Fate/Grand Order & Tsukihime © TYPE-MOON
Cold.
It is the first thing that comes to Ritsuka's mind. His mind is a blurry mess. The last thing he remembers is going on a Rayshift for a minor mission and to farm for more materials, but then the process got interrupted and his consciousness left him.
Ritsuka opens his eyes as he tries his best to get up, feeling sore in his joints and head. He must've had quite the rough fall.
He is met with a scenery that seems familiar, yet can't quite recall. He wakes to the bright full moon hanging on the dark night sky, seemingly so close that it threatens to descend to the earth itself. He takes a look on his surrounding, where skyscrapers aim for the sky and the lights outshine the stars. He seems to have landed in a city of modern times, perhaps close to his own. More importantly, he recognizes various signs hanging on the buildings from his own country. He might be in a dark alley now, but he can see the busy main street with people walking not too far from his spot.
He wonders what kind of Singularity he is in now.
Ritsuka tries to contact Mash and the Headquarters, but to no avail. His communicators catch no signal, only rustles. Worry starts filling his mind—he is all alone. The Servants he meant to bring along are nowhere in sight, and it's not like he can sense them either. His body is shivering, both from the cold wind and the increasing fear that makes his stomach churn.
However, he is a Master of extraordinary feats. He is the last Master of Chaldea, overcoming trials so harsh they're almost inhumane to end up as a victor—as someone who has saved Humanity. Being alone in a new Singularity shouldn't make his convictions waver. At least, he tries telling himself to keep himself composed.
Ritsuka walks towards the main street, a move he assumes will be safest. He has no comrades and no means of communication, so it'll be best if he stays away from places where he can find no help. Moreover, the dark alley he woke up at looks creepy, like it is haunted—although he has seen and fought ghosts, that doesn't mean he is willing to spend time with them.
He is so fixated on the alley that he doesn't notice that someone—something—is standing on his way to the main street.
The lights are dim, so Ritsuka can only see the hunched figure, and makes a bit of their clothing. It seems to be a man, wearing a suit common for office workers. Perhaps he is drunk?
"Excuse me?" Ritsuka approaches the man carefully, while the latter doesn't move an inch. "Are you okay?"
But then Ritsuka stops as the man looks up, and that's where Ritsuka knows it's time to turn back and run.
The eyes that are looking at him must not belong to a human. They are lifeless, cold, and cruel. Ritsuka remembers he has seen eyes familiar to those before—ones that belonged to ghouls. There is nothing humane remains.
Ritsuka's contemplation is cut short when the man—the creature—suddenly lunges towards him, letting out a screech that grates Ritsuka's ears.
"Gandr!" He shouts as he shoots the creature, and to his relief, it stops. He hopes his loud shouting gains attention from the people and will stop the creature from acting further, although a part of him worries that instead of that, they will get caught up in this mess instead.
The Master's composure is shattered into pieces when he notices that while his pursuer is stunned, more have swarmed their way. The same lifeless, bloodthirsty creatures, all aim for one thing—his life.
Not wasting any second, Ritsuka turns back and runs, trying to remember a reinforcement spell Lord El Melloi II once mentioned. He needs it badly to run even faster, but his brain just keeps disappointing him as it chooses to focus on directing his thoughts to look for a safe place instead. Not that Ritsuka can complain, since it is what he absolutely needs.
Ritsuka glances back, finding a horde of undead mindlessly charging after him, and fear surges in his mind. "Mash! Da Vinci! Can you hear me!?" He shouts desperately to his communicator, in hopes he runs into a leyline that enables his communication to actually work—unfortunately, in vain.
Ritsuka's fear doubles when he sees that he's running towards a dead-end, and he find no other available escape routes—except if the can break through the horde chasing him and runs for his life towards the opposite direction, but he is not sure if he can perform such act without getting caught. He most likely can't.
His distracted thoughts eventually get the better of him when he fumbles and falls down. Grimacing, Ritsuka sees that he has scraped his elbow, is facing a dull, sturdy wall, and a horde of monsters are on their way to make him their dinner, with no place to escape to.
In other words, he is screwed.
Screw this.
