Time ticked by slowly and incessantly; the others would rotate in and out of Bronya's room as Ritsuka waited. It didn't feel right for him to take one of the visitors' slots, seeing as he was an acquaintance at best— especially over those who actually knew her. As one would expect, Mei was glued to Bronya's bedside until Theresa was forced to drag her out for dinner. "You guys too. Bronya wouldn't want us to go hungry worrying over her. Especially you, Mei."

"...Alright, but I can't sit around in a restaurant doing nothing but wait," Mei muttered after a few moments of silence.

"Whip up something for us then, that will help take your mind off things."

And just like that, their plans for the night were set. Ritsuka thought it was better if he didn't join them but Senti said otherwise. "Don't you go slinking away, Ritsuka. You're coming with us!" She cried as she dragged him along.

"And it would be best if he doesn't end up in bed like Bronya from you pulling his arm off," Fu Hua chided her with an exasperated sigh as they all left the hospital for their next destination.

Though they did their best to relax, there was an unceasing air of unease as the group gathered around in Theresa's dining room. As she agreed to earlier, Mei was in the kitchen next room over cooking dinner for all of them; that didn't leave much for the rest to do besides addressing the elephant in the room. At the same time, they didn't want to focus on Bronya's condition when they were only running into dead end after dead end (besides Tesla, who was still combing over the new data from the crash site).

So of course, that led to the next best topic—the shenanigans Ritsuka gets up to in Chaldea. After all that transpired in the last couple of days, Ritsuka nearly forgot that he had left Welt hanging with his misadventures aboard the Space Maanna. It took him a moment to remember where he left off. "Let's see… After a few more jumps and bounty hunting, our next stop was the planet where Ishtar's old school was."

"…I have half a mind to say you're making things up as you go," Tesla remarked, glancing up from her tablet.

"Can't say I blame you," Ritsuka chuckled before resuming either way. Theresa was completely lost over what he was talking about but she did seem into it. Roughly half an hour later, he was talking about being captured on the Dark Maana when Mei emerged from the kitchen with their food.

"I could hear you all chattering from the kitchen," she chuckled amusedly as she came in carrying plates of curry—the scent of which immediately made Ritsuka's mouth water. After making her way around, setting plates in front of everyone, she finally sat down with them. "I wanted to try out a new recipe so it might taste a bit off."

"Uh… You sure you added the right amount of spice there, Mei?" Theresa asked with trepidation, eyeing the aggressive red meal before her. Unlike Ritsuka, the waft coming from the curry bowl made her eyes sting.

"If this is how I meet my end..." Ritsuka heard Welt muttering next to him.

"Master, I predict an 87.4% chance that one would lose their sense of taste should one ingest even a spoonful."

"I can guess that, Xiang Yu, but I can handle it." Nothing could compete with a certain priest's favourite meal that he willingly ate from time to time; his spice tolerance was way beyond what the normal person had.

Mei, however, was rather oblivious to the others' fear of trying her attempt at something new. "So what were you all talking about?" She asked as she sat down. When Theresa answered that Ritsuka was retelling some of his Chaldean adventures, her gaze turned to him and Ritsuka could already guess what she would say next. "That reminds me, Bronya mentioned something to me and Fu Hua last night about a certain... trial you're facing." She seemingly chose her words carefully, trying not to come off as accusational or suspicious; Ritsuka believed she was just as nervous to ask about him as he would be answering. "I'm sure Fu Hua already asked you about it so I doubt it would be some terrible secret but—"

"Don't worry about it, Mei. It's… complicated but the Ordeal Call's not as bad as it might sound." Ritsuka cut her off with a small laugh, hoping to put her at ease.

"The Ordeal Call? This is news to me as well." Welt turns toward the Chaldean.

"This one is all on you, Kouhai." Paisen snarked in Ritsuka's head, and he could only roll his eyes.

"To answer that, we'd have to skip ahead a lot." Ritsuka sighed as he dreaded explaining everything again. Unlike Fu Hua and Senti, it was more likely they'd see through some aspects and wouldn't hesitate to ask him about it.

So once again, he began by explaining how Chaldea contracted Servants in the Extra Classes despite it not being their purpose in the world and using them for their journey. The Alter Egos, existences born from perverting a being's core; Avengers, personifications of vengeance against those who wronged them; and Rulers, neutral arbiters who should not be taking sides in a conflict. They were never meant to be tools to protect humanity, and the World took issue with Chaldea not only using them as such but also letting proper Servants find their way into said Classes. That was what led to them eventually getting told by a representation of the World that they were not welcomed in Proper Human History anymore. "Could have used a warning earlier before getting kicked out is all I'm saying," Ritsuka grumbled as he recalled the fake Doctor's words way back when. "I guess the best analogy to give is like someone punishing all of you because you have Herrschers like Senti on your side while fighting the Honkai."

