Crimson Beauty of The Crescent Moon (Fate/Grand Order)

I lied about taking time. Like I said, this Interlude is more or less short. Thank @Pawn Lelouch for quickly betaing my writing here.

But yes, now you all have seen the first shapes of the battlegrounds of the Seven Singularities. As can be seen, there are... a load of revamps and changes to FGO Part 1. For the better or for the worse we shall see but hopefully not for the dull.
but now I have so many more questions
That is the intention, yes.
... an Alter Ruler. Fuck. My. Life.
That is also the intention, yes.

As for the basest reading of America Singularity, it is the literal Whitest Servant backed by the Presidents of USA kicking the Irish out of 1780s America. And when DW puts forth actual dialogue such as:
Edison: It will show those Celts, who can only procreate and fight, that my inventions are the lights of humanity, the power of civilization!
I have exactly zero qualms pushing the envelope further than necessary. Also, you all might want to note that the Subtitle of E Pluribus Unum is also changed from the original.

As for the actual Week Update, it will take a bit- am a bit stuck there despite having everything more or less storyboarded.
 
Also, you all might want to note that the Subtitle of E Pluribus Unum is also changed from the original.
Just a question when they say only America remains: Do you mean only the continent of North America remains or that the United States remains but there's an absence of land where Canada and Mexico would be?
 
Just a question when they say only America remains: Do you mean only the continent of North America remains or that the United States remains but there's an absence of land where Canada and Mexico would be?
Much like the E Pluribus Unum the first time round, the latter up to and including the Exclusive Economic Zone for the sea borders. I see no reason to obscure that from OOC view.
 
Just caught up with this quest! Looking forward to seeing more of it Vocalend!
 
IIRC it is actually canon that the deaths get 'spread out'; I think it was something along the lines of it resolving as 'damage to the era'. I'd have to go cite-hunting if I wanted to argue further.
Regardless, it only really matters if Ritsuka and Hinako get into an argument over saving people in the Singularity.
For reference, All Fictions managed to point me to the Nasu blogpost with elaboration on Singularity resolution in canon, it was just after Babylon. The relevant bit:

Balancing the Humanity Foundation value - the damage done in a singularity is not to "that year", but "that era", so there's a plus-minus to the calculations. As Gil said, at the turning point of an era that has become a foundation for humanity, if the pluses increase, so do the minuses. Things like "this can only be dealt with through sudden death" or "well it might be possible to shorten their lifespan just a bit", and also "this person's debt will be paid back by work from people living in another land", it's that sort of book-keeping.

All the great wizards of the Clock Tower in Chapter 4 ran pretty quickly and most of their talented people were not concentrated in London in the first place. Scotland Yard was a problem, but it was a time of many reassignments and relocations so things worked out somehow.

The Lion King who became the foundation of the sixth chapter was an "impossible thing", so whatever damage caused by her was negated by her defeat. The accounting is then based on the damage caused by the mysterious Servant defeated by the Lion King.


Same thing in Chapter 7. Tiamat and Gil disappear, so the damage of Tiamat doesn't count anymore, and the new damage is instead ascribed to the Three Goddesses Alliance. Hm? There's one more chapter yet to be accounted for? Well, that, we'll see.
 
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[OMAKE] A Shielder's Concern.
@Vocalend, with all the care and affection I have for you, I want you to know this is a callout post.



"Master? Where are you?"

Silence rebounded from Gudako's dark room, even though Mash knew that she had limped back this way. Intellectually, she understood that training was supposed to push humans to their limits, but...was Master really alright, staggering away from her training session?"

"Mash?" a voice called.

She did not think. Her body moved into a fighting stance, arm bared before - oh, it was a Chaldean Staffer that she had almost just attacked!

"I'm so so sorry, Mr..." she said, bowing quickly. Crap crap crap she had forgotten his name!

"Eheheh, don't worry about it, Mash," he unconfidently replied. "I, um, overheard you were looking for Gudako?"

