Gensokyo Distortion: The King of Heroes

[Gilgamesh]

(Is this the right place? Yeah, this is the right place... I think. Here goes. Oh yeah, Crossover with Fate/Stay Night. Post-Unlimited Blade Works path.

Chapter 1: The Golden King

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If anything, that was his only chance to actually do something worthwile. Being defeated by a faker was not part of the plan, and certainly not being swallowed whole by 'it.' He could have defeated the boy if he was serious, but the Reality Marble and the ferocity of the boy's attacks had surprised him, and he lost his entire right arm before he could regain his composure.

Even then, there was still a high chance he could have won if it wasn't for 'it' swallowing him up. As he tried to get out, he unfortunately was met with a sword, fired from an arrow straight to his head.

He should have died there, returned to the Throne of Heroes in the origin of all things. For who could survive that in the first place?


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Garden of the Sun


For a strange reason, Yuuka Kazami didn't even bother flying around. Instead, she walked daintily on the ground around the sunflower garden, which she was content on doing. Just watching the flowers bloom and grow while relaxing. There should have been no interruption for what she was doing, but on this particular visit, she sensed something... strange.

A small spot of the garden had been destroyed, an anomaly regarding what happened so far. It was a negligible amount of damage, but she was obliged to know what happened anyways.

Reaching the area where the damage was, Yuuka was barely surprised at the presence of someone there. With a smile on her face, she approached the person and nudged their head with her umbrella, just to see a reaction. It was a young man... which was very strange when one thought about it. It was strange to actually find a guy just wandering about... Or in this case, just laying down. Actually it was strange to find a 'guy' at all.

"Bastard..." he muttered.

"How rude." Yuuka smiled, continuing to look down at the intruder to the garden. Although she should just destroy this man on the spot, that would be such a waste. He was already on the verge of dying so what point would that serve? Leaving him and letting him rot here for the flowers would be more useful.

Truly it was a pitiable sight just to see how much damage the young man had taken. His right arm had been cut off, the rest of him continuing to bleed all over the place, a hole in his head that seemed to have been partially pierced by a sharp object... it's a miracle that he could even say anything. And yet at the same time, she knew he couldn't possibly be a human to even survive injuries like that. Reimu and Marisa didn't count...

His body was flesh and blood like a regular human but still quite more durable judging by his condition right now. He's not a youkai, and definitely not an oni. Maybe he was some sort of a spirit like Mima?

He was going to die either way, and it didn't look like there was anything she was willing to do to keep him alive. Yuuka merely knelt down next to him, perhaps just to watch the last moments of a dying man.

It was a few moments later that he seemed to sense her presence though, even if he couldn't look up at her. He barely opened the palm of his remaining hand and muttered something.

"I shall come under thy command..." he whispered, "...and my sword shall control your fate."

At those words, Yuuka perked up a little. What was he talking about?

"Abiding... by the summons of the Holy Grail... if I submit... to your will and reason... I'll answer..."

"How strange," Yuuka told herself, listening in to the words of the dying man. Was it a last effort to save himself, or something more? She could barely hear him, and he was lucky she was there to actually listen.

"I hereby swear... you are all that is good... in this eternal world. You... are the disposer of evil... in the eternal world. I... the seven days clad in the Divine Trinity... shall come forth from the circle of constraint." The young man continued. Though his voice was weak, he was definitely trying to finish his words with some dignity.

He continued, "I shall accede to you... and your fate shall become my sword. Accept the contract, if thou so choose."

He became silent after that, and Yuuka briefly pondered during the span of a second on what she should do next. A contract, was it? This should be interesting. "I accept, assuming you were talking to me." Yuuka said, reaching down and taking hold of the young man's left hand.

"I will accept your oath, under the name of Archer. I shall accept you as my master." The young man said, before crimson eyes opened up.

He needed this contract to continue exist. Even with a high ability of Independent Action, he had no way of continuing on without a source of magic from a link to a Master. All in all, it really wasn't his own abilities that kept Archer alive. If anything, it was his high luck status that saved him, from nearly having the Servant core in his head destroyed, to actually finding a proper Master to survive in this place.

A violent wind raged around him, the ebb and flow of prana revitalizing him as his eyes opened completely and he stood up. Unlike the mess of a person that had laid down on the ground, this was a different figure. Gallant... proud... powerful... He must have gotten back a lot of power by obtaining a master like Yuka and now he was unlike anything that he was before.

Yuuka was fascinated. There was a rising swirl of magical energy, as if to close the rest of the Archer's wounds, though his right arm can't be replaced anymore. A certain marking appeared on the back of Yuuka's hand, along with a small flash of pain. It was barely worth mentioning, but there was a mild irritation that came with it. Still, the man in front of her was definitely a much more formidable presence than the one she found on the ground.

"You seem a little better." Yuuka said in amusement, watching the young man regain his composure, and continuing to smile.

Under normal circumstances, when a person wore a smile, they often will infect the people around them and it eased the surrounding atmosphere. But Yuuka was of a personality where a smile could almost always be associated with some unsettling things.

"It seems I've made you perform an extremely trifling duty." The young man said and bowed respectfully for a brief moment. "But I do thank you for helping me out of my... condition."

This is almost a reverse of what he did to a previous Master in the past. Manners that were more humble than one would expect from him, and he expressed his gratitude without reserve to the one who saved his life.

"I don't normally make deals with nearly dying people." Yuuka replied casually, "But you did mention that you will accept me as your Master. I can presume that means what I think it is?"

There was a brief pause, the young man in front of her chuckling lightly for a moment. "Perhaps not. It doesn't look like the Holy Grail has an influence here so perhaps that portion of the chant wasn't needed..." he murmured quietly. "But you are still my Master now, I was definitely not lying about that."

"You are a strange person..." Yuuka told him.

"No more than you." The young man interrupted. "Let's get through the preliminaries then, shall we? I believe it is at least customary for a Master and Servant to know each other's names, correct?"

"Indeed." She nodded her head. "My name is Yuuka Kazami."

"Most people would call me by my Servant Class, Archer. As a Master, you are privy to knowing my true identity, Gilgamesh." He said with an almost arrogant tone and a smile on his own face.

This man, Archer, in the present era, is the "King of Heroes", Gilgamesh. The tyrant who ruled ancient Mesopotamia who was part divine, and part human. As a hero, rooted in the oldest origin of mankind, he is amongst the oldest kings. Older than even Gensokyo itself if one is to go with implications.

"Never heard of you." Yuuka replied promptly, causing Gilgamesh to look at her strangely. "I think I'll just call you Archer. It's easier that way." She continued to smile, beginning to walk away from him before suddenly turning around. "But since you are my newest Servant, that means I get to test out your abilities. This isn't a request by the way, so get ready. I don't think you'd want to lose another arm through carelessness."

"You've got to be joking." Archer muttered, leaping back a fair bit before a golden armor materialized around him. A Master challenging a Servant... normally, a magus would never do that unless in extreme circumstances. Yuuka wasn't a magus, that much he can tell, but she has an extremely high amount of magic. And still, Archer was reminded of the loss he received prior to ending up here. He was not about to make the same mistake twice in this situation.

Watching Yuuka fly up into the air, Archer snapped his fingers in response, before a wide spread of flower-like bullets appeared in front of Yuka and sped towards him.

The space around Archer distorted in a haze and for a brief moment, he was actually surprised that his abilities still work properly in this place. The next instant, the glow of beautiful blades started coming out of the empty space, shooting up towards Yuuka in response to her flower bullets.

The girl above definitely found this amusing, the perpetual smile on her face never wavering even as she attempted to avoid the weapons flying up towards her. 'Attempted' being the key word here, because some of the weapons found their mark and actually pierced through Yuuka.

Archer had no desire to get rid of his Master like this, but already he sensed that there was something amiss about what's going on, with her treating this like a game.

