Part 41: Golden Poem - Message

Message








A message across time



*phew* Well, first, let me thank you, Hakunon. It's all thanks to you that we made it this far. Beyond this wall is the Zero Dark, the domain of the Umbral Star fragment that flew in from space and burrowed into the Moon Cell. ...Are you at peace with this? You know that SE.RA.PH must be protected against all external threats. That is the responsibility of the one who bears the Regalia, the prize and the burden for the victor of the Holy Grail War. Understand?

*nod*











...*gasp* How could this happen...? How could this happen...? How could this happen so fast?! Wonderful, wonderful! You're wonderful, Sephyr! I knew you could do it, but so easily after all this! Good day, and thank you for all your hard work, my foolish Sovereign! The Moon Cell miscalculated when it chose you!



Wait, wait, wait! That girl must be insane. Even she would never use that option...!



*gasp*

You must hold onto this memory. Even if you forget everything, even if your memory is full of holes, treasure this memory as you would your very favorite. Know that the records from here are not your own. They are memories of a "you" that is not you, a you that no longer has anything to do with you. A deja vu experience you cannot remember, an event you cannot regain. I'm recording it here, even if you are unable to comprehend it.







...Yes. It was a wonderful dream. Thank you for accepting me as I was. ...Goodbye, my Master. May your road continue on, even if the night seems endless.



It's fine if you only catch a piece of this. Even if it's only the ending. The time that you spent together with her, the words you exchanged with her, the childish sentiments you felt, those you can forget. However...if you are the owner of this burned-out shell, there is something that you cannot give away. ...Don't forget. She saved the world. You will not accept this as the ending. It's not worth trading in for a dream. But most importantly, this ending does not fix the root of the problem. In your hand, you have the Regalia. By your side, you have a light with a beautiful sword, and you have a future that you staunchly tried to protect, even if it meant splitting yourself in pieces. So carve this deeply into your heart. Altera is not the one you must defeat. This time for sure...you must split open the Zero Dark alongside "her"...



...I've awakened from my slumber. It feels as if I've witnessed a beautiful dream. I'm sitting in a chair. Was I...sleeping sitting up? As I raise my head, my joints ache, I must have been like this for a very long time.



If so, allow me to welcome you back your beautiful home. Indeed, my smile should say it all! For where else would you rather be than here?

A woman in red stands proudly in front of me. ...From the bottom of my heart, I feel a sigh of relief. Her golden hair. Her slender body. The name of this beloved woman, together with whom I have overcome so many battles, is...Saber. Her True Name is Nero Claudius.

Wh-Why are you acting so formally all of a sudden? One's True Name is not something to say so lightly. Besides, when you...When you bless your lips with my True Name, I wish for it to be in the throes of a most wonderful performance, and in those moments only. ...Ah, I suppose now is not the time for such things. *ahem* My Praetor, you've awoken from a deep sleep. Shall I not explain where you are?

...Where I am? On a throne. I thought I was sitting in a chair, but this doesn't seem like a normal chair at all. What I'm sitting on is, without a doubt, a throne. Around me... This place shouldn't be so familiar. This throne

My Praetor, you have such a curious expression about you. Look me straight in the eye, won't you? You should know me even if you are still half asleep. Who is this wondrous lady who protects the Scarlet Throne, you ask? 'Tis I...



I love Nero's "smug" portrait. Hell of a smirk.

My sword sings with the melody of the Muses. My heart roars like the Vulcan's forge to light your way.



And as proof, the Moon's Holy Grail has given me this ring, the Regalia, the symbol of our Royal Authority over SE.RA.PH.

Yes, that's right. I feel like I"m finally awake after a VERY long dream. The Saber who fought with me through the Holy Grail War, with her smile brighter than golden flame, is in front of me. Now i know exactly where I am. This is the throne room of the Sovereign of SE.RA.PH. Saber and I built this place, as part of our drive to reform SE.RA.PH in our image.

Yes, this is exactly how the curtains should rise. From the Throne of the Moon, you and I will take our glorious first steps forward! Although...one must wonder why you would call me by my True Name just now. That aside, now that we've established my name and beauty, what of yourself? You fell in to a deep sleep the moment you returned from your two-week journey. I granted you a full day's rest, but still you slumbered, till all my patience expired.

I still remember my long dream, at least some of it. But the images are crumbling, like a sand castle. What I see are things that haven't happened in this world yet, and some part of my processing is already starting to write it all off as garbage data.



