Epilogue
A windowless room sat in near complete darkness, silent except for the faint sounds of breath and the rustling of sheets. If somebody of superhuman eyesight, enough to see perfectly in just a few lumens, were to enter the room they might be able to see clearly enough to see just how large the room actually was. In terms of surface area it easily outclassed that one of the Olympic swimming pools of the Old World, but still less than any competitive pools in the New World. However the floor size of the floor space paled in comparison to the height of the room. Twenty two stories above the ground the ceiling rested with no apparent means of support beyond the four walls in a manner that would make an engineer throw up their hands in defeat. Attached along the walls sporadically were platforms the size of an average room, over sixty in number with no visible support beyond the thin stretch of wall they connected to. Lastly about a dozen platforms hovered in midair, as if abandoning physics entirely, with no sign of technological or arcane aid.
All of the platforms had different furnishings. Some were easily identifiable and fulfilled the roles of entertainment rooms, some bathrooms, some dining rooms, but there were a lot whose functions were more esoteric and difficult to discern. At the very highest point of the room one last platform larger than most at almost fifty square metres sat attached to the corner of the room. What set this specific space apart was the fact that it alone was occupied. A single female lay on curled up on the bed in deep slumber. Her periwinkle hair that normally hung all the way to her shoulders instead was strewn haphazardly over her face. Her face couldn't be called anything less than beautiful. In fact the absolutely textbook symmetry of her face combined with the utter lack of flaws gave her an almost inhuman sense of perfection.
Suddenly with no prior warning or visible light source the room brightened over a period of ten seconds turning the almost pitch room into a domicile that shone with the brightness of a cloudless morning. Barely a few seconds afterwards a pair of lavender eyes snapped open darting around the room before the woman in one fluid motion disentangled herself from the covers of her bed and landed gracefully on her feet. She stood at five and a half feet and her looks alone made her seem like a young woman just stepping into adulthood. Her clothes were made of a strange substance, far closer to plastic than any other material although still divergent. This material was fashioned into a black suit and black pants as well as both boots and gloves. A golden cape that hung from her shoulders was the only break from the dark theme she had going on. She glanced towards the wall and prana gathered at her fingertips for a moment before she released it in a formless mass to strike the wall. A second later a giant holographic clock face appeared on the wall indicating to her that her 'alarm' had woken her up at the correct time.
"Maybe I have been working too hard lately," the blue haired woman muttered to herself. She scanned the room until her sharp eyes locked onto one of the platforms eight stories below her. With no more difficulty then walking down a flight of stairs she leapt off the side of the platform and fell down eight stories until she landed with absurd elegance on the platform she had chosen. This particular platform consisted of nothing more than an overlarge monitor and a comfortable looking chair. Upon sitting down on it holographic images appears around her and she touched them causing images to flip through the monitor. After a few seconds of looking she leaned back with a dismayed look on her face.
"Oh no," she said to herself leaning back into the chair with a hand over her head. On the screen was a timetable showing the various functions that demanded her attention. For the next five days every block on her schedule was full but all of her appointments stopped abruptly on the sixth day leaving only empty blocks from the fifth of Chaos 856. However it wasn't the unreasonably busy schedule that bothered the blue haired woman but the name that occupied the current spot.
Bursting into motion the woman leapt from platform to platform until she reached an unassuming area with a lot of cupboards. With the certainty of one long familiar with the layout of her house she wrenched open a specific cupboard and made a grab for a tube. Sticking her finger in the tube that proudly proclaimed to be 'Sleep in a bottle, equivalent to seven hours of uninterrupted sleep,' she licked the powder off her fingers and instantaneously new levels of awareness entered her eyes.
"Amora Vega," the purple eyed woman said to herself, repeating the name of the woman with which she had and appointment. She was particularly hard for her to deal with, but as a definite upside she was wouldn't get upset at her for being late. Running her hands through her hair the woman looked into the closest mirror and tried to look more presentable before giving up that as a bad job. Almost sprinting she leapt upwards rebounding off the wall and landing on one of the floating platforms that was filled with complex machinery filled with tubes and lights that coalesced into a large device around the centre of the platform. Striding to the middle of the platform, denoted by a perfect circle, she clapped her hands and watched as red lights lit up one by one until they all flashed green indicating readiness.
"The temple of Ishtar," she spoke clearly enunciating her destination and for a brief moment she connected with something bigger and then with a flash of light she disappeared from the room.
xxx
On all lists comprising the most beautiful buildings in the world the temple of Ishtar always had a spot. To be more precise the first temple of Ishtar always had a spot. While there were many subsidiary temples none of them had the history and power of the first. None of them possessed anything close to the quality and quality of the various sculptures, paintings, flora and other works of art that had been purchased by, or more often donated to the temple.
"Now if only so many of them were not risqué," the visitor to the temple thought as she passed another priceless statue depicting somebody, a pair of somebodies in fact, who proudly displayed the gifts the gods had given them. Still she had to compliment the landscaper. While they were certainly not her cup of tea she had to admit that the hedges were created with wonderful detail. She even passed a playground for children, although she had no idea who in the name of the gods would even bring a child this close to the den of depravity.
She picked up the pace a little bit. Teleportation directly into Ishtar's temple was not allowed, except for those closest to Amora and she couldn't count herself among the number. As a consequence she was forced to teleport to the array just outside and walk the rest of the way. The temple was relatively quiet however, devoid of the usual hustle and bustle of people travelling far and wide to worship Ishtar and those who sought out the temple for more secular reasons.
"I guess Amora would rather have people focusing on the Exodus than the daily operations of the church," the blue haired woman said looking at a sign that announced that the temple would be closed for the foreseeable future. She narrowed her eyes at the realisation that the foreseeable future could be for a very long time considering the Exodus. A sigh escaped her as she realised that all of these priceless sculptures and the beautiful landscaping would be gone forever along with any of the other artworks that were left behind.
