1994, Fuyuki City, the basement of the Tohsaka Residence.
A striking magic circle was inscribed in the center of the basement, with a snake slough placed at its heart.
Tokiomi stood beside the formation, occasionally pulling out his pocket watch to check the time.
He was performing a Heroic Spirit summoning.
Fuyuki City was about to begin the Fourth Holy Grail War.
To obtain the Holy Grail that could grant wishes.
Seven existences known as Mages would summon seven characters from history and mythology as Servants to fight one another.
Once the final victor was decided, they could use the Omnipotent Wish-Granting Machine, the Holy Grail, to realize a wish.
Tokiomi was precisely one of the participants in this Holy Grail War.
To summon a powerful Servant, Tokiomi had spent a considerable amount of time in the past searching for items equivalent to Heroic Spirits—catalysts.
Using a catalyst as a medium provided a high probability of summoning a related Heroic Spirit.
The snake slough he had prepared was the fossilized remains of the world’s first snake slough.
Tokiomi had consulted numerous records and knew that the Heroic Spirit most closely associated with it was none other than the Hero King, Gilgamesh.
Therefore, he was waiting for the right moment to summon Gilgamesh, the one hailed as the oldest Hero King.
As long as he could summon that oldest Hero King, victory in this Holy Grail War would inevitably belong to the Tohsaka Family.
As time passed, the three hands of the pocket watch were about to point to the same spot: 5:55:55.
Tokiomi’s eyes narrowed.
He put away his watch, revealed the command spell on the back of his hand, and injected magical energy into the formation while beginning to chant the incantation:
“Let it be declared! Thy body shall be under my sword, and my fate shall be with thy body…”
“Abide by the three great words of power for seven days; come forth from the Circle of Deterrence, O Guardian of the Scales!”
The incantation concluded, and magical energy bloomed and erupted as the formation emitted a brilliant golden light.
Boom!
The entire world seemed to tremble, as if welcoming the descent of a king.
As the dust and smoke dissipated, a figure appeared in the center of the formation.
Looking at that figure, Tokiomi almost forgot his noble elegance and secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Majesty, holiness, an indescribable ancient mystery, and a profound loneliness.
The armor the Servant wore looked as if it had been cast into the center of the sun and roasted for ten million years, twisted and deformed under intense heat.
The outer plating had completely fallen off, and the rib-styled breastplate of the inner layer was tattered and broken.
Only half of a crimson cloak remained, still burning, and along with the battle skirt, it was dotted with sparks.
Through the shape of the helmet, one could catch a glimpse of its former solemnity.
Looks roughly like this.
“Are you also here to link the fire?”
The Servant tightly gripped a spiral sword; its holy, twisted blade flickered with sparks as it was held level before Tokiomi’s eyes.
“We’ve definitely won this time.”
Seeing the Servant’s appearance and feeling the intimidating aura radiating from him,
Tokiomi’s lips curled into a smile.
He bowed with elegant composure:
“O oldest King of Humanity, welcome to this world.”
The Servant let out an “Eh?” and said, “You aren’t a fire linker.”
“The oldest King of Humanity? It’s fine to call me that. After all, those who served as Lords of Cinder before me were gods, not humans.”
“As for this world? Hiss—”
The Servant looked around and froze.
Where is this?
Wasn’t I being burned inside the First Flame?
I’ve been burning for tens of thousands of years; could it be I’m hallucinating from the heat?
Tokiomi knew it was time for him to step forward and explain.
He said, “The year is 1994.”
“1994? What is your name?”
The Servant looked at the man before him through the slits of his helmet; memories from an incredibly distant past were slowly resurfacing.
“Tokiomi.”
The Servant pondered for a long time, then his eyes suddenly lit up: “The Scapegoat for Everything in This World?”
Tokiomi: “???”
“I do not understand what you are saying, Your Majesty.”
“My name is Tokiomi, the current head of the Tohsaka Family—one of the three great Mage families of Fuyuki City—successor to Jewel Magic, and a participant in this Holy Grail War.”
