Dante's POV
The place was empty, blank, devoid of any sense of existence; it was similar to when I first saw the root, but different, because I felt like something was watching me.
The last thing I remember is my battle against Gilgamesh; when I awakened the Devil Fruit, it was like I was in a trance, like it wasn't me fighting and yet it was. It was a strange feeling; it was like I was lost, but that doesn't mean I didn't remember or that it wasn't me.
I remember in detail how I walked straight into this guy's trap and how, luckily, I managed to act in time and only took a few seconds of the Enuma Elish; of course, to redirect the weapon, my arm was basically sacrificed, but the important thing is that I won.
Now the other question: why am I here and how do I get back?
As I walked, I discovered the silhouette of a house. To me, it looked like one, and although everything was white, I had to play with the proportions of the body; But after getting closer, I realized it was.
The inside was also white, but somehow I could make out the objects within and their dimensions.
I sat on the couch, waiting for time to pass, hoping it would help; if something like this was here, it must be for a reason.
"It's been so much fun, Dante; it's a shame we couldn't share that whole journey together." Suddenly, someone appeared beside me.
I glanced quickly to the side, my eyes widening in shock; the person beside me was none other than Arthur.
I immediately calmed down.
"Yes, it's a shame, but it's impossible," I replied, waiting to hear what he would say.
"Most likely, traveling between universes is strange, but it was worth coming here; it's more fun than seeing our own world," he remarked, settling more comfortably into the couch. "I'm glad you still remember us."
"Remember us?" he asked, explaining why she was using the plural.
"She means all of us, you stupid little brother." At that moment, leaning against a hallway door, Ramses appeared, looking at me with his usual unfriendly expression.
"The fact that you remember Arthur and not the rest of us is really bothering me, especially since you're my little brother," Trinity said, sitting in a chair.
"But it's normal; it's been a long time; memories fading is just part of how the human brain works," Sulli added, appearing beside her.
"Don't be so mean to Dante; he hasn't done anything wrong, maybe he just didn't come back to us," Isis tried to defend me, appearing and sitting down next to me.
"Yes, he's incredibly selfish for not wanting to return to us; first he gains immortality, second he merges his soul with a vampire, third he dies, but we couldn't claim his soul because a system in the world he's in did it first, and now he refuses to die again," Valeska complained, appearing and opening the door of the house with Hun on her shoulder.
"[I agree]," the crow affirmed.
At these words, I fell silent; at that moment, several people began to fill the house: Ares, Anna, Alex, Diana, Boa, Ace, Yamato, Luffy, Nami, and my children. All the people in the world of One Piece whom I had at some point considered family or close friends.
At that moment, a very familiar white-haired woman, who had once terrified me, appeared before me, grabbed my chin, and forced me to look her in the eyes.
"No matter what you do or where you are, your soul will return to where it belongs, for you are mine and always will be," Celestia declared.
At that moment, everything went black.
...
When I opened my eyes, I saw a dark room, but within this darkness, I could make out Kiss-shot's silhouette.
"How long was I asleep?" I asked him.
"Only two days," he replied, tilting his head to meet my eyes. "For a moment, I thought your body would give way and your soul would end up in mine."
"What would have happened if that had?" I asked again.
"No idea. You'd be a parasite in my body until you found a suitable one," I suggested, more as a possibility than a hunch.
"Well, everything turned out alright," I said proudly.
"About that..." Kiss-shot replied, looking away.
"What? What happened? Did Shirou and Rider lose?" he asked doubtfully.
"No, she won; it's about something else," he said, handing me a mirror, and I lit a fire for the light.
When I saw the mirror, I understood what he meant. He was bald, just like Saitama when he broke his limiter.
"The damage to your body was almost everywhere, evenly distributed; "Your skull was no exception," he began to explain. "When we found you, you only had 40% of your hair, and to regenerate quickly, your body underwent a lot of stress, and well, you ended up like this."
I just stared at the mirror, not quite knowing what to say.
"Will it grow back?" he asked.
"I hope so," he replied, leaving the room in silence.
...
After recovering and making sure everyone saw I was alive, we went straight to Ryuudou Temple and headed directly to where the Holy Grail was.
"I can't believe you won the Holy Grail War twice," Rin complained as she formed the hand seals around the Grail.
"You're just upset because you didn't win; in fact, you were eliminated in the first round," Touko retorted, standing nearby.
