Notes: Inspired by some stories, I wanted to try my hand on a multi character study while doing a bunch of shenanigans, Eventually this story will feature adult content but it will only be placed in appropriate sites befitting the rating. This is a sort of gamer fic but I want to attempt to diverge from the current standard template.

If you somehow know me from my old stories that have been deleted, I lost my notes on them and don't plan on continuing them any time soon, at least not in their current variation.

Further notes in the bottom of the chapter.


Chapter 1: Races are traditionally started with loud noises.

' The apple of Eden could be considered the first point of divergence for man but some would say it was god's plan.'


[ Ritsuka Fujimaru ]

If there was an interesting fact about Ritsuka that no one should ever know, it was that he was aware of things. He was aware that he looked good enough to be a model of mass produced casual wear but did not have the cutthroat to stay in the industry for long. He was aware that one of his former classmates belonged to a family that controls the current Japan government from the shadows and is the reason why every intellectual property eventually has a mobile gacha game. Did he forget to mention he was aware of the moonlit word?

No, Ritsuka is not a magus or belongs to a magus family. He was not an adopted son of a highly trained assassin of magus either. No, he did not have weird eyes. His dad was an average salaryman who comes home drunk every now and then and his mom was a housewife who makes said salaryman sleep on the couch for being peer pressured to drink booze by his colleagues. Ritsuka was your normal 18 year old who graduated 2 months back from high school and was doing a gap year part timing in his new job while he decides his next step in life. Pretty average but pretty sweet too.

The reason why he knew is very simple. He lives in Fuyuki. Nice town except for that weird gas leak 10 years back or at least that was what the authorities told everyone but he knows and he knows very well of the holy grail war shebang and the people die when they are killed thing, all because he had to walk pass Ryuudou Temple every Thursday from cram school to his house.

It was thanks to this awareness that made it easy for him to pick which job to have in his gap year out of two. First was a well paid suspicious job offer from the convenience store post board that required him to take a special health exam and move overseas. You know who else offers well paid jobs from the convenience store post board that required him to take a special health exam and move overseas, the Yakuza and their organ trafficking to third world countries. Oh and the second job was to be a junior 3D model rigger for a virtual idol company that he conveniently had the skills for. Bless weird summer tech camp programs.

Safe to say, Ritsuka picked the latter and never looked back. That was until the world got incinerated by events he could never imagine. It just had to happen when Magi*Mari-chan would be debuting her model, goddamnit.

[Downloading Data…]


[ Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg ]

The second magic is powerful and should be used with heavy consideration. After all, just by peering into a possibility, it can render the timeline into reality. That is not to say Zelretch hides himself in the blank, empty space of his throne doing nothing, never looking at the many worlds through the Kaleidoscope. No, the man was the kind of voyeur who looked for the best, the most interesting, the most lasting one. He was a one of a kind connoisseur looking for the finest timeline to be entertained and lo and behold, he found one.

Timeline Designation Type: Grand Order

Variation Identification Number: 258-519-333-7 Delta

The grand order was always an interesting variation due to the unique exertion by the throne of heroes, more than Designation: Requiem. An unexceptionally normal human, either male or female taking on the burden to correct human history to the right course in hopes of being able to have a future. It was not a tale of good and evil that annoyed him, it was a tale of man's struggle and journey. Something Zelretch feels he has lost touch with for a long time now.

What made this specific variation interesting was the declination of one of the pivotal characters to his destiny and his awareness of the moonlit world, which if left alone would only doom the timeline to incineration like so many others and that was not as interesting.

It was for that reason, Zelretch interfered and brought him to his little black realm, a plan to steer the timeline onto another unprecedented path. A lovely mystic code of gold dancing on his palm.

If Ritsuka tried to recall where he was before he woke up, it would be like recalling a memory of staring into a turned off television screen, which is to say a weird recollection. He found himself on the floor, at least it felt like the floor. It was too dark to see. His body was intact and so was his head, enough to exhale relief.

"Greetings, Ritsuka Fujimaru." A voice plucked his attention to find the source, bringing his head to turn behind to the sight of an old man before the old man continued to speak.

"You do not know me but you may call me Zelretch. Welcome to my abode, not many get to visit."

"You a mage or something?" Ritsuka was wary, not out of fear but of the understanding that the matter is unknown.

"Or something, I am what they call a magician." Grandfatherly smiles never fit the Second Magician.

"What's the difference?" Ritsuka found himself unable to move his legs, there was no space.

"Does it really matter if you know? A magician never releases his secrets."