As she approached the main entrance a dozen tiny hovering orbs with white lights hovered around her observing her from any angle causing the blue haired lady to raise an eyebrow at the spectacle. ID Bots were basic level of security in every home but even then she didn't think she'd ever see Amora ascribe to it considering a fairly consistent policy of hers was to take anybody in.
"Lila Inke for her appointment with Amora Vega," the aforementioned Lila said in a clipped tone. Immediately the ID bots scattered returning to her station and the finely decorated wooden door swung open. A scarlet carpet greeted her and Lila gladly took that invitation stepping forward into an enormous hallway with only one occupant.
"Can I take the lady's cape," a black haired and black eyed young man said. Despite his appearance he wasn't human. Anything more than a surface look would reveal the swirling chaos beneath that façade of humanity.
"Good morning 32," Lila said, declining his offer with a simple hand gesture. The golden cape was her symbol of office and it would not be wholly appropriate for her to discard it, especially for a formal meeting. She had no desire to turn this into an informal meeting, especially with Amora. She knew from second hand information how those turned out.
"Very good," 32 said directing her to follow him "Mistress Vega has been looking forward to speaking with you."
"Is that so," Lila said keeping a professional tone.
"Indeed," 32 said with some amusement. "Mistress in fact went as far as to request I kidnap you if you back out at the last moment."
"What?" Lila said whipping her head back to the Chaosborn. It was such a ridiculous thing to say to the Chairman of the United Earth Organisation. Even though she effectively only had five days left in office it was still beyond belief that she could even think about that. That was Amora for you she supposed. Even if she did that then she probably would get off with no more than a reprimand even from her own clan. The High Priestess of Ishtar had built so much goodwill over her seven hundred plus years that only existences such as General Satsuki or the White Queen herself could boast more influence. On top of that 32 was an insanely low number for a Chaosborn. For a species that naturally grew stronger as they aged any individual with a two digit name could be considered a monstrous existence. While Lila was by no means weak, being a member of the Inke clan indicated at least some combat proficiency, she was primarily an administrator.
"So how long have you worked with her," Lila said making small talk as they walked through the various corridor and empty rooms. Belatedly she realised that the various priceless artworks littered throughout the church were still in their normal place. From the looks of it Amora had done nothing to prepare for the Exodus.
"I've been partnered with Mistress since the Tumultuous Times," 32 said calmly as if it were no small feat.
"Really," Lila responded reaffirming her impression of 32 as a particularly powerful Chaosborn. The Tumultuous Times were the 150 years after the gods clashed and the world ruptured, a time that was characterised by natural disasters, a surge of dangerous new creatures and a total collapse of most of the ruling structures. Anybody who survived that hell was immediately worthy of her respect.
"Just through here," 32 said breaking up her thoughts as he pointed to a reddish wooden door. He bowed as he held the handle of the door and opened it up for Lila.
"Thank you," Lila said inclining her head slightly in respect to the Chaosborn. Stepping through the door her eyes roved over the exquisite furniture and then stopped.
Lying on a nearby divan was a creature of such unsurpassed perfection that Lila's breath hitched. Even today when science and magic had advanced to such an extent that flesh could easily be shaped as one desired, she still stood heads and shoulders above them with a beauty that transcended mortal science. And nearly inch her lustrous ochre skin of was laid bare to Lila's eyes.
"Can't you put some clothes on," Lila said, irritation coating every syllable. In front of her reclining like some ancient goddess was the revered founder of the Church of Ishtar one of the foremost powers in the world dressed in a negligible amount of 'clothing' that somehow managed to be more enthralling than if she had chosen to wore nothing at all.
"Oh you're here Lila," the priestess said sitting up straighter and stretching, her every move doing seductive things to Lila's eyes. "You look tired, have you been getting enough sleep," she said as she stared into her eyes, those green orbs sharp and staring directly into her own. Lila kept her eyes firmly on those bright green eyes, because if she didn't then her eyes would fall to her body and Amora would likely take that as an invitation. After a moment she leant back in her seat with her golden hair beneath her like a bed of flowers.
"You're too uptight," Amora said pouting at Lila with playful seductiveness. "Besides I wear clothes like this all the time. There's no law against it."
"Only because you've quashed any public decency law that has been attempted in the last five centuries," Lila retorted instantly.
'That's true," she said with a laugh like a mountain stream. "Would you like some wine," she said gesturing to a red bottle in ice containing some form of alcoholic beverage that Lila didn't drink at all.
"No thanks," Lila Inke said stiffly holding up her hand in a clear sign of refusal. "Why did you make an appointment with me," she said changing the subject.
Amora sighed and then she moved. In an instant she had disappeared from the divan and Lila felt a chill go down her back. The High Priestess, a being that had survived the Tulmultuous Times, a human that had fought in the war of the Eight Agressors, one of the most powerful people in the world was right behind her. Suddenly she felt dainty hands upon her shoulders and running over her bank and she almost went limp at the sensation. Tension that she didn't even know she had bled out of her as dozens of days of stress were coaxed out by the masterful hands of the woman behind her. A moan slipped from her lips and she faintly tried to resist before she gave up completely at the ministrations. After hours of massage, that only in actuality lasted half an hour at most, she staggered away feeling the collective aches and pains that had followed her for the past few days now disappear.
"Please don't do that again," Lila said hating how her voice seemed more timid than usual.
"You need to learn how to relax," Amora said and in the next instant she was sitting up on the divan again, having moved faster than Lila could perceive. She leaned forward causing Lila's gaze to dive towards her perfect breasts despite her best efforts to stop it. "I think that the dissolution of the United Earth Organisation would be good for you," Amora said before she sighed. "Even so I have no doubt that you will join whatever organisations replace it, but there's nothing I can do but pray to Ishtar that you will learn to take care of yourself someday."
An awkward silence filled the room as Lila stared at her before she herself sighed and sat down in one of the nearby sofas. That was the true face of Amora and the primary reason why so many people over the centuries loved her. Once you got past the amount of sex she had and caused to happen you got a diehard utilitarian, a person who tries her best to make everybody happy.
