The descent was… filthier than Steve imagined.
Instead of the precise, restrained feeling of a traditional magus's magical guidance, he felt like he was being dragged into a swamp of blood and malice, by a primitive and twisted celebration of death.
When his senses finally harmonized with the world, the first thing that hit his nose was the stench of rust that couldn't be washed away, the odor of guts and rotten dust fused together in the air. The only light came from a crude, sinister magic circle drawn on the floor—by all indications, with blood.
The circle's glow quickly dimmed, but Steve could feel the blasphemous vitality it contained. Looking down, he saw not the illusionary body of a spirit but a true, living body full of sensation.
He was no longer clad in the scarlet Supreme Commander's uniform symbolic of supreme authority, but a deep blue scholar's robe embroidered with silver stars—the vessel of the Caster class had changed his appearance.
His stat parameters, unique skills, and even his Noble Phantasms were now altered.
"Wow—! It worked! It really worked! So cool, this is the greatest piece of art ever!"
Before Steve could confirm his own senses, a voice full of sick excitement and childlike innocence emerged from the shadows. There was a young man with orange tangled hair and sloppy clothes, staring at Steve with shining eyes and an undisguised look of ecstasy on his face. He was covered with blood—not even dried yet—and Steve immediately understood the source of the "pigment" in the magic circle.
Steve ignored him. The "anchor" binding his existence had not come from this crazed youth, but from elsewhere.
His sharp gaze shifted to the other side of the living room, where a boy about seven or eight lay on the cold floor—mouth stuffed with cloth, tightly bound by rough hemp rope, abandoned like a used-out doll. His small body shook violently, eyes wholly consumed by terror and despair. Tears mixed with dust, leaving two dirty tracks on his underdeveloped cheeks.
Near him lay three dead bodies—adult man, adult woman, and another young girl. All brutally slain, clearly victims of helpless slaughter. Their blood stained the carpet, flowing into the magic circle at the murderer's feet.
This was truly a gruesome beginning for a master. In the midst of a hellish scene, during a ritual designed by a murderer to summon a "demon" using his whole family as a sacrifice, the sheer intensity of the child's will to live—his desperate hope that "someone, anyone, will save me!"—utterly overpowered the superficial curiosity of Ryuunosuke Uryuu from the original work. That desperate wish resonated with some faint parallel in the boy's body, accidentally hijacking the summoning ritual and calling Steve as "Savior" instead of responding to Ryuunosuke's evil.
Just like in "Fate/Strange Fake," when a dying chimaera with the highest wish for life summoned Enkidu—so did the child here, in the throes of death, summon Steve.
"…Hey, hey, you over there, can you hear me?" The young man, Ryuunosuke, approached, dissatisfied by the lack of reaction. "I'm Ryuunosuke Uryuu! You're supposed to be a demon, right? Can you show me the coolest, most elegant way to kill?"
Steve still ignored him, eyes never leaving the trembling child.
He raised his hand, making a gentle gesture toward the boy. Instantly, the ropes unravelled into dust without physical touch; the cloth fell away from his mouth. The child stared in disbelief at the miracle before him, teary eyes locking onto Steve for the first time—caught between terror and confusion.
"Hey! What are you doing!?" Ryuunosuke snapped, sense of possession at last breached. "He's the sacrifice I finally found!"
Turning at last, Steve looked straight at him, eyes as calm and fathomless as an abyss. Not a hint of anger, but the stillness made Ryuunosuke's blood run cold. He felt true, soul-deep terror—air freezing, dust heavy as lead, breath nearly impossible.
Steve said nothing—he just raised his hand, this time at Ryuunosuke.
Ryuunosuke opened his mouth to scream, but an unseen grip closed over his neck. He was lifted off the ground, choking and turning purple, helpless.
Ignoring him, Steve knelt by the boy, gently wiped away his tears and filth with his robe.
"You're safe now," he said softly. "I answered your call. From now on, I'll be your sword and your shield.
…Can you tell me your name?"
The boy, still blank-faced, just stared in confusion, then sobbed out his name.
"…I…I'm… Ken…"
"Ken," Steve echoed, engraving the name into memory. "Then, Ken, my first question: What do you want me to do with this man—the one who hurt you and profaned your family?"
…
Caster Class Record
Name: Steve Weis
Gender: Male
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 75 kg
Alignment: Lawful Good
Master: Ken
Parameters:
Strength: E
Endurance: D
Agility: D (EX)
Mana: EX
Luck: EX
Noble Phantasm: EX
Class Skills:
Territory Creation (Mystery): A++
— As the creator of a new system of mysteries, Steve can create domains far surpassing a traditional "temple"—almost like small "other worlds."
Item Construction: A
— Can craft powerful magical items, but with technological limits in the modern era, cosmic-level creations are out of reach.
Personal Skills:
Astonishing Wisdom: EX
— Analysis and invention on a trans-era level, with near-prophetic insight and instant strategizing.
Cosmic Magic: A+ (EX)
— Recreates his original cosmic magical system, but use is limited by a lack of cosmic energy ("Cosmic Dust/SIN").
Dream Weaver: EX
— Signifying a life that made the impossible possible, able to combine all resources or concepts to bring miracles for civilization's survival.
Noble Phantasms:
[Now is the Time to Correct – so all may be Analyzed.]
Grade: EX.
Type: Anti-magic
Range: 1
Maximum Targets: 1
— Technically not a "Noble Phantasm," but a combination of [Astonishing Wisdom] and [Cosmic Magic], capable of instantly analyzing and replicating any magecraft of the old era.
Colossus - Geo-Gravitational Star Cannon
Grade: EX
Type: Anti-Celestial/Anti-Noble
— The final weapon Steve created, capable of conceptually erasing entities: a causality weapon that can annihilate gods, UO, or even the alien star predator.
Promissum Humanitas
Grade: A+++
Type: Noble Phantasm for Civilization
— Sublimated over billions of years to act on the "survivability" of civilization itself, overriding extinction events and ensuring hope is never lost.
…