I was visiting my mother's house last week, when I got hit by COVID out of nowhere and ended up being quarantined… without my laptop, where all my stuff was kept. I spent the entire week on my bed, bored out of my mind. I was able to escape this week, and decided that I might as well follow the release schedule I was planning on keeping. The extra time I got let me write a longer chapter too, so there's that.
So,
Chapters will be released every Saturday.
Also, know that the tarnished is an unreliable narrator. She has a mistaken understanding of many things, and she'll come to even more mistaken conclusions that have and will affect her decisions. Until they are corrected by someone, it'll be likely that this will continue on as is. She is from an entirely different world, and she doesn't even have the basic background knowledge a historical figure on Earth would have. The information dumped from the grail and her direct observations are what colored her opinions on things so far, and that would understandably be not that accurate because she doesn't have all the context to fully understand what the Grail is telling her. (She sorely needs a Fate: Vaatividya to help her through Earth's lore.)
I think this will be entertaining to write as well. XD.
CHAPTER 2
Convergence
Ivolethe woke to the horrendous, repetitive noise released by the aptly named torture device that was the alarm clock.
"How people here tolerate waking up to these things every day is beyond me. Masochists, one and all." She muttered as she tried to shake away the disorientation. Being jolted awake so abruptly was not going to do her any good, ivolethe reasoned.
Then she looked down at the crushed ruins of what was once a most delicate and complicated piece of timekeeping machinery, now lying on the floor in pieces.
"These things were not built for people whose first instincts are to stab the things that startle them." She complained, understanding that she had to waste money getting it replaced.
But it was a necessary evil: It was a bit difficult to keep to a schedule lately, especially so for one such as her who had a distorted sense of time. A consequence of limited immortality was that people tend to think things in the 'long term'. Sometimes it got so bad that some people back in the Lands Between measured things in days and months rather than in hours… It was even worse for beings like those finger reader crones. She had a feeling that the people here weren't going to appreciate it if she took her sweet time doing things.
While she wasn't that bad, yes, the one thing she didn't want was for her name to be passed down in legend for being lazy. Like that Rip Van Winkle person. She wasn't sure how the poor bloke managed to live it down though, she really needed to finish reading his tale sometime soon - this time without ironically falling asleep halfway through. She should never let the people here in on the fact that she had literally slept nearly a century away or They'll never let her hear the end of it… Even if she was 'technically' dead for the duration.
She shook her head, and rose from the cushioned chair, and inspected the Auditorium once more, appreciating the smooth architecture for the umpteenth time. It was still a novel experience seeing such a clean and uniform building design.
Ivolethe was pleasantly surprised to realize that no-one actually used the building yet. While she was right in that the structure was meant to be a public facility of some sort, its construction has yet to be finished. After a more thorough exploration the day after, she came to understand that the half-made structures around the place was actually the building still being constructed rather than an aged structure falling apart. She must have been very distracted on the first night to have made such an error in judgement. She supposed that seeing architecture falling apart for so long made her assume that it was the natural state of things everywhere. She should have realized that at the very least, the locals in this world wouldn't leave such a building to rot when the rest of the city was relatively pristine- it would be more likely for unused buildings like this one to be torn down and the space used for something else in an active and functioning society like this one.
Ivolethe rubbed her forehead as she tried to recall if she had made any other similar lapses in judgement. Maybe there was a reason for that one guard to attempt chasing her down when all she did was cross the road? He didn't follow when she took to the roofs though, so maybe that was something to look into.
There was also that one time where she discovered a whole collection of footwear just lying there for her to claim by the front door of those 'Onsen' things. Maybe she should have left those alone? She did get chased out by an old man with a cane for being a 'stupid gaijin wearing footwear inside' but she didn't feel particularly guilty for actually taking them at the time. In retrospect however, that may not have been the most 'legal' thing to do. She had a hard time getting rid of some of the habits she had developed over her time in the Lands Between. Suppressing her instincts to loot everything not nailed down was one of them. Maybe she should review the other things she had taken over the last few days?
