Danny have been aware of one particular son of his for years now. And if the time dilation in that World Tree is right, it have been several millenniums for that boy who is stuck in a loop. However, extracting him from that world isn't going to be easy because he somehow got himself trapped in a stupid contract. It is also a rather iron clad contract and Danny have been going through every version of the Kaleidoscope to find a loophole.

There must be a way.

There have to be a way.

Every moment he wasted is another lifetime destroyed for the boy once known as Shirou Emiya.

~

Emiya frowns. He have been feeling this for a while now. Alaya and Gaia is up to something, something that echoes through the Throne of Heroes like a gong. One that he can feel even in his graveyard of blades. Something is changing and they are fighting to change that. He snorts to himself, thinking that whatever it is better win. After all, it might give him a crack of a chance to escape his bind to the Counter Force.

~

Alaya is not happy with this...Visitor. His very presence stirs the slumbering Age of Gods. In fact, his very presence is a threat to her and the continuity of humanity.

Even Gaia is wary. For the first time ever, they are actually on the same page regarding a threat.

Before them sits the Avatar of Chaos, Guardian of the Womb of Existence, Ruler of Infinity, The King Who Waits At the End, The Pale Rider, The Fourth, or as casually as one could call him; Apocalypse.

Basically, the very being and result that they are trying to stave off for as long as they are able.

Of course, informally he is known as the Ghost King. Sure, there are many Heroic Spirits that guided or represented or ruled the dead. But none of them can actually Rule rule the dead like the Ghost King. All things die, even Death, and he rules over the very aspect of it. The fact that neither Alaya or Gaia can disobey their origin, Chaos, means that they have to defer to the Ghost King with respect. He is like their Uncle or something.

(Well, Danny have grown even more the moment he accepts his role fully so not even the like of Seph's 'mother' can force herself on him anymore)

And, worse of all, if he wants it, he can 'collect' every souls that they have collected in the Throne of Heroes as they all falls under the category of Ghost and he is their King. That won't be good. They will have to make sure that he will not destroy all their efforts.

~

Danny sighs. He's getting a little annoyed. He have always known their deities like these two can be greedy and selfish. But he have also met a few that genuinely cares for their world that they watched over. One such example was Hylia. She actually made an effort to save her people and world, even going as far to sense a piece of her consciousness through her descendants as she can no longer directly interact with them without destroying the world or causing the collapse of the established society.

The longer he sits on his throne, the more he understand where their sense of entitlement begin.

Danny never consider himself as a deity, even though his status might as well label him as one of the lofty deities. He was human once and he refused to make the same mistake he once did. His pain and suffering forged his character into someone that understands well that pride have a price and a time. And that there is pride in being humble. But it is also because of this, he have been left with the task to judge the deities of dead World Trees for their deeds and their crimes.

He is one who was raised from the ground into a status beyond mortal limits.

Still, why are these two so childish?

~

Alaya whines, "But I like Emiya~!!"

Gaia rolls her eyes, "And he hates you with the passion of a dying star,"

Alaya looks at Danny, "Can't you just let this one go?" She bats at him with her lashes, pouting her lips, trying to act cute while using the image of a certain Homunculus. Ilya have been known to remind someone of a snow fairy. She even made the stubborn Herackles melt with her cuteness.

Danny only blinks at her, "Do you honestly think that looking like that would affect my determination?"

He had chess matches with an Eldritch that can twist how his brain perceives attractiveness every other day. They, a being that cared for nothing about gender but more about being attractive, found his resistance to their attempt to make him a slave of theirs as 'endearing' and promised to behave for as long as he play chess with them. They didn't care about whether Danny win or not, they just want to watch just how much he can endure being in their presence.

Damn Elder Gods.

Alaya pouts, "No fair~!"

Danny huffs before deciding, "Alright, let's play a series of games,"

Gaia frowns, "What kind of game?"

Danny grins, knowing well how beings like them work. They are neutral existences that only focus on their work but that does not mean that they lacked the desire to have fun. So he knows how to make them dance at his pace.

"A high stake survival game known as...the Squid Game,"

~

When all the Heroic Spirits of the Throne of Heroes found themselves gathered, they see Gaia and Alaya standing before them with steely determination on their faces. Gaia solemnly begins, "Today, we have a Visitor of great importance. This Visitor demands for a Heroic Spirit to be released from service,"

Alaya interrupts, "He wants my favorite Counter Guardian!"

Gaia continues, "We cannot afford to lose any Heroic Spirits...especially for no reason,"

Alaya adds, "He's mine!"

Gaia sighs, "So he decided for us to play a series of survival game,"

Alaya rages, "What even is a Squid Game?!"

