Dream of The Beginning

When she opened her 'eyes', Rin seemed to fall into a strange spaces. At that place, many bubbles of unknown memories flashed past her sight. Rin was like a spectator as she watched a certain man's memories passed by her one by one. 

The early part of his life was only filled with nothing but training. Despite what he did was mostly a repetition, he found joy in the fact that his effort paid off; he was getting stronger by the day. 

When he was in his late teen, there was a girl classmate who entered his life. She accompanied him, always stay by his side for most of the time. Their times together were filled with happy memories. 

Rin's eyes constricted when she watched the part when that man joined a certain magic ritual and summoned a Servant. 

His actions were fast and accurate, as if he could predict the future layout as that young man quickly eliminated his competitors one by one. Rin even saw how badly he thrashed a girl who was identical with herself along with her Servant. 

At that time, he was only one step away from his goal. He had eliminated six Servants. After he had finished eliminating the anomaly eighth Servant, however, something unthinkable happened to him. His one trusted and beloved companion betrayed him! 

Her face was ice-cold, devoid of emotion as she stabbed him on the back when he was in his most vulnerable state, preventing him from reaching out to the Holy Grail. 

Her action not only prevented him from getting the Holy Grail, it also crippled his power. He was in the middle of important moment when she disrupted the process, almost causing him to die from the backlash. 

And thus– he raged. In his fury, he froze the entire area into a terrifying frozen hell. Though, unfortunately, she still managed to escape in the end. 

For years to come, that young man was wandering the world as he sought his revenge. However, even after he had searched up almost every corner of Earth, he did not even manage to catch her shadow since that time. 

When he returned home, he found out his younger brother was getting married to their junior. He decided to put off his desire for revenge at the moment. 

It was also at that wedding that he met 'her' again– that girl who he had once defeated in the Grail War in the past. Their meeting could be said to be awkward, as both of them were once enemies. 

She wanted to visit her younger sister to congratulate her marriage. While he was also there to wish happiness for his younger brother. One thing led to another, in their drunken state, both the older siblings poured their feelings over their younger sibling's marriage as they kept drinking to wash away their bitterness and regret. 

…the next morning, they woke up only to find out they were sleeping beside each other, dressed only in their birthday suit. The room and their body reeked of sweat and sweet, musky smell. As their memories of last night's event came to mind, both the man and woman were at a loss when they saw the marks they had left on each other's body. 

Since that day, whether it was coincidence or not, their fate seemed to be entangled with each other. As time passed, the man had gradually forgotten his revenge as he tried to seek out new future with 'her'. Few months later, they eventually got on together, just like their younger sibling. 

At that point, Rin was already feeling quite overwhelmed as she watched 'her' life with that man together. 

Suddenly, another set of memories came flooding her vision. 

At this time, 'she' was holding a cute baby girl as she was forced to watch that man being besieged by various party at an unknown land. Beside her was that woman who once accompanied him in his youth back then. She was smiling coldly as she saw him besieged by multiple enemies. 

That man was already in tatters, he was looking visibly exhausted like a spent force. He only defended their attacks, because whenever he was about to counterattack, that woman would point her scythe at the pair of mother and daughter beside her.  

He was extremely furious, yet he was unable to do anything in the short time. If only he could stall for more time, then perhaps… 

However, it seemed like fate would not allow him a chance to reverse the situation. A cursed sword had pierced through his back. One of his eye was blinded by flaming arrow, his right hand was severed, his shoulder was almost torn apart by large cleaver, both of his legs were destroyed by thunder hammer, and his neck was tied tightly by enemy's barbed chain. 

An unimaginable sense of sadness burst out inside Rin's heart when she saw that man's plight. She felt like she wanted to cry, yet she could not. That pain agonized her so much that she tried to reach out to him, only to finally realize that she was merely inside a fragment of memory. She was unable to change anything currently happening there. 

At that moment, Rin suddenly saw that 'she' was speaking to the other woman who plotted this onslaught. 'She' had her eyes red with anger and madness, but when she turned to look at her daughter, her eyes were filled with gentleness and… remorse. 

Under that woman's surprised eyes, 'she' had decided to kill herself and her daughter! 

At her last moment, 'she' smiled apologetically to that man as she whispered to him;  

I love you. So, please,... live on. 

Rin could not hear what 'she' said, yet those words seemed to echo directly in her mind. 

After witnessing that sight, that man looked as if he had lost half of his soul. He stared blankly at their remnants as tears of blood rained down his face. 

