I wanted to thank the people who decided to stick with this to the end. It took much longer than I would've liked in order to finish this.
Lancer ducked as several of those throwing spikes aimed for his head. Each hit the wall behind the man with a small blast of rocky debris. He then charged forward and thrust his spear at Arius Nova. The large tiger didn't move, as if he was going to allow Lancer's attack to hit. But then three thick spikes of rose-pink crystal rose up tightly clustered together in front of the monster, completely absorbing the attack.
"Tch!" Then Lancer had to jump back as several other spikes struck at him from the base of the crystals. This was done all in the blink of an eye.
Arius Nova slammed a paw down on the ground, several of those spiked pillars rising out of the ground, making a path to Lancer. He soared over the spikes that threatened to run him through, striking at the injured flesh of Arius Nova's left wing. The tip of the spear, red mana blazing, made the previous wound even deeper, deep enough to sever the entire limb. Lancer landed behind the tiger, smirking. Blood was spraying out of the stump, the severed wing hitting the ground hard enough to make the earth quake. Arius Nova was howling his head off in pain. It was loud enough to make a human go deaf for the day.
Before, even the Three Knight Classes working together couldn't take down the monster. How, then, is Lancer able to stand against Arius Nova alone? The culmination of wounds on the tiger are slowing the beast down, allowing Lancer to easily catch up with him.
The crystals shattered and then Arius Nova swung his tail like a whip at Lancer. It hit him hard enough to make his feet leave the ground and fly back, his head going for a cavern wall. But he was grinning. He flipped around at the last possible second, his feet now aimed at the wall. He landed on it before jumping off it, using the wall to propel himself even further forward. His feet hit the ground and he was sprinting at the monster.
Small spikes of rose-pink crystal materialized in the air over Arius Nova's head, all pointed at Lancer. They shot at him rapidly. About 10 were fired, but a barrier of strong winds from Lancer deflected each one.
Arius Nova's head was thrown back as he roared, loud enough to shake the cavern. Nothing was happening right then. But instinct made Lancer jump back a little. It was the right call, as one of those pillars of crystal sprung up from the ground where the Servant just was. If he hadn't moved, it would have impaled him.
And then Lancer had to move to his left as another spike rose up from the ground and tried to impale him. And an instant later, he had to lean back. A spike came up from the ground in front of him. But this one came up diagonally, going for Lancer's head. He quickly sliced off half of it and jumped over the remainder. Where he had just been standing, three more spikes sprang up.
"Damn, these things are gettin' annoyin'," Lancer grumbled. He was now sprinting towards the mound, spikes quickly coming up behind him, following the man.
"I won't let you get away!" Arius Nova shouted. Several small spikes materialized over Lancer's head. As they came down at the man, he smirked. He ran in a zig-zag to evade them all then jumped to his left to avoid the spikes coming out of the ground. They stopped going for the Servant. Then a shadow suddenly covered him and his red eyes widened and he looked up. Arius Nova had pounced and was now aiming to come down on top of Lancer. The man hopped back to avoid being crushed, but several thick spikes of rose-pink crystal sprang up from the ground around Arius Nova's massive paws. While he was leaning back slightly, one speared Lancer through his left shoulder, holding the man there, long enough for Arius Nova to create another mess of spikes, starting from the base of the crystal that impaled Lancer.
The spikes took no time at all to skewer the demigod. One went through his left thigh. Another speared his right wrist, making him release Gae Bolg. Another went through his other shoulder. One went through his right foot. Two crossed in an X, holding either side of Lancer's left forearm. Several impaled him through the torso. One that had gone through his side was close enough to the edge of his hip that the skin tore. And a last one tried to go through his neck. Lancer managed to lean his head to his left just in time, but it still cut his neck deeply. And one cut through his top right bicep.
He tried to cough several times, trying not to choke on the blood that filled his mouth, but he couldn't. Not good. Many of the spikes going through his chest went through the Servant's right lung. One spike tried to go through his heart, but it missed. Instead, it punctured his left lung. The inside of his chest felt like it was on fire.
In his haze of pain, he saw the large white paw hover over the top of the spikes going through Lancer. He let the blood spill out of his opened mouth, hoping it would be enough to keep the liquid from going down his airway.
