"So... what did you want to ask me?"
"Uhm, well, first of all, could you please not use your future sight to-"
"Worry not, I'm too exhausted to bother."
"Ok, well... how was Uruk when you came back?"
"... it was mostly the same, if I remember correctly."
"I meant... how were the people? What was their reaction?"
"I didn't tell them the reason I was going away because I found no use in that, and once I came back, I found no use in telling them why I had been away. So they likely were confused, perhaps even disappointed of my return, after all, they had no reason to believe their lives would improve once I returned."
"I see, so... why didn't you tell them that you failed?"
"It would have been useless."
"Why?"
"Because they already knew what I realised in that moment. Life is fleeting and is justified and meaningful only because it ends. To live forever is nothing more than a contradiction and a childish dream."
"So, in the end, I never truly understood them..."
"I know what happened to you."
"Do you also know of my life as a Servant?"
"No."
"... I saw my people cry. I saw my people beg the Gods to bring back their loved ones. I saw people kill themselves because life had no more meaning. It saddened me. It truly did. But what saddened me more, is that I couldn't understand their feelings. I never had someone take care of me, treat me differently from others, stand out from the crowd and reach out to me. Everyone loved me, but they all loved me equally, and I loved them equally as well. There was no he or she. It was just them. Me and humanity."
"So the real reason you wanted humans to be immortal was for yourself."
"Well, when you put it that bluntly, it doesn't sound so nice... but I guess I did. I figured that maybe I just didn't give them enough... maybe they thought I wasn't doing enough for them. That's why, even though they loved me, their love felt so hollow. So I tried to achieve their greatest dream. And I failed. And that broke me. My whole life's purpose was shattered. I couldn't live with the consequences of my failure, and so I stopped living.
Then the Holy Grail War happened. And I found myself with another shot. But things didn't go quite as planned. I met great people, I met horrible people, and I met people who were neither and both at the same time. It was merely an instant in my life, and yet it changed me, so that when I returned to nothingness, I had no regrets. But now that I've had this new chance at restarting, I'm lost, I'm scared, I'm... hollow.
I never understood the people I ruled over. I showered them with love but never with humanity. And what's worse... they don't understand me. I don't want it, but I'm afraid that this will always be inevitable, and I'm even more terrified that whatever I do will just increase this distance between me and everyone else. I just want to be human, I want to understand humans, I want to understand people, but not as a species, not as a unitary mass, but as individuals. And I want each person to know me, to understand me, a part of me. To love everyone is to love no one. And I'm capable of so much love it's almost frightening, but I can't handle the thought that perhaps there's no space for love in my heart and other people's hearts for me."
"... you're not selfish enough."
"?"
"You never show your opinion because you're afraid of wronging others, even when that opposes your interests or what you want. You're willing to give up on your dreams and on your pride so that others can pursue theirs. Humans don't think like that. They put their necessities first. There's no problem with being selfless, but to never be selfish is inhumane. Do you want to feel human? To empathise with them? Then stop accepting everything, show your pride, your discomfort, your anger, your emotions. Don't be afraid to be selfish. Because to be human is to be selfish. No one will love a tree more than their loved one, despite the tree offering them shade and fruits even when they fight with their partner. It's fine to have desires and ambitions and for those to clash with others'. That's how relationships are built. That's how humans are and always will be."
"... were you lucky enough to have a companion?"
"I never had a human companion. I lived the remainder of my life in isolation, thinking back to my foolish past, striving for a better future. I never found the chance nor the need to connect with someone. But you're different. You haven't experienced the pain and joy of finding an equal. So that's what you must do. That's what you wish for. And what I wish for you."
"... it seems like my guess was correct, Big Bro really is awesome if he became someone as wise and as kind as you. Thank you for your help, I'm sure you'll also have the chance to find a-"
CasGil was already asleep. Galter placed a pillow under his head and covered him with a blanket, as he got out of the room quietly.
The next day...
The group gathered around outside the castle walls.
"You know, you could have rested a bit more, King of Uruk."
"We don't have time to waste, Lion King. I appreciate your gesture, though."
"Oh, it wasn't me for once. Someone else must've put a blanket on you."
"And did this mysterious someone also prepare breakfast?"
"Haha, no, that was indeed me."
"I'm sorry for interrupting your flirting session, but can we get to the point?"
