The Red Flaming Poem
Chapter 1: The Voice of the Goddess?
Who was he – the angel-like Master of the Flaming Sword? She remembered well his burning eyes, as blue as the cloudless sky, filled with immense desire that can be only found in despair.
"Have I… fallen asleep?"
Technically, it was impossible. She was only an old soul, resting in an incorporeal place beyond time and space. Waiting, eternally. To be summoned, to fight, to defend, and die for the sake of mortals, if necessary.
In her mental landscape she was laying comfortably on the golden throne, caressing the lion's heads on its armrests. Normally in her eternal theater countless rose petals were dancing in the air, making this magical scenery even more nostalgic than it already was.
But now strange black feathers appeared in here, boldly invading her personal space.
She blinked several times, hoping it's just an illusion. But the feathers were still here, dancing with the rose petals, teasing them, seducing even. It was a quite charming spectacle, but…
What was she doing to let it happen? Sleeping? Dreaming? What dimensions her weary mind had crossed to hear that man's calling? Who was he – the angel-like Master of the Flaming Sword? She remembered well his burning eyes, as blue as the cloudless sky, filled with immense desire that can be only found in despair.
Or it was the beauty of the poem he was reading, that piqued her interest? One line in particular had stuck in her memory:
'The wind sails over the water's surface
Quietly, but surely.'
She reached out her hand to catch a single black feather. It seemed slightly damaged and smelled like pure magic, but was evidently real, if anything could be called like that in this non-existing place.
The Emperor sighed heavily. She needed answers that can be obtained only by leaving to the material world again. What a pain, unless…
"Umu." She smiled to herself, after making a very important decision. When she hears that man's voice again, she will answer the call - not for him, but for herself.
After all, as a fellow artist, she deserves to know how this beautiful poem ends!
"Poor thing," the female voice said with cruelty barely hidden under the pretended compassion. "You're decaying."
Genesis Rhapsodos, the former first class SOLDIER, knew that already. It was the reason he betrayed the company and ended up in such pitiful state, hunted by everyone, even his so-called friends.
"Do you wish to live? To be cured, cleansed and more powerful than ever before?" The voice stopped, giving Genesis a moment to consider these new possibilities. "Are you ready to fight for this miracle?"
He closed his eyes, blinded by the overwhelming whiteness. It looked like the light tried to devour him, maybe was actually doing it. Was it the voice he hoped to hear his entire life?
"Come to me then! Come, and claim this miracle for yourself. I consider you worthy."
Not sure what's happening, Genesis almost sighed mentally. Either the Goddess had spoken to him or he went completely mad in his delirium.
The truth was he didn't care anymore. False or not, that voice gave him something his heart needed the most. Hope.
The voice called for him and the decaying SOLDIER answered – Genesis dived into the white nothingness to meet his fate in a new, unknown world.
"What in the hell just happened?!"
When the smoke and dust inside the chapel in the Einzbern castle finally vanished, both Irisviel and Kiritsugu stopped breathing for a moment, utterly shocked. The ritual was successful, but their new Servant…
"My, my, it's been a while! I almost forgot how much fun being a Servant is! You're happy as well, right, Master?"
Emiya frowned, not knowing what's going on. This man, although he must have been somehow connected to Excalibur, was certainly NOT King Arthur. He wasn't even a knight – instead of a sword he carried the weirdest magical staff anyone could imagine. His extremely long, white – or not? - hair and somehow inhuman violet eyes were even more suspicious. Kiritsugu could easily tell that he's got a powerful 'familiar', but it did not make him any bit happier.
"A Caster class? What am I supposed to do with a magician?" He reached for the pack of cigarettes with his shaking hands, but changed his mind halfway and growled angrily: "Who are you?"
"Oh, forgive me, I was distracted!" His Servant bowed slightly with a polite smile. "I am commonly known as the Kingmaker, the Mage of Flowers. But you can call me Merlin, my Master."
"M-merlin?" Irisviel stepped back and lost her balance, when she bumped into the altar. Caster caught her gently with a polite smile… Too polite, in Kiritsugu's opinion. "This makes sense now. You're connected to this holy sword as much as King Arthur."
"Maybe even more." The man chuckled awkwardly; his carelessness started getting on Kiritsugu's nerves. "You may say I actually started all this legendary mess, lady…"
"Irisviel."
"Irisviel. That's a charming name for a charming lady!"
