"...A God?" Ritsuka hesitantly repeated what Nursery Rhyme had said. His face was a mask of stillness, and the gears inside his mind were turning, recalling all of his memories of that creature and comparing them with what his newest servant was telling him. It was difficult to believe.
Nursery Rhyme ignored Ritsuka's question and then said, "I bid thee move with haste. I hath stayed thee long enough—linger any longer, and ye may find thyselves beyond the reach of escape from the ritual's grasp."
Ritsuka tilted his head, his face scrunched up in confusion at the sudden mention of 'ritual'. Seeing this confusion, Nursery Rhyme quickly explained herself, "'Tis a God of the Gap. To summon it hither, a ritual must be wrought—the very altar being London itself—the sacrifice: its people. A profane rite shall soon commence, Descension, led by a Prophet wielding the second Holy Grail. He shall unseal a passage, and through that abyss shall the Nameless God descend."
"Do we stop it by finding the second Holy Grail?"
"Aye. The Rat King did possess it, yet who now holds it, not even I can say."
"We'll leave a letter here for Kukulkan," Ritsuka decided. He picked up a pen from nearby and wrote on a piece of paper, "She should have no issue since she's a Goddess herself. We'll meet at the Church."
"Let's hurry then, Senpai," Mash said. She pulled her shield and aimed it at the wall towards the outside. With several slams, Mash widened the hole Kuku created. In the meantime, Artoria used the sword to cut open her gown, allowing for freer movements. Queen Victoria was left cradling the corpse of her soulmate. Carrying her Senpai on her back, the Demiservant dug her fingers into the wall as she fell, slowing her descent enough that all Ritsuka would feel was a minor thud and pieces of rubble hitting his Mystic Code.
The group ran from the pit through the fogged streets. Artoria was easily able to catch up to Mash's speed. Despite her small frame, so too did Nursery Rhyme of all people. Her legs were a blur, like someone speed-walking rather than 'jumping' in a linear fashion like how most Servants do to blitz quickly from one point to another.
Ritsuka looked around at the fog that surrounded him. His vision was limited to less than five meters ahead. Anything more than three meters was devoid of details, only outlines of shapes without any depth. The darkness of night restricted his vision even further.
There was a roar. A black thing leaped from the depths of the fog. Artoria reacted quickly, she used her sword and stabbed it up from the beast's jaw and into its brain. Before it could do a death seizure, Artoria flung the creature back into the fog.
"Kill… me…"
Artoria moved once more, leaping out of the way just as something crashed through the space where she stood.
It was… a head? Ritsuka then noticed how the head was connected to a spine. Tracing down the spine, Ritsuka saw where it originated from.
It… made Ritsuka realize just how much more the Rat King must've hated women than men. While the beasts are inhuman, there's still a ghost of that humanity in them. At least they're still humanoid.
This 'womb', however, was a mockery of nature. A mockery that vaguely resembled a scorpion, with the head being a stinger of sorts. The woman's neck stretched beyond the natural limit of humanity, revealing vertebrates covered in sinew and viscera. The woman's vagina and anus were merged into one, creating a mouth full of folds and rows of disturbingly human-like teeth. The womb crawled on its malformed feet and hands, the arms becoming hind legs and vice versa.
The head cried tears, it still spoke somehow.
"Kill… me… ple…ase…"
Ritsuka's face became a picture of disgust and horror. Artoria said nothing as she dashed forward, her sword cutting through all the legs and arms on one side of the womb. When she reached the end, the King of Knights reversed the momentum within her sword, and the blade cut through the softness between each individual vertebrate. The tail-head thing fell to the ground, wiggling like a worm. The rest of the body collapsed, lifeless with no movement.
Artoria moved once more. Half a dozen heads attached to outstretched vertebrates shot out of the wall of fog. They aimed at the King of Knights, yet because of Artoria's instinct, she managed to dodge most of them almost gracefully, and the one she couldn't move out of the way she deflected it with the flats of her sword.
*CLANG*
There was a chorus of groans and pleas. Most seemed to be far away, more like echoes than discernible voices. Yet there were plenty that were clear enough for Ritsuka to identify what they were saying.
"SENPAI!"
*Whoosh*
Ritsuka felt a rush of movement from Mash—a stinger took the place where his head used to be. A dull pain later, the teen found himself on the ground, staring at the whites of the Moon—the Moon that shone upon his frame and whose light was strong enough to pierce this thick fog.
