The Summit.

The news that Chaldea's fate would be decided by the summit with the other leaders spread out amongst the Servants, creating tension between them and the members of the Factions, particularly with Marth and Flora.

Some of them were preparing for the worst, investigating areas where they could go to continue reparations to the Border, while others were preparing Ritsuka to better face the other leaders. They had the support of the leaders of the Japanese one, but the others were a mystery.

Ritsuka had tried to find out more about them as best as he could, but even from Marth and Flora he got very little information, which just served to increase his stress as the 3 days went by quickly. Finally, on the promised day, Ritsuka found himself in his room alongside Mashu and Da Vinci.

"I hear that the others leaders are already here" - the Rider said as she sat down on the floor and closed her eyes - "They went straight to Maria, so I couldn't get a good view of them" -

"So it's time…" -

"Senpai, if you're not feeling like doing this alone, then maybe we can go with you and…" -

"I'm sorry, but that won't be possible" - Flora said as she manifested from a bolt of lightning inside Ritsuka's room - "Mother wants him to be the only member in the summit, unless she calls for someone else" -

"Why exactly? Why is that so important for her?" - Mashu questioned her.

"Simply Mother's demands, you can bring it up to her if you so desire" - the girl answered before turning to look at Ritsuka - "We're waiting for you" -

And with that, the girl left. Ritsuka let out a sigh before getting up from the bed and walking towards the door, saying one last thing to Mashu and Da Vinci - "Wish me luck"

"Always Senpai" -

Ritsuka then left, wandering the halls of the Diet Building that, while other days were brimming with life, today were empty. Not a single soul wandered said halls.

All of the sudden, a small blue flame appeared in front of him and circled him before directing him to his location, the representatives chamber. Taking a deep breath, the boy followed the small flame to said location, not too far away from where he was.

Once there, his hand reached for the door and opened it, finding himself inside a dark room, with the small flame directing him to the only part of the room that had any sort of light, a small podium in the middle.

Once there, another light lit up a few meters in front and above him. There, Maria sat, watching him closely.

"Now, let the summit of the Factions begin!" - her voice echoed throughout the room - "Ritsuka Fujimaru, are you ready?" -

The boy closed his eyes for a moment, and then stared at her, full of determination - "I am" -

Maria smiled at him - "Good. Now, let us introduce those that shall be your judges" - with a wave of her hand, 5 more lights shone on 5 podiums.

"The leaders of the Japanese Faction, the Twins of Flame and Thunder, Marth and Flora!" -

Both of them then appeared in the first podium, Marth in a burst of flames and Flora in a lighting bolt.

"The leader of the Chinese Faction, the God-Slaying Abyss, Sting!" -

In the second podium, from the ground emerged a figure that looked like it was made from water, only to then turn into a beautiful girl with long blue hair to her waist and golden eyes.

"The leader of the Egyptian Faction, the Explosive Canon, Syon!" -

In the third podium, the ground erupted with lava, and once it subsided, out of it came a boy with black spiky hair and pink eyes, just like Marth and Flora.

"The leader of the Greek Faction, the Eternal Storm, Damien!" -

In the fourth podium, a small wind quickly turned into a tornado, out of which came a boy with light blue hair with white strands and black eyes.

"The leader of the Norse Faction, the Cosmic Prodigee, Arkadi!" -

In the fifth podium, a small dark portal, similar to a black hole, opened, and out of it walked a girl with short orange hair to her shoulders and eyes of the same color.

The leaders then focused themselves on Fujimaru, who simply made a small reverence at all of them in sign of respect.

"Mother" - Sting was the first to speak - "Is this the Master of Chaldea?" -

"Indeed, why the question" -

The girl extended her hand and from below Ritsuka, water began to rise until it reached his head - "I expected him to be taller and… More imposing" -

"Charming as ever Sting" - Marth said, and the girl turned her eyes towards him.

"Marth, it's been a while since I last saw you. I hope you're keeping yourself in shape, since I thought we could do some catching up while I'm here" -

"Plan your personal life later, we need to decide first what to do with him" - Arkadi interrupted them.

"Of course, of course" - Marth said as he regained his composure - "In any other case, I doubt such a meeting would be required, but the circumstances on this one are… Different" -

"So it's true then?" - Damien asked.

"It is. Chaldea has the support of many heroes, which for us, have been long dead. Not only that, but they have recruited several Gods into their ranks as well" - Flora explained the situation to the other leaders.

"Huh, that explains it then" -

"Explain what?" - Ritsuka said after Sting's comment.

"Since I saw you, I felt a bit of godly energy come out of your body. I thought it was yours, but this makes more sense" -

Syon then turned to look at Marth and Flora - "Taking them in the Faction was reckless, especially knowing that about them" -

"Your cousin's right, you two know well what happened last time when a God was left unchecked inside one of our Factions. I know you said you struck a deal with them, but that's hardly a guarantee" - Arkadi said afterwards.