The weapons that hit her weren't even regular weapons. They were Noble Phantasms, the embodiment of the ultimate mysteries of a hero that symbolized their existence through historical facts and anecdotes. The 'Gate of Babylon' was the ability that allowed Archer to actually hurl the various other Noble Phantasms with blinding speed.

"Hmm... that won't do at all." Yuuka told him. "You're too crude and unimaginative in danmaku. At least form some kind of pattern with your weapons. Or give each one proper names." She continued, pointing her umbrella down at him, the very tip beginning to glow.

"What would the point be for that though?" Archer replied, giving a bit of a frown before taking a certain sword out of his little 'gate,' A cylindrical sword, with three parts that began turning in a whirring motion.

Even as he took it out, Archer briefly wondered to himself about why he was already using his greatest weapon now? He had never bothered to use it against someone unworthy in the past unless he was showing off. This was not one of them.

"Tch, you are a strange girl indeed." He said quietly as the tri-blades of his sword continued to spin in a drilling motion, as if to gather energy into itself before he continued on with a smirk. "Awaken, Ea. I may not have had the time to use you to your full capabilities in our last battle, but I'm sure even a simple blow from you will cause my current Master to rethink what she's doing."

"Master Spark." Yuuka said lightly, a blinding beam of light shooting out from her umbrella.

"Enuma Elish!" Archer shouted out, the energy gathered by his sword sweeping out like a blinding light and crashed into Yuuka's attack.

There wasn't even a proper clash. The enormous amount of supernatural power released far exceeded Yuuka's expectations about her Servant's capabilities. To Yuuka, who slowly questioned the threat rising up from below, she barely even had time to move out of the way before the space she floated in was destroyed.

Extending from Archer's weapon and up to the empty sky, the blast of his sword caused a tear in reality that distorted space and sucked in air, blowing away the surroundings into a void.

Even Yuuka was stupefied at what just happened for once.

Terms of precision and power couldn't even describe what was happening. The beam of light, the sky, anything that entered the space being caused by the blast of his sword was torn apart, swallowed by whirling nothingness and disappeared. Even part of the Garden of the Sun was swallowed up by the attack.

This, Yuuka could not allow. She immediately flew down towards Archer, and delivered a punch straight into his face, sending him flying back and forcefully stopped his attack.

"That's enough." She told him, looking back behind her to survey just how much damage was actually done. She hadn't expected her Servant to have that kind of power. Actually, it was quite impressive considering the non-seriousness of the situation.

Walking over to him, Yuuka paused before placing her foot down on his chest, causing him to cough out a little. "That was a beautiful attack." She smiled down at him, "But next time, make sure you're not destroying the flowers. It takes a long time for those flowers to grow."

"Where am I?" Archer muttered. From his observations, this definitely wasn't the same city where the war for the Holy Grail was held. And there was definitely no magus short of the Caster class of Servant who can perform the techniques that his newest Master could do. Unless he somehow became the Master of Caster... no that was unlikely. A Caster-class Servant shouldn't be able to punch him with this amount of force.

"Right, I don't think you are from around here are you?" Yuuka asked him. "Your clothes don't come from here, you don't know the rules of Danmaku... maybe I can explain later on. Or get Elly to do it for me." She continued, briefly pondering the thought before moving her foot off of her Servant's chest.

"At least this is better than what I would have received if I completely disappeared." Archer muttered quietly and stood up. The fact that his right arm was still gone is an annoyance that's preventing him from even gaining a small sort of enjoyment from this. And the lingering thought in his head about what happened before he even came to this place.

"You're too moody. You need to smile a little more." Yuuka said as she stood in front of him.

"Heh, well if you say so, 'Master.'" Archer replied, giving a quick smirk as he looked back towards the young woman's crimson eyes. Funny... he could swear they were green a moment ago...

"Walk with me then. I want to learn more about where you come from." Yuuka nodded, holding her right hand out to his left. "To think I would actually acquire a new Servant today. It's also a rarity for someone with your powers to appear in Gensokyo. I haven't been this excited for quite some time." She smiled. "But you better not bore me."

"Like I said, you are a strange girl." Archer answered, nodding his head as he took her hand. "But I do need you to explain things to me as well."

"I asked first, you answer first. That's the rule." Yuuka responded, leading her new Servant onwards to... well, she really had no direction to go to at the moment. Walk around the garden, that's good enough for her really. Especially since her visit was interrupted... but at least she gained something from it... right?


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Author's Notes: Random urge to write produced this. Strange ain't it? Gil is a little out of character though... but that's probably only for the early chapters. I mean come on, he lost an arm. Might continue this... might not... I have other stories to tend to after all.

[Gilgamesh]

The fact that I updated this after 3 years is surprising.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6507730/2/Gensokyo-Distortion-The-King-of-Heroes

But Chapter 2 is here at least.


Chapter 2: Feet of Clay

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Netherworld

The gardens were unusually silent, more so than usual with a pall of death hanging over the area. No one was around, not even those who should have been here in the first place. What stood in the center of the gardens was the cherry tree, the Saigyou Ayakashi petals beginning to form on its branches. A heavy fog had formed, slightly obscuring the area.

A tear in space was preceded by a rushing wind, a black crescent appearing in front of the tree as a slender hand came out, followed by a whole body clad in purple.

"What is happening here?" the woman asked herself. Why had she come here in the first place? A sense of dread perhaps? She was woken from her slumber when a massive display of power was released into Gensokyo a few hours ago and since then, she was unable to go back to sleep.

Soon enough, Yukari saw 'it' revealed in the netherworld sky. A black sun, an ominous sign that looked like a hole tunnelling into reality itself.

"Ah, I see you finally made your way here." A voice called out to her from behind.

Yukari turned around, eyes narrowed as she spotted Yuyuko's pale form floating towards her. It was the ghost princess alright, but her senses warned her of some kind of deception. The Yuyuko she knew took her responsibilities more seriously and given what was happening to her garden right now, this didn't feel right.

"What's wrong, my friend? Are you so stunned that you could find no words to say?" Yuyuko asked, pausing just a few feet from her.

She didn't want to think that her friend intended to deceive her, but the malicious aura surrounding Yuyuko just couldn't be ignored. She knew there was a reason as to why all the spirits left this place, most notably Youmu in particular.

"Are you alright?" Yukari asked, showing genuine concern in her voice.

"You should be more worried about yourself." Came the response and before Yukari could respond, many of the Saigyou Ayakashi's branches and roots moved with frightening speed, wrapping around Yukari and trapping her against the trunk of the tree.

"Nice trick." Yukari replied, her voice calm even as Yuyuko approached her. This was definitely not the same Yuyuko she befriended. Gone was her playful and good-humoured demeanour. Which meant it would be up to her to return her friend to her previous state. But first she needed to find the cause.

"Are you afraid of dying?" Yuyuko asked. That was it, no other questions. Just a simple question, direct to the point, and eerily specific. She could manipulate death, but talking about this so freely with her friend seemingly in direct jeopardy was not a comfortable sight.

"I don't think it's my time yet. Thank you for the offer though." Yukari replied, as she closed her eyes and focused. A gap in space appeared on the tree itself, Yukari letting herself fall through before it disappeared, the branches and roots suddenly losing their captive.

"Oh?" Yuyuko smiled in response.

A hail of bullets suddenly shot down from above, Yuyuko floating out of their path before looking up to see Yukari's pale features looking down with a cold stare. She sat atop a crescent gap, legs crossed before sending out another swarm of bullets at her friend.

Before they hit however, Yuyuko simply vanished and Yukari clucked her teeth in response.

"I don't recall you being able to do that." She told herself as she created another gap to disappear into. Regardless of the distance between her and Yuyuko, Yukari should easily be able to track her down. Why her friend would choose to hide herself like this was one thing, but something wasn't adding up.

"I'll deal with you later." Yukari looked down at the cherry tree, before disappearing into the gap.

Re-emerging from the boundary, Yukari found herself in a different area. "The Former Hell? No, not quite. This still seems to be part of the netherworld." she wondered curiously. It was a place extremely close to that of the realm of the living, but she didn't recall being here before. How could that even be possible?

