Fate/Grand Order story · Part 1.5: Epic of Remnant, Pseudo-Parallel World: The Stage of Carnage, Shimousa
Prelude
Pseudo-Parallel World: The Stage of Carnage, Shimousa. Rice Field
1 scenes, 211 lines
1. Before the battle
211 lines...A hawk cries out somewhere in the distance.
In Mt. Kinbou's Reigandou, an old man awaits the final moments of his life.
His name: Shinmen Musashi-no-Kami Fujiwara-no-Harunobu.
Which is to say, I am speaking of myself.
Yes, I am Shinmen Musashi; one whose blade has spilled the blood of countless others.
Perhaps I was once called "Miyamoto Musashi" at some point, but that doesn't matter now.
...
... ...
...No, not yet. I refuse to sleep just yet.
Come now, eyes, open up. Yes, that's it.
I may well end up dying today or tomorrow, but it won't be right this instant. Patience.
After all, my visitor has yet to arrive.
...Hmm, now where was I? Oh yes, my blades.
I killed...quite a few people with them.
Blades...
They are tools for killing; for cutting and slashing human bodies. They once referred to tachi and katana; now they refer to katana and wakizashi.
Blades are carried by soldiers, by warriors, by bushi... They could also be called samurai, a variation of the word "saburau," meaning to serve, as they serve their masters.
In any case, those who command these warriors are known as generals.
A general is like nothing so much as a master carpenter.
He must know how to make use of every tool at his disposal to carry out his master's wishes.
...Even now, I can hear a young Iori telling me he doesn't understand what I mean.
Perhaps Magonojou would have that smug, knowing expression about now? Yes, I imagine he would.
Me, I'm hopeless. I didn't understand anything back when I was young. I just traveled the world, cutting down any who challenged me.
I could never have hoped to be a general. At best, I would have ended up some minor commander bound for some tiny domain.
How foolish.
Yes, foolish. What point is there in being good with a blade? It is good for nothing but killing and maiming others...
Perhaps my life might have been more worthwhile had I been a painter.
No doubt Takada Matabei would laugh if he heard that. He would say I'm spouting nonsense in my old age.
Yes, you're right, Matabei. It is far too late for me to allow myself to wallow in regret now.
...As if I would ever say something like that. Hahaha!
There is nothing wrong with a bit of foolishness! I lived in a chaotic age, where the screams of agony were common as bird song!
I have no regrets! I've spent my whole life cutting, slashing, slaughtering!
Come then, fate! Show me what my final moments hold!
Spirits in heaven, forgive me for such fruitless dreams. Treat them as no more than the ramblings of an old man on death's door, and pay them no heed.
Still, I have precious little time left. My eyes may close forever even before the fateful moment arrives.
Nnn... (Cough, hack)...!
...Well, this is troubling... How truly vexing.
Gods... Buddha... At this point, I'll even take an oni, or a demon.
Please, give me more time, so that I may reach my destiny. I don't think I'll be able to do so in the bowels of hell.
If that is impossible, then...
...Ahh, if only this world were itself a living hell.
Oh, Senpai!
Speak of the devil. I was just heading to your room to look for you.
I finally found something I've been trying to find for some time...
What's that?
It's something that concerns you, Senpai.
What were you so keen to find, Mash?
Oh, I wasn't looking for it for my sake. If anything, it's more to do with you, Senpai.
？！
Let me start at the beginning.
Let's see... Senpai, you once said that you met Miyamoto Musashi, the famous swordmaster, during a dream-like experience, right?
Yup, I sure did.
Well, this concerns her too.
...I'm afraid I don't remember it very clearly.
You don't?
Perhaps there's some rule we don't know about that uniquely affects miniature Singularities.
Very well then, let me tell you what you told me right after you returned.
？！
Unlike the historical Miyamoto Musashi, this one you encountered was a woman. Perhaps from a world of Pruning Theoretical Phenomenon.
She may have been one who travels between worlds via some special means, or even a living human rather than a Heroic Spirit...
Whatever the case, that was the Musashi you met.
I found this very intriguing.
I had nothing to go on but what you told me, and the circumstantial evidence.
And there was one more thing, something that kept nagging at me personally.
If Miyamoto Musashi has been split into two different people, one male, one female...
There may be a reason for that.
Of course, there are a fair number of Heroic Spirits with numerous "What if?" Spirit Origins registered here at Chaldea alone.
Maybe that's the case with Musashi as well, or maybe she's something completely different.
...Either way, I had to find out.