That looked incredibly foreboding.
"Artoria!" Mash yelled. "We have to go!"
Artoria tried to leave, to dash out of the carnage she was in. Yet the King of Knights had to stop as an inch ahead of her appeared another stinger. It smashed into the ground, akin to someone drawing a line on the sand, permitting Artoria to go no further. Rising out of the bloom of debris, Ritsuka saw a caved-in head attached to the vertebrates.
"Go! I'll catch up with you!" Artoria yelled. There was a smile on her face, one that was clearly forced. Artoria was dripping with blood, surrounded by those wombs from all sides. Dozens of them. Even though her strength was returning, Ritsuka had a sinking feeling this would be the last time he'd ever see her in this Singularity.
Mash listened and left. The echoes of steel and fighting lingered long after the fog hid Artoria. As they traveled, Mash's eyes darted all over, and her ears narrowed in on any sounds in preparation for an attack from the fog.
The trio entered the slums. As Ritsuka looked around him at the houses, he found them unfamiliar. The frightening idea that they might be lost entered his mind.
"Where are we?" Ritsuka wondered out loud. Mash halted and looked around at her environment as well.
"If thou seekest a hint of the familiar," Nursery Rhyme said as she pointed down a road covered in fog, "tread this path."
Ritsuka had a moment of hesitation, before going with her direction.
The slums were deathly silent. Compared to the cries present within the upper district, there was simply a lack of any groans or pleas that would signify the presence of those turned creatures. Ritsuka's eyes widened as he realized Iskander must've been the reason.
What must've been almost every slum dweller joined Iskander's riot. Those who didn't must've been forced to join, or are killed. Or perhaps they're hiding. Thinking of Mary's family, Ritsuka felt uneasy. He dearly hoped they'd be alright and weren't too affected by Iskander's call for the Queen's head. But realistically, they're all dead. Mary wasn't the type to do violence, neither was her husband. And the children…
Rituska purged himself of those thoughts, yet a remnant of that poisonous idea remained. It stained his already low view of humanity. It wouldn't take much for him to turn into a misanthrope—someone with a hatred for human nature.
He pushed on, concluding with the idea that because there's a lack of people here in the slums, that's why there's so few of those beasts and wombs.
It didn't take long for Ritsuka to find Mary's home. The front door was open, several windows were missing their glass panels. The trash that's usually stacked in front of the home was tipped over, creating a hill that's difficult to walk through.
"Senpai, we should go and find the church."
Ritsuka stood there, staring blankly at the home. It wasn't burnt like a lot of the upper district, fortunately. He felt like he should mourn them. Out of everyone he's met in Singularities, the teen had the closest connection to these everyday people. They were closer to him than those heroes who were his servants. They understood him better than an Emperor who stands above the common man as much as a god would. Better than an explorer who knows no fear.
"Ritsuka?"
It was a weak voice, yet familiar.
"William?!" Ritsuka hurried inside, trekking through the turned-over crates and entering through the door. Inside, the teen found William dirtied, with bits of dried blood on his forehead. The boy looked scared, he was shivering. Ritsuka took off his coat and draped it over the boy. He hugged him, and William hugged back with all of his strength. Slowly, sounds of crying filled the air as William sobbed into Ritsuka's chest.
"Shhh, it's okay. I'm here now." The teen said in a gentle tone. He recalled how Kuku comforted him and copied her motion. Ritsuka's hands brushed through William's black hair. The boy continued to weep into his chest, so much so that it wasn't long before the teen felt wetness stain his shirt in full.
How he wished they'd meet again under better circumstances. Even if Ritsuka knew none of this matters once the Singularity is solved, the heart often has an opinion far different compared to that of the brain. He's not… like Kuku. He couldn't just… ignore the people of this Singularity.
"We must depart with haste. A God cometh." Nursery Rhyme said.
"No stay…"
Ritsuka moved, yet was held in place by William. He desperately wanted the teen to be close, to never stray far. It made sense, William's entire family must've died to those rioters. And his last remaining connection with the world is a stranger he met merely weeks before.
But, the thought of ending this Singularity was like a permanent fixture inside his mind. As much as Ritsuka wanted to stay here with him, the teen knew he had a greater duty in the form of being the Last Master of Mankind. In the end, he chose duty over love.
"I have to go now, William."
"No, stay please!" William's arms wrapped tightly around Ritsuka's neck.