"Yes!" Mash said, springing up. "Do you know where she is?!"

"Oh, um, I saw her head off to Chaldean Storage. Is she alr - "

"Thank you!" Mash shouted to the hallway.



"Master!" Mash shouted, bursting through the door.

Gudako was there, leaning on a shelf. Frozen winds raged just outside the temporary weather barrier, but rubble and snow still strewed the floor. Some of the rubble was cleared already, whatever parts that could be salvaged moved to the shelves and covered with tarps.

Weakly, Gudako turned to face Mash. Her hand came up, as she smiled an exhausted smile. "Oh, hey Mash. Gotta get a few more boxes up, then I'll have to stop," she said, her body shaking like a leaf in the gale. It reminded Mash of how she looked...a few days ago, in the rubble of the Command Room.

"Master! Please stop, you're exhausted!" Mash begged.

Gudako laughed. "Can't, Mash. Still have work to do," she said, pushing herself off the shelf. "I gotta do this," she asserted.

"But why?" Mash asked, words escaping before she could mull them over.

Gudako collapsed onto the floor, sweeping away snow and rubble as she sorted material into the boxes lying on the floor.

"Because I have - no, because I need to," Gudako answered. "I'm surrounded by all these extraordinary people, betting everything on me, an ordinary person, to get them through...this. If it even makes the slightest difference," she grunted, planting one shaking knee on the ground as she forced herself to stand, "then I have to give it my all. That's just...," she heaved, lifting the crate with trembling arms, "who I am!"

Heave. The crate barely slides onto the shelf. Gudako stumbles back, drawing no more energy and insisting that her body provide more.

Mash looked away, clutching her hand to her chest. Before she can think, her body moves first.

"Then Master, let me help," she said.

Gudako turned to face Mash.

Mash would never forget that smile.
 
Chaldea Week Two Results
[x] Plan Redshirt
-[X] Directorial Coordination.
-[x] (Olga) A Memorial
-[X] Repair the Reactors Phase Two
-[x] (Da Vinci) Repair The Wind Turbines
-[x] Industrial Framework: Medical Equipment
-[X] Industrial Framework: Maintenance Forge
-[x] (Medea) Holy Grail Investigation


"Permission to leave on training then, Master?"

"Are you certain that you do not wish to spar with me?"

"Good joke Master but no, I'd rather not hurt you so unfairly."

A snort from the third occupant of the room resounds.

"Take care then. How long will you take?"

"Depends, really. Mister David said that it's gonna depend on if we get good compressed mini-Singularity. His Master wants an in on the training."

"...Ritsuka got a training regimen?" At that, the gunslinger chuckled.

"Kinda, yeah. Da Vinci got some firearms Mystic Codes ready just in case so I can teach her some gun training. So if you don't have anything else to say, I'll take my leave."

"Good luck, Archer." Medea replied as he walked out of the room, the hiss of the electronic door the signal of his leave.

"Medea, where's the backdoor?" The Fourth Master remains in her usual state, lazedly perched atop her bed. Knowing that said Master would not leave, Medea proffered a small smartphone tablet via levitation. Said tablet of course, contains the rudimentary application that details the Singularities observed by Chaldea as a whole.

It would be unbecoming to say that Hinako Akuta is worried for her fellow Master, but knowing what sort of training she might undergo is of interest. If only because she is, for better or worse, her junior.

Taken graciously, Hinako Akuta looks at the display. And her eyes blinked at the reading.

"That is not good."


Quietly, word of the memorial filtered to the rest of the Chaldeans. With a third of them whole and relatively hale, it got out that the Director had made the call.

Truthfully, after a week, most of those who were active had made their silent personal memorials. But it was not coordinated. It seemed then, that the Director had been thinking more long-term than not. That she had waited until everyone who could conceivably attend was ready for a ceremony.

Whether or not that was the case is irrelevant. Truthfully, many had thought that she would be like her father. That the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.

