Chapter 1: Fuyuki - 1
The Holy Grail War, a battle in which seven Masters and seven Servants, heroes from the past, all fight for the Holy Grail, an object that can grant any wish the holder desires.
Saber, Archer, Lancer, Assassin, Caster, Rider, Berserker. These are the Servants that can be summoned in a Holy Grail War.
However, this is no ordinary Holy Grail War. This is a grand battle to save all of mankind.
This is our Grand Order.
{Fate/Grand Order Premonition}
"You are Serena Mirai, correct?"
"Yep, that's me!"
Extending her hand, the amber eyed woman greets me before the interview.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Olga Marie Animusphere, the current Director of Chaldea."
We're seated in a rather large room, quite similar to an office or a conference room. However, there are weird contraptions spanning the room such as blueprints and models. Just what was this room's purpose originally?
Clearing her throat, the Director continues.
"Judging by your profile, you do not have any sort of magecraft? An everyday human so to speak."
Averting my eyes and scratching my long, silver hair, I answer the question.
"Yeah, I don't have any magecraft, oh but I'm good with a katana! I took classes to learn it since they're cool."
"I see, one of the few commoners recruited for this organization."
Noticing my confused expressions she elaborates further.
"Oh that was not an insult by the way, it is just the name we use for the "normal" people who know nothing of magecraft and were normal civilians before coming here."
"Now that I mention it, there is one more person here who has no magecraft like you. His name is "Ritsuka Fujimaru." So maybe you two can relate in that aspect."
Being a tad bit surprised at another non mages existence, I reply. "Another non mage huh? I guess I can try talking to him if I get the chance."
"Anyways, why do you need all these people? I get that you'd rather them be mages, so why even bother with someone like me?"
"Simple, you have good rayshift compatibility."
"'Rayshift?' What's that?"
With a grin on her face, the Director says something truly mind blowing to any normal person.
"Rayshifting is essentially time travel. Your mind goes back to the past while your real bodies remain here and you will solve an issue in the past and fix the future."
I find myself completely dumbfounded. Obviously time travel is an impossible concept, especially to a Japanese commoner such as myself, but this woman just said that it existed like it was just some everyday thing!
"So…So you're saying that time travel is real!?"
"Oh well yes it is real, however only us at Chaldea can use it. I highly doubt it will ever see real world use, or at least as the way we have it here. This is not something we can just use however. It requires lots of paperwork and authorization to use it or it will be revoked and we can get shut down."
I place my hand on my forehead. "Wow. This is a lot to take in at once…"
Olga Marie realizes how off topic they drifted off here. As a woman with a strict schedule, she likes to stay on said schedule as best as she can, especially on a day like this. She audibly clears her throat to reset the conversation.
"We got a bit off topic there, sorry about that. Anyway I need to confirm some stuff before you can move on, you know, like a record of your identity."
"Oh alright, fine with me."
"Let's see…You were born on June 29th, 1999 correct?"
"Yes, that's correct, I'm 18 years old."
The amber eyed woman nods as she continues to look down at the sheet of paper.
"You have lived in Japan your whole life, however it says here that you've moved a few times?"
"Yes, that's also correct. But how did you even get all this information on me? You're the first person I've talked to."
"Oh that one is simple. That doctor's appointment you were at before this. She was actually a doctor from Chaldea, obviously still certified for normal medical practice. She submitted your blood work that you got done which showed you were rayshift compatible. And she obviously asked you about your birthday and other basic information doctors need."
"I see, she asked about my living situation which I thought was odd but I thought doctors may have needed that."
"Oh, doctors do need that info too, you just answered a bit more than you needed to."
I hang my head in defeat. "I knew I should've just ditched that appointment. Now I'm in some random facility where magic exists. Luckily I was able to call my parents and tell them I got a job overseas and to look after my apartment. My mom was pissed that I didn't visit beforehand but I was able to calm the situation and she believed me."
I realize something about all this that was still odd, My head shoots up with a puzzled look.
"What would you have done if I said no to joining Chaldea? You still took me here against my will, so that's basically kidnapping. I only joined because of the whole magic stuff, I mean, who would say no?"
"Relax, we are not monsters. We would have erased your memories of all this and sent you back home and you would wake up in your bed like nothing happened besides a bit of amnesia. We wouldn't force you to join us. That would break quite a lot of rules."