"Pray to Ishtar while on your back you mean," Lila said giving a tentative smile. There was a moment's silence and then Amora burst out laughing.
"There are many positions from which I worship our Lady Ishtar," Amora said trying to unsuccessfully stifle her laughter. "On my knees, on my side… in fact why don't I show you how I worship her one day?"
"Maybe another day," Lila said shaking her head at the thought of worship Amora would show her. "By the way may I ask why you haven't prepared for the Exodus? I hope you aren't intending on leaving all these irreplaceable gifts you've accepted throughout the years. While I am aware that you own them, I do not believe you have the right to leave behind such precious treasures to humanity."
"Oh," Amora said raising an eyebrow at the tirade Lila went on. "Oh," she repeated as sudden comprehension hit her. "Don't worry there's no way I'm leaving this behind. The entire temple will go with us."
"What?" Lila said embarrassingly loud. The temple of Ishtar was the second largest temple in the world, exceeded only by that of the White Queen. To actually move the whole temple would have required enormous amounts of preparation as well as huge amounts of time and money. "How?"
"The temple was always built to be relocated," Amora said and with a single gesture a holographic image appeared. A perfect disc on which all the temple grounds sat with a large collection of thrusters and anti-gravity technology beneath the rock on which the temple lay.
"But this temple was built four hundred years ago," Lila said trying to wrap her head around it. "How could you have known?"
"I am a priestess of Ishtar," Amora said with a grin. "Lady Ishtar has informed me about the Exodus since before you were born."
"The gods truly are powerful," Lila said, because what else could she say in that situation. It was an objective truth that even the most powerful mortal General Satsuki by her own admission, was weaker than the White Queen.
"She also told me something else at that time," Amora said and there was a slight hesitation when she said that. "She said that around the time of the Exodus the last of the gods would leave."
"The White Queen's leaving," Lila said, no longer even bothering to hold back her exclamation of surprise. "Wait, how long have you known about this? Why am I only hearing about this now?"
"For a few hundred years," Amora said almost flippantly. "Don't look at me like that," she said at Lila's look of disgust. "There's no point worrying about it. Just relax and let it happen."
"And you don't think that this could have been something that you could have told us so that we could have maybe convinced her," Lila basically spat out.
"So that you could try coercing a god," Amora stated still quite tranquil.
"We wouldn't but we could have… we need her," Lila said trying to phrase her reply in a less sacrilegious way.
"No we don't really," Amora rebutted. "Even without being physically present both Lady Ishtar and Lord Inke manage to help humanity. I have no doubt that Lady Brunestud will be the same."
"I'll have to try and convince her not to go," Lila said firmly. While she could understand Amora's point of view it still would not be in humanity's best interests to retain the White Queen. Technically what she was doing could count as blasphemy but she still had to give it a try.
"If you're so determined then you could try asking those that are closer to her for help," Amora said still reclining in a pose that she probably thought was… no a pose that was definitely arousing.
"Those that are close to her," Lila spoke to herself as she thought furiously. Despite being a descendant of the White Princess she had only met her when she originally was appointed to the Chairman seat twenty-six years ago and the conversation was stinted and formal. Resolve entered her eyes as she realised that the older Inkes as well as some of the Descendants may be able to do a far better job than her.
Suddenly her phone rang up and she glanced towards it to discover she received a new space-time key. These codes were used to break through space-time locks that served as the security for standard teleportation arrays. Lila looked up to see Amora give her the thumbs up.
"Just in case you want to come over and have some fun," Amora said giving her a sultry look. At Lila's flat look she gave her a grin. "Not like that you degenerate. We could watch a movie or something."
Lila sighed shaking her head at the older but also more beautiful woman. Thankfully the arrival of the code also gave her some options with her departure and with a single word she connected to the Standard Earth Teleportation Array and she was gone from the room.
xxx
The next place she arrived at she did have the space-time key for. The Inke compound was sort of a meeting place for any of the other descendants of Kuro Inke, the sole child of Arcueid Brunestud and Shirou Inke, and a portion of money from each and every Inke went monthly in order to pay for the maintenance and expansion of the compound. Normally there would be at least a dozen Inkes, eating, conversing, or enjoying the recreational facilities, but today a brief look at the real time map indicated that there were only two signs of life in the building and only one of them was recorded as an Inke. It was a sobering realisation that the majority of Inkes would probably be the ones on the front lines of the Exodus.
"The diner," Lila spoke out loud before disappearing and reappearing in that location. The sight that she saw made her raise an eyebrow in surprise. Sitting at one of the tables with a large milkshake in his hand and a plate full of streaky bacon in front of him was Dorado Inke, one of the three children of Kuro Inke. If there ever was an Inke that lived up to his name it was Dorado. Gold eyes and flaxen hair and an olive body that boasted incredible musculature. In fact the only not golden thing about him was the white mostly-unbuttoned shirt that he wore and a pair of black leather pants. There was a semi-pervasive rumour in the wider community about Inkes in general having a weak body to offset their greater magical powers and minds but Dorado seemed to mock those rumours.
In fact the reason for those rumours was sitting next with him at the table. Valerie Brunestud was also a child of Arcueid Brunestud, except for the fact that the father was not Shirou Inke but another man. Without the genes of that specific god the offspring were entirely different, forming a clan that was called the Descendants. Nearly all of the descendants boasted incredibly strong bodies and they all had the ability to control nature to some extent, even on other planets. There was generally a rivalry between the two clans, albeit one that only the younger members indulged in. Lila was even slightly embarrassed to admit she had competed furiously against members of the Descendants when she was younger. T
"Lila what are you doing here," Dorado said standing up from the table and gesturing to an empty seat. "Come sit down order something." A sharp whistle and a nearby robot waiter appeared at top speed. "How can I help you?"
