The Time of Decendence Hath Come.
I am He Who Fell From God.
...
The Time of Incarnation Hath Come.
I am He Who Gained Human Heart.
...
The Time of Ascension Hath Come.
I am He Who Lets Go of The World.
...
...
...
...
...
This thing's just something I whipped up while I was bored and stuck with writer's block. Don't expect much.
...
...
...
...
...
Tempests blew outside, the arms of a storm wrapped around a serene bubble of life within the mountaintops of Antarctica. Layers of thick insulated glass separated the fragile lifeforms within the Observatory from the harsh winds of permanent winter. Snowflakes fluttered in the fearsome air, dancing like delicate wisps clinging to life.
He walked along the white halls, as he did so many times before. For 11 years, this had been his home. He's paced these halls so many times he knows each tile by heart. Thus, he knew that if he walked a few more strides to the left, he would be met with a window to the outside world.
Antarctica was a strange place, even for him. Half the year forever bathed in light, and the other only lit by stars and auroras. It was nearing the year's end, so the sun had eternal reign over the sky, even if it was blocked by a thousand clouds.
He peered outside, gazing at the snowflakes at the mercy of the storm's winds. They were so fragile, yet held their perfect hexagram shape despite all odds.
Piercing blue eyes were reflected back at him, almost shrouded by onyx hair. Nothing and everything on his mind at once, Ritsuka pressed a hand to the glass.
A sigh.
"I'm slowly becoming more Mash-like, aren't I?"
Babylonia had been conquered, Beast II slain. The history that will never be reduced to but a memory. And yet...
"Ah, Master Fujimaru. As elusive as ever, I see? I'd never have noticed you if you hadn't sighed."
The teen turned his head, greeting the stout man with blond hair. "Good work today. Perhaps polish your glasses? They seem to be fogging up more often these days."
"Have they? I never really notice." The man plucked his thin-framed spectacles from his head, wiping at them with his sleeve before putting them on. "Anyways, everyone's searching for you again. Miss Da-Vinci needs you in her workshop to test the newest Code."
"Ah." The tone was solemn. Accepting, but solemn. "So it's that time already, hmm? I thought we still had a few hours left until contact."
"We do. This is the last break allowed to staff members before the final expedition."
"Hmm. Understood. Then I'll be on my way. Da-Vinci doesn't like to be kept waiting, does she?"
"Ahaha. No, not at all." The blond man laughed. "Well, seeya around, Master Fujimaru. And rest well. We all must be in the mintest condition for this final battle."
"Yes, I know that more than anyone."
...
The room smelled of coffee when Ritsuka entered, a steaming cup resting on a porcelain holder set aside on the desk.
"Fujimaru, finally decided to grace the genius with your presence?" The smile on the famous Renaissance man-turned-woman was amused, if not somewhat mocking.
"Sorry about that, lost track of time."
"I see. Window watching again?"
"No. Wandering the halls this time."
Da-Vinci didn't scold the young Master. She sighed, but that was the end. The teen had been like this since the day he mysteriously appeared on Chaldea's literal doorstep. The staff eventually realized there would be no changing this side of him.
She pointed at a suit hung on a rack.
"Put that on and see how it fits. I'll adjust it accordingly, though I doubt I'll have to."
And there it is. The genius inside is talking.
...
"This feels different from the ones before."
Fujimaru blurted out the observation most evident. The technology and magecraft imbued in this new Code obviously made this thing weigh a ton more than the ones he was used to wearing. Still, it was unexpectedly light. Was it made of carbon fiber or something similar?
It was decked out with shoulder and knee pads, the right arm and back jammed with so many tubes it made whoever wore it look like a walking science project gone wrong. The crest of Chaldeal was woven proudly on the arms.
"It is." Da-Vinci joined the young mage in stating the obvious. "I'm sure you've realized this, but the previous iterations were meant to keep you alive no matter the cost. You are the first and only Master we've got, after all. We couldn't let you die in the seven Singularities."
She took the cup of coffee, the sip seeming to take an eternity before Da-Vinci spoke again.
"Even if everyone had to die, we would have made sure to keep you alive."
His hand clenched. Whether it was from determination or anger, even Fujimaru didn't know.
Da-Vinci then began a lengthy explanation about how the portable science fair project fail was supposed to work. Converting nerves into pseudo magical circuits, huh? A dangerous yet effective way to allow summonings. But, as they say, no risk, no reward.
He tried to pay attention, he really did, but it all glossed over Ritsuka's head.
He was thinking, always thinking.
Before he knew what happened, the new Mystic Code had been neatly folded and packed, and he had a cup of coffee in his hands that mirrored Da-Vinci's own. He gulped the near-boiling liquid down, hoping the bitterness and sear could at least somewhat clear his mind.
It did not.
"...Can I ask you something?"
Da-Vinci looked up, then back down at her tablet. "It's about Mash, yes?"
No answer, for there was no need for one.
"She's dying, isn't she?"
"Yes. Her medical results have been updated." Has her voice shaken the slightest bit just now? "Her body is breaking down on a fundamental level. She only has enough left in her for one more major operation.
"Romani believed it would have been best not to tell either of you. But let's be honest, both of you would have figured it out, just as you did."
"Mash knows too, doesn't she?"
"She's a smart girl, so I'm guessing she does. No one can know her better than she knows herself, after all. Maybe besides you, Fujimaru, but you're a special case."
...
He stepped out of Da-Vinci's workshop, heading back along the path he followed to get there. His footsteps crisp and light, slowly melding into the dull hum of various technologies hidden in the walls. Something seemed off, though. He was sure he passed these tiles already.
There was a window coming up, and he looked out.
"Ah, so that's why."
The sudden disa-vu made sense. Instead of a blizzard that chilled to the bone, he was met with clear blue skies and a picturesque field.
"Yes, this is why."
A cheery voice called out, walking on the thin line between light-heartedness and sheer annoying. The hallway melted away into a field of flowers, and Ritsuka now stood in the center of a round room, lit by magical lamps and oversized windows.