Of a more curious import was the memorial itself. It had seemed that none but her and Anselm was in charge of this. Why then, is there a need for confidentiality all the sudden?

None know, and if any do, they are not telling. What is important, however, was that the end of the week is a time worth looking forward to, in a world burning with the Chaldeans as the sole survivor.

And so, the Chaldeans wait.


In a word, this job is trivial.

Well, mostly. Ensuring that the turbines work is not hard, making them better, however, is another task entirety. Even with the material deficit in Chaldea as of now, she could do very much to keep the turbines running through even through the most meagre of the not-inconsiderable Arctic winds.

Observations of a Genius: 53 + 25 (Natural Born Genius): 78

Excepting that the windstream of Boreas, so high up where the rotor blades would spin, are in full blast.

Excepting that down here, closer to the ground as she made her near single-handed work on installing each turbine of its rotors, the chill isn't as bad as it could be.

Excepting that there's a faint aroma of flowers, one that even her senses would be hard-pressed to notice, emanating from the stream so high up.

Interesting.

She will keep this out of all reports except those that go directly to Olga Marie's own, no one else would need to be made privy of this providence.

Of course, Maxamed and the Captain would figure this out sooner than later but as far as she's concerned, those two are not compromised.

Not that anyone else could be compromised but even a genius such as her should take some caution.

Now, onto turbine number ten, almost halfway done now.


Search for a Suitable Training Singularity: 28 - 15 (Damaged Command Room): 13

Thunderous storms echoed up from high. The ground is wet and damp with features of a marsh etched into it. It is a terrible place to train and yet, this is what she gets.

She hates it already.

"Cheer up Master." The plucking of a harp's strings did so. Somewhat. The knots of frustration and some such lessens in her gut even as the feeling of disappointment and stubbornness war with one another.

"Yeah, Mister David here got the right of it. Even then-" The gunslinger had with him a harmonica. How he got it is unknown but by the campfire and next to a rack of guns of varying sizes and types, Hinako's Archer does make a nice harmonizing solo. "-we can still train you in using guns. At least maintenance and the like for the now. If the weather lets up for the week, we might be able to actually get you to shoot moving targets."

"Ten days, Billy." Mash reminded gently. "This disruption is not in sync with Chaldea so we would be here for slightly longer than normal. We can still get out though." Not so subtly, the Shielder looks at her Master, who seems to be regretting the decision and yet, this is the only mini-Singularity that manifested itself at the start of the week and stable enough to last as long as it will be. Ritsuka could, if she wishes to, exit and cancel the training in 'live circumstances'. It would be more comfortable and unlike now, she wouldn't need to be huddled inside a cave in a marshland.

But needs must. Comfort would be secondary to the purpose of saving the world. She can't exactly do nothing and be useless.

"We're going to stay." The 48th Master sighed, grabbing a Mystic Code in the shape of a revolver with care. "And use the time as best as we can."


Elsewhere, work flows and in this, Da Vinci made her mark once more. Her genius is required, of course, to provide for sophisticated machinery and complexes to be done within the span of a single day. In two different wings, two unused modular rooms are outfitted with numerous enginery.

In the first, one man that goes by Adrian Black looks at the stacks of paper in his hands that details, in precise annotated report, of the purpose of the medical forge he is supposed to oversee. Three small closed smelters, each capable of recycling and refining plastic and metal materials of all sorts into usable feedstocks for a set of 3D printers. No heat can be felt even as they run due to insulation and efficient heat dispersal that borders on magic.

Well, it is. But it can be hard to forget that with the technological paradigm the Caster uses.

In the second room, in a different wing, Skaidrite Elof-Waldemar grapples with the fact that a magus like her would have to work with mechanical works. Sure, it was her original proposal but this is… a lot.

"Well," Avram patted her shoulders sympathetically. His prosthetic hand is surprisingly warm. "That's Da Vinci alright. Rest assured, the Security Department will have your back. This is our jurisdiction anyhow."


