Unknown location.
Kariya slowly opened his eyes…—Wait! Eyes? The master of Berserker quickly blinked, his damaged eye was working again. However, his short moment of happiness ended when he looked around his surroundings and froze.
He failed to recognize anything.
Everything around him was red. He couldn't see the ground but Kariya was able to walk around. Around where, he didn't know. It was otherworldly, almost… ethereal.
He then noticed that his body was working fine as well. No pain. No limping of his leg. Hell, he felt as if he'd awoken from a terrible nightmare.
What happened to his crest worms?! He didn't understand. Where was he? What was this place?
Was he… was he dead? Was this place afterlife?!
'No! No! No! I can't die yet! Sakura is still in Zouken's hands! I must save her!'
He panicked and started to look around, trying to find anything that could have helped him to get out of this place. However, it was all for nought. Trapped in a world of red and nothing else, there was little he could do but run into the endless crimson that resembled blood yet not.
Kariya couldn't come up with an idea of escape. If he was under an illusion, more so. He wasn't a talented magus and didn't know any magecraft that might have helped him at the moment. The despair started to slowly fill him as he struggled to find a way out.
But soon, he saw something. He saw him.
Far away from him stood an armoured figure. Its back was to him. Clad in black, eerily still and unmoving, Kariya quickly recognized the figure. It was his Berserker.
But before he could even say anything, the mad servant turned to him. Armour seemingly creaking as a glance was shot over his shoulder. Kariya froze. The black knight turned to face him… but just as quickly started walking towards him. Thud after thud, clanking footfalls after clanking footfalls, the maddened knight came ever closer. Crimson vision slits trained on the whimpering man.
Kariya didn't move. The fear wouldn't let him run or escape. And even if he could, where was he to hide in this bloody world?
Soon Berserker was standing before him, looking down at the man who was supposed to be his master. The black knight said nothing and only stared at the false magus before him. Both Servant and master stared at each other for a minute, neither making any noise.
Kariya felt anxious. 'What's going on? Why is Berserker in this place?' However, these thoughts were soon replaced by an important question. 'How do I get out of here?!'
He couldn't stay here, wherever 'here' was. Kariya needed to save Sakura no matter what. He didn't want to think about what Zouken would do to her. He had only one option. With a clenched fist, the Matou magus shouted.
"Berserker, get us out of here! I—We… must save Sakura!" Kariya stated. Demanded. Begged. "Please, we—I… need to save her!"
The black knight stared at his master. He didn't move or let out any sound. But deep down within him, the old knight felt something he didn't feel in years. His Mad Enhancement was hindering his mind but even despite it, something awakened inside him. Something from the days when he was a proud warrior who helped those around him. Before, he committed atrocities, before he went against his king.
Before the Knight of the Lake lost himself and his chivalry to the void that was insanity and guilt.
His body started to tremble. The black knight slowly looked down at his hands, searching through his memories in an attempt to remember the last time he did something worthy of being called a knight. He was a monster, someone who killed his own friends. His brothers-in-arms. His family.
And yet, maybe even like this, could he save someone?
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Berserker howled before silencing himself. In quick motion, his gaze was directed back at his master. Like a doll hanging on the tensest of strings, the black knight nodded. Armor creaked in the place of a voice.
Kariya couldn't believe it. It was the first time the mad Servant responded to a command or request that didn't involve killing someone. Granted, he didn't order Berserker anything else besides killing until now, but still.
Kariya didn't notice how a smile formed on his face. However, before he could do anything, the crimson world around them started to disappear. Cracks formed like black webs, eroding the walls, the sky, then finally the ground beneath them both. The last thing he saw was his Servant who kept staring at him from where he floated off in this endlessly blackening void.
Despite the helmet that was in the way, Kariya felt as if he'd received something akin to a reassuring look through the less glowing vision slit.
***
When Kariya opened his eyes again… only to find himself lying on a medical bed.
He looked around and found himself inside some kind of abandoned building if the broken windows and shattered walls were any evidence. The next thing he noticed was the fact that he felt rested, actually rested.
Usually, his crest worms wouldn't leave him alone, constantly moving under his skin, tearing away at his organs and attempting to worm their way through his arteries, but right now Kariya couldn't feel any movement from them. It was… a pleasing change.
Still, unlike the red world he'd woken up in earlier, his eye was still damaged. Worse still, despite the respite he felt, he had trouble moving parts of his body. It would seem that his physical condition had only partially improved.
"I see you are awake, Matou." Kariya turned towards the voice and saw a blonde man. He tried to remember where he had seen this man before but couldn't remember anything. "What's with that look? Don't tell me you don't know who I am?"
"...You were one of the masters from the previous night." The choice of past tense must've offended him as the blue-clad nobleman's eye twitched, as did his sneer. "You were the one… to face Tokiomi. You… just about bested him…" that was said with a pleasant tone. "That bastard… was in pain… Heh…"
It was something Kariya remembered very well and would likely relish in dreams to come. Not that it was important to note how twisted his way of thinking had become. Kayneth recomposed before he spoke again.
"A weird detail to remember, but you are correct. Right now you're enjoying the hospitality of our little base of operations." He coughed into his balled fist before continuing. "Since you seem less like a magus and more of another plebian dragged into this war, allow me to introduce myself. I am Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, one of the masters of this Holy Grail War... or rather, was a master until last night. I'm no longer in possession of Lancer and, at the moment, without a Servant."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Kariya said, slowly understanding where Kayneth was leading.