A man leaned on a nearby pillar, his white hair refracting rainbows.
"Merlin, it's been a while." Ritsuka started. "But are all Incubi as informal as you when you greet someone?"
"Spoilsport." His purple eyes reflected false hurt. "I know you can be fun, too. So where did that side go?"
"Don't know."
Merlin sighed.
"I figured."
"What do you want, Merlin? I highly doubt you've pulled me here just to comment on my dwindling sense of humor."
The Incubus finally stopped leaning on the pillar of marble and stood straight. He stared out the window at who knows what. Ritsuka didn't. He didn't get what went through the minds of sex demons.
"You realize your fate is coming to an end, yes?"
"Why ask? You knew when I would die the first time you pulled me here." The teen wondered. It was meaningless to answer, but he did anyway. "I do."
"Mhm."
"So, what now? Are you going to offer me advice like you did with Arturia?"
Merlin laughed, a somber tone hidden within a layer of smiles. "No, my dear. You know I can not see your future. You are the only person I can not predict."
"...Did you pull me here simply because you wanted to see my reaction?"
"Ahaha. What can I say? People-watching is a hobby of mine. But your reaction was quite dull." There was no shame in his voice. "I just wanted to tell you I'm going to be a bit busy, so don't expect my aid in the Temple of Time."
"Busy doing what? Managing that fake idol thing? I still can't believe people fall for your tricks." Ritsuka murmured.
"Aha, but not all people are made up of all the-"
The glare Ritsuka sent Merlin wasn't enough to make him shake, but he still stopped his words.
"Stop, he might be listening."
"Right, right. Sorry 'bout that. Slip of the tongue." Merlin didn't look sorry.
Ritsuka, lightening the glare, continued.
"What do you mean by 'aid?' I know who I must defeat, and beings conjured using summoning spells are nigh useless against him." Ritsuka's mind wandered back to the new Mystic Code he'd gotten. The neon green tube on the backside was still fresh in his mind.
"They are ineffective against only their King. The others can still be defeated using Servants. If not, you wouldn't have made it past Singularity F."
"Unnecessary. I'm certain I can deal with them, all seventy-two, on my own."
Merlin sighed, and turned his gaze from the window to the teen in the tower with him. "I see you haven't changed. When it's matters concerning them , you're so confident it makes you seem arrogant. Better be careful how you speak when in that Temple."
"Don't worry."
Ritsuka walked up to the windows, gazing out at the sky streaked with white. The clouds were free, unshackled by responsibilities.
"I have pretended for eleven years. What is another day or two?"
"Ah, yes. I remember when you asked me to get you to Antarctica. Finding all those flights and sneaking you onboard wasn't easy, mind you."
"Hmm." Ritsuka huffed at the blatant lie. "Don't be silly. It must have been child's play for you, oh Grand Candidate."
"Heh." Merlin scoffed, walking up beside him. "Who's the one being silly now? We both know that you outrank me."
...
His eyelids fluttered open, eyebrows raising as he found himself covered in a white blanket. The Ever-Distant Utopia had vanished from the windows, replaced by the faint yet ever-existing howl of the storms.
Right, he left Da-Vinci's and fell asleep against this window, and that was when Merlin pulled him into a dream. But Ritsuka didn't remember having a blanket on him.
"Senpai, you're finally awake."
Oh, so that's how he got it.
Ritsuka stood up and shook off the remaining bouts of drowsiness festering in his mind. It's finally time. He couldn't afford to be tired. He folded the white sheets and tucked them under his arm.
"Thanks for the blanket, Mash."
"Not at all, Senpai." She smiled at him warmly.
"It's finally time, huh?" Ritsuka turned towards the window. The storm, a white mirror, reflected the hidden emotions in his eyes. "Hey, this reminds me. We first met on a day like this, didn't we?"
"Indeed, It brings me back." She paused. "To my white room. You and Doctor Roman were the first people who frequently visited me."
"Eleven years passed like a blur, and before I knew it, we're here." Ritsuka chuckled. "We hit it off instantly back then, didn't we?"
"Yeah, there was always something pulling me towards you."
'Is that so? It seems god really does bring people together.'
"Ever since you became my Servant, we faced the Singularities together. But this time..."
Ritsuka's gaze tore away from the storm outside. A storm of equal if not greater intensity raged within his eyes. People say the eyes are the windows to the soul, after all. If the soul is in turmoil, the eyes will show that inner conflict.
"This time, it's different." His hand clenched. 'This is my battle, and only mine. No one else has to get involved when I...' "Mash, just this once, can you stay in Chaldea? I'll be fine on my own."
"Thank you, Senpai." There was no pause in her response, as if she had expected him to ask her this. And she probably did. They spent eleven years as friends, after all. "But I must be by your side, as both your loyal Servant, and your trusted friend. You have stayed with me since the day we met, and I still have not repaid your kindness.
"So I will stay by your side, even if it means shortening the small amount of time I have left."
That stung more than it should. Ritsuka was already certain she knew, but hearing her say it herself confirmed his worries weren't misplaced.
Mash noticed the look he tried to hide away. She smiled. Even now, her Senpai was over himself with worry for her sake. That made her happy.
"It's no reason for extra concern or special treatment. I know I was raised in an environment many would consider strange and unsettling, but I don't feel sad about my life. Nothing has happened in it for me to feel that way.
"Once, Solomon told me human life is meaningless, but that's wrong. So, I'll deny his claims with every fiber of my body. Even if individuals die and fade away, I've come to understand that their lives were the foundation our current life is built upon. I'm inexperienced with sorrow, but joy, I know well.
Senpai, the Doctor, and everyone else in Chaldea, and the worlds we traveled through, they taught me the meaning of joy. So, I can not stay back. Please, Senpai. Let me accompany you one last time."
Ritsuka sighed as he swallowed. This was unfair, wasn't it? He could never say no to her, no matter how hard he tried. What were his own requests when pitted against a well-thought-out argument and his kouhai's smile?
"Yes, of course."