"Analyst, you sense it, do you not?"

"Now I do, Miss Medea. It is fascinating that of all the possible basis for a Holy Grail, one would choose this."

Rotten. Tainted. Corrupted. Not wholly of its own merit, of course. Das Nibulungen alone could not be the sole tainter of the Holy Grail retrieved from Fuyuki. No, a more pervasive taint, perhaps the very same one that caused the Singularity to occur is present here.

"How much of the accumulated power is salvagable?" The query from Maxamed is a simple one. Even now, in a heavily warded room at the edge of Chaldea, Medea stands alone in it. Maxamed remains in a connected room, heavy protected with blast shields ready.

"Mayhaps enough. But the structure itself is more important. Power is not wholly needed but the structure of a 'wish granter' is, in the end, imperative."

"Even if it is patterned off the Rhinegold?"

"Conceptually, the Rhinegold in itself is not cursed. The ring however, is." Medea explained patiently, even as weaves arcane interpose and layer themselves around the Grail. "One can say that the Rhinegold once transformed bears a curse and it is true here."

"Without intending to doubt your abilities, can you recover it?"

"That- is something we will find out now." Even from an adjoining room and behind blast shields, the purple light to come out is blinding for Maxamed. Even as he closes his eyes, he feels the power that both Caster and the Grail emits. More than that, he can feel how perilous it would be to harness the energy without anyone experienced in this.

Grail Reserve Purification: 17 + 25 (Mana A): 42
Grail Structural Integrity: 73 + 25: 98

He feels it, the sheer evaporation of energy uncounting. Energy enough that would have been useful for Chaldea but irrevocably tainted and unusable. He can feel them being shunted and consigned to entropy through some means. His eyes are still closed, after all. Eventually, the torrent of power subsides and as he opens his eyes, Maxamed sees the Grail. It is still golden and yet somehow there's a pure sheen to it.

"It is done." On the Caster's face, there's clear exhaustion present. "There is some use to this Grail, with how well the structure is preserved. We might be able to use it repeatedly, if we have the power collection capacity."

"Which is a pipe dream. But for the now, how useful is it?"

The Caster gave a simple shrug. "A diminished wish granting device is still a wish granting device. With the power remaining… give me until the end of the week. You will have your report then."


Gudako's Training: 13 + 20 (David and Billy): 33
Endurance+ activates!
Gudako's Training II: 13 + 20: 33

Ritsuka Fujimaru exits the shower, gets dressed up, and promptly flops face down in bed.

It was… well, a disaster of a sort.

The rain and the torrent did not let up for ten days straight, which turned the marshland more miserable and wet. Small mercies would be the fact that both Archers are fine ranging out to find things to supplement their food stock.

In the midst of it all though, she trained all she could. From Billy, she learned the maintenance and handling of all sorts of firearms, even if firing them continuously in the enclosed cave is not the best of ideas. And from King David, knowing how to use the longer firearms as makeshift staff. For an Archer, he makes for a surprisingly good Lancer.

Bonds of the 48th Master: 55 + 15 (100% Affinity): 70

And well, she got to know the two of them. Bit by bit, at least. Billy is easy going, even if she can sense a small edge of caution in his smiles. And of course, her own Archer warmed up to her, teaching her how to use a harp, which made Billy teach her harmonica.

It was nice, not having to constantly worry about training.

Bonds of a Shielder and a Master: 95

"Senpai, are you still frustrated?" Ritsuka looks up from her flopped position at the form of Shie- Mash, who has finished cleaning up as well, her damp hair drying somewhat from the shower.

"I told you, you don't need to call me Senpai, just call me Rits. It feels… weird to be called that.."

"But it feels weird to call you Rits. It feels too short." There's the slight pout to her features before it fades to uncertainty. "Would you mind if…" She trails off.

"Yes?"

"N-Nevermind."

