I'm becoming more active on discord so anyone just a fan of fanfiction, any of my current or future works, or just wanna vibe, come on through.
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Hung by wires, tubes littering the area around them with needles etched into portions of their body, lies one child.
Magic circles on the floor, walls, and ceiling beat alive in synchronicity. At each corner of the room, a doll-like servant. Dead red eyes, armed weaponry, and all.
BZZZZT!
All at once, the mysterious formula halts as the magic glyphs fade into nothingness. As steam emits from seemingly nowhere, the child drops into the arms of the awaiting servant.
Wordlessly, he's carried away to feel the soft sensation of what can only be his bed.
"Rest, Master. You will be needed again." The hollow servant bids closing the door.
With it, that familiar lull of silence made itself known once again.
How long has it been… since he gained a conscience?
What kind of life did he have… when he was only an infant?
Who… were his parents?
Ever since he gained sapience, an endless stream of questions always rattled his mind.
What was the outside world like… compared to the inside of this ship?
Would he be allowed… to take in the saltwater air?
How much longer would it take… until that fateful "day of recognition" arrived?
Simple matters he learned while growing up in tandem with terminology he yet understood always echoed at the forefront.
When was the last time… he didn't feel so tired?
When was the last time… he wasn't in pain?
When was the last time… he felt happy?
Happiness… That was still a somewhat foreign concept.
As his eyes winced and body reeled from the rays impacting his skin, he could not turn away. Rather, his curiosity beckoned him further out. Stories of puffy masses of water resembling cotton floated along the sky bering sea. The very solution he's drunk numerous times flowed with a gentle rhythm far beyond the endless horizon. The repetitious sounds of the formless liquid lightly assaulting the ship only drew his interest further.
Stepping once, his attention finally caught the countless servants he's known for as long as he could remember.
"Go on, Son."
Acknowledging the permission given, he passed each and every armed individual. Swords, clubs, bows, and other weapons he learned about laid at the ready on their persons. Peering over, a twinge of fear from the sudden height made his skin stand on end for only a moment.
Too lost in the mesmerizing sight was he to be fearful. All he could do… was awe.
"To be happy is to have accepted that the causality before you is something that appeals to you. Even if your body is ragged and full of an indescribable weight physically, mentally, or emotionally; that's when you'll know for certain what true happiness is."
Those were the words his "father" spoke following his first and only trip atop the deck.
He yearned to go back once more in the future. Whenever he was given a momentary reprieve, he would request whichever servant was presiding over him to pass the message along. Some were responsive, acknowledging the favor. Others were not…
Mind returning to the present, his eyes shutter open to meet the dark cabin he's slept in. No lamp, no possession to claim as "prize-worthy" enough. Just his clothes, his bed, and himself.
As he laid there sideways basking in nothing as he has every other night, his focus drew to the sole light under his door where the corridor lies. From there, he hears voices.
"Master has obtained more cargo. Special cargo."
He knew long since undergoing his "treatment" what that meant.
Children or infants with a high magical affinity were captured. Locked in cargo containers. Out of all the children his father has experimented on, he has been the only one to survive and prove a success. Hence why so much work and effort on both sides have been so prevalent. For his father, it would mean success, fame, and a "new future" as he would often talk about. For himself, it would simply mean his survival.
"Level your voice as for the young master to not hear you. Tell me, have they been secured?"
"Yes."
"Then why initiate this conversation? What worries you?"
"Rumors had begun to swirl of something with an incredible amount of mana being sensed days prior to today. One that stands in equivalence with Master Relon."
"I have heard. Only to vanish as quickly as it was sensed…"
"Yes. A storm is approaching. Were something to transpire…"
"I understand. Hmm, Master Relon is still recuperating. Let us depart. Even if it is a simple hunch, we mustn't allow any harm to become of Master's work while he is away."
"At once. I feel it is an omen. An ominous omen…"
As the click-clacking of footsteps became distant, the conversation remained.
Someone was out there… like him.
