Alessandro opened his eyes. He was lying on a stone road covered with a thin layer of sand. He got up with difficulty and the first thing he noticed, looking around, were the different low buildings with flat roofs, typical of Ancient Egypt. Between one house and another there was a narrow space, about one meter wide, and not even a sound was heard. It was dark, the sky was starry and on the horizon you could see a gigantic tower at least a hundred meters high, looking like a gigantic obelisk.
The boy knocked on a door. No one answered. He pushed the door and it opened and then Alessandro realized that the house was empty. He tried the same thing with ten other houses. Same result. Then he remembered: he wasn't alone. A storm of agitation ran through his body and he cried out:
"Ina! Ina where are you? Ina!"
He ran down the street until he reached what appeared to be the city walls. He passed under the arch and walked a short stretch of desert to a ravine. He pulled back immediately, frightened.
"Where am I?"
He approached the edge of that precipice, looked down and saw a gigantic chasm about a thousand meters from him.
"Sorry, where are we?" Ina asked.
Alessandro turned and saw the girl a few steps away from him, she was staring down.
"I don't know. Are you okay?"
"I am. And you?"
"Yes I'm fine." Alessandro turned his gaze towards the city of ancient features. "I'd like to know where we ended up, though."
"What do you deduce?"
"Well ... you understand that this city was raised in the air with magic. It was probably under the sand initially."
"But what place is it?"
"I have no idea." Alessandro approached the entrance to the city with Ina and there he noticed a stone table covered with sand. "What do we have here?" He cleaned the table. There were hieroglyphs. Below there were writings in Greek and Latin. "Here it says: 'Welcome travelers to the city that reflects celestial perfection on the land of mortals. You will not find hunger or disease in this city and your existence will be blessed like that of the divine.' Now I understand."
"Sorry, I didn't understand. Is this city a sort of ... Earthly Paradise?"
"Al-Ašmūnain" Alessandro replied.
"What?"
"This is the legendary Adocentyn. The City of the Sun. It shouldn't exist and yet here it is, before us, the city of stars. The most perfect example of the union between urban planning and magic."
"Who built it?"
"The Arabs of Harrā'n were very powerful magi, respected throughout the world. It was one of them who wrote the Picatrix which speaks of Termaximus, or the 'three times great', known in Egypt as Hermes Triplex and then, in the 13th century, as Hermes Mercurius Triplex ... Hermes Trismegistus. His existence was labeled by many magi as fictitious."
"Why?"
"Because according to the scholars of the Renaissance, Hermes Trismegistus was the inventor of all the magical arts of the Middle East and the West. We're talking about a much more powerful mage than all the magicians of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome and Ancient Persia. A magician so powerful that he surpasses Giordano Bruno, Tommaso Campanella and Merlin together. A magician strong enough to be considered the greatest master of the sacred arts and the demonic arts. Praised and condemned at the same time. Such a being could only be the fruit of human imagination. Yet here we are." He paused. "We are in front of his work. The City of Sun itself: this is the magnificent Adocentyn."
"But that's not a good thing, is it?" she asked anxiously.
"No. It's not. We have clearly been dragged in here to fight a war, not to admire the splendor of Ancient Egypt."
"So what do we do now? Run away?"
Alessandro turned. He picked up a stone from the ground and threw it over the ravine. The stone bounced back with a low sound.
"As I imagined. We're trapped in here. There's a magical barrier that prevents us from going out. We are forced to fight, in other words." Alessandro noticed that Ina was trembling. He walked over to her and hugged her. "I'm sorry you ended up here. I promise you nothing bad will happen to you."
"But what are we doing here?" she asked faintly.
"We're forced to fight a war," he replied seriously. "I will protect you. It's my fault you got involved in all of this. You're my responsibility and I will not let you die here."
Alessandro and Ina entered the city. The boy still had his backpack with the relic and the magic books with him, but he still had no intention of summoning Caesar. Ina then said in a low voice:
"Sorry, there's something you should see."
"Mm? What?" Alessandro saw that his and Ina's names were engraved on the wall of a house. "What is this stuff? Is it Vergil's work?"
"Do you know him?" she asked.
