The trial was over. The knight had confirmed his approval of his successor's, or perhaps sister's, path. Everything in this ordeal, in this purgatory, in this hell and heaven, would return to nothingness, like any Singularity once corrected.
However, before departing, it was necessary to bid farewell to the few friends they had made here: Alighieri, Ashoka, Moriarty (even if h wasn't the one they knew), as a sign of respect.
To someone without much perception, Ritsuka looked calm. Her hands weren't shaking, even after the discussion with Galahad. Her breathing, even after the fight with Lilith, remained steady. Yet, something was wrong. With her and with all four of them, to be frank: while they had gained immensely from this operation, the losses had been devastating in every sense. And that was without including those yet to manifest.
"Ah, comrades. Have you come to see the ruins? Hahaha… I doubt I'll serve as much of a guide in the time I have left here…"
"We've come to say goodbye, Dante! 221B Detective Agency wouldn't have made it here without you and—"
"Without Moriarty. Where is he? Did we not…? Were we too late?" Matt cut in, stepping away from the group, searching through the rubble, finding no trace of what would normally be his most annoying ally. Fur standing on end, tension mounting. No, no, no.
"Moriarty… He's already gone, and I shall do the same now as well. You know he wasn't… Your companion, right? He was someone from this Singularity, the Moriarty you knew stayed at Chaldea, didn’t he…? I wonder what he must be like…"
An awkward silence. Chaldea's Moriarty would vanish the moment they returned, without any understanding of why. The bond between them, one that at times he had regretted, had criticized, had brought him some nasty afternoons, but so many great moments, would be cut short by this trial with such a precarious conclusion. But he was not the only one who would lose.
Niklas.
Even if that Servant hadn't left yet… Matt turned his gaze to the Swiss man, realizing these were the last moments he would share with his first contracted partner. The god sat on the remains of what was once a table, avoiding looking at the humans.
“… I know. He's awful. But at the same time, that’s what makes him so good? Suppose like your friend.
See you around, Dante.”
Ritsuka took a deep breath, shaking her head as she surveyed the ruins. What remained would be fit in an archeological dig or a catastrophe zone. And of course, her. The judge. The one responsible for all the pain weighing on their shoulders, now on the ground.
She almost looked vulnerable, with the face of Jeanne d'Arc and a solemn, dignified, serene expression.
Knelt, hands clasped in prayer and eyes closed, looking to heaven.
“Lord, forgive me, for I have sinned. For my actions have been despicable. But even so…”
“Metatron…” So it was. For the Shielder, the Ruler's acts had been one cruelty after another, even if she understood. Even if she recognized there had been a need to punish, to deliver justice, that did not erase what they had lost.
“… If it is at all possible for Chaldea to save proper human history, and if they wish for it.
I believe it is acceptable that I aid them, even if only a little. Lord, allow me to atone for my sins in the fires of battle. For there is nothing left within me.”
“... Metatron of the Supreme Court. Voice of Heaven.
You can no longer hold any of us in contempt of the court for our actions in this singularity, can you?
Lilith destroyed your authority. And, you are exhausted from battling the angles, too.
Am I mistaken in this logic?”
“What she means and what I want to know is. You have no authority whatsoever over us. Do you?”
“I do not. Your trial has finished, with your sentences adjourned, why are you asking such a matter…?”
And it was there, when things took a certain, twisted turn.
Ritsuka clenched her fists. Matt took a step back. Mash remained rooted to the spot, and Niklas tilted his head in bewilderment. Was she serious? While they should be glad for the offered help, that this judge was more than just a device of justice with a semblance of a heart within her…
In that moment, something in Ritsuka's heart turned twisted.
Right now, an offer like this was insulting to Niklas.
With a speed that gave Mash no time to voice an objection, she planted herself before the judge, her golden eyes like metal being tempered. Niklas followed with heavy steps, his Servant raising an arm as if expecting a response, for him to stop, anything. But nothing happened.
"You have no right to say that."
Kadoc is dead. Ruler and Niklas will only be together in minutes they have until they leave the Singularity, and the Moriarty back in Chaldea will vanish upon their return without warning or explanation.
