Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Gate of Destiny

My name is Alaya.
Is this time the Director's... wait?

??:??:01

Because his negotiation with Emiya Kiritsugu had broken down and ended on the verge of a complete rupture, Kayneth felt a lingering sense of unease. This anxiety stemmed not only from the potential loss of an ally, but also from a deep-seated fear of that man's ruthless methodology in achieving his goals by any means necessary.

When confronted with bizarre occurrences, rather than seeking to uncover the root cause, his instinct was to assess the threat and eliminate it at the source. Perhaps this was the fundamental difference between a "Magus Killer" and a proper "Magus"—the former treated magecraft merely as a tool to accomplish an objective, whereas the latter dedicated their entire life's work to it.

If he were to become an enemy, he would likely die, and the cause would undoubtedly be those weird technological weaponry and the modified magecraft means treated as mere tools. Meanwhile, the straightforward Lancer would serve as his absolute best breakthrough point... Hmm? Lancer?

In a daze, Kayneth saw Lancer collapsed in a pool of blood right before him, with two massive wounds on his flanks, and the Gae Dearg of Piercing Yellow broken nearby. Compared to his usual dashing spirit, he was currently portraying the very definition of a hero at the end of his rope.

"Water... water..." Lancer reached out a trembling hand toward Kayneth, blood spilling from the corners of his mouth.

What good would drinking water do for such grievous injuries?

Kayneth raised his hand, preparing to cast a healing spell—whereupon the handful of water he had been cupping spilled directly onto the ground.

"Lord... master..." Lancer breathed his last, his expression a mix of disappointment and release.

No, wait? Is this the scene where Diarmuid was ultimately betrayed and killed by Fionn?!

In a panic, Kayneth forced himself to push the healing spell's potency beyond his body's tolerance limit, regardless of the physical toll, but it was entirely useless. Diarmuid's corpse lay still and motionless.

Around him, the scenery began to rapidly turn into black ash, drifting away and vanishing into nothingness.

Absurd, Kayneth thought. If only I had been prepared...

??:??:02

"Water... water..."

Lancer's plea for help sounded once more, but Kayneth found that he was not by his side, but rather standing beside a nearby pool of water.

Quickly surveying his surroundings, the environment was completely wild and desolate. Aside from a massive magical beast with red and blue fur lying motionless not far away, there were no water-carrying utensils to be found anywhere, leaving Kayneth with no choice but to scoop the water up with his bare hands.

Hmm? Who is this?

The surface of the pond reflected a handsome man of extraordinary grace, with flowing blonde hair, wise and refined features, and a dark blue leather armor adorned with beautiful patterns—yet the face was unmistakably Kayneth himself.

Well... if he dressed up like this, would Sola-Ui be pleasantly surprised?

"Lord... master..."

Accompanied by lingering resentment and regret, the distant Diarmuid fell silent, and the sky-obscuring black ash swirled once more.

Next time, I will fetch water immediately, no delays whatsoever! Kayneth told himself.

??:??:03

Well, the location was slightly off this time, but still within a manageable range.

Kayneth looked at the giant magical beast carcass nearby, preparing to search for the heavily wounded Diarmuid—yet the spot where he usually lay was completely empty.

"What on earth..." Kayneth's question was cut short halfway by a heavy, ragged breathing coming from right behind him.

Well... in other words, that magical beast was still alive at this point in time?!

"Roar!" A tremendous roar rang out, accompanied immediately by the sound of heavy, thundering footsteps.

"Blink!" Kayneth cast the spell without looking back. As a magus, maintaining distance from the enemy was the absolute fundamental rule. This minor spell, combining wind and water, could propel him roughly twenty yards in a chosen direction.

Whoosh—a small whirlwind carried Kayneth clear of the giant magical beast's charge path. Only then did he notice that the creature was a colossal wild boar, and the fatal wounds on Lancer earlier had undoubtedly been inflicted by its tusks.

Where was Lancer, though?

"Die, you monster!" "Aroo-rooroo!" From the direction where the demonic boar's charge had vanished came the sounds of Diarmuid locked in combat with the beast. Kayneth prepared to go and assist, but the next instant, he saw the boar charging back wildly, with Lancer impaled upon its tusks, continually stabbing the beast's eyes with his yellow spear.

??:??:03

"Concussio Frigido!" Without time for second thoughts, Kayneth rapidly completed a three-syllable incantation. A massive icicle materialized directly in front of the wild boar. Caught off guard by Diarmuid's interference and unable to dodge, the beast took the icicle straight through its eye and deep into its brain.

