Let us speak of a world's history.
The Holy Grail War. This is a conflict centered around a chalice capable of granting countless wishes.
When prefixed with the epithet "Fuyuki's," it refers to an exceptionally unique war in which mages summon Heroic Spirits as Servants and battle each other until only one remains.
On the eve of World War II, triggered by Germany's invasion of Poland, the Third Holy Grail War was held in Fuyuki City.
Seven Servants and seven Masters prepared to slaughter one another for their selfish desires, but during the war, an unexpected incident occurred—the Lesser Grail shattered. The Holy Grail War itself ended ambiguously at that very moment.
The problem lay in what came afterwards.
The fatal difference compared to other worldlines was that, on the stage where magi waged their ugly battles for wishes, the strongest national power in the mortal world forced its way in.
A certain magus who supported Nazi Germany discovered the omnipotent wish-granting device hidden within Mount Enzou and attempted to seize it using military force.
The Three Great Families—Einzbern, Tohsaka, and Matou—fought desperately to thwart this scheme, but weakened from the Holy Grail War, they ultimately failed. The Greater Grail, painstakingly constructed by the Three Families, was forcibly taken by Nazi Germany.
This battle left no records, no images, and not even a trace in people's memories. Yet, it remains an undeniable fact that a brutal war once erupted between the military and the magi.
What makes it even more intriguing is that the Greater Grail, which should have become a symbol of the Third Reich and realized the dream of world unification, vanished without falling into anyone's hands.
Those responsible were replaced, those involved were sent to the battlefield, and the whereabouts of the Greater Grail were completely buried in the sands of history—after all, none who knew of it remained. The self-proclaimed "Yggdmillennia" magi affiliated with Nazi Germany also disappeared during a certain mission.
However, the "state intervention" anomaly marked not only the end of Fuyuki's Holy Grail War but also the spread of its system as information among magi worldwide.
Subspecies Holy Grail Wars rapidly emerged across the globe. Most, however, were small-scale, summoning at most five Heroic Spirits, and even if the rituals succeeded, they could not grant omnipotent wishes.
Who had taken the Greater Grail? Where had the treasure capable of fulfilling any wish gone?
Generations of magi, driven by curiosity and desire, threw themselves into hollow imitations of the war, aging as years passed, until children became old men—
At last, the Greater Grail was found.
Or rather, it became known who had hidden it and preserved it all this time.
First, its location.
It lay within the ancient fortress of Yggdmillennia Castle, situated in the outskirts of Trifas, Romania.
Now, the problem at hand.
The Greater Grail was not without an owner. The lord of the Fortress of Millennia was the Yggdmillennia of the Tree of a Thousand Realms.
Yes, they were precisely the magus clan that had once belonged to Nazi Germany and discovered the Greater Grail.
Perhaps the Greater Grail had bestowed upon this clan an unusual confidence, for immediately after announcing their possession of it, they declared their secession from the Clock Tower.
The reason for their rebellion was simple: the Yggdmillennia clan was not of noble lineage.
The Clock Tower had three great noble families and twenty affiliated clans. The Yggdmillennia belonged to neither group nor had any connections with them, despite their long history.
Some said this was due to their defeat in past power struggles, others claimed it stemmed from discord with the three noble families, and still others believed it was because their Magic Circuits were deemed too flawed, leading to their ostracism. The truth, however, remained unknown.
Regardless, they had always been excluded by the prestigious magus families.
For this reason, the Yggdmillennia abandoned the traditional path of "generations of accumulation to thicken the magus bloodline and perfect the magecraft system chosen by their ancestors." Instead, they gathered magi with broad but shallow ties to their clan.
Their recruits included families with short histories and poor Magic Circuits, those in decline with dwindling Circuits over generations, and even those punished or wanted by the Mage's Association—people who, despite being pushed to the fringes, had not entirely given up on reaching the Root.
The middle names of the Yggdmillennia were all derived from the names of families absorbed in this manner. They had not even unified their Magic Crests, instead inheriting the original Crests of their former families.
The magecraft systems they studied were equally diverse: Western alchemy, black magic, witchcraft, astrology, Kabbalah, runes, and even the Onmyoudou of Japan—all were represented within the clan.
