Morning found me standing outside the Doctor's office, my hand raised to knock but hesitating. This meeting felt different from Kal'tsit's clinical evaluation or Surtr's blunt assessment. The Doctor represented something more, someone who had recognized Noble Phantasms and predicted Victoria's fall before it happened.
Someone who might see through all my carefully maintained deceptions.
I took a breath, steadied myself, and prepared to knock.
Victoria, Royal Palace Throne Room
Artoria sat upon her throne, Rhongomyniad resting beside her, radiating divine authority that made the assembled nobles and military commanders unconsciously maintain distance. The throne room had been transformed since her arrival, all traces of Victorian excess stripped away and replaced with austere elegance befitting a goddess.
Maps covered the grand table before her, showing Terra's political landscape with particular focus on the Laterano region. The Sakota nation represented an interesting challenge, a theocratic state with its own claims to divine authority and military capabilities that exceeded their territorial size.
"The Laterano Curia will oppose our expansion."
General Amsberg reported, his voice steady despite obvious discomfort in her presence.
"Their Apostolic troops are highly trained and their technology rivals our own. A direct assault would be costly."
"Cost is irrelevant when victory is assured."
Artoria replied, her tone carrying absolute certainty.
"Laterano's divine authority is illusory, ceremonial power without substance. Rhongomyniad represents true divinity, the lance that holds the world itself in place. Their faith will crumble when confronted with genuine godhood."
She traced her finger along the map, calculating invasion routes and strategic positions.
"We begin preparations immediately. Full mobilization of Victorian forces, supply lines established through conquered territories, and diplomatic overtures to Ursus about coordinated pressure on Laterano's northern border."
The nobles exchanged glances, some showing approval while others barely concealed their horror at the scale of warfare being proposed. None dared voice opposition directly, not after witnessing what happened to those who questioned the Lion King's authority.
"The timeline is three months."
Artoria continued.
"By summer's end, Laterano will bend knee or burn. Their choice entirely."
"Your Majesty, what about Rhodes Island?"
One brave noble ventured.
"They've been evacuating populations from our expansion path and providing refuge to those who resist Victorian integration. Their interference grows bolder."
"Rhodes Island is an annoyance, nothing more. A pharmaceutical company playing at military operations, lacking the strength to truly oppose us."
She leaned back in her throne.
"Once Laterano falls, Rhodes Island will lose their strongest potential ally. Then we can deal with them at leisure, either by forcing their surrender or eliminating them entirely."
The meeting continued for another hour, discussing logistics and resource allocation with the methodical precision of professional military planning. Artoria listened with half her attention, the strategic details handled competently by her subordinates while her mind focused on more interesting matters.
The fighter with Noble Phantasms. The one who had driven off Talulah and wielded Gáe Bolg with perfect accuracy. Reports placed them in Lungmen now, likely connected to Rhodes Island's operations there.
Soon. Soon she would have their location confirmed, and then she could issue a formal challenge. Test their strength personally, measure whether they were worthy of her full attention.
The anticipation made eternity slightly more bearable.
A commotion outside the throne room interrupted her thoughts. Raised voices, running footsteps, the clatter of armored soldiers moving with urgent purpose.
The massive doors burst open and a knight stumbled in, breathing hard and bleeding from a wound across his shoulder. He dropped to one knee, proper protocol abandoned in favor of delivering his message immediately.
"Your Majesty! The southern territories are under attack!"
The throne room went silent, every noble and officer turning to stare at the messenger.
"Explain."
Artoria's voice remained calm, but power gathered around her visibly, the air itself distorting with divine pressure.
"An armed force appeared three hours ago. They're burning garrison posts and liberating towns we conquered. The force is led by..."
He swallowed hard.
"Led by Lemuen, former head of Laterano's Notarial Hall. She commands some sankta units along with the elite Executor and is accompanied by someone called Virtuoso. Their Arts capabilities are exceptional, and our forces are being routed."
Lemuen. Artoria knew the name from intelligence reports. A former Laterano official who had retired from active service, known for her tactical brilliance and uncompromising principles. And Executor were Laterano's most elite combat operators, sanctioned warrior who served as judge, jury, and executioner in a single package.
"How many troops?"
"Unknown exactly. At least three hundred senior class operators, plus support units. They're moving with precision that suggests extensive planning."
Artoria stood, Rhongomyniad materializing fully in her hands. The lance blazed with holy light, its power filling the throne room with heat and pressure that made the assembled nobles step back involuntarily.
