A.N. (4/3/24) - If you're not aware, this story mainly posts on SpaceBattles and contains extra content such as side stories.
Route (10) - World
Shirou took in her explanation as well as she expected.
"You cannot be serious!"
To say that Shirou wasn't happy would be an understatement. Although he restrained himself the entire time Rin talked, it was obvious that his temper was building the longer she spoke. It eventually reached a boiling point when she revealed what Julian requested her to do, causing Shirou to bolt up with anger in his eyes.
"Hear me out first."
"I hear you," Shirou growled. "And it sounds like the height of lunacy. Do you even realize what you're saying!? You're telling me that he wants us to work with him when he's holding my sister hostage?"
Sakura frowned. "Erm, is it alright if I ask for clarification regarding that? What kind of threat is so important that the Ainsworth family would be willing to request help?"
It took Rin a moment to figure out what to say. "Are either of you familiar with the term Ragnarök?"
Sakura shook her head in response.
"I am," Shirou said. As someone well-versed in myths and legends due to his past research with Kiritsugu, Rin figured that he would be the best person to give an explanation. "Ragnarök, also sometimes known as the Twilight of the Gods, is the name of the conflict that brought an end to the gods in Norse mythology. The eruption of Mount Katla marked the beginning with the invasion of the Muspel fire giants, originating from the land of flame Muspelheim. During this time, many gods died because of the conflicts between them and the giants until finally Surtr, the ruler of Muspelheim, laid waste to everything with his flaming sword, which is said to be a Divine Construct born from the planet that was created solely to end the Age of Gods."
Rin nodded. "A decent summary, but the important thing is what happened after Ragnarök. One of the gods that fell in that event was Thor, one of the most powerful and well-known gods in the Norse pantheon. As the god of thunder, he wielded his mighty hammer Mjölnir and faced off against the serpent Jörmungandr. Although he managed to defeat his enemy, he was only able to take nine steps afterward before succumbing to the serpent's venom. It is said that after Ragnarök ended, his sons Móði and Magni claimed the hammer of Thor upon the reborn earth and eventually returned to Asgard while holding onto it."
"Hold on." Sakura frowned. "You mentioned earlier that this Doctor Heartless guy managed to create a Servant Card containing the Divine Spirit Magni."
"That's correct," Rin confirmed. "Although he's technically a demigod, due to his mother being a giantess he wields incredible strength that rivals that of the gods. Furthermore, when he claimed his father's hammer Mjölnir, he also inherited his father's Divine Core."
It finally dawned upon Shirou how serious the issue was. "You're saying someone managed to create a Servant Card with a guy like that inside it?"
"According to Julian, that seems to be the case. The reason why the Ainsworth family wants to intervene is supposedly because Heartless plans on using Magni to reenact Ragnarök and somehow return the world to the Age of Gods."
Sakura blinked. "Why would he do that? And why does that mean the Ainsworths need to act?"
"I'm not sure about what Heartless wants, but to answer your second question as to why the Ainsworth family would care, it's because of several reasons. One is the simple fact that he's taking advantage of the Holy Grail War by creating a Servant Card and using it for his own purposes. Since the ritual relies on having seven magi face off against one another using the power of Servants, having one disappear would greatly affect their plans." Rin shrugged her shoulders. "The other reason is that apparently the Ainsworths don't agree with his plan to save the world."
That caught Shirou's interest. "What do you mean? How would reenacting Ragnarök save the world?"
"Think about it. Assuming Heartless does somehow succeed in bringing back the Age of Gods, what would that mean for our current world? During the Age of Gods, it's not just the quality of the magical energy but even Mystery itself was more complex than our modern era. If Heartless manages to enact his plan, it would completely change the way magecraft works."
She saw the looks of confusion on the two of them and sighed.
"You understand, right? About the plight that this world is facing and how the future of this planet is headed for ruin?"
They would know better than her, as proper inhabitants of this world. What made the Miyuverse different from other Fate timelines was the fact that there was something wrong with the planet. From what she recalled, the Earth's axis is out of alignment which led to a number of changes in how this world worked. Climate change, unusual weather and season patterns, the decline of plant and animal life, and even the depletion of magical energy across the planet.
But what was even worse than all of that was the appearance of dry spots around the world. Along with the emergence of a new kind of particle unlike anything seen before that cannot be observed or measured, those areas are rewriting the rules of reality. It could be considered an expanding cancer on the planet with no hopes of culling it.
With the decline of magical energy, magecraft is fated to eventually disappear. And because science relies on a defined set of rules, it too cannot comprehend the nature of these dry spots. As the unknown phenomenon spreads, beings that exist due to the current laws of reality will no longer be able to exist in the new world once it covers the entire planet.
In short, it was only a matter of time before humanity became extinct.
"As magi, we turn to magecraft for a solution as to how the world may be saved. Using the tools at our disposal, a perfect solution is only constrained by the limits of magecraft. With the return of True Ether, the higher mysteries of the Age of Gods will not only distort reality so that modern laws and physics no longer apply, but also work with humans instead of rejecting them like the unknown particles appearing on this world. Magi can also discard their dreams of reaching the Root in exchange for forming a contract with a Divine Spirit and focus on the affairs of this world instead of trying to ignore it."
"And all of that is possible if Ragnarök is reenacted?"
"That's right," Rin confirmed. "Of course, there is the fact that Ragnarök is an apocalypse that will wipe out most of humanity in the process. If this plan goes awry, the whole world might be reduced to ashes."
"Can that happen?" Sakura asked. "Even if he is a Divine Spirit, it's not like this Heartless person is summoning Magni himself. At most, the Servant Card can only allow the usage of a ranked down version of his Noble Phantasm."
