(Goal: 500 Power Stones: + 2 Chapter, can you do it?)
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The sun finally showed its face. Slowly, its golden rays slipped through the room's windows, casting long, warm shadows across the floor.
The tea had already gone cold, so Kazuya began gathering the cups, placing them on the tray to take to the kitchen and wash. He was silent, his gaze distant, clearly lost in his own thoughts. He started moving as soon as Gabriel left, as if wanting to keep himself busy with something, but he was interrupted by the concerned voice of a certain Saint.
"Master…" Jeanne broke the silence with her soft voice: "Are you okay?"
Kazuya blinked, pausing mid-motion, like someone snapping out of a brief trance, and slowly turned his head toward her.
Jeanne was sitting on the couch nearby, about thirty centimeters from where he stood. Her hands rested gently in her lap, her posture impeccable, as always. And yet, there was something in her eyes… a concern he hadn't noticed before.
What was going on with his adorable saint?
"I'm just a bit sleepy. You know how it is, I had to spend the whole night talking to a clueless, innocent angel…"
But before he could finish another one of his sarcastic quips, Jeanne moved.
She rose gently from her seat and, without a word, leaned in and hugged him, carefully but firmly. One arm wrapped around his back, and her face rested on his shoulder. It was a gesture both delicate and direct. Protective, as she always was.
He froze for half a second.
"…Jeanne?"
But Jeanne didn't respond right away. Instead, she tightened the hug. Her chest, which, let's be honest, wasn't exactly small, pressed against his torso.
"You don't have to pretend you're okay," she murmured, so softly it barely sounded like words, more like a feeling escaping her lips.
Kazuya blinked, his sharp mind needing an extra second to process it. He sighed and, without resisting, wrapped his arms around Jeanne as well.
"What's this now?" he murmured softly. "Hugging me like I just died…"
Jeanne didn't laugh. She only nestled closer to him.
"I had a bad dream," she said finally. "About you. About the life you had here."
Ah. That.
Kazuya let out a long, tired sigh.
"The Dream Cycle," he muttered, with a hint of bitter humor. "Knew it'd happen sooner or later. That thing loves invading people's privacy… Seems even the magical system doesn't respect a man's personal space anymore."
Jeanne pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, her brow slightly furrowed in an adorably annoyed pout.
"And good thing we have it," she replied, sulking. "Or no one would ever know what goes on in that stubborn head of yours. You hide everything! Always pretending you're fine, that you're strong, that nothing hurts."
She gave a light tap on his chest with her closed hand. It didn't hurt, but it was enough for him to let out a fake "ouch."
He raised his hands in a dramatic gesture of surrender, as if standing before a celestial tribunal—which, technically, wasn't far off, considering he'd just had tea with a Seraphim.
"Okay, okay, I surrender. I promise not to joke about my deep, painful traumas anymore. But just for today, alright?"
She stared at him.
And then, with the same conviction with which she had hugged him, Jeanne murmured, this time with resolve:
"You're not alone anymore, Kazuya."
Kazuya closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, as if that simple act could lift the weight from the room. For a brief moment, the image of a lonely boy sitting in the dark of his room, with the bluish light of an anime playing on the screen, flashed in his mind. That boy who pretended the world didn't exist and that everything was fine because it was easier that way.
But he quickly pushed the memory aside.
"I know, Jeanne," he murmured, opening his eyes and meeting the saint's gaze. "I know I'm not alone anymore. So you don't have to worry so much."
Jeanne furrowed her brow and sighed, crossing her arms like a teacher about to scold her favorite student.
"Idiot."
Kazuya raised an eyebrow, letting a half-ironic smirk curl his lips.
"Free insult first thing in the morning? You're breaking my heart, Jeanne."
She rolled her eyes, but a faint pink was already coloring her cheeks. It was impossible to stay annoyed for long when he talked like that.
Kazuya sighed again, this time without any teasing, and ran a hand through his hair before looking at her sincerely.
"For real… I'm okay. And I appreciate you worrying. Seriously."
Before she could retort, he reached out and gave a light pat on her head, slightly mussing her golden hair. Jeanne turned red instantly and made that typical sulky pout, looking away.
"You're still terrible at expressing the important stuff," she grumbled.
One thing all the Servants in Chaldea agreed on was that their Master always put others first and forgot to take care of himself. And even in this new life, he didn't seem to have changed.
Well, at least that hadn't changed…
The truth, though, was that he had changed a lot in many other ways. He'd become more apathetic in his decisions, less driven by emotions. The desire to protect humanity was still there, but it seemed to have taken a different form. Before, he did it as the Master of Chaldea, driven by kindness and a sense of duty. Now, he acted almost automatically, emptily… like someone who had lost hope in people but still insisted on saving them, perhaps just to feel useful.
But it wasn't just her who had noticed this, obviously. All the others had seen the change too. Still, he remained the same Master they loved, the one who had guided and helped them more than anyone. That's why they all wanted to give back, helping him in the best way they could in this new world…
Though, to be honest, he didn't need much of their help. He had become very strong.
His actions for humanity and his increase in power, along with the ability to summon them in this world, opened the possibility that he had made some contract with Alaya to see them again. It was something they had all considered… It was as if he were serving Alaya herself in the Counter Force as one of her Counter Guardians, but in this world…
What is the Counter Force? Who are the Counter Guardians?
The so-called Counter Force is a safety mechanism formed by the World to protect itself against extinction, with two branches: Gaia and Alaya.