In terms of ability, the average member of the Tree of a Thousand Realms was second-rate, with the occasional first-rate individual, but nothing more.
Yet, possessing the Greater Grail—a treasure of the highest order—they one day turned their backs on the Clock Tower, declaring their intent to establish a new association centered around their own clan.
Thus began the story of the Great Holy Grail War.
***
In the vast torrent of history, every drop of water and every grain of sand seems insignificant.
Yet we must still tell the story of one family.
They were not nobles, ostracized within the Clock Tower, and in their anger, they turned to the Tree of a Thousand Realms. But their extreme and powerful black magic drew the fear of the Yggdmillennia patriarch, as well as the envy and persecution of their peers.
Finally, during an extremely dangerous mission, the family's head—their only first-rate magus—perished in a rampaging beast's attack. The salvaged Magic Crest was utterly destroyed, beyond repair.
After being squeezed of their remaining usefulness, even the Yggdmillennia abandoned them. Stripped of their ancestral lands, they were forced to eke out a meager existence in the city.
Yet the members of this family did not give up. The old magus from the collateral branch took control, and their thirst for vengeance drove them to spare no cost. Eventually, they found the rumored family tainted by demons and obtained from them the method to strike a deal with the devil.
The summoned demon gladly granted the desperate souls' request, handing over the pages inscribed with ancient legends and the secret texts to interfere with the ritual.
[Very well. Your souls, your existence, everything shall belong to me. In return, I shall permit you to overturn this world and throw all into chaos. Hahahaha...]
Perhaps even the head of the Yggdmillennia clan could never have imagined how terrifying the power of vengeance could be.
After sacrificing everything their clan possessed, this nameless family, long forgotten by the world, gained the power to shake the entire Holy Grail system.
At the hour of the Ox on a certain night, in a dilapidated mansion too poor to pay its electricity bills, candlelight flickered.
An elder even more ancient than the previous family head, his skin like withered bark clinging to bones, trembled as he chanted the incantation of vengeance with a voice that seemed to weep blood.
"—Hearken."
"Let thy body be bound to my will, and thy fate be entrusted to my blade. If thou wouldst heed the call of the Holy Grail, obey this will and this reason—answer me!"
At the center of the magic circle drawn in human blood lay tattered pages, which turned to ashes the moment the elder spoke, merging into the magical patterns.
The decayed Magic Circuits activated, and the elder's body emitted the sound of shattering under unbearable strain. Pus and blood streamed from his eyes as rampaging magical energy ravaged and violated him.
"Hereby I swear."
"I shall become the one who accomplishes all righteousness in this world. I shall become the one who carries out all wickedness in this world!"
The agony of his Magic Circuits running wild and the terror of their impending collapse tormented him endlessly. Yet the desire for vengeance sustained the elder, allowing him to clutch the highest mystery tightly in his hands.
Following the demon's instructions, the elder struck his chest forcefully. Life-infused heart's blood sprayed forth, dyeing the crimson-glowing magic circle a deep azure.
At this moment, the demon's magecraft fused with the elder's blood. Through the conduit of the magic circle, they pried open the laws governing the Holy Grail system.
Simultaneously, the elder finally rasped out his final words:
"—Thou who art clad in the Great Trinity, come forth from the ring of restraint, O guardian of the Scales!"
As the declaration resounded, a gale erupted, sending the elder flying backwards. Though caught by his frantic followers, he continued laughing like a vengeful spirit even as he coughed up blood.
"Kukuku... It's coming! I can feel it! The emissary of vengeance emerges from the abyss!"
Under the fearful gazes of the assembled members, 'he' manifested upon the ground.
From the intricately woven magic circle, a dazzling light erupted. In that instant, a miracle took form.
The storm abated, and the blinding radiance gradually dimmed. Then, within the magic circle, a figure appeared.
A cloak dark as shadow billowed, and beneath the hood's shade, the youth gazed with hollow eyes at the swarming crowd before him like ants, finally settling his sight upon the Command Spells in the elder's hand.
"Servant of 'Blue,' answering thy summons."
The shadows concealed his face, yet those mesmerizing iridescent eyes gleamed with a coldness as if from the abyss.
"Are you my Master?"
***
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