Gaia grumbles, "Winner...will be released from service with no string attached. And if one other Heroic Spirit managed to survive till the end, they can also be released from service..."

"Squid Game is such a stupid name!"

~

Emiya feels hope surge through his heart. A chance. A crack of a chance to break free from being Alaya's attack dog. He grips his hands into tight fists, determined to win.

~

Danny chew on the cookies that Harry made for him. Well, more like Harry started baking for stress relief and the others started to join him. The black lumps of crumbly chocolate flake cookies that resemble coals are all made by the Voidlings and there are too many of it so most were given to Ashborn's Shadow Army.

He watch the first round. Unlike the Squid Game of memories, the Red Light Green Light uses a borrowed prototype Mini Death Star as the head of the robot in charge of the game. It will not destroy a planet but it can certainly make the Heroic Servants pause after one got himself blown up and reform outside the field, away from their line of sight. The Servant, a certain spear man in blue, will remain unconscious until the round ends when the last survivor reaches the end line.

~

It takes a lot of self control and sense for opportunity to get past the first stage. Emiya realizes that the stake is very high as once the game is over, the eliminated 'players' cannot rejoin the game. That means that he cannot be eliminated. He might as well just lay down and die.

~

The Sugar Honeycombs eliminates that most 'contestants' as most of the Heroic Spirits have little patience and a lot of temper. Needless to say, the like of Gilgamesh are immediately out. But funny enough, Herackles actually survived the round, especially when one considers the fact that he is a Berserker Class Servant.

That, and the fact that his giant hands are capable of being very gentle with the fragile honeycombs.

Danny have to admit, the man impressed him.

~

Emiya grimaces as he puts all his strength into pulling. He's just lucky that Herackles ended up on his side of the rope instead of the other side. It balances them out. Still, he cannot lose as he pulls with all his desperate hope. His only consolation at seeing the opposite Heroic Spirits being ground after falling down the hole between them is that they cannot die.

But he might as well if he lose so...

He must not lose!

~

Marbles wreck on his conscience the most. Still, he will never forget Heracles who had given him his marbles with a grin and a knowing gleam in his white eyes...

~

Emiya will never look at a children's game the same way ever again after this. The other Servants doesn't really care whether they win or not besides the right to gloat over the others for winning. But for Emiya, falling down the glass platform is the same as a death sentence.

He is in the middle group.

The first group have given their all and showed the right path.

But there are still unknown platforms.

However, the jig is up when they are given a time limit to reach the end before all glass platform flips and 'release' them to the black hole below.

Emiya frowns as he uses his passive ability to read the structure. If anyone even remember his most basic skill, they would probably just fall in step behind him after he passes through.

A certain blond Saber in blue does just that.

~

The final stage, the Squid Game, is a bloodbath as it is a battlefield. There aren't many left and fortunately Emiya is one of them...besides Artoria. He catch her verdant green eyes and she narrows her eyes at him. They have somehow eliminated many of the others. The biggest elimination happens during the Marbles game. Everyone is out to back stab everyone else.

Emiya won by pure observation skill.

Artoria won through a mix of charisma and diplomacy with the Servants that were just playing because it was something to do that wasn't world ending.

Emiya asks, "Can't you just let me win?"

Artoria smiles, "True victory must be earned,"

He sighs before nodding, "Alright. Let's go,"

~

Alaya cries and cries, "You can't take him~!!"

Danny frowns, "A deal is a deal. He is a piece of me. He must return," He then grins knowingly at her, "That is the reason why you are so determined to keep him, isn't it? The fact that the EMIYA that's under your control inherits my unbreakable will?"

Alaya pouts, "...no..."

Danny huffs, "It doesn't matter. You have made the Unbreakable Vow with me. This magic's law is not part of this world's law, so that means once invoked, it is binding and there cannot be a way to break it for you," He scowls, "Do you want to test it's capability?"

The magic of Harry's world works more like the True Magic in this world as it binds the essence of magic and life itself. Sure, Danny is aware that it can be broken but there is also the contract of words between them. Alaya can try to worm her way out but she might chance enraging whatever it is the presides the magic from another Reality.

Gaia sighs, "Alright. A contract is a contract. We, unlike the despicable humans, adhere to Our words," She glares at her counterpart, "Release EMIYA from his contract...as well as the last survivor,"

Alaya pales, "But King Arthur is one of my best!"

Gaia scowls at her, "And she have been waiting for Shirou Emiya to reach her in Avalon for how long now? Why do you think she is rebelling now? It isn't by chance that she is take this game as as seriously as EMIYA!" She looks at Danny, "You were expecting this, weren't you?"