"Die!" the tiger roared. Lancer bit his bottom lip as the paw came down, bracing himself for the pain involved in what he was going to do next. He strained against the spikes holding him, breaking them in an instant. And he jumped back just as the paw was about to crush him, it sending up a dust of pink as it demolished the spikes.
Lancer almost fell down to the ground. He couldn't breathe. And his chest felt like it was full of burning coals. The pain would be enough to make a normal human pass out or even go into shock. The man traced a few runes on his chest. They looked to sink into his body. They would use some of his mana to create something like a version of his lungs. They would function like them, filtering the air that went into his bloodstream. But he would still be in a world of pain. And that would sap him of most of his endurance. So he wouldn't be able to put up with the strain on his body when using Gae Bolg's special ability, namely using it to instantly kill.
Arius Nova roared and more pink crystal spikes appeared in the air. They all fired at once at Lancer. Gae Bolg moved on its own back to Lancer. He grabbed the spear with his left hand right as the projectiles were just about to pierce his skin. A dome of winds knocked them away, each stabbing the ground around him and leaving the Servant untouched.
The man grinned. "Sorry, but unless I don't see ya even once, projectiles like those won't work on me."
"Try to block this!" Arius Nova roared. About a dozen red balls of electricity formed over the beast's head. Due to the fact they explode on impact, his skill can't deflect them. However, if Lancer tried to knock away even one of them with his spear, he would be electrocuted. The balls came at Lancer. He tried to evade each one as it came close to hitting him, but those massive shockwaves of some that hit the ground launched his body into the air. He hit the ground hard on his side.
He recovered fast enough to look up and see the tiger's paw over his head. The man rolled to the side just as it came down, smashing the earth below into rubble. He got up and jumped over Arius Nova, aiming to slice off the other wing. But Arius Nova already anticipated that to be Lancer's next move. The large tail swung up and smacked the spearman in the torso, knocking him back. When he hit the ground, Arius Nova chuckled darkly, his tail swaying side to side in amusement, him succeeding in keeping his final wing attached.
Lancer had to get back up quickly and jump to the side as a spike came up, aiming to go through his body. He then used the foot that hit the ground first to propel himself forward, stabbing at Arius Nova's human-like face. The set of pink-and-white claws came down in front of the beast's face. As the tip of the crimson spear clanged one one of the claws, Arius Nova shifted back and crouched, turning his upper body to his right like he was winding it to spin and held his remaining wing in close to his body, claws facing out. Lancer had a feeling an attack was coming and he jumped back just as Arius Nova spun. One claw cut Lancer over his right temple. This made blood run down the side of his face. He had to blink out some that even tried to get into his eye.
He quickly leapt at the Nova again, trying to sever the wing, but as soon as he got close to the creature, red lightning burst from its body. The blast repelled the incoming attacker with ease and sent Lancer crashing to the ground.
Despite this, Lancer chuckled. "Yer just full of tricks, aren't ya?" Red electricity still crackled around the Nova. He stayed silent, only smirking at the spearman. Lancer got to his feet. "I'll admit you took me by surprise there. But that'll be the last time you get that luxury."
Arius Nova broke his silence, still looking smug. "Oh really?"
Lancer suddenly sensed an incoming attack and jumped to the side. At the same time, something burst from the earth and attempted to wrap themselves around the man, holding him in place, but ended up clinging to nothing. 'Roots?!'
Meanwhile, the electric-covered monstrosity chuckled. "What was that you said about you not being taken by surprise anymore?"
Lancer glared at the enemy. "Tch! Damn you!"
The Nova took a step toward Lancer. "All you have are close range melee attacks. You can't hope to -"
"If you think I'm some one-trick pony, you're wrong!" the man cut in. He still had more tricks up his sleeve. He didn't use them often because he found them to be a pain in the ass and just preferred to stab his enemies to death. But they could be his only way of winning the current battle.
