A new morning came to Chaldea. The automatic lights turned on throughout the halls as the scheduled time approached. It was difficult to differentiate between day and night within the building, as there were no windows. Everyone lived and died by the clock. There weren’t any complaints though – absolutely nobody wanted to see what lurked outside, be it snow and blizzards or an utter hellscape of flame. The base’s autonomous life support kept the place in stable condition for everyone living there: recycling air, regulating temperature, and far more. While it wasn’t the most luxurious of places, compared to the state of the world right now, it was practically heaven.
Mash walked down the halls of Chaldea, her shoes echoing through the empty space. It had always been a habit for her to get up early. Her days in Chaldea had composed to studying and assisting the various researchers around the building. Her off time consisted of her reading or perhaps watching archived movies or shows. Roman was the one who introduced the latter to her to show her a bit more of the world despite not being able to enter it. It had all been immensely fascinating. Roman held a high place in her heart as he looked out for her the best he could and did his absolute best to teach her.
Then again, that didn’t mean he didn’t exasperate her from time to time.
She was making her way to the living quarters. It had been vastly emptied thanks to the sabotage and subsequent disaster the other day. Most of the rooms were unoccupied now, with whatever belongings collected by the robots, boxed, and set in storage, to be given to their next of kin when (if) it was possible. The only company she had as she walked was Fou, who she held in her arms. He was warm, soft, and fluffy, and Fou certainly didn’t mind it. In fact, he dug into her chest to get even more comfortable as she did. A bit ticklish, but she liked the company. Idly, she wondered if Mr. Morgana would let her hold him in a similar manner. She only managed to pet him one time, and he was very soft. In a different way than Fou but soft, nevertheless.
It was still early in the morning. Perhaps Ren was still asleep? Roman did ask for Ren to come see him when he was able, but there was no rush, after all. Maybe they could go get some breakfast before they saw him. She was sure that she saw some apple muffins in the storeroom. Milk would be good too. She was a bit tired though. Perhaps some coffee. Some coffee made by Ren, and maybe some of the curry as well. The taste still swirled in her mouth with a multitude of flavors that she hadn’t been expecting and frankly she wasn’t sure if there were any normal or common dishes that could match that just send her taste buds reeling –
Wiping off the drool that was accumulated, she composed herself. No, senpai first, food later. Get the order correct, Mash, she thought to herself. Before long, she reached his room. Raising her hand, she knocked on the door. “Senpai, it’s morning,” she called gently. “Are you awake?”
The response was surprisingly immediate. “Yeah, I am. Come in, Mash.”
Mash nodded, placing a hand on the panel beside the door. “Then pardon my intrusion, s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s….” She immediately trailed off as heat exploded onto her face as she witnessed what Ren was doing.
Ren was doing pushups in the middle of the room. All the time in the Metaverse as well as training at the gym had made this a habit for him. One never knew when a strong, decent body would pay off. It certainly did then in spades as he was more physically and mentally capable as he fought. His training had gotten to the point where he could do the pushups one handed, grunting each time he lifted his body weight up. Sweat streamed down from his brow and from his shirtless body. At least he didn’t have two little girls sitting on his back when he worked out this time. Caroline and Justine had way too much fun tormenting him.
He normally would still be asleep – he was a habitually late riser – but he hadn’t slept well last night. How could anyone? All he had were thoughts about the world ending and countless nightmares that he forgot as he woke up, yet their lingering effects stayed anyway. Morgana had tried to get him to go back to sleep, but to no avail. At least he went to bed early enough that he still got a healthy amount of sleep regardless. Morgana himself was sitting on a table, nonchalantly cleaning his paw as Ren continued exercising.
“Morning Mash,” he grunted as he shoved a bit harder, lifting him into the air with enough time to switch hands. “Did you sleep well?”
“Y-y-y-yes, I d-d-did, s-s-senpai, th-th-thank you,” she stammered out, her eyes locked onto Ren’s body as it rose up and down. She knew common courtesy was to look away but frankly, for reasons she wasn’t entirely sure herself, she couldn’t. “Um, R-R-Roman w-wanted to s-s-see you when y-you, um, h-h-h-had a ch-chance, s-s-s-senpai, b-but, uh, d-d-d-did you w-w-w-want to get b-b-b-breakfast f-f-first?”
Ren stopped for a second and looked up at Mash with a grin. “Yeah, sounds good to me,” he replied. “I’ll meet you in the cafeteria after I wash up. I’m just about done anyway.” So saying, he stood up and stretched his arms, giving her a fantastic view of his lean, corded body, built for agility and strength. He glanced over at Mash who was standing there, transfixed, staring with eyes as round as saucers and a face that was as red as a tomato. “Is there something else, Mash?” he asked curiously.