Danny sips his drink from his tumbler, the sound grating on their ears, before smiling like Seph, "I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't even know about this King Arthur. Especially the part of her being a woman,"

Alaya stomps her feet, "No! I am not giving them up!"

...

The space starts to tremble and crack as Danny's smile turns stiff. He reminds her, "You can either give up the two...or give up existing altogether,"

Alaya pales before backing down. Even Gaia is glaring at her more than normal. Honestly, they are speaking to the embodiment of The End. The reason they fight as much as they did was to prevent him from happening to their World Tree. The Ghost King, after all, exist outside the Root and that means that he can simply uproot their very World Tree from the Pool of Life that they had planted themselves in.

Alaya starts wailing in a waterfall of tears, "You are so mean~!!!"

Danny shoots back, "And you're just plain insane keeping this stupid diseased World Tree in a loop,"

~

Emiya gasps as he wakes up in room. He waits for the usual information to fill his head only to...realize that it's quiet. He's not hearing anything. Sitting up, he feels the gentle breeze coming from the open doors to the balcony. He looks to the side and his eyes widens at the sight of a world unlike any before.

He can clearly tell that he's not on a planet.

Throwing himself out of the bed, taking note that he's in a casual sleepwear and not his armor, Emiya steps out of the room to truly take in the sight. The sky is...wrong. He cannot smell pollution that would have been a reason for the usual blue sky to turn this...fantasy green and gold. And the constellation...

They aren't anything he have ever seen before. It's like the Milky Way but at the same time not. Twisting streams of stars forming branches. The 'leaves' are a kaleidoscope of...

"You're awake,"

He looks to see a man floating just off from the balcony with not railing. More like a landing platform with an entrance straight into a room. Emiya stares at him, "Where is this place?"

He feels young once more, like the days before the Holy Grail War. Curious and hopeful. His mind still full of dreams and wonder.

The man smiles, "My name's Danny...and welcome to Chaos Cauldron,"

Emiya have heard of Chaos Cauldron; the womb of the Existence. Some Mages believed that the Root is what ancient Magus think of as the Chaos Cauldron. But...Emiya have been near the Root. It looks nothing like...this. He steps closer to edge and looks beyond to see a city. The river canals that he notice are full of stars instead of water. But most of all...

"Trace On,"

He brings out a utility knife and nicks himself. The pain is real. He checks his magic circuits and blinks when he comes across more than he could have dreamed of even as the Counter Guardian. This alone tells him that...

"I'm free,"

Danny stands beside him and nods, "Finally,"

Emiya looks at him, "You did this?"

Danny shrugs, "You died so many times that it was easy to find you. However, extracting you require a whole lot of brain juice. Especially with how that diseased World Tree looks like with the constant time loop, creating the Kaleidoscope Flowers. Finding the Root origin of Shirou Emiya took me a while, since there are so many different versions of you and how your branches keep twisting around each other. I have never seen a more messy tree in my Existence!"

Emiya frowns, "Why do you care?"

He made it sounds as if he was looking for Emiya in particular. Why?

Danny looks at him, "Look, I learned about your memory lost in the fire. But...I remember covering you with frost and throwing you outside the window to save you just before the roof collapsed on me and your mom. That was the last time that piece of me saw you. So...what I meant to say is..." He rubs his neck, "I'm your biological father. However," He waves with a smile, "You don't have to see me as such if you don't want to. I know how important Kiritsugu is in your heart,"

Emiya stares at him. He had never thought about life before Kiritsugu. Then again, he did sometimes wonder how he survive with only mild burn when he should have had worse just from the heat alone. But if this man was right...that he survived because someone gave him that chance...and not because he left everyone else to die while he walk...

"You must live, Archer! Forget about us and live!!"

He snorts, for the first time in his life, he actually recalls his past, "You told me to forget. You told me to live. And ironically, the name you gave me was Archer," He laughs as tears fall down his face, "I forgot because that was the last thing you told me to do. I hold your word as gospel. I lived...and my Servant Class is actually Archer so my summoners called me that," He looks at Danny with silvery green eyes, "I guess life have been trying to tell me something,"

Danny hums, "Are you fine with this, then? I will not send you to war. My fights are mine. And your brothers are all more than willing to go to the front. You can spend your time doing what you like. You can forge weapons, you can experiment with new recipes, you can do anything outside fighting. How about it?"

Shirou smiles, "A new beginning...why won't I take it? Also...can you call me Archer...my real name?"

Danny looks at him, "What's wrong with the old one?"

Archer smiles, "I'm...letting Emiya Shirou rest...truly and finally rest,"

Danny smiles before adding, "Oh, yeah. Your girlfriend's here too,"

"...WHAT?!!"