Fate/Grand Order story · Part 2: Cosmos in the Lostbelt, Lostbelt No.7: Golden Sea of Trees, Nahui Mictlān
The Fifth Sun
Lostbelt No.7: Golden Sea of Trees, Nahui Mictlān. ???
2 scenes, 158 lines
1. Before the battle
99 lines...Where am I...?
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...I remember now. This is where I came before I woke up in that cave.
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I can't see a thing, and there's no one else here.
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But, I also feel strangely fulfilled.
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...I think I'll go pay him a visit.
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According to one interpretation of Aztec mythology, the dead were sorted into those who died in battle, and those who died of natural causes.
Those who died in battle were guided to the twelfth of the thirteen heavensa paradise called Teteocán.
Teteocán's eastern region was Tlahuiztlampa, the final resting place for warriors who died in battle and human sacrifices.
Teteocán's western region was Cihuatlampa, the final resting place for women who died in childbirth.
Teteocán's southern region was Huitztlampa, the bright and shining final resting place for dead children.
And Teteocán's northern region was Mictlānpa, a zone of peaceful repose and quiet.
Mictlānpa was the domain of Tezcatlipoca, the omnipotent god of war and death who demanded sacrifice.
Meanwhile, there was also a separate subterranean underworld, divided into nine layers.
This underworld subjected the souls of humans who died of natural causes to numerous trials in order to make them strong enough to return to the living world.
That underworld was called Mictlān.
In Proper Human History, it was the domain of two gods: the exceedingly cunning Mictlāntēcutli, and his wife, Mictēcacihuātl.
These were the only gods who dealt solely with matters of death.
The Mesoamerican peoples thought of death as a close neighbor. Thus, every god had some connection to death, regardless of what kind of god they may have been.
There can be no life without death.
And the question of how to explain and overcome death was one each god could answer as they chose.
In that regard, there was no god more inscrutable than Tezcatlipoca.
As a god of war, he would seek warriors capable of winning battles, for he saw combat as the greatest height to which people could aspire.
But, the souls of warriors were not led to his domain. Instead, they were led to Tlahuiztlampa in the east.
Even though Tezcatlipoca would plant the seeds of war, it would always be another god who reaped their harvest.
Mictlānpa, Tezcatlipoca's paradise of peaceful repose and quiet.
Even now, it remains unclear what might have resulted in the dead being guided to this realm.
All we know for sure is that it was not a subterranean underworld, like Mictlān or Xibalba.
The best guess we have is that it was a domain for souls who had fought a great battle...and had earned a good long rest.
There you have it, Tezcatlipoca. Chaldea stopped ORT. Your vision of the future is no more than an illusion now.
God or not, now that you've spoken a falsehood, you need to be punished.
Let me go get Quetzalcoatl. I believe her domain was Cihuatlampa to the west, right?
Damn, you serious? Please, anything but the birdbrain's macana. That thing rattles my skull harder than a hangover.
Besides, I didn't speak falsely. ORT did destroy a world: Mictlān.
I just embellished what came after a little bit. It could've gone all the way if I'd had a little more budget to work with.
...Anyway, we've got a guest. Looks like it's the one you've been waiting for, Daybit.
Tezcatlipoca.
Daybit.
I wouldn't say I was waiting for him. This is quite a detour, you know. I figured the odds were fifty-fifty.
Of course he was gonna show up. He still has to get back what he pawned.
Oh, so you ARE still gonna keep up the whole Master gig, fighting and all that, right, kid?
...Yes, I am. So if this is the border between lifeand death...I'm taking back my Master authority.
...That's right. I'm reclaiming my Master authorityand going back to my own world.
Hang on, Tezcatlipoca. I thought Fujimaru had already regained his Master authority.
We both saw him summoning Servants.
Yeah, he was able to do that much. As long as he had his Command Spells, he could use the underworld boundaries to draw on the connections he's made so far.
I gave those Command Spells to Camazotz, and he got them all back from him.
But I never gave up his Master authority. That, I've still got.
I see. So it wasn't truly a fair fight after all.
That explains why the man who saved the world seemed so unintimidating.
All right, let's fight.
This is Mictlānpa, a realm of neither life nor death.
You don't have to worry about the debt you incurred to return to life now. Here, you're in perfect condition, Master.
The winner will be kicked back to life, and the price that was paid returned.
In your case, that would mean regaining your Command Spells, your Master authority. In my case... What would happen in my case, Tezcatlipoca?
You'd come back to life with another chance. Hell, I could even return you to the moment you summoned me.
Make sure ORT destroys the whole planet this time. 'Course, that means you'd have to face Chaldea a second time, too.
So I would have to repeat that year, huh? All five hundred and twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes... No, wait.
That's all right. It would only be around thirty hours.
So you still haven't given up? Why?
I don't get it. Why are you so hell-bent on destroying Earth?
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What a strange question. I'm doing this for the same reason you do what you do.
It's not out of a sense of duty; it's just what I want to do. Pure self-gratification.
Ha! You really are one hell of a berserker, fracturing the whole damn planet to amuse yourself! And that Master there's cut from the same cloth!
All right. I'll banish whoever wins from my domain. This'll be the last initiation into Aztec mythology.
Don't hold back, now. I want you putting everything you've got into this fight. Do that, and I'll still respect the loser.
Those who flee in panic, hesitate to kill, and second-guess justice are cowards, not to be recognized as warriors.
