Fate/Elysion

Chapter 10 - Primum

The City of Sixty-Four Towers, the Invisible City, Elysion was before my eyes. It looked like a medieval settlement, but, once I entered, I realized it was practically a ghost town. The narrow streets were as I remembered them, but the houses were deserted and there was not a living soul even on the city walls. How was it possible? Where had everyone gone? I had no idea and the thing that scared me the most was the total absence of Saber and even of Primum.

It had been at least ten or fifteen minutes since we had crossed the threshold of the city and no enemy had appeared before us.

"Do you have any idea where they are?" Enkidu asked puzzled.

"No..." I said scratching my head. "I have no idea." I quickly looked around and realized we were lost on the streets.

"Do you need help?"

"Yes, take me to a high point."

Enkidu picked me up and made a huge leap. We landed on a roof and from there I could see the whole city. I noticed that there was a kind of cathedral hidden between the buildings. It didn't look particularly large, but we hadn't inspected it yet.

When we arrived on site I was the first to enter, anxious to find out what was inside, and it was then that I saw him: Primum.

He was a man who was as tall as me and wore an iron mask. That man, dressed as a kind of medieval aristocrat, immediately noticed my presence and called Saber.

We were all four, but neither of us dared to make a move and break the silence that was reigning in that cathedral. Primum, after putting his cloak in place, walked slowly towards me.

"6PWN, 5KNT, 4BSP, 3RK and 2QN. You know them by other names, don't you? Sexta, Quintus, Quartus, Tertius and Secunda. Pawns, little more than pawns, in some specific cases, but pawns nonetheless. I was waiting for your arrival and finally the moment of the choice has come."

"Which choice...?" I asked confused.

"You have a lot of questions, I know, and some of them may not have a short answer. I propose to let our Servants fight."

I looked at Enkidu and then at that Saber, who already had her swords drawn. I was afraid of losing my Servant and also the only love of my life, but I couldn't afford not to trust them.

"Do what you have to do and come back to me victorious," I said to Enkidu.

"I will, An."

Enkidu and Musashi left the cathedral, opening a hole in the roof, and left Primum and me alone. I was the first to speak:

"Was this what you wanted? Did you just want to have a chat privately? Don't you think it's weird? This is a war, not a rally—"

"Your arrival was scheduled... um... An, right? A beautiful name." He paused for a short while during which he took off his white gloves. "I knew you were coming, because this meeting has already happened nineteen times. You are not the first 0SQR I face, but I hope you're the last. I would like to answer the most obvious question: no, you're not human. The presence of reproductive organs is a characteristic of 0SQR and 1KNG, but, as you may have guessed, it's not something that is possessed by the other clones."

"Spiritual clones, am I right?"

"Exactly. We are all spiritual clones, but Nihil and Primum are different from the others. Very different." He walked over to a nearby torch and put his hand over the flame. "We are superior creatures, in a sense."

I could tell from his expression that he wasn't in pain. It was shocking, and when he showed me the burns on his hand, I saw his skin regenerate and return to the way it was before. It was as if he had never touched that fire.