Gwyndolin Interlude: The Shadow Behind the Sun (Ending)
"Well. We're inside, Gwyndolin." Ritsuka turned from the others and looked up, raising his voice and calling out into the hall. His voice echoing around him as he did so. Turning the torch around and seeing that on either side of the hall there were a series of support pillars which stretched from the floor all the way to the ceiling and just behind those, he could make out the defined shape of a staircase clinging to the wall and moving up to a small outcrop on either side. "Just like I said we would."
He wasn't sure whether or not he was going to get an answer, indeed the silence that followed seemed to go on for a period of time longer than he had been expecting. Rolling his lips inwards and continually glancing around. All the while that sense of tension remained thick in the air, the notion that something was going to happen at any moment.
"...Do you have any more tests for us…or are we finally going to be face to face?"
Turning the torch towards a slight crack, he saw Faraam with his hand resting on one of the support pillars and running his palm along it for a few moments before he pulled away with an exhale. "...What do you hope to gain with this, Gwyndolin? I am back in Anor Londo - even if no more than a mere figment - and with me is Gwynevere. What was your purpose in bringing us here?"
Stepping away, the God spread his empty arms wide. "Because if you wish to lay your grief upon me, then I shall hear you…but I shall not remain an idle punching bag, Gwyndolin. We all had our choices and I made mine. There was nothing forcing you to-"
Choices, he says.
Do you hear him, Medusa? He speaks of choices.
Yes, we did have our choices.
You made yours. We suffered for them.
I suffered for them.
I spent my life suffering for them.
Gwyndolin wanted only a single thing. Just one simple thing that he would have been happy if he received. The belief that if he tried hard enough, that if he sacrificed more, he would eventually be rewarded with it.
So he slaved away.
Fighting for whatever scrap of recognition he could get.
While it was handed to all of you without even ever thinking of what life was like for those without it.
I gifted it to others and received none of my own.
I lived devoid of it…That single wish in my heart went unanswered.
Clinging alone to the pathetic delusion that in doing this, I would have earned that recognition from father. That I would have succeeded where all others failed.
Yet it was a fantasy born of the mind of a sad little creature.
I had a single goal…and I devoted my life to it.
Bit by bit.
Year by year.
My spirit died a little with each cycle.
Realising that in devoting my everything to fantasy…I ignored the reality of my situation until it was far too late. Having lost everything in the quest for the false I was left alone. The world passed me by without ever realising what I was doing for it.
And all others, those who left, continued to live their happy little lives.
I'm not going back to being that weak little boy.
That feeble little creature anymore.
Such a person no longer exists.
I'm claiming my title here and now.
I am the Dark Sun.
And I shall finally be free.
And to congratulate my new title, my new perspective on the world…
The space around them shimmered, Ritsuka felt as though he was now standing on something similar to quicksand, and a second later the world around became naught but a rush of wind as the cathedral around him crumbled away into dust, yet he did not fall as the building became nothing. Instead he remained firmly on his feet as the ground shifted, the polished smooth tiles were stripped away, the great stone pillars became lost in the wind, the roof above his head was torn and flung high into the sky before it promptly vanished.
In the whirlwind of silent destruction, he remained untouched along with those who stood around him. Nothing more than bystanders as the world crumbled to dust, as though he bore witness to the passage of time, only when the rays of moonlight ripped through the gaps in the crumbling scenery and shone directly into his eyes did he wince and turn away, grimacing to himself as he did so and bringing up his hand to block it out.
The strength of the winds started to fade, the silent storm diminished into a gentle breeze, when he pulled his hand down and blinked repeatedly, he found himself staring up at the moon which was now closer to them than ever before. Where had once been a great spire in the midst of a gothic metropolis was now a vast field of green grass, the sea of green only spoilt every now and then with a stray rock or bleached white pillar sticking up from the ground, a short distance from him was some manner of ruin that looked greek in design. He squinted at the shapes standing beneath an arch only to widen his eyes at the familiar form of the largest shadow.
Those large horns which rose up from their head were as distinctive as the twin individuals who were standing on either side of them. The tanned and heavily muscular man lowered his arm and looked around, looking just as confused until Ritsuka felt until they turned in his direction, they were close enough to one another that he could see their face, elation spread across his own features before he could help it - not that he wanted to - and the figure noticed and soon sported their own look as well.
"Asterios!" His cry of joy alerted everyone else to the appearance of the Berserker, said Berserker quickly demonstrated that he did remember them by bringing their arm up and giving them an enthusiastic wave of the hand.
The sharp intake of Medusa at his left had him briefly pause and turn to her, noticing that her lips were slightly parted in clear shock as she beheld the figures that flank either side of Asterios. Then again, they were likely both Euryale and Stheno, though he hadn't met the latter of the two. Turning back to the direction of the new trio, he started to walk forwards with his smile still on his face.
"Finally arrived have you?" One of the two Goddesses spoke up, he assumed it to be Euryale considering that of the two of them, she was the closer to Asterios. Jutting her chin forwards, her lips curled down for a brief instance as she stared at them. "Honestly, you certainly know how to keep someone waiting…but at least your mortal." her eyes flickered past her as her lips quirked up. "What about you, Medusa? Aren't you supposed to be able to move faster with those long legs of yours?"
Ritsuka briefly paused and blinked, turning back to see Medusa remaining frozen as though caught on the spot. Her head jerked from side to side as she looked to either sister before it slowly lowered. "I…Sisters, I didn't know that you would be here."
"We're on the Shapeless Isles, Medusa." The other one spoke up and Ritsuka had to fight back his bewilderment at the fact she shared the exact same voice as Euryale, facial similarities aside. He was all but certain that they were clones of each other based on what they were like. Snapping his eyes to Stheno as she rolled her own and spoke in a condescending manner. "Perhaps you should use that big head of yours to try and think for a moment? What would this island be if none of us were present on it?"
He frowned a touch at their way of speaking. It wasn't really rude just yet but it felt as though they were soon going to be crossing a line.
"And where is Gwyndolin?" Further conversations were taken over by Faraam, the God boomed in a demanding tone of voice as he marched forwards. Moving past Ritsuka and then coming to a stop in between the two groups. "You claim to have been waiting for us? Then that would follow you were affiliated with Gwyndolin or at the very least, know of his presence in your home…unless you somehow managed to miss the entire city being dropped on your head."
Stheno raised her brows and then turned to her sister. "My, my. He is straight to the point isn't he? Very demanding for someone who showed up on our island unannounced and bringing with him a family squabble."
Euryale nodded her head up and down. "Quite so, me. With all the ruckus that he and his brother have caused, you would have thought he would be a little more courteous." she paused for a moment, then let out an exaggerated sigh as she shook her head from side to side. "I suppose that these new Gods must be uneducated in the art of manners, there might be no helping it."
Faraam took in a deep breath before he was cut off by Gwynevere.
"You shall have to excuse my brother, he has recently been through an ordeal where the consequences of his foolish actions have been falling on his head." The Goddess calmly remarked as she walked forwards, keeping her eyes on the back of Faraam as he visibly grimaced and looked to the side. "Suffice to say that he is finding them to be less than pleasing…If you would point us towards the direction of our younger brother, we shall reclaim him and depart from your island without further incident."
Clasping her hands together, Gwynevere looked between them all with a beatific smile. "After all, it would be a great shame if your opinion of us was soured by Gwyndolin's tantrum."
Tantrum?
"Well, well, well~" Stheno hummed rather pleased. "At least someone around here knows how they should speak with their peers, even if I don't care too much for other Gods. Still, at least you were polite enough to ask…" she remained silent for a moment, then flattened her features and waved her hand almost dismissively. "But really, you should have a bit more control over your siblings than this. Keeping them close at hand is always the best method for it all…"
"You." Ritsuka jumped and looked towards the direction of the voice to see Euryale pointing at him, a scrutinising gaze on her face. He brought his hand up and pointed to himself, earning a slightly annoyed look from the Goddess. "Yes, you. Medusa's current Master…what are you doing in letting something like this happen in the first place? Shouldn't you have more control over your Servants than letting them run amok?"
He opened his mouth, then closed it again and furrowed his brows, placing his hands on his hips. "I'm sorry that this spilled outside of Chaldea and onto your home, but I can't exactly 'control' people like that and I'm not sure I'd want to. Nor do I suppose that either of you would accept being 'controlled' in the way that you're asking me to do something."
Euryale made a face for a moment before she clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. "Fine, though I would prefer you deal with this as swiftly as possible. That being said…" she trailed off as a new look flickered through her eyes. "You did say some interesting things earlier before you got into that whole bloodsport…so, are you really going to go through all of this to claim a God?"
He very nearly made a face at the way she phrased it, then thinned his lips and gave a single nod of the head. "I wouldn't call it claiming, but I am here for Gwyndolin with the intention of bringing him back to Chaldea, yeah. His problems are my responsibility as well…" he looked between the two of them for a few seconds before he took a deep breath and softened his face. "If either of you would be able to tell me where he is, I would be immensely grateful to you."
He bowed his head a touch as he did so, only looking up at the melodious giggles he received from the pair.
"Look at him, sister? Isn't he so polite?" Stheno gestured to him with a teasing smirk on her face. "He can make such an arrogant claim as to come here with the intention to take a God back with them and yet says it with such a simple look."
Euryale joined in. "Well, that's just how this little human is. He even carried me all the way through the jungles while his Servants fought the great Heracles." she pointed out, he twitched at the mention of it and offered a nervous smile as he did so. "He's got one of those forgettable faces but then he does some of the most amusing things I've ever seen…you picked a very interesting set of toys, Medusa."
"It's not like that sister!" Medusa spoke up from somewhere behind him with a degree of near panic in her voice. That put him on edge and now made him consider the possibility there was actually more than one problematic family that he was surrounded by. Turning around, he gleaned to the Rider in question and gave her an odd look, one that she noticed immediately and straightened out. Providing him with no further explanation.
"Well, if you say so~" Euryale drawled with a tone of voice that made it obvious she didn't believe her sister for even a moment. Ritsuka at this point felt as though he had just walked into a conversation midway through.
When his communicator started to beep, it was almost a relief as he brought it up and flashed it open. This time he was greeted by the sight of the Director in the screen with a pensive look on her face. "The readings of the false city have vanished, yet we are still having problems locating Gwyndolin. The four Servants he summoned have moved off from your location and presumably entered spirit form judging by the lower readings. We've confirmed the presence of the Gorgon sisters and the Berserker from the Okeanos Singularity."
