《Reaper of the Multiverse》


 Chapter 1 - Past, Present, Future

    [Welcome Mr. Reyes! Our condolences for your death, but congratulations are in order! You have granted another chance at life.]


    ¡®Well¡­ this is¡­ unexpected.¡¯ Was the first thought of thought that went through Gabriel Reyes¡¯ mind as he stared at the screen in front of him. Unlike most, Gabriel didn¡¯t really question what was happening. Why you may ask? It¡¯s because he doesn¡¯t care.


    As he kept staring he humoured himself with the thought that most fanfictions he read included scenarios like this mostly involved normal people with normal lives. He didn¡¯t live a normal life.


    <hr>


    <u>~ Flashback ~ </u>


    Adopted as a child, Gabriel grew up in the small, but loving, Reyes family that greatly cared for him as their own. His adoptive mother and father didn¡¯t have much wealth, but there was enough money to help keep them together and indulge themselves with a decent amount of spending money.


    There were many family events held for socialising with each other on a regular basis which didn¡¯t bother Gabriel as he loved his family.


    His uncles were weird but reliable in anything to do with engineering, his aunt always had a makeup set wherever she went, grandparents always spoiled their grandchildren, and his cousins all played pranks on each other daily.


    They were all he had in his life. Other kids he grew up with thought he was ¡®weird¡¯ due to his hobbies and interests. They weren¡¯t abnormal interests, it was just that he was more ¡®enthusiastic¡¯ and open about it than the others to the point where it creeped them out.


    It wasn¡¯t his love for video games, movies, manga, and other antisocial habits that held others at a distance from him, but it was his excessive respect and desire to be apart of the military. His admiration for military heroes and their fellow soldiers alike included, especially since his father had also been a part of the army in his prime.


    And in Gabriel¡¯s eyes, he was the greatest of them all.


    They were all willing to sacrifice their very being for what they believed in, and the young boy had taken this lesson to heart as he trained himself in all kinds of self-defence and weapon mastery to become just like his childhood heroes.


    School wasn¡¯t much of a problem for Gabriel as he was one of the top students as far as his academics and athleticism went, as he was above what the average 16-year-old was capable of. Although, he was given a hard time for having the same name as ¡®The Reaper¡¯ from the game Overwatch.


    It wasn¡¯t his fault that he had the same name, and not only that but he also had similar features to the character It was like looking at a younger version of the Blackwatch Agent himself with slight variations.


    (AN: He doesn¡¯t look exactly the same, he just has black hair, brown eyes and a similar body structure)


    It got to the point where he was nicknamed ¡®Reaper¡¯. Gabriel had thought it would be amusing if he were able recreate the mercenary¡¯s voice as well, only to surprise himself when he got it down perfectly.


    Other than the regular comment or two about his creepy likeness to the game character, Gabriel had no real issues with school. Unlike his peers though, he wasn¡¯t aiming for entering university. No way was he going to study for three to four more years just to end up working at some boring desk job as a career. He wanted to make a difference, to enlist into the army, just like his father had in his prime.


    Unfortunately, it was never meant to be. The Earth had entered the third World War against an unknown organisation. It was a disaster, and one that lasted for years on end.


    No one really knows how it started, but before they knew it the war had already left many countries in an uncontrollable panic. Borders were blockaded, regular inspections became more and more prominent as the terrorists continued their assault around the globe.


    The only information the public knew was that they called themselves the ¡°Order¡±. Nothing else but a complete mystery surrounded them. Their purpose unknown, their location unknown, and the number of followers unknown. All of it unknown to anyone.


    Shortly after their appearance, Australia had been thrown into the fray. The Order had begun their first frontal assault since they declared war onto the world. No more random acts of terrorism, but a large scale coordinated attack.


    Just as how quickly the war started, Australia had fallen against them. Being separated from the rest of the world, Australia wasn¡¯t the easiest country to send aid to as their allies had enough problems keeping them occupied.


    Citizens were turned into prisoners of war, the army was thoroughly decimated, and the government disbanded. Majority of the population were forced into harsh physical labour, others had the choice to join the Order¡¯s forces in exchange for the protection of their families from harm. But the minority, they were left with no option but to ¡®volunteer¡¯ for helping them with their experiments to offer protection for their loved ones if they weren¡¯t eligible to be a part of the armed forces. No exceptions.


    Gabriel¡¯s father was quick to join the army, he knew there wasn¡¯t any way to fight back until we received help from another country. It was heartbreaking for the family to send Gabriel¡¯s father into the Order, but they had no choice.


    The only one that had a chance of fighting in the war as a part of their military was his father, the rest had either no experience or would fit the Orders criteria for joining. His mother, cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents couldn¡¯t do anything, and they were all mortified.


    Fate had other plans apparently, Mr. Reyes was killed in action after a number of engagements against the other nations that had been under fire. And in the process, removing whatever protection his family had against the Order.


    Thinking quickly in his feet, Gabriel had volunteered to become a lab rat for their safety. They had, of course, rejected the idea but were forced to agree when they all realised that he wouldn¡¯t give in to their pleas as he was determined, just like his father, to protect what was left of his family.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Gabriel had been taken into the Order and went through various experiments for them. And it. Was. Hell. Days became weeks, weeks became months, and moths became years. Slowly but surely, Gabriel had become the perfect killing machine, a super soldier at the young age of 20.


    The newly made soldier nearly laughed at the pure irony of it all. It certainly was the peak of all irony that he would end up increasing the number of things he and the fictional character of Overwatch had in common with one another.


    An Agent of some ¡®evil¡¯ organisation who was experimented on and received supernatural abilities in exchange, who looks exactly like ¡®The Reaper¡¯ from Overwatch.


    Yes, the young man who volunteered to be a lab rat had received strange abilities in return. All of them defying what was originally thought to be just fiction. It was indeed, mind-blowing to the agent, after all some of the powers he obtained made him question his own sanity. One of which was a wraith form similar to that of the game Overwatch.


    With that thought in mind he thought to himself, ¡®Why not go all the way?¡¯


    Ordering his own custom-made uniform, he set out to complete his new persona. Covered in a pure carbon black leather coat with a hood pulled up with white mask representing a skull was placed on his face to hide his past identity from others and protect his face. Wearing set of metal gauntlets with sharp pointed fingers, that could pierce through the chest of any grown man, and donning a black vest covered in pockets and shotgun shells for his primary weaponry.


    (AN: dual shotguns if you haven¡¯t figured it out)


    Overall, it was like watching a character come to life, to reality.


    Eventually he was thrown into a special ops team. Gabriel was sent to carry out a numerous amount of missions, all of which ended with astounding results that would make even the most experienced of men green with envy at his service record.


    Fight after fight, kill after kill, the bringer of death became an unstoppable force to be reckoned with and climbed up the ranks through effort alone and eventually became a trusted member of the Order for his accomplishments. Soon enough, using his rank, he began to dig around for information about their purpose and why they had only taken over Australia after all those years.


    Most of his missions turned the tide of many battles, sabotage, infiltration and outright frontal assaults. Even so, the war never went further than a standstill. They hadn¡¯t come close to winning against the other nations even with their victories pilling up, which made everyone a part of the Order suspiciously wary.


    It was strange that such a secret and efficient organisation, that could overthrow Australia¡¯s government and military, in a short span of time couldn¡¯t push far enough to deal with other countries.


    Sure, they had conquered all of Australia¡¯s close neighbours, including New Zealand, Papa New Guinea and Indonesia. But other than that, no progress whatsoever was made.


    Eventually, Gabriel had found what he and many others were looking after investigating far enough. Though he had lost some valuable allies and friends he gained along the way, he still wasn¡¯t deterred and pushed on to get to this point.


    And to say it was a complete shock to him would be a complete understatement. The Order was created by the leaders of the world, all of them. The details were unclear, but the main point for the Order¡¯s creation was enough for him to fall into despair.


    ¡®They sold us out. There¡¯s no plan to takeover the world or anything! NOTHING! It¡¯s just for their selfish greed!¡¯


    It all finally made sense. The Order wasn¡¯t actually a threat, it was just an act, business. As the big wigs across the world gained the support of their nations and received increased funding from the increase in taxes and donations for increasing their military power.


    Soldiers were fighting tooth and nail on both sides, all for their fake war. It was the reason that there wasn¡¯t any further advancement, except for the occasional gain or loss of land just to keep up appearances.


    It was a simple, cruel and disturbing fact. One that held true throughout all of history. Greed, more specifically the means used to satisfy said greed.


    There was a quote that Gabriel¡¯s great-grandfather always used to say before he passed on. War needs money, and money needs war.


    Gabriel never really understood what he meant until this moment. For those in power to gain money, they need war, and for the war to continue, they need money.


    Shortly after his attempt to gather the files needed to release his new-found evidence to the rest of the world, he was caught by his superiors and was tortured for his insubordination.


    Soon they sent out a squad to bring in the rest of his family to be punished with him, which lead to Gabriel begging and pleading for his family¡¯s continued protection and for mercy, and so he was given a choice. Execute his fellow countrymen that were found to be traitors, or his family suffers.


    Needless to say, it was an easy choice to make. There were around 9 people that were dragged into the room, all of them shackled and with bags over their heads and all of them wearing standard military uniforms. Quickly and efficiently, he put a bullet into each and every one of them.


    Feeling a sense of relief for getting a second chance at redemption, he was about to exit the room only to see their bags being taken off.


    The ones he killed were his own relatives. Gabriel froze entirely, his very core was shocked at what he had done.


    Still speechless at what he had done, Gabriel was unaware of the new presence that entered the room behind him. A pair of arms had slowly crept around his chest from behind as someone began sobbing into his back, gripping tightly.


    At the sudden contact, an unbearable feeling of dread filled the young man¡¯s heart, turning his head ever so slightly to see what had grabbed him from behind.


    It was his mother, weeping. Her image had hardly change even after all his time in the Order, she had her pitch-black hair and bright blue eyes still retaining their youthful look. Her face was scrunched up as tears were falling from her eyes like a river.Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± It was soft and quiet, but clearly heard. Gabriel¡¯s eyes shot up to his hairline as he heard this.


    ¡°I¡¯m so¡­ so sorry that *Sniff* I couldn¡¯t be there for you *Sob* for all those years. *Sniff* And now this¡­. I¡¯m sorry.¡± She cried uncontrollably in between breaths. ¡°Just promise me¡­ Promise me that you¡¯ll keep living for us. That you¡¯ll survive through this to see it end.¡± Gabriel listened to her with his full attention.


    Disbelieving at what he heard, he struggled to remove the clog in his throat that prevented him from speaking. He couldn¡¯t believe that after all those years and after what he had just done, she didn¡¯t blame him, she didn¡¯t shun him. She still loved him, even when he¡¯s about to kill her as well.


    The Order wouldn¡¯t let their ¡®Reaper¡¯ roam around free until he had suffered the consequences of his actions. Then he¡¯d have no reason to defy them, no reason to betray them. If he did, then anyone else he would deem as precious to him would die like the rest.


    Trying to force out a reply and keeping his voice as steady as possible he leaned in to her ear, ¡°I p-promise¡­ I promise mother.¡±


    Looking up to her only son, arms still wrapped around him, she smiled gently. No longer was she in the presence of her baby boy, she was standing in front of a man with a heavy burden on his shoulders. A man who has gone to the depths of hell and back again alive. Her baby boy was grown up.


    A tall man stood in front of her, his face mature and handsome with his short black hair and goatee. Brown eyes filled with a look that seems to make him old and tired than he should be at his young age.


    She took in his appearance one more time to commit it to memory, tears still falling from the corner of her eyes she whispered, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Stepping away from her son, she readied herself for the inevitable.


    Not looking away, Gabriel brought his gun up to her head and softly whispered back, ¡°Say hi to dad for me¡­ Goodbye mum.¡± As he finished speaking he pulled the trigger and watched as her lifeless body fell to the ground with the rest of his family.


    His heart burned with unbelievable amounts of pain as tears poured out from his eyes from grief. Watching as his mother¡¯s body became paler as her blood kept flowing out from the hole in her head, he ignored the pain and just kept staring.


    Hearing the sound of someone clapping, the lone member of the Reyes family turned to see his superior entering with his uniform and badge clearly displayed on his chest.


    Immediately, Gabriel stood at attention and gave him a salute, more out of habit than anything else. ¡°Congratulations Agent Reyes, you¡¯ve regained your place in the Order. Do keep up the good work.¡± The man grinned with amusement to the ¡®show¡¯ he witnessed.


    Of course, Gabriel would have to keep playing at their game, keeping him within reach to keep tabs on in case of a second betrayal. So long as they needed him for his excellent service record and information he held, they had no choice but to keep him.


    More importantly though, he was, and is, the lone survivor of their test subjects.


    Just like the Order, Gabriel had no choice but to follow their plans for as long as he was helpless against them. No family, no friends and no allies were there to help him. They¡¯d all died off or gone into hiding.


    Grounding his teeth out, he swiftly shouted, ¡°Sir, yes sir!¡±, while mentally spitting at his face. Gabriel had no choice but to wait it out until he had a chance to exact his revenge against the Order. After all, every predator waits for his prey.


    <hr>


    <u>~ Back to the present ~</u>


    Even when he thought he had nothing else that could be taken away from him, he was wrong. After all the death of his friends and family, all he wanted was to see them again. Yet he had been denied death. Death had refused him to meet his loved ones, and now he was left to be amongst the living once again, to continuously suffer.


    ¡°This¡­this is BULLSHIT!¡± I cried out after reliving through my memories.


    ¡°WHY?! WHY AM I STILL ALIVE?! I HAVE NOTHING LEFT! WHAT MORE DO I HAVE TO LOSE DAMNIT!¡± Falling to my knees I started to repeatedly punch the floor in the closed off white room I had woken up in.


    Silently sobbing I tried to pull myself together and move on, that¡¯s what I do best after all. It¡¯s what I promised to my mother, and as long as I¡¯m alive I¡¯ll continue to live for one god-forsaken day after another.


    Looking up I spotted some new boxes of text appearing in front of me.


    [You have been given the chance to live life once again. However, your soul will be thrown across various worlds that exist in the multiverse, all of which would be randomly selected.]


    That caught my attention, ¡°So the multiverse is a real thing then.¡± I mused out loud more as a statement then a question. Not that I was surprised considering what my own powers consisted of.


    [Correct, but you will have a greater chance to be sent to a world fit to your own capabilities for the first few worlds. Wouldn¡¯t want our new-found entertainment to die off quickly, would we?]


    Clearly disgruntled at the obvious jab at him being nothing but a source of interest to the ROB (random omniscient being) Gabriel thought morbidly, ¡®As long as they stay interested that is. Wouldn¡¯t want to know what¡¯d happen if they were bored of me.¡¯


    Trying to avoid from delving further into any more disturbing possibilities I shake my head and focus on my current predicament.


    ¡°So, care to explain how this is going to work? Will I reincarnate or simply dumped in the world as I am now? Also, when will I transfer to a new world, when I die or when you see fit?¡± I asked curiously.


    [You will be sent to a number of different worlds as yourself. Watching a baby grow up is insanely boring for the both of us.]


    Too true. It would be a waste of time.


    [We will decide when you are to transfer to a new world for now, in future though you may be given some leeway in the duration of your stay. This topic can be discussed at a later date. On another note, you are now ageless. This is not to be mistaken with immortality.]


    Sounds reasonable in all honesty, more reasonable than anything I¡¯ve had to deal with in my life. So, I just accepted it as it was and spun the roulette that appeared next to the message that had a list of different universes like Bleach, Naruto and Harry Potter.


    Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thuunk, thuuunk~ (AN: sound of a roulette, don¡¯t judge.)


    *DING*


    [Your destination will be Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, please spin the wheel again for a power bonus. The multiverse is a dangerous place after all, this will help you stand your ground against your foes.]


    Well crap, right off the bat I¡¯m going to be thrown into a world with powerful servants and masters. Could be worse though, considering there were actually options for the Dragon Ball series.


    ¡®Planet destroying bad guys showing up every Tuesday? Fuck that, I¡¯m out¡¯.


    Looking back towards the wheel I raised an eyebrow at all the different kinds of powers available in a mere roulette game. Kekkei Genkai¡¯s (Naruto), Sacred Gears (DxD), and even the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception (Fate) was available.


    Not really wanting to get my hopes up any further for some overpowered abilities I spun the wheel again and was pleasantly surprised.