"How old would you say you are, Yukari?" Yuyuko's familiar voice called out to her.

Smirking, Yukari tilted her head back and laughed. "You lured me all the way here just to ask me my age? Why, I can't even remember." She continued, pulling out one of her fans and waving it in front of her. Yuyuko had yet to show herself, but she was certain there was a reason she was brought here. "If you really must know, I'd say older than 1000 and younger than 2000. Is that sufficient?"

"I don't suppose it does. But I wonder, do you think you can still reach me?" Yuyuko's voice continued to call out to her. "I am here, though you will not be able to see me with your senses alone."

"Get to the point, Yuyuko. Just tell me what you want me to do. You've never been this cryptic before when you make requests so why start now?"

There was no response, and it didn't take long before Yukari got tired of waiting.

With a calm breath, Yukari focused her energies in the area around her. There is great magic here and the aura of death was strong. No doubt, it was Yuyuko's doing but if this was some sort of game, then the ghost princess was taking it too far.

She located her aura soon enough, the dead after all, are much easier to track when they're the only ones around. Yukari took a few more steps, coming face to face with a giant boulder. To uneducated eyes, it seemed to be just that, but she sensed the presence of death behind the boulder and Yuyuko was likely behind it. A barrier had been cast on it, one that prevented it from even moving. While the magic used to create it was strong, if Yuyuko expected this to stop her, then she was terribly mistaken.

She raised a hand, manipulating the boundaries within as she removed the links one by one. The physical glow was now evident and the barrier appeared more like chains that were slowly dissipating. Right as she finished however, Yuyuko appeared in front of the barrier, but with a look on her face that showed grave fear.

"No? you shouldn't have?." the ghost princess whispered, falling down on her knees. "She used you, through me. I'm sorry Yukari. I couldn't stop her."

"Yuyuko?" Yukari asked, kneeling down beside her friend. What the hell was going on here?! "Wait, 'her?'"

"Indeed." A third voice called out to them, as the giant boulder in front of the pair cracked and then simply exploded outwards.

Yukari raised her hands, one of her gaps appearing in front of her and another behind her. The chunks of rock falling towards her simply disappeared, redirected to the areas behind her. A large amount of dust filled the air in the dark cavern but the youkai of boundaries wasn't bothered in the least.

Someone stepped out onto the rubble, a pale woman in a white kimono reminiscent of Yuyuko's own. The design was interlapped with spiderweb patterns but it was the way she walked that was most unusual. One moment, she walked with grace and fluidity and the next, her movements were twitchy and erratic.

Stopping a few metres away from Yukari, the woman gazed at them with curiousity. Her eyes were pitch black, lit up in the centre with a yellow glow. If it wasn't for that, she may even be considered extremely beautiful. Pale skin, long dark hair, and an air of nobility that could make one think of the ghost princess besides Yukari.

"This is not your true form." Yukari said as though stating a fact.

The woman's lips curled into a grin as she nodded her head in response. "I must thank you, Yukari Yakumo. You have no idea how long I've waited, trapped in that place for so long and unable to influence my subjects above."

"Your subjects?"

"Yukari, we need to go." Yuyuko said, tugging on her friend's sleeve as she stared at the woman with a frightened expression.

Yukari looked down at her friend, mouthing for her to go herself and let her deal with this. Whoever this woman is, she couldn't be up to anything good.

"Shall I tell you a story perhaps?" the woman asked her, watching Yuyuko fly away from them as fast as she could. With a sigh, the woman continued on without waiting for Yukari to reply. "The seal that you've destroyed was one of two. The original was split in two when your people separated Gensokyo from the outside world."

At this, a warning emerged from Yukari's mind. She knew far too much that happened outside even long after the events of her sealing. Why was she sealed in the first place? What made her decide to be free now? And most importantly, who was she?

"Chigaeshi no Okami, that's what they called this boulder originally. I don't presume to know how my location was changed, but I do not question it. Had this place been outside, I don't think I would have found anyone to help me with my predicament." The woman continued.

Wait, she heard this before. It was an old legend but even the uneducated knew to recognize this name dating back to the ancient origins of Japan.

It had involved a primordial deity, Izanagi, who sought to bring his beloved back from the land of the dead after she died. The journey simply ended in tragedy and Izanagi sealed the entrance to Yomi with a boulder, the Chigaeshi no Okami to stop his horrifying and indignant wife from returning to the land of the living.

Yukari gasped in realization. This woman in front of her was none other than-

"Izanami-no-mikoto, yes. I can see it in your eyes, you finally remembered your history." The woman laughed. "At least, that is what everyone claims to know about their so-called history. But that is a story for another time."

"To think I'd actually free the goddess of death, are you indebted to me now?" Yukari replied, her voice just oozing sarcasm.

"Of course not. You have my thanks for removing that accursed barrier, but that's it. Your purpose is ended and I have no more business with you."

"But I have one with you." Yukari frowned. "I need to make sure that you are no threat to Gensokyo. God or not, you at least need to be bound by our rules if you intend to intermingle with everyone again."

Izanami's features turned dark and her voice just seemed to snap at Yukari. "And who do you think you are to order me, little youkai? Do you presume to think this paltry little land is the only place I intend to reshape?"

"Reshape?" Yukari replied, feeling just a little bit more annoyed now. "I see, so that's how it is. I suppose it's sad to have to do this but considering how I was the one who broke the barrier holding you in place, it stands to reason that I should probably fix it and put you back to sleep."

"A shame. You would have made a useful servant like that tree." Izanami replied, floating up off the ground.

"Oh please." Yukari responded, floating up in turn. "We have enough of power-hungry gods. You are no different." In an instant, magical bullets appeared in front of Yukari before speeding out towards Izanami. It was a simple tactic, and it was an easy way to judge her opponent's abilities.

"Child, do not take me lightly." Izanami said, raising a hand before she gestured downwards. Eight bolts of lightning shot down, a continuous stream that dispelled the bullets aimed at her.

Yukari immediately looked up with a frown. Of course, this goddess would not be bound by the spellcard rules. She thought herself too high and mighty for that and would pull out any trick she could find. This included the eight Raijin that now appeared to circle Izanami, supporting their goddess with their own magic while atop eight metal discs. Curious creatures really, smaller than she realized and almost comparable to fairies.

Now it was Izanami's turn to retaliate, shadowy arms forming behind her back, cutting themselves from their master as they raced for Yukari, hands reaching out to grab her.

"Ha! As if!" Yukari called out, disappearing into a gap behind her before reappearing on the ground level yet again. Readying a powerful spell, without the limitations of the spell card rules, she decided to simply cut Izanami's border between life and death. God or not, even they aren't immune to what she intended to do.

A few moments passed and it seemed Izanami was content on letting her do what she needed unopposed. A fatal mistake if anything as Yukari finished the spell, a bright light illuminating the whole cavern.

When it finally dissipated, Izanami stood in front of Yukari, a smile on her face.

"Ah, child. Do you honestly think your abilities would have an effect on a primordial goddess? One who existed before this land was even created? One who brought life into your ancestors? Perhaps you need a lesson in what your abilities amount to one of a higher hierarchy." Izanami replied, snapping her fingers.

Before Yukari could mutter out another spell or create a gap to keep the distance between them, she was tackled from behind, strong arms covered her mouth and she felt herself lifted from the ground. She didn't know what held her but this did not go as planned. Her eyes scanned the area around her and in the darkness, she saw ugly women approaching her. Seven of them in total who stood besides Izanami and one holding her fast. Even worse, somehow she was unable to use a gap to escape.

Yomotsu-Shikome, the one holding her was the ugly hag of the underworld and the other seven were presumably of the same vein. The hags of yomi served Izanami and Yukari felt a chill down her spine as drool fell down to her shoulders. The one holding her would likely be different from the others, stronger, larger.

With a gesture, the hags became silent as Izanami approached the gap youkai.