Ritsuka frowned as she spoke, he knew that Gwyndolin didn't have presence concealment and while Gwynevere had been able to disguise herself, he was certain there was more to play than something as simple as 'Godly powers' or there was some strange stretching of the definition of beauty. He'd seen her skills and knew there was something to do with her beauty but he wasn't sure what she was supposed to be doing…unless she was somehow seducing the air to hide her but that sounded absurd.
"No sign of him at all then?" He brought his other hand and rubbed his chin, then turned his attention back to the Goddesses who were staring at him with a patient - if a little bored - set of expressions.
Asterios shook his head from side to side with a small frown. "Don't. Know. Went. Away. Before. You. Got. Here."
He nodded his thanks to the Berserker with a flash of a smile, one that seemed to put a bit more life into Asterios if the suddenly pleased expression was any indication. He was rather happy that Asterios was here if he was being honest, a pleasant note to this otherwise unpleasant situation. Turning his head to the others, he schooled his features. "Alright then, considering that Gwyndolin brought us here for a reason and then dropped the illusion, we can be sure he's nearby…I don't suppose anyone can sense him?"
Faraam looked at him and then shook his head from side to side slowly, golden eyes moving around as he did so. "I cannot sense Gwyndolin but his illusions have always gotten the better of me when it came to mere tricks…I would call out to him but I am unsure if he would respond. All I can suggest we do is wait until he-"
Two things happened at once.
The first was that Faraam stopped speaking, the second was that thick chains much like cast iron burst from the ground and instantly ensnared the God, he stared down at them rather dumbly for a moment before they jerked downwards, the ground collapsed inwards as he was pulled down without even the time to let out a single noise, the land reformed the moment Faraam vanished beneath it, leaving not even a trace he had vanished.
He stared in silence at the field, the patch of grass which had opened up beneath the God didn't so much as ripple, nor could he feel anything else beneath his feet. There was nothing more than a faint whistle of the wind in the air in the wake of the sudden and swift attack. Ritsuka opened his mouth, he wasn't sure what he would have said but it didn't matter as in the next moment, the ground in front of him - the space between his group and Medusa's sisters - turned inside out and was torn apart as a geyser of dirt shot into the sky.
A flash of light pulsed from the centre of the debris field and then thin streams of solid crimson light rushed out with power enough to scatter the debris entirely. This time aimed solely onto Gwynevere, though the Goddess was more prepared than her brother this time around, raising up her right hand and holding her palm out flat. The streams approached her and then abruptly curved around her body like rain against an umbrella. She lowered her hand as they dissipated.
Ritsuka tore his eyes away from the attack towards their attacker, only to freeze as he saw who had burst from the dirt.
They were considerably taller than they had been before, now standing a full head taller than even Asterios but that seemed more on account of their body being elevated upwards. Their physical stature was likely equal to that of Gwynevere in height but little else, their arms remained thin and gangly, the skin was like porcelain and their face remained as pristine and perfect, even with the visible scales dotted around parts of their cheeks.
Twin red eyes stared down at them, flickering between him and Gwynevere.
A black dress in reversal of their usual attire, bereft of the golden helm they would usually have worn, long platinum blonde hair stretched down messily.
He stepped back, tensing himself as the shape slithered around, Gwyndolin stretching higher and higher as he rolled his shoulders, from beneath the dress there came ten individual serpents, each of them as monstrous as the last with armoured plate skulls and rows of sharpened teeth in their maws. From behind the heads, he could see a tail as thick as a tree trunk keeping Gwyndolin upright, coiled around into a circle and nearly ten metres in length, the tip of it stained bright red with the blood of his brother still on it.
Gwynevere took in a sharp breath as she seemed momentarily stunned, her eyes moving up and down the form of her younger brother before she stepped backwards and lowered her outstretched arm. "W-what…what have you done?"
"Are you shocked, Gwynevere?" Gwyndolin replied with a growl as he rolled his neck until it cracked. "Did you come here expecting that a few choice little nothings whispered into my ear would curb me like I was some mongrel pup?"
Gwyndolin turned his head and stared down at Ritsuka, red eyes narrowed for a moment before his lips curled into a sneer. "What of you? I see that dumbfounded look on your face…did you come here expecting to see that mewling little creature cowering away in some corner? In which case…I am all too pleased to disappoint you."
His head snapped back towards the direction of Gwynevere. "Is that how you saw this panning out, sister? You would come here and curb Gwyndolin into submission as you have always done?" his lips curled into a mocking smirk. "I am afraid this time you will have to actually try a little harder…if you're even capable of independent thought, that is."
"Gwyndolin this…" Medusa's voice wavered for a moment before it hardened. "This shall not win you freedom. This path you walk will grant you no rewards…there is only isolation at its end. Being a strong monster makes you no less of a monster…" There was a brief pause as Gwyndolin turned his eyes onto the Rider and narrowed them, her chain spikes still held at her side. "...Do not become this."
There was a moment of silence from Gwyndolin before his features hardened. "I lived my life as nothing more than a creature begging for attention. All he ever wanted was to be useful to someone, to finally earn his place but it never came…he was never anything more than a convenient tool for someone and bit by bit…Gwyndolin cost me everything!" he snarled, waving his hand around.
"Eternity I slaved away for the sake of others, never once letting myself a moment rest because it wasn't expected of me…Keeping the flame lit was expected. Keeping Anor Londo pristine was expected. Duty after duty piled atop my head until I was nothing but! And in the end every single one of you. Every. Single. One. You all left me alone with nothing!"
Stabbing a hand downwards, he glared hard at Gwynevere. "I had nothing to show for my life of submission! Being what everyone wanted me to be didn't get me anything! I wasn't strong enough, never strong enough, to break free…but now I am. Now I can be more than I was in life!"
He let out a hollow mocking laugh in the direction of them.
"Goddess of the Moon? What sort of bullshit is that!? I let myself get dolled up in a dress because I thought it would actually make me useful to someone for the first time in my life! But it didn't! I was just a plaything for everyone else! Well no more!"
He whirled on Medusa, the purple haired Rider flinched for a half second before she straightened out her posture. "I don't care if I'm alone in the end! In fact, I hope I am! I hope that I never have to think about anything ever again! I never have to care for anything…I won't be hurt ever again. I won't ever have to live the torture of waiting and hoping that someone might care…I'll know the answer and I'll be content with it."
Gradually, his eyes returned to Ritsuka and narrowed as his lip twitched into a sneer. "Well? What are you going to do now…boy? Are you going to repeat those amusing words you said earlier?"
Ritsuka stared back at the God in silence for a few moments, then narrowed his eyes and squared his stance. Keeping his gaze locked onto Gwyndolin's own without blinking and giving a single nod of the head, which prompted the smile to disappear into a frown as he spoke up in a firm tone of voice. "Whatever you call yourself, my goal here hasn't changed in the least. Both you and the Grail, I'm taking them back with me to Chaldea…even if you say you're not going to be my Servant, until I hear it loud and clear and you break the contract…I'm going to be right here. Even if you do all that…I'm still going to be here."
Gwyndolin stared down at him with that same frown. "...Foolhardy and stupid, but whatever. I'd already determined that any mortal who would think the notion of fighting Gwyn with any real consideration was a fool, touched in the head." his head snapped towards Gwynevere "But you don't know the meaning of the word care. There is nothing you can say or do that will convince me to-"
"Is that so?"
Gwyndolin whirled around just in time for a fist to slam into the side of his face, the head of the God turned in slow motion as the knuckles of Faraam buried themselves deep into his cheek and then hurled Gwyndolin forwards, the body of the God left the ground as the force of the punch sent them careening through the air for a second or two until they slammed into the ground with a weighty crash.
Ritsuka snapped his eyes to Faraam, he'd never even heard him push his way out of the ground but he saw the aftermath right behind him, the grass having been turned upside down and great chunks of debris raining down around them.
With a pained groan, Gwyndolin rose up, placing a hand against his cheek and pulling it away, whirling his body around to face them with a snarl on his lips and fury in his eyes. Ritsuka was torn between the two of them, Faraam's voice cut through his thoughts.
"I am not so stupid as to think that words alone would account for the hurt I caused you." The God remarked as he mirrored his arms and cracked his other hand. "But neither am I here to serve as a punching bag for you. But do not think for even a moment that the grief of years will exempt you from punishment." taking in a deep breath, he exhaled and put his right arm forwards, clenching it into a fist and forming the spear in his grasp.
"I might have betrayed you and the family, but these humans have shown you no wrong during your time with them. They did nothing to deserve your theft and-"
"Deserve? What does deserve have anything to do with it?" Gwyndolin spat back at Faraam as he righted himself back up and rubbed his jaw. "Things don't happen because it is deserved, they just happen. They happen because you're not strong enough to take control of your life! None of it would have happened if I had been stronger so I don't care if it's deserved or not! I'm never going to leave my fate to such weak reasoning ever again!"
"And because you have suffered, you think yourself justified in inflicting suffering on others?"
"No, because I don't care." Gwyndolin snarled as he spread his arms wide "Isn't that how it works, brother? You can just ignore everyone else and do as you please when you're strong. When the consequences can't reach you…I'm going to do what I want and I shall do so without fear of repercussion."
He pointed a single finger away from Faraam and straight towards Ritsuka, he himself blinked at suddenly being called out.
"So, with my own two hands, I'm going to take back my life."
"Wh-"
"Master and Servant." Gwyndolin snarled, straightening himself out fully. "I will never be a Servant to anyone or anything ever again. You think that I will break free of the mold that was Gwyndolin only to cast my lot into serving the likes of you?"
Ritsuka blinked twice then shook his head from side to side "Hang on a moment, that isn't what it-"
"That's not what Senpai is like and you know that, Gwyndolin-san!" Mash hastily spoke up from his side with a degree of urgency in her voice which had been missing before, all but silent for the most part. "He isn't the type to use people so coldly-"
Gwyndolin turned to him and folded his arms over his chest while raising an eyebrow, looking at him as though he had said something stupid just now. "And what else am I to believe? That he would truly care for me in any capacity? Do not lie…there is no such fantasy as genuine compassion. You cannot even rely upon family for that feeble logic...there is only strength. I won't entertain another lie."
Behind him, both Stheno and Euryale glanced at each other and then nodded their heads once before they turned back around.
"This is what happens when you don't show them enough attention, they run off and do whatever they want."
"Quite so, really it is somewhat troubling to see someone so careless with their siblings. Look at the mess they end up making for everyone else.""
Ritsuka sent the two of them a harsh look that practically screamed at them to shut up, they responded only with mocking grins aimed at him which had him clench his jaw, turning back to Gwyndolin and opening his mouth. "You can't ask me to not care about you Gwyndolin or Gwyndolin or whatever you want to call yourself. I'm not going to just turn around and leave you here without a reason."