"No. But I know what he is." Alessandro opened the wooden door and saw a table with chairs, there were also wooden crates of different sizes and crowbar on the floor. "Strange. Really weird. We have to be careful."
"Yes, but… what does it mean? Are they provisions, perhaps?"
"That's not how a Holy Grail War works." Alessandro took the crowbar. "It will be better to check."
Alessandro opened the crates one by one and together with Ina inspected them.
"You were right, Ina ... they are provisions."
"Thank you," she said, blushing.
The main foods were fruit, vegetables, bread and bread derivatives. The only drink was water. In a chest he found several history books and also the Picatrix.
"Piece of shit, I knew it," Alessandro commented. "So this is really fucking Adocentyn. But how did you manage to find it, Vergil?"
In another chest he found two relics: a coin on which the face of Julius Caesar was depicted and a fragment of a bas-relief showing the coronation of a man. Alessandro took the coin and underneath he saw a note that read 'So you don't have to use your relic, right?'; the boy snorted nervously.
"No! How?" Ina exclaimed frightened.
"What's going on?" Alessandro approached and saw some clothes inside a chest. "Don't worry, that madman will have bought them for you."
"No, you're wrong. They are mine."
"What?!"
"They are mine. They are my clothes. I'm sure! He entered my house. He entered my room!" Ina exclaimed in terror.
Alessandro noticed something white among those clothes. He shifted the clothing and uncovered a note. It was written 'Don't worry, sweet Ina, I took care of your aunt' at the end a smiley face was drawn.
"Shit! Son of a bitch!" the boy said angrily.
"What now? What did he do?"
He didn't answer. He looked at Ina and then at the note.
"I'm sorry," he said in a strangled voice.
"Why? What did he do?"
"I'm sorry ... I'm sorry, I'm really sorry ... I should never have involved you."
"What happened?"
"I think he… killed… your aunt."
"No… no, you're lying. He can't have done it! He can not!" She started to cry, took off her glasses. "Why did he do it? What had my aunt done wrong? She hadn't done anything ... she had nothing to do with any of this ... why would he have ...?"
"I don't know." Alessandro turned only for a moment and then he saw that box. It was smaller than the others. He closed his eyes. He clenched his fists and bit his lip. "I'm sorry."
Without adding another word, he immediately took that box and ran out of the house. Outside the city he dropped the wooden box into the sand, picked up a stone, and with firm but hasty blows opened a crack wide enough to see the contents. From the box came out a strong stench that made he retch. The boy could only see the features of a female face. That was enough to know its content.
Ina had followed Alessandro and she asked worriedly:
"Why did you run away?"
"No!" Alessandro got up and stood in front of the box. "Leave!"
"What are you hiding from me?"
"You have to go!"
"Why?"
"I'll take care of it, Ina! It's my responsibility!"
"I must-"
"NO!" Alessandro yelled aggressively.
The girl backed away, shocked by his reaction.
"You do not have to do anything. You weren't even supposed to be here. Now go home and let me do my job."
"But, Alessandro-"
"Please go away ..."
She covered herself with the scarf and, without saying a word, she wiped away her tears and left. Alessandro felt like an asshole for yelling at such a fragile girl but he didn't want to show her aunt in that state. The boy knelt down and began to dig with his hands. The sweat mingled with the tears, the shapes began to twist but he kept digging. Eventually he buried the box and dropped to the sand. He put his hand in his mouth so as not to hear his moans, closed his eyes and wept silently.
Alessandro returned to the house a short time later and when he didn't find Ina he was frightened, went up the stairs on the right and noticed that the girl was changing her clothes. Embarrassed, he quietly went down the stairs and turned back to the wooden crates. He noticed that in one of these there were old parchments dating back to many centuries ago. Alessandro opened one. The writings were in Greek. He did not know that language and was disheartened to see that the contents of the scrolls would remain a mystery to him.
He heard footsteps behind him. He turned around. It was Ina who wore a kind of tracksuit consisting of two pieces: a black top that left the belly uncovered and black leggings that had the characteristic of covering her foot too, leaving only the toes and heels uncovered. Seeing her, Alessandro blushed and immediately looked away.
"I'm sorry for before," he said. "I didn't mean to be rude to you, Ina."
