Location: The Dimensional Void -> Singularity F: Flame Contaminated City Fuyuki
Year: AD 2004
Status: Humanity Incinerated
The travel between dimensions was rougher than usual. The "walls" of the Nasuverse were thick, reinforced by the Counter Force and the Quantum Time Locks.
Nyx: [Warning. Destination coordinates have shifted. The timeline is unstable. We are not entering a standard timeline. We are entering a Singularity.]
"Singularity?" Raiden asked, floating in the kaleidoscope of lights. "What does that mean for the menu?"
Nyx: [It means the laws of physics are broken, and history is burning. Mana density is extremely high. Enemy hostility: Absolute.]
"Burning history," Raiden grinned, his black eyes shining. "Smells like smoked barbecue."
He grabbed the hands of his entourage - Mio, Maria, Yuki, Kurumi, and Zest.
"Hold on. We're crashing the party."
Location: Fuyuki City - Residential District
The sky was red. The ground was magma. The buildings were ruins consumed by unquenchable black flames.
Raiden landed in the middle of a street, cracking the asphalt. His group landed behind him.
"Hot," Mio coughed, waving her hand. "Is this Hell? It looks like the Demon Realm."
"No," Zest scanned the area. "Analysis indicates this is Earth. Japan. But the temporal readout is erratic. Also... we are surrounded."
Rattle. Rattle.
From the burning rubble, hundreds of skeletons rose up. They wielded rusted swords and spears.
Skeleton Warriors.
Kurumi spun her axe. "Skeletons? Again? This is getting repetitive."
Yuki drew Sakuya. "They possess no life force. Just animated bones."
Raiden didn't move. He sniffed the air.
"Calcium. No meat. No magic. Boring."
He waved his hand.
"Gigas."
A spatial rift opened from his Imaginary Space (Azathoth).
The massive Gigas Machina (the bio-robot butler) stepped out, shaking the ground.
"Orders. Master."
"Mow the lawn," Raiden commanded.
The Gigas raised its massive arm-cannon. A beam of green energy swept across the street.
BOOM.
Five hundred skeletons were vaporized instantly.
"Good butler," Raiden nodded. "Now, let's find the main course. I smell... Heroic Spirits."
Location: Chaldea Security Organization - Central Command
Dr. Romani Archaman was panicking.
"Detecting massive magical energy signatures in Sector D! It's not a Servant! It's... it's off the charts!"
Olga Marie Animusphere screamed. "Is it another Shadow Servant?!"
"No!" Romani typed furiously. "It exceeds the Spirit Origin of a Grand Servant! And there are... six other readings accompanying it! One of them is a Giant Construct!"
On the screen, they saw a drone feed.
A man with dragon horns and a black coat was walking through the fire, flanked by maids, schoolgirls, and a fifty-foot robot.
"What is that?!" Olga Marie pointed. "Why is there a giant robot in 2004?!"
"I don't know!" Romani pulled his hair. "Fujimaru and Mash are heading right towards them!"
Location: Fuyuki Bridge
Ritsuka Fujimaru (Gudao) and Mash Kyrielight (Shielder) were running.
They were being chased by a Shadow Servant.
It was a corrupted version of Rider (Medusa). She moved like a phantom, her chains lashing out.
"Master! Get back!" Mash raised her massive shield.
CLANG.
Mash blocked the chains, but the force drove her feet into the concrete. "She's strong! I can't find an opening!"
The Shadow Rider hissed. She prepared her Noble Phantasm. The magical energy swelled, forming a Pegasus made of blood and darkness.
"Bellerophon!"
"Mash!" Ritsuka shouted.
Before the Pegasus could launch -
A hand grabbed the Shadow Rider by the face.
Raiden had appeared. He didn't use speed; he used Spatial Displacement.
"You're making a lot of noise," Raiden said.
The Shadow Rider tried to stab him with her nail-stakes. They shattered against his neck.
Raiden looked at the Pegasus forming behind her.
"Oh? A horse?"
Raiden ignored the Rider and walked through her (knocking her aside) to face the Pegasus.
The construct of blood and magic charged him.
[Heavenly Dragon Art: Gluttony - Snack Time]
Raiden opened his mouth.
He didn't bite. He inhaled the concept of the charge.
The Pegasus distorted. Its head, neck, and body were sucked into Raiden's mouth like a ghost being vacuumed.
SLURP.
Raiden swallowed the A+ Rank Noble Phantasm.
"Blood pudding," Raiden critiqued. "Rich iron taste. Smooth texture."
He looked back at the Shadow Rider, who was frozen in shock (if shadows could feel shock).
"Is that it? No second course?"
