This Fanfiction is the creation of an unpaid amateur.
The Fate License is the propriety of Type-Moon.
Rifts is a pen and paper old-style Role Playing game propriety of Palladium Book
Note from the author:
Fate: Fuyuki is a fictional city that does not exist in our world. For this crossover, its position is of enormous importance. So I considered that the city was at the location of real-life Usuki-shi, a small town on the northeast coast of the island of Kyushu in the prefecture of Oita.
Rifts: Rifts Japan's text is riddled with inconsistencies, particularly geographical confusion (to name but one, the repeated confusion between Hiroshima and Nagasaki) and hierarchical, for the most serious, the existence of several Shogun in the New Empire! Seiitaishōgun can be translated as « great general pacifier of barbarians » it became a title often indicating the de facto leader of Japan (military dictator), even though the emperor remained the de jure leader (in a way the guardian of traditions). I replaced these "surplus shoguns" with Daimyos - Overlords- which seems more in line with the Japanese feudal structure.
Fei Fong Li the Geo-Immortal had an idea as simple as horrible, to release on his enemies a monster that he had discovered sealed in another universe. He was unaware until now that this "monster" was the Fuyuki's Grail with Angra Mainyu trapped in it. (Crossover Fate/UBW X Rifts RPG)
The Mad Scheme
Kyoto, capital of the New Empire, year 110 of the Post-Apocalypse Calendar, Rifts Earth
A traveler discovering Kyoto would have been amazed by the spectacle offered to him. At first glance, he would probably have thought he had been sent back more than six centuries before Commodore Perry's black ships forced Japan to open up to the outside world.
Indeed, the city had regained its feudal times appearance. The streets were lined with low wooden houses with curved roofs covered with glazed tiles and sliding rice paper doors. Between these traditional Japanese constructions, pedestrians dressed in kimono crossed samurai on horseback, palanquins closed by gauze curtains.
But not all the inhabitants were human...
Above a Shinto monastery was hovering Tengu, winged men with a hawk's head! And among the other passers-by were Yokai mixing a humanoid appearance with animal features: Kitsune with fox ears and tail, Bake-Danuki (sort of humanoid raccoon) Mujia, Bakeneko with cats' ears and tail... Around the cherry blossoms danced tiny spirits of plants called Kodama.
Nevertheless, these Yokai were not even the most amazing thing to see. Behind the powerful walls of the magnificent imperial palace adorned with towers similar to pagodas stood a tree almost as large as a mountain... a Millenium Tree...
The tree measured more than 1000 feet, its branches extended well above Kyoto. Apart from its size, the Millenium Tree hardly differed from a normal tree, it had a trunk covered with bark, irregular branches decorated with leaves... In fact, he had only two other peculiarities. The first was roads that turned in elegant arches and climbed around the trunk before rushing into ogive-shaped doors open in the bark. The second feature was even stranger. The branches bore some sort of... gigantic fruit the size of an apartment building. The comparison was not accidental because these "fruits" were hollow with regulars opening, intermediate floors, access ramps, and interior divisions that allowed humanoids to inhabit them at their convenience.
No one knew how the Millenium Trees had appeared on Rifts Earth... strangely, they had been discovered peaking at hundreds of feet without anyone remembering seeing anyone plants them or watching them grow.
One thing was certain, the Kyoto tree was a conscious entity protecting the region from the evil supernatural forces. From its windows, one could see a show become ordinary for the inhabitants of Rifts Earth, two walls of blue light met a little outside Kyoto. This was a Nexus where two Tatsu no Michi (Dragon Roads/ leylines) crossed. In Rifts Earth's environment, overloaded with magical energy, the leyline's Mana was clearly visible even to ordinary eyes. It was not by chance that the Millenium Tree grew there. In fact, the tree drew Mana from these leylines and was even able to control them. The phenomenon had naturally attracted the attention of Mystics, Leylines Walker, and other magic users. There was therefore no reason to be surprised that the "fruits" of the Millenium Tree now hosted a renowned school of magic.
The man standing in the center of the classroom was a five-foot-tall Asian monk with a shaved head and a gentle expression. He wears a Taoist hanfu (Chinese traditional dress) and sandals.