Gwyndolin remained silent, then opened his mouth to speak, but Ritsuka wasn't going to have any of it. He was getting incensed now.
"Heck, even if you give me a reason you can be damn well sure that I'm going to fight you tooth and nail on it to find some sort of compromise." He waved his arms at his side while making a face at them. "I don't know if that is what a Master is supposed to do but you can be sure it is what I am going to do. Because there is no way I am ever going to toss someone away like that…because I care about the people I meet."
No one had said anything during his rant, yet he rolled his shoulders and looked them dead in the eyes.
"Just use a command-"
"No." Ritsuka cut him off before he could finish. "Because I just told you I care about you and I'm going to stick to my guns. I'm going to make sure you understand that I actually care. You want out? Then break the contract between the two of us but until you stop doing that - even if you stop doing that - I am not going to stop caring about either you or anyone else in Chaldea."
"Strength does not equate to freedom, Gwyndolin." Medusa stepped forwards, spikes in her hands gripped tightly. "This is how it ends when you become the enemy of all in the quest for strength. You shall eventually encounter one whose role it is to slay monsters…your freedom is nothing more than a freedom to die." taking in a deep breath, she adjusted herself. "This path is pure folly. Do not pursue it further."
Red eyes lingered on the Rider for a brief moment before he gradually folded his arms over his chest and snapped them back to Ritsuka. The heads of the snakes hissed as they focused on him and the others around him, each of them turning their heads in jerky movements from target to target. "Don't do that…don't make him feel hope again. Don't you dare make him a promise you cannot hope to keep. You. A stranger to him…do not try and do that because if you claim that you are actually going to care about him…I will kill you here and now."
Keeping his breathing steady, he looked dead into the eyes of Gwyndolin and kept them there. Neither one of them broke contact with the other before he spoke slow and clear. "I'm not going to repeat myself again, Gwyndolin. You have my answer already in regards to you. I'm not going to just walk away and leave you like this."
Gwyndolin stared at him, then curled his lip in disgust. "...Then I'll stop you before you hurt him."
Ritsuka had only a second to think of confusion when the air shimmered in front of him and something materialised in the air, flinging itself towards him with a harrowing screech which pierced through his body and locked him up in an instant. What he saw was pale skin colour and far too many legs to be comfortable with.
Then it reared up and showed off the rows of razor sharp jaws where the ribs would have been, opening itself up and releasing another high pitched wail as the centipede like creature the size of a crocodile flung itself towards him with his arms splayed out wide as though to embrace him.
"Fuc-!?" He got barely halfway through the curse which was a mixture of a scream of terror and genuine disgust before the monster was struck in the face by the base of Mash's shield and vanished into dust with a meaty crunch, lasting no longer than a mere second but long enough to burn itself into his mind. If there was any chance of forgetting them, it was quickly put to rest as dozens of the twisted human centipede-like monsters appeared in the air in front of him and rapidly scuttled towards him all while screaming.
Gwyndolin only watched with a content smile on his lips, then the snake heads brought themselves up, their mouths opened wide and the back of their throats glowed with brilliant crimson light. Ritsuka understood a moment later what was about to happen.
"Take cover!" He called out, throwing himself backwards as Mash stepped out in front of him and brought her shield up to guard them, the stream of light surged forwards in the next moment and his world turned into nothing but flashing lights and deafening booms, the shocks reverberated through his very bones, his body turned weightless as the ground beneath him shattered into dust as he and Mash were catapulted into the air.
His body twirled through the air, head snapping around as the rushing of wind filled his senses, eyes whipping in every direction as the world seemed to freeze when he made sense of everything. His breath remained firmly lodged in his body as he stared down at the ground which seemed to be getting further and further away from him, all around him were great swathes of upturned rock which had been catapulted into the air with him.
Then he was moving, something grabbing hold of his waist, he turned just enough to see Mash sweep him out of the sky and carry them both towards one of the falling slabs of debris near them. She might have said something but her words were drowned out by his panic and by the blast of air in his face as they fell.
With him firmly tucked under her arm, Mash carried them body towards the direction of the nearest slam, her feet stretched forwards as they crashed into it, sliding down the side of it before Mash kicked off it towards the base, carrying them both towards another piece of debris, he kept his stomach as still as he could and opted not to open his mouth as the world blurred around him at the speeds they moved.
He knew what they were doing but it just didn't click with him until Mash landed down and started to sprint across the surface of a more even portion of floating dirt before she jumped off the edge without even waiting for him to comprehend what was happening, then his eyes bulged as he saw them started to approach the ground at a faster and faster rate, scrambling closer to Mash he latched onto her as tight as he could manage as the shield was brought forth in her free hand and aimed towards the ground.
A shock ran through his body as they made contact, with another blurring scenery around him he rolled to a stop. Coughing several times as he pushed himself up and turned his head to look left and right, breathing in and out before stepping upwards, and turning to face Mash.
Only to freeze as one of the multi-legged towering abominations from the Roman Singularity came stomping towards him with the fanged maw spread wide and the glowing yellow eyes fixed solely onto him, barely aware of the gasp that escaped him as he scrambled backwards, Mash's shield slamming into the underside of it's chin dragged him back into the present as the weighty clang jolted around him.
The monster stumbled, twin spikes struck the side of it's head and the chains attached went taut, dragging the monster to the side before the arrow that was Medusa flung itself in and slammed feet first into the side of the head with a crunch, the creature turned to dust a moment later as the momentum carried Medusa forwards and into a graceful roll, slipping herself around and sliding back on all fours before she rose up and turned to him.
Faraam and Gwyndolin burst through into the space between them, their bodies crashing into the ground kicking up a wave of dirt which had Ritsuka pushed backwards by the blast, he looked up to see Faraam slam his fist into Gwyndolin's face twice, countered when the snakes surged upwards and forcibly shoved him off, the God scrambled and slithered around until he was on the offensive.
The fist slammed into his face the moment he was back up, it hurt a lot more than he had been expecting it to considering who had punched him, but that was put to the side as he stared at the hate filled savage snarl on the face of Gwyndolin. Their clawed hands rushing towards him once again and sweeping down from the top.
He stepped close, bringing his left forearm up and catching the swipe with the back of his hand, snapping it to the side and spreading it wide. His right elbow came up and crunched into Gwyndolin's face, jerking their head back before he looped an arm around their head and pulled forwards, crashing their face into his knee with a wet splat.
Another shove from the heads, he fought back a hiss as one of them clamped their jaws down into his thigh and held on tight, he ignored it however and focused his attention on Gwyndolin himself as their bloodied face snapped up and surged forwards, wrapping their arms around his waist and pushing him backwards, he caught the first few steps before sliding to a halt.
Clasping his hands above his head, he prepared to drive them down only for Gwyndolin to change tactics at the last moment. The serpents rushed across and slammed into different sections of his body. Pained racked through him at multiple points, one in particular tore into his wrist and held his arms up as they pushed off the ground, a brief feeling of weightlessness filled his body before they slammed back into the ground with force enough to drive the air from his lungs.
Gwyndolin was persistent, wasting no time in keeping him there as he slithered atop and started to rain clumsy but rather powerful blows into his face, pain assailed him as the damaged started to mount. The wind howled around them and the vortex ripped free of his body, his brother - being at the epicentre - was treated to the gale force slamming into his chest like a hammer and being tossed off him, hurtling upwards through the air.
He charged, throwing his right hand forwards and clenching his fist around Gwyndolin's tail - because that was something he had now - and yanking him back down to ground and towards himself while coiling his left arm back and forming it into a fist.
Swinging it forwards, his knuckles did not find Gwyndolin's face, instead they cracked against his guard and he received only a second of warning on his instincts before something barrelled into his side and nearly knocked him over, but it was enough for him to release his grip on Gwyndolin and drop them down, turning to see the furred monstrosity trying to drive him down.
With a disgusted snarl - and a private horror as to when Gwyndolin had seen this manner of abomination - he swung his right arm into the side of it's head, shattering the toothy snarl it had been giving him and stepped forwards, clasping his hands around either side of it's head and locking it in place. He yanked to the side, the resistance he felt lasted all of a second before it ended with a crack.
Light burst through and a sudden pressure nearly had him over again, bringing his arms up and in front of himself at the concentrated sensation of burning as the crimson lights of Gwyndolin washed into his chest, he snapped his head up as lightning crackled around him before swinging his arms wide, unleashing a potent blast from his body.
The smell of burnt grass filtered through his nose, smoke drifted up from the space around him as he started to march forwards, earth cracking with each step that he took as his eyes narrowed. He was impressed and ashamed to admit that Gwyndolin was proving himself a more powerful warrior than he had ever believed. Yet all this power had no training, he knew from the moment they fought that the match would only end one way despite whatever Gwyndolin believed.
But all the same…that he was putting up this good of a fight was something else entirely.
Gwyndolin snarled and surged forwards, throwing himself towards him with reckless abandon. Faraam withheld a frown as he pulled his right arm back and threw it forwards directly at the face of Gwyndolin-
He swing his elbow back, his intuition is rewarded with a sudden impact as the illusion in front of him vanishes into motes of light, he turns and swings his fist upwards, knuckles bury themselves into Gwyndolin's gut and fold him over, swiftly clasping Gwyndolins head between his hands and swinging his forehead into his younger brothers face, he turns and pulls.
Gwyndolin goes flying over him in the next moment, the tail snakes down and wraps around his arm with force enough to straight it instantly. He has to pull at the last second to stop the limb from being broken but it still drags him forwards, the moment Gwyndolin hits the ground he's falling into a roll while swinging him down, he braces himself as he makes contact roughly with the ground, the world cracks around him as his vision goes dark.
He's been buried in the ground, he realises with grim clarity.
He's pulled from his thoughts and the ground with a single jerked movement, the world flashes with light as the moon glares down at him for all of a moment before he's pulled directly up and into the waiting fist of Gwyndolin, the armoured knuckles drive themselves into his nose and snap his head back, another pull upwards and pain flairs through the underside of his arm.
"Gah-!?"
The gasp leaves him quickly, his eyes snap onto the point where Gwyndolin rips his sharpened digits from beneath his arm, slick with his blood, and flicks then clean, he responds quickly and swings his other arm upwards and strikes Gwyndolin in the throat with a haymaker. The eyes of his brother bulge as he releases him instantly, hands flying to his neck as a gurgling noise erupts from his throat.
Faraam freezes a moment later as he watches his brother choke on his own blood, horror floods his mind as he steps forwards-
His brother crumbles into white dust, an illusion all the time.