"Did you think I was the only one who could match you in battle? You underestimated what my servants could do and now you shall pay the ultimate price. Drunk with your own confidence, you exceeded your role and became too involved. Now, learn for yourself, whose wrath you have brought down." Izanami said, the Shikome behind Yukari removing her hand from Yukari's mouth as Izanami touched her cheeks.

"What are you? ah-!" Yukari gasped, Izanami's eyes lighting up as she stared deep into Yukari's own. It didn't even take a few seconds before the gap youkai slumped forward, breathing her last.

"Even your soul is worth a thousand human souls it seems. Perhaps my quota has been fulfilled but it would be a shame to leave you in this place to rot like you should." Izanami said, the shikome suddenly lifting the gap youkai over her shoulder as they began walking. "I doubt you would serve me in death, but perhaps Angra Mainyu can change your mind. To him, I owe my true thanks." Izanami said, closing her eyes.

"Let us give a visit to the Saigyou Ayakashi shall we? She was the one whom 'he' first spoke to." Izanami told her servants. The raijin themselves seemed to disappear after the order and their discs melted together to form a much larger one. The disc floated up, chains forming up and dangling down as the rest of the eight Shikome grabbed on, flying towards the direction of Hakugyokurou.

Looking down at her fingers, Izanami frowned. Their once pale and smooth features had turned wrinkled and decrepit. She nearly forgot about maintaining her illusion after dealing with Yukari.

"I am not content in simply being Izanami any more."

[Propman]

Silly Yukari, she should have manipulated the boundaries of strength and weakness first to make sure that Izanami would actually be affected.

Though I have no knowledge of Fate, I find this story oddly interesting.

[Gilgamesh]

And there in goes the third chapter.

Chapter 3: The Scattered Ones

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Three travelers walked towards the edge of the lake, their appearance in this place a stark contrast to the areas around them. The first appeared to be a typical man clad in the garb of a samurai, mostly in purple with a hakama and kimono. His indigo hair was tied into a long ponytail though what's most striking about his features would be the sheathed blade strapped to his back.

The second member of the group wore clothing much stranger than those who lived in this land. Blue, full body tights covered in runic inscriptions. Just like the first, his hair was blue, though shorter and swept backwards. He didn't appear to have a weapon with him, though his seemingly calm face appeared to be hiding something darker underneath.

If the first and second members of the group could be counted as 'close to normal', the third was a presence who did not fit at all regardless of how one looked at them. He was a tall, statue-like man that can only be described as a black giant who towered over his companions. At first glance, he may even be mistaken for a strange monster but underneath those eyes belied an intelligence that had once been hidden by his previous state of mind.

"Hard to believe we'd actually encounter each other like this, eh?" the one in blue looked towards his companions with a smug grin on his face. They had met each other here in this place by complete accident, a collection of heroic spirits who by all rights should have long disappeared from the world after their respective losses to other heroic spirits.

"Lancer, you seem oddly pleased with our situation." the samurai replied. "Need I remind you that, as Servants, we are never truly alive? The amount of mana in this land may be surprisingly high but it only slows or dissipation, not halts it."

"I wouldn't worry about that. Fate has given us another chance at life, with our memories from the War intact no less. We shouldn't be disappearing anytime soon unless we overexert ourselves and even then, we should have enough mana supply ourselves to last a day in this environment. If anything, I'm surprised we weren't brought here with our own fatal injuries. It's as if everything managed to reset back before the war started."

"Most things, not all." the black giant said, the two turning their heads towards him.

"Heh, I forgot. I'm still not used to you speaking coherently, Berserker." Lancer said.

"The mad enhancement on my class is halted, though I wouldn't know if it is temporary or permanent. If we are to recontract with someone, there is no guarantee for any of us to keep our original classes. Except maybe you, Assassin." he looked at the samurai.

"Not like it matters. As far as I'm concerned, the level of prana in the atmosphere in this place is high enough to the point that we can maintain our physical forms by ourselves. One would have to be desperate to want a contract." Assassin said, his indigo hair blowing in the wind as they stopped at the edge of the lake.

At the other side of the lake loomed an ominous mansion, a contrast to the blue, afternoon sky. Though released from their burdens in life, their senses as heroic spirits were still as sharp as ever. Different from the prana that simply existed out in the open, there was a massive collection of magical energy from within the mansion. Even heroic spirits like them would be subconsciously drawn to them like a

moth to a flame due to simple curiousity alone.

"I count five strong existences in there, with various states of activity." said Lancer.

"So?" Assassin looked at him.

"Don't tell me your instincts had been dulled? I thought you were the type to seek opportunities to be challenged? Wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity to test your skills in this new land?"

"So we'll simply pick a fight with whoever you please? That's a little brutish of you, Lancer."

"I'm not picking a fight, I'm simply going to check that place out. If a fight breaks out, then who am I to refuse?" he grinned. "What say you, Berserker?"

The black giant let out a sigh and simply shrugged his massive shoulders.

"A challenging fight? What, you all think you can find one in that mansion? Maybe you should look somewhere else." a high-pitched voice called out to them, Lancer immediately turning around with a wince at the sudden interruption.

Behind him, a small figure with icy wings and light blue hair hovered in front of him, arms bent as if to give a pose of authority.

"A fairy? Huh, didn't expect to see one here." Lancer said.

"Hey, be a little more shocked!" the little girl said. "You've got a powerful enemy in front of you. I am Cirno, the ice fairy!" she nodded, pointing at herself.

"Riiiight..." Lancer narrowed his gaze. Was this little creature seriousl?

"It's all yours, Lancer. You wanted to pick a fight didn't you?" Assassin laughed, stepping away from the spear-wielder.

"I'd rather not be a part of this. It'd be disgraceful." Berserker said.

"The hell are you two talking about? I'm not going to fight this girl!"

"Oh, afraid I'd beat you senseless? Don't be a coward, I'll go easy on you." Cirno said, sending a blast of cold air at Lancer as his back was turned to her.

Feeling the sudden drop in temperature, Lancer turned around to face the girl and glared. "Chilling. You know, if you want a fight, fine. I'll give one to you. But don't cry to me if you get injured," he said, a crimson spear appearing in his hands. He spun it once, twice, over his head before getting into a stance, pointing the tip straight at the fairy.

"Later, Lancer. Enjoy your fight." Assassin called out, holding back a laugh before turning back towards the black giant. "Well then, should we head to that mansion then? It'd be a waste just wandering around here."

"Agreed." Berserker nodded his head, watching the samurai suddenly sprint off, running atop the water with unimaginable speed. Most servants can easily approach that kind of movement, including himself, but he saw no reason to overexert himself like the others. With a sigh, Berserker simply walked straight into the lake, an implacable form that sunk into the waters but continued advancing steadily anyways.

---

For Assassin, he honestly wasn't looking for any kind of fight like Lancer was. If anything, he was more interested in this newfound freedom he had. No longer bound to certain temple grounds, he was just glad he could actually let himself go like this.

He reached the other end of the lake after a few seconds, pausing to look back at the distance he covered. He shrugged, deciding to walk from this point on and eventually came towards a massive gateway barring his path, the entrance to the mansion he and his companions saw a while ago. He could simply just pass through the gates in spiritual form, but something else caught his attention.

There was a girl there, scarlet-haired and wearing green clothing that reminded him of the land to the west of Japan. If she's supposed to be acting as some kind of guard, then she's not doing a very good job. The girl was sleeping while standing up, her back resting against the gate.

"Well isn't that interesting." Assassin chuckled to himself, approaching the girl boldly before suddenly snapping his fingers in front of her sleeping face.

"Who?! Where?! What?!" the girl cried out, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes before finding herself face to face with a complete stranger. "Wait, who are you and what are you doing here? Don't you think of trespassing or I'll blast you away."

He chuckled lightly, amused by the reaction. "Relax," Assassin said, "I'm not thinking of trespassing. I was simply passing by." he nodded. "In any case, I couldn't help but notice a pretty girl sleeping on the job so I debated with myself whether or not I should wake her up."