They shook hands just as Fou began tapping Mash's shoes, and Doctor Roman's voice began echoing smoothly through an intercom. He spoke of what had happened in the past year, and instructed the two to head toward the command room immediately.
"Well, it's finally time. You ready, Mash?"
"Yes, Master!"
...
Doctor Roman explained what they needed to accomplish before they got into the coffins, and Da-Vinci joked about partying when they got back. Ritsuka chuckled to himself. This was probably the last time he would get to.
They sped along the edges of the Timeless Temple on Da-Vinci's famous invention, the revving of the motors drowned out in a sea of silence. It was too quiet, and that made Ritsuka nervous.
He kept his eyes on his road, his mind wandering elsewhere as he half-heartedly listened to Mash and Roman talk about whether Solomon was a Servant or not. They touched upon the topic of the Ten Rings from God, though they didn't linger.
Beeping from the rover's screens and Chaldea's heat sensors showed the time of peace had passed.
"Heat signals," Romani warned as Ritsuka forced the vehicle to swerve and avoid a beam of light.
Massive red eyes opened around them, glowing an eerie light. Each pillar burrowed into the ground, so long they looked like a thousand individuals combined into one. A shell of human corpses lined their tentacle-like forms, rotting and decaying, their faces still showing the same expressions when they were assimilated.
Arcs of light flew into the sky, bending unnaturally to target the moving vehicle with the two inside.
"Deploying shield!"
A transparent blue forcefield appeared on the rover's front. The lasers that hit all either bounced off or were destroyed.
The rover weaved past another pillar, and a gate was seen perched upon a distant cliff. Demon God Pillars wrapped around the stone around it, their eyes unblinking yet hazy. Its frame was carved from stone, and led to a glowing passageway that shifted unnatural hues like shattered glass.
Someone stepped from behind it, and a pulse of condensed wind shot toward the rover with a flick of their hand. Ritsuka sensed it was moving too fast to avoid, and its force was too great for the forcefield to handle. Thankfully, Mash managed to get them out of the blade's way just as the rover was cleaved in two.
It exploded behind them, the golden light temporarily suffocating the crimson, almost rose shades of the Demon God Pillars' eyes.
Ritsuka recognized the presence as he got back on his feet, hearing a familiar growl and sneer.
"Lev Lainur."
"Indeed." The man in green confirmed. "Technician at Chaldea and the vanguard sent by the King of Mages. I am the one who struck the final blow for humanity's incineration."
He twirled his metal staff in an overly dramatic way, looping it above his head and spinning it around his neck, causing a gale of wind to echo through the Temple.
Ritsuka covered his eyes from the wind, eyes searching for a way to get past him. He was thankful, even, when the Demon God began an overly detailed and unnecessary explanation of the nature of mages and the "Grandest of Grand Orders."
He considered blowing him to kingdom come, yet that wouldn't work. It would alert his true enemy to his presence.
Lev banged his staff on the ground, a mixture of anger and frustration in his voice when he spoke again.
"We annihilated humanity, yet you Chaldeans insisted on surviving. Why, why? Had we miscalculated? No, it was because an unknown factor entered my domain. Isn't that right, Ritsuka Fujimaru? Master Candidate No.0?"
He kept quiet, keeping his gaze firmly in the eyes of the Demon God. He stood his ground bravely, as there was no reason to fear. That would have to come later, when he had no choice but to...
"You were the prodigy, a one-in-a-million child with a one hundred percent aptitude for Servant Summoning and Rayshifting, and you just appeared in an empty crate that was supposed to carry whatever parts the engineers ordered. How convenient for Chaldea, don't you think?
"Everyone gave up asking where you came from. You were too precious of a resource to be sent away. The reward was well worth the risk. But I must ask, who sent you to Chaldea? Why did you arrive on the same day as Romani Archiman?"
No answer. The teen kept his firm gaze on the man in green's eyes.
"No matter. You must have known of the world of mages, so why did you play the act of an innocent child during questioning?"
Still, all Lev got was a heavy silence.
"What's the matter? Is there something wrong? Are you going to keep playing the oblivious fool? After all I did to care for you, this is how I'm repaid? I'm hurt, Candidate No.0. I thought our relationship meant more to you."
Da-Vinci sighed. Ritsuka couldn't see, but he was sure she was leaning on the table in her signature way.
"How laughable. If that's how you think, you clearly don't know a thing. Don't you remember what Ritsuka said when he arrived?"
There was a pause as if for dramatic effect.
"'I'm here for a reason, but I don't know.' 'There's someone I must defeat, but I don't know who they are.' 'I was told to come here by someone, but I don't know who.' How could someone so unsure about his purpose in life ever tell his secrets to anyone, even a friend?"
"Yes." Mash nodded. "Senpai didn't even tell his secrets to me. He's distant but kind. Those who don't know him see him as whimsical, but he cares. He never uses them, but he knows the names of every Chaldean staff member by heart, simply because he's afraid to get too attached. If you don't understand that part of him, you'll never understand Senpai."
A long silence echoed through the Temple of Time, somehow even louder than thunder.
"Obviously I noticed the suspicious timing of his arrival, and his seemingly irrational behavior. That's why I attempted to persuade Marisbury to return him to wherever he came from. And when that failed, I tried to kill him using the command room explosion. Yet he just had to foil my plans by falling asleep and getting kicked out."
Another wind blade bounced off Mash's shield. The scepter Lev held morphed unnatrally.
"But it doesn't matter. Our King is currently indisposed. I shall tidy up my loose ends just as I've been bid to do."
...
A pillar of flesh rose from who knows where, the ground rumbling as if they were standing on the origin of an earthquake. Rows of glowing eyes shone a demonic shade of rose, arcs of light the same color streaking through the skies.
Eight more pillars manifested, heeding the call of their kindred. The information center, though still inactive, had an almost indomitable presence.
Ritsuka summoned Alexander III, the younger version of Iskandar, and then Sanson, and then Lancer Vlad. Lightning matched the lasers shot by the pillars, and spears coated with demonic shadows pierced into decaying flesh. Ritsuka watched as a thousand hands reached for the former technician, the phantom images of a guillotine solidifying behind him.