A whistle meets his ears and he turns a second too slow, the tip of Gwyndolin's tail cracks forwards like a whip and directly into his face, he turns to the side to save his right eye. He can't save his left as his vision goes dark in that side, pain shoots through him immediately after that as he reaches up and clasps a hand over that side of his face.
He's not too slow to grab the snake that tries to tear into his throat and crushes its skull with his hand in a single flex of his muscles. He knows this time it's real, Gwyndolin lets out a pained yell as he jerks back away from him, but he's too late as he kicks off the ground and surges forwards, his shoulder meets Gwyndolin's chest and something offers token resistance before it breaks, a muffled crack reaches his ear and he notices as Gwyndolin falls backwards that he had brought up his right arm to try and shield himself.
The damaged limb is roughly taken in his own grip and twisted further, eliciting another cry from Gwyndolin before he silences it with a fist directly to the jaw, a pop and then the mouth hangs open lower than it should.
He steps closer, the form vanishes into dust and outs itself as another fake. Narrowing his eyes, the conclusion arrives that he can no longer trust his senses. Gwyndolin was always skilled at fooling him and it seems as though he has only gotten more skilled. Not even the sensation of a surrounding Servant can aid him, the last two felt genuine.
Turning, he catches the fist aimed for his face in the palm of his hand, the crack of knuckles into him is soon followed by the crack of bone as the hold around the offending limb tightens. He ignores the agonised expression and instead twists the limb and yanks it forwards, driving his elbow into the temple of his brother's head.
He brings his leg up and swings in forwards, driving his knee into his brothers gut as he released the fist, slamming his hands down and clasping them tight against the back of his brothers neck and clothes, he turned and hauls upwards, lifting the entire body into the air and then driving it downwards into the earth as hard as he can.
Skulls meets dirt and neither is the victor, he presses the head of Gwyndolin down into the ground with enough force that it turns from a solid to a liquid in between his fingers, the dirt fares no better as it is shattered in an instant, cracks ripple out from the point of impact and the very land shakes beneath his feet as he releases the body and drives his shin into its ribs, as expected the body is reduced to nothing more than dust before it even leaves his line of sight.
"How many tricks before you face me personally, Gwyndolin?" He calls out, not expecting much to come from his words. Of course, his brother's method of combat is what he excels at. There is no need for him to change tactics but it is not something that he can best him with. These fakes provide a decent distraction but little else.
The spear forms and blurs in his hands, splitting the next Gwyndolin who appears in half at the waist and dropping both down. He is lacking in hesitation now, Gwyndolin will not appear before him like this. He is just whittling him down, the fakes are potent enough to harm him but they cannot slay him.
Another spin, he spins the spear as a blur of death, the snake heads and split from their torsos before the spear halts it's movement as is thrust forwards, bursting straight through the torso of Gwyndolin and out the back, splattering blood onto the ground, the God freezes up and coughs out a bloody wheeze before the heads even hit the ground, arms poised to strike him either side stop in the air.
The eyes of Gwyndolin trail down to the spear lodged in his chest, yet he holds no concern as he twists the spear and drags it to the side, freeing it from the fakes corpse as it loses strength and drops backwards like a log, slamming into the dirt and shuddering slightly, Gwyndolin coughs once in bloody flakes as the ground is stained deep red.
…It takes longer than it's supposed to.
Doubt creeps into his mind as the body trembles for a moment, words look to form on the lips of Gwyndolin before the eyes go cold and lifeless, the final breaths pass out and the body goes still. Yet it remains in front of him, his breath catches in his throat as it remains solid before him, the signs of the illusion remain invisible to him.
Flakes of gold peel away from the body.
"No-!" The cry rips its way free of him as he rushes forwards, tossing the spear to the side and dropping down over the body. Thoughts of violence flee him as he clutches the shoulders and drags it up to face him, already he channels the strength of miracles through his body as he holds the form of his younger brother tight to him.
The head lolls forwards.
Then it smirks at him.
He realises his mistake too late as he drops the body, he shoots to his feet and staggers backwards as his torso folds forwards. Something thick and wet slips out from between his lips, he slowly looks downwards and stares mutely at a copy of his own spear, the head of the spear no longer visible from the hilt downwards as it remains stuck in his chest, cracks travel across his armour from the point where he was pierced.
Moving his gaze up the length of the spear, it lands on the wielder as Gwyndolin holds it loosely in his hands, alive and well and sneering at him with sick amusement. He cannot decide which pain wounds him greater, the smile on his younger brother's face or the spear in his chest. With a jerked movement they push it in deeper, he feels it grind against his body as it reaches the shaft and slowly starts to turn.
"That remains your weakness, brother." Gwyndolins voice drips with toxic amusement as he twists the spear, both literally and metaphorically, and leans closer. His right hand pulls itself free of the spear, landing on his face and clutching it tight, forcing him to look them in the eyes as they glare balefully at him. "...You care more for me than I care about you. Then again…you never could see the consequences until they were right in front of you."
Perhaps there was truth in his words, he could admit that. He didn't want to accept how greatly his family had changed. Didn't want to consider the idea that his departure had been the catalyst for so much heartache, but it truly was the case that he destroyed more than he had saved. But the past was the past and even now, he would not regret his choice.
He coughs out wet and bloody, spitting wads of oily liquid from the back of his throat to the ground before he whispers something. Low enough that he knows Gwyndolin cannot hear, naturally his brother's ear twitches and he leans closer.
"What was that? Final words from you?"
He strengthens his voice. "I know you still won't stand before me."
He moves before Gwyndolin can say anymore, pulling himself forwards and dragging the spear through him. The pain is ignored as his hands clasped around Gwyndolin's head, one at his chin and the other on the back of his skull. There is a flash of panic and realisation in the eyes of the illusion before he can see them no longer. With a snarl he reverses the position of the head entirely and turns the eyes the other way forever, roughly throwing the body back as he does.
That was why Gwyndolin would not face him openly for all his claim to power.
Because there was too great a gap in them, despite all that…
Resting his hands on the spear, he clasps it just beneath the head of the weapon and holds it steady with one hand while the other pulls down. Snapping the shaft in his palm as he does so and tossing the false creation away. There's a pulling sensation in his back along with a wet squelch, then a thud echoes out as he's freed of the spearhead.
He staggers on his feet, coughing out several times as he reaches up and presses his hand against the wound on his chest, stemming the flow of blood as best he can. Another crack behind him, he nearly sighs as he senses the return of Gwyndolin and turns around, this time he keeps his expression flat as two of them stand before him now, but noticeably more on edge than he had been in previous attempts.
The spear forms in his hand once more as he straightens himself out, yet there is only a moment where he opens his mouth before a single word rings out.
She let it go on too long because it was the first time she had seen him indulging in something, perhaps a weakness on her part when it came to her youngest sibling. Yet it had dragged on too far for her liking.
Her authority channelled through her body, snapping her eyes open they beheld the field in front of them with the monsters and other foul illusions of Gwyndolin's still battling the humans. She kept her expression blank as she stared at them but within she could feel only disgust that he had created such foul beats to try and fight them, lacking the courage to truly face them himself.
She was not here to become his victim, no matter how deeply he felt he had been wronged, rather it felt as though she was the one who should have been insulted by this turn of events. The revelation that his hatred for her was born of this simple reason was utterly vexing to her, that her youngest was projecting his problems onto her just so he could escape the consequences of his own actions was disappointing beyond words.
"Enough."
She spoke and the world obeyed, her words reverberated through the very air around them, even she could feel the strength as she laid her divine presence bare upon their foes and it naturally responded the only way it could. The illusions crumbled to dust within a single moment, in the instant the sound of her words had passed there was only dust where the summons had once stood, even those mockeries that her brother fought.
Her eyes flickered towards the spot where Gwyndolin emerged from the world, the cloak he had wrapped himself within peeled back like an old coat and crumbled away into the winds. The brief flash of surprise on his face was quickly followed by realisation as he understood she had forced him out of his little hiding spot. Then his eyes narrowed in anger as the serpent heads rose in her direction and glowed.
Using her authority on her own brother - despite his current state - was still unthinkable to her, it was a line that she would not cross. That being said, there was little need to do so in the first place. Not when there were other minds that she could influence, her eyes drifted from him to his serpent appendages in the heartbeat before he unleashed another barrage upon her.
Their eyes flickered gold before they whirled on Gwyndolin himself, he barely had a moment to open his mouth in surprise at the sudden removal of power over his own limbs before they discharged that magical energy directly onto him, he soon vanished in an explosion of crimson light. At least for a moment, he burst out of the cloud with his skin splotched with hideous burns and charging straight towards her, clawing at the ground to force momentum into his body.
She remained unmoved as he snarled and hurled himself forwards.
His head snapped back when he met her open palm - aglow with light - across his left cheek, a crack of thunder filled the air as he was visibly repulsed by her sudden and swift movements, leaving an ugly red mark on his skin as he rolled away from her in pain. She gave chase with slow but powerful steps, keeping her eyes locked onto him in an unblinking gaze.
"You have misunderstood a great many things, brother."
Her palm caught him from the other side as he turned on her once more, another crack of thunder filled the air as she continued the offensive.
"I did not come here to accept the blame for your own misgivings towards our father."
He snarled and opened his mouth, she silenced him with a look accompanied by the back of her right hand connecting with his face, this time with a touch more power than the last as it burned an indentation of her knuckles into his skin, hissing an ugly black as he caught himself reaching towards it, the snakes that surged towards her halted in the air as she glared hard.
They retreated, thoroughly cowed by her presence.
"The chance you were offered was the chance I made out of our bond as brother and sister."
Her open palm struck him just underneath the chin, she heard a crack and watched a small part of shrapnel fly from Gwyndolin's mouth as she forced his teeth to rock into one another. His movements became sluggish, she caught a glimpse of his eyes as his head fell back down, they were wide and unfocused, swaying from side to side.
"It is not for me to accept the blame because you wished to remain within the city. Without Gwyn, it was a tomb in all but name."
Spearing her left hand, she thrust it forwards and into Gwyndolin's right arm. A sharp gasp escaped him as his body jerked in tight from the attack, which left him open to a haymaker from the opposite side. She disliked using physical violence because it sometimes left bruises on her, but for this instance she would make an exception.
"I shall not bear the blame that you could not see it despite my urgings otherwise."
He fell backwards, not that she would allow him as he hands surged forwards and wrapped themselves tight around the collar of his dress and yanked him towards her and slightly up until they were almost at eye level, though she still glared down her nose at him.
"We shall all live with the consequences of our choices, brother…you made yours. Do not weep at my feet because you cannot bear to face them."