...So what did I see, exactly? For now, I can still answer that. I saw-

What on Earth happened in the Moon Cell core? Had I known such things would transpire, I would have accompanied you, whether you were willing or not...



..."What happened in the Moon Cell core?" Not many people would know. In fact, only I, in all of SE.RA.PH, had the chance to record it. Servant Saber, you were named Sovereign of SE.RA.PH. But SE.RA.PH now suffers from a fatal error. Unfortunately, that error has scrambled your memories, Hakunon.

How dare you barge through our doors unannounced...?! State your name!

As you can see, I am a Caster-class Servant... Well, I suppose that's not enough information. Very well, allow me to prove my loyalty to you. Accept my true identity as a token of fealty. My name is Archimedes. I am a system update worker, chosen by SE.RA.PH.

Sis-stem up-day?

This man walked brazenly into the Throne Room. He's not a human Wizard. The particular air around him marks him as a Servant. Yes, he is a Servant. Archimedes. His voice and his gaze are both gentle, without a hint of animosity.

It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Your Majesty. And you, Hakunon, it's good to see you again.

Yes, clearly he knows my name.

Hold a moment, Archimedes... Archimedes...? Are you THAT Archimedes?

I am. So you know me, then? Well, well, what a small world we live in.

Archimedes is calm, and his words are easy on the ears. Saber looks suspicious, but she's still listening, and I can see him slowly gaining her trust. ...Even with everything that's happened, I still can't believe it. Archimedes is rational, confident, and clear. Who could guess he'd want to destroy everything? But...



...I'm certain now that I've seen that face. I know why that dream was sent to me, that dream that even now fades and slips through my fingers no matter how hard I try to remember it. That dream that my own thoughts are trying hard to write off as "just some story I heard somewhere'.

Regardless, you spoke just now as if you knew the Praetor personally.

I do indeed. I spent many hours with Hakuno Kishinami in the Moon Cell core.

He thinks we don't know anything. He starts into his usual spiel about the current state of SE.RA.PH. His version of the story in the Moon Cell core. His explanation about the Body, Mind, and Soul, and about how the Mind could disappear.

...I see.

This is why we must make haste. We must merge the Regalia as soon as possible, my Emperor and Sovereign of SE.RA.PH. Forgive my impertinence, but I could not help but rush to the Scarlet Throne and inform you of this emergency.

Your reputation as a genius is well deserved, Great Scholar Archimedes. Please allow me to show my gratitude. You have done us a commendable service. What happened to the Regalia was unfortunate, but your rescue of the Praetor was a righteous deed, befitting a noble scholar-



So up until this point, things have been pretty similar to the start of Flame Poem. Hakunon waking up in Nero's throne room, Archimedes introducing himself, explaining the situation, etc. This is more of a merging of intros to the first and second stages, but regardless, all pretty familiar. This is what Archimedes is counting on finding eventually, a timeline that has enough, even minute, changes from what he's already gone through things might turn out somewhat differently. Maybe he'll get a more agreeable Altera, maybe Elizabeth doesn't come in and eat Nero's Regalia, etc.

Unfortunately for him and his plans, he did indeed find a different timeline. Not the one he was looking for, however. The Body didn't send this message so things could turn out exactly the same.

...Hm? Praetor, do you know this man? But did he not say your memories were...?

...What?

"So we 'must merge the Regalia as soon as possible", hmm?" I shout at him. "Of course you need us to do that. The Cyber Frame of Hakunon depends on it. And so do you. You need the merged Regalia to summon the Umbral Star, don't you? It's the only way to call the Umbral Star to Earth, so it can harvest all the Moon Cell's information. And the only way to unblock the jammer that the Moon Cell cast on the entire galaxy is to destroy the merged Regalia and shut the Moon Cell down."



You can just feel the air in the room change, now that Hakunon knows how things will turn out. Incidentally, this is one of my favorite storytelling gimmicks, when the characters involved know how the plot will turn out and work to choose another option from a disagreeable outcome. Fate/Grand Order also had something like this, where one of the characters from Fate/zero, one of the surviving Masters, knows how the story will turn out if the Holy Grail War plays out from his memory, and works with the protagonist to shake things up and make sure it doesn't.

...Did I commit some kind of error?

