Fate/Grand Order story · Events, Bedazzled! Grail Concert! Crane Returns an Idol's Favor
Heartbeat Daydream
Bedazzled! Grail Concert! Crane Returns an Idol's Favor. Yoyomori Park
1 scenes, 229 lines
1. Before the battle
229 lines...It's over.
...I'm sorry. Come again?
We should disband Dreams Gone Girls and go our separate ways.
About half a day earlier...
... ...
Oh good, you're up, Serenity. ...Your eyes are a little red, aren't they?
I...couldn't sleep very well last night. I kept thinking about what happened at the Grail Concert...
Hey, there's no reason to feel bad. We made it to the second round! I think we did great.
Aren't you sad we lost?
That's all in the past now. It's over. And no, I don't feel bad about losing to AxXxS. They deserved to win.
And part of being a pharaoh is knowing how to be gracious in defeat.
...Yes, I suppose you're right.
Besides, we have to focus on what comes next.
What comes next...
That's right. We have to get things ready for the next show, to ensure it's even better than our last.
...To ensure people's lives come to a proper end.
Anyway, breakfast is all ready now. Once we've eaten, we should spend some time going over what happened yesterday.
...And what about after that?
After that? After that... Hmm, good question. Usually, we would spend the day rehearsing, but...
You know, why don't we take today off? Get some rest.
Okay, I will. ...Are you going to go out somewhere?
No, I don't think so. I'm just going to relax in my room.
I can do some praying, catch up on my reading, and enjoy some nice, hot tea.
Oh, I know! Let's watch a movie in the living room together later.
We've been so busy practicing for the Grail Concert that we haven't had any time for fun things like that.
But, wouldn't that be dangerous for y
Don't worry. I'm a Heroic Spirit. There shouldn't be any problem with watching a movie on the same couch.
Besides, hasn't your...unique quality been weakened in this Singularity?
Well...yes.
Then it'll be fine.
...Okay.
That was a good movie, wasn't it?
Yes... I enjoyed it a lot.
... ...
Nitocris.
Yes?
Could we go on a walk? There's a place I'd like to visit.
Hey, isn't this...?
Yes. This is where you and I first met in this Singularity.
I knew it! The moon was really pretty that night, wasn't it?
I remember I had just been summoned to this Singularity, and I was wandering around lost in thought about what it meant to be an idol.
Then I heard a voice...a kind, lonely, beautiful singing voice that reminded me of the veil of night.
Yes, that was very strange. I didn't understand why I'd been summoned here.
After all, idols are...lively.
They're surrounded by people who love them.
...And my life couldn't have been further from that.
I could never be one myself. Not when I'm no more than poison in human form, forced to always remain at arm's length from...everyone.
Then why were you singing?
I was just dabbling really. I thought, if I'd been born a different person, in a brighter, sunnier place...maybe this is what I would have liked to do.
And then, you came along... And you listened to me without any fear at all.
You have a beautiful voice. And I see you're a lovely dancer, too.
Then you came up on this stage too, and began singing the same song as me...
Even that was reckless. Surely you must have known what I was.
I'm an Anti-Hero, a Heroic Spirit who was never meant to walk in the light.
So?
Now I'm five paces away, and I'm fine. You see? I'm not scared at all.
Not now that I understand you after teaming up with you and spending all this time together.
...
...I know.
You closed the distance I could never close myself.
Those five paces of progress are one of the things I'm secretly most proud of.
I only wish there was also a way I could cross the last five paces, too.
...
...Thank you. That means a lot to me.
Of course. I mean every word of it.
Ahh...
Ahh, this is terrible...
Serenity?
...I'm happy.
So happy.
Happier than I even knew it was possible to be...
But I shouldn't have asked. I never should have known!
What's wrong, Serenity?
Stop!
Don't come any closer.
...?
...over.
Huh?
...It's over.
...I'm sorry. Come again?
We should disband Dreams Gone Girls and go our separate ways.
Wh-what are you talking about? Where did that even come from!?
Why, Serenity?
Did I do something to hurt you? Did I say something wrong?
Not at all. If anything, you did the opposite, Pharaoh.
You've been so kind to me, and it's made me so happy.
But that's exactly why the fact that your ten paces became five...
...is so terrifying to me.
Terrifying?
Yes. I'm terrified.
I was born to live in darkness. To sneak around in the shadows, and kill anyone I come close to.
That's just who I am.
When I'm on stage with you, I can sing, and dance, and smile...
There's a part of me that loves being an idol. But that isn't the real me.
That isn't Hassan of the Serenity...
Serenity
I've heard miracles can happen, even for hollow, unchanging shadows like us.
That they could become altered, or dissimilated, or transformed. If such a miracle ended up changing my poison...
...then one day, my very breath, though it's harmless to other Heroic Spirits now...
...might end your life.
...!
That's why we should end this now.
Dear Pharaoh. Idol from the Kingdom of the Sun.
We should never have gotten this close in the first place. ...Goodbye.
...I see. And you haven't been able to get ahold of her ever since?
No, I haven't... I thought she might have gone back to Master and Mash, but they haven't seen her at Chaldea Productions, either.
It must be hard, parting ways so suddenly with a fellow idol Servant you'd become close to.
Hey, this concerns you too! Well, no, actually, I guess it doesn't...
Though it would if you'd accepted my invitation to join me as an idol when we were first summoned here.
Once again, I'm very sorry for disappointing you... But I decided my time here was best spent as peacefully as possible.
That's why I've only been singing for tiny audiences and talking to small groups of fans.
I haven't grappled with any doubts about this Singularity, nor had any involvement with the Grail Concert. I've just been living my life.
Well, if that's your decision, I won't be the one to try to force you to change.
