Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.
Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi
Chapter 5: Il Mondo (Part V)
The foundry's heart glowed an angry red, barely visible through its vents. Above, a great basin of blackened metal seethed with heat from the foundry, molten silver bubbling fitfully as the heat kept it liquid. All around the foundry was a great mandala outlined with powdered gemstones, jade, quartz, onyx, and malachite faintly glowing with unreal light. And at each of the mandala's twelve points stood a bronze tripod, each supporting a bronze brazier filled with glowing coals.
Blood hissed as it boiled and turned into vapor, dripping down in streams from Sakura's wrist, the veins there slit open with a ritual dagger. She let it dribble down onto the coals, and when a full minute had passed, carried on, walking at an even pace while using her other hand to catch the blood spilling from her veins. Behind her, an attendant followed, wearing a simple white dress like her mistress, but also wearing a cloak and a hood on top of that, the hood worn low to mask and shadow her face.
The attendant tilted a bronze plate, and allowed incense to fall onto the coals Sakura had just spilled her blood on. Aromatic smoke rose up as the incense burned against the coals, and then the attendant was moving on, walking at an even pace like Sakura, following in her wake.
Sakura let the blood caught by her hand fall on the glowing coals, while also allowing her veins to continue pouring her life into the ritual. A minute passed, and then she moved on, the attendant following and burning incense in Sakura's wake, so as to seal each and every motion of the ritual at this moment.
One by one, blood was offered at each and every brazier, and incense burned, before Sakura and her attendant left in silence. Then another attendant struck a great gong made from iron, the candles in the room going out in an instant, and leaving the coals, the powdered gemstones, and the foundry as the only sources of light in the ritual chamber.
Elsewhere, Sakura was sealing her bleeding wrist, after which she swallowed an agate to speed up her recovery. Even then, the amount of lost blood and expended prana had left her feeling faint and lethargic, made worse as she expended more prana to actualize her healing mysteries, magic circuits flickering over her body.
"Here," Elisa said, offering a small plate with a couple of pills, along with a bottle of common Gatorade. "These should help."
Sakura took the Gatorade first, and took a long drink. "…thanks." She said, and Elisa gave a small smile.
"No problem." She said. "Now, take the iron as well."
Sakura blinked, and then inclining her head, grabbed the pills and swallowed them as well. "I'd say not to push yourself," Elisa continued with a worried but understanding air. "But I know there's no point. You have to do this, after all. Still, I can't help but worry, especially since you have to do this for every night of the rest of the month."
"It's the thought that counts." Sakura said before taking another drink. "Though, thankfully I only have to do this for this month. The next set of rituals only need to be done during the nights of the New and Full Moons."
Elisa nodded, and then smiled encouragingly. "Hang in there, Sakura." She said.
"I will." Sakura said, and nodded back.
"Right…you should head to bed once you finish that bottle." Elisa said. "You have school tomorrow, and you'll have to repeat the ritual in the evening too. You need your rest, not just for your health, but also to recover lost blood and prana."
"Yeah, you're right." Sakura said while taking another drink. "That said, I'd best pace myself finishing this bottle, or I might end up vomiting from bloating my stomach with Gatorade. It's not like I had dinner, after all."
Elisa set her jaw at Sakura's words, following the latter as they headed back through the mansion. As part of the ritual, Sakura had to avoid eating or drinking anything but water after sunset until the evening ritual was completed, and her weakness after the ritual meant it was probably best for her to get as much rest as she could in the aftermath.
True, she'd then have a heavy breakfast to make up for it, but still…
…Sakura going to bed hungry…
…even if needs must, it left a bad taste in Elisa's mouth.
Making Sakura go this far…damn you to hell and back, you Matou bastards.
The Sun shone down through a blue sky lightly-touched with fleeting wisps of cloud, spreading down light and warmth wherever it reached. So much so that even in spring it could get hot at noon, for which a cool, light breeze was something to be thankful for.
Sakura certainly was, as she lightly napped after eating her lunch, lying on her back on a bench on Homurahara Academy's rooftop level. She was sleeping more than usual over the past few days, as repeated, nightly rituals sapped at her strength both physical and magical.