"Yeah…I guess anything is possible with magic. So that makes sense I guess."
The Director stacks up the papers on the desk neatly and places them inside the folder next to her.
"Anyway, that should be everything for the interview. You can head right on over to the control room for the tour. Thank you for your time."
"Oh um, where's the Control Room?"
"Oh, apologies. Once you exit this room, head straight and take the first left. After that, keep going forward until you arrive at two giant metal doors that have a little sign on the side that reads 'Control Room.'"
"Thank you!"
I get up from my chair and push it in. With a bow, I head off on my way.
The sliding door opens for me like one at a grocery store, and I head out.
"Serena Mirai hmm? She seems to have good potential." The Director says as she takes a final look at my paper.
I roam the halls, searching for the room I'm supposed to go to. I arrive after a few minutes' walk from the interview room.
"Is this it? It says Control Room so let's hope so."
The doors open in my presence and inside are several seats, in which most are already occupied.
"So many…" I really didn't expect this when I walked in. Not the amount of people, no, the entire room was filled with all sorts of technology I couldn't possibly operate.
A presumed member of the staff approaches me and looks me up and down.
"What is your name?"
"Oh uh, my name's Serena Mirai sir!"
"May I see your wristband?"
The man then points to his wrist which had some sort of gray, metal wristband in response to my confused look.
"Oh right, this was given to me when I got here." I quietly say before presenting my right arm to the staff member.
Placing his wristband in front of mine, a hologram pops up and after looking at it for a second, he looks up and says "You can sit anywhere in the back row."
"Okay." I reply and start to make my way up the stairs to the back row. This whole thing slightly reminds me of a movie theater. Someone tells you where to go, going up several short stairs with maybe one hundred people facing forward looking at a screen. Well in this case there are roughly forty or fifty people present. I take a corner seat. I've always preferred the back corner if I could get it and that's exactly where I sit now.
Everyone's talking to each other around the room like they all know each other. Wanting to not stand out, I just keep to myself, simply looking around the room to pass time, waiting for something to happen.
After a few minutes, the door opens and a man in green walks in.
"Sorry I kept you all waiting, we just needed to make sure everyone was present and accounted for."
Standing in front of the room is a man dressed in a green coat with a green top hat, under the expensive looking coat is a suit, so he must be someone important who works here. He has long, brown hair that passes his shoulders, his eyes remain shut, however he's still able to see perfectly. One of life's great mysteries, I think before dropping the subject when he starts to talk.
"My name is Lev Lainur, I am the Main Technician here at Chaldea. Considering I know this facility like the back of my hand, I was tasked with the honor of touring our candidates. So if everyone can rise from their seats and follow me in an organized line, we can be on our way."
Everyone rises as instructed. I get up too and check my seat to make sure nothing fell out of my pockets, not that I had much on me besides my phone and keys. After that, I continue down the stairs and follow everyone else.
"Anyway, where to start…Ah, how about the Cafeteria! Obviously we all need to eat so this is a place you should all know how to find." Lev says as we all follow him down the hall.
After a short walk, we arrive at a pretty big room. The smell of delicious food fills the air around us.
Stopping in his tracks and turning to face us, the man in the green coat once again speaks.
"As you all know, the Cafeteria is where you eat. We have 'dine-in' and 'take-out,' so don't feel like you have to eat in here. We have plenty of options so everyone should have a few things they will enjoy. Oh also, the staff are automated in the Cafeteria so you can come any time of the day and get food as you please. They do close at night though like any normal business."
"Oh right, you will all get free meals for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. If you want food at any other time, you will have to pay with QP. Oh, QP stands for 'Quantum Points' and it is the currency we use here at Chaldea. Considering you all are from different countries, we needed one currency to keep everything consistent. If you wish to get QP, then you can get a job around Chaldea. But for now, you all start with fifty million QP."
"Anyway, let us get a move on to the next section of our tour."
We all leave the Cafeteria and continue onto the next section.
Entering the next room, I can hear waves crashing and warm sunlight hitting my skin.
Looking around, one can easily think they've been transported to Hawaii.
