Fate: Souls and Singularities

by Mundatorem

Singularities. Points in Human History which have become corrupted with the presence of a Holy Grail with the end result being the incineration of Humanity. However, it is not the Grails alone which are divergent. The Incineration comes about as one world in particular comes to an end. The two become linked as figures from a different Throne reach across the barriers between worlds

170. Singularity 4: Chapter 27

Chapter 169: The Light That Bent The World

The minds turn as one, fear drives them forwards, the coiled sword in their hand answers their call just as it always did.

The strongest surge to the surface, yet not a single one becomes dominant. There are too many voices awake, there is too much confusion. Their names become forgotten, a billion voices scream as one, words are drowned out in a sea of madness.

The minds scramble for dominance, each one shoved aside by another, all moving to the summit. A single question on their lips, it goes unanswered as the madness continues. They don't know anything, they don't know anyone. They don't know where they are. It remains the same.

The body turns, the coiled sword in its hand burns brightly as the flames continuously lap away at the ground beneath them, black tar shifts as more souls breach the surface. Their screams fill the air, the weakest surface first, their bodies are easier to create.

It turns as one, the minds bring the body upright.

Something burns from deep within.

A hidden desire.

It can sense so many souls around it.

So much fuel, but no a single one of them right.

They were born for a duty.

The strongest rush to the surface with a single desire.

To seek strength.

The rest shall follow.

They needed strength, there were strong souls about.

The rest would follow.

The body moves, the minds command it, they jump forwards and thrust the sword forwards, shattering the constructs that surround them and approaching the first of the great souls. They carry a spear of divine slaying, they hold a potent soul.

Blows are traded, light goes flying, there is a moment. A thousand voices scream at once, a dozen tactics spring to mind. A dozen calls are answered, a hundred conclusions are reached. Their sword screams, the blade triples in size, the weapon turns from sword to lance within a split second. They brace their hand against it and turn, their body spins around as a wheel of burning fire.

The white spearman skates backwards through the tar, they lower their weapon and move forwards-

A dozen spells spring to mind. One is selected.

The spear shrinks, fire consumes their sword and it melts back, they flip it in their grip. The pommel sings with power as they pull it back, purest light of the soul coalesces and is given shape, the strength of the mind surges forth without end. There is but a single moment of silence.

Light screams, the streak of sapphire strikes the knight in the centre of the chest, they are carried away backwards with the storm of souls, they pressure mounts as they place more and more power into it. Their body cracks and protests-

Pain. They are attacked.

Voices recoil in fear, they unleash only a single grunt from their throat.

They turn, a shadow not of their own make, the visor burns a crimson red. They hold a strange weapon that sings in the voice of storms, once more the weapon sings and once more their body cries with pain, flashes rip into their body, pain continues with each strike.

They step forwards and breathe.

Tar freezes over, the air turns to ice, the cloud drifts towards the black knight as a cloud of chills sweeps across the land towards them, their own fleeing souls are turned solid within the cloud. The black knight releases a snarl and charges straight towards them-

"Let's go bastard!"

Their legs are struck, they stumble for a brief moment and retaliate swiftly, the sword is brought across themselves and towards the attacker, the silver and red knight ducks beneath the blow.

The sword shifts, the catalyst returns.

They thrust forwards and light sings once more, the torrent of souls strikes the silver and red knight in the chest and blasts them over, their body flips through the air, the staff shifts once more and the sword returns. Curved.

Their body becomes streamlined, agile.

The kick off the ground, vaulting over the head of the black knight as they attack with a stolen battle axe. Their feet touch the ground and they attack once more. Their body moves on instinct, the voices offer their commands and the limbs obey, they swing with the experience of a thousand million warriors.

A strong soul stands before them, the black knight is powerful. Sweeping strikes sends the sword from their hand flying, they bring the curved sword down and are struck in the face, the black knight grabs their wrist and screams in their face, their head swings forward and strikes their own.

Nothing comes of the attack.

Mana flares through their body, a pulse sends the knight stumbling backwards, but not more than two steps before they throw themselves forwards once more.

Minds offer solutions.

The body answers.

They vanish in a pillar of light, returning to the ground behind he black knight. Even if they sense the attack, their speed is too slow to properly react to the sudden teleportation. They pull the sword back, the curved blade bends straight once more and thrusts forwards, the black knight brings up the back of their arm, the sword pierces through the armour and-

Pain flashes through their body once more, several crimson spears burst through the front of their chest. Panic swirls through the less experienced, their screams of fear reach even the minds of the stronger souls.

Their fist swings forwards, slamming into the head of the black knight and forcing them to the ground, their foot is drawn back and swung just as swiftly, the black knight is sent flying a moment later. A command is given, the shades give chase to the knight.

They turn, parrying another of the crimson spears and block the attack from the spear wielding woman. Crimson red eyes stare into their own, searching for something and finding nothing. She speaks words, but they are lost amidst the screaming of their own mind. Calls for retreat, pleas for aid, snarls for vengeance, all flood through their brain.

The sword in their hand cries out, fire coats the blade and they retaliate. Each blow is traded faster and faster. The woman matches their pace beyond their expectations, further power is drawn upon until their body glows with the fuel of life. They continue to swing, her spear scores many hits upon them, an eye is lost in the latest blow but they do not stop swinging.

Movement. Reinforcements.

Their foot stomps down, exploding with light and their finger snaps in the direction of the latest attacker. A curse signals out, a copy of the red spear is flung through the spawn inferno. They strike up, the spear is parried high before the wielder is revealed. A man adorned in blue, the soul of a lordkin runs through his body.

Another powerful soul.

They snatch the parried spear from the sky, flipping their body over and dropping down as a blur of red. They catch he spear behind the head, winging their own forwards and slamming it into the blue man, he gasps and it sent backwards as they swing their arm, the thrust of the woman is lodged in their wrist and opens up her defences-

The spear explodes, fire, lighting and ice rip through their skin and shatter their armour at the limb. The fizzled remains of symbols hang in the air. One of the strongest minds springs to the front, the language of the demons is carved into their mind. The woman knows their language and the power they hold.

She must die first.

They swing, she blocks, they unleash a burst of light and she comes out unsinged.

Her spear vanishes to the naked eye, a wheel of vermillion as it approaches at impossible speeds and matches their own sword. They twist, the staff returns and a dozen orbs of light from behind them. The woman looks amused and jumps back, the spear twists and turns as the orbs are launched as arrows without end. Her eyes remained focused, the orbs are batted aside without concern-

She ducks, the orbs fly over, her arm sweeps forwards and three spears pierce their chest, they feel nothing as the final spear is driven into their head-

Their body becomes dust, the dust becomes them.

They stand tall once more.

The woman stops, there is surprise on her face, it lasts but a moment, replaced by narrowed eyes. She sharply charges once more-

Light flashes, their left arm slings forwards and disks of light are unleashed, she jumps over them-

The streak of sapphire strikes once more, the woman rolls and avoids the attack-

Their knee strikes her in the side, she flips through the air and lands down onto the ground, the spear is pulled back and then hurled-

They call upon every ounce of strength, every single ounce of power-

They catch the spear, their body is consumed in light. They face the back of the woman and throw the spear forwards, she staggers as the crimson shading of the lance is deepened by the womans own blood, she turns around with a scowl on her features-

Their attempt to decapitate her is blocked by the burning monster, they wrap their arms around their body and start to crush-

They grab their neck, they twist and shatter the horn on the right.

The giant drops them down, they kick up and a crunch of bone is followed, the Demon screams are cut short when their sword pulses, the staff unleashes another beam of light, the song of the souls opens a hole through the body of the Demon and carries them away, they fly through the air and strike the front of the house, the streak follows them and the flash of blue rips the structure apart.

Another turn, the soul is sensed-

One like them.

They sense the many minds, but small, so small.

The one of white, they catch the blades with their armour, they skate off and bounce.

Divine power answers them, lightning courses through their arms, they hold out their palm and unleash the stories of time. The miracles strike true, the white haired child is turned to dust before she even unleashes the next barrage-

A scream reaches their ears, they turn to the voice-

…Primal fear grips their souls.

The woman in white charges them with the snarl of an animal and the weapon of a reaper, the eyes glow blue and their weakness is exposed. The sword becomes a staff and the streak of light is unleashed-

Metal flashes, the scythe falls, the song of souls is shattered in a moment and they are within striking distance.

Their mind flashes.

They answer as one.

The souls burn and fire consumes their body, they unleash a river of flames from them which consume all around, the woman lets out a cry of pain as she if flung from them, they step forwards and snap their fingers, fire rushes in and then out, the explosion catapults the crossbreed from them further.

A memory is shaken loose.

They know this one.

Another scream-

A woman in dark rushes them, ears of a beast,

A single mind breaks the stalemate.

---

It's dark here-

A voice falls silent.

He recoils, he feels it fade away, he reaches out and grabs the remnants before they are lost-

It's dark-

Another voice falls silent, a burning light sweeps through his mind-

Where am I-

Another voice.

Who are these people-

Silenced.

Where am -

Silenced.

What-

Silenced.

I'm scared-

Silenced.

The light reached through every corner of his mind, clasping at every stray memory, every stray thought, every stray soul. All that stand before the light are consumed, burned to dust and shredded, their very essence subsumed-

He scrambles after, grabbing everything he can.

Their memories are all that remains, their souls are burning away-

They are being destroyed-

He presses their memories tight against himself, chasing down the light as the voices scream in terror.

They run from the light-

They are consumed, the souls are ground into powder and become one with the light,

He grabs their memories, they are all that remains.

Horror floods his being.

He is being consumed from the inside out.

Scary, scary, scary, scary, scary, scary, scary, scary, scary, scar-

SILENCE.

…

The light turns on him.

The souls inside scramble, they hide behind him, the last sane one remaining.

They scream, they beg, they plead.

Their fear courses through his mind.

The light crackles and burns.

TOOL OF OUR WILL.

OFFER YOURSELF TO US.

SERVE YOUR PURPOSE.

BECOME KINDLING.

The light surges towards him, he grabs what souls he can, what few remain.

The rest have been consumed by the light.

He runs.

His soul burns.

Tendrils of light rip at his mind, he feels himself slip and fall, the light burns the souls behind him.

He cannot help.

They scream.

They beg.

They suffer.

He can do nothing.

Their screams are silenced in the thousands.

Their lingering echoes remain, he etches them into his soul.

They are all that remain.

The tendrils pierce deeper, reaching the climax of his soul-

He grabs what he can.

And pulls.

---

It was difficult to tell if they were making good progress or not, Ritsuka found himself fighting to keep his eyes open during everything but he needed to keep on pushing forwards. With a mental command, he dismissed Sulyvahn back to Chaldea, with only one arm he was one of the more grievously injured Servants that were present.

Though he was certain that Caster might have some complaints, he could hear them later.

"Try and push them back towards the centre of the muck!" Ritsuka shouted out as loud as he could, fighting to keep his voice above the sounds of battle and doubting that his words even registered with half of those present at the time. All the same, he shouted the words out regardless.

Several arrows wisped above his head and struck the back of the giant, its body staggered forwards as great splotches of tar were knocked loose from its body, falling down to the earth. It staggered forwards with a growl, reaching out and extending a hand to catch itself on one of the buildings. Ritsuka widened his eyes. If it fell-

A whirlwind ripped through the body, the vortex tore the oil apart and turned it into falling raindrops. Ritsuka exhaled as he watched Siegward diminish the wind around his sword, the Knight turned to him and then nodded once, returning back to Chaldea as the summoning was ended. At this point, he was being forced to switch out summons rapidly, those who hadn't come with him were being called down for short intervals and then being sent back. It was all he could do-

The black tar was falling towards him.

Jeanne was in front of him, twirling her standard and then holding it aloft before slamming it downwards. A thin barrier of blue light covered the pair of them for a brief moment, the giant crashed down into the mud and melted back into the ocean of oily midnight, the wave sloshed towards them, the tsunami washed over them but was kept at bay by the defence of the saint. Ritsuka gave her a mental nod of thanks as he turned his attention straight ahead.

The Saint gave a faint response as she charged right towards Ash, brandishing the standard as though it was a spear and moving straight into battle-

Ash sidestepped and brought his elbow into the back of her head, she dropped down and he spun on his heel, performing a roundhouse kick into the bridge of her nose and sweeping her backwards as he completed the turn, finishing with his boot placed firmly upon her face, the sword reversed in his hand and was thrust straight down-

"Emergency Evasion!"

Jeanne vanished in a flash of light, the sword was thrust down into nothing but thick sludge. Ash froze for a moment before their head snapped back up, facing towards him and still giving him that cold and lifeless glare. Ritsuka shuddered, where before there had been at least something, now there was nothing-

A screech distracted him, another of the shadow wyverns ripped itself from the ground, the first thing Ritsuka noticed about this one was that it was well over three times the size of all the others he had seen, more to the point the general head shape was completely different. The horns bore more of a resemblance to coral than regular horns, the beast opened its mouth and let out a bellowing roar which shook his very bones.

It took a single step forwards before a stream of bright orange flames lashed into the side of its head, staggering slightly as splatters of black sludge fell from them, burning embers spread across the oily skin, turning its head towards the attacker with crimson eyes narrowing.

Ritsuka found himself similarly turning and then promptly gaping at the sudden arrival, the teal blue hair of Kiyohime billowed in the wind, flames swirled around her feet as she flashed the fan open in front of her. She spared Ritsuka a glance, then a nodding smile before her expression hardened again. The fan snapped closed and she pointed it squarely towards the shadow wyvern. "You shall not go near my Anchin-sama with your crude manners, monster!"

"Another Dragon!? How many more scum have you employed in your-!"

