Fate Of A Gamer

It's minutes past midnight, and I cannot sleep.

Uruk has grown quiet, with every citizen now asleep in the meager comforts of their homes. Even Gil had fallen asleep, the multitude of hours she spent familiarizing with this version of Uruk draining much of the energy she'd normally have.

And so I sit by the [Walls of Babylon], the barrier separating what remains from the desolate ruins of ancient civilization.

The stars are abundant here. There is no artificial lighting to drown the light from the distant stars above, and the picture it paints is a beautiful one. The gentle howls of the wind comfort me as I sit there, and silently I muse to myself.

I'd found myself within the final stretches of the Grand Order. Once this singularity breaks down, Ritsuka and Mash will return to Chaldea, and then, they will rayshift into the [Temple of Time]. There, they'll come face to face with Geotia, one of the beasts of humanity, and the one behind the beginnings of this journey across time.

Would her journey end after that, or would she continue, brought by the tides of fate towards a new horizon?

When will my journey end?

I don't know. I can never know. There are never truly endings. A conclusion is the beginning to another, and that cycle will continue until the end of time.

It's begun to sink in that I'm no longer human, both figuratively and literally. I've grown past it, pushed past the limits of what a human should be capable of. Whether that's because of my own effort or because of the [Gamer System]'s meddling is unknown, but frankly, I don't think it matters.

I'm no longer human. I won't age like a normal human.

I'll outlive the Kiritsugu and Irisviel that I've come to know. I'll outlive Illya and Maiya. I'll outlive most humans I'll come across.

But, well, what can I do?

Reality is a cruel, unfeeling mistress, and there's nothing I can do about it. Only learn, accept, and move on.

...Well, that's enough of that line of thought for now.

But to go back to Ritsuka for a moment. The girl mentioned that she was learning under Shirou, hoping to at least be able to cast [Gehen] before this singularity ends. Of course, being curious about it, I asked if she was also learning how to fight under him, to which she answered yes.

Then I asked if she had some experience fighting with a sword, and she indeed does, though she isn't very good with it.

And immediately, neurons in my head lit up, and an idea immediately made itself present.

See, learning how to fight with a sword takes a long time. It takes months to get used to the weight of a blade and years to start getting a grip on the best way to swing.

I'm exempt from that for obvious reasons, but the point still stands.

For how large the threat in this singularity is, I doubt it'll last long enough for Ritsuka to start getting used to fighting with a sword. .

But! That's if she does it normally, and thankfully, someone like me exists here.

So I have two ideas. One is to give her a Skill Book on [Sword Mastery], which isn't all that hard. The [Item shop] sells it for basically nothing. The other idea is for me to make a specific Noble Phantasm for her, one imbued with my own [Sword Mastery] skill to help guide the girl as she fights.

It'll be kinda like [Hrunting] I suppose, just instead of constantly hunting for its target, this one will guide Ritsuka on how to best wield a sword to slice the target.

Which then brings up the issue of materials. I mean, I have some fairly good materials I can just buy from the [Item Shop], but I'm planning to make the best one I possibly can for her.

But then, Shirou showed me a new material he made from purifying and freezing demonic blood, and it is superb. [Purified Demon Steel] is pretty much the same thing as [Thorium], but much better. It's an extremely good conductor for magic, can store a good amount of energy, and it's fairly durable, not to mention easily gathered.

The [Purified Demon Steel] Shirou's had was used to create javelins as ammunition for the mounted Dingirs though, so there isn't much left at the current moment.

Which then made me think; Is it possible to automate the entire process? I mean, Shirou spent most of yesterday toiling away on the anvil to create the javelins. It sounds awfully inefficient, and the time Shirou spent creating those javelins could've probably been used for something else.

The thing is, I ain't an engineer. I don't know how to create something like that.