"Mash," Ritsuka moved to sit cross legged, looking at the Shielder with a soft yet slightly exasperated expression. "I told you already." But it is an expression now tinted with a smile. "You can ask."

It started all too simply, really. Both Archers were out in the swamplands hunting. Ritsuka was alone and Mash… had been having bad dreams when it happened, thrashing around her sleeping cot with quiet sobs.

She could not let that be, so she didn't. Naturally, she had moved to console her in her sleep.

And she did a poor job of it. Mash Kyrielight soon awoke and stammering that 'it's fine' and 'please don't worry' and-

She would have none of it, so she didn't.

A hug and an assurance. A simple promise.

And here they are.

"I-" Mash takes a deep breath. "I want to call you Senpai. I want to call you Senpai even if yo-"

Still, she would have none of it. Ritsuka Fujimaru rushed from the bed to envelop Mash in a hug.

"Of course you can. I told you, didn't I? Just ask." It felt weird. But that was that. It wasn't unwelcome to be called a senpai by her.

Ritsuka didn't know what Mash faced in her life before they met. Before they made the declaration that started their first Rayshift. Before one asked the other for their hand.

She will. But not now.

Now, she will console her tearful… Servant sounds weird.

Kouhai.

...Yes, that can work.


A week has passed. And it is time.

Participation is not mandatory. But then, it needn't be. All will come for an event such as this. The Celestial knows this. She knows the various permutations on how the memorial would go. The mournings of men is... a subject of interest to her.

She has been on both sides of besieged walls and cities. Chaldea is not unique in this regard as the survivors filter in a central meeting hall. The scarred and battered, the last defenders of mankind- One and all, they show expressions of bravado and of resolve. But there is a brittle edge to it. The shocks of war and atrocities would take more time than a mere week to resolve.

Sulo Anselm is an expert on that. She read his public dossier after all. The aging man started his career as an aide to an UN rapporteur attached to Truth Committees across Latin America. He was introduced to the Moonlit World this way, stumbling upon several atrocities enacted by means not wholly mundane. He has seen the cruelties that man can inflict on another in all the ways and the scars those left.

And he never truly understood that magic too, can heal. At least, until now. Until the two Casters made their work. The man looks haggard, seemingly pushing himself in the confines of a wheelchair right beside the Director. Said Animusphere speaking to the assembled what is a heartfelt speech but to Hinako what is mere variations of the same speech and orations spoken at the end of tragedies.

But the brittle facade cracks here, for unlike so many speakers and orators, drops of unshed tears can be seen forming on the corners of Olga Marie's eyes. In this, her naivety and candour bonded her with many. But that is not enough, if this is what is only offered… then it would be a minor salve. No, what would be important is what will be revealed. For the walls of the meeting room are covered in tarps shielding not merely normal sight, but even magical ones.

"-And so, to commemorate the fallen," She stepped back, holding a rope that holds the tarps together. "To all of us, this is my tribute." The lights of the room turns off as the rope is pulled and-

Stars.

Replacing the lights, stars uncounting occupy the whole of the walls. Etched through magic and technology both, names of Chaldeans dead and living lit up. In constellations and asterisms of varying brightness and colours, the links of relations inside and outside the burning Earth are shown. Parents, children, lovers, friends, and more. For every one of the four hundred members of the Security Organization, there are at least three links to the outside world.

More than a thousand names, and more than a thousand pictures.

In a week and in secrecy, worked with by but two people, the facade breaks.

The assembled move aimlessly, tracing the connections through patterns and constellations aplenty. Some cry in silence, some break down in ugly sobs, all trying to be dignified and not quite succeeding. In darkness lit by the stars, people mourn together.

And they heal together. Everyone heals together.

She spots Medea, the Caster facing a section of a wall for her lonesome, tracing her shaking hand on a singular name etched next to her own name. Her frame seems all the smaller even as the Celestial approaches and sees it clearly for what the name is. A grave.

Kuzuki Souichirou.

