Fate Of A Gamer

"Gyaa, so good!" Fuji-nee, or Jaguar man as she's known in this singularity despite not being a jaguar nor a man, squeals in familiar delight as she dines in on the bowls of food Shirou had prepared for her. He watches it all with a small smile, basking in the familiar warmth of those memories that seemed to have happened so long ago.

Of course, it hasn't even been a year since he lost his surrogate sister, but time seems to have quickened for him.

"Your nonchalance to all of this is quite incredible, master." Sasaki's monotone almost sounds exasperated, and Shirou shrugs. It's what happens when you've become used to having a magus of flowers and three other historical beings living inside your head.

But the thought is a sound one. He did just witness Fuji-nee (it was rather hard to call her Jaguar Man) pummel both Ritsuka and Mash into the dirt, he shouldn't even be entertaining the one who'd pretty much knocked out his master.

~~~

After Fuji-nee had introduced herself to them, they'd moved deeper into the jungle, now with Fuji-nee acting as their guide.

They soon arrived in Ur, a small town populated and protected by the surrounding jungle. Shirou didn't miss the overflowing smell of divinity in the area, one much more potent and powerful than Fuji-nee's, but he kept himself silent.

Instead, he let Mari, another nickname Merlin suddenly suggested him to call her with, do the investigating as he readied for any signs of danger.

He'd asked about the sudden name change, and all Mari gave him was a laugh, as if amused at an inside joke he had no clue about.

Oh well.

The town also had a distinct lack of males, with every living citizen a female. Certainly odd, and worrying as he caught some of the younger women looking at Fuji-nee in unconcealed fear.

Ritsuka soon caught on as well, and it's quickly revealed that Fuji-nee comes once every week or so to take one of the remaining males in the town as sacrifice.

(Which sounds like utter lies to him, especially since he can still smell the distinct waft of males not too far from here)

And so they engaged in battle, with Ritsuka in command as both he and Mash worked together to fight against Fuji-nee.

It was then that he was reminded that this wasn't his surrogate sister. This summoned servant moved with the grace built from centuries of battle, her bloodlust sharpened from countless battles. She may not be a jaguar nor a man, but the way she fought easily qualified her for those two terms.

A fire burnt in the back of his heart, a regret over the things he would never truly get back.

There may be countless worlds out there, but the Fujimura Taiga he'd come to know is no more.

Even then, even as those burning embers fail to be extinguished by Avalon, he finds himself smiling as he contests against her, fighting her blow for blow. Her comical spear tore open the earth and shot out spikes of stone, and he fought back, his blade enhanced with magical energy to cut away all the incoming attacks.

Somewhere in the midst of their battle, both Mash and Ritsuka had been knocked unconscious, lightly injured and bruised. He'd have been convinced that the shockwaves of his clashes had brought them unconscious, but the fading smell of flowers convinced him otherwise, and he could only frown as Mari giggled in his ear.

"You wanted some time with her, so I let you have some." She'd said before disappearing, so he told her to postpone their battle, pointing to the two unconscious girls at his back. Fuji-nee blinks, before she nods and relaxes. Her body remains taut however, the excitement oozing out of her body still visible even to the nȧkėd eye.

He shrugged. It was Fuji-nee, her and calmness simply did not mix. .

~~~

Which leads him to the storage house to gather some leftover ingredients to cook, which finally leads him to this moment, watching as his not-surrogate sister shovels food down at an alarming rate.

Idly, he wonders if having a massive appetite is also another requirement to become a servant. Every servant he meets seems to be a massive eater.

"The men you took away are still alive, aren't they?" He begins as an opening, and Fuji-nee stops eating for a moment.

"Mm, of course not! I stole them away as sacrifices!"

"Really?" He frowns. "Then why do I still feel their presence?" Fuji-nee's eyes shoot open in clear surprise, and he now knows that he's right on the spot. What he doesn't understand is why? Why would she lie about this? Why do this and cause such distress and sadness for the ones left behind?

"...And how do you know?" She narrows her eyes, her voice mixed with a soft growl.

"My nose is sėnsɨtɨvė." He points at his nose, smiling slightly. "It'll be hard to try and hide from it."

"Eeh, sounds like a challenge!" She proudly proclaims, and he simply nods and smiles. As odd as it may be, he is rather interested to find how his magus sense matches up against those belonging to ancient deities.

