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(Fate? Chapter 235: Holy Grail War
🕑 Added 2024-12-22 17:59:31 +0000 UTCAnd so, the curtain fell completely on the heroes.
Lost in a daze, Promise finally closed the book.
"Finished?" Shirou Emiya, flipping through a university course book, noticed Promise’s pause and looked up to ask.
"Yes," The latter replied softly, nodding as he stood to return the book to its shelf.
To be honest, many questions still lingered in Promise’s mind.
After all, this hefty book of myths offered him no answers, as it wasn’t an autobiography of the Greek Age Promise, but rather a compendium of Greek myths.
Even Promise himself was merely one part of the history recorded within.
His unanswered questions were naturally tied to Athena and the others.
Before leaving, due to a warning from Clotho, the Fate Goddess, Promise had ultimately confessed the "truth" to his goddess.
Although... he’d done so in a rather underhanded manner.
And after confessing, out of fear of her reaction, he ran away.
Thinking of this, Promise glanced at the bright sunlight streaming through the window and instinctively touched his neck.
It felt a little cold.
If he wanted answers to everything, he would probably have to ask them in person when he "encountered" them again someday.
"I should get going," Promise said, various thoughts swirling in his mind. Finally, he turned back to Shirou with a smile and added, "If I don’t leave now, the professor might actually come looking for me."
With those quiet words, he bid farewell to Shirou Emiya and headed toward the Clock Tower’s lecture halls.
On his way, however, he unexpectedly encountered someone.
"Promise!"
In the hallway, Promise turned his head toward the voice and saw a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy happily waving at him with a bright, innocent smile.
After greeting Promise, the boy quickly ran toward him.
“There you are! I finally found you!”
Seeing him approach with such exuberance, Promise searched his memory for a moment before recalling who he was.
So, he smiled and greeted the boy who had just reached him.
“Flat, long time no see.”
Flat Escardos.
Like Promise, Flat was also one of Waver’s students.
One of the reasons Promise quickly remembered him was because Flat was a true prodigy...someone whose talent even surpassed that of Rin Tohsaka.
At the same time, despite his extraordinary talent, Flat was infamous throughout the Clock Tower as a troublemaker.
Alongside another student, Svin Glascheit, he was one of Waver’s so-called "Two Arms"—the brightest representatives of Waver’s class.
These two were essentially the face of Waver’s students.
Even with age as a limitation, their talents were among the best in the entire Clock Tower.
Besides this, there was another reason Promise remembered Flat so vividly.
When he memories from his previous life awakened, he realized, much like in ancient Greece, he seemed to be under the watchful gaze of Fate.
He already knew Flat’s destiny in advance.
And that destiny was...
“Hey, Promise, where have you been? Don’t you know the professor’s been looking for you everywhere? He’s furious… though, I guess that doesn’t matter now. The professor’s probably too busy to track you down at the moment.
“But forget that for now! Promise, did you know? I just overheard something really interesting!”
Flat didn’t even wait for Promise to respond before enthusiastically blurting out, "The Holy Grail War! I just eavesdropped on the professor and some Association executives having a meeting, and they were talking about the Holy Grail War!”
Looking at the excited Flat, Promise’s expression turned slightly strange.
So much for coincidences... he thought to himself with a faint sense of irony.
Yes, the Holy Grail War.
After all, in a world called Type-Moon, the Holy Grail War was an inevitable phenomenon.
Though Promise had missed the Fuyuki City Holy Grail War, he already knew that about a year after its conclusion, another extraordinary Holy Grail War would take place in a city in America called Snowfield.
"In this Grail War, not only would the ever-enthusiastic 'Good Samaritan,' Gilgamesh, who attended this event on a daily basis, participate, but his one and only friend—and rival—from Sumerian mythology, Enkidu, would also take part."
But that wasn’t all.
This particular Holy Grail War wouldn’t just involve some divine figures; it would also feature a simulated persona of one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Additionally, there would be a mysterious overseer seemingly connected to the Counter Force itself, personally monitoring the war due to its unique circumstances!
This Holy Grail War was even more unique in that it was a battle using a fake Holy Grail War as a sacrificial ritual to summon the true Holy Grail War.
Even the Wizard Marshall, Zelretch, the pinnacle of magi, had cast his attention on it!
"Hey, Promise! Promise! What are you thinking about?"
While Promise was lost in thought, recalling distant memories of this event, Flat, one of the key figures of this Holy Grail War, was standing in front of him.
Waving his hands, the boy who had once stolen Waver’s game company’s raffle prize..an imitation of Jack the Ripper’s dagger..and somehow actually managed to summon a Servant with it, looked puzzled.
Flat’s cheerful and innocent face brought Promise back to reality, but also deepened the strange expression on his face.
As memories resurfaced, Promise couldn’t help but recall another reason he had once considered dropping out of the Clock Tower.
Yes, it was precisely because of the person standing in front of him!
After Flat stole Waver’s game prize and successfully summoned Jack the Ripper, becoming a participant in the Holy Grail War, the other students under Waver’s tutelage became concerned and followed Flat to Snowfield.
There, more than thirty students worked together as a group to become the Master of the true Rider Servant.
Every student except one even had a Command Seal on their hand!
Without a doubt, this was one of the most extravagant and unique setups in the history of all Holy Grail Wars.
(Incidentally, Rin Tohsaka was among them.)
