Fate/Grand Order story · Events, Christmas 2025
8 Years Snow Carol
Christmas 2025. Chaldea Gate
1 scenes, 193 lines
1. Before the battle
193 linesAfter reaching the point where I had eight hours remaining, I opened the Nautilus's hatch and swam out into the Void Sea on my own.
I can't risk getting closer than this in the Nautilus. Sheba wouldn't miss a submarine emerging in the Antarctic.
I have to emerge in Chaldea Base alone, with only the bare minimum of equipment.
Because I'm swimming against the flow of time, space swirls around me like a raging river, bearing down on me harder the further into the past I go.
I transform my lower body into a merman's and keep swimming against the vortex.
... ...
I feel the cold of the negative waters, and the pressure of knowing that even the slightest deviation in my route will lead to my erasure.
I'm used to swimming in the sea of Void Space, but swimming in it while also traveling through time is something else altogether.
No ordinary Spirit Origin could endure it. Instead of fighting the current, they'd simply stay in place and disappear.
Sixty seconds is all I can bear. A single second never felt so long in the ocean as in this moment.
... ...
A dizzy spell impedes my vision. The overwhelming fear threatens to rob me of consciousness.
I grit my teeth harder and do my best to restore my shattered senses to normal.
I still have seven hours' worth of distance to cover to reach the target. Will I make it in time?
For that matter, will my Spirit Origin last that long? This operation has zero margin for error.
Sixty seconds is both the longest time my Spirit Origin can hold together, and the shortest time it takes to reach the destination.
I can't make a single mistake. I can't slow down even for a moment.
If I put even one finger out of place as I swim towards 2017, this operation will fail, and my body will scatter like dust.
It is very literally do or die. No one in their right mind would think to attempt this. Probably no one in their wrong mind, either.
And is the payoff for braving all this danger going to be worth it? I can't say that it is.
So then, what DO I hope to get by doing this?
"You're right in that you'll avoid creating a time paradox with that approach. But it also means it will have practically no effect."
... ...
The spatial current grows even more intense. It blocks my way, feeling as solid as a wall.
Within it, I see glimpses of someone else's memories.
Oh, wait. He's not really a Master candidate, is he? You were the only one who was just a candidate.
Hm? Hang on, I have to take this. Hello?
Kadoc's awake now? And he's in good health? That's great! Send him to the Command Room immediately!
Good news, Fujimaru! Kadoc's fully recovered!
You can go back to just being a spare, and we can start doing our jobs properly without holding your hand all the time!
Huh? What're you talking about!? Your training and mission days are over.
You're just a regular guy with no special talents. Stop trying to be something you're not.
Just hang out in your room and let the experts handle things!
So don't bother listening to the residents of the Lostbelts. Besides, we've got them all beat when it comes to sheer suffering!
We're from Proper Human History. We're the victors! We took the intended route. We can't let anyone take that from us. We can't...
Still, what can we do with only twelve of us? There's no way we can ever rebuild what we lost!
You know as well as I do how bleak things are, right!? Those Lostbelt people know nothing of this kind of solitude! This sort of pressure!
They should be the ones to compromise! They should be the ones to disappear!
Any pain they've experienced is nothing compared to ours!
You know, you're not quite right in the head.
You've almost died countless times, surviving by luck alone.
You've forsaken countless worlds, kept alive by the devil's own luck.
You've abandoned countless peoplecountless worldsto their deaths.
And despite all that, you're still no worse for wear.
...Yeah.
"Let's say someone was beset by nightmares every day. The most luck a charm like this could bring is to help them wake up maybe a second earlier than usual."
That's more than enough of a reward.
Base sequence: human genome confirmed Alignment: Good-Neutral
Welcome to the data center for the future of humankind. This is the Security Organization for the Preservation of Humanity, Chaldea.
Fingerprint, voiceprint, and DNA authentication cleared. Magical Circuit assessment complete.
Username matched. You are recognized as a member of the primates.
Nice to meet you. You're our final visitor today.
We hope you enjoy your time here.
On this day, the forty-eighth Master candidate entered Chaldea.
He was recruited on short notice from a group of ordinary civilians thanks to his extremely high Rayshift aptitude, in spite of him having no knowledge of magecraft.
However, Chaldea already had a full set of Masters for Teams A through D ready to investigate their first Singularity.
This forty-eighth rookie Master candidate was only brought in to match the number of Coffins they had prepared.
Nobody had any great expectations for him.
Which is why our plan went off without a hitch.
I switched out the Master uniform Chaldea had prepared for him to wear after his entry inspection with our gift.
