Chapter 122 : The serpent enslaved by itself

« In the Age of Gods, in what are now the regions of Germany, there were Druidic cults dedicated mainly to the veneration of nature and the gods. Odin gave thirteen druids a sacred object that contained his blood and that could fulfill any desire: the Grail of Yggdrasil. This was the reward that the druids received in exchange for years of loyalty and love for the gods. But the envious Loki convinced the druids to use the blood of the Grail, to pour it on the ground, an unholy act, to perform a ritual that would make them like gods. The druids were deceived, the blood did nothing but attract the World Devourer, Nidhoggr, you know him, right? »

« The snake that devours the roots of Yggdrasil. He belongs to the world of the dead, if I'm not mistaken. » Friedrich replied.
« He smelled the scent of Odin's blood and wanted to devour him, but luckily the ritual was interrupted by the druids themselves who managed to use the Holy Grail of Yggdrasil as a prison and locked the divine snake inside. But this didn't happen without consequences. »
« What consequences are you talking about? »
« Nidhoggr isn't a demon and neither a spirit. He's a divinity in the true sense of the word. He's close to death, locking him up in the Grail created a paradox of universal dimensions: the eternal return of the equal. Every time the Grail was used, the Universe ended and then started again in the same way but in a slightly different way, in an imperfect way, let's say so. »
Friedrich was confused, he couldn't follow Yukiko's speech, while Hisae was now resigned and had stopped paying attention. For her, those speeches were stupid.

« Let's pretend we're in 2012 ... » Yukiko said: « And that you have decided to evoke the Holy Grail of Yggdrasil and that you have performed the ritual to activate it ... this would lead to the end of the world and its automatic rebirth. But you, in the new world, would repeat the same act of using the Grail always in the same year, this continues until the alterations in the recreated world are such as to prevent the world from ending in that same year. Sometimes a slight modification, the birth or death of a person, is enough, other times it takes more conditions. »

« So ... has this all happened before? »
« No, you weren't there. You're a modification. But you're not the modification necessary to stop this cycle, otherwise there would never have been the Holy Grail War of Yggdrasil in this year. »
« But how do you ... know these things? Who are you really? »
« An imitation. Nothing but an imitation. I know these things because I'm not human and my memory cannot be affected by the cyclical nature of things. »
« But then I never really existed? I'm noone? »
« Which of us really existed? Do you really think you're real? What makes you believe it? The fact that you are breathing, the fact that you are walking, the fact that you are thinking? Are those things necessary to make you real? Even if you do them in a dream? This world isn't so different from a dream. It's just another realm of madness dominated by the paradox of eternal cyclicity. »
« If what you say is true ... I don't understand, however, how it's possible for Nidhoggr to destroy and create as if it were ... »

« As I said: it's a paradox. That Holy Grail contained Odin's blood, it's a miraculous object and has performed a miracle: it made Nidhoggr a Ouroboros, a snake that bites its tail forming a cycle of eternity. Nidhoggr destroys and creates. Whenever. This paradox is eternal and the Holy Grail of Yggdrasil has even managed to cut itself out of the equation, remaining an unchanged event being, in fact, part of the nature of Nidhoggr itself. Which is now nothing but a divine serpent enslaved by his own

nature. »
« But I can try to end the cycle ... by destroying the Grail. »
« You could do it, but I will prevent you. »
« Why? » Friedrich asked, confused.
« Because I want to put an end to all imitations. I want to see the end of everything with my own eyes. I want to stretch this universe to the extreme. »

« No … »
« Consider me an explorer who wants to see the Void. I'm curious to see the limit between everything and nothing. So I'm here to kill you both. »
« THAT'S ENOUGH! Shut up! You're crazy! » Hisae shouted, furious: « You talk about bullshit, about cyclicity, about gods and emptiness but I don't give a shit! I just want to be by my brother's side! »
« Ah, right! The "Sunahara prodigy", the little Hiro. Speaking of cycles ... I've already killed your little brother in another world. »
« What? » Hisae was shocked.
« Exactly. I shot him in the head, right here, after that piece of trash had dared get in my way. If I have to be honest I have never had so much fun. I would like to kill you too, Hisae. I could get used to killing Sunaharas. »
« You're a whore! A dead whore! » Hisae screamed, furious.
« Come then! »
Archer was ready to use his Noble Phantasm but at that moment he saw Berserker arrive with her sword drawn, raised in the sky, the broken blade lit up and a point made of light appeared. Friedrich was amazed at the immense light, a divine light. Specter, from behind, took the Master in her arms and carried him away. While Berserker exclaimed:
« No More Avalon! (Deicide) »
A powerful, shining magic blow struck the ground in two. Archer managed to save Hisae just in time. The Servants were terrified of that devastating attack, now they knew who Yukiko's Servant was: Arthur Pendragon, the King of Knights, the one who owns Excalibur, the sword of God, blessed by angels and forged to be a weapon capable of guiding and to reunite all humanity.
The Servants retired, leaving behind a huge chasm in Holland Park.

Yukiko Kumahira by Bikowolf