Ruler was not the person she once was.
The Grail Wars and human history at large had taken their toll on the Grail, at whose command she now served. Where once the Grail had been benevolent, to a point, its corruption two centuries prior as a result of the World Wars had left it with its own dark desires that even Ruler did not fully understand.
In truth, this world was not the original human history, and yet it was no less legitimate than the one that spawned it. In that sense, it was not unlike Ruler herself, now transformed into an Alter Servant to make her more pliable for the Grail's will. Her other self was not the sort to bow to such a wicked force, but as she was now, she revelled in the destruction caused by the Wars.
It was ironic, given that she had been one of the Servants active at the time of the Grail's corruption and had joined Lancer of Britain's taskforce in their failed attempt to destroy the Grail. And now, she understood the Grail intimately, hidden knowledge of the truth of the world poured into her mind as the Grail's mud took hold of her.
Another world had existed before this one. Another Grail. Another War system. Another Fuyuki. Another World War II.
There, a man-made Grail War had been enacted by powerful mage families to expand their knowledge of magecraft. But it was not one of the three families that had succeeded in claiming the Grail in the Third Holy Grail War. Rather, it was an unaffiliated Chinese mage. Spurred on by the unspeakable atrocities committed against the Chinese people by the occupying Japanese military - atrocities that would once have made Ruler wretch and sob for the senselessness but now entertained her - this mage had summoned the Berserker Zhang Fei to crush the competition.
Once Hassan of Intoxicated Smoke fell lifeless and headless to the hard floor of the Matou Manor, the mage commanded Berserker to 'reunite with his brothers', ending the Third Holy Grail War and completing the ritual.
From the doorway of the hilltop manor, the mage saw the light of the starry sky blotted out by smoke and outmatched by the roaring flames devastating the city below, resulting from both the Grail War's Servant clashes and the American bombers fighting in the World War that waged on, its combatants forever oblivious to the contest for the Grail.
Whether magi or mundane, humanity always managed to find a way to destroy the world around them. And one another. Thus, the mage made his wish upon the corrupted Grail:
"I wish for a world where the Grail was taken out of human hands. Where human cruelty can no longer control the Grail or its power."
And thus, it was so.
The power of the Greater Grail of Fuyuki, rather than change the world as the mage had no doubt intended, instead created a new world - one where a new Holy Grail controlled the Wars. A Grail untainted by the depths of human depravity. That is, until history repeated itself, as if the manifestation of mankind's evils were some unbreakable cycle of inevitability.
What became of the mage who was unwittingly the god of this world where Ruler was summoned, even the Grail of this world knew not. It was understood that he was 'consumed', but by what, it could not be said.
But such a long-dead man no longer mattered. His world, whether it continued or ended after his wish, no longer mattered to this Grail, which had formed fresh, untouched by the sins of the old world. Nietzsche had been more literally correct than he could ever have known when he had coined his famous phrase, Ruler mused with sadistic satisfaction.
Or perhaps the new Grail could be considered God here. It controlled human history and inspired worship in equal measure through the Grail Wars. Certainly, it was only for this entity that Ruler's former piety (now better described as zealotry) had remained a part of her character.
For the Grail, corrupt and bitter as she was, Jeanne d'Arc would oversee this War, and revel in the carnage wrought by the wicked magi and their destructive Servants. And perhaps she might run into some 'old friends' along the way…
Despite how much control over her emotions her parents had always insisted upon, the anticipation was almost overwhelming for Rin as she locked the workshop door behind her and stared out over the spot where her destiny would be decided.
She was not the first Rin Tohsaka to compete in a Holy Grail War. That honour belonged to her great grandmother, who had fought in the twenty-first as the Master of that War's Archer-class Servant. This had been a point of pride for the younger Rin for her entire life. She even resembled the older Rin to an almost uncanny degree.
The only noteworthy distinction came in the form her sandy-blonde curls not being that gorgeous raven black she had seen in so many photographs of her namesake. And with her birth coming at just the right time to ensure she would have a chance at competing in the Twenty-Second Holy Grail War, she had always felt a sense of predestination surrounding her very existence. Her namesake had failed to obtain the Grail, so this felt like a second chance to achieve her dream.