She cut Haku off and punctuated the sentence with another river of flames sweeping across the ground, Ritsuka held up his hand to shield his face from the head, the shadow wyvern staggered backwards at the attack, snarling openly before charging forwards, heavy stepping dragging forth a torrent of the sludge with each footfall-

Explosions rippled across its back, the wyvern stumbled and keeled over, soon followed by a howl tearing through the sky and a rush of wind. Ritsuka turned his head upwards just in time to see-

…Lancelot riding a jet plane.

…Sir Lancelot riding a military jet plane-

A streak of blue lanced through the sky, striking the jet in the engines and tearing them apart, Ash lowered the glowing pommel of the sword as the plane spiralled through the air in a ball of fire, he caught sight of Lancelot kicking himself from the ruins of the plane with the gatling gun in hand. The weapon screamed as thousands of bullets rained down upon him.

Ash brought up his left hand, a tower shield with an eagle emboldened on the front manifested from a cloud of dust. The bullets fell upon the Aegis and ricocheted off-

Rituka brought up his hands, then heard the familiar clang of metal being struck, lowering his arms and finding Mash standing in front of him with her shield raised, blocking the stray bullets. He could see her form trembling, when her head snapped to the side in the direction of the Berserker, Ritsuka was greeted to the odd sight of a flash of irritation upon her features, though it lasted less than a moment before worry flooded her face once more.

They were gaining some ground with the battle, Ritsuka could tell that much.

The real problem was getting close enough to Ash to try and stop him but-

The Saber stumbled backwards as Medusa slammed her chain swords into the top of his shoulders, once more, he remained devoid of emotion even as she placed her legs down and kicked off the top of the spikes, driving them further down into his body with a sonic boom. She launched herself upwards, the chains went taut and halted her, she twisted her body around and coiled the chains all the way to the base, they formed a noose around Ash's throat.

He remained uncaring, reaching up and grabbing the chain as Medusa fell down to the earth, she landed and bent her knees, then turned and pulled forwards, yanking the chains as though throwing a weight over her shoulder. Ash was pulled forwards and into the air, at the apex of his rise the Rider pulled down and twisted her body, performing a spinning kick and slamming her heel into the side of his head.

His body twisted through the air before it snapped up straight, as though being returned to a default posture, his legs struck the ground and ended all momentum, he grabbed the chain around his neck and yanked backwards. Medusa couldn't even get the chance to release the chains before she was swept off her feet and felt flying towards the Saber-

Ash spun around and raised his arm like a bar, Medusa flew face first into the outstretched limb and coiled around it, spinning through the air like a propeller. Ash pulled his hand back, golden light channelled through his fingers before it solidified, he clenched his hand into a fist, a spear of lightning emerged in his grasp, pulling it back like a javelin-

Medusa vanished, returning to Chaldea at a mental command, instead she was replaced by a different Servant the moment the javelin was launched. The golden light struck the surface of a mirror and shattered, Verndari released a grunt of surprise as they were sent spinning through the air from the impact, their body charred black instantly and Ritsuka mentally cursed for the speed at which he had been taken out. But with the knight gone - swiftly returned to Chaldea almost as soon as they arrived - they revealed those who they had been guarding. The first Servant went sprinting forth with the jousting lance in his hands. Astolfo looked rather worse for wear after taking the spell to the face, Ritsuka grimaced at the gamble he had taken but it was worth it, he figured. Especially after he gave the orders.

'Go for the legs.'

Before that. The second Servant acted, Caffrey spread her wings wide, the mana surged inwards and Ritsuka felt his circuits respond. Her Noble Phantasm activated "Turn of Fortune!" glittering light surrounded Ash, the Saber shifted for a moment as the light clung to their body, shining brighter and brighter with each passing second.

The Saber whirled his head onto the young Goddess, Ritsuka gave another command.

'Bless Astolfo!'

The Goddess didn't even hesitate, she cracked a confident smirk and snapped her fingers in the direction of the Rider, with a tinkling sound like loose change being shaken, the Rider have a little yippee before Ritsuka sent Caffrey back to Chaldea, he didn't want her to be out in combat for any longer than was necessary. Especially given that she wasn't built for it.

"Down with a touch!" Astolfo cheered as he jumped forwards, Ash swung the javelin forwards and the spear shot clean underneath the Rider as he leapt through the air, not even touching him as he did so.

The Rider completed the roll and slid directly in front of the Saber, thrusting the jousting lance forwards as Ash brought forth another golden spear, pulling it back and throwing down-

"Trap of Argalia!"

Ash's left leg vanished, the Rider passed through the newly created gap, and he fell forwards, the Javelin twisted and was released, directly into his only remaining leg. A moment later, the Rider kicked off the ground and spun clockwise through the air, the explosion of golden light consumed Ash's lower body instantly, incinerating his body from the waist down.

It collapsed into dust and then rose once more, he turned his body and brought his arm up and across-

Ash stopped moving, the flames that surrounded him were snuffed out within a split second, their movements and expression shifted, the mask of calm was replaced by a thin veneer of disgust and irritation. The coiled sword was brought up in his hands and then positioned downwards, raising his left hand and moving to place it on the pommel of the weapon-

Atalanta burst through the shades and jumped straight towards him, claws bared and savage snarl on her face as she jumped.

Ash caught her by the neck instantly, having not even opened his eyes, and it was instant, there was a moment where the Berserker was jumping and the next when she was dangling with Ash's left hand around her neck. His eyes still remained shut, not even looking at her before there was a flash of light, golden lightning churned through his arm.

In the next moment, Atalanta just vanished.

There was no warning, nothing.

Just a flash of light.

Then dust was suddenly drifting away from Ash in the spot where he held Atalanta.

His arm came back down casually, moving to place itself on the pommel once more.

With a sudden jerk, he thrust the sword down into the muck at his feet.

As though it truly was oil, it caught fire instantly, the flames rushing along the surface of the liquid and coating everything that had even been touched with it in a thick haze of flames. Ritsuka held up his hand before his face at the sudden wall of fire that now surrounded him, he wasn't concerned for the Servants that much, but he could hear the death throes of the shadows followed by the crackles of fire.

Ritsuka lowered his hand, taking several steps backwards as the heat threatened to affect him even through Mash's shield, as though being stood in the breath of a furnace, the fire continued to burn, his eyes squinted and the light faded before rising higher and higher into the sky, the flames of the dying shades rushed inwards - for a brief moment, he could have sworn they were trying to escape - then watched as they swirled around Ash.

His eyes still glowing like suns.

Fire coiled around his body, forming a vortex that obscured him from view, the black sludge that had been expanding without end suddenly hissed and steamed, flaking away into the wind as they crumbled to dust, the flames surged across even the soot that rose into the sky, swirling embers flickered and burned like stars in the night sky.

Ritsuka let out a breath as Mash turned and tackled him, carrying both of them off the floor as she jumped through the air. He watched the tornado of fire remain, continuing its swirling without showing any signs of stopping. His feet touched ground, slipping as the roof tiles beneath his shoes slid away from beneath him as he tried to right himself, Mash was there to hold him steady.

The fire was then snuffed.

Vanishing just as suddenly as it had appeared.

Ash took two steps forwards, then collapsed onto his face.

The night which hung above their heads shifted, suddenly replaced by a day as clear as any summer sky. Brighter, even. As though the sun was now cheering for them, but that did not white away the tension that now filled the space. Ash was down, seemingly unconscious.

Yet that wasn't the problem, the problem was what stood in the place where he had been but moments ago. The shape was humanoid but indistinct, unlike the shades, the body of this one was constructed of pure flame. The surface rippled and bubbled, ribbons pulsed across its surface as though a flaring stare, bubbles popped along the molten skin.

The form grew larger, the fire that surrounded them rushed closer and closer and sunk into the molten body,

He was dimly aware of Haku in the back of his mind speaking in a tone of hushed surprise

"This presence? But that's…that's not possible…"

The arms of the burning shade were brought up, spreading them either side of their body and clenching their hands into fists. The featureless head leaned backwards and faced the sky.

The world felt old, as though the heat had been sucked in.

Then Ritsuka screamed as light burned his eyes.

He brought his hands to his face quickly, the flash had been so sudden, so swift, that he couldn't even register its appearance beyond an instant flash and then a searing pain in his face. He slipped over, thudding onto the tiles and continuing his scream, not just that but it felt as though the moisture had been steamed straight out of his mouth, his lips cracked when he opened his mouth to scream, stiffening up and splitting open, blood boiled the moment it left the recently opened wounds.

Every ounce of exposed skin burned, a feeling of being inside an oven or what he dumbly imagined it would be like. He moved on animal instinct just to get away from the pain, rolling himself onto his front and scramble forwards, sliding tiles out of the way and fighting back a scream each time his bare skin touched something, searing pain like touching a hot plate and a hiss of flesh, a scent of frying meat filled his nostrils.

He couldn't even scream, all he could do was wheeze and groan hot air as he rolled around on the roof, unable to escape the burning-

His body cooled, a feeling as though even the memory of the pain vanished, his eyes snapped open, coughing heavily as his eyes blearily opened, he looked up at Mash similarly leaned over him as best as she could with her shield raised, the transparent ethereal fragment of wall hanging in front of the pair. He coughed several times, forcing his eyes shot and groaning as he rolled on his back, hands coming up and freezing in the grasping position, he couldn't do anything more than curl his fingers at the moment.

Hissing through his teeth, his eyes cracked open and they travelled downwards and saw the state of his fingers, he closed them again and let out another pained whimper, he didn't need to be a doctor or anything to know they weren't good. The fact the first thought that passed through his head was the surface of a grill was horrible enough, putting new light onto the pain.

"Senpai! Oh-NO!" He cringed at Mash's voice, both at the panicked tone and the fact it was brought on. It did nothing for his own nerves, feeling a sense of helplessness wash over him, the fact he couldn't even feel the pain anymore was probably a bad thing. It was definitely a bad thing. "Senpai! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm-" her voice shifted, hastily calling out names "Medea-san! Please Medea-san! Jeanne-san!? Someone-! Senpai is-!"

He just wanted to go home.

He just wanted to be anywhere but here.

He just-

He took in a deep breath as something flooded his body, his eyes snapped open at the gentle breeze that rolled over him, feeling gradually returned to his body and it wasn't as painful as he expected, it actually sort of tickled him, so very gently.

Something took hold of his head, it briefly came off the ground before being lowered back down. Bliss filled his mind, whatever he had been dropped onto was now the greatest concern. It was soft, softer than any bed or pillow he had ever experienced, the entire ordeal he had gone through was very nearly forgotten. The pain vanished, gone as though it had never been there before. His fingers twitched and he felt another wheezing breath escape him.

…Would it really be so bad to lie here-?

What the heck was he saying!?

Sapphire blue eyes snapped up and stared upwards, a sideways 'm' stared right back at him, or at least that's what it looked like. Just without any of the gaps, it was difficult to discern anything more specific beyond the general shape of the strange mounds, the light was still encroaching-

"Is now truly an appropriate time to relish in my beauty?" The voice filled his ears-

That voice.

That damn voice!

He rolled over onto his side instantly, flinging himself from the comfort faster than he could even register the moment and scrambling onto his feet, raising his hands ever so slightly and holding them out in front of him, his eyes narrowed and a dozen - somewhat unpleasant - thoughts ran through his mind for a split second.

Gwynevere's indifferent face stared right back at him, then her expression turned into something more irritated. "Is that display of hostility the appropriate response for having been freed of your pain?"

Ritsuka felt dumbstruck by her. His eyes narrowed and his lip twisted "Last time you laid your hands on anyone they turned to dust, so forgive me if I'm a little on edge right now." he snapped at her with irritation of his own, the fact all she did was raise her eyebrow at him and hum as though his anger was laughable put on on edge even further.

"Have I not aided you quite well recently?" She remarked with a tilt of the head "This is now the third instance in which you have been healed at my hand."

Ritsuka opened his mouth, whatever he was going to say died on his lips when the light faded. More specifically, the burning torch that had illuminated the whole street and that Ritsuka have practically forgotten all about, his mind too focused on Gwynevere being close to him to even consider anything else. He grimaced to himself, then rose up and rushed to Mash's side, sliding down and catching himself on her shoulder, staring at the street below.

Ash still lay face down on the ground, but that wasn't what caught his eye.

It instead fell on the burning shade that was now a bright light, Ritsuka found himself squinting to look at it even now, it lacked the same presence as before but the brightness of it was still comparable with staring at the sun on a summer's day, possible but extremely stupid. That was what the brightness - the mannequin of light - was to him.

The hands of the light slowly lowered themselves back to their side, then reached forwards and clasped at something in the air, the light surged across their body and blossomed in their right hand, rushing downwards into the ground and pooling at their feet, the swirling mass of glowing liquid churned and writhed at their feet, spluttering and choking, it rose once more, coursing across their body and splitting away from the falling light of the hand.

Ritsuka felt as though something was wrong with that light, especially since Ash had yet to even move and remained firmly on the ground.

The body of the light - which had been smooth and unblemished - was coated in the newly rising mass of liquid, the skin of the form rippled like water and expanded, shapes rose from the surface and moved outwards, the silhouette of the form twisted and changed, the head seemed to expand and drop downwards at the chin, tendrils of like jutted forth from the base of the head, forming an interlocking beard of light, the same became of the top of the head, streaks of light fell down to the shoulders.

Atop the head, what looked like horns grew straight upwards, the tallest rising from the centre of the head with gradually shrinking peers emerging along either side of them, forming a crown around their temple, residing just above the hairs. The lack of curvature and the sharpness of the design led Ritsuka to the conclusion that it was a crown, rather than a set of horns, especially when a wall of light emerged at the base of them and stretched around the head, expanding outwards to cover the circumference of it.

