Volume 1: The Fourth Holy Grail War
Chapter 2: The King Beyond the Horizon (Part I)
Silence.
Countless particles of pale golden light slowly faded from the room.
Standing at the center of Ren’s apartment was a young woman clad in gleaming silver armor, a pure white cloak draped over her shoulders.
Long golden hair flowed down her back like spun silk, while a magnificent holy lance rested lightly in her right hand.
Her emerald eyes slowly opened.
For several seconds…
Neither of them spoke.
The woman quietly observed the unfamiliar room before lowering her gaze to her own hands.
She slowly clenched and unclenched her fingers.
“…”
A heartbeat.
She could feel it.
Warm blood flowed through her veins.
The rhythm was unmistakably alive.
Not a Saint Graph.
Not a Spirit Origin.
A real body.
Her grip tightened around the holy lance.
She could feel its familiar presence.
The divine lance remained with her.
Its power had not diminished.
“…”
Only then did she raise her eyes toward the only other person in the room.
A young man around her own apparent age stood several steps away, his expression a mixture of disbelief and caution.
Their eyes met.
After a brief silence…
The knight spoke.
“…Are you…”
“…my Master?”
Ren stared at her.
The question itself wasn’t surprising.
It was the same phrase countless Heroic Spirits had spoken throughout the Holy Grail Wars.
Yet…
Something about it felt different.
There was no magical contract binding them together.
No sensation of mana flowing from him.
No overwhelming pressure demanding recognition.
It was simply…
A question.
“…”
Ren slowly nodded.
“I believe…”
“…I was the one who summoned you.”
The blonde knight studied him for another moment before giving a small nod.
“I see.”
Her voice remained composed.
Calm.
Elegant.
Exactly as Ren remembered from the records of the Sixth Singularity.
“…Then…”
“May I know your name?”
“…Ren.”
He smiled faintly.
“Just Ren.”
The knight placed one hand over her chest in a formal gesture.
“I am Artoria Pendragon.”
“The King of Knights.”
After a brief pause, she added,
“Though…”
“I no longer hold that throne.”
The room became quiet once again.
Ren’s thoughts were in complete disarray.
He had expected…
A Servant.
Instead…
Astra Horizon had truly brought someone across worlds.
Someone alive.
Someone standing before him.
“…Status Observation.”
The words remained unspoken.
Immediately—
A familiar interface appeared within Ren’s vision.
══════════════════════════════
Status Observation
Name
Artoria Pendragon
Alias
King Arthur
Current World
Nasuverse
Classification
True Summoned Individual
Race
Human
(Dragonkind / Divine Characteristics)
Alignment
Lawful Good
Parameters
Strength
A
Endurance
A
Agility
B
Mana
A
Luck
C
Personal Skills
Charisma B
Magic Resistance A
Intuition A
Blessing of the Red Dragon A
Noble Phantasms
Rhongomyniad A++
Invisible Air B
══════════════════════════════
“…”
Ren’s eyes lingered on one line.
Classification
True Summoned Individual.
Exactly as he had suspected.
Not Heroic Spirit.
Not Servant.
Not Saint Graph.
A living individual.
“…”
Artoria noticed his expression.
“Is something the matter?”
Ren hesitated for a moment before answering honestly.
“I was confirming something.”
“…And?”
“You aren’t a Servant.”
Artoria blinked.
“…”
“…Neither do I believe I am.”
She closed her eyes briefly.
“The connection to the Throne of Heroes…”
“…is gone.”
“There are no restraints.”
“No summoning contract.”
“No supply of magical energy from a Master.”
She slowly looked toward Rhongomyniad resting in her hand.
“Instead…”
“It appears this lance continues to sustain me.”
Her expression remained calm.
“As though…”
“It acknowledges my existence.”
Ren silently listened.
Everything matched what they had discussed.
Rhongomyniad itself had become the anchor maintaining Artoria’s physical body.
Not Ren.
Without warning—
Astra Horizon appeared.
══════════════════════════════
True Summoning
Verification Complete.
Individual Successfully
Integrated.
Synchronization Stable.
Current Mana Source
Rhongomyniad
Master Mana Consumption
Negligible
══════════════════════════════
Artoria looked directly at the floating interface.
“…”
“You can see it?”
Ren asked.
She nodded.
“I can.”
“It does not resemble any Magecraft I know.”
“…Nor the Holy Grail.”
The interface quietly disappeared.
Leaving only silence behind.
Ren gestured toward the sofa.
“Would you like to sit?”
Artoria hesitated.
Then…
She smiled ever so slightly.
“A king should not refuse the hospitality of her host.”
She removed the white cloak from her shoulders before carefully setting Rhongomyniad against the wall.