"Sounds more like a fraud."

"Hahaha, you remind me of a student. Funny how you two have the same eyes but enough of this banter. Judging by your lack of emotional reaction, you are unaware of what has happened, after all it's impossible to be intimate with the knowledge with what you have decided." The boy just gave off a puzzled look, wondering with no hints of the answer.

"Ritsuka Fujimaru, your world as of 2016 A.D. has ceased to exist, incinerated by an entity. If you were to return to your reality, you too would cease to exist once more. There is no more future and in a matter of time, there will never be a sign of your existence in the first place."

"You got to be kidding me, old man?" Deep down, Ritsuka knew it was no lie, not because he has some ability to discern truth from lies but no matter how suspicious he was, his tone was not trying to convince him of it, it was just a matter of fact presented coldly and openly. His legs could now move but he only sunk them down to the black floor.

"Why tell me all of this?"

"Because this is not the end, this is the return to beginnings. You who were smart enough as a human to not pick suspicious jobs shall become foolish enough to appear in front of their doorstep and that is where the story continues."

The old man stood up from his seat on the throne, walking towards the boy. He places a smooth rectangle of gold and glass into the hands of Ritsuka. An electrical warmness, a vibration of awakening, it was a device but the second Magician provided no details as his guts began to twist together with his vision. It was not like being pushed into a tornado, it was like someone else was turning a kaleidoscope in his vision too quickly.

The last thing he saw was Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg waving at him.

[Download Complete… Verifying Installation]

[Hello Master]


[ Mash Kyrielight ]

A clear sky, whether it was a wish, a dream or a desire Mash Kyrielight has not made up her mind on but she wanted to see it, a sight of the world different from what she knows behind the white sterile walls of was a longing that grew whenever she tried to look past the window sill as Antarctica's blizzard continued to storm.

"Fou Fou Kyuu~" A mew that called away her attention from her tablet viewing by the window. Fou was a strange creature who only interacted with her. It spun around in circles, an indication that it wants to be followed before barking once more. Mash acquiesce to the whim of the privilege lifeform, getting out of her seat as it runs through the hall.

"Please wait for me, Fou." Mash had to pick up her pace to catch up with the energetic creature, going around the bend of the circular exterior ring of the facility. She finally caught up when Fou stopped in front of a corpse. No, not a corpse, just a peculiar sight.

A female, a master candidate indicated by the uniform she wore of the white coat and black skirt. The person had orange hair tied up a high side ponytail by a lighter orange scrunchy. Moving closer, it was observable that the person on the floor was asleep and not in fact dead with the small shifts in body movement that indicated breathing. An astute observation by Miss Kyrielight if Detective Holmes ever existed in that moment.

Fou on the other hand did no such observation and did the most instinctive thing a creature would do when testing if something is considered edible as sustenance, they lick the cheek.

Groggily, the lady opened her eyes to take a look at the disturbance of her impromptu sleep and found the dog rabbit still licking. "Huh~ What the"

Sitting up abruptly, she moved backwards and found a wall blocking, finally realizing her current location of a winding hallway as she relaxed and nursed her head. Mash cocked her head sideways before leaning closer. The orange head looked just a little older than her. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, just drowsy. What's your name?" The ladies facial expression was rare to Mash, a friendly face but her simple question was still a hard topic to respond to.

"Me? Uh, I am not someone whose name is worth mentioning… or something. I mean, I do have a name but…" A fumble in her words out of a lack of casual use in social events.

"Well, I think it is worth mentioning. You are the first person in this whole place. My name Is Gudako Riyo. It's fine to just call me Gudako. Please be generous and overlook any of my faults." There it was again with the expression, this time it was a brighter smile as Gudako stood up with her hand out for a shake.

"Yes, Senpai." In Chaldea, everyone was Mash's senpai, older or younger, because they had more experience in living as a human but this time, she thought she found someone who fit that idea more than others. Her hand was slow to reach out for a shake until Gudako grabbed it first. It was a warm touch.

'Grrr' Shame the mood got ruined by the rumbling of Gudako's hungry stomach. The orange head had the decency to blush in embarrassment.

"I am new here so do you know if there is a vending machine nearby?"


[ Ophelia Phamrsolone ]

Ophelia Phamrsolone sensed a disturbance in the force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. No, never mind she did not know where that reference came from. It was nothing sinister, it was after all a Tuesday,

She turned to look at the one person of interest she had in Chaldea. Something had changed with Mash Kyrielight. She seemed more motivated, a happier outlook on her face. Ophelia only wished it was with her but they had minimal contact during the possible range of duration that Mash has changed.

