“What...?”
Mordred’s sword fell from her grasp with what seemed to be the sheer gravity of the truth, the blade made a loud clanging noise on the floor, disturbing the atmosphere, and in that moment, the church became dead silent. The newly revealed siblings could only hear their own respective beating pulses, the blood that coursed through them seemed to drum a sound in their heads that reverberated through the building.
“That’s...that’s…” She was lost for words. The truth dug deep into her head, mind, and psyche as she slowly began realise the situation that the world had planned for her. Emotions rushed through her head, disbelief, denial, confusion, anger, jealousy, all swirled around her and grabbed at her entire body in a shock that penetrated the hard armor she wore. She mentally begged to herself, no, it couldn’t be true. Her honorable father that she rebelled against, the perfect king that she hated and swore to tear down herself. Would that same king truly abandon his own place, the acts he committed, the leadership he held, in favor of becoming the woman to a stranger that she never even knew in life.
How could that king even think of it. The thought brought rage and sorrow to the knight that stood in this time.
Sora let out a sigh that felt like lead in his chest. “Caren...you didn’t need to-”
“Oi, Master.”
Sora froze. He looked back at his servant, her eyes evaded his own, eye contact was not needed for her question.
“Was that true?”
Her question was unmistakably simple, so easy to answer that all that was needed to confirm the claim was a single word. Sora racked his brain, he couldn’t avoid her question, that would be an insult to her intelligence and he was sure his servant would not allow any other interaction before her answer. He could lie, but his servant would find ultimately find out, and the consequences would be even more dire. But ultimately, his thoughts were judged by an obvious question of his own.
Was he able to say anything else to her in the first place?
As short as it was, since summoning, they had been partners. She was his sword, and would be for the upcoming war. Was he able to stand up to that? Was he able to say anything in refute?
No, he couldn’t. He couldn’t betray that trust, that small camaraderie they shared, no matter how short, and more over…
he couldn’t bring himself to lie to his own sister.
“...Yes.” He ultimately replied. It was unmistakable, in the cold silence, that was the single word spoken in that moment, nobody could of misheard it.
“...I see.” Mordred replied, finally accepting the truth.
“…”
“GO TO HELL-!”
Sora couldn’t even react as Mordred spun around and kicked him into the benches of the church. She picked up Clarent and leapt to where Sora had freshly landed. Yelling, she rose her blade above his neck. Sora barely managed to catch a glimpse of her face. Rage had covered it entirely, with no glimmer of restraint or sanity left, she had lost all reason and was lost in the flames of her own fury.
“Shit-wait!” Sora pushed her leg to the side, making her lose her balance. Clarent dropped terribly close to his head and grazed his cheek. He rolled to the side to get off the broken wooden seat, stumbling on his own feet as he tried to get up. He dodged at the moment he heard Mordred making a loud dash with her blade clearly aimed at his neck. Sora could only beg for mercy at the hands of his enraged sister. “Saber please!”
“SCREW THAT, SCREW YOU, SCREW ALL OF YOU-”
She was not to be reasoned with. Shown as she rammed into Sora and knocked him into another row of chairs. This time, he was able to act faster from the recoil, and barely jumped out of the way from Mordred throwing her sword at where he laid. He backed up, only for Mordred to rush at him again before knocking his side, sending him flying. He slammed onto the church’s wall, and Mordred quickly rushed over and pinned him again, ready to deal a fatal strike. At that moment, Sora made a final plea to her, “Saber please don’t hurt me, I’m sorry, I’m truly sorry!”
In that moment, his command seal glowed red. “HUH-?!” Mordred felt her entire body restrain on itself from proceeding with her act. “Command seals?!”
Sora opened his eyes and realised what he had done. The seals that glowed profusely on his hand had turned his plea into an order, an order to prevent his servant from hurting him, likely ever again. An order that had to be followed under the influence of a command seal.
“DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU RAT! KILL YOURSELF! YOU SIN-!”
Mordred was powerless to do anything but belittle and insult her master, the power of command seals were near absolute, and even the strongest of heroic spirits could barely resist the nature of one. Sora had realised, that he had saved his own life, but at a cost. He had created a gap between him and his servant, a chasm that destroyed their early bond of trust and camaraderie, one that would not be bridged easily if ever. The truth was likely one she wouldn’t’ve been able to handle regardless, but he still kept that truth from her. He broke her trust, the trust of his servant, his own sister, and now he had defiled her again by commanding her to never hurt him again, taking away the freedom of choice from her. Tears welled in his eyes for taking the actions he can never take back.
“I’m...I’m sorry…I’m so sorry Saber...I’m sorry it turned out like this…”
What was he apologising for? He didn’t know. Hiding the truth from her was not inherently wrong, if anything they were what any kind or logical person would’ve done. He would’ve died otherwise, and both of them would dissipate from this world if that were the case. Mordred could not control her rage, and essentially nearly committed suicide by nearly killing him. Regardless, he had hid something from her, no matter how correct it may be, it was an action he could not take back, an action that could’ve avoided creating the gap that stood between them now, but would it of? Sora did not care anymore, as Mordred could only spit words at him now, which he accepted wholeheartedly, after all, it was the only thing left he could do for his servant, his sister, who he had betrayed completely.