Ritsuka hoped that was a good comparison anyway; he was still a bit behind on what everyone else here did in their own fight before he ended up dropping into this world. Fortunately, they were able to get the gist of what he was saying. "Your world is rather ungrateful to treat Chaldea like that after all you've done, isn't it?" Welt remarked.

"We've come to accept that the world runs on self-preservation mode at all times with no room for emotion." Though he couldn't disagree with Welt. Chaldea was about to be shut down before the Lostbelt descended on the Earth and all that happened afterwards. Something told him that if the World didn't stop them and they restored the planet (again)— or even if they successfully completed the Ordeal Call —Chaldea would still be facing the gallows. 'There's really no winning, is there?' "Does that answer your question, Mei?"

Now that he cleared up the air with her, they could finally dig in and enjoy din—"Sorry Ritsuka, but I have to ask now. What did you mean by Proper Human History?

"…That's a whole 'nother can of worms," Ritsuka laughed as he tried to sound more chill about the topic; his true feelings about it were naturally more complex—about as complex as the idea about Proper Human History itself. "I'm sure you can hazard a good guess based on the name alone."

Naturally, it was Welt who answered first. "It has something to do with the path humanity is supposed to go down throughout the ages, correct?"

"Yes, that's the gist of it," nodded Ritsuka. "From what I understand, Proper Human History is a guideline for how things should go not just for Humanity's survival, but also its growth, like certain events that must happen. For example, Camelot falling is an event that played out in essentially all the timelines it existed in."

"Master, I can still hear you, you know? Way to kick an incubus when he's down," Merlin's protest rang in his head before his presence faded away again.

"What does the fall of Camelot have to do with humanity's continued survival?" Tesla initially asked before realising something they didn't. "Then again, if Camelot continued with him around, most of us might not be here today."

…Likely another long story; Ritsuka assumed it was this world's Merlin's fault. "Rude!" 'Get back to work, Merlin.' Back to explaining what Sion and the others explained to him—"It's a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy: Worlds that survive by following Proper Human History could then go on to determine what could be considered Proper Human History. That's not to say worlds that don't follow it are automatically pruned and could even still find themselves thriving, but they are more liable to end up meeting a dead end."

"I think I'm getting it. It's like following a mountain trail, right?" Theresa shared her own analogy. "You can still go off the beaten path and get unlucky but you could still end up where you're meant to be by the end."

"Hmm, yeah. Something like that, but there is a bit more nuance to it." The ones that would give a lot more headache than need be. "There's another related theory called the Pruning Theoretical Phenomenon where if humanity's history diverts too much to the point they stagnate, it gets cut off like the dead end of a tree."

"We have a similar theory in relation to the Imaginary Tree. If a worldline is a twig, then it would be cut off if diseased to preserve the rest of the tree," Welt was unsurprisingly able to follow Ritsuka's explanation without any issue. "But from what you said, there's another layer to just cutting off if it gets irrevocably damaged."

"When I say stagnation, I mean that if humanity finds itself unable to progress in any way. Whether it gets plunged into another ice age or becomes a utopia, if humanity could no longer grow, it'd be determined to be a dead end and cut off. That's what we understand about the Pruning Phenomenon anyway." Ritsuka felt dissatisfied by the rather simple but complex conditions a world has passed to continue existing. Don't be a terrible place to live in, but don't also be a paradise to live in either. Humanity should be in charge of itself, but having gods willing to protect them was also something needed.

"...But how long could humanity be stagnant before it gets pruned," the until-then-silent Fu Hua questioned with scepticism in her voice. Her scepticism was quickly explained as she continued, "There was a long period in our world where humanity was nearly extinct. There were few pockets where they survived like myself but it took over 40,000 years before it was deemed safe enough for us to come out."

"Hmm…maybe the fact that humanity did recover in the end made it not a stagnated timeline? Like how timelines that survive dictate what constitutes Proper Human History." Da Vinci or Sion could probably answer better than he can. Fortunately, Fu Hua did not linger on the subject any further.

"Chaldea's punishment for abusing the Extra Class was to be kicked out of Proper Human History… right? What would that entail exactly?"

"...We don't know," Ritsuka answered with a defeated sigh. "And we'd rather not find out. That's why we're undergoing the Ordeal Call."