    [You have received the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai, Sharingan. Additionally, because you have already had to watch your friends/loved ones die in your past life, the Mangekyou Sharingan will be available upon your arrival to the Fate universe. Keep in mind it is NOT the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, so you WILL become blind if you continuously use the Mangekyou and its abilities.]


    ¡°Well that went better than expected.¡± I mumbled while wondering how my horrible I¡¯ve had all my life could grant me the Sharingan. ¡®Though it¡¯s unfortunate I don¡¯t have the EMS¡­. Maybe if visit Naruto at some point¡­.¡¯


    My thoughts were cut off as I remember something important that I¡¯ve yet to confirm.


    ¡°Won¡¯t having the sharingan become a problem for me? Far as I know, I don¡¯t have chakra and even if I did, it¡¯s too late to develop one naturally. So, how¡¯s this going to work for me?¡± Voicing out my concerns to the invisible being watching me.


    [Be at ease Reyes, there is no need to be alarmed.]


    ¡®Easy for you to say.¡¯ I silently scoffed.


    [You will be provided with the ability to adapt to virtually anything, either through training or artificial means. Your body has already shown signs of such adaptability from your previous¡­ experiences.]


    I mentally grimaced at the memory of it. All those chemicals the Order infused within my body were absolute agony, all to enhance my powers.


    [One more thing before you leave. You will be given permission to access the multiverse version of the Abyss Auction, you aren¡¯t the only person travelling back and forth between dimensions after all.]


    Raising my eyebrow at the fact that the Abyss Auction is not only real, but available as a place to sell and buy things from across the multiverse. ¡®I could get a lot of useful items from this. After I earn money that is.¡¯


    Nodding to myself as I absorb this information I ask the being, ¡°How much can I interfere with the ¡®storyline¡¯ of each world I enter, and will there be consequences from these changes?¡±


    [Go crazy, I personally don¡¯t care what happens to these worlds so I won¡¯t interfere unless necessary. However, the rulers/gods of those realms may not be so laid back as I am, most of them are fairly flexible though and don¡¯t mind but there are always exceptions to this. Now, are you ready for some adventure?]


    Bringing my thoughts together I say with determination, ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± After a few short moments another box pops up.


    [You will be sent to Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works in a few seconds. Prepare for departure and good luck.]


    Suddenly I felt my body tingling all over and look down to see myself disintegrating into bright blue particles of light, starting from my limbs to the rest of my body. Shortly before I¡¯m fully ingulfed by the light I see another text box unexpectedly appear in my face.


    [Your mother and father say that they¡¯re proud of you and still love you, and will continue doing so, no matter what you have done or will do in future.]


    My entire being was immediately filled with so much joy to hear from my parents again that I break down into tears. Thinking back on my life and how it¡¯s lead me to this point, I felt so relieved to see that they¡¯re still proud of me regardless of my past atrocities.


    Looking back at the box of text I mutter out weakly, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Letting the light take me away, I disappear. Ready to live for another day.


    <hr>


    <u>~ Unknown Location ~</u>


    Appearing in a small dungeon like room, I see out the corner of my eye that my limbs are chained to the ceiling and floor of the stone-cold room in my Nevermore armour. Disoriented by my sudden appearance in a new world for the first time, I could only make out some broken sentences in Japanese.


    ¡°¡­failu-¡­summon¡­.Hercu-¡­¡­..berse¡­..¡±


    ¡°No choice¡­¡­-ail war¡­. new servant¡­..unknown ident¡­¡­.¡±


    Trying to make sense of my surroundings in general, I just remain unmoving in a state of meditation to clear my thoughts for a number of hours. Eventually I open my eyes again to see three women in front, approaching slowly. Two of them remaining at a small distance away and slightly behind the small girl in front.


    I stood there, slightly shocked at the turn odd events that I¡¯ve been forced into as I stare at the girl. Snow white hair, bright red eyes and a slight frown on her face, this little girl was Illyasviel von Einzbern, and she was standing right in front of me. The master of Berserker, the hero Hercules. The unstoppable legend himself, and the one who died protecting his master.


    Thinking to myself, I plan out my next course of action to this predicament. I¡¯ve apparently replaced the original Berserker and have been summoned as a Servant in his place. ¡®What am I to do now?¡¯


    Snapping out of my thoughts I look to see the girl activating her circuits and the magic circle beneath us. Within my mind I could hear Illya giving me commands to move according to her will and feel my body split between complying and ignoring her orders.


    ¡®If I am to follow her as my Master, then I will do so of my own free will. Never again will I work under others against it¡­. Plus¡­. if I do move then it¡¯ll only harm her.¡¯ I thought to myself.


    I remember how the original Berserker brought immense pain to Illya whenever he would move about due to the lack of support from the Grail, since it hasn¡¯t appeared yet.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? What are you doing? Move like I said, Berserker!¡± Illya seemed to voice out, upset at the strange and unexpected disobedience I was showing. She continued on for a bit, voicing out a command to do as she says.


    Having enough of this farce I looked directly at Illya and replied in a dark voice, ¡°I refuse.¡±


    Visibly shocked from voicing out a reply Illya quickly goes from shocked to outraged, ¡°Why?! Why won¡¯t you listen, I am your Master and you are my Servant! Move!¡±


    Suddenly my body starts to shake and thrash around for a bit from the command, and Illya began to scream as a result. After a few moments she slowly picks herself up from the ground, blood soaking her clothes. Smirking slightly as she stares at my thrashing from the Mad Enchantment being activated.


    ¡°I can win the Holy Grail War without you anyway. I won¡¯t be beaten. I¡¯m the most powerful Master in the world!¡± she declared confidently.


    Without saying another word, she walks out of the room with her maids following behind her as they close the doors.


    With nothing left to do I just relax my body as I try to regain control of myself. The state of mind that I was placed in felt like the time I was placed under extreme torture. Subconsciously I placed my thumb over my index finger and cracked it. Eventually I decided to try and adjust to the feeling of my eyes, the Sharingan. So, I waited.


    <hr>


    <u>~ A few days later ~</u>


    Surprisingly enough, I didn¡¯t have to wait to move into action as late as I thought I would have to. One of the maids had dropped in to give an update of my Master, apparently, she¡¯s already been thrown into the woods for her test. From what I remember, she was supposed to be thrown into the forest just before she went to Fuyuki for the Grail War, and that¡¯s supposed to be about two months away.


    My thoughts cut themselves off immediately when I realise the danger Illya is probably in. Even if I might not see her as my Master right now, I couldn¡¯t leave her to die. She reminded me of myself, left alone and forced to never live your own life how you wish to.


    I understood her burden, and I¡¯d be damned if I let her go through what I had to in my life.


    Breaking the chains that bound me to my chambers with my immense strength, comparable to the original Berserker and set off at inhuman speeds to find Illya.


    Running through the snow laid woods I hear a pain filled cry ringing through the air nearby. I picked up the pace, leaping into the air as I spot a pack of wolves sinking their teeth into the poor child.


    Crashing into the ground, the snow explodes outwards on impact, taking the wolves with it and leaving behind a little girl bleeding on the ground in front of me.


    The frail girl sprawled out on the snow covered in her own blood and tears coming from the corner of her eyes. Picking herself up from the ground she stares right into my own eyes, covered by my mask. She wasn¡¯t the only one to pick herself up though, as the wolves came charging right at me, chewing into my skin the best they can.


    I didn¡¯t resist much, I could tear them apart at any moment I choose to. Instead, it was rather amusing. Animals are said to have great instincts when in the presence of a predator or threat greater to themselves, thus avoiding the danger completely yet here they are trying to devour me of all people.


    ¡°Berserker? Why are you here?¡± she questions in a shaky voice, ¡°I left you behind¡­.why aren¡¯t you fighting? Because of me? Because you don¡¯t want me to suffer?¡±


    Closing her eyes, she opened them again with a look of determination in her eyes as she said, ¡°Get them, Berserker!¡±


    Grinning to myself like a madman I replied, ¡°With pleasure.¡±


    Abruptly, I struck my hand out and crushed the skull of the wolf that was nibbling on my ankle and swiftly moved to grab the one on my back and threw it towards one of its brethren. Quickly I moved in and pierced their bodies with my claws and ripped them in half. Shadows of darkness swirled around me as I procured a set of shotguns from them and began to fire endlessly at the pack, spinning in circles cackling with a hint of insanity laced in my voice, ¡°DIE DIE DIE!¡±


    Soon enough, all that was left was a field of snow, soaked with fresh blood. Illya took a step towards my towering form and started to speak, ¡°I understand now. You didn¡¯t protect me I ordered you to or because you¡¯re a Servant.¡± A small smile gracing her lips, ¡°You¡¯re protecting me of your own free will, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re strong, Berserker.¡±


    Falling forward from exhaustion, I caught her in my arms, ¡°Ahh, sorry Berserker. I¡¯m just a little tired, I¡¯m going to sleep for a bit. Goodnight Berserker.¡± Illya promptly fell asleep as she predicted. Not much of a surprise considering the cold weather and her injuries.


    Chuckling to myself I couldn¡¯t help but see her as adorable. Picking her up bridal-style I trekked my way back to the castle, thinking of the future that lies ahead of me.

 Chapter 2 - Reasons for Living

    <u>~ Illya¡¯s POV ~</u>


    Waking up to the rays of sunlight in my eyes, I rub away the crust building up in them from sleeping. Taking in my environment I noticed that I¡¯m in my room. Confused at having no memory of going to bed I try to review what I remember from the day before.


    Quickly recounting yesterday¡¯s events, I shot out of bed and checked my injuries. Only to find them wrapped up in bandages. After inspecting my treated wounds, I look up to see a man clad in a dark purple coat covered in feathers with plates of armour visible around his chest and limbs.


    ¡®Berserker¡­¡¯ I thought to myself.


    Putting on a smile I introduced myself, ¡°Good morning Berserker, I¡¯m Illyasviel von Einzbern, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±


    It appears that he¡¯s surprised from my greeting by his body language¡­. I think. It¡¯s really hard to tell, but he just kept staring at me, particularly towards my injuries. ¡®Ah, he wants to know how I am.¡¯ I concluded.


    ¡± I¡¯m fine,¡± I reply waving his concerns away, ¡°It¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t handle, I¡¯m the strongest Master after all¡± I declared with pride.


    Judging from Berserker¡¯s chuckling, it was clear he was amused by my declaration.


    Puffing out my cheeks I glare at him hard, though I think it just made it that more amusing for him since he wouldn¡¯t stop. ¡°Just you wait! I¡¯ll win the Holy Grail and we¡¯ll see who¡¯s laughing then!¡± I replied, thinking of how to rub it in his face when it happens.


    Thinking of how I would show Berserker a piece of my mind I quickly realise I still don¡¯t know his name. It was strange too now that I think of it, it was apparently planned for Hercules to be summoned, but looking at my Servant it¡¯s clear to say that he isn¡¯t the one they were looking for.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your name?¡± curiosity welling up within me. He seemed to pause for a moment and silently looked towards me with clear hesitation.


    ¡°I am the Reaper.¡± His voice still deep and cold like before.


    The Reaper? Unless he¡¯s claiming to be Death himself, there isn¡¯t any Heroic Spirit in history holding that title from what I know, and the rest of the Einzbern¡¯s don¡¯t have a clue who he is or what his legend was.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of you before, what¡¯s your real name?¡± I inquired.


    He remained silent, looking right into my eyes, which unnerved me a little because of how his glowing purple eyes seemed to turn a shade of red for a second for no reason, all while having a cold and calculating aura around him. ¡®Probably nothing¡­¡¯ I assured myself.


    Sighing to myself as my, ever so quiet, Servant most likely wouldn¡¯t tell me. Catching me off guard, he spoke in a serious voice, ¡°Why do you want to win?¡±


    Sitting up straight on the edge of my bed with confidence I looked directly at him, ¡°Because I¡¯m going to prove that I am the strongest Master.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me Illyasviel. Why are you fighting for Kiritsugu Emiya¡¯s approval?¡± he asked with a slightly sharper tone.


    I froze, silence hanging in the air as my mind passed through as many thoughts as I possibly could. Sifting around in my mind still in shock and confusion as I mentally questioned about his knowledge of me. How much he knows and why he does more specifically, not many people were aware that I was Kiritsugu¡¯s daughter (anyone outside the Einzbern¡¯s).


    Breaking me out of my thoughts the Raven clothed man says, ¡°You have nothing to prove.¡±


    Anger rapidly forms within the mixed emotions I was currently feeling. What right did he have to look down on me? Before I could give a heated reply, he immediately carried on, cutting me off from speaking, ¡°You don¡¯t have to prove anything.¡±


    As quickly as my anger came, it dispersed with confusion replacing it, ¡°Live your life for yourself and do it the way you want to. If not, you will always remain a puppet.¡±


    I quickly realised the point he was trying to make. Despite being family, my father left me behind, he never came back, instead he looked towards his new ¡®son¡¯. Here I was, left to be used as a tool by the rest of the Einzberns and to carry out their commands at will, all while trying to prove to my father that I am not someone to be abandoned, that I¡¯m actually worth something. Even when he died, my goal still didn¡¯t change. I just switched targets, instead of my father I¡¯d show my ¡®brother¡¯ who was better. It was the only thing that kept me going.


    It was strange, having to realise that my goals only chained me down to the Einzberns even further. I was trying to free myself by fighting for the approval of others, to prove I was of worth. But if I do that, then I would never be free to live since I would be carrying out the Einzbern¡¯s wishes which aren¡¯t truly a part of my own. I never did want the honour or glory for getting the Grail, I never cared for it.


    My heart sank at the realisation that my only purpose in life was not even one of my own choosing, but rather something I was forced to accept to survive. Desperately making up some stupid mission to give myself some feeling of worth to hang on to, a reason to keep living, a purpose. But having it pointed out to me by someone else was certainly an eye opener.


    Close to the edge of tearing up I whisper, ¡°Then what do I do? I have nothing to live for if my only reason is gone. What¡¯s the point?¡±


    Seeming to stare off into the distance with dull eyes on my bed for what seemed like hours, which in reality was only a few minutes, I contemplated what I should do now. I mean if my only purpose has lost it¡¯s meaning to me, then does that mean I have no purpose? Does that mean there isn¡¯t any reason for me to continue living? No one would miss me, no one would really care, because I don¡¯t have anyone.


    Before my thoughts could continue spiralling down into an endless pit of self-destructing thoughts, a cold metallic hand began to gently caress mine while my fists were clenching tightly. I¡¯m once again thrown into shock, because caressing my hand was Berserker.


    With his cold, hard and dark exterior, I didn¡¯t expect to receive such a comforting gesture from the so-called Reaper, both physically and emotionally as he seemed to be projecting a calming sort of aura around him as well. ¡°You remind me of myself, used as a mere tool for others and with no purpose. So, find a new reason for living.¡±


    It was a simple solution, it really was. There was just one problem though, ¡°I don¡¯t have anyone. Even if I find something to work towards, there¡¯s no point to it if I¡¯m still going to be alone.¡± Having been alone for a long time, I know for a fact that when you¡¯re alone then you may as well not have a purpose. If there is no one there to be with you when you achieve your goals, then why achieve them at all?Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°You¡¯re not alone, not anymore.¡± He said softly, yet still holding its deep tone somehow.


    I stare at my Servant in surprise, as my mind kept trying yet failing to register what he truly meant. By the time I finally understood and registered what had been said, my emotions got the better of me and I started crying, not from sadness but from pure joy. ¡®I¡¯m not alone!¡¯


    Pulling him into a warm embrace, I cried into his shoulder as he soothingly stroked my back. I wasn¡¯t going to be alone, we would win the Holy Grail and I could be able to anchor Berserker down to reality with the Grail.


    Little did I know that Berserker had slightly different plans on how we would stick together. I would never regret it though, that¡¯s for sure.


    As time passed by, I found my Servant to be very amusing. For one who held the title of the Reaper, one who walked a path of misery and death, here he was caring for and comforting a little girl like me. ¡®Not that I¡¯m actually a little girl.¡¯ I mused inwardly.


    ¡°You promise right? If you promise you have to keep it. I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re sorry if you break it.¡± I said mischievously, eyes still watery from my tears.


    Chuckling softly, he responded along with what I assumed to be a smile underneath his mask, ¡°I never break my word.¡±


    I was happy beyond what words could express. After years of solitude (not including the Einzberns) I finally had someone to be there for me. I wasn¡¯t alone and would never be alone again. I¡¯d make sure he kept his word, not that I doubt it though.