"Here is the Chaldea Pool. Now as you can tell, it feels like we are in the tropics, however this is because of a technology that can change its look to be whatever you want. Think of a simulator or something. This pool was made for the sake of exercise, but if you just want to relax and swim, then you are allowed to do that too. Oh and swimsuits that are your size are located in your closets in your rooms. Speaking of rooms…"
Lev heads out of the room and we all follow once again.
In about two minutes, we reach a hallway with a lot of doors on each side. Pressing his wristband against a sensor, one of the metal doors slides open and we all cram in.
"This is what the rooms you will be staying in will look like."
Looking around the room, I can spot several essentials a room needs such as a bed, several cabinets, a closet, a shower, a table on the side of the bed, a TV, and several decorations. Other than that, the room has a white and gray color scheme, and overall pretty plain looking. Almost reminds me of a hospital room.
"If you would like, the room is made out of the same technology as the Pool Room so you can customize it if you'd like. I know it looks quite plain right now. Here, I'll show you how."
Walking over to the entrance, he touches a computer panel to the left of the door and it lights up.
"All you have to do is tap the screen and several themes will come up. From there, you can select one and it'll change the room."
Tapping one option, we all watch as the room transforms into what looks like a spaceship. Fake windows appear which display hundreds of stars in space, along with a few planets. The inside now looks like it is futuristic and metallic with plenty of lights. Even the furniture changed to match the setting.
Several of us, including me, look in amazement while others don't look surprised in the slightest.
"Oh, on the topic of simulators, let me take you to ours."
And once again, he leaves the room and we all follow.
We walk for about five minutes and arrive at another room. Inside, it looks really plain. Silver, metallic walls, floor and ceiling. But as the name suggests, it can be changed into something entirely different at the press of a button. The button Lev presses turns out to be a grassland.
"This is the Simulator, you can use this room to train your magecraft or combat skills. Being a simulator, it can mimic any environment that you need it to including temperature and weather. You can even fight against fake opponents such as phantasmals, mages or even Servants. However since it is so popular, you must write your names down on a waiting list to use it."
After that, Lev proceeds to give a tour of the rest of the facility such as the Gym, Workshop, Medical Office, Baths similar to hot springs, and too many more for me to keep track of.
"And that concludes the tour of Chaldea. Tomorrow you will be required to take a test in the Simulator, so be there by 9:00 AM. The test will be on combat skills, magic power, agility and some other basic tests."
"Now I am sure you are all hungry so you are all dismissed. Chaldea closes everything down at 12:00 AM so you have until then to do what you want. Oh and one more thing. Chaldea, much like a workplace, requires everyone to wear uniforms. You must wear them from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, or at meetings we have outside of those hours, though rare. These uniforms will be provided to you and are in your rooms. Please let us know if we got the size wrong and we will fix it right away. Also in your rooms are the belongings you brought along."
Wait, do I even have any belongings with me? I was kidnapped so probably not. All I have are these clothes, my phone, and my wallet and keys.
"How do we know which room is ours?" A fellow teenager like me asks this question. That didn't even cross my mind but he's right.
Lev looks up and smiles, "Oh, on that wristband you all have. If you tap on it, it will display your room number, QP amount, birthday, name, class, and all sorts of info. And if you swipe the page, it will display a map of the facility. Thank you for reminding me of that."
"And on that thought, if you swipe once more, there should be a to-do list. If anything is scheduled, for example the Simulator test tomorrow, you should see it there and can set an alarm if you would like. "
"Any other questions?"
Everyone remains silent.
"Alright then, those wristbands will let you into areas you are allowed in like an ID badge at an office building. And with that, you are free to go! If any of you have questions, do not hesitate to ask."
And with that, the man waves and walks away. I overhear some people talk about getting food so I decide to do the same.
The Cafeteria filled up fast, I guess I wasn't fast enough.
After getting food, I go to find a place to sit in the packed room.
The Cafeteria was quite plain looking. Several white tables and chairs spread out all over. The Chaldea logo was plastered on the wall. There was the food stand, the staff were indeed automated. They seemingly had every food imaginable so getting what I liked was no problem at all.
Crap, nearly every seat is taken. This reminds me of High School. Though before the incident, I usually sat alone with Hana, it was only after the incident that people sat near me all the time. Seems like I won't be able to sit alone today.
I scan the room and spot a table with only one person residing, hesitantly, I walk over.
"Excuse me, do you mind if I join you?"
The girl sitting at the table looks up. "Fine with me." She replies before looking back down at her food.