Despite the man's humility, all his students bowed to him. After all, the one who came to give them a little of his wisdom was not a simple monk... Lo Fung was an ancient Chiang-Ku dragon who has lived on Earth for over six thousand years.
"The New Empire" began Lo Fung "is only a small part of the world. You must learn to judge your nation in perspective with its real place in history and geography."
"In the second half of the 21st century, humanity had reached an extraordinary technological development. Rockets connected the Earth to space colonies. Cities on and under the sea were home to an ever-increasing population while overcrowding made continents seem narrow. Most of the diseases had been defeated. We often talk about the golden age of humanity..."
"But the humans had disowned the gods and they punished our ancestors by provoking the opening of the Rifts!"
Lo Fung turned and smiled at the student who had just interrupted him so grossly. He nodded distractingly:
"Yes, that's what I've been hearing since I came to the New Empire. Technology is wrong, magic is right and men who turn to technology are corrupt and crazy..."
The old dragon shook his head:
"Technology and magic are mere tools. They are neither good nor bad on their own. They are like any other tool, a knife for example. A knife can be used to cut an apple or to stab a man. Good and evil are not in the knife but in the hand that holds it."
The dragon fixed the ceiling for a moment and sighed:
"Where was I? Oh yes..."
And Lo Fung told of the golden age of humanity.
For over fifty years, humanity has enjoyed an age of science, learning, and relative peace. And... December 22, 2098
Two nations in South America went to war for reasons as ridiculous as any other war. No matter who started, no matter who fought back. The only truth is that after pushing the red button, missiles armed with nuclear warheads hit these two countries and there were cities razed to the ground in the devastation of flames. Millions of people died...
A horrible crime, but unfortunately, it was just the beginning.
For thousands of years, it is known certain configurations of planets are favorable to events. The od - the magical energy of each individual- is released at the moment of death... When this nuclear holocaust hit the world, the shock wave was not only physical. It also spread in the Dragon Roads, the Ley-Lines, these energy lines used to circulate mana all over the planet, were almost dead after the end of the Age of the Gods caused by the disappearance of Atlantis.
And suddenly... the Ley-Lines were overwhelmed and forced to open, an act of incredible violence that spread from close to close.
Everywhere blue energy lines ran through the landscape and... the world replied! Volcanoes that had been dormant for thousands of years exploded vomiting ashes and slag towards the sky. Earthquakes shook the world.
In Japan, the island of Honshu was broken in two, Tokyo disappeared under the waves while devastating tsunami swept the coasts.
In a few days, nine out of ten humans were killed. Yet these natural or rather... supernatural catastrophes were only the beginning. The world had turned into an environment rich in magic, or to be more exact overloaded by magic... too... too much... and where the leylines crossed, reality tore apart... portals opened to parallel dimensions, other places on the planet, past, future, other worlds, even the astral plane.
And through these tears of reality, these Rifts came out legions of monsters born of chaos, creatures of magic and destruction that fed on the souls of mortals. Fortunately, other less evil creatures also came. And in some places, fortresses equipped with the most powerful weapons of the Golden Age survived the initial catastrophe. They became the last strongholds of humanity.
In other places, humans did not have the chance to benefit from the help of the military using laser rifles, giant robots, and power armors. But there were men who were changed by the catastrophe. If the magic energy now abounded on Earth, it only needed to be used... overwhelmed by the demons that massacred them and devoured them some knew an apotheosis, suddenly discovering powerful magical or psionic powers.
For two hundred years, humanity had no other obsession but to survive one more day... then the madness that had taken hold of the world began to subside. Volcanoes, earthquakes, and tidal waves became rarer, while most of the Rifts only opened at the full moon.
Humanity then began the recapture of a world that it discovered transformed in the most fantastic way. Species from other worlds had become acclimatized, vast regions were populated by legendary creatures, strange monsters hunted in the plains and forests, while dragons and pegasus swirled in the sky.
The world was now divided and fragmented into thousands of small human or D-Bees (humanoids from other dimensions) communities separated by abandoned lands, sown with forgotten ruins, and haunted by dinosaurs, demons, or hordes of undead!