The Demon Pillar spat curses, tone mocking even in the face of his "death."
He stood up just as Sanson finished declaring the name of his Noble Phantasm. His body ached, and his spine was burning, like the lingering sensation of sticking a red-hot iron rod into one's back. He used three summons, more than he was comfortable with.
"The Demon God Pillar has fallen," Mash stated. "Hurry, Master. Let's hurry to the-"
"No," Ritsuka interjected, cutting her off as he struggled to even stand. Da-Vinci really wasn't kidding when she said this thing does damage. Steam vaporized from his body as one of the buttons on his right shoulder popped. "He went down far too easily. Something's not right."
"How very astute of you to notice, Ritsuka Fujimaru."
The voice confirmed that Ritsuka's fears were not unfounded, even if he knew they were correct from the moment he laid eyes on this Temple. The fallen pillar burst from the ground, undamaged and whole. The various wounds it had suffered were nowhere to be seen.
The activation of the information center was confirmed when the eight surrounding pillars abandoned their drooped forms and stood upright, their glossy eyes no longer hazy, burning as magic circles fizzled into existence before them.
Lev was no longer a suitable name for the being that stood before them. Perhaps it never was. Flauros, ever prideful of their master plan, rambled about how they were the Timeless Temple itself. Popping out a terminal that only held the vaguest resemblance to the human Lev Lainur, Flauros had the gall to ask Ritsuka if he understood their nature.
He did. Ritsuka understood long ago. It was the Demon Gods who did not understand him .
Ritsuka heard the crunch as Chaldea was enveloped by fragments of the Demon Gods. A slur of reports from people whose names he knew by heart echoed in his ears.
"Reactive Theory Unit 2 has sustained 60% damage."
"We've lost the Northern Observation Room. Detecting high pressure on the observatory dome. T-minus 5 minutes till collapse."
"Chaldea will soon enter foam state. It'll be swallowed by the Temple of Time!"
None were good.
He heard Doctor Roman order the staff to shut down all the outside facilities. Da-Vinci said that to defeat them, they needed to obliterate all seventy-two at once.
As Flauros's sickening laughter reached Ritsuka's ears, his eyes scanned the area. As Flauros mocked him, wondering where his "army" was, he kept his eyes on the pillars of writhing flesh. As Flauros listed the Singularities and the units responsible for their creation for no apparent reason, he sighed as he decided.
He couldn't hope anymore. He had allies in the seven Singularities, but not here. Not in this Temple. There were no ley lines, no human history, nor were there any summoning circles.
He couldn't keep pretending anymore.
Yet just as he was about to call a certain item to him, something happened, something that could only be described as "a Miracle."
The first summoning spell caught his attention, and the following ones overwhelmed his senses. Chaldea backed him up, with Doctor Roman stating the number of Spirit Origins at steady intervals.
'So this is what Merlin meant.'
The first star to descend was the Maiden of Orleans, flag bellowing as it cast a healing light on the two before her. Faith would be rewarded with victory, and never once in her life had she abandoned her faith in the one above.
"Luminosité Eternelle"
Perched on Alexander's horse, the two sped towards the gate, an army of heroes paving the way.
Mash made observations, and he responded in kind with words of wonder. A truly grand sight to see the finest of humanity fight for a single goal.
Yet one comment stuck with him, and he responded in somber tone.
"Remember, Senpai. You never once fought to defeat the enemy."
"What's that?"
The horse leaped from the path of golden light.
"New encounters, and new futures. That's why we fought for so long, together."
"Yes." Ritsuka agreed. His mind mulled over his current situation. A faint spark of hope had ignited. Maybe he needn't resort to... "The day I fight to defeat the enemy shall be the day I die."
...
Bucephalus vanished when they arrived at the other side of the gate. Doves fluttered their wings in a blue sky, and the gushing of a waterfall resounded a distance away. Shattered mountains lined a pathway, the dirt ground covered in grass. They faded into marble pillars, and those turned into a temple with a thousand stairs. On the throne sat the King of Mages, his eyes hollow and cold.
His welcome is short and curt, but it gets the point across. He admitted that turning a blind eye to the heroes was a mistake, and commends them for their fearsome yet ultimately futile efforts.
He then proceeded to drone about his grand plan once more, just as Flauros did. Like Master, like Familiar, Ritsuka supposed. As the King of Mages spoke, Ritsuka noticed one key detail. Solomon's ten rings, one of them was silver, as opposed to the nine remaining gold.
'So, it's true.'
Three more summons are used up, aiding Mash to finally reach the throne and strike Solomon in the heart. Yet the King of Mages only laughed. Ritsuka expected this. He knew what was going on.
Blinding light pushed Mash back, down to the very bottom of the flight of stairs leading up the temple. Demon Gods rose from below the ground, tearing the ground apart as green grass faded into a shade of dull black. The skies turned grey, tinted pink by the bands of light. Black tendrils crept up the throne, clinging to the body of "Solomon" like leeches as they slowly enveloped his form. "Solomon's" voice was clear, even above the crackling lightning and booming thunder.
A pillar of light reached towards the skies, and, after a few tense seconds, vanished into swaying ribbons.
Solomon was not on the throne. He never was.
As the dust cleared, the first thing Ritsuka saw was a bloodied eye. It was an ununiform thing, moving about as if the tendons connecting it had all rotted away beside one. It seemed infected with disease and curse. His limbs, covered in golden scales, were encircled with black markings. There was barely a face to recognize it by, only the vaguest shape of a head that sprouted a spangle of leafed, branching horns.
Chaldea's sirens blared as staff members confirmed the appearance of Beast I. Ritsuka watched, somewhat impassive. How strange, he thought. He was never this calm during the Singularities. Any normal person would have been crushed by the sheer pressure long ago.
As his Servants rushed to engage, Ritsuka reflected. He stared upon the flaming horns, the signature trademark of a mature Beast of Humanity. He watched Emperor Nero slice off Goetia's arm with her flaming sword, reducing it to black mist.