Normally an Inke would make excuses if they were seen with a member of the Descendants despite it not being illegal or even openly discouraged. The persistent rivalry, despite being childish, would likely have discouraged any other member of the clan from meeting their friends there let alone the head of the rival clan. Dorado however, was both the patriarch of the clan and was one of the rare people that had lived in the Tulmultous Times. It would be a bold person who tried to judge him.
"You look panicked Lila," Valerie said sipping at her tea. "Did something happen?" Red eyes examined her lazily. The Descendant was rather petite and looked much younger than actual six hundred years. In fact in appearances alone she looked a lot like a mini- Arcueid Brunestud, even if her aura was much weaker. She was dressed in an outfit that could only be described as gothic Lolita and Lila always felt it weird that a descendant of the goddess Brunestud would adorn herself in the fetishware of a stereotypical vampire.
"I was visiting Amora," she started and immediately felt a twinge of annoyance as she saw them both nod as if they understood the situation. She and the High Priestess didn't get along that badly; there was an actual important reason for her to be panicked, dammit. "Amora said that Arcueid Brunestud will soon leave us."
The reaction was instant. Valerie immediately dropped her tea, causing the cup to shatter on the ground and lose its contents, and she checked her ears as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Dorado's reaction wasn't as pronounced. He sat down in his chair and stared down at the table.
"If Amora says it then it's most likely true," he said after a scant few seconds. "I trust you haven't misinterpreted it to mean that she will leave the planet." Lila opened her mouth thinking back to the conversation before. "No you haven't," Dorado said. "Once again the High Priestess wouldn't allow any such misunderstanding to arise. "No what we most probably have is a god returning to the other two of her own free will."
"But why would mom leave now all of a sudden?" Valerie asked.
"It is most likely due to the Exodus," Dorado stated logically. "Either she believes we no longer need her or she has decided that with the Exodus it would be more efficient to watch over us from the Volana realm."
"Are those the only two options," Lila said sceptically.
"No, there could be no correlation between the Exodus and her departure. Events never happen without a reason but there could be hundreds of small reasons or larger ones that could convince her that it is her time to go," Dorado Inke said taking another sip of his milkshake.
"I was hoping to convince her not to leave," Lila said taking a step back as two incredulous faces turned towards her. "I know how that sounds like, but I just feel that humanity will be far weaker without her. Especially as we don't know what's out there in the darkness."
"So you don't believe that humans can handle it," Dorado Inke said picking up a rasher of bacon and crunching it beneath his teeth. Next to him Valerie took another cup of tea from a nearby serving robot, but he eyes never left her as she awaited her answer. Of course when Dorado said human he was referring to the broader designation. For the purposes of the United Earth Organisation 'human' referred to vanilla humans, chaosborn, both the Inke and Descendants clans, any of the above that have modified themselves to the point they are genetically divergent, and any sapient Phantasmal Beasts.
"It isn't that I believe humans can't handle it," Lila started very aware that she was speaking to the patriarch of her clan about their mutual ancestor. "I believe we will be able to handle any threat from the stars in the same way we handed any previous threats with our power, our determination and by spending countless lives," she said ominously. "Before the Vampire Incursion and the fight between Tiamat and Inke there were supposed to be six and a half billion humans but now after the Tumultuous Times and the War of the Eight Aggressors the population doesn't even sit at one sixth of that. The world population is persistently slow to recover these days and I'm scared that another disaster like the ones above could inflict irreparable damage on the remainder of humanity."
"You're pretty sincere," Dorado said with a sigh. "While I will miss the presence of the White Queen, I am not going to try and convince her to stay against her will. Have you thought about maybe asking anybody else to support your crusade?"
"I have considered asking General Satsuki," Lila admitted. The general was not currently on the planet but Lila was sure that she could teleport back for something so important.
"Good idea," Dorado Inke said before he fell silent for a bit. "I can think of a few others that were close to her." At the interested looks of both Valerie and Lila he elaborated. "Both the Agency of Determination and Choice possess leaders that fought with her during the Vampire Incursion. The head of the Emiya Corporation is also familiar with the White Queen from what I remember."
"That is quite a list of names you have there," Lila said after a brief moment of trying to wrap her head around it.
The Agency of Choice and The Agency of Determination were two of the most secretive and mysterious societies on Earth. Established over five hundred years ago, their investors included older members of the Inke and Descendants clans as well as senior members from the three churches and other famous individuals. The organisations remained privately owned to this day and only a few of their members remained publically known. The heads of both of these organisations were not known and the operations are not fully known except for the fact that Choice had something to do with parallel worlds and Determination had something to do with time.
The Emiya Corporation on the other hand were well known to everybody. They were a company that had expanded during the Tumultuous Times, spreading wherever the White Queen walked. While they supplied food and materials during those early unpleasant years, once the Tumultuous Times were over they transitioned into something far bigger. The Immortal Bodies that every human could choose to receive once they had grown tired of having offspring was one of the things they supplied, gaining them huge amounts of goodwill from many human over the age of a hundred and still breathing. The second great invention of the clan was even more incredible. An artificial core was implanted inside a human and that core would sprout pseud-spiritual nerves throughout the entire body that allowed the human to use magic and grew with them. Based on the magical core of a dragon and embedded in much the same way as the magical crests in the olden time, these Crest Wyrms have ensured that one hundred percent of the humans have the ability to use magic.
Of course as a member of the Inke clan she didn't need either the Immortal Bodies or the Crest Wyrms to survive. She was perfectly capable of attaining immortality on her own and the magic circuits she inherited from birth were naturally stronger than those generated from the Crest Wyrms.
"I'll need to set up an interview with them," Lila said mentally calculating the amount of work she would need to do.
"No need," Valerie said putting down her tea as she did so. "I'm friends with the head of the Emiya clan. I can just tell her directly."
"Are you sure," Lila said somewhat hesitantly. The best case scenario would be if she could talk to the head herself. However time didn't permit considering the Exodus was only in five days.
