The face before her was one she knew all too well.
From a time long past,
from the days she spent under Sir Ector's care, before crowns and battlefields, before vows had carved her life into iron.
It was her face.
The hair was a different color.
The eyes burned a different red.
Yet the shape, the lines, the subtle familiarity were unmistakable.
A younger her.
Unscarred by fate.
A face that should not yet have known tragedy,
that should not have endured loss, betrayal, or the collapse of a kingdom.
And yet…
Madness and grief were etched into it as though time itself had taken a blade to her reflection.
For a moment, Saber wondered.
If she had borne the crown too soon,
if she had carried kingship without allies, without guidance, without salvation,
would this have been her?
Or was it something else entirely?
Another existence wearing her likeness?
A Noble Phantasm designed to distort recognition and sow doubt?
If so, why did it feel so real?
Why did it hurt?
It felt less like deception and more like truth reflected through a shattered mirror.
Her grip tightened around Invisible Air.
No illusion should have felt this tangible.
Before her thoughts could spiral further,
the sky turned to gold.
Archer's Gates opened in full, each portal a suspended blade aimed at the new Servant. The pressure alone made the air tremble.
Then she heard it.
A laugh, quiet, broken.
"…Aha… ha…"
The Berserker's head bowed.
Golden tears began to pour from his eyes, As His expression twisted into something painful, unnatural, a smile that seemed forced rather than chosen.
Saber's breath caught.
There was no triumph in his laughter. No joy. Only pain shaped into mockery.
"Why so angry, Archer…? In the end, everything in this world is just a cruel joke."
His voice sounded distant, as though something else was pulling the words from him.
Then, behind him, a silhouette rose.
Three warped laughing masks, flickering like phantoms at the edge of perception, radiating a presence that made Saber recoil instinctively.
Their presence made her chest tighten.
For a single heartbeat, Servant and masks were one, their laughter overlapping into a dissonant, uncanny chorus.
As the masks began to vanish, they spoke in unison.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, BOOM!!!."
The treasures of the King of Heroes detonated, not in fire or light, but in a burst of colorful confetti that filled the night air.
Saber stared in disbelief as paper fluttered where annihilation should have been.
...............
Laughing at the Abyss (A+) – (Active/Curse-Type)
"Oh king, stare at your crumbling kingdom and tell Aha, what do you see?"
"Nothing but death, pain, and unending suffering."
"Then laugh, as the world laughs at you. Perhaps then… Aha will no longer find it funny. AHAHAHAHAHA."
"…Tch."
After Arthur lands a successful hit, the target is afflicted with "Aftertaste."
Affected beings or optionally any entities directly subordinate to them (familiars, minions, summoned constructs, or extensions of will), are conceptually redefined as "absurd" and rupture into Aha's signature confetti, a symbolic, non-physical erasure.
Effective against:
Kings, rulers, beings of strong ego, and constructs born of authority or pride.
Drawback:
The laughter is involuntary. Each use causes visible distress and strengthens the Laughing Mask persona, gradually eroding Arthur's current mental balance.
...............…..
"I see… you are more interesting than I initially thought, jester. Perhaps this king shall take you more seriously now."
A Command Seal flashed on Tokiomi's hand.
"By the power of this Command Seal, King of Heroes, quell thy anger and withdraw."
Gilgamesh's eyes flickered, cold and disdainful.
"You dare order a king to withdraw? You have some nerve, Tokiomi."
For a moment, the air tightened.
Then, without further protest, Gilgamesh dismissed the Gates of Babylon.
His gaze returned to Arthur, contempt and curiosity intertwined.
"You are fortunate today, jester. It seems this is not your appointed hour."
He turned to the gathered Servants.
"As for you mongrels, see to it that you reduce your numbers before our next meeting. Only true heroes are worthy of standing before me."
With that, Archer dissolved into particles of golden light.
Iskandar watched him vanish, arms crossed.
"Seems Archer's Master is less stubborn than him."