It's probably Yorrmir's influencing him again.

He hears the distant laughter of a jovial titan.

"But, again, why take them away?" He tries again, and Fuji-nee scowls, clearly not wanting to say anything on the issue.

Shirou frowns slightly. "Is it because of Tiamat?"

Immediately, the air around him grows cold as Fuji-nee growls at him, her orange eyes turning to a feral bright red. "How?" Her question comes out as a growl, bloodlust filling the room, but Shirou remains steadfast. This isn't the first time he's been faced with the divine presence of a god, and he doubts it'll be his last.

"I have an ancient magus living in my head." He casually states, ignoring Mari's surprise, and Fuji-nee stops for a moment, blinking.

"...eh?"

"I have an ancient magus in my head." He repeats. "And she's managed to find it by analyzing the energies of the demonic beasts I killed along the way."

"...We're collecting the men to form an army." Fuji-nee finally says, her eyes still glaring at him.

"To fight against Tiamat?" She nods at him, and Shirou frowns. "They won't be able to do anything. Why even bother? Why cause the families to weep? Why not get help from Uruk?" It doesn't make sense. If Fuji-nee and whatever god she's working with knows of Tiamat, then they should know normal people would bȧrėly do anything. Why bother?

"...can't." She whispers.

Shirou frowns. "You can't?"

"Mm." She nods sullenly, a spark of anger flashing in those reddened eyes. "Formed a contract. Can't hurt Tiamat or else." Her fists clench, and a growl begins to sound from the back of her throat.

"It's a contract." Mari supplies. "Whatever it is they did, there's a thread connecting her and whoever she's working under with two other goddesses."

And breaking the vow will hurt them, which is why she's gathering men to fight for her. He finishes, frowning. Can we do anything?

"Not currently, no. Breaking magical contracts like this is out of my set of skills." Mari says. "The only one I know of who should be capable is Hanami, but the girl is currently away from us."

He blinks. Hanami can do that?

"Of course. How did you think she separated Angra Mainyu from the Grail?"

"...I see." He says, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'll help as much as I can, but there's not much I can do for you at the moment." Then, he smiles. "But I do have a friend who should be able to sever that annoying contract of yours."

Immediately, Fuji-nee's eyes snap to his. "Really!?"

"Yeah." He nods. "She's currently on her way into Babylonia, but when she's here, I don't think she'll mind helping you out."