Only after ensuring the lance was secure did she take a seat.
Her movements were graceful.
Disciplined.
Every action reflected years of royal etiquette.
Ren couldn’t help smiling.
“Tea?”
“…If it is not troublesome.”
“It isn’t.”
Several minutes later…
Two steaming cups rested upon the table.
Artoria held hers with both hands.
“…”
“I have not…”
“…shared tea in quite some time.”
Ren sat opposite her.
The atmosphere was surprisingly peaceful.
Had someone entered the apartment at that moment…
They would have believed they were watching two acquaintances meeting for the first time.
Not two people whose meeting had rewritten fate itself.
Finally…
Artoria broke the silence.
“Ren.”
“Hm?”
“…Would you tell me where this place is?”
Ren looked toward the window.
Beyond it…
The lights of Fuyuki quietly illuminated the night.
“This…”
“…is Fuyuki City.”
Artoria frowned slightly.
“I have never heard that name.”
“You wouldn’t.”
Ren took a slow breath.
“…Because…”
“This isn’t your Britain.”
“It isn’t Camelot.”
“It isn’t Chaldea.”
“…And it isn’t the world you remember.”
Artoria remained silent.
“…Explain.”
There was no accusation.
Only calm curiosity.
Ren nodded.
“I will.”
“But…”
“It’s a rather long story.”
Before he could continue—
A sudden warmth spread across the back of his right hand.
“…!”
Ren instinctively looked down.
Brilliant crimson light emerged beneath his skin.
Three intricate marks slowly formed.
One…
Then another…
Finally the third.
The light gradually faded.
Leaving behind three unmistakable crimson crests.
Command Seals.
Artoria immediately recognized them.
Her emerald eyes widened slightly.
“…Command Spells…”
“So…”
“The Holy Grail still recognizes you.”
Almost at the same time—
Astra Horizon quietly manifested once more.
══════════════════════════════
Recognition Complete.
Fourth Holy Grail War
Participant Registered.
Master Qualification
Confirmed.
Class Assignment
Lancer
Current Servant
Artoria Pendragon
Class Position
Occupied.
══════════════════════════════
Ren’s eyes narrowed.
“So…”
“It really happened.”
The Lancer seat…
Had already been occupied.
Somewhere within the Fuyuki Grail System…
History had begun changing.
And this…
Was only the beginning.
Volume 1: The Fourth Holy Grail War
Chapter 2: The King Beyond the Horizon (Part II)
The crimson Command Seals remained vividly etched upon the back of Ren’s right hand.
Neither he nor Artoria spoke.
The meaning of those three marks was obvious.
The Holy Grail had acknowledged him.
“…”
Artoria quietly looked at the seals before returning her gaze to Ren.
“…So despite my existence…”
“…the Holy Grail still selected you.”
Ren slowly lowered his hand.
“It seems so.”
He couldn’t help recalling Fate/Zero.
Originally…
The Lancer-class Servant should have been Diarmuid Ua Duibhne.
His Master should have been Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald.
But now…
That position had already been filled.
History had begun shifting long before the Holy Grail War officially started.
Ren silently thought.
Status.
The familiar interface appeared.
══════════════════════════════
Astra Horizon
Status Sheet
Name
Ren Aoki
Alias
Ren
Race
Human
Alignment
Neutral Good
Current World
Nasuverse
World Record
Nasuverse
└── Fate/Zero Timeline [Current]
Parameters
Strength
E
Endurance
E
Agility
D
Mana
E
Luck
EX
Personal Skills
Status Observation (C)
Noble Phantasms
Command Seals
● ● ●
══════════════════════════════
The Status Sheet had quietly updated.
The Command Seals were now permanently recorded beneath his information.
“…”
“So it updates automatically…”
He murmured.
Artoria tilted her head slightly.
“Is that mysterious system displaying your condition?”
Ren nodded.
“Something like that.”
“It calls itself Astra Horizon.”
“…Astra Horizon.”
She repeated the unfamiliar name softly.
“As though it guides one toward an unseen horizon.”
“…A fitting name.”
The room became quiet again.
Ren took a slow sip of his tea before setting the cup down.
“I suppose…”
“I should explain everything.”
Artoria nodded.
“I would appreciate that.”
Ren began from the very beginning.
He explained how he had suddenly awakened in Fuyuki.
The mysterious appearance of Astra Horizon.
The identity it had prepared for him.
The apartment.
The documents.
The money.
Everything.
Artoria listened without interrupting.
Only after Ren mentioned Ryuunosuke did her expression subtly harden.
“You eliminated him?”
“I did.”
“…”
“I’ve never killed anyone before.”
Ren lowered his eyes.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever become used to it.”