Time ticked by in the church, Caren sighed as he looked at the two siblings after their quarrel. Sora had been in a daze for more than half an hour, Mordred’s rage had dissipated and now could only stare at the ground in a flurry of emotions. Thanks to their little scuffle, she would have to ship in some new chairs as fast as she could.
She exhaled indignantly. “Sora, I don’t mind if you and your servant need to settle differences a bit roughly...but if you may, could you please consider your location next time. I will handle the mess that you created tonight, but please continue your war antics in a different area next time. The church is neutral, do not forget that.”
The boy looked up at her, tiredness and weariness filled his being as he heaved himself up. He motioned for Saber to follow, to which she didn’t react. Sighing, Sora walked to where Caren stood.
“Don’t worry Caren…” he answered dispiritedly, “it’s been handled for now.”
Caren smiled warmly. “Come on now, that face doesn’t suit you.” She grabbed his hands and held them tightly. “You want to be a strong pillar of hope to others right? Then you have to smile even in rough circumstances so people can do the same.” She looked into his tired eyes, “If all business is taken care of for now, please return home and rest yourself. You’ve clearly had a very busy day, and the grail war is going to take a toll on you, both physically and mentally. So please, take it easy, don’t be so hard on yourself.”
Sora looked back at her golden pupils, and put up a smile. “Thanks Caren, I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused for you tonight.”
She rubbed her temples. “Mmm...do not worry, try to focus on yourself for now.”
Sora nodded weakly and walked back to where Saber sat. “C’mon Saber, we need to go.”
Mordred didn’t move for a moment, but eventually seemed to process the information and got up before dissipating to spirit form. Sora sighed, their relationship would truly be a difficult one moving forward. Not only as comrades in arms, but also siblings. Indeed, Mordred was his sister, that was a fact he could no longer avoid. He may have feared the fact since the moment she revealed her true name, but he had more pressing matters at hand than to clarify that. Regardless of what may have been the outcome if he had confronted her differently, he had to accept his actions have already been done and dictated, there was no helping the past.
“We’ll be leaving now Caren, thanks for everything.”
With a farewell, the boy Sora left the white building, his servant assumingly in tow. Caren breathed a sigh of relief, and in a few fleeting moments, she found herself amused by the situation the world had presented.
“Hmm, how amazing.” She whispered to herself, “The fate of the Emiya family always seems to be truly shackled to the influence of the Holy Grail War. No matter what situation, the grail war always seems to affect this disjointed and strange family. At least, maybe through this war, Sora might find peace with someone of his own blood, for once.”
---
At midnight, a serene wind embraced the town of Fuyuki, a number of stars twinkled overhead in the black sky, illuminating the dark atmosphere, making the air of the city glow in a faint light. The bright blue glass moon shone with an elegance unrivalled by no other, proudly showing its peaceful beauty and veil of mystery that waved through the sky and touched the very soil of the earth. Unfortunately, most people were asleep, unaware of the beauty that this night was presenting to them, but to those who were still awake, could find themselves enamoured by the wonder that the night, moon, and stars had displayed.
One of the observers of the moon was a young looking girl with dark skin. She wore a dark purple robe on top of her normal white clothing, accompanied with a flat purple hat. This girl was Rani VIII, proudly wearing the Atlas uniform, and was peacefully examining the night that surrounded her. This girl could not see the beauty of the night, or rather, did not understand what the beauty should make her feel, as she had no emotions to react upon. Instead, she merely sat at a bench on the side of a mountainside road, waiting for expected company as she stared at the night sky.
Eventually, a man cloaked in red and black with a bandaged face materialised in front of her.
“Servant Assassin reporting in. Master, what have you called me here for?”
Rani turned to face her servant, her executioner of the shadows, with a face completely expressionless “I have called you back for an update on our current situation. Assassin, have you made progress over your recon of the town and gathered information on the participating masters?”
Assassin stared at her stiffly through his bandages. “Yes, I have performed early reconnaissance on some of the participants of the war, albeit not too many before you called me to return.”
“I apologise for disturbing your work then,” Rani replied, “however I believe it is also imperative that we keep consistent communication between the two of us so we can steadily pace and plan ourselves throughout the early stages of the war.”
Assassin simply nodded. “I understand your logic, I will keep it in mind to contact you next time then, Master.”
Rani closed her eyes and gave a nod approval, then looked at her servant once again. “Then Assassin, what do you have to report for your first two days or recon?”
“Important information. First off, I have found out that the temple at the top of the hill has been active with traces of fresh mana and the signs of a makeshift workshop, however it was too well guarded to consider examining more.”
Rani looked down in thought. “If that temple is truly the site of a temporary workshop, there could be two conclusions. Either a foreign magus has set his base there for the grail war for the time being, or a Caster class servant might be using that temple for something in the future. Good work Assassin, anything else?”