Someone was out there… like them.
Someone was out there… in danger.
He didn't like that. Not one bit.
Despite the agony and weakness his body harbored, inch by inch, he crawled until the door stood before him. Mustering a burst of strength, the child latches onto the door. With a ragged breath, he pulls it open to find the hall empty.
Intercepting his first step, a cry of sorts permeates the very air. It was of a high pitch yet it did not bother him in the slightest. Next came a sudden rock as the lights flickered. Knocked against the wall, an exasperated breath escapes. One in which the young boy quickly covers in fear of alerting any presences.
As the heart-numbing silence passes, nothing comes.
Once more, that shrill screech likely pain to anyone else blesses his ears.
He needed to go… otherwise they would be in danger.
Rising his wobbly legs, one careful step after the other, he began his trek. Long since had he recalled the layout of the ship including the common routes his father's servants would take. Yet, none were ever seen.
Another sound, this one less of a screech and more of a bellowing roar.
What followed next wasn't a gift upon his ears.
A shot like that from a gun he's seen servants use numerous times. Only this was more so a cannon. He could feel the wavelength. It's pitch, tone, volume; all of it pass by. In tandem with that sound, a thud from somewhere made the ship rock once more.
Was that the one… like him?
He needed… to hurry!
Why had this sense of urgency manifested? Did it stir him forward because the guards had left?
No… There have been rare occasions where the guards have left their post. During those times, he would either attempt to see the sky once again and be caught or be too weak to even try.
What about the other children like him?
No… Like the batches before, their fates too were sealed the moment they boarded the Gigantic. He held no power to attempt anything and even if he did, he feared what would could should he rebel.
At that, he paused. No longer responsive as the echoing cries and rumbling resounded in repetition.
He was a coward.
He'd long since come to that realization and once again he reminded himself just how pathetic he was. Since when had his mind gone numb to it all? The tests, the experimentations, the massacre of human life; it all felt like the turning of blank pages. Just that. Blank.
So why now did he care?
What was propelling him forward?
Finally seeing the cold, metallic, door at the end of a hall, his pace quickens while the onslaught of sounds grow louder.
He had no cause to go anywhere. He could return to his numbing life. There were no risks in doing such. So why…? Why…?
Uneven breathing hitching, the faintest of two rings appear around his wrists. Emanating a red hue before vanishing, a sudden surge of strength enables the door to be spun open.
Pushing it, he falls forward and into a world unlike anything he's experienced.
Whereas before his bare feet felt the warm metal under the bright sun, now, his skin was pelted by a strange liquid that descended from the black skies. Overhead, shadows blur along the cargo containers.
"We must quell this beast!"
"Kill it dead!"
"We're losing too many! We need to end this or Master's lifelong work is over!"
What was happening? Servants were… dying? What was capable of-
Once again, the ear-shattering shriek came. Like an orca mixed with that of a siren, its cry was only a warning for what was to come next. Out his peripheral at the numerous ships paling in comparison to the Gigantic, a blinding blue light disintegrates all unfortunate to stand in its wake.
By the time his head whirled to what had just occurred, it was already over. A portion of the parted sea was already refilling itself and any signs of the once afloat ships no longer existed.
Any words attempting to come died immediately as that unknown strength vanished. Mouth quivering at the horrid smell, he scurried backwards against a crate.
The lives of the servants aboard…
There one minute… and gone the next…
Again, the siren-orca shriek came. Again, the question of why he was doing any of this came.
There were those in danger. His own actions were not the cause behind his frail and weakened body acting like this. The voice that had been calling out had been urging him to move. To not be a constant.
Instinctively, something clicked this time.
Amidst the servants shooting overhead to the forefronts, a power like that could easily wipe out the Gigantic. If it was able to unleash such a potent attack, why hadn't it done that during its fire attack?
He wanted- He needed to know the answers to everything. He needed to bear witness not to the horrors of chaos that likely lies ahead. He needed to understand the meaning behind the inner turmoil that his beaten self still failed to comprehend.