"A troublemaker then?" Emiya sighed, heavily and loudly, to stop Caster's suspicious behavior. So it was true that Merlin was a son of an incubus and a mortal woman! "Great. Just wonderful. I expect you will behave like a Servant should."
"Well, of course, Master! Just say what you want, I will be glad to be useful to you!"
Kiritsugu did not doubt it, but the eagerness of his newly summoned Servant somehow disturbed him more than an openly rebellious attitude. No one doubted that Merlin is a powerful card in the Grail game, but Emiya aimed for one of the three knight classes for a reason. With his own fighting style closest to assassin, he needed a fighter to face other Servants in open combat… Now he was forced to reconsider his tactic, if it was even possible to come up with something for a Caster in his situation.
"Let's go to our rooms," he said eventually. "We need to talk."
Kirei Kotomine frowned, surprised by the latest news. He knew already about the mysterious disappearances of young girls in Fuyuki, but this time an entire family was missing… A random pair also did not return from a date in the Miyama Town. And an old man, who vanished while walking his dog few days ago, probably was another victim of a serial killer.
If an enemy Servant was behind this, his hunting grounds must be somewhere in foreigners' district. Kirei's father will soon order to hunt down the criminal for violating the rules of a Holy Grail War, there's no doubt about it. As a protector of these grounds, Tokiomi Tohsaka should investigate this case, but his Archer would be deeply insulted by such order. Since he was too powerful to take his demands of respect lightly, the job will pass on Assassin, for whom such task should be a piece of cake…
Right, the younger Kotomine thought with a weird smirk. The 'should' part was crucial in his case.
They planned to summon an Assassin from the very beginning , but a very specific Heroic Spirit has answered the call. Despite being much more powerful than Hassans known so far, who were typical for the Fuyuki Grail, this Servant had almost no spying talents. Tokiomi would sooner or later decide to get rid of it, probably by sacrificing it to discover weaknesses of some powerful enemy.
But Kirei didn't like this idea. Such feeling was new to him – annoyance, was it? Or maybe anger? He wasn't actually sure about the reason, but a sudden desire to oppose both his father and mentor filled his usually cold heart.
Maybe the influence of his Servant was so deep already? Or they were just similar? Neither good nor evil, they both felt beyond such moral problems. Innocent monsters, who find satisfaction in things that will never be acceptable in any society…
"Beauty, huh?" Kirei sat on the sofa and opened a bottle of wine. He was watching for a while how the red liquid fills the cup. His Servant was in the basement, busy with his own kind of crimson pleasure, mastering her skills and becoming more powerful. All this right under nose of the supervisor of this war, Kotomine thought with a smile. If his father only knew!
Pleasure and beauty… Will he, too, find their true meaning someday? For the first time since the day he had decided to join the war, Kirei actually believed it's possible. If not the Grail itself, then maybe his Servant or the Mage Killer, Kiritsugu Emiya, may let him achieve this goal.
Matou Zouken was observing the city from the roof of a particularly high building. He did not expect much from Kariya, just the opposite – he intended to torture the naïve and weak young man by letting him summon a Berserker. Watching his painful fall supposed to be a pleasurable experience.
Not everything went as the old vampire planned. Heroic Spirit that had answered the call, turned out to be not half as draining as a typical Berserker. Being more a monster than a human, this psychopath without restraints could effectively replenish energy all by herself. It was a complete failure, but still Zouken was curious how the things will turn out for these two. Not only their fall should be amusing to witness, but also all the destruction they may accidentally cause. If Berserker is left alone do to as she pleases, the entire town will suffer greatly and many innocent people will die on her whim.
Who knows, maybe they can go further than I expected?
The eldest Matou magus could already feel the distant smell of blood in the air. Other participants were getting nervous, impatient and reckless. At least two Servants went out hunting tonight, even if the Einzberns haven't come to Fuyuki yet. And Saber…
A sudden burst of magical energy somewhere near the river interrupted the flow of his thoughts. Everyone connected to the Grail, or at least to the local leylines, must have felt it. The spies, maybe even Servants, were probably already on the move, to observe this unknown kind of danger.
"I see." Zouken smiled to himself, overjoyed by the news he's just received from one of his bug familiars. "All Servants have been summoned at last. Let the slaughter begin!"
You can thank (or blame) OMEGA SANCTION for planting this strange idea in my head so efficiently, that it did not want to leave.
And relax, I'm not abandoning other stories, I'm just sick again, so everything will go slower. Sorry for that.
Don't hesitate to comment or PM me. Hope You'll enjoy.