With a newfound determination—or desperation—Ritsuka gets back on his feet once again, facing the horde of monsters. Clenching his fists tightly, he tries to once again retrace what little magic spells have been taught to him.
If he is to meet his end, he will not do so when he is cowering in fear. He will fight back.
Concentrating what magical energy is left to his index finger, Ritsuka aims towards the horde, putting everything he has into this one shot.
If I can get out of here alive, I promise I will practice magecraft more seriously.
A bright light forms on the tip of Ritsuka's finger, growing larger in size, and it seems to pose a threat to the undead that they halt.
Ritsuka takes a deep breath, before shouting. "GANDR!"
It is a much stronger spell than the previous one he shot. The monsters are blasted away by the beam, and he, for a moment, thinks he can get out of the place.
But it doesn't seem luck is on his side.
More monsters have emerged from behind the frontline, and they look more vicious and eager to feast on him. They are moving slowly, due to the impact of his Gandr earlier, but he knows that they will not remain sluggish and will eventually charge at him.
'What other spells can I do!? What is that spell Emiya chants to create weapons out of thin air? Tra…trace on!? But is it even possible for me to—"
His thought is cut short when a monster lunges at him with a grating growl. Ritsuka dodges, falling again in the process. He winces at the pain caused by his newly formed wounds. The monsters all turn to face him, and it seems they become even more eager to attack.
Is it because I'm bleeding? Does blood attract them?
The monster that attacked him earlier charges again, and Ritsuka is left with no choice—he puts his remaining strength on his fist and hits the monster on the face, sending it flying towards its pack, creating a domino effect.
Before he has time to admire his own, unexpected newfound strength though, Ritsuka feels something burning on the back of his hand—the one he used to punch the monster earlier. He sees something bright on his hand—his command spells are shining, and burning.
In a split second, a pillar of light appears between Ritsuka and the horde of monsters, its light shining so bright corresponding to Ritsuka's command spells.
As the light slowly dissipates along with the burning on the back of his hand, Ritsuka sees that the monsters are cowering in fear, avoiding to look at where the pillar of light was before.
The pillar of light has been replaced by a figure of a woman, basking under the full moon light. She turns her head and Ritsuka's jaw almost drops in awe.
Her short golden locks are gleaming under the moonlight, brighter even than the full moon itself. Her eyes reflect the color of ruby, so red it reminds him of blood. The looks on her eyes are incomprehensible, but he senses that she can look so gentle, yet can be so menacing. She is smiling politely at him, and his breath is almost taken away by the ethereal scene before him.
"Good evening." She greets him—even her voice sounds like it belongs to a queen, or even goddess. "Pleased to meet you, Human."
In a heartbeat, the beautiful creature before Ritsuka disappears, but what his eyes see shocks him.
The horde of monsters are cut down in a flash by a force so fast it is almost unseen—like the wind. When Ritsuka blinks, the beautiful creature returns in front of him, with a pile of corpses behind her. Before he can make any comment, though, the corpses turn into dust, disappearing into thin air.
"They are called The Dead." She starts speaking, glancing at the spot where the corpses are disappearing, "Puppets controlled by a higher being. They aren't humans and they threaten others, so don't feel bad about turning them into ash."
"Ah. I see." Ritsuka nods absentmindedly, still taken by the sight before him. He has seen literal gods and goddesses and queens and kings and their otherworldly beauty, but that doesn't mean he can get used to it. Including this one.
With her polite smile still adorning her face, she moves to approach Ritsuka. Her moves show elegance Ritsuka assumes comes from being a royalty. She might be a princess descending from the moon itself.
"Allow me to introduce myself, Human." Her smile grows wider it reaches her eyes, turning her elegant, calm look into a gentler one. "Ah, apologies. I mean, Master."
"It is nice to meet you, Master of Chaldea. I am just a humble Servant in your service."
She stretches her hand out, offering it to him.
"Servant, Arcueid Brunestud. I shall bring to you whatever you desire, Master."
A/N: Tsukihime collab when
(also this is an attempt to break free from my almost year-long writer's block so pls do bear with me if some things are unsatisfactory)