"Thank you, you're a lifesaver!" I reply and pull back the plastic chair and place my tray down.
I sit down across from the girl.
The girl has short, brownish purple hair. She has on a gray cropped tank top which exposes a little bit of her stomach, and on her stomach sits a massive scar, actually, her arms and hands have scars all over them, and she has a scar on her right cheek too. I wonder how all that happened? I think before picking up my utensils.
On her tray is surprisingly a steak with a side of bread and a glass of water.
"Wow, you must be really hungry. Are you sure you can eat all that?" I say in amazement at the sheer size of her meal.
"I haven't eaten much all day so I'm starving right now." She replies and goes back to eating in silence.
The silence is sorta embarrassing, maybe I can ask her about this place?
"So, what do you think of this place? Personally I think it's really cool."
Once again looking back up from her food with an expressionless face, she replies. "Same here, when I accepted the job, I really didn't imagine all this. It has everything I need here. A gym, good food, and the rooms are nice too." She immediately quiets back down and resumes eating once again.
Yeah, now I feel bad for sitting here. She seems like a loner. I think and go to eat what's on my tray.
We both eat in silence for a while. Everyone else is chatting amongst themselves about various topics.
"So, um, what magecraft do you use?"
Did she get sick of the silence now that she decided to talk to me?
"I don't know any magic. Actually, I'm just a normal person picked up off the street. Not literally of course haha. Oh but I can use the katana fairly well." I say while slightly panicking. What if she thinks I'm weird and leaves?
"I see" is all she says back before becoming silent again.
"What about you? Do you have magic?" I ask the girl, trying to make conversation.
"My magecraft is 'Imaginary Numbers.'"
"What is that? Are you good at math then?"
"What? No. Think of it like a pocket dimension. Though, I only use it to store items. It would be dangerous to put a human inside."
"A pocket dimension huh? Magic sounds really cool!"
"I suppose so."
Right after saying that, she finishes up her food and stands up to leave.
"It was nice having someone to talk to. I'm not really all too used to people wanting to talk with me so this was a nice change of pace." The girl says while turned away.
"Why's that?"
"My job before I came here, these scars on my body, both seem to scare others away quite easily." She says while still turned around.
"Well I think they make you look really cool!"
A little smile appears on her face "Thank you, that means a lot. Anyway, I should get going, I'm pretty tired after today."
Realizing I forgot one important thing, I ask what her name is. A weird thing to ask at the very end of a conversation but better than never.
"Alice Narukami."
"Nice to meet you Alice! My name is Serena. Serena Mirai."
"Serena? Alright then. Would you like to meet back up tomorrow then for Breakfast?"
"Of course! What time?"
"How about 7:00 AM? If we are fast enough, we can make it to the simulator right after."
"Alright, see you then." I say while waving.
Alice walks away and out of the Cafeteria.
I should get some rest myself. It really has been a long day.
After a two minute walk, I get to my room which was displayed on my wristband.
Taking a look around, I see that it is the normal bland room shown in the tour. White on every surface.
"Better than my apartment, I guess." I say out loud.
"Oh, but I should take a shower and then go to bed. Can't forget my alarm either. I really need to figure out how all of this works."
"BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!"
The alarm wakes me up at 6:00 AM. I shoot out of bed and take a quick morning shower and put my hair up into my black, wooden hair tie.
"Oh right, can't forget about the uniform. I hope it fits okay."
Slipping on the Chaldea uniform, I take a look in the mirror.
"Oh wow, it's cuter than I thought it would be! And it fits great."
After that, I notice that it's almost 8:00 AM and leave to go meet my new friend for Breakfast.
After eating, we arrive at the simulator and see a bunch of people gathered up.
Standing in front of the door is Olga Marie Animusphere. She has a commanding, yet nervous face right now.
"Alright everyone! You will be taking the simulator test. This is so we can put you in the correct team and measure your abilities and skill. Team A is already full so they don't need to be here right now. But everyone else must take the test." Clearing her throat, she begins to speak once more.
"The test will be separated into sections. Offense, defense, agility, and intelligence. Offense will be tested by how many hits you can score on a fake monster in one minute. It's timed, so try and get the fastest score while hitting as much as you can. It will be moving of course. Weaponry will be provided."