That snapped her out of her reverie as she desperately shook her head. “N-no, not at a-a-all, s-s-senpai! Um, I-I’ll s-see you a-a-at the c-c-cafeteria!” With that, she more or less bolted away, Fou dangling from her grip as the door sliding closed behind her with a quiet hiss.
Morgana gave Ren a deadpan expression. “You totally did that on purpose.”
Ren smirked. “I have no idea what you mean,” he replied lightly as he grabbed a change of clothes.
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After grabbing breakfast with Mash (who was red the entire time and couldn’t look him in the eye), Ren made his way to the command room, with Morgana yawning on his shoulder. The command room certainly looked far better now than it did the other day: Most of the rubble was gone and more people were manning the various displays and computers rather than running about trying to repair things. Roman was at his own workstation, looking at programs that he couldn’t make head nor tails of. Standing beside him, looking at his monitor was a beautiful young woman with long brown hair.
As Ren approached, both of them looked up. “Ah, Ren,” Roman greeted with a smile. There were dark shadows under his eyes. “Good morning. Your curry and coffee was great by the way. I, uh, don’t suppose I can trouble you for a couple more cups? Or gallons, rather?”
Morgana scowled. “How about instead of coffee, you go to bed, doctor!” he growled. :You of all people should know how much sleep is needed for good health!”
The woman beside Roman immediately brought a hand up as she giggled. “See, Roman?” she said in a kind if smug tone. Ren had a feeling that this argument had been going on for some time. “If even the gatto is telling you that you need to rest, then surely you should.”
Roman sighed and waved her off. “Once a Singularity is found, then I’ll get some sleep,” he grumbled. “Ah, I don’t think you’ve made her acquaintance yet. This is Chaldea’s Servant, a Caster who works as the chief engineer: Leonardo da Vinci.”
Ren and Morgana both blinked and stared at da Vinci, who giggled again. “My, what piercing stares from such a handsome ragazzo and a gatto magnifico,” she commented as she posed, giving beatific smile. “I can understand though – my beauty can only be matched by my genius, after all. I quite understand, my giovane prodigio.”
That snapped Ren out of it a little. “Er, it’s not quite that. You said you’re Leonardo da Vinci, right?” The woman in question nodded with a slightly broader smile. “And yet you’re um… a woman. D-did recorded history get something wrong again?”
Da Vinci burst out laughing. “No, no, my dear ragazzo. History was correct this time – I was indeed a male. But when I was summoned, I took certain liberties. I decided to model myself after my ultimate pursuit of beauty, and thus I stand before you, as the super-genius, true beauty Uomo Universale!”
Morgana’s eyes widened in realization. “The Mona Lisa,” he breathed, causing da Vinci’s grin to widen even further. “That was your inspiration and what you took after.”
The self-titled (and very deservedly earned) super-genius clapped her hands together in delight. “Excellent! You truly are a gatto magnifico, Morgana!” she exclaimed. “You are quite correct! The Mona Lisa was my pursuit of true beauty during my life, and so it is only rational that, when given the opportunity, I would pursue it further. The fact that so many people appreciate it only shows that humanity truly can understand such a pursuit in the end!”
Roman sighed and gave a tired smile. “As you guys can tell, if you let her, da Vinci will sing her own praises all day, every day,” he remarked. Da Vinci turned to him with a look that, despite never dropping her beautiful smile, still sent shivers down everyone’s back. “B-but never mind that,” he hurriedly continued, clearing his throat. “Da Vinci was actually about to leave but I managed to persuade her to stay. Thanks to her work, many of Chaldea’s functions are back online, and we even have working power as opposed to just backup generators. She’ll be supporting us from now on.”
The beautiful Caster smiled. “Si! I will be helping with various logistical efforts as well as equipment. If you have any requests or questions, let me know immediately. There is nothing beyond a super-genius like me, after all!”
Ren and Morgana looked at each other before smirking. “Really, nothing beyond you?” Morgana asked wryly. “Because we’ve got a lot of stuff we need, and none of it is easy. Think we can count on you, Caster?”
Da Vinci’s smile grew as her eyes narrowed slightly, giving off a more predatory air now. “Oh, my dear gatto magnifico, is that a challenge I hear?” she purred. “Very well, then – write down any and all requests of me and I shall see they will be provided by the time the next Singularity is found. And please, just call me da Vinci – Caster just feels so common, after all. And if you summon another Caster, well, that will just make things confusing.”