While Promise knew that the Type-Moon universe contained countless parallel worlds, and thus this world might not be the exact branch he was familiar with, at the time, faced with such a volatile situation, he had still decided to step away from the eye of the storm and prepared his withdrawal papers.
But just as he was about to submit those papers, a certain stubbornness inside him compelled him to use a Class Card instead...
"So," Promise said with a smile, his emerald eyes shining like starlight as he looked at Flat, “you’re planning to join that Holy Grail War, aren’t you?”
Flat froze at the question, staring at Promise in silence for a long moment.
“You…” He scratched his head and muttered, “Are you really Promise?”
Promise blinked innocently and then smiled again. "What do you think? Am I him or not?"
Flat studied Promise carefully, his expression serious, before breaking into a wide grin as he nodded emphatically, and exclaimed, “No doubt about it! You’re the Promise I know!”
Promise chuckled softly but quickly changed the subject, asking once more, "So, you’re really planning to join that Holy Grail War?"
“Of course!” Flat nodded eagerly, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"I mean, doesn’t it sound super cool? It’s the Holy Grail!
The same artifact Hitler and Goebbels were supposedly searching for to build the Third Reich.
If it really exists, who wouldn’t want to see it with their own eyes?"
Indeed, this was Flat’s reason for joining the Holy Grail War.
He wasn’t motivated by a desire for the Grail or a wish to be granted.
He simply wanted to witness it for himself.
This sheer simplicity was precisely why he was known as the Clock Tower’s lovable fool and problem child.
Yet, it was this childlike innocence that made him someone impossible to truly hate.
“I see…” Promise nodded lightly and said, "Then you’d better prepare a proper relic and remember to inform the professor.”
"Of course I—wait." Flat froze mid-thought and turned to Promise with a confused expression.
"You’re not going to try to stop me?”
After all, he was not a real fool, so he knew deep down that this was a cruel struggle among magis.
However, Promise simply shrugged..
'After all, I’ve done far more reckless things than you ever could.'
"I'm leaving now. I have to go and apologize to the professor."
He smiled faintly as he spoke, then bid farewell to Flat and walked past him.
Flat stood there, staring at Promise’s departing back with a mix of confusion and surprise.
Just as Waver and Shirou Emiya had noticed the changes in Promise, Flat also sensed something different.
After all, the transformation was just too obvious to ignore.
Even if his body had not been blessed by the Golden Apple, Promise’s soul was a priceless treasure, carefully sculpted by goddesses.
It was no wonder Waver, a "tsundere" teacher with no hesitation about showing concern, was worried.
After all, in the world of magi, such changes were rarely good news.
They often signaled the possibility of someone else taking over one’s body or soul.
However, Flat trusted his judgment and his eyes.
He was certain the person in front of him was indeed Promise.
After parting ways with Flat, Promise made his way to Waver’s office, his thoughts turning serious.
He began to ponder whether or not to participate in this Holy Grail War.
"I think I only have one old acquaintance in this Holy Grail War… Hmm, that Amazonian Queen from Greek mythology, Hippolyta, who looks a lot like King Arthur. Maybe she counts as half an acquaintance?"
Incidentally, she was the Servant summoned by the collaboration of thirty students, including Promise’s classmates.
She was the daughter of Ares, the God of War, and a priestess of Artemis, the Moon Goddess.
"Well, that’s not particularly important right now," Promise muttered nonchalantly to himself.
Although he was surprised by the sudden appearance of this Holy Grail War, he wasn’t particularly concerned.
Promise had chosen to stay at the Clock Tower and tear up his withdrawal application for a simple reason: Chaldea.
One thing he couldn’t ignore was the potential for the Incineration of Humanity.
Even though Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others eventually repaired human history and reset the world, ensuring everyone survived, Promise had no desire to risk experiencing that firsthand.
With so many parallel worlds in existence, what if he happened to be in one that didn’t get saved?
Although the world he was currently in might not even be the one affected by the Incineration of Humanity, or it might have been a world already saved, Promise wasn’t willing to gamble on it.
"Back then, I wrote that withdrawal application as a forced decision. But now..."
Promise stopped by a window in the hallway, his lips curving into a slight smile.
He lifted his head and gazed at the dazzling sun outside, feeling its warmth shining down on him as though it were affectionately embracing him.
Meanwhile, he toyed with a peculiar card in his hand—a Class Card already engraved with a specific Heroic Spirit class: Painter.
Character Profile
Name: Promise
Age: 19
Identity: Transmigrator
Heroic Spirit Class: Painter
Legend: (Omitted)
Rank: Grand
Skills
Shame of Fate (Passive)
Fate’s love and rejection intertwine in you.
You lack a fixed destiny, and even the Goddess of Fate herself cannot foresee your future.
Thus, you possess the miraculous ability to rewrite everything.
(You "humiliate" her, yet remain cradled in her hands forever. Look back, see her… she is watching you eternally.)
Choice of Wisdom (Passive)
There is no doubt—once you make a decision, the path you choose will inevitably lead to success. It is the most correct path.
(You are her sole devotee. Step forward with confidence—she will always stand ahead of you. But beware, guard your neck carefully.)
Goddess Slayer (Passive)
Goddesses gaze upon you with tenderness, holding the "Golden Apple" you gifted them. They are joyous for you, angered for you, quarrel over you, and wage wars because of you!
(One thing you might need to worry about: among these goddesses, could Zeus or Apollo also be watching?)