"Don't… don't worry. It's okay," she said in her soft voice.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"About my aunt?"
He nodded, turning to her.
"I ..." Her eyes got wet. She took off her glasses. "I'm sorry ... I'd rather talk about something else."
"I'm sorry, I never wanted to cause you all this. It's my fault. The pain you feel is my responsibility ... it's my wrong." He got up and walked over to her. "Ina, I promise you that he will pay for it. Vergil will pay for what he did."
She didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She felt helpless. Alessandro's gaze was enough to make her feel small and irrelevant. She pulled back. She pulled the glasses back to her face and headed for the stairs.
"Can I ask you a question?" Alessandro said curiously. "Why did you dress like that?"
"Yoga. I can't do it with uncomfortable clothes, I risk losing concentration."
"Why do you have to do yoga?"
"Didn't I already tell you?" she asked uncertainly.
"You told me you can get powers with yoga but that's all I know."
"It's not that easy." She walked over to him and adjusted her glasses. "You see, while a magus uses Magic Circuits to do Magecraft I use yoga. Each of us has a religious experience called Kundalini and thanks to yoga I can awaken Kundalini, however it is not a simple thing and I admit that I am still a beginner. What I do, in practice, is to carry out a yogic activity with the aim of activating the different chakras in my body through the ascension of Kundalini; its passage awakens the chakras and for each awakened chakra I get siddhis, or magical abilities, which I can only use for a whole day."
"Okay, I think I understand what you are saying … but… so you want to do yoga now? To awaken these magical powers?"
"Exact. If we are at war then I have to prepare myself."
"You are right." He said it with a little hesitation. "I'll let you do what you have to do ... um ... in the meantime I'll prepare some food."
"I'll have it, I think, for at least three hours, so be patient. I'm sorry."
"Sure sure …"
Ina went back upstairs while Alessandro stayed on the ground floor. He still had a bitter taste in his mouth for how he had reacted with Ina and, in his heart, he hoped to meet Vergil immediately to be able to kill him and end the war. Another part of himself, on the other hand, was terribly frightened by the idea of letting someone like Ina fight the Holy Grail War.
He knew the risks of that conflict. He had seen so many people die and he had no intention of leaving Ina to the same fate.
His mind went back to that box he had just buried. His eyes were about to get wet again but he wiped them immediately, took a deep breath and left the house to enjoy the fresh air.
"What should I do?" he muttered to himself. "How can I prevent Ina's death?"
After about three hours Alessandro and Ina met again on the ground floor and this time they were there to have dinner. On the table there were three slices of bread for each, two bottles of water and even two apples.
"It's not the best dinner I've ever had, but it's not the worst either. Suit yourself."
Ina was still wearing her tracksuit but this time she had also brought her scarf with her.
"Apanē bhōjana kā ānanda lēṁ" she said.
"What does it mean?" he asked confused.
"Enjoy your meal. How would you say it?"
"In Roman dialect: panza mia fatte capanna" he replied smiling. "Even if in this case it would be wasted space."
"So you come from Rome?"
"Yeah, I do. Where are you from?"
"Chennai. It is located in the state of Tamil Nadu." She started eating.
"What would you have eaten at this time? If you hadn't been here, I mean."
"Kootu," she replied quickly.
"What's this?"
"A vegetable stew with the addition of lentils. It's my absolute favorite dish." She paused briefly. "My aunt loved making me stew and she also taught me how to do it. She also taught me to make other dishes that I love, like puttu." She wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Everything is alright. Don't worry."
"What about you? What is your favorite dish?"
"I don't have a 'favorite dish'."
"Do you like apples?" Ina asked curiously.
"Quite. When I was little I ate a lot of them, though. My father told me that there was this 'apple fairy' that always took care to bring me apples. For every apple eaten I would become lighter and one day I would rise and fly with her. It was a beautiful story, too bad it came out of the mouth of such a terrible man."
"I'm sorry if I ask you, but what do you mean?"
"Well," he began to peel an apple, "in addition to abandoning me, I know that he also tried to sacrifice me to summon a divine snake called Nidhoggr. As if that were not enough, he's the cause of the existence of the worst being that has ever existed in this world."
"Who?"
