England. London.
The night sky and its numerous constellations captured the attention of the Astromancy department's director.
It was said that myths and stories could be told from reading the stars. Of man and monsters, of divinity and mortality. Invoking True Magic was a far-off dream of all magi who were stuck with mimicry through magecraft, but in the stars, such mythical powers were at the cusps of human fingertips. One could say it was in the stars that man saw the unimaginable and that it was from seeing it that dreams to attain that surreal goal were made.
But many forget that it was also in the stars where the unknown resided. And though they dreamed while looking up at the bright lights in the sky, the fear of the unknown still dwelt within, watching, waiting to surface and catch the dreamer off-guard.
Marisbury, head of the Animusphere family, stared outside the window. As usual, his mind was deep in thought as he observed the stars. The older man couldn't help but feel hypnotized by them. A usual occurrence when the star-filled night was clear. He wished he had more time to relax and enjoy the view, but the situation right now wasn't the time to be spent dawdling in daydreams.
The Clock Tower was a dangerous organization for the uninitiated. Drop your guard and a fellow magi could pull the wool over your eyes, pull the rug from under you, maybe even the floor and send you to your demise. Not in the literal sense, of course, although that would be more merciful than what many clans have done to their rivals in the past.
Yet, despite the cutthroat atmosphere among the ruling lords, the organization was currently under a lot of stress due to recent events.
One of the notable magi families, the Archibalds, had reportedly lost their heir and the magic crest he had on his person. The same went for his fiancée, daughter of the head of the Sophia-Ri, but her family didn't raise the same uproar as the Archibalds. There was also a mention of the death of the Tohsaka clan's head, an Asian magus family that had connections to the Church and often served as the Clock Tower's mediator to them.
It was quite the blow for such a small ritual to have. Which was the main problem.
No one knew how it became such a huge issue.
A prominent Lord of the Clock Tower, a prestigious member that served as a liaison to the Church, and also two executioners. Costly casualties that damaged the Clock Tower's reputation as well as hurt their relations with the Vatican. It would be an understatement to say the Lords weren't in a fluster.
Connections between the dead all denominated to the Fourth Grail War said to have been held in Fuyuki City, Japan. The ritual was known among the Clock Tower but was primarily regarded as a highly dangerous event with next to no chances of success. There was a reason it was called the 'Fourth'.
The price to pay was the death of so many talented magi. Sure, there had been survivors before, but the lucky few living through it couldn't reimburse the magic community of the losses sustained. More so when the bodies and crests couldn't be recovered, which was partly why this was a damning incident for the Archibalds. But there weren't even any witnesses which were more alarming. The job of assigning observers and arbitrators were the Church, but with the death of both nominations, one of them apparently having been a participant of the war in the first place, there existed no one who could attest to its end results. No one lived to tell the tale.
'No. Someone does know what happened. Or at least, their part in it.' Marisbury remembered the official reports, about the sole survivor.
Waver Velvet. A former student of the late Kayneth El Melloi Archibald. He'd apparently stolen a relic off of the Archibald family heir to participate, thereby causing the lord some headache and embarrassment in the Clock Tower, but such actually earned him praise from some of the members for his perseverance and defiant spirit.
It was said a defiant spirit that managed to pull through and survive the disaster that befell the others, three of which had been his apparent competitors. A mere student won out against an executioner and two highly regarded magi.
'Hm… I wish I could talk to the boy personally… but there might be some difficulties in reaching out to him.' He couldn't very well push too hard. Not with how shaken some of the lords were. 'Damn their archaic politics…'
If only they stopped with their petty squabbles, his goal would be within his reach…
KNOCK KNOCK
"Come in." Marisbury didn't need to turn back to know the identity of the guest.
The newcomer's long crimson hair stood out the most thanks to his pale skin. The confident stature and air about him accentuated it further. However, the weirdest feature about the man was his tiny smile. One that never left his face no matter what. Eerie in some regard, it felt as if this man could only smile.
"Please take a seat, Doctor."
The man that was once known as Adashino Kurou silently did as he was told.
"What pleasure to meet the director of the Astromancy department himself." The doctor said with a slight bow, but Marisbury didn't even bother to look at him.