He quickly created the Ansuz rune in the air in front of him. Arius Nova only had a fraction of a second to react to the symbol, only managing to hide his face behind his last set of claws in that amount of time, the gigantic blast of materialized flames rivalling that from a first-rate mage smashing against them. The large fire vastly exceeded the size of the wing and threatened to spill over the sides of the wing and burn the tiger. At least it behaved the same as if colliding with a wall. The flesh at the top was already scorched, but the Nova withstood the pain of what had to be third-degree burns, even though the flesh right there was as durable as that from a Servant, maybe more. Tendrils of the scathing heat were trying to worm their way in between the claws, which were closed as tightly as possible. The spell ended a couple seconds later and the tiger drew the wing away from his face to see the enemy again, but nothing was there. The spearman had vanished!
"Hey, Ugly!"
The Nova looked up, seeing Lancer in the air far above him where his wing couldn't reach. So the fire spell was only a distraction! That must be why it had such a short duration. But what also caught his eye were the cluster of three glowing runes a couple meters over Lancer. The runes vanished and a large, pale blue triangle, the same length and width of Arius Nova, formed in their place. The tiger let out an earth-shattering bellow as the electricity he emitted was sucked up as if by a vacuum into the triangle, ridding him of his shield.
Lancer landed behind Arius Nova. "Never thought I'd use that rune combination." He thrust his spear at the enemy, a beam of fiery red energy being launched from it. "Say farewell to your other wing, ya bastard!"
The Nova, still howling as his lightning was being sucked out, couldn't react in time as the arm of his other wing was severed by the attack after a few seconds of black flesh being cut into. Now he was also howling in pain.
Arius Nova, now without either of his wings, was furious. "Y-You..!"
Crystal spikes suddenly sprouted from the ground in a frenzy. But this time, they were totally red and at least two times bigger than before. Lancer looked around in bewilderment, mostly confused as to why none of the several ones covering the floor of the cavern had gone after him.
Lightning suddenly started being generated by the crystals, forming at the tips. The energy went to Arius Nova. The spell above him tried to absorb the electricity as it went into the Nova, but it soon hit its limit for absorption. The triangle cracked and then shattered like glass, freeing the tiger. While the red glow of killing intent remained, the shield wasn't restored. Arius Nova was too pissed to remember to do that. It turned its head, glaring at Lancer. "You asked me if I have my own wish, right? Well, now I wish for Angra Manyu's rebirth AND your death!"
Massive bolts of crimson lighting were shot at Lancer from the pillars. He jumped up to avoid the initial onslaught of attacks, but Arius Nova had also jumped up. The creature whipped his tail at the spearman and he held Gae Bolg in front of his body to block. But right before the tail met the shaft, the black-and-white fur burst, revealing a skin of long metal spikes. The tail hit the spear and Lancer grunted as he tried to resist being thrown back due to the sheer force behind it. The spikes dug into the man's arms and hands and were only a hair length from the rest of him.
The Nova pulled his tail back. At that moment, several thick bolts of red lightning shot up out of the crystals, all hitting Lancer. Arius Nova finished off the assault by swatting the man down with one massive paw as he began to descend.
Lancer could feel an insane amount of killing intent put into that one attack, as much as his own when he uses Gae Bolg's ability as a Noble Phantasm, as he hit the ground hard enough to shatter most of the pillars and create a massive crater well over a hundred meters deep.
The Servant struggled to move. It felt like almost every bone in his body was now broken. Even the runes temporarily replacing his lungs couldn't hold out against another attack that powerful to the chest the man could otherwise handle with ease.
The total amount of damage Lancer had received would have knocked out most other Servants, if not rendered them unable to move. Lancer's Battle Continuation would allow him to go on fighting. And after all, not knowing the word 'quit' was what made a true hero, right?
His eyes drifted lazily to Gae Bolg, resting on the bottom of the crater a few centimeters in front of his face. He reached a trembling right arm out to get it. As soon as his fingers closed around the shaft, a large white paw stomped down on the arm. Lancer let out a grunt of pain and looked up to see Arius Nova. The monster had jumped down into the crater.
The Nova's halo glowed, filling the crater and some of the cavern with a rainbow-like light, ready to fire off an energy beam and end the fight. But Lancer bloody lips curled up into a smirk. Thanks to the first encounter with it, he now knows it takes a second for it to charge up. It may not seem like much, but it can mean the difference between life and death in a battle.