A loved one.

"Master-" Hinako ignored the faint sobs coming from the Caster, less awkward that way. "-know this. Know simply that for this closure, I will treasure this memory. That even if our contract is severed, this will be remembered."

Hinako considered her next words and actions. "Thank you." A comforting hand is laid on the Caster's shoulder. No words need to be said.

...As far as memorials go, and for as much as these events can be rated, Chaldea topped the list.


Week Two Results:
  1. A Memorial completes. Synergy with Turn 1's Medical Actions activates! Chaldea's morale stat revealed! Morale went up from "Grim Acceptance" to "Grim Resolve". Morale might improve. Medea of Colchis lets go of her vengeance. Further effects to come.
  2. Directorial Coordination passes quietly in the background. Second Directorial Action unlocked.
  3. Repair the Wind Turbines completes. Fuel is increased by another Week… and the help of an unknown benefactor allows the Turbines to operate at full charge. Gain an extra Week of Fuel. Strain on Reactors lessened. Actions unlocked.
  4. Industrial Framework: Medical Equipment completes without fanfare. Shortage issues addressed. Actions unlocked.
  5. Industrial Framework: Maintenance Forge also completes without fanfare. Parts all around Chaldea can now be changed and refurbished. Automatically, non-essential maintenance goes on in the background. Actions unlocked.
  6. Backfill Documentation too, completes without fanfare. Databanks and Servers of Chaldea completely restored. Actions unlocked.
  7. Holy Grail Investigation completes. Medea identified the corruption of the Fuyuki Grail and purged it. Complete purgation of the Grail's corruption and keeping it intact gives a special effect! More to be revealed in Week 3…
  8. Gudako's training continues despite the trio of 13s. An excess of free time bonds her with the two Archers. Bond with Mash progresses. ??? Gained.



Pick One:
[] Repercussion
[] Revelation
 
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Excepting that there's a faint aroma of flowers, one that even her senses would be hard-pressed to notice, emanating from the stream so high up.
Hi Merlin!

Search for a Suitable Training Singularity: 28 - 15 (Damaged Command Room): 13

Thunderous storms echoed up from high. The ground is wet and damp with features of a marsh etched into it. It is a terrible place to train and yet, this is what she gets.
It's good to know that Dagobah is willing to help.

Gudako's Training: 13 + 20 (David and Billy): 33
Endurance+ activates!
Gudako's Training II: 13 + 20: 33
But this is surely a cursed training mission. A triple 13 and low twin rolls of 33? Just a trinity of bad luck.

Grail Reserve Purification: 17 + 25 (Mana A): 42
The answer was death.
The aging man started his career as an aide to an UN rapporteur attached to Truth Committees across Latin America. He was introduced to the Moonlit World this way, stumbling upon several atrocities enacted by means not wholly mundane. He has seen the cruelties that man can inflict on another in all the ways and the scars those left.
Potential social link exclusively for Hinako?
 
"Permission to leave on training then, Master?"

"Are you certain that you do not wish to spar with me?"

"Good joke Master but no, I'd rather not hurt you so unfairly."

A snort from the third occupant of the room resounds.
Yeah, shittalk the DAEQ. See how that turns out. :V
"Depends, really. Mister David said that it's gonna depend on if we get good compressed mini-Singularity. His Master wants an in on the training."

"...Ritsuka got a training regimen?" At that, the gunslinger chuckled.

"Kinda, yeah. Da Vinci got some firearms Mystic Codes ready just in case so I can teach her some gun training. So if you don't have anything else to say, I'll take my leave."
... if EMIYA ALTER wasn't locked in before, it is now.
"Medea, where's the backdoor?" The Fourth Master remains in her usual state, lazedly perched atop her bed. Knowing that said Master would not leave, Medea proffered a small smartphone tablet via levitation. Said tablet of course, contains the rudimentary application that details the Singularities observed by Chaldea as a whole.

