relicofdata | Laby Inbox

[ He just can't stop-

Asking.

Every answer leads to ten more questions and while her own doesn't fall on deaf ears - ]

I'll answer in a moment. I have just one final query for you - how did you win an entire war?

[ Hakuno blinked. Her expression was blank. After all, she was unsure if she should feel sad, remorseful, or angry. The words of the Golden King rang in her ears.

"No need for the remorse. The victor remains; the loser leaves. So long as you keep to that logic, you'll never be in the wrong."

That's right. It was a war. It was already a war that had concluded. A war that Hakuno could never take back. ]

It was set up like a tournament. [ There wasn't any need to go into full detail. Akechi wants the results. ] 128 candidates. A battle royale that lasted seven weeks.

[ Hakuno, the victor, turned to face Akechi. She stated her words as facts. ]

A battle to the death. Kill or be killed. I didn't want to die. I wanted to know who I was, what I was, and what type of wish I wanted to obtain, so I killed to find out the truth.

[ That's a surprise and a claim he would rebut if he knew less about the self-described npc.

She doesn't lie - no, she's all too open at times. Akechi stares at her in a mixture of a bewilderment and feigned neutrality. I killed to find out the truth is a statement that resonates. I killed to find out the truth is a statement he couldn't be further from fathoming.

128 dead and slain by her hand, in some capacity, and a victory pulled from those bloody, grotesque corpses. ]

You say that so matter of fact - you have to know that sounds outlandish, even by this world's standards. [ Careful. Cautious. He's a prince, so he feigns sympathy. He's a prince, so his voice softens. ] Which isn't to say I don't believe you. No, I certainly do, and you have my sympathies for it. [ Careful. Cautious. He looks away, as if burdened by this knowledge. ] But it's a power I would like to see in action. You didn't take them down with a knife, I assume.

Is there any other way I should say it then?

[ A snarky retort but on the playful side.

Still, it does not deny the reality that Hakuno had. She killed. She won. She stood on top of a hill of corpses. She didn't have to. She could have lost. She could have rotted away in the corner, waiting for the system to delete her as invalid data for not participating in their little game of death.

However, she has already made a choice. One that she didn't ~~couldn't~~ regret. ]

A knife? Think bigger. I got a very powerful sword.

[ She changed her pose. Her arms crossed as she thought about explaining the concept of servants to Akechi. If Flat and Leo were around, they would probably explain it better than Hakuno. ]

In order to make the game fair, [ Because it wasn't about finding the strongest, it was about seeing who could survive. ] we are each given a Servant, or a familiar, that we summoned. Basically, soldiers who were based on historical figures of the past. [ It truly sounded like something out of a fairy tale. But Hakuno has to remind Akechi, ]

It's possible because this war took place in a supercomputer that has observed humanity's history since the beginning of time. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody summoned a dinosaur to fight for them.

You have to know how absurd that sounds, but I've heard stranger tales and seen far more with my own two eyes. To think all this was happening under someone's nose in another reality - a fight over a mythical relic using those laid to rest in the past. It's almost poetic.

[ He believes every word. Only considers - ]

Who was your servant then? I'm fairly good at history. I imagine I'll recognize them.

The truth is stranger than fiction, right?

[ Hakuno jested. ]

My Servant?

[ Saber did show up as a doppelganger last month, so almost everybody basically saw her except for Akechi. They missed each other during that time. ]

The Fifth Emperor of Rome, Nero Claudius.

[ He gestures for her to start walking alongside him - he's got somewhere to go, but - ]

I'm familiar with the name. He's an infamous ruler in my reality for his rather...

Eccentric form of leadership.

[ There's too much overlap between servants and personas. He'll have to interrogate her further another time, but if Nero was born from her soul in a similar fashion-

He needs to stay on his toes around her. ]

What a surprise that one would find his way to you.

You can just say tyrant. It's not like it's wrong.

[ Hakuno told him flatly. Akechi was weirdly considerate in the oddest sense.

Even if Nero were to be here, she would probably just casually admit it.]

Right? [ Hakuno smiled fondly at the memory. ] If it wasn't Nero, [ Or any other Servant that didn't accept Hakuno, as weak as she is, ] I would have probably been dead in the first round.

Laby Inbox

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closes my eyes, here's your lore dump akechi

what is GOING ON IN FATE I SAY AGAIN FOR THE TENTH TIME

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we can start wrapping <3

yippee!!