The falling light in the palm similarly expanded and flattened itself, forming the shape of a sword, the handle rose up and the left arm gradually moved to clasp it, the weapon pointed straight down with the tip just kissing the surface of the road. The sword, large as it was, barely reached the shoulders of its owner - blade and hilt combined - with the pommel rolling into a circle, the crossguard of the weapon was curved downwards, as though moving to embrace the bottom of the blade in a hug.

It extended only just past the width of the sword and that spoke for itself, especially as the girth of the sword was great, as wide as his forearm was long.

Matching the impressive height of the newly formed thing, well over three metres tall.

The light swirled and expanded over the shoulders, reaching down and forming a wide curias, the sleeves were far too wide to be form fitting, yet only extended down to the elbows, the rest of the arm was left bare safe for the large bands which wrapped around the wrists, the further down the newly forming clothes made, the more detailed they became. With an appearance more like a robe as it extended down to the ankles, the feet widened slightly and grew, now looking like a pair of boots.

Gwynevere took in a sharp breath, Ritsuka would have spared her a glance if he cared, instead he kept his eyes solely on the figure in the street below. Neither he nor Mash said a word, there was nothing that could be said.

A crack.

A fracture ran through the surface of the form, soon followed by the emergence of another, and another. Light bled through the breakages in the strange humanoid, almost as though it was a cocoon. The face burned brightest, the eyes and the mouth exploded with light, great torches burning from the holes as the fractures widened instantly, then shattered away into nothing. The sound of splintering ceramic filled the air and the light turned to dust.

There now stood a man.

Great silver pauldrons rested atop his shoulders, a long dark fur creeped out from beneath the silver armour, moving down the length of pitch black cloth. Golden lines twinkled, the embroidery patterns in the robe glowed with an ethereal likeness to them, as though they were weaved into the cloth with light. Hanging from the chest was a heavily ornamented silver plate.

Around his waist was a belt of metal, Ritsuka would have called it steel purely on its appearance but that felt wrong on every conceivable level. It might have borne the similar shape to steel, but it had nothing else in common with it, from the belt there hung two chains, the one closest to the belt was the smaller of the two, the interlocking squares of metal on that one thinner than its partner just below, the both of them circling around the body of the man and returning to their linkage on the belt.

The eyes of the man snapped up, they glowed like suns.

His face struck Ritsuka first, silver hair covered him, sleeked and like rays of starlight.

He breathed, the air rumbled as though in a storm, but the skies remained clear.

"Ground."

The voice reverberated through his very bones, Ritsuka grabbed onto Mash for support and barely registered the fact she did the exact same thing to him. All other sounds fell away save for the voice of the man.

"Air."

It was not like Gwynevere's voice.

This one merely dominated all other sounds, as though it was the strongest one around, all others bent their knees and bowed their heads away from it. Ritsuka imagined that's what they felt, as he experienced the same overwhelming sensation of inferiority, a sense of being so small that he went without notice.

"Light."

The man turned his head to the skies, staring up towards the sun and barely even showing an inclination of what was going on around him. Ritsuka could have sworn that the man started to glow, not just due to the light but he himself was illuminating the world around him, yet he cast no shadow at his feet. It was impossible to even notice, but there was no shadow.

"I feel the breath of the world upon my skin. I see the strength of the light. I feel the power of my being once more."

The next words were declared with no small sense of foreboding.

"I live again."

Ritsuka felt no desire to speak, no will to interrupt, instead he stood stock still and listened to the words spoken by the giant man, watching as the cobblestone at the base of his feet started to steam and hiss, wisps of fire emerging from beneath his feet. He felt not even the desire to blink, every ounce of his being felt completely and utterly helpless.

It was much worse than when Ash was trying to kill them, this man - if he could be called that - just felt like nothing he had ever experienced.

Something crunched by his side, Ritsuka did not even turn but he could hear the hurried movements of someone appearing at his side, then he felt something grab him. "Anchin-sama!" Kiyohime's voice hissed next to him, Ritsuka had never heard her make such a noise of fear as that before, every syllable she spoke was punctuated by a tremble of her voice "We need to-"

…

Why did she stop speaking?

Why was the man now facing him with his eyes glowing, the light faded away, it took Ritsuka a second to realise that the man wasn't actually looking towards him, he was looking to the right side of him, if only just slightly, and the pressure that had been on his arm from Kioyhime grabbing him vanished, no sign of her releasing her hold on him, there was just no pressure anymore.

Ritsuka spared a glance to the side, if only due to his confusion-

There was a shadow burnt into the roof tiles.

It hadn't been there before, he knew it hadn't.

That was so strange.

The shape of the shadow was also pretty weird as well, it looked sort of humanoid to him, there were arms and legs and everything. It actually looked a bit like a snow angel, now that he thought about it. That was so weird, why was there a snow angel of dust on the roof?

And where had Kiyohime go-

…

…

"...E-eh?" He blinked once, then twice, his eyes remained fixed on the spot where the Berserker had been, now focused solely on the shadow that was burnt into the ground. There was a sharp ringing in his ears, it felt as though his heart stopped inside his chest. That wasn't…that couldn't be…

But she had just been here…How could she have-

"The era of the dragons has long since passed. I shall tolerate none of their ilk."

The voice echoed through his soul, Ritsuka gradually turned his head back towards the direction of the man, noticing the fire in his eyes gradually receding, replaced by the dominant glow once more.

"Nor of humans who overstep their bounds."

Ritsuka just stared "You…you killed her-"

"Senpai!" He barely registered Mash's shout, then she was in front of him, wrapping her arm around his waist and lifting them both off the ground. Or rather, he assumed that was what happened. It was more a case of him suddenly coming too and finding himself in the air, with little understanding of what was going on before there was a flash of light, the world screamed, and then a rush of wind passed over his body, followed by a cacophony of crashing.

He came to a stop, barely recognising that Mash was holding her shield up in front of them, he was sitting down on the ground the Shielder in front of him, snowflake shield raised for another attack, his eyes remained solely on her back and then whirled in the direction of the crashing, eyes widened as he watched the house they had been stood turn inside out.

There was no other way to describe it, the inside had become the outside, torn into the sky and sent flying as distant specs of debris, the shockwave of the sudden explosion ripped apart the street, deep cracks tore open the earth beneath them, stone was burnt black and wood became charcol.

He barely even registered the fact Gwynere was no lying opposite them, on her hands and knees and crying rather loudly in pain, her polished skin was now blemished with thick burns, silken white outfit now torn and blackened, she reached towards herself, a faint glowing light started to consume her before cutting out. He watched as her voice cut and she whimpered, keeping her head low to the ground.

"You would dare undo my judgement, daughter?" The voice of the man was piercing as it was thunderous, light faded in an out with each word spoken, as though the sun answered the call of the ma-

…Daughter…?

But…wouldn't that make him-?

Gwynevere whimpered slightly louder, raising her head up with panic written clear across her features "F-father, I-" she cut herself off, the panic deepened as she corrected herself "Lo-Lord Gwyn! I-I beg for clemency! I have done no wro-"

She screamed in pain, her body writhed as golden arcs of light spasmed across her body, dropping down and rolling on the ground in an effort to escape. Ritsuka felt his throat tighten, his eyes widened. This was-

The light stopped, Gwynevere panted heavily, unshed tears on her face and she sent a desperate pleading look to the God. Ritsuka could not see the face of the giant, but he didn't need to, considering the way Gwynevere looked as though she lost decades of her life.

"Your crimes are clear, daughter-no. Gwynevere." The God spoke with palpable disappointment in his tone "This world that rejects the Gods, these humans who think themselves our equals. You would allow yourself to be shamed so deeply by accepting existence as a Servant just so that you might escape death?"

Gwynevere blanched, opening and closing her mouth-

"You would so swiftly cast aside your pride as a Queen - My legacy - so that you might live but a few more months?" Gwyn took in a deep breath, then exhaled. "But that is not your gravest sin. For you might have worked to bring forth the glory of the Gods once more…No. Your gravest sin, your greatest failure, is allowing my era to end."

Gwynevere scrambled backwards, making a half turn to stand-

Lightning flashed and she was screaming again, Gwyn continued, unabated by her howls of agony.

"All I did to ensure the Age of Fire would continue. All I strove to protect." The world thundered as the fury of the God was laid bare, Gwyn barely raised his left hand, yet the lightning that emerged from his fingers looked strong enough to come from a generator, thick arcs of golden light as wide as his leg. They lashed across the Goddess, burning away patches of skin as they held against her for so long a time. "And the great shame is that it is by your son - my blood - that all our sacrifices are rendered moot. Not since the betrayal of Unspoken have I known shame such as this."

He didn't get an answer from Gwynevere, she was too busy screaming to respond.

The lightning cut out.

"His life was birthed by your womb. His power came from your words. His every action was engineered by you." Gwyn started to walk forwards, each step he took sizzled the cobblestone, fire clung to the ground as he approached the Goddess, the long sword in his hand burned, wisps of fire stretched across the surface of the blade. "Which means his failure lies on your shoulders."

Gwynevere panted in and out, turning onto her side and extending her hand towards Gwyn, her voice cracked so weakly. "F-fa-fath…er…pl-plea…se…."

Gwyn stared down at the hand for but a moment, then slowly brought the sword above his head "I experienced shame at the hands of one child. I shall not tolerate another…Not even from you."

Gwynevere was gone by the time the sword struck the ground, cleaving through solid stone as though it was nothing more than paper. Gwyn was frozen for a moment, before letting out a low growl of fury. Ritsuka felt as though static ran across his entire body, his eyes remaining fixed upon the back of the God, who slowly straightened himself out.

"I do not recall granting permission for you to gaze upon me."

Ritsuka felt his heart hammer away in his chest, the blood rushed from his face and left him feeling cold, even as the God slowly turned around to face him, eyes burning so brightly with the luminescence of the Sun.

His body locked in place, he dared not even breathe, the focus of the God purely upon himself was so intense that nothing else came to mind.

Gwyn started to walk forwards "Humans who reject the Gods. Who deem to rise above them. Who think to claim the world as their own. You are nothing. Your souls are nothing." the light of the eyes intensified, now burning into his eyes, but Ritsuka still could not turn his eyes. "Who are you to dare claim this world for yourself? Who are you to reject your place? You, humans, are little more than thinking reeds."

Coming to a stop, the God planted the greatsword down into the ground, the ground at his feet churned and rippled, melting into a glowing pool of lava. "The Gods of this world were weak. Their hold slipped too easily from their fingers. Thus, it falls to me to bring about the correct era once more." his left hand came up, lightning crackled between his fingers.

Helpless dread flooded him, his eyes drifting from the face of the God to the hand. The hand that burned so brightly with light.

…He was going to die.

"My duty is begun with you, I shall remind humanity of the Gods strength."

Arrows rained down onto him a moment later, yet Gwyn remained unmoved, save for the slight turning of his head towards the direction of the falling projectiles. It was as though a switch was flipped, Ritsuka felt himself pulled upwards as Mash grabbed him by the shoulder and stumbled to her feet, dragging him alongside him.

There was a snarl as the 'Big Bad Wolf' came charging in-

It vanished in a flash of light.

"Mash! Keep Master safe!" Arash shouted out as loud as he could, Ritsuka heard his voice from somewhere above him but couldn't see- "Take him and ru-"

"Arrogance." Lightning surged and Ritsuka felt a numbness move through his right arm, the cutting of a contract. He no longer felt the connection with Arash, the streak of golden light rushed above his head and was accompanied by an explosion which nearly knocked him down, were it not for Mash tightening her hold on the front of his shirt and pulling him along. "The hallmark of humanity."

"M-Mash-?" He called out to the shielder, catching a desperate look on her face as she pulled him along, her lips pulled tight and her expression set in a nearly terrified grimace. "What is-"

"We need to speak with Chaldea, Senpai! We have to get out of-" She explained rather swiftly, that was as far as she got before a river of fire curled around them, her feet dug in and she slid to a halt, churning up the stone and staring straight ahead with horror now painted on her face. Ritsuka stared at the wall of flames that blocked off their escape. Mash turned back around and brought her shield up, Ritsuka felt his nerves steel as he similarly turned around and faced the direction of the street once more.

Gwyn was moving towards them once more, the only sound to be heard was the hiss of his footsteps on cobblestone.

---

They were gone now, so many of them were gone.

The voices that seemed so numerous.

The screams that seemed so endless.

The suffering that seemed so expansive.

…It was so silent now.

He huddled, covering their memories from the outside, they were all that remained.

He saved so few of their souls, so very few.

Where there had been billions of voices, there were now only so few.

He was alone.

The light had moved away from him.

It departed his body with the souls it had burned for fuel.

He knew which soul had escaped.

…

…They were going to destroy everything.

The scourge of the world.

Because it was their duty to ensure the dominance of the Gods.

Everything he did.

Everything he worked for.

Was for that duty.

…He truly was his grandfather.

To destroy all humanity for duty…

To enforce his vision upon the world…

…Was this how he looked?

…Was this how he acted?

…Was this what he always was?

His name was Gawyn.

Even in death, he followed the will of the Gods.

This world did not obey the laws of the Gods.

They did not seek the life the Gods demanded of them.

They wanted to be more.

They…

"Sorry if that's not profound but it is what it is. I just don't want to die."

…

What utter madness.

What incredible stupidity.

Dooming themselves to suffer.

Dooming everything for misery.

Causing so much agony and death.

All because…

"I don't know about anyone else but…I just want to be happy."

They would suffer with duty.

They would suffer without duty.

So…why?

Why did they struggle so hard?

Why did they try fighting against their inevitable fate?

Why did they continue to push down this path?

…Was happiness really so worth it that they would abandon their lives?

…Would they rather be happy for a single year than a lifetime of peace?

…Did they truly wish to live like that?

With or without…

In that case, why did he bother?

What had changed?

Mercy would still be required.

They were a hopeless race.

