FGO Specter of Glass

India Ch1

"Father... I ask of you one thing... please... kill me." A sea of darkness spread with blood spilled on the floor. "Before... It's too late."

Silence.

Carmen woke up, feeling like she barely got sleep as she tried to shuffle back into bed. She was shaken by Mitra who told her that they were deeper into India's waters and had to hang on tight. Laurine's ship barely held itself together, taking the pressure of the water before she put it in full throttle and blasted it into India's barrier. It hit the shore in pieces, and the entire crew was found lying on the sand. Yu had burns all over her body as the intense heat began to boil her alive. She grabbed a sheet from the wreckage and held it above her as she woke up the others, they slowly struggled to pull their bodies from the broken parts of the ship and saw the damage. Laurine was standing, holding the steering wheel, she had that ship since she was young, and it got her through a lot.

Nero picked up the shark plushie and brushed the sand from it. She sat down and glanced at India; a large castle adorned the kingdom with walls that separated five rings. Mitra sat next to her, offering to hold onto the plushie and keep it in his storage where he had the tents and other supplies when they went camping. She let him hold onto it as she asked if he felt at home, he was an Indian god after all. There was a part of him that did, a feeling inside him that told him that was where he belonged.

A carriage arrived and a woman with purple hair wearing a dress of almost the same color approached. She bowed to them; the King of India requested an audience with them. She asked, no, demanded they go with her. Carmen got Chaldea in a circle to whisper, from what Ashwatthama told them, Arjuna was in charge, and he was a dangerous man, perhaps nothing like the archer that Ritsuka met. There was only one way to do things: they were going to take him down, grab Shrutakarma, and figure out what to do with the ship situation later. They nodded and agreed to go with the woman to meet the king. She bowed in thanks and then pointed at the ship crew; they were welcome to stay at a nice inn while they waited for Chaldea to return.

The trip to the castle was faster than expected, the woman's carriage got them through the five rings and to the gates in minutes. She knocked on the door, however, it was locked, a voice from inside said that the king had a last-minute meeting with the nobles and was occupied. He wasn't going to be available until the next day. She apologized to Chaldea for the inconvenience and let them stay in the guest room, they also could roam the gardens if they chose to. She bowed again then left, letting the guards watch them as she had other duties to tend to. The guards stood by the doors that were off limits and some were stationed in the garden, each equipped with swords or spears by their side.

Carmen and Helena checked out the garden while the others stayed in the room to tend to Yu's burns. The two didn't expect the plants to be so lively, it was dry and humid, yet the flowers were in full bloom. Something then caught Carmen's eye, a gravesite off in the distance. The guard didn't let her in, so she peeked through the fence, some of the stones looked new, with barely any cracks, and the names didn't fade badly. The one name she read clearly was "Abhimanyu." Helena believed she heard that name, it was Shrutakarma's youngest brother. The one whose birthday he invited them to. Carmen explained that Abhimanyu was the child of a moon god and reincarnated as Arjuna's son, however, he was set to die at the age of sixteen and return to the moon god.

Helena wished she was able to meet him, Shrutakarma was ecstatic for them to go with him to India and meet his family. She asked the guards where he was so they could hang out only to get silence. She turned to Carmen, who shrugged, as the two went to their room. Yu's burns were healed, and she was eating some cookies, she said the maid called them "nankhatai" and they tasted like sweet cookies. She gave them the bowl and sat on the bed, it was comfortable, soft, and fluffy, along with being well decorated. India was rich in fabrics and designs; it was one of the major trading partners of China before she and Ibuki blew up the silk road.