"Huh? O-oh! Well, umm... thanks for the compliment I guess." the girl replied, failing to hide the tint of red that formed on her cheeks. "But... who are you?"

Assassin chuckled at the response. "I suppose it was a bit rude of me to come in here without telling you who I am. It's only natural, especially in front of one as fair as you are. I would not have intended for you to make a face like that," he nodded, stepping forward with a graceful bow, "I am.. Sasaki Kojiro, pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," the girl grinned, giving her own bow in imitation, "My name is Hong Meiling, gardener and gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion," she nodded.

"That's the name of the place eh? Sounds rather ominous don't you think?" Assassin replied, looking up beyond the girl and towards the mansion behind her. What kind of creatures could possibly lurk in there? "Well, if you're the gatekeeper of this place, I think we have common ground then. I used to be the gatekeeper of a temple myself and I did a rather good job at that," he said.

"Ooh, really? In that case, do you have time to spare just chatting? It's quite rare for me to talk to anyone who knows about the stress and challenges of this job," she said.

"I don't mind. But stress and hardships, really? I'd actually think this kind of job would be quite boring sometimes." Assassin said as the two found a spot to sit down at the gate's corner.

"I know that feeling," Meiling replied, "This season, I don't really expect people to show up intruding here much. Well, there's this witch who likes to fly over and borrow some of Patchy's books but I usually let them deal with each other when that happens. And then there's..."

A witch huh? Memories of his last master surfaced in him, Caster, the witch of Colchis. Come to think of it, if Berserker and Lancer managed to make their way here as well, then wouldn't that mean Caster would have found her way here as well? He shivered at the thought.

He continued to listen in to Meiling, who spoke nonstop and barely let him say anything at all. He didn't mind of course. Digesting information about this place and being patient was certainly something he could do. A land of illusion separate from the outside where things people no longer believe in still exist? And then the topic turned to him.

"So, what about you Kojiro? Where are you from? How did you find yourself here?" she asked.

"That's a good question. If what you say is true, then me and my companions are from the outside world that you mentioned earlier. No wonder I didn't recognize anything in this place." he shrugged.

"Wow..." Meiling replied, her eyes wide with wonder. "Wait, you have companions?"

"Oh yeah, I should have mentioned them," he chuckled. "Just two people I met when I woke up here. I'd assume they're as surprised as I am initially. One of them's on the other side of the lake... and I think the other one is on his way here," he said.

"Well, as long as you tell them they can't enter the mansion without permission. You're the leader of the group, right?" she asked.

"I don't think we've decided on anything of that sort actually." Assassin replied. "But you needn't worry about them. It'll be a while before any of them get here."

---

"Begging for mercy is futile! Shiver before this next attack! Snow Sign ? Diamond Blizzard!" the ice fairy called out, shards of ice shooting out from her and aimed in a nearly haphazard pattern towards Lancer.

He spun the spear in front of him blindingly quick, catching the shards of ice in between each rotation to protect him from the cold. It wasn't a hard thing to do, he could simply move his own body around to avoid the blow but his hear wasn't really into it anymore after a short while.

"Hey, uh... you got something else? I don't really have all day to entertain you." Lancer yawned.

"Ooooh! You're in for it now!" Cirno called out, increasing the intensity of the shards though none of it seemed to get through Lancer's simple defense.

He sighed, looking ahead at the mansion. "That's it, I'm done here. Disengaging." he shrugged, dashing forward and rushing right past Cirno, the displacement of wind through his movement causing the ice fairy to spin around as he passed by.

"It was fun I guess. But I think there's more entertainment to be found there. No offense." he called back to the dizzy fairy, not even bothering to check if he was heard before speeding through the waters of the lake. It didn't take him long before he reached land.

"Huh, he seems to be having fun." Lancer glanced at Assassin before vaulting over the gates of the mansion and into one of the open windows.

"Uh-oh..." Assassin sighed after he spotted the blue blur pass them by. "You might have a problem with an intruder."

"Wait, what?!" Meiling cried out, rising up from her spot on the ground before staring up at the open window in the mansion grounds.

The ground underneath them seemed to rumble though and she turned around to find another surprising sight. Rising from the depths of the lake, the image of an implacable black giant caused her to nearly screech out in alarm.

"Relax, it's just Berserker." Assassin said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's the one who passed us by that's the more likely troublemaker."

"One of your two companions eh?" Meiling asked nervously as the black giant stood before them, Assassin shrugging in response.

"I see you've made a friend." Berserker looked down from Assassin to Meiling. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss...?" he extended his hand out in greeting.

"Meiling." came the response, still nervous as she managed to shake one of the rock-like fingers extended out to her. "But umm... this is awkward. I'm surprised there are actually quite a bunch of people here already. I wonder how the mistress will respond?"

The trio turned their heads up as they heard a loud commotion from within the mansion.

"Whoa! Wait! The hell are you guys doing!" Lancer's voice called out from the open window as Assassin and Berserker simultaneously sighed.

"You know, if you let us in, we could probably get him out of there before he causes any more trouble. He's quite the impulsive sort." Assassin said.

"Or we could just wait until he gets kicked out. It sounds like he's having problems." Berserker grinned ferociously.

Meiling simply shivered at the sight before turning her head towards the gate. "I guess there'd be no harm in waiting. It's not like they're not used to someone sneaking in under my watch." she sighed.

---

Fairies, fairies everywhere. Magical bullets flew at him from multiple directions as Lancer traversed the hallway, something that should have been done easily and yet it seemed like the end of it never came.

Worse of all was the fact that he almost immediately got attacked as soon as he stepped foot inside. The spear was spun around again, deflecting the magical bullets fired at him as he expertly weaved in and out of the pathways of the others.

He lost track of time as he did so, avoiding the fairies as much as he could before he was finally allowed to enter the end of the hallway, the doors opening up in front of him towards a rather grand hall with two stairs leading down, connecting to a single one that lead to the entrance.

At the base of the steps, someone looked up at him curiously. The girl herself looked fairly average. Piercing blue eyes, silver hair tied up in two braids on each side of her face, along with a pink and blue maid outfit.

"You're... human aren't you?" Lancer asked, leaping down from the second floor to face her.

"And you aren't." the maid replied with a hint of sarcasm in her soft voice. "Isn't it quite rude of you to be asking questions after breaking in?" she asked.

"It was an open window." Lancer shrugged, bringing his spear up to deflect a projectile as a knife whizzed towards him, nearly cutting through his neck. "Feisty one aren't you? Are you always like this with guests?" he asked.

"Well you can't expect me to just let you do as you please, right?" she smirked. "The young mistress isn't likely going to want to see someone as crude as you so allow me to take her place in offering you our hospitality."

She disappeared then, Lancer quickly on edge before spotting the girl up above the stairs, calmly looking down at him. From her initial spot and her current spot however, knives were already speeding towards him and Lancer was forced to jump through the spaces to avoid being skewered.

"Ha! So you have a few tricks don't you, little maid? I wonder though, are you truly here of your own free will? This doesn't seem like a place for humans." said Lancer, running towards the young woman with blinding speed.

He didn't reach her though as again, she seemed to disappear, only to reappear back at the entrance to the mansion. The same trail of knives were left in her wake and Lancer spun his spear this time to deflect them right back at the girl.

The knives didn't hit their target and Lancer found the girl at another corner of the room, watching him with slight irritation on her delicate-looking face.

"Your speed and reflexes are top-notch. Comparable... if not completely surpassing the Tengu's." she told herself. "It would be a shame to just kill you here but for the young mistress' sake, I will not allow you to proceed further." she glared, her eyes giving a faint glow before she threw three knives at Lancer.

The blue Servant merely smiled at the threat, only to suddenly find dozens of knives appearing out of nowhere to accompany the first three. Of the girl, she was nowhere to be seen.

