Disclaimer: This is a journey, that is all I know. Follow if you desire, I'm not stopping.

Chapter 1: And What?

"To the right, Mash!"

This is not how things were meant to be.

"Right, Master!"

A skeletal figure, dressed in little more than rags, was sent flying by a swift slap from the massive metallic shield Mash now wielded. Crashing into some rocky rubble nearby, shattering into a pile of bones and dust.

I'm not supposed to be here.

"Candidate Number 48! Wait just a minu-!"

I pushed the Director aside, making sure she missed the swing of a rusty dagger by another cloaked monster. I growled softly as I was just barely nicked by the blade, drawing blood that stained my white shirt. I could feel the heat in my body rise as I subconsciously drew out my own magic and grabbed the hand holding the blade by their wrist. With a firm squeeze, I shattered the bone beneath the ragged cloth. The knife spun in the air briefly before I grabbed it with my other hand and with a swift motion, jammed it into the creature's bare skull.

I wasn't supposed to do that, Not me, not even Him.

The skeleton let out a raspy, dry howl as it dissolved into nothingness. I looked down at my arm, watching as my magic kicked in to heal the small wound I received. Briefly fascinated by the skin stitching itself back together in a matter of a second.

I looked to my right and saw the Director, Marie Olga Animusphere, Director of Chaldea, not by choice but by circumstance. She looked shaken, eyes wide and a small bead of sweat rolling down her cheek as she held the back of her neck, where she would have been stabbed had I not forced her out of the way. Noticing my stare she tensed before collecting herself, closing her eyes as she forced on her mask of composure.

"Master!"

Mash ran over when she noticed the cloth along my arm stained red with blood, exhaling a sigh of relief when she found it had already healed from being such a minor wound. "Thank goodness you're alright."

That genuine glint, it's not for me. It shouldn't be for me. I forced a small smile and nod to her before quickly looking away, unable to maintain eye contact.

"You two are doing, adequate, work." Marie spoke up, giving her "praise." I felt the left side of my lip tug upwards in amusement for a moment before I forced it back down. Unlike Mash, I could keep eye contact with the Director, I had been able to ever since I realized my situation... and remembered her fate.

Fate. Was this fate? Or was it simply a fluke I was here?

I looked down at my hand, one not my own, not covered in scars or weathered from hard work, yet not so soft as to indicate an easy life. Ritsuka Fujimaru...

I tuned out for a moment as Roman appeared, a man with soft yet wild orange hair done up in a ponytail, one of the few survivors of the Chaldea Incident, and conversed with Marie. I looked around the area and felt my stomach drop for the first time as I allowed myself a moment to relax.

Fire, rubble, decay... The city that was once Fuyuki was truly an apocalyptic sight. I had seen devastation only done by nature before, yet, not even the worst of hurricanes could match up to the sheer levels of destruction on display before me. I could not help but feel my heart get caught in my throat as I gazed upon the massive gash that tore through the city, reaching from one end, crossing a river, and disappearing into the horizon of the other end of the city.

Did he ever feel such fear? Did he ever notice such a mark? I looked deep within myself, searching for anything that could tell me about how he would have felt. Try as I might, whatever was left of him, if there was any, spared my search no clues. Ritsuka... what happened to you?

Why was I in his place? What force had compelled such an event to happen, and why me?

Why am I in Ritsuka Fujimaru's body? Why am I not dead?

"Master? Are you alright?"

I had zoned out too much in my own thoughts, I had not noticed Mash walk right in front of me, waving her hand to get my attention. Blinking the world back into focus I looked over to see both Roman and Marie looking at me in various levels of concern.

Straightening up, I offered Mash a simple smile. "I'm fine, forgive me I was lost in thought." I gestured vaguely to the surroundings. Mash looked around, as if noticing the carnage for the first time and nodded a little.

"Well, now we need you to get your head in order, Fujimaru!" Marie scolded. Placing a hand on her chest in a refined manner as she addressed me. "Currently you are the only acting Master to survive the Forced Rayshift, and so it will fall to you to command Mash in battle and see us to safety."

"You have a plan then, Director?" I asked her. Looking down and noticing I still had the knife from before, I pocketed it as Roman spoke.

"You all will be making your way to the source of this Singularity and fixing it." Off "screen" his holographic form pressed something, and his image was replaced with a map of the devastated Fuyuki City. "We're unable to get an exact reading, but, within this location, we believe to be the source of all problems in this timeline." The map zoomed in on a location a good distance from us. Looking in the general direction based on the layout, I could see the massive purple and red spike of energy in the sky.

At least some things had not changed.

... Screw it. "If I hazard a guess, that is where the Greater Grail is."

Mash, Roman, and the Director blinked and stared at me. I crossed my arms, as if not noticing their stares and continued. "If this truly is 2017, then this is the era of the last Holy Grail War, and from the looks of it, something absolutely wild happened here, throwing the war into pure chaos." I brought a finger up to my chin in thought. "The amount of energy coming from that pillar of light in the distance has to be from the Greater Grail, I cannot think of another source of such power. Wouldn't you agree?"

Roman was the first to recover, his words slow but certain. "I'd agree, and I'll ask you about your knowledge concerning the Grail War later." The Director, on the other hand, looked pleased that she had someone with her who knew what was going on, a stroke of luck, in her eyes.

"Maybe you aren't the third-rate Magus I thought you were, Canida- Fujimaru." Last name switch already, she must feel more trustful than I thought.

I had already confirmed this wasn't some dream, or nightmare for that matter just by the pain of getting cut. At worst this could be just a coma-induced reality, trapped in my own mind in a world I had a connection with. Or would it be worse for all this to truly be real, and that I had taken the rightful place of another?

"Let's go, Master!" Mash called out to me as she and the Director had begun moving, only to stop when they noticed me in thought again. Shaking my head I moved to join them.

I had so many questions, and not a single person could answer them, not even myself. All I could do now was move forward, and, and...

And what?

I don't know what this is, yet I do at the same time. I will continue, even if slowly.