Chapter 29

Through the Ice and Snow

Clutching my right arm tight, I said, "Soon, soon. Just hold on a little more until then". Looking inside the crater, I then saw a strange burst of Gloom pouring out of a crack in the ice. "Strange. Why would there be Gloom this close to Chaldea?", I asked. Suddenly, a chill went down spine and not because I was in Antarctica. "You feel it, don't you? The Great Rebirth will soon occur. Origin will expand and the Waxing Moon Vessel shall take us all to Paradise.", Jeanne said. "Not if I stop it first. After all, my revenge is more important.", I said. "That focus on revenge is seriously not healthy. You really do need to let go and move on.", Jeanne said, tears streaking down her face. "And I can't, lest I die.", I said. "Wait, what?", Jeanne asked. "I need hatred to keep myself manifested in the world, not least because that brute YHVH took all the good leylines for me to connect to. I don't even have a physical anchor, either, so I need hatred to keep myself manifest. And even then, I still need hatred to make sure I can still fight.", I said. "So you're saying you honestly prefer hatred and revenge to love and forgiveness?", Jeanne asked, disgusted. "I do.", I said, continuing. As my vision reddened, I then let out an acute roar, letting the darkness within me peak and soar. I then sped up considerably, covered by the red lightning of the Negative Speed Force. Running forward, I saw the ice around me warp and distort before my very eyes.

Arriving at a high tech research facility, I entered to only find myself in a sterile white corridor. "So this is Chaldea, huh? Emptier than I imagined, I have to admit.", I said. Walking down the corridor, I caught the sight of white puppy with purple eyes running right up to me. "Fou.", the puppy said. "Fou, huh? That your name?", I asked. "Fou.", the puppy said, nodding in agreement. Suddenly, Mash came out of a dark portal, running up to me. "Come on, Fou, let's go. You don't want to be around a fake Sovereign, now do you?", she asked in a very patronising tone. "Come on, Mash, I know I was an idiot to decline Alphen's offer. So if you just accept me as Sovereign, that'd be great.", I said. "I can't do that. Besides, Yuito is a better Sovereign than you on the basis that he actually agreed to serve YHVH with his heart and soul, while you not only refused to do even that but actually betrayed him multiple times.", Mash said. "Well, between letting YHVH acquire the Holy Grail or destroying the Flood of Light, the choice was obvious. Besides, YHVH only brings destruction wherever it goes and so I needed to stop it from destroying the Multiverse somehow.", I said. "Sounds like delusion to me.", Mash said. "No, you're the delusional one. YHVH needed to be killed regardless of its actions, not to mention that its loyal cronies even helped it to destroy everything.", I said. "Well, feel free to drown in your delusions then.", Mash said, storming off.

Making my way to a dark room, I saw a giant mechanical sphere lit only by a medium sized blue globe. Walking up to the sphere, I sensed a strange sensation in my right arm causing a thick black and dark red gas to seep out of it. "I see now. CHALDEAS is trying to tell me where Origin truly is.", I said as a holographic terminal appeared in front of me. The terminal then shifted into a holographic sphere with an orange light in the middle. "So, I just need to go the centre of Aionios, huh? Sounds simple enough.", I said. "Not just that, but you need to enter a specific cave system too in order to access the route leading to the Core. Do that and you will find your way to Origin.", a mechanical voice said. "Got it, thanks.", I said, leaving the room. Suddenly, I found myself back on Ouranos Island. Looking at the sky, I noticed a strange mix of oranges and yellows, with pinks, cyans, greens and magentas included as well. Also, the island had apparently frozen over. Wondering what had brought Winter to an apparently tropical island, I then noticed another red pillar in the distance. Rushing forward, I saw a giant font of Gloom leaking out of the ground; jumping into the air, I then manifested the black and red wings I manifested in Radical Highway in order to fly over the Gloom. As I flew, I then passed through a vortex of ancient ruins and black towers, my body radiating a black and dark red smoky energy in the process. "That's it! Unleash your Doom Powers- the power of a Black Arm!", Black Doom's voice said. Landing on a tower, I then ran up it, only to strangely find myself running on one of Saturn's rings. Jumping off of it, I then landed on a coral that I ran down only to find myself running on the very air itself. Finding myself back on the ground I noticed that the red pillar was closer now, so I ran the rest of the way there.