    ¡°You need to rest.¡± Giggling to myself at the obvious attempt to get me to stop cuddling him, which was surprisingly comfortable, he slowly tucks me back into bed,


    Smiling widely at my new¡­ friend? Yes, friend seems nice¡­ I close my eyes to get a good rest. As my conscience was slipping away from me, I didn¡¯t notice the small blush on my cheeks and slight pounding of my heart as I thought of Berserker.


    (AN: Is that a flag I see? Who knows?)


    <hr>


    <u>~ Reyes POV ~</u>


    ¡®What is wrong with me?¡¯ I asked myself, confusion running amuck in my mind.


    I didn¡¯t understand why I was behaving so strangely. Normally I would have most likely acted apathetically to anyone else, with some form of pity possibly, but I never thought I would actually propose to stick together with the girl/woman after the war came to an end.


    I¡¯m still slightly confused on that since Illya is actually older than Shirou is despite her looks, because of her slow aging factor, meaning that she¡¯s probably around 18 or 19 years old. Maybe older than that, but I digress.


    The way I acted around her was completely different to how I usually did around others. At first, I thought it was because I simply sympathised with her since there were certain similarities between us, but that still doesn¡¯t explain my sudden change in character.


    Ever since I met her my instincts have become¡­. off¡­. I¡¯ve felt the need to protect her far more often than I should, and to ensure no harm was to befall Illya. I had considered the possibility that my new status as a Servant may have altered my personality or something along the same line, but I threw that idea out the window when I couldn¡¯t detect any forcibly made changes to my mindset.


    One of my powers is to detect any foreign substance or influence on my body (including the mind/brain) which was obtained as a by-product of being able to deconstruct my body on a cellular level and form into a cloud of darkness.


    Not entirely sure how my wraith form works, even after all these years of using it. It¡¯s more instinctual than anything else, like walking and breathing. It¡¯s also not affiliated with magic, so I can spam it as much as I want if I don¡¯t get tired.


    Only problem is that I can¡¯t attack when in wraith form, it¡¯s either on or off but I can partially affect shadow magic to some degree as well considering that I can use Death Blossom and have an inventory.


    Deciding to just ignore my weird behaviour for later observation, I wash my face in the bathroom sink to refresh myself. Staring into my reflection I couldn¡¯t but absently, and loudly, crack my finger as my hand ran through my snow-white hair and look at the deep brown eyes I had.


    My hair had changed during my experimentation, but I chose to dye it black since it was harder to notice when in the dark, less risk of getting spotted if you had no headgear too.


    I assumed the reason for my hair not being dyed was the fact that I died in my own world, meaning that my own body was destroyed but my soul lived on, causing my new body to hold my original characteristics compared to my altered one. Most likely it has to do with something about how my original body is imprinted within my soul since that¡¯s how I perceive myself as. I also got rid of the goatee years ago, reminded me too much of Tony Stark.


    Another observation I¡¯ve made since my appearance here is how Illya is affected by my presence. Unlike the original Berserker, I didn¡¯t cause any pain to her when I moved normally, but if I were to use an ability or placed into a frenzy due to my Mad Enchantment then she would start to feel the pain she felt in the original series.


    This was proven by my fight against the wolves. I¡¯m still pissed that they ripped a part of my coat, even if I could repair it, it was still a pain to do it. Usually I¡¯d kill them for even trying to attack me, but certain things must happen, not for my sake or the story¡¯s but for Illya¡¯s.


    ¡­..There it is again. Why do I want to protect her? I¡¯ll just keep ignoring my concerns, if I keep dwelling on it I¡¯d get a headache and only more questions with no answers.


    Back to the main issue though, what to do about others like Shirou, Tohka and Sakura¡­¡­ ¡®Doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯ I thought mercilessly.


    In all honesty, why should I care for them? Sure, I might help them if I knew them personally, but I don¡¯t. Only through a story, a story that might not even portray them similarly here, I¡¯m not ignorant enough to think that everything will occur as the story did. Small or big, there are always differences.


    Not only that but I¡¯m not stupid enough to rule out the possibility that my original world was constructed from someone else¡¯s demented imagination.


    (AN: *whistling nervously*)


    I never liked his view on heroes, it was always warped. Not that having the courage to take the hit in place of someone else is bad or anything, but ignoring any form of self-preservation is foolish, and even more foolish is to place others above those you feel are precious to you.


    His skillset, fighting capabilities, and willingness to commit necessary evils were respectable but I still found him to be a fool. He certainly did become a hero, but he failed to protect his loved ones. I failed as well, no doubt, but he failed the moment he didn¡¯t try to protect his closest family and friends. If you can¡¯t do that, then there¡¯s no point in saving anyone else.


    It was probably a cruel mindset to have, but I didn¡¯t care. I wouldn¡¯t let Illya face the same fate as the others I failed to protect.


    I blinked, once, twice. Is that what she is to me? Someone precious to me? Why? I hardly knew her, ¡®but at the same time I know her very well.¡¯ I replied to my own inner dialogue. And it was true, I didn¡¯t know her personally before coming here but as soon as I met her, I felt as though I¡¯ve known her for years. She was like me. She understood my pain.


    This was a first for me, to be able to share a mutual understanding of the other, not that she knew of my past yet but since she¡¯s my Master it¡¯s highly likely that she¡¯ll see my memories. I was a lone test subject, anyone else with me in the program died off as they couldn¡¯t handle the stress it put on both mind and body.


    It feels¡­ refreshing? That seems to be the right word, it¡¯s been ages since I¡¯ve felt my emotions surface more often in such a short span of time. Maybe it¡¯s thanks to my parents, ever since they died I¡¯ve shut off any and all ¡®unnecessary¡¯ emotions that could interfere with my line of work. When I heard from them again from ROB, a lot of my stress had finally let itself go and it was a, liberating. A portion of my burden had lessened, it wasn¡¯t gone though, obviously.


    For now, all I could do was play things out until it¡¯s time to move on to a different world. ROB never said anything about not bringing friends along, they even said that they couldn¡¯t care less and I¡¯m willing to bet that he has more authority than any other higher beings that rule this universe.


    My plan for dealing with the other combatants of the war was simple. I¡¯d destroy anyone in my way, like a true Berserker. Rather fitting class for me in all honesty, especially since I still have a high amount of bloodlust for battle. My time with the Order did more than physically alter me, but there was no point in trying to change the core of my personality, it was my own and I¡¯d never let them reach it.


    I could only grin, ¡°Oh, what fun this will be. I get to fight against Legends, hmhmhm hehe ahahahaha!¡± I laughed crazily. I was lucky enough that Illya was too deep in her sleep to hear my insanity showing itself momentarily.


    But still, it would be enjoyable no doubt. ¡±Hehehehe¡­.¡±

 Chapter 3 - Two Months and a Suprise

    <u>~ ROB POV ~</u>


    ¡°Hmmm¡­. I don¡¯t know if I should be bored or interested right now.¡± The ROB thought to itself as it observed how our protagonist is doing.


    So far, it¡¯s been uneventful from there being no action, but it was all still very interested to watch as his victim, Reyes, was living in a time of peace for what would have been a long time since he last experienced it now that he was an ex-military veteran, or should he be called an ex-terrorist? The ROB was unsure but decided to let the matter drop.


    Watching Reyes and his Master Illyasviel interact with each other was amusing to the being, with the little girl trying to gain the soldiers attention only to fail doing so. It pondered the thought of trying to ship the two together or should make a harem, which would increase his own amusement at seeing how Reyes would react since it couldn¡¯t imagine it itself.


    Very amusing indeed.


    It appears Reyes has been impatient with the lack of action as well. The being wondered if it should help cure its and Reyes'' boredom but held off. He wasn¡¯t allowed to interfere after all, that¡¯d ruin the game.


    ¡°So, this is your new pet project?¡± A new presence made itself known to the ROB as they sat down in a chair beside it.


    Turning around the ROB greeted its guest, ¡°I¡¯ve got to stave off boredom somehow, and humans have always found ways to be entertaining to us, haven¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°*Scoff* That¡¯s mostly just you, out of all of us you¡¯re the most susceptible to the ¡®stale¡¯ lifestyle we live. Also, learn to respect your elders¡¯ brat and address your guests properly. Isn¡¯t that what I¡¯ve told you before?¡± Although he refers to himself as an elder, if anyone were to see him they¡¯d assume he was still in his mid-twenties.


    The ¡®young¡¯ being smirked as he replied, ¡°So should I call you gramps? You know I¡¯m not concerned about formalities Ren.¡±


    Ren merely chuckled, ¡°You never change, even after a few millennia. But that¡¯s not why I¡¯m here. That boy you¡¯ve chosen, are you sure it was wise to grant such a dangerous ability to him?¡±


    The being just looked back down into the mortal realm as he answered, ¡°It is of no concern. If he was truly meant to have the power I¡¯ve granted him, then he shall rise up the ranks in power. If he isn¡¯t, then it¡¯ll only be a matter of time before he too joins the rest of those deemed unworthy.¡±


    Sighing, Ren just took one final look at Reyes before walking away fading from existence.


    With its guest gone it turned its attention back to our protagonist with its lips curled up ever so slightly, ¡°How will you use your second chance Reyes? Will you rise, or will you fall? Time will tell, and I have plenty of it to spare.¡±


    <hr>


    <u>~ Reyes POV ~</u>


    My time with Illya flew by fairly quickly in all honesty, with nothing much to do while waiting the days blended together and by the time we realised it, there was only 2 weeks left until we would depart for Fuyuki City to scout out the competition.


    During my first month I had kept to myself a lot, still not being used to having a constant companion as it was definitely a big change for me. Though it became less and less awkward as the days passed by and Illya had become accustomed to my silent nature. It did annoy her at some points, but she always remained very reasonable which made me sigh in relief multiple times.


    It was at the end of the month that I had decided to give her my name, not my first one but my last name instead. I prefer being referred to as Reyes, the name being the only thing I had left to remember my family by, and I never liked my first name much. I¡¯d gotten over my guilt mostly, though it did still leave a sore spot I wouldn¡¯t be going full emo or anything like that.


    Illya had seemed to be greatly surprised at the mention of my name but was extremely happy to finally know I was opening up to her, which I denied with silence, though admittedly I actually was. She seems to be very giddy whenever she learns about my personal life, didn¡¯t matter how big or small it was, she was just happy. I think she¡¯s just really relieved about having someone to talk to freely, though she had been staring at me more often than usual at times, but I ignored it.


    My Master was a very upbeat and positive sort of person which was kind of ironic due to the attitude she held during our first encounter was less than anything positive.


    We had also found out that the pain that Illya felt whenever I activated my abilities was slowly becoming more and more dull compared to how much pain it caused her in the beginning. It was a guess, but I hypothesised that as the time for the Grail to appear gets closer, the less pain Illya will receive from my actions due to the influence of the Grails presence keeping me anchored to reality instead of relying heavily on Illya to do that for me.


    During that first month I had also set some time to train with my Sharingan to get the hang of using it along with my newly formed chakra network which was apparently created since my first appearance in this world.


    Speaking of worlds, I had explained to Illya about my ¡®ability¡¯ to traverse across the multiverse around the same time I told her my name, as well as the fact that the Grail was corrupted. If she was to be partnered up with me for the foreseeable future, then I¡¯d need to inform her of it eventually.


    She took the news surprisingly well and didn¡¯t think I was batshit crazy, instead she seemed to brighten up at the prospect of ¡®adventuring¡¯ in other worlds. Not surprising from someone who was forced to live alone.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    So, she¡¯ll be sticking with me for a while it seems. In all honesty I¡¯m actually relieved that she is, not entirely sure why though but it¡¯s a nice feeling so I¡¯m not going to dwell on it.


    We discussed the possibility of ending the War early, considering that we had the foreknowledge but decided against it. In future we¡¯d probably heed no mind to how the ¡®canon¡¯ may be affected by our actions, but right now we weren¡¯t strong enough to do anything risky especially with Gilgamesh.


    Though I¡¯m confident I could put up a good fight, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do it without a high risk of failure. His ability is simply overwhelming to someone who can¡¯t counter it. There was only a 40 to 50% chance of me winning in a direct confrontation, the best I could do to survive is use the Mangekyou which would increase my chance of winning to 60-80%, but I¡¯d rather use other methods if possible. I don¡¯t want to use it until I can get a guaranteed set of eyes to obtain the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.


    Plus, I¡¯m not sure I could use any chakra intensive abilities since I don¡¯t know how much chakra I have, nor do I have enough control to help use less of it. That would be courting death, I wasn¡¯t stupid enough to die from chakra exhaustion.


    So, we decided that we would fake our deaths and escape via Kamui since I know that it wouldn¡¯t be too taxing on me considering it was spammed nonstop by Obito, even for more mundane reasons such as travelling.


    As for a body to replace Illya with? I could use a genjutsu to cover it up, though I can¡¯t use it on Gilgamesh or any other servants directly since I¡¯m not entirely sure if they could detect it or not and I¡¯d rather not risk it until I¡¯m more proficient. Animals can only get me so far when practicing with the Sharingan.


    ¡°What are you thinking about this time Reyes?¡± A cute voice sounded out from my side¡­.. ¡®Wait, cute?¡¯ I quickly dismissed the thought as I faced Illya.


    ¡°The War.¡±


    Puffing out her cheeks she says, ¡°You should really learn how to hold a conversation.¡±


    ¡°Hn.¡± I responded in typical Uchiha fashion, which reminds me should I name myself as an Uchiha? No, I¡¯d rather not be affiliated with the duck-butt emo.


    ¡°Well whatever happens we¡¯ll blow them away and win.¡± She smiled softly, ¡°After we transfer to a new world you better show me the Fate series, I¡¯m interested to know how different my life would be if you weren¡¯t there. But I wouldn¡¯t give up meeting you for anyone else.¡±


    I felt¡­. touched, I believe is the right word, after her response which reminded me that I¡¯m not alone anymore and that I have someone to care for again. Someone that I would protect, and this time I wouldn¡¯t fail.


    She seemed to pick up on my feelings if her giggling was anything to get by.


    Just two more weeks until I can finally stretch out my limbs in combat. I wonder if I could get some blood samples of Archer, his innate talent for swords could serve me well in future ¡®Hehehehehe.¡¯


    <hr>


    A few days later I decided to get myself familiar with the layout of Fuyuki City and the areas around it around it so that I wouldn¡¯t be fighting without some proper preparation.


    Clouds were a gloomy grey and the rain fell, my boots making a slushing noise as I walked through a forest near the mountains. Since my clothes were composed of specially made material, they weren¡¯t soaked wet but still held some dampness to it.


    Soon enough I felt a presence nearby which was strange since there shouldn¡¯t be any civilians that live nearby. Following my senses, I end up seeing a small clearing where a cloaked woman laid in the mud.


    My mind came to a halt when I recognised her, it was Caster or rather Medea the ¡®Witch of Betrayal¡¯. At first, I had thought to leave her there to be found by Souichirou Kuzuki but then I heard her laughing, ¡°In the end, I¡¯m going to die this way again?¡±


    As soon as those words left her mouth I froze, for a moment before she started talking again.


    ¡°Passed around for others¡¯ convenience, exploited¡­ Reviled as a traitor (AN: Reviled is a real word). All I wanted¡­¡± she speaks softly, her voice cracking up slightly, ¡°was to return to my homeland.¡±


    Those words struck a cord with me, even if I¡¯ve heard this said before it was only a show back then, but this, this is reality. Remembering about her past I couldn¡¯t help but turn to face her and walk out into the clearing.


    Was what I was doing stupid? Yes. Would I leave her to face another cruel fate that will lead to her demise once again? No.


    Her head turns to its side as she stares at me lifelessly on the ground. I wordlessly approach her and kneel next to her face, ¡°You¡¯ll catch a cold if you stay here.¡±


    If she was surprised by what I said, she didn¡¯t show it. Carefully I pick her off the ground and held her in my arms protectively as I shielded her from the rain.


    Was I getting soft? ¡­¡­Possibly¡­.. but it doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯ll do what I want and no one¡¯s going to stop me.


    ¡®Illya probably won¡¯t like the fact that I¡¯m bringing along another Servant when I return.¡¯


    As I was walking to an abandoned hut I found earlier, Caster spoke up in a soft and delicate voice, ¡°Why are you helping me?¡±


    I briefly look down at her and reply, ¡°¡­Why not?¡±


    From her frame stiffening I could tell she wasn¡¯t expecting a response like that. To find someone who would say that they understand your own pain. Just like how I felt when I was faced with Illya.


