NOTE:
- Thrones of Heroes: The Place where renowned individuals are moved to after freeing them from the constraints of time and reincarnation. Heroic Spirits are emanations summoned into the real word of these individuals
- Angra Mainyu: The source of All the World's Evil, Angra Mainyu, was to be born, with the Greater Grail as a uterus, as an embodiment of the Third Magic in the Third Holy Grail War. As far as this fic goes, Angra Mainyu's Will = Grail Corruption = Black Mud = All Evil = Shadow (only in Sakura Matou's case)
Starting this point, I hope everyone interested in this volume must have gone through UBW series and Heaven's Feel movies, whether in its entirety or through You- -tube summaries
Enjoy!
...
Chapter Begins:
"Why didn't you let us out?!" Venom roared against the snowstorm. "We could have obliterated that puny servant much sooner!"
Kai and Black couldn't have replied to Venom even if they wanted to.
Something enormous, mystical, and illogical was happening to them.
And the Timeline had come to watch it as well.
The fight to borrow Illya and Berserker's fates had lasted but a few minutes.
However, in those few minutes, a grander battle, at the scale of Deep Ones, had raged outside the Fate Bubble as well.
Death the Artificer had confronted Type Mercury — ORT.
The Timeline, though, had sensed the disappearance of the Holy Grail's Vessel the moment it happened.
But even if It wanted to do something about it now, It couldn't.
The changes that were taking place in the two parasites had already been linked to the Root, becoming a part of the Holy Grail System.
On one side, covered in snow, was Kai, his yellow cloak flailing high and mighty within the storm.
Red and black fumes were rising off his body as Berserker-Class' nature imposed itself on him, the Ad Infinitum actively trying to counter the madness within.
Not only that, his figure was flickering between real and imaginary.
Neither Kai nor Black had Magic Circuits before they arrived here. Moreover, Black, now Berserker's Master, as a result, couldn't supply the Mana necessary to keep Kai within the world as well.
This was where The Fate Borrower Skill showed its double-edged sword.
Like Nothing Is Impossible, this wasn't a Skill even Kai could mess with simply.
If the changes Black was going through didn't finish soon, then Kai's entire existence would be stolen by the Root.
And, if that happened, Chaos would eradicate him before he could reach the Throne of Heroes, becoming a true Heroic Spirit.
Far away, and with his back toward Kai, was Black.
If the changes Kai was going through were spiritual, then Black's changes could be called both physical and magical. And horrifying, too, perhaps.
Illya, eaten alive, pulsed within Black, becoming a mass of flesh.
In the next moment, the mass of flesh began taking shape, becoming a heart.
Thump-Thump-Thump!!
With every heartbeat, blood-red and black contorted lines began materializing out of the heart, corrupting Black from within.
Illya had been modified by the Einzbern family so much that she was rich in Mana.
Not only that, her Command Seals and Magic Circuits were the same, taking the form of red glyphs that covered her entire body.
Now, those same Magic Circuits and Command Seals were becoming a part of Black.
That's where the issue lay, becoming one of the greatest matters of fear.
Illya's Magic Circuits were powered by Grail, which had been corrupted by Angra Mainyu in the previous Holy Grail War.
So, as Black was becoming the Holy Grail's new vessel, Angra Mainyu's remnant psyche began awakening within him as well.
This was nothing short of a disaster for both Kai and Black.
The same hadn't happened with Illya because she was physically weak.
If Angra Mainyu had awakened within her, using her as the channel to incarnate, then she would have collapsed instantly.
Black, however, was a monster beyond monsters.
Even if the overloaded buffs, which he could only layer over each other in the Reality Marble, had gone, he still had Total Concentration Selfless Breathing.
It was the Breathing Art that had prevented him from collapsing onto himself under the effect of several buffs and later the Cursed Seal.
If it wasn't for Selfless Breathing, then every use of Recoilless Renewal Taekwondo Elite Ability would have pulverized Black on the spot.
Now, the same Breathing Art had become his enemy.
In Black's mind, the Ad Infinitum again went into overload to imprison the burgeoning psyche as the Grail Heart fully materialized within him.
It wasn't just a battle of Wills.
It went beyond that.
Coincidentally, both Kai and Black had experience with getting corrupted.
The Philosopher's Stone, lying like a normal red stone between them, suddenly lifted, terrifying red magical fluctuations thundering around it.
Then, like a bullet, it plunged itself deep into the Grail Heart within Black's body with a bloody squelch.
BOOM!
Red thunderbolts danced around Black as he activated two of the three Skills that the Item possessed — Elixir of Life and Divine Illumination!
…
Skill: Elixir of Life
Skill Effect:
— Mana Consumption: 10 MP/ml
— Turn liquid into Elixir of Life
— Can cure all diseases, heal all wounds, and imbue life into a man at the death's threshold
— Dose: 100 ml
Skill: Divine Illumination
Skill Effect:
— Mana Consumption: 650 MP
— Purify a Corrupted Soul
…
Almost instantaneously, the Ad Infinitum locked Angra Mainyu's psyche manifesting within Black within a yellow star, throwing it into the Black Hole representing his Mindscape.
However, it didn't mean that the Grail Heart had stopped corrupting him physically.
So, Black kept the Elixir of Life activated, constantly pouring Mana into it — Mana that the Grail Heart now supplied to him in abundance — Mana that he transferred to Kai, solidifying his state as the Heroic Spirit of the Berserker Class.
Simultaneously, the same Command Seals and Magical Circuits that Illya had possessed once now lit up on Black's body as well.
…
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai D. Stormborn
The Fifth Holy Grail War has recognized you as Master
…
Congratulations Contestant Kai D. Stormborn
The Fifth Holy Grail War has recognized you as a Servant
…
Congratulations Contestant Kai D. Stormborn
You have achieved a Commendable Milestone
…
Commendable Milestone: Become a Master and Servant in the Holy Grail War without Magic Circuits
Commendable Milestone Awards:
— Correspondence +10
— Magic Crest
…
Your award of Magic Crest is resonating with your dual existence of Master and Servant.
If you end up not using any of the Command Seals, which are also your Magic Circuits, the same will permanently become your Magic Crest.
…
Congratulations Contestant Kai D. Stormborn
You have triggered a Hidden Mission
…
Hidden Mission: Holy Grail Corruption
Hidden Mission Grade: B+
Hidden Mission Summary: The Counter Force does not wish for the end of Humanity in this timeline, yet. As the Holy Grail's Vessel, you must ensure that the Corrupt Grail does not end up unleashing All The World's Evil upon the world.
Hidden Mission Objective: Prevent Angra Mainyu from incarnating into the world
Hidden Mission Time Limit: NA
Do you accept the Hidden Mission?
]
…
As both Kai and Black smirked, nodding simultaneously, the Timeline pressed over them sighed.
[You —] It said, walking away. [— have no idea what you have just done… Nyarlathotep.]
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