If he thought he was going to give up Berserker, he was wrong. Kariya still had his reason to keep moving and wouldn't back down only because this man saved him. The blonde magus noticed but waved his concern away.
"Worry not, Matou. I have no intentions of taking away your Servant. Unless you want to get rid of him of course, in that case, I'd be more than happy to relieve you of Berserker." The smirked was done out of jest, but Kariya was well aware of the workings of a magi's mind. He wordlessly declined with a glare.
"Leave him be, Kayneth." A cold female voice intervened. Both men turned towards the new person before Kayneth let out a sigh.
"I'm in the middle of negotiating, Sola. Do not interrupt."
Sola-Ui said nothing and only glared at her fiancé. Kariya easily noticed that she was pissed by something but didn't know what for exactly. Before he could ask anything, she turned around and walked away, only reminding Kayneth about something.
"Don't forget what Lelouch told you, Kayneth. He wanted to be informed when the master of Berserker would wake up." Kayneth simply glared as his future wife left them alone. But the parting words didn't so much bother him as it did annoy him. "Don't you dare mess up again."
Kariya watched with confusion. She didn't bother to hide the venom in her tone. And though the blonde magus waved it away, the man on the hospital bed could sense real toxicity in their relationship.
"Don't mind my fiancé. She just can't accept the truth that my Servant died," he muttered but didn't elaborate. "Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri. She's the one who healed you and calmed down whatever it is that was inside your body."
Well, wasn't that convenient. To have not felt Zouken's worms squirm even slightly was no easy feat. The elder would-be vampire would likely proclaim as much, prideful genius as he took himself as. Yet, they likely didn't do so for free.
"Your fiancé, Sola-Ui… She mentioned someone."
"Oh yes. Lelouch Lamperouge, master of Avenger and my ally." Kariya thought he noticed a slightly irked twinge in his tone at the mention of 'ally' but thought nothing of it. "He decided it would be better you lived when we found you unconscious in the rubble. After what happened last night, we came to the conclusion that working together would benefit us all. Excuse me while I call him, but before that," Kayneth leaned forward. "I would like to have a little chat with you. You have… interesting familiars, Matou. Never have I seen anything like them before. And I'm curious to learn even more."
Kayneth's unnerving interest made Kariya freeze if not shudder in his cot. The master of Berserker touched his eye that could no longer see. This was a curse that Zouken damned him with, monstrous worms that created living batteries by eating away at the living. The old parasite likely planned to do the same with Sakura for the next war should Kariya fail.
Just the thought of letting anyone else study and replicate such a thing… it abhorred Kariya. Mages spreading their horrendous experiments with other mages… it was out of the question if the end result was more people suffering like those he cared about.
Kariya knew what kind of people magi were. They couldn't be trusted with something like this. No one deserved to suffer the fate of being a lab experiment. No one except for Tokiomi!
"There's no good that comes out of working with Crest worms. Only suffering. You will gain nothing good from them, only pain and misery." He'd shot back with an adamant and warning voice.
"Nothing new in our business, won't you agree? After all, to be a magus is to walk with death. And though you seem to be inexperienced in our ways, you seem just as comfortable to walk towards it, if your body's state is anything to be concerned." Kayneth heartily chuckled like he'd been told a funny joke. "Well, it was merely a suggestion. Do as you please."
Despite the carefree nature of his taking Kariya's rejection, there was still the sickening air that he sensed in all who dabbled in magecraft. A gross aura that resembled the bile flowing through Zouken's veins.
He would never agree to work with a magus like Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. He was the stereotype of a magus that Kariya abhorred. Yet, there was something to be pondered on.
'Lelouch...I remember there was some kid on that roof. Was that him?'
For a child to be pulled into the war… he barely looked past his teens. But then again, the master of Rider, the Servant that intervened in Berserker's attacks on Tokiomi's Archer, looked just as young, didn't he? Ignoring the age, the fact remained that this Lelouch person was yet another master in the Holy Grail War.
Another magus.
'Can I trust these guys? No. Of course, not. They're magi. All of them are alike. Ruthless, disgusting. This Archibald, he's without a Servant. I can just order Berserker to kill them and leave...but,' The mention of having a 'common foe' was not lost on Kariya. 'It must be Tokiomi. I tried to kill him but almost died because his Servant saved him. Maybe working with another Servant isn't a bad idea after all. If only to take down that bastard at least!'
Kariya wasn't a fool, these people helped him only because they wanted something in exchange. Still, he might need help to take down Archer and the aforementioned bastard next time they meet. And should things turn sour, well. He was confident Berserker could take care of Avenger if needed.
He coldly stared at the Servant-less magus giving him an expectant look before asking.
"You want help to take down Archer?" When Kayneth didn't make to refuse but smile instead, he added. "If your aim is Tokiomi, I don't mind negotiating. But not right now. Give me some time to rest."
Kariya needed some leeway, an opportunity to think about himself especially. Now that the crest worms were asleep, his mind was clear for the first time in a long while. He could close his eyes and take a deep breath. For the first time since the beginning of the war, he was able to honestly relax, in the company of potential enemy masters be damned.