It was only natural for the air to feel heavier as the topic continued—and Senti took issue with that. "Alright, alright. Enough with the serious stuff already; food's getting cold, you know!" She huffed as she kicked off dinner with a large spoonful of curry. "And Ritsuka, not to wish for your failure or anything, but if you guys do get kicked out of your world, why don't you set up shop here?" She offered, her face slowly turning red as her breath grew shorter. "I'm sure no one would mind for a group well-experienced in... saving the world to stay here. Heck, the offer still stands if you did... you did..." By now, Senti was panting and sweating as she finally registered all the spice Mei put kicking in. "WATER! WATER!"

As Senti was screaming bloody murder, Theresa turned to Mei to congratulate her on burning the taste buds of a Herrscher.

Frankly, Ritsuka had no idea why everyone was making a fuss with Mei's cooking. It was nowhere near as spicy as how they reacted, and he was the only one who managed to finish his plate. Not even Mei herself who tapped out halfway. "Sorry, maybe I did put in a bit too much…" she apologised later on before they all left Theresa's place (after Mei made something actually edible for everyone else).

Theresa did make an odd comment about him wanting to impress Mei, which only confused him.

Due to their earlier conclusion that St. Freya was not as secure as they thought it was, what with the possibility of their enemy being able to open a portal anywhere? There were now more guards patrolling all over the building; two were even stationed outside his room for added security. If Ritsuka was to be honest though, he didn't think it mattered. Setting aside his Servants that are always close, Fu Hua and Senti also refused to leave his side. He kept the thought to himself, of course, but he doubted a few more guards would make a difference.

"Must be quite puzzling to them," mused Paisen as they passed by one of the guards outside Ritsuka's room. Their face was obscured by a full-face black visor, making it impossible to get a solid read on what might be going through their mind. "Some guy they don't know about getting this much security. Especially in this seemingly peaceful time."

"Envious as well perhaps~ Two girls going into your room and staying for the night? Ooh, I can only imagine the sort of things the mind would conjure~" Lady Avalon added with a small snicker, earning her a verbal jab from Ritsuka to get back to her task. The last thing they should be wondering about is what random guards might think of him.

Regardless of the increased security, Ritsuka was not ready to go to bed yet. It might not have been as spicy as he wished it could be, but Mei's cooking did give him a good boost of energy. The same could be said of the others so that meant only one thing— time to tell of Camelot in Jerusalem. Pretty fitting, considering they talked about the kingdom of King Arthur earlier.

"We didn't know Camelot had appeared within the Singularity; it was only after we Rayshifted in that we learnt several Knights of the Round Table and King Arthur herself— or the Lion King as she had named herself —had rebuilt their city," Ritsuka prefaced as he narrated the mission to fix the Singularity. Da Vinci joining them for the mission, meeting with the most normal of the Knights, and learning what happens to those who fail to pass the Selection to enter the city— he tried to go into detail about what happened while also keeping things moving at a good pace. As he detailed them fleeing from the Holy City though…

"Master, good news! Mister Lady of the Lake finally responded to our calls." Merlin interrupted his storytelling.

"What is it, Ritsuka?" Fu Hua asked, concerned at his sudden silence.

"Bad news is that he's only willing to show up in your dream." Merlin continued.

"How is that bad news?"

"Fou!" His question was answered by a single cry before everything went black.

When he "woke" up in his family living room, Ritsuka had only one question: "Was that really necessary?" He glared at the culprit at the murderous fuzzball sitting in his lap.

"Fou!"

"You won't be getting any bacon in the morning," Ritsuka decided on his punishment. Fou let out an audible "Hmph!" before hopping from Ritsuka's lap to Merlin's shoulder to slap at the Caster's cheek. "Well, here I am. Now, where is... he?"

Besides Merlin, only Lady Avalon and Elysia were there. Guess it'll take a minute for Fu Hua to show up too. "There's just one thing that needs to be taken care of, Master. He wants permission to come in here. He technically doesn't need it, but he'd rather not unnecessarily step on anyone's foot." Lady Avalon told him with her usual smile. "I don't get it; it's not like anyone besides the Count would complain about him showing up here unannounced."

"That's… precisely why he's asking first." Even Ritsuka understood that. "Elysia, you know who he is, right?"

"Yup!" Miss Pink Elf cheerfully nodded. "If it truly is him, that is. He's one of my oldest friends back in Fire Moth… Granted, that can be said about nearly everyone then but Hua would agree just how reliable our mutual friend can be."

Ritsuka couldn't help but note that Elysia was impatiently tapping her foot, her anxiousness apparent. That only leaves one thing: "Count? What do you say?"