Still, since I can't abandon a friend like you when you're in trouble, I'll do what I can to help, though I can't promise it will be much.
...Thank you, Scheherazade. I'm grateful to have you as a friend.
Not at all. Now, let's see... For the time being, why not go to that concert hall where you're scheduled to perform tonight?
Tonight? Oh, gosh, I forgot all about that! But, without my partner there...
I guess I'll just have to call and tell them we can't make it.
Avoid the phone. Speak in person.
Huh?
That's my advice for you. You should go to the concert hall and apologize personally for canceling on them.
Do that, and I'm sure good things will happen.
Don't you dare!
Huh!? Ph-Pharaoh Ozymandias! Wh-wh-what are you doing here!?
I received a message from that expert storyteller woman.
O-oh, I see! So Scheherazade sent you here!
You performed magnificently during the Grail Concert! I therefore decided to come see your next show.
But now, you say you wish to cancel? What is the meaning of this, Nitocris!?
Y-yes, you have every right to be angryHuh? Y-you were watching the Grail Concert?
Of course. While I have no interest in idols, you are not just any idol. You are a pharaoh.
A pharaoh should never make a spectacle of themselves by singing and dancing in front of an audience! I intended to reduce this city to ashes if what I saw displeased me!
Oh gosh, oh gosh...!
However.
Once I saw you and your partner on that stage adored by countless throngs, I understood.
Huh?
I see now that your performance is but another way of revealing your glory to the masses. That much was clear from the looks on their faces.
Every pharaoh rules in the way they see fit. I am most impressed with the way you chose to rule, Pharaoh Nitocris.
Y-you're far too kind, Pharaoh Ozymandias!
Now, why are you canceling today's performance? Explain.
Oh, yes. Well...
Hmm...
A petty quarrel? How could you hope to rule a nation if you cannot even settle so small a dispute!?
You're right. I have no excuse...
But you see, great Pharaoh, I just don't know what I should say to her.
Maybe she's right. Maybe it would be for the best if Dreams Gone Girls's own dream were to die out now...
Absolutely not! Giving up after a single defeat? Disgraceful! I won't stand for it!
However, if you truly wish to retire your group, that is a different story.
I...
Go on.
I... I still want to perform. I want to console people by showing them that endings can be kind and gentle.
Then go find the poison girl. Quickly!
When you find her, stay with her. That is all there is to it.
Personally, I would have her pay for such a treasonous transgression against me with her life...
But I suspect you have your own manner of doing things.
But, what do I do if she runs away from me again?
...No, you're right! If she tries, it'll just be up to me to stop her!
Well said! However, do not forget that you are dealing with a first-rate assassin. So to save you the trouble of looking for her...
There's no one else up here...
So this should be a good place for me to sing.
If I'm just doing that... If it's just my voice alone...
Then I won't have to worry about inadvertently killing anyone...
!?
A Sphinx!?
There you are, Serenity!
Nitocris... What are you doing with that Sphinx?
Pharaoh Ozymandias was kind enough to lend it to me. He said we should use it for photo shoots and when we go on tour.
...And that I could use it to find you.
I see...
Now come on, hurry. Our mini concert's about to begin.
Concert?
What are you saying? I can't be on stage with you anymore.
It's strange. I've been trying to keep my distance from you...
But the more I do, the more I remember standing on stage by your side.
I see...
It sounds like you have conflicting feelings about this. I'm sure it must be painful for you.
...
No, they're not just conflicting. They're outright contradictory.
But then again, that's how we've always lived our lives.
Huh?
I'm part of the modern world now, yet I still oversee the eternal afterlife. And you're a literally toxic woman who nonetheless seeks connection.
And that's not all. Even though we met our end at AxXxS's hands during the Grail Concert...we still can't help but want to keep performing.
If those aren't contradictory feelings, then what are?
We're...contradictions...?
Yes, we are.
Which is why I've decided to compartmentalize yet another contradiction, Hassan of the Serenity.
I'm going to accept you as my sworn friend, assassin and all.
You don't have to change anything. You're fine just the way you are.
Even if you can't help but scatter poison around you, I can just disperse it before it ever reaches me.
If I cannot do even that, then I have no right to call myself a pharaoh!
...!
Come to think of it, most idol groups make it a point to embrace and commend each other on stage.
But I'm sure that's not something you want to do.
...No, it isn't.
I thought so. So I won't force you to do anything you're not comfortable with.
Instead, I only ask that you hold up your hand. No, higher.
...? You mean like this?
Huh?
There, you see? Nothing to worry about.
I can't speak for ordinary people, but I am a pharaoh! I am the queen of the heavens, and the ruler of the underworld!
I have plenty of antidote spells at my command! More than enough to handle weakened poison like yours!
What...was that?
When our hands came together to produce that sound, it almost felt like our very hearts were touching...
I'm told it's called a high five. It's a brief but satisfying sign of respect for a fellow comrade in arms.
This can be our calling card.
Normally, we'll stay five paces away from each other, but when we finish a show, we can do a high five.
B-but...
What if my poison were to change someday? What if it were to grow stronger?
If it does, then I'll just cast a stronger spell.
!
And besides, it's going to take more than a little poison to kill me.
I may not have Lord Arash's toughness, but I have a deep well of magecraft to draw upon.
Now do you understand, Hassan of the Serenity? Whatever concerns you have, I can handle!
You said you weren't fit to walk in the light...
But there is nowhere in all the land that the glorious light of a pharaoh does not reach!
Pharaoh Nitocris...
Yes?
Does this mean...it's still okay for me to dream...?
Absolutely! And if that dream should disappear when you wake, you can just dream it again the next time night falls.
Now, come on, Serenity! Let's go show these people what a true night of peace looks like!
...Okay!