He had lost all restraints as his mana burst out, overflowing his surrounding until even space cracked under its momentum. Those enemies who previously besieged him had flown back, pushed by the strong impact. That man seemed to have sacrificed something inside him as his severely injured body was rapidly recovering in an instant.

There was no more light of life within his eyes. His heart had died along with his wife and daughter. 

That day, a disaster was born. An apocalypse who would eventually return all creations into nothing had been awakened from its slumber. He was the Black Dragon King – Dragon of the End. Devourer of the Worlds.  

At that instance, Rin seemed to sense a giant eye was looking at her direction before she felt a gentle force pushing her away from those scenes of destruction of the world… 

"...you should not have peeked into this place, Rin..." 

When Rin was truly awake, she was greeted by the sight of familiar ceiling and the sensation of her soft bed. Tears had unknowingly flowed from her eyes as she seemed to hear a faint sigh just before she was pulled out of her dream. 

"Oh, you're up? Good timing, I have just finished making breakfast. Come down after washing your face, you look like a real mess right now, Rin." 

When Archer went to wake her up, he was slightly surprised seeing Rin had woken up with her face wet in tears. 'It seemed like she just had a nightmare...' 

When Rin came to her senses, she looked at herself after hearing Archer's reminder. She saw that her blanket was already thrown far aside, and her pyjama was slightly messed up which revealed some of her clear white skin. 

Her face suddenly reddened and her feeling was in turmoil. When she saw that Archer was still looking at her curiously, she could not help feeling a little angry. 

"Wha..?! Get out! Don't come in until I say so, pervert!" Rin pulled her blanket to cover herself as she stared daggers at Archer. Her face was red like ripe tomato as she also teared up a little more. 

'I didn't remember when I wore my pyjama last night! This guy, don't tell me… Grrr! He didn't do anything else, right?' 

Archer was a little dumbfounded seeing Rin acted unreasonably the first thing in the morning. It was not like he did anything perverted to her while she was exhausted last night. What's with her sudden outburst?? 

Well, as far as he remembered, he only healed her injuries and changed her into pyjama before letting her rest in the bedroom. It was not a big deal, right? It's not like he had not seen her in birthday suit anyway… 

He shrugged as he disappeared, going back to the first floor. He went ahead to have his fill of tea as he watched the morning scenery outside Tohsaka mansion. It felt ordinarily peaceful. 

Around half an hour later, Rin was already dressed neatly in her uniform as she came down to the first floor. She went to have her breakfast in silence. She would occasionally glance at Archer who was relaxing on the side, but she did not say anything to him. 

"What is it? If you have anything to say, just spit it out, Rin. You're creeping me out now, honestly." 

Archer could not hold it back anymore. Seeing Rin who was hesitating about something irked him a little. 

"…uh-huh, so, do you still not remember your memories, Archer?" Rin asked out of the blue. 

Archer was a little taken aback when Rin suddenly asked about his 'lost' memory. He was quiet for a while before he replied, "It is unfortunate, but I haven't remember them yet." 

Liar. 

Previously, Rin might have believed that Archer was really unable to remember his memory due to his incomplete summoning ritual. Yet, now, Rin felt that he was just avoiding that topic. Even so, she also didn't know what to do if he really told her the truth... 

Rin sighed a little before she looked at him again, "Whatever. Even if you don't remember your memories, you should still have a wish you want to achieve right?" 

"...I don't know. How can I know about it if I don't even remember my memory?" Archer smiled innocently. 

My wish has been fulfilled, Rin. As for the rest, they are merely something I do in passing. 

Archer smiled gently as he thought to himself, looking at Rin with some mischief in his eyes. 

"Come now, if you don't go to school soon, you'll miss the class. What'd take you so long in the bathroom? Did you just... You know?" 

Archer laughed knowingly. It's as though he could imagine the dirty things she did when she was in the bath earlier. 

"Can't you have more decent thought? Pervert!" 

"I was talking about having a nice, relaxing warm bath, I didn't mean any other. What were you just thinking, Rin??" 

"Grrr!" 

~~ 

At the next morning, Ryan was watching the TV in the living room when Shirou was still tidying up his shoes and bag.

"Don't you need some rest, Shirou? You look awful last night. It's better to take rest occasionally." Ryan glanced at Shirou who was preparing to go to school.

Last night, after Shirou returned home with many bruises on him, Ryan quickly healed those small injuries. Now Shirou already looked as fine as usual. It was just that he seemed kinda down for some reason.

Come to think of it, is it because Sakura hasn't visited him this time?