"Is it too late to give those weird sandals back?"
"What are mumbling about, boss?" a voice eerily similar to her own made its presence known. Ivolethe turned to her left to see the mimic going through the weapons she had laid out earlier. This time, it appeared that the mimic was polishing the Zweihander.
Ivolethe nodded at the sword in curiosity. The mimic scowled as she replied. "It's not as good of a weapon as it could have been. You forgot to upgrade a lot of things; this bad boy here was one of them. And it was such a good sword too." Ivolethe winced. She wasn't proud of that fact. That sword was a really good weapon, but one she had overlooked for the flashier stuff much to her embarrassment. She was very much like a magpie in that regard, as she had spent a ridiculous amount of time travelling the lands between collecting all sorts of shiny things to add to her 'hoard'.
Eventually, she grew out of that phase. Well, sort of. She did come back to using the more 'normal' weapons though, if only for the sheer convenience they offered. The fact that they were easier to manage and clean was only a bonus.
In the end, the issue was that she forgot to go through some of the equipment she had stuck in her item box, which at the time had served as a sort of place where she stored all her 'extras'. But now in this new world, she suspected that she wouldn't be able to get the sword up to her usual standards anytime soon. Blacksmiths of the same skill as Hewg were unlikely to just sit around where people could constantly pester them. As it was, she sorely doubted she would ever meet anyone of his caliber in this world either.
She was resigned to never use the sword anytime soon. It was hard to do that when even the daggers in her possession were sturdier in comparison and could do more damage. It was an unfortunate fact that upset her because she was genuinely looking forward to getting to know that particular blade eventually.
She couldn't gain experience using the thing through direct combat either: She couldn't cut down the people here with a clear conscience since true death was still a part of the natural order. Not that she would hesitate when push comes to shove, but she was not someone who took life lightly. It was all fun and games, knowing that the consequences of her actions were temporary… until it wasn't. The death of her close friend at the hands of the
loathsome dung eater and her encounter with the three fingers more than thoroughly drilled that fact into her head.
She focused her attention back onto the blade. Procrastination was truly an insidious foe… so many opportunities lost. Ivolethe sighed. At the very least, it would serve as a valuable gift to give someone in this world perhaps?
She didn't want to, but it was something to consider, but she would need to see if there was an actual market for it. Which she was unsure about since the half-trained warriors in the law enforcement and the gangs she had observed so far seemed to prefer using those weird miniature crossbow-cannon things. In the end though, she didn't want to part with it. No matter how useless it turned out to be, it was
hErS. She had claimed it rightfully through a fair exchange, and no-one was going to
take away what was rightfully hers.
Slitted golden eyes gleamed under the dim lights.
Snapping herself out of her trance, Ivolethe addressed the Mimic "Yeah, I messed up on that end, I should have got all my stuff up to standards when I still had the chance." Ivolethe sighed. "Well, forget about that. Have you gone through everything else? What's the progress with our experiment?"
The mimic smirked. "Well boss, it's a success." She held up a Golden flask which almost seemed holy, with elegant, intricate carvings of the Erdtree adorning its surface. The most important part was that the soft cerulean glow that radiated from within was full.
Ivolethe, who was in the midst of stretching her body, froze immediately. Her eyes shot towards the flask in the mimic's hand in incredulous joy "It worked?'' The surprise in her voice was obvious, and for good reason too. The flasks of crimson and cerulean tears were something that was of utmost importance to Ivolethe's prolonged survivability, and she was relieved that it was still possible for the things to be refilled even in a world devoid of 'Grace'. She looked at the Crystallized 'Memory of first Grace' floating by the floor, gently bobbing and weaving, dancing to an invisible wind. To think that the faded memory was the same thing that had once guided her back into the Lands between.
And it still had some functionality! While she had found out that the thing wasn't powerful enough to return her to her home world, she was very fond of it nonetheless and was very happy that it had some use even now.