While Gaia is the will of the Earth, the planet's intrinsic desire to survive and thrive, Alaya, on the other hand, is the collective unconscious will of humanity to avoid its extinction.
Thus, as humans were inhabitants of the world, initially there was only Gaia. However, as humanity began to develop independently of nature, a divergence occurred, forming Alaya. Now, the two Counter Forces are no longer aligned and may occasionally come into conflict.
Though considered the wills of humanity or the planet, the Counter Forces carry no emotions. They are described as spirals of energy that respond to threats of world destruction or human extinction. Normally, Gaia and Alaya act indirectly but are always active, constantly guiding humanity and the planet away from potential danger in some way.
Gaia is the planet's will to survive, protecting all creatures of the Earth using nature spirits. As humanity became independent, Gaia increasingly saw humans as a threat due to their reckless destruction of the environment. Thus, in response to the human threat, Gaia also employs beings capable of subduing or ruling over humanity, such as True Ancestors, extremely powerful vampiric nature spirits.
However, humans can also make pacts with Gaia, as in the case of Artoria Pendragon, who, before dying, forged a contract with Gaia to try to obtain the Holy Grail, allowing her summoning in response to threats to the planet.
Furthermore, through the Counter Force's intervention, the destruction of the planet by creatures born on Earth is essentially impossible due to the measures already put in place by Gaia. For example, Noble Phantasms classified as Anti-Planet or Anti-World, like Gilgamesh's Ea, are incapable of actually achieving such a feat, only destroying the concept of worlds, such as against Reality Marbles and projections, in addition to being bound by earthly ties as inhabitants of the world.
Alaya is the collective unconscious of humanity and the drive for its survival as a whole, constantly steering humans away from extinction. It typically interferes only indirectly, guiding and empowering a certain individual to eliminate a threat. However, when indirect intervention is insufficient, the Counter Force will send Counter Guardians or heroic spirits.
It is also tied to the so-called Human Order, the fundamental principle by which Alaya operates, meaning that humanity must exist for as long as possible. Thus, parallel worlds in which humanity destroyed itself or advanced too quickly and stopped progressing are, under this principle, eliminated, allowing only the most promising timelines to survive to ensure humanity's future.
Though intangible forces of will, each uses physical agents to handle events too dangerous to be resolved with indirect intervention. Gaia employs elementals, some divine spirits, and spiritual species as agents, while Alaya uses heroic spirits and the so-called Counter Guardians, human spirits who pledge eternal service to the Counter Force in exchange for power or favor.
One of the main differences between heroic spirits and Counter Guardians is that the former are summoned by humanity's hopes and are famous beings from legends, while the latter are summoned by humanity's despair in the face of extinction, acting without autonomy in response to a specific event. They become Counter Guardians by forging a pact in life, acting as protectors of balance even without being known heroes, as in the case of EMIYA.
Of course, Jeanne didn't know all this in detail, but she knew of "Alaya," as did most of the other Servants who had heard of it in life or even after death.
Kazuya let out a chuckle, pulling Jeanne from her reverie.
"Yeah, I've got a talent for that."
A comfortable silence settled between them for a few seconds until he asked, in a quieter tone:
"So… what did you see in that dream?"
Jeanne hesitated. For a moment, her fingers intertwined in her lap, and her eyes dropped to the floor. But then she took a deep breath and answered:
"I saw everything. The accident. You… small, lost… then, alone. I saw what came after. The people, the way they looked at you… the loneliness…"
Kazuya fell silent. No more sarcastic smiles or quick remarks. Just a slight nod, as if it all made sense now.
"Ah," he said, with a faint, tired smile. "So that's why."
He raised his hand again and gave a gentle pat on her golden hair, the affectionate gesture contrasting with the usual ironic expression returning to his face.
"Hey, that was a long time ago, Jeanne. I got over it. And… you're cute for worrying about it, you know?"
Jeanne's eyes widened, and she turned redder than should be possible for someone like her.
"I… I didn't—! Idiot!"
She turned her face to the side but didn't pull away.
Kazuya gave a lopsided smile, and for a moment, there was no need for words. The room, lit by the first rays of sunlight, felt lighter. He leaned back against the couch, and Jeanne, still a bit sulky but not moving away, let herself lean a little closer to him.
It was just a quiet moment. But for both of them, that was already enough.
"Thanks, Jeanne," he murmured, almost as if the wind were the only witness.
And the saint only replied with a soft murmur:
"Idiot."
But this time, with a discreet smile on her lips. Maybe he had changed a lot. But he was still her idiot Master, may the Lord forgive her for the language—spending time with Jalter hadn't been healthy…
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(A/N: Author's Note
This chapter was a bit trickier to write than I expected.
In the previous chapter, I had already dipped a little into Kazuya's past in this world, but I didn't want to dive too deep here either—not because there isn't much to tell (spoiler: there's a lot), but because it's not the right time to open that chest yet. Still, I felt the need to give Jeanne some space. After everything she represents and after so many moments where she's just been watching, it was only fair to let her shine a bit more and show how important she is to him.
This chapter is about silence, about caring for someone who doesn't ask for help, and about those moments when a hug says more than any dialogue. I hope I managed to convey that.
As for what's next... the upcoming chapter will be much more intense. We'll finally tackle Sirzechs' "return" and everything that's been happening with him in the shadows. There'll be more action, revelations, and, of course, new Servants showing up—or maybe a focus on the missions of the Servants already in this world. I'm still deciding what comes first, but I can promise it'll be worth it.
So get ready. The calm is about to end.
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