According to Chaldea's own records, owing to a lack of resources, they didn't have any more uniforms made up until January 2019.
So even if our uniform is eventually disposed of after Chaldea returns to standard space, he should still wear it before then.
Huh? What're you doing in this section?
I'm just on my way back from a coffee break.
What about you? Shouldn't you be at your post at the entrance gate?
I was just stepping away for a little personal business. Besides, it's not like we're supposed to get any more visitors today, right?
Yeah, okay. Almost everyone's in the Command Room anyway, so there's not much to keep an eye on.
How about you? Aren't you going to the Command Room?
Me? I'm a warehouse guard for life. I don't care about their Rayshift experiments.
Hell, the whole reason I took this job at a lab out in the middle of nowhere was to avoid getting caught up in mage turf wars.
The moment the Rayshift works, you just know all those Masters are gonna start fighting over who gets to own it.
Screw that noise. I don't want to get mixed up with any of the factions.
Yeah, I know what you mean. It might be secret Animusphere tech at its core, but it also uses tech from almost every other department somewhere or other in its workings.
So I'm sure the other Lords have all sent in spies to see what happens. Definitely not your thing.
Right? So I'm just gonna head back to the warehouse now. Later, Elron.
...If I were you, I wouldn't leave my post even if there aren't any visits scheduled. You don't want the director chewing you out again.
Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the warning.
The conversation went perfectly naturally. I'd already anticipated I might run into her here.
Everything's going to plan. All I have to do now is find somewhere private and dive back into Void Spa
Oh, hey there. Are you heading back from a break, too?
...
My spine stiffens the tiniest bit. This is not a meeting I accounted for.
It's rough, isn't it? Feels like all of Chaldea's on edge. Like we can't afford to make even a single mistake.
But I guess that's just how it goes, right? We've all been working to make today happen. This is it!
It's almost time for the director to give a speech to all the Masters and staff members.
I know you're big on staying neutral, but you should at least stop by. It'll make a good impression on her.
No thanks. I'm just gonna go back to the Moonlight RooI mean, the warehouse.
I don't really like the director when she's giving speeches. She's not so bad most of the time, though.
I feel exactly the same! Phew, you really don't mince words, huh!?
You should leave a note in the suggestion box or something and let her know what you think. I'd tell her myself, but she never listens to me.
You really think I could get away with telling her I don't like her?
I mean the part about how she's not so bad most of the time.
Nobody hates the director when she's giving a speech more than Olga Marie herself.
So if a staff member in your position says you like her, maybe she'll come to like herself a little more.
...By the way, I couldn't help but notice...
N-notice what?
Are you okay? You look exhausted. Almost like you've just run around the whole world or something.
I was just having coffee. See? My complexion's fine.
Oh, really? Maybe it was just my imagination then. Something about your back gave me that impression.
I'm sorry. You'd think, being a doctor, that I'd remember not to diagnose someone so casually.
...Hey, don't worry about it. You're not entirely wrong. I AM pretty tired.
I was just working on a really important job. Of course I'm gonna feel some pressure.
Gotcha. Thanks for all the hard work.
But I don't want you pushing yourself too hard. When that job is done, you should tackle something light and fun next.
Of course, work being work, it's not always going to be pleasant, but ideally, it should be fun, too.
So after you're done with this big important job that's meant to help everyone out, I want you to work on something fun that's just for you.
And if you can work on it with teammates you're close to, that'd be even better, for you and for them.
Teammates? What have they got to do with this?
Oh... Nothing, I guess. Sorry again. You just struck me as someone who prefers to be alone.
But even from this brief little chat, I can tell you have a strong sense of personal responsibility.
I have no doubt that the people around you admire you for that. They know you'll help when times are tough.
We don't always get as many opportunities to help and laugh with people as we'd like, so we've really gotta treasure what we do get.
If you have time later, stop by the infirmary. Hopefully you're fine, but better safe than sorry.
With that, the man gave a quick wave and turned to leave. Then, before I knew what I was doing...
Hey, sorry. Do you mind if I ask you something?
He gave a mild "Hm?" and turned back around.
It's not about me. It's about a friend of mine...
Posing it as a hypothetical...
...I asked him his thoughts on a struggle for survival between two worlds that were the same, yet different.
My question wasn't about the nature of the worlds themselves.
It was about an outsider who had been put in a position to witness their struggle, and decide which one would ultimately win.
I had to know if he thought this outsider's actions were good or evil, and how he would judge someone like that.
Hmm... Is this the plot of a sci-fi movie? I'm not sure I can give an especially well-informed opinion on something complicated like that...
