Dream of The Beginning

"Confirming the collapse of Tiamat's spirit origin! The Magical Reactor has also stopped!"

Ahh...

Relieved sighs could be heard within the command center as everyone felt more at ease after the confirmation.

"The coffin is in good condition. Fujimaru Ritsuka's and Mash Kyrielight's parameters all are safe."

"Roger that." Da Vinci nodded slightly. 

She then went toward the man on the commander seat, smiling, as she massaged him lightly, "Now, now, your job continues until the two of them are back here safely, right?"

Leonardo Da Vinci.

A genius branded as omnipotent. He was a person of Europe's 15th~16th Century; the prominent genius who provided a lot of influence on the advancement of civilization and who left his name behind in human history as painter, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect.

Although he was recorded to be a peerless handsome young man, a matchless pretty boy–

His manifestation upon becoming a Servant was the ideal beauty he pursued in his life as well as his most famous work of art; Mona Lisa.

This was in fact his/her current appearance.

Regardless, age and gender had no effect before a true genius. Doctrines and fashion might change with the times, but there was merely one truth; whatever happened, Da Vinci was the unrivaled omnipotent one!

Da vinci-chan was undoubtedly a beautiful woman, matched with a perfect figure based on the proportional golden ratio.

However, they were a man inside...

"Yep."

Romani felt his stiff shoulders relaxed a bit after the destruction of Tiamat's spirit origin was confirmed. It meant that they were one step closer in correcting the Seventh Singularity.

Now, after Ritsuka and Mash retrieved the Singularity's Holy Grail and returned safely, they could finally relax a bit before facing the final battle.

'The enemy is the King of Mages, Solomon… really, what an irony.'

Romani Archaman was feeling slightly sentimental as he thought about it. 

Yet, before he could think further on that topic, alarm bell rang loudly inside the command center when sudden notifications appeared on the main monitor. 

His face was colored in shock as he gazed at the new update of the situation. 

"Transformation into a mega-structure post-dispersion, increasing in scale… 

"Confirming reconstruction of spirit origin!" 

The Tiamat who was thought to have been eliminated earlier actually returned back alive, and became even stronger now! 

"Wha- can it be that the Tiamat we observed was only her brain, and this is her main body?" Romani was feeling quite pessimistic when the realization finally hit him. He was stunned at appearance of the newly reconstructed Tiamat. 

"Water levels of the Persian Gulf is increasing rapidly. Romani!" 

"I know. Everyone, retreat!" He ordered Ritsuka and Mash to retreat before thinking of another plan. 

Da Vinci and Romani both felt heavy pressure as the new situation arose. They were thinking on how to complete the correction of this Singularity with such terrible opponent. 

'If the worst case happens… we must bring both Ritsuka and Mash back even if the Seventh Singularity is destroyed.' 

Suddenly, another alarm rang loudly once more. 

"What is it this time?" 

Bad luck would often arrive in pair, while luck arrived alone. Romani was already feeling dejected as he was now when the new notification brought him even greater distress… 

"A spatial fissure is detected! The point of contact is predicted to be at the Command Center!" 

What?! 

Romani felt a greater sense of panic crept in his spine after hearing this latest alarm. 

Spatial fissure? Someone is heading this way, trying to break through the barrier! 

There are no living beings on the world outside after the Human Incineration Ritual. If there is someone coming to Chaldea, it would only be their enemy; the King of Mages – Solomon has found them! 

"Collision in 3… 2… 1…! Brace for the impact!" 

Each staff and personnel within the Command Center had their heart on their throat as they looked at the black portal which suddenly appeared in the middle of Command Center. 

'Is this the end…?'  

They understood that there would be no reinforcements from the outside world. If there was someone forcing their way inside Chaldea, it would only mean that the enemy was coming. 

Romani and Da Vinci activated any defense mechanism within Chaldea as they concentrated their utmost attention and power on the mysterious portal. They could barely keep notice of the events in the Singularity as their situation was even more dangerous. 