"How?" She wondered aloud. While she was pleasantly surprised at the outcome, it still didn't explain why it worked. Why now? Why hadn't it worked when she needed it the most, during those harsh and bitter days of her banishment and during her subsequent return?
The mimic shrugged. "I tried a lot of things with it while you were asleep. Eventually, I tried to connect it to the land like you did with me." She shrugged again. "That didn't work, so I tried to connect it to you instead, and it did… something." She looked very confused at that. "Apparently, this thing had become a 'noble phantasm' the moment we arrived in this world, along with a lot of the other stuff in the inventory. I have no idea what those are though, but the description I got from the grail about noble phantasms gave me a headache, it also sounded important."
Ivolethe prodded the floating image of grace with her magic, and tried to inspect it as she did with the other things in her inventory. What she got from it was better than she could have ever hoped for in this situation.
The thing was no longer the crystallized memory of her blessing from the Erdtree. Rather, it was now some sort of crystallisation of her legend as a hero. Which was weird since it was already the manifestation of a memory. The recursive nature of the damn thing was driving her up the wall with frustration, since analysing the thing just served to make her feel weird and trippy. Which was alarming in itself and quite novel since her psychometric ability to analyse objects either just worked, or failed to do so outright, depending on how deep the memory was imprinted onto it. In the end, she had to abandon studying it in favour of gleaming knowledge on what it actually did.
Even then. she barely even understood half of what her magic was trying to tell her, but what she did find about its functionality was that she could apparently use it to absorb the ambient magical energy. After it accumulated enough magic through active or passive means, Ivolethe could split the Memory of lost grace in two and plant one somewhere. That one would act similarly to a knock-off 'Grace site' which was then able to restore all the equipment in her possession to its best condition and allow her to teleport to its vicinity. This was something she sorely needed.
"Any drawbacks? How long does it take for it to refill the flasks?" Things that were so convenient usually didn't come free, and seeing how the mimic winced at the question, Ivolethe knew she was right. The Mimic let out a groan. "Hours, boss, it takes hours for it to get the job done. It also costs a ridiculous amount of magic to use the teleport function, so it's not much use as an emergency escape unless you're topped off on magic at the time it's being activated.
Ivolethe nodded, the sheer convenience and power the blessing of the Greater Will offered was immense. Being a noble phantasm managed to replicate a bit of that power, but it seems she had to take the brunt of the cost herself. She wouldn't complain since it was a miracle that the thing could even work at all.
Leaving something like this unguarded was not an option at this stage either. So she spoke aloud, knowing that the intended individual could hear it. "So Tiche, what do you think of our situation so far, can you keep the place safe from potential infiltrators while we're out?"
Ivolethe blinked, and suddenly a deathly specter in shadowy armor, draped in a roiling, mist-like veil stood a few feet to her side. There was no sound or disturbance to her arrival. She didn't even fade into existence like how most of the other spirits tend to do. No, one moment, the spot was simply empty and in the next, it wasn't. Ivolethe did her best to hide how startled she was, but realized that Tiche would have noticed anyways. The Black Knife assassin seemed smug enough to suggest that she had caught it.
Ivolethe grumbled. "So?" She asked as she looked at the hooded figure. "What do you think?"
Tiche merely grunted, the noise as melodic as it was curt. "This world is strange, and its inhabitants fragile, but this one shall guard thine camp nonetheless. All intruders shall be put to death."
Ivolethe imagined that it was the best she could get out of the grumpy woman at this point. "Fine, just don't kill any civilians that stumble in or the construction workers if they visit during the day." She reminded the specter. Then Ivolethe moved for the door that led outside. Tiche was gone when she turned, so she addressed the mimic. "Let's leave then, shall we?"
"Hm." The Mimic grunted in agreement. "What are we gonna do today?" She asked.
Ivolethe stared pensively at the roof. "Scout the land a bit. We should also check out the temple, see what it's like over there. We've been avoiding it so far but we do need to determine if it's safe to use as a base- for backup if nothing else."