And so, the light atmosphere returns as Fuji-nee leaps over the table and glomps him into a tight hug, thanking him over and over. Shirou smiles, a part of his heart burning at the familiarity of this whole situation.

~~~

[Dimensional Gap - Lv %]

A gap between worlds, a void where distortions caused by crashing boundaries are located. For most beings, this area would've been deadly. Any who step here will be torn to shreds, their innards twisted and grinded by the shockwaves of clashing boundaries. Their life would immediately be drained from the stifling abundance of magic in the air.

Of course, you are affected as well, but as both a [High Human] and a magician wielding the [Kaleidoscope], the effects have been dulled to a livable level.

[Due to the strange workings of the [Dimensional Gap], all your stats have been reduced by 20%]

...Huh, so that's why I feel weaker than normal.

Gently, I rub the back of my neck, doing my best to dull the chills of my weakened stats. I mean, I've been hurt and exhausted and basically killed, but having my stats be cut by a clean 20% is a new experience, and it's not a pleasant one. Nonetheless, at least I'm able to stay alive in this normally toxic place.

This place is quite beautiful though, with the skies above a wonderful collage of swirling colours, illuminating the rocky surface down below. I'm not actually standing on stone though, but some otherworldly material created from the void coming together. It actually looks somewhat like the Grand Canyon, just with the rocks being greyish instead of reddish brown and the sky a dazzling swirl of lights.

Either ways, after I used [Kaleidoscope] to jump universes, I arrived in this place. Saber and Gil don't really feel it, since they're somewhat stuck in a stasis, my newly attained skill freezing them in place so they don't have to feel the travel through the [Dimensional Gap]. Of course, I'm left out of that stasis since I still need to drive our way to where Shirou currently is.

So, here I am now, placed within the void between worlds as I work to find the correct pathway to take. Thankfully, I have [Mental Partition] to allow one of my created consciousness to work on that while I rest up.

Well, I say 'rest up', but it's more of me just lazing around while I let one of my thoughts do the hard work.

Of course, I'm not going to sleep here or something. I'm not keen on letting down my defenses in a place like this, and there's a certain being not too far away that I'm very not keen on fighting, especially weakened like this.

Actually, the guy's coming closer and closer as we speak.

...God damn it.

I sigh into my hands, preparing as many mental and physical defenses I can before the confrontation. Not for battle, but just so I don't get immediately blown away the moment he arrives. Well, that, and making sure my [Stoicism] activates normally so I don't do anything too stupid.

In the distance, a resounding explosion sounds, winds of primal strength blowing my way. I steel myself and hold on, stabbing a sword into the ground and holding on for support. The sword doesn't hold for long, and I'm flung back, though I quickly stop and anchor myself down to the ground with another sword.

Eventually, the wind dies as the being I'd sensed arrives, his giant wings folding as he lands on the ground.

Slowly, I take a breath, and look up.

The one who now stands before me is a dragon, his size far larger than any beast I've seen before. His scales are a bright red, each fluttering and glowing with enough magical energy to crush any normal magus into the dust with their sheer presence. His eyes are a blinding yellow, almost reminiscent of those belonging to the [Alter] servants.

My mystic eyes activate, and all freezes as an abundance of information floods into my mind, overclocking everything inside me for a moment.

[Great Red]

[True Dragon of Apocalypse]

The dragon among dragons, the one who stands above all. He who commands immeasurable strength and holds an immovable defense. He whose flames brought down worlds, he who shall come forth to bring about the apocalypse, he who will enact the acts of [Revelation].

Oh boy.

"To think I'd find a brat here…" He growls, his voice echoing throughout the void, his scales fluttering slightly in indignation. "And to be able to survive. Not bad."

"Uh, thanks?"

My words are met with a huff, and I can't help but smile wryly. "Anyway, don't worry about me. Just trying to find the correct pathway to take to find my friend." I say, and the dragon perks up slightly, his yellow eyes shining with interest.

"A world traveler?" He hums, and I nod.

"A new one though." I add.

"I can see that." He huffs in...amusement? "No sane person would actively use the [Dimensional Gap] as a transit, but here you are."

"It is the fastest way, so, yeah." I shrug, and he just laughs.

"But one guaranteed for death." He then adds cheerfully.

I smile. "Well, I'm still alive, so all's well and good, yeah?" I mean, I am weakened and all, but at least I'm still alive and kicking!

And besides, I-

"Oh, okay, there it is." Huh, finding the correct pathway didn't take as long as I expected. That's a nice bonus. Still gotta actually travel through the pathway though.

"Found your path?" I nod to him, and Great Red simply huffs. "Good. Then go."

"Alright then, see you later?" I ask back, and seeing a small minute nod, I smile as I walk away, heading towards the small opening rift I've located not too far away.

~~~

Great Red stares at the retreating figure, both watching in amusement and slight annoyance. After all, for a human girl, one not even past the age of 20 no less, had somehow managed to break into the [Dimensional Gap] and lived is quite abnormal.

[But hey, that's what makes her so interesting, right?] A cheery voice sounds in his mind, and Great Red huffs.

"I suppose so."

But more interesting is this seemingly bodiless voice talking to him. It'd appeared one day, suddenly spoke to him with such casualness it nearly caused him to stumble. Did this thing have a death wish? He'd thought then, but such thoughts would then lead his curiosity further.

Whoever is behind that voice is powerful. Every syllable it spoke reverberated throughout the [Dimensional Gap], space twisting and time seemingly grinding to a halt as it spoke. Divine yet distinctly not, robotic yet also human. The voice is an enigma, one he'd been unable to solve even with the time he'd spent looking through the fabrics of the worlds.

Yet, despite that, it'd come to him, joked around for a moment, before it begged him to let the girl through, telling of how she'd become one of the more interesting individuals throughout the multiverse.

He accepted. After all, letting a human girl through the [Dimensional Gap] didn't really cost him anything.

Of course, in return, he'd gotten it to form a contract with him, a contract born of magic and time, a promise to one day battle.

And just as easily, it accepted, but even with the new contract between them, he'd managed to not find a single clue to whoever this strange disembodied voice is.

That is fine. Great Red huffs softly.. He has an eternity to search after all.