"Yukiko Kumahira." He cut the apple in half. "The first time I looked my sister in the eye, I felt hell. That wasn't the look of a person who had been mistreated by her father, like me, no… those were the eyes of a girl who just wanted to destroy everything. She was the cause of the Holy War or Grail of Yggdrasil." He paused. "The one that destroyed London."
"Do you think she's still involved?"
"I don't know. But I know one thing: Vergil is like her. He's a depraved being who enjoys making people suffer."
"You said you didn't know him before."
"In fact, I don't know him. But some people ... you understand immediately how they are." He cut off the part of the apple that contained the seeds. "Tonight we will summon the Servants."
"So we start the ... war?"
"Yes. Tomorrow morning it will all begin. The war will begin. Stay by my side, Ina, and I promise you won't die."
Alessandro said those things but he wasn't sure he was able to protect that girl he had in front of him. He was afraid of making mistakes. He was afraid of failing. That's why he needed Julius Caesar immediately.
After dinner, the two moved the table and chairs to make space in the center of the room. Alessandro took out one of the magic books that was in a wooden chest. He gave it a quick look and said:
"This is a manual for fighting this war, apparently Vergil wants to do things precisely. According to the text, sixteen Servants will fight in the conflict divided into two groups: Alpha and Omega. There are also instructions for drawing the glyphs that we will need for the summoning."
"Sorry, was it like that in the other conflict too?"
"No. The other was much more 'free'."
"So now what do we do?"
"We draw."
Alessandro prepared both glyphs and placed relics on each.
"Well, Ina, you will now have to channel your magical energy to the relic. Do you know how to do it?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Well, then recite the magic formula with me."
The two said in unison:
"The east is protected by the Eagle, the west by the Bull, the south by the Lion and the north by the Dog. The Four Guardians chosen by the Seven Sisters grant you, the hero of the past, to prove your worth and to fight to the death under the gaze of Mercury; since the man with the fire in the right and the book in the left and the owl on his head has chosen you, Heroic Spirit, seek nothing but glory. Use the sword, the bow, the spear, the staff, the hammer, the dagger, the steed and the voice to destroy your enemies and reach the Heavenly Desire! I summon you, my Servant!"
Both glyphs lit up and suddenly the two Servants appeared. A tall, muscular man with brown hair and a goatee stood before Ina Shandilya; his eyes were yellow and on his head he wore a laurel wreath. He wore only silk underpants, a red and purple sash floated around him; his right arm was gold.
Ina, seeing that man, blushed and hid behind the scarf. He smiled and solemnly exclaimed:
“I am α Rider but you can call me Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian Augustus. I'm the first emperor of Rome, I am the Son of the Sun and I am the absolute master of all people. I'm at your service, Master."
Alessandro Serpi saw that divine-looking woman come out of the smoke. She wasn't wearing the same armor as last time and even her sword looked different, but there was no mistaking her identity. Her hair was as white as the moon and her eyes were red as roses. The girl, seeing Alessandro again, raised a touched smile but then, noticing that there were two other people present, she decided to show off a bit and so she exclaimed with theatrical movements:
"My class in this war is α Saber! Bow to me! Rejoice in my presence! I'm the first of the Twelve Caesars, I am the Pater Patriae and Divus Iulus, descendant of Aeneas and Romulus. In my veins flows the divine blood of Venus, goddess of beauty, and of Mars, god of war. I am Gaius Julius Caesar!" She approached her Master and with a smirk she added: "I was summoned by you, so I assume that you are my Master, Alessandro Serpi."
"Welcome back," he said moved.
"I came back to you, Alessandro, just as I promised. My blade is at your service. Tell me who your enemy is and I will annihilate them."
"Well then we can start-"
"Mommy!" Augustus suddenly exclaimed jumping on Caesar.
"Huh?" Alessandro was astonished.
"Did he just call her 'mommy'?" Ina asked perplexed.
"I believe that-"
"My Little Octavian! How are you? I see you in good shape" Caesar asserted hugging Octavian and cuddling him as if he were a baby.
"Oh, mommy, you have no idea how many things I did: I defeated Marcus Antony, I forced Cleopatra to commit suicide, I conquered Egypt, I became emperor ..."