    Entering the small and battered shack I lay her down by the fireplace. Looking for a blanket to warm her up I walk back into the room to see her hunched up with her back to the wall. I silently wrap the blanket around her bloodied form and sat across from her.


    Minutes pass by as she breaks the silence, ¡°What do you have to gain from helping me?¡±


    I regarded her for a while before responding in my deep voice, ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°What? You¡¯d help a woman covered in blood without question for nothing in return?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I said simply.


    She seemed dumbfounded by such a simple answer, and I could tell that she thought that there was something else to it. That I had a hidden agenda.


    ¡°You understand the pain. Used as a tool, a scapegoat, labelled as a traitor.¡± I bit my lip as I spoke, remembering my own past and experiences just as I did with Illya.


    ¡°¡­You¡¯re like me aren¡¯t you.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question but a statement. I mutely nodded.


    ¡°Do you wish for another chance?¡± I questioned.


    Confused at the question she asks, ¡°What for?¡±


    ¡°To find a purpose.¡±


    ¡°And how would I get it? Are you offering to help?¡± She says more as a mirthless joke than anything else but was taken aback from my reply.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Wha-? Why? You¡¯re also a Servant so why would you help me? Aren¡¯t you fighting for the Grail just as your Master is?¡± she fires off question after question amidst her own confusion.


    ¡°No one can make me bend my will. I will do as I please and not as others¡¯ do. I will stay by your side of my own volition.¡± I answered with unwavering confidence.


    ¡°I will be your Master and you my Servant until I am able to break the bonds that tie us to the Grail. I could care less about the War.¡±


    With her mouth slightly agape, tears fall from under her cowl in shock and happiness. Falling asleep from the fatigue I move her into a futon to keep her warm while transferring over some prana to keep her in existence until the morning where I could properly form an agreement.


    As I move myself to the side to lean against the wall I didn¡¯t notice a particular sorceress gazing at me with a spark of affection.


    ¡®I have a feeling that ROB is laughing at me right now¡­ I¡¯ll punch it later.¡¯ I thought irritated.

 Chapter 4 - Memories

    <u>~ Reyes¡¯ POV ~</u>


    Waking up to the smell of food, I was curious as to what was causing as I opened my eyes to find Caster who was attending to a pot of what seemed to be soup.


    ¡°Ah, it seems that you¡¯re up just in time.¡± Caster calls out seemingly pleased.


    Not wanting to seem rude I just voice out thanks and eat my share of breakfast.


    ¡®Didn¡¯t think she could cook, and it tastes great too.¡¯ I thought, impressed.


    Finishing our meals, we lounged around for a moment before I approached her, ¡°I ask of thee, are you willing to be my Servant Caster, and accept I, Berserker, as your Master?¡±


    Standing up tall she firmly replied, ¡°I, Caster, vow to serve my Master faithfully. Will thou accept thy as your Servant?¡±


    ¡°I do, let this contract join us together as Master and Servant.¡± As I finished speaking, our prana joined together, serving as a connection between us.


    Bowing down on her knees, Caster addressed me respectfully, ¡°I thank you for accepting me Master.¡±


    ¡°¡­Reyes¡­ you may call me Reyes, not publicly of course.¡± I stated.


    With a smile spreading across her face she merely says, ¡°What a wonderful name.¡±


    ¡®Hm? There¡¯s that feeling again. I thought it only occurred when I was around Illya, to think that Caster would cause it too is strange.¡¯ I thought, feeling a little spark of¡­happiness?


    My feelings aside, I now have to address the problem at hand. ¡°We shall return to my Master so that you may meet with one another.¡±


    She simply replied, ¡°Yes Master.¡±


    So, we set off to the Einzbern Castle¡­. right after we get some spare clothes for Caster.


    <hr>


    <u>~ Einzbern Castle ~</u>


    ¡®Yeah¡­ Illya¡¯s definitely pissed.¡¯ I mentally groaned.


    As I arrived, the two maids/homunculi were on guard around Casters presence. Illya however wasn¡¯t concerned about her but was upset at me for some unknown reason. I just stood still, waiting for my Illya rant to end. Caster seemed fairly amused at seeing her own Master being scolded by what appeared to be a child.


    Setting aside her annoyance for a moment, Illya turned serious and asked what we should do in the future now that I¡¯ve gone and messed around with the timeline. I didn¡¯t want to lie to Caster about the truth after all that she has been through, so I told her everything. Just as I had told Illya the first time.


    Truthfully, she looked a bit pissed off that her life seemed to be nothing more than fiction, but quickly calmed down after I had explained how the multiverse works. It probably helped that I believed my own life to be some part of a fucked-up story made by some author with a messed-up mind for imagination.


    (AN: Oi oi oi, I find that offensive.)


    Soon after I had finished my story she jumped at the opportunity to join us on our travels across worlds. She mostly talked about how she would follow me wherever I would go and other things along the same line, but I just accepted it as it was.


    I suggested that Caster would stay out of the fighting until Gilgamesh entered the fray. Now that we had an expert in magic on our side, it would be a lot easier to pull off a fake death with illusions. I¡¯m not as experienced yet to use it for an important event.


    As for approaching Kotomine about Caster¡¯s newest Master, I just sent an anonymous letter sending my regards. Now we just had to stay out of the story until it was time to confront Saber in combat.


    *Sigh*, I¡¯ve had to do nothing but wait for two months. Though it was enjoyable while it lasted.


    <hr>


    <u>~ Illya¡¯s POV (few days before canon) ~</u>


    Sleeping has been¡­ troubling for me in the past two months. Although I tried not to show any signs of it, I could tell that Reyes was already aware of my dilemma but chose to stay quiet. I¡¯m guessing that he either, doesn¡¯t want to talk about it, or, wants me to question him when I was ready to.


    I admit it was troubling at first, having someone else¡¯s memories appear in my mind was strange indeed, but that¡¯s not what was troubling. It was what those memories contained that worried me.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    His life¡­ I don¡¯t even know where to start. On the bright side, I now know what he looks like under his mask which made me ecstatic, at least when he was younger.


    Some dreams where just small snippets put together randomly, while others were detailed and chronological.


    It was nice knowing that Reyes had a decent childhood, something I was slightly jealous about. Maybe just a bit more then slightly. But that all went out the window once I was forced to witness the horrors that was his life.


    It wasn¡¯t pretty, not at all. His past was filled with what could be considered a living hell, compared to his life mine was mere child¡¯s play.


    I was always curious about Reyes past, such as how he developed such a bizarre habit of cracking his fingers to the point of breaking themselves from bone crunching sounds they made. My curiosity died as soon as I got my answer from one of many memories that haunted me.


    Events about his torture were rare, but the small scenes that I got terrified me to no end. One of them included his healing factor that seemed to be unstable. From what I gathered, Reyes had a healing factor that could heal almost any injury he received and restore himself back to 100%. Although, it was inconsistent, it would work at times and at others it wouldn¡¯t.


    Back in his ¡®testing¡¯ stages in the army, the Order attempted to unlock his ability by applying more pressure on him in hopes that his subconscious instincts would force it to activate permanently as a passive ability. Their solution, constant torture 24/7 for god knows how long.


    His fingers were constantly broken, bent, snapped, sawed off, sliced, you name it, it was done. And this was one of the more¡­ ¡®tame¡¯ forms of torture he was exposed to.


    Actually, I started questioning how Reyes kept his sanity in check with all that has happened to him. Most of the memories I¡¯ve seen only related to his time before and in the army, and even then, they were only small glimpses. I couldn¡¯t imagine how anyone else could survive and come out¡­ somewhat sane.


    There are times where I could see some of Reyes¡¯ insanity that he had locked up coming to the surface only to fade away just as quickly as they came.


    Once I heard him spouting out random numbers and another where he was rambling about something ¡®crawling¡¯ around. I couldn¡¯t make out the specifics but, in all honesty, I didn¡¯t really want to know. But if it means helping out Reyes, then I¡¯m prepared to do anything.


    He saved me from the dark and dull life I had and was willing to stay with me, he was willing to listen to my problems, and he was willing to remove all that would dare to harm me. I can say in full confidence that if it¡¯s for Reyes, then I¡¯d stop at nothing to simply help and support the man I love.


    Yes, I love him. I only came to terms with my feelings after spending a month alone with him. How could I not? Sure, he was cold and unsociable, but he could be the kindest, gentlest and most caring person ever at times.


    The small interactions between him and the maids was heart-warming in a weird sense. To see the battle-hardened veteran, sympathise and accept who they were. Leysritt and Sella were surprised at his acceptance and caring nature, for what seemed to be a cold-hearted person at a glance, that they couldn¡¯t help but voice out their thoughts.


    Just like me, he related to them and their lives. His main point, we were all ¡®tools¡¯ to be used and casted aside. This was one of the reasons that I liked the two of them, why I actually felt a sort of friendship even as their master.


    This lead to them finding out about his origins and plans for the future which shocked them, but what they said next almost made me break down into tears. They wanted to come along with me, they wanted to follow me even if the Einzberns wouldn¡¯t allow here to leave peacefully, they were willing to follow her against their wishes.


    (AN: this happened back during the first month Reyes appeared)


    I got side-tracked a bit there, but the main point was that I had fallen for the cloaked man and I was happy to be able to fall for someone as amazing as him, even if he doesn¡¯t see himself that way, I always will.


    It would have been better if he didn¡¯t bring along Caster with him though, I could tell that she had fallen for my Berserker as much as I did. A woman¡¯s intuition never fails.


    <hr>


    <u>~ Caster¡¯s POV ~</u>


    My Master was certainly unique. His outward look makes him seem to be distant and uncaring, yet when he first met me he was the very opposite of it. He took me in without question and provided shelter when I had none.


    Yet he was a Servant just like me. We were meant to fight to the death in a War for the Grail, and there he was, looking after a broken woman with nowhere left to go.


    After I was taken in, I had started to dream of his past, his memories. It was both intriguing and horrifying at the same time. I had only seen a few of them over the past few days but from what I could see it was a dark past that¡¯s for sure.


    Maybe I¡¯d ask Illya about it, she might know more than me being his Master and all. But that¡¯s for another time.


    (AN: I know it¡¯s only supposed to be the Master that sees memories of the Servant but just go with it for the sake of the story)


    Right now, I needed to focus on what the future holds, because as of right now I was clueless on what my goal was from here on out. I didn¡¯t really think about it to tell the truth, it¡¯s not like I had any spare time to relax and think to myself.


    The fact that my entire existence was made for the entertainment for others angered me greatly, but Reyes had calmed my anger down as he explained how the multiverse worked.


    It was strange for her to hear him speak of multiple realities as if it was the most common thing to talk about, not even being fazed at the thought of his own reality being a mere figment of imagination of some crazed lunatic.


    (AN: My own characters are bullying me *sniff*)


    One thing¡¯s for certain though, no matter where my Master would go, I would follow. For the man I love, I will go to the depths of hell and back for him. It was strange really, to feel love. I was forced to love a man against my own will back in my time, manipulated and used. Yet to feel love naturally, was certainly different.


    I felt like a small child whenever I was near him, giddy at simply feeling his presence nearby and nervous when speaking with him. It was silly for me, a grown woman to feel this way but I never felt ashamed or embarrassed about my love for my Master despite the short time I¡¯ve known him for. I wouldn¡¯t deny my feelings.


    I could only hope for him to return them in future, and it seemed like I have competition to deal with as well. Illya was just as disgruntled as I was with the situation, but we didn¡¯t voice it out to each other. I¡¯d probably speak to her about it soon, better to do so before the war begins.

 Chapter 5 - Idiots and Assassins

    ¡®*Sigh* I guess I should have expected this.¡¯


    After Caster had accompanied me back to the Einzbern castle, with it now being approximately a few days just before ¡®canon¡¯ starts, we had encountered another Master that was foolish enough to attack us openly, especially since his Servant was an Assassin.


    Seriously, everyone knows your not supposed to face off against a Berserker directly unless you have a plan beforehand to deal with him, or me in this case.


    But this¡­ this¡­ imbecile had the gal to walk right up to the front gates. Not only that but he was mouthing off about how we should ¡®surrender now or face the consequences¡¯.


    I knew my presence must¡¯ve changed the original timeline, but this was the last thing I had expected to happen. I was preparing for a more cunning Master to deal with as they would try to stick to the shadows. Instead I was left to face the idiot flesh-bag standing before me. Although it is surprising that someone like him had the ability to track us down¡­ on second thought, Assassin probably scouted out the area and reported back to him about us.


    He seemed to be a pompous ass who had everything in life handed to him on a silver platter, considering his attire which consisted of some clothing fit for a noble or prince as he constantly held a smug look that showed how he thought the world to be at his bidding.


    In short, a typical noble and probably some distant relative to Shinji Matou, who I plan on killing at a later date.


    ¡®Even his Servant looks embarrassed about her Masters foolishness... Ah, is he still rambling?¡¯ I pitied the poor girl, right before gaining a look of annoyance under my mask.


    Having enough of this farce I glared down at the boy and demanded, ¡°Keep your mouth shut.¡± While pouring out my unfiltered bloodlust which I had kept hidden over the past the two months I had spent with Illya.


    Falling backwards onto the ground he started sweating bullets as if he ran a marathon, whereas Assassin pulled out her main weapon in a defensive stance ready to engage if need be. Not that she¡¯d have anything to worry about¡­ for now.


    I could possibly let the boy go and keep Emiya and Tohsaka occupied for a few days until the original Berserker supposedly shows up, not only that but I¡¯d have to get his Servant to kill Rider to keep the story as close to canon as possible after my interference. Not that I regret it or anything.


    ¡°Assassin, take your Master and leave this place. You are not welcome here.¡± I voiced out to the cautious Servant.


    ¡°Oh? A Berserker that chooses diplomacy over combat? And why would you let my foolish Master and I leave after provoking you?¡± She questioned with a hint of amusement at my course of action.


    ¡°My Master is merciful enough to let you live under certain conditions. We want your cooperation as we come to¡­ an agreement.¡± I replied, as Illya took the hint and added in a comment of her own.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you didn¡¯t think we¡¯d let you go without anything in return did you?¡± She said with a hint of disappointment towards Assassin for not understanding something so ¡®obvious¡¯.


    Narrowing her eyes at Illya she thought for a moment before speaking again, ¡°What would you propose?¡±


    Picking up where Illya left off I ordered, ¡°You are to engage Rider in combat within the coming week and kill her.¡±


    Widening her eyes in surprise she quickly regained her composure as I continued, ¡°Rider¡¯s Master is planning to place a type of barrier at Homurahara High School that would prevent anyone from entering or leaving. We will, of course, get you inside so you can ¡®clean up¡¯.¡±


    Gaining back some bravado, her Master asked, ¡°And what makes you think you¡¯re able to order us around? Maybe I should kill you and take your little girl back to my family, she may be a bit young but I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll grow up into something worthwhile.¡± Ending his sentence off with a smirk.


    In my anger, caused by his own stupidity and insolence, I swiftly pulled out my shotgun from the dark clouds that appeared near my hand and blew his head off.


    *BANG*


    With his body dropping lifelessly onto the ground I threw my gun away as it faded back into wisps of darkness. Assassin, clearly taken by surprise at my sudden action wasn¡¯t fast enough in time to react as Caster held Rule Breaker up to her neck from behind as she came out from her illusion.


    ¡°Was that really necessary Berserker? I know he was a nuisance but that seems overkill.¡± Illya with some cheeriness from being freed of the morons¡¯ voice.


    ¡°Yes, yes it was. Besides, he wouldn¡¯t be able to handle such a simple task in the first place, and he was getting on my nerves.¡± He really was.


    The main reason I killed him was because of his revolting nature that I saw from his memories as I took the opportunity to test out my Sharingan on hostile targets. ¡®Not that I was actually going to let him live, I just killed him earlier than planned is all.¡¯The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    My genjutsu proved to be very effective as I questioned their motives and plan of action before coming here. All I can say is that it was downright pitiful. The boy actually thought that he could take me on head first without any information or preparation.


    I was a bit surprised that my genjutsu worked on Assassin but in the end, it wasn¡¯t very effective as she almost broke out of my control multiple times.


    While I was at it I took a quick look at his memories and sure enough, the guy was a scumbag. His family ran a human trafficking business that was kept as a secret from the magus community particularly well, and the way he treated his ¡®products¡¯ was disgusting, especially to the female portion of them.