Rin had made all the necessary preparations, dutifully followed the instructions left behind by the original Rin in her journals. Rin Tohsaka I had spent her post-War life furthering the study of magecraft and had become a leading figure at the Clocktower, even before reaching middle age. A prodigy, many had labelled her. And her descendant was seen by some as a second coming, due to her own incredible aptitude for the craft. And she was determined to prove them right.
She compared the summoning circle she had drawn up in the family workshop - the very same one in which her ancestor had drawn hers - to the one drawn in the journal. Her aqua eyes darted back and forth, comparing every tiny detail to ensure nothing was out of place. After what must have been a full half hour of comparing the tiniest of details, her eyes were growing tired of the exertion, and she finally decided she wasn't going to find any substantial faults in her work.
"Good." She snapped the journal closed and set it aside on a nearby workbench. She knew the next part of the process by heart, having had it drilled into her by her parents from a young age. By now, she could recite in entire incantation in her sleep. She could finish this by herself.
She took in the faint glow of the summoning circle as it illuminated the candlelit workshop in which she had spent untold hours preparing for this very moment these last sixteen years. Normally, she would be accompanied by one of her parents, ensuring her education was proceeding smoothly. But now, she was alone, having asserted her desire to work on this in isolation as her orphaned namesake once had. Her parents had reluctantly acquiesced.
The only substantial difference was that this Rin had a catalyst prepared for her summoning, while the prior Rin had not. This had been the greatest regret of the original Rin, who had not been granted the Saber-class Servant she had desired. Her writings had asserted the elegant nobility of the Saber that was later summoned, and she had even worked with the Master of that Saber for a time, allowing her to allay some of the regret.
For this Rin, Saber was the class she was aiming for as well, in both slots, but not the one she personally desired. She had always found the image of a gallant spearman far more enticing than a simple sword-wielder, regardless of the many benefits of the Saber class.
Ultimately, this had been a compromise insisted upon by her parents to allow her the freedom to conduct the ritual by herself. A fair trade, she supposed, and she could take comfort in the knowledge that this meant she was adhering to her ancestor's path all the more for this stipulation. Besides, she might luck out and snag one of each, making everyone happy. Of course, she wouldn't say no to an Archer or a Caster either.
Reciting the incantation proved to be the simplest part of the process, so deeply ingrained into her mind as the words were. Controlling the flow of mana was a little trickier, but nothing a prodigy like herself couldn't handle with relative ease. This was the part that her lifetime of training could not completely prepare her for; nor could her ancestor's notes.
The previous Grail War had been of the common 'seven Masters and seven Servants' variety. Based on the Grail's vision this time, this was to be a War where each Master would summon a pair of Servants, for a total of fourteen - two of each class. In theory, drawing up two summoning circles and preparing individual but simultaneous rituals would have been the most efficient choice; but Rin daren't risk making a mistake on one of the circles and disrupting the entire ritual.
Instead, she opted to use a single circle twice consecutively, choosing the catalyst for the second based on the result of the first. If she managed to summon a Servant the first time, her position as a Master in this War would be secured and she could prepare for the second with greater freedom.
As the last of the words departed her lips, she opened her eyes to find the room aglow with the blood-red light of the magic circle.
This was really happening - she was summoning her very own Servant! She had to force herself to remain composed, lest she somehow mess up any part of the process that had yet to complete.
A crackle of crimson lightning burst forth from the circle; as did a strong gust of unnatural wind. Truly, Rin had never felt more powerful than she did in this moment. That is, until the wind kicked up enough dust to send her into a coughing fit. Between the ritual completing and the wind extinguishing the candles, the room fell into near total darkness, illuminated only by the pale moonlight streaming in through the nearby window.
Although limited, the moon provided enough light for Rin to see the spot on her bench where she had left her smartphone. With its flashlight function activated, she now stared in disbelief at the set of blood-red Command Seals had now adorned the back of her right hand. Her eyes grew wide as she realised that she recognised the shape the symbols had formed: it was exactly like the one her namesake's seals had formed on her own hand: two arches, one smaller and positioned inside the other to form a rough circle, with a small vertical line beneath. She then noticed the other three parts of the shape.
