As Dio Vincenzo took his usual seat, he couldn't stop the overwhelming feeling of unease that filled him. Through his eyes, the world almost felt like he was looking at it through a grainy white filter...
It was normal- it wasn't.
Everything was fine- something was wrong.
Everything was as it should be- something wasn't right.
Of course, this strange feeling wasn't coming out of nowhere. Indeed, this strange sinking feeling of unease had been building up over the last few days.
It had all started a few days ago, when they got that transfer student- Leo Harwey.
Something about the boy, the way he smiled, made Dio uncomfortable... Something about those emerald, green eyes unnerved him...
How could such eyes look so kind, and yet be so utterly empty?
It hadn't ended there. Over the last few days, Dio had endured countless more encounters that left him questioning his sanity... Rin Tohsaka- a girl he struggled to remember even now despite her incredible beauty- trying to touch his face at one point, only to mention something about 'interference' and then vanishing before his eyes.
As if that wasn't enough, when he'd then reported what he'd learned to the Newspaper Club President... She had brushed it off by saying 'too bad.' Acting like the fact he'd seen a girl vanishing from in front of him wasn't a big deal... As if it were normal.
And then, there was that moment he stepped out into the Garden to check the chapel... And he'd come upon a horror scene. Bodies strewn about, vanishing into black mist whenever he approached them.
Standing over them? Their new teacher, Kazuki-sensei.
When that man's soulless black eyes had fallen on him, Dio couldn't remember anything that happened after that. He only remembered waking up with everything back to normal- no bodies, no Kazuki-sensei, nothing.
Those were just some of the incidents that caused the unease to build within him... Everything around him was fine, and yet it all simultaneously felt so wrong- like he was just a pawn in someone else's game... Like a cog in someone's system.
Still, he tried to endure it... If he just made it through today then- something bad would happen- everything would just go back to normal. His ordinary school life would return.
Midway through class, Leo Harwey stood up- drawing everyone's attention.
Leo turned those green- soulless- kind eyes on his classmates with a smile. "I'm afraid I will have to go now," he told everyone, acting as if what he said was perfectly reasonable. "I'm afraid this place has only ever been a temporary arrangement for me... However, I thoroughly enjoyed my time being a student here. Thank you for giving me this opportunity..."
He turned to the front of the front of the class, "You as well, Fujimura-sensei. Thank you for making this experience memorable."
"Ah... Yes," Taiga Fujimura nodded, accepting that Leo's words were- utterly ridiculous- perfectly reasonable.
"Tch," Shinji Matou, Dio's- enemy- friend, openly scoffed. "Show off..." He rubbed the sides of his head, like he was in pain.
Leo calmly walked down the aisle between desks, heading to the rear door of the class. He calmly pushed it open and stepped out, closing it behind him.
Like a spell breaking over the class, everyone continued to pay attention to the Taiga as though nothing had happened... As though everything was- wrong, wrong, wrong- normal.
Dio shakily stood up as class ended... The strange filter he was seeing the world through, a grainy white, had only gotten stronger. He almost felt like he was going blind.
His head was so foggy, his brown- no, red- eyes could barely stay open.
Sweat was building on his face, causing his brown- no, purple- hair to cling to his face.
He needed... To go home. Yes, if he could just go home then- it would all be over, everything- he would be able to get some sleep, and everything would be fine.
Dio stumbled away from his desk and through the open classroom door. He held his hand against the wall, feeling if he didn't have support then he would collapse... He gripped the railing on the stairs for dear life as he shakily began to walk down them.
As he made it to the bottom of the stairs, he heard yelling... It made his already searing headache feeling worse, filling his mind with a vicious throbbing that nearly made him pass out.
He slowly turned his gaze to look down the hall- towards the Nurse's office- and saw Shinji in another argument with his sister Sakura...
Something was wrong.
Sakura stared at Shinji with soulless purple eyes, her voice monotone as she spoke, "You need to calm down, big brother. Error Text. Please select personality type."
Shinji recoiled and held his head in pain. "I... I've always wanted a sister, but I don't... Have...! "
"You need to calm down, big brother. Error Text. Please select personality type."
The seaweed headed teen screamed as he turned and ran down the opposite hall, turning a corner into a dead end- no, go there! You need to- and didn't emerge again.
Dio shook his head... He needed to leave... He needed to go home...
His vision went white...
.
.
.
GASP!
He inhaled sharply as he suddenly jumped up, a chill running down his spine. He knew- he knew- he'd lost touch with the world just now. But something had suddenly shocked him awake- instinct. Something told him that if he hadn't regained himself just now... Something bad would have happened.
He shakily started to walk towards the exit, when he suddenly noticed that Leo Harwey was facing the hallway that Shinji had run down earlier.
All at once, Dio also noticed the amount of people on the first floor was only three- himself, Leo, and Sakura. Nobody else was present...
How long had he whited out for?
Leo began to walk down the hallway, calm and elegant, turning the same corner that Shinji had.
Follow! You need to follow!
Perhaps driven by primal instinct, maybe by curiosity, Dio followed Leo down the hallway- stumbling after him and holding onto the wall for support.
He turned the corner to see Leo facing- the door! There's a door!!- the wall. Unlike Dio, who was sweating and trembling, Leo was perfectly calm and composed- as if nothing could shake him.
Suddenly, Leo turned around to face him- green meeting red. "Hello," he smiled with that ever empty gaze. "I believe this is the first time we've spoken, isn't that right?"
Had they spoken before this or not...? He couldn't...