"I can talk to the head of Choice," Dorado said. "We've met a few times in the past and got along reasonably well. Unfortunately the head of Determination and I do not get along." Dorado sighed at the curious looks from the other two. "It's not something I'm going to get into. Her name is Aoko Aozaki and she lives at Falls End," he finished off as he typed something into his phone.
"Huh," Lila said as she received the address from Dorado. "I never really thought that one of the spooks from Determination would live in a tourist town. That's quite a nice location." She returned her phone to her pocket. "I'll go see her after I've contacted General Satsuki."
"Good luck," Valerie said saluting her before she disappeared from the room.
"She even has the space-time code for the Inke compound," Lila said looking at Dorado who didn't avert his eyes at all.
"The code's only valid for five more days and the number of Inkes on this planet is in the single digits already," Dorado said finishing off his plate of bacon. "We've always had the bad habit of going to the most exciting places," he said with a nostalgic smile. "Arcueid Brunestud was spotted in Winterwood city recently. I'll probably see you there then. Good luck."
Lila Inke walked out of an empty room. She flicked through her list of contacts. Fortunately General Satsuki was employed by the United Earth Organisation and thus she had some means of communicating with her when necessary. She had spoken to her a few times and the woman was mostly brusque and a bit standoffish with her.
Flipping through her phone until she got to the number in question she barely hesitated before tapping the number and dropping her phone to the floor. Stepping backwards she watched as her phone stopped inches before the ground and hovered. A standard dialling noise appeared before a light shone from the phone showing a woman with maroon hair and blood red eyes. Her hair was shoulder length and that combined with the incredibly sharp black business suit she was wearing gave her the impression of overwhelming formality. This was General Satsuki's second in command and a legend in her own right Lieutenant General Bazett.
"Lila Inke," she said inclining her head slightly in respect. "May I ask why you have called, Mam?"
"I hoped to discuss something with General Satsuki," Lila started before the thought struck her. "Excuse me for asking but how well are you connected with the White Queen."
"Arcueid Brunestud," Bazett said slowly. "I have met her a few times but if you want somebody who is intimately familiar with her then you were right to call Satsuki. Unfortunately she is sleeping at the moment. How time critical is this?"
"I'm not sure," Lila started. "I heard from Amora that Lady Brunestud will soon be leaving."
"A god bestowed prophecy I suppose," Bazett said. "Amora's information normally checks out. I'll wake up Satsuki." Without an instant's pause she disappeared and Lila once again realised that she was moving far too fast for her eyes to track.
"I really need to do some training or improve my magic or something after the Exodus," Lila said to herself. It was very easy to forget the sheer power of those that had lived through the last eight hundred and fifty years. She was by no means weak but the distance between merely above the average and strong was a massive gulf and none of the people that she had been talking to recently could just be described as strong.
"Arc's leaving!" these words came from somewhere offscreen and a brown haired young-looking woman dressed in black trenchcoat over a military uniform decked out in medals appeared in the hologram from seemingly nowhere.
"Explain," she commanded with arms crossed, staring dispassionately at the younger Inke.
Hearing her words Lila immediately began to break into a long explanation. While in theory she was actually her employer, rank had very little to do with anything when your conversant was General Satsuki, the Aristoteles killer and the strongest human on Earth. General Satsuki listened to her, not interrupting the entire time as she told of her visit to Amora and to the Inke compound. After the explanation the General stood there for a short while digesting the information.
"Bazett, we're returning to Earth," Satsuki called out to the offscreen vampire.
"Really," Bazett said as the hologram expanded to include the vampire that was walking towards them. "You realise its multiple light years between Earth and us." The vampire was correct to sound disbelieving. Teleporting without an array was one of the hardest things to do and there was no array between that quadrant of space and Earth. Not even taking into account the toll that the distance would take on a person's body. Just accurately calculating the exact location would be nearly impossible. Maybe she could ask for guidance from Lord Inke. It was an open secret that the god of magic had a hand in the creation of the teleportation systems.
"Of course," Satsuki said, responding with a smirk that Lila found weird on the normally serious woman's face.
"That's going to be a pretty rough ride," Bazett said shaking her head. "Thank you for telling us," she said turning to Lila. "Goodbye."
"Wait," Lila said, but she was speaking to the empty compound. "I wanted to ask you to convince her to stay."
Sighing Lila raised her hand and the phone came to it before she pocketed it. Her next stop was Aozaki Aoko, the head of the mysterious Agency of Determination. She felt the connection to the Earth Spatial transportation establish seconds before she too disappeared from the compound.
xxx
Falls End could best be described as the tourism capital of the Asian Continent. The place was famed as the battlefield that Type Jupiter was defeated and a thriving tourism industry grew around it. She had grown up listening to stories about the legendary battle. Apparently General Satsuki had launched the blow that had crushed it but the Aristoteles refused to go gently and tried to detonate itself. It was at that point that Lady Brunestud launched the creature into orbit forcing it to go critical in the Exosphere and saving the surrounding areas. In appreciation a large statue of both General Satsuki and Arcueid Brunestud were built.
"Have a nice day Madam Chairman," a fresh faced youngster that looked barely out of his sixties said to her. She smiled back at him. It was rather nice to be looked up to after the day she's had. Despite her relatively low level of power she did occupy a rather esteemed position; and her power was not low, she was above average.
She took back her passport and double-checked the address on her phone confirming the closest route to her destination. Falls End was quite a party town and stood in stark contrast to the other places that she visited today in that there were actually people there, if in fewer numbers. Revellers littered the streets flitting from one venue of entertainment to the next. Of course any of the celebrators that came for the museums and other places of culture would be disappointed. All items deemed of an irreplaceable cultural significance were already taken.
Lila walked past another group of youths who offered her some alcoholic beverage and she sighed as she remembered that these festivities of this place would be gone within five days. Still the decision was made and all humanity chose to abide by it. It is quite a sobering thought to have your own planet cry for your death and despite their proven ability to subjugate it the collective surviving humans just decided to leave.