"Please, there is no need for such formalities, Doctor. After all, it was I who insisted on your coming here in the middle of the night. I know that after what happened to you, this place isn't the most welcoming." Sincerely, Marisbury tilted his head forward for the man. "My apologies."
"Don't worry, Lord Animusphere. Despite what happened, I don't hold you responsible for it. Not even partly," the doctor waved it away. "I at least remember my way around this place and know how to avoid unwanted attention. However, let's forget about those small things and focus on the urgent matter at hand." The redhead man pulled out a letter that had the seal of the Animusphere clan. "Your message was quite clear, but I still need to personally confirm whether you are sure this is what you want."
"Yes, absolutely." There was nothing in this world Marisbury wanted more than this. "I need it and you're the only one who can help me to achieve it, Doctor."
The guest looked down, re-reading the letter's contents a few times over for certainty. How the Lord of Astromancy managed to find him wasn't important. The Doctor always knew that if the Clock Tower Lords wanted, his life would have ended any day. Thankfully, none of the upper echelons of the moonlit world thought of him as someone dangerous enough to slay immediately. Perhaps he was spared for occasions like this when some Lord would need unofficial and illegal assistance that won't be monitored by the Clock Tower. Still, the doctor couldn't help but find the task Marisbury asked quite intriguing.
Nothing too difficult, all he needed to do was find out what happened in Japan in the past few months. However…
"A question, Lord Animusphere." The smiling man had to ask. "Why turn to me? Surely there are more competent specialists already trying to solve the mystery of what happened in that distant country. Not to mention, the Church would be doing the same. Would they not be more qualified to answer your queries than I?"
"That may be so," Marisbury affirmed without hesitation. "With my connections and resources, I could get my hands on any data about the so-called minor ritual that is the Fourth Grail War. I'm not afraid to spend money to get an answer. However… the news I get from anyone else won't be enough. I will be honest with you, I don't need the obvious report of what happened to cause the Great Fire, no. I need… something else to be confirmed. And to attain the answer that solves everything before and after the incident."
"Could you… please elaborate?" The doctor, now keenly more interested if his leaning forward was telling, requested with the same polite smile.
Marisbury made to look around. It was as though he was making sure no one else was eavesdropping before stepping closer and lowering his voice.
"I have some information—no. It is more an assumption with no legs to stand on, but still, I trust my sources." He closed his eyes. "Fifty years ago, something happened in Fuyuki City. Something big enough to threaten the very fabric of our world. I do not know what it was, nor can I be certain with my resources now, but I felt it. After researching the movements in the ley lines, I've noted a shift has occurred and has repeatedly been resurfacing over the decades. It maintained a constant frequency in the past, but it suddenly spiked five decades back. Since then, there have been minor beats. Small, but increasing and pulsing. Almost like a growing cycle. The last and largest shift appeared within a couple of weeks before the Great Fire incident a few months back. Then silence. I haven't felt or detected anything strange since."
"This feeling of yours…" The doctor muttered back. "Do you not believe it to be something less? Perhaps it could be an error."
"That's what I believed until I learned about the Grail War ritual. I have my suspicions that something greater is afoot in the east. Far greater than what the Clock Tower Lords would ever believe of me. The Counter Force is involved and you and I both know such wouldn't happen unless the minor ritual, as the other Lords would denote it, was worth the World meddling in it."
The pale-faced doctor didn't interrupt, merely smile and take it all in. Like a fragile porcelain doll. Marisbury's expression, however, slowly grew more frantic. The air about him subtly lost composure.
"The Holy Grail War is at the very core of this mystery… I cannot let things continue unattended. What's more, I feel like whatever happened in Japan has yet to conclude. Most likely, I predict detecting the shift once more. Whatever has me on edge will reappear and I—we will need to be prepared for it."
The doctor noticed something. Specifically about the way Lord of Astromancy uncomfortably kept staring into space. Despite the man's urgency, he came off distant, contemplating.
"Has something happened, my Lord?"
Marisbury stayed silent for a moment. "… My old friend, Lev Lainur Flauros, died a few days ago… Committed suicide, it was reported."
"My condolences." The smile never left his guest's face. It unnerved Marisbury who continued regardless, albeit pacing around the room without meeting the doctor's eyes.