"This is our world" concludes Lo Fung "the world of Rifts Earth!"
The New Empire was not the only human nation in Japan, there were in fact several small shogunates that had spread around a community of survivors. Rifts Earth was a violent world. Although these nations are human, they did, however, compete with each other, going so far as to fight to seize the scarce resources available.
However, they had one thing in common, all fighting the Onis. These were the demons of Japanese legends... when the Rifts had opened, three centuries earlier, these monsters had been the first to appear. They had massacred or enslaved more than half of the human communities on the island of Honshu.
The Otomo Shogunate was one of those human nations. This state extended over what had been the prefecture of Aichi. The capital was called Otomo after its founder, the first Shogun, Otomo Kazuki.
To be exact, the city of Otomo was not born of nothingness, it had used the ruins of the pre-Rifts city of Nagoya as its foundation.
Although located less than 80 miles from Kyoto, Otomo could just as well belong to another planet. The air was impaled by the greasy smoke coming out of hundreds of concrete chimneys. In the port, we could see motorboats docking in fuel oil vapors. On the streets, we could see gasoline cars that seemed to come out of the 1950s.
Nevertheless, despite the rampant industrialization and pollution... it was indeed a Japanese city. Although many charming buildings lined muddy streets, traditional wooden houses were found everywhere.
The crowd was as amazing as Kyoto with the same mixture of humans and Ayakashi. All were dressed in kimonos. Laborers and peasants were recognized by their simple clothes, Shintos and Buddhist priests dressed in ways recognizable to their cult, geishas had white painted faces and samurai could be recognized by their Daisho (Japanese saber pair, katana (long), wakizashi (short)... except Otomo samurai were cybernetic, with bionic arms and legs, optical implants, integrated armor and ride robot horses!
Where Kyoto still lived at the time of the pre-Meiji imperial institution (Tenno iderogii), the Otomo Shogunate applied the thought of Sakuma Zozan (1811-1864) Toyo dotoku, Seiyo geijutsu or "Eastern ethic, Western technique" in the most literal way!.
Dominating the semi-modern city was a prototypical Japanese castle. He was very large with many warehouses and towers. The exteriors walls were made from crudely shaped stones build high as well as curved and advanced defensive systems with three moats. The central keep with his five-story was impressive because of its brilliant white exterior and its multiples roofs; his elaborates coverage of blue tiles and the many decorations.
But Otomo Castle was a pretense, the work of advanced technology inherited from the Golden Age and not the creation of medieval artisans. Looking closely at the rampart, we find out that the outer stones were only ornaments, the wall was in fact high-tech military-grade ferroconcrete. The tiles were made of modern ceramic and the bulkheads that looked like wood were made of composite. All of these materials were bonded at the molecular level and able to withstand energy weapons fire.
The guards patrolling the walls wore what appeared to be in traditional splint laminate or bamboo armor, but it was an imitation made of padded plates.
The "archers" had laser precision rifles. The guards who watched over the doors were armed with Vibro-naginata capable of cutting ordinary steel as a burning knife slicing butter. And Rail-guns protruded in certain places of the walkway.
The human sentinel was supported by power armor resembling samurai but armed with mini-missiles and powerful energy weapons.
The Otomo shogunate was a strange mixture of ancient and high technology, tradition mingled with innovation running away with itself.
Otomo Castle, Otomo, capital of the Otomo Shogunate, 110 P.A. Rifts Earth
The long parquet room extended into the keep of Otomo Castle, it was an amazing blend of tradition and modernism. On a staged platform plastered with the Mon (coat of arms) of the Otomo shogunate (Dark purple with a Golden Crane), the shogun Otomo Tietsin stood between two cyber-samurai certainly full of bionic implants but... in kimono and armed with their two swords.
Behind the shogun, an advisor was connected via a head plug to a network of computers that covered part of the sidewall.