Her melancholy filled thoughts distracted her so much that she barely recognized that she had arrived at the location. At first glance the house looked much the same as any of the other houses; a pearly white exterior with blue non-reflective windows and a decorative wooden door. However as she looked closer the house began to look more and more suspicious. No bounded field existed around the house; which was normal in a city like Falls End. The house was well maintained and had no visible damage and there were no ornaments. Despite looking at the house she couldn't for the life of her determine what made it so disquieting.
"It's a curse," the voice of a female said from next to her and Lila almost jumped out of her skin as she saw a red-haired beautiful woman next to her dressed in blue jeans and a white t-shirt. "The curse beguiles anybody who is looking for me to continue observing the house. Trapped like flies in honey I will then come and interrogate them. However in this case it would be pointless." The lady smiled. "Hello Lila Inke. I believe you have been looking for me."
"Are you Aoko Aozaki," Lila said guardedly.
"That is the name my parents gave me," she said turning around and walking to a nearby house. "Come in and have a cup of tea.
"You own this house," Lila said as she entered a fairly standard room except for the above average amounts of clocks showing different times. There were also a handful of screens dotted throughout the room with a specific number of years and days counting down. Lila inspected a few of them before moving to catch up with Aoko.
"So you own this building as well," Lila said making conversation.
"I own all the buildings within this block," Aoko said leading her into a dining room dominated by a large antique table with intricate carvings. The table was far too large to be for one person and Lila wondered if this was used as a meeting place for The Agency of Determination.
"I'm afraid The Agency of Determination has a membership of one," Aoko said once more accurately predicting Lila's thoughts. "When I'm in need of more help I just perform the servant summoning ritual."
"What?" Lila said as she stared in disbelief. The servant summoning ritual was a notorious ritual from before the Tumultuous Times. The only surviving knowledge about it was from a hand written journal from Lord Inke himself. While servants were not as undefeatable as before the cataclysm due to the vastly increased strength of present humanity, their Noble Phantasms that represented the best of mankind was enough that only the supremely confident would ever attempt to fight them, and hence due to the danger all servant summoning were strictly controlled. Still that wasn't the only reason that they weren't summoned. The prana costs of their upkeep were prohibitive and so only a few non-combat servants had actually been ever summoned and mantained; the most famous among them was William Shakespeare who maintained a constant existence at Dragons Blood city, beguiling people of all ages with his works, both new and old.
Lila was snapped out of her thoughts by the arrival of another basic serving robot carrying two cups of steaming hot tea. Lila tentatively sipped at her cup and was surprised to find that the tea was made exactly to her specifications. Either this Aoko was very good at guessing or she somehow knew the exact way that she liked her tea. Eying up the head of Determination she tried to get take her measure only to be treated by a smile and a knowing wink from the woman opposite the table.
"There's no need to panic," she said taking a gulp of her tea. "We still have plenty of time before the event."
"What event?" Lila said leaning forward trying to understand what the woman was saying.
"The event," Aoko said putting down her cup. "The very one that you've come to tell me about; the event where the last of the gods will leave Earth."
"You know about it?" Lila said asking an obvious question. She was aware that Amora occasionally gave accurate prophecies but she had no idea that The Agency of Determination also had the ability to predict the future. She didn't even know anything about the organisation today. Unusual times really do bring knowledge into one's grasp.
"Do you have any way to stop it?" Lila asked bluntly.
"Why are you so focused on stopping it," Aoko said putting down her tea. "Arcueid has already saved and aided humanity for over eight hundred years. It was already predetermined eight hundred years ago that she would reunite with Shirou and Ishtar. By the way if you are planning on stopping her then you better work fast. She will only be on this world for another forty-eight minutes and twenty-three seconds."
"What?" Lila said nearly spitting out her own tea, before swallowing it and causing the piping hot liquid to scald her throat. She uttered a few mystical words and felt a soothing release from the burnt flesh as she used this time to get her thoughts into action. "Are you sure?"
"Being sure of the time of events is my job," Aoko said still smiling. "Well one of my jobs. I do a lot of things."
Lila didn't even hear her as she immediately teleported from the room… or attempted to at least. A raw space-time barrier with very little of the cushioning effect some houses employed hit her and she collapsed to the ground bleeding from multiple orifices. Prana automatically began circling in her body and in a couple seconds she was healed.
"Let me go," she yelled at the red headed woman who was staring at her. "I need to go now."
Suddenly without any warning her former conversant threw a punch. In sheer surprise she barely managed to throw up a half formed shield which the much stronger woman crashed through like air before her fist buried itself in her solar plexus and she once more hit the ground.
"Geez calm down," Aoko Aozaki said looking at the downed woman beneath her. "I didn't even hit you that hard but if you keep trying to break my ST-lock I can give you a fiercer tap. Relax now, time is on our side. Now if I let you up, can you try and be sensible and calm and responsible and all the other things befitting of the chairman of the largest conglomeration of special interest groups on earth."
"I'm okay," Lila said hobbling to her feet unsteadily. While Aoko may have called it a mild tap it didn't erase the fact that she could taste blood in her mouth and bile in her throat. Prana surged throughout her body healing her and she could feel bruises on her skin and internal organs start to fade away. "I'm okay now, could you please let me out."
Aoko looked at her sceptically up and down before sighing and whistling. As soon as the high pitched sound hit her ears Lila felt a slight disturbance that she was only conscious of in its absence; that of the space-time lock dissipating. With barely a seconds warning she disappeared from the room before the red-haired woman's eyes.
"Young people these days," Aoko said smiling faintly as she sat down and accepted another cup of tea from the serving robot.
xxx
If you were to ask your average human off the street what the most holy, sacred city in the world was they would most likely answer with an immediate Winterwood. The city was the only place in the world in which all three gods alledgedly stayed at a single time as well as the place where Lady Ishtar defeated the Beast of Gaia and Lord Inke fought against the Mother of Dragons. This was the place in which Lady Brunestud also became known as she killed the scorpion monster and saved the rest of the humans. Even as civilisation almost collapsed under the weight of the casualties, the threat of the monsters spawned by Tiamat, the natural disasters caused by the gods presence in the world and the subsequent starvation as farming and fishing stocks dwindled to pitiful levels; Winterwood city stood strong. Protected by the goddess and blessed by her, rebuilding started immediately and the first things to be rebuilt were temples dedicated to Lady Brunestud, Lady Ishtar and Lorde Inke.