There was a mystic bubbling, like seafoam that faded away just before it reached the ocean's surface. Goetia kept it quelled simply because he found this struggle amusing.
Yet it seems he's had enough.
Goetia's severed arm grew back, and his hand clenched into a tight fist.
"Begone."
And they vanished, turned into golden motes of light. Ritsuka sensed their Spirit Origins being destroyed. There wasn't even a battle. They were crushed like ants under the foot of an elephant.
The bands of light grew, energy equivalent to a thousand holy swords ready to scorch the earth at a moment's notice. Mash stared up toward the sky, the light above casting her face in shadow.
"Won't you join us, Mash Kyrielight?"
Without a doubt, the answer given was a resounding no.
"A shame. Then burn, along with this era."
It was like the formation of a star.
"Deploying Third Noble Phantasm. The Time of Birth Hath Come. I am the Remedy of Eternity.
"Ars Almadel Salomonis."
"That which heals our deepest wounds and darkest grudges. Our glorious homeland.
"Lord Camalot!"
The light that would pierce the planet was blocked by the shield of one.
Ritsuka stared, almost entranced. Then, as if awakening from a dream, he shouted. "Mash!"
"Good, it seems I wasn't too late. You should be able to figure something out with this time I've bought you." Her boots were slipping. "Thank you, Senpai, for eleven years of happiness. I finally realized it, my wish. I wanted to be useful to you. I wanted to repay you, even if it's just once."
"No, no! You've already repaid me more than enough, so get back here! We'll figure something out, but first, get back here!"
"But, I have one regret. Just one little thing I wanted." The girl turned, and Ritsuka was almost blinded by a smile brighter than the sun. "You said you'd show me the outside world, Senpai. You said one day, you would bring me to your hometown.
"I'm sorry I won't be there to see it with you."
The world burned, and something steeled. The waves of desperation finally cleared the haze clouding Ritsuka's mind. His head felt clearer than ever, but that also meant he felt panic more strongly than before.
He noticed Fou hiding behind a rock, and rushed to take him in his arms. "Fou, I know this is a lot, but can you take her somewhere safe?"
The fluffy animal nodded, as if it understood. It then gave Ritsuka a look. It was a silent question, but the teen understood.
"Yes, I've known since the beginning."
The little critter scampered towards Mash, just as blinding light engulfed the Temple of Time.
"Ars Almadel Salomonis."
...
The light faded away, and a snowflake shield stood proudly, stuck into the ground like the memorial of a hero who did great deeds to the world. The bands of light cast a glow on the world, as if it were bathed in the light of a coming dawn.
Ritsuka limped towards the round table, his eyes shadowed by the rings above.
"Yes. I suppose I should allow you one last chance to strike back. I understand how you feel." Goetia murmured. "Strike me with those frail fists of yours, and ready yourself for death."
There was no answer for the longest time. Only till the teen had reached the shield and secured his grip did he bite out a response.
"Very well, then," Ritsuka growled.
He held his hands towards the sky and closed his eyes, almost in prayer.
Memories played like records in his mind. The images of the past will forever remain as phantom memories, yet they were not destined to fade away. However, the same could not be said for the future.
The bands of light were like a sun, and the occasional visions Ritsuka saw like morning dew. So delicate, yet so beautiful.
He would become a shield and guard these fleeting droplets till they became but a past memory. Even if it cost him life and soul.
He reached into his soul, and pulled .
The air shifted as Mana converged. Goetia reeled back, eyes widening as he felt his grip on the bands of light slacken, even if it was the slightest bit. He felt phantom hands grab at the bands, chiseling a fragment off.
It was a miniscule thing. The bands of light were around the size of North America, yet the shards that fell were only around the area of a football field.
But it was enough.
It had to be enough.
"Deploying First Noble Phantasm. The time of Decendence hath come. I am he who fell from God.
"Ars Almadel Salomonis"
The fragments split from the band of light, arching into ten rings hovering a distance away. Five split off from the main group and sped towards Chaldea, where the Demon God Pillars still had grips on the facility.
The other five descended like shooting stars against Goetia's form, and the world was bathed in light once more.
"Guh?!"
"W-What happened?"
Chaldea's transmission systems were online.
"Th-This is!"
"All Demon God Pillars around Chaldea have vanished!"
"The Reactive Theory Units are operating at 100% capacity."
"Third Logic Barrier has been restored. Second Logic Barrier restoration is in progress."
Goetia staggered up, his form scorched and fire on his horns burning more brightly than they should. He coughed, even though he had no mouth. Something similar to fear engraved itself into his eyes.
"What did you do? How could you have-?"
Ritsuka stayed silent.
"Answer me, Ritsuka Fujimaru!"
Ritsuka pointed at the abandoned throne, where the ten rings rested tranquility. Nine flew towards him, and the final silver remained. They circled his head, like a crown pressed tightly against his hair. However, there was a missing piece, a gap on his forehead that the nine rings couldn't fill alone.
This aura, the Beast had felt it before. It was familiar, yet foreign. As if a shadow of a person had begun pretending to be the real thing.
"Y-You." Goetia stammered, eyes locked on the nine rings encircled around his head. "You can't be him. You don't have his Spirit Origin, then how?"
"Indeed. I can't be. And I'm not." Ritsuka's face was passive. "Three thousand years ago, huh? You never notice how long time passes when you're asleep."
"What are you talking about? Who are you?"
"Who am I?" Ritsuka chuckled. "In this life, my name is Ritsuka Fujimaru. Born in 1999, the same instant when Chaldea's SHEBA system was completed. But you already know that, don't you? Instead, let me tell you a story about a certain man."
Ritsuka hummed, as if searching his mind.
"He was a king from the moment he drew his first breath.
"His ten rings held dominion over all of magecraft.
"His summoning spell had seventy-two demon gods at his beck and call.
"Though he had been given miracles from God, he did not use them, save for once.
"And when he did, he returned them to the heavens."