Ritsuka held William's head, he whispered into his ears, "Listen William. Do you trust me?"
"..."
Ritsuka heard a bit of mumbling too quiet for his ears to discern the content of. He decided to continue, "William, go to your bed, pull the covers over your body. Close your eyes, and try to sleep. Even if you can't, promise me you'll just try your best to sleep since it's so late. When you next open your eyes in the morning, all of this would be a bad dream. Your family will return, and London will return. Nothing would be out of place. In fact, you might even forget about all this. You'll forget about me—"
"No! I don't want to forget about you!"
"William. I swear by all the Kamis that once existed, I want to take you with me. I want to give you a better life than you have here. I want to show you the wonders of modernity, and what two centuries of progress can bring." Ritsuka paused, he felt tears coming on, helplessness filling his tone, "But I can't. I know it isn't fair for someone as gentle as you to be born in this messed-up era. You deserve something far better. You deserve so much more…"
Ritsuka took in several deep breaths, "I… I have to go now. I need to solve this Singularity."
"Please… don't leave me again. I have no one else…"
"I…" Ritsuka bit his lips, knowing that this really would be the final time he'd ever see William ever. He's essentially saying goodbye to someone who's dying. He'll never hear from him. This whole encounter would be erased from existence after the Singularity has concluded. Only he would remember this.
What a cruel thing really.
"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I can't. I must save all of human history."
"But why? Why when human history so messed up? Why not let the dirty thing stay incinerated?"
"Because of people like you. Those who are innocent. I fight for them. I fight so they can live."
The answer was automatic. It took a few seconds for what William said to fully sink in.
"Wait wh—?"
"I'm sorry."
He heard Mash call his name before blackness was all Ritsuka knew.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Ritsuka stirred into consciousness. He felt tightness around his neck and heard something being dragged across a rough surface. When he opened his eyes, Ritsuka found himself atop a cobblestone road. He felt someone pulling at his collar, dragging him like a horse would with a chariot.
What… happened?
Ritsuka massaged his temple to get rid of this god-awful migraine that was assaulting his head—
"—huh?"
His… his arms aren't moving.
His arms aren't moving.
Neither of his arms is moving! Even when he commands them to move. He tried to move his legs but also found them non-functioning. Wait… he also isn't feeling anything in his legs.
"What… what is going on?" Fear and confusion gripped his mind like a python choking out prey. It choked out all other thoughts and all other observations about his surroundings. The only thing that Ritsuka could think about was how he couldn't move or feel anything below his neck.
"I broke your spine just above the shoulder plates. "
It was hauntingly familiar.
"W— Will— William?"
Ritsuka didn't want to believe it.
"I struck in such a way you're still able to breathe and talk, but paralyzed from the neck down."
Ritsuka's heart sank. His mind went blank, he was unable to comprehend what was happening. He couldn't think of anything. So, he essentially shut down as William dragged him through the streets. A boy, dragging someone much heavier than him.
"I like you, you know?" William said, "I like you so much. I like you like no one I've ever liked before. Maybe except for my momma before she left me. You saved me from the Rat King. Rescued my individuality. I like you so much for that. I wanted you to stay with me. I was willing to do anything you wanted: from working the chores, making dinner, working at a dangerous factory— anything, just so you could stay rather than run like my momma did. But, you still left like she did."
Ritsuka said nothing and wept, tears trailing down his face.
"I… I trusted you. Ever since my momma, you're the only person I've ever placed my trust in." There was a break in William's voice as if he was sobbing. He started rambling, "Why…? Why do people always leave me? Why do they smile and promise and then disappear like they were never here at all? I don't want to live in a world where every word leads to a betrayal, where every promise is a prelude to a lie, and every friendship ends in abandonment. So I've made a deal. The Nameless God, it whispered to me through the Rat King in the tunnels where the light doesn't reach. If I bring you, Ritsuka, if I take your hand and we both leap into the Pit together, we would be unmade. Uncreated. Unthought. True oblivion, perfect and whole. No more pain. No more loss. No more days waiting for the inevitable betrayal, no more trust to be broken."
William laughed, a broken sound.