They could never experience that true happiness.

So what was the point?

If there was no happiness to be found…why not just let them die?

It was a simple matter.

He just had to remain here.

…He could just do nothing.

…Impossible.

…He couldn't leave them to that.

He couldn't even debate that.

He heard their screams.

He clutched their deepest regrets and darkest sins to himself.

A final memory came to the surface.

He stares down at the body.

His mind runs through a dozen conclusions.

The man dressed in rags, a sack covering his head, his bloodied body lying at his feet.

He left him here.

He fought for his duty and he came here alone.

He put his duty first.

…And his friend died.

It was his greed that sent Greirat here…

…It was his duty that sent him here alone.

He could have accompanied him.

He could have travelled with him.

He could have been here.

He could have saved him.

…He didn't.

Because he did not stray from his duty.

The Lords of Cinder were his duty.

…And Greirat was left behind.

His greed sent his friend here.

…His duty killed him.

…

…

…Greirat suffered for his duty.

…Ritsuka suffered for his duty.

…Mash suffered for his duty.

…Olga suffered another betrayal for his duty…

…Humanity suffered for duty once more.

Ritsuka was no fool.

He knew what Human History was.

He did not lament it.

He did not fear it.

He did not cower from it.

He knew it.

He accepted it.

So then…

…Did they really suffer?

…He didn't know.

He didn't know.

Ritsuka stared him dead in the eye.

Again and Again.

His will did not break.

He did not curse.

…He fought with his single life.

All so he could live.

With that single desire…would he really fight the first Lord of Cinder?

…What madness.

…He lost before he even drew his blade.

Ritsuka fought to live and never died once.

He fought for his duty and died hundreds of times.

…Hmph.

…If duty was so perfect, he would never have doubted himself.

Humanity suffered.

But they knew it.

They knew it and accepted it.

…Why?

…Why did they do that?

Why go so far for it?

…

He clutched the souls tight, their memories, their regrets, their hatreds.

He burned them into himself, etching their essence into his very soul. He would remember this feeling.

This endless hatred.

He would ensure he never forgot.

Hatred born of duty, hatred born of vice.

…Ritsuka was not his master anymore.

But…he did not deserve to die.

…He won before the fight even began.

---

Jeanne appeared-

Gwyn turned and the sword flashed, both standard and saint were split in half in a single fluid motion, her body turned to golden light instantly. Ritsuka felt a noise leave his throat, unable to articulate anything more than horror at what just happened.

"Aaaaaarrrrth-" Lancelot vanished, lightning struck his body and he turned to dust.

Ritsuka turned to another Servant-

Astolfo was engulfed in flames and vanished in a burst of flames, his cry of pain lasted barely a second.

Ritsuka turned-

Gwyn brought the sword down, a river of fire jumped from the blade and flowed directly into Vordt, the rider didn't even have the chance to scream before he died.

He turned-

Nursery turned to dust-

Medea-

Dust.

"Ah? Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" Ritsuka couldn't help the scream of despair that escaped him, his mind barely catching up as the Servants were killed one by one-

Gwyn turned to the red blur, the shape of Cu burst through the vermilion flash of light, Gae Bolg whistled as it glided through the air and struck at the body of the God, he swung back, the Lancer flipped over the sword and thrust the spear down-

Gwyn caught it behind the head, lightning rushed through the spear and towards the wielder, the Lancer kept his form for barely a second under the intense barrage of lightning, his body crumbled into golden motes of light a split second later-

The God grunted, yet his form barely stumbled as Scathach flew into his back, he turned and swung once more, she ducked under and retaliated, Gae Bolg became little more than an indistinct blur of crimson light, the red wheel spun in the hands of the Lancer as she continued to press the attack. Gwyn was forced to move more than a single step, flashes of light warped across his body, bolts of lightning flung from his sword with every strike.

Ritsuka was pulled backwards, Mash pushed him behind her "Keep back, Senpai, they are-"

It happened in a split second, Gwyn's body pulsed with lightning and then he vanished in a streak of gold, Scathach vanished in the same blur, then the house exploded followed by another, and another, and another. Ritsuka could barely keep up as a streak would impact through a house, then instantly blur out of it and then into one adjacent on the street. Then the shockwaves from the explosions hit him, a roar of ear splitting rumbles, the golden streak blurred to a halt and then shot directly into the sky.

Ritsuka followed it as best he could, watching as it soared higher and higher-

The sky split open, an ocean of lightning pooled around the rising star and rushed outwards across the sky, the rippling wave thunder shook the earth, Ritsuka felt himself shake along with it.

Then silence.

The sky cleared, save for a single orb of light, so small and yet brighter than the sun.

It shot straight down, crashing into the ground, galeforce winds rushed over himself and Mash, Ritsuka brought up his eyes to cover his face as the flames were beaten at. The debris fell and revealed Gwyn once more.

The God held the crimson spear of Scathach in his left hand, staring at the spear with a disinterested expression, his golden eyes sweeping over the scarlet lance, then tossing it to the side without further care, not even sparing it a glance as it buried itself in the ground behind him, yet it did not show any signs of disappearing. "I have paid back Lloyd for his disgrace."

Bringing the sword up once more, the weapon glowed above his head as fire-

There was a whistle from behind him, Ritsuka jolted as Mash pushed him out of the way and in the next moment, a spear with a head shaped like a heart and a body of purple crystals came rushing past him and towards the God. Ritsuka blinked once, opening his mouth in surprise-

Gwyn staggered backwards, the spear struck him in the wrist and loosened his grip from the weapon ever so slightly, the spear twisted before it locked itself in the air and came charging right back, Ritsuka whirled around to face the direction it had come from. Widening his eyes as a woman - rather beautiful at that - with snow white hair, indigo coloured armour, and a deep form came leaping through the flames with a whirlwind of frost trailing behind her, charging straight towards the God and showing no signs of slowing down.

Ritsuka turned back to face Gwyn, opening his mouth to should a warning to the woman-

The house next to the God exploded outwards, brick, wood and glass flew as Stahl came bursting from the building, the God made a half turn and ended up catching the rim of the shield to the face, staggering ever so slightly before he swung back into the guard of the Berserker and lifted them off the ground, his left hand piercing the chest with a rush of glowing heat, melting a hole through the torso of the Berserker.

He turned, throwing the Berserker as though they weighed nothing, the woman kicked off the ground and flipped over the top of the Berserker, catching the spear in her hand as it returned from the flight and thrusting it straight towards the God. Ritsuka barely noticed the flash of symbols behind her, then Gwyn swung through…the air right next to her, completely missing her entirely.

The woman struck him in the chest, Gwyn made a grunting noise as the spear skated off his armour once more, golden eyes flashed and they darted to the woman, his left arm swung through the air. The woman rolled back and ducked down, the fist of the God flying just above her head-

His leg swung up and caught her in the chest, she was sent catapulting through the air towards the rooftops and straight through them, whatever her back struck on it's flight accompanied her through the air-

He caught the circular shield as Stahl threw it towards him, twisting it over and looking over it with indifference before tossing it to the side and narrowing his eyes at the group. "The arrogance of humans is only matched by Lordkin who encourage them. Foolishness begets foolishness."

Stahl swung his axe-

Gwyn punched him in the head, the top half of his body turned to molten slag and was sent back to the street as a splatter of glowing liquid-

"Run you fools!" Ritsuka found himself pulled up once again, Mash dragging him as they sprinted towards the flames once more, which had now parted. Ritsuka could not help but gape as the Director, Olga Marie Animusphere, waved them over to her with a frantic expression on her face, glancing between them and the God behind them with no small amount of trepidation. In fact, she looked as panicked as he felt "Romani! Boot up the Rayshift and get us out of-"

"I'm trying!" Romani's panicked voice echoed around through the communicator, Ritsuka heard it louder and louder "There's a lot of interference and-" Olga looked torn between pure terror, Opening her mouth to speak-

"Flight from this field of execution is not an option." Gwyn's cold tone fell like an axe upon his neck, Ritsuka turned and saw the God continuing his march towards them, stepping through the body of Stahl and kicking the dissipating remains to the side without even sparing them a glance. "Hubris in believing you might escape your just punishment. I shall offer no quarter, your mercy now lies with a swift death."

"You need to run! Just run!" Romani screamed through the communicator a moment later "We'll work on it fast as we-"

Light exploded in the God's left hand, the sunlight spear grew in size until it was taller than the very God who wielded it, he pulled his arm back and hurled-

Ritsuka could see what was coming a mile away, it was a desperate call, he didn't know how effective it would be, but he shouted out the only name that came to mind at the time."Mash!"

"Lord Chaldeas!" The shield slammed into the ground, the wall of light rushed forwards and covered the group, the ethereal wall that had protected them so many times raised it self once more and caught the spear in its embrace-

The Noble Phantasm shattered like thin glass, the spear continued on it's path and struck the shield with a flash of light, Mash let out a sharp cry of pain and flipped through the air above their heads, Ritsuka landed on his back a moment later, releasing a deep groan as the air was forced from his lungs, then the coughing came, accompanied by the flare of pain.

His mind whirled with the implications, struggling to find the conclusion to what had just happened. The Noble Phantasm broke, which meant the lighting hit them. Mash was stood in front of the lightning, which meant it his her-

The image of Cu's body turning to dust flashed through his mind.

Mash superimposed onto it-

His heart burned and his eyes widened in horror, fear gripped his heart, as images of the young girl turning to dust filled his mind. "Mash!" He screamed out the name as loud as he could, forcing what little air he had left into the call, when nothing but chaotic rumbles answered him, he could do nothing but make a noise of terror.

She wasn't dead.

She couldn't be dead.

She was Mash.

She was always alright.

She was always-

Something grabbed the back of his shirt and started dragging him, barely aware of the cursed whispers behind him. "Damnitdamnitdamnitdamnit-!" Olga virtually whimpered under her breath as she pulled away at him, Ritsuka could only groan- "Casters!"

The street flipped over, branches and brambles ripped through the path and sent huge lumps of rock and mud flying, the wall of root stretched high into the sky ad obscured Gwyn from their field of view, Ritsuka could only groan as he watched the sight and slumped backwards, his body still ached-

"That won't hold him more than five seconds!" That voice was…Cu Chulainn? Didn't he just-? "That's a God! Flat out! He's gonna rip right through that, we need to-"

Light burst through the wall of bramble, then the rush of fire swept through it and sent charcoal splinters flying through the air, Gwyn stepped through the falling debris without even the slightest hint that he had even been affected by it in the least, not slowly his pace, yet there was no real rush in any of his movements.

"What is this…? A mere human taking the strength of a God for themselves?"

"I was bestowed this power by the Gods own choice!" Ritsuka didn't know that voice, a man with a thick cloak covering dark steel armoured stepped forwards, full covering helmet with antlers rising from either side of it. He pointed a large bronze axe towards the God. "I steal nothing!"

"Then I have but another God to remind of their place."

Gwyn declared his intentions without breaking stride.

"Get more down here!" Olga hissed in his ear as she pulled him backwards, "Carry Mash!"

Get more down here?

Get more down, but all the ones who had been down here were killed so quickly. They died, Gwyn killed them, if he brought more down here then they would also end up dead. He would just be throwing their lives away, what would he even be throwing them away for? Gwyn slaughtered them in seconds. Getting more Servants down here wouldn't do anything.

They said to carry Mash, which had to mean she was still alive! But then all the other Servants had died.

…He was being asked to kill them?

"I-" His voice cracked, eyes whirled around in his sockets "I can't-"

"What!?" Olga practically hissed in his face, shock evident on her features "We're going to die if you don't!"

"Run, Pale Rose!" That was Nero's voice, the red dress flashed above his head as the Emperor landed in the street, flourishing the burning sword and thrusting it in the direction of the approaching God. "We shall hold this mere poser here! You return to Chaldea, take Master with you!"

He couldn't say anything, being dragged along as Olga nodded her head, then went for the communicator again "Romani-!"

"We're trying!" Romani assured her again, though by this time, even Ritsuka was dubious of him. Or he would have been if he was in a state to actually be aware of what was going on. As it stood, there was very little that he was cognitive for, his mind still whirring around to try and make sense of everything that was-

Gunshots filled the air. Gwyn stopped walking and kept his features flat, not paying even the slightest attention to the bullets that were bouncing off his skin, not even scratching his features. The barrage continued for several seconds before they finally fell silent, a figure jumped through the air and landed in the midst of the street, red cape billowing in the wind, cavalry sword planted in the ground with her hand resting atop it, despite her small stature, she stood like a giant even when facing down the God.

"Do you truly not grasp your futile efforts?" Gwyn remarked again with a curl of his lips, sounding aggrieved. "It is not for the hands of humans to approach the Heavens. You are to remain beneath our shadow. I am an existence so far beyond your meagre understanding that you could spend the next thousand years pondering my being and come no closer to an answer."

Gwyn punctuated his next words with a sudden pressure, Ritsuka felt as though his entire body was about to be ground into the dirt.

"You. Are. Nothing."

The presence of the God felt crushing, Ritsuka could not even breathe from the power that now pressed down on him.

"A thousand years?" Nobunaga's voice ran clear as day, Ritsuka focused on her as she staggered on her feet, clearly feeling the same effect of the God's words, then dropped onto one knee, using the cavalry sword to keep her upright. "Fu-fu fu-fu Ha! Ha! Ha!"

She laughed.

She laughed in the face of Gwyn.

"I need but a single second for you!" She announced, mirth spilling from her every word, "Be they God, Man, Oni or Unkindled! I have never been one to suffer arrogant blowhards!" she pointed her left hand towards Gwyn, laughing all the while "And you are the greatest blowhard I have laid eyes upon!"

Gwyn remained silent "And who are you, human, to insult me so?"

