The abbey was in ruins when (y/n) took a look around. He needed the walk to cool off and make sense of his predicament, but it only made things worse. While he had plenty of time to consider his options, it didn't seem like he had any choices that led to a positive outcome. Setanta's injuries made sense according to the aftermath that he saw. Mages alongside agents of the Holy Church were slain throughout the abbey. It was as if a war had gone on.

        "Did he fight them all himself?" (y/n) wondered. He knew servants were powerful, and it would have been well within Setanta's means to do so.

        Masuda nor Galahad were present. He had even searched for Jack and Caren, yet nothing was there but damage of all kinds. The only thing that remained apparent was that this was all still a singularity. He could sense the holy grail somewhere within the boundary of the singularity, but he couldn't pinpoint its location. It was hidden well.

        "I don't think I can do this..." (y/n) mumbled to himself as he trudged back towards the grassy field where Setanta still lay unconscious. After their untimely fight, (y/n) had expected golden dust to start rising from Setanta. The damage to his spirit core would have been too much, yet it appeared that Setanta had simply just been dying. (Y/n) had to use several restoration spells to get him back to a normal state of being, but Setanta remained asleep. "You've spent too much time pretending to be human, Setanta. Servants don't need sleep."

        Soon enough, the sky would give way to the sun again. The battle that had been fought was a recent one based on the wounds (y/n) had healed away for Setanta's sake. He had half the mind to let the servant vanish for attacking him, but he needed information. Hessian was not with him, and he couldn't get in contact with Gilgamesh. Setanta was the only lead he had left, and he was somehow supposed to get to Antarctica.

        "You do have options," a familiar voice spoke up.

        "Fou?" (Y/n) looked around the area in search for the small creature. "How can I hear you when I'm not in that realm?"

        "Where exactly do you think I've been trapped all this time? The seal has weakened with time, but so have I. It would have been nice to greet you in person, but my body is elsewhere and my power is limited in this form."

        (Y/n) reached into his pocket and pulled out the galaxy bound necklace. "No way..."

        "I can get you to where you need to go. Anywhere. Even another dimension in the multiverse isn't beyond my capabilities, but I advise that you save your mother and locate my body first."

        "Both you and my mother are in Antarctica."

        "Correct. However, you'll want to gain another servant friend of yours from somewhere before heading there." The galaxy swirled within its spherical container every time Fou spoke. "If I were free, I'd give you the berserker, but I can't bring him here without the rest of my power."

        "I don't know any berserker. Which servant is that?" (Y/n) thought about it for a moment, but couldn't come up with anything. "You're able to summon servants from the throne of heroes?"

        "No, I can't. Don't worry about it. For now, just wake that boy and find the others. From the way things were around here, it looks like he bought some time for the rest of them to leave."

        (Y/n) looked over at Setanta. "He's not going to know where they went."

        "It doesn't hurt to ask. Now, do hurry before you run into any trouble. I certainly wouldn't want to make any emergency rifts through time and space. They're quite dangerous."

        Fou didn't speak anymore after that. (Y/n) stared at the necklace for a moment longer still wondering how he hadn't realized Fou was trapped within it all this time. His father had done this. The director had been acting under the name of Shirou Tohsaka to make up for what he did, but (y/n) believed he had other reasons. It just didn't make sense for him to seal away his own family members. Even the part where he made artificial copies of his own son didn't make any sense. It was already difficult for him to even accept that he was the director's son.

        Setanta's slight shift in position caught (y/n)'s attention immediately. The boy rolled over onto his side and coughed a bit as he sat up.

        "Look who finally woke up," (y/n) said in a mocking voice. "You slept like a princess for someone who's supposed to be a servant."

      Setanta reached up to touch his chest before checking other areas where he had taken major damage. "I'm not a servant anymore," he quietly informed. "You must have healed me. Thank you." The apology came as a surprise. Setanta pulled his knees towards himself and hugged them as he hid his face from view. "If you came here for help, then you're out of luck. I can't help you."

        "What happened to him?" (y/n) thought with a frown. "What do you mean you're not a servant anymore?"

        "Caren gave us all our freedom. We've got real bodies now, so we can live here in this world as we choose to. It's a cruel joke." Setanta sighed. "She left us here without a second thought when she realized that she couldn't complete her goal. That priest is hunting us down just like the rest of the mages. The world is in chaos. This singularity was the last place of sanctuary that we had until just yesterday. I guess the priest finally decided to stop ignoring us."

        "Who is this priest guy?" Gilgamesh had mentioned the same thing before sending him away.

        "Let's forget about that, yeah? You're here because you need help. I'm going to tell you now, I can't beat that priest. He's a human with inhuman ability. May as damn well be a servant. Took everything I had just to keep myself alive, and the only reason I managed to get away is because I faked my death. Not that I was going to last much longer afterwards."

        "You're scared," (y/n) accused.

        "Not scared, just smart. No reason for me to go charging right to my death if it isn't for the sake of something. Masuda and Galahad are out there somewhere thanks to me, but I can't protect them by fighting a losing battle." Setanta sat up and shrugged. "Enough talking. I'm not in the mood anymore."

        "You're going to Antarctica with me."

        "What did I just say? Wait...no, what did you just say?! Antarctica? Are you insane?"

        "Not that I know of," (y/n) answered honestly. "I do need your help, but not to fight the priest, whoever he may be. I need to find my mother and free Fou. When I do that, I know everything will somehow fix itself. That or everyone dies. Those are pretty much our only choices here."

        Setanta raised an eyebrow at him. "Our choices? I didn't agree to any of this. Also who is Fou? How are you even going to get to Antarctica??" He shook his head. "You look like you grew up, but you're still just a kid. This all sounds like wishful thinking to me."

        (Y/n) pulled the galaxy from his pocket. "This is Fou, part of him at least. He can take us anywhere. I have hundreds of spells at my disposal in a moment's notice, and you apparently don't die. It's not wishful thinking. We have a chance to end all of this." He recieved a skeptical stare in response. "If you won't help, then I'll find the others myself and get them to do it. Even Jack if I have to."

        "Jack huh..." The blue haired boy almost laughed. "Can you really find the them? With that?"

        "No, I can't. We're going to use the grail that Caren left behind to do that." (Y/n) smirked at the plan he was forming as he spoke. "Wherever it is, that priest guy couldn't find it. You know exactly where it is don't you?"

        "If I show you where it is, what will you do with it after we've located everyone?"

        (Y/n) hadn't thought about that. It was an entire holy grail afterall. Not pieces of it like the one in Gilgamesh's treasury that he hadn't found the last parts of. A wish granting device with unknown capabilities and power.

        "I'll let you keep it until we find my mother. I don't need it right now." He wasn't sure what to do with it afterall. His mind was focused on other things like saving both his real and adoptive mother. He also still wanted to have his coming of age party, and very much intended to hold Gilgamesh to his word once things calmed down.

        "Looks like we've got ourselves a plan then. Let's get going." Setanta stood up and offered him a hand. "You better keep your word. I'll be real disappointed if I have to fight you again."

        "No you won't," (y/n) retorted, but he let Setanta help him to his feet. "I'd be more surprised if you didn't fight me at all."
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Until next time you epic readers!