In that second, Lancer traced a rune into the air with his left hand. The rune burst into a large flash of white light that filled the crater, blinding the Nova temporarily and making him rear back in surprise, his paw releasing Lancer's arm. The beam fired, but now it was aimed at the side of the crater. Dozens of massive chunks of earth were blasted off. Arius Nova didn't see Lancer slide under him, but he felt the end of the spear slice him open from his chin to the base of his tail, making blood and organs spill out in grotesque heaps, strings of crimson lighting the spear left behind as it did this crackling and waving around like a bunch of red snakes. It was his mana, so thick it had taken that form. The Servant jumped to a wall of the crater, the fact Servants aren't as bound to the laws of physics like living beings allowing him to stand on the incline, just in time to avoid a tail swipe.
"Only one Servant I will not lose I will kill you do not think you have won I'm not done yet I swear that you will die Angra Manyu's rebirth will not be stopped die die die ...you I swear to kill you..." Those last words of the monster finally died down as its massive body broke down into a dust of golden mana that blew away. All that was left of the Nova was a pool of black mud.
Lancer, using his spear as a cane, began to make his way out of the crater and get to his Master. But he sensed a sudden spike in mana and he stopped. It was coming from behind him. Was Arius Nova back?
No. The level of mana he was sensing was equivalent to a first-rate mage of the common era instead of Age of the Gods. The Servant looked over his shoulder to see what it was. Figures covered in black ooze rose up from the mud. Then the substance covering them slowly dripped off like slime. When the ooze covering the figures was all gone, Chi-Yous were revealed. Some were red with black and gold Egyptian heads. Others were white and black. And the rest were blue.
"Gimme a break..!" Lancer groaned. He should normally be able to take care of small-fry like these with ease, but his fight against Arius Nova drained him of a lot of his strength. However, even in his current state, he should still be able to handle these.
He dashed out of the crater, wanting to get to better ground. Once he did, he stopped and looked back. Those things had followed him. Some were still scrambling to get out of the hole, as if their wings won't allow them to fly very far off the ground.
A red one ran at the man, clapping its massive hands together and creating a large, fiery explosion. Lancer took several steps back just in time to dodge the attack before leaping at the Chi-You. He spun his spear over his head, tip easily slicing through the thing's neck, blood flying out as the head fell off what remained of its neck. Another, a white one, flew a couple dozen centimeters off the ground at the warrior's side. Lancer kicked out to the side, hitting the Chi-You in the face and sending it back into the wall of the crater, making a Chi-You sized hole in it.
Three balls of lightning came at the man's back. He jumped up as the balls smashed into the ground, a shockwave coming out of each one. He shifted the jump forward to go at a white Chi-You.
"Angra Manyu must be gettin' desperate to kill me, but..." Lancer ran the attacking Chi-You through the head with his spear. "did he really think these weaklings were gonna stop me?!"
But the man was panting. He was getting tired. And the Chi-Yous seemed to sense it. Several ran at the man and prepared to set off a series of explosions with their hands that would hopefully finish him off. He whipped out Gae Bolg, killing the ones that came at him with their hands glowing red with fire, which was most.
Two more pools of the black mud formed at either side of Lancer and more Chi-Yous emerged. They, along with the surviving Chi-Yous, tried to surround Lancer and attack him as one.
"Not gonna happen!" Lancer spun around in a full circle, taking Gae Bolg with him. Blood burst from the long slices that just appeared on each Chi-You. The Servant hit the ground on his hands and knees. The previous battle left him exhausted. He couldn't keep this up for much longer.
Lancer suddenly sensed danger behind him. Someone was going to try to kill him. Another Chi-You?! How many were left?! Instinct took over and he got to his feet and spun around, stabbing Gae Bolg into the chest of the attacker. He also sensed that something sharp was aiming for his head, so he grabbed the wrist of the hand that held the unknown weapon. Blood hit his face and his eyes widened in horror when he saw who it was.
It was Akiko that he had fatally stabbed. Under Angra Manyu's control, she had tried to kill the Servant with a knife completely made up of rose-pink crystal. If the Chi-Yous couldn't do it, perhaps his Master could. After all, he may hesitate to kill her. But it turned out not even that would work.
"Cu...Chul...ainn..." she managed to say. As she was going to die, Angra Manyu decided not to waste more energy trying to control her. The teen's right hand trembled around the handle of her weapon that was about a centimeter or two from breaking the skin on Lancer's forehead.