Appearing on the empty snow-covered streets of Winterwood Lila Inke appeared and then stumbled at the landing, swaying on her feet before she caught herself. Her face was noticeably flushed and she took deep breaths trying to stop the shaking in her body.
"Never again," she said to herself. "Don't teleport when disorientated. Augh, it feels like I've been hit by a train. "That woman has far too much arm strength."
"You should have rolled with the punch," a familiar voice hit Lila's ears and the Inke whirled around and saw the woman that had given her a thrashing leaning against a lamppost in a winter jacket, a scarf and a beanie and sipping from a mug of what looked to be hot cocoa. "You're quite fragile for an Inke, have you thought about hitting the gym?"
"How did you get here," Lila shouted in amazement at the other woman. She had teleported before her and yet the redhead had somehow left afterwards and arrived before. "And I'm not weak."
"Not for an ordinary person but for an Inke you might as well be an infant," Aoko said as she put down the mug of hot cocoa on the side of the road. "I've been here for five minutes already," she said with a wink causing Lila to splutter at the implications. "By the way I hardly believe I need to remind that Arcueid Brunestud is here."
Her nonchalant tone snapped Lila Inke out of her confusion. Without a single doubt Lady Brunestud was in this city. The last god of Earth had an aura that was so powerful that it acted as a physical force. The mere presence of Lady Brunestud made the entire world feel more stable as if the texture of the world was being held together by the will of the last goddess. That impossible sensation was an announcement that the target of her search was right there.
Lila focused on the feeling and hastily moved towards the source. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, Dorado Inke appeared in front of her with another woman; hopefully the head of The Agency of Choice. The woman had long black hair that flowed down past her shoulders and bright blue eyes that looked in an almost haughty manner at Lila before she turned towards the location of Lady Brunestud.
"Your teleportation is as impeccable as ever Rin," Dorado said smiling at the woman.
"Please call me Miss Tohsaka, Mr Inke," the lady named Rin said with a bit of frost in her voice. "You do realise that I can Aoko over there and the only reason she isn't punching you is due to the fact that I'm here." She leaned towards Lila's ancestor and she saw a bit of sweat appear on the usually cheerful man's forehead. "Don't push me," she warned.
"No, mam," Dorado said instantly. Rin turned and looked briefly at Lila giving a nod of acknowledgement before giving a friendly wave towards Aoko and heading off in the direction of Lady Brunestud causing both Lila and Dorado to follow.
"Who else have you invited over," Rin said as the two caught up to her.
"Valerie, Emiya, Sa…" Dorado began.
"Satsuki," Rin finished cutting him off as she pointed towards the skies. High above them they watched in stunned silence as a tiny dot grew and transformed into some eldritch horror many kilometres in length with a surplus of wings and eyes. A crack to the right and suddenly Bazett was there, the solid stone street cracked under the force of her abrupt descent.
"Wait," Rin said as she looked up into the sky at the collosal beast that was now shrinking. "No don't…"
Lila would never hear what she said next as the beast disappeared and a small dot dropped like a stone towards the Winterwood roads. The next seconds were a chaotic maelstrom of sound and colour and Lila was knocked off her feet by a shockwave. Climbing to her feet she was treated to the extremely rare sight of that girl Rin tearing strips out of the esteemed General Satsuki.
"Wow that's not something you see every day," Lady Brunestud said as she stepped into the street as if appearing from nothingness; Lila couldn't even begin to glean whether her presence was due to teleportation or simply fast movement. Her waist long blonde hair and her scarlet eyes easily identified her as the progenitor of the Brunestud family and she was dressed in a regal looking white gown. Her overwhelming presence almost brought Lila to her knees before she smiled and her presence abated. "There are a lot of people here to see me," Lady Brunestud said. "It's not even my birthday."
Suddenly Valerie Bruenestud appeared in the middle of the street shaking her head from the teleportation. She looked as if she had run a bit and she focused on Lila immediately.
"Bad news," she began. "The Emiya house is empty I couldn't find any of them. Even the Chaosborn are gone."
"They have already joined the Exodus," a voice of pure power sounded out in the crowded street and Lila looked to see a Chaosborn atop a nearby roof. "Those two came to visit Arcueid and say goodbye about a week back. They should be with Expedition Delta right now."
"You could always call them back if you want," Arcueid suggested. "Although from what I've heard that teleportation is a bit rough."
"That teleportation is fucking brutal," General Satsuki echoed. "While those two are both pretty tough I also wouldn't come back lightly."
"Come back," Arcueid mirrored. "Yes, you left the planet. Why are you back?"
"Grandma Arcueid you haven't left yet," Valerie said.
"Leave," Arcueid said with a genuinely baffled tone. "I hadn't had any particular thoughts of leaving."
That sentence contained a lot of power for something so small and Lila immediately felt the tension drain out of her. She didn't want to leave. She can relax now. She was going to kill Amora.
"Don't count your chickens," General Satsuki said putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked like she was going to speak further, but then she stopped and spun on her heel towards a point in space and Lady Brunestud joined in inspecting that spot. A wave of pure mana exploded from that location and General Satsuki stepped forward a step preventing her from being blown away by the unreal amount of energy emanating from what felt like a tear in space. Suddenly the prana died completely and Lila had millisecond to realise that there were two figures standing there before she was hit by the combined force of at the level of Lady Brunestud and she blacked out.