"Isn't that wonderful? No more suffering, no more walking through a painful world. That is Heaven, true Heaven—not eternally praising God like Aunt Mary said. No heavenly choirs, no divine light, no angelic thrones. Just the hush-quiet of nothingness. The great erasure. The darkness before there was Light, before the first thought poisoned the emptiness. That is how it should be. That is Right. Life was a mistake. I was a mistake. Aunt Mary was wrong. Thought was the first sin, not eating the Apple. We never should have been, you and I. Never should have crawled from the formless void into this world of endless pain and misery. But we can go back. We can undo the error. I hear them now, the ultimate quietness. I hear it calling for me. I want to embrace it. Join me Ritsuka. Join me. We shall both be undone. Ha… HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"William…" The name crawled out of Ritsuka's mouth like a worm coming out of the ground during a rainstorm, "William… I was dust for eons before I became the shape you see before you. Let me live before I return…"
It was an acknowledgment of William's words. Yet it was also a plea for mercy. William stopped. Standing still. What was he thinking? Ritsuka didn't know. And he'll never know what William would've chosen as—
*BANG*
—a gunshot rang out. Ritsuka fell to the ground, no longer moving. William also slumped to the ground, unmoving like him.
The teen couldn't move his head, only his eyes. Yet from the corner of his vision, Ritsuka saw a familiar person.
Caroline Claycaster.
Of all people— her!
In her hands held a smoking gun. A revolver to be exact. Dressed in riding leather, she hid behind an overturned cart. Coming out, the girl hurried over to Ritsuka's side.
She was a sight for sore eyes. Truly.
"Are you alright? I heard his rambling. He's some insane person right?" Caroline said as she looked over Ritsuka's form.
Ritsuka wept. Blinking away the tears, the teen said nothing as Caroline helped him up. Only to slump back to the ground once she let go.
"Can you not walk?"
"No…" Ritsuka said in a dead tone. He was still too distracted by everything that happened so far to pay attention to Caroline. He was in his own world.
Licking her dry lips, Caroline thought of a solution, "Well, it's a good thing I loved hunting."
Holding onto his legs, Caroline draped Ritsuka's arms over her chest. "Oof, not the heaviest weight I had to carry. Did you know that I once hunted a deer? My parents were so mad for doing something so unwomanly… I had to haul that carcass back myself. It was a delicious roast."
Caroline continued walking with Ritsuka on her back, "I'm mad at you. You left me at the banquet! I was so mad I marched right up to Worth and demanded he tell me where you lived. Being so late, I marched back home, grabbed a revolver for protection, and headed to the church when everything went to hell. True barbarity. Illogical violence. This is why they're the lower class." Caroline hissed.
"Now, when we are in a safe place, I expect a proper 'thank you'. A kiss would be most apt. I'm tired of the usual court process, nor do I care for my purity. I want to have a love like Queen Victoria's. Did you know that when Prince Albert was still alive, the Queen had a button in her bedroom that would lock the doors? I want one. I've always wanted to hunt an elephant, maybe for our honeymoon—"
Just then, Caroline stopped. The groans and pleas filled the air, though it's not like Ritsuka would've registered it. He's still too engrossed inside his own mind.
Ritsuka felt himself slamming into something hard. This pain took him out of his own mind. Looking around, the teen realized that many of those beasts and wombs were just a few meters away. He was on the ground. Didn't Caroline carry him— oh…
Caroline left him.
*BANG*
"Get away!" Caroline screamed. Several more gunshots rang out, drawing their attention.
Though Ritsuka couldn't see it, his ears certainly heard her screaming as the wet noise of flesh tearing echoed through the streets. Quickly the screams stopped, with only the sound of flesh present.
He wept. He felt numb.
He was in so much pain that he felt numb. Was this a defense mechanism? He didn't know.
So he closed his eyes. Even though he heard a flurry of flesh being torn, groans and pleas silencing, the teen still kept them shut. There was no point. None at all.
"Ritsuka, I heard gunshots so I came here."
It was Kukulkan.
He felt someone touch his neck. Steadily, he felt feelings return to his hands and feet. And yet he kept them still. His heart was deafeningly loud.
Reflexively, his arms came up, his chest moved in erratic manners like he was having a seizure. He curled up into a ball. The pain from his knees scraping against the road was scarcely registered by his mind.
"I can't…" He said, voice barely above a whisper. The palm of his hands came up to his weeping eyes. He began smashing his head against the cobblestone road.
"Ritsuka!"
Louder, "I can't anymore Kuku… I can't fight for human history anymore. I just can't."
_____
AN: Ritsuka at his absolute lowest point. Rock bottom.