Even if destruction incarnate stood just ahead, even if more death and ruin palpable to anything seen until now lied ahead, he had to know.
"Our urge for something, we'll say power as an example, gives off a swelling sensation that erupts forcing us humans to propel forwards. It is one of our greatest strengths. It can be yours too, Relon."
He was weak. So weak he couldn't stand straight. Even still, he wanted to know. In order to know, he had to move.
Once more, the familiar strength returned. Ignoring the chaos above, his eyes bore a new sense of determination. This power festered through his emotions, his desires. From that, he became keenly aware of his capabilities.
Looking above as another swarm of servants blurred overhead, his goal became clear.
Reach the frontlines.
With one firm step, he carefully rose. Looking to the lower deck where the containers lay, the servants' earlier conversation resurfaced. Gripping the railing, he descended into the dark.
The cold metal against skin was a stark contrast to what he knew of. Was this that "rain" his father and the servants would often bring up? Questions would have to wait.
He had to first locate where those children were.
"Your mana reserves have increased exponentially since your tests first started. Having the capability to sense other individuals sporting lower mana compared to yours should be a simple matter, Relon."
Shivering from the wet touch of skin to metal, his breath goes still. Vision going dark, a new sight unveiled the area around him. With it, the dim presences bundled in a container.
Doubling his pace, careful not to slip, he soon stopped before a container. Hands once again on the level, he began to turn only for a faint light to glimmer before knocking him off his feet.
Sliding against another container, he gasps dropping to the ground.
Again, the siren-orca call came followed by a blue hue now to the other side of the ship.
He needed to be faster.
To be faster… he needed to be strong.
He hated the weakness that was his very being. He was only a child but already his mind could grasp so much. The experiences through testing and experiments, the tutelage under his father; everything culminated into an early understanding of his world. Regardless of how limited it was.
One thing in particular that he was aware of was that ever since reaching the outside, the fresh saltwater air he'd long since missed was slowly making him stronger.
No…
It wasn't that he was getting stronger per say… It was that his strength was returning to his body.
Once more, he rose. Not with a mighty stomp but a careful one. No longer did his body ache as badly as it had every other day. Like magic from the fairy tells read to him, the pain began to alleviate by the second.
No longer did he wish to waste precious time. Again he gripped the handle. More and more, the power he's honed until now began to surge outwards. Unbeknownst to his closed eyes, the glyph atop the barrier began to crack.
More and more he dumped his seemingly limitless power until a snap followed by a small thump. Eyes opening, they soon widened at the entire door having been broken off as noted by the destroyed hinges.
Peering inside the cold darkness past the dissipating particles, his eyes meet several pairs of sight orbs. Various colors, all inch away as far as they can with the boys at the forefront.
Though as they take in the young savior himself, their weariness begins to drop.
"You're not with them, are you?"
The first boy, a redhead, spoke as he discarded his guard.
Before he could answer however, another screech came. One jarring emitter that made the children cover their ears. Unaffected, he realized their own responses.
He needed to reach that person. They needed to get away.
As it died down once again to be replaced with explosions and other sounds of the like, his eyes whirled around to stop at a raft along the side of the ship.
Voice unable to speak from the rushing idea, all he could do was point.
Peering out and then into the same direction, the boys look.
"A raft?"
"We can use that!"
"Come on!" A black haired child beckons
One by one, they helped the others out. Assisting in them boarding, he remains the last. Beginning to lower themselves, the last male, a black haired youth with glasses, looks to the still boy aboard the ship.
"What are you doing, come on!"
He couldn't go with them. Not yet.
Shaking his head, he quickly lets loose the binds holding the first boat followed by the second.
"What do you mean no?!"
"Are you insane, you'll get yourself killed!"
"Jump in, hurry!"
He couldn't. He wanted to. But he couldn't.
There were no longer any vessels on this side of the Gigantic. That meant whoever fired that beam would not again on this side.
He had to believe that to be the case!
