Fate/Magus Path

Roy had a dream. 

He saw a black sun falling from the sky, surrounded by ruins engulfed in dark flames. The sky tore open a massive gash, and dark red waterfalls poured down.

Malice, resentment, sorrow...

In an environment where all things perished, he could see no living creatures, only the pitch-black ground beneath his feet and the dark red sky above.

Ominous mud, chaotic heavens, boundless malice; he had seen and heard descriptions of such things before. This was the burning Fuyuki City.

When the Holy Grail absorbs enough magical power and souls from the Servants, the Holy Grail's opening will fully unfold, and all the world's evil will tilt out and plunge everything into a sea of flames.

Witnessing this scene with one's own eyes is far more shocking than learning the truth from words or screens. Roy swore that this scene was the most real hell he had ever seen, even the descriptions of hell in mythology might not compare.

"Arrgh... so painful!"

As he was still shocked by the hellish scene before him, a strange heat radiated from his left hand, making him grit his teeth. He looked down and saw the three scarlet Command Seals beginning to emit a strange glow, followed by a powerful force drawing him in one direction.

"What... what is this?!"

This unusual pull caused Roy to stumble, leaving him no choice but to be dragged by the invisible force.

Then, the scene before his eyes began to whirl rapidly. The fiery ruins around him gradually vanished, and the void in the sky, along with the pouring black mud, slowly faded from his sight. In its place was a beautifully warm room, where a elegantly dressed girl was reading.

An invisible door separated them.

Roy could not see the girl's face clearly, yet felt a strong familiarity. She radiated a sense of intimacy that made him instinctively want to approach her, but his steps were blocked by an invisible barrier at the door, keeping him at a subtle distance from the girl.

Through the thin veil, he could only see her long golden hair and a pair of gem-like beautiful eyes.

Although he could not glimpse her full appearance, Roy was certain she was an exceptionally rare beauty.

"Who are you?"

He wanted to ask, but the girl shook her head.

"Haydée…"

Then, her name unconsciously slipped from Roy's lips, even he himself did not know how it came to be. Where had he seen this girl before? How did he know her name?

"It's me, dear Count, but it seems you are not him…"

The girl spoke gently, yet there was a fleeting look of undeniable disappointment in her eyes as she gazed at Roy. Perhaps it was because the person she was waiting for was not the one she truly wanted to see.

Before Roy could say anything further, Haydée stepped lightly in front of him. Then a warm sensation flowed from her chest, and her gentle voice whispered in his ear.

"It's not time yet…"

...

"I think the time has come."

A familiar voice woke him, and the original fatigue and haze shattered instantly.

Looking at Merlin, who sat across from him with a serious expression, Roy furrowed his brow slightly and glanced around, but he could no longer see Haydée's figure.

Merlin, yes, this was indeed Avalon, but what had just happened? Why had he dreamed of Haydée?

Was it a dream within a dream? Or had his spirit truly entered a space that did not belong to a dream?

Moreover... he knew the name Haydée; she was a supporting character in The Count of Monte Cristo and a very important person to the Count.

Since summoning the Count, he had specifically looked through books related to him and was well-acquainted with the story of The Count of Monte Cristo. Although the character in the book, the King of the Cavern, was vastly different from the Count he had seen, there were certainly similarities.

With his magical prowess, he couldn't understand what had just happened, so he refocused his attention on the mischievous incubus before him, hoping to get an answer.

"Ah, when it comes to dream interpretation, you've come to the right person, your favorite Merlin! You really have good taste... "

Merlin scratched the back of his head and said with a cheeky grin, "As an incubus, no one understands dreams better than me. Whether it's making people dream or helping them interpret dreams, that's my forte."

After hearing Roy's brief account, Merlin displayed a vague smile that caught Roy's attention.

"Do you understand this situation?"

"Of course! Who do you think I am? The esteemed mentor of King Arthur, the court magus of Great Britain! This small situation is nothing to me!"

"So that means?"

Roy raised an eyebrow, as this guy loved to leave things half-finished.

"Ahem, this situation is quite complex. Explaining it in detail would be troublesome, so I'll keep it short. The root cause of this situation is... "

Merlin stood up, pointed at Roy's left hand, and smiled mysteriously.

"Got it? Although that one has left you, and his actions could be considered betrayal, he never chose to sever his connection with you. What do you think that means?"

"Of course, I don't know what he's really thinking, but the situation you mentioned can only be entered when your soul is in silence, that is, in death or near-death."

"That Haydée saying it's not time yet may mean you're not completely dead. When I used magecraft to alleviate your physical injuries during your serious state, it just means that when you truly die, it will be time."

"What do you think? Should we try dying now? Let's see what happens!" Merlin raised an eyebrow, sporting a cheeky expression.

"..."

Roy shot him a glare, ignoring Merlin's antics, and pondered over the answer he had just received.