It has to be that girl she walked in with. Gudako Riyo, the 48th Master Candidate. She has good master ability and rayshift potential but she was a non-magus and was added just to fill in the ranks in the commoner block. The only interaction with the commoner master Ophelia knew of was when Director Animusphere kicked her out of the first mission for sleeping in the briefing. She did not understand why Miss Mash would change. There was nothing special about Gudako in her opinion or did Mash see something different in her. Was Kyrielight into truants? A stray thought sunk in before she banished it.

'Would interacting with Gudako Riyo help her too?'

No, now is not the time for this. They were going to do a proper field mission in the actual singularity, not another practice test. The rest of Team A has gotten into their coffin and she was one of the last ones left. She double checked her equipment and the coffin, going through the safety guideline.

"Miss Phamrsolone, please hasten your pace." Olga Marie Animusphere was on the loudspeaker and strict with her tone.

"Yes, I am ready to enter the coffin, pardon for my procrastination." It was unbecoming of her to be undisciplined, she should have left personal matters out of the command center. Before she could actually enter, the command center turned red from alarm lights as the automated system activated.

WARNING.

WARNING

Anomaly Detected

Detecting Spiritron Presence

Identifying Spiritron Presence

Error: No matching log of previous rayshift

Error: No matching log of previous rayshift

Error: Forced Rayshift Return

Automatic Override Failed

Executing Function

Available Coffin Container : 1 detected

Executing Rayshift Return

Function Complete

[ Welcome Back Master ]

It was a long, red minute and Ophelia was the only master candidate around to see it for being late, everyone else in induced sleep through the coffin. Something, no someone, a man around her age had been rayshifted back into Chaldea. The supercomputer had used her coffin as the conduit to rayshift him back here from wherever he came from. She pulled the unconscious man out of the coffin, he dressed modern at least, clutching a weird device. It looked like a smartphone, Ophelia tried to touch it but a spark of lighting lightly bit her, wrong, lightning magecraft, it was a mystic code.

Ophelia brought her bangle mystic code to his head to scan him. There was a mystery here that needed answers and like the rest of Team A, they had this mystic code tied to Trismegistus to assist them.

Scanning...

No matching data in clocktower database.

1 match found in Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communication.

Ritsuka Fujimaru

Age 18

Date of birth: 12 December 1997

Acquiring additional data from all Chaldea systems...

Non Magus family background designated by Trismegistus

Master Potential : 98% Positive sensed by FATE

Rayshift Potential: 99% Positive sensed by previous rayshift log

Automated Designation by Chaldea system set by Protocol Authority: Marisbury

49th Master Candidate, Ritsuka Fujimaru.

"Master Candidate No.5 Ophelia Phamrsolone, please bring the illegal intruder out of the command center quickly. I will have the security members deal with him. The mission has already been set, please do it quick." The heated tone in the director meant that she had been repeating the same command for a while to break Ophelia out of the shock she was experiencing. Whoever this guy was, he had a far higher record of potential even though it was not perfect. It was unprecedented especially for a non magus. The spiritual evocation department of the clocktower could benefit from studying his body. She was struggling to carry someone taller than her out of the rayshift room, stepping away from her coffin.

"Sheesh, why do these things keep happening to me." Olga Marie has always been struggling, even now as the situation irritated her nerves. She was barely keeping it together, moving away from her usual position in the command center to deal with this intruder. Oh the words and punishment she has for whoever dared to do this. She swore not even Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg could stop her.

"Director Olga Marie, please wait. We need you to stay in the command centre." Not even her one ally, Lev Lainur, could stop her from going out to give the man a piece of her mind. Odd that he would act so nervous now.

Before either women could step further out of the room, two massive explosions occurred at the center of the rayshift room and the director's spot in the command center. Ophelia Phamrsolone sensed a disturbance in the force, as if hundreds of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Too bad, she had been knocked out unconscious to be aware or refute that she has no idea on the reference.