Despite herself, Sakura was hoping nothing serious (by supernatural standards) erupted in the city over the next month, otherwise she probably wouldn't be able to handle it. She might have to bunker down in her mansion, and send her commandos to deal with it in her place. A solution, yes, but a risky one, as while overwhelming firepower could overpower magi, with proper countermeasures the requirement for firepower to be considered overwhelming by magi standards would quickly become impractical.
Another reason to subject Matou to damnatio memoriae, for driving her to gamble to this extent just to clean up their mess.
Well, it was admittedly wishful thinking, but a girl could dream.
Sakura scrunched up her eyes as a shadow fell on her, before she opened them wide at the sense of magic circuits right next to her. They were passive, so whoever this was didn't mean to strike, but even then their signature was faint, pointing to a low quality.
Which was rather unusual, as Sakura could sense that while quality was low, quantity was high, if not enough to really make up for the latter.
"Hey, are you alright?" Shirou Emiya asked with a worried tone and look on his face.
"I'll be just fine, Magus Emiya." Sakura replied, looking up at his face from where she was lying down. "You know what a careful girl I am."
"I…wouldn't know about that." Shirou said with a cough, and then he was standing back, as Sakura forced herself up to a sitting position.
"So," Sakura began. "How can I help you today, Magus Emiya?"
"Actually," Shirou replied. "I was wondering about the opposite. That is, is there any way I can help you out, Edelfelt?"
"And what makes you think I need help?" Sakura challenged, and Shirou gave her an even look.
"You're worn out." He pointed out. "And have been for the past few days now. I'm also getting the feeling that it's not going to stop for a long while yet."
"How very observant of you." Sakura dryly remarked.
"Not really," Shirou disagreed. "It's just that I've been in the same – or similar – spot before, so I know the feeling. Plus, I saw Rin wearing out just like you are right now towards the end of the war, and you two look close enough to each other that the signs are more or less the same."
Sakura shrugged. "From what Policies' dossier says about you," she began. "I doubt there's much you could do to help."
"I might surprise you." Shirou said.
"Not in this case." Sakura disagreed with a shake of her head. "You don't have enough prana to last more for than a couple of motions for my nightly rituals. And even that much is likely enough to cause you to blackout."
"Rituals?" Shirou echoed in surprise. "You're holding rituals every night?"
"You think it's easy rooting out profane mysteries sunk into the soil by over a century of repetition?" Sakura countered. "Mysteries made even worse by the fact that Matou's methodology revolves around 'engraving' their concepts into the physical domain?"
"…I see your point." Shirou said with a sigh. "But…"
"But…?" Sakura prompted.
Shirou kicked at the ground in frustration. "I just wish there was something more I could do than just stand around and do nothing." He said. "It…it bothers me, that's all."
"Being helpless?" Sakura asked.
"No," Shirou disagreed with a shake of his head. "Being useless."
"…sometimes you just have to know when to fold your hands, stand back, and let others do their job." Sakura said after a moment.
Shirou snorted, and then glanced her way with a small smile. "You're really like her, you know that?" he asked.
"My sister?" Sakura asked back.
"Yes." Shirou said, before looking away into the distance. "She didn't say what you just said, but the message was the same: just shut up and let her fix the mess we found ourselves in. Her family's mess…her mess…her responsibility…"
Sakura was silent for a long moment. "Look at it this way," she eventually began. "Without your help, she couldn't have succeeded in doing what she eventually did. Stopping Makiri Zolgen from completing Heaven's Feel, and opening a path to the gates of the Root."
"The gods know what might have happened if that…thing, managed to reach the Root." Shirou muttered.
"I doubt he could have reached it." Sakura said, getting up to join Shirou at the railing. "Any path leading to it would have been shadowed by Counter-Guardians. Only one-in-a-million magi could open a path, and out of those only one-in-a-million could succeed in actually reaching the path's end."
"And if Zouken was that one?" Shirou asked. "Besides, even if he couldn't have reached the Root, I know enough to know that Counter-Guardians intervening could only end badly for everyone around here. Everyone…every last one of us…owes our lives to Rin…not that that matters to the people in charge at the Clock Tower!"