Ritsuka stopped, his still impassive face fixed on Goetia's form.
"Goetia, you lived as Solomon, thus you were there when he gave back the rings to God. Yet you forget, that only nine were returned.
"The ten rings were merely vessels for the miracles of God. They represented all of wisdom in the world, contained in golden shells. And when they were returned, that wisdom stubbornly clung to the mortal earth, refusing to ascend. They collected themselves in the tenth ring Solomon sent into the future, and sealed themselves away, waiting for the moment they could reawaken."
"Wait. You don't mean..." The inkings of realization began to set in.
"Solomon knew that one day magecraft would turn evil and endanger humans. So he wove a defense spell that would be its counter. That spell assimilated with the wisdom in the tenth ring, and merged with a human child to achieve incarnation. Why did it do that? Simply because this was the easiest way to monitor the world."
Ritsuka held his hands towards the skies again.
Just a little more; he was almost complete. Nine had already gathered, and he knew precisely where the tenth, where his true form, was.
This time, the band of light didn't fluctuate. Instead, Ritsuka pulled .
"Got to give it to Marisbury. He hid me in plain sight." Space distorted as a tenth golden ring appeared in his hands. It was still warm, showing that someone had been wearing it even during the moment he called it to him.
He pressed it to his forehead, and it sank into his flesh, completing the crown of rings and acting as their anchor.
"Goetia, you ask me who I am. Thus, I shall answer."
He closed his azure eyes, and thought back to the form he took when he was still but a messenger.
"The time of incarnation hath come. I am he who gained human heart.
"Ars Paulina."
The Chaldean Mystic Code he wore changed. The component mystics that were weaved into its fabric repurposed into something more. White and black robes with braided ribbons of red, metal shoulder pads engraved with the Seal of Solomon.
The ten rings of light reemerged, gathering behind his back. They turned into feathered wings, wrapping around his body. He looked like a Seraph, an angel sent by the one lord.
"What's going on? Are the sensors glitching? It says Master Fujimarus doesn't exist anymore!"
"No, he's still there." Da-Vinci's voice rang out. "Focus on that fluctuating Spirit Origin, and search for anything similar."
"Spirit Origin Type, located. First encounter: Camalot."
"In my past life, I descended from the gates of heaven per his lordship's requests.
"I devoted myself as a messenger of God, sending his will to Solomon.
"Through my interactions with humanity, I gained a soul and heart.
"When Solomon died, I was fated to return to the heavens, and end the Age of the Gods. Yet I stubbornly clung to mortality and achieved incarnation by giving myself up to a human child.
"I am the tenth ring Solomon sent into the future, the light that which Solomon shed. I am the first and final child of the King of Mages, abandoned to the whims of heaven."
Like a mirror to the events before, a pillar of light engulfed the teen, fading into dancing wisps.
"The stabilization of an unregistered Spirit Origin has been confirmed."
The reports from Chaldea started piling in.
"Spirit Origin Ascension, successful. Output has risen to near tier-three planet class."
"This Spirit Origin, it can't be!"
The light faded away, and Ritsuka stood there, the ten rings circling his head shining with rainbows.
"Grand Class Servant, Caster. My true name is Ars Nova, the failsafe spell woven by my father who gained human life."
"Hah." The Beast laughed. Faced with his current situation, he still laughed. "Hahahahahaha!
"Like father, like son. What will you do now that you've arrived at the end of all things? What could you hope to accomplish, even as a Grand? You're nothing but a fake, a shadow pretending to be a fool."
"You are right. Even this form was taken from another. This body is nothing but an imitation of the Voice of God, Metatron." The wings previously wrapped around his body flared open. "But that doesn't matter. All that begins must come to an end. 'Tis time I finally see the Age of the Gods to a close. And that shall begin with you, King of Demon Gods."
"Ha. Ahahahaha! What will you do?" Goetia rushed at Ritsuka, and a punch reared over his head. As he brought it down, the Seal of Solomon manifested to block it. "You can't do anything! I will send you to death using yourself!"
"That won't be necessary. I will end my own life with my own hands."
"What?"
"I am a spell woven to be your direct counter. I can use all of Solomon's abilities, including his Noble Phantasms. But I repurposed them, and created Noble Phantasms of my own.
"My first Noble Phantasm recreates my descent from heaven as ten rings of light. My second Noble Phantasm produces my past form. And my third Noble Phantasm, is one I never used, even in life."
"What are you talking about?"
"I couldn't use it in the past. I didn't have the nine rings at my disposal, and only knew the position of one. Now that I'm whole again, I can finally do what I was meant to three thousand years ago.
"Goetia, you were my senior, a spell woven to watch over mankind. We had similar natures until you defected. For your sins against humanity, heaven has decreed you perish. Allow me to teach you the final magecraft."
"Wait, you don't mean..."
Once more, the Seraph held his hands up in prayer.
His eyes remained steadfast, staring at the starry sky. He reflected on the past and the future he had seen. A future that would not contain him
"Stop, stop!" The Beast raged as he tried to kill his counter in a blind panic, yet each punch was warded off using a seal. "What are you doing?! You're going to commit suicide just to kill me?! Why? Why do this for that pathetic excuse of a man?!"
"The time of ascension hath come. I am he who lets go of the world."
A smile appeared on his face.
Yes, the day he was born, he had been a sacrifice. The fact that he gained a human soul was nothing more than a hindrance to his plan.
He had a life that was never meant to exist, but still, he found happiness through the journies he spent.
"Oh, lord above. I return to you my soul. Oh, Solomon, my father, I return to you your wisdom. Thank you, for this life I lived.
"Ars-"
"-Nova."
The Seraph's eyes widened. That wasn't his voice.
He turned, and saw the green eyes of a man, his lips curled into a smile of relief.
"Good. I made it in time."
His peach-colored hair bellowing as punches rained down upon the shattering seal, he stepped forward and pressed a hand against the cracks.
"Doctor? What are you- You don't have Rayshift aptitude, you can't-"
Ritsuka paused. This feeling.