Shirou also voiced his opinion. "While I'm still not clear about all the details of Servants and Noble Phantasm, can something created by the Ainsworth family even recreate something on the scale of an apocalypse that wiped out multiple gods?"
"Julian seems to believe so," Rin answered. "But you're right. Simply having the Servant Card isn't enough. That's why he needs the actual Heroic Spirit to enact his plan."
It took them a second to reach the same conclusion.
"A summoning," Sakura realized. "Using the card as a catalyst to call down a genuine Servant."
"Exactly. Materializing the hero within a card is possible, but normally the result would be a mindless Shadow Servant. And even summoning a Servant won't be enough if the goal is utilizing the power of the Divine Spirit Magni. No, something like that would require a god's Authority with a spirit origin to match it. Heartless would either have to summon a genuine Divine Spirit or refine the spirit origin of the Servant Magni in order to bring it closer to its original essence."
In other words, the Servant needed to undergo Ascension so that it could reach its full potential.
"At the very least, I need to give them a response by this evening. I know the Ainsworths have wronged you Shirou, but think about the bigger picture. If we join forces with them for now, we'll be in a good position to negotiate for the release of your sister by helping them stop a worldwide disaster from happening."
It was clear to everyone in the room that Shirou wanted to say no, but the fact that he held back his words spoke more about his thoughts on the matter than anything else he could have said. Next to him, Sakura gripped the other boy's hand and gently clenched it to reassure him.
"Senpai, I think we should listen to her and work with them for now."
"Are you sure, Sakura? More importantly, you sound like you're planning on joining us."
"Did you forget? As a representative of the Matous, I have the right to request for a Servant Card of my own. Not to mention my magecraft training, I'm not exactly helpless in a fight."
Training? Since Rin was more familiar with the version of Sakura from the main three routes, she was unaware of any significant differences that this world's Sakura had compared to the prior. If she was talking about the Matou magecraft, then Rin really did not want to know the details on what kind of training she underwent.
"Still…"
"Thank you for your concern, Senpai." Sakura lowered her head. "But I believe it would be wise to bring me along with you."
"Sheesh!" Shirou scratched the back of his head. "I guess I can't win against you. And since the two of you seem to think this is something that must be done, I'm not going to be stubborn about going against this idea. Even if I don't trust the Ainsworths, I suppose there are bigger priorities at the moment."
"I'm glad that you see things that way, Emiya."
He frowned. "Speaking of which, there's something I'd like for you to clarify Zenjou. Heartless is currently in London at the moment, right? How exactly are we going to reach him before he puts his plan into fruition?"
Rin shrugged. "My guess is an advanced technique utilizing the Ainsworth family's displacement magecraft. Even if they're not going to be connected to their family workshop or utilizing the foundations of this land, I bet they have a means of quick travel across the world."
"Then I suppose my next question is why aren't the Clock Tower doing anything to stop him?"
"Again, this is only a guess. But since Heartless possesses a Servant Card, it would take a large number of their magi to even deter his progress, much less subjugate him. After all, the list of people capable of taking on a Servant by themselves is small enough that it's easy enough to recognize and avoid any significant threats. And Heartless used to work for the Clock Tower, so he would know better than us how to get around their main forces."
"I see."
"Although…" A thought crossed her mind. "I doubt that they'll remain idle and allow him to easily bypass their protections. Maybe that's why Julian isn't pressing us for time and making us go right away."
No, even if that were the case it was still too careless of him to not move with haste. Unless he was confident that Heartless would not be able to accomplish his plan anytime soon, there was no reason for them to delay this long.
Was there something else she was forgetting?
}-{
Thousands of miles away…
A man took out a pack of cigars from his jacket pocket and lit one up before placing it in his mouth. Letting the smell of smoke linger in the air, he eventually addressed the other person in the room.
"So Heartless managed to activate the power of the Servant Card."
"It appears so." The person who spoke just now was a cloaked girl with her hood covering most of her face. "That must mean that the ritual in the Far East is already underway. Master, do you really not intend to participate?"
He shook his head. "There's no point. I already lost my right after the last war concluded. I doubt I can convince the Rule Master to let me participate again, especially since I don't have another catalyst to give him."
"Are you sure?" The girl frowned. "What about that memento you keep in your office? I always thought that you kept it in preparation for joining the war once again?"
"Then you would be wrong. As you said, it is merely a memento of a time when I was nothing more than a naive boy. Right now, it's nothing more than a shadow of its true self."
"But don't you always say in your lectures that magecraft is merely a means to alter this world that is nothing more than a shadow of the Root."
"I did." He had already finished his cigar and was in the process of putting it out. "Which is why I still keep it in hopes that it may one day give me strength to carry out his will."
To live long and tell the tale of his King.
"Now, it's time to leave Gray. Reines has already informed us about the current location of Heartless. Prepare yourself for the upcoming battle."
"Yes Master."
Taking the stage, El-Melloi II took a step forward along with his apprentice by his side.
This marks the end of the introductory arc, leading us to the next part of the story—the London arc. I mentioned in a previous post that this story was leading to a story arc based on the Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II, so this is a setup for the main events to come. Reading through the series, I'm surprised at how many references there are in it, such as the FGO Ascension process, the Emiya family magecraft, and even some details on Servants not often mentioned in other works.
Since this is a blend with Fate/kaleid and even RWBY, there will definitely be some differences between the events in Case Files and my story. I'll give a hint now and say that faeries are involved, and that word can be used to describe a multitude of things in the Nasuverse.