Alessandro approached Ina and murmured to her:
"Prepare the chairs, this will take a lot of time."
"Really?"
"If he starts telling her all of his Res Gestae then ... yes."
The boy knocked on a door. No one answered. He pushed the door and it opened and then Alessandro realized that the house was empty. He tried the same thing with ten other houses. Same result. Then he remembered: he wasn't alone. A storm of agitation ran through his body and he cried out:
"Ina! Ina where are you? Ina!"
He ran down the street until he reached what appeared to be the city walls. He passed under the arch and walked a short stretch of desert to a ravine. He pulled back immediately, frightened.
"Where am I?"
He approached the edge of that precipice, looked down and saw a gigantic chasm about a thousand meters from him.
"Sorry, where are we?" Ina asked.
Alessandro turned and saw the girl a few steps away from him, she was staring down.
"I don't know. Are you okay?"
"I am. And you?"
"Yes I'm fine." Alessandro turned his gaze towards the city of ancient features. "I'd like to know where we ended up, though."
"What do you deduce?"
"Well ... you understand that this city was raised in the air with magic. It was probably under the sand initially."
"But what place is it?"
"I have no idea." Alessandro approached the entrance to the city with Ina and there he noticed a stone table covered with sand. "What do we have here?" He cleaned the table. There were hieroglyphs. Below there were writings in Greek and Latin. "Here it says: 'Welcome travelers to the city that reflects celestial perfection on the land of mortals. You will not find hunger or disease in this city and your existence will be blessed like that of the divine.' Now I understand."
"Sorry, I didn't understand. Is this city a sort of ... Earthly Paradise?"
"Al-Ašmūnain" Alessandro replied.
"What?"
"This is the legendary Adocentyn. The City of the Sun. It shouldn't exist and yet here it is, before us, the city of stars. The most perfect example of the union between urban planning and magic."
"Who built it?"
"The Arabs of Harrā'n were very powerful magi, respected throughout the world. It was one of them who wrote the Picatrix which speaks of Termaximus, or the 'three times great', known in Egypt as Hermes Triplex and then, in the 13th century, as Hermes Mercurius Triplex ... Hermes Trismegistus. His existence was labeled by many magi as fictitious."
"Why?"
"Because according to the scholars of the Renaissance, Hermes Trismegistus was the inventor of all the magical arts of the Middle East and the West. We're talking about a much more powerful mage than all the magicians of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome and Ancient Persia. A magician so powerful that he surpasses Giordano Bruno, Tommaso Campanella and Merlin together. A magician strong enough to be considered the greatest master of the sacred arts and the demonic arts. Praised and condemned at the same time. Such a being could only be the fruit of human imagination. Yet here we are." He paused. "We are in front of his work. The City of Sun itself: this is the magnificent Adocentyn."
"But that's not a good thing, is it?" she asked anxiously.
"No. It's not. We have clearly been dragged in here to fight a war, not to admire the splendor of Ancient Egypt."
"So what do we do now? Run away?"
Alessandro turned. He picked up a stone from the ground and threw it over the ravine. The stone bounced back with a low sound.
"As I imagined. We're trapped in here. There's a magical barrier that prevents us from going out. We are forced to fight, in other words." Alessandro noticed that Ina was trembling. He walked over to her and hugged her. "I'm sorry you ended up here. I promise you nothing bad will happen to you."
"But what are we doing here?" she asked faintly.
"We're forced to fight a war," he replied seriously. "I will protect you. It's my fault you got involved in all of this. You're my responsibility and I will not let you die here."
Alessandro and Ina entered the city. The boy still had his backpack with the relic and the magic books with him, but he still had no intention of summoning Caesar. Ina then said in a low voice:
"Sorry, there's something you should see."
"Mm? What?" Alessandro saw that his and Ina's names were engraved on the wall of a house. "What is this stuff? Is it Vergil's work?"
"Do you know him?" she asked.
"No. But I know what he is." Alessandro opened the wooden door and saw a table with chairs, there were also wooden crates of different sizes and crowbar on the floor. "Strange. Really weird. We have to be careful."
"Yes, but… what does it mean? Are they provisions, perhaps?"