A few moments passed before Ritsuka felt the familiar presence of the Count behind him. "...You're too trusting for your own good." He expected that response but waited a few more seconds for the Avenger to continue, "But I'm not too blind to see that we require assistance." As suddenly as he appeared, the Count vanished.

"That's as good of a "yes" as we're going to get. Let him come in," Ritsuka instructed Merlin with an authoritative nod. Merlin returned the nod before closing his eyes and silently speaking. Ritsuka was no lip reader, but he assumed he was just relaying the message.

"...He's coming."

A few moments of tense silence passed before the door slowly creaked open. All eyes turned towards it to see a face peeking in through the crack. "Hello. Don't mind if I let myself—"

"Su!" The man barely made it one step into the room before an excited pink elf was on top of him. He was clearly unfazed by her, letting out a soft but elated chuckle.

"It's lovely reuniting with you too, Elysia, but please, we have more important matters to address first." Su smiled at Elysia before she broke the hug and stepped back. His gaze then turned towards Ritsuka. "Now then, I'd say it's an honour to meet you at last, Fujimaru Ritsuka, but I would technically be wrong. Allow me to introduce myself properly: my name is Su—in titles you'd understand, I was ranked 7th of the 13 Flamechasers and a Pioneer of the Previous Era."

"And also this world's version of the Lady of the Lake," Merlin reminded them. "The only nice one, I must add. Without any of the baggage of... you know who."

Ritsuka filed away Merlin's remark about Morgan as things to hold over him in case he's being a bother again (not that he needed any more) and instead asked Su, "What do you mean by that? About technically being wrong?"

"Hmm… Let's just say I've had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with a few other versions of yourself—besides RITSUKA, that is."

That answer naturally only caused more confusion from Ritsuka. "Other versions of myself?"

"Now, now. Let's not get distracted, Master. We can discuss that some other time," Merlin lightly chided him as Su sat down across from Ritsuka.

"Right… Su, you can get into contact with Chaldea, yes?" That was the whole reason they were trying to enlist his help. Strangely, Su stayed silent for a few seconds before responding.

"…I can." Good. "—but I won't." Not good.

"Huh?"

"What are you going on about, Su?" Elysia asked, equally as confused and curious as he was.

Whether it was because Elysia was asking or if he was always willing to do so, Su explained himself. "Fujimaru Ritsuka, you are not the only version of yourself who'd become entangled with the affairs of our world. You're far from special in this strange convergence of our worldlines at a surface level— you are, however, the first."

"The first?" Ritsuka parroted. By this point, he noticed Su had not opened his eyes the entire time. "Wait, there really are other versions of me out there?" Looks like that topic could no longer be left for another time...

"Naturally. There is one who has somehow summoned my and Elysia's long-departed allies in his Chaldea despite having no connection to us. I've actually been investigating the matter myself," Su revealed with an amused huff. "There is another variant who was in the same position as yourself. He, however, was not so lucky as to reunite with his Servants for a long time. Instead, he has resigned to settle into this world and went on to marry—"

Knock knock

The door opened again, this time revealing Fu Hua. "Sorry, I found myself outside and… Su?" She paused upon seeing her fellow Flamechaser sitting there with a carefree aura about him. Ritsuka, meanwhile, avoided looking at her as he easily put two and two together. "So you're the reason Fou... How long has it been since our last meeting?"

"Too long, in my opinion," answered Su. "It's a shame you and Elysia have yet to join us in... No, another time."

"So then, Mister Su, why don't you cut the rambling and explain why you refuse to help us contact Chaldea?" Merlin inquired but from the jovial voice, he seemed to know the reason already.

"It's a pretty simple reason: I want to see the depths of your resolve, Fujimaru Ritsuka. If you are to reunite with them, it'd be through your own efforts rather than mine." The glint in Su's eyes when he finally opened them was unmistakable. When Ritsuka stared into them, he could tell Su was looking at him but also not at the same time. "I was only recently made aware of you. But since then, I've tried my best to understand who you are and how you were able to save your world. I know it's selfish and dangerous for me to do so, but when pushed to your limits—when you'll be faced with something unlike anything you have before... I'd like to see if you can still hold onto your ideals."

"…And what ideals do you think I have?" Ritsuka's tone turned serious as he "returned" Su's stare.

A few more seconds of tense silence passed before he would answer, "To live with the virtues humanity should have to justify its continued existence." The next question was obvious and went unsaid. Similarly, what the virtues Su believed Ritsuka had went unspoken as Su's gaze turned in Elysia and Fu Hua's direction. "I'm sorry, I truly wish we could talk more; there is so much I want to say to both of you... but we don't have the time, or rather I don't."

