The mire of the everyday sloughs off.
A war between magi.
The wheel of fate turns.
Weak one, temper your sword,
And defend the value of your life.
Combatants remaining: 128
Never forget.
"I" was born from perdition.
What that means—
Somehow, please don't forget it.
Remaining Days: 6
It seems I had a dream just as distorted as the recent events themselves. With that thought I woke up. It's bright around me, most of the room is white or a very light grey colour. It's clear that I'm in the nurse's office. Someone must have brought me here after I collapsed.
Or was all that happened perhaps just a dream? There was no effigy almost killing me? There is no "Holy Grail War" and no "Servant"?
The nurse's office seems familiar, yet different. It's not exactly the one of my school even though it must be almost the same, at least. I sit up.
"You finally woke up after all," a familiar voice remarks. Before me my Servant appears, the blonde girl that helped and saved me from death. "You passed out yesterday. It has been quite boring since then," she says. Even though she did not admit it, she probably was by my side all the time while I was unconscious, protecting me. Even though she doesn't show much of it, I'm sure there is a caring side to her.
She tells me I am just in time for the start of the Holy Grail War. She asks me if I know what the Holy Grail War means. "Holy Grail War?" Of course, I wouldn't. I remember the voice mentioning it, telling me the Holy Grail can grant wishes but I know nothing more of it than that.
"You know nothing of the Holy Grail War?! How did you manage to become a Master in the first place?" the Servant is visibly shocked by my inexperience but she decides to enlighten me nevertheless. "I guess I have no other choice but to tell you."
The Holy Grail—the basis of an entire body of western religious history. A holy relic said to perform miracles.
But my Servant tells me, this Holy Grail is a different object than that. She tells me, the Holy Grail War is a ceremony magi held to gain the Grail. And by ceremony she means a bloody battle to death while only the survivor would be granted the Holy Grail. While, considering the Grail's power, this seems fair it's still too cruel to be true. There is no way such a war is happening.
"This little tournament is nothing like a real Grail War though." So, this is not the war she explained to me just now. She tells me that new magi emerged in this time, where thaumaturgy has all but faded away.
Is she trying to tell me I am a magus myself? I can hardly believe that. "What a hopeless case. It's simple. Win and live or lose and die," she says nonchalantly. I wince at her words. "The rules aren't harder either. You are assigned an opponent and you have to fight them. The defeated loses their Command Seal and their life as well," she tells me and I can't help but look at my left hand.
There is the symbol that's called a Command Seal. So, as long as I have it in this war, I can live. My Servant tells me that there will be a series of battles until I reach the Holy Grail. She does not explain any of the rules to this war to me, except for the, in her opinion, most important one: Win.
It sounds simple but too simple to be so easily manageable. "I am confused but I think I understand the basics now," I told her reluctantly. There's no helping it now, I am a participant in this war. I don't think I can just turn back. "Just don't cause our loss in this war," she glares at me. I don't know why but somehow winning is more important to her than it is to me.
"Now then, do you know what a Servant is?" That's one of the questions stuck in my head since I've heard the word. "Sorry. I don't have a clue," I tell her with the most honest apologetic expression I can. It must be hard for her to be paired with a useless "magus" such as me. She shouldn't have to explain such things to her "Master", I suppose.
"You don't know that either?! Your ignorance is more than hopeless," she calls out irritated. Nevertheless, she continues her lecture to me. "Servants are Legendary Souls called from the past to help Masters win in the Holy Grail War. Only those whose deeds are acknowledged long after their deaths become Legendary Souls," she tells me. So, the young girl in front of me must be a hero from history as well.
She describes Servants as soldiers, their purpose to guide and protect the magus who summoned them, their Master. She tells me there are seven classes in which the Servants are divided. She names them to me—Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker.
"A Legendary Soul's main traits are aligned with a class and then given form. It'd be safe to assume that an enemy Servant's class will give you clues about their powers." So, by figuring out a Servant's class one gets a great advantage over them in battle. "Not that the class matters too much. I will cut down any of our opponents anyway," she says, sure of herself.
Then she asks, as to test my knowledge, what class I believe she belongs to. She wields a sword. And even though her fighting style somehow screams Berserker to me, that doesn't seem correct. "Are you perhaps a Saber ?" I'm not all sure but her grin tells me I was right. "True, I am of the Saber class. I also qualify as Berserker for some traits however," she tells me. So, my whole guess was spot on after all.
She tells me to refer to her as Saber. As the silence gives me a few moments to process the information I've just learned, I can't help but wonder. "Saber, who were you in real life? Before you…" I pause slightly. I don't want to mention her death to her. "Before you became a Servant," I say instead. It has the same meaning but feels much more comfortable to ask.
She simply ignores my question. "Aren't you going to answer?" I'm really curious, especially now that she apparently refuses to let me know. "It doesn't matter much," she says. "Also, I don't see why I should tell a hopeless case of a magus about my true name."