Approaching the red pillar, I saw Shiki there, sipping a cup of tea. "You know what the red pillars are made of, don't you?", she asked. "No but I have a feeling that you're about to tell me.", I said. "Well, these red pillars are made of a substance called malevolence which is in turn comprised of negative emotions like hatred and jealousy. You in particular need malevolence to survive as a therion, much like your parents.", Shiki said. "Wait, what?", I asked. "You weren't born a human; rather, you were born a therion. Your parents were humans themselves but they had been turned into therions before they had you. A therion needs malevolence to survive; it is impossible to subsist on nothing but food for them. Yes, it keeps a therion's strength up but they truly need malevolence to survive. You are a pure blooded therion whilst your parents were converted into therions. That said, you're still descended from the Motes of Darkness and still the Dominant of Odin, even if you were meant to become the Dominant of Ifrit.", Shiki said before walking off. Absorbing the red pillar into myself, I then experienced a burst of acute rage that sent me deep underground.

Looking around myself, I noticed that there was a very large amount of Gloom. "Just where am I?", I asked. "Why, that should be obvious.", a man's voice said. Turning around apprehensively, I saw a man with long indigo hair tied into a ponytail and indigo eyes wearing a purple kimono and long white socks with brown sandals. He also had a katana strapped to his back. "Wait, are you-?", I asked, strangely terrified for some reason. "That's right. My name is Sasaki Kojirou, the second swordsmanship teacher of your own master, Iori. But you may also know me as a regend and a saviour of France.", the man said. That's when I also noticed a woman with blue hair and blue eyes with pointy ears and wearing a long purple dress accompanied by a woman with long pink hair and grey eyes wearing a black minidress and glasses with a wine red rim walk into the room. "So, what is this place, anyway?", I asked. "Oh, are you not going to ask who we are?", the pink-haired woman asked. "Well, I need to stop the Ascension Project from succeeding so if you could just tell me where I am, I can then use that location to determine how close I am the Core and thus Origin.", I said. "Oh, that will just not do.", the blue-haired woman asked. "Well, I am Medusa, one of the three Gorgon sisters.", the pink-haired woman said. "And I am Medea, the Witch of Betrayal and the Queen of Colchis.", the blue-haired woman said. At this, I then felt my left arm painfully seize up, causing my body to expel a large amount of black and dark red energy. "Oh, it seems your cyber corruption has not yet faded, nor has your Black Arm or Divine Dragon blood left you. Still, that contradiction within you must be resolved lest you fail to awaken as the Sovereign.", Kojirou said. "Still, where are we?!", I asked, frustrated. "Well, we are in an area located in the Ouranos Island Depths. You see, the Depths is a hellish place underneath the earth where the Gloom infesting Aionios is originally located and the only place where it is found in vast quantities. The Gloom is what can resolve your situation.", Medusa said before I then found myself in a snowy wasteland with a castle in the distance.