"Of course not. Every one of your moves was perfect. But your goal was the very definition of evil. Everything. Every step, every aspect, I understand all of it now, and this Hakunon hasn't forgotten it yet! Even if I did meet you in the Moon Cell core, I remember the edge of the Zero Dark, and the giant shadow. And I remember you're the vassal of Velber, the destroyer of the Earth and the Moon."

...Perhaps it's because the reconstructions were rushed. Did I fail to peel off those residual memories? No, that theory doesn't hold up... Even if those memories were correct, you have no way of knowing about them! How did you find out about the Moon Cell jamming the galaxy?!

Hm! Praetor! I don't fully understand all this, but I am happy to follow your lead! Your expressions, your words, and your deeds have all tipped your hand, Scholar...! I'm afraid you'll get no further thanks or praise from me. Can I safely infer, Master, that this scholar is in fact our enemy?

*nod* "Thank you, Saber." She must be confused, but she's still made the right choice. In the haze of waking up, I barely remembered Archimedes, let alone expected to see him. But I know for a fact that he can never be trusted! "Tipped his hand", hmm? That phrase almost sounds like it was written just for Archimedes right now. My thoughts are in a whirlwind. Even I can't explain them, but I'll try... The "current" Hakunon has the memories that were built with "Her". Even those feel less and less real now, and I can barely acknowledge them as "things that apparently happened", but that smile of hers was burned into my retinas. That's...

...That's a real memory for sure. It's another possibility, something that could have happened in another world. Something that's over now. An alternate ending for a different Hakunon, one who can't be brought back. But she didn't give up. Even though she somehow survived, she chose to discard the future - all the possibilities in front of her - in order to send this message to her past self. To tell me, "Take one more good look". I wonder ever understand what kind of struggle it took to pull off this miracle. I won't ever know what sacrifices were made while I was safely sleeping away. "Now to make up for slacking off - and I'll do more than make up for it, Archimedes. I'll shatter every one of your ambitions and bring you down to the ground. No more smirking and bragging for you. You're done!"

...A record...? ...It can't be...possible... Transitioning between worlds...? No one but I should be able to do that, especially not you, a mere Wizard...! Then what... What does this all mean? A record, a record?! It couldn't have come from the Moon Cell! And DON'T tell me it came from one of the worlds I discarded! *laugh* There's no way that could ever be possible...

"Of course it's possible. To 'slide' between multiple worlds and multiple possibilities. Isn't that what you called it? I don't know how many worlds you trashed up to this point, but I know about one of them, the one that left me this last record!"

...That must be it. The last remaining traces of your awareness in that Body... That little girl who broke Altera... It's true, I did neglect to confirm her death... Hah. How ironic. Neither the Mind nor the Soul conceived any possibility of sliding between worlds, but that sack-of-meat Body figured it out. No, perhaps the Body succeeded BECAUSE it was so mindless, and couldn't comprehend the enormity of the risks. Hmph... Well, this was unexpected, but it's nothing a few equations can't solve. I'll destroy the both of you here and now, then leave it up to Caster to consolidate the Regalia. The correct result will draw someone down the correct path to it eventually. That's simply inevitable.

I wonder, Archimedes. It looks as though your calculations have been thrown askew. I am no scholar, but I accept my Praetor's unwavering resolution! We need no words now. Our connection run deeper than such trivial things. I will say only this: Here stands our enemy, and so he shall be vanquished! My sword is the finest instrument to ever sing! My Preator's resolve knows no doubt! Together, we are invincible!

Know your place, Servant...

Ah, you must be desperate to condescend to a fellow Servant, Archimedes! Forward, my Master! Let us sweep the stage in our glorious opening act!





I wouldn't be too hard on Archimedes, actually. He's been through three different loops now, and nothing has worked out to his expectations. I'd be a little desperate.

Anyway, here begins our final story, with a fight against the final Servant boss of Dawn Arc. This time it's a little tougher, because Archimedes will still Moon Drive himself a whole bunch, and attempt to launch his Noble Phantasm. The tougher part comes from the fact the field is much smaller, so there's less room to dodge his attacks.



I'm actually not entirely sure what he did here. It was some form of ground pound attack that I must have forgotten he had, but it's hard to see what the animation looked like or when he actually launched it. I do know that it hurt a whole bunch.



Nero's last blow stuck home and bought him down...



Is it too much to ask we eliminate the main bad guy on the very first stage...? Happy Halloween everyone! I'm proud to say my Halloween update tradition continues.