"Lemuen challenges divine authority with military force. Bold, but ultimately futile."
She descended from the throne, her presence dominating the space absolutely.
"My knights! Choose among you who will test their mettle. Make sure they feel the might of Camelot!"
"Hell YEAH!"
Mordred grinned as the knight of treachery walks with triumph assuring they will test them fully.
"Victoria is secure through my authority alone. No force on Terra could threaten it during my absence."
She watched mordred walked toward the exit, nobles and officers scrambling to clear her path.
"Send word to Siege in Lungmen. I want her intelligence on Rhodes Island accelerated. If they're coordinating with Laterano, I need to know immediately."
She paused at the doorway, looking back at the assembled leadership.
"Terra will learn what it means to challenge a goddess. Lemuen and her operators will serve as the lesson, their bodies displayed as warning to any who consider rebellion."
She left, divine power radiating with each step, the Lion King marching toward war once again.
Behind her, the nobles exchanged worried glances. Some had hoped the conquest would stop, that Victoria's expansion would plateau after securing their position. But Artoria's ambition knew no bounds, her divine authority demanding absolute submission from all of Terra.
They had summoned a goddess to save their nation.
Now they were learning that gods did not stop at merely saving.
They conquered. Utterly and without mercy.
Lungmen, Rhodes Island Facility
I lowered my hand from the door, the knock I had been preparing to make suddenly seeming inadequate. My danger sense pulsed faintly, not warning of immediate threat but suggesting that whatever happened beyond this door would fundamentally change everything.
"Come in."
The voice was muffled by the door but carried quiet authority, the tone of someone who expected to be obeyed without question.
I opened the door and stepped inside.
The office was sparse, functional rather than comfortable. Maps covered one wall, showing Terra's geography with various notations and markers. A desk held tablets, documents, and communication equipment organized with meticulous precision. And behind that desk sat a figure wearing clothing I recognized immediately.
The Doctor's outfit from Arknights. Hooded coat that obscured their features, tactical gear underneath suggesting combat capability despite their primarily strategic role. Only their hands were visible, gloved and resting calmly on the desk.
I had seen promotional materials for the game during my previous life, images of this exact outfit representing the player character. But seeing it in person created cognitive dissonance, the impossibility of the familiar appearing in an alien world.
I opened my mouth to introduce myself, to begin the careful dance of revealing just enough to seem honest while hiding everything that mattered.
The Doctor spoke first.
"So you are Ryougi Shiki with multiple Noble Phantasms."
Their voice was distorted slightly, some kind of vocal modification making it impossible to determine gender or age.
"Obviously you are reincarnated here, am I right?"
The question hit like a physical blow. Not an accusation or speculation but stated as simple fact, absolute certainty with no room for denial.
My Mystic Eyes activated automatically, defensive reflex showing me death lines across the figure before me. But the lines were strange, distorted in ways I had only seen on entities with divine or magical protection.
"I don't know what you mean."
I said carefully, buying time to think.
The Doctor made a sound that might have been laughter, though the vocal distortion made it difficult to tell.
"Don't bother denying it. I already know."
They leaned back in their chair.
"Let me save us both time with explanations. I was also a player, someone from another world who ended up here. I played Arknights extensively, knew the story, the characters, the events that were supposed to unfold. That knowledge let me predict Victoria's fall before it happened, let me prepare contingencies that saved lives."
They pulled up images on a tablet.
"Then Artoria Pendragon appeared. The Lion King from Fate Grand Order, wielding Rhongomyniad at full divine authority. That's when I knew the situation had changed fundamentally. Something or someone was inserting entities from other fictional universes into Terra."
They turned the tablet toward me, showing combat footage of me fighting at Sal Viento. The angle suggested it was taken from a drone during the battle.
"You appeared four days ago according to reports. Fought with techniques matching Ryougi Shiki from the Fate series. Wielded Gáe Bolg, Kanshou and Bakuya, Rho Aias. Noble Phantasms that shouldn't exist but clearly do."
The Doctor set the tablet down.
"So I'll ask directly. What entity sent you here? What are their goals? And what do they expect you to accomplish?"
The comprehensive understanding left me with no room to deflect. They had deduced everything from observation and prior knowledge, connecting dots I hadn't realized formed a visible pattern.
My emotional intelligence assessed the situation rapidly. The Doctor wasn't hostile, just direct. They wanted information but were offering transparency in exchange. A potential ally rather than an interrogator.
I made a decision.
"A god."
I said simply.