"Wasn't simple suicide, though. He destroyed his own family crest. A grave loss for all magi. The man didn't have an heir so no one would have inherited it to begin with, but he—It all seems too strange."
"How so?"
"I was permitted to see the body. They requested me to identify him. It was easy for me and a rare handful knew the man well, both his face and the construct of his magic circuits. But… the scariest thing I saw on that day was the widest smile a dead man can wear in the face of his demise."
"A smile, you say?" the doctor never glanced over his shoulder. With his back to the Lord, he merely waited.
"Yes. One very much like the smile that never leaves your face." Marisbury's snapback was taken in stride. He didn't mean anything by it, only that he was stressed. It was an odd coincidence, sure. But that was all. "Apologies. His death… it disturbs me so."
"You need not ask for forgiveness, Lord Animusphere." The doctor's shoulders slumped as let out an affirming sigh. "Loss begets sadness. Sadness begets anger, or so I believe. It is understandable you should feel so."
"That's not it…" For a while, Marisbury fell silent. A minute passed, then two before he continued on. "I know not why he did this and I'm afraid that I never will. Yet, this isn't what worries me… What you said is true. Loss inevitably begets anger. When you lose those dearest to you, it is only human to feel such. And yet, the death of Lev brought me neither sadness nor anger. Instead, I felt at peace. I don't know why but I always had this uneasy feeling after meeting him. It felt as if I was anticipating something terrible to happen. Be it to him, to me, or to everyone I ever knew or cared about."
"Another 'feeling', my Lord?"
"You may think me mad for relying so much on impulse," the dignified head of the Animusphere household scoffed derisively. "But it is true that, on that day I learned of his death, I finally lost the looming anticipation of something catastrophic… for one day alone." Marisbury's tone and air tensed like a knife edge was drawn to his neck. "The very next day, I received word about the disastrous incident caused by the Fuyuki Grail War. And no sooner did the dreadful feeling return to me."
"You believe Lev Flauros could be related to it, sir?" the doctor concluded. Finally turning to face the Lord, he asked nonchalantly. "Is that why you want my service? To find out what causes those fears of yours and dispose of them?"
Marisbury shook his head. "No, not that. While I need you to investigate the war and how it ended, I would ask you to avoid directly confronting whatever danger was birthed in Fuyuki. I cannot ask that of you. It will be my… the Animusphere's responsibility… I simply ask of you to learn about the ritual itself, its conditions, purpose, and especially the summoning system utilized."
"Hmm?" the smiling doctor eyed him, showing even more keen interest. "Don't tell me your excellency plans to participate in the war? Maybe start a new one on your own?"
"The latter, no. The Clock Tower would never approve, despite their derision of it. As for the former, I plan to push for either myself or my daughter to participate in the coming twenty years. Or, at least, I feel we have that long before the shift reoccurs again." Marisbury didn't sound certain but he added. Rather ominously at that. "No… I believe that the next War will happen sooner than expected."
The doctor smirked. "Another feeling, yes?"
"Indeed." Marisbury nodded, answering faux sarcasm with genuine seriousness. "So, what say you? Will you take on my task?"
"To accept a request of a would-be deranged lord grasping at straws?" The insult would've had him killed on the spot.
"Even still." But not by Marisbury. The man was far less prideful than his colleagues to even dare waste resources or connections on a whim. "Would you accept it?"
"… I don't see any reason to decline. Sounds like an interesting assignment, one I would like to fulfil to the best of my abilities."
"Excellent! I already arranged everything you might need. Of course, everything has already been paid for. Should you have any issues, Doctor Adashino—"
"My Lord, please," said the doctor interrupted. "Only people who are alive can have names, and people with hearts can be considered alive. I, regrettably, am neither."
Marisbury paused. The magi was certain he was talking with a living being that wasn't a dead apostle. Otherwise, he'd never contacted him, to begin with. "Then how should I address you, Doctor?"
The calm smile never left the man's face. But at this point, it was obvious that it was the only expression he could show to others. A simple smile that was merely a lie. After all, without a heart, one couldn't ever smile honestly.
"Heartless. Doctor Heartless will suffice."