Gwyndolin's head lulled back and forth, then his hands flew up and clamped down on her wrists and held her in place. He surged upwards and looked her dead in the eyes as he pulled her arms off her and to the side, a snarl on his lips as he delivered his next words cold.
"So when will you apologise to your son?"
She froze for a span of time that did not even amount to half a second.
It was all the time Gwyndolin needed, the snakes rose up in between them and opened their jaws wide, this time there was nothing more than a flash of light and then her body felt as though it was set ablaze with pain, it was not a swift pain but continuous as the light continued it's assault, the grip on her hands kept her there as the attack continued.
Ending with a weighty clash and a pained grunt as she was dropped back down, hitting the floor and wheezing to herself as she did so, curling up as the tears prickled in her eyes, barely away of the rush of movement around her followed by another clang of something heavy striking steel.
It was something they should have realised before they fought him, this was no longer the same Gwyndolin that they had known. Perhaps it was more obvious to her because she saw the signs. He indulged in strength because it was something he could control.
There would only be one end if he continued down this path, physical similarities aside.
He would sacrifice his life for strength in the end.
Her legs coiled against the edge of Mash's shield before she pushed off, the Shielder as sturdy as a wall as she rocketed forwards, the blur of wind against her face lasted only a moment until she slowed, briefly making eye contact with Gwyndolin as she did so, her true eyes.
She felt the pulse shared between them, the faint widening of his red orbs as he froze up for all of a second before the image blurred past her, she turned and swung the spike down into the ground, the chain slipped through her hand before she tightened her hold on it, the momentum carried her around back the way she had come.
Mash had followed in her wake, the brief pressure of her Mystic eyes was long enough for her to go on the offensive, her shield striking Gwyndolin in the centre of his chest and knocking him backwards, yet he recovered just as quickly, claws no just for show as he raked them against the front of her shield in a shower of sparks.
Master held out his hand flat towards her and nodded once, a moment later there was a pulse which shuddered through her body. Strength coursed through her very being as he enhanced her and she used it to pull tight against the anchor and direct herself backwards. A boom reached her ears as she moved like a missile, reaching Gwyndolin in the midst of his second strike and reversing herself as she did so.
She passed between the snakes as they followed her movements, her boots struck home against the back of Gwyndolins' head. Mana flared around her boots like fireworks before the attack exploded, Gwyndolin was slung forwards and sent crashing head first into Mash's shield while she was sent flying backwards, yet she recovered swiftly as she did so, twisting through the air and landing back on her feet, only to rush forwards once more.
The spikes in her hand glowed, speed increased to a point where she was certain that Gwyndolin could no longer react to her properly, not with their attention divided between herself and Mash.
Proving the theory when the moment Gwyndolin turned to her, Mash drove her shield into his ribs with a meaty crunch, she swung past in the next instance and caught several of the heads with her chains. They went taught and then snapped as she yanked them along with her as hard and fast as she could, catching sight of Gwyndolin being pulled along before he recovered and yanked backwards.
Her eyes met his and he locked up once more for a moment, long enough to pull the chains tight and drag him towards her. Yet it was not Mash who took advantage this time, that went to his older brother who dropped down above him and hammered his two fists into the back of his brothers head, not one to waste time before he followed the attack through and dragged him up by his hair and drove his knee into the side of his face.
"No illusion this time brother."
She withheld a shiver at the almost menacing tone that the God spoke in, dark intent leaking from each word and she had to remind herself that this was him when he still actually cared about the safety of his brother, though watching him loop an arm around Gwyndolin and jerk it downwards with a pop sprung doubt into her mind at that.
More so when the uppercut followed and drove him as far back as her grip on him would allow.
She dismissed the emotion at the time and kicked off the ground again, reversing her movement as she did so and closing the distance with a single burst of movement. She flipped around and drove her soles into his face as she did so, pushing down and driving the back of his head into the ground.
The moment she pushed off, something clamped down around her leg and she felt pain shoot through her ankle, for all of a second she saw one of the snakes grab hold of her before she was moving through the air, wind whipping around her and her vision became nothing more than a blur of scenery and purple as her hair flashed around before her eyes.
The vice around her came loose as she was released, a mercy that lasted until she roughly struck something solid and steel. Her eyes caught sight of the outline of Mash's shield before she was barreled over the top of it and into the ground, twisting herself as she did so and gritting her teeth at the pain that now coursed through her left shoulder. All but certain there would be a bruise soon.
"Ri-"
"I'm fine." She announced and then launched herself forwards, sweeping the wind behind her as she did so and slinging her nails forwards, both struck home in Gwyndolin's shoulders and drove straight through into the ground beneath him, he let out a snarl as he did so.
Commands from Master filtered through her mind and she obeyed, Mash held her shield above her head and she landed down on it, using it as a platform before she kicked up as fast and hard as she could with the chains held tight in her hands. There was a boom and a crack as she rocket from the ground and turned, making eye contact with Gwyndolin once more and stopping him from pulling himself free of the chains.
At the mercy of her strength - scales already forming along her arms as she used her strength - he was yanked upwards towards the sky with her as the chains went taut. He likely would have gone further had the War God not stepped in front and swung his arm straight down and into the path of Gwyndolin, driving him back into the ground as he did so and obscuring the two of them with a cloud of dirt and rubble.
Her spikes went slack as they carried on, being yanked from the body of Gwyndolin and accelerating towards and past her. She hovered in the air for a moment, then swung the spikes fast enough that they blurred around her and launched them towards the ground, anchoring herself and pulling back down to the earth.
She landed with a crack and a shockwave, scattering the cloud of debris with a thunderous boom. Her head snaps up, catching the moment Faraam drops down near his brother and then pauses, his words ring out a moment later.
"I have no interest in fighting you brother." He stepped away from the body as it lay there, staring down with a frown, Gwyndolin rolled to the side and jerked back upwards, cracking their neck as they did so and spitting blood to the ground. The expression on their face was one of disgusted incredulity.
"All evidence to the contrary." They spoke as they gestured to their face.
The God falls silent for a moment after that, posture uneasy before they speak in a slow and strained tone of voice, likely not used to this manner of situation and unsure of what to do. "Please…I know that life after my departure was not easy-"
"Easy?" Gwyndolin spat the words back at him with such vitriol that she expected the ground to hiss when the spit made contact. "You think that just because Gwynevere lets slip a few little stories and some choice words that all of a sudden you can understand what life was like? What was it to exist in the cold world you made when you left!?"
They threw themselves forwards, Medusa found herself having to step backwards as the shockwave of their clash reached her, bringing her hands up to cover her face from the buffeting wings. She lowered her arms, Faraam and Gwyndolin locked in a shoving match against one another, the War God silent as his brother cursed at him further.
"You don't understand anything! You've never understood anything at all! Blinded by your own delusion that all would be well and your choices wouldn't have consequences! But then, you always were a God of War, perhaps I was the fool for thinking that you wouldn't cause conflict within your own family-"
It was without warning, Faraam went still, then he drove his head forwards and into the face of Gwyndolin, cutting his words short.
"You think I would turn my back purely because it was within my nature!?" Faraam all but snarled as he grabbed Gwyndolin by his collar and yanked him upwards, only to smack him back to the ground with a lightning coated fist. Yanking him back up "You think that I betrayed all of you for the simple reason that I could because I, like some savage, was strong enough to do it!?"
Another lightning coated strike drove Gwyndolin back into the ground, flipping him over as it did so. Faraam reached down and clasped the back of his brother's head and yanked backwards, the movement was almost casual and yet the end result was the massive form of Gwyndolin being flung through the air as though it weighed nothing, soaring over their heads and striking the dirt with a thud.
Faraam was marching past them - his hands aglow - before his brother's body had even touched the ground.
"You believe me to have betrayed you all for such a shallow reason? You think so little of me?" He came to a halt and grabbed his brother's body around the shoulders, he turned and hurled it again, sending it shooting through the sky and into the ground, the impact carving a trench through the dirt as he slid. "You believe turning yourself into some manner of creature and lashing out will grant you autonomy over your life? You think being strong will let you live the life you wanted!?"
He brings his fists up and clasps them above his head, she thinks he really will swing them down but he stops himself short at the last moment. Staring down at the body of Gwyndolin then there's a flutter of movement. They are aglow with light and soon vanish.
Confusion hits her first, then pain as something clamps down on the back of her neck, her hands shoot towards it but she's already moving. Colours blur around her as the sky turns on its head and then she slams face first into the ground, a crunch around her from the impact. Then she's pulled back and flung, wind whistles in her ear.
Mash raises the shield as the scarlet lights are unleashed upon them, though bloodied and battered Gwyndolin puts up no less of a stern fight. He brings up his hand and holds out a first aid to Gwynevere - she took a nasty hit from what he sees - and with a single pulse of his mystic code he can see it start to take effect on her, the burns are already recovering.
A gasp snaps his attention to Mash and he drops down as he is launched over his head, where she stood there is now Gwyndolin with his fist extended, their eyes meet and suddenly he's in the air with a claw around his throat and his feet off the ground, all the same he remains stone faced as he's held aloft. It would take a simple command spell to buy him enough time to live, the contract is still strong.
"Take it back." A hiss, the voice is low and full of silent fury yet there is a desperation there as the eyes look deep into him. "Take it back. Take back what you said." their other hand his pulled back and the claws are flashed outwards, it's clear what the intention is.
Yet he stares them straight in the eyes, unspeaking. Not through fear, but because he had already made a pledge to himself. He would not repeat himself again. The silent message passes between them easily enough, that seems to infuriate Gwyndolin all the more as he releases a vengeful roar and slings the arm forwards directly at his face.
He doesn't see it move, but he does feel the force of the wind slapping into him as he blinks from the gust. His eyes snap open to see the fist held just shy of reaching him. The scaled palm hands in the air right before his eyes, turning to see who caught it and finding himself staring at the arm of Mash with her hand clenched tightly around Gwyndolin's wrist, the God looks down in surprise at her sudden appearance.
Ritsuka doesn't see what happens next, merely that Gwyndolin's head snaps back and Mash's leg is now pointing to the sky in a high kick, he feels the blast of wind and hears the crack of thunder as he drops back down, though he's caught gently by the young girl and placed down gently, her eyes roam him briefly before she nods to herself. Her worry painted clear on her features, soon followed by relief.
It was cut short by the furious roar, the shadow of Gwyndolin loomed over them with their eyes glowing bright. Ritsuka widened his eyes, throwing himself backwards as Mash brought herself in front of him, shield raised high just in time for the fists to slam into the guard with a heavy strike, the reverberating echo cracked the ground beneath them.