"No...No!" he gasped. Akiko coughed, blood coming out of her mouth. The knife fell free from her hand and it clattered on the stone ground, her arms falling limply to her sides. Having been stabbed in the heart, Akiko didn't have much time left to stay alive. But there was something left to do, and she needed to stay alive until it was done.
Her final Command Seal glowed. "By my...last...Command Seal...Lancer...use you-your...Noble Phan...tasm...d-destroy the...Greater...Grail..."
This would imbue him with enough mana to carry out the task. The spear left her chest as soon as the order was issued. Her body hit the ground on its side.
"Please, Akiko..! ...Not...yet..!" Lancer grit his teeth as he tried to resist the command, but to no avail. He turned around, facing the Greater Grail, right arm raised. He didn't want to leave Akiko to die alone.
Akiko's bloodied lips curled up into a smile just as Lancer leaped up. She yearned to continue being with him. If the Grail wasn't corrupted, she would have used her wish to grant Lancer a physical body, as Angra Manyu promised to grant. But that wasn't the case. And now, she probably wouldn't live long enough to talk to him again. 'Sorry...Cu Chulainn...but I have to use a Command Seal for you to be able to destroy the Greater Grail...If I die while you're doing it...my Seal won't work anymore...so I had to do it right away...Sorry I made you leave me alone...'
"Gae...Bolg!" Lancer called out for the last time in this War as he threw his spear at the base of the energy pillar with all his remaining magical energy.
Akiko closed her eyes and tears came down. 'I'm so sorry...that I couldn't be with you longer...' A large blast from the spear hitting the top of the mound enveloped the energy pillar and shook the cavern so much that anyone would be afraid of the whole place just caving in. 'But...all of that time we spent together...All the battles we fought...made me so happy...And it's all because...you were with me...Cu Chulainn...Thank...you...I love...you so...much...It was like...a happy dream...But...I suppose...all dreams...must...end...' Her thoughts ended as she exhaled for the very last time.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The spear didn't return to Lancer's hand when the blast ended. It had already vanished. Just as Lancer's body was starting to as well. He panted with the strain of using his Noble Phantasm. If he had used it when fighting Arius Nova or the Chi-Yous, then he wouldn't be able to continue fighting back. Specks of blue mana were coming off the man like a cloud of dust.
The mountain above the cavern was shaking as it began to collapse. The blast expanded the hole in the top so much there was hardly anything left of the ceiling. Rocks at the edges of the widened hole and from the exposed mountain over the room were coming down all around the place. Lancer doubled over as he felt the unbearable pain in his chest increase. Were his runes gone?
They were still there, but at this point Lancer was too weak to put up a fight against anyone. But it didn't matter anymore. The man made his way to the wall where his Master lay near. If he had a real body, this would be his tomb.
Him and his Master's. They would be buried together.
As he headed for her, he ignored the large rocks that fell to the ground. One came so close to hitting him that it would've cut his left arm had magical energy contaminated it. But he didn't care. His mind was focused only on his Master.
When he got to Akiko, he saw that her eyes were already closed. She looked so peaceful. If she didn't have blood all over her, anyone would think she was merely sleeping. He sat down by her and cradled her body close to his chest. She was already getting cold.
Lancer's usual demeanor of him never shedding a tear was gone. Now his eyes were squeezed shut and tears flowed freely down his cheeks. "It's done, Akiko...The Greater Grail is gone now...But I couldn't keep you safe...What kinda Servant am I?!"
His translucent lips planted themselves on her forehead. He was almost completely gone. "I wish that we could've spent our days together in peace...Well, maybe if we see each other again, we can."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Once the warrior first took up the cursed spear, he never truly put it away. Not even in death.
His life took so many wrong turns. The spear was meant to take only one life, the life of the woman who entrusted the spear to the warrior. However, that never came to be. That woman ended up remaining alive and two others who were close to him were killed instead. Yet the warrior continued to wield the weapon just like he did before.
He may have set the spear down several times, but he always ended up grabbing it again, taking it with him to yet another battle even if he only used it twice.
And even though his own life was ended by that spear, he never hated it. Part of him was satisfied with how his life ended, being remembered as more than just someone who existed. But another part of him was unhappy with everything ending for him. He still had a desire to fight, to test his skill against others.