Tietsin-sama (Lord Tietsin) was dressed in a purple kimono sewn with golden threads and wore a sort of helmet adorned with numerous egrets. But this splendid outfit struggled to turn this small adipose man, as wide as he was high, into a heroic leader. His appearance was nothing pleasant with his flabby cheeks and hanging lips. And, in order not to make things better, he spoke in a false voice:
"Damn this so-called Republic of Japan! For three centuries, we fought in the south against the New Empire... these anti-technological idiots and the Onis from the north! We suffered more than any other in these islands. When my ancestor arrived in the ruins of Nagoya, there was nothing left but worthless rubble. But he rebuilt, finding intact machines and restoring others. And the Kyoto madmen attacked us because - according to them - technology was evil... even though we were on the front line against the Onis who were raiding the countryside and pillaging the villages. For two hundred years, we survived, gradually extending into the plain of Nagoya. Then we began to repel our enemies, restoring order. We rebuilt civilization where only the law of the strongest prevailed. Thanks to our efforts, cities emerged from the ruins. Factories were built and some secrets of the technology of the Golden Age of humanity were found. All this we have achieved almost without outside help, by our own forces, despite the most unfavorable prospects. Even as we could tell ourselves that the hardest part had passed and that prosperity would finally reward all our efforts... then they arrived."
His speech was addressed to a dozen men, most carrying a pair of swords identifying them as Shizoku (samurai of higher rank) and a single woman... and four green-skinned reptilian creatures, endowed with five eyes.
The Japanese, kneeling in seiza, approved their sovereign.
The island of Honshu south of Kyoto had been severely affected by the eruption of the Rifts, nothing remained of the cities that had risen there. They had disappeared... completely disappeared... without leaving behind any trace of their existence! One of those supernatural mysteries that were the daily life of Rifts Earth.
A mystery that had found its answer fifteen years earlier, suddenly, the cities of the south of Honshu had reappeared! The opening of the Rifts had projected the cities into limbo! For the other Japanese, three hundred years had passed. But for city dwellers, the eruption of the Rifts was a phenomenon that had occurred only a few days earlier!
The big cities of Hiroshima, Kure, Kashima and Iwakuni had formed into a new nation called the "Republic of Japan".
The fifth city to reappear, Ichto, the headquarters of the industrial cartel Ichto Robotic, had formed an independent state, a small enclave south of Hiroshima.
For three hundred years, the inhabitants of the shogunate had painfully worked to find the lost secrets of the Golden Age. The only real technological power in Japan, Otomo had sold arms and armor to mercenaries; fertilizers, pesticides, synthetic fabrics, automobiles, and motorboats to the small surviving kingdoms in eastern Honshu and on Shikoku. This monopoly had enriched Otomo... sharpening greater ambitions in his shogun. The time finally seemed to have come to avenge the humiliations suffered and unite the archipelago under the sole authority of the Otomo dynasty.
Then the Republic of Japan and Ichto started selling their own industrial production... robots, computers, precision tools, giant container-carrier and flying cars... marvels outperforming anything that could be produced by the relatively primitive technology of Otomo shogunate. In fifteen years, Otomo had gone from being the leading industrial and technological power of the archipelago to the third position. And to add insult to humiliation, the shogunate of Takamatsu - the main economic partner of the newcomers- was catching up, becoming a serious competitor for Otomo.
These outsiders out of time, these living archaeological remains that had not shed their blood to protect Japan, had usurped the rightful place of the Otomo shogunate.
And shogun Tietsin was determined to make them pay for this humiliation.
But he wasn't crazy, he knew that attacking the Republic of Japan head-on, both richer, more technologically advanced, more extensive, and more populated would be the pot calling the kettle.
His plan was much more subtle. If all went well the Republic would collapse without ever having understood that it was Otomo who had attacked.
The counselor made a holographic map appear while an immense and muscular cyber-samurai rose. The man had a square face, a bald head, and a thin black mustache. His bionic implants of excellent quality were invisible. However, under his skin were muscles of steel... literally made of steel.
"Very well," began Gonza, the leader of Otomo's army. "This is the situation. We signed peace with the Onis. With the end of the three-hundred-year war against these demons, all our forces are now available for an offensive to the south."
At the gesture of the cyber-samurai, the councilman made several colored triangles appear on the border separating the New Empire from the territories controlled by the Onis.