It would be unbecoming to say that Hinako Akuta is worried for her fellow Master, but knowing what sort of training she might undergo is of interest. If only because she is, for better or worse, her junior.

Taken graciously, Hinako Akuta looks at the display. And her eyes blinked at the reading.

"That is not good."
We didn't do so hot on the Singularity rolls, but there at least was some benefit out of it.
Whether or not that was the case is irrelevant. Truthfully, many had thought that she would be like her father. That the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.

Of a more curious import was the memorial itself. It had seemed that none but her and Anselm was in charge of this. Why then, is there a need for confidentiality all the sudden?

None know, and if any do, they are not telling. What is important, however, was that the end of the week is a time worth looking forward to, in a world burning with the Chaldeans as the sole survivor.

And so, the Chaldeans wait.
Interesting. Secrecy is the nature of the Moonlit world, but for Anselm to be involved... curious.
Excepting that down here, closer to the ground as she made her near single-handed work on installing each turbine of its rotors, the chill isn't as bad as it could be.

Excepting that there's a faint aroma of flowers, one that even her senses would be hard-pressed to notice, emanating from the stream so high up.

Interesting.

She will keep this out of all reports except those that go directly to Olga Marie's own, no one else would need to be made privy of this providence.

Of course, Maxamed and the Captain would figure this out sooner than later but as far as she's concerned, those two are not compromised.

Not that anyone else could be compromised but even a genius such as her should take some caution.
... I'll be right back, don't wait up for me. I need to get the Anti-Magical Girl Idol gun. We are free of Merlin's main target, we shall not lose anyone to that insidious thing.
"Analyst, you sense it, do you not?"

"Now I do, Miss Medea. It is fascinating that of all the possible basis for a Holy Grail, one would choose this."

Rotten. Tainted. Corrupted. Not wholly of its own merit, of course. Das Nibulungen alone could not be the sole tainter of the Holy Grail retrieved from Fuyuki. No, a more pervasive taint, perhaps the very same one that caused the Singularity to occur is present here.

"How much of the accumulated power is salvagable?" The query from Maxamed is a simple one. Even now, in a heavily warded room at the edge of Chaldea, Medea stands alone in it. Maxamed remains in a connected room, heavy protected with blast shields ready.

"Mayhaps enough. But the structure itself is more important. Power is not wholly needed but the structure of a 'wish granter' is, in the end, imperative."

"Even if it is patterned off the Rhinegold?"

"Conceptually, the Rhinegold in itself is not cursed. The ring however, is." Medea explained patiently, even as weaves arcane interpose and layer themselves around the Grail. "One can say that the Rhinegold once transformed bears a curse and it is true here."
There's a reason the Tohsakas were the only one of the three families not considered 'utterly evil' by Zeltrech. You have to be a special kind of crazy to seek the Rheingeld to power your reality-warping device.
"That- is something we will find out now." Even from an adjoining room and behind blast shields, the purple light to come out is blinding for Maxamed. Even as he closes his eyes, he feels the power that both Caster and the Grail emits. More than that, he can feel how perilous it would be to harness the energy without anyone experienced in this.

Grail Reserve Purification: 17 + 25 (Mana A): 42
Grail Structural Integrity: 73 + 25: 98

He feels it, the sheer evaporation of energy uncounting. Energy enough that would have been useful for Chaldea but irrevocably tainted and unusable. He can feel them being shunted and consigned to entropy through some means. His eyes are still closed, after all. Eventually, the torrent of power subsides and as he opens his eyes, Maxamed sees the Grail. It is still golden and yet somehow there's a pure sheen to it.

"It is done." On the Caster's face, there's clear exhaustion present. "There is some use to this Grail, with how well the structure is preserved. We might be able to use it repeatedly, if we have the power collection capacity."

"Which is a pipe dream. But for the now, how useful is it?"