The mimic smirked. "You don't want to leave here anymore? Finally decided to settle down, have you? I thought you were all about making this a 'temporary' camp and all that."
"Oh, shush you." Ivolethe chided the smug woman without heat, a small blush on her face. "The place grew on me, alright?" She mumbled.
"Like a fungus." The smirk on the mimic's face grew as she added to Ivolethe's comment. The woman in turn just glared at the Mimic unamused.
"That was horrible, and you should feel bad. Never make a fungus -or mold- joke in my presence again. I have dealt with killer mushrooms and corrupted fauna far more than I have ever desired or needed to. Need I remind you of the swamp of Aeonia?" Both women shuddered at the memory of the place.
The mimic wisely knew not to mention the lake of rot either. That little part of their misadventure never happened. Nope, never. Not at all.
Just… NO.
"Right… we don't talk about Caelid." She spoke. "Yeah… you won't hear any mushroom jokes from me again, boss." The mimic agreed wholeheartedly.
"Oh, we also need to get a television." The mimic spoke, remembering that they had forgotten to get it during their last outing. The fact that it changed the topic was just a bonus, something that Ivolethe seemed to appreciate as well. She turned, looking at the mimic intently. "Did you manage to figure out how to make the stuff we got to actually work?" Ivolethe asked.
The Mimic nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah boss, you just take the two rods at the end of the tail these machines have and thrust them into the holes in the wall." She paused. "Why does that suddenly sound so dirty? The people here are weird."
Ivolethe snorted. "No, they're not, It is just your deviant mind finding vulgarity in acts where there are none." She tsked. "Honestly, I thought you grew out of your 'sheath' jokes phase. Sometimes I feel like I'm raising a horny teenager."
The Mimic's eye twitched. "What does that say about you then, boss? It IS your mind I'm using after all."
"Hmph." Ivolethe snorted at the insinuation. "I have more than enough restraint and self-control to be ruled by my lust. Something which I can't say is true about you, so I doubt it" She winced, remembering the Mimic fawning over a 'magazine' full of extremely realistic portraits of scantily clad men and women. "Which I don't like at all either since you're using my body to- oh forget it, it's not like you've changed your irrational behavior the last thousand times I've told you to." Ivolethe huffed and walked out of the hall.
"Ha! I knew you'd come around boss! All you need is to embrace your repressed emotions! You let yourself enjoy your time with that prawn guy, Boggart, right? Just - Ah." The mimic was cut off as baleful, draconic golden eyes snapped back towards her, the slit pupils narrowing into thin lines. "Don't push it." Ivolethe commanded.
The mimic merely saluted, staying silent. "Okay… Accidentally reminding her of that mess with 'Blackguard Big Boggart' might not have been the brightest idea." She muttered, then followed the original out through the door. Some things were better left untouched. After all, just because there was warm childish joy in finding treasure, didn't justify poking awake the potentially-enraged dragon sleeping on top of it to do so. That way lies pain and regret. It might most likely will be worth it in the end, but things like that should be approached with better care and planning. It was a fact that both of them were well acquainted with.
There was no need to rush it though. After all, they had all the time in the world…
-x-
Ivolethe had spent the entirety of yesterday going through Fuyuki's commercial district and buying all the curiosities that she could get her hands on. She even managed to visit the library. The librarian seemed visibly cranky and rude, which was oddly pleasant considering how shyly and passive-aggressively the people in this land usually behaved. They even tended to shy away from eye contact! Even the conversations were frustrating since people danced around issues half the time, and she was left to decipher what they were trying to say from context or indirect implications. She found it all ridiculous.
As it turned out, someone broke in and vandalized the establishment's shutter door two days ago. She wasn't really that invested in the tales of the man's woes, having seen far too much ruin to be bothered with something so minor but she spent nearly an hour with the poor man anyways, talking about the state of crime in the city and whatnot. She didn't know how things were for everyone else back home, but the Lands Between she was familiar with was a very lonely place. Most of its inhabitants were mindless and those that actually bothered to talk to her, only did so rarely; so busy were they with their own chosen paths. It was why she valued the people who did bother to interact with her so much.