And the…
Mage who summoned you to this world.”
In the end, Tokiomi did not dare to say the word ‘Master’.
He could not be certain that an ancient king would not feel disgust or resentment upon hearing someone claim to be his Master.
Although he wanted to maintain absolute control over the Servant,
Tokiomi understood that since this Servant was that ancient Hero King, he was surely not someone he could control.
Ultimately, he chose to execute the second plan he had already conceived.
He intended to treat him with the etiquette of a subject, and after the other party helped him win the Holy Grail War, he would use a command spell to force his suicide.
“I see, another world?”
“Holy Grail War, Fuyuki City, Servant… and gas leaks?”
“I recall a little bit now. It’s been too long; this really isn’t easy.”
“Right, what was my name again?”
“My name is Nyar… no, no… it can’t be that. Damn Moon Presence! Damn Outer God! I’ll curse your ancestors!”
The Servant clutched his head, appearing extremely manic and in pain, as if he were hallucinating something, and swung his sword wildly at the air several times.
After a long while, he returned to normal and said with a sudden realization:
“I have no name. I am an Undead. I am Soul Five.”
“But I once had a name. Let me think… before I transmigrated? It’s been tens of thousands of years, a bit long. Let me think some more…”
Tokiomi was completely bewildered.
What on earth is this guy talking about?!
What Undead?
What Soul Five?
What Moon Presence?
What Nyar?
What transmigration?
It’s all a mess.
Aren’t you Gilgamesh?
I have read the myths and histories of every country.
Does the Gilgamesh of Sumerian mythology have anything to do with these terms?
But looking at this posture, he didn’t seem like a fake oldest king.
After all, the time scale of tens of thousands of years indeed far exceeded the origin of human civilization, and the claim that those who were kings before him were gods also fit.
But if this Soul Five is the oldest king, then what about Gilgamesh?
Could it be that the records about him in the Epic of Gilgamesh are wrong?
Tokiomi fell into deep doubt.
Ultimately, he decided to ignore it for now, regardless of whether the myth was true or false, or if the records were erroneous.
The Heroic Spirit had been summoned, and he didn’t look weak, so he would try it out first.
“Your Majesty, please assist me in achieving victory in this Holy Grail War.”
Once Tokiomi made up his mind, he decisively knelt down and performed the etiquette of a subject.
“Victory? Of course. A desire for victory flows in my very bones.”
As if a keyword had been triggered, the Servant’s eyes suddenly became bright and piercing, and his mind cleared significantly.
“Gwyn—that was my name as a mortal before I transmigrated. I finally remembered.”
He finally recalled the time he hit the jackpot and first transmigrated to the world of Dark Souls, the land of Lordran.
As a nameless Undead, he had fought and slaughtered his way through, doing his utmost to defeat and massacre many powerful enemies: Wyverns, Demons, Undead, Giants, Demigods, Ancient Dragons, and even the Outer God and celestial beings of the neighboring world.
He had fought all the way from the Northern Undead Asylum to Yharnam, and then to the Lands Between.
In the process, he had experienced death countless times.
His corpse had lain in every corner of the continent.
Each time he died, his humanity, soul, and memories would slip away.
Using every means possible just for victory, he earned the despicable name of Soul Five.
Finally, he threw himself into the First Flame, enduring the burning of the first flame for tens of thousands of years, just to let the world linger on.
Having burned his soul as fuel for tens of thousands of years, and having died an unknown number of times before that, he had long ago forgotten 99.99% of his memories.
Now, he could still remember a little bit of the past purely because he was strong enough, durable enough to burn, and for some reasons that had long been forgotten.
‘Speaking of which, I’m finally free.
The taste of linking the fire…’
‘I’ve been burning for tens of thousands of years; I’ve long since burned out.
And it’s unlikely the first flame would cross worlds to chase me and keep burning me.’
Gwyn thought to himself, a sweet yet bitter smile appearing on his face as he recalled the pain of his soul being scorched, a mixture of complex emotions.