Morgana chuckled. “We’ll hold you to that, da Vinci,” he replied, easily switching over to her name instead. Ren had to smirk. Some supplies would certainly be good, and Ren could easily think of a few things they could have to make their next sorties smoother. And now they had a provider. And da Vinci didn’t come off as a blowhard either – they both had a feeling that she was just as capable as she boasted. They couldn’t wait for the results.
Roman simply looked between the two as they had their discussion, then cleared his throat to regain their attention. “Now then, on to the other matter,” he continued. “Today we’ll be summoning Servants. The normal protocol here is that every Master summons one Servant, and a maximum of seven Servants are to be summoned. But…” Roman glanced over at CHALDEAS. “Well, protocols won’t do us good if there’s nobody around in the end, is there?” Everyone else looked over at the flaming sphere grimly.
Well, that didn’t matter. Ren and Morgana weren’t typically fond of following rules anyway, especially if they got in the way.
“Servants are normally sustained by a Master’s prana, but Chaldea’s generators should be able to withstand the load of a considerable number of Servants, so we don’t need to worry about that,” Roman continued. “Mash went ahead to the summoning room, so go ahead and meet her there. Should be down that hallway and to the right.” He pointed at the doorway. “We’ll meet you there shortly.”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Ren nodded and walked off, Morgana still perched. After they left, Roman sagged in his seat as da Vinci looked over, concerned. “Do you think they’ll be ready?” Roman asked, watching the direction they walked off.
Da Vinci pondered. “Hm, both the ragazzo and the gatto seem to have fought before,” she murmured. “They are certainly more reliable than anyone expected, but that only begs the question: Where did they get their experience from?”
Roman shook his head. That was what he was having Meuniere look into, but so far the man wasn’t having much luck either. But then, he wasn’t exactly a detective or an information analyst. He was simply the most available person he saw at the time. The question of Olga still loomed over all of them and the only thing they could do was take Ren’s word for it. It wasn’t exactly anything close to a foolproof solution, but they didn’t have another choice.
Besides, Roman saw when Olga tried to cow Ren by threatening them with detention to figure out how he got his new abilities. Even from another time and space away, he could feel icy chills down his spine from Ren’s reaction. No, trying to interrogate him for answers would only yield an even bigger disaster than leaving him alone.
Shaking his head, he decided to change topics. “So, what do you think the two will request from you?” Roman asked, his curiosity piqued.
Da Vinci smiled gleefully. “I don’t know, and that honestly excites me, Roman,” she said, her voice filled with anticipation. “Whatever the two have in mind, I’m honestly looking forward to it. They certainly don’t act or work like standard magi, or standard people really. I can only imagine what they will need.” Then she turned back to Roman. Her eyes rove over to his computer screen – and froze. “I’ve no doubt they are hardworking, but I’m not quite sure about you, Roman.”
Roman blinked, then paled as he spun back to his computer and quickly closed the window. “M-Magi*Mari is essential, da Vinci,” he pleaded. “She’s a great morale booster for me and, and she also has great advice! You wouldn’t understand it. She’s important, okay?”
The universal (wo)man looked unimpressed. “Si, si, if you say so. Now let’s go. Mash and our giovane prodigio and gatto magnifico are awaiting us in the summoning room. You can ‘talk’ to Magi*Mari later.” Before Roman could protest any further, da Vinci grabbed his ear and pulled him with her as the man yelped in pain, heading to the summoning room.
Everyone remaining could only sigh in exasperation.
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The summoning room was a larger yet surprisingly plain affair. There wasn’t too much to it overall – a number of circuits lining the room to provide magical energy as necessary, with a raise platform where Mash had laid her shield. It would apparently work as a conduit and catalyst necessary for summoning Heroic Spirits. Overall, it was devoid of frills and was made to serve a very specific reason. Ren and Morgana stood forward as Roman, da Vinci, and Mash hung out near the back. As Masters, they would be the ones doing the summoning. There was currently enough energy for two summons until the generator could go into full swing, but it should do.
Ren stepped forward and held out his hand. He took a deep breath as the lines he had been taught just a moment ago appeared in his mind. With that, he held out his hand and began.
“Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill. Repeat five times, but destroy each when filled.”
The words to the Fate summoning ritual, passed down from generation to generation. It was an incantation to bring forth a Servant and bound them to the contract. The exact wording could vary. It was the self-hypnosis that came with it that was important.
“A base of silver and steel.
A foundation of stone and the Archduke of Contracts.
And my ancestor, my great master, Schweinorg.”