Watching them hit the ocean, he turned in the direction of the ship's front. That person was still waiting for them.
"Master Relon?"
Everything in that moment came to a sudden, bone-chilling halt. Like a broken record, his head stuttered to the side. Cold, dead, red eyes belonging to a servant stood before him.
Heart racing seconds passed as the realization dawned on both. Immediately, he attempted to turn and run only to bump into the servant having reappeared in front of him. The hulking servant's own speed was something that stunned the boy.
Putting space as quickly as he could, the servant's expression before one of horror. Daring not to follow his gaze, Relon's own bubbly horror relents and finds the cargo container wide open.
"THE CHILDREN HAVE ESCAPED!" His voice bellowed and just like that, the servants moving overhead stopped and immediately surrounded the young boy.
"Master Relon, why are you here?"
"Where have the children gone, Master?"
"Answer and your punishment will be little."
"Don't answer and… well, you better answer."
One slow step followed by another, the servants honed in on the child. His chances at reaching that person had been sealed off. The vision he had was no longer a possibility. His efforts had crumbled before he could truly do anything.
"Come, Master Relon." The hulking behemoth of a man before him spoke, reaching his hand out. "It is not safe here. The time for play is not now."
His efforts no matter how feeble were still attempts that he dared to claim as his own. Underneath the infinite rain in the cold, his blood began to boil.
What he doing wasn't a game. If anything, the acts they committed were inhumane. What they did to the countless children before and after him, what they did to himself, and what they did to his real parents…!
In spite of all the fairy tells he read, not one described any parent as merciless and uncaring as his father. The lives taken away for their own evil intentions, the cowardice he sported all his life, the unknown world kept from him, and that sadistic nature his father held towards him.
All of it came down to a single response.
"... No."
That singular word so quiet that had it not been for the super hearing of the hollow servants, they all would have missed it. Even as it processed in their minds, a part of each wanted to shrug off the answer as mishearing because of the conflict a little distance away mixed with the rain.
But they knew what they heard. They knew what he said…
Desperation. Fear. Empathy. Numbness. Sadness. Shame. So many emotions and feelings spiraled within the boy's very soul. But what came to the surface above all of those… was rage and determination.
"What did you say… boy?"
From his body, a light of crimson shot straight up parting the dark sky. The sheer force unleashed sends the servants skidding away.
"His power's returned!"
"Grab him!"
"We need to get him under the desk to suppress his mana!"
Eyes reopening, a magic glyph appears underneath as another shockwave sends three servants back. Holding his ground, the hulking man bears his intentions on the boy who mirrors the glare.
Arms outstretched, the two black rings along his wrists begin to manifest as three small vertical slash marks lay overtop.
"Command Seals! STOP HIM!"
At once, all lunge forward.
At once, two brilliant lights form from nothing.
At once, all goes still…
Adrenaline coursing through his veins, his vermilion eyes cannot peel away from the sight before him.
To his right; a woman with two red spears lodged within two hollow servants. She has long purple hair and red eyes donned in a full-body outfit with metallic shoulder pads. Covering her mouth and nose is a simple face mask.
To his left; another woman having choked the life out of one hollow servant with a chain-like weapon. She has longer light magenta hair and wears a blindfold-like visor over her eyes and a short black dress with magenta armor to the legs and black shoes.
In front of him, a single dagger embedded in the hulking man. Even as he alongside his fellow hollow servants began to vanish, his stubbornness persisted.
"Y-You…"
"I need to go." There was no need to explain himself. "They're waiting for me." After all, what point is there to explain something to a body whose flame has been extinguished?
Withdrawing the tiny blade, the man coughs out black liquids. Watching as empty red gazed at his vermilion, no more words were spoken as the hollow servants vanished into nothingness. Peering down at the blade in hand, it vanishes into thin air.
"Tell us, child."
That's right. He'd done what his supposed father had wanted him to do. Refocusing on the two adults before him, the destruction in the background seemingly the least important, his eyes lift to meet theirs.