In this world, there were so many people brimming with life, and it annoyed to no end that her mannerisms usually drove those same people away. Seeing all of them interacting with each other, as reserved as they were, Ivolethe wanted to feel that same warmth human interaction provided. So, she was happy with what she got and humored him.
Speaking of culture shock, it had been two days since she arrived in this weird new world now, and Ivolethe had the displeasure of coming to the realisation that with advanced technology, came advanced record keeping. She tried to look for housing on the first day after she arrived, just to see how things worked here but was met with disappointment since she apparently needed 'legal identification' to actually stay anywhere. It was the same for getting a job and
literally everything she needed to live in this world if she wanted to stay here for the long term. Acquiring one of those became much higher on her 'to do' list, which seemed to be steadily growing longer and longer.
Information stored in the grail suggested that the 'magi' here usually used hypnosis to get their way around issues like these, or were already established well enough into mundane society for it to not matter.
None of the spells or incantations in her repertoire had anything that came close to offering a solution though. Well, the bewitching branch would do the job for something quick, but the signs were obvious to see and the effect faded away only to leave the target aware of exactly what had happened.
She could use the mimic veil to disguise herself to blend in with the environment but she wasn't really interested in spending her days in what was essentially an entirely new and unexplored world as a piece of furniture.
Would a frenzy incantation do? But that would just drive people here into insanity, and more than likely to just kill them outright. If they survived, they would walk as an embodiment of suffering with grape-like eyes glowing with the taint of the frenzied flame burning from within. That option was...not inconspicuous at all, and quite alarming to be honest. She for one didn't want to have to explain to people the reason why her landlord/employer was a nearly-undead abomination in so much suffering that it wished it was dead. In the end, she didn't have anything remotely similar to hypnosis in her repertoire, having preferred the direct and upfront route to solve the 'issue of life' rather than go about it with subtlety.
In the end, the Civic Center was her base now, with the false 'grace site' having already taken root, so she might as well stay there until she managed to acquire a 'master'. She didn't have any problems with it so far, but Ivolethe was getting nervous having to rest in such an exposed position so often. The Leylines were places that her opponents in this war would obviously think to investigate. It was why she was so interested in looking into the temple atop Mount Enzo anyways, since it was far more easily fortified and private. After considering her options, she decided to trust Black knife Tiche to do her job and deal with any ill-intentioned intruders by expiring their right to live.
She also decided that it was time she investigated the temple atop Mount Enzo properly. If only to see what's there and cross it off her ridiculously long 'to do' list.
Going there prepared was a good idea too, in case something nasty decided to jump them. With that decision made, the Tarnished and the Mimic set out into the town to explore and get a better hold of the lay of the land.
Eventually, night fell, and they made it to the foot of the mountain.
-x-
Saying that Ivolethe and the Mimic was prepared was like saying that the Erdtree was a bit large. They were prepared for war and were armed to the teeth.
Ivolethe, preferring mobility in unfamiliar situations, was equipped with the Hand of Malenia, a long, slightly curved katana-esque blade without a hilt. While impractical, it was imbued with the skill and memory of the deadliest being she had ever met as an 'Ash of War'.
Having fought Gods before, that was really saying something. She also had the Bolt of Gransax and the Lion great-bow stored in the outer edges of her Rune so she could switch them out with ease if she ever needed to change tactics quickly.
Of the two, the former was a spear whittled from the weapon wielded by the ancient dragon Gransax, and which as a result was also infused by the same crimson lightning that was favored among their kind. The latter weapon was a monster of a bow once wielded by the demigod Radhaan, which she used to fire literal spears and ballista bolts at unsuspecting enemies from quite a fair distance away.
She had all her other personal effects stored in outer edges of her Rune similarly for ease of access. The only thing she was concerned about managing were her Crimson and Cerulean tear flasks, of which there were seven charges of each. While she was happy that she could still use them without fear of exhausting them, she still had to revise her resource management a bit since it now took far more time to replenish them.