    Looking towards Caster I told her, ¡°Change of plans, use Rule Breaker on Assassin and I¡¯ll take the command seals.¡±


    Without a single hesitation in Caster, she plunged Rule Breaker into Assassin¡¯s chest and handed over her command seals to me. Once the process was done, Assassin just stood completely still in shock at the extreme turn of events.


    Being forced by her Master to confront and enemy Servant head on in unfamiliar territory with the goal to defeat their enemies, only to be reassigned to serve under the people they provoked in the first place.


    Looking at me questioningly I answered her before she could speak, ¡°I took pity on you for having such a revolting Master, plus I could still use your assistance.¡±


    Nodding slowly, she replied, ¡°Though I¡¯m still surprised at the outcome I can¡¯t say that I¡¯m against it. I shall follow you wherever you go Master, but if I may, I would like to ask for your assistance in granting me my wish.¡± Bowing down on her knees respectfully, I could feel the sincerity emanating from her soul.


    Not surprising that she isn¡¯t hung up on her Master¡¯s death since he almost attempted to have sex with her via the command seals at one point.


    ¡°What is it you wish for?¡± I questioned, though I could guess the reason, I wanted to hear it for myself.


    ¡°I wish for you to kill me.¡± She replied in a calm manner. Although her response seems to have caught both Illya and Caster off-guard.


    Looking at Assassin I couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°And why is that?¡±


    Upholding her calm demeanour she answered, ¡°I seek for death so that I may finally move on. I have spent countless years as an immortal, fighting to no end with no purpose as time in the mortal world continued on flowing. I want death as a person. To finally give my life meaning.¡±


    Taking her words in I stood in silence before replying, ¡°Do you seek death because you have no purpose or do you seek death because you are tired?¡±


    ¡°Both.¡± She stated.


    ¡°Then I refuse.¡± I said firmly.


    Not expecting me to refuse she opens her mouth to speak before I cut her off, ¡°You have yet to truly experience what life may provide for you, yet you wish to end it before giving yourself the opportunity to do so. Listen well, and listen closely, was your time spent as an immortal different from how you lived?¡±


    Widening her eyes at my words she begins to realise the message I¡¯m getting across, ¡°If you wish for death after spending your time as an immortal no different from how you lived, then does that not mean your life was not worth living in the first place? Ending it now would only solidify the fact that your life meant nothing to you, even after death has been granted.¡±


    After all, her life was spent ruling over a kingdom instead of fulfilling her own wishes for happiness, she believed that it was her responsibility "to rule for the sake of the masses" since she wasn¡¯t mediocre or talentless like the rest of the populace.


    She lived a life full of fighting and war, so how was that any different from her time as an immortal, fighting against both gods and undead. It wasn¡¯t, it was one and the same as her life on earth, only on a much larger scale and for an extended duration.


    ¡°B-b-but i-if what you say is true then does that mean my death won¡¯t mean anything?¡± She asked fearfully.


    ¡°It won¡¯t.¡± I said coldly. Death, to her, most likely signifies the end of one¡¯s life after living a life that one could be proud of, but she was rejected death and was forced to fight in the Land of Shadows for two thousand years and loathed every bit of it. Added on to this, she was unable to die and thus, she deemed her own life as meaningless as she believes that life is not life without death at its end.


    In my opinion, living only has worth if you are able to enjoy life and live it how you wish to do so. As contradictory as it sounded coming from me, I had at least experienced what living by my own rules was like as a child and towards the end stages of my life. She however, lived for the sake of others. Not that its wrong or anything, but she didn¡¯t do it because she wanted to, when given the choice she didn¡¯t choose her own desires.


    While I was going through my own personal philosophies of life, Assassin started to look down in despair while her thoughts overwhelmed her.


    ¡®Is it true? Death won¡¯t bring my life meaning? Why? No, I know why now. Have I ever lived for my own sake? Have I ever done anything for my own pleasure? Of my own will? What he says is true then¡­ there is no difference between my life and my cursed immortality.¡¯


    Giving her some time to think I interrupted her thoughts after a while, ¡°Even though your life wasn¡¯t one of worth, in your opinion, there is still hope for you yet. To give your life meaning even without death.¡±


    Seemingly desperate for a solution she looked up to me and asked, ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°From here on out, experience life on your own accord.¡± It was a simple sentence, yet one that held a strong message. Instead of seeking death, seek life.


    Such simple words. ¡®I feel like I¡¯ve had one too many therapy sessions. I think I¡¯m done trying to be philosophical for a looong time.¡¯ I grumbled.


    It was¡­ unexpected really. First it was Illya, then Caster and now Assassin, at this rate I might as well attempt to win the war diplomatically. Others would be forced to listen if 3 of the 7 Servants, not including Gilgamesh, were joined together as allies and it would be possible to convince Tohsaka and Emiya of the corrupt Grail. But where¡¯s the fun in that?


    Straightening out her posture, Assassin looked on with a renewed light in her eyes, ¡°If that is the case, then I will give up on death until I have seen for myself what life still has to offer me.¡±


    Grinning at her response I merely grunted in acceptance, ¡°But¡­ I¡¯ll have you take responsibility for this. You were the one to open my eyes, I¡¯ll have you witness the consequences for your actions.¡± She added, albeit in a slightly weaker tone with a small shade of pink across her cheeks.


    ¡°Do as you wish.¡± I replied, and for some damn reason I feel like ROB is laughing at me again. ¡®I¡¯m going to really enjoy it when I meet them in person.¡¯ I thought as I missed the helpless looks on Illya and Caster¡¯s faces when they saw Assassin¡¯s reaction.


    (AN: Not that he¡¯d understand the reason for it in the first place)


    Stepping forward as I leaned in closer to Assassin I welcomed the new addition to our team, ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Sc¨¢thach.¡±

 Q&A

    Hi readers! So, I¡¯ve been getting a number of question from people either through comments or private messages and I¡¯ve decided to make a list of questions you¡¯ve asked with a few of my own added on as well to help you guys out.


    I like hearing about your thoughts on my story and any questions you guys ask me, I will try my best to answer what I can.


    <hr>


    Q: Is this story a harem?


    A: I don¡¯t know, honestly. There WILL be romance I can say that for sure now, but a harem? There are no plans to right now for it, I¡¯m just keeping options open for now but we¡¯ll see what happens in future.


    Q: Isn¡¯t Sc¨¢thach supposed to be Lancer?


    A: Yes, but she can also take on the role as an Assassin. There are a number of Servants that can be placed in more than 1 category, Sc¨¢thach just so happens to fit the role of an Assassin as well (you can do a quick search on wiki).


    Q: What are your plans for Sc¨¢thach in future?


    A: I can¡¯t say much BUT I will say that I don¡¯t plan on following her ¡®canon¡¯ abilities too closely since I want to use my own understanding of her powers but it probably won¡¯t be anything drastic for now.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Q: Why is Reyes so dense?


    A: He is emotionally broken. He was experimented on to become a super soldier, so following that line of thought it can be said that his emotions would have been altered, forced, or outright removed.


    He is still recovering from his old wounds, just like his guilt of killing the rest of his family. It will take time before he can fully understand emotions like he used to as a teenager.


    Q: What world will they go to next?


    A: I already have several places in mind for our group to explore, but I¡¯m still iffy about which order they should be in.


    Q: Will Reyes be OP?


    A: Yes and no. Right now, is already fairly strong as it is even without the Sharingan since I¡¯ve mentioned he could fight off against Gilgamesh alone with no clear victor, meaning he has an equal chance of winning as he does losing.


    He will continue to grow stronger but I don¡¯t want to make him so OP that nothing could touch him. It will be hard to balance his powers out in future but I will try my best.


    Q: How long will this story be?


    A: I don¡¯t know, but I know that I am NOT going to leave this story hanging without an ending. Though I can¡¯t guarantee when it will happen, I don¡¯t plan ending this anytime soon.


    Q: Can you update more?


    A: This story will not have regular release dates, I¡¯m sorry. However, I don¡¯t expect to release chapters too far apart unless I¡¯m very busy in my own personal life.


    <hr>


    That¡¯s all for the Q&A! If you have anymore question, I¡¯ll be sure to answer them directly or in a future Q&A so don¡¯t hesitate to ask me anything.


    Hope you enjoy the story so far!

 Chapter 6 - Get Them, Berserker!

    <u>~  Sc¨¢thach¡¯s POV  ~</u>


    I never thought I would see the day where I gave up my longing for death in search for life. It was strange, yet I felt renewed and hopeful in a sense.


    To think that one conversation with my Master would change the way I view life and death, and not only that but to actually develop feelings for the man. My emotions haven¡¯t been so chaotic in centuries, but it wasn¡¯t a bad feeling. It was nice.


    My Master, Reyes, though seemingly cold and uncaring at times is very thoughtful of others around him, or at least within his group. He offered to take everyone out to the city to get a better understanding of one another. Illya suggested that the two of them should just go alone while Caster and I could guard the castle.


    I was slightly annoyed at the attempt to keep Reyes¡¯ attention to herself, but my annoyance was son forgotten when he said that he¡¯d take everyone out to spend some time together. Meaning, I could get some time alone with him as well while he was out of his combat gear.


    All I have to say is that he looks very charming, I actually had to ward off other women away from him when they got too close. ¡®Damn that annoying waitress.¡¯


    In the end, Illya Caster and I thoroughly enjoyed our ¡®quality time¡¯ with the man each of us fell in love with. We were all fairly hostile against each other when it came to matters concerning Reyes, though the man himself doesn¡¯t really understand why much to our dismay. Other than that, the three of us interact with each other fairly well.


    Anyway, our time spent together around town wasn¡¯t just for socialising. It was also for observing a particular person of interest, Shirou Emiya.


    Regardless of what Reyes told me beforehand, I couldn¡¯t imagine the red-haired boy as a Servant. His future self that is. To be able to take part in the Holy Grail War as a Servant, it just didn¡¯t suit him. But I know better than to judge one¡¯s potential before seeing it.


    During my first day of spending time with Reyes, everything was fairly peaceful and relaxing until nightfall came. It seemed as though the ¡®story¡¯ was starting, if she remembered correctly. I still couldn¡¯t get my head around the fact that my life was a part of a script, but I accepted it as a fact nonetheless.


    From our position we spectated the fight between Archer and Lancer, though I was shocked to find out that Lancer was my former student. Reyes apologised for not mentioning it since it slipped his mind apparently. I don¡¯t blame him though, with his vast knowledge of the multiverse it wouldn¡¯t be surprising to miss a few pieces of information here and there.


    Looking at my student I felt mixed emotions swirling around. On one hand I feel a sense of nostalgia just from seeing someone from my ¡®past life¡¯. On the other, I feel somewhat indifferent. Even if he was my student, the only people I¡¯m concerned about or interested in talking to are those in my Master¡¯s little group, and above all my Master is the most important person to me.


    Their fight was entertaining to watch. Archer would mostly counter Lancer¡¯s advances and respond by either deflecting the blows or twisting his body out of the way, while Lancer just attacked mercilessly trying to create an opening for him to use to his advantage.


    As this was going on, Reyes had spotted Archer¡¯s Master approach the corpse of Shirou Emiya and struggled in her attempt to revive him. She was successful, but she had left before she could witness the result of her actions.


    Tailing the boy from afar, we watched on as Shirou accidentally summoned Saber and confronted Lancer before he was called back to retreat. Not even a minute later, she sped off to engage the little girl and Archer as they reached the house.


    After listening in to bits and pieces of their conversation before they entered the building, Reyes finally spoke up in his naturally deep voice, ¡°Well then, it¡¯s time we finally got this story going. Wouldn¡¯t you agree Sc¨¢thach?¡±


    Smirking a little in response I simply replied, ¡°Yes Master.¡±


    ¡®Oh, I love how adorable he looks when he¡¯s excited!¡¯ I thought with much pleasure as I gazed at his face.


    <hr>


    <u>~  Reyes¡¯ POV  ~</u>


    ¡®It¡¯s finally time to get some action.¡¯ I cheered mentally, as Sc¨¢thach returned to the Einzbern Castle to pick up Illya so that we could start a fight with Saber and Archer, just as Hercules did. Only difference is that I¡¯m the one fighting instead.


    At first, I had thought that my interference with bringing in Caster to my small group, would cause some big changes to the timeline because of Assassin. However, since Assassin has also joined our group, it¡¯ll be easier to stage certain ¡®canon¡¯ events. But, after discussing it with the girls we thought that it wasn¡¯t worth all the trouble and just decided to stay out of the majority of the war.


    We only needed to kill Gilgamesh since if he wins, everyone is going to die. As for everything else? We couldn¡¯t care less. But tonight, I just wanted to have some fun and let loose.


    As I was thinking to myself silently, I observed Shirou conversing with Tohsaka. After they had finished with their conversations I soon followed them to the church where they should confront Kirei Kotomine.


    Getting near the church I had to stop outside along with Saber, but unlike her I don¡¯t want to enter due to the bounded field surrounding it. I thought I felt it¡¯s presence so I confirmed it with my Sharingan, which can also see magic as I¡¯ve tested it before when training.


    As the two enter the church, Assassin returned to my side with Illya in her winter coat and scarf.


    ¡°So Illya, looking forward to seeing your older brother?¡± I asked her.


    She snorted in a blunt response, ¡°No, not really. He¡¯s the boy that my father left me for, which did make me curious as to what made him so special for my own father to abandon me. But, after your description of him all I can say is I¡¯m disappointed. For Kiritsugu to raise a suicidal maniac with a hero fetish is stupid.¡±


    Her reply didn¡¯t really come as a surprise to me, as she already told me of her distaste of Shirou¡¯s foolish personality and goal. She was mostly annoyed by his desire to be a hero of justice and save as many people as possible. Though she did admit it was an ambitious goal, he was still foolish.


    After my explanation she pointed out how she hated the fact that he was spouting out his philosophies to the world that he failed to see Sakura in need of help. The girl that he sees everyday at home and school for years, was suffering and he didn¡¯t notice. Not just about her plight with the worms but with her relationship with Shinji as well.


    Shinji was well known for his harsh treatment to his ¡®sister¡¯ amongst his peers and yet Shirou didn¡¯t help her at all. At school and when he was visibly abusing her, yes but not when he couldn¡¯t see her. He only targeted the opportunities he could see instead of aiming for a long-term solution. Illya labelled Shirou as one of the most foolish people she¡¯s ever seen because of this, which lead to her disliking the boy greatly.


    ¡°His fetish aside, should we prepare for our fight?¡± I asked with a hint of glee.


    With her lips curling up in amusement she said, ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t want to keep you from having a little fun, would I?¡±


    ¡°No, you wouldn¡¯t. Sc¨¢thach, stick to the shadows as I confront Saber and don¡¯t come out until I say so, understood?¡± I said as I glanced to the side.


    ¡°Yes Master.¡± She replied while sneaking off further away.


    As I saw the two Masters leaving the church I summoned my combat gear in place of my casual clothes. Dark clouds formed around me and covered my entire being and quickly vanished as quickly as they appeared and I stood tall with my Nevermore equipment along with a two-handed axe that I borrowed from Leysritt, I can¡¯t go around using my guns after all. I¡¯ll have to thank her again later.


    But for now, it¡¯s time to have some fun.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    <hr>


    <u>~  Archer POV  ~</u>


    According to my own memory, Berserker should be appearing soon along with Illya. Remembering my own encounter with Berserker from my time was anything short of pleasant. He was a literal monster with a great amount of power, and tonight I¡¯d have to face him.


    Approaching Tohsaka and my idiotic past self was Illya, the only little sister I¡¯ve ever known and failed, with a small smile across her face. But something was wrong, and I was thrown through a loop. Behind her was a Servant, that I could tell, but what was confusing was that it wasn¡¯t the same as my Berserker. It wasn¡¯t Hercules, not like from my time.


    Illya greeted us with some small talk though it was very short lived, soon enough Tohsaka ordered me to get into position for some long-ranged attacks. Quickly I retreated to the top of a skyscraper within the city and readied my bow.


    I was surprised by this change in history, but I quickly refocused my attention to the new threat. This was unexpected, and that¡¯s what made this new situation dangerous. I remember how Hercules fought, his abilities and strengths. I was prepared to face him, but I wasn¡¯t prepared to face whoever it was wearing that raven/crow like mask.


    The Berserker class is one of the strongest classes when compared to the others, all of them having some monster like capabilities when on the battlefield and facing against one with no hint to their strengths is foolish.