Morgana watched with crossed arms as Ren continued with the ritual. Normally such things he would try to interject, but this was magic and magecraft they were dealing with here. Subjects that neither of them had even the slightest knowledge of. Regardless, he was on hand in case something went wrong.
“A wall to block the falling wind.
The gates of all four directions close.
From the Crown, come forth and follow the forked road to the Kingdom.”
Mash’s shield began glowing as a magic circle lit up. Prana began filling the room, suffusing the place in energy. Morgana’s eyes widened in amazement as Mash, Roman, and da Vinci kept watching. Ren was astonished as well but didn’t allow his concentration didn’t waver as he continued.
“I hereby propose: My will shall create thy body, and they sword shall create my fate.
Abiding by the summons of the Holy Grail, if thou dost accede to this will and reason, answer me!”
The circle began glowing more brightly as it lifted itself from the shield, expanding in size as it hovered in the air. Sparks of prana began emitting as the air around them began buffeting, Morgana lifting his paws to cover his face.
“I hereby swear. I will be all that is good in the eternal world. I will be the disposer of evil in the eternal world.”
Large rings of prana began forming all around them, with the magic circle being the epicenter of them all. Morgana took a step back, his eyes still wide as Ren continued. The magic, the prana, the wind, none of it mattered. All that mattered was the ritual. He would dedicate his all to it, and bring forth a Servant that would help them save the world.
“Thou, clad with the Great Trinity, come forth from the circle of restraint.
Guardian of the Heavenly Scales!”
The rings all contracted and merged in a brilliant flash of light. As the light faded, smoke was left behind, obscuring their vision… until a figure emerged from the smoke. A taller man with darker skin, with slicked back white hair and red coat with black body armor. His powerful grey eyes looked throughout the room before settling on Ren. He gave a sardonic smile. “So you’re my master,” he remarked. “Servant, Archer. I look forward to fighting alongside you.”
Ren blinked, then nodded. The figure in front of him felt extraordinarily powerful, though in a different way from Cu Chulainn. Cu Chulainn felt like he had the untamed power of nature at his command. Saber felt like a dark power that would sweep them all away in a pulse of power. Archer, however, felt like steel. Everywhere, unyielding, and reliable. He stepped forward and offered his hand. “Welcome to Chaldea, Archer,” Ren greeted with a smile. “It’s good to have you here.”
Archer blinked in surprise at the hand, then grasped it. “Greeting a Servant so casually. You certainly aren’t like other mages,” he commented, his tone and smile warmer now. “The Throne filled me in on my summoning conditions. It would seem we have our work cut out for us.” Ren had to chuckle. That was putting it mildly, for certain.
Suddenly, a bouncing Morgana interrupted them. “Hey, Archer, it’s great you’re here and all, but can you move aside?” he demanded, glaring up at him. “I gotta do a summoning too!”
The steel-eyed man could only blink in surprise down at Morgana. A… cat. A talking cat. And he was going to be a Master. His sharp gaze could see the command seals on its front paw. “I… see,” he replied, genuinely at a loss for words. Then he regained his composure and stepped off the summoning circle. “Really, I have to say, having a cat as a Master is something I certainly haven’t seen before,” he noted with another sardonic smile. “Though most likely you’ll set a better standard than most other Masters – cats at least know how to keep themselves alive, after all.”
Morgana glared at Archer. “Is that an insult? I feel like that’s an insult,” he growled. “You wanna run that by me again?” Archer just gave a lazy grin as he joined the other three, crossing his arms and leaning against a wall.
Ren sighed. “Now, now, let’s all get along,” he said, raising his hands. Well, this wasn’t the first time he had to mitigate fights between team members. Morgana and Ryuji went at it each other so often that more than once, he or Makoto had to tell them to knock it off. He looked over at his Servant. Archer didn’t seem all that perturbed by anything that was going on around him, preferring instead to watch. He could feel his eyes reading everything in the room, already calculating each and every scenario. He had no doubt if someone hostile was summoned, he would already be leaping into action before he could give a single order.
Well, he may have a mouth on him, but at least he’s reliable. He just needed to make sure Archer wasn’t in the same room as Ryuji. He idly wondered what would happen if Archer and Akechi met…
The thought caused his throat to constrict. Akechi was one of the few people he couldn’t save, no matter what he did. And the only thing Maruki could give him despite his overwhelming power was an illusion. One so real that he immediately broke through the former counselor’s world because he couldn’t imagine anything going well for him. He thought he might have seen a hint of him after they had defeated Maruki but…. No, it must have been a hallucination from a tired mind. No more, no less.