"We have raised an army of 200,000 mercenaries in the Freeland. Thanks to our new alliance with the Onis, they were able to position themselves on their territory. As soon as Tietsin-sama gives the order, these mercenaries and the Onis will attack the New Empire. From then on, the latter will be neutralized, unable to take care of what we might do well."
The image moved, showing the island of Shikoku, facing the Republic of Japan.
Gonza designated the northeast of the island:
"Here is the Takamatsu Shogunate, once our best customer."
The shogun Tietsin waved, convulsing his hands:
"You dirty traitors!"
"Indeed, Tietsin-sama, it is therefore normal that they should be the first to pay."
He pointed to a sector on the map where a leyline was represented:
"Takamatsu owes its prosperity to the presence of a stable Rift on its territory. It does not open up to a demonic kingdom, but a world of the earthly type... devoid of intelligent creatures, but rich in resources. Takamatsu colonies in this other world grow cereals, sugar, cotton, wool and natural rubber. The exploitation of wood, salt, iron, coal, zinc, silver, mercury, copper, bauxite mines, as well as oil and natural gas deposits constitute almost 80% of the Republic's imports."
He turns to the only woman present:
"Nadeshiko-sama, the honor is yours."
Lady Nadeshiko was a beautiful woman in her thirties wearing a complicated bun held in place by mother-of-pearl combs. She was dressed in a red furisode with a yellow fan pattern. She wore a blue and black kimono on her shoulders, long sleeves hanging from her back.
She advanced leaning on a No-dashi in its sheath as if it were a cane.
This cold-eyed, arrogant woman was one of the most dangerous people in Japan and, after the shogun, the second most powerful person in Otomo.
In fact, Nadeshiko was the C.E.O. of H-Brand, the powerful zaibatsu (trust) that had the monopoly of high technology in Otomo. She even owned her own army, as well as several techno-ninja clans that were entirely devoted to her. Moreover, Lady Nadeshiko had played a crucial role in recruiting the mercenaries... whom she had armed for years.
From the knob of her two-handed katana, she pointed to Takamatsu on the holographic map:
"Our first offensive move was to send some of our best techno-ninjas to Shikoku. Some were intended to assassinate local lords, samurai, others were to sabotage electrical installations, factories, others were to promote unrest in the population, riots, and spread false news. So far, the plan has gone smoothly. Shikoku Island is plunged into chaos. The Takamatsu shogun seems to believe that a massive revolt is underway."
"Aligato-gozamaisu, Nadeshiko-sama."
Gonza then turned to the leader of the humanoid lizards. The creature had a barbaric and disturbing appearance. The humanoid torso was strapped in plain and chainmail armor. A cloth rag girded at his hips and the holster of a handgun was at his hip. His arms and legs were bare, showing claws to his hands and feet.
However, what really disgusted was the appearance of his head. The reptilian D-bee had a mouth reminiscent of a short muzzle dog but without lips, revealing a carnivorous dentition. The worst was yet to come, three small eyes adorned the forehead and two eye-stalks, some sort of nonflexible tentacles, are on both sides of the head.
"Blue Dream Singer-dono, it's your turn to share your progress."
The leader of the pirates Horune of Okinawa - and new ally of Otomo- got up by rolling his powerful musculature which distended his green and scaly skin:
"My men are ready. At your command, we will attack the south of Takamatsu... plunder, steal, slaughter children and old men, and abduct the adults to resell them to the Spluggorths' slave market. A great benefit for us... and a good diversion for you."
The pirate chief forgot to specify that it was the Otomo Shogunate who paid all the costs of the Horunes! The pirates' profits were 100% guaranteed.
As Chef Blue Dream Singer sat down, Gonza sighed as he scratched his head:
"Unfortunately, we've covered all the good news. The original plan was to sow chaos in the Republic of Japan using the same method as in Takamatsu alas..." he turned to Lady Nadeshiko, who rose to speak again:
"As Gonza-dono began to explain, our Ninja clans did not succeed in their mission. The police and army of the republic are much better organized and capable than the local leaders of Takamatsu. Some sabotage and assassination succeeded, but most failed. As for our attempts to destabilize public opinion, they proved ineffective." Nadeshiko bowed deeply to the shogun." Please accept my sincere apologies for this failure, Tietsin-sama."