Walking up to the castle, I then saw a blizzard kick up, greatly obscuring my vision. Continuing on, I noticed that the pain in my left arm had faded. I then noticed a very large figure with very long hair as if he was permanently in Super Saiyan 3 (though his hair was pitch black instead of a golden blonde) and a very robust and chiselled physique. He also had blank yellow eyes and his skin was a very greyish colour, not to mention wearing absolutely nothing but bracelets on his wrists and ankles and an iron skirt across his waist. Approaching him further, I then had a strange feeling as if I remembered him from somewhere, though I didn't know where we had met before. All of a sudden, he then appeared right in front of me, moving at what could reasonably be described as the speed of light. "So, you haven't fully awakened its power yet, have you?", the man said with a deep and guttural voice. "I guess I haven't. By the way, who are you?", I asked. "My name is Heracles, the greatest hero that Greece has ever known. Though you might know me as Hercules instead.", the man said. Suddenly, Heracles then disappeared as quickly as he appeared. As I continued my trek to the castle, I then saw the landscape warp and twist into a wasteland covered in swords as far as the eye could see. I also saw a couple of gears in the sky. "Not like you to not recognise a Reality Marble on sight.", a voice said behind me. Turning around, I saw a man with tanned skin with short grey hair and grey eyes wearing a red bodysuit and black trousers with dark grey boots. "You're Shirou Emiya, aren't you?", I asked. "Yes and no. Yes, my identity is that of Shirou Emiya but I am not the Shirou you know. And incidentally, my name is EMIYA.", the man said. "Wait, these swords, are they swords you can use?", I asked. "In a manner of speaking, yes. This is my Reality Marble, the Unlimited Blade Works.", EMIYA said. After a brief yet awkward silence, EMIYA asked, "So, what brings you to the place where my adoptive older sister Ilya was born?". "I don't know, I just found myself here after talking with Kojirou, Medea and Medusa in the Ouranos Island Depths.", I said, noticing that I was back in the snowy wasteland again. Suddenly, EMIYA disappeared, leaving me free to walk up to the castle. As I did so, I wondered why the power of Chaos Control afforded to me by the purple Chaos Emerald was starting to malfunction. Having a feeling that it had something to do with the Black Arm and Divine Dragon blood within me, I then found myself right at the castle's entrance. Strangely, the door was right open as if it was begging me to enter.

Entering the castle, I noticed just how…empty it was. Walking into the living room, I noticed a strange book on a sofa. Picking it up, I then saw another vision, this time of Artoria, Shiki, Arcueid and Aoko in a strange control room. "So, do you think Jack will be able to activate Origin and use it to reshape Aionios into the kingdom he deserves?", Shiki asked. "Well, that will depend on whether or not he'll make a selfless wish on the Waxing Moon Vessel or not. Still, I have a feeling that he'll do the right thing eventually, selfless wish or not.", Aoko replied. "To think that someone like him can actually use Origin's power to even warp Aionios to such a degree that even the Holy Grail cannot- brings a tear to my eye.", Arcueid said. "Well, my son is very talented.", Artoria said. "That's for sure.", Arcueid said as the vision changed to another one- this time of a giant circle glowing an obvious blue. "You think it'll work?", Rex asked. "It'll have to. After all, this is the only way for us to summon the Sovereign and deliver him from YHVH. I only hope that this will actually summon him as he is.", Shulk said. "Still, if it doesn't work, at least we know it isn't our fault.", Noah said as Alvis chanted a strange spell. The vision then changed to another- this time of a young boy who looked a lot like me bound and chained in an underground prison. The boy also resembled the figure on the Avenger Class Card as well. I saw a very hateful and vengeful look in his eyes. Before I could make any sense of what I saw, I found myself back in the living room. Suddenly, Iri walked in. "Oh, I didn't know you returned. Still, that's what I get for having Leysritt and Sella search Aionios for the Chaos Emeralds without even knowing for sure where they are.", she said. "Wait, what you mean by 'returned'?", I asked, confused. "You honestly don't remember? Well, when you came here to Aionios, you briefly visited this castle when you were 7. It was here where you met that girl Kasane and made a marriage pact with her by giving her the Ring of the Maiden while you kept the Ring of the Sovereign. If you'd only stayed here longer, you would have been happily reunited with Artoria and Gilgamesh.", Iri replied. "I don't remember that, really.", I said. "Sure you do. And I will make sure you do.", Iri said, glowing with a strange dark red glow that subsequently consumed me.

The story continues in the next chapter.