into mana crystals, Shirou."

"I know that," Shirou ground his teeth. "But-"

Blake whirled on the now white haired man. "But what, Emiya?" Blake asked, venom in his tone. "Maybe he was being forced to do it right? Maybe we didn't have to kill him at all right? Is that what you want to say to me right now? Well I'll tell you this, Emiya. It doesn't matter if he was forced. His circumstances don't matter. What matters is actions. Not what he did or didn't want to do. It's about what he actually did. And his actions were unforgivable, so I gave him a death befitting of that. If you don't agree with my methods, if you would rather monsters like him be allowed to roam the streets, then be my guest. But I refuse."

Shirou sighed. Blake had been like this ever since he had awoken from his four year trip into his inner world. He refused to see any gray. All the diviner ever seemed to see was black and white, which, to his credit, allowed him to make quick and snappy decisions. Yet, Shirou could tell by now that the diviner's unwillingness to forgive didn't stop at other people.

"Fine," Shirou waved off. "I'll let it slide this time. Just try to finish them off a little more cleanly next time."

The look in Blake's eyes told him he wouldn't even consider the notion. All that remained there was an empty rage. Any humor they had once shared seemed to no longer exist.

"We can't change the Mage's Association like this," Shirou sighed. "They'll only continue to view us as the monsters if we go on like this."

That's right. Blake was deviating from the plan they had built before he went into his inner world. To take out key members of the Association and change it for the better. To turn it into what it should have been.

"That's the thing Shirou," Blake responded, that gods-awful detachment in his voice and stare. "I realized, while I was gone, that the Mage's Association is beyond saving."

Shirou's blood went cold. What was he talking about?

"You see, I don't want to reform the Association. Mage society is flawed at its very core. The Association along with it. Magi who have lesser bloodlines, yet have greater skill and power are ignored and thrown to the side. They are treated as if they don't matter, yet more prominent bloodlines carry all the sway. Their heads are shoved so far up their asses that they wouldn't change a damn thing, even if they could. So no, I'm not going to try to fix a broken system. I'm going to topple it. I'm going to bring mage society along with the association down to its knees. Then I'm going to start it new."

Shirou's eyes went wide. "Blake, what you're taking about...it's genocide."

"No, Shirou," Blake gave that lifeless smile. "It's war. I'm going to wage war on the entirety of mage society. We'll see what all remains after that."

That's when Shirou saw it. The man he had joined forces with had slowly died during those four years away.

Blake had explained it to him once. His second trip to his inner world would be a vastly faster reality. An hour out in the Realm of Life would be one hundred years in the diviner's inner world. Meaning it hadn't been four years for Blake. It had been over three million.

During that time, the Blake he knew had died. The kindness, the fire, and the humanity of the man he had come to respect. He had died. And from those ashes had arisen what stood before him.

Not a man any longer.

A God of Calamity.

A/N: Another chapter of this! Stay tuned in on this story as I will update it and post new chapters occasionally while I work on Re:SELF. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you liked it and want more, leave a review and I can make that happen faster. Reviews equal motivation and motivation equals faster and more quality chapters!

Anyways, I hope you all have and amazing weekend!

-B