"Wait, you mentioned a last time? What happened?" -

All of them turned to look at Ritsuka, before Sting spoke.

"Years ago, the Goddess Nuwa came to the Council seeking refuge. Mother accepted, and with her addition came the birth of the Chinese Faction. Nuwa made a lot of promises, but by the end fulfilled none of them. During an attack of Chaos, she suddenly disappeared without a trace, and left us to fend off an attack from a horde we barely had the numbers to withstand. We managed to make it out at the end, but… We lost so many that day…" -

The room fell silent as she explained. The other members knew the story, something which did nothing but increase the hatred and distrust that the Council of Lucifer had for the Gods.

"Since then, a God joining the Council has to be monitored by Mother at all times to ensure nothing like that ever happens again, and at the first sign of rebellion or betrayal, we're given the orders to kill them on sight. You wouldn't believe how many Gods refused to follow Mother's rules" -

"That's… I'm sorry that happened, and I can understand your doubts, but I can assure you that Chaldea's…" -

"Gods are fickle creatures Fujimaru, one cannot trust what they'll do next. We've seen firsthand that their words are worthless" - Damien interrupted him.

"Before we continue" - Syon got everyone's attention - "I wanted to ask, what Gods are in your ranks?" -

A question none of them were expecting. Ritsuka decided to answer with the truth, as there was no point in hiding stuff.

"Some of the ones that work with me are Ishtar, Ereshkigal, Skadi, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, Kama, Arjuna, Karma…" -

His words were interrupted by a feeling of dread. Looking at his judges, he saw Sting, Damien and Arkadi emitting their auras as they stared at the boy.

"Ishtar… And Ereshkigal?" -

"Those two… Two of our most hated enemies…" -

"And they're working with you!?" -

"Settle down!" - a loud scream was heard before anything else could happen. Maria, from above, managed to calm down the 3 of them.

"I know everyone's feelings for the pair" - Marth spoke afterwards - "However, I've seen this Ishtar firsthand, she helped us fend off the attack from our Ishtar" -

"Ishtar working alongside you? I find it hard to believe" - Syon said soon after.

"It's true, I can summon her if you want to see her" - Ritsuka said, gaining an interested look from all of them.

"Is that so?" - Sting asked, with a mixture of curiosity and animosity - "Bring her, I want to see her in person" -

Ritsuka then made his Command Seals shine, and next to him, Ishtar appeared in a second.

"I'm here, what's the matter Master?" - the Archer asked, before turning her eyes and seeing the leaders all staring at her, all confused minus Marth and Flora.

"So this… This is the fearsome Ishtar, the woman that destroyed countless armies from the Council. One of the most feared generals of Chaos…" -

"Hey! Don't compare me to that cheap copy that we fought a while back! She lacks my charm and my good looks" - Ishtar spoke, leaving the leaders in silence.

Then, it was suddenly broken by Syon, with a small chuckle.

"She's better than the Ishtar we know, that's for sure" -

"I'll give it to her, she's not as unbearable as that bitch" - Sting followed with her own comment - "But still, I remain with some doubts" -

"So do I" - Arkadi said - "I admit that seeing an Ishtar that doesn't want to kill us on sight is a welcome surprise, but we still have no guarantee. A simple deal isn't enough" -

Marth stopped to think for a few seconds before deciding - "Well then, what about a binding curse?" -

"A binding curse?" - Ishtar asked.

"A simple way to enforce our alliance, and to ensure nothing bad happens. Marth would bind his soul to Ritsuka's, in a way that your Master can't do anything that goes against the interests of the Council. If he does, we'll immediately know" - Flora explained.

"Sounds like a good idea to me" - Maria said - "Then, how about we put it to a vote? Those who agree with placing the binding curse on him, raise your hands" -

All 6 of them raised it. Despite Sting, Damien and Arkadi not trusting the Gods under Chaldea's care, they knew thanks to Maria that they were bound to Ritsuka, and thus if they kept him in check, then the others would be as well.

"An unanimous decision then. Marth, do it now" -

The boy nodded after the order and went down in front of Ritsuka, placing his hand over his head and igniting a small purple flame without saying a word. All of the sudden, Ritsuka felt a surge of heat through his body.

"Once you've proven that you and Chaldea can be trusted, the curse will be removed" - Marth said - "Until then, this is a necessary measure" -

Ritsuka nodded, then felt something strange in his hand, a small burn. Looking at it, he noticed how his Command Seal now had a small chain wrapped around it, a sign of the binding curse.

The leaders made their choice, and it was final.