“Yes.” Assassin simply replied. “I have found a Master of the war, his servant is unknown but his command seals were definite. He is a young man likely in his mid 20s, with the occupation of a police officer. I would’ve eliminated him there, however he was in an area that was far too populated with eyes and traffic around his location, and I could even feel his servant’s presence nearby, so I didn’t act.”
Rani nodded in affirmation. “You made the right choice Assassin, we do not want to attract unwanted attention if possible, and if his servant was there, you could’ve potentially lost even with my support. The information you provided is good enough, thank you. Now, feel free to resume-”
“Please wait a minute, Master.” Assassin interrupted.
“Hmm? You have more to say?”
“Indeed.” Assassin said, “I had been spying on the person who is currently Saber’s Master since the
Morning. He wasn’t a master at the time but as you can tell, my suspicions were correct.”
Rani tilted her head slightly, “and how did you get that suspicion that he would become a Master?”
Assassin wordlessly stared at her for a moment before continuing. “...He had welts on his hand since the morning, so I followed him throughout the day. When he was alone at night, I decided to attack him, however, things didn’t go quite according to plan.”
Rani raised her brow slightly. “Is that the reason your mana usage suddenly spiked and began to consistently rise?”
“I assume so,” Assassin replied. “He’s a third rate magus, specialised projection magecraft for some reason so his magecraft really isn’t something to speak off. However, his instincts are very impressive, as he managed to sense my initial strike and prevent it from being fatal, something that most humans would not be able to do. His combat proficiency itself was low, and I injured him relatively seriously with the use of one of my Noble Phantasms, but he managed to escape long enough to summon Saber, who ended up turning the tide on the whole fight.”
Rani’s brow raised. “You used your Noble Phantasm without my permission?”
Assassin didn’t react, but merely replied. “Yes and I apologise for my impulsive decision. However due to my obscure identity I didn’t think revealing it would be much of a liability. However with its usage, I did manage to sever the magic circuits in his left arm. Unless he gets treatment by an experienced magus or healer, his magic circuits will eventually continue to break until he wouldn’t be able to use any of them.”
“I see...” Rani replied. “It is not a big issue, as you’ve said, most people will likely never uncover your identity so that isn’t a big risk. But, did you at least manage to keep your other Noble Phantasm secret?”
Assassin shook his head. “Unfortunately not, I needed to use it to escape after Saber pinned me down. I whispered it’s true name so it shouldn’t have been heard since I didn’t need it’s full potential, but they might piece together my full capabilities soon enough.”
Rani pressed her fingers onto her forehead. “So, a third rate magus had obtained an extremely powerful Saber class servant, who has extensive information your capabilities you say?”
“Regrettably due to my blunders in underestimating my opponent..”
Rani sighed, feeling her chest get a bit heavy for some reason. “If that is the case, we must be very careful with the actions we need to take these two participants, is that right?”
“Indeed. Saber herself is a knight, fully armored from head to toe, so she had a very strong defense. Her strength was also extremely overwhelming, and was able to propel herself in high bursts of speed from what I assume would be a Mana Burst skill. It’s safe to say that Saber will be a very formidable foe, and that fighting her face to face would most likely end up in my defeat. I suggest we target the master should we need to dispatch the pair at any point.”
Rani nodded in agreement. “Yes, this does seem like it could be a large obstacle for us. If we run into them in combat, we’ll stick to your suggestion of targeting the master rather than fighting against Saber. With the information you’ve gathered so far, we can potentially think of a better plan to deal with them should the Master prove to be more than he’s shown. Is that all for now Assassin?”
Assassin nodded. “Yes, that is all for now. Should I continue my recon for other masters?
Rani nodded. “Indeed, continue your work, I will think of some strategies with the information you’ve given me, we shall meet up again tomorrow night to exchange our results.”
Assassin obliged and disappeared into spirit form, melting away into the shadows of the night, leaving Rani alone to contemplate the opponents she would face.
A master and potentially a servant in the temple on the hill, she had studied the city’s geography to know that the area had a huge leyline on it, which made it an ideal place for a Caster class servant.
The policeman Master seemed to be an easy pick, but Rani decided that more information on him would be required before she actually thought about anything more than targeting him when he was alone.
As for Saber and her Master, they would indeed be a formidable opponent. Even a weak master can win a grail war with a strong servant on their side, so even if he was weak, they would have to tread lightly. They were not opponents they could underestimate, and first impressions could always be mistaken. For all they know, Saber’s master could potentially be quite capable.
Rani pondered these thoughts as she resumed staring at the wondrous night sky, feeling a tinge of something inside her chest as she saw the blue glass moon.
Meanwhile, as Assassin was running down the road in spirit form, he pondered to himself.
“Sora Emiya...his name is not a common one. What past and relationship does he and this world hold from me?”
Thoughts like this circled his mind as he silently moved through the shadows of the streets, blinking through the black of night as quick as wind.
Chapter 4 End
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__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Statistical Updates:
Assassin:
True Name: ▅▅▅
Master: Rani VIII
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Height: 175cm
Weight: 68kg
Strength: D
Endurance: C
Agility: A+
Mana: C
Luck: E (EX)
Noble Phantasm: B++
Noble Phantasm: B++
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