"Oh, does Mister Lady of the Lake have something better to do besides helping us? I retract what big brother said about you being the only nice one out there!" Lady Avalon huffed with a mock-glare.

Su apologised again with a more amused tone before agreeing with her initial statement. "As I've mentioned, I've been entangled in the affairs of another Chaldea. They don't require my help any more than you do, but I'm more confident in what you and the others can do here." His gaze turned towards Fu Hua and Elysia once again. "To put it simply, I want to look after the others lost in a place they've yet to fully understand while I trust you all to handle things with a home-field advantage."

"The others?" muttered Fu Hua. Despite missing the earlier revelation about their allies in another Chaldea, she quickly understood who Su was referring to. "You mean… Kevin and the others are—"

"No, not everyone has found their way to Chaldea yet," Su smiled before standing up and making his way back to the door. As his hand rested on the door handle, he glanced back at the others: "When this is all over, I do hope we'll be reunited again—all of us. If not in the afterlife, then the next best thing."

With those parting words, the strange man opened the door and stepped out. As soon as he was gone, Ritsuka voiced his initial impression of him: "Is he always that weird?"

"Su has his moments," Elysia replied with a hint of wistfulness underneath her usual cheery voice.

"Even in times of peace, he is continuing to be how he always was… Although things aren't as peaceful anymore," Fu Hua corrected herself after a moment of thought. "Elysia, something happened in the real world. One of the Herrschers on humanity's side had been defeated by our unknown enemy."

"Yes, I've heard. Those two gave me the gist of the situation," hummed the pink-haired woman with a brief glance at the pair of "siblings." "How is she now?"

"Still in critical condition, but the doctors believe Bronya will recover soon."

"Hmm… I see…"

From the contemplative look on her face, Ritsuka had the feeling she had an idea of what was going on. "Elysia, are you willing to share what you know?" Judging from how Su talked about whether he would be able to uphold his ideals in the face of their coming enemy, Ritsuka had the feeling he knew what was going on.

"…Hua, doesn't the way your friend was defeated sound familiar?" She muttered softly, still deep in thought. "Or have you long since removed your memories of that battle?"

"What do you mean? Which battle?"

"So you have," a long sigh came from Elysia at Fu Hua's confused reply. "It's still fresh for me but even if it wasn't, I couldn't forget what happened then. After all, it's why the Flamechasers were formed in the first place."

That was evidently all Fu Hua needed to hear as her eyes widened in realisation. "The reason… You don't mean—?"

"Defeated without a scratch, her biological process left weakened... and her equipments malfunctioned, right? It's not to the same extent but that sounds too much like what happened back then."

"It couldn't be. Because of him… It couldn't be. It just couldn't be…" Fu Hua repeated herself. However, it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself rather than the others.

"Hey, hey, don't leave us in the dark," Avalon pouted with puffed cheeks. "What are you guys talking about?"

Both of them stayed silent at first, trying to decide whether they should actually share their theory or not. At last, Fu Hua spoke softly. "It lines up… but that's…."

"What happened to this era's version of that one?"

"...They never appeared. Not in the way a normal one would," Fu Hua answered after a moment. "The circumstances of their Authority appearing were completely unforeseeable, but we were sure that counted."

"What counted?! Stop beating around the bush and tell us already!" Avalon cried impatiently.

"Fou fou!"

"See, even Fou agrees with me! And you know that means he's annoyed—!"

"Binding."

"…Huh?"

Ritsuka's eyes went from Avalon to Fu Hua again. "Binding? You mean the Tragedy of Binding?" The incident that claimed the life of his Previous Era self and gave rise to the Flamechasers in a way.

"Yes, the Tragedy of Binding," Fu Hua slowly nodded. "It can't be, but if the one who Bronya fought had the same abilities as the one from so long ago then that would answer all our questions."

A single name—no, a single title—passed through her lips: "…The Herrscher of Binding."

A/N: So I wonder how many of you expected that reveal? No one mentioned it so I have no idea but either way, yes. I am going with that. Why? Because I want to. That's my whole thing when writing along with "Wouldn't it be funny if (insert something here). And I hope I got all the stuff about the Imaginary Tree correct when mixed with TM multiverse lore. But if I get something wrong… Uh… chalk it up to them making a mistake in-universe.

And yes, before anyone mentions it, that part about how Honkai world survived being basically dead for a few millennia could be explained away by OC3's reveal that the only real requirement is that the Prime Species be able to continue growing, which was possible for the humanity of HI3 after PE HoFi.

In any case, Ritsuka got like 1/4th the way through Camelot cause I want to at least get that started while pushing things along. See you all next time! In the meantime, I have to start building my next model…