    All I could do was observe and surprise him when his guard is down.


    Suddenly the cloaked figure seemed to give off a primal roar with its beak snapping wide open. ¡®It¡¯s not a mask?!¡¯ I thought in slight shock and it seemed to catch everyone else off guard as well.


    As it leaped into the air I released a volley of arrows (swords) at the Berserker, exploding on contact. Deflecting the arrows with strength and precision the figure is pushed back and explodes as my last arrow goes through his defence.


    As the smoke clears I could see the cloaked man standing tall and unharmed, not even his clothes were singed.


    ¡°Tch!¡±


    It was irritating to see my attack being brushed aside as if it were nothing. But from what I could see, this new Servant wasn¡¯t inferior to Hercules by any means so far. ¡®This is going to be a long night.¡¯


    <hr>


    <u>~  Tohsaka Rin POV  ~</u>


    After Archers attack was shrugged off like it was nothing, Berserker swiftly moved in close towards us, ¡°Emiya-kun!¡±


    The ground broke where Berserker appeared as he swung his two-handed axe at Emiya, as if it weighed nothing, with Saber jumping in front, countering the earth shattering blow.


    The Servant was pushed back by Saber and they sized each other up silently before engaging in a rapid exchange of blows at inhuman speeds with sparks flying everywhere I couldn¡¯t help but voice out, ¡°I almost can¡¯t keep up with them.¡±


    Saber briefly paused as she cleared some distance away from Berserker, ¡°Strong.¡± She muttered before launching the offensive once again.


    As Berserker swung his axe down, Saber sidestepped as it dug itself into the earth and she held it in place with her foot to make an opening for herself, ¡°She¡¯s got it!¡± I exclaimed happily.


    But my words soon meant nothing as Berserker released his weapon and was displaying a high amount of flexibility and intelligence as he counter attacked with deadly grace while flipping around the place as he fought, which wasn¡¯t how a normal Berserker fights, ¡°*gasp* He¡¯s so flexible? What about all that classifies him as Berserker?!¡± I said in shock with worry showing on my face as well as Emiya who seems more fearful than worried.


    Saber briefly says a few words but I¡¯m still a bit dazed that I didn¡¯t hear her, and a sudden explosion of blue flames engulfs Berserker.


    Holding my breath, I¡¯m even more shocked to see him unharmed and few moments later while Saber and Berserker are fighting I hear the small girl speak up, ¡°Finish them off Berserker.¡±


    Clenching my teeth, I spat out, ¡°Like I¡¯ll let you.¡± Ignoring Emiya calling out to me I threw out some special gems that shattered as they hovered over the hostile Servant, creating a dark magical barrier that crushes him as Archer let out another volley of arrows that pierces his back and explodes not a second later. Only to witness the monster once again unharmed and with no visible signs of fatigue.


    Emiya said in a fearful voice, ¡°Is he invincible?¡±


    With no other options left, I could see Saber luring Berserker away from the clearing and into the forest. With nothing else to do Emiya and I chase after them to watch the fight as it carries on with ferocity.


    <hr>


    <u>~  Illyasviel POV  ~</u>


    ¡®*Sigh*, I feel like Reyes is having a bit too much fun fighting against Saber. Well he¡¯s quite adorable even when he¡¯s a bit bloodthirsty.¡¯ I thought as I was walking towards the cemetery.


    I¡¯m not particularly worried about his safety since I have confidence in his strength, but I hope he doesn¡¯t get too caught up and ends up cut in half like my Servant in another parallel universe. The plan was to shake them up a bit before we head back to the castle and wait for the next set of events to occur.


    I watched the ongoing fight, with Saber moving gracefully towards Reyes as he continued to smash the environment around him. Sidestepping one of his swings, Saber stepped forward and aimed her sword at his neck.


    Before it could connect, Reyes simply ducked and elbowed her in the stomach. As she was sent flying back, Reyes followed her to prevent her from recovering and swung at her while in mid-air.


    Bringing her sword up to her side she blocked the heavy blow with some trouble before deflecting it away from herself. Trying to gain some distance she leaps backwards only to find Reyes sticking closely to her.


    As the fight continued Reyes¡¯ actions seemed to become more and more chaotic and out of control and I could hear his laughter increasing as he did. Deciding that it was time to retreat home I walked closer so that the others could hear me. ¡°This is boring, I thought you would prove to be amusing but this isn¡¯t much fun.¡± I said in a bored like manner, have to keep up appearances after all, plus I am a little bored from just watching.


    Over the two months I¡¯ve spent with Berserker, he¡¯s taught me many things. Whether it was a small or mundane task to training physically to the occasional philosophical wisdom he showed. The training was harsh, but very effective. I could probably hold my own against a mid-level martial artist in their teens.


    Mostly because of my small size and enhanced speed from reinforcement which was taught to me by Reyes. Apparently, his old technique of self-reinforcement held the same principles as his new one which integrated the use of prana which made it deadlier than ever before.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go Berserker, we¡¯ll kill them later.¡± I said coldly.


    Tohsaka and Emiya visibly relaxed at the chance to leave peacefully until they¡¯re prepared, Emiya more than Tohsaka, while Saber kept glaring cautiously at Berserker.


    Returning to my side, Reyes silently lifted me up onto his shoulder and walked away, ¡°Bye bye! Be sure to find us when you¡¯re ready to have some fun next time.¡± I shouted over my own shoulder.


    Leaving the area behind I lightly smacked Reyes¡¯ head, ¡°You were enjoying yourself too much back there.¡± I accused.


    Chuckling darkly to himself he jokingly says, ¡°It¡¯s good exercise.¡±


    It was still a little unusual for him to make jokes like that from what I could tell, but I¡¯m glad. It just means that I¡¯m that much closer to him. It¡¯s a nice change.


    <hr>


    <u>~  Reyes POV  ~</u>


    Illya was right, I was having too much fun back there. Enjoying the fight too much wouldn¡¯t be beneficial for anyone, especially since my Mad Enchantment almost activated itself until I was stopped by Illya.


    I probably would have killed the others if I hadn¡¯t been forced back to reality. I¡¯m surprised that a few words from Illya was able to bring my conscience back though. In future I should try to solve this issue about my bloodlust, I¡¯m not going to outright reject it though.


    No way in hell, have you seen what happens to every MC that has a second personality or personification that represents their insanity or affinity to all that is evil? They all go into some shit about morals and having the will to prevail over evil only to merge with their darker side in the end. I say, fuck that! I¡¯m a try and merge with it as soon as possible.


    If it¡¯s a part of me then what¡¯s there to reject in the first place? The main point is to have self-control, though mine has been eroding over the years it¡¯s still going strong.


    How to go about it though is the question. I¡¯ll have to go deeper into this at a later date, right now there¡¯s a war to fight.


    As we enter the Einzbern castle, we are greeted by the two resident homunculi maids and my Servant, Caster.


    Stepping forward one of the maids spoke out, ¡°Welcome back Ojou-sama, Reyes-sama, Sc¨¢thach-sama. How was your fight against the others participating in battle?¡±


    Hopping off my shoulder Illya replies calmly, ¡°It was very disappointing really. They didn¡¯t stand a chance against Berserker.¡± She finishes with a hint of pride.


    ¡°That¡¯s nice Illya, did you enjoy it as well Reyes?¡± Leysritt questioned.


    Clicking her tongue in annoyance Sella turned to her fellow maid, ¡°Leysritt, it¡¯s improper to address Ojou-sama and Reyes-sama without proper respect.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just being uptight like usual Sella.¡±


    ¡°Uptight! How dare you, at least I¡¯m not a lazy individual with no manners.¡±


    ¡°You need to relax, you¡¯re causing a scene.¡± She replied with a hint of amusement.


    Scowling one last time at Leysritt Sella calmed her features before speaking, ¡°My apologies, would you like some tea brought to your rooms later?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Sella, and I¡¯d like some please.¡± Illya replied.


    Sc¨¢thach and I just asked for some water, and the maids left to prepare our beverages. Finding Caster in the living room we sat down and reviewed tonight¡¯s encounter with her.


    ¡°So, what are your thoughts on the fight Master?¡± Caster asked.


    ¡°Hmm, it was very enjoyable. I haven¡¯t been able to fight freely like that in a long time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. If I may ask, where exactly are we going after this is all over? You never really explained where our next destination was.¡±


    ¡°In truth I don¡¯t actually know where we¡¯ll be going, I arrived in this world after spinning a roulette so I assume the next world we enter is also going to be random. All I know is that we¡¯ll be able to leave a few days after the Grail War has ended as ROB had informed me shortly after my arrival.¡±


    Accepting my answers, Caster silently drank her tea as I relaxed on the couch before departing from the group.


    I¡¯m definitely interested in what the future holds for us but I can only hope that I¡¯ll be able to grow stronger in the next world I find. Either that or somehow earn enough money to purchase some useful items from the Abyss Auction since I can¡¯t afford anything of worth on it.


    Fortunately, ROB provided me with a holographic tablet that had access to it. Although, it seems it left out the fact that I can only purchase items of interest that belong to current world I¡¯m in. I¡¯m curious as to how the Abyss Auction apparently exists in every reality considering it hinted at this being the case. I¡¯ll have to file this information later.


    Now, all we have to do is wait¡­ again¡­ I need to find a hobby.

 Chapter 7 - The King of Heroes

    <u>~ Reyes¡¯ POV ~</u>


    As I was sitting back in my chair while Shirou and Tohsaka were on their way here. Fools they are, to think they could confront us in our own territory. They¡¯re not what I¡¯m concerned about though. Soon enough Gilgamesh should be arriving before they do.


    The bounded fields placed around the castle alerted us of his presence not long ago and everyone gathered in the lounge room for a last-minute talk.


    ¡°Please be careful Ojou-sama, Gilgamesh is not someone to be trifled with.¡± Sella reminded in a worried tone.


    Illya just rolling her eyes slightly, ¡°You worry too much. Reyes will be there to protect me so there¡¯s no need to worry.¡±


    Before Sella could reply Leysritt added, ¡°You should know Reyes¡¯ is strong enough to keep Illya safe by now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you, use manners when addressing them! But you are correct, my worries are unneeded.¡± Sella gave in with a sigh.


    I turn to Caster and Assassin, ¡°We¡¯re ending this war today, it¡¯s about time we moved on to the next world. This one¡¯s getting a bit boring wouldn¡¯t you say?¡±


    With their lips curling up in amusement they gave me their respective replies, ¡°Yes, it would seem so Master.¡±


    ¡°I will follow you ¡®till the ends of time Master.¡±


    Exiting the room to prepare themselves, I was left behind with Illya. Turning to me she wore a bright smile and hugged my side, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see what¡¯s in store for us when we leave!¡±


    Chuckling lightly, I simply place my hand on her head, ¡°Then we better not waste any time then.¡±


    Placing my mask onto my face as I let out a bone crunching crack from my finger I adjusted my voice, ¡°It¡¯s show time.¡±


    <hr>


    Hearing the sounds of conflict from outside, Illya hopped onto my back with a determined look on her face as I charged at full speed through the hallway.


    Running through the brick wall, smashing it in the process, I laid my eyes on the two dead homunculi in the garden of flowers. Sella and Leysritt were found dead.


    Glaring directly at Gilgamesh Illya shouted, ¡°How dare you! Berserker, kill him!¡±


    Rearing my head back I let out a primal roar while unconsciously using an illusion on my mask, making it open its beak as well, and picked up the axe that laid next to Leysritt¡¯s cold body.


    Seemingly undeterred by my actions, Gilgamesh just raised his hand as a dozen or so golden portals shimmer into existence beside him. Raising my axe in a defensive stance I prepared myself for the inevitable fight.


    ¡°It seems as though you¡¯re prepared to die by my hand. You should be grateful to fall under my power.¡± He boasted pridefully.


    ¡°We¡¯re not the ones dying today, just wait till Berserker gets a hold of you.¡± Illya shot back.


    Gilgamesh frowned in displeasure, ¡°I was going to show mercy by making your death painless, but it seems as though you need to be taught a lesson.¡±


    Giving a silent command, he waved his arm out in an arc as swords began spitting themselves out of the portals. Sweeping my axe horizontally I stopped them in mid air and hit them a second time, sending them back towards the arrogant blond but was useless as he sent them back into his ¡®vault¡¯.


    Clicking his tongue in annoyance he brought out a never-ending string of attacks as numerous weapons tried to pierce me. Focusing on deflecting the blows left and right I failed to notice a long metal chain work its way towards me through the garden.


    Suddenly my instincts yelled at me to dodge to the side, but I was one second too late. The bladed chain sank deep into my arm and through it entirely while wrapping itself around it like a serpent.


    Looking at my left arm in surprise I turned my head towards the one responsible as he laughed at my situation.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Hahaha, so the beast is finally caught. I¡¯ll make sure to make you suffer for defying me.¡± He said happily.


    Coming to a quick solution I replied, ¡°Just try.¡±


    Dropping my axe as I brought my unchained hand up, I amputated my left arm while ignoring Illya cry out in shock. As Gilgamesh stared on in surprise, I swiftly moved in closer to return the favour.


    Not having enough time to recover, Gilgamesh stumbled backwards as I tore a hole into his abdomen, missing his vital organs unfortunately.


    Gaining some distance, the blond looked down at his wound and hatefully spat out, ¡°YOU DARE TO LAY A HAND ON ME?! I WILL END YOU!¡±


    Not being able to defend myself after losing a limb, I focus on protecting Illya from the onslaught. Eventually I fell to my knees in exhaustion, covered in blood and swords that stuck themselves to my body.


    Illya jumped off my back and cried out to Caster and Assassin for aid in desperation. Two figures landed behind me and I turned around as I heard a gasp from one of the two Servants.


    Chuckling darkly, I bitterly said, ¡°To be seen in such a state, how pitiful.¡±


    Snapping out of their daze, the two women eyed the King of Heroes with a stare that could freeze hell twice over with ease.


    Assassin declared, ¡°You¡¯ll pay tenfold for your aggression towards my Master.¡± With Caster silently agreeing.


    ¡°It was to be expected, he defied me after all. It¡¯s time to send him back into the afterlife, and you¡¯ll be joining him.¡± Gilgamesh taunted.


    Charging directly at Gilgamesh, Sc¨¢thach thrusted her spear multiple times in a burst of speed. Leaping backwards to avoid the attack, Caster then fired off electricity towards his back.


    Summoning a line of shields to defend himself with, he turns to Caster and directs his attack at her while keeping Assassin at bay. Failing to get a hit in, Caster teleports to Assassins side and casts a support spell similar to reinforcement and hangs back to heal me while Sc¨¢thach begins her assault again.


    ¡°Are you alright Master?¡± Caster asks in concern which I wave off casually.


    Bringing myself up to my feet I witness one of Gilgamesh¡¯s swords pierce Assassin¡¯s heart. Her body falling to the ground before disintegrating out of existence.


    ¡°Ha! That¡¯s one bug out of the way.¡± The blond cheers.


    Growling in anger I ignore the pain from my injuries and lunge at the prick. Failing to notice Gilgamesh¡¯s smirk I was then struck by the chain once again. Only this time, it was a fatal hit.


    ¡°REYES!!!¡± Illya cried out.


    I just turned to her and mentally sighed before disappearing from the world along with Caster.


    <hr>


    <u>~ Shirou Emiya¡¯s POV ~</u>


    I was nervous. I was confused. I was determined.


    I don¡¯t really understand much about the magus or how their world works, but I know that I will save Illya. I will save my sister.


    Over the past couple of days after our fight with Berserker, I was confronted by Illya at a caf¨¦. I was cautious at first, but that soon faded away as I talked with her. We talked about mundane things at first which was admittedly pleasant, before she started asking me questions about my goals and perspective.


    I just answered her like I would any other person, ¡°I want to be a hero of justice.¡±


    After hearing my response, she gave me a strange look along with what I think is¡­ disappointment? I was never really good at reading people so I¡¯m not entirely sure. She gave me permission to ask her some questions afterwards when I was getting curious.


    Not being able to hold back my curiosity I asked why she called me ¡®onii-san¡¯ as well as the reason for participating in the war. Surprisingly she¡¯s Kiritsugu¡¯s biological daughter, which made me confused and upset about why Kiritsugu didn¡¯t mention her and why she still looks as young as she does.


    I wasn¡¯t able to question her at the time since she left shortly afterwards while ignoring my second question.