The trio of humans has been sentenced to an uncertain punishment they will receive if they manage to save the world, even though it was the only option for survival. All their actions were turned against them in a trial where, for the vast majority of it, the archangel acted as jury and public prosecutor, denying them a fair chance to defend themselves until forced to.
At this moment, Ritsuka Fujimaru will not answer, not even to the voice of the Lord.
"I understand your anger, however—"
"No. You can't. Don’t even start. You speak of helping us after all of this?
After this trial, after everything you did to us in the name of your self righteous holy duty! And you have the gall to think we would wish for you, of all people, to help us?!
You broke our legs, and now you say you'll give us a crutch, because you’re just that magnanimous.
That we should be thankful, even! That to help us, only a little, is an acceptable atonement for you!
Do you even realize what you've done?! Do you even hear yourself when you talk and consider on what you've acted like?!"
A pause. Another step forward, which Kyrielight observed.
She had grown. She had proven she was a person living on the present, with her own flaws and virtues. And yet, something about this rage, this determination in someone she loved so deeply, was something she could do nothing but grip her shield tightly against, neither endorsing nor denying her senpai’s rage.
And to make matters worse, Van Wolfenberg joined in.
"... She's right. Go to hell."
At that moment, Ruler knew this exchange had to stop. He understood his Master's anger. He respected it, and even shared it, but he also upheld the sentence.
He could not break the rules of the world, no matter how good his intentions and reasoning for doins o may be. And thus: his purpose of watching over Chaldea had resulted in a failure of impartiality, and he must pay the price. But that did not mean he could allow something like this.
Solemn steps towards him. The dark modern suit he had worn to act as a lawyer in the courtroom shimmered away, reverting to an appearance more in line with his true name.
"Master. I have no issue with you being rude, if your circumstances demand it. However, I cannot allow you to say something like that. How would you feel if I told someone to 'Go to Switzerland'?
I believe I made the idea of a ‘hell’, or ‘underworld’, comfortable to you through all these years.”
Awkward silence. Matt moved closer to Mash, unsure how to intervene or even if they should. Holding hands in silent complicity once more seemed the wisest option for them both. The redhead, now looking down, hadn't moved from her position: beside Niklas, facing Metatron.
The Ruler placed his hand on the young man's shoulder, an approach the Master understood as a request to turn around. But even so, Niklas was unable to meet his gaze. For the first time, he was acting like an insolent child before his Servant. Throughout that decade of rectitude, he had never considered doing anything so brazen as to challenge or question him. But today.
"... I know she hasn't been the best judge there is." An admission, dismissing any complicity with the Voice of the Lord. Yet, he offered a pitying look that conveyed a 'You can't deny the obvious', with professional tact, as usual.
"I still do not think my actions were perverted in design, but neither of us can deny that I have been in a conflict of interest for a long time. Setting aside that I was improper towards my duy as a Ruler: what she said is true. You are..."
A pause. No, this was a problem precisely because he had become too involved. Even if his absence from the proceedings wouldn't have altered the sentence, it didn't change the fact that he was found guilty.
"My Master, both you and I have committed a sin. Yet, as she said, your journey does not deserve to end in destruction. And even if, as a Ruler, I should grant you salvation..."
He held the younger man's chin, gently lifting it to force Niklas to look at him.
Van Wolfenberg's eyes were red, the fur near them damp. He had disappointed his companion in their final moments together: what else could he do?
"We cannot overstep. That's right. I'm sorry. I cannot do anything about this
Niklas, I want you to understand that this is very likely going to be our last conversation. I don't want it to be this way."
"This shouldn't be our last conversation to begin with...!
don't want to lose you too! I don’t want an ending!"
Setting aside a god's pride, he simply embraced the other, the difference in size notwithstanding: caresses, touches on the back of the heir, who wouldn't stop sobbing, admitting that this, truly, was the end. Pulling back, he saw his Servant's body begin to glow, fading away.
As many times as he had seen that scene for others, he never thought it would be them saying goodbye. Of course, a Master-Servant contract is 'cursed' to find an end, regardless of the circumstances.
Before ending his role as a friend, he saw it necessary to resume that of a Ruler, addressing the redhead lass, who... Remained as despondent as when the scene began.