"Defense will be tested by a simulation attacking you. Your objective is to last three minutes while being hit as little as possible. Obviously the less you get hit, the better you will score. Agility is an obstacle course. Finish as fast as you can. That's it for the agility section. As for intelligence, it is a simple test you will take on tablets provided. Think of it like school, get a good grade and you'll be fine."
"We will be calling you in a few at a time. After you finish, you are free for the day. Now then, let's get started."
After seemingly hours, I finally take the test. And it ends after about 30 minutes.
Finally finished. That was so tiring.
"You're done I assume?" Alice says.
"Yeah, it didn't go too well."
"Tell me about it over lunch. I'll tell you how I did of course."
And with that, the two of us go to the Cafeteria.
We sit at the same table as we did yesterday after getting the food we wanted.
"So, how did you do?" The green eyed girl asks me right after I take a bite.
After a second of chewing, I tell her how I did.
"Well, I managed to get a few hits on the monster but nothing very good. For defense, I got hit five times. I wasn't able to complete the obstacle course, and I got an average grade on the test."
"What about you? How did you do?" I say as a followup question.
"I hit the target 50 times in a minute. I only got hit once. The course took me two minutes to complete, and I got an 89 out of 100 on the test."
"You did so much better than me it's not even funny." I mutter as I hang my head down in shame.
"Hey, don't let it get you down, I'm sure there's someone who did even worse than you." Alice says with a smile.
"Oh I know someone did worse. The guy before me got like two hits in on the target, got hit more times to count, couldn't complete the course and I think got a 50 on the test. I feel bad for him."
"Yeah, it really would feel bad to come in last."
We chat about random topics while eating, but we both seem to tune into a conversation at the table next to us between two girls around our age.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"About what?" The girl across from her responds with a confused expression.
"During that sim test, there was a guy who did extremely well. I think he got something like 75 hits in a minute, he didn't get hit even once in the defense test, the obstacle course took him like 30 seconds, And on top of all that, he got a perfect score on the test."
Both Alice and I's expressions are visibly shocked at the words she just spoke. Did we maybe mishear? No, there's no way, other people around us have the same expression as the two who started this keep talking, unaware of the response of everyone around.
"No way, really!? Someone like that is here?" The girl responds with a shocked expression.
"Yeah, apparently he's the best of our group. I even overheard that he might be added to Team A."
"Wow, what's his name?"
"His name is 'Nick,' I didn't get his last name though. He's a real hottie in my opinion. He seems a bit older, like in his twenties or something, but still on the younger side, maybe around 22? He has white hair, it is around medium length, down to the base of his neck I think? Anyway his most captivating feature has to be his red eyes. You don't see that every day. Next time I see him, I'll ask for his number."
"Wow, I want to see him for myself now."
I look back toward Alice and sensing this, she looks back as well.
"Someone really did that good?"
"Seems that way. I thought I did good, but compared to that…" Alice says, still trying to process everything. "Maybe he's from a powerful family? I've heard of people that are really strong naturally because they are born in a powerful family and get the family's 'Magic Crest' passed onto them."
"What is a 'Magic Crest?' Remember I'm just your everyday human, I don't know these terms very well."
"Ah, sorry. A 'Magic Crest' is a type of magecraft that is passed down family lines. It's an easy way to train a descendant without actually training one. The parents' experience and power is passed down to their child, usually only one though."
"So you think he's powerful because he has one of these?" I question her once more.
"It's the most likely reason to me."
"I see. Do you have a crest?" I ask her out of curiosity.
"No I don't. My Father did have one, but unfortunately they were both killed and the crest was lost for good. I can still manage without it though. I mainly use guns and physical weapons, magecraft for offense isn't my thing. I'd say I'm best at hand to hand combat though. My Sensei taught me how to fight. She always said that your fists are one's most reliable weapons because you can be disarmed of your weaponry, but you will still have your fists. Assuming those don't get cut off too that is."
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your parents?" I ask but instantly regret.
"I don't mind. They were 'Sealing Designation Enforcers.' Basically assassins or hitmen. They were both killed on the job by one man. I became one as well in the hopes to avenge them."
"And have you?"
"No I have not. He nearly killed me on a mission years later. I was too reckless and wasn't thinking straight."
"I'm sorry to hear that…"
"Don't worry about it. I've come to terms with it, and I need to move on." She says with a tone that sounds like she's unsure about what she was saying.