"That's not how a Holy Grail War works." Alessandro took the crowbar. "It will be better to check."
Alessandro opened the crates one by one and together with Ina inspected them.
"You were right, Ina ... they are provisions."
"Thank you," she said, blushing.
The main foods were fruit, vegetables, bread and bread derivatives. The only drink was water. In a chest he found several history books and also the Picatrix.
"Piece of shit, I knew it," Alessandro commented. "So this is really fucking Adocentyn. But how did you manage to find it, Vergil?"
In another chest he found two relics: a coin on which the face of Julius Caesar was depicted and a fragment of a bas-relief showing the coronation of a man. Alessandro took the coin and underneath he saw a note that read 'So you don't have to use your relic, right?'; the boy snorted nervously.
"No! How?" Ina exclaimed frightened.
"What's going on?" Alessandro approached and saw some clothes inside a chest. "Don't worry, that madman will have bought them for you."
"No, you're wrong. They are mine."
"What?!"
"They are mine. They are my clothes. I'm sure! He entered my house. He entered my room!" Ina exclaimed in terror.
Alessandro noticed something white among those clothes. He shifted the clothing and uncovered a note. It was written 'Don't worry, sweet Ina, I took care of your aunt' at the end a smiley face was drawn.
"Shit! Son of a bitch!" the boy said angrily.
"What now? What did he do?"
He didn't answer. He looked at Ina and then at the note.
"I'm sorry," he said in a strangled voice.
"Why? What did he do?"
"I'm sorry ... I'm sorry, I'm really sorry ... I should never have involved you."
"What happened?"
"I think he… killed… your aunt."
"No… no, you're lying. He can't have done it! He can not!" She started to cry, took off her glasses. "Why did he do it? What had my aunt done wrong? She hadn't done anything ... she had nothing to do with any of this ... why would he have ...?"
"I don't know." Alessandro turned only for a moment and then he saw that box. It was smaller than the others. He closed his eyes. He clenched his fists and bit his lip. "I'm sorry."
Without adding another word, he immediately took that box and ran out of the house. Outside the city he dropped the wooden box into the sand, picked up a stone, and with firm but hasty blows opened a crack wide enough to see the contents. From the box came out a strong stench that made he retch. The boy could only see the features of a female face. That was enough to know its content.
Ina had followed Alessandro and she asked worriedly:
"Why did you run away?"
"No!" Alessandro got up and stood in front of the box. "Leave!"
"What are you hiding from me?"
"You have to go!"
"Why?"
"I'll take care of it, Ina! It's my responsibility!"
"I must-"
"NO!" Alessandro yelled aggressively.
The girl backed away, shocked by his reaction.
"You do not have to do anything. You weren't even supposed to be here. Now go home and let me do my job."
"But, Alessandro-"
"Please go away ..."
She covered herself with the scarf and, without saying a word, she wiped away her tears and left. Alessandro felt like an asshole for yelling at such a fragile girl but he didn't want to show her aunt in that state. The boy knelt down and began to dig with his hands. The sweat mingled with the tears, the shapes began to twist but he kept digging. Eventually he buried the box and dropped to the sand. He put his hand in his mouth so as not to hear his moans, closed his eyes and wept silently.
Alessandro returned to the house a short time later and when he didn't find Ina he was frightened, went up the stairs on the right and noticed that the girl was changing her clothes. Embarrassed, he quietly went down the stairs and turned back to the wooden crates. He noticed that in one of these there were old parchments dating back to many centuries ago. Alessandro opened one. The writings were in Greek. He did not know that language and was disheartened to see that the contents of the scrolls would remain a mystery to him.
He heard footsteps behind him. He turned around. It was Ina who wore a kind of tracksuit consisting of two pieces: a black top that left the belly uncovered and black leggings that had the characteristic of covering her foot too, leaving only the toes and heels uncovered. Seeing her, Alessandro blushed and immediately looked away.
"I'm sorry for before," he said. "I didn't mean to be rude to you, Ina."
"Don't… don't worry. It's okay," she said in her soft voice.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"About my aunt?"
He nodded, turning to her.
"I ..." Her eyes got wet. She took off her glasses. "I'm sorry ... I'd rather talk about something else."