The shogun waved again and nodded his head firmly:
"I don't blame you. I'm sure you did your best, Nadeshiko-dono."
He then turned to his warlord:
"Gonza-dono, if I remember the original plan, we had to take advantage of the troubles caused by Lady Nadeshiko's ninjas to attack. By the time the republic understood what was happening, we would have been master of Takamatsu."
Gonza bowed, striking his fist in the palm of his hand in an approval gesture:
"Ha!" (Yes!)
"I see... so I guess therefore the current plan must be modified."
"yes, My Lord, I fear so. Nevertheless, your advisors and your warlords have been offered a new plan."
"Ah, and from whom?"
"I think Gonza-dono wants to talk about me, Tietsin-sama."
They all turned to the man who had just spoken. He was a small man dressed in a blue and red hanfu adorned with a mandarin square. He wore a blue velvet hat decorated with three peacock feathers.
It was a Geo-Immortal called Fei Fong Li... a man (or rather a monster) living for millennia and having lost all humanity, his soul and spirit had been dried up by the passage of time. It owed its immortality to its ability to block its aging when it was close to a "Dragon Road" (leyline)
"Tietsin-sama," began the Immortal Geomancer "Your problem is that you cannot invade the island of Shikoku, if the fleet and the army of the Republic are not occupied elsewhere. Luckily for you, I have an idea to provide some occupation to our Republican friends."
He nodded his head to the counselor, who reoriented the map. No longer showing the Republic of Japan, the hologram showed Kyushu, the southernmost of the large islands forming the Japanese archipelago.
"I recently discovered an anomaly. As we have all learned, it was the brutal reactivation of all Dragon Roads that caused the cataclysm that created the world today, except there's a dormant leyline in Japan."
Some frowned, unsure of what was to be said. Finally, the shogun spoke:
"And what does that have to do with Takamatsu's invasion?"
"I was going to get to that, Tietsin-sama." replied the Geomancer. "Normally I would say there is no connection. Out of curiosity, I went there and discovered that this sleepy leyline intersected one of the main Dragon Road of Kyushu, in the center of the ruins of the city of Usuki-shi, on the northeast coast. Now, this leyline... crosses the inland sea to the suburbs of Hiroshima. So there is not only a sleeping leyline but also an unknown Nexus. By analyzing this sleeper Nexus, I discovered that it was connected to another dimension. But where it gets interesting is that I couldn't open it because a powerful magical construction, a gigantic ritual forms a kind of stopper in this other universe. I think there's a very powerful being imprisoned on the other side of this Nexus."
Fei Fong Li had a sinister smile before he said:
"My idea is to reactivate this leyline through a human sacrifice and then... open a Rift to the other side to release the imprisoned being in this other universe. As the leyline that passes from Usuki-shi continues to Hiroshima, all Mystics, Leyline Walkers, and other Geomancers in the republic will immediately notice that something horribly wrong is happening. With any luck, I might even push the Rift towards Hiroshima... and serve them what is on the other side 'at home'! I think our Republican friends will soon be very busy, Tietsin-sama, too busy to care about Takamatsu.
When the conference ended, Fei Fong Li's plan had been adopted.
Lady Nadeshiko climbed into the helicopter which was to bring her back to her fief of Gifu. Sitting in front of her, Ginko, her assistant, was worried about her drawn features and his moodiness. She let him speak for a moment without answering, and then asked a question that seemed unrelated to the strategic conference:
"Where is the current state of the construction of our Yukimura Shogunate plant?"
"Oh, Lady Nadeshiko, everything's going according to schedule."
"This is not enough! Use all available means to hasten construction."
Then Nadeshiko fell in meditative silence.
Many believed that building this new factory was meant to bring H-Brand closer to its main customers, the Freeland barbarians... but that was not the main reason.
Nadeshiko wanted a fallback point in case things went so wrong that Otomo's shogunate was condemned. Of course, she was loyal to the shogun, like all her ancestors before. But her loyalty did not go so far as to die with him!