    Later I approached Tohsaka about it, leaving out some details, and was shocked at what I was told. The Einzberns were monsters. They had no regard for life, even if they¡¯re homunculi, and if my guess was right, they experimented on Illya as well considering both Saber and Tohsaka thought she was a homunculus herself. Which could also explain her young appearance.


    I couldn¡¯t stand it, so when Tohsaka suggested we attack the castle with a sneak attack I accepted immediately. No way was I going to let her stay with the Einzberns.


    But I was too late. As we arrived we could hear that a battle was already being held and decided to observe the situation. Approaching the courtyard, which also seemed to be a garden, I saw the mighty Berserker kneeling down with no sign of life left in him. Looking to my right I could see that Tohsaka was just as shocked as I was.


    As the Servant was fading away I could see a blond-haired man walking towards Illya with sword in hand. My eyes started to widen as I realised what he was about to do, so I sprinted towards him as I abandoned our hiding spot and pulled out my metal pole I had readied with a reinforcement and called out for my little sister.


    Before she could react to my voice, the man stuck down and beheaded her. My pace came to a stop as I stared at her head that laid in the grass. All I could see was her face of sadness, a face that showed despair, a face of someone who I would never see again. Someone that I failed to save.


    I was so out of tune with the world around me as I failed to notice Saber push the unknown man inside the castle. Tohsaka shook me out of my shock and dragged me towards the fight that continued on inside.


    Staring at the blond I glared at him and asked, ¡°Why did you kill her? She was already defeated so why did you kill her?!¡±


    Looking at me with a smug face he replied, ¡°Isn¡¯t it natural that I dispose of insects?¡±


    My anger growing tenfold I try to calm my emotions by taking in deep breaths before I was forced out of the way by a sword that was heading my way. Rolling to the side I turn my head to see my attacker, only to be faced with Archer.


    Unknown to anyone in the room, six figures could be seen outside on the roof as they observed the fight unfold.


    A dark laugh could be heard from one of the figures as they spoke, ¡°Time for act two.¡±

 Chapter 8 - Karmas a B*tch

    <u>~ Gilgamesh¡¯s POV ~</u>


    ¡®I¡¯ll kill him! This¡­this¡­FAKER!¡¯ I growled internally.


    The Grail will be ready soon and finally wipe out the weaker beings from the world, but this mongrel won¡¯t get out of my way! Copying all of my weaponry and countering my attacks with them. It¡¯s shameful, disgusting and undoubtedly hateful. For him to even cut my arm off is humiliating beyond what words can describe.


    Holding the stump that remains of his missing arm, I kicked the lowlife back as I stopped the bleeding in my arm.


    Falling to his knees in exhaustion, the Faker¡¯s Reality Marble shatters and we were sent back to reality. Scowling with absolute rage at the pest, I drew a sword out from one of my portals and kicked the tired boy¡¯s side.


    Standing over the defeated teen I exclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s about time you died insect. Nothing can save you now.¡±


    But before I could strike him down like the bug he was, A metallic hand burst out from my chest with a beating heart in hand.


    Coughing out mouthfuls of blood I glared at the boy for an answer, only to be met with a face filled with shock. Confused, I turn my head slightly before my eyes widened significantly as I identified the bastard that attacked me.


    ¡°YOU! HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?!¡± I demanded.


    The one behind me was the lowly Berserker that I had killed along with some other Servants and homunculus¡¯. Not only that, but the others that I believed to have killed were standing by his side.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be that easy, did you?¡± He replied with¡­ amusement? The nerve of him!


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t expla- ¡°, my voice quickly cut itself off as I stared at Caster with my eyes gaining a look of realisation. ¡°An illusion? A mere illusion tricked me?!¡± ¡®Ridiculous!¡¯ I seethed.


    ¡°Such is the price for your arrogance O¡¯ King of Heroes. Although, losing my arm was definitely not part of the plan. So, I¡¯ll have make do with killing you as penance.¡± He growled towards the end.


    Chuckling darkly as he pulled out his hand from my chest he said, ¡°Karma¡¯s a bitch.¡±


    No longer having the ability to respond I simply faded out of existence, ¡®I was so close! Damn you Berserker!¡¯.


    <hr>


    <u>~ Reyes¡¯ POV ~</u>


    ¡®Ahhhh, nothing like the sweet taste of revenge to improve my mood.¡¯ I thought in amusement before turning back to my little group.


    ¡°It¡¯s over, time to move out.¡± I ordered them. Giving their respective nods, we prepared to move out just before a certain redhead cut in.


    ¡°Wait a minute! What¡¯s going on, I thought you died.¡± He exclaimed before ending in a weak voice as he stared at Illya.


    Sighing, Illya faced Shirou and started explaining, ¡°We faked our deaths. We knew Gilgamesh was targeting us so we decided to launch a surprise attack on him when he least expected it and possibly weakest. Though we did end up running into some unexpected problems.¡± She grimaced as she glanced to my missing arm before looking away with a hint of sadness.


    I just placed my right hand on her head in a comforting manner, after having the blood removed of course. I¡¯m not an animal.


    Letting out a sigh of relief, Shirou hardened his gaze at her and said in a serious tone, ¡°I will save you from the Einzberns Illya, I promise as your big brother that I will. I don¡¯t know why dad didn¡¯t mention you before, but you¡¯re my sister regardless.¡±


    Illya had a look of annoyance before schooling her features, although it apparently went unnoticed by Shirou, ¡°I don¡¯t need saving. I don¡¯t want saving. I never did.¡±


    Looking confused he was about to speak before Illya beat him to it, ¡°All I wanted was for my loneliness to end. Don¡¯t you dare think that you¡¯re in a position to save me or that I need saving. Unlike you, Berserker didn¡¯t save me. He helped me, there¡¯s a difference between the two. You want to save me for your own satisfaction that stems from your hero fetish. Berserker helped me escape my ¡®family¡¯ by making me stronger, you just want to do all the work yourself regardless of the consequence.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not-¡°


    ¡°True? Tell me, what¡¯s your plan in saving me?¡±


    Pausing for a second to get the right words, Shirou began to speak, ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly, but I would get you away from those monsters that harmed you and protect you.¡±


    Shaking her head, she replied, ¡°That¡¯s foolish. If you had taken me from the castle my grandfather would have activated a set of magic seals that would cause me to self-destruct. My body would eventually perish from the stress on my body if it wasn¡¯t treated properly. And lastly, I don¡¯t want to be helpless enough to need protection, I want to be strong enough so that it never happens again.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°What you would¡¯ve done is damn me to death, and you would have failed to ¡®save¡¯ me¡± She finished with a hint of disdain.


    Fortunately, she won¡¯t have to worry about death anymore considering I killed the old fart and removed Illya¡¯s self-destruct seals. I had also helped stabilise her body by training her since the problem was that it was too weak to contain the high amounts of mana she possess. Although, she still needs more training before she¡¯s completely safe from her mana¡¯s side effects.


    With Shirou standing in shock, I simply leaned forward and said, ¡°Wanting to be a hero means that there have to be people in need of a hero in the first place. But isn¡¯t that what heroes try to prevent in the first place?¡±


    When I was younger I also aspired to be a hero, but not the kind of hero Shirou wanted to be. He wanted to be acknowledged for his heroism, even if he denies it. I however, wanted to be the unsung hero, the kind that didn¡¯t need acknowledgement and only pursued his goal.


    I trained day and night to become a soldier, Shirou hardly trained in his life. I know he trained in magecraft but beside working on the basics, did he attempt to learn anything else? No, he didn¡¯t. He kept cruising through life with no plan, no determined goal, and with no proper preparation. And being a hero means to go out and prevent people from needing to call for help.


    Before he could reply I just turned around to face the others, ¡°Get ready to move, the Grail will be destroyed soon enough.¡±


    Everyone gave a nod in confirmation before dispersing, leaving me with the teen and Archer who came out from hiding to confront me. Though it appears that he¡¯s not up for a fight.


    ¡°Hoo~? So, we meet face to face Berserker. I wasn¡¯t expecting to see you again.¡± He spoke evenly.


    Non-verbally I acknowledge his presence before he asks, ¡°What now?¡±


    Looking at the white-haired man I replied, ¡°I¡¯m leaving, I have no more business here.¡± Walking a few steps in the opposite direction I stop briefly to face the counter guardian, ¡°Also, the next time you get stuck in a contract. Use Rule Breaker you fool.¡±


    Blinking once. Twice. Archer just face palmed and began sulking on the ground. Uncharacteristic but not surprising, especially when one finds out they¡¯re an absolute moron. Honestly, why couldn¡¯t he use Rule Breaker, or even a Broken Rule Breaker, to free himself of his status as Counter Guardian. It literally has the ability to nullify magic contracts.


    Archer¡¯s stupidity aside, I moved towards the Einzbern Castle where we will be relaxing for the next couple of days until it¡¯s time to change worlds.


    Hopefully I¡¯ll be able to find a solution to my missing limb there.


    <hr>


    <u>~ A few days later ~</u>


    Lazing around with my companions on the couch, a blue text box appears in front of me.


    [Congratulations! It¡¯s time for you to move on to the next adventure! I can see that you got quite the group with you as well. I didn¡¯t know you were a lady¡¯s man.]


    With my eyebrow twitching madly at the screen I mutter, ¡°Damn ROB.¡± I then gathered everyone together as ROB transferred us all to an empty realm with a¡­ mansion?


    *DING*


    [This realm is your own personal property, courtesy of me. Here, you will be able to store away anything of personal value that you don¡¯t need to carry. This dimension will be accessible at any time; however, you will not be allowed to store anything, or allow anyone from your current universe in here until it is time to transfer to another world.]


    ¡°That¡¯s nice, at least we have somewhere to call home.¡± I said to myself.


    Entering the house along with everyone else, we took our time to explore the building and began to unpack our belongings and supplies before gathering in the lounge room to see we¡¯ll be dealing with next.


    [Ready for the next world? Great! Then just spin the wheel and prepare for some fun!]


    Rolling my eyes at the overexcited ROB I just spun the roulette wheel that appeared out of thin air, which received various reactions out of everyone. Sella was cautious, Sc¨¢thach and Sella remained indifferent, whereas Caster and Illya expressed their interest. One more excitably than the other.


    Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thuunk, thuuunk~


    *DING*


    [Your destination will be RWBY! Your goal is to participate in the war between Salem and the Hunters/Huntresses of the world and reach a conclusion before you can move on.]


    ¡®Hmmm, well this¡¯ll be interesting.¡¯ I thought.


    [Also, since you will have companions that will travel the multiverse with you. As of now, any universe your group enters, everyone, sans you, will be provided with limited information on the basic structure of the world and how it works. Note that only necessary information will be provided.]


    After reading the panel, all the girls started to groan a little in discomfort before explaining what happened.


    ¡°Reyes, why do I have knowledge of a world called Remnant?¡± asked Medea, who recently began using my name along with Sc¨¢thach after the Grail War had concluded.


    ¡°It was ROB who gave you that information. It contains the basic knowledge needed to understand the world we¡¯re about to enter.¡± I replied.


    [Before I transfer you to the RWBY universe I need to know which of you will remain in the house and those who want to venture out into the new world. The ones that stay behind won¡¯t be able to interact with that world and those that accept won¡¯t be able to enter the house for extended periods of time. You may still use this dimension when on your journey but there is a limit.]


    Surprised at the new turn of events I ask everyone for their opinions. Sella and Leysritt were the first to answer, ¡°Reyes-sama, although I am thankful to you for bringing us with you, I would like to stay behind and look after the mansion while you are away.¡± Came Sella¡¯s reply, shortly followed by Leysritt.


    ¡°I agree with Sella and also wish to remain here.¡±


    Frowning a little bit, Illya pouted, ¡°Aww, why don¡¯t you want to come with us?¡±


    Sella replied, ¡°With all do respect Ojou-sama, I am merely a maid. Normally I would be concerned about your safety but I trust Reyes, Sc¨¢thach, and Medea-sama won¡¯t allow any harm to come to you. It¡¯s our job to take care of our master¡¯s belongings anyway.¡±


    Leysritt simply nodded at Sella¡¯s explanation.


    Accepting their reasoning for staying behind she walked back to my side and held onto my remaining arm as Medea spoke up, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter where you go, I¡¯ll always be by your side.¡±


    Sc¨¢thach took a step forward before speaking, ¡°As will I Reyes, you can count on me to be there for you.¡±


    Illya just smiled as bright as ever and said, ¡°Do you even need to ask?¡±


    Looking at the screen I said aloud, ¡°Well there¡¯s your answer.¡±


    [Understood, prepare to transfer in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ 0¡­]


    And just like the first time I entered the Fate universe, the four of us faded away out of existence with thousands of small blue lights flickering. The only ones left were the two maids who began cleaning the mansion while their masters were away.

 Chapter 9 - A Grimm Suprise

    <u>~ ROB¡¯s POV ~</u>


    [Understood, prepare to transfer in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ 0¡­]


    I smirked as I saw Reyes and his little group of friends disappear while the two maids began their chores. But my smirk soon formed into a frown as I felt a disturbance with Reyes¡¯ transfer and my eyes widened in shock as the purple fiery orb that represented his soul started to tear itself apart and reform in a constant cycle.


    ¡°I thought I got rid of that damned condition!¡± I growled in frustration, worried about my new source of entertainment dying so soon.


    Before I could intervene, I was shocked once again when I saw Reyes¡¯ soul stabilise itself and began to materialise a white substance. It ended up covering half of the orb and solidified itself as some purple markings spread across the surface of the newly formed white shell.


    The solidified shell looked more like a mask as time went on, as a hole was created for an eye socket and in place of a mouth was a row of stitches that crisscrossed in an unorganised fashion. The purple markings stopped moving, which was arranged into a claw like scar the ran from the top pf the mask through the eye socket down to the bottom with a slight curve.


    After processing what just happened, I was unable to prevent myself from grinning from ear to ear as I stared at Reyes¡¯ reconstructed soul with joy. Not only did his soul resist against the complete transformation he was originally supposed to go through, his soul took control over it, adapted to and accepted the changes made.


    As a result, his soul is stronger than ever and Reyes has gained an unexpected powerup thanks to his ability to adapt, which I gifted him.


    ¡®I can¡¯t wait to see his face when I tell him of this new turn of events.¡¯ I thought while picturing a gobsmacked face on the ex-soldier. Especially when he realises what the people of Remnant might think of him in his current condition.


    <hr>


    <u>~ Reyes¡¯ POV ~</u>


    While a certain bastard, *cough* ROB *cough*, was laughing at me without my knowledge, I was experiencing the worst pain I¡¯ve ever felt since my days back in training.


    ¡°AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!¡± Screaming at the top of my lungs I rolled around a snow filled forest clutching onto my Nevermore mask. Tossing and turning on the ground in a fit of pain while the others start calling my name in worry while trying to hold me down.


    For what seemed like hours I continued my screams until I unconsciously started spouting out numbers when I could finally struggle to force out words that could make sense.


    ¡°*Gasp*¡­Ni-GRRH-Nine hundred¡­ and ninety-thre-NGH!... nine hundred a-AGH¡­ eighty-six¡­ nine-¡° As I continued on, the girls just grimaced at my rambling while looking at each other as they pinned my remaining limbs to the ground.


    As my mind receded back into my mind, a white substance began to form itself on the surface of my raven mask.


    <hr>


    <u>~ Reyes¡¯ Mind ~</u>


    Looking around, all I could see was darkness. Shortly after walking around aimlessly I turned around to see a chair. In that chair was teenage boy chained as a man held a pair of angle nose pliers covered in blood. Upon closer inspection, the boys fingers could be seen nailless and broken while the man re-equipped with a saw and began to cut the disfigured fingers as he kept asking a single question.


    ¡°What¡¯s a thousand minus seven?¡±


    ¡°Nine hundred¡­ and¡­ and¡­ AAAAGGGHH!¡°


    ¡°What¡¯s a thousand minus seven?¡±


    ¡®Aaahh, it¡¯s my memory¡¯ I concluded in a daze.


    Watching the scene unfold it eventually changed to one where I was ordered to kill a group of children no older than 10, by slowly carving their skin with various tools in front of each other.


    My past self visibly paled at the order but entered the room regardless where the children looked at him in fear, rightfully so. Picking up a scalpel, he grabbed the nearest child and the little girl looked him in the eye pleading ever so softly.


    ¡°I-I-I d-don¡¯t want to d-d-die¡­¡± Tears running down her cheeks.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have no choice.¡± I regretfully replied.