"Uwhahahahaha! I am the great enemy of Gods and Buddha alike! I am the one who unifies the chaos of the land of rising suns! I am Oda Nobunaga! Demon King of the Sixth Heaven! The one who burns three thousand worlds!"

"You could string together three thousand titles for each of these worlds, you would never be more to me than a howling beast."

"Then you may hear the howl of this Demon King! Even the Heavens shall tremble!" There was a short moment before the Archer moved, forcing herself back to her feet, body trembling and knees shaking, the path to raising herself up was long and hard, she barely managed it by the finish up.

Gwyn clearly took notice of it. "Your words would pack greater weight if you could stand before me without such a tremble in your nerves."

Rather than being cowed, Nobunaga merely shook her head from side to side. "What human does not shake with excitement at facing a God in battle!?" turning her body, she glanced over her shoulder and looked Ritsuka dead in the eye. He couldn't understand where that burning confidence came from, those crimson red orbs shone with a light that he couldn't believe.

She was going to die.

Those were the cynical images that flashed through his mind.

So then why was she standing so tall?

"And you forget, I am the Demon King!" Nobunaga proclaimed loudly, the smirk on her lips remained as she turned her attention back to Gwyn, the sword was pulled from the ground and pointed straight towards him, ensuring she stressed the last word.. "What King fights without retainers!?"

Gwyn furrowed his brows and opened his mouth-

The sky turned black once more, the pressure atop his shoulders vanished all too suddenly. Ritsuka felt as though he could breathe again, but there was something else. That darkness in the sky, that painted landscape that covered everything. The knight in front of him stumbled, clutching at his chest and groaning for a brief moment before shaking his head.

Light flashed above Gwyn's head, he turned himself around to face the attackers-

Ash's boot struck him square in the face, the God grunted as he was visibly staggered with the blow, a thunderclap echoed out at the moment of impact. Ritsuka felt his eyes widen and his heart stop, the unkindled pushed off Gwyn's face and flipped backwards into a sprint.

But he was not alone with the streak of light that brought him there.

Mordred appeared with a savage grin on her face, dropping down to the ground and accelerating forwards with a surge of scarlet lighting, slamming straight into Gwyn's knee with Clarent and yanking it to the side, the God turned slightly with the impact, bringing the greatsword up-

Gwyn cried out as Percival drove his spear into the God's shoulder, landing on his chest feet first and pulling his right arm back, the knight of the spear drove his fist squarely into the face of the God, using it as momentum to throw himself free of his reach and onto the ground into a roll, landing back at the side of Ash. The Lord of Light reached up to clasp the wounded shoulder, the final figure landed down and surged forwards.

The reaction of Gwyn was very nearly instant, the hand that had been moving towards his shoulder stopped and then clenched into a fist, swinging it back out and unleashing a disk of golden light straight towards the final individual-

With a single swing of their weapon, they cleaved straight down the middle of the spell, the disk split in half at either side of them and vanished into nothing, Priscilla jumped forwards at Gwyn, the God brought the greatsword up and thrust straight towards her, only for Ash to parry the strike to the side with the coiled sword - having darted in front of her - and then swinging his left arm forwards as black flames surged across his palm.

Gwyn caught his hand, clenching his fist around it and engulfing the appendage entirely, he turned and threw the unkindled, Ash spun through the air before crashing through a nearby window, the God continued the spin and brought the sword through the air straight towards Priscilla from the opposite side, the crossbreed raised the polearm of the scythe and blocked the attack, but could not block the force as she was lifted off her feet-

Percival jumped and slammed his shoulder straight into Gwyn, the Lord grunted as he was shoved backwards-

Mordred appeared at his back, Clarent split open and a jet of red light surged up the length of the blade, she swung the weapon up and unleashed the explosion directly into the back of Gwyn, the God grunted from the attack, the vermillion flames washed over his body and sent him stumbling forwards, directly into the waiting swing of Percival as he uppercut the God with a swing of Longinus.

Ritsuka felt his mood improve instantly, he pulled himself free of Olga and surged back to his feet, he was happy to see Nobunaga, he was beyond pleased to see others still alive, but more than anything else. There was one thing he was ecstatic to see. "Ash!"

The Unkindled jumped from the house, leaping at the God with a flash of light and swung the coiled sword towards him, darkness swirled across the blade as it made contact with the side of Gwyn's face, snapping his head to the side as Ash blurred past him.

…

Blood dripped onto the ground.

Gwyn reached up and touched the underside of his nose, pulling his hand back and staring at the lifeblood running down his face, passing over his lips and moving down the length of his chin into his matted beard. He remained silent for a few seconds, as did all else, staring at the blood on the tip of his finger, then he slowly clenched his left hand into a fist, lightning coursed over his entire body.

"Uwhahahaha!" Nobunaga let out another bellowing laugh "You see, Master!? A God that bleeds is a God that dies! No amount of posturing can hide that!" turning her head, she granted Ritsuka a full view of the confident smirk on her face. "So what shall you do now?! You cannot die here! You have yet to punish a certain Servant for betrayal!"

Heck no! Ritsuka wasn't going to die here!

"Ash!" He called out to the Unkindled, even going so far as to ignore the rising fury of the God before him. "You good!?"

"No." Ash responded after a moment "...But I won't let you die."

…That was more than enough for him right now.

Ritsuka stepped forwards, clenching his right hand into a fist and staring straight ahead towards the back of the God, his eyes narrowed and his expression steeled over. They had the momentum, Gwyn was bleeding, the strike from Ash proved he could be hurt. Which meant they could beat him.

"Take positions everyone!" He called out, then spared a glance over his shoulder towards the Director, she was staring at him with a mixture of surprise and something else before it washed over, her expression shifting into something more composed as she marched forwards and stood right next to him, hands on her hips. "Director?"

"You forget I remain a Master." Olga remarked with a curt tone of voice, something flashed through her eyes. "...And I still have Servants to command." as if on cue, the white haired woman he had seen earlier dropped down next to her, an odd look passed through her eyes as she stared into his own for a few seconds before she flickered to Olga.

"Master, I feel as though my parameters have been weakened, it is the field above."

Olga grunted "Then keep your distance and leave the fighting to the more able, Saber? Stay in close!"

"Umu!" Nero cheered and nodded her head up and down "Now comes the real thing, Pale Rose!"

Gwyn let out a breath, straightening himself up. "I shall not weep and seethe over a single drop of blood. I have bled many a time to greater foes than you." he declared, sweeping his eyes over their group. "Failed tools, abominations, traitors and arrogant humans. This motley band of heathens…that single drop of blood shall remain your greatest victory."

Mordred snorted "Blow it out your ass!"

They charged forwards as one, Gwyn responded back quickly, blocking the first strike that came, Ash's greatsword slid over the top of his sword and was forced into the ground, Gwyn brought his foot up and kicked the Saber away-

He turned and loosened a bolt of lighting, a glow covered Percival and the lightning shattered on contact, the glow receded and the Lancer struck, Gwyn parried the spear to the side and swung down-

Mordred slammed into the side of his body with a shoulder barge, swinging Clarent-

Gwyn vanished in a streak of golden light, the Servants took off after him.

Both Ash and Mordred were consumed with light, scarlet red and perfect black charged after the burning gold, the trails of lightning moved through the streets with such speed that they upturned the dirt as they did so. Nero came charging right in, the red that engulfed her body became a brighter shade than Mordred's own, yet she easily caught up with the blurs of light as they raced across the street.

The streaks halted ever millisecond, the image of the clash burned into his mind each time it happened. Gwyn blocking Ash, Mordred blocking Gwyn while Nero struck his back, Ash blocking Gwyn and so forth. With each strike, the clash would hang like a portrait and then the chase would resume, dancing back and forth across the road and then shooting up into the sky-

Another streak of crimson dropped down from the air and caught the yellow as it made it's ascent once more, carrying it straight down into the ground and then rushing forwards. The streak slowed to a halt, Gwyn revealed having caught Gae Bolg behind the head of the spear while Scathach wielded it with a bloodthirsty grin on her face, not looking at all concerned at the fact she was missing her left arm.

Gwyn pulled the spear and tossed it and its owner over his shoulder, he threw his fist forwards and slammed into Mordred's head as she charged, the Saber bent backwards and slammed into the ground. He moved forwards and raised the greatsword and blocked the thrust of Percival, shoving backwards only to grunt as Nero flew in like a bullet, her burning sword striking the side of Gwyn and drawing a faint reaction from him with the impact-

He turned and thrust down-

Ash shoulder barged him in the gut, barreling the pair of them over and into a roll, Gwyn flipped himself and tossed golden lightning from his body, the spear of sunlight surged outwards, only to be met with a dozen flashes of blue lighting. Ritsuka watched as Cu - the Caster he knew from Fuyuki - waved his arm in front of him, then sent him a coy wink before he charged straight into the thick of things.

Gwyn stumbled, Scathach slammed into his back like a rocket and drove her spear into his shoulder blades, she twisted the spear and then stood up, stamping down on the back of Gwyn's head and kicking him forwards, at the same time she flashed up a dozen copies of Gae Bolg, all of which went soaring to the God-

Mana flared, they were reduced to dust before they even reached him. He responded quickly, rushing towards Ash and sweeping the greatsword down, the legs of the unkindled buckled as he was driven down with the strike, Gwyn twisted the sword to the side and dragged it along the blade, bracing it with his free hand and then drawing it back around, the pommel of the greatsword slammed into the side of Ash's head-

He flung lightning to Percival, dodged the slash from Prisicilla and countered with a punch to the temple, accompanied by a flash of light which surged across her body and sent her flying through the air and crashing into the ground-

Commands flew through Ritsuka's mind.

Nobunaga unleashed a storm of bullets into the back of the God, accompanied by her pulling forth a gatling gun of all things and then laughing loudly as she cranked at at the handle, the weapon roared as it churned out round after around directly into the back of Gwyn, he showed barely any reaction beyond irritation, but the brief flash of annoyance was more than enough for action.

Ritsuka saw the opening.

Scathach drove Gae Bolg into the back of Gwyn's left knee, the God released a sharp grunt of pain as he stumbled, glaring down at the knee before his body glowed with brilliant lighting, then he vanished once more, appearing behind Scathach and clamping his hand around the back of her neck, he pulled back and slammed her face first into the ground, pulling his foot back-

"Emergency Evasion!"

And slamming it into nothing.

"Lancer!" Olga's voice ordered crisp and clear, the white haired woman - Lancer - dropped down and drove the glowing spear into the back of Gwyn, he hunched forwards as the spear continued it's burning descent into him, not yet breaking through his armour but judging by the irritable grunt he gave, they were doing something right.

Gwyn swung his elbow backwards, driving it into the Lancer and shaking her loose of him, he turned on his heel as he did so and grabbed the spear by the polearm and then pulled downwards, the Lancer struck the ground with a deep thud, the earth cracking beneath her, Gwyn swung his leg forwards and struck her in the face, sending her flying from the battle.

He stepped backwards, avoiding the slash from Mordred, both hands fell onto the greatsword and swung upwards, the burning weapon cleaved through the floor on it's path to the Saber and ripped free of the stone, molten rock was sent flying directly into the face of Mordred moments before the sword struck, catching her in the guard and breaking it, she was punted through the air-

A burst of black fire struck Gwyn's chest, he lost ground and his expression wavered for a brief moment, hissing at the flames before his expression cooled. He threw himself forwards into the trio of Ash, Percival and Nero. Flying between the three of them with wide powerful swings, catching a blow from Nero and redirecting it, Percival found a thrust was blocked, Ash was grabbed by the head-

Gwyn hissed and stepped back as mana pulsed from Ash, the darkness leapt from his body and burned his hand, instead of a grabble, he just settled for driving hi knee upwards, Ash held the sword in front of him and caught the attack, going airborne while also slinging another ball of flames towards the God. Gwyn obliterated the attack with another bolt of lightning-

Nobunaga released another barrage of bullets, these ones scoring along the side of his face, lightning and fire from Cu struck the area around his back, yet the magic resistance of the God proved much too great, the spells fizzled out before they reached him, Gwyn drove his elbow down into Nero and then jumped forwards, swinging his left arm forwards to grab Percival.

The knight turned side on and rammed his shoulder into the wrist at the same time he thrust upwards, Gwyn turned his body, swinging the arm across and catching Percival in the side of the head instead, landing a powerful haymaker that sent him flying, he didn't even dodge Nero's sword, remaining stationary as it glanced along his robe, he unleashed another burst of mana from his body-

He spun, blocking the attack from Priscilla and swinging himself forwards, head butting her and then stepping back, swinging himself around so his back was to her and driving his left elbow backwards into the bridge of his nose, he did so while turning to pull the arm backwards, golden light pooled across the opened palm before stretching into another spear of sunlight-

A burst of darkness struck the Gods hand, he hissed and loosened his grasp, the miracle faded.

"Momentary enhancement!"

Scathach drove Gae Bolg into Gwyn's side, the God released a sharp breath as she sunk the weapon around and inch deep into him, snarling rather openly as the Lancer ripped the spear free of him and then blurred it into the spinning wheel once more, the spear whistled as it spun faster and faster, becoming a buzzsaw as it slashed up the side of the God, then locked in place as he swung back at it.

Ash jumped over the Lancer and swung down, Gwyn brought his sword up and caught the Saber, throwing him over his body and onto his opposite side. Landing on his feet, Ash blurred as he snapped around instantly, the sword in his hand was consumed with pure dark, the weapon slashed through the side of Gwyn, the God let out a sharp gasp, flinching purely on instinct-

Scathach drove Gae Bolg into the ground, vaulting herself up and landing a two footed kick straight into the face of the God, she twisted her body and extended her leg on the next spin, this time driving her heel into the side of Gwyn's head, he remained very nearly unmoved, though less so when she kicked off his face into a roll, three copies of Gae Bolg flying towards him, the flashed with mana once more, the copies turned to dust-

He turned and blocked Ash, the shorter Servant pushed against the strength of the God for a few seconds, then turned his head and ducked low. Letting the blow pass right over the top of his head as his left hand moved to his hip, pulling forth a black longsword, crooked horns curving around the hilt to form a guard, he reversed the sword in his grip and thrust down, straight into the foot of Gwyn, then swung his shoulder up and slammed it into the gut of the God.