"The hell is going on here?" Lancer gritted his teeth, leaping away from the knives before planting his feet firmly on the wall, knees bent as he prepared to propel himself towards the woman once more. He spotted her on the second floor again before his vision was blocked by dozens of blades that suddenly appeared inches away from his face.

The force of the impact pretty much destroyed the area of the wall that Lancer had been, the girl watching the dust and debris for any signs of the intruder. Her eyes widened in shock though when she saw the man still unharmed, spear in hand with a fearless grin as if to say 'I blocked all that.'

"That's not possible!" she said in alarm.

"Protection from arrows. A very useful passive skill to have. As long as you are in my line of sight, I can defend myself just fine against most projectiles." he explained, dropping to the ground and crouched down in a stance.

The spearman closed the distance in an instant, the girl disappearing from view once more as the spear nearly ran her through. Her reappearance would have allowed her to put some distance between them again but just as she threw a trio of knives, the man in blue was on her tail almost immediately.

"Guh!"

A strained voice escaped her mouth as the knives scattered, her form disappearing again as the spear hit empty space. Even her hawk-like eyes couldn't follow the spear properly anymore, it's movement a single point to begin with. It is a flash of light now and she cannot discern the spear coming straight at her.

All she could do was haphazardly use her ability to avoid the attack, to be away from her previous position before the spear struck.

"I think I get what you can do now." Lancer said, tapping her neck from behind with the tip of the spear. "The reason why I can't seem to connect at all. You control time, don't you?" he asked, tossing the three knives he caught earlier up in the air.

The girl disappeared again, taking her knives back mid-air before putting more distance away from the man in blue.

* clap * * clap * * clap *

The two turned their heads to the top of the stairs, Lancer narrowing his gaze at the appearance of another girl, younger-looking than the first one just watching them with a malicious grin on her face. Red eyes, light blue hair, a pink dress... most noticeable was the pair of bat-like wings on her back. Definitely not human.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone keep up with Sakuya that well since the Shrine Maiden. May I ask for your name?" the girl asked.

"Heh, of course." Lancer said, spinning the spear once and letting the tip rest on the floor. "Servant Class ? Lancer. I've no need to hide my true name. Perhaps you've heard of the great saga of Cu Chulainn?"

"Not particularly, no. But a pleasure to meet you nonetheless. I am Remilia Scarlet, the master of this mansion. I think I might extend a special invitation to your two friends outside. They seem to be behaving quite nicely." she nodded, snapping her fingers as the main entrance opened up.

"Mistress, they..." Sakuya started.

"Not now. Their presence here has me piqued." the young vampire said.

[Gilgamesh]

(Next Chapter is up! And things finally begin to get interesting. Taking a few liberties with the story in regards to using names like Omoikane, Ryuujin, and Mikaboshi. Thoughts?)

Chapter 4: Divine Conspirations

Netherworld Gardens

---

She watched the scene unfold before her, the gap youkai's body placed at the base of the cherry tree as the black mud from the underworld sky fell down upon her. It was a wonderful sight really, the Saigyou Ayakashi in full bloom even as the mud from Angra Mainyu continued to pour down steadily from the sky. It was a realm not many would be able to comprehend and Izanami watched as Yukari Yakumo's pale features were fully submerged.

"How is the Grail coming along, m'lady." the voice called out to her, Izanami turning her head as a small, black spider came down on a string of silk and paused a few feet behind her. The voice had come from it and the death goddess simply shrugged in response.

"Not bad. To think that unpleasant youkai would prove to be quite useful. Quite an amusing twist of fate."

"Regardless, I have news to report. May I trouble you for a moment?" the spider said as Izanami moved closer, allowing it to land on her shoulder.

"Speak."

"Our position isn't as secure as it would seem. Freeing you was one thing, but there are going to be a fair number of those who would seek to oppose you as soon as they are able. The immortals from the moon for one, the two deities of a shrine in the mountain, and of course... Watatsumi." the spider said.

"Ryuujin, The dragon god. I didn't think you would be afraid of him." she replied.

"He is one of the primordial deities of this land. One step below you apparently. As you are now, the odds aren't going to be in your favor should you choose to invoke his wrath." the spider said.

"Oh? The gods have been losing power over the years. I would be surprised if he hadn't been affected by this constant for a long time now." Izanami said.

"The hierarchy of deities at that level is miniscule, yes. Still, even I wouldn't take this lightly. I am counting on you to bring him down in the future."

"I am aware." she replied, turning around to face the tree once more and brought her hands down to the mud. "By the way, those heroic spirits who found their way here. Do you think it wise to leave things as they are?"

The spider clicked its mandibles, the eight eyes watching the mud fall for a moment before responding. "There is only one there that I'd seriously consider keeping an eye on. Even then, he is with your future vessel so it would be best to leave them as they are."

"Maybe you are taking this too lightly? This is not a game." Izanami said.

"Please, please. I'm not playing any games. I'm taking all this quite seriously. You know the freedom

we have to act now is something I cherish. Why do you doubt me?" the spider asked.

"Stop your nonsense. There is nothing left to discuss here." Izanami replied.

"Oh, I almost forgot! There is one more thing I would like to ask you, m'lady."

"Speak."

The spider's tone immediately changed. Gone was the facade of comradery among them, the voice coming out almost accusatory as it addressed the death goddess.

"Why did you let that ghost escape before?"

Izanami hissed in response. "Do not take that tone with me, Mikaboshi. We are not peers."

"We should have been finished with the threat she possessed by then. You could have easily ended it instead of letting her go. I understand the need for the gap youkai, but that girl can only cause us more trouble than she's worth. What were you thinking, I wonder?"

"Then I wonder why you didn't do anything about it? You were watching were you not?" Izanami flicked the spider away, letting it land on the bark of the tree as it seemed to stare back at her.

"Don't be foolish. In my current state, all I can do is gather information for you. You are the goddess of Yomi here, not me." the spider, now revealed as Mikaboshi, replied, its mandibles clicking angrily. "Your authority over its inhabitants should be near absolute."

"That is not how authority works, I thought even you would know that." Izanami waved her hand as she turned away. "I hope you realize, I can end your existence without much effort if you continue to irritate me. Stick to the role you were given to play." she said, turning and walking away.

"Where are you headed off to?" Mikaboshi asked.

"To the world above," Izanami replied, "Prepare the gap youkai soon. I have need of her in the near future."

"Of course..." the spider replied, watching the pooling mud below it.

---

Bamboo Forest ? Eientei

---

The old Japanese mansion in the middle of the forest was home to a few notable individuals though receiving few visitors in this atmosphere. It was empty inside the mansion, though the ground outside had a small gathering of three people kneeling on the ground, each having a rather striking appearance in contrast with each other.

They were all rather beautiful young women, though the first stood out the most simply due to the way she presented herself. She had dark brown eyes and long ebony hair. She wore a pink shirt and a dark-coloured dress decorated by bamboo and flower shapes. This was Kaguya Houraisan, the exiled moon princess who now called this place home.

At her side was her loyal attendant, Eirin. Her long white hair was tied up in a single braid behind her head and she wore a red and blue dress decorated by constellations. The woman is one of the smartest beings in the land and the appearance of this new stranger greatly intrigued her.

The stranger herself didn't look too out of place in the presence of the first two though there was a bit of maturity to her that separated her from the others despite whatever their true ages were. She was mesmerizing with long, light magenta-coloured hair that reached down past her feet and easily pooled along the ground behind her. Her attire was essentially a short, black dress that clung to her features along with bands and handcuffs with long black sleeves. Her black leggings reached up to her thighs but her most striking feature was the visor-like band covering her eyes, acting like a blindfold.

"Rider, you say you can't remember much of anything that happened to you before you found your way here?" Kaguya asked.

"That is correct. I know everything about who I am and my origins in the distant past, but everything after that is still a little hazy." the woman replied with a nod of her head. "I'm actually just glad that people like you are willing to let me stay here for a little bit until I regain what I have lost."