We both sit in silence after that and watch the other people in the Cafeteria.
Pushing her seat back, Alice gets up from her seat.
"Alice?"
"Sorry, I'm going to get going now. I'd like to go to the fitness center, then take a nap."
"A nap sounds perfect right now. I think I'll do that too." I say while also getting up.
"See you later then."
"Bye."
Back in my room, I inspect the wall panel thing that can change the look of the room. I'm interested in what options it has as I'm tired of the bleached looking room. Pressing an option, the room changes and in its place is a japanese style room.
"Wow. The bed sunk into the floor a bit and there's even artificial sunlight. This is really cool! I wonder if Alice has changed her room at all? I'll ask later though."
Removing my uniform, I lay in bed and drift off to sleep.
Another three days go by. I learn more about Chaldea and magecraft as it's called. Before I knew it, the day of our first mission came.
Walking down the hall toward the Command Room, I find myself feeling nervous. This should be safe right? All these people will be with me too. There's nothing to be worried about. I think as I near the room.
After entering the Command Room once again, I'm surprised to see so many people already in their seats.
"Hello Ms. Mirai. You were put in a team correct? Please sit in the row marked accordingly.
Behind me stands Lev Lainur. I honestly didn't expect him to know my name, but I guess he remembers us all?
"Oh, okay!"
I walk over to the stairs and ascend until I find my assigned team. I notice Alice already sitting in her area so I wave and she waves back.
I find the row marked E. The teams are A through G with seven total groups. Alice naturally got selected for the B team with how well she did. I take my seat and wait in silence until the Director walks into the room.
Her heels make an audible clicking noise as she makes her way to the very front of the room.
"Alright everyone! Today is the day!" She exclaims, raising her voice so everyone can hear.
"The plan is simple. We rayshift back to 2004, Fuyuki City in Japan. We will figure out the problem and solve it to correct history. Team A will handle the majority of the combat. Along with that, they will make pacts with any Servants we may encounter should they be friendly enough to join our side. The rest of the groups will focus on supporting Team A to assure their success. Is that clear?"
"Yes ma'am!" We all respond back.
"Good, now as for the staff and I, we-"
Cutting her off mid sentence. A snore can be heard somewhere behind me.
"Is someone seriously asleep right now? Who is it!? The fate of the world is at stake and apparently someone finds this boring?"
Someone in the back raises their hand and waves over the Director to the sleeping beauty.
She walks over and up the stairs, all the way to the back where a black haired boy sleeps away.
She raises her wristband in front of him and taps it "Ritsuka Fujimaru…You really dare to doze off now of all times in my presence? Fine then!"
Clearly pissed, she claps her hands right in front of his face and he jolts up in shock. "YOU, GET OUT THIS INSTANT! YOU ARE EXCLUDED FROM THIS MISSION! THIS ISN'T A JOKE! THE WORLD IS AT STAKE, SO WE CAN'T LET SOMEONE WHO CLEARLY DOESN'T CARE JOIN US!"
The boy, still clearly waking up, is confused. Of course, anyone would be if they got woken up from a nap by a screaming woman.
"Huh? What? Hey wait, what do you mean!?"
Looking over at a girl near the door, the pink haired girl immediately faces toward the director and stands much like one would toward an army instructor.
"Mash, please make sure Mr. Fujimaru gets back to his room. I will talk to him when we get back. After you drop him off, report back immediately. You are vital in this mission."
"Roger that! Come on Senpai, let's go. I'll explain on the way."
The two leave the room and the room goes quiet. The tension feels like it could be cut with a knife.
"Ahem, anyway, before I was interrupted, I was about to say that the staff and I will be overseeing this operation to make sure nothing goes wrong. Such as alerting you to hostiles and making sure you all stay on track."
"Now then, let's get you all into your 'coffins.' And don't worry, the name is because they look like coffins. These are absolutely safe, they've been tested hundreds of times."
We all stand up as the staff directs us down to the floor where many human sized tubes stick out of the ground.
"Rayshifting is simple. Your bodies will be turned into spiritrons and sent back in time. Obviously though if you die during the rayshift, you will remain dead. So be very careful. Though with Team A here, that shouldn't happen." She explains as staff help us all into the coffins and tell us to relax our bodies.