"Miss Fujimaru, your fury is justified, but it will get you nowhere here.
Move forward under this sentence to the end of your journey. With this, the Operation Ordeal Call is concluded. It is what you have been obstructed from for so long. Starting today, the only thing you must do is ready for battle, depart for Antarctica and end this story where it began.
Together, all four of you. How much you have changed…"
And there, in one final act of desperation, Niklas grabbed the god by the wrist, though with more firmness in his eyes than strength. "...Thank you, for having acted as you did. Even when I was a kid, you... You never demanded reverence from me, a mortal: your contractor or not.
You just asked that I respect your space and..."
"...That you showed me the video games you like. That you understood I appreciate adapting to 'the now': that I hate noise. In these matters, even if you were being obstinate, holding on to your idea of ‘what a god should act like’, you did good work in understanding me. With time, that is."
"... Even if you were a terrible driver. I haven't forgotten how you chased down Tezcatlipoca in Babylonia. Where the hell did you get your license?"
"After all my striving to be prim and proper at the very end, you betray me with this?!"
"It is… Because it’s over now, that I can say things like that. Besides, just because you can make a car, doesn’t mean you can drive it properly."
"... My. Niklas. You have truly turned out to be bolder than I believed when I first saw you."
"I wouldn't recommend underestimating me: god or not.
… Your job offer. You won't be able to send an internship my way anymore, will you?"
A promise mentioned so many times. Of course, back then he was a 17-year-old kid, but now...
"I suppose there would be no harm in giving you a proper contract. However, it shall be a civil one.
Goodbye, Niklas van Wolfenberg. Boy from the mountains. My dear Master.
Rise. Rise as high as the place you hail from. When the time comes for you to sleep deep in the mountains… We'll discuss work then."
And with the Ruler's departure, silence fell upon the ruins of purgatory. Niklas was still clutching empty air, his arm still outstretched, his body's posture still braced for resistance. The silence that followed was absolute, broken only by the ind over the tribunal's wreckage. It took effort, but still trembling, Niklas lowered his arm, staring at the spot where the god had stood minutes before. He hoped for something, a stupid, nonsensical miracle, but nothing of the sort would happen. The only thing that came to him was Matt, taking hold of his hand.
Metatron, from the ground, bowed her head. Whether out of respect, or to finish her prayer, was something she would keep to herself.
The other actors remained still on the wake of that farewell for a few moments. But feeling the pull of the Rayshift... The end of this long journey through three worlds was enough for Fujimaru to try and lift her gaze, even with her hands trembling. Thinking this was enough, Kyrielight took one of them, but she couldn't stop it: the dam had burst, this is the rest of the water draining out.
She stepped back upon hearing Mash's voice murmur for her, and, drawing breath as best she could, she would deliver her own epilogue.
"... I don’t want to see you ever again. After demanding Kadoc be held accountable for that. After you took our allies from us. After putting in such a situation
After causing all of this, no matter how well it turned out for Mash in the end. The fear we've lived through these months... Only Sloth could understand any of us. Even if she's no longer..."
She sniffled, trying to formulate her words through the uncertainty.
She's angry, there's a worthy target for all that frustration, all that spite, but she feels incapable of being so... Harsh, as she believes Metatron deserves from her. Why hold back?
"Your offer of aid is formally rejected. I cannot speak for the others, but I will say this for myself.
You are not welcome in Chaldea. Should you answer any summons or come here, because of your ‘holy duty’, you will be dealt with as a threat to us. Much like you have been here."
"... I see. As a Master, doing such a thing, would be something within your authority.
I understand your anger. As well as your refusal. It will be respected."
"No, you don't understand, you—! You don't get to play both judge and victim just because I refuse to forgive you!"
"Ritsuka."
He let go of Matt's hand, to approach the redhead... And place himself between her and the angel. Not as a defender to the loser, but as an equal to his hurt friend.
"That won't bring Kadoc back. It won't revoke our sentences either. All we can do is leave, return, and finish the job. You're exhausted. No, all four of us are. So..."
He would extend his hand, ready to try and defuse the situation: the role she would normally play, now returned by the one who would have been the focus of other disputes in the past.
"Let’s finish the job, okay?"