[Nothingness] is devouring everything.
I felt as if I were sinking into the deepest, darkest ocean. I couldn't see a single trace of color—not even darkness itself. Before my eyes was only a void where nothing existed.
I couldn't feel my heartbeat, I couldn't feel my breath, I couldn't feel my own existence; I couldn't even be sure who I was.
I forgot my name, I forgot my gender, I forgot my past, I forgot my existence—I forgot everything.
Then, within this endless void, a wisp of color seemed to float out of my body. It was a photograph.
Strange, what is a photograph?
As the only color in this world, I seemed to see what that photograph was.
It depicted five people. In the center was a black-haired man with a flat expression, arms crossed, looking very calm. Beside him was a pink-haired girl, full of energy, looking not particularly bright.
Standing next to those two was a woman with red hair wearing an elegant white dress, and a middle-aged man wearing glasses who looked quite mature, with a streak of white in his hair and wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
In the middle of these four was a blurry dark shadow, an extremely indistinct thing whose features and gender could not be discerned.
Gradually, the colors of that photograph brightened, and even the blurry shadow began to show a concrete outline, eventually becoming a gray-haired woman with golden eyes and a slightly dazed expression.
Is this how the photo is supposed to look? Why do I feel like something is missing?
I didn't understand why I had such a thought; it was just that the moment I saw the photo, I inexplicably wondered why there seemed to be something missing from the picture of these five people.
The colors of the photo grew brighter and brighter, finally turning into a speck of light that dissipated into this blank world. Simultaneously, I felt my thoughts gradually slowing down, becoming increasingly numb.
Did I lose something very important?
I saw a pink quill gradually being pulled from my body, followed by a hat flying out, then a knight's lance burning with flames, and finally a plain-looking baseball bat.
These four items shattered one by one before my eyes.
I felt fear, as if these four things were so important to me that they absolutely could not be lost. I tried to reach out to grab the shattered items, only to find that I didn't seem to have hands.
Subsequently, these four items also gradually lost their color, becoming part of this void space.
Who am I?
That was my final question.
"Ah! Why did I end up directly in the deepest part of IX after transmigrating! It's over, the Host I just picked! How can he already be assimilated by IX, leaving only a few obsessions and residues! What should I do! If this continues, I won't be able to graduate!"
"Sigh! To think something actually retained a bit of existence? So it's a discarded possibility. It seems the protagonist of this universe is female, so the male possibility was abandoned... No, it's not just that. Under the interference of certain fates or coincidences, all discarded futures have converged upon this abandoned existence. How pitiful! You, who shouldn't exist, were created with such pain, and in IX no less. The only reason you still retain a bit of color is purely because you, as a collective of fate, are somewhat special. But this is perfect; since my Host only has a few obsessions and residues left, I can use this remaining existence to merge them into a brand-new Host!"
"But speaking of which, how did such observed but unchosen fates aggregate within IX? I feel like there's some kind of conspiracy... Forget it, if I use the back-end program to access the underlying records, points will be deducted. Better not."
That strange-sounding voice went silent, and I completely lost all perception, as if merging into this void.
Cold. Shaking.
The gray-haired youth snapped his eyes open, then clutched his head as he stood up from the cold floor. He looked around blankly; he seemed to be on a train, but this train was empty, without even a single sofa.
"Who... am I?"
He asked in confusion.
"You are a variable, you are a possibility, you are the unchosen future, you are an anomaly from outside the world. But regardless, you have welcomed a rebirth and become a brand-new existence."
A voice suddenly echoed in his mind. The gray-haired youth looked around the surroundings again with his dull golden eyes and then said, "I... seem to remember this place, but it feels like it's missing a lot of things compared to the place in my memory?"
"This is the system space, and also a transit station for space-time travel. We are currently leaving this universe. Because you were born within IX, you cannot stay in that universe for too long for now, otherwise you will surely be assimilated by IX. You must now obtain enough existence from outer universes and make your self-cognition strong enough to return to that universe without being assimilated."
"As for why it feels familiar, it's because this is a carriage of the Astral Express without any decorations."
"Astral Express... I seem to have some impression of this name, but I can't remember it."
"That comes from your past and future. However, as an unchosen fate, you don't need to consider those. As a brand-new, reborn existence, do you want to give yourself a new name to welcome a new beginning?"
"A name?"
"Yes, a name is the most important proof of one's existence. Once you name yourself, your nothingness will converge, your existence will manifest, and you will become a truly living being—a brand-new you."
"...Caelus. Let that be my name."
"...Why?"
"Because you said this place is called the Astral Express. I have some impression of that name, so I took one character from it as my name."
"Ah, it seems the past can never be truly escaped. Well then, nice to meet you, Caelus. I am your system, the system that will guide you onto a path of transcendence to the other shore."
[Host: Caelus
Life Rank: Tier 3
Energy System: Path of IX [Tier 3]
Special Constitution: Outside of Fate
System Currency: 0
Storage Space: 3 cubic meters]
Caelus looked at the virtual screen appearing before him. Upon seeing his special constitution, his eyes glazed over for a moment, then he clicked on the highlighted name of the abandoned one.
[Constitution: Outside of Fate. Effect: Any fate, causality, or mental-type abilities below Tier 5 will not work on you. Simultaneously, as a hybrid of a transmigrator and unchosen fate, your sense of presence is extremely low, making it difficult to be noticed.
Evaluation: An ability born from the fusion of an existence aggregated from many unchosen fates and a transmigrator from outside fate, both of whom were devoured by IX until only residues remained.