[ Lev L▃▅■ur ]

It was illogical, unforgivable, improbable, impossible, unattainable, impracticable, inconceivable, unachievable, unobtainable, unthinkable, unreasonable, irrational, absurd, ludicrous, outrageous, preposterous. His plan was perfect, the timing was supposed to be perfect, the pieces were supposed to fall into place perfectly. Olga Marie was supposed to perish. All of Team A was supposed to perish. Which variable became unfixed? Which variable dared to leave their value? Romani. He was meaningless, a bystander that shall bear witness to his king's performance. Marisbury? No, the man was long dead, everyone was aware of it. He can't move plans from Hell. Wodime? No, he was too prideful to see through this event no matter how strong he was. Daybit? ...Lev's calculations hesitated but still reached a false hypothesis. The 48th master candidate who still lives? A joke, a jester he shall present to his king. Insignificant. Ritsuka Fujimaru. The unknown enigma was his clue. His intrusion has brought a domino effect sized wrench. His status is the same as Gudako Riyo, insignificant to his king's design. He needs to know more. He needs to calculate more. He needs to unravel more. He has been compromised. He shall play dead. He shall ensure a logical end to this failure. Whoever Ritsuka Fujimaru was or will be, it will not taint the grand order of his king.


[ Gudako Riyo ]

Gudako Riyo likes to call it women's intuition even when it's not about love. It's a romantic way of saying things after all even in tragedy and disaster not that she saw much of those so when the power failed and Chaldea shook, she already began running. Not outside but towards the source of it, Chaldea's command room and rayshift centre.

There was a sense of dread that comes with working on your first day, like Murphy's law getting kicked up to max and this was the representation of having it take the cake. Gudako just wanted a job that paid, sure it was suspicious and this whole magecraft mumbo jumbo was new to her. It paid well, hopefully it still pays well after this incident, she needed the money to be independent from her family. A desire to part from the toxicity.

It was not the time for that as she discarded the thought. Mash was in there, rescuing survivors was the priority. She entered the room, ignoring 's order not that he stick for long, needing to go to the basement to override the manual switch.

Suspension of power unit confirmed

Insufficient power generation.

Bulwark closing in 180 seconds. All personnel please evacuate from gate 2.

Rayshift system transferring to the final stage.

Coordinates: January 30th, 2004 CE. Fuyuki, Japan

The hatch was still open but the public announcement system was counting down to whatever this was. Gudako wished she did not sleep during the briefing. Looking through each and every coffin, they have been cryogenically frozen thanks to the fail safe in place. She sees two people, a guy and a girl, wounded and unconscious but needs to find Mash first. Mash was a priority to her.

Laplace conversion protection in place. Additional factor frame towards Singularity secured.

Unsummon Program Set. Masters, please enter the final adjustments

Gudako finally found her underneath a large pile of concrete. She can see blood seeping out into a puddle beneath her. Fou was there, barking and maybe hoping someone would come to the girl's rescue.

"Hang in there, Mash. I will get you out of there." Gudako regrets not going to the gym more often to lift weights. It was hot to the touch, making her use her sleeves to soften the burn as she tried to lift it up.

"No, Senpai. Please. You have to escape."

"I will… together with you."

Attention, all observational staff.

Chaldeas' condition has changed.

Sheba's near future observational data has been overwritten.

The survival of the human race for the next 100 years cannot be confirmed.

The future of humanity cannot be guaranteed.

Central bulkhead will now be closed. Interior cleansing starting in 90 seconds.

There was no escape now, for anyone still alive. Gudako sighed, unable to get Mash out of the rubble as she sat beside her. "Senpai, I am sorry because of me, you are now unable to escape."

"I - It's fine, I am sure the others will find a way. We will definitely make a way out of this."

Seeking qualified masters… Seeking

"Senpai, is it okay if you could hold my hand?" Gudako could only nod as she held the outstretched hand of the younger girl. More and more of the room begins to crumble around them. It was nice to share some warmth in this moment.

Resetting contact with suitable designee no.48

Resetting contact with suitable designee no.49

Resetting contact with suitable designee no.5

Resetting contact with suitable designee no.6

Starting Unsummon Program

Beginning Spiritron Conversion

Rayshift beginning in ...3 ...2 ...1

All operations cleared.

Beginning First Order verification.


Notes: Thanks for reading if you come down this far. Reviews, flames, dishonoring my cow is appreciated.

The title Golden Apple holds a meaningless symbolism towards the main plot that might eventually get explained later on but for now, it won't make sense because we are still building blocks on the cast since Singularity F Fuyuki is like a prologue. Once the blocks are build, we will diverge more from canon little by little, maintaining key events.

By making Ritsuka into a main character, at some point, he will have to diverge from the canon identity of being normal. This is where Gudako Riyo comes into play as the female deuteragonist. Riyo as a last name because of the riyo comics but also because there is no other fitting name that does not sound weird or too familiar.

If you probably guess it, this is a Harem (sort of) story but that will be explained later on.