Honestly, Ryan felt it was quite rare that Sakura did not visit Emiya residence this morning. Her presence among them was already like a norm, so it felt a bit different now when she suddenly didn't visit them without warning like this.

"…no. There's something I want to find out no matter what. Those lawless people… I feel like they are the culprit for those series of killings and missing people these days. I want to stop them. Won't you help me, Ryan?" Shirou looked at Ryan with firm gaze, he also seemed slightly hopeful.

"…nah, forget it. That's none of my business. You too should just focus on your own matters, Shirou. Don't butt into something you don't know about." Ryan glanced at Shirou for a bit before he returned to watch the TV. 

Shirou was visibly disappointed after hearing Ryan's reply. If Ryan agreed to help him, he felt like he had higher chance of success in his endeavor. After all, Ryan's skill as Magus was on an entirely different level above him.

"…*sigh* Then, I'm off."

"Wait." As Ryan called out, he already sent a small blue light which immediately disappeared into Shirou's body.

"At least that thing will notice me if you ever get into another messy situation again. What's with that look? I won't be helping you, I'll just take your corpse in case you're dead. Now, off you go!" Ryan waved at Shirou as though he could not wait for Shirou to scram fast.

Shirou smiled. He knew his brother would not really leave him to die even if he said he wouldn't be helping.

A while later, after Shirou had went to school, Ryan got bored watching the repetitive news. Although the way they reported it was different, but their essence remained the same; it was about those missing person and the ongoing series of killings which were the repercussions of this Grail War.

There was one news which caught his attention, however. It was about the case of gas explosion on Matou mansion at the other side of foreign district on yesterday's noon.

"Looks like someone has laid their hand on the Matou, but who's this madlad?" Ryan was intrigued. 

Directly attacking enemy's base at high noon, that was quite a daring act. 

When he heard that the listed victim was only Old man Zouken, Ryan merely scoffed. He knew better than to believe it. That old bastard was just like a cockroach; he wouldn't die so easily as he already hid his true body in other place. 

His 'corpse' was likely a forgery he had made himself to fool his enemy, or it was something forged by another party who wanted to cover up this incident– the Holy Church. 

It was the duty of Holy Church to oversee this ongoing Grail War. They were responsible to cover up the aftereffect of the Grail War, while the cost would be imposed mainly on the Founding families. 

"Then–" 

Perhaps, the reason Sakura didn't visit Emiya residence this morning was likely related to yesterday's incident. 

"–I want to fight already..." Ryan sighed ruefully. 

He didn't join the Grail War to be only a spectator. He already fulfilled his wish summoning a Servant, now he merely wanted to have a hearty, satisfying battle before he ended it all.  

"Then why don't we start patrolling the area? We will also formally join the War, Ryan." Lancer chimed in. She already materialized herself as she seated herself beside Ryan. 

"I am waiting for Saber Servant. There's something I want to say to her." 

Ryan spoke with rather disappointed look on his face as he continued, "It's a pity she has yet to be summoned until now." 

"...why? Is Saber that special to you?" Lancer's eyes flickered. She coolly staring at Ryan, making him shiver for some reason. 

Ryan looked at Lancer cautiously. 'She doesn't possibly know that I want to summon her Saber counterpart, right?' 

"I believe your reason for getting another Servant isn't merely for a vulgar reason like to screw around, right, Ryan? Especially if you manage to summon a female Servant." 

Ryan's heart skipped a beat. 

He focused his gaze on Lancer, his eyes glowed with purple light as he brought his face closer to her. 

Despite she was trying to act cool about it, Artoria couldn't help feeling a little flustered when she saw him looking at her with such intensity. 

"You're different, Artoria. You have a special place in my heart." 

So he didn't refute it? This perverted bastard... 

Artoria felt a mixed feeling of anger and sweetness at that moment. Anger at his frankness about his desire, yet she also felt a little happy when he said she was special. She wanted to beat him up, but she restrained herself at last.  

As for Ryan, for a moment there, he seemed to see Lancer's figure was overlapping with another person entirely. Not only her figure, but her aura and the mana she emitted unconsciously had changed altogether, startling him. 

When he tried to focus his sight on her, that strange vision had gone. Artoria was still Artoria. 

'...that dream, and now this vision. What's exactly that you are trying to say, lady…?' 

Ryan had a thoughtful look on his face as he returned to his seat. When he noticed that Artoria was fuming slightly, Ryan could only reveal a wry smile. 

Both of them descended into another silence. 

'Rather than waiting for Saber to be summoned, how about I try to summon her myself?' 

Ryan straightened his back. He paced around the living room when that thought suddenly flashed in his mind. 