Gwyn staggered, Ash flipped his body around and looped an arm around Gwyn's own, pulling with all his might and throwing the God over his shoulder and onto the ground, the God fell into the roll, spinning and grasping at the greatsword with two hands, mana pulsed through the weapons and the flames grew bright enough to become a second sun, the sword roared as it swung through the air.

Ash swung right back, a similar jet of darkness covered the length of his blade as he met the attack from Gwyn, power flared around his body as the swords collided with one another, the clashed lasted for barely a moment before Ash was sent flying through the air, accompanied by an explosion of brilliant light, his form vanished with a flash of glowing light, a streak reaching towards the sky-

He appeared behind Gwyn a second later, the momentum of the explosion carrying him forwards and with his sword braced over the top of his left arm, steadying the point of the blade as he slammed into the back of Gwyn, the sword piercing through his robes and flesh. Gwyn jolted up straight, eyes wide and a furious expression on his face, he made to turn only for his front to be peppered with hundreds of bullets, courtesy of Nobunaga.

Gwyn snarled, raising his left hand and pointing it towards the Demon King-

Ash's own free hand came up and slammed into the back of his head, loosening a burst of Abyssal fire into his head, Gwyn jerked forwards at the same time Ash pulled the weapon free of the God and kicked off the back of his shoulders, Gwyn whirled around and swung towards him, Ash twisted his body to avoid the blade.

But Gwyn was hyper focused and Ritsuka saw that, as did the Director.

Their two Lancers appeared within split seconds of one another, Scathach surged in as a comet of red light, flying straight into the side of Gwyn with enough force to unleash a sonic boom, the God barely jolted with that strike but was forced to take several steps, then the white haired Lancer flew in from the left side as a meteor of burning flames and struck the God. This time, Gwyn did let out a cry of pain.

"Mordred!" Ritsuka shouted out at the top of his lungs, "Now!"

"Saber!" The cry from the Director.

The two Lancers pulled away from the God, he staggered forwards slightly, then his head snapped backwards as the Saber smashed into his front like a battering ram, Clarent loosened its howl and red light surged from the blade, swinging upwards directly into the face of the God and consuming his upper half, at the same time, Nero went right for the back of his feet, sliding into from behind and bouncing along the ground with long steps propelling her forwards. The twisted her body, spinning faster and faster until she became a blur of red and orange before becoming visible once more, impacting the back of the God's knees and sweeping them out from beneath him.

Mordred landed on the ground in front of Gwyn as his feet lost contact with the floor, she hurled Clarent forwards like an arrow, the sword pierced the wall of red flames that still clung to the space around him, striking dead centre in the chest, while the sword did not pierce the armour, Mordred didn't need it to. She just needed it there.

She rocketed forwards and brought her leg back, then swung her boot directly into the pommel of the blade, the tip of the sword was driven straight into the chest piece and Gwyn was sent catapulting through the air without any rhyme or reason as to where he was going to land-

Another flash of light and Ash was above him, bringing his sword above his head and consuming it with darkness, the roaring jet of nothing swung clean down into the top of the God and rocketed him down into the floor, the vortex of midnight rolled over his body moments later as Ash continued up the offensive-

A flash of gold light and then lightning struck Ash dead in the chest, he was sent flipping through the air for a few moments and then crashed through the roof of a nearby house.

Gwyn staggered back to his feet, glaring in the direction the Saber had vanished off to.

Then he lazily brought up his left hand and caught the scythe that had been rushing towards the side of his body, the weapon had not even fully materialised from invisibility when he caught it. Turning his head ever so slightly to the user and letting out a noise mixed between disgust and irritation. Bringing up the sword in his hand and pointing it squarely towards her-

He leaned to the side, avoiding an arrow which crashed into the street, he turned around and pulled the scythe along with its owner, Priscilla was yanked off the ground and tossed away with all the grace of a sack of potatoes, the woman smashed into the debris of one of the fallen buildings and sent fragments scattering in all directions, a pulse of mana from Gwyn incinerated the wood before it even got close to him.

"Of all the things for you to fight…" The tanned Archer lamented as he stood next to Ritsuka, he himself couldn't help but feel a touch awkward about the tone of voice, as though it was somehow his fault they were fighting a God. He did ignore the comment, shaking his head and pointing squarely towards the God "I know, I know." Archer continued on, drawing his bow back and loosening another few arrows to the God.

Gwyn began his march once more, fire burned through his eyes.

Nero sprinted past them, accompanied by Scathach, the pair rushed towards the God-

Gwyn vanished in a streak of gold, in the next moment there were two impacts on either side of the street. Ritsuka jolted as he realised that both Scathach and Nero had been floored, having been batted aside in less than a moment. At first, he wondered why, then his eyes turned upwards and he noticed something. Cracks forcing themselves into the sky, streaks of light piercing through the obsidian horizon and shone down on the world.

He blanched.

"My will kept the fire burning for countless cycles." Gwyn's voice rung out, his words accompanied by more cracks piercing through the sky above their heads, rays of light shone down and seemed to converge, light spotlights the light from the cracks swivelled and moved towards the God, not even paying attention to the attacks from Archer, the arrows shattering the moment they touched his body and the explosions of light from their impact being walked through. "Do you truly believe that a spot of dark would be enough to bring about my doom?"

"Master!" The alert came from Archer, clear tension in his voice, Ritsuka understood what he was asking and didn't hesitate for a single second.

"Do it!"

Archer barely needed the command, he figured, but it was given regardless. The Servant brought forth a sword of coiling steel, unlike Ash's weapon this one was more streamling in it's corkscrew shape, then it was nocked into the bow like an arrow and drawn backwards, the weapon groaning as its shape was pulled, taught and streamlined. Cracks spread across the surface, Ritsuka could feel the power just now.

It was fast. Faster than Ritsuka could react.

Archer widened his eyes and then placed a palm on his chest and shoved him backwards, he struck Olga, in the next moment there was a flash of golden light as Archer turned to avoid it, hissing as the stream of lightning barely managed to lance across his side and yet still did more than enough to sent the Servant spinning through the air with half his ribs missing.

"Archer!" He cried out, watching as the coiled arrow in Archer's hand vanished back into ether, the Servant hissed and grasped at his side, he looked as though he was going to say something but Ritsuka didn't let him, promptly sending him back to Chaldea. He'd lost enough in this fight without losing anymore.

He whirled in the direction of Gwyn, watching as the God brought his hand back, lighting spit from his palm and then grew into a large spear. He threw the spear, but not at them, straight up towards the sky. The streak of light soared upwards and looked as though it would have gone on forever, then the lightning peeled apart with a flash of light, opening like a flower and then curling back downwards.

Hundreds of bolts of lighting coursed across the sky and then curled down towards them, falling like rain. Ritsuka felt his blood run cold at the sight, they didn't have anyone to protect them, Mash was still injured and-

He heard the Director let out a gasp behind him, he turned just in time to feel something similarly grab his own right arm and then pull him backwards, he turned and widened his eyes at the steeled expression on the face of the ordinarily diminutive girl. Mash pushed both himself and the Director behind her, then hoisted her shield up and aimed the face of it towards the sky and the falling spears of sunlight.

"Mash-!?"

"Don't worry, Senpai!" She cut him off before he could even get a word out, adjusting her footing and forcibly steadying her hands as she spoke in a louder than average tone of voice. "I can take it this time!"

He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He nodded once, not that she could see, but he stepped forwards and then placed his right hand on her shoulder, his left hand moved up and grabbed the underside of the shield near her hand. Tightening his grip on the shield for a few moments and then glancing at her from the corner of his eye. He could see the visible surprise in her face, probably from the movement, but he didn't mind so much about that right now. Instead, he spoke first. His right hand burned once more as he felt the use of a command seal. "Mash Kyrielight, protect those who cannot protect themselves!"

She looked at him for barely a moment, her visible eye widened before determination flashed through it. "Yes!" She shouted out, turning her head back towards the shield and steeling her expression.

Ritsuka looked over her shoulder towards the Director. "...Waiting is probably the worst part."

Olga just stared at him "Wha-?"

"Lord Chaldeas!" The cry emerged from the Shielder, once more the light flashed above their heads. The barrier spread out from above the shield, Ritsuka felt his nerves burn, his heart thunder, sweat pooled around his forehead, it was an odd thing to consider but he really wished Mash didn't get disgusted by how clammy his hands currently were, the roar of thunder above them was not helping matters, he ground his teeth together.

"Caster, support her!"

"On it, lass!" Ritsuka watched as several runes carved themselves into the space around Mash, he glanced over his shoulder to see that the Cu Chulainn from Fuyuki was standing right behind him. He had no idea when this happened, or when half the Servants that the Director arrived with got here, but he didn't much care for those answers right now.

Cu saw his glance and flashed him a smirk as he stepped forwards and moved the Director closer to the pair of them. "Best spot to stand, this is." He informed her, then thrust his staff into the ground and closed his eyes. "Can't have too much protection, eh?" He received no answer, for the answer was obvious. Runes swirled around him, streamers of symbols hung from the air and Ritsuka felt something within him shift, his body felt stiff but at the same time it felt…stronger-

The lighting fell, Mash's body shuddered and trembled as the world around them was consumed with light. Flashes streaked around them, the roar of the outside world - and it did sound akin to a roar, like the entire world was exploding around them - was ignored as he focused solely on the shield above his head, he paid attention to nothing else, his hand clenched into a fist, his knuckles turned white and he felt the bones in his body quake as the storm of lighting hammered away at them.

Perhaps he should have been worried before, perhaps he would have been worried in the past, but for right now…

He was absolutely confident that the shield would hold.

…The world fell silent just as swiftly as it had screamed, the only sound to be heard was a faint crackle. The shield was lowered and Ritsuka risked a glance around him. Only to find himself unable to tear his eyes off the devastation. The entire neighbourhood had been flattened, and he meant that literally. Within what must have been three hundred metres on either side of them, there wasn't a single building left standing, all turned to dust and carried into the wind.

"Does this sight terrify you, boy?" Words echoed out, Ritsuka tore his eyes from the burnt world and back towards Gwyn, the God stood stock still in the scorched land around him, a wisp wind kicked up a cloud of dust that washed past his feet, the burning eyes of the God stared straight into him. "Do you truly understand the sheer difference? This is barely a fraction of my power and this city - which might have taken decades to build and cost hundreds, if not thousands of lives - is already on the verge of being reduced to dust."

With a wide sweeping arm, Gwyn gestured around them. "This is the power of the Gods. The power you claim to take for yourselves." the arm was slowly lowered back to his side, he resumed his march, ash crunched beneath his feet. "Neither you nor your undead pet can change what is to come."

Gwyn stopped moving, golden eyes visibly narrowed before he turned his head to look over his shoulder. Ritsuka frowned and turned as well, focusing his attention on whatever had attracted the eyes of the God, yet the thick cloud of black smoke that hung around them did little for their field of vision.

Then he saw it, a distant glowing streak of light shining through the smog, the light was not even dimmed. Through the fog, a single voice rang out crisp and clear. "O'Second Holy Lance!"

A gallop of hoofbeats reached Ritsuka's ears, the smoke parted, the shape of Percival burst through the haze, expression steeled and now riding atop a white armoured steed, the spear in his hand pointed backwards as light swirled around the weapon. The head of the lance grew and extended, the shape twisting from a bladed spear into one more traditional of a jousting lance, twin ribbons billowed from just behind the head of the weapon. "Let the Countdown commence!"

The spear shifted from golden light to brilliant red.

Gwyn made a small noise as Percival drew closer and closer. "Perhaps this shall prove things." His voice remained unconcerned at the Lancer charging straight towards him, no longer even paying attention to Ritsuka or anyone else around him, now fully focused on the charging Lancer.

"Longinus-!" Golden light streamed from the spear, it screeched in a high whistle as it it was brought back around and towards the direction of Gwyn, the God snarling as he seemingly hunched over and focused his mana, a moment later, he released a stream of light directly towards the sky, the blackness above their heads peeled away, the sun shone down upon them once more.

"-Count-!" Light rippled from the tip of the spear in Percival's hands, racing across his body as he became a grounded comet, the star streaked forwards with no sign of stopping, the silhouette of the knight barely being seen. Gwyn pulled his left arm back, the largest spear of light he had seen was pulled into existence, the God swinging his arm straight down towards the ground-

"-Zero!" Percival reached the God, the streaking comet slammed straight into the Lord of Light, Gwyn was thrown off his feet, the last image Ritsuka saw was the pained grimace on the face of the God as Longinus was driven into his chest, then he ducked behind Mash as light burned and swirled, rising as a beam directly into the sky, the shockwave rushed over them, a singular boom rippled through the air, the ground trembled.

Then there was silence.

The light stretched towards the sky, covering everything in front of them, yet there was nothing sinister about it. Ritsuka felt no heat, no oncoming rush of fear from the light as it rolled over their bodies, rather than that it felt…peaceful. He felt a little better than before, like someone was standing just over his shoulder and watching over him, he didn't turn but he didn't need to. The comforting presence was more than enough for him.

As the light dimmed, so did the presence, but Ritsuka found as though he didn't demand it return unlike with Gwynevere. It was just something that felt natural, a gentle passing and nothing else.