"Your Spirit Origin, it can't be!"
Th-this was...!
"Don't you think you're being a little inconsiderate, Fujimaru? Stealing the tenth ring from my own finger? Now that's just going a little too far, doncha think?"
"Y-You are...!"
"Well, I guess I can't blame you. I was pretty inconsiderate in life, too."
...
"...All that begins must come to an end, huh...?"
"Romani?"
"Master Fujimaru revealed his greatest trump card. It's time I make my stand, too."
"I see. Has it really come to this?"
"Leonardo, I'm leaving the command room to you. Don't worry. No one will be vanishing."
...
"Y-You...!" Ritsuka shuddered as another seal burst from the void, the cracks Goetia created nowhere to be seen. "Then the reason my memories returned eleven years ago was because...!"
"Yes. Because Marisbury summoned me using you."
Roman rubbed his head, almost sheepishly.
"Sorry about that. You had been a normal human child until that day. Yet when I incarnated, you subconsciously copied my Spirit Origin and regained your past memories."
He chuckled.
"So, you're the messenger of God who ruled with me, Fujimaru? Got to hand it to you. You played your act pretty well. Even Da-Vinci was fooled. I thought I pretended pretty well, though my act was nothing compared to yours. Still, you never discovered who I was, either."
"F-Father!"
Romani nodded, and a blue hue shrouded his form. When it died down, Solomon stood in his place.
"I am Solomon, King of Mages." A hand with ten ring imprints placed itself on Fujimaru's head. "You did well, my son. But let me take it from here. Only the wisdom within you has to be returned. Your soul is yours and no one else's."
"Then..." Nine rings spun in a circle, and Ritsuka's form shimmered as he was sucked into the tenth. A disembodied voice began to echo. "Use me how you wish, Father."
Solomon nodded. The ten rings stopped glowing, and they froze in the air. Solomon took them in his hands.
"The time of birth hath come. I am the remedy of eternity.
"The time of coronation hath come. I am the beginning of eternity.
"And finally..."
"Stop!"
The two seals broke, and yet another seal, weaved from ten rings, blocked a fatal punch.
"The time of parting hath come. I am he who surrenders the world."
Two voices merged into one.
"Ars Nova."
"Dear lord, your power is too much for us."
Solomon began as the ten rings glowed golden and rose into the air.
"We return your gifts with gratitude."
Ritsuka's voice followed, and the ten rings shook. Flakes of gold soon began floating into the sky from the ten rings, like phantom spirits combining into one. With each speck of gold, the radiance of the ten grew weaker, till the rings were only as bright as faint embers in a winter storm.
"From now on, we shall work within the limits of humankind."
"With my return, let the Age of the Gods end once and for all."
The flakes of gold turned into see-through replicas of the ten rings. They fell like ten comets, pinning Goetia to the throne.
"Why? Why? After eons of inaction, you both would save mankind at the last minute? Even when you had entire centuries to do so?! Even when both of you had the power to shape the world?!"
"Yes, I will." Solomon stared at his fingers, the ring prints still fresh even if he hadn't worn them for eleven years.
"It's strange." The faint rings still levitating lazily in the air shrunk their path of orbit. Ribbons of light combined with golden motes to reform Ritsuka's body, the ten rings still as a crown on his head. "Goetia, you and I are basically the same. Two spells who gained sentience and incarnation. Yet you and I reached completely different conclusions. I'll tell you the difference between us."
He pressed his hand towards his chest.
"It's simple. I was blessed enough to gain a human heart while you did not."
"W-wha-t?"
"Crude logic, isn't it? But that's how human life is. You just have to accept that fact." Ritsuka hummed. He felt the last remnants of all the wisdom in the world get sucked out of his mind and soul. This was it. He was no longer a living spell, just a normal, human, mage.
The phantom rings holding Goetia in place dissipated into motes of golden light, just as the knowledge God gifted humans did. The Beast was released from his shackles and landed on his feet.
"Hm." The Beast scoffed. "You have only delayed the inevitable, foolish king and prince. Our great deed remains incomplete yet unhindered. You both gave up the miracles of God, and your titles have been stripped for aiding Chaldea. Without your Grand ranks, what can you hope to accomplish?"
"The Age of the Gods has ended, and Solomon must be no more." As he said, Solomon reverted back to a body Ritsuka knew well. "Go, Master Fujimaru. We will make it back alive. As your primary physician, I will make sure of it."
The gifts of God had been returned, and thus the three Noble Phantasms of Solomon were unusable. Yet the Age of Man had arrived, and humans became the dominant species on the planet. With it came a fourth Noble Phantasm, one that Ritsuka gained for giving up his wisdom.
"The time of order hath come. I am he who guards humanity.
"Fate: Grand Order!"
...
A man appeared, clothed in green and trench coat flowing wildly in tempests. His arrival was staged with echoing laughter. The count of Monto Cristo has arrived.
"Focus! You must kill one and the rest will fall!"
A distant light began to shine. Weak at first, it soon bloomed in intensity. Powered by not only the divinity within the wielder's veins but also the crystalized legends of humankind.
The Brahmastra.
The weapon fell from the sky, and its wielder, Rama, great king of Kosala, was not far behind.
Pebbles turned into bullets by the sling of one catapulted Ritsuka towards his target, green light shimmering as it formed a glowing shield.
Hail David, King of Israel, father of Solomon, slayer of Goliath. He saw what his children did, and could stand idly by no longer.
A golden comet slammed into the Beast, throwing it far into the distance and then following behind.
God of Wind, Spirit of Rain.
The Winged Serpent had arrived.
Quetzalcoatl landed, licking a bruise near her lips.
Lasers flew through the air, and one was perfected aimed. Still, Ritsuka knew there was no need to fear.
A crimson spear soared through the sky, imbued with crimson Mana that took the shape of a sharp fang.
"Stab and penetrate."
One turned into two, two into four, and four into eight. The barbed spear grew into a wicked blood-red tree, pinning any unfortunate Demon Gods in place.
"Thrust and drill!"