“Thank you for lending your hand, my Majesty, most noble King.”
Tokiomi didn’t think that much.
Having received the promise, he showed joy and was overwhelmed by the favor.
“My most respected Majesty, may I ask if I can view your Servant status screen?”
Tokiomi did not act rashly but sought Gwyn’s opinion at every step.
“Servant status screen?”
“It is a system originating from the Holy Grail that displays a Heroic Spirit’s attributes and ability information in a digitized format,” Tokiomi explained.
At the same time, he felt puzzled.
Logically speaking, when a Servant descends, doesn’t the Holy Grail transmit common knowledge of the current era to them?
Why did this oldest king seem to not understand at all?
The Holy Grail transmits it on the spot; it has nothing to do with the past.
As long as it’s a Servant summoned by the Holy Grail, they should receive the transmission, unless he wasn’t summoned by the Holy Grail.
“Go ahead,” Gwyn said indifferently.
“Yes.”
Having received permission, Tokiomi suppressed the joy in his heart, used his magical energy, and a data panel appeared in his eyes as he looked at Gwyn:
Name: Despicable Soul Five (Gwyn / Nyar███)
Class: None / All
Strength: E- ~ EX
Endurance: E- ~ EX
Agility: E- ~ EX
Mana: E- ~ EX
Luck: E- ~ EX
Noble Phantasm: E- ~ EX
…
(The following attributes are invisible to Tokiomi because they cannot be analyzed by the Holy Grail; they are only for the readers to see.)
True Name: Despicable Soul Five · Gwyn (High Humanity) / Nyarlathotep (High Divinity, Authority unsealed, Humanity decreased)
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Adaptable Classes: Lord of Cinder, Hunter of Kings, God, Godslayer, World-Ender, Savior, Foreigner, Beast (Beast V · Principle of Heritage)
Inherent Skills:
Lord of Cinder (EX): Revives on the spot after death and enters the Lord of Cinder state, with all attributes massively increased.
Divinity (E- ~ EX): Faint Divinity to Supreme Divinity.
Revives on the spot after death.
Tired of formalities, triggers King Soul and Elden Ring to enter a ‘Try-Hard’ state; all attributes massively increase, divinity soars, and will achieve victory at any cost or means (Changes to Supreme Divinity after Skill 9 triggers).
Supreme Sovereignty (EX):
Effect ① · Iron Throne: The lower the user’s health, the higher the defense.
Effect ② · King’s Wrath: Goes berserk when health is too low; Strength, Agility, and Mana are greatly increased.
Effect ③ · King Supreme: Immune to crowd control (can ignore command spells).
Governance (EX): Governs the six laws of Time, Space, Life, Death, Light, and Darkness.
Usually in a sealed state; gradually unseals after Skills 1 and 2 trigger, and completely unseals after Skill 9 triggers.
Magic (EX): Masters a vast amount of Soul Magic and Crystal Magic, as well as many other magics.
Combat Arts (EX): Possesses terrifying combat experience and Masters a vast amount of combat arts, such as the Left-handed Bow and Parry.
Immortality (EX): Only being killed after Skills 1 and 2 trigger counts as true death, after which revival occurs at a Bonfire, but a portion of soul and memory will be lost.
Others (E- ~ EX):???
(A bit of mysterious power outside the constraints of the Golden Order.)
At All Costs (E- ~ EX): Hee hee, I must win.
Unseals true abilities, divinity increases, humanity decreases.
…
Held Noble Phantasms:
Spiral Sword (EX): The holy sword used by successive Lords of Cinder who linked the fire.
It is a symbol of their god-like status and contains terrifying power.
Divine Body Sword (EX): After slaying a god, their body and soul are refined into a divine sword, containing terrifying power.
Inventory (EX): A backpack created with space laws, possessing near-infinite space.
Items can be stored or retrieved at any time.
Contains an all-encompassing, innumerable collection of weapons, armor, and items.