"Take it back!"
The snarl was primal, Gwyndolin drew his arms back and the snakes rushed around the side of the shield with their jaws open. Mash blurred in front of him, an instant passed and he was struck by the shockwaves. The shield in Mash's arms blurred like a propellor, sending the attacks wide before she locked her body down and thrust forwards, Gwyndolin caught the shield in his hands.
A moment.
Then Medusa all but appeared and struck the back of his head with a roundhouse kick, spinning around and driving a nail through his back and out the front of his chest as she did so, landing back onto the ground and yanking it, dragging Gwyndolin to the side. Ritsuka's admonishment for the attack died in his throat as Gwyndolin pulled back, this time Medusa was jerked off her feet and into the waiting fist of the God.
Vanishing in the instant the fist made contact with only the distant explosion being any indication of what happened.
Gwyndolin fell backwards with a snarl, writhing around on the ground as they reached for the nail and clasped it at their back, yanking it out with a deep grunt and tossing it to the side, the head whirled back towards them as he opened his mouth, either to roar or to yell, it mattered not as he was caught in a headlock, a forearm wrapped around his neck and he was dragged backwards, eyes bulging as he reached for his attacker.
Gwynevere loomed in from over his shoulder a scowl on her face as she held her brother in the hold. Then she jumped up, her legs wrapped around his torso and she let them fall backwards, her muscles visibly bulged as she started to compress down against her sibling, Gwyndolin rolled and snarled as she did so, kicking up enough dust to shroud them both in a cloud.
Ritsuka rushed forwards, Mash moving just ahead of him as they moved on the cloud, the sudden flash of golden light and the surge of heat had him slow down and almost stumble, the crackle of lightning from the centre of the cloud was followed by a cry of pain as Gwyndolin was subjected to a heavy dose of electricity. His body briefly visible in shadowed flashes through the cloud of dust.
The ground shook from another impact, the clouds parted as Gwynevere's body was hurled over the top of them, Gwyndolin burst forwards clawing at the ground to propel himself forwards and directly towards them.
A howl of wind was followed by Faraam charging in from the side and sweeping his leg upwards, despite being little more than a blur Ritsuka caught the moment in which the leg made contact with Gwyndolin's chin, the image hung frozen in his head as the leg carried Gwyndolin upwards, a crack of thunder and the serpentine God was airborne, helicoptering around above them before crashing down to the earth not far from them.
Faraam offered them a single nod before he took a step forwards-
Ritsuka felt his eyes water, the stench assaulted him first, the smell that he could mistake for nothing else.
The ground expanded like a balloon and then erupted like a volcano, he gagged at the acidic stench which flooded his senses, clasping a hand over his mouth and staggering backwards as he did so. A wave of thick, dark, oily goo rolled out from the new hole and quickly surged over his feet, the disturbing warmth was only secondary to his mind before the shape burst from the ground.
Vaguely snake like in nature and made from foul rotting meat held together with patchwork bones, it stretched higher and higher into the air before it split open along the front, revealing rows and rows of ribs sharpened into fangs, it didn't so much roar as release a wet gurgle which sprayed yet more foul liquid towards them, then it rushed forwards and slammed into Faraam, the ribs enclosed around him and drove themselves like nails into his body.
Ritsuka was frozen, both from the grotesque monster and from the stench that met him, yet he was not caught unawares for long. His eyes narrowed as he pulled his hands from his face and fought down the bile in the back of his throat, raising his hand and channelling the mystic code, power flooded towards Faraam through their link.
The monster bulged from the inside out before exploding with a pillar of golden light, sending wet chunks shooting off in several directions and leaving Faraam coated in a layer of foul smelling slime, not that he looked as though he was even troubled, shaking his hands to remove the goo from his fingers.
"Why can't you all just go away!?"
Gwyndolin's snarl reached his ears, he turned and braced himself behind Mash at the boulder flying towards them. Mash raised her shield, the impact shuddered through them as the debris was smashed to dust against them, they remained unmoved, he darted out from behind and focused on Gwyndolin with narrowed eyes at the snarl. "You want the Grail that badly!?"
"It's not about the Grail anymore!" Ritsuka called back, the words prompted only another enraged yell from the God, yet he did not let it stop his speech, bellowing out even louder and cutting over the roar from Gwyndolin as best he could. "It was never about the Grail! Not for me! I'm here because of you!"
"Liar!" A snarl and then they thrust their hands into the earth, fissures grew from the point of impact as they pulled, wrenching a clump of dirt and hurling it towards them.
Mash stepped before him, thrusting her shield into the centre and shattering it, the debris flaked around either side of them as Ritsuka remained focused on Gwyndolin, even as they shouted anew.
"No one ever cared for me! No one ever loved me! No matter how much I sacrificed! No matter how hard I tried! No matter how much I begged, they all left me in the end! I saw nothing but their backs or their silent rejection!"
They pressed a clawed hand against their chest, raking it across their body and drawing blood as they did so. Yet did not seem to care for it.
"All my life I loved those who never loved me! Not even Yorshka! She just loved me because I made her! I created her and took her as my sister and she knew nothing else beside my love and even that was just a fake! Nothing more than one of my illusions!"
With a sweeping gesture, the space shimmered before them as shambling desiccated bodies charged from nothing, wielding curved swords and scythes, they charged towards into the fray of combat. Yet even as fierce as they were, it mattered very little when Faraam returned and dominated the battlefield, swordspear in hand he was little more than a storm, thunder and crashing lights all around as entire groups were wiped out in a heartbeat.
"Don't you get it!? Don't any of you understand!? I don't want to love any of you anymore! I don't want to care about people who have never once cared for me! I won't let you steal it from me all again! At least as a monster - at least as a creature - I know what I did to deserve that scorn and hatred! Those cold eyes and those empty words of affection!"
Red eyes snapped onto him and burned bright.
"And you!"
Ritsuka froze at their full attention.
"Faraam looked at me like that as well." They spat with such a broken voice. "With such care and affection, as though I mattered but then he left me! He abandoned me to them! I won't let you do that to Gwyndolin! I won't let you make him think someone cares and then toss them aside like they were nothing! Faraam, Quelaag, Velka, Sulyvahn, you! Everytime Gwyndolin thought someone actually cared they just left him!"
Gwyndolin breathed deeply, then looked up to the sky and snarled as he spread his arms wide, a spotlight shined down atop them and Ritsuka ducked, bringing his hands up to cover his eyes from the brightness now assaulting him.
A deep rumbling creaking sound reached his ears from above, he glanced between his fingers and squinted. The moon now hung directly over the top of them, the glowing sphere virtually glaring down at them. Through the gaps of his fingers, he could see the facsimile of the moon visibly tremble at the surface, its face pulsed as the vibrations increased in volume and power.
A crack.
A deep crevice split through the moon, then widened as more erupted out from it and spread across, rapidly moving to cover the whole front of the moon in spiderweb cracks which seemed to travel right down to the core. In the next moment, it collapsed inwards in a sudden crunch, folding like a tin can and into a crumbled shape.
Yet it did not show even the slightest evidence of stopping, the crunching echoed out around them, drowning out all other noises as the luna body was crushed tighter and tighter, yet the longer it went on the brighter it became, folding into itself and burning like a sun within the sky, his eyes darted to Gwyndolin as they started to float in the sky, as though dragged by an invisible force they climbed higher and higher until they were positioned directly behind the burning light of the crushed moon.
He covered his eyes, barely able to make out the shape of Gwyndolin amidst the rays of light, shadows danced before them as they clasped the moon which was now no larger than an apple in their right hand. The light vanished with only rays escaping from the gaps between his fingers.
The arm slowly moved until it was held pointing away from his body horizontally.
Gwyndolin flexed his muscles and crushed the hand into a tight fist.
Light erupted from either end of his fist, shooting straight in both directly as a thin beam. The focused energy moved higher and higher without end as it reached for the stars and pierced through the ground beneath him. It was no peaceful light either, its form was jagged and violent, flickering along the surface like fire.
To say nothing of his arm which was gradually starting to burn away, the skin blistering and peeling from the heat that was claiming his fist, yet through it all Gwyndolin made not even a whimper as they stared down, face wiped of emotion as they brought their arm back and turned, cleaving a burning like right through the ground as they spun the spear of light in their hands.
A Noble Phantasm.
It had to be.
A glance to Faraam for a moment, the War God stood in awe of the display, his one remaining eye having gone wide with clear surprise written on his features, his scarf long since having been blown from his face. A half step backwards before they catch themselves and narrow their eyes.
"Not this time." Gwyndolin's cold words reach him from above, the finality in their tone apparent. "This time, I will put an end to it before you can cause him harm. Before he can suffer again. I will grant him the peace in death that evaded him in life. His final wish to be free of the agony that you wrote unto him."
The light burns, it swings backwards as they draw back for an obvious slash, yet nothing about whether or not it's obvious will change the outcome. He steps closer to Mash, placing a hand against her back and anchoring himself next to her. She replies with no words, but stands a little taller.
"Shattered corpse of the darkmoon. Forgotten shadow behind the light. Crush with hatred and tear with vengeance." The light burns brighter than before, if such a thing was possible, yet he does not tear his eyes from it, squinting a little better to keep them from burning but he still sees Gwyndolin's face as they prepare the swing.
"Bifurcate all. Melltith Haul Marw."
A moment of stillness and then the light falls in almost slow motion towards them, insultingly slow. He knows the speed at which Servants can move, this is far from that. Perhaps a chance or perhaps merely the effects of the Noble Phantasm itself. Either way, it does present a chance.
The command seals on the back of his hand burn, he knows the link with Gwyndolin remains. This is the be all and end all moment. He could likely use all three and stop Gwyndolin before he could let off the attack, perhaps he knows it as well that's why he is doing it so swiftly. But he won't do that.
Instead, his eyes land on the back of Mash's head.
When he speaks, it's loud enough that he knows Gwyndolin will hear.
"By the power of this Command Seal." His voice rings out above even the whirling storm of the attack above their head, at the impossible distance he locks eyes with Gwyndolin. There is a sad triumph on their face, they think they already know his next move. This one time, he is happy to disappoint. "Mash! Protect those who stand with the moon!"
The arm jerks, the command seal empowers Mash as she steps forwards, with a sharp yell she brings her shield up and clasps it with both hands. Her affirmation is secondary to him for the first time since he's known her. Instead he sees the pure shock painted across the face of Gwyndolin.
"By the power of this second command seal! Faraam! Use Storm to get the Gorgon Sisters and Asterios to safety!"
