A sudden burst of light forced me to slam my eyes shut. It was as if the sun itself had manifested right before me, completely blinding my vision. The brilliance was so intense it felt as though it were searing my retinas, though it lasted only a fleeting moment.
When I finally opened them, still adjusting to the light, he was there: my Servant, exactly as the letter had promised. I confess I had imagined a knight in shining armor, but the man standing before me was unlike anything I could have conceived.
More beautiful than any contemporary celebrity, he stared at me with pitch-black eyes of absolute magnetism, making it impossible to look away. A shiver ran through my body as I felt the coldness emanating from him—it felt as though I were standing before something unreachable and distant.
Then, suddenly, everything changed. The coldness vanished as naturally as it had appeared, replaced by a slow, gentle smile. His reserved demeanor conveyed a sense of security, yet at the same time, it exuded erudition and a delicate fragility, as if every gesture were carefully weighed.
He seemed to search for the right words for a few moments, while I remained hypnotized by his beauty and the sudden, disorienting shift in his aura. Finally, he spoke:
"May I assume that the young lady is, in fact, my Master?"
His tone was respectful but carried an inquisitive curiosity, as if he were confirming whether I was truly the one he was meant to serve. I hardened my expression almost instinctively. I wondered if I was being influenced by something strange, for this man seemed to easily melt the frost I had always maintained. Never before had someone managed to unsettle me so quickly.
"Yes. I am your Master. My name is Selena, and I am the one you shall obey." I narrowed my eyes to reinforce my authority and added in a firm voice: "If you serve me faithfully, we shall both achieve what we desire."
The young man before me showed genuine joy at my words. His beautiful smile widened, as if spring had finally arrived in a field of flowers.
"I am honored to have such a beautiful Master. It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Fang Zheng, a righteous cultivator of the Heavenly Court. I hope we can get along well."
With that, he bowed slightly toward me and joined his hands in a respectful greeting.
Meanwhile, in a small, dark room that felt suffocatingly cramped, a black-haired youth felt every shadow in the space pressing against his mind. Before him on the table lay a silver crown. He took a deep breath, placed a hand over his heart, and closed his eyes for a few seconds.
When he opened them again, his resolute gaze fixed on the crown, he intoned:
"O being from another world, who possesses a will capable of bending the world to your ambition, I summon thee to fulfill the ambition you so desire, in exchange for acknowledging me as your Master... O Heroic Spirit."
An intense light flooded the room, momentarily blinding him. The glare burned his eyes, and his mind felt the pressure of something it had never contacted before. When the shadows finally reclaimed the space, he saw his long-awaited Heroic Spirit.
Paralyzed, he stared fixedly at his Servant's face, mesmerized. It was impossible to find words to describe such beauty. It was as if a god had descended to Earth. He took a deep breath and finally managed to speak:
"Who... who are you?" he asked, stuttering slightly, trying to regain his composure.
Then, an ethereal voice arose, as if the world itself were straining to convey that stunning presence. The tone was cold, yet not lacking in warmth; it carried something deep, guarded within the Servant's chest.
"So... this is what it feels like to be on the opposite side of the relationship."
Confusion began to show on the young Master's face. Though he understood the words, he didn't understand their meaning. He felt disoriented, pressured by the young woman's presence, and annoyed by the fact that she answered a question with another question.
"Excuse me, but I asked you a question..." he tried, still unable to fully compose himself.
The Servant, however, seemed oblivious to the youth's unease. She remained lost in her own world.
'Can you see what I see? Are you still there?' the stunning Servant thought, while her silver hair danced in the wind. She, in turn, gazed out the window with suffocating gray eyes that seemed to cradle a burning bonfire.
The silence in Nephis's mind was absolute. No shared visions, no whispered voices. The void was colder than any winter she had ever faced. She looked at her Master, who reminded her of "him" from ten years ago—and of that day when the three of them met.
"I am Saber, also known as the Changing Star," she said in a low, quiet voice. Even without effort, her overwhelming presence made everyone around her feel the weight of an authority that reflected the Queen of Humanity.