You shun death too much for my liking, but you've survived this long while holding on to your principles, so you've earned my recognition.
Master of Chaldea. If you truly harbor the soul of a warrior, then I will respond as a warrior myself.
I welcome all warriors, no matter what form they take.
In Aztec culture, only victorious warriors can receive glory and acclaim. I'm all for that.
But in battle, there are losers as well as winners. The losers' efforts, courage, and choices never endure.
That, I can't abide. Everyone who dies in battle should be met with an equal reward.
That's why my domain welcomes winners and losers alike.
Every soul that fought with bravery, lost miserably, and was swiftly forgotten has a home here.
I recognize their accomplishments, and offer them rest and tranquility.
So...which will you be, Fujimaru?
Will you be a loser and go off to the paradise over the horizon to your eternal rest?
Or will you be the winner and return once more to your own battle?
Real talk, all of Mictlān is at stake in this battle. If you win, the Seventh Lostbelt will truly be finished.
I will use the dawning sunNāhui-Olīn, our fifth sunto bring Mictlān's story to a close.
Show me your resolve. Now is the time to choose between life and death.
Just because he chooses life doesn't mean he'll be able to claim it. This realm will be his final resting place.
Chaldea has abused humanity far too much to be a match for the Foreign God.
Chaldeasno, Marisbury, is not an enemy of humankind. He's an enemy of the entire universe.
If I'm the only one who sees him for what he truly is...
...then I'll destroy this planet and stop humankind from becoming the greatest villains in the known universe.
Your goal is to save the world. Mine is to save all of creation.
We may both have humankind's best interests at heart, but given how different our approaches are, this conflict was inevitable.
Now, get ready, Fujimaru. Neither of us have anything holding us back here.
I challenge you not as a Crypter, but as a Master. Win or lose, this is the end.
Let's see how you compare to the simulation battles I imagined inside my Coffin.
2. After the battle
59 lines...I knew it. In a competition between Masters, you have the upper hand.
Still, why did you have to fight his Servants all by yourself, Tezcatlipoca?
You're a god. Couldn't you have called in some subordinates or something? Maybe chain-summon a few Jaguar Warriors?
Oh well, it is what it is. Now that I've lost, I'd best be on my way.
Wait. Was this really the only option?
Was ORT really the only way to fight the Foreign God?
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...Yes, it was. I can't form trusting relationships the way you can.
By the time I'd figured out Chaldeas's identity when I was working on Team A, I was far too late to stop it.
Chaldeas was a complete planet by then. No one could possibly destroy it.
I tried threatening Marisbury, hoping I could make him put a stop to his plan. Instead, he killed himself.
He said if the choice was between his own life and his plan for the Preservation of Humanity, there was nothing to even think about.
In that moment, I had no choice but to go along with his plan.
No outsider could ever destroy Chaldeas. The only ones who could ever have a chance had to be members of Chaldea.
And that's your group. Me, I chose to remain a Crypter.
But fighting the old Chaldea as part of the new Chaldea never occurred to me.
Novum Chaldea. That's an excellent name.
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Daybit, wait!
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Knock it off. You gonna deny him a graceful exit too now?
Just see him off. Mictlānpa's a good place for him now.
Don't worry. My paradise might be one hell of a dream spa, but it's not eternal.
Once he's rested up, I'm gonna have him fight again. And this time, he'll be on the winning side.
When you get right down to it, this place is a rest stop. It's meant to help warriors prepare for their next battle.
I'm leaving...? Wait! I'm not ready to go yet!
Hold up! I still don't have my Master authority back!
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Oh, right. I almost forgot.
Go on then, take it.
This is the form I used to trade you for it, so it's only right that I use this form to return it, too.
All right, time for me to get going, too.
It's a shame we were on opposing sides this time... Then again, maybe it was for the best.
I'm not much for self-restraint. If we'd been allies, I'd have wound up shooting you in the back of the head.
As a rule, I lend my aid to everyone who's fighting for something, but I was really betting on Daybit here.
I mean, his vision for mass destruction was on a whole other level.
I've watched entire nations die out more times than I can count, so of course I'm the kinda god who's gonna get my hopes up.
But don't get me wrong. There's no such thing as a cataclysmic battle that destroys everything.
You might've ended Mictlān, but you didn't destroy it.
You heard how extinction happens repeatedly in Aztec mythology, right?
Then you should've also heard that afterward, some things always do come back to life.
Even if a country or civilization falls or is destroyed, something'll keep living on. Something no one can erase.
Do you know what that something is?
...Records?
Time.
...It's what the deinos said was bigger than them.
That's right, kid. The deinos were servants of time.
If any of them show up in my paradise, I'll let 'em know that their friend was one hell of a guy.
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You people tend to see time as something to be measured, but it's really something that accumulates. That's all it needs to be valuable.
Whether you die, or your country is destroyed, time isn't going anywhere.
Humans like to think of themselves as passengers riding the flow of time, but it's really the other way around.
The fact is, time is the passenger. Humans are the current that carries it.
Remember this, Fujimaru. Humans aren't the only ones marking the passage of time.
There's the time humans observe... The time recorded by machines...
The time for matter to wear down... The time for planets to cool...
As long as any of those exist, our world will never die out, nor will there be any permanent end.
Sure, some things'll be lost, but even when everyone on this planet has outlived their usefulness...
...time'll keep marching on into the future forever.