Luckily for him, the Grail gave him another chance to do that, even if it was for someone else's sake. And during it, he finally found a reason to want to keep living, something that made him even happier than the prospect of fighting.
But even that was ripped away by the cursed spear.
He was fine with just himself being killed. At least he would be certain his death would be for a cause. But not he himself killing those that weren't fighting for a reason. Those people he wanted to save the lives of so that they would have another chance. That's why he never targeted civilians. Just other warriors.
In that way, the Servant could relate with Saber's wish a little. The way she regrets those that died. They way they did.
But he didn't relate much more than that.
He still thought she was wrong.
He was flexible on revenge being the reason to end a life. But just ending his life. He had made himself the object of revenge for many during his first life. And he believed that was why Connla fought him. Hell, he even knew that by sparing Medb, she would come after his life for revenge. But even knowing that, he just let it happen anyway.
The most recent person he killed was not fighting for anything she believed in. Instead, someone else forced her to fight. And he didn't agree with that. People should have the free will to fight. And if they end up dying as a result, it should be for the reason they were fighting in the first place.
But Saber's desire would cause all of that to be undone. Her people that died fought for her and the people of her kingdom. If her wish happened, they would be brought back to life. But it felt wrong. Those people fought and died for a reason. And undoing what has been done would mean that those people died for nothing in the end.
However, those that pissed him off to no end, like Archer, he would fight to the death without any qualms whether they were fighting for a cause.
He would mourn the deaths of those close to him, would cry silently for them. But he would never regret how they died, fighting for what they believed in. He couldn't think of a better way to die.
But the person he sought didn't die fighting for ideals she herself believed in.
She died as a result of different ideals being forced upon her by that monster, ones that she did not believe in at the bottom of her heart.
And so, by the Servant's perspective, she did not deserve to die fighting the way she did.
And as for the warrior, this time was different.
He would not be sent out to fight again.
He could finally set the demonic spear down for good.
An eternity lay ahead of him without fighting. An afterlife of peace.
And he was okay with that.
After all, that person made him just as happy. Being with her would give his life joy.
And she was a great person.
She deserved to be happy.
And of course, just being with him would be enough.
So he would look for her, even if it took him the rest of time.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The silver-haired teen was walking through a grassy field. To her, it felt endless. Up above was a clear, blue sky. She smelled flowers, but the only ones she saw around her were ones classified as weeds. But it couldn't be those she was smelling. What she was smelling was a sweet scent from flowers grown in a garden, such as roses.
She had lost track of time quickly. She could have been walking for minutes, hours, days, or even years. But one goal made her keep going.
'Must find him.'
'Must be with him again.'
She knew in her heart that he was back in the Throne of Heroes by now, that she'd never see him again. But every time that knowledge forced its way into her head, she pushed it away.
'Where is he?'
'I don't care how long it takes, I will find him.'
He should be here, but where? No matter. Regardless of how long it takes, she will keep searching for him.
Even if she ends up wandering for the rest of eternity, she will not give up until he is by her side once again.
But after what she tried to do, would he want to see her again?
The mage shook her head. Even if her Servant didn't want to see her again, she wanted to see him. She wouldn't be satisfied until she did.
After all, being with him made for her happiest moment.
'I want to see him.'
'I need to see him.'
And so, she walked. Down the grassy field that stretched endlessly before her.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Blood-red eyes slowly opened as the Servant in blue felt a light breeze on his face. His body felt stiff, as if he hadn't moved in awhile. How long had he been asleep? The first thing he saw was that blue sky stretching over him. This reminded him of when he first died. He silently looked up to the sky as he bled to death and prayed. Prayed that he could continue fighting to his heart's content. But he knew that prayer would never be answered. Even the gods knew his time on the earth had run out. For now. It would be answered in the form of the Fifth Holy Grail War.
The breeze blew again and something fell lightly atop his head. The warrior gingerly picked it off to see what it was. It was a leaf, blown off by the constant breezes. He was laying against the trunk of a tree. Around him was soft green grass stretching far beyond what he could see, the same as what he had been laying in. It looked like it would feel as a furry animal would appear to feel like if he stroked it. No dark rocks and an earthy smell in the air was around him now. He was outside and all he could smell was fresh air and flowers.