"Sure. Starting from today and for the next month, you'll be training here. I have analysed your sets of skills and have prepared special training sessions for all of you. Let's start with the three Sabers."
"I can't wait..."
"I can't wait either, Salty!"
"I wasn't serious..."
"What do you three have in common?"
"Our face?"
"Certainly not intelligence..."
"You have a strong move, that allows you to temporarily reach a level that could in theory threathen even a Grand Servant. But it's extremely taxing, correct?"
"Yes, I guess it's true."
"Typically, training such a move leads to two directions: reproducibility or perfection. Let's go over each case, starting with you, Roman Empress."
"I'm listening, Sleepy!"
"You can slash your sword so quickly that you can cut someone in zero time. That's an incredible technique, but it's hard to reproduce, isn't it?"
"Well, I can do it once or twice, but then my risk of getting a migraine increases by a super lot."
"Which is something we definitely want to avoid in the middle of a battle. Furthermore, your normal attacking and combat speed is still lacking. You should increase your base strength and speed until it's equal to your current ones inside your Domus Aurea."
"That's a lot..."
"And you should also begin to repeat your quickest slash as many times as possible, so that eventually, it becomes your natural state."
"Mmm..."
"What's the matter?"
"My head will hurt unbelievably..."
"If you can't handle a little headache, you won't be able to handle a Grand Servant."
"Fine, I'll try my best."
"Here, use these. Small ball-like space-traversing objects used to send long-distance messages to other planets. Try slicing them."
"Cool! I'll try immediately."
"You, King of Knights..."
"Oh Lord..."
"Using an adrenaline rush to strengthen your Excalibur Morgan is a smart move, but not something you can replicate, unless you trade away efficiency. What I suggest you do is to keep it as a last resort, a trump card you must use only when you're sure that it will end the fight. For that reason, you should work on meditating."
"Are you serious right now?"
"Yes. If you can maintain your calm while fighting, you won't trigger a fight or flight response and you will increase your adrenaline rush when you decide to use your trump card. You should also try alternating how much power you put in your hits. You can either use it all up in one strike, or you can keep it flowing in your body so that for a brief period of time you're in some sort of awakened state."
"Ok, ok, I get it, I need to keep my cool until it's time to finish the fight. But I can't go around leveling mountains..."
"You won't need to. This is B.L.O.C.K., the ultimate defense technology from the future. It's based on a smart software that analyses the problem and creates the best possible defense against it. It's made from adaptive materials, and it's virtually invincible. Try to prove it wrong."
"Sounds like a challenge, I'll give it a go."
"And finally, Artoria. You have a formidable ace, Avalon, capable of blocking virtually any harm. But you're far from controlling it. You should try to master it as much as possible. Even if you could keep it up for only a couple of minutes, that could turn the tide of a battle around."
"Shouldn't I also focus on Excalibur?"
"That won't be necessary, your sword will be ready for battle when the battle comes."
"Ok, I see."
"Very well, you can use this punching machine. You can't defend yourself unless it's with Avalon."
"I'm ready."
"Ok, now as for you two from another timeline..."
After everyone else left, Gilgamesh stood there, waiting for what would come.
"King of Heroes, you're a special case. Your power is more than enough to at least temporarily keep up with Remus. You could be the most valuable fighter. But there's one aspect of you that's not remotely ready... your mentality."
"My what?"
"Your way of approaching a battle. Without taking into consideration the lack of seriousness you display during most confrontations, you try to destroy your opponent without any real strategy or tactic. You just assume things will go your way. That reasoning may be enough to defeat most if not all Servants, but you won't beat Remus and you won't beat Alaya with that."
"You aren't suggesting I pick up a sword, I hope."
"No, or at least, that's not my main point. My main point is that you have a great power, but you need to utilise it intelligently. Otherwise you'll get left behind. Everyone has the potential to surpass your current self. I'm sure your pride wouldn't allow for such a possibility, right?"
"Well, I think there are enough people right now in the world who can brag about being stronger than me."
"Good. Starting from today, you'll be training in combat. Even with all my power, I doubt I can stand up to you enough to make you go serious. Luckily, here with us there's also the Lion King, who's a powerful Servant. Combined together, we can surpass you, I'd say by a good 20% of your current power. You'll keep fighting us every day until you can defeat us."