In the end, she decided that it was better to let the Mimic have her fun, fighting ahead as Ivolethe provided support. She did this mainly to preserve more of her magic, just in case the situation turned dire. After all, it cost less resources to re-summon the Mimic in case she was defeated rather than exhaust all of Ivolethe's magic and flasks by going all out.
The mimic preferred a more direct approach, by using the Dragon king's Crag-blade on its lonesome. It was a heavy thrusting lance made from the bones of Dragon lord Placidusax. It was a simple and direct weapon, but a very, very powerful one when used correctly.
Standing at the foot of the stairway, Ivolethe couldn't help but tense in anticipation. Then the two of them started to ascend.
The wind blew, occasionally stirring a leaf up into the air, and crickets chirped in the background. Each step they took echoed in the night as metal tipped leather shoes met cold stone tiles. The moonlight reflected off of the stairs as the two figures made their way straight towards the temple.
They proceeded uninterrupted until finally, the two identical women reached the front gate. It was a beautiful thing, with tiled, curving roofs supported by rectangular supports. True it was nowhere near as grand as most of the structures in the Lands Between, but she could appreciate the subtle beauty of it. The architecture was eerily similar to what she had seen in the land of reeds. Many of the buildings she had seen back in the city were of similar aesthetic as well. Perhaps this nation was some sort of parallel to the Land of Reeds in her own world? She shook her head, and berated herself for getting distracted again.
Even the entrance to this place was awfully dark too, when compared to the rest of the city. Perhaps it could do with more lamp-posts? She had appropriated a few of them for personal use – she needed to see if she could return those, taking them was a bad decision in hindsight, especially since she couldn't get them to work. She had yet to try it with the mimic's advice though. So perhaps she should plant a few of them here as a peace offering to see what they do with them? The locals would know how to make them work properly, right?
Deciding not to dally any longer, the both of them jumped over the walls of the compound…only to be met with no resistance. Startled at the absolute lack of any defenders, the two warriors split up and searched the entire area thoroughly. The only thing found were a few dozen peaceful monks sleeping in their quarters. Despite its magical protections and relatively isolated location, the temple itself and the people living there were completely and utterly mundane. It made no sense.
Ivolethe sat on a stone bench within the compound, feeling extremely foolish for making such a big fuss about this place. The mimic just looked depressed, feeling cheated out of a worthy battle.
"So…" The Mimic began. "What do we do now?"
Ivolethe sighed. "We go back." She scratched the bridge of her nose, getting rid of an itch. "Unlike the City Center building, we won't be able to hide ourselves from fifty odd civilians while fighting a war at the same time. And I don't feel like causing trouble or involving a bunch of monks in this war of ours. Maybe if we lose our original base, we can return and ask permission to stay there instead. Maybe they'll even accept if we let them know that the place might be a potential warzone. The church already knows about the situation, so it's only natural that the people running the temple would as well, right?"
The mimic groaned as she stood up. "OK then boss, back we go."
Ivolethe hummed. "Let's grab some coffee too. This excursion was stressful, and we need to unwind." She then snorted. "Is it odd that not meeting resistance felt more unnerving than if we had actually fought someone on the way here?"
"Nope." The Mimic commented dryly.
As they were returning, Ivolethe decided that they should at least go and see a bit of the Shinto region before heading back, since they were out wandering the city anyway. So that was how they found themselves sitting in a cafe by the riverside, enjoying the view of the city lighting up the night sky. 'The sight looks like stars were brought down to the earth.' Ivolethe thought with wonder.
It was at this moment, when they finally managed to unwind that they sensed it. A flare of magical power which they instantly identified as that of a servant due to the Grail's knowledge. It was a declaration of intent, inviting challengers for a battle to take place.
"Finally! Something interesting." The Mimic exclaimed as she straightened in her seat with enthusiasm. She was ecstatic at the idea that she would be seeing some action today anyways, despite the disappointment at the temple.