"Are you our master?" The chain user questions.
Opening his mouth to answer, nothing comes as he suddenly finds himself in the arms of the spearwoman. With shock came the sudden gust of wind against his face. Eyes struggling to open, once they were they once again were buck wide.
High above the Gigantic falling lifelessly were the three. The sudden fear of falling makes his body coil around the woman. Only in doing so does his eyes finally take sight of it all. Flames, magic, and numerous other attacks lay siege on a single individual standing atop the raging water.
From this distance, even with his eyesight, he couldn't fully make out the individual's appearance.
"There…!" He urges, fear already fleeing his body as bears witness to the caller forms a barrier.
Eyes shifting from him to the battle far below, the spearwoman remains idle momentarily questioning the child's attempts at breaking from her grasp.
"Incoming." Hearing her fellow servant's warning, she spots a volley of magic approaching.
"Here." She says relinquishing the child for the chain-user to catch him. "Get him to that." She gestures to the chaos far below before with a tuck, she bursts off.
His eyes can only watch as the reddish-purple streak maneuvers past each attack before glowing red arcs slash and pierce any hollow servants unfortunate enough in their paths.
"What is it you wish, Child?"
The way she said that in spite of their dire circumstances made everything around seem so insignificant. He could not meet her eyes but it felt as though her own covered by that band bore directly into his own.
"I want… I need to go." He answers, correcting himself as his gaze redirects from the massacre on the ship to the massacre out at sea.
"Understood."
About to question her answer, he felt her hold on him suddenly tighten. As if pushing off against something, they surge through the air. To him, the residual attacks aimed at them were close to landing yet for some reason, he felt as though the servant holding him knew they wouldn't land their mark.
Pummeling barrages of bullets, magic, and anything else the remaining army of hollow servants held seemed to prove ineffective. The lone individual nearing ship seemed unfazed all the while.
"Closer…"
He could almost make out the person amongst the rainy darkness.
"Just a little more…!"
Even as hollow servant after hollow servant succumbed to her potent strength via water or abilities, it didn't matter.
His life up until now, the free children adrift at sea, the servant summoned by his own power, even this very individual not a single hollow servant was capable of harming much less defeating; he simply needed to say one thing.
Making out the odd shape the clear female harbored, he'd unconsciously begun to slip from the chain-user's grasp.
It's not that her hold was weakening. It's that he was overpowering her.
Attempting to regrip him, it was too late.
Seizing the moment, thought of what was to follow fully disregarded, he jumped.
Reaching out for him, her mind immediately began to give chase but her body halted.
Why?
Because whatever magical being stood above the watery surface had caught sight of them. And…
"Her arms are reaching out for him?"
"I'M HERE!"
All that mattered to the child, the test subject to seemingly an eternity of mind numbing pain, was to call out. This being for what felt like an endless amount of time between departing his quarters to now had called. Over and over yearning for a response. He was young but even that was something he understood.
As the most distinct portions of one another became identical, as the chaos around them began to come to a halt, all either could do was care about one thing; their first meeting.
Unknown Location
Everything was white. Color held no meaning, no life, in the space he stood in. All that he stood within was a void of nothingness.
"Where… am I?"
"We are in our space."
Turning around in the direction his consciousness first opened to now stood the being herself. No longer was she stained in red and black. Now illuminated by light itself without a source, he could properly take her in. The body of a woman was the most obvious factor. With light blue hair clad in leg and arm covering of sorts, two large horns that curved twice over, and eyes similar to his own, she smiled.
Not a fake one his supposed father sported nor one without any meaning like many of the hollow servants. This one was different. He'd never seen anything like it but the sensation bubbling within his chest told him this was sincere.
"May I… ask you what your name is?" He'd blurted something so obvious out. The whole time he had worked to get here, he was as careful as he could be and to do something like that… It felt embarrassing.
Yet, his mistake managed to elicit a giggle from the entity, the woman, before him.