"It's not too much of a problem. We're glad to have you with us for however long you need." Kaguya smiled at her. Visitors like her were rare and just the simple fact that she was from the outside world gave a bit of charm to her. Eientei had been a pretty lonely place recently after all and she wouldn't mind just showing Rider around the place. No one else had any objections after all.

Their gaze turned to the glare of the moon, shining down upon the bamboo forest to give the place an eerie glow. Even Rider, with the blindfold around her eyes turned towards the same direction. The atmosphere was relaxing, but something felt a little off for Kaguya.

"To think I would be here to gaze up at the moonlit night sky again. It brings back memories." said a voice, the three women immediately turning their heads towards its source with surprised expressions on their faces.

Izanami stood some distance away, near the entrance to the bamboo thicket as she continued to look up at the sky. It didn't look like she was invited, and nothing actually came to stop her earlier. Whatever her purpose here, it was completely unknown.

"You are..." Eirin started, before the death goddess took notice.

"Hm? Oh, it is you, Omoikane. I did not expect to find you here." Izanami stared back at the white-haired woman, instantly causing Eirin to rise up in high alert. She stood up and walked towards Izanami, placing herself in between the death goddess and Kaguya.

"I haven't heard anyone mention that name to me in a long time, but that aura of yours... there is only one being who could possibly have the pall of death hanging over them so thickly." Eirin said, taking a quick bow. "What brings you to the surface, Lady Izanami?" she asked.

Izanami smiled in response, approaching Eirin and then stopped a few paces away. "I do not get much opportunity to visit with mortals. Sometimes it is nice to get some fresh air here once in a while." she nodded, tapping her forehead to think. "But I have business to tend to with you Lunarians who are no

longer bound to the concept of death so I do hope you can make this easy," she said.

"Now why is that?" Eirin frowned, her right hand whipping out to her side just as Kaguya stood up. "Lady Kaguya, get inside. This isn't something you should be involved in." said Eirin, not once even looking at her with her full attention on Izanami.

"I'm not going to let you confront her by yourself. I'd rather not let this get violent," the former moon princess said, Rider standing up with her as they stood only slightly behind Eirin. The three of them seemed to stare at Izanami, their gaze heavy with determination even as the death goddess watched with only slight amusement.

Izanami was about to speak, but the sound of something whizzing through the air caught her attention. A sword and a spear came flying out from the bamboo thicket, aimed at the death goddess before finding their mark in her torso. Eirin and Kaguya shielded their eyes from the explosion that followed, and they turned around to look at the source of this intrusion.

"I've never been one to watch gods give mandates on what others can or cannot do. Be grateful then. I don't normally like interfering with other people's businesses unless they concern me directly." Gilgamesh said, stepping into the clearing with Yuuka walking behind him.

"Hello, everyone." the flower youkai waved her hand in greeting. "We just noticed a strange presence close by on the way to the Shrine Maiden's place. I hope we aren't intruding."

"Not at all," Kaguya smiled nervously, though stepped back a little as Rider stood in between her and Gilgamesh. She could sense that the heroic spirit didn't feel at ease here, and it certainly wasn't because of the sudden overabundance of people here.

"You are a Servant aren't you?" Rider asked, her gaze on Gilgamesh as the man looked back arrogantly.

"And that concerns you, Rider?" he replied, interrupting once more just as Rider was about to make a retort, "Ah, that's right. You were defeated and killed long before you even knew I was a participant. That's actually funny, in more ways than one."

"Why you...!" Rider muttered, her weapons appearing in her hands; a dagger more akin to a nail attached to a long chain. It seemed animosity had spontaneously existed between the two Servants though the sudden gust of air swirling where Izanami once stood caused everyone in the vicinity to turn their attention there.

Flesh had begun to reknit and reform as Izanami's torso, seemingly having been blown apart in numerous directions, now returned to their original state. Her head was still attached to her body though and the closed eyes reopened when the rest of her body finally reformed.

"I didn't think another one of their kind would be here in this place. No matter, I never did expect a warm welcome from you mortals." Izanami spoke up, gesturing down once with her fingertips. Almost immediately the sounds of the bamboo forest died down, as if a pall of silence had just arrived and reduced all natural sounds to nothing. "I have a single ultimatum for the lot of you. Submit, and I can assure you that you needn't suffer in the days to come. Refuse, and I cannot give you any guarantees about your safety."

Eirin responded immediately. "Lady Izanami, why do you do this? You are not a malevolent deity and actions like these are not becoming of you. Just talk, and I'm sure we can find a solution to whatever thoughts ail you."

"Assuming a proud goddess like her would listen." Gilgamesh shrugged.

The death goddess didn't seem to pay Eirin's words any mind though, and took it as a rejection of her offer. "I see. Nevermind then, those who live forever would be unable to understand what the dead have experienced. I'm disappointed, but perhaps I can still grant you a gift despite all this." Izanami smiled, suddenly disappearing from view.

Everyone was instantly on edge, their senses looking around them for a glimpse of the death goddess anywhere.

"Immortals cannot die, yes? Let us put that concept to the test." Izanami's voice rang out, shadowy tendrils suddenly grasping Kaguya's shoulder from behind as the young woman let out a gasp in alarm. Izanami leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Those like you have purged the concept of death from their body and soul. Here, let me give it back..." she smiled, her left hand rising to touch the back of her head.

It didn't connect. The nail at the end of Rider's chain nearly struck Izanami's head as she threw it, causing the death goddess to move away from Kaguya. Eirin had turned around as well, aiming her bow at Izanami's direction as she floated away. When the death goddess was at a far enough distance, she loosed the invisible bolt and at once a dazzling array of energy bullets shot towards Izanami, causing her to try weaving in and out of the projectiles.

The death goddess remained silent, looking at each of her foes in turn and tried to consolidate her position. The arrival of the golden one and the flower youkai was unexpected, and she didn't want to force her hand too much.

"Do you require some help?" a voice chuckled in her mind.

"Perhaps," Izanami whispered, "Is it ready?"

"You will find out soon enough."

Her opponents were really just attempting to drive her away from this place. While the flower youkai and the golden heroic spirit could have passed off as neutral parties, the fact remained that one of them attacked her and this would not do at all.

She watched Kaguya and Eirin consolidate their powers together, loosing out a barage of immense magical energy straight at her. Izanami had intended to counter the spell with one of her own, but the sudden appearance of a void in front of her didn't make it necessary.

The black crescent in space had appeared to swallow up the energies, eyes seemingly filling the empty space as they looked at the two immortals before a figure made her exit from the void.

"It can't be..." Eirin said, her features paling even further as she realized who the being was.

Yuuka raised an eye at the spectacle, not quite amused at all by this sudden turn of events. She had intended only to pay a quick visit here after sensing a disturbance in the breeze but to think things would escalate this quickly...

"How are you feeling, Yukari Yakumo?" Izanami asked with a smile.

"Much better than before." came the response. The exchange between them didn't seem to have any hostility at all, almost as if they were old friends greeting each other.

"I've had enough of this farce. This is no place for the dead so scatter." Gilgamesh interrupted, snapping his fingers. Ripples in space appeared around him, weapons beginning to appear suspended in mid-air as it aimed at the pair. Without any more words, he let them loose, speeding towards the death goddess and the gap youkai with unimaginable speed.

Yukari glanced at the coming storm of blades before a black void appeared around them, swallowing up the weapons, nearly forty of them before Yukari reappeared above the group. She gestured with her hands, ripples in space appearing around her in a grotesque parody of the golden Servant's attack before loosing out the same weapons originally aimed at her and the death goddess.

The group below were the ones scattered as a result; Rider, Kaguya, and Eirin moving away from the path of the weapons as they struck the ground around them, gouging out great chunks of earth with each explosion and levelling the parts of the bamboo forest they struck.

Gilgamesh was not amused and he simply stood in front of Yuuka, raising his hand up as a bright aegis appeared above them, shielding them from much of the ferocious assault. His crimson eyes glared at Yukari as the bombardment ended, insulted at what just happened. "How dare you...!"