After all, if Chaldea were destroyed, not only Ritsuka and Mash would be unable to return, but the entire humanity would truly be damned. They were the last resistance against the Human Incineration Ritual. 

Soon, a person wearing grey robe stepped out of the portal. He glanced at the fear and panic on the face of Chaldea's staffs with indifference as he looked around the place. 

When he looked up at Romani Archaman and Da Vinci at the Commander seat, he smiled mysteriously, 

"Finally, I have found you Chaldea. Now, to finish my great undertaking, burn up like the trash you are. 

"Deploy the Third Virtual Noble Phantasm: The Time of Birth Hath Come, I Am the Remedy of Eternity. [Ars Almadel Salomonis]!" 

The man in grey robe raised his hand as a band of light gathered on his palm. It generated an intense heat as hot as a star's core when it expanded fast, trying to cover the whole Command Center with its blast. 

Although– 

*Pinch* 

"Ouch! What are you doing, Jeanne?" 

The man in grey robe suddenly winced slightly in pain as the band of light slowly disappeared. 

Jeanne d'Arc materialized beside him, and she was pinching his waist a little. 

"Why are you going around scaring them?" 

Ryan shrugged lightly, "Why? Because it's fun. Looks at their tense face, Jeanne. I just want to lighten their mood a bit." 

Jeanne: "..." 

Romani, Da Vinci, and the rest of Chaldea staffs: "..." 

We don't need such scare, alright?! This whole time, we have been tight on our mind! 

Soon, both Artoria Lancer and Saber also materialized themselves along with Yu Miaoyi. 

"Artoria Pendragon... Lion King..." 

"Ah! Hinako-san?" 

Raikou, Ushiwakamaru, and Medusa silently appeared one after another. 

They were looking around the Chaldea Command Center as they felt curious to this last baston of Humanity after the Human Incineration Ritual occurred in this worldline. 

When the last person stepped out of the portal, shocked gasps and confused look appeared on the staff of Chaldea. 

Romani and Da Vinci had their face turned grim, they stared at the familiar face with doubt, 

"Marisbury? How could you..." 

Marisbury Animusphere responded with a light smile as he took in their confused look with calm and composure. He directly looked at Romani as he spoke, 

"Ah, you must be Romani Archaman. Nice to meet you, 'my' friend." 

Clap! 

A loud clap brought everyone to look at Ryan. He then grinned as he pointed a gun on Romani, 

"Ok, the Galactic Pirates is here! This is a hijacking! Men on the right, women on the left! Hmm, Da Vinci in the middle. Be quick, or you'll be sorry!" 

"Ha?" 

Romani had a large "O" on his face when a gun was suddenly pointed at him. He felt like his hearing might be wrong just now… 

Artoria Lancer smiled warmly as she looked at their confused face. She took out Rhongomyniad, and added, 

"Please do as he says, we won't hurt you, but that is only if you follow our instructions. We will explain what you need to know soon, so don't worry." 

At that moment, Da Vinci-chan felt a little irritated. She pouted as she thought, 'Why am I the only one who must stand alone in the middle? It's unfair! This is a discrimination!' 

Jeanne sighed slightly seeing Ryan and Artoria Lancer were so into their act, playing as space pirates. Raikou and his other Servants even helped maintaining order as Ryan took control of Chaldea's Command Center. 

Yu Miaoyi went beside her, she smirked lightly, "Welcome aboard his pirate ship, Jeanne d'Arc." 

Jeanne felt a little headache, she muttered softly to herself, "Really, if he wants to help them, he should just say so…" 

♦ ♦ ♦ 

Inside the Seventh Singularity, 

Mash and Ritsuka were feeling uneasy when their communication with Chaldea was disconnected one-sidedly for a while. 

They were discussing with King Gilgamesh and the others about the plan to deal with the Beast of Disasters, Mother of All Beasts; Tiamat. 

"How sloppy. Those Chaldean magus, how long are they trying to hold us off like this?! At times like this, each second is precious!" 