"Tiamat. May I ask yours?" She wondered, smile still radiating that warmth he was unfamiliar with.
"R-Relon." He stammered, righting himself with a steady breath. "Relon Lucinance."
"Relon…" She muses, head lifting to nothing in particular. "To rely on, no?"
Was that the meaning behind his name? Something so simple that a stranger he's only just met could solve whereas he couldn't? Was she that wise in intellect… or was he that inferior?
"Lu…cin…ance." She counted off carefully. "Luck and sin I understand." She notes dropping two fingers. "But the last part I can not. 'Ance' can be related to anything. Tell me, Relon, what does that part mean?"
He inwardly gulped.
This woman who had deciphered his own name with ease could not decipher the last part of his surname! What hope did he have to…
As the thought began to permeate, the notion behind it waned.
"Chance." He spoke. "My luck, whether fortunate or not, my own sins committed, and the chance at a new beginning… That is my answer."
"To rely upon luck and chance are humanistic tendencies. But your sins as well… I cannot understand that."
"I… let others get hurt when I could have done something. I don't want that to happen again."
"I know." Lifting up, he meets a tender hand atop his head. "You are kind, Relon. I sensed it."
Whether her demeanor, the way she carried herself, or simply the sound of her loving tone; he felt safe within the confines of her presence.
Gigantic
Blinking into reality, he feels the safety net that is Tiamat's arms relinquish from his form. In doing so, he notices the red and black extensions of her form as well as the eerie water recede to normal until both stand atop the now calm waters.
"The storm has ceased."
Gazing around at the lifeless battlefield once filled with the very servants that kept watch for so many years, his heart was mixed. He'd disobeyed the, even taking the life of one.
So why…
"You do not feel anything, do you?"
She knew. Of course she did. She was a perceptive entity after all.
Nodding, she rests her hand on his shoulders as they gaze at the Gigantic. At the bow of the ship stood the chain-user. Above her at the highest point stood the spearwoman.
"That is okay. You are still inexperienced as I am. Together, we shall learn anew. The proper way."
"The proper way?" A nod comes as her answer.
"What is it you wish for, Relon?"
What was is wish? Was he allowed to wish? Was he capable of choosing something when his body felt so conflicted, so undeciding that he knew not what emotion to sport?
"Freedom from fate." He didn't. "Freedom from pain." He held no right. "Freedom from him." He should suffer like those have before him. "Freedom from the curse known as the Holy Grail War."
He should have died tonight. That would have been the best way to atone. But he didn't. He survived. This selfish wish would be what he'd claim. This life prize would be what he would hold onto.
"I wish for a new life."
For a moment, Tiamat did not respond. With that calm gaze, her analytical mind likely at work, her hands lifted off as she motioned him to follow.
"Very well."
With a careful step, he did not fall. One foot in front of the other with her hand as his guide, they neared the ship.
"HEEEEEEEY!"
Halting their stride, both peer over a small ways away to find two boats. Amidst the tiny vessels; the children.
"They're alive…!" Stepping forward ahead of the horned woman, his stunned awe shifts into a relief. "OVER HERE!" Unconsciously, he sprinted off. All the while unaware of Tiamat's powers ensuring he never sunk into the ocean.
Watching from the Gigantic, a tender smile etches itself across the chain-user's lips.
"It would seem Master has no wish for bloodshed. Much less any care for the Holy Grail War."
Quietly landing next to her, the other servant twirls her bloody spears into nothingness before stopping beside her. Eyes taking in the children cling to one another, she shifts to the lone individual.
"A Master capable of summoning multiple servants… Much less a Master who despises conflict."
"Does that detest you?"
"... He proved his courage. I shall relent for now." She states lowering her facemask.
"So you do recognize him as your Master. I am curious. Does the cause relate to her?"
"No. Whether ally or foe, if she attempts to bring harm to our lives or Master's, then I shall use everything in my power to exterminate those that stand against such sacred wishes. Even her should that time come to pass."