"Great, so I can get stronger and kick your ass at the same time. What a wonderful opportunity! Bring it, you mongrels!"
Lunchtime...
Gilgamesh sat down on the table, as he looked around. Nero looked traumatised as she kept holding her head, Saber was severely concussed and Salter had given herself a nosebleed, bloody hands, lips, pulled a few muscles and her eyes looked ready to pop out. Galter also seemed exhausted as he patted Jalter on the head, seemingly comforting her.
"I could barely cut one of those flying rascals... ow, I can't feel my head..."
"I can't feel my face..."
"Damn shitty shield! I'm going to crack it at the cost of every single bone in my body!"
"Man, you mongrels sure are noisy today... here, take this, it's a medicinal drink, it will help with the pain."
"*sobbing* Thank you so much, Goldie... you're heaven sent!"
"I'm sure he's not, but thanks anyway."
"You look pretty beat up yourself, Archer."
"Hmph, it's just an illusion, my dear Saber, I simply didn't want to humiliate one of my counterparts and one of you."
"That's a petty excuse, don't you think?"
"Go away, you old fool! I was going to get you, before the Lion King hit me with her spear!"
"That's the problem, you were too focused on me, and lost sight of the bigger picture."
"Are you calling me fat, King of Uruk? That's pretty ungrateful, don't you think?"
"All your teasing will do this old body no good, Lion King."
"Teasing? What do you mean? This is simply polite chatting, or are my words really flustering you?"
"Yeah, they're definitely f-"
An axe fell on Salter's head as CasGil went to sleep.
"... you all worked pretty hard. Here, have some wine and food. You deserve the best for working so hard for your King."
"I'm certainly not working for you- mmm, delicious..."
"Wow, this is good! Have you ever tried this, Archer?"
"I don't remember everything I've tried from my treasury, Saber."
"Here, give it a go!"
Saber extended her fork toward Gilgamesh, and he hesitantly leaned forward and tried the food.
"... that's on the better side."
"Wine always makes the day better!"
"Ugh, this training is going to kill me... it sounds like those training arcs in stories that you mostly skip over..."
"Well, it is necessary."
"I hope to hell it is. What do you think, idiot?"
"..."
"... he's asleep too."
"What's with other yous and falling asleep, Goldie?"
"Weak constitution."
"Pathetic. Wake up, idiot!"
"Hey, screaming is unnecessary. Jalter is also sleeping."
"And why are you holding her hand, pervert?"
"Because she tends to sleep more peacefully when I do so."
"Pervert..."
"Shut up. Thank you for the food, Big Bro. I'm bringing Jalter to her room."
"Oh dear..."
"Ahhh! Salty just died."
"I think she... fell asleep... or more precisely she pretended very badly to fall asleep..."
"*sighs* Seems like I'll have to bring her too."
Two weeks later...
A horde of beasts charged at the walls. They were sons of Gaia, instructed by her to destroy her enemies, and that's what they had been trying to do countless times. Normally, they would have been stopped by the fortress' cannons, but this time, none of them fired.
Instead, they all started dropping on by one as an invisible assailant was slaughtering them. Getting picked off, a rain of bullets fell over them, as fire narrowed their movements. Forced to stay all lumped together, a single giant ruby slash left nothing but ashes of them.
"Well that was much easier than three days ago..."
"Good coordination and teamwork."
"How strong are these monsters?"
"Let's say that a couple of them would have given a freshly summoned Artoria some trouble."
"Mmm, I see, so I also would have been in big trouble if I never met you guys... well, just one more reason I'm glad to be your friend!"
"This was a good attempt. Rest up for now. King of Heroes, you'll have a second session with me and the Lion King after lunch."
"Sure, so I can finally show you I'm the superior one."
"You're welcome to try."
"It seems you've been making progress, Archer. You're not as bandaged as you usually are."
"Well, you aren't doing so bad yourself, Saber. Your face is hardly bruised."
"Hehe, I can't tell if my control over Avalon is getting better or if I'm just getting used to being punched in the face."
"Well, either way, that counts as progress, don't you think?"
"I guess, haha."
"Hehe..."
"... hey, Gilgamesh?"
"Yes, Sab- I mean, Artoria?"
"Do you mind if we go somewhere a bit more private?"
"Huh? Why's that?"
"Well... I... I have a confession to make."