"They called themselves an entertainer. Bored with watching souls pass through cycles, so they offered me three wishes and sent me to Terra for amusement."
"Three wishes. Let me guess. The character you are now wearing giving you Shiki's abilities and Mystic Eyes. A system that provides Noble Phantasms probably based on completed missions. And probably something related to survival, maybe immortality or agelessness."
The accuracy was terrifying.
"How did you know?"
"Because it's exactly what I would wish for in that situation. Familiar power set, expandable arsenal, and time to grow strong enough to survive."
The Doctor stood and moved to the wall of maps.
"The god who sent you is the same one who sent the Lion King. I'm certain of that. The pattern is too consistent. Entities from fictional universes inserted into Terra with power intact, creating chaos that disrupts the original timeline."
They pointed to Victoria on the map.
"Artoria's arrival changed everything. Events that should have unfolded over years are compressed or altered entirely. Reunion is more aggressive, nations are forming unusual alliances, and now Laterano is openly opposing Victorian expansion through military force."
"You know what happens in the original timeline."
"I do. And I've been working desperately to preserve key events while adapting to changes the Lion King creates. It's like playing chess when your opponent keeps adding new pieces that don't follow normal rules."
The Doctor turned back to me.
"Which brings me to why I wanted to meet you. I need help. Specifically, I need someone with Noble Phantasms who isn't the Lion King. Someone who can fight at that level when the time comes."
"You want me to fight Artoria."
"Eventually. Not now, obviously. She would destroy you currently. But with time, with growth, with the right preparation..."
They pulled something from their coat pocket.
"I can help you get stronger. Much stronger. But I need to know you're committed to opposing the Lion King rather than joining her or staying neutral."
"I have no interest in joining a conquering goddess."
"Good answer. But words are easy. I need proof of commitment."
The Doctor held out their hand, revealing what they had withdrawn from their pocket.
A chalice. Golden, ornate, radiating power that my danger sense recognized immediately as catastrophically dangerous. Lines of death traced across it, but they were wrong somehow, twisted and inverted as if the object existed in opposition to mortality itself.
"The Holy Grail."
I breathed, recognition absolute.
"You possess an actual Holy Grail."
"I found it three weeks after arriving in Terra. Hidden in ancient ruins, waiting for someone with knowledge to recognize its significance."
The Doctor set the Grail on their desk, the artifact's power filling the room with pressure.
"This is my trump card. The reason I've been able to coordinate Rhodes Island's resistance against overwhelming threats. The Grail grants wishes within certain parameters, provides resources and capabilities that shouldn't be possible."
The doctor looked at me directly, the hood's shadow making their expression invisible but their intensity palpable.
"I'm showing you this as proof of trust. As evidence that I have tools matching your gacha system's potential. Together, we can prepare for the confrontation with the Lion King that's inevitable."
I stared at the Grail, processing implications. An artifact of infinite possibility, the central MacGuffin of the entire Fate series, sitting casually on a desk in a Rhodes Island facility.
The god who had sent me here must have known about this. Must have calculated how discovering the Grail would affect my choices and the entertainment they sought.
"What do you want from me specifically?"
"Partnership. Share information about your capabilities and the missions your system provides. In exchange, I'll share my knowledge of Terra's original timeline and provide resources through the Grail to accelerate your growth."
The Doctor picked up the Grail again.
"Together, we can navigate the chaos the god has created. Preserve what matters from the original timeline, protect innocent people caught in conflicts between entities with divine power, and eventually challenge the Lion King before her conquest consumes all of Terra."
They extended their hand toward me.
"So what do you say, Ryougi Shiki? Will you help me save this world?"
The question hung in the air between us, weighted with consequence and possibility.
Behind me, Terra spun through its cycles of conflict and catastrophe. The Lion King prepared for war against Laterano. Reunion plotted in Lungmen's shadows. Siege struggled with impossible choices between loyalty and survival.
And I stood at a crossroads, being offered alliance with someone who possessed both knowledge and power to match my own potential.
The god wanted entertainment. Wanted to watch me struggle and fight and hopefully triumph against overwhelming odds.
Fine.
I would give them the greatest show Terra had ever seen.
I reached out and took the Doctor's hand.
"Partnership. But I have conditions."
"I would expect nothing less. Let's discuss terms."
The Doctor pulled out a chair, gesturing for me to sit.
"This conversation is going to take a while. We have a lot to plan and even more to prepare for."
I sat, and together we began mapping a path through chaos toward confrontation with a goddess.