"I'm sorry, I never wanted to cause you all this. It's my fault. The pain you feel is my responsibility ... it's my wrong." He got up and walked over to her. "Ina, I promise you that he will pay for it. Vergil will pay for what he did."
She didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She felt helpless. Alessandro's gaze was enough to make her feel small and irrelevant. She pulled back. She pulled the glasses back to her face and headed for the stairs.
"Can I ask you a question?" Alessandro said curiously. "Why did you dress like that?"
"Yoga. I can't do it with uncomfortable clothes, I risk losing concentration."
"Why do you have to do yoga?"
"Didn't I already tell you?" she asked uncertainly.
"You told me you can get powers with yoga but that's all I know."
"It's not that easy." She walked over to him and adjusted her glasses. "You see, while a magus uses Magic Circuits to do Magecraft I use yoga. Each of us has a religious experience called Kundalini and thanks to yoga I can awaken Kundalini, however it is not a simple thing and I admit that I am still a beginner. What I do, in practice, is to carry out a yogic activity with the aim of activating the different chakras in my body through the ascension of Kundalini; its passage awakens the chakras and for each awakened chakra I get siddhis, or magical abilities, which I can only use for a whole day."
"Okay, I think I understand what you are saying … but… so you want to do yoga now? To awaken these magical powers?"
"Exact. If we are at war then I have to prepare myself."
"You are right." He said it with a little hesitation. "I'll let you do what you have to do ... um ... in the meantime I'll prepare some food."
"I'll have it, I think, for at least three hours, so be patient. I'm sorry."
"Sure sure …"
Ina went back upstairs while Alessandro stayed on the ground floor. He still had a bitter taste in his mouth for how he had reacted with Ina and, in his heart, he hoped to meet Vergil immediately to be able to kill him and end the war. Another part of himself, on the other hand, was terribly frightened by the idea of letting someone like Ina fight the Holy Grail War.
He knew the risks of that conflict. He had seen so many people die and he had no intention of leaving Ina to the same fate.
His mind went back to that box he had just buried. His eyes were about to get wet again but he wiped them immediately, took a deep breath and left the house to enjoy the fresh air.
"What should I do?" he muttered to himself. "How can I prevent Ina's death?"
After about three hours Alessandro and Ina met again on the ground floor and this time they were there to have dinner. On the table there were three slices of bread for each, two bottles of water and even two apples.
"It's not the best dinner I've ever had, but it's not the worst either. Suit yourself."
Ina was still wearing her tracksuit but this time she had also brought her scarf with her.
"Apanē bhōjana kā ānanda lēṁ" she said.
"What does it mean?" he asked confused.
"Enjoy your meal. How would you say it?"
"In Roman dialect: panza mia fatte capanna" he replied smiling. "Even if in this case it would be wasted space."
"So you come from Rome?"
"Yeah, I do. Where are you from?"
"Chennai. It is located in the state of Tamil Nadu." She started eating.
"What would you have eaten at this time? If you hadn't been here, I mean."
"Kootu," she replied quickly.
"What's this?"
"A vegetable stew with the addition of lentils. It's my absolute favorite dish." She paused briefly. "My aunt loved making me stew and she also taught me how to do it. She also taught me to make other dishes that I love, like puttu." She wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Everything is alright. Don't worry."
"What about you? What is your favorite dish?"
"I don't have a 'favorite dish'."
"Do you like apples?" Ina asked curiously.
"Quite. When I was little I ate a lot of them, though. My father told me that there was this 'apple fairy' that always took care to bring me apples. For every apple eaten I would become lighter and one day I would rise and fly with her. It was a beautiful story, too bad it came out of the mouth of such a terrible man."
"I'm sorry if I ask you, but what do you mean?"
"Well," he began to peel an apple, "in addition to abandoning me, I know that he also tried to sacrifice me to summon a divine snake called Nidhoggr. As if that were not enough, he's the cause of the existence of the worst being that has ever existed in this world."
"Who?"
"Yukiko Kumahira." He cut the apple in half. "The first time I looked my sister in the eye, I felt hell. That wasn't the look of a person who had been mistreated by her father, like me, no… those were the eyes of a girl who just wanted to destroy everything. She was the cause of the Holy War or Grail of Yggdrasil." He paused. "The one that destroyed London."