'Where is this? The last thing I remember was being in the cavern...'
Then he smiled, knowing now where he was. Due to the Greater Grail being destroyed, a hole had briefly opened in the Throne of Heroes, which it had been exploiting the function of. Though it took Alaya no more than a few seconds to fix this problem, some Heroic Spirits took this chance to escape. Namely, those who did not want to spend eternity there or for other reasons. And so, Cu Chulainn and those Heroic Spirits now found themselves in the present afterlife. And since Cu Chulainn's copy had not been burned away by the fires of the Grail, the memories it gained went to the original.
Up over his head, a bird flew away from its perch in the tree. Seeing the bird take to the skies reminded him of the teen's question.
Why do you think that birds fly?
He didn't have an answer then, but he does now.
Birds fly because they have the free will to do so. They aren't flying because someone's ordering them to. They're flying because they want to.
He got up slowly, his stiff joints creaking as his did so. The breeze tried to nudge him in one direction. He didn't know why, but he felt he should follow it. And so, he let it direct where he should walk. He didn't care where this direction led, but he did want it to lead to her.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The teen was getting exhausted from constantly walking. She just wanted to lay down and rest. But if she did, she may miss her chance to see him. She couldn't. She would walk as long as necessary to find him.
And as if God had heard her devotion to finding the man she wanted to see, a small figure appeared on the horizon.
'I-It can't be..!'
The figure was coming toward her. It was moving slowly, as if that person also couldn't see it was her yet. But now it was close enough for the mage to see the person wore blue clothing, like a bodysuit. Now that the figure was getting closer, the girl knew for certain it was a person. The person also must have made out the girl because the figure was moving to her faster, like the person was running.
If this was a trick her mind was playing on her, it was one of really bad taste. The deceit should end before it even begins.
But this wasn't a trick.
The breeze was blowing his scent to her. It had the same scent as a wild animal, and yet she enjoyed it. Because it was his scent.
She was speechless. It was as if she had been hit hard enough to have the breath taken out of her. Tears were pricking the corners of her eyes. The person was only a few dozen meters in front of her. She could see even the facial features clearly.
When she remembered how to breathe again, the girl's mouth was gaping like a fish. She wanted to say something, but her throat was dry. She had to say something, anything!
"Cu...Chulainn..."
And just like that, all of her searching, her exhaustion, everything since she got here suddenly seemed worth it.
She took a step forward, but she wanted to spring into the arms of the man about a meter in front of her now. Her body felt so light. She felt like skipping instead of walking. A heavy load on her mind had just been lifted. She was happy beyond words to see the man she loved again. But what about him? Is he happy to see her?
To the mage's relief, she didn't see any disgust from the man at the sight of her before him. In fact, he looked just as overjoyed as she felt. Tears were welling up in his scarlet eyes.
He was searching for something to say to her, but all that came out was, "I'm here, Akiko."
The joyous tears fell from her eyes as she shut them and smiled at the man. "Good to see you, Cu Chulainn." She went over to the man and embraced him tightly. He was warm! She had worried that since they were both in the afterlife, he would feel as cold as a stone statue. "I was afraid that you'd never want to see me again."
Lancer let the tears fall from his eyes as he returned the hug. His head was down, him breathing in her scent. Strands of those white hairs tickled his nose. "What would make ya think that?"
"What I attempted to do to you. And how I forced you to do yet another thing against your will."
"Don't worry," Lancer murmured. "Just bein' with you makes up fer it an' more. I love you so much, Akiko."
Akiko smiled into his shoulder. "I love you too. I always will."
During her journey, Akiko thought she was in a nightmare. She must have been. But now it's over. She's woken up and Lancer was here. And hopefully, that torturous dream would never happen again. Being with him made her feel warm, like she was being bathed in the sun. He would always be there for her. When she first summoned him, Akiko actually didn't care what Servant she would get. But now she's glad it was Cu Chulainn. The time she spent with him while she was alive will always be a treasure to her.
Lancer had lost many things in his first life. Now, he would make sure to hold extra tight to this one so it wouldn't slip through his fingers. As he had found her, he felt the happiest he had ever been. And he was certain it was the same for her.