“…”
“But if I hadn’t…”
“I know what would’ve happened.”
Artoria remained silent for several moments.
Finally…
She spoke quietly.
“…You carry the weight of your actions.”
Ren looked toward her.
She continued.
“That alone tells me you did not kill for pleasure.”
“There is a great difference between necessity…”
“…and cruelty.”
Her calm voice carried neither judgment nor praise.
Simply understanding.
Some of the tension in Ren’s shoulders eased.
“…Thank you.”
After another brief silence…
Ren decided to reveal the truth.
Or at least…
Part of it.
“There is something else.”
Artoria looked at him.
“This world…”
“…is one whose history I know.”
“…?”
“I know people who haven’t yet met.”
“I know battles that haven’t yet happened.”
“I know tragedies…”
“…that can still be prevented.”
The room fell completely silent.
Artoria studied Ren carefully.
“You possess knowledge…”
“…of the future?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
She did not immediately question him.
Instead…
She asked something unexpected.
“…Can it be changed?”
Ren smiled faintly.
“I already have.”
Artoria followed his gaze toward the window.
Somewhere beyond the city lights…
An abandoned slaughterhouse was now nothing more than a smoldering ruin.
Caster would never answer Ryuunosuke’s call.
The children destined to become sacrifices…
Would live.
“…Indeed.”
She whispered.
“You have.”
Astra Horizon suddenly appeared.
══════════════════════════════
Fourth Holy Grail War
Current Divergence
12.8%
Primary Cause
Lancer Position Altered
Caster Summoning Prevented
══════════════════════════════
The percentage remained on screen for only a few seconds before fading.
Ren blinked.
“So…”
“It can even calculate the divergence.”
Artoria quietly observed the disappearing interface.
“It appears…”
“…this Astra Horizon measures destiny itself.”
Ren couldn’t help laughing softly.
“When you put it that way…”
“It sounds terrifying.”
“It is.”
Artoria answered without hesitation.
“If such a thing truly exists…”
“It surpasses any Magecraft I have ever witnessed.”
Several minutes passed.
The tea had grown cold.
Ren finally stood and walked toward the window.
The lights of Fuyuki shimmered peacefully below.
“…The Fourth Holy Grail War.”
“It’ll begin in only a few days.”
Artoria rose beside him.
“You intend to participate.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
Ren looked toward the distant skyline.
“…Because if no one changes it…”
“This city burns.”
“Innocent people die.”
“The Grail remains corrupted.”
“And history repeats itself.”
“…”
“I can’t pretend I don’t know.”
Artoria quietly watched him.
Then…
A faint smile appeared.
“…You remind me…”
“…of someone.”
Ren laughed awkwardly.
“I doubt that.”
“…Perhaps.”
“But your eyes…”
“They have the same determination.”
The apartment once again fell into silence.
Without warning—
Astra Horizon manifested.
Unlike previous notifications…
Its appearance was noticeably different.
The borders shimmered with faint silver light.
══════════════════════════════
Major Decision Confirmed.
Host has chosen to intervene
in the Fourth Holy Grail War.
Evaluating…
Reward Generated.
══════════════════════════════
Another window unfolded beneath it.
══════════════════════════════
Reward Acquired
Fantasy Life
Simulation Qualification
Rank
Epic
Classification
Simulation Authorization
Status
Stored in Inventory
══════════════════════════════
Ren’s eyes widened slightly.
“…Simulation?”
The notification didn’t disappear.
Instead…
One final line slowly appeared.
══════════════════════════════
Recommendation
Use as soon as possible.
Simulation completion time and
real-world time are independent.
══════════════════════════════
The room returned to normal.
Ren remained standing in silence.
“…”
He opened his Inventory.
There, beneath the remaining items, rested a new entry.
══════════════════════════════
Inventory
Rewards
• Fantasy Life
Simulation Qualification
(Epic)
══════════════════════════════
Artoria noticed his expression.
“…Is something wrong?”
Ren slowly closed the interface.
“…Not wrong.”
“…Unexpected.”
He turned toward her.
“It seems…”
“…before the Holy Grail War begins…”
“I have another journey waiting for me.”
Artoria’s curiosity was evident, but she didn’t press him for details.
Instead, she asked the question that mattered most.
“…Will it make you stronger?”
Ren looked toward the notification still lingering in his mind.
“…I don’t know.”
“But…”
“I have a feeling…”
“…it may decide everything that comes after.”
Outside, the night remained quiet.
Unaware that before the Fourth Holy Grail War had even begun, another path—one stretching far beyond the boundaries of Fate—had already begun to unfold.
End of Chapter 2
1,995 Word Count for Chapter 2