So you were looking for data on Musashi, huh.
And did you? Find something, I mean.
？！
Yes! And I couldn't have done it without the whole staff's help!
Aw, it was no big deal. There was all sorts of always-accessible, text-formatted data already saved to the standard library.
Unfortunately, image data of authentic original texts isn't as easy to find.
But luckily, we recently happened across some that was saved to a stand-alone underground library.
I think my heart skipped a beat when it first turned up, though. After all...
...it said not to look at it in the README file.
Still, I scanned it for viruses and it came up clean, so it should be all right. Probably just someone's idea of a practical joke.
Anyway, I hope this image taken of the original manuscript for the Book of Five Rings helps you two out. Later!
Thank you so much!
This is the book Musashi wrote!
Oh, but, isn't that...
？！
Yes. This is the book that the Miyamoto Musashi who left his mark on OUR history wrote.
The female Musashi that you met had nothing to do with it.
For one thing, she hadn't materialized as a Servant, right?
I think she was a flesh-and-blood human.
No, but she was just as strong as any Servant.
？！
Moving between worlds while still alive...
Alternate histories...but with the exact same name...
...A different version of the exact same person.
Senpai, can you wait for a little while? There's something I want to try.
If the Musashi you met was different from our history's Miyamoto Musashi, but she also had the same name and fought with two swords...
Then we may be able to find something else they have in common, or maybe even some way in which they're entirely different, in the manuscript.
I know I'm grasping at straws, so I can't offer anything more definitive right now, but...
It's okay. I'll help you.
Maybe we'll learn something surprising about her.
？！
Thank you, Senpai!
...Hm. Hm hm hmm. So you were discussing The Book of Five Rings, were you?
I really must say: it might be just a touch difficult to decipher it, and to find a proper expert.
Ah!
Speak of the devil!?
Right, Musashi and Kojirou are like peas in a pod!
？！
Oh, no. I may call myself Sasaki Kojirou, but who's to say if that is indeed who I truly am?
No, I am merely a stick-waving samurai who stumbled onto this name.
I have certainly heard the name "Miyamoto Musashi," but I've never actually met him. Indeed, I have no connection to him whatsoever, for good or ill.
Nonetheless, now that I go by Kojirou, I cannot ignore the mark that Shinmen Musashi has made upon the world.
Knowledge of The Book of Five Rings was bestowed upon me when I was summoned as a Servant, whether I wished it so or not.
As such, I know it quite well, though I cannot say how comprehensible its contents will be to you, Lord Fujimaru.
Everything up to the Book of Earth and the Book of Water can be interpreted easily enough. But beyond that, it is more a book of riddles than a manual.
Its final chapter, the Book of Void, is nothing more than a scrap that lays Musashi's feelings bare.
Nor are they described in a tangible, material manner. Void discusses what lies beyond... The karmic laws one's eye can see.
And the concept of "zero," which at the time was at the very bleeding edge of Buddhist studies.
Indeed, it reads more like a philosophical treatise created to help the reader accept this new way of thinking.
...E-excuse me...
I'm afraid I completely forgot...
Sasaki Kojirou!!!
...Oh, I-I'm sorry for getting carried away. I didn't mean to shout in your face like that.
But I just remembered that you showed up in the story about the famous duel on Ganryu Island!
Of course, some say that story was just invented some years later, and you're also rather unique when it comes to Heroic Spirits...
B-but that's exactly why I should have thought to ask you about it first!
And yet, for some reason...it never even occurred to me until now...
...Huh? That's odd. It felt like my head was swimming in some kind of haze or something...
Please calm yourself, Lady Mash. Take a few deep breaths, and make sure you are getting enough oxygen.
Now, may I ask what you mean to do with The Book of Five Rings? Do you mean to summon Musashi to Chaldea as well?
No, not exactly...
Though I would like to see her again if I could.
You never know for sure when it comes to Musashi.
？！
Oho. So you met a Miyamoto Musashi, but not the historical Miyamoto Musashi of our world.
Rather, she is a woman with thin arms who wields two katana, claims to be Musashi, and aspires to perfect her swordsmanship, hmm.
Fascinating. She sounds very much like me, and yet entirely different.
I may be Sasaki Kojirou, but inside, I am merely a single manifestation of one of the many legends surrounding him.
I am but the shadow of the moon as reflected in a pool of water.
But you say this mysterious Musashi you met is apparently THE Musashi, rather than one of his manifestations.
In which case, did this female Musashi ever tell you this?
"Kojirou, you have lost."