Letting Emiya Kiritsugu place explosives within the bounded field, almost sending the three of them away... this act was undoubtedly betrayal.

But why did the Count do that? Why did he want to kill himself? Was it because he was a Foreigner?

No, that didn't make sense. If it were just that, he would have acted long ago and wouldn't have needed to play along with him until now. After all, with the King of the Cavern's speed, it would have been a piece of cake to kill him before using the Command Seals.

Moreover, there was absolutely no murderous intent or hatred from the Count towards him; after such a long time together, he was certain of this.

And the space reached at the brink of death, where he saw Haydée, also proved that things were not that simple. The Count did not kill him for such a trivial reason.

So he had a bold hypothesis, the Count wanted to achieve a goal, and one of the conditions for reaching that goal might be his death...

And meeting Haydée was merely a part of that ongoing plan.

Thinking about this possibility and connecting it to his own situation, Roy felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the Command Seals on his hand, finding them blindingly bright.

He began to contemplate what the success rate would be if he directly commanded the Count to commit suicide with the three Command Seals. Did he really want to do that?

Seeing through Roy's thoughts, Merlin reminded him, "I suggest you give up on that idea."

"You know what I'm thinking?"

Roy suddenly looked up and stared at Merlin, trying to read something from his expression.

"Your intentions are written all over your face…"

"Don't look at me like that! I know nothing about this matter, or else I wouldn't be busy trying to fix your body right now, would I?"

Merlin shook his head and smiled, "The only content of my deal with him was that I told him the true names of Amakusa Shirou and all the Servants, along with the hidden information. In exchange, he allowed me to enter your dream and interact with you. Apart from that, I haven't had much contact with that despicable guy."

"And the reason I advise you to give up on that idea is because of your connection with him. I mentioned before that there are impurities in your soul, as if something has been mixed in. I couldn't guess the reason at first, but now I understand."

Merlin pointed at Roy's eyes, where the reflection seemed to ignite a black flame, "It's the soul of that Avenger!"

"Souls?!"

"Yes, he has separated his own soul and merged it into your body. Haydée is the best proof; that was one of the most important experiences of the King of the Cavern during his life. Even if it transcended into a Noble Phantasm after death, it wouldn't be a problem. But he allowed your near-death soul to come into contact with her, indicating that your soul has long been tampered with."

"In this case, if you force him to commit suicide with a Command Seal, even aside from whether it will succeed, there's no guarantee about what kind of impact his soul will have on you."

"…"

"However, in the dream, you should feel much more relaxed, right? Using your spirit as a medium, I cast a healing spell on your body and soothed your mind, so you should be sure to repay me well afterward."

Repay...

"Do you want me to help you enlighten Artoria?" Roy sighed. "Given the current situation, do you really think I can do that? I agreed to help you because our combat power here was sufficient, but now that things have turned out like this, you can't expect me to confront Artoria head-on, can you?"

"Ah, that is indeed troubling. Although I can foresee his actions, you weren't in a state of sleep then, so I had no way to inform you, right?"

"Uh, fine, but what are you going to do now? Your plan seems to have fallen through. Without the Count's assistance, I cannot face Artoria directly."

Roy paused and continued, "With her stubborn personality, if persuading her could be done merely with words, we wouldn't have ended up in this situation."

"To persuade her, you can only subdue her first. Only then will she listen to what you have to say. As her teacher, you should understand her character better than I do."

"Hahaha, you really understand Artoria well, even more than the Knights of the Round Table, like her brother."

"That's absolutely right. Artoria's personality is indeed very troublesome; she is both kind and stubborn, and a bit single-minded. Sometimes I find myself at a loss with her too."

Merlin nodded in agreement with Roy's words, but he didn't seem troubled by the situation, still wearing his usual smile.

"However, let's not rush this. If it were another enemy, I might find it challenging, but since the enemy is Artoria, I certainly have ways to deal with her."

"Before that, may I ask you a rather bold question? Are you interested in Servants?"

Merlin's words carried a hint of implication, but Roy didn't notice.

"Interested in Servants? Artoria? What do you mean by that? You're not suggesting I take care of her, are you? Forget it; I can't afford to support someone with such a big appetite."

After thinking for a moment, Roy didn't pick up on Merlin's true meaning and instead thought of something more absurd.

"Ah?"

This response somewhat exceeded Merlin's expectations, but he didn't say anything; he just laughed like a child.

"Hahahaha! Are you really not interested in Artoria because of that? If she finds out, she'll probably be angry for a long time! But she indeed lacks any feminine charm; you're really like mature type, aren't you? Since that's the case, let's stop the small talk... "

"Next, let's have a good discussion on how to trap Artoria and help you deal with the upcoming situation…"

"Because we don't have much time left, my methods might be a bit extreme." Merlin raised his head, gazing seriously at Roy, his tone somewhat cheerful.

"You must hold on; if you die, then everything is over."

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