Note: This ability grows with the Host's Life Rank.]
Caelus looked at the blue screen and then at the world around him, which appeared gray in his eyes. He asked, "Why does this screen have color?"
"You can still understand the concept of color?"
"I have a vague understanding."
"Because of IX, many of your personal issues are severe, including emotional dysfunction, the lack of color in your world, and your senses of smell and taste. For a normal Host, we systems would have you start from a lower-difficulty world to improve your supernatural abilities. But you are a complete exception; we must first let you strengthen your cognition and existence. Otherwise, even if you aren't in this universe, you will be completely devoured by IX."
Caelus walked to the window of the empty train carriage, looking at the colorless, pitch-black world outside, and said, "Will I come back? The other 'me' seems unable to let go of this world."
"What?! Another you! That's impossible. They were clearly just two residues; how could there be any remaining consciousness!"
The system seemed particularly shocked.
"It should just be a tiny feeling left in my heart, making me feel like there's still something in this universe waiting for my return."
"Oh, it seems that because you are an existence formed from multiple overlapping fates, the residues are quite strong, enough to leave behind a few obsessions... Fine, we will return. For now, we are heading to another world."
"Destination: Type-Moon Universe! It happens to be nearby, welcomes outsiders, and the procedures are convenient. I'll set up a Heroic Spirit identity for you!"
"Type-Moon..."
Caelus repeated the name. According to his residual consciousness, he seemed to remember this name. Well, he just remembered the name.
Volume 1: Chapter 2: Servant Summoning
"Kirei, are the catalysts ready?"
"Yes, Father."
Inside the dimly lit church, two men dressed as priests were conversing. One looked quite old, clearly advanced in years, while the other was in his youth. However, the younger man's pupils were unfocused, his eyes devoid of any spark or light, as if he were in a daze.
"Then let us proceed with the summoning. Well, although the Assassin class will definitely summon a Hassan, according to records, each generation of Hassan possesses different abilities and techniques. I wonder which one you will summon."
The elderly priest spoke while looking at the magic circle already drawn on the floor with mercury.
The young priest with the dull eyes took a step forward to the array and began to recite the incantation he had long since memorized.
"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the ancestor. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg. The wind rises as a wall. The gates in the four directions shut, coming from the crown, let the three-forked road leading to the kingdom circulate."
"Declare."
"Your self is under my command, my fate shall be with your sword."
"If you abide by the Holy Grail's beckoning, and if you will accede to this will and this reason, then answer me."
"I hereby swear."
"I am the one who shall attain all virtues of the world. I am the one who shall spread all evils of the world."
"You, clad in a trilogy of the seven heavens, come forth from the circle of deterrence, O Guardian of the Scales!"
Light burst from the magic circle, followed by a gust of wild wind. The two priests stood calmly without swaying, staring directly at the array where the wind blew and the light shone. Once the light and wind subsided, a figure was seen standing in the center of the circle.
"Servant. Assassin."
The man spoke in an extremely calm, toneless voice. His appearance left both priests stunned. The man standing on the array wore a black overcoat over a white long-sleeved shirt; he was a youth who did not look like an ancient person at all.
The youth looked at the two priests with golden eyes that were completely hollow and devoid of light, and said, "True Name: Caelus."
"Not a Hassan?"
The elderly priest couldn't help but show surprise at this scene. Setting aside why this Heroic Spirit was dressed like a modern person, the mere fact that an Assassin-class Servant was not an Old Man of the Mountain was astonishing.
Throughout human history, Assassins have been countless. Although the Old Men of the Mountain were not the earliest recorded Assassins in history, they were indeed the ones who thoroughly spread the concept of 'Assassin' and gained immense fame.
With enough fame and historical depth in this world, one would naturally become a Heroic Spirit.
And since Hassan-i-Sabbah, as a multi-generational Assassin organization, is strongly bound to the Assassin class itself, even without a catalyst, the summoned Servant would basically be one of the Hassans.
In a situation where a catalyst was used, there should have been even fewer exceptions. Yet, with a nearly 99% probability, they had pulled something else?
"Caelus... I've never heard of any famous historical figure or character from myth and legend with this name, let alone one associated with assassination... Kirei, as a master chosen by the Holy Grail, you should be able to see the Servant's specific status. How is this Assassin?"
Kirei Kotomine looked toward Caelus.
Servant: Assassin
True Name: Caelus
Gender: Male
Height: 181cm
Weight: 50kg
Alignment: True Neutral
Strength: B
Endurance: B
Agility: B
Mana: EX
Luck: E
Noble Phantasm: A
Class Skills: Presence Concealment A: Extremely low sense of presence.
Path of IX EX: Does not require any energy to sustain his own existence, and simultaneously cannot be affected by the vast majority of energy. Whether it be Command Spells, Noble Phantasms, or energy attributes brought by Magecraft, none can affect him.
Outside of Fate EX: Cannot be targeted by fate or causality-type abilities.
Noble Phantasm: Nihilistic Vortex of Futility
Rank: A
Type: Anti-Army / Interference
Range: 3~50
Maximum Targets: 100 people
Noble Phantasm Effect: The Servant completely unleashes his internal core of IX, eroding and assimilating everything in the surroundings, plunging all things in the world into meaningless nothingness. All living beings within the domain will question the meaning of their own existence, the logic of their own thoughts, and the value of their own being. They will fall into inescapable doubt, gradually being eroded and assimilated during their contemplation, finally losing all characteristic colors and existence to fall into IX. Non-living entities, under the effect of IX, will also lose their colors at an extremely rapid pace.