Raiden flicked his finger.
Snap.
A bullet of pressurized air blew the Shadow Rider's head off. She dissolved into black mud.
Mash lowered her shield, her eyes wide. "He... he ate the Noble Phantasm?"
Ritsuka stepped forward, trembling but determined. "Who... who are you? Are you a Servant?"
Raiden turned to them.
His eyes - black voids with golden rings - scanned them.
[Nyx Analysis]
[Target 1: Mash Kyrielight. Demi-Servant. Fusion of Human and Spirit (Galahad). Shield contains 'Lord Camelot'.]
[Target 2: Ritsuka Fujimaru. Human Master. Magic Circuits: Mediocre. Soul Quality: Unyielding.]
"I'm not a Servant," Raiden said. "I'm a tourist."
Mio and the rest of the harem caught up, running across the bridge (except Zest, who was carrying Kurumi).
"Raiden!" Mio scolded. "Don't run off! We don't know this world!"
Mash blinked. "A... harem?"
A holographic projection of Dr. Romani appeared from Mash's wrist.
"Unknown entity! Identify yourself! You just consumed a Spirit Origin! Are you a Beast class?!"
Raiden looked at the hologram.
"Beast? No. I'm a Dragon."
"Dragon?!" Romani yelped. "Like the Phantasmal Species?!"
"Better," Raiden smirked. "I'm the Abyssal Heavenly Dragon. And I'm currently looking for a restaurant. This city is burned, so the food options are limited to ghosts and shadows."
He looked at Mash's shield.
"Nice dinner plate, by the way. Round. Sturdy."
Mash hid her shield instinctively. "Please don't eat my shield!"
From the shadows of the bridge, another figure emerged. A man in blue robes with a wooden staff.
Caster (Cu Chulainn).
"Oi, oi," Caster whistled. "I saw that. You ate the Rider's horse. That's a neat trick."
Raiden looked at Caster.
[Flavor Profile: Woad, Fire, and Runes. Chewy.]
"A dog," Raiden noted.
"I'm a Wolf!" Caster corrected, annoyed. "Well, whatever. You aren't with the Shadow Servants. And you aren't with Chaldea. Are you a third party?"
"I'm the party that eats the other parties," Raiden crossed his arms.
Caster laughed. "Fair enough. Listen, 'Dragon'. The guy running this Singularity is Archer (Shadow Emiya) and Saber (Shadow Artoria). They're guarding the Greater Grail. That's the source of all this mana."
Raiden's ears perked up.
"Grail?"
Nyx: [Term: Holy Grail. An omnipotent wish-granting device. Massive energy density. Equivalent to: 100,000 Souls or 1x Demon Lord Crown.]
Raiden licked his lips.
"Wish-granting cup? Sounds like a soup bowl."
He turned to Caster.
"Where is this Grail?"
"Ryuudou Temple," Caster pointed toward the mountain. "But Saber is guarding it. She's corrupted. A black tyrant who spams Excalibur like it's a water gun."
"Black Excalibur," Raiden mused. "I wonder if it tastes like dark chocolate."
He turned to Ritsuka and Mash.
"Hey, kids. You're going to the Grail too, right?"
"Y-Yes!" Ritsuka nodded. "To fix the Singularity!"
"Good," Raiden gestured for them to follow. "I'll clear the path. You can have the cup when I'm done... if I don't accidentally digest it."
They moved toward the temple. The streets were guarded by Shadow Archer (Emiya).
He stood on a rooftop, drawing his bow.
"I am the bone of my sword..."
He fired Caladbolg II. A spiraling arrow that twisted space.
"Incooooming!" Caster shouted, ready to use his runes.
Raiden stepped forward.
"Don't bother."
The arrow spiraled toward him, exploding with the force of a tactical nuke.
Raiden raised his hand.
[Void God Azathoth: Predation]
A black vortex appeared in his palm.
The explosion was sucked in. The arrow was sucked in. Even the sound of the explosion was sucked in.
Raiden closed his fist.
"Bone of your sword?" Raiden looked up at the Archer.
"I prefer boneless wings."
Raiden vanished.
He reappeared instantly on the roof behind Shadow Archer.
Archer tried to project Kanshou and Bakuya.
Raiden grabbed Archer's head.
"Trace off."
[Gluttony: Soul Devour]
Raiden slammed Archer's head into the roof.
The Shadow Servant dissolved into mana particles, flowing directly into Raiden's arm.
"Tastes like... regret," Raiden shook his head. "And burned toast."
He looked down at Ritsuka and Caster, who were staring up with dropped jaws.
"Let's keep moving," Raiden called down. "I'm still starving."