Sakura stared at Shirou, staying silent until he cooled off. "Sorry," he eventually said. "I just…I know and understand the world's not fair. I also understand that someone has to take responsibility. But even so…I don't like it. Not the way Rin's been and still being treated."
"I wouldn't say it doesn't matter." Sakura said, and looking back over the distance. "Rin's heroic actions against Makiri Zolgen, that is. Yes, she failed to notice he was a Dead Apostle in the first place, or that the Fuyuki Grail was a World Gate, along with every other complication those two problems result in. But no matter how…unqualified, she was to be Second Owner, she still managed to prevent Makiri Zolgen from completing Heaven's Feel. She might even have killed it too. Either way, there's plenty of room for leniency, and that's the angle our family is working along."
"I know." Shirou said with a sigh. "Though I wonder if Rin can really be called unqualified if she managed to pull that off."
"Unfortunately," Sakura began. "Given the circumstances leading up to recent events, the Clock Tower thinks that if Rin truly was qualified, she'd have kept things from getting as bad as they eventually became."
"That…that's just messed up."
"I know."
"If your family does bail Rin out, then what?"
"She'll probably come home," Sakura said while briefly closing her eyes. "And then…we'll see."
"We'll see?" Shirou echoed.
Sakura shrugged. "That's the Clock Tower for you." She said. "Honestly, though? I wouldn't mind if Rin came back, and having brushed up on her skills is reaccepted as Second Owner by the powers-that-be."
"Really?" Shirou asked.
"Of course," Sakura said with a nod. "No offense, but while Japan's a pleasant enough place, it's not really home. Finland…Lapland, is home to me, and always will be."
"…guess I can't blame you for that one." Shirou said with an understanding nod. "That's where you grew up, right?"
"Yes, it was."
Shirou hummed in understanding, while looking out into the distance. Sakura wandered back to the bench, and before either of them knew it, was lying down on it again.
"You don't have to push yourself so much, you know?" Shirou pointed out.
"I have to." Sakura said. "I'm the Second Owner now, and I will fulfil my responsibilities."
"Out of personal pride?"
"I'm not ashamed to admit that much."
Shirou gave a small smile at that. "But," he began. "Zouken is dead, isn't he? I think you can take it a bit easier…"
"You never know when it comes to vampires." Sakura interrupted, and looking in Shirou's direction. "Especially old ones, as like all mysteries, vampires only become stronger as they get older. And Makiri Zolgen was an especially old one, going back to the 15th Century, according to the records of the Clock Tower. It was around – though it probably still was Human at the time – when my ancestors were only starting to figure out the crudest of what we now consider our Art."
"So Zouken might still be alive." Shirou said. It wasn't a question.
"It might be, yes." Sakura said, turning away to look at the sky. "If so, I need to take measures to keep it from coming back here, like digging out the roots it's managed to put down and then burn them to ash."
"Is that also why Shinji disappeared?" Shirou quietly asked.
A ghost of a smile crossed Sakura's face. "I didn't kill him." She said. "I just told him to leave, and to never come back."
"Would you have killed him if he had stayed?"
"Yes."
"He couldn't use magic…"
"Irrelevant," Sakura interrupted. "Not when he's a direct descendant of Makiri Zolgen from back when it was still Human. There's just too much of a risk that the monster that Makiri Zolgen had become could use Shinji Matou's blood as a vector for some kind of high-level mystery or another."
"So having Shinji fend for himself somewhere else is your idea of mercy?" Shirou asked.
"Yes."
Shirou looked away, and then taking a deep breath began to pace. "You disapprove?" Sakura asked.
"I'm a magus too." Shirou said.
"Then you understand." Sakura said, and again, it wasn't a question.
"I do." Shirou admitted. "But I don't like it."
Sakura smiled. "You don't have to." She said.
"Good."
Sakura chuckled. "My turn to ask," she began. "Why do you keep hanging out around me?"
"…I don't really know, to be honest." Shirou admitted after a long moment. "I guess…you remind me of Rin, I guess."
Sakura laughed. "Do we really look that alike?" she asked. "Do we even act, talk, or just sound the same?"