According to other swordmasters, that is what Musashi said to Kojirou after the latter had cast aside his scabbard of his own accord while awaiting Musashi on Ganryu Island.
There are numerous interpretations of their duel, but there are no lines more famous than this.
As such, those words would prove that this Musashi was indeed who she claims.
Perhaps you even came to believe she was Musashi because you had heard her speak that line, Lord Fujimaru?
No, she never said anything like that.
She's still Musashi whether she said that or not.
？！
Oho. Oh, ho ho. That complicates matters. Then I believe this female Musashi has yet to reach the void.
Which may then make you the final piece of this puzzle, Lord Fujimaru.
Musashi was my most ephemeral rival. A wielder of two katana for whom Sasaki Kojirou had waited since time immemorial.
There have been many great swordmasters in Japan's history, but despite being flashy and controversial, none so well-known and beloved as him.
He was a brilliant martial artist with nary a loss to his name: Shinmen...
Musashi-no-Kami...
Fujiwara-no...
Harunobu...
...That does sound like me.
But I never dreamed I'd have the luxury of somebody overseeing it all to the end.
I never thought things would turn out like this.
...Senpai?
You look pale... No, more than pale. You look ghostly white... Wait, this has happened before!
What's wrong, Senpai? Senpai!?
Senpai! Senpai! Please wake up, Senpai!
What is all this commotion? It's eeearly. What's wrong, Mash? You seem awfully worked up.
Why, you're pale as an oni. Oh, and I see Master's collapsed in a heap.
He's out cold, isn't he? But don't worry, he's still got a pulse. We're neither too late nor too early.
I shall go and fetch Lady Martha. Lady Mash, remain calm. Lady Douji, keep an eye on things.
Well, it's not like he's dying or anything. Although, it does feel like there's some kind of magical energy here...
...Hmm, never mind. Guess it was just my imagination.
Hey, Fujimaru. Wake up, or I'll start nibbling on you from the head down.
Senpai...! Senpai! Can you hear me...!?
...There you have it.
Mr. Fujimaru has fallen into a deep coma.
He was thoroughly examined, but nothing was found to be amiss. If anything, he appears to be the picture of health.
Yet, he will not wake up.
Not even all the healing-focused Casters in Chaldea working together are able to open his eyes.
And according to Mash...this is not the first time Master has succumbed to such a coma.
When this happened before, I believe the cause lay with...
...
Oh, my apologies. Ultimately, the King of Mages was responsible for that, of course.
Though you were certainly complicit, you were not the sole cause of the problem. Nor are you the sort of man to repeat the same crime twice.
Nonetheless, I couldn't help but suspect that you might know a thing or two about this.
...Silence.
Keep prattling on, and I will burn you to ash from the inside out.
Do not speak to me. I have no interest in whatever you have to say. Just keep your mouth shut, Holmes.
...Quite a shame, that. I thought we might find common ground as gentlemen who share a fondness for tobacco.
Very well then, I shall refrain from further conversation. I was merely hoping you might be able to help contain this situation.
But I shall respect your wishes and do without your cooperation.
However, as this matter concerns Chaldea's sole Master, it is of utmost importance. As such, I shall be continuing my investigation.
Do what you will. It's no concern of mine.
There we go. That should have him helping out in earnest.
It's a shame that things have come to this, but now that they have, everything depends upon all of us doing our best.
And, of course, upon Mr. Fujimaru's own battle.
(Open eyes)
？！
You see...a blue sky stretching out above you.
(Sit up)
？！
Huh? Already awake!? I thought you'd be out for at least another day!
Wait, no, sorry. Why do I always say the first thing that comes to mind?
Okay then, to make up for that, let me tell you what's going on!
Seeing as it's such a nice day, I decided this was a good time and place to eat. I unwrapped my meal and was just getting ready to eat when you suddenly fell from the sky.
I caught you, purely on instinct, but in the process, my rice ball fell into the dirt! ...But aaanyway...
I tried calling to you and slapping you awake, but you were out like a lantern, so I figured I was in for a day of waiting around here to keep an eye on you.
But then you just went and woke up on your own, like Yajirobe.
I see your luck is still as strong as ever. Or maybe Lady Kannon has taken you under her protection.
Anyway, let me introduce myself again. I'm
Musashi!
？！
That's right! I'm Shinmen Musashi-no-Kami Fujiwara-no-Harunobu, but you can just call me Musashi, like you did before!
It's been a long time, Fujimaru! I'm so glad we were able to see each other again!