Chapter 65: A Cold Heart
The capsule hummed softly, gliding through shafts of golden light as it ascended from the sterile void of the Sixth Floor.
The silence inside was stifling, made heavier by the absence of one voice that had filled so many nights with warmth and fire.
Riya sat by the window, unmoving.
The gilded capsule's luxurious interior, adorned with velvet seats and softly pulsing lights, seemed to mock the emptiness he felt.
He didn't speak.
He didn't blink.
His crimson eyes only watched the horizon seen by the window.
Richard sat on the opposite side, arms crossed, legs kicked up with a casualness that didn't reach his face.
His eyes, sharp and clever, kept drifting toward Riya.
Next to him stood Cú Chulainn, arms folded, his usual smirk long faded.
Instead, he looked at the boy with something rare for him—unease.
Eventually, Cú walked over, breaking the silence.
"I know I've said it, but I'll say it again," he muttered, standing beside the window, not looking directly at Riya.
"I'm sorry."
"For… everything."
"For not stopping her. For—" He paused.
"For surviving when she didn't."
Riya didn't respond right away.
His gaze stayed locked beyond the glass.
"It's okay," Riya said finally, voice low, dull, stripped of heat.
"It wasn't your fault."
But his words felt like frost.
Cú hesitated, then offered, "I'll serve you."
"For your mission."
"For fixing this timeline."
"For Rin."
That made Riya shift.
Just slightly.
His eyes flicked toward Cú, something flickering in them—guilt, maybe.
Gratitude.
Then it was gone, and he turned back to the sky.
Cú stepped back with a sigh, returning to Richard.
"I tried."
"He heard you," Richard said, eyes narrowed.
"That much is clear."
"But if this is how he is now… cold like a corpse… we might not make it to the Grail."
The capsule docked with a gentle hiss.
They have reached the Seventh Floor.
The air was fragrant with flowers—an endless bloom of reds, blues, purples, and whites stretched across the vast expanse.
Floating islands drifted in the sky like dreams, each connected by ancient stone bridges.
The wind carried pollen and sunlight in equal measure.
It was beautiful.
But Riya didn't care.
He stepped out of the capsule first, his coat trailing behind him, his footsteps echoed in the open air.
Cú and Richard followed, silent as shadows.
They walked from island to island, the stone bridges groaning beneath their weight, until they reached a particularly large floating landmass where two figures knelt beside a flowerbed.
A boy in a beige trench coat, younger than Riya in appearance, and a tall man in silver armor, radiant like the midday sun.
Leo stood first, brushing a few specks of pollen from his beige coat.
His royal blond hair caught the sunlight, almost glowing in the warm breeze of the flower fields.
With calm poise, he spoke.
"I am Leonardo B. Harwey, heir to the Harwey family and the Floor Master of this domain," he said, his voice smooth and confident.
"And this is my Servant—Sir Gawain, Knight of the Sun."
Gawain rose beside him, the light glinting off his silver armor adorned with floral engravings.
He placed a hand over his chest and bowed with elegant formality.
"It is an honor, Master Riya."
"Your name echoes with quite the stir across the Moon Cell."
Leo studied Riya with curious detachment.
"So, you are the one who killed Julius," he continued, tone free of resentment.
"And ascended in his place."
"I am," Riya replied curtly, eyes still hard, voice flat.
Riya's jaw clenched.
Cú and Richard exchanged glances.
They could feel it too—the storm inside their Master, leashed but barely.
Leo extended a hand toward the garden.
"Before we fight, shall we talk?"
Riya's hand twitched.
He wanted a target.
He wanted to fight.
But Richard coughed subtly.
And Cú gave a slight nod.
...
"...Sigh*" Riya's shoulders sagged.
"…Fine."
They followed Leo and Gawain to a wide, open stone table carved into the floor of another floating island.
The chairs were ornate, almost thronelike.
As they sat, a chessboard formed on the table, its black and white pieces gleaming in the golden light.
Leo made the first move.
Riya responded.
"So," Riya said after a moment, eyes on the board.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Leo moved another pawn.
"The Final Floor."
Riya raised an eyebrow.
"What about it?"
"It's unwinnable as we are," Leo said simply.
"The Master who waits there… and their Servant… they are beyond anything we've faced so far."
"I don't speak from arrogance."
"I speak from calculations."
He slid a knight into place.
"To even have a chance, one of us must possess all the remaining Servants."
Silence stretched across the table.
"So that's your plan?" Richard said, eyes narrowing.
"We throw our best warriors at each other until someone walks away with all the cards?"
"Exactly," Leo said.
"One-on-one duels."
"No lethality."
"The winner claims all Command Seals and Servants."
Riya leaned back slightly.
"I already have two Servants."
"We would most likely win in an ordinary battle."
Leo gave a small smile.
"Perhaps."
"But I would rather use my own Command Seal to make Gawain self-terminate than allow him to fall into your hands by brute force."
He looked up.
His eyes gleamed like polished glass.
The words lingered like smoke.
Riya's expression didn't change, but something inside him cracked.
Richard leaned forward.
"You'd kill your own Servant?"
"If it benefits my point then yes."
Another silence.
Riya made his next move.
"Fine."
"I accept."
Leo smiled faintly.
"I believe I have just the place in mind to properly conclude who the victor should be," he said, turning toward the open sky with a glint of resolve in his eyes.
The arena floated high in the sky, a colosseum carved into white stone.
Around it, the clouds drifted like lazy serpents.
Sunlight bathed the field.
Leo stood on one side, Gawain at his side.
Riya stepped onto the stone field from the other, flanked by Richard and Cú.
"Which of your Servants will face Gawain?"
Leo asked.
Both Richard and Cú stepped forward.
But Riya raised a hand.
"Neither," he said.
He walked forward, stepping past them.
"I'll fight."
Gawain blinked. "You?"
Leo didn't even flinch. "Very well."
"I'm a Master," Riya said, voice steady.
"But this duel is mine for the taking."
Richard clenched a fist.
"Are you sure?"
Cú didn't ask.
He simply said, "Don't die."
Leo raised his hand, energy glowing faintly as a rule was declared.
"This battle is governed by a new pact," Leo stated.
"Should Gawain kill Riya, his two Servants—Richard and Cú Chulainn—will transfer to me."
He looked at Riya.
"But if Riya defeats Gawain without killing him… I will use a Command Seal to transfer my own seals and Gawain to him."
"And then…"
Leo placed a hand over his chest.
"I will allow Riya to end my life."
The wind howled through the open sky.
Riya stepped into the center of the arena.
Gawain followed.
The knight bowed, his silver armor gleaming like starlight.
"Master Riya."
"Should you triumph, I shall serve you with honor."
Riya didn't bow.
And he didn't answer as well.
Gawain drew his sword, Excalibur Galatine, and light bloomed like dawn.
Riya pulled his coat aside.
Richard and Cú watched from the sideline, tension rippling off them.
And so, beneath the blinding light of a miniature sun, a boy with a broken heart faced the Knight of the Sun.
The duel had begun.