'It is feasible, honestly.' 

As far as he remembered, the thing that restricted a Master from summoning another Servant was only their mana upkeep. Most people would only be able to support the cost for one Servant, supporting two Servants was almost impossible through human's own mana. 

However, if the problem with mana upkeep was solved, summoning more than one Servant was possible; just like the case with Chaldea. 

The Masters of Chaldea were only responsible to be the anchor for their Servant, keeping them bound in the world of living. While the Servant's mana upkeep would be burdened largely on Chaldea mana reserve. 

Fuyuki Holy Grail could support the summoning of seven Servants after accumulating mana from the leyline for around sixty years. If there was a special situation wherein the seven Masters teamed up, then the Holy Grail could forcefully increase its capacity to summon another seven Servants to oppose the first group and also appointed a Ruler Servant to supervise the War. 

As for Chaldea...,

When their system was running at normal conditions, they could even support the upkeep for tens of Servant at the same time. Thinking about it now, Chaldea system was definitely more advanced than Fuyuki Holy Grail's system. 

Ryan's face twitched. He really wanted to know how Marisbury managed to do it; calling him a genius was only an understatement to his feat. 

Well, although his mana reserve couldn't be compared to Chaldea's, he felt that even keeping one or two Servants more would not be problem for the current him. 

"I've decided. Let's join the Grail War, Lancer!" 

"...I understand." Lancer smiled. 

"But before that, let's get ourselves another friend." 

At that moment, Lancer's smile stiffened. Before she reacted, she saw Ryan had already flashed into the old garage. 

It didn't take a long time before bright light suddenly shone from inside the garage. However, to her surprise, Ryan walked out in dejection as he muttered to himself. 

"...how? I could feel I still have the capacity for another Servant, but there's no more Servant vessel available? Does it mean there's already Saber Servant out there, and the seven Servants have been summoned?" 

Lancer approached him. Looking at him dispirited like that, she originally wanted to console him. But when she remembered his action just now, she held herself back. It was already good that she had not smashed him with Rhongomyniad. 

"The summoning failed, Master?" Lancer smiled indifferently. 

"...not my luck. There's no more Servant class available to be summoned." Ryan shrugged. He pretended not to see her dissatisfaction. 

"Well, it doesn't matter. Let's visit one of the strongest Servant, Lancer. I am getting bored waiting." 

His failure in summoning Saber only cemented his decision to enter the fray. 

As Ryan walked out of Emiya residence, Artoria had already turned into her spiritual form to follow him.  

Meanwhile, at other side of the street, a young woman stepped out from the shadow behind the building. She was looking at Ryan's back with mixed feeling. 

"As I thought, he participates in this Grail War too. Perhaps, this is part of the reason why 'she' would hurt him..." 

She had heard that Ryan was moving away a month ago, but she could not find his new address no matter what she did before, it was as if his place was obscured by unknown barrier. 

She was only trying her luck by coming to Emiya residence this morning, as she thought she could at least ask his younger brother for help. However, she arrived just in time to see Ryan moving out with Artoria from afar. 

"Let's get going too, Saber." 

Behind Kanade, a young woman who had an almost identical face with Artoria was nodding quietly to her. 

Though, rather than having blonde hair like Artoria, this Saber had beautiful rose-colored hair. Moreover, she was wearing traditional Taisho-style kimono that consisted of a hakama and long leather boots. Her weapon was a Japanese Katana which she held tightly as she looked far ahead. 

Unlike Kanade who fixed her gaze on Ryan, Saber fixed her eyes on Lancer. As Kanade went onward, Saber also turned into her spiritual form. 

"For your first task; we will remove that witch hiding in the temple." 

Her emotionless voice echoed in the breeze, as both Kanade and Saber had disappeared along with the fleeting wind. 

~~ 

"You seem having fun these days, Kirei." 

"Does it look like that? I see. I guess this is just how I am. With this, all the pieces have been set. Wait. Where are you going, Archer?" 

"Since you already have your fun, it is my turn now. I have been feeling pretty boring here, I need some entertainment." 

'Archer' grinned lightly as he went out from the hidden room, leaving only Kotomine Kirei inside the church. 

"...you should be careful, King of Heroes. Some participants inside this current Holy Grail War are not the same thrash like the previous Grail War. 

"Even as strong as you are, you could also fall in unexpected moment in case you indulge in your arrogance..." 

Kirei smiled lightly. He was not really bothered about 'Archer' moving on his own. Their relationship was merely built on the premise of using each other to reach their own goal.