Fei's plan was pure madness... if a monster were truly imprisoned on the other side of the Usuki-shi rift, freeing him could destroy them all!
Ryuudou Temple, Fuyuki, island of Kyushu, prefecture of Oita, last day of the 5th Grail War 2004 A.D. Earth, Fateverse (UBW route, alternative ending "Sunny Day")
Ryuudou Temple was a mountain temple on the outskirts of Miyama. It had been named so because legend says that a dragon slept under the lake.
As always, the legend had a grain of truth... it was not a dragon that was asleep but a leyline (or a Dragon Road as said the Asians). Because of that, the temple was the very heart of the city and the keystone of Fuyuki's leylines. Behind the temple, there was a mountainside lake that was one of the four possible places for the Holy Grail to manifest.
All this, the participants of the Fifth Grail War knew, but what they did not know... at least in this reality... was that the Greater Grail resides within an enormous cavern beneath the temple.
The battle reached its final climax.
From a hole in the sky, a flow of a red nutrient liquid fell into the lake which it corroded. A few moments earlier, this concentrate of "All the World's Evil" still fed the "fetus" of Angra Mainyu who was yet an island of bloated and repugnant flesh covered with unhealthy pulsations.
But everything had changed.
Suddenly, in a sort of explosion, the deformed cluster had turned into a colossus of chaotic flesh whose one eye and an opening in his chest reflected a hellish light. This transformation had engulfed the teenager who had served as "core" to the monstrous embryo as well as the twin-tail young Magus in red who had sought to save him.
"Rin."
The call came from the bank.
The Servant Saber, a young woman in her early-mid teens with a slender physique, finely textured blonde hairs, and a face that shows some signs of naivety and displays elegance, hesitated to enter the reddish liquid that surrounded the monster. However, she had to save the young Magus... Tohsaka Rin was her current Master and more than that, her precious friend.
Tohsaka Rin had been swallowed by the monster... trapped between two organic walls that were palpitating in a disgusting way, she struggled so as not to be crushed. A greenish light drew the Magic Circuits of her arms under the fabric of her red jacket... She used Reinforcement Magecraft to increase her strength and resistance... Alas, it was not enough to break the grip of Angra Mainyu.
If only this idiot Shirou did not drain all her Od by fighting Gilgamesh, she could have resorted to a more powerful Magecraft.
Looking at her hand adorned with the Command Spell, she saw purple spots spreading... and understood what fate awaited her. Avenger did not seek to crush her but to corrupt her! She sighed in defeat:
"By my Seal of Command, Saber, destroy Angra Mainyu!"
Her second Command Mark radiated a red light and then disappeared.
She had a sad smile:
"Sorry to compel you, Saber, but I know you, you would have refused my order."
Suddenly a mental "voice" she no longer hoped to hear resounded in her mind:
[It pains me to see you struggling like this, Rin!]
[Archer?]
Outside Saber found herself briefly enveloped in red energy. In her hand, her greatsword seemed to come alive. Wrapped in golden light, the blade vibrated with a powerful compulsion... the urge to destroy Angra Mainyu.
Saber gasped:
"No, Rin, you need to get out of here..."
Endowed with a strong magic resistance Saber managed to resist the order of her Master. But... inevitably her resistance would eventually weaken. Saber was desperate, was she going to destroy her friend... once again would she be the cause of death of the people she loved, in the name of the "greatest good"!?
Fortunately, this time Artoria Pendragon was not alone...
A rain of arrows transformed into "Red Bullets" (Hrunting: Hound of the Red Plains) fell from the sky hitting the lake and exploding before crashing into the chest of Angra Mainyu.
The explosions evaporated a part of the waters of the lake, creating a kind of pavement... and ripping open the monster. From the wound came out Rin!
Miracle, she didn't even let go of Matou Shinji. Under Saber's encouragement, she dragged hard to the bank, fell to her knees out of exhaustion, and raised her hand:
"Saber, take all I have left of Od! Use your Sacred Sword"
The last Command Mark disappeared.
Saber found herself wrapped in golden light. Taking her sword with two hands, the knight woman concentrated. The blade between his fingers turned into a torch of energy. As Angra Mainyu leaned towards her, seeking to grasp her with a hand as wide as an automobile, she opened her eyes to release the power of her Noble Phantasm:
"Excalibur!"