There was no escape.
"Gae Bolg Alternative!"
"Why, Why?!" Goetia raged. "Why fight so hard to protect humanity, Heroic Spirits?!"
Angels flew in circles, conducted by a thin wand. The famed composer of France, Mozart, played a musical of the damned.
"This world is insanity. All of you are mad! What meaning could this hold for any of you?"
"One! Just extinguish one worthless human life, and the rest will follow! Yet you still persist! Why?!"
A snowflake shield pierced through Goetia's chest.
"...Fine."
The voice was weakened, even if slightly.
"But I must ask. Why?"
His hand reared back, a punch blocked by a shield.
"Why do you still fight?! Why do you not submit?! Why do you still deny the inevitable?!"
"That's simple, isn't it?" Ritsuka answered.
"New encounters, and new futures. That's why we fought for so long, together."
"I was blessed with a chance at life. Why wouldn't I defend it till the very end?!"
...
The snowflake shield vanished, consumed by specks of blue. Like an old man falling into eternal dreams, the eyes of the Demon God Pillars began to close.
"...I see..." Goetia grunted. "So that is why. You desired to live, and feared death. And in your fear, you defeated us in our quest for eternity. Foolish. How foolish, angel sent by God. When was it that you fell from grace? Ahahahahahaha!"
Echoing laughter resounded through the collapsing Temple of Time. Their purpose completed, the heroes of humanity began vanishing one by one.
"Reporting! The center of the temple and all courses of life tied to it are gone!"
"Meaning?"
"Beast I, confirmed gone. The temple is in the process of collapse."
"Yes!" Da-Vinci cheered. "Prepare to raise anchor and withdraw from this Singularity! We'll retrieve Fujimaru and Roman as soon as we make contact."
...
Ritsuka limped toward the contact point. He could see Chaldea in the distance, a glowing point of red light lit to make it easier to spot.
As he walked, he was met with someone with the face of Solomon. Yet that couldn't be, as Romani was waiting for him at the contact point.
Oh, Ritsuka understood. Goetia was now like him.
"No matter what I do now, it will end in my defeat. This is a meaningless battle. This decision would have been completely incomprehensible to me before. But..."
"You gained a human heart. You have a reason to fight."
"Indeed. I now have pride. I can comprehend the crude logic that is human mentality. Having a mortal life has shown me."
...
"Do you understand now, my senior?"
"...Yes. I see now. Lord, may you savor this. Your life."
...
The rest passed like a blur.
He felt he was falling, and then someone took his hand and pulled him to land.
He was placed on someone's back, and he remembered the distinctive peach shade of their hair.
He felt the familiar sensation of a Rayshift, and then everything went black.
...
Water dripped from a tap, a rythmatic sound against the buzzing of equipment. He paced the white halls again, this time with a clear mind.
"I'm so relieved that you're alright, Senpai. When you didn't wake up, I got really worried."
"Thank you, and sorry." Ritsuka chuckled. "For the stunt I was going to pull."
"You should be," Mash responded.
They opened the door to the control room and were greeted by every staff member clapping for them.
"Welcome, Master Fujimaru and Mash." Da-Vinci began. "With your return, I'm proud to announce that our Grand Order has come to a successful conclusion."
"You two have completed your mission. Congratulations!."
The voice was, though familiar, unusually muffled. Ritsuka and Mash both turned to the source.
Doctor Roman sat in a chair, almost every bone in his legs broken. His face was wrapped in bandages, and his nose also seemed broken.
"What did you do to become like that, Father?"
"Ahaha. Let's just say jumping off a cliff while carrying someone wasn't the best idea."
"Now, now. Save that for later. We still have lots to do. Contacting the outside world, for example." Da-Vinci pointed to a large crate. "Those are the final parts of a communication device located outside. I need you two to complete it. You can do that, right?"
"Yes!" Mash said.
Ritsuka stared at the crate suspiciously. Why did it look so...
"Wait, is that the box I arrived in?!"
"Sure is!" Da-Vinci responded merrily.
...
"It's been one hell of a year, huh?" Ritsuka spoke to no one in particular. Up above, a blue sky with clouds refracted rainbows in the sun.
"Yes, indeed." Mash nodded. "We met so many people, and established so many bonds. I'll never forget the people who helped us get here."
"In the beginning, I was just a kid guided by a sixth sense. Fou led me to Chaldea, and I've been trying my hardest ever since. But now everything's changed. I don't have my wisdom, and I won't hear the voice of God any longer. Even still, I have more things to do." He stuck out a hand, smiling. "So I hope you'll continue to have my back in the future, Mash."
"Yes, rest assured. I will always be by your side."
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Well, any thoughts?
I had this idea in my head for a while now, and just got around to writing it while I was too lazy to do anything else.
If any of you are confused, here's a crude explanation that'll probably leave you even more confused.
Ritsuka is Solomon's third Noble Phantasm, Ars Nova, given life and sentience. He is the tenth ring Solomon sent into the future.
He incarnated in 1999, the same instant SHEBA's construction was completed, and he used it to transport his memories into a body that would fit his purposes best. He appeared on the doorstep of an orphanage, so he didn't have biological parents.
When Solomon was incarnated in 2004, he subconsciously copied Solomon's Spirit Origin, and regained his memories, though not all of it.
He knew he had to defeat someone but didn't know that someone was Goetia. He also knew that he had to remain hidden until the time came, and he had to go to a place called "Chaldea."
And this was when Merlin appeared in his dreams. Ritsuka asked Merlin to smuggle him to Chaldea, and Merlin sent Fou to help him.
Ritsuka arrived in Chaldea a day after Romani Archaman. He was questioned, and tested for Rayshift amplitude (for some reason), and Marisbury decided to keep him as a backup. He became Candidate No.0, first of Team A.
He was introduced to Mash by Romani to let her have a friend.
On the day of the command room explosion, he had a vision from God. During which, all his memories returned, and he knew who he had to kill.
Well, that'll end it for this oneshot.
Leave a comment if you have time.
Thanks for reading.