Ivolethe sighed. Of course it would be
now that someone thought to issue a challenge, when they were just about to leave.
"OK, I get it, we'll attend. We need to see what the competition looks like anyway. Hopefully they manage to get rid of themselves by the time we reach there."
"How about they not?" The mimic glared at Ivolethe, who just raised her hands to placate the irate battle maniac.
Ivolethe stood up, dusting herself off as she looked for a spot where they could get ready for battle without interference.
"You'll get your chance to fight. But if we're doing this, we do it right. We approach with caution, and we avoid detection until it is time for us to join in. We need to see what our opponents are capable of, so don't run in blindly and hope for the best. Let's get ready, shall we?"
-x-
On a moonlit night, a mailbox and a crate crossed the road.
Then the boxes paused by the sidewalk before rotating and started to head towards the warehouses by the docks. A passerby stared at the sight, looked down at the half empty bottle in his hand and decided to question the meaning of life.
"Hey boss." The crate asked. "You think this is a trap?"
The mailbox paused for a moment, and rotated, facing the box as if it was thinking. "No, the 'servant' is flaring its presence so high that you could literally feel it across the city. This isn't directed towards anyone in particular, I think it's more likely someone wanted to initiate a confrontation in the holy grail war."
"A challenge then?" The crate seemed excited about the prospect.
"Hmm." The mailbox mused. "You can fight them if you wish. I'll stay disguised with the veil. I'll probably stay somewhere where I can observe everything that's going on, yeah? I'll re-summon you if you manage to lose." It concluded.
"Have some faith, will you?" The crate mumbled.
"Ha! You fight like a berserker, with zero tactical thought and without analyzing the battlefield at all. These are likely going to be very skilled opponents, considering that class requirements exists in the first place. While pure aggression has its merits, blindly running into a fight like this swinging your blade at everything in sight can only end so well." The criticism in the mailbox's voice was obvious, having been through this argument many times before.
"Tch, yeah sure. I'll play it smart, okay?" The crate replied, thinking if there was a way to run in swinging without making a fool of herself. Maybe she should make a grand entry? The Crate started thinking about which angle of entry would be the most dramatic- er tactical, yeah let's go with that.
The mailbox turned and stared accusingly at the box but eventually let out a sigh. Then it started moving again. Well, come on, I think it's about to begin.
The boxes split up. While the crate heading directly towards the sounds of clashing blades and breaking stone, the mailbox weaved its way through the warehouses, trying to find a good vantage point to observe from.
-x-
"Kiritsugu." Maiya's voice addressed him from the radio. Kiritsugu noted that it sounded a bit strained.
"Maiya." He spoke. "Any new developments?" He asked as he briefly switched his attention towards his wife and Saber, searching for any signs of trouble.
"Yes." she spoke. Kiritsugu froze, then quickly moved his scope towards the servant of assassination to see if he was gone. But no, the black shrouded figure was still perched atop the crane.
"Has Assassin done something strange?" He asked.
A strangled noise came over from the radio, much to Kiritsugu's concern.
"Maiya?"
"I'm not sure how I'm supposed to put this sir, but there's a mailbox on top of the warehouse across from Assassin." Kiritsugu blinked. Then blinked again.
"Are you sure you're seeing things correctly, Maiya." He asked for confirmation.
"It's on top of the warehouse opposing Assassin. It's right across me, and I didn't even notice it getting there."
Kiritsugu adjusted his scope to see what this new unwelcome development was.
Then he saw it.
It was a mailbox, large, cylindrical and bright red. He wasn't sure how he overlooked it either, he wasn't sure how ASSASSIN missed it, being so close to it. But there it was in all its glory. It stood on top of the warehouse, where it had no business being on top of, as if it had belonged there all along.
It didn't do anything but stay in place. There was nothing odd with it as an object. Kiritsugu didn't see any signs of mage-craft in the vicinity, and there was nothing off about the mailbox itself as well, other than some dirt at the bottom, implying that it had been dragged along for long distances. Maybe it had been, but the implications that someone could drag something like that into position without anyone noticing it was terrifying. The bright red, flaking paint was almost mocking, as if challenging the very world to deny its existence.
