Late March—
The popularity and hype of Fate/Zero reached their peak following the death of Iskandar.
Just like in Su Yan's previous life, the character popularity trends in the Xia Nation were almost identical.
Alongside the King of Conquerors' death, the actor who played Iskandar—Beckham Lloyd—also rose to fame.
As a foreign actor active in the Xia Nation's entertainment industry, he had struggled to even be considered second-tier before starring in Fate/zero.
After all, despite being one of the world's most powerful nations, audiences in the Xia Nation weren't particularly drawn to foreign faces in film and television. Beckham Lloyd had long remained in a lukewarm position.
But after playing Iskandar—
Within just two days, rumors spread that his appearance fees had tripled, nearly reaching first-tier celebrity levels.
And the price was still rising.
Numerous companies in the Xia Nation were already looking to sign him for endorsements—
Especially businesses dealing in medieval armor, weapons, and prop equipment.
Watching all of this unfold, people across the television industry couldn't help but feel a little bitter.
Other productions struggled immensely just to make a single lead actor famous—
Yet in Su Yan's works, even supporting characters could explode in popularity.
For several days in a row, Beckham Lloyd praised Su Yan extensively in media interviews.
And after Episode 12 aired, Fate/Zero had only one episode left before its conclusion.
If the penultimate episode could generate such overwhelming discussion—and push ratings up to 6.19%—
Then what about the finale?
Sakura TV had undoubtedly become the biggest winner in the Xia Nation's television industry this quarter.
After the King of Conquerors' death, only three of the original seven Servants remained:
Gilgamesh.
Artoria, the King of Knights.
And Berserker—Lancelot, once a knight under Artoria.
From Monday onward, Su Yan's fans argued intensely online every single day about how the final episode would unfold.
["So… how do you even defeat Gilgamesh?"]
["Is there actually any way to beat him?"]
["He feels completely invincible! Every Noble Phantasm in the world is in his Gate of Babylon. Every Servant is countered by him in some way. I think Su Yan made him just to win."]
["My poor King of Conquerors… gave it his all and still couldn't even touch him."]
["Characters like this are just broken. His charm isn't even close to Artoria or Iskandar. Honestly, I think Diarmuid was written better than him."]
["He's like a spoiled idiot from a rich family."]
["Sigh… I really don't know how the final episode is supposed to go. Are Kiritsugu and Artoria actually going to use the Grail—formed from Irisviel—to make a wish? If they do that, can they still be considered protagonists?"]
["Forget the wish for now—figure out how to beat Gilgamesh first. At this point, even if Lancelot, Kariya, Kiritsugu, and Artoria teamed up, they probably still couldn't win. The only possibility is Kirei using a Command Seal to order him to commit suicide."]
["That trick was already used on Kayneth. No way they repeat it."]
["Only one episode left… this feels bad."]
["The next time we see Su Yan's work will be in July."]
["Well… nothing lasts forever. At least Fate/Zero has set a new record for him."]
["I'm already bracing myself. This is definitely going to be another depressing ending. Who knows how many will die in the final episode?"]
["At the very least… let Artoria's wish come true. She just thinks she wasn't suited to be king—she wants to change the past, where her overly idealistic rule led to rebellion and the fall of her kingdom. Let her choose again—don't pull the sword from the stone. Let her live as a simple shepherd girl instead."]
Before the finale, binge-watchers, weekly viewers, and even long-silent haters all resurfaced.
The television scene became chaotic, and Fate/Zero's average paid views on SakuraNet surged toward the 30 million mark per episode.
Given Su Yan's current fame, anyone who followed online dramas—whether they liked his work or not—would at least check it out.
Moreover, Fate/Zero's genre—fantasy, action, and ensemble cast—naturally appealed to a broad audience.
Even if its TV ratings weren't drastically higher than 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica', a large portion of the Xia Nation's population didn't watch TV at all, instead consuming content through streaming platforms, games, and web novels.
For that audience, Fate/Zero was far more appealing than 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'.
By Sunday afternoon, Sakura TV had already begun full-scale promotion for the finale.
Numerous media outlets and critics flooded the internet with articles about Fate/Zero—some sponsored by Su Yan and Sakura TV, others simply riding the wave of its popularity.
Meanwhile, Su Yan also began his final promotional push in Tokyo.
On his creator account, he posted a video featuring the entire cast—especially key actors such as Zhuang Yuxin (Artoria), Beckham Lloyd (Iskandar), as well as the actors for Kayneth, Maiya, Natalia, and Diarmuid.
Together, they promoted Fate/zero.
And at the end of the video—
Su Yan revealed a mysterious piece of information:
After the ending theme of the final episode, there would be an extremely important post-credit scene.
A post-credit scene?
The moment this news dropped, fans instantly became curious.
["It's probably a trailer for Su Yan's next work."]
["Classic move. We all know the drill—if he has a new project coming soon, he always teases it at the end of the previous one."]
["So… that means this story is truly ending?"]
["Probably… maybe…"]
["Nooo! There's still so much potential in this world! This isn't the first Holy Grail War, right? They could totally adapt previous wars!"]
["Forget that—if Artoria isn't in it, I'm not interested."]
["I'm not even thinking about sequels. I just want the ending to land properly. Please don't let it fall apart."]
["Relax. Su Yan has never fumbled an ending."]
["Sigh… I think I've fallen for Zhuang Yuxin. I wonder what her next project is. Please don't let her take some generic role and ruin my impression of her."]
That afternoon, Xia Huiang scrolled through over a dozen Su Yan fan groups he had joined.
His phone screen was flooded with discussions.
Even the usually silent lurkers had all come out.
For the Xia Nation's TV drama scene—
Today felt like a festival.
With less than half a month before the April spring season lineup, the upcoming new dramas had virtually zero attention.
Checking the time—
Less than ten minutes remained before the finale aired.
On Sakura TV, the well-known host Akiyama Kanae was enthusiastically promoting Fate/Zero merchandise.
Items that were listed for sale sold out in under thirty seconds—
A clear indicator of the show's explosive popularity.
Too bad I'm broke.
Xia Huiang sighed as he watched wealthier fans scramble for the overpriced merchandise.
Soon—
8 PM arrived.
The screen flickered.
As Akiyama Kanae waved goodbye—
The opening theme of Fate/zero began to play.