"It's not that!" Shirou quickly backpedaled. "It's just…I don't know. I guess…you're close enough to Rin that…well, I can tell you're really doing the best you can. That you want to help people…everyone, even, around you. And so…yeah, I want to help. No matter how little I can do."
"Hmm…" Sakura hummed in thought. "I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to be flattered or not, but oh well, thanks, I guess."
Shirou nodded in understanding, even as Sakura tilted her head, still lying down where she was. "Your friends don't seem to like me very much, though." She said. "With that in mind, you might want to keep your distance, otherwise they might give you grief over me."
"Issei and Mitsuzuri, right?" Shirou asked.
"…hmm, you're closer to the former compared to the latter?" Sakura asked back.
"Eh…long story…" Shirou said with a shrug, and leaning back against the railing. "…and I can't really blame them for not liking you. You…well, let me put it this way. They were close to Rin, very close, in fact, when it came to Ayako and Rin…and then one day she just disappears, and after a short while, you turn up, the supposed sister no one's ever heard about before. How does that come off?"
"Suspicious?" Sakura ventured. "A convenient replacement of sorts?"
"Pretty much." Shirou said. "And unlike me, they don't know what they need to know to really understand the way things are."
"Fair enough, I suppose." Sakura said with a nod. "I guess I can't blame them for that, then. Still…Mitsuzuri said she was Rin's best friend, but implied they had something deeper between them. And you seemed to imply something along that line as well…could they have been…involved, with each other?"
Shirou pointedly looked away. "No comment." He said.
"Oh-ho-ho-ho…" Sakura laughed while getting up with a grin. "Please, tell me more. This is very…interesting."
"No!" Shirou flatly refused. "I'm not going to spread around any gossip I might have heard about Mitsuzuri and Rin's relationship."
"Oh come on." Sakura pressed. "It's just a bit of what's on the grapevine, besides you've already implied so much, and you clearly know more. Tell me, please."
"NO!" Shirou held his ground.
"I can pay you." Sakura offered. "How does…um wait, no…five hundred dollars…ah yes, how does fifty thousand yen sound?"
Shirou's eyes were so wide they looked like they might pop out of his head. "Are you seriously trying to bribe me?" he incredulously asked.
Sakura made a tutting sound. "Nothing so crass," she said. "I simply want to…purchase, sensitive information. Information trading is quite the lucrative business, you know, and quite respectable too, even among us magi."
"NO!" Shirou refused, and practically fled the rooftop.
Alone by herself, Sakura tutted and rested back on her hands. "So," she thought. "My sister might have had a relationship with another woman her age. Hmm…well, I don't really have anything against people who swing that way, and considering how pathetic her fiancé was, I suppose I can't fault Rin for looking for comfort in a fellow woman's arms. Though, that makes me wonder: who wore the pants in their relationship?"
"You went to see that girl again earlier, didn't you?" Issei Ryuudo asked.
"You mean Edelfelt? Shirou asked.
"Hmm…yes, her." Issei said with a nod. "I find myself wondering why, though."
"…let's just say that considering how you and Mitsuzuri are so suspicious about her," Shirou answered after a moment. "Someone has to get her side of the story, see things from her point of view, or something like that. It's only fair, after all. Judging someone from first impressions alone just isn't right."
"Hmm…perhaps…" Issei conceded before raising an eyebrow, a hand held against his waist. "Though surely you don't think our concerns are baseless, do you?"
Shirou looked cross. "That's a trick question, and you know it." He said. "That said, no, I don't think your concerns are baseless. It is suspicious, that Rin just ups and disappears on an overseas trip out of the blue, and before long a sister of hers that we've never heard of before suddenly arrives. Not only that, she even supplies some details of what's keeping Rin away."
"But…?" Issei prompted.
"Innocent proven until guilty, Issei." Shirou said with a sigh. "Suspicion isn't enough, and you know it."
"Hmm…true…" Issei admitted. "Though, I have been looking into her background, regardless."
"…seriously?" Shirou deadpanned a moment later.
Issei's only answer was to smile while pushing up his glasses against his nose. "The truth is out there, Emiya." He said. "You only ever need to look."
"Uh…right…" Shirou wondered, and internally worrying for Issei in case he turned too many rocks and found himself in more trouble than he could handle. "…so, what did you find?"