In an instant, Yukari vanished into another void, reappearing behind the pair. Yuuka sensed her first, turning around and throwing a single punch at the gap youkai. No magic was behind the attack at all, but the sheer destructive power from the physical attack alone caused Yukari to falter, stepping back and twisted around to avoid the blow.

The gap youkai gestured with her hand, a void appearing in front of Yuuka that proceeded to swallow up the flower youkai and send her out towards where Eirin was. They crashed into each other, knocked down as Yukari focused on the true threat at hand.

Gilgamesh turned around slowly, acknowledging his opponent with a cold expression. "I don't recall giving you permission to attack my Master. Have this as recompense." he said, a single axe appearing in his hand as he swung it down at the gap youkai.

"Very interesting." Yukari said, avoiding the first blow. "Will you be the one to stop us?" she whispered before grunting in surprise as Gilgamesh made a second, horizontal swing. She jumped back, giving out a quick yelp in alarm as she found herself chopped in half at the waist. Her upper body still floated there before the shockwave from the swung ask cut through the rest of the bamboo thicket behind her. She was sure she got away from it, but now she realized what that weapon had done, it had simply cut through space itself, ignoring distance between the intended target but still causing enough destruction as it did.

Izanami was watching the fight curiously. The gap youkai wouldn't die, not from something like that. Even when she supposedly died the first time, her existence was still one that hovered between the border of life and death. Only her own authority could overwrite it, though not completely.

She was certain the golden Servant would eventually fall regardless of what happened. Whatever the case, she had wasted enough time here as it is which meant a change of plan. She cannot stay in the realm of the living for too long, her energies already leaching away at a continuous rate.

"You truly are more trouble than you're worth." she approached the other group, her fingertips flickering with electricity. Rider immediately stood in front of Kaguya in defiance of the death goddess as Yuuka and Eirin got up to face the new threat as well. "It seems I've underestimated this place. Accept my apologies. It won't happen again."

Black tendrils shot out from underneath the ground, whipping straight at the four women as they counter-attacked in force. Rider's chains weaved around, spearing and cutting through tendrils with each throw, rearing back and striking like a snake.

The other's defences held up fine as well, a wave of magical bullets preventing the tendrils from getting any closer. It was a stalemate for now, but Yuuka stepped forward to take the confrontation towards Izanami herself.

She struck swiftly and without mercy, her hands nearly striking Izanami's death mask off as it collided with her face. It cracked a little though and as Izanami reared back, the tip of Yuuka's umbrella pointed at her, before releasing a single beam of light, it's incinerating force aimed at the death goddess, causing her to raise her hands to try blocking off much of the damage.

Their servants were having a different type of battle though. It was less of a show of power and more of showing off a set of skills that the other would try to counter in turn.

Ripples in space appeared behind and below Yukari, weapons flying out to intercept her from many directions as the gap youkai responded in turn. After avoiding some, she redirected them back the same way, causing the golden Servant to move from his positions to avoid being hit.

Gilgamesh was not used to being forced to move not on his own terms. With the gap youkai having literally pulled herself back together, he wasn't quite certain which of his weapons would be able to put her down for good. Anti-regeneration artifacts may work, but the woman wasn't actually regenerating per se.

He really should be more irritated by what was happening, but he was finding himself more fascinated by how things were working here. And he had to admit, his opponent was quite easy on the eyes?

The moment of distraction cost him dearly as he stepped right into one of the gaps Yukari had created, and then finding himself a fair distance up in the sky and falling. The gap youkai was there as well, falling intentionally with him as she moved in close.

"If you just wanted to get a glimpse of my greatness, you needn't go through this much trouble. I may even forgive you for sullying my treasures with your hands." Gilgamesh replied, arms crossed as they continued to fall.

"There is much you still have to understand, oh King of Heroes." Yukari said, leaning in close.

So she knew who he was. That is curious. Their was an alluring aroma to her, and he couldn't help but let one of his arms move around her waist as she leaned in close. With just the two of them, she almost looked vulnerable? but he knew better. He was expecting treachery? which came from quite an unexpected way.

Yukari's hands pressed up against his chest before they suddenly passed through. Before the King of Heroes could react, he felt his very being unravelling and he struggled to keep his own will intact. Yukari smiled as she searched through him, before spreading her arms wide.

A pain flared up Yuuka's arm, the flower youkai looking at the scorched inscriptions on the back of her hand. They were still there, but it felt as if there was a change that happened. Her Servant was contracted to her still, she could feel it. But the cause of this change was unknown. It was inevitable, she supposed. He was lucky being able to take on Yukari Yakumo for that long, but the ending was never in doubt. Perhaps this might give him a lesson in humility.

She looked up at the sky, watching three objects fall down the bamboo forest. Yukari was at the center and in her hands was a strange object? a sword? abnormally shaped like a drill. She recognized that weapon? it was one her Servant used soon after she contracted with him. Yuuka narrowed her eyes. Now this was indeed troubling.

Sparks could be heard behind her and as she turned, a blast of lightning coursed through her, flinging the flower youkai backward as Izanami stood in her original position. Still standing, but with scorch marks all over her clothing. Her death mask had cracked even more, revealing a single yellow eye on the right side of her face.

"Time is up. We shall meet again, soon enough." Izanami said, looking up at Yukari and gave a quick nod.

A single gap appeared on the ground as Yukari descended into it, Izanami following soon after as they left the vicinity.

"That could have gone better." Kaguya sighed, her eyes looking at the destruction caused. It was repairable, for the most part. But Izanami's threat still lingered. "Is everyone alright?"

Yuuka was laying down some distance away, looking up at the sky after being knocked back by the electrical strike. She had much to think about, mostly about herself. She had thought about her own mortality before, dealing with a certain judge of the dead in the past. This was a different feeling though, dealing with the goddess of death itself.

She got up, dusting herself off as she looked at the Lunarian group. She waved her arm in greeting before going off to search for her fallen Servant.

She found him soon enough, having picked himself back up as well and with a fearsome expression on his face. He didn't look damaged physically, but his pride was considerably injured.

"Oh what's wrong. A loss making you feel down?" Yuuka smiled at him. "Nothing has changed you know? Things like this happen all the time in Gensokyo."

"That's not it." Gilgamesh said with a frown. "The fact that the woman managed to take Ea from me is a problem. By all rights, that should be impossible. Only I have the right to use that weapon, no one else. It is a symbol of my absolute rule among other heroic spirits. This theft troubles me greatly." He continued. There was something else that bothered him, but he didn't know where to put it yet?

"Umm, you two? I think you better get a look at this." Eirin said as she approached, gesturing behind her.

Yuuka and her Servant walked as requested, only to be greeted by a most unusual sight.

"Greetings everyone. Nice to meet you all at last."

There was a boy standing in front of them and from looks alone, he didn't seem that much older than what Kaguya appeared to be. The resemblance to the golden servant was uncanny though, the same crimson eyes and short blonde hair. There was a charm to him that was different from the King of Heroes though? despite being the same person, only much younger.

"Oh, so that's what she did. I wonder what for?" Gilgamesh said, his features lighting up. It was a most amusing thing, to see himself as a child. What boundaries must have been broken to achieve this feat?

"Anyone care to explain what's going on? I think I'm a little confused." Kaguya said, rubbing her temples. Things had escalated so quickly that there was no time to prepare for anything. Rider's story about herself was one thing, but now they were involved with the gap youkai, a goddess of death, Yuuka, and another Servant? It's a lot to take in.

"The manor is still open. We can rest and discuss things there, if you don't mind." Eirin said. Yuuka and Rider nodded their heads. The boy and the man however, took a while as they stared at each other before agreeing as well.

"I haven't had much time to discuss things with other denizens of this place. It might be amusing." The older Gilgamesh said, reverting to an intangible, invisible spiritual form. The boy stayed in physical form though as he followed the others inside.