"That's not true," she tried to defend herself, but her blush at being caught betrayed her.
"Anyway, putting that aside, are you sure you can remove the corruption from the Holy Grail?" Touko asked me.
"In theory, yes, but in practice, it's another story," I said honestly.
Adjusting the hat I'd gotten to hide my temporary bald spot, I sat down, standing just inches from the Grail.
"All set," I ordered.
At that moment, Alice, Touko, Rin, and Aoko reactivated the runes, recreating the bounded field.
The instant I felt my seals released, I enveloped my hand in darkness and touched the Grail. It was shrouded in darkness, beginning to separate an object attached to it but not part of it. You can think of it as similar to how the ability could steal Devil Fruits in the One Piece universe.
I felt the Grail's corruption being stored in the darkness, but instead of keeping it, I decided to compress it as much as possible, thus destroying it in the process. This took about two hours.
Once I felt all the corruption disappear, I deactivated the darkness surrounding the Holy Grail, leaving a structure that, at first glance, appeared to have mystical characteristics, in one way or another.
When I saw that everything was ready, an opening of light shone, leading me directly to the center of the Grail. Without hesitation, I entered.
Third-person POV.
Dante entered the Grail, leaving the place in silence.
"Will we have to deactivate the runes?" Aoko asked.
Alice shook her head at the men, implying she didn't know the answer.
Touko was meditating, ignoring her.
"And what would happen if we deactivated them?" Rin questioned.
No one answered her, so by default they kept the runes activated, unsure if it was necessary to keep them active.
Inside the Grail, Dante walked through a flower-filled area; it was his first time there. During the Second Grail War, he hadn't accompanied Akane to make her wish, so he didn't know the place.
"I never thought I'd be a user of the Third Magic again, but that makes me more careful about what wish you'll make." I heard a voice say behind me.
When he turned back, Illya, wearing ceremonial attire, was looking at him.
"Are you...?" Dante wondered.
"I'm not her; this is just a representation. I usually use the Lesser Grail's appraisal to communicate with the Grail's victor; in this case, it was Illyasviel von Einzbern," she answered before he could finish the question.
"I see, then let's finish this quickly and grant my wish," Dante said, to which the Grail representation kept its eyes closed for a few seconds before opening them and shaking its head.
"It's very complicated; first, if you want to do so much, you'll have to make some restrictions, especially with them, and lastly, I don't have enough mana for that," she replied.
"No problem; regarding them, just make them ordinary; that way it will be easier, and regarding the other thing, being a user of the Third Magic has its advantages, doesn't it? You can take some of my mana as long as you don't leave me with nothing to the point of collapse."
She stared at him for a moment.
"That... might work," she said, nodding. "Good, your wish will be granted."
Outside, the four women stood waiting, unsure of what to do or how long to wait. They simply hoped it wouldn't be too long, only for the place to begin glowing and, out of nowhere, for them to be teleported outside the cave with Dante.
Besides the person responsible for their survival, they realized something else had happened.
"There's less mana in the air," Alice commented, noticing immediately.
"Yes, I had to draw mana from outside to fulfill my wish, since there wasn't enough," Dante explained, lying on the ground with very little mana left, making him feel somewhat exhausted.
"And what was that wish that required so much mana?" Rin asked.
"To revive everyone who died in the Holy Grail War, both participants and those indirectly affected," he declared, leaving the place in silence. "Everyone except one; since I didn't have that bastard's soul to revive him, I didn't, hehehe."
"Why did you do that?" Alice asked with genuine curiosity, especially since the Grail could have been used for other things.
"Because that's what a hero would do: fulfill their own selfish desires, win, and in the process perform a righteous, moral deed, even if it was accidental," Dante explained, getting to his feet.
"Nothing less was expected from the person I declared my future husband," a familiar voice said.
A figure appeared, throwing itself at Dante and knocking him to the ground, as he hadn't anticipated this.
"You're... Rider, how is that possible?" Rin asked, astonished.
"I don't know. I only know that I died, returned to the throne of heroes, then came back again, and now I'm here; however, I'm completely human. I don't feel any supernatural power in my body; I'm completely normal. Since I'm no longer Rider, you can't call me that," he explained, smiling at being able to stand beside his beloved.
"When I said 'everyone,' I meant everyone, including Servants; however, they all revived as normal humans, since I did it for two reasons: first, to give them a second chance at life, and second, because I wasn't going to let them take Medusa or Kagetora from me," said Dante, stroking Kagetora's head.