We all start entering the coffins. I step up to get in and—
Fire is everywhere. The room has burst into flames, rubble laying everywhere. Blood stains on the ground. It is more correct to say that an explosion had gone off. Something went horribly wrong, despite saying it was safe. I notice an arm under a rock. The hand resembles Alice's because of the scar located there. That is most definitely Alice under there. Crushed instantly. Dead instantly. Does that even matter? My own body is under rubble too. My lower half no longer exists. My body grows cold and my eyelids start to fall. Just like that, in an instant, my life ends…
Before stepping into the coffin fully, I fling my body and thud onto the ground. The staff member who was helping me looks confused but asks if I'm alright. Attention has been drawn to me now. Some people laugh and others look curious as to what is going on.
"E—" Is this really the right choice?
They can't know what I can do. If that incident repeats again, my life will be completely ruined. But I must. Alice will die, and I can't let my only friend die like that. All these lives will be extinguished in an instant.
"Everyone! We need to get out of here now! If this continues, we will all die!" I scream to everyone. I don't care if they think I'm insane. I just need them to obey me for the moment.
Everyone is now looking at me. Their faces say to me that they have no idea how to process that information. Some look confused, others scared, and some smirking, like what I said was insane.
Olga looks right at me, so do the rest of the staff.
"Joking about such a thing… What's wrong with you!?"
"If you're too scared to do this, then get out. But don't try and stop everyone else from saving the world."
"But it's true!" I yell out in panic. I know I'm right, but no one will believe me. They never did at first.
"What's your proof? What's your proof that we'll all die?" A voice says from one of the coffins.
I respond to the voice. "Well, a feeling I guess. It's complicated, but it's true."
I can't tell anyone about them. I can't let it happen again. I can't tell them about my eyes, how they're special.
Olga slams her foot down. "Just get out this instant! Everyone is on edge right now. We can't have someone say those things with no evidence whatsoever." Olga yells as she points toward the door.
"You know what? If anyone else wants to leave then fine. Do it now. You will be reprimanded later."
"I'll leave too then." A voice says in the distance.
"Alice?" I say after recognizing the voice and watching her walk over to me.
"Tsk, anyone else!?" Olga asks, clearly annoyed.
The room is silent, everyone staring in our direction.
"Fine, you two! Go back to your rooms right now! Three people kicked out in one day, unbelievable." The Director huffs.
Defeated, I leave the room and Alice follows. Behind me, I can hear people snicker and talk behind our backs.
We both walk through the halls without a word. But I must know why she followed.
"Why did you believe me? No one else did." I manage to say.
"I was already on edge about something. It just didn't feel right. Also, I could tell you weren't lying. You seemed too scared to be lying. I'm good at picking up on body language so that among other things tells me you weren't lying. Or at least you really thought without a doubt you were right."
"Why did no one else believe me then?"
"Because most mages are selfish pieces of shit that only think about their own gain. My time at the Clock Tower taught me that. The Clock Tower in London is one of the top schools for magecraft, so many go there. Everyone wants to make some sort of breakthrough or whatever and get rich or gain power. I'm sure most in that room wanted to be the one to save the world, and therefore get famous in the magus world. They probably thought you were trying to take that glory away from them. So obviously they didn't leave."
"... Well if that's the case, nothing can be done can it? Hopefully I'm wrong and nothing bad happens. Let's just go…" I mutter in complete defeat. No point in trying anymore now that I know what they are thinking.
"See you later then, Serena."
We walk toward a split in the hallway that will lead us to our rooms in different directions—
"BOOM!"
Alarms start to blare throughout the base. The halls go dark as if the power was cut.
Both Alice and I stop dead in our tracks.
"Huh?" Alice says in surprise.
That was clearly an explosion from behind us. From the Control Room. My premonition was completely right.
"You were right…"
Neither of us can process this immediately. Something really bad just happened. We stand there for what seems like forever.
Turning around toward the sound, Alice starts to run. I follow after her, but she's too fast to stay directly behind and she soon vanishes around a corner.
It's about a five minute walk, but we can make it in two if we run. The elevator won't take long assuming it still works.
I make it to the control room out of breath. The giant metal door opens and I see the room up in flames, just as I saw before. Collapsed ceiling, crushed coffins, blood staining the floor.