"Then it seems we are in agreement. I cannot help but wonder how that clash would result…"
Taking notice of the children's attention go towards the two servants, a handful of waves and audible chatter follows.
"We are being summoned." A chuckle comes.
Not responding, a light manifests from both as they vanish to appear before the group.
"We're all here so what should we do?"
"Obviously get far away from here."
"Duh, but go where?"
"Anywhere but here."
Peering up at the Gigantic, his eyes turn to Tiamat.
"Where is the closest portion of land?" Without a thought, she points in the direction behind herself. "Then we'll go that way." He states pointing forward.
"Why the opposite?"
"Fath- The leader aboard the Gigantic left for business. The closest piece of land is likely where he went."
"Instead of going straight towards him, we're putting more space between us!" A nod is the child's confirmation.
Facing the endless sea, rays of light begin to pierce the dark clouds. One by one, as if chosen by the very Gods, each child is selected.
"We still haven't introduced ourselves, have we?" It was comical how none had realized.
With a nod, the roll call began.
"Relon Lucinance."
"Shirou Emiya. And this is our little sister, Illya."
"It's nice to meet you all. Illyasviel von Einzbern." The youngest bows.
"Leysritt Einzbern. Just Liz is fine."
"Ritsuka Fujimaru." Two kids greet in unison.
"You both have the same name?"
"Why?" Leysritt blandly asks for both siblings to chuckle.
"We wish we knew, honestly."
"Hmm… Fujimaru." Liz points to the brother before shifting to the sister. "Ritsuka."
"Leave it to Liz to make something so confusing simple." Shirou sighs for a giggle to escape from Illya.
"That works for me. What about you, Fujimaru?" She grins cheekily.
"Makes things easy, Sis."
"Shiki Tohno." He greets adjusting his glasses.
"Akiha Tohno. A pleasure to meet you all."
With that, the numerous curious heads turn to the three adults.
"Just Rider is fine." The chain-user greets noting of the neutral expression her fellow servant wears. "I believe our class type shall suffice for now. Is that alright, Master?"
Nodding, all look to the woman besides Rider.
"Lancer."
One more, eyes shift.
"Tiamat."
"Ms. Rider, Lance, and Tiamat, huh?" Shirou hums aloud. "Alright then, Relon, lead the way."
"Huh? Me?"
"You did save us." Fujimaru adds.
"But… Why me?"
"You are the one that summoned two servants." Shiki gestures.
"Still…"
"Come on, let's not stay here." Liz urges pushing Relon.
"Let's go, Onii-chan!" Illya smiles, grasping Shirou's hand.
"H-Hey, Illya wait!"
"New life here we come! Don't get left behind, Fujimaru!"
"Sis, wait up!"
"Seems we've made some interesting friends."
"Nii-san, will we be okay?"
"Don't worry. We're still together, aren't we?" Extending a hand, her worry vanishes to be replaced with a smile.
Taking it, she can only nod following after their new family.
"Our children truly are a lively bunch."
"Our?" Lancer arches a brow. "Having a child versus a student contrast in many elements. Much less a group."
"Give it time." Rider muses with a chortle as she alongside Tiamat begin their slow waltz after the group. "You'll come around."
Blinking emptily, Lancer's gaze goes past the two magical beings, through the lively children, to land on Relon himself. Much of his own being was shrouded in mystery. With time, she was certain an understanding would come but… she could not help but wonder.
How long will this life of peace reign until the darkness seeps back into this new life? What form would this evil take? That of the slain servants? The progenitor of her master? Or…
Raising her eyes to the behemoth ship, she can only quietly vanish, reappearing to the other side of Tiamat.
Will the source of such a calamity come from something closer to them?
Noticing Relon look past his new friend, she's met with a calm serenity his smile adores.
"That look suits you both."
The words belonging to the Goddess of Beginning stirred her. In doing so, she barely caught her own expression matching Relon's. As quick as it had come, it vanished.
One thing was certain.
Whatever was to come, they had to be ready. All of them.