Having said that, if we start from the premise that only one side can survive, and conflict is inevitable...
...then trying to determine whether the outsider is good or evil is asking the wrong question.
Since both the opposing sides are human, there will be no avoiding a clash of valuesa battle between right and wrong, as they say.
As a rule, people tend to believe they're in the right. Or to put it another way, they can ONLY do what they believe is right.
So no matter how righteous each side's cause may be, once they find themselves at cross-purposes, the other side must be wrong by definition.
...So wrongness is inevitable.
That goes for the opposition, and it goes for you opposing them in turn.
No matter how good a person you may be, when you have to fight for your survival, you simply can't keep your hands clean.
Is that what you're saying?
That's right. There's no getting around that.
So no matter what, you can't believe your side is completely correct and the other is completely wrong.
Might doesn't make right. The only thing a conflict's victor wins is the right to decide what to do next.
So you think battles for survival can only ever be wrong, huh. Does that mean there's no right to be found anywhere?
Sure there is. It's in you, right now, for worrying about this.
Thinking about the fact that we survived. That's what the man in the white coat said was right.
What he didn't say, at least not in so many words, was that he hoped we would be the kind of people who did that.
It was a conventional, obvious answer. But his words rang with absolute certainty.
In that moment, he seemed to me like a wise old sage living alone on a mountaintop who had borne witness to countless conflicts over the course of his life.
...I'm not talking about me. This is about my friend.
Oh, right! You did say that, didn't you? My bad!
"My bad" my foot. He definitely thinks I'm talking about myself.
...I think I can see why he would become so attached to this man after working with him for a year.
Anyway, I'd better get going. I may not look like it, but I am still the head of the medical department.
The director's probably just going to kick me out, but I'm going to drop by the Command Room and check in.
...Hang on. Um, I know this is a weird request, but...have you got anything you don't need on you?
Say, a spare pen or something? Anything you won't miss, that can be replaced easily?
Oh, sure, I've got lots of things like that. Gotta be prepared to head out at a moment's notice and all. Will these do?
Actually, could I have another set? I'd like to use them when I'm guarding the warehouse, too.
Sure! If you ever need more, just say the word! Haha, this is great! Feels like you're really appreciating my work!
This doesn't have anything to do with your work. ...I swear, are you stupid or something?
I don't know how you always look on the bright side of things. Though I guess I could stand to take a page from your book.
Really? Thanks. Here I was trying to cheer you up, and you went and did it for me instead.
All right, I'd really better get going now. Have a great day, Meunière.
And so the man in the white coat walked away.
I'll never see him again. I was never meant to see him at all. I'll never even get to ask his name...but I can at least give him the salute he deserves.
From that point on, everything else was the same.
Just as I had made my way here, he too was now headed to his promised time.
4:00 p.m. My Room, Day 7
Thanks in part to our work the other day, we made it back another hour earlier today.
Now we can really relax and wait for the Nemo Series to get ba
Huh, so you're early today. And here I thought you wouldn't be back yet.
Why, whatever do you mean?
So it's going to be like that, huh? All right, I'll leave it there. Now, please pardon the intrusion.
Great work today, Nemo Santa.
...Well, I'm still not done just yet, but thanks. It's good to be back.
？！
G-great work today, Nemo Santa. I'm surprised you're back a full two hours earlier than usual, though.
Did something strange happen today?
Yeah, kind of. It's a long story, and I can't get into the details.
...
... ...
Nemo?
Santa?
？！
No, I can't be sulking right now. I am a leader, and a leader should own up to his mistakes!
The truth is, I wasn't able to deliver a single present today. As Santa Claus, that should never have happened.
...But, that's not the real issue. I know this may be rich after coming this far, but...
Fujimaru, Mash, I failed to recognize that the two of you deserve to be Santa Claus every bit as much as I do.
I want to right that wrong now. So...I understand this may be too little, too late, but...
...would you be willing to deliver these remaining presents with me?
Of course!
Hell yeah! I'm raring to go after all this resting!
？！
Thank you both. Then let's get going. There's no time to waste.
Make sure you dress warm, and bring plenty of midnight snacks. It's going to be a long night.
I've already got my stash all ready to go, of course. This kind of work is supposed to be fun, after all.
And once we're done with the deliveries, I have a little present for each of you as well.
A present? I can't wait to open it. Can you tell us what it is?
Sorry, you'll just have to be patient. The Holy Night comes but once a year, so these memories should make for precious gifts, too.
I will say that they're just something extra I found while I was guarding the warehouse...but I think, for you two, they'll be the best gifts you've ever received.