The heat hits me hard, it suddenly gets hard to breathe.
"HEY! Snap out of it Serena! Help me look for survivors!" Alice yells from a little bit away. She must've gotten here a minute or two ago. She's acting really composed for the situation. Meanwhile I can't believe this is really happening. My heart races uncontrollably and my breathing is sporadic. But even so, I push on.
We can't get to all areas of the room due to the rubble blocking the path, or a wall of fire stopping us in our tracks. Crushed, broken and toppled coffins are everywhere. We are unable to tell if people are alive due to them being locked in their coffin, now taking on a potentially more literal name.
Both Alice and I are covered in sweat from the heat and adrenaline. My body gets slower by the second. Who knows if I can last much longer.
Alice jumps in surprise and backs toward me, putting her arm in front of my body to protect me from something I haven't noticed yet.
In front of the two of us, about ten meters away, stands a man. He hasn't noticed us yet.
But in backing up, I step on a rock, causing a little noise. This seems to have gotten the man's attention as he turns to face us.
He is about six feet tall, white hair and crimson red eyes. He looks seemingly uninterested? Or maybe he was just analyzing the situation. Either way, a pistol appears out of nowhere in Alice's hand and she immediately takes aim.
"Who are you?" Alice demands in a stern voice.
"Pointing a gun at someone immediately? That's not a good way to ask questions and expect a response other than death. If you pull that trigger you won't kill me, but I can close the distance faster than you can react and put an end to your life, and the girl alongside you." The man says. His face indicates that he's not joking. He really can do that. The reason I know is because his description fits the man we heard about three days ago from those girls. Someone strong enough to be recruited into the A Team.
Alice lowers her gun, yet keeps her guard high. "My name is Alice Narukami, and this is Serena Mirai. You are?"
A smile forms on his face. "Nicholas Ketsueki is my name. Nice to meet you. Just call me Nick."
His face falls into a confused look. "Why did you point a gun toward me? We're allies aren't we?"
Alice looks down in shame. "Sorry but you were standing there with that look on your face. It made me think you may have caused all this. Though that wouldn't make sense. Why trap yourself if your goal was to kill everyone in an explosion? It would've killed you too. No, another question. How do you not have a scratch on you?"
"I used my magecraft to protect myself. Every competent mage should have such a spell."
"What happened here?" I interrupt. I want to know exactly why this is happening.
"Well we were all in the coffins. And right as everything was on track, an explosion went off and collapsed the place pretty quickly. Seems to have originated from the main control area which is where the staff were. I personally think sabotage. The motive confuses me though. I managed to protect myself and bust out of the coffin. When you two found me, I was assessing the situation and planning what to do. You both got lucky you were kicked out, or maybe you both would've died."
The loudspeakers come to life
"Rayshift system transferring to final stage."
"The rayshift is still going!?" I say in surprise. It's still active despite the explosion, so naturally I would be confused on how the system survived all this.
"Coordinates: January 30th, 2004 CE. Fuyuki, Japan. Rayshifting from February 10th, 2017."
"Don't we have to be in coffins? Will we be okay?"
"Who knows? Hope for the best, that's the best we can do at the moment." Nick says with seemingly no worry in his voice.
"How are you so calm?"
"No use worrying when I'll find out what happens in a bit. I'm sure it'll be fine."
The intercom cuts in once more.
"Laplace conversion protection in place. Additional factor frame towards Singularity secured. Unsummon program set. Masters, please enter final adjustments."
"Well, this is it. Brace yourselves everyone." Alice looks at the two of us and nods.
"Starting Unsummon Program."
"Don't worry Mash, it'll be okay. We'll be fine, I promise."
Quickly jolting my head up in surprise and looking around, I realize at least two others are alive and somewhere close.
"Rayshift System Start."
But before I can go search out the man's voice. My body feels like it falls apart and I'm shot forward, flying through a tunnel somewhere into the past. A bright light blinds me, then it all goes dark.
I could have never guessed what was going to be next on my journey. Not just Fuyuki, but all of the Grand Order and beyond.
Before coming to Chaldea, I had thought that my life would stay mediocre and non important. But I'm happy that I was wrong about everything, and in the end, I wouldn't change a single thing.
This is how our Grand Order played out. This isn't a story about saving humanity. This is a story about the bonds we can share with each other.