"That means..." Rin began silently. "I have to go; see you later."
With that, Rin left at a speed faster than the average sprinter, leaving everyone staring at each other, confused.
...
At the temple, everyone woke up as if they had fallen asleep at the same time, bewildered; among them were Medea and Shuichirou.
Medea looked at the spot where her fatal wound had been; it was completely healed. She sighed softly, then looked at everyone alive and smiled, since only someone capable of doing this could have done it.
...
In a darkened house, Shinji was seen sleeping, scratching his stomach, still missing an arm, only to be abruptly kicked awake.
"Hey, what's wrong with you, are you...?" His hysteria was cut short as he remembered he was supposed to be dead. "Wait a minute, how am I still alive, and how are you still alive if you committed suicide?"
Shinji pointed at Medusa, who was staring at him as if he were a piece of dirt on a wall.
"We were all revived; it's pretty obvious; you only woke up because I asked you to take care of that thing," Medusa retorted, pointing at a worm that was wriggling like a fish being fried.
"What is that, a worm that escaped from the basement?" Shinji said somewhat desperately, quickly squashing the worm, unaware that he had inadvertently killed the ancestor of the Matou.
Medusa just watched and smiled. "Case settled, I'm leaving," Medusa declared, exiting the mansion.
"Wait, don't leave me alone," Shinji pleaded, following her mostly out of fear of being left alone and killed again.
...
At Einsbern Castle, a confused Illya could be seen looking at her half-destroyed castle. She never imagined that after dying, she would be revived by some twist of fate.
"Miss Illya, are you alright?" Leysritt asked.
"Are you alright?" Sella asked.
"Hmm, I see you all have been revived as well," she said somewhat detachedly, only to widen her eyes as she remembered something. "Wait, does that mean Berserker...?"
"Here I am," declared a tall man with long hair; he resembled Berserker, but with a more human-like body.
This was technically Heracles, but since he was revived as a human, his appearance was more like Alcides'.
Illya looked behind her, seeing the somewhat familiar man.
"AAAAAAAH!" she screamed, seeing the unknown man on her back.
...
Rin ran, first to her mansion, but after searching, she found nothing. She remembered that Rider had appeared in the place where he had vanished, so she quickly went to where he had been intercepted by Gigalesm days before.
When she reached the empty street, she saw nothing until she noticed a corner. There sat a tall man with white hair and a tanned complexion, meditating silently.
Rin, already tired, slowly walked toward him.
When she was quite close to the man, he opened his eyes, and when he noticed Rin, he closed them again.
"I see you're alright, Rin. Nothing happened to you after my death, but I wonder why I revived. Besides, I have no magic or sorcery left now, so I'm no use to you in winning the Holy Grail War," he said mockingly, though it wasn't clear if his words were directed at himself or at the situation.
Rin said nothing, her eyes hidden by her bangs.
"Hmm, what's wrong? Did the Holy Grail War leave you mute?" he said, smiling as he opened one eye.
She clenched her fists tightly.
"You..." Rin raised her voice.
"? "Archer, I didn't understand what was happening.
Suddenly, Rin lunged at Archer, grabbing his hair as if she wanted to make him as bald as Dante.
"Stupid, why didn't you tell me your true identity? You must have enjoyed mocking me. I'll make you pay for everything," she began, using sorcery to pull his hair harder.
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? Rin, calm down and take a breath; my hair hurts." Help, HELP, SOMEONE HELP ME."
...
At the Emiya residence, Shirou, Sakura, Shinji, and Medusa were tidying up the house as best they could; the latter two had arrived not long ago.
"Senpai, you shouldn't strain yourself too much; he still has a bad arm." Sakura tried to stop Shirou from using his bad arm.
Actually, it wasn't bad; it just didn't always work properly, and if he strained himself too much, it could stop working for a few seconds.
"Relax, Sakura, I'm fine as long as I don't strain myself too much," Shirou told her.
"Hey, what about me? I'm missing an arm and you're not going to be nice to me?" Shinji complained, only to be struck by a whip.
Medusa was behind him, holding a torture device or sex toy, depending on the time of day, to force Shinji to help; where she got it, well, that's a no-brainer.
"You'd better get to work if you don't want to end up with your back all bruised," Medusa warned him. Shinji, keeping his mouth shut, began working rapidly, at a speed that doubled or tripled Shirou's and Sakura's combined speed.