"Longinus…?" He heard the Director whisper to herself, turning his eye towards her and noticing that her eyes were wide and her features were pulled tight, opening and closing her mouth several times before she sputtered out in a shocked gasp. "A-as in Lucius Longinus?"

Ritsuka…had no idea who that was. "Sir Percival." He corrected her, turning his eyes back to the light as it started to settle, only the dust remained, the explosion having kicked up such a flurry of debris that nothing could be seen, neither the presence of Percival nor of Gwyn.

A noise reached his ears, gentle clopping, he could feel a smile come upon his features as a shape slowly emerged from the cloud of dust, Percival's horse trotting forwards, the knight flicked his spear as though to shake it clean of something. He nodded towards them exhaling. Through all the silence, his voice echoed crisp and clear. "I apologise for the lack of warning but after that display, I felt it best to end the fight swiftly…"

He'd get no arguments from Ritsuka, that was for sure-

"Or…tried to…"

…Tried?

Something moved behind him, the rays of light above their head intensified, bursting through the clouds of dust and soot, pulling them aside as though tearing open a set of curtains. Then he heard it, laboured breathing. It echoed out through the streets, Ritsuka focused solely on the sound and could feel the tension seep back into his body. After all that…after all that punishment he went through…he was still alive?

When the clouds parted, it was a silent affair. Gwyn was revealed to the world once more, though the shock of his survival was short lived as Ritsuka got a good look at his actual appearance. A deep ugly burn was present in his right side and spreading up across his body, his armour had been melted away at the shoulder, fragments of his robe burned clean off, blood dripping down his face and into his beard from his nose and lips. All of which was punctuated by the fact he was hunched over, his breathing coming out as laboured gasps as he used the sword in his hand to keep himself upright.

If Gwyn was trying to keep himself from showing pain, he was doing an excellent job. His expression was devoid of emotion, a perfect mask even as it was clear from how his body trembled, how his arms shook, that he was in a great deal of pain. Especially when the wound on his right side pulsed with light for a brief moment. The silence was broken when the God spoke, a noticeable strain in his voice as he worked to keep it measured. "...A vocal howl, I admit." Taking in a deep breath, Gwyn exhaled. "But it remains fruitless."

He straightened himself up, the rays of light surged around his body.

Light shone down upon him, his body was embraced in an ethereal glow, wounds knit themselves closed almost instantly, a singular pulse swept across the God and the harm that had been done, the damage that had been inflicted, reversed itself as though it had never occurred. Ritsuka grit his teeth as he glared in the direction of the God. After all that, even using a Noble Phantasm, the God was still standing and had just healed himself back to his prime.

Ritsuka felt himself slump ever so slightly, mouth slightly parted and eyes fixed on the God. He was back to how he had been, he looked no worse for wear. He took a Noble Phantasm to the chest and just got back up? How did one even-

"Don't let his appearance deceive you, Fujimaru-kun! He's a God who just got stabbed with Longinus! Even if he looks alright, he's still going to be in a lot of pain!" Romani supplied through the communicator, Ritsuka didn't know the significance of Longinus - He didn't think they were talking about the same one from Evangelion - but that was beside the point. It sounded pretty bad for Gods. "It's dangerous but you might get lucky again-!"

"Luck played no role, Coward." Gwyn cut him off curtly, his voice carrying a bit of indignation "Surprise, yes, but not luck." golden eyes soon narrowed onto Ritsuka himself. "I shall proclaim for all to hear. You have pushed me further than the Demons of Izalith ever did." he slowly raised his left arm into the sky. "But that is all this stands as…a trial for myself. If I am to bend this world to heel, I must be undisputed."

His left hand clawed, fingers curling inwards. "Which means that there can be no doubt of my power. Take heart, humans. You shall be the first to bear witness to my majesty!"

"I am the Light that ends the Eternal."

"I am the Power That Shatters the Unbreakable."

"I am the Will that Commands the World."

"Bydtân Dechrau!"

Light pooled into his left hand, swirling around and writhing in his grasp, it was as though the world was darkening, yet unlike with Ash it was not sudden, nor was it complete. Instead, it was like the God was bleeding the light from the sky and taking it into himself.

The pressure returned in force. "Kneel."

And Ritsuka dropped straight down, knees clattering against the floor, it wasn't just him either; others around him fell to their knees, Mash and the Director. It was as though Gwyn was finally letting loose everything that he had been holding back. Even without the light from the small sun now growing in his palms, the God was throwing his full weight against them. It was as though something cracked, the star in Gwyn's hand started to whistle, screeching as it grew larger and larger in size until it reached the equivalent of a melon.

But the heat…

The heat was something unbearable.

The burning he felt returned in force, he let out a pained gasp as he could feel his face start to burn, turning himself as best he could and struggling to bring his hands up to block it out-

A pulse behind him, several bodies cluttered to the ground while the final one stood tall, or tried to, they took a single step forwards and then dropped to their knees, using the black sword in their hands to keep themselves upright, the ground churned beneath the tip of the sword, the more they pushed up the greater the force upon them became, the ground cracked under their knees, yet they started to move, their legs buckled and their armour bent, but they still moved.

Ritsuka could barely make out the shape in front of him, set upon by the light, they looked little more than a standing shadow, but they stood all the same. Black sword in their hand, started to flicker and bubble, like it turned from metal ot sludge within a split second, darkness dripped from the blade like a tap, pooling underneath them and rolling across the floor to Ritsuka's hands, he winced at the prickling cold he felt, but the pressure started to lessen.

He moved his head a little higher-

"There is a lot I want to say." Ash's voice was gentle, barely above a whisper, but all else fell to silence as he spoke. Just a rush of wind and his voice, cracked and broken. "But…I'm sorry. I wasn't a good Servant to you after all. I don't know why you fight, I don't know why you try…but it was a stronger will than mine." the shadow turned and gazed down at him, the light obscured any trace of expression on his face, hiding whatever Ash looked like. "...Your duty - your life - is just beginning…I won't let it end here. Not to him."

The silhouette turns back around, they start to walk forwards, wisps of light burn at their body, the sword trails a river of shadows as they march toward. "A-ash!"

---

The words of Ritsuka fall deaf upon his ears, he ignores them and continues to push forwards. The turmoil of his mind falls silent, that which demands he kills the boy and brings mercy, that which demands he defends Ritsuka as his duty for a Servant.

They fall silent in consensus.

The suffering of mankind.

The pain of the world.

All mean nothing to him in this one moment.

He continues to push forwards, his every step is dragging the force of his body, the weight of Gwyn's soul bears down on him, his feet crunch into the ground beneath him with each footfall. He gains closer and closer, everything is devoted to this single goal before him. He pushes onwards, confusion turns to resolve.

…He won't let Ritsuka perish at the hands of Gwyn.

Everyone ounce of his strength is rushed into his arm, he feels his body burn and blacken the closer he gets, his hair and skin catch fire, the star in the hands of Gwyn burned brighter and brighter, stealing the warmth of the world for himself, holding the light of the planet in his hand.

His left hand moved across to the coiled sword, finding the hilt of the weapon and curling his fingers around it, his body cracked under the pressure, his left eye went dark, the right felt aflame. He kept moving, everything focused on raising the sword in his hand. Nothing else mattered, nothing else save this single task. This one duty that he could do because he had to and because he wanted to.

The body turns to nothing more than a mechanism for moving the sword, consciousness falls to the wayside, the arms raise even as the bones break, titanite melts and fuses with skin, fire washes over him, pain is a thing of the past. His very soul is being turned to nothing with this attack, but the body continues to move. The sword is slowly raised above his head, light burns, the wielder of the sun is indiscernible now.

But the light is his target.

The sword is that which ends the light.

"Dawn becomes dusk."

Blackness explodes across the body, the souls scream inside him as one.

"Day becomes Night."

The sword becomes the gate of the void, the light is consumed, swirling around the blade and reduced to nothing, creation dies.

"Fire becomes embers."

The star meets its match, the light of the world is being dragged between two points.

"My Sword of Falling Suns!"

The sun protests, the weight on the body increases, cracked ripple through, bones and ground to dust and the body remains upright.

"O'Blade of Fading Flame!"

Shadow spreads across the land, the splotches of midnight stain the light. The luminescent sky is spoiled, it crumbles.

"Sing true the chorus of silenced souls!"

Those within the body. Those behind the body. They all protest their deaths. They congratulate life. The body takes a step forwards, metal snaps and rends, the exposed flesh is turned to dust instantly.

The body will break under the pressure-

"Don't lose, Ash!"

The body might shatter, but the will remains. It pushes through the pain, it pushes through the agony. It pushes through for one single thing.

It doesn't want those behind them to die.

The sword falls.

"Claíomh bás solais!"

Light becomes Dark.

Everything becomes nothing.

The star of beginnings is shattered by the sword of ends.

There is pain.

Then silence.

---

Olga was surprised she was even still alive, especially after everything that had just happened to her. It was a sudden shock when reality slammed her in the face, she was still alive. Though she was facing the sky, lying flat on her back with a dull ache coursing through her entire body. But she was still alive, or she imagined that she was. She doubted she could be anything else but alive.

A groan emerged from her lips as she pushed herself off the ground, reaching up and nursing her head, a pounding reverberated through her skull as nausea swept through her body. She flipped herself onto her side, propping herself up with her arms and then vomited onto the ground. It wasn't pleasant, it was painful and disgusting, but that was all she could do.

Finishing with several wet coughs, another heaving sensation and then pushing herself up ever so slightly. Forming coherent thoughts was well beyond her at this point, she didn't know what was going on, not when she arrived and certainly not now, she knew even less now. She'd barely managed to get any information…

She could worry about that later.

Where was Fujimaru and Mash?

Eyes swept across the surroundings, narrowing ever so slightly as she tried to pick out whatever distinct shape that she could, but ultimately failing, the thick layer of falling soot around her blocked out whatever she was trying to see, opening her mouth to breath proved to be a mistake as a lungful of ash rushed into her throat, it clammed up instantly and she scrambled backwards, clamping her mouth shut and slapping her hands over the top of it - ignoring the wet sensation around her chin - and clenching her eyes as they started to sting.

Was this what Fujimaru was putting up with?

And what was that Noble Phantasm a second ago? That-that-

It was just something beyond words.

It was just nothing.

A sea of nothing.

Why was Ash hiding it all this time? If it could counter the authority of a God, why were they struggling so much? Why didn't he use something like that against Solomon!?

No, not right now.

None of that right now.

Make sure they were all still alive first and foremost.

Her eyes opened up, squinting once more and focusing on something stood a short distance from her, humanoid and upright, the-

The breath left her.

The design of that sword…

That sword was…

Something lay just beyond the standing figure, hunched over and on their back, the God was wounded, no, he was crippled. The debris settled around them, the ground lay bare of any sign of bodies or ruins, just a thin layer of dust and nothing else. But that didn't matter, the God lay on his side, so that she could barely even see a flicker of movement from them.

Instead her focus shifted between the God and the back of…that was Ash, wasn't it?

So then why did his sword-?

"To think, after all that, Gwyn still draws breath." That was Fujimaru's voice, she felt relief run through her body as she turned towards the direction of it, soon catching sight of the Master standing upright. His hands by his side, actually, not quite, his left hand was extended forwards somewhat with something held in it. It looked rounded, but a little difficult to see clearly. Though something about his words struck her, they were a bit too composed, they didn't…he spoke with Fujimaru's voice, but he didn't talk like Fujimaru would talk.

"I suppose that is what one expects with the Lord of Light. Even the power that ends creation cannot overcome one who bends the very world to his will."

Something tickled the back of her neck as she stared, there was something off about how he was talking. Something very, very off. Whatever relief she felt about Fujimaru being alright had already begun to ebb. Instead, a wariness crept in, she slowly pulled her hands away from her mouth but kept still. Fujimaru was there…but where was Mash?

"Well, they certainly came close though, so I can grant you that, Ritsuka." Fujimaru continued to speak, bringing up his left hand into the light as the haze started to clear-

…W-was that…was that a…?

Her eyes confirmed it, there was no deception, but it just didn't register with her. There was no reason for it to. That wasn't…that wasn't…

…It was a head.

"You showed me where the real dangers lay. The true power of Heroic Spirits…I'm certain to use this information well." The head slipped from his fingers lazily, clattering onto the floor with a wet thud and rolling around for a second before it fell on the side, thankfully point away from her, but all the same, her eyes remained focused on the dirtied mop of white hair that now faced her. Short and spiked, flakes of light peeling away and shattering the outline of it-

"B-bas-bastar-" Olga jolted at the voice, gruff and somewhat feminine, coming from somewhere in the dust, the layers already clearing and revealing Fujimaru stood up, his right hand held behind his back, turning his body slightly and lowering the left arm back to his side, his gaze aimed downwards at something.

"You're still alive then? Certainly, battle continuation can't be underestimated." Fujimaru commented with a shrug of his shoulders. "Oh well." The left arm came back up, sapphire light surged through the limb towards his hand-

Olga jolted, watching as the spear of blue light rushed from Fujimaru's hand and towards something, whatever it was, it exploded into red mist. A splattering of liquid on the ground reached her ears and a noise like dropping raw meat on the floor, mixed with a tearing of armour. "You might not have been a dragon, but you carry enough of their blood."

Fujimaru turned, stalking towards another shape on the ground and leaning down. "...Oh, Priscilla. To see how far you have grown…" he leaned over, bringing his leg up and pressing down on the shape, the settled image of a body as his right hand loomed closer to it, it penetrated the silhouette with a sharp crack and wet splat. "...Truly vexes me. Such troublesome resistance from a failure-" with a sharp snapping sound, he pulled his hand back with something clasped inside of it. After a few seconds, he clenched the hand into a fist, whatever had been in his grasp exploded and dripped from his fingers to the floor, lumps of solid matter accompanied it. "-Is especially embarrassing."