The red burns away, the shock on Gwyndolin's face is striking now and he sees their movements have jerked in clear surprise through the swing.
He feels the roar in his bones as the dragon is pulled into the world, it launches itself forwards and unleashes a blast from the moment it's feet leave the ground, yet he does not turn his eyes from Gwyndolin as the mount surges away from them and towards the direction of the other Servants. He knows they will be taken to safety, for the sake of Medusa as well.
"By the power of this final command seal! Gwynevere! Make sure no one dies!"
They are bathed in golden light as the Goddess releases an aura of tranquillity, in this one instance he does not feel ill at it's touch, rather it is welcomed this time as Gwyndolin is already at the climax of the swing, the stretching pillar of light falls towards them as the words of Mash ring crisp and clear in his ears.
"Lord Chaldeas!" The blue light springs forth from the face of the shield, covering them in its rays. The pillar falls towards them as Gwyndolin swings down with all his fury, perhaps angered at his actions in what he has done, but at the moment he doesn't care. He stands tall and calm, not just through the use of Gwynevere's power but because that is his confidence in Mash.
He knows that she will keep them safe.
The pillar of light falls on them in the next moment, the weight presses down on his shoulders as the world around them becomes nothing more than noise and chaos, his eyes scrunch closed from the light, all the while he can hear the strain of Mash from beside him, the weight of the attack upon her shield, with his hand still on her back he can feel her strain with effort.
All the same, he steps close and goes by her side, bringing his own arms up and placing them beside hers against the shield and opening his eyes once more. They trade only a single glance for a brief instant before they both push upwards. Whether he is contributing means nothing to him, it is the thought that counts.
Above them, the light pushes downwards but can do no further, his confidence in Mash is paying off as he sees they cannot pierce through the Noble Phantasm that protects them. It is only a little longer as he knows that Gwyndolin cannot keep this up for long, they shouldn't be able to. He saw what summoning it had done their arms, who could say what effect that swinging it would have.
Yet it shows no signs of slowing or weakening, the world glows brilliant orange around them and catches fire, the inferno consumes their surroundings as the heat spreads across the land. Under Lord Chaldeas, all remains green and undamaged, not even a crack of the earth beneath their feet from the attack. But it is something he cannot allow to remain, he doesn't know if Gwyndolin will push this as far as he can, but he won't risk it.
He calls out to the link of Medusa behind him, sending his thoughts to her. 'Can your Noble Phantasm reach him?'
It is only a moment before she answers.
'It can. Though there is a chance it might kill him.'
That much he knows, however he is relying on Gwynevere for that. He is placing his trust in the Goddess and desperately hoping that it is rewarded, else this will all have been for nothing and he doubts he will ever look at himself the same way twice.
'Gwynevere has a command seal empowering her. Do all you can.'
'...Understood.'
Not even a moment later he hears a wet squelch behind him as something is driven into flesh, he nearly looks on instinct but holds himself back, standing firm beside Mash and pressing his hands into the shield to keep them both secure, feeling the weight like never before.
His hairs stand on end from the sudden influx of power behind him, his breath catches in his throat and he feels as though he's going to pass out. It's like a subtle heat that keeps on building, an intensity to it that nearly demands his attention. There's a buzzing noise and then a high pitched neigh, much like a horse and the snap of leather being pulled tight.
"Bellerophon!"
Medusa's voice pierces through all other sounds, a rush of wind and a flash of light and then a comet blurs past him and directly into the pillar, the light above them shatters from the sudden attack as the comet races towards the skies. He catches sight of Gwyndolin for barely half a second, recoiling away from the breaking of his attack before the comet rams into him like a hammer and carries him away with it.
It dances through the sky, the trail of light it leaves behind as it jerks violently through the air, sharp motions as it climbs higher and higher and then abruptly turns around and races back towards the ground, at the head of the falling light he barely makes out the form of Gwyndolin as it falls to the ground.
His eyes snap to Gwynevere a moment later, though she is already in the midst of pointing to the sky with her hands, a faint golden glow surrounding her as the symbols circle at her feet. The tell tale signs that she is already healing Gwyndolin without prompt from him. He turns back as the comet meets the ground and vanishes in a ball of flames.
The shockwave very nearly blows him back, yet a hand gripping his shoulder keeps him still, he turns. The one eyed face of Faraam looms over him with their hand engulfing his shoulder, they stare at him for a moment and then turn their head towards the rising plume of flames in the distance, the impact from where Gwyndolin landed. He knows that it won't be pretty but he needs to be there quickly.
By the time he arrived, the flames were already in the middle of dying out, he slowed to a halt at the mouth of the crater in the ground. His eyes swept over the interior of it and saw Medusa sitting on the ground not too far from him, the Rider breathing in and out as she affixed the blindfold around her head once again. She turned to him, seeing his face and then nodded once.
He felt the relief shoot through him at her words before he turned his attention down to the centre, around three metres down and lying with patches of burnt flesh covering them. Yet his eyes lingered on the smoking remains of their right arm, gone from the elbow down and above it being burnt black and peeling away. Ritsuka's breath caught in his throat for a moment before he shook his head and made to take the first step down.
A croaking cough stayed his feet, his eyes danced from the limp form of Gwyndolin towards the walls of the crater, the fires were flickering brighter than before, his eyes lingered on them before they turned to the movement at the centre of the hall.
Gwyndolin rolled onto his side, coughing out flakes of blood.
"It's over, Gwyndolin…" He called down to them, they did not respond for a few moments, save for turning their head and then looking up towards him.
The look in their eyes was distant, he couldn't quite place it, perhaps annoyance or perhaps disbelief. Whatever it was, it was replaced by rage as their scarlet eyes burned brighter, their hand clawed into the dirt beneath them as they brought up their remaining arm and swung it around, spitting out blood as they spoke.
"What…what are you expecting me to say this time…?" He snarled. "You think this…this proves anything?"
Ritsuka stared in silence, watching as they rolled up and onto their tail, wavering as their balance threatened to give out beneath them.
"Over…you say? You think because you won't kill me, that it matters?" Another wet cough, they brought their hand down, pressing their palm into their chest as they did so. He moved to raise his hand again, already preparing the next healing spell, the movement was noticed and was reciprocated with another foul glare. "You think this proves anything to me? You're just the same as all the rest…the same as all others who claimed they cared for him…it is the nature of Servants to be ephemeral. Our parting will come sooner or later."
The red eyes dulled. "And when it does…Gwyndolin shall be all the worse for it. He'll be dragged into loving family who will leave him all over again…" they glared. "What sort of life is that worth living? Loving those who care nothing for you?"
"Is that what you believe Gwyndolin, that you mean so little to me?" Faraam came to a stop next to him, their shadow fell over the wounded God. Voice trembling. "It…I do not expect you to understand my choice and I will not apologise for it but between…I could not allow it to continue. You cannot ask me to sacrifice my morals for anything…not even family. Especially family. But do not assume that means I never cared for you-"
"Shut the fuck up." Gwyndolin breathed, cursing out his brother as he did so, their shoulders slumped as exhaustion moved onto their features. "What's the point if your choice would remain the same? I know you, brother…even with all the news of what occurred after you left, the damage your betrayal did…you would go through it all again. Because that's who you are, Faraam. That's who you've always been."
Faraam remained silent, tellingly so.
"Or Gwynevere, who cast aside the ancestral home - the land that Father built for us - because you could not muster the strength to repair it. Where I alone had even an ounce of care for the land which Father built. Which was his final legacy on the world and the one thing by which we could remember him by." A bark of broken laughter followed, their hand cradled their head as it simmered away. "But that is what you are talented at. Easier to start again than to fix the problem, better to leave that to someone else and that someone was always me…I've spent my life cleaning up after the messes left behind by my family. Now you're going to stand there and say, what? That you're sorry that happened? That you feel bad now?"
They sneered, pulling their hand away from their face. "Don't give me that nonsense. Gwyndolin put himself through those years of torture because he loved all of you. The family that dumped their problems on him, that left him alone, whose negligence actively led to his death!"
Ritsuka felt Gwynevere flinch at his side, he turned and glanced at her as the first evidence of discomfort made its way onto her face, she wet her lips and opened her mouth. "I…Sulyvahn deceived me-"
"Then you're an idiot." Gwyndolin spat back at her. "For one who claims to be all the smarter, history is riddled with your mistakes and failings. The spoiled child who never learned how to put things back together after they got broken. I extended Sulyvahn trust because his recommendation came directly from you. Because Gwyndolin still loved you and that love - that trust in your decisions - finally proved to be his undoing."
His arm dropped back to his side, his features lost their weight and dropped, his eyes closed and he released a single hollow breath. "I'm going to make my choice. I'm going to be free of your influence once and for all…I'm not going to be tied down to the family who cares nothing for me. You live in hindsight and only now realise what utter failures you are as my siblings?" he snarled "It does me little good now…it does Gwyndolin little good now. Eons waiting for the day his siblings would come home, where they could be a family once more…He couldn't even get that. Even when you resided only a country away, you never once came back to visit him."
Silence, then a whisper.
"The worst part is that he would have forgiven you all if you just came home one final time."
His attention was stolen by the fires, the remnants of the explosion were flickering once more, now pointing down as though blown by an unfelt wind, his gaze swept across the circumference of the crater, all of the flames regardless of location were pointing to the same spot. The very centre, where Gwyndolin resided.
"But I don't want that anymore." Gwyndolin declared. "I don't need it. You…all of you…you can't even let him enjoy his afterlife without dragging the happiness from him once more. So I'm done. I'm done sacrificing my right to choose for the likes of you, throwing my life away so that you can be happy. If you won't let me even have the freedom to be myself, to become something more than a puppet…then I can at least steal your prize from you."
He wasn't sure what motivated his next actions, even to him they seemed beyond reckless yet perhaps it was the language they used and the recent string of events prior to today, but he could sense what was going to happen before it did.
In the moment that Gwyndolin swung his arm up, he was already throwing himself forwards, pushing off the ground and leaping with neither style nor grace towards the centre of the crater.
He felt the heat come next, flames erupted in great pillars directly from the ground, tearing the land apart as they were called forth, all of them rushing straight towards Gwyndolin, perhaps an act to kill himself, either way, in the moment the fires approached, he and Gwyndolin made eye contact.
Red eyes flashed with alarm at his sudden proximity, more so the fact he was actually falling through the air towards them.
The soil beneath Gwyndolin bubbled, orange light pierced through the cracks and fissures in the ground, accompanied by the rush of heat, the single arm of Gwyndolin turned towards him and held itself out, the snakes similarly whirled to face him with open jaws, as time slowed he cast his eyes down, land beneath him tore itself open, the rush of fire surged towards him with no time for him to make even a single sound before it met him.