But I do know someone who is. I just need to see if I can somehow communicate this idea with her.

~~~

"Wouldn't it be better to just have 4 [Dumping Points] though?" Hanami argues. "I mean, having the 4 different places to dump the blood would give them more leniency on which to pick, right? And it's not like Uruk has one entrance only."

"I guess so." Da Vinci hums, her voice slightly electronic from the magical comms she's talking through. "But would we have enough prana to keep up 4 points?"

"We should!" Merlin excitedly claims, smile on his lips as he dines on the cup of pudding Hanami gave him a minute ago. "And if not, then I can simply make more. It shouldn't take too much effort."

"Well…" Hanami continues as she idly points on the blueprint she'd drawn of whatever it is she's trying to create.

Ritsuka just stands there, staring blankly at the scene as she tries her very best to comprehend what the three are talking about. She knows that Hanami plans to create a complex system to automate the creation of those javelins Shirou forged a day ago, and some of the terms they mention do make some semblance of sense.

But overall?

She doesn't really understand.

It doesn't really matter however. Her mind is occupied by something else, something much more curious.

Just as she'd done with all the servants she'd come across, she'd offered to form a contract with Hanami, allowing her to feed from her magical energy and gain power from her [Command Seals]. It would most likely create the somewhat unfinished contract she had formed with Shirou and Saber, but it was a contract nonetheless.

But Hanami rejected her. Not out of hatred or amusement, but worry laced with sympathy.

"I can't." She said, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "I...I don't know what might happen, but connecting with me won't end well. I...My soul isn't something a normal mortal can handle, especially not with what I've put myself through."

"What do you mean?" Ritsuka said, confused.

Hanami opened her mouth to speak, and then stopped. Her eyes dulled for a moment, the green tinted by a bright blue, before she shook her head. "Have you met the perpetrator of your grand order?"

"...Eh?"

Hanami frowned slightly. "Have you met Solomon?"

For Ritsuka, everything stopped. Her breath was stuck in her throat as she recalled that vision she received back in Camelot. She flew back to that cracked temple, where tendrils of the abyss struck her and Solomon's manic laughter echoed through her skull. She found herself sinking once more, dragged by melting hands into the abyss that was slowly expanding before her, her cry for help frozen in her mouth as-

Ritsuka bit her lip as she pushed the memory away.

"Y-Yes." She tried to say steadily, but seeing Hanami's growing worry, her attempt clearly failed.

"...Imagine Solomon's darkness seeping into your soul." Ritsuka stiffens, but Hanami continues. "That's pretty much what I put myself through in the past. It's...gone now, but its presence still lingers, and I'm not willing to risk your life and sanity just to form a contract." She said, idly scratching her ċhėst with a grimace.

"Well, that, and I don't think forming a direct magical contract with a magician is a good idea in any scenario." She quickly added with a smile.

"Hanami-" She tried to ask, but before she could, Merlin finally arrived, and her question was pushed to the back of her mind.

~~~

"...ka."

"...itsuka."

Ritsuka blinks slowly. Everything feels heavy, weighed down, as if her body is submerged in a pool of honey. Her head hurts, feeling like Mash had hit her head with her shield a thousand times over. She strains to hear the one speaking to her, but her hearing is scratchy, noises overlapping with one another.

She tries to stand, but a hand gently pushes her back down and her vision finally clears.

"Hanami…?"

The magician smiles. "Well, at least you're conscious again." She lets out a breath of relief, slumping back against the wooden chair she's sitting on. "You gave us quite the surprise there, dropping onto the dirt like that." She says with an awkward laugh, her eyes carefully staring into Ritsuka's. "Anyways, are you okay? Anything feels weird?"

"I feel like shit." She bites out, and Hanami blinks at the sudden curse.

"O...kay. You probably feel worse than I expect." She says slowly, before bringing out a nice warm cup of...something. Ritsuka eyes the thing warily, but Hanami just smiles. "It's a drink to soothe some of the pain you're feeling. And don't worry about its taste." Ritsuka continues to eye the cup, but she reluctantly nods and drinks the thing.

And...Hanami is right. The moment she drinks, she feels some of the headache fade. The strawberry taste the drink has helps as well.

"Thanks." Ritsuka says, then winces as she remembers something. "Oh, and, um, sorry for cursing. I don't usually do that."

"It's fine~" She smiles. "You were injured and tired. Besides, it's not like cursing is doing anyone harm." Her smile then grows just a tad more teasing as she dramatically sighs. "If only I recorded the moment though. Ah, what a waste…"

"Ah, good." Ritsuka says with relief, but terror begins to build when she notices Hanami's teasing smile still remains. "Wait, you really didn't record it, right?"

Hanami's smile grows just a tad bigger. "Nope." She says, popping her words with silent amusement. Ritsuka narrows her eyes on the girl. "No, really, I didn't." She quickly says.

Ritsuka remains unconvinced, feeling disbelief tinged with the need to smack the girl's smirk off her face.

"But, to go back on track for a moment," Hanami's smile falls, replaced by a stern frown. "Ritsuka, why didn't you tell anyone you were sporting a fever?"

"...eh?"

"Yep." She says simply. "You were burning, Ritsuka. Mash told me it felt like your skin was on fire. That isn't normal."

'A fever…?' Ritsuka frowns and she digs through her memory, but she finds nothing, no signs or feelings that indicate the beginnings of a fever. Was she that delirious to completely miss the signs? Was it something else?

"At most, you'll need about a full day's rest. No moving, no training, nothing." She says, the smile on her face paradoxically kind and promising eternal pain if she refuses. "Got it, Fujimaru Ritsuka?"

"Yes ma'am!"

Hanami's smile mellows slightly.. "Good."