Seeing this, the two exchanged a glance and smiled.
At that moment, the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of Dante, Touko, Aoko, Alice, and Kagotra at the Emiya residence.
"We're here for a visit. I hope we won't cause any trouble," Dante said, entering the residence without knocking.
Shirou, Sakura, and Medusa smiled at the sight, but Shinji hid, still traumatized by what Dante had done to him.
"You guys got here fast. I thought you'd take longer," Shirou commented, leaning against the wall.
"Well, I had a deal with you, and the sooner I fulfill it, the better," Dante replied, summoning his scythe.
...
In a place reduced to ruins, yet teeming with spirits and phantom beasts, a portal suddenly opened, stirring them all.
From this portal emerged Dante, wielding his scythe. He surveyed the entire area, which was both new and familiar.
He had appeared amidst the runes of Olympus. With its fall and the disappearance and death of some Greek gods, most of the gods had ended up with the Romans, but that didn't last long.
Ignoring any beasts, he made his way until he reached something that caught his attention. There, at his feet, lay the corpse of a machine god, specifically Dionysus.
Many years ago, the machine gods had technically fallen, ending up in human forms, but even so, they could still return to those forms, albeit temporarily. When they died, they could break free from their humanoid form and revert to their mechanized form.
At that moment, an idea crossed Dante's mind. If Dionysus's corpse were here, perhaps the other machine gods were, too.
With that in mind, I began searching the entire place.
As I looked around, a bird's cry sounded nearby. Dante quickly looked toward the sound, only to see a majestic red bird.
"Aren't you...? Is that you, Nova?" Dante asked.
The bird, upon hearing Dante's voice and its name, Nova, gave a cry of affirmation and nodded.
"I'm glad you're alright; if I had known you were still here, I would have come sooner," Dante remarked, to which the bird simply nodded. "Now that you're here, I'd like to ask you a favor."
Nova, upon hearing this, seemed slightly annoyed, making a noise of displeasure.
"What's wrong?" Dante asked, confused.
The phoenix quickly approached Dante, who was already about 5 meters tall, and crouched down to butt heads with him.
At that moment, he realized this was what Nova did to get him to take him along. Here he was free, but if he did this, it meant only one thing.
"I understand; I'll take you back with me." Hearing that, the bird happily gestured for Dante to follow.
...
In a meadow filled with flowers, a young woman with blonde hair gazed at the horizon. This was Saber, or rather, Artoria Pendragon.
After meeting Shirou, seeing his character, his refusal to give up, and his acceptance of both of them as they were, she understood that it was no longer necessary to change the past, especially if doing so would prevent them from ever truly knowing each other.
Breaking the endless cycle of the Hero Throne, she decided to leave in peace and be taken to the promised land, Avalon, which lay on the other side of the world. Here, perhaps, just perhaps, she would find her first love again.
"I didn't know a wild lion could turn into a forlorn kitten," she heard herself say in a voice she immediately recognized.
She turned to face the man who had shot her and saved her from the fate of being bound to a man, such as the King of Heroes.
He was accompanied by a very large firebird as he dragged several mechanical pieces that bore a certain resemblance to a human.
"But what...?" Artiori questioned, only to see Dante summon the SPB and open a portal.
"I came to fulfill a promise to a young man who doesn't know how to let go," Dante declared with a smile.
------------------------------------------------------
I'm back; it was a long break that helped me get back into the swing of things with my academic work and gave me time to clear my head and organize some thoughts.
I want to reiterate one point, and that is to apologize for the spelling mistakes I make when I write. Just so you know, I'm from Chile, and in my country, we could say we're word-eaters; we tend to swallow letters or words when we speak, not to mention that we intentionally speak or make poorly written sentences or use spelling mistakes in conversation.
That's why I sometimes tend to overlook certain things or misspell words. I'm used to these ways of speaking and writing, but I've tried to fix this as best I can. Besides, my writing method is to write a paragraph listing all the mistakes and then correct them one by one, so I always end up missing something.
That's all for now. I'll go back to writing as usual, unless something happens to me or I die. With that said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter; see you later.
Fifth Holy Grail War: Completed.
The Holy Grail War of London and the True Ancestors: To be continued.
P.S.: I haven't forgotten about Kirei; his fate will be revealed in the next chapter.