The Caster gave a simple shrug. "A diminished wish granting device is still a wish granting device. With the power remaining… give me until the end of the week. You will have your report then."
Well, we didn't get alot of power out of it, but it's a very stable battery. Let's just make sure we don't blow ourselves up when we plug it into the outlet.
"-And so, to commemorate the fallen," She stepped back, holding a rope that holds the tarps together. "To all of us, this is my tribute." The lights of the room turns off as the rope is pulled and-

Stars.

Replacing the lights, stars uncounting occupy the whole of the walls. Etched through magic and technology both, names of Chaldeans dead and living lit up. In constellations and asterisms of varying brightness and colours, the links of relations inside and outside the burning Earth are shown. Parents, children, lovers, friends, and more. For every one of the four hundred members of the Security Organization, there are at least three links to the outside world.

More than a thousand names, and more than a thousand pictures.

In a week and in secrecy, worked with by but two people, the facade breaks.

The assembled move aimlessly, tracing the connections through patterns and constellations aplenty. Some cry in silence, some break down in ugly sobs, all trying to be dignified and not quite succeeding. In darkness lit by the stars, people mourn together.

And they heal together. Everyone heals together.
... this is what you used your family's magecraft for, Olga? Countless generations, your father's winning of the Grail War, spent on a memorial to each and every individual person in Chaldea. Not just a name, you show the people, the lives that were lost.

Many in the Magus Association would scorn this, consider it a waste of a precious piece of Mystery. But they're all assholes anyway.
She spots Medea, the Caster facing a section of a wall for her lonesome, tracing her shaking hand on a singular name etched next to her own name. Her frame seems all the smaller even as the Celestial approaches and sees it clearly for what the name is. A grave.

Kuzuki Souichirou.

A loved one.
Aaaaaaaand here's the moment I started crying.
"Master-" Hinako ignored the faint sobs coming from the Caster, less awkward that way. "-know this. Know simply that for this closure, I will treasure this memory. That even if our contract is severed, this will be remembered."

Hinako considered her next words and actions. "Thank you." A comforting hand is laid on the Caster's shoulder. No words need to be said.

...As far as memorials go, and for as much as these events can be rated, Chaldea topped the list.
It's far from what Medea ever wanted. But it's more than she ever had. Her moment of happiness, the truth of her personhood shattering the legend, has been etched into the very fabric of this world. Solomon's ruination of Medea's happy ending will be avenged by the simplest, most pure defiance possible: Remembering.
 
Potential social link exclusively for Hinako?
Maybe, maybe not~ Though each of the Department head has their own background and stories, Hinako's story is one decidedly rooted with the Servants than the Chaldeans. Not that I am going for much in the way of mechanical SLs anyway.
We didn't do so hot on the Singularity rolls, but there at least was some benefit out of it.
Aside in the event of utter Crit Fails, Ritsuka has her protagonistic vibes to not fall down if she hits an obstacle. Stumble, yes- but there's always secondary benefits to it.

Also my apologies once more but writing characters and emotions is a weak spot of mine- Everything but the last two scenes took a lot longer than I anticipated. Still, Week 3 shouldn't take a lot longer. Vote will be open for another 20+ hours. Gives me enough time to resort the Options because a lot more is now available.
 
A Memorial completes. Synergy with Turn 1's Medical Actions activates! Chaldea's morale stat revealed! Morale went up from "Grim Acceptance" to "Grim Resolve". Morale might improve. Medea of Colchis lets go of her vengeance. Further effects to come.
For the record, while Medea may have let go of her vengeance, having her punch Solomon in the face is still on my list of priorities... As is figuring out how to make Kuzuki a Pseudo-Servant.

Gudako's training continues despite the trio of 13s. An excess of free time bonds her with the two Archers. Bond with Mash progresses. ??? Gained.
Good to see, Ritsuka! You just keep working on those Bond Points.

Eyes on the prize, people. As soon as any of them reach BL11, we'll take those delicious Quartz and throw them directly into the Xiang Yu Gacha.
 
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