    As I was about to continue she spoke up, ¡°Can you at least make it painless?¡±


    My younger counterpart froze before slowly moving the scalpel to her neck before the speakers came to life, ¡°We said slowly, Agent Reyes.¡±


    My eyes started to sting as I said to the girl, ¡°I¡¯m so, so sorry.¡±


    Following my instructors orders I killed every single child slow and painfully, all 58 of them.


    My surroundings changed once again as I now stand in the middle of a firefight in my original outfit as Reaper with the black coat and skull mask. As I dispersed into a cloud of dark smoke that charged towards the enemy hideout, all of the soldiers panicked and started unloading their entire magazines, hitting nothing as I reformed with a pair of shotguns ready to fire at the men and women there.


    Letting the bullets fly as I raided their base of operations, a couple could be seen saying their goodbyes with blood pouring out of the bullet hole I had made. Walking up to the pair, they greeted me with hateful glares as they pulled the pins from some grenades, ¡°Time to die you monster.¡±


    An explosion hit me in full force before my memory changed once again, this time showing me as I lead a rebellion against the Order.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Fighting my way through the numerous staff there, I ended up in front of the leader of the Order. A man that seemed to be in his late 30¡¯s, with light brown hair and eyes with an average looking face. Nothing about him stood out, no scars, no rough appearance, no scowl present on his face. Just an average looking man that could pass as a normal citizen on the street.


    Smiling, he looked at my past self with amusement, ¡°Ahh, Agent Reyes, or do you prefer Reaper? Bah, no matter. It seems as though my time is up.¡±


    Growling at the man I spoke in a deep voice, ¡°You¡¯ve kept us all under your control for long enough. Soon I¡¯ll finally be able to rest easy.¡±


    Scoffing at my words he replied, ¡°Rest? There will be no rest for you, politics will take care of that I assure you. You see, even without me there to stir some trouble, those in power will do all it takes to hide the truth. That¡¯s what they do best after all.¡±


    Pulling the trigger of my shotgun, the leader of the Order falls back into his chair with blood dripping from his wounds as he lay dead. With a grin still plastered on his face.


    A new memory comes into view as I saw myself strapped into a chair as my ¡®allies¡¯ took turns of beating me to a pulp. I could see a crowd of people behind them, as I sat on top of a stage, where they all held signboards that say ¡®Down with the Order!¡¯ and ¡®Kill the head of the snake!¡¯ and many other variations.


    I was framed. My country, and every other citizen around the globe believed I was the leader of the Order, that I was the source of the problem. Those that fought by my side? They were bribed. Nothing more, nothing less. Simple as that.


    Suddenly the memory fades and I¡¯m left in a graveyard, one that spans as far as the eye can see. There was nothing else, no trees, no hills, no buildings. Just a flat piece of land filled with gravestones.


    As I surveyed my surroundings, a white figure gains my attention as it walked towards me. The one standing across from me was a carbon copy of myself, except he was covered in white.


    While I also had white hair, he had skin as white as paper with his military attire also held the same shade of white with some black and purple outlining whereas I wore a complete black set. His eye and hair were the only things that retained its original colouring.


    ¡°Well it¡¯s good to see you boss.¡± He remarked in a delighted tone, his voice similar to how one would sound when speaking through an electric fan.


    I just questioningly repeated, ¡°Boss?¡±


    Raising an eyebrow at me he replied, ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re the boss. Since you¡¯re the original me after all. You should be able to guess who I am, considering how we both know where you¡¯ve seen this situation before.


    I took a moment to clear my head before I gave out a tired sigh, ¡°Yeah, yeah, you¡¯re a Hollow aren¡¯t you.¡± I said more as a fact than a question.


    With his lips curling up he nodded in response, ¡°Right in one. I guess you want to know how I was able to form, since you have no memory of going Hollow.¡±


    Giving a silent yes he continued, ¡°When we died, our soul was already undergoing Hollowfication since we were experimented on unknowingly by a group of scientists from some alternate version of Soul Society that existed in our world. But before it went any further, that stupid ROB stepped in and chose us to be used as his/hers/its, I don¡¯t know, little plaything. However, ROB clearly didn¡¯t do a good enough job of stopping me from forming and here we are.¡±


    Accepting his answer, I ask him, ¡°So what, are we going to fight it out like Ichigo or are we going to be smart about this.¡±


    Chuckling he replied, ¡°We¡¯re not as stupid as them to bother doing that. We both share the same goal, getting stronger. And I know for a fact that we¡¯ll be stronger working as one then fighting for dominance.¡±


    Letting out a sigh of relief at my Hollow self¡¯s reasonable mindset I stretch out my hand and said, ¡°Well, here¡¯s to our partnership I guess.¡±


    Shaking my hand, he says, ¡°To our partnership. Oh, before you go, make sure to let me have some fun for a while okay? It¡¯ll be better if you¡¯re used to using our Hollow powers if you keep the mask on for a while. Also, the Hollow mask can be reshaped to fit the Nevermore mask when we have it on apparently.¡±


    Nodding to him I left my mindscape and regained consciousness.


    <hr>


    Waking up with my head feeling as heavy as a truck, I turn to see the concerned looks of my¡­ friends¡­ and give a gesture saying that I¡¯m alright.


    Tending to my headache as I sat up, I notice that my mask has turned white while the rest of my outfit had turned black with white was a secondary colour for outlining and other small details.


    ¡°How long was I out?¡± I ask to no one specifically.


    Caster was the one who answered, ¡°Two hours Reyes, you had us all worried.¡±


    Checking my body for any further changes as she spoke, I quickly noticed that my left arm had not regenerated itself even with my new upgraded regenerative abilities that Hollows had. Although, Grimmjow wasn¡¯t able regenerate his arm naturally either.


    ¡°Hmm, sorry about that. Something unexpected happened.¡± I replied.


    ¡°Does it have to do with that Grimm mask and the colour change?¡± Illya asked with a hint of concern.


    ¡°Yes, it does. But, this isn¡¯t a Grimm mask, it¡¯s a Hollow mask and before you ask it¡¯s not harmful in any way. For now.¡± I muttered under my breath towards the end.


    Speaking for the first time, Sc¨¢thach said, ¡°What shall we do now Reyes? Right now, we don¡¯t exactly know where we are or where we¡¯re supposed to go.¡±


    Humming in acknowledgement I stated, ¡°We obviously need to find civilisation, that we all already know. I¡¯ll send out my familiar to scout the area.¡±


    As I finished, an abnormally large crow emerged from my shadow as it cawed. Giving it a silent command, it flies off to find signs of life.


    Getting up to my feet I observe the environment for anything useful. Finding nothing interesting we all started walking East. I wanted to run since most of us could travel at high speeds but they girls insisted that I rest so I simply complied to ease their worries.


    The walk was uneventful for around 50 minutes, until a pack of Beowolves started surrounding us. All of us got ready for an attack, but strangely enough they just stared at us, particularly me.


    Looking closely at the pack I felt a sort of¡­ familiarity with them which seemed odd at first. Before I realised that my inner Hollow was actually reacting to them, recognising them as Hollow. Or at least partially related to.


    My train of thought came to an end as the leader of the pack, who was noticeably bigger than the rest, moved forward in a peaceful manner before kneeling down as it gestured for me to get on. Looking to the rest of my group I shrugged and jumped on the back of the Beowolf while three others offered the girls a ride as well.


    Letting out a howl, the pack leader sped off towards the mountains with the others shortly following.


    As we continued to ride on the back of the Grimm, I started to talk with my inner Hollow who called himself Michael. He said that it seemed ironic to name himself after the leader of Angels, Michael, since I was the Angel of Death, Reaper. I didn¡¯t really mind, so I just rolled with it.


    ¡°Why do the Grimm feel similar to Hollows?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It is strange but it does make sense in a way if you think about it.¡± Michael shrugged nonchalantly.


    I hummed in thought about it before speaking, ¡°I guess it does. Hollows are beings that are derived from human souls but end up becoming empty after their hollowfication and feed off of humans, so technically they no longer have a soul of their own. There isn¡¯t much known about the Grimm, but like Hollows they have no soul and also feed off of humans.¡±


    Michael added in, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just this worlds version of Hollows. After all, our original world had its own version of Soul Society.¡±


    ¡°Alright but the next question is, where are the Grimm taking us?¡±


    After a moments of hesitation Michael said, ¡°Well, if I had to guess, then I¡¯d say you already have your suspicions for that.¡±


    With our conversation finished, I opened my eyes to see a large castle, or fortress, in the mountains which supported my prediction.


    Soon enough, we arrived at a massive wooden double door with thick metal reinforcing it. Getting off the Beowolves, I pat it¡¯s head in thanks as I walked up to the door. Before I could knock, the door opens inward and I see a figure of a woman step out to greet us.


    ¡°Why hello there, you must be tired from the trip. Please, come in and have a seat, we can talk inside away from the cold.¡± She said warmly.


    *Sigh*, standing right in front of me was the one and only Salem. The primary antagonist of RWBY.


    Fuckin¡¯ A.

 Chapter 10 - The Prophet

    You know, I expected a lot of things on the way here. I prepared myself for what my meeting with Salem would bring. But I can say with full confidence, that I wasn¡¯t ready for this meeting at all.


    ¡°So, this is the human you were speaking of Salem. The one that you felt had a connection to the Grimm?¡± an old yet wise-like voice spoke to the ¡®Queen¡¯.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very peculiar. I do hope that you can shed some light on the situation for us Mr?¡±


    ¡°Reyes.¡± I replied with a short response.


    ¡°Mr Reyes. Before we carry on are your companions sure they don¡¯t want a seat as well?¡± she asks in a kind-hearted manner, which may seem weird since she¡¯s the main antagonist of RWBY.


    Caster sincerely replied, ¡°We are fine staying by Reyes¡¯ side, thank you for your hospitality.¡± Which was true, Salem has been a generous host for us so far. Although, that didn¡¯t stop the girls from standing by my side on guard.


    To see them like this actually brought a heart-warming feeling inside me that I haven¡¯t felt that often since my late teens. Can¡¯t really blame them for being tense though, considering how the guards by Salem and her unexpected friend gave off the feeling that they were veteran fighters.


    ¡°Well, would you kindly tell us why you are somehow related to the Grimm despite being human as well?¡± asked the old being sitting across from me.


    The reason I say ¡®being¡¯ is because who I¡¯m speaking to, is the motherfucking Prophet of Truth with his Sangheili Honour Guard¡­ Yeah, like I said, totally not ready for that to happen. I thought my mind was about to shut down from shock, but I quickly got over it and had started to run my mind through the possible worst-case scenarios as a precaution.


    The best thing for now is to remain neutral until I get a better picture of what¡¯s happening here.


    ¡°I¡¯m not exactly Grimm but from what I can tell, my ¡®species¡¯ is related to them if we were to compare the similarities and vibes I get.¡± I replied honestly, no reason to hide information lest I bring suspicion to myself.


    ¡°I see.¡± Truth stroked his¡­ I dunno what those fugly things on his chin are, and replied, ¡°Is there any way we may contact your people. Like Salem here, I wish to create an alliance and welcome them to the Covenant.¡±


    ¡°I do not know if any other member of my species exists or where they may be if they did.¡± Which was completely true. I had no idea if Hollows actually existed here or if I was an exception.


    ¡°That is a shame, it would have been a blessing to gain more brethren to join us on the Great Journey.¡± He says with regret.


    ¡°Great Journey?¡± I asked with interest. Of course, I already know what the journey entails but I need to confirm if the Covenants goals are the same as the one from the Halo universe I know of to this one.


    I knew that I would see some changes from the original stories and timelines but it never really sunk in that the alternate universes I could possibly be thrown into would have any major differences like this. A crossover between Halo and RWBY, and possibly more. I can¡¯t entirely rely on my ¡®knowledge¡¯ anymore.


    ¡°Ah yes, the Great Journey. It is our belief that the Forerunners left behind their legacy for us to inherit. So that we may enter a new age where the gifts they left behind will lead us to paradise.¡± He proclaimed with great joy and faith.


    Wanting some more details I asked, ¡°What gifts do you speak of, and how will they lead you?¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°The Forerunners left many holy devices behind, many with the potential to help develop our society even further than it is now. One such gift is the Sacred Rings; however, they are also a danger to all of us.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow at this, because this is definitely different to how the Covenant I know of treated the Halo Array. The one I know of had no idea that the Halos were weapons.


    ¡°These rings are made to destroy all sentient life within their range, a last line of defence against the Flood. A parasitic race of Demons that wish to consume all.¡±


    Now that caught my attention. The Covenant knew the Flood were a problem in the games, but the only ones they referred to as ¡®Demons¡¯ were the Spartans.


    I wanted to dig for more information but before I could ask anything Salem stepped in, ¡°As interesting as this conversation is, I would like to change topics to why we are gathered here.¡±


    Looking at Truth he gave her a small nod, ¡°I suppose we have drifted off course. Reyes, would you be interested in joining the Covenant on our journey?¡±


    What he said really threw me through a loop as I tried to consider the consequences of my response and slowly questioned, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°In order for us to succeed in our quest, one cannot do so alone. Although I¡¯ve only just met you, I can clearly see that you are a warrior at heart. As a leading figure of the Covenant, it¡¯s not that hard to evaluate one¡¯s prowess.¡± He stated with complete honesty.


    Remaining silent for a moment I said, ¡°I need time to think on it for now. Although I doubt I was brought here solely for being a possible recruit candidate.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I understand.¡± He said in acceptance.


    Salem took over the conversation from there, ¡°Indeed, I invited you mostly because I was curious but after meeting you in person I can feel my trust in you growing more and more. It could be from the familiarity your presence seems to give off to me and my children but I don¡¯t really mind.¡±


    For Salem to admit that she was trusting of me made me realise that I too felt the connection between my Hollow side to the Grimm growing stronger than earlier.


    ¡°I have a request to make. It¡¯s your decision to accept or decline but I¡¯d like for you to hear it first.¡± She said.


    I gave a slight nod with my head for her to continue, ¡°Can you help me free Remnant?¡±


    Tilting my head in confusion at the strange question, Salem elaborated, ¡°This world is slowly dying. The humans and faunus are using up all of it¡¯s natural resources quickly and the overconsumption of dust is a big part of it. If it continues on, then everyone on this planet will die along with the planet.¡±


    Releasing a sigh of frustration, she said, ¡°A majority of Grimm don¡¯t have enough mental capacity to understand how to deal with this problem. The only way they know how is through force and power, following the law of the jungle. I may be powerful and their Queen, but I can¡¯t keep all of them in check.¡±


    ¡°How do I fit into this?¡± I asked still confused at what she wanted with me.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you for your cooperation, since I can only do so much by myself. The Grimm are at war with the humans and faunus and it won¡¯t stop until one side is wiped out. Also, they¡¯ll surely hunt you down as well for many reasons due to the disturbance you¡¯ve caused.¡±


    I rose an unseen eyebrow at hearing I¡¯ll be hunted, ¡°And why is that?¡±


    The prophet was the one who answered my question, ¡°When you arrived our sensors picked up a massive spike of energy originating near the area the Beowolves found you. That spike indicated the energy was of Grimm origin, or something closely related to it. So, there¡¯s no doubt they¡¯d label you a threat.¡±


    ¡®An energy spike? Is he talking about my Hollowfication?¡¯


    [Probably boss. If what they¡¯re saying is true though then we¡¯ve already made an enemy out of Ozpin and his group]


    ¡®I guess you¡¯re right, and the only way we¡¯re moving on to the next universe is if the war comes to a conclusion. ROB never said what side I had to be on though.¡¯ I smirked and offhandedly wondered if the bastard had planned for me to join Salem from the start.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case I don¡¯t think you even need to ask Salem. There¡¯s no one I can really ally myself with if I¡¯ve already made an enemy is there.¡± I stated calmly.


    Smirking at my response she just said, ¡°So your answer then?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in, but I don¡¯t work for you. Is that clear?¡± I said as I released a deathly aura, daring Salem to say otherwise.


    Salem and Truth didn¡¯t seem fazed but shared a look of understanding. ¡°Of course, Reyes, but I do hope you join the Covenant with me once the war is over.¡± Salem replied with a small smile.


    I merely gave a grunt in response. ¡°So, what¡¯s first then?¡± I asked.


    Salem gave an eye smile and said, ¡°First, it¡¯s time you meet your colleagues, and possibly restore your arm.¡±


    I looked directly into her eyes before Michael said, [I think I like her already.]


    I couldn¡¯t help but agree with him.