Mash apologized, "Please forgive us, King Gilgamesh. The communication was suddenly cut off, we are still trying to reestablish the communication channel…" 

Then, as if answering her prayer, Mash's shield suddenly shone. Their communication had been established again. 

However, the voice that came wasn't the one she was expecting. It was the voice of an unfamiliar man! 

"Hm~ audio, check. Visual recognition, check. It seems like we are connected properly. Oh, is that Mash and… Gudako?!" 

Ryan looked surprised at Fujimaru Ritsuka, aka Gudako, the Queen of sadist and yuri of Chaldea… 

Mash Kyrielight was stunned. She looked at the tied-up Romani behind the monitor with some worry.  

"Ahh, Doctor Roman…! What happened?" 

Meanwhile, Fujimaru Ritsuka was flabbergasted when an unfamiliar man knew of her old nickname. She didn't even remember ever meeting him, too… though, her eyes shone a little when she saw Jeanne at one corner of the screen. 

'Moreover, how could there is a stranger at Chaldea?' 

Romani Archaman sighed. He spoke dejectedly, "We are being hijacked, Mash, Ritsuka… I am sorry, I can't protect our base…" 

Beside him, Da Vinci coughed slightly. She smiled at Mash and Ritsuka to calm them down, "Hmm~ I have both bad news and good news. Which one do you want to hear first?"  

"The bad news?" 

"Oh, good choice. Then, the bad news is that we have been hijacked by these people; the self-proclaimed Galactic Pirates. As of now, Chaldea is under their control, Mash, Ritsuka." 

Da Vinci-chan closed one of her eyes as she smiled mischievously. 

Hijacked?? How can...? 

Mash and Ritsuka looked at each other. 

With the incineration of humanity, they were the only survivors who could stop the ritual from being finished. There should not be other people from the outside world, right? 

Even then, if they are truly hijacked, why would Da Vinci look like she is in a good mood instead?? 

"…what is the good news, Da Vinci-chan?" Ritsuka looked suspiciously at the strange man and Da Vinci alternately. 

"Hmm, let's say that we get ourselves a help to pass this crisis. Well, I shall let Captain Ryan to explain it to you, Mash, Ritsuka." Da Vinci smiled. 

At that moment, Ryan smiled faintly as he took the main seat, "So, that's it. This Chaldea is already under my control. Therefore, since it's mine, I will ensure its safety. You are allowed to praise me, folks!" 

Gilgamesh looked irritated when he saw the smirk on Ryan's face. For some reasons, that annoying smirk kinda felt familiar to him… 

"Oi. I don't care who you are or what you do to those Chaldeans. However, if you really have ideas to deal with Tiamat, you should surrender them fast, or I will put your head on the execution stage!" 

As of this evening, Tiamat was slowing down as night approached. They only had this brief moment of respite to organize new plan and to rest. 

"Hmm, Tiamat, eh. Romani, show them the files about Tiamat." Ryan commanded with a stern look. He really looked the part of a cruel pirates' captain. 

Romani nodded slightly. The ropes tying him was instantly undone, and he immediately sent the information he gathered to King Gilgamesh and the others at the Singularity. 

Various images and parameters of Tiamat were transmitted clearly through Mash's shield. 

"She is a mobile creature factory. She has enough magical energy to travel between stars, and she has ample life origins stored inside her body. Humanity needs few more centuries to reach the level of this divine ark… This is Tiamat's true form…" 

Everyone present were silent as they took in the information provided through the screen. Even as they looked at it, they had not found a single weakness or even a possible method of attack against Tiamat. 

"Damn you! Are you on Tiamat's side or something?! And you, star of calamity, didn't you say you have some ideas about Tiamat?! Don't tell me you only have an empty talk after all that!" Gilgamesh stared angrily at Romani and Ryan. 

'Oh?' 

Ryan narrowed his eyes a little when he heard what Gilgamesh just spoke. 

Then, he replied calmly, "Tiamat wasn't born with the Concept of Death since she is the Mother of Life. As long as living beings still exist on the land… she is unkillable. 

