Fate/Zero: A Different Path

Chapter 8

No time to eat. No time to rest. Time is precious, and time is limited

That's how I have lived my life since that night at the Alimango island

A life spent living on the edge, not in constant fear of danger, but in fear of not having enough time. 

When time ran out, I would truly be dead, as all things are destined be. If I am dead, I would not be able to achieve my goal

That is why I'll achieve my dream...even if that means I'll follow Kiritsugu's path and become the Magus killer

In the past years I have killed. I have learned. I killed, then learn some more

My life has been an endless cycle of self-improvement. With each cycle I killed Magus after Magus. With each cycle I grows just a little more adept, better than my past self as my experience accumulated

It is a paradoxical existence where one can only found meaning in the meaninglessness of it all

Such is the current thought running through my head, that I could not help but ponder

I exhaled slowly. Smoke and ashes clung to me as I walked through the barren battlefield.

Magus blood dripped from my coat, coloring it a dark red similar to the knife in my hand. With ease of experience I wiped them away

I only focused forward. Ignore the pain, death, and misery in front of me. Ignore them in order to concentrate on what is truly important

The gun gripped in my hand has smoke coming out its muzzle. For years it have been my companion. It is the same one that I am currently using to eliminate the Magus entering my Workshop with no prejudice

Bang, goes the dull yet deafening sound of the Thompson Contender that echoed amidst the orchestra of chaos before me. 

The bullet ripped through a Magus's forehead as panic among them rose

The break came undone as i ejected the casing with a snap of my wrist. Another one was loaded with ease of experience. 

I pulled the trigger. The bullet I fired struck true to their mark, punching a hole through another Magus's heart 

The next shot was intercepted as their return fire rain down on me in the form of machinegun fire. I released the spent bullet from their chamber

[Time Alter: Double Accel]

Time itself stilled around me. 

The surrounding noises faded away, leaving me behind with the sound of my own heartbeat and the thought running through my head

Not for the first time in my life, I could not help but think what my counterpart would have said had he witnessed what I became

Kiritsugu killed for his ideal

I killed for my convenience. I killed because I need knowledge. I killed because of that craving to further my understanding of the primordial force known as time

Realistically, is there anything different between us?

Unlikely

We are both murderers. When you're the victim, you do not care about your killer. Death is the ultimate killer. That's why people fear him. And as they had cursed his name, so will they curse mine