It just stood there, Menacingly.
Then it started to turn, slowly, lacking any noise or disturbance in its surroundings, until its front was angled straight at Assassin. Kiritsugu shivered. During his own active days as an assassin, he had seen things so wretched and horrific that he dare not even remember some of it lest he fall into despair.
However, he had never seen something quite like...this, whatever this was.
In some ways, the bloody mailbox acted and appeared as a perfectly physical and mundane object, but at the same time, he had a feeling in his gut that it never existed in the first place. He had seen illusions before, but even the most advanced ones weren't quite as convincing. This wasn't the work of a magus. Is this the work of an enemy Servant?
Whatever it was doing, wasn't presence concealment either, since he could actually observe and analyze it with structural grasping. But even then, he found nothing wrong with it. Which he instantly knew was bull. His eyes and mind told him that there was nothing odd about the red, cylindrical mailbox which for some reason, exuded a quiet menace. But his decades of experience dealing with supernatural threats argued otherwise. In fact, if it wasn't perched on top of a root-damned warehouse, he would have never even noticed it.
This thing was dangerous.
He turned on his radio, contacting Maiya. "It seems another contender has decided to join."
Down below, at that very moment, Arturia Pendragon, the King of knights deflected a golden shortspear clad in cloth and then ducked under a following thrust made by its longer counterpart. Diarmuid's crimson spear cut through the air and hit the metal container where Saber stood a mere instant ago, the sheer force behind the blow denting the entire structure rather than just piercing it. The crash resounded through the night as dust was blown into the air. Both combatants made some distance from each other, re-evaluating each other.
And with that, the first major conflict of the Fourth holy grail war had commenced.
-x-
Omake;
Arturia Pendragon gazed at the unsuspecting white rabbit as it slowly hopped its way towards her. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a perfectly ordinary rabbit. The way it's cute, adorable nose twitched, and how its little paws tapped the ground, was all the very picture of cuteness.
Saber knew no greater fear at that moment. As it turned its adorable beady red eyes towards her, Arturia's breath caught in her throat. It was as if Ice was running through her veins.
It took another short hop towards her.
Saber's mind blanked. A look of grim determination settled on her face. She proceeded to dispel 'invisible air', brandishing Excalibur to the world. The sword of promised victory sang in concert with Arturia's determined visage to eradicate all foes that stood before her.
"Saber? What are you doing?" The shocked Sound of Irisveil's voice came from behind her.
"Stay back, master." Saber's determined, yet terrified eyes never moved from the spot the rabbit was at.
"I fear no man, master." She spoke, finally.
"But that thing…" Saber's voice was strained and her entire body tensed as the rabbit sat in its hindlegs and raised its head to stare at her
"It scares me!" Saber finally admitted, staring at the rabbit's small, pale and adorable form that was oh so normal, but it exuded the same quiet menace that was all too reminiscent of Cath Palug.
The white rabbit seemed A bit concerned at that moment.
Abruptly, so as to not give the rabbit a moment to escape, Saber activated her noble phantasm.
"EXCALIBUR!" She screamed as she brought the blade down in a golden arc containing the hopes and dreams of humanity. Just before she finished her swing, the rabbit jumped to the side, as if by instinct. The illusion of the 'mimic veil' gave way to Ivolethe's form as she desperately attempted to escape the line of fire.
"What in the world is wrong with you!" Ivolethe screamed as she barely escaped being clipped by a beam of searing holy light.
"NO!" Screamed back Arturia. "What the hell is wrong with you!"
If I'm gonna write a fan-fiction about my own darn RPG video game character, I might as well write it to its fullest potential!
Oh, and you folks wanted to see how my character looked like :
![Fate: Tarnished Light [Elden Ring & Fate/Zero Crossover]](/data/threadmark-index-icons/l/63/63078.jpg?1652889816){kind=icon}