And a flood of power comes from the legendary Sword of Promised Victory, striking the monster that staggered and retreated, suddenly wrapped in golden fire. Immediately it burned, its massive body blackened and disintegrated into impalpable ash! But the power released by Excalibur continued its work of destruction. The golden fire brought up the waves of red liquid that continued to fall from the opening communicating with the interior of the Greater Grail.
A cross of fire was born in the sky as the opening collapsed. The light that illuminated the night drew Fuyuki - still asleep- as if the sun had risen.
Then it was all over...
And, as if to confirm that the nightmare had ended, grains of light, like so many little fairies, fell back to the ground dancing in the night. A show of breathtaking beauty...
As Tohsaka Rin used all the energy she had left to reinforce Saber's most powerful attack, she could no longer support Emiya Shirou.
And Unlimited Blade Work, his reality Marble, collapsed... releasing jailer and prisoner.
Emiya Shirou, a teenager with red hair and torn clothes, reappeared on the esplanade of the Ryuudou Temple, the temple itself lay in the state of rubble heaps, ravaged by the clash that had opposed Shirou to the Heroic Spirit Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, stood before him... in a pitiful state. He had lost an arm, cut above the elbow, his face splattered with blood, and a long tear opened his right shoulder.
He was watching Emiya Shirou. And For the first time since their meeting, there was no contempt in his gaze, perhaps even a little respect...
"I admit it... you won this fight!"
Behind him appeared a wave of golden light which took the form of a disc. From this opening, a blade of a sword appeared, pointed at Shirou.
"It is pitiful that it ends this way..."
The sword out of Gate of Babylon began to vibrate, it was going to leap towards its target...
Near the island of Kyushu,110 P.A. Rifts Earth
Fei Fong Li slit the throat of the last slave held by two Horune pirates. The man... a poor peasant... collapsed forward and his blood joined the puddle that formed on the ground, covering the circle of invocation.
The maleficent Geomancer began a mystical incantation and the magic signs traced in the circle began to shine, filled with the Od released by human sacrifice.
Ryuudou Temple, Fuyuki, the island of Kyushu, prefecture of Oita, 2004 A.D., Fateverse
And suddenly Mount Enzou began to tremble. An explosion of blue light came out of the lake and all turned to look in that direction.
Gilgamesh even forgot Shirou, surprised by this unpredictable turn of event:
"What is going on?"
Then the blue light formed a sort of wall that separated him from the Faker who he was about to kill. And, passing by the Torii, the Mana flow went down descending the steps towards Fyuki, below.
Gigamesh was many things, an arrogant tyrant capable of crushing men like insects, but no one would have disputed that he had in him a large part of divine wisdom, the legacy of his mother, the goddess Rimat-Ninsun.
"The leyline is awake!"
It was... impossible. A leyline didn't wake up like that. The current decline of magic was primarily due to the disappearance of the Mana which circulated in them. And then... even at the time of his birth - at the end of the Age of Gods! - the leylines pulsed only with energy incomparably lower than this tidal of mystical proportion!
The flow of blue light had continued its course before reaching the park that had been built after the Fourth Grail War on the rubble of the neighborhood ravaged by the last appearance of Angra Mainyu. The raging Mana flow joined the almost dry flow of one of the three main leylines passing through Kyushu.
Overloaded, the Nexus exploded, enveloping the city with white light.
The echo of a giant explosion woke the inhabitants of the city of Oita. Rescue trucks and helicopters were sent to Fuyuki.
They discovered a changed landscape.
There was no trace of the city or its immediate surroundings. The bare rock, as if scraped by a giant plow blade, appeared where the buildings and the surrounding forest had been.
A few months later, a commission of inquiry sent by the Clocktower came to the following conclusion: the immense flow of Mana felt at the time of the disaster did not come from this face of the world, Fuyuki had been torn from this continuum and projected... elsewhere, in Apocrypha, or perhaps even further.
Author's note: And here is the beginning of a new story... I've never worked so hard on the background of a Fanfic. I hope you like this one.