"Though, this may also be the last time we speak," Leo noted. "Perhaps a shame. Or perhaps you consider yourself lucky? I suppose we'll see... Though, you've made it this far. I hope you make it to the next stage; you are... Interesting."
With that, Leo turned away and walked straight through the wall.
Dio panted as he stumbled over to the wall, stopping in front of it and supporting himself by holding onto his knees...
Something told him that this wall- this seemingly innocuous wall- held the answers to the irregularities that had been plaguing the school the last few days... Leo, Rin, Kazuki-sensei. Sakura's strange breakdown...
He could turn away, he could walk away, go home... Everything would be fine...
But that curiosity, that burning spark within him, refused to let him turn away. Refused to let him walk away from this wall...
He would rather know the truth than live in ignorance.
He reached out and pressed his hand on the wall...
The spell lifted.
The throbbing, agonizing headache went away. The grainy white filter he'd been seeing the world through dissipated. His exhaustion slowly faded as he stood up straight, feeling the energy returning to his limbs.
Where once was a wall- now stood a door.
He hesitated for only a moment before he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Inside was what looked like some sort of supply closet- with a glowing blue doorway on the opposite side.
In the middle of the room was what almost looked like made of wood, with crimson lines running along its body, and thin twig-like arms and legs. Even still, it stood up and almost seemed to look straight at Dio.
An Effigy- his mind supplied, though he didn't know how he knew that. But what he felt inside of him, was that this Effigy was part of a test... A test for some kind of qualification.
The Effigy moved to stand behind him- like it was subordinate to him. The Effigy had no will of its own, it only followed its basic programming. What that programming was- to act as a temporary substitute- he didn't know. Or maybe he just couldn't remember.
Dio made his way through the shimmering azure doorway, and his eyes widened he found himself standing in some sort of strange space... The walls looked like they were made of glass, but they were completely solid. The surroundings almost made it feel like he was deep underwater- far at the bottom of the ocean.
The glass walls and floor glowed with blue light, making it clear to see where he could and couldn't step easily.
Without thinking about it, he began to walk... The Effigy, ever loyal, followed behind him.
That was when he came upon a strange floating orb.
A test.
Like a voice speaking within him, he knew that this orb only tried to break through defences. He knew that defending against this orb would be one of the most foolish choices he could make.
And so...
"All-out attack," he ordered the Effigy. "Crush it."
The Effigy leapt into action, unleashing blows of shocking force as it obliterated the orb in only a few seconds- leaving it to vanish into black particles... Trash Data.
As he made his way through, he found three more orbs... One only defended. One only attacked. And the last would attack in set patterns over and over again.
Finally, after destroying the remaining three orbs, he found himself walking onto a circular platform... To a horrifying sight.
Bodies.
Bodies of other students strewn about the platform as three massive doorways of stained glass stood tall and judging, staring down at the scene with complete apathy.
Their bodies, their clothes, everything about them had become grey, as though they were in stasis or even completely lifeless. As though they were frozen in time.
What caught Dio's attention wasn't just the body... But the presence of an Effigy, kneeling down over one of the bodies. It looked like it had either just attacked- or like it was mourning the loss of its partner.
Suddenly, the Effigy stood up and whirled around to face Dio and his own... Its programming, having lost purpose, went haywire as it leapt in, launching an attack.
"Defend," Dio spoke on instinct, keen eyes watching the attacker's movements as his own Effigy leapt in front of him. It blocked the blow, countering with a kick to the enemy's abdomen- sending them skidding back.
Dio saw it. A slight shift in stance... It meant nothing to him- it should have meant nothing to him- and yet, instinctively, he knew that it was about to make a move to break through his defences.
"Attack."
His Effigy leapt into the fight, entering the other's range and smashing its arm against its face with brutal force.
Shift. Defending.
"Break through their guard."
Shift. Attacking.
"Defend and counter."
He gave orders without hesitation, as if he knew what the Effigy was going to do before even it knew...
And finally, with a crushing blow, the attacking Effigy exploded into wooden dust that faded away into black particles... Obliterated.
His own Effigy suddenly powered off, kneeling down on the ground as its purpose had finally been fulfilled.
[Master Qualification - Cleared.] A voice of no gender spoke through the air.
Suddenly, Dio felt a burning on the back of his hand. He hissed and lifted his hand- seeing three gleaming tattoos- sigils- appearing on the back in the shape of what looked like a feather with three distinct parts to it.
There was a sound like rumbling before two of the tall glass windows shattered, causing him to whirl around and see that only one was left standing.
A crimson light suddenly manifested in front of it, along with the soft sound of footsteps as a girl walked out of the bloody light.
Her hair was long and black, reaching down to her thighs, with crimson eyes that gleamed with pure amusement as she watched him. In her hands, she held a musket- casually resting on her shoulder as though it were no big deal.
She wore no clothes, her black hair conveniently hiding her more inappropriate places from view. She was also short, easily a head or two shorter than him, forcing her to look up at him. Despite her perverse appearance, her presence was telling of her true nature- power and bloodlust.
"So," she grinned slowly, "You're the man who has become my Master, huh?"
"... Yes," he nodded at her words- it felt right.
"Then our contract has been established," she nodded and chuckled. "I am Servant Archer- Oda Nobunaga... You'd better be careful with me, Master, or this Demon King will drag you down into hell to keep her company."
[Final Master Confirmed. Participant Number 128 has been registered. The preliminaries have come to an end. The Holy Grail War now begins.]
With that, Dio's vision went white, and the world faded away...
***
Discord Server: discord.gg/HjXrgD5adS