She felt sudden violent movement and Lila eyes snapped open to see the face of General Satsuki vigorously shaking her. Without a word General Satsuki turned her head and pointed towards the scene where the two figures stood and Lila's eyes widened as she felt their auras and instantly realised just what they were. The male had flaming red hair and piercing brown eyes with a hint of scales to his uncovered skin which somehow gave him a more exotic appearance. He was dressed in a white trench coat with a black shirt and pants beneath it, something slightly weird but still utterly mundane for somebody of his station. The woman on the other hand was just flat out the most beautiful person she had ever seen and that included her own high priestess. She was dressed in clothing barely less revealing than Amora, namely a loincloth and bikini top but she was adorned in gold decorations throughout her body.
Suddenly Arcueid moved although to Lila's eyes she may as well have teleported and there was a brief instant in which everything went black and quiet after which she saw the Lady Brunestud withdraw her fist from Lord Inke's face.
"That's eight hundred and fifty years of rage," Lady Brunestud said and Lila could detect a far different emotion beneath that layer of anger.
"I'll gladly receive it," the god said with a smile. In actuality it seemed very little damage, if any, had been done to him. "Just avoid releasing that anger against the planet or I might have to compose a requiem for Gaia. Hello everybody it's good to see you again."
What was the correct thing to say to a god who hadn't been seen on the planet for eight hundred and fifty years? Any thoughts about even speaking up faded as she once again realised how utterly unqualified that she was for the current situation. The head of the Inke and Brunestud clans were the only people who hadn't been present when Lord Inke and Lady Ishtar were still there. Suddenly it became less of an attempt to prevent the last goddess from leaving the world and more of a reunion between comrades that haven't seen each other for the longest of times. Lila was suddenly struck by a thought like a lightning bolt. This entire set of events that caused her to send all these people here was probably coordinated by one of the gods as a means of gathering all their old companions. A twist of his head and suddenly Lila was looking into the deep brown eyes of Lord Inke who smiled and gave her a wink.
While some might have felt angry to be manipulated in that way, Lila could not care less at that moment. Ishtar the goddess of the Heavens, Brunestud the goddess of the Earth and Inke the god of the Water were all standing in front of her. This monumental occasion was helped in some small way by her actions and she felt proud for doing her part.
"It's good to see you all again," Lady Ishtar spoke up her voice sultry and warm causing pleasant shivers to climb up the collective spines of everybody there. "While Volana is a nice place it is good to once again see our living friends."
"Volana actually exists," General Satsuki said, casually blaspheming.
"I personally had tea with the Tohno family a few iterations ago," Lord Inke said and there was something about his voice far different and truer than the seductive voice of Lady Ishtar or the powerful voice of Lady Brunestud. "Volana is a place that exists somewhere before the root where those who are yet unwilling to reincarnate are able to live out a few eternities. Nine is there also, as is Kiritsugu and so are many of the servants that died in the grail war and even some of the Dead Apostle Ancestors." He looked towards Satsuki as he said it and Lila was surprised to see the look of sheer shock on her face.
"It's a very lovely place," Lady Ishtar said to Lady Brunestud. "We'd love to show it to you."
To her credit Lady Brunestud looked extremely reluctant. She looked around at the various people before her eyes lingered on Valerie.
"I've missed you," she said. "I've missed both of you so much. You would think that over eight hundred years I would forget about you, but I never have, but I'm not sure I can leave the humans. You left because you had to and you charged me to protect the humans, but I started to love them and in turn they love me. What kind of goddess would I be if I abandoned them here?" Far from being upset or angry about her response both Lord Inke and Lady Ishtar smiled.
"Arcueid look at those around you," Lorde Inke said. "I've assembled a group of people who have more than enough power to protect humanity in your stead. That's not the only thing; Ishtar initiated a prophecy with her high priest that managed to bring them all here for this meeting. I myself often send out guardians from Volana to act in my stead whenever I deem it absolutely necessary. There will still be opportunities to guide humanity even in Volana."
"Besides you won't be able to stay on this world for much longer," Lord Inke said. "When humanity leaves the collective consciousness that held back the other textures of the world will collapse and this world will end up very different. While you could easily travel to another planet with some subsect of humanity your presence will immediately be contested by the other various communities. Many humans will be beyond your help limited by the confines of a single planet at a time. Arcueid as your friend I'm asking you to come with me."
The goddess of the Waters stretched out his hand to the goddess but she didn't take it, instead leaping into his embrace and giving him a hug. They stayed like that for a moment before they parted and Lady Ishtar watched the entire time with a radiant smile upon his face.
"Okay Shirou lets go," Lady Brunestud said her elegant looks contrasted by an eager smile upon her face.
"In a moment," Lorde Inke said giving a dazzling smile. "I've come all this way here I might as well spend a few words before I have to go. I'm not going to drag this on. My presence here hastens the eventual collapse. It was a pleasure to know all of you and the time that I had with each one of you has been too short. I will await you again in Volana although I don't see myself meeting any of you again soon. If you keep as you are you will bring prosperity to humans. All of you," he said and for a moment he was staring directly at Lila, his brown eyes boring deep into his soul. "It will not be easy but then if it was easy then anybody could do it."
"I'll miss all of you," Lord Brunestud said bending slightly and giving Valerie, her daughter, a hug. "It's people like you that make the other humans worthwhile. That inspires them to do their best. I'm truly better for knowing all of you."
"Don't forget to have fun while doing it," Lady Ishtar threw in. "A life without pleasure is just meaningless and sad. Love is also pretty great if you find time for it."
"You're going to have to alter some of the quotes a bit," Lord Inke said with a grin that brightened the area. "But you have a lot of time in which to do so; something we do not have," he said as he reached towards the air in his side and with his bare hands he tore space open revealing paradise. With an almost anti-climactic exit the last gods exited the world and humanity was left alone but not unprepared.
Author Note: Welcome to the last chapter of White Ink. This was a chapter that had been planned since way before the start of the Grail War. I have literally nothing more to say. It's pretty weird to know that I won't be touching this story again.
Thank you for everybody who supported me in this story.
Kind Regards
Acausal Trilby