"Do you think she's still involved?"
"I don't know. But I know one thing: Vergil is like her. He's a depraved being who enjoys making people suffer."
"You said you didn't know him before."
"In fact, I don't know him. But some people ... you understand immediately how they are." He cut off the part of the apple that contained the seeds. "Tonight we will summon the Servants."
"So we start the ... war?"
"Yes. Tomorrow morning it will all begin. The war will begin. Stay by my side, Ina, and I promise you won't die."
Alessandro said those things but he wasn't sure he was able to protect that girl he had in front of him. He was afraid of making mistakes. He was afraid of failing. That's why he needed Julius Caesar immediately.
After dinner, the two moved the table and chairs to make space in the center of the room. Alessandro took out one of the magic books that was in a wooden chest. He gave it a quick look and said:
"This is a manual for fighting this war, apparently Vergil wants to do things precisely. According to the text, sixteen Servants will fight in the conflict divided into two groups: Alpha and Omega. There are also instructions for drawing the glyphs that we will need for the summoning."
"Sorry, was it like that in the other conflict too?"
"No. The other was much more 'free'."
"So now what do we do?"
"We draw."
Alessandro prepared both glyphs and placed relics on each.
"Well, Ina, you will now have to channel your magical energy to the relic. Do you know how to do it?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Well, then recite the magic formula with me."
The two said in unison:
"The east is protected by the Eagle, the west by the Bull, the south by the Lion and the north by the Dog. The Four Guardians chosen by the Seven Sisters grant you, the hero of the past, to prove your worth and to fight to the death under the gaze of Mercury; since the man with the fire in the right and the book in the left and the owl on his head has chosen you, Heroic Spirit, seek nothing but glory. Use the sword, the bow, the spear, the staff, the hammer, the dagger, the steed and the voice to destroy your enemies and reach the Heavenly Desire! I summon you, my Servant!"
Both glyphs lit up and suddenly the two Servants appeared. A tall, muscular man with brown hair and a goatee stood before Ina Shandilya; his eyes were yellow and on his head he wore a laurel wreath. He wore only silk underpants, a red and purple sash floated around him; his right arm was gold.
Ina, seeing that man, blushed and hid behind the scarf. He smiled and solemnly exclaimed:
“I am α Rider but you can call me Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian Augustus. I'm the first emperor of Rome, I am the Son of the Sun and I am the absolute master of all people. I'm at your service, Master."
Alessandro Serpi saw that divine-looking woman come out of the smoke. She wasn't wearing the same armor as last time and even her sword looked different, but there was no mistaking her identity. Her hair was as white as the moon and her eyes were red as roses. The girl, seeing Alessandro again, raised a touched smile but then, noticing that there were two other people present, she decided to show off a bit and so she exclaimed with theatrical movements:
"My class in this war is α Saber! Bow to me! Rejoice in my presence! I'm the first of the Twelve Caesars, I am the Pater Patriae and Divus Iulus, descendant of Aeneas and Romulus. In my veins flows the divine blood of Venus, goddess of beauty, and of Mars, god of war. I am Gaius Julius Caesar!" She approached her Master and with a smirk she added: "I was summoned by you, so I assume that you are my Master, Alessandro Serpi."
"Welcome back," he said moved.
"I came back to you, Alessandro, just as I promised. My blade is at your service. Tell me who your enemy is and I will annihilate them."
"Well then we can start-"
"Mommy!" Augustus suddenly exclaimed jumping on Caesar.
"Huh?" Alessandro was astonished.
"Did he just call her 'mommy'?" Ina asked perplexed.
"I believe that-"
"My Little Octavian! How are you? I see you in good shape" Caesar asserted hugging Octavian and cuddling him as if he were a baby.
"Oh, mommy, you have no idea how many things I did: I defeated Marcus Antony, I forced Cleopatra to commit suicide, I conquered Egypt, I became emperor ..."
Alessandro approached Ina and murmured to her:
"Prepare the chairs, this will take a lot of time."
"Really?"
"If he starts telling her all of his Res Gestae then ... yes."
 |
| Welcome back, Caesar by BikoWolf |