"Everything seems to check out." Issei said with a slight air of disappointment. "Her passport is legit, issued by the Lapland Police Department. She's travelled a lot over the past few years, though, all over Europe, the Americas, even the Middle East and the South Pacific. Her academic credentials also check out, officially certified by the Finnish educational authorities."
"I…see…" Shirou said while scratching his head. "…how on Earth did you even manage to get all that?"
"I have my ways." Issei said with a smile, arms crossed over his chest.
"Okay…and what else did you find?" Shirou asked.
"Her family also checks out," Issei replied. "House Edelfelt…big time landowners from Lapland, but with investments all over the world. They were supposed to be nobility too, back when Finland was part of the Russian Empire, but if they were, they didn't hold a title. Oh, and yes, I've confirmed that an Edelfelt married into the Tohsaka family shortly after World War Two came to an end. Fiona Edelfelt, yes, that was her name."
"So Edelfelt was telling the truth about that." Shirou said.
"So it would seem." Issei agreed with a nod. "I'm still looking into their background, but they really do seem to be an old family, though I'm not sure yet how old. And which is why I'm still looking…"
"…and to find any dirt that you can use to prove Edelfelt is dirty, and had something to do with Rin's disappearance." Shirou said with a sigh.
Issei scoffed at that, and adjusting his glasses, made to leave. "Well," he said with a slightly-offended air. "If that's how you feel about this, I'll just go then. Take care, Emiya."
"Issei…" Shirou said, and then continued despite Issei not stopping. "…if you insist on poking around corners and tipping stones over, why don't you go look into Rin's itinerary on the day she left."
"I'll take that under advisement." Issei said, and then he was gone.
Alone, Shirou sighed to himself.
Sakura fell into her bed with a groan, worn out by another ritual that needed bleeding herself out to give silver the necessary properties for what they need it to do. Well, technically it was the same ritual as before, but that wasn't the point.
"I hate those Matou bastards." She groaned.
"Is there really no alternative?" Elisa asked as she arrived with a tray, carrying water and glasses on it in case Sakura ever became thirsty during the night.
"Not without one hundred per cent certainty that Makiri Zolgen is dead once and for all." Sakura said, rolling over to lie on her back, her ample bosom bouncing around under her silken nightie without a bra to keep them in place. "Anything less thorough that what we're doing is practically asking for trouble if it isn't dead. I refuse to run that risk. It's irresponsible. Dereliction of duty, even: I might only be one-quarter Edelfelt, but by God, I'm not shaming that part of me by giving nothing less than my all."
"Even if you keep complaining, you'll still do it, huh?" Elisa asked with a smile, and sitting down next to Sakura on the bed.
"I'm only Human, after all." Sakura said, crawling over to Elisa and resting her head on the older woman's lap. Elisa hummed gently while running a hand through Sakura's hair.
"…looking on the bright side, though," Sakura murmured while resting against Elisa. "Once this ritual is done, and cleansing – and containment – of Matou's lair is complete, the next set of rituals won't nearly be as strenuous as this one is. Thank God for small mercies, I guess."
"Nothing wrong with being grateful." Elisa softly said.
"Hmm…true…" Sakura murmured.
"That still leaves the Fuyuki Grail unaccounted for." Elisa pointed out.
"Hmm…can't do anything about that until the Association makes a concrete decision one way or the other." Sakura murmured, eyelids slowly coming down as sleep dragged her under with no real resistance from her.
"True…well, just do your best, and soldier on, Sakura." Elisa said encouragingly. "And when the job's done, you can pat yourself on the back, for doing it right all the way."
"Hmm…that sounds…nice…"
Elisa smiled, and carefully easing herself off the bed, tucked Sakura against her pillows and under the sheets. Then she poured Sakura a glass of water, though she left it sitting on the tray, covered in case any insects might come and try to get at the water later in the night.
"Sleep well, Sakura." Elisa said, while closing the curtains before turning to leave.
"…good night…mom…" Sakura murmured in response, almost completely lost to sleep by now.
Elisa nodded, and turning off the lights, left the room, closing the door behind her.
A/N
Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho, our boy Shirou is here!