"If only you can bring her to a land where no living being exists, then you do have a chance to kill her. As for how much that chance is, even a small chance is already a blessing." 

Gilgamesh appeared quiet when he heard the last part. He seemed to have gained an inkling about the meaning. 

"Oh, you do have a useful idea at least." Gilgamesh grinned a little. 

"Ahh! So, it is like that." Gudako also seemed to have gained the gist of it. 

The hidden meaning was; since Death couldn't touch Tiamat in the world of living, then sent her down to a world devoid of the living – the underworld. 

"Nah, I won't claim credit on that idea." 

They would reach that conclusion sooner or later, what Ryan did was merely to bring it forward a bit. 

"Of course, there is also another method, but it would require myself to go there personally." Ryan added with a mysterious smile. 

Although he felt that they were lucky to arrive in the Grand Order worldline at this juncture, but he had a nagging feeling that his arrival at this time wasn't a coincidence. 

However, despite his nagging feeling, he still appreciated his timely arrival in this worldline. His time was tight to begin with since he had to join the second trial soon. 

That was why he wouldn't waste time for getting along slowly with these Chaldea members, and decided to take control of them fast. 

'It would be good if I can devour both Tiamat and Goetia, too...' Ryan thought quietly as faint smile appeared on his face. 

'As for the matter of rayshifting, it isn't a problem.'  

It was not impossible for someone to rayshift to a Singularity without Chaldea's Klein coffin. Though it would reduce the chance of success, and filled with dangers.  

It was because there was a need for quantum observer to constantly verify the existence of rayshift agent in the Singularity, as it would serve to prevent the Counter Force of local area from designating them as phantasmal species, and then excluding them from Human Domain. 

That's why the usage of Klein coffin was important for Chaldea's Masters. 

However, the problem of existence and dangers mattered not to Ryan. 

As he said, Samsara was ever-present. Be it in the past, present, or future; it already existed since the dawn of creation and would continue to exist even until the end of time. 

"In estimation, Tiamat would reach Uruk in two days–" 

Suddenly, another voice beside Ryan's sounded in the ziggurat, 

"Gilgamesh, what's going on at the world outside? What's with these sudden increase of souls coming to the underworld?" 

A mirror of the underworld slowly surfaced from the ziggurat's floor as the goddess of underworld frowned slightly. 

Gilgamesh grinned. He used his royal authority as he commanded the newcomer, 

"Speaking of the devil. Ereshkigal, goddess of Kur, in my name as the King, I command you– 

"Bring the underworld under the land of Uruk, and trap the Beast of Disaster claiming to be Tiamat in the underworld! Bury it inside the bowel of the Earth!" 

"..." 

Ereshkigal was stunned when she heard Gilgamesh's sudden decision. Her face was blank as the realization had yet to hit her. 

In fact, she was still going to ask about the happenings on the ground... How could she suddenly receive a royal command??? 

Then, when it finally hit her... 

"You mean, here? Like, in my underworld?!" 

"Obviously! Where else can we find another underworld here? 

"This is your atonement for your folly joining that misbegotten Three Goddess' alliance, Ereshkigal!" 

"Ahh?! Impossible... Impossible..." Ereshkigal shook her head frantically. 

"As I thought, it's really impossible for you, Ereshkigal..." Fujimaru Ritsuka (Gudako) looked sad and dejected after seeing Ereshkigal's vehement refusal. She looked frail and weak, as though she could be blown away  by a mere breeze. 

Upon seeing Ritsuka looking disappointed, Ereshkigal felt a throbbing pain in her heart. She muttered softly, 

"...normally, it is impossible. I need at least 10 years to move the underworld to be under Uruk. 

"However, this is a special case. Since I hate that Goldie over there, I have prepared something in secret... Give me three days, and it shall be done." 

Ereshkigal smiled slightly, she was feeling a bit embarrassed as she revealed her secret plan. 

Gilgamesh: "..." 

Faint tick marks seemed to appear on his forehead as he heard Ereshkigal's confession of crime...