Saber tells me that after I have proven my skills to her, she might reconsider telling me. I know she has the right not to tell me, after all I'm probably really a more than hopeless case and I can tell she's frustrated to be paired with me. I will give up on that topic for now.
"Say… Don't you think your armour is quite revealing, especially for a girl ?" For that question she shoots me a death glare and points her sword at me. "Don't ever call me that again." I can feel the hatred in her glare. This feels much more life threatening than the effigy yesterday. "I… I'm sorry. I won't," she has her sword disappear again and seems to slowly calm down.
I don't understand what's her issue about being called a girl—she clearly is one and is showing off enough of her body to have everyone be able to tell so on the first look. But as I still value my life I will remember to never bring up her gender ever again. "By the way," she says, "Usually Servants follow their Master around in their spirit form, invisible to others. Don't expect that from me though."
As I have learned from the gender matter I should rather not ask for a reason and just accept her to tail me everywhere. I think that to be more comfortable than the other option anyway. In this war, it seems like you have no friends, the only "person" you can trust is your Servant so it's less lonely to have your only ally around, I guess. As I stand up and head to the door of the nurse's office, a purple haired girl walks in.
I don't remember her but somehow, I know her name, Sakura Matou. She says she's relieved that I'm finally awake. As I don't have any physical injuries, she lets me leave. "Also, all of your memories have been restored by the SERAPH so do not worry," she says.
But that's not true. I have not regained any memories at all. I don't remember anything but my name and my face and I only know these because I looked at my student ID. She says that Masters have their memories suppressed and are given the memories of general students until they prove themselves worthy to join the Holy Grail War, as I did.
And yet, no memory came back to me. "My memories have not been restored. I don't remember anything at all," I tell her. She looks at me doubtfully. "I cannot help you. I, Sakura Matou, am just a custodial AI." I want to complain but Saber keeps me, "Don't even bother. She is not programmed to answer complaints of such a case, it was never anticipated to happen." I have no choice but to give up.
Sakura hands me a device. "As a participant, you should pay attention to any messages that appear on your terminal," she explains. This terminal is supposed to be a messenger, I suppose. After she explains how it works to me, she mechanically sits down at the table and stares at nothing.
Like an NPC that needs to be talked to, she probably will not take any action unless someone provokes it. I walk out of the nurse's office. The school building I end up in seems just like the only building I remember—the school I came from. And yet, it feels different.
Everyone is wearing the same school uniform as me. It feels nice to talk to real human beings for once, not repetitive dolls without memories. One tells me the view from the rooftop is beautiful. As I have no other idea on what to do now, I walk up the stairs to see it for myself, Saber too uninterested to follow me up to the rooftop, she prefers to wait in the building.
There I see a black-haired girl with a red sweater and a short, black skirt. She pats the walls and floors and murmurs things to herself which I can't make out. Judging from her looks, she must be Rin Tohsaka. Good grades, beautiful, the personification of perfect. The girl that makes girls as well as guys confess to her. I'm not sure why I know any of this, it might be the "general student's memories" I'm supposed to have instead of my actual memories.
And what I know now: If she is here, she must be a Master as well. She might be the one taking my life. As she notices me she gives me a smile. "Hey, you over there," she looks at me softly, approaching me. "Hmm, I haven't checked the NPCs out much yet," she says. "But I'm not—" She cuts me off.
"Aha, I know a simple way. Don't you move." Rin doesn't give me any chance to explain that I'm not an NPC. She gets even closer than before and slowly runs her fingertips over my cheek. At the touch of her soft fingers my cheek immediately heats up and I blush. I can't bring any word over my lips now, this is just too embarrassing of a situation.
"Imagine that. You're warm, though you shouldn't be," she softly giggles to herself. Noticing my reddened face seems to get her thinking. Our faces are so close, they are almost touching. My heart races. I feel her warm breath on my cheek and her hair tickling my bare neck softly. I lose myself in her crystal blue eyes.
She pats my shoulders and stomach, proceeds to run her fingers over my body. I still stand transfixed, no chance to stop her. Rin comments on me being "well-built" and feeling "real". Well, I actually am…
She turns around. "Hey, what are you laughing at? It's to our advantage to look into everything, even the NPCs…" she scowls. Just like Saber is always close to me, her Servant must be behind her, though invisible.
Her eyes widened in shock from what her Servant told her. "Huh? She's a Master, too? No… a Master should be more…" Her face turns just as red as mine as she realizes the whole situation. "W-Wait. That means when I felt up—" I wish I could have told her sooner.
Even now I don't get a chance to talk, she just keeps talking to herself. "Ugh, how embarrassing," she says. I feel the same. Turning to her Servant again, she defends herself, "Shut up! I can make mistakes too, you know! Don't call me a pervert!" Apparently, her Servant has called her so just now. And for people watching, not knowing the context behind her actions, it really must have seemed like her just feeling up a fellow student.