That still didn’t mean Akechi didn’t haunt his dreams from time to time though. Only recently was he more eclipsed.
Morgana stepped forward now and held out his paw. He began repeating the same lines from the ritual as the magic circle began glowing once more. Ren stepped back a bit from the buffeting winds. So this was what it looked like from the outside… the sheer amount of power he felt around gave him goosebumps. It was like witnessing a ceremonial event, one that would define the world in the coming days. Then again, given they were summoning heroes from legend and myths, perhaps that wasn’t too inaccurate.
Another bright flash of light illuminated the room, blinding everyone once more. As it faded, another figure stood on the summoning circle. A man with shorter blue hair and fierce red eyes. Dressed in blue spandex with metal pauldrons, while holding a blood-red spear in his free hand. “Heh, well, I know I asked for a good fight, but a situation like this? You’re practically spoiling me,” he commented with a lazy grin. “I’m a Lancer – Cu Chulainn. So, what needs killing?”
As Lancer looked up, however, his eyes fell on Archer. His face fell in proportion to the dismay that was on Archer’s face. “Oh no. No no no, not this bastard again,” he grumbled, facepalming. “I finally think I’m gonna get some decent fights and now I have to deal with your ass? Well, win some, lose some, I suppose.” He looked around at the trail of prana, then looked down to see his new Master. Again, he blinked several times. “And now my Master is a kitty cat. Oh boy, my luck really is-“
Morgana snapped. “OKAY, THAT’S IT!” he screamed as he leapt for Cu Chulainn’s face, claws outstretched.
It was at that moment that Lancer realized that he was going to die, and it was by something not human.
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That night, Ren once more ended up in the Velvet Room. He walked out of the cell to both Igor and Lavenza, once more waiting for him.
“Welcome back, my Trickster,” Lavenza warmly greeted. Ren simply smiled and nodded at both of them. “You have finally summoned Servants. Their existences and power will greatly help you in the days to come. Not to mention, they will also be the foundations of your new strength. Already they are bearing fruit.”
Lavenza lifted the Compendium and opened the book. Amid the ruined pages was a fresh sheet, marked Cu Chulainn. However, there were two sides to it, which drew Ren’s curiosity. One side was the normal one he had seen before, with great physical stats and moves. However, the other side was more magic focused – fire in particular - with a much better magic stat at the cost of its physical capabilities. Lavenza pointed to the normal, more physically inclined one. “Please, summon this one, Trickster,” she requested.
Ren blinked but nodded. Lavenza normally never made suggestions which particular Personas he should summon so he decided to follow her advice. The girl smiled and waved a hand. Energy flowed from the page and coalesced in the air, eventually becoming the Cu Chulainn he knew well with a flash of light. This Cu Chulainn, Ren was more familiar with: Armored with a cape, a metal headband with long, flowing black hair. Then a detail caught his eye – and Ren’s eyes widened.
Instead of the regular spear, his Persona now held the blood-red spear that the Servant utilized.
“With the collective unconsciousness gone, my dear guest, we decided to focus on new wellsprings of power,” Igor elaborated, looking up at the new Cu Chulainn persona. “In this case, yours. Drawing on your memories and cognitions of Servants and environment, we used them to reinforce the existence of your Personas, bringing them forth with new powers and modifications. They will be more taxing to use than they used to be, but they are also far more powerful.”
Ren nodded mutely as Cu Chulainn turned towards him.
“I am Cu Chulainn,” he intoned. “Point me towards your adversaries, and I will tear them asunder.” With that and another flash of light, he turned into a mask that Ren pressed to his face. He could feel the sheer wild power of Cu Chulainn within him now, considerably heavier than how he used to feel. This would definitely take some adjustment.
Ren looked back up at the jail cell that held Olga. Igor followed his gaze. “We are funneling what energy we can spare to her,” Igor stated, answering his unstated question. “She is currently dormant. The irony, my guest, is that if the collective unconsciousness hadn’t been wiped out, her existence would’ve been washed away immediately before you could take action.” He looked back at Ren. “After all, you can’t find a single grain of sand among a beach, but if the beach was wiped clean, then picking up that grain of sand would be considerably easier, wouldn’t you think?” An odd metaphor, but Ren nodded in understanding.
Lavenza closed the Compendium. “Now, you best wake,” she said. “You will need to adjust to your powers for the days to come. But I have faith in you. I wish you well, my Trickster.” Ren smiled and nodded. He definitely needed to train for this, but hopefully this would give him the edge.
Once more, the Velvet Room darkened, and Ren knew no more.