No one expected what happened.

The Holy Grail War had only just begun to gain momentum. The Servants - Heroic Spirits - had only just begun their active actions. And the Masters had only just begun to utilize their devised battle tactics.

But it all ended as quickly as it had begun.

Because something happened on the other side of the world. Something so terrifying, so unforeseen and unbelievable, that no one could even comprehend what exactly had occurred.

And so, no one understood what had happened. No one understood why people disappeared all around. They crumbled into gray ashes, leaving no trace behind.

An unknown factor affected both ordinary people and Magi, including those who fought in the war for the right to obtain the Holy Grail.

They knew about it. They knew because they saw with their own eyes how it all began.

And they disappeared. And their Servants disappeared.

He stood in the middle of the park. He felt nothing. He felt neither regret nor happiness for their disappearance. He didn't care.

Because...

"Avenger..."

Ahead, a shadow materialized a few steps away. It burst into dark flames and instantly revealed a figure in dark attire, clearly a woman, holding a long spear in her hands. She lunged forward, locking eyes with the one who had summoned her.

"Yes, Master?"

"I..." He stumbled. Stumbled and was pulled backwards. He struggled to keep himself from falling. The fragile yet strong hand of his Servant proved to be of great assistance. Her light-yellow hair, hinting at silver, moved forward. And that mere movement was the only evidence of her presence.

She barely felt the pressure on her hand. She had never allowed herself to be touched before, but now... this moment was an exception. She saw and felt it. Her Master seemed to be disappearing. The flow of Prana, previously faint but at least stable, dissolved like morning mist. And if this wasn't enough to cause panic, she didn't know what else would.

The Servant refused to let her Master fall. He could barely stand on his own feet, and she witnessed it. She saw what she had feared so much.

She vowed to herself to never be afraid again.

His cloak began to dissolve into the air, gradually, inexorably, and unavoidably brushing against his body. Weightless, yet relentless.

She had sworn to herself long ago that she would never cry again.

But tears welled up in her eyes, even though she didn't want them to.

"Master..."

"It's..."

He staggered forward, but unexpectedly, she embraced him, holding him tightly.

"It's so cold... I'm sorry..."

"Master!"

The icy touch soon reached his hair and the fabric of his deep sleeves, which had always irritated her. His hand wrapped around her shoulders. So softly and weightlessly. So gently that she could barely feel the tenderness.

His fingers lightly grazed the chains that adorned her attire. Only his right hand could rise to hold on. The left arm hung lifelessly by her side, no longer feeling anything.

He was already feeling himself very faintly in this world.

"No, Master, please, don't go!"

For as long as she could remember, she had never felt like this. She had never experienced such emotions and sensations.

But now... in this very moment, so desperately she didn't want him to disappear. Not because she would vanish as well, left without a source of energy, but because she had grown accustomed to being by his side. She had grown accustomed to the warmth and tenderness, which were forbidden in the War.

Accustomed to being loved, even though she had never paid much attention to it.

"I... don't... feel... so good..."

"Please!"

Tears streamed from her eyes, two barely noticeable trails, invisible to everyone else but palpable to her. Her heart raced in her chest as if it were going insane. Her hands shook, as did her lips, full of tiny, freshly healing wounds. She had bitten them too often to hold back. And now, in this moment...

"Forgive me... for not being able to lead you to the Grail... Forgive me..."

"Master!"

Avenger, with panic and horror, looked at her hands, on which the one she respected crumbled into dark gray ashes. The one she... perhaps even managed to love. The one who was her Master in this brief war.

And they vanished. Disappeared into gray ashes. Disappeared, without knowing or understanding. Craving to gain everything, they lost everything.

She didn't know what had kept her on her feet until now. Very soon, she too would have to vanish like this. She had no Prana source left, and her time in this world was numbered. The Servant felt that her time was slipping away. Slipping away like the life of her Master, whom she no longer felt.

"Gonna give up, d'Arc?"

A firm hand gripped her shoulder, not allowing her to fall to her knees where she had lost everything.

"Planning to disappear like all of them? To lose everything?"

Darkness and rage once again clouded her eyes. This was the voice she least wanted to hear right now. The annoying voice of the woman who had drunk the most of her blood in this fleeting War.

Her Master had told her about her. He had only spoken of the good, but she had shown herself from the worst side. From the most disgusting and horrible side.

Blood and darkness covered everything around.

"What do you want, Aozaki?"

A harsh smirk and a lit cigarette were her answer.

"To return everything to how it was."

*

So. As you may have guessed, this is a crossover event with Infinity War. The details are too long to describe, but:

1. The magi did not know/did not pay attention to the presence of the Infinity Stone nearby, whose power is comparable to 5 True Magics;

2. In Fuyuki, no one knew about Thanos' capabilities, let alone the Avengers. They had heard of Strange, but only briefly;

3. The composition of Servants and Masters is not important. For understanding, one thing is important, as you may have understood from the header - Jeanne d'Arc is summoned. Her Master is Fujimaru Ritsuka - the male protagonist;

4. This is a crossover with Fate/Stay Night, therefore, as you may have guessed, this is the Fifth Holy Grail War;

5. Oh yes... Touko. Touko pursued her own specific goals throughout the War, deciding to take part in it directly. And she had quite bad relations with Avenger, despite the fact that her Master had only told her good things about Aozaki when they were in Britain;

6. And yes, Touko and Avenger conflicted. Despite this fact, there was no conflict with the Master as such. The women did not divide something between themselves. What exactly - remains on your conscience and imagination;

7. How events will develop further - it all remains up to your taste, imagination and variability. But I assume that the girls were able to obtain the Infinity Stone and with the help of the direct owner of 5th True Magic came up with a way to turn back time;

8. Or a time-skip during which Jeanne served as Aozaki Touko's Servant and then everything returned to its original state.