Boom! Smash!

The demonic boar crashed heavily to the ground, while Diarmuid was sent flying directly into the exact spot where he had fallen in the previous two loops, unable to move.

"Water... water..." he called out feebly.

Having relived this twice, Kayneth now fully recalled the ability of Fionn mac Cumhaill, leader of the Fianna from Celtic mythology—the Water of Life. As long as one drank water from his palms, no matter how severe the wounds, they would instantly heal.

Putting aside the question of why this clan leader looked exactly like him, Kayneth swiftly scooped water from the pond and flashed to Diarmuid's side to help him drink.

"Lord... master..."

Although uttering the same lines, Lancer finally did not die. With a smile, he and everything around him dissolved into golden points of light and drifted away.

"Hah, so dreaming of a Heroic Spirit's past is like this." Kayneth watched his surroundings with interest, waiting to fade out. "I suppose I'll record this and submit it to the Clock Tower later."

01:??:??

Plunging into a semi-conscious trance and opening his eyes once more, Kayneth discovered he had not returned to the Western-style mansion deep in the mountains.

Although he had not personally inspected every single room of that sprawling, eclectic estate, he was certain that no such magnificent and opulent grand hall could possibly exist within it.

Dozens of large round tables laden with delicacies and rare dishes, silver candelabras illuminating the hall as bright as day, broad banners embroidered with symbols of their bearers' achievements hanging from all four walls, and mighty warriors clinking goblets together while trying their best to maintain polite decorum.

Before Kayneth could fully comprehend the meaning of this scene, those warriors exchanged a few words and suddenly raised their cups toward him in unison.

"To our great leader of the Fianna!" they proclaimed.

"To the hero endowed with supreme wisdom, master of the healing waters!" they cheered.

"To Fionn mac Cumhaill, to whom we pledge our allegiance with sword, spear, and life itself!" They raised their golden goblets high, waiting for a response.

"And a toast to all of you—the peerless warriors of the Fianna!" Kayneth raised his cup and drained it in a single gulp, earning cheers from the entire hall.

As a lord of the Clock Tower spanning nine generations, bearing the title of "Lord," handling such a setting was second nature to him—though the ones cheering for him were usually magi, and the reason was merely an impressive spell or lecture.

If the previous scenario was Lancer Diarmuid's tragic end, where he sought a fitting conclusion to the lord-vassal relationship, then this should logically be the genesis of his tragedy—the engagement banquet of Fionn and Princess Gráinne.

In that case, simply preventing Gráinne from making her geas oath to Diarmuid, or preemptively overriding it with an oath of his own superior authority, should allow him to pass the test of this memory scenario.

Indeed, this was a trial, Kayneth analyzed and concluded. He held no particular aversion to this past of Lancer's, but if the dreamscape persistently rejected history, it proved that Lancer himself remained deeply dissatisfied with it, hence expecting Kayneth to correct it upon his intervention.

Such alterations could not rewrite actual history, nor would the Servant's own memory be drastically affected; at the very least, it would plant the impression of "such a possibility could exist" within Diarmuid's mind—though growing stronger as a result would be an even better outcome.

Now then, Gráinne... Uh?

Kayneth stared in absolute astonishment as Sola-Ui, dressed in magnificent ceremonial attire, appeared seemingly out of nowhere in the banquet hall and marched with brisk strides toward Diarmuid—Sola looked truly stunning in that outfit—no, wait, Sola was Gráinne?!

Before Kayneth could devise a solution, he saw Sola offer Diarmuid a faint smile. "I've heard that you never turn down a woman in distress?"

"Er... Yes, Your Highness..." Diarmuid looked somewhat flustered toward Kayneth's direction.

"Splendid. I am currently in distress, so please—" Sola said softly, folding her hands together.

"So—" Since gentle moments from his fiancée were exceedingly rare, Kayneth, reacting a beat too late, hurried to speak and try to stop her.

"—go and die!" Sola finished the latter half of her sentence. Not only Kayneth and Diarmuid, but the warriors throughout the entire hall were utterly shocked.

Having uttered those words, Sola produced from somewhere a gleaming silver square tower shield and a single-edged longsword, and viciously charged straight at Diarmuid.

Clang! Bang! Smash! Crash!