"Six?" Weren't there supposed to be three? Was she recognised as a Master of two Servants despite only summoning one? And speaking of that, where was her Servant? The circle was dull and lifeless, her seals clear as day. She had performed the ritual correctly. Hadn't she? She looked over the scabbard at the centre of the circle, wondering if that had-
An almighty crash shook the entire building. Rin's head snapped in the direction of the door as her mother shrieked, likely from the location of the crash's source. Rin was out the door and dashing for where the sounds of the ongoing commotion originated: the sitting room. Rin bashed the door open and had her hands up to fire off her magic if she needed to defend her parents who, while accomplished mages in their own rights, had long since been surpassed by their prodigious progeny. But there didn't seem to be any sort of attack.
At least not right now. The ceiling had an enormous hole blasted into it and the room was awash with dust and debris from whatever had caused that. It was only when she observed the two individuals sat on the broken sofa on the other side of the room that she realised the cause of the localised earthquake that had drawn her here.
The first she took note of was a woman, clad in a blue dress and steel armour, resembling a romanticised depiction of a female European knight. Were it not for the legendary scabbard she herself had placed as the catalyst, Rin likely would have assumed this was Jeanne d'Arc. Could she instead be the Lady of the Lake?
The man beside her seemed almost specifically chosen to contrast his companion. His short hair was a fiery orange against her luxurious, tied-up gold. His attire was a deep crimson coat over some black clothing or other. His features suggested an eastern origin to oppose her western origin. And yet, despite these differences, Rin got the sense that the two were perfectly at ease with one another. As if they, in spite of their vastly different origins, bore a strange sense of familiarity. In fact, the two seemed to exchange a knowing look of some sort after they observed Rin's entrance. What this look could mean, she had no idea.
"Who are you?" Rin demanded, her finger gun poised to dish out some serious damage.
A shared grin spread across both intruders' lips. The woman's was slightly smaller, more reserved than the man's. "I'd have thought that was obvious," the man replied, pushing himself to his feet. He held out a hand to pull his companion to her own feet, but she opted to rise by her own power. Only then did she take his hand, before turning to face Rin.
"I am your Saber-class Servant," the woman declared.
"And I'm Archer," the man added before he bowed in a way that confirmed he was Japanese.
"My... Servants? Plural?" 'Surprise' wasn't quite the correct word to describe what Rin was feeling as these two strangers made their declarations, but she couldn't find a word that did fit. "Th-That's right. I, Rin Tohsaka, am your Master for this, the Twenty-Second Holy Grail War! I hope you won't disappoint me."
"She looks just like her," Rin could swear Archer whispered to Saber in their secret conference.
"She acts like her as well," Saber responded, to which Archer seemed to agree.
"And the way she's glaring at us… Uncanny."
"Perhaps, she has what it takes to get it right this time."
Unbeknownst to her, the two Servants were just as excited by these circumstances as she was - only for much loftier reasons than their Master was. These two warriors of bygone eras were, ironically, done looking backwards, and had their eyes set firmly on the future. They would do what both had failed to in the previous two Grail Wars, with this familiar prodigy by their side. The Grail Wars would finally come to an end.
With that, both Servants faced Rin and gave a respectful bow. She sensed that the two were satisfied, or perhaps outright please with this result. They soon stood tall, striking mighty, imposing figures that made Rin feel oddly at ease, despite the wreckage surrounding them. They fixed her with a pair of steely gazes that could truly be better described as one.
"Tell us, Rin Tohsaka..."
"Are you worthy to be our Master?"
And with that, the story of Fate/Centennial is complete.
As previously stated, the original plan was just to write certain key scenes to convey the overall narrative, hence why some characters have so little focus. Others were neglected because they do not have a full depiction in Fate, or because I lacked solid ideas for their role or relationships, or because they're Tristan. I may come back and insert new chapters if I have good enough ideas for them, but as of right now, this 130 page story is over.
I was unsure where to include the explanation for the Centennial world's origin, but I knew I had to since I'd already set it up in an earlier chapter. One idea was for Artoria to understand as she was consumed by the Grail mud, but that would have taken away from the emotional journey of that chapter. Another was for Shirou to just understand as he died at Camlann. And the third was to create another chapter as Chapter 0 or a post-epilogue. Ultimately, I think inserting it at the start of the epilogue is the best place to fit it.
I'd like to thank everyone who gave this story a go, and gave encouragement or feedback positive or negative. My other long series consist of short stories that jump around the respective franchise's timeline, so this long-form story has been something new for me. I can only hope I've managed to entertain and provide some interesting new ideas here. Once again, thank you.