"Cough… hah… cough. Indeed," Arthur said, straightening himself as he brushed nonexistent dust from his cape, "that man is quite unpleasant, isn't he, Rider?"
A thin laugh escaped from him as he spoke.
"It seems that man managed to catch His attention," Arthur muttered,
"Only for Himto show up, take one look… and decide that he wasn't worth the joke." Arthur said as the smile on his mask twitched.
"So tell me, if he was that boring…"
His voice dipped the mirth thinning until only raw irritation remained.
"…why the hell did You make me use that again?"
For a moment, it was unmistakable.
He wasn't speaking to any of them.
His gaze angled slightly aside, addressing something that did not exist within the bounds of the battlefield.
Then, just as abruptly, the tension vanished.
"Ah, but never mind," he continued lightly. "The curtain's fallen. The confetti's settled."
A soft, delighted chuckle escaped him.
"I do hope you enjoyed the show, hehehe~"
With each word, the presence before them shifted.
The man they had faced moments ago felt… thinner. As if something else now occupied the space behind his voice, wearing him loosely.
Arthur gave an overdone bow, arms spread wide, and turned as if to leave.
"Wait, Berserker," Saber called.
"I wish to speak with yo…."
Iskandar cleared his throat, booming as ever.
"Indeed, as Saber says, I too have a question for you, Berserker. Ahem…Berserker, will you j…"
"No, no, no~"
Yet before he could continue, Arthur cut him off smoothly, almost gently, lifting a single finger.
"Conqueror, conqueror… didn't anyone ever teach you?"
His head tilted, the laughing mask gleaming.
"Interrupting someone mid-performance is terribly rude. And for a king…"
he continued as a soft giggle escaped his mouth.
"…rather unsightly."
He turned just enough for one crimson eye to glance back.
"As for your question?"
"…The answer is nope~"
His laughter chimed, light and hollow.
"You and your army are quite… special~"
they could hear the amusement bleeding through the word
"Yet I don't think someone like me would fit in."
Arthur tilted his head, the laughing half of his mask gleaming faintly
Rider stared at him for a moment.
Then he laughed once, short and booming.
"Hah! Fair enough," Iskandar said, grinning. "You're a strange one, Berserker. Can't say I dislike it."
"As for you, Saber…just take a walk tomorrow morning and I'll find you~" Arthur said as he turned to look at her
Saber stiffened.
"This…" she said after a brief pause, "…I understand ."
Arthur clapped his hands together lightly.
"Well, today wasn't as fruitless as I thought," Arthur continued with exaggerated surprise.
"I seem to have landed myself a date with a beautiful lady~ How unexpected~"
Rider blinked.
"…You both look almost exactly the same," he said flatly.
"So what, Rider?" Arthur replied, flicking his short hair with theatrical flair.
"Aren't I quite beautiful~? She's the only one here as beautiful as me."
He gestured lazily.
"You and your Master look like King Kong kidnapping a princess. The magus and Lancer, one looks like a lemon, the other…"
He paused.
"…Ah, never mind. Let's forget about him."
Kayneth's glare sharpened instantly.
"Mind your tongue, Berserker," he said icily. "Such insolence will not be tolerated."
Lancer blinked, clearly taken aback.
"…Pardon?" he said carefully. "I fail to see how my master resembles a lemon."
Kayneth's eyes narrowed further.
"…why…," he added coldly, "did you so readily assume that insult was directed at me, Lancer?"
"King Kong?" Rider echoed, scratching his chin. "Is that some kind of monster, boy?"
"…Princess…?" Waver muttered faintly, shoulders slumping.
"Shut up!" Kayneth snapped. "Berserker, I will not tolerate…!"
But when they looked again..
Berserker was gone.
Confetti drifted lazily through the air, catching the light as it fell.
Somewhere, distant and fading, laughter echoed.
No one spoke.
Rider's grin slowly faded, replaced by a thoughtful silence.
Kayneth clicked his tongue in irritation.
Saber stared at the empty space where Berserker had stood, her chest tight.
Whatever that man was…
He had not been joking.