Prologue 1: The Summoning of Ancient Heroes?
"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill!" A young man with short black hair chanted as he squeezed the life out of a small white dove.
'Drip. Drip. Drip.' The blood dripped onto the soil below his feet. Once it had no blood left, the young man tossed it into a pile of dead white doves that met a similar fate by his hand. This may have been a cruel act, but it was not for pleasure. The young man was simply taking part in a grand ritual.
This man's name is Waver Velvet. And this night marks the fourth time that this ancient ritual known only to a select few is occurring once more. A ritual where Mages summon Servants in order to kill each other and claim the wish-granting chalice that many have sought to claim for themselves. It's only fitting that this ritual has earned the name…
… the Holy Grail War.
With the sacrifice of a few doves, the summoning circle-soaked crimson red has been completed. And with no one around him due to the fact that he was in the middle of a forest at night, the Mage was free to earn his place as one of the Masters in the Fourth Holy Grail War.
"Repeat five times. But destroy each when filled." Waver spoke as he closed his eyes and internally prepared himself for the summoning that was about to take place. However, Waver was not the only Mage who was participating in this Holy Grail War. In fact, there were six more, for a total of seven Masters.
"A base of silver and steel. A foundation of Stone and the Archduke of Contacts. And my ancestor, my great master, Schweinorg…" A brown-haired man in red clothing spoke in a dimly lit room as he was being watched by two other people. His name was Tokiomi Tohsaka. A Mage who has also decided to partake in the Holy Grail War.
… A wall to block the falling wind. The gates of all four directions close. From the Crown, come forth and follow the forked road to the Kingdom." Tokiomi continued as the two others, a father and his son who were both priests for the Holy Church watched silently to not interrupt this ritual that needed the full concentration of the one about to perform the summoning.
In a faraway location, yet another Mage was in the middle of making a summoning circle as a woman in white clothing watched him.
"Is a simple ceremony like this enough to summon a Heroic Spirit?" The young woman named Irisviel Von Einzbern asked the Mage in black clothing, her husband Kiritsugu Emiya with a curious look on her face.
"Surprisingly, yes. The summoning ceremony doesn't require an elaborate evocation. The Grail is what does the actual summoning. As a Master, my job is to anchor the Heroic Spirit to this world once it has appeared and to give it enough Mana for it to take physical form…" Kiritsugu spoke as he paused for a second until he stood up.
"… This should be good. Iri, place the relic on the altar. Our preparations will soon be complete." Kiritsugu asked his wife who was holding a golden scabbard in her hands, the catalyst that would be used to summon a certain King from legend.
Waver was also making progress with his summoning as the crimson-red circle of blood was unleashing light.
"I hereby propose. My will shall create thy body. And thy sword shall create my Fate! Abiding by the summons of the Holy Grail, if thou dost accede to this will and reason, answer me!" Waver commanded as he stared at his summoning catalyst.
By now, all of this should sound very familiar. It's as if this story has already been written before. So, it would only make sense that this summoning catalyst would be a piece of red clothing that would summon a great conqueror named Iskandar…
… right? Except, that would be further from the truth. Because the catalyst is actually a small dagger with a blue orb in its center. Yes…
… This is not the Fourth Holy Grail War you remember.
"I hereby swear. I will be all that is good in the eternal world. I will be the disposer of evil in the eternal world!" A blond-haired man yelled as he smirked in delight as his wife watched from this distance with a smirk of her own while the catalyst, which had the appearance of a red egg, shined brightly.
"But let chaos cloud thine eyes. Thou, who art trapped in a cage of madness. And I, who doth hold thy chains!" A white-haired man roared at the top of his lungs as his right cheek looked like it was about to explode from the overwhelming amount of pressure being placed onto his body. The only thing keeping him going was the promise he made to the daughter of the woman he loved.
"Hahaha." A bald, grey-skinned creature who looked more like a monster than a man laughed to himself as he knew that his son has just sealed Fate while the catalyst, a red scarf, shined brightly.
"Thou, clad with the Great Trinity, come forth from the circle of constraint! Guardian of the Heavenly Scales!" Tokiomi roared as he gripped his right arm tightly as command spells were being burned onto it while the onlookers, Kirei Kotomine and his father Risei could only marvel as a Golden King was about to be summoned.
At the same time, a bright white light blinded the vision of all five of the Mages trying to summon their own Heroic Spirit. This lasted for a few seconds until the overwhelming light subsided.
The massive moon hung on top of the clouds as the summoning ritual has been completed at last. Below the moon was Waver who was dumbfounded at what was before him. It was none other than a-
"A-A-A TRUCK?!" Waver yelled out as he proceeded to fall onto his ass while a red and blue truck appeared out of nowhere in the middle of his summoning circle. Meanwhile…
"A-A-A CHILD?!" The blonde-haired Mage named Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald shouted as his jaw dropped to the floor all the while his wife, Sola-Ui, was equally shocked over the appearance of the Heroic Spirit before their eyes. A young girl with red hair that matched her red clothing smirked in delight over their reactions.
"We've won this battle, Kirei. Victory is ours!" Tokiomi yelled with a contented look on his face as he looked at the golden king in front of him. The King of a land that has many names, Mesopotamia, Babylonia, Uruk. The legendary King Gilgamesh.
"Ah." Irisviel gasped at the appearance of the Heroic Spirit that her husband had summoned.
"Who…" Kiritsugu spoke but stopped as he was dumbfounded while thinking how could this be? King Arthur was a man. But this is clearly a woman. Though he could not express this as he was interrupted by said Heroic Spirit.
"I ask you…" The young woman spoke but stopped for a few seconds until she opened her eyes.
"… Are you, my Master?" The legendary King Arthur summoned into the Saber-Class finished as she used her green eyes to stare at the Mage who summoned her.
"Hah… hah… hah…" The white-haired man gasped for breath as he was on the verge of passing out after completing such an excruciating ordeal. His name was Kariya Matou. And the Servant he summoned was...
"… Looks like I'm not in Paradis anymore." A man with short brown hair muttered to himself as he realized that this place was not only unfamiliar. But quite possibly a completely different world.
This marks the beginning of a new story. A story that will result in a complete divergence of a story you once knew. This is the beginning of…
Fate/Absolute Zero