Though he felt no burning, rather the heat vanished in a moment and he was staring at nothing but rushing light, a novel experience, before he crashed into something and was ripped from the moment, the moment gravity took hold, something wrapped around his back and pressed him closer to what he had struck, he jolted and blinked twice, finding himself practically nose to nose with Gwyndolin.
Their single arm being the only thing keeping him from dropping down to the ground.
"...You are, without a doubt, the most suicidal idiot I have ever had the misfortune of crossing paths with." Dialogue was opened by Gwyndolin spitting the insult into his face, their eyes burning into his own as they looked over him. "I have no words to even describe what you have just done and I doubt that asking you will yield any answer that is satisfactory."
"I…wasn't thinking at the time." The words slipped forth easily, Gwyndolin sent him a look that made it clear that the answer hadn't been all that surprising. A quick glance either side of them revealed they were surrounded from every angle by a wall of flames, just leaving the two of them in the tepid centre. "I just…I just thought you were gonna try something and jumped, I guess."
"You jum-?" Gwyndolin cut himself off, he almost released a gasp as he was let go of yet it was only temporary, the hand of Gwyndolin latched onto the back of his shirt and pulled him away from them, dangling him very nearly like a cat as they stared at him with clear annoyance. A cocktail of emotions played over their face before closing their eyes, nothing swept over their features. "Why you?"
He blinked. "Why me?"
"Why you and why now?" The red eyes opened. "A lifetime he lived without anyone and then you just show up and throw yourself into the flames for the sake of Gwyndolin? The literal flames just for him…I try to kill you and you just…" his body was jostled back and forth as Gwyndolin shook him by the collar. "...I do not understand you in the least. Why you? What makes you…why do you care?"
Why did he care?
An odd question.
The better one was…
"Why shouldn't I care?"
They stared at him without a single word.
"I'm just like that, I guess." He shrugged at them, the movement was a bit awkward. "I can't help but care about people. Always have and always will do. Led me to trouble before and probably will again but I can't help but care…"
His eyes met theirs.
"I can't begin to understand what your life was like. It sounds…" What was he supposed to say? That it sounded rough? That it sounded bad? Understatements if ever there were some. "But that doesn't mean you can't hope for something better. It might sound corny but…I want to at least be there for someone, anyone, really. You can't ask me to not care or to turn my back on someone because I won't…I told you. I wasn't here for the Grail. I was here for you."
He extended his hand to them, stopping it just short and activating the mystic code.
Gwyndolin let out a low hiss, turning their head down and staring at themselves as their skin knit back together, the patches of burnt skin stared to fade away and the bruises and cuts slowly closed up. It wasn't perfect but it was better than it was. The God kept their eyes on the injury, then turned to him once more with something in those red eyes of theirs but little else.
"...I'd accuse you of an elaborate deception. That indulging me in this is just a method to get me to be overly invested in your service…but I do not believe you're actually smart enough to pull off that manner of scheme."
He wasn't offended by that, the smile he grew was lopsided and followed by another shrug of his shoulders.
"You came with us to Chaldea. You came here and helped us when you didn't need to." He continued on. "I'm never not going to be grateful for that. If you need someone there for you, for whatever reason…then I will absolutely be there…Because I think that's what people should do for one another."
"...You'll be just like the others."
"I won't."
Red eyes narrowed. "That is not something you can swear an oath to. I am both dead and a Servant. You are human and alive."
He nodded. "Yes. I am." Perhaps they hadn't expected him to admit it, but he saw the brief flicker of surprise in their eyes as he continued on. "But I'll try my best. That I can promise. Big or small…I'll absolutely try my best. You don't…You don't need to try and win your right to be happy anymore, Gwyndolin. I don't want you to force yourself into something you're not."
The smile on his lips was genuine.
"It's alright if you want to be you."
Gwyndolin said nothing, then slowly the world started to lower as he descended back towards the ground, the God lowering him until his feet touched the earth, he stumbled a bit to regain his footing before he found his balance, keeping his eyes on Gwyndolin as he did so.
"You're doing more for me than my own family ever did." They spoke with an empty tone of voice, then it softened as their eyes turned downcast. "How tragic is that?"
He didn't reply, not to something like that. Though he likely didn't need to as they already knew what his answer was going to be. His eyes moved down the length of Gwyndolin towards their chest as he watched it pulse, the light pulsed and peeled away from his chest around his heart, the orb flickered for a moment before slowly forming a shape.
Reaching towards it, he held his hand underneath as the light peeled away and was replaced by the golden shine of the Holy Grail. His hands circled around it and held it tight, staring at it for a moment before he pulled it towards himself and then returned his focus to Gwyndolin, only to blink as something light and soft fell against him and draped over his shoulder, a light breathing tickling his ear.
Where had once been the serpentine nature of the darkened God, there was instead the regular form of Gwyndolin now resting on him. Though still bearing much of the same wounds as before. He looped an arm around them and patted them twice on the back, nodding his head as he did so. Though he figured they were unconscious. "I got you…"
He turned back to the direction of the mouth of the crater as a pair of shadows fell over him, then cringed and brought his hand up, the darkness that once shrouded the skies flaked away, rays of sunlight burst through as the night turned to day.
"We've confirmed the last evidence of tampering with the Holy Grail has been removed." The voice of the Director erupted from his wrist, he turned his eyes towards it and brought the device up to look at. The screen flashed into existence as the pale haired woman fixed him with an indiscernible expression. "And the retrieval of the Grail has been confirmed. Though the Servants summoned by it remain, however that is a matter for Gwyndolin to deal with…the Singularity will likely start to vanish soon, I would recommend preparing for immediate evacuation from there."
He nodded back to her, then glanced towards the direction of Faraam and Gwynevere above him, neither of the two of them had said anything as they stared down, yet he could see the expressions on the both of them. Clearly troubled by the ordeal they had been through. With a grunt, he tossed the Holy Grail towards Faraam, the God fumbled as he caught it and glanced down at it before he looked to Ritsuka.
"I'll have my hands full with something else." He replied to the unasked question as he turned back to the unconscious Gwyndolin and crouched down, scooping his hands beneath them and lifting them up as he did so. One thing that surprised him was how light they were, he had been expecting having to put them on his back and give them a piggyback ride up the face of the crater, yet it was no different to the time he carried Euryale.
Turning back around, he looked up at the pair as he held the unconscious Gwyndolin in his arms, putting one foot in front of the other, Ritsuka started to climb up, wavering from side to side and keeping his balance as he did so. "Don't worry Mash, I have him." he spoke to her when he caught her in the corner of his eye looking to move closer.
Reaching the top of the crater, he moved past Gwyndolin's siblings and towards the opening, turning his eyes to the sky and watching as Storm flew through the air, dropping down to the ground in front of them and tilting it's beaked head to the side, the Dragon made a small noise before lowering its wings to the side like a ramp. The passengers it had carried away started to disembark from its side, though it was actually just Asterios carrying both Euryale and Stheno on his shoulders dropping to the ground.
"Well." Stheno drawled out with an almost dismissive tone of voice. "That was certainly a rather chaotic mess you all made of our island." she waved a hand around.
Ritsuka followed it and remained stone-faced as he beheld the destruction which now looked much worse when he wasn't in the midst of a fight. Large sections of the land had been turned upside down, scorch marks and impact craters all around and then the large burn mark running the length of the island except for the point where Mash had been standing.
"What of the instigator?" Euryale called out to them from atop Asterios shoulders, leaning forwards almost as though to get a better look. "They look a fair bit smaller than they did a moment ago. I take it you were able to pacify them."
He raised only a single eyebrow at her in response, unsure of whether or not he should say anything back to her. After a few moments of deliberating in his mind, he decided that he just didn't have the energy for all of that. Instead he just let out a small sigh and shook his head from side to side at them, turning away and moving further towards a clearing with Gwyndolin still in his hands.
Then he stopped as the air in front of him shimmered, four figures appeared before him, each of them keeping their posture loose and clearly not rushing for combat.
Gwyndolin's four knights, so to speak.
"It would seem as though victory is now yours." The blackened Arthur spoke up first, pale yellow eyes moved from Gwyndolin's unconscious body in his hands towards his face, he swallowed as she sent him a piercing look before grunting once and giving a faint nod of the head. "An achievement to stand before a God and beat them in combat, even if you had the aid of others by your side. It would seem your victory was more than a product of mere happenstance."
Letting out a breath, he felt his lips pull into a ghost of a smile. "I'm not too sure about that, if I'm being honest with you." his eyes moved across the Servants in front of him before he spoke up. "What are you all going to do now?"
The tall white Archer stepped forwards with a metallic thud, their glowing eyes bore into him a moment later as they spoke. "Orders were provided in the event of this outcome. In the event of defeat, this group was to pledge loyalty to Chaldea should they wish or find the goal acceptable." the Archer straightened out. "This Fuselage deems your victory acceptable. The criteria have been matched. Servant True Name: Minamoto-no-Tametomo. I shall recognise you as my Master if you accept the contract."
Ritsuka blinked, then slowly moved his eyes towards the other three Servants in front of him, all of whom were staring back at him in silence.
"I had hoped to be summoned eventually. If Lord Gwyndolin pledges loyalty to Chaldea, then I shall do the same." The silver Lancer stepped forwards and bowed her head. "Servant, Lancer. Sanura of Heide. If you can look past my actions this day, then I will offer my spear to your cause."
"Servant, Assassin. Hassan." The Masked man called out to them, Rituska was all but certain they might have met before but he couldn't quite place it. "Your cause is noble and you have proven yourself loyal to your allies through even difficult times. If you were to accept a contract, I would offer one."
Ritsuka turned his eyes towards the final figure.
"I have made my stance clear. You have proven your resolve thrice now, it would be shameful if I were to step back where others step forwards." Arthur declared, Excalibur placed itself in the ground in front of them. "Are you the one who shall serve as my Master?"
Ritsuka felt like he was going to pass out on the spot, the feeling compounded when he heard someone clear their throat to his left, dimly turning his head towards the direction and seeing that Stheno and Euryale were giving him very expectant expressions as their eyes darted between him and Medusa. He could practically hear their silent demands to be allowed to accompany them and if Euryale was coming, then it was guaranteed that Asterios would want to come as well.
"Uhm…" Wetting his lips, Ritsuka shrugged his shoulders "Sure…sure…" he glanced down to Gwyndolin's unconscious face and stared at them. Thinning his lips, he let out a small breath and faced the Servants once more. "Yeah…let's all get back to Chaldea. I think…I think we're just about done here."