A flurry of ruthless shield combos directly battered the premier warrior of the Fianna, sending him flying straight into the wall beside Kayneth. Half of his body embedded itself into the stonework like a mural. Prior to this, because he was bound by the mandatory "geas" of [never refusing a woman in distress], he had been completely unable to parry or counterattack, and now he coughed up blood as he looked at Kayneth.

"Lord... master..."

Facing this hauntingly familiar scenario, Kayneth instinctively searched for water, but this was a banquet feast—there was no water to be found. Or rather, even if he could find any, it was already too late; Sola had hit him far too hard.

Diarmuid's head drooped, and he slid down from the wall, remaining motionless.

"Good god! Diarmuid is dead!"

"Princess Gráinne has killed our foremost warrior!"

"This engagement is a conspiracy by the King!"

"Protect Leader Fionn!"

One faction of the knights surrounded Sola while another charged toward Kayneth.

Watching the black ash rise within the banquet hall, Kayneth could only offer a bitter smile and flash a "see you next time" gesture to Sola, who was now subbing in for Gráinne.

02:??:??

"I honestly didn't expect you to show up too, Kayneth." Once the banquet had been "reset," Sola no longer bothered to harass Diarmuid. Instead, she ousted Kayneth from the leader's throne, sat down herself, and made Kayneth pick out food for her.

"One of us is the Command Mantra holder, and the other is the mana supplier; it's only natural we'd both fall into this dream together. But Sola, what was that stunt you just pulled..." Kayneth industriously served his fiancée food, drinks, and fruit, leaving the other participating warriors utterly dumbfounded.

"You probably went to the scene where Diarmuid was ultimately betrayed and killed by Fionn, which shouldn't have lasted long," Sola said, tasting the food she picked out. "I woke up to find myself inside a filthy, damp, reeking cave!"

"Ah, during the period of flight, you must have had a rough time." Kayneth stepped around behind Sola to massage her shoulders.

"And who knows what that fellow did; the moment I touched him, I'd instantly get sent right back to that cave, resetting everything." Sola glared viciously at Diarmuid in the distance.

Oh... that was the other geas: never touch a single hair of the princess until Fionn's forgiveness was secured.

"Then how did you..." Kayneth asked, feeling a bit curious. "I just had to successfully feed him the Water of Life to pass."

"If I did nothing, I'd still get sent back to the cave after a day, except the enemies he had to face on the second day were different from the first," Sola patted Lunaria, which had transformed into a cloak. "Then I discovered that if I eliminated those pursuers before he did, time would gradually rewind. It's a good thing Lunaria was there to help—though she's just a regular Mystic Code here."

"Then what on earth was that earlier..." Kayneth remembered Diarmuid being driven deep into the wall and shivered.

"Naturally, I tried all sorts of methods and couldn't progress further, so I had to beat him up to vent my frustration," Sola stroked the armrest of her chair. "Before you arrived, I beat that old geezer Fionn a few times, but it didn't do any good either."

"I see. He's trying to undo all his mistakes," Kayneth nodded, beginning to fumble through his clothes. "Wait a moment and play along, Sola."

"What idea have you cooked up... now..." Sola's words trailed off into complete speechlessness as Kayneth pulled a massive diamond ring from his breast pocket.

The diamond wasn't even the main point, but how could synthetic diamonds exist in this era? And if it wasn't synthetic, how could it possibly be that large?

"I, Fionn mac Cumhaill, am utterly captivated by Princess Gráinne!" Kayneth announced loudly to the warriors in the hall, who nodded in agreement upon recalling his attentive behavior earlier.

"Therefore—there is no engagement, this right here is my wedding banquet!" Kayneth grabbed Sola's hand and slipped the striking diamond ring straight onto her finger.

"Oooooh!" The warriors cheered. Although the procedure was entirely unorthodox and somewhat disrespectful to the King and Princess, the Princess herself didn't object, did she?

"The groom may now kiss his bride!" some anonymous warrior egged them on.

"Er..." Kayneth felt slightly at a loss, but Sola had already looped her arms around his neck and pressed close, leaving him to awkwardly embrace his fiancée.

"Lord... master..."

Amidst the look of profound relief on the distant Diarmuid's face, rising golden light particles dismantled the entire world before the engaged couple could actually do anything further.

74:13:14

Kayneth opened his eyes, feeling a sense of emptiness and discomfort due to his arms suddenly becoming empty. As he sat there in a daze, a rapping sound against the wall and a telepathic message came through from Sola's adjacent room.

"[If our wedding diamond ring is any smaller than that one, you're dead.]" Her Majesty declared. "[Also, grow your hair out from now on.]"