She turns to me again. "Anyway, you're to blame for being confusing. You're too bland to be anything but an NPC. Nothing but a blank look on your face, even now. Were the prelims too boring to jog your memories?" There she hit a nerve. My memories. The most important for a human being, I think, and the one thing I lost.
"I don't have any memories," I tell her. She stares at me in disbelief. "That's… really not good," she says compassionately. Yet, she reminds me that the only way out is to win, if I have my memories or not. No matter if I have battle experience or not. The concern in her voice disappears and she tells me I will be beaten soon enough. In other words, I will be killed soon enough.
I know it's not personal. Rin doesn't despise me. It's just that everyone in the Holy Grail War is your enemy. Saber appears behind me and pats my shoulder, "Do not worry. With me at your side, you will not die as easily."
Unlike Saber, I don't have much confidence in myself. Especially not if one of my opponents will be Rin Tohsaka. If anything, I would rather not fight her. Or anyone, for that matter. But I don't think I have a choice. I have to win so I don't die. "Well, I guess I pity you," Rin speaks up, not facing me. She tells me I should investigate if my soul got jarred later on. And she tells me what I've always known— I'm not cut out for fighting.
I have no memories. I don't know who I am or what's my story. I only know I'm stuck in this war with my only partner being the blonde, berserker-like girl, my Servant. I let most of the day pass.
In the evening, I talk to a girl in my classroom. "Once your opponent has been decided, it's like the tournament has officially begun," she tells me. That reminds me of something. "I don't know my opponent. How… how do I find out who I'm fighting?" Saber sighs behind me. She tells me that I should ask Father Kotomine.
As I leave the classroom and walk down the stairs, as Saber leads me, I see a man. "Congratulations. You have been deemed worthy to be a participant in the Holy Grail War," he tells me. Undoubtedly this must be Father Kotomine. He introduces himself as an NPC with the task of supervising the Holy Grail War.
So, he is one of the few who won't try to kill me. He repeats the basic nature of this war again to me, emotionless and crueller than Saber did earlier today. "Masters get a six-day preparation period before Elimination Battles, which occur on the seventh day." He advised me to prepare well within those six days as the Elimination Battle will decide who lives and who will die. He tells me the loser is deleted.
He warns me that information is crucial in this war and it makes sense—the more you know about your opponent the better you can prepare and the better your chance at beating them. He wishes me good luck. Looking at my disoriented expression, he asks if there is something troubling me. "I don't know my opponent. That's why I came here," I tell him.
He seems surprised. He tells me there is a system error and he would locate my opponent by tomorrow. He gives me the password to my private room which can be accessed through the doors of the classroom next door to mine. He tells me where the Arena is, the place where I have to find two Cipher Keys within the Preparation Period to gain access to the Elimination Battle. If I fail to get them… I won't even have the chance to fight an Elimination Battle.
Thinking about the password I just received I can't help but wonder what my private room looks like. I head to classroom 2-B, in which I can access my private room, hold up my terminal and enter it. It's completely empty, except for some tables and chairs that look typical for a classroom. It seems like I have to redecorate this room myself to make a place to sleep.
Saber comments on the boredom of this room but accepts to help me redecorate it. We take tables and put blankets on them to make beds and push the chairs aside for now. "Should be good enough, for now," I say, quite exhausted. I'm not as strong as Saber and even this bit of physical work is enough to exhaust me. She's shaking her head. "We need to work on your condition, Master." I nod in defeat and we proceed to leave the room for now.
Since there is nothing else for me to do, I head for the Arena. Using my terminal, I see that there are two floors. Only the first one is accessible for me at the moment though. I choose it and step into the Arena.
"The Arena is where we are allowed to kill our boredom by cutting down several weak enemies," Saber tells me. She informs me that here are Enemy Programs created by the SERAPH, just like the ones my effigy beat the last day. As she sees my worry and slight fear, she reassures me that there is no need to be scared as she could never be harmed by such powerless opponents.
I trust her. I want to trust her.
The Arena is made of the same light barrier walls as the path from yesterday. It's just as dungeon-like with Enemy Programs at every corner. But Saber, wielding her sword like a berserker, obviously enjoying fighting to the fullest, destroys them easily one after another. She was right that they could never do any harm to her. I am getting more and more used to this situation. Without much fear or worry left I continue to explore the Arena, Saber by my side.
At a certain point, however, Saber tells me that the coming Enemy Programs are beyond my abilities, for now. She advised me to call it a day for now and return to our room. "I hate to tell you but I have to. While in the Arena, I noticed that I cannot access my full power," she tells me, irritated. Apparently, my inexperience holds her back, a lot.
As she notices my guilt-ridden expression, she adds, "But it will not be needed for now. I can easily beat any of the opponents without my full strength. Do not worry." I still can tell she is annoyed by having someone as useless as me as her Master. I don't want to disappoint her any further.
I will work hard to get stronger myself and to help Saber access more and more of her full power.