He flicked the hand to the side, shaking whatever still clung to his fingers away from them. "And…ah-ha. There it is." leaning down once more, his left hand clasped at something and pulled it back, golden light shined in his grasp, the distinct shape of the Holy Grail was in his hands. "Oh, you should relax, Ritsuka." Fujimaru spoke to himself, turning around and walking towards the direction of Gwyn. "I'm doing you the favour of leaving Kyrielight and the woman alive, aren't I?"

Fujimaru turned to glance at her, and she froze.

…Why were his eyes glowing bright yellow?

He kept her gaze for a few seconds, then turned away from her, his right hand came back up - now slick with blood - and glowed once more. She realised that it was now pointed in the direction of Ash, who was only just beginning to turn-

A stream of blue light struck him in the chest, he staggered backwards, then another struck him in the right shoulder and tore through his body, the sword falling from his hand as he brought up his left arm to block-

Another streak of blue slammed into his chest once more, shattered fragments of armour tore from his chest and fell to the ground, Ash stumbled backwards and reached towards his burning chest, heaving weakly as he looked up-

A final streak hit him dead in the centre, he fell backwards with a groan, light tearing clean through his torso and out the back, his knees fell from underneath him and he dropped down, falling flat onto his back and going deathly still. Smoke rising from the grievous wounds now marking him.

"You humans…you make such wondrous inventions. I don't believe Gwyn could ever see that, but I'm sure he'll be more wary this time around." Fujimaru commented, lowering his right hand and giving it a once over, then turning his attention onto the Grail in his left, a sharp smile coming upon his features. "It's nothing personal. Just the cost of research."

Fujimaru dropped like a puppet with their strings cut, yet the grail remained in the air as though still clenched in the hands of something, and indeed it was. The air around the Grail shimmered for a brief moment, then light pulsed and a distinct shape emerged.

A glowing humanoid shape started to form whereFujimaru had been, transparent at first, then a creaking sound echoed out as their body became solid, the shape calcified over, a body of solid crystal now turned, a faint blue hue to its surface, the head of the thing turned towards Fujimaru for a brief moment, then leaned down towards him and took his left hand into itself. After a few seconds, it drew its thumb across his palm, blood pooled into the hand of the thing, soaking into the body, and then it released the limb just as quickly.

It rose back up, marching towards the downed God, not before pausing next to Ash and turning its head towards him. "...This really is why Gwynevere shouldn't raise children. At least mine did what I told them to do so willingly." The voice finished with an exasperated shake of the head, then moved towards the God and leaned over, placing a hand on the shoulder of them.

They froze once more, slowly turning their head and staring off to something. A distant caw of furious crows echoed through the wind. A growing fluttering sound reached her ears.

"Dear me, Velka. You were the one who wanted him back and now you become aggrieved when he returns in full?" With a mirthful touch to their words, the crystalline figure shook their head from side to side. "If you didn't account for things to go wrong, then you should not have put effort into this plan at the moment of its inception."

A light flashed, and they vanished.

Olga blinked several times.

Opening and closing her mouth as she struggled to comprehend what happened.

No words came to her.

Nothing.

All that remained was the eerie silence, and the gentle whine of the air around them and the distant caw of crows.

---

Crimson eyes stared, lip curled in open disgust.

Gilgamesh all but sneered.

This was entertainment!?

There was now a Mongrel God loose in his garden and the ones responsible had failed to even kill them!

His jaw tightened.

Reigning back his fury was difficult enough. The desire to unleash his treasures and just sweep away the filth beneath him, to just be rid of this sorry sight was almost overwhelming. It was no less than they deserved, perhaps the achievement of taming the Beast was worthy of a small dose of praise but that was it. Certainly not nearly enough to excuse whatever this pathetic display was.

This failure beyond words.

His eyes closed.

…It would seem that Chaldea truly were fools.

The chore of cleaning out pests was beneath a King, but for a display such as this? His presence was now required.

Those Mongrel oafs in Chaldea.

That foolish Beast…

Red eyes moved towards the downed Beast and narrowed…

…Avenger? How odd. Did they realise their own folly, then?

…It mattered very little.

If Chaldea thought they could put an end to this, then they were mistaken. This was the fool who brought the menace to this world, and this was the fool who would make it right.

Only then would Gilgamesh execute him for his crimes.

---

AN: Ah yes. Gwyn.

Not just a Servant or a Divine Spirit.

This is Gwyn.

The Original Lord of Cinder.

Nice work, Velka, your husband is alive again.

---

Gwyn, Lord of Cinder

Saint Graph Designation: Ruler

Strength: A+

Endurance: A+

Agility: A+

Mana: EX

Luck: A

Noble Phantasm: A++

'Bydtân Dechrau - The Fire of Origin That Grows the World': A++ (Anti-World) Max Target: 1000, Max Range: 1-100

Condenses his authority over Sunlight into the birth of a star within the palm of his hands. Once created, the newly birthed star will then be thrown at enemies, incinerating all in its path.

It is the conceptual victory over the Dragons and the beginning of the Age of Fire, this Noble Phantasm is as much a composite of his soul's strength. Not only does the Noble Phantasm have a considerable power behind it, there is also the added benefit of the rays of light generated by it healing the wounds of allies and revitalising their strength.

The Noble Phantasm is particularly useful at slaying Dragons

'Anor Londo - City of the Gods': A+ (Support) Max Target: 300, Max Range: 50

Summons his cathedral around him, once inside he is granted defensive and offensive buffs for himself and his allies.

It is his seat of power, the absolute proof of the Gods dominion over the world. Within this Noble Phantasm there is little need for him to even swing his sword. Though the magical energy cost is high, once it has been established the cathedral serves as his base of operations.

Shards of Sunlight - Bolts of Immortal Slaying: A (Anti-Army) Max Target: 50 Max Range: -

Gwyn's bolts of lightning stripped the immortal scales from the Everlasting Dragons.

As such, his bolts can strip conceptual immortality from a target if he strikes them often enough. Such is the power of a Lord who slew the Everlasting Dragons. However, it is only his mighty bolts of lighting that can do this.

Class Skills

Lord Soul of Light: A

It is power over Light itself bestowed by the First Flame.

He is the King of the Gods. His magical energy is without question, even as the flame had eroded at his soul, the consumption of a majority of Ash's Saing Graph had rejuvenated him to a status more befitting of a God. Though he is still weaker than his prime.

Magic Resistance: EX

Modern Magecraft means nothing to him, one would require mysteries from the Age of Gods to even so much as scratch his skin.

Personal Skills:

Authority of Light: A

The moment the rays of sun touch his skin, he is granted great power. However, it goes beyond this. He is the Lord of Sunlight itself. Should he declare there be a sun in the sky. The Sun shall rise, if only shortly. He can craft great miracles with his Lord Soul, as the progenitor of Miracles. Yet the skill is damaged, his soul is still withered from for aeons it has remained in the flame. It is only his memory that has constructed it once more.

Charisma of the King of Gods: A

Led the attack on the Dragons for centuries and was King of the Gods.

Dragon Slayer: EX

Demon Slayer: A+

Led the assault on Izalith, slew scores of demons in the attack.

Voyager from the Depths: A++

Rose from beneath the surface to take it from the Everlasting Dragons.

He is triumphant in the face of adversity when all seems hopeless, it is when he shines most.

For better or worse, he achieved a greatness which brought forth the end of the Age of Ancients.

Bringer of Cycles: EX

His sacrifice to continue the Age of Fire shattered the order of the world and enforced the cycle of fire-linking.

This Skill manifests itself in the wake of that act. He is immune to time based attacks, as he brought about the very ritual which would render the concept meaningless.

---

Ash

Servant: Beast I (Lost): Mercy

The Beast of Humanity from his own world, his is a sin of Mercy.

When existence becomes too terrible, when the burden upon the soul becomes too great, then it is a comfort to put it at ease.

His is the Sin that looks upon the pain and decides that it must be put to rest, in complete permanence. Suffering that he cannot abide will be torn up from the root, ending all humanity in the process if that needs be. He cannot stand the suffering of man, for he loves them too much to allow it, thus their deaths are the greatest kindness he can give.

Strength: A+

Endurance: A+

Agility: B+

Mana: A++

Luck: A

He escaped the pruned world, the planet that should never have existed.

Noble Phantasm: A++/EX

Claíomh bás solais; 'The Sword Which Rends the Light of the Planet.': EX (Anti-World/Anti-Divine) Max Target: ?, Max Range: 1-99

It is a 'Sword' to represent the end of the Age of Fire. More than this, it is a weapon designed to cull everything that suffers in his eyes.

It is his one true Noble Phantasm and his singular ability as a Beast built upon mercy. A continuous attack which will spread and kill all before him without exception.

Their lives are suffering, so it is better to end their struggle. His Mercy upon the world.

The weapon attacks the very texture of the planet, in effect it could be seen as a similar existence to the weapon of Surtr.

However rather than incinerating life it brings about its natural end. The complete destruction of existence and a return to nothing. A sword fitting to cut away the last remnants of the world, completely and utterly removing all trace of their existence

To call it something like a Divine Construct is false, it was not forged by the hands of a God and is solely a weapon that exists as Ash's Authority.

That said, the scale of this weapon falls into the same category as weapons forged by the planet itself.

The singular purpose of this weapon is an attack upon creation itself, a natural end to the world.

The Ashen One Eternal - I shall never know death: EX (Anti-Unit) Max Target: 1, Max Range: 0

He dies and dies again, yet none will ever truly stick.

He is the eternal warrior who rises again and again as long as there is ample magical energy to support his existence.

For other Unkindled Servants, this would ordinarily be a personal skill but its effect for Ash is magnified by virtue of his existence as a Beast.

He does not die, nor will he allow himself to die until he believes his task is fulfilled. The pledge he made to himself, he will never fade nor falter.

Only the complete and total destruction of his spirit core will spell his demise but even then, it does not guarantee an instant death.

However, it extends to being more than this. As an Unkindled Warrior, Ash is one who can endure great physical damage and learns through each experience.

As such, the more damage he takes from an opponent, the more he can begin to read their movements. Similar enough to Instinct, but it requires him to take damage.

For any other Servant, this would be utterly foolish. For him? It is nothing to be concerned with.

This is magnified considerably if he dies. He gains greater clarity from each death, sometimes throwing away whole lives just to learn how an opponent fights.

"From Pain, I gain Wisdom."

"From Death, I gain Clarity."

The end result is a rapid understanding, though he cannot fully predict every single move his opponent can make, he knows enough to counter them at specific points and close the gap. Even against those with tremendous skill with weapons.

Memories of Times Long Past - The Echoes of the World Once upon a Time: E-A+ (Reality Marble/Anti-Unit) Max Target:- , Max Range: -

An application of his Reality Marble, utilising the strengths of the souls within his body.

Utilising this will grant him the abilities of one of the many individuals within his body, granting him a number of skills, insights or perhaps powers that he would not have otherwise.

It is the most basic use of taking one's strength for yourself.

As a result of using this Noble Phantasm, he will undergo a temporary 'Class Change' depending on the skill set he had opted to utilise for himself, though it is a brief change and

not one he can use often.

The most powerful abilities are ones that come with the greatest costs in terms of magical energy, though they are naturally greater in scope as a result.

Some of these abilities are Noble Phantasms in their own right. Another application of this Noble Phantasm is the creation of Shades based upon the souls he harbours within himself,

one might just as easily call them 'Shadow Servants' dependent on the creatures and beings he killed with his own two hands. They are legion and they come to him at will, though this

application is one he does not use.

Memories of Warriors - Their Power Becomes Mine: E-B (Anti-Unit) Max Target: 1, Max Range:-

Unkindled - more so than any other undead - are beings of memory. As such, they can call upon the memories of the skill of weapons.

Though it remains only a fraction of what it was but still more than enough to give them an inkling of how to wield the weapon itself.

More than this, it allows Ash to take the weapons of opponents he has slain provided it meets two criteria.

1) He must have personally slain them.

2) The weapon cannot exceed the Rank of B

However, it is simply the weapon itself. Any NP that accompanies the weapon is not applicable to him, as they were not earned by him. Passive abilities remain active however.

Bottomless Box: E-A++ (Anti-Army) Max Target:-, Max Range:-

Class Skills:

Independent Manifestation: B

Magic Resistance: A

Nega-Soul: B

The stronger the Saint Graph Signature of an opponent, the more damage he deals to them. Those with extraordinarily high saint graph readings would find themselves nearly crippled by a single strike from him.

Authority of the Beast: A

In combination with his Mystic Slayer ability, he has increased damage against divine beings. For all intents and purposes, he is a being who excels in dealing death to Divine Spirits.

Essence of the world: EX

It is not simply the presence of Great Souls who would link the flame,

but also the souls of Gods, dragons, demons and all other manner of creatures.

He represents the remnants of his dead world, or rather he has consumed their essence entirely. His magical energy at this ranking puts him on par with a Chief God.

Personal Skills:

Dorchadas gan deireadh: EX

The ultimate in skills and an accumulation of his life. An end goal that applies a true dark upon the land. Once this skill is activated, Darkness shall sweep the land and blot out all other light from the world. Beyond this, the basic parameters of Ash are improved, as well as granting him a considerable advantage to slay those who are inhuman.

Furthermore, it truly brings about his ending of the Age of Fire. Under the effects of this skill, all those who are inhuman will find themselves weakened from this effect.

Consumer of Souls: A+

He consumes the Souls of his victims provided they are slain by his hand.

Their deaths fuel his own existence with magical energy and restore his body.

Mana Burst (Soul Charge): A++

He has massive amounts of magical energy, a result of his excess power from slaying countless foes. He can channel massive amounts of magical energy into his body or his weapon and release bursts of that power to increase his physical stats or unleash bursts from his weapon.