--- Section 1 ---
Back with Mashu, being served coffee by Romani. She figures this must be a dream, to which the doctor says it's more of a hallucination. He said that the amount of anguish she experienced caused her to collapse within Metatron's Noble Phantasm. He says that it probably won't be long before she dies, and this is akin to having her life flash before her eyes. In the end, he doesn't really exist, and calls himself an echo of her memories.
(Because this is difficult to get into the actual story summary, I'll add here that Mashu says like "Ah, so what you're saying is that you're not the doctor", where the emphasis is placed on "doctor". In addition to that, as Petri has pointed out previously, the pronouns used by Romani here isn't at all what he usually uses. These are points of uncertainty in the scene that are very difficult to get across into english, and especially a summary.)
Mashu is relieved, and almost hopeful, over seeing Romani here. Not because she'd want to return to her past self, in the days of those memories, but because "the two of you are people I'd---". Romani cuts her off, saying it'd be an honor, but she shouldn't speak it. Regardless, they don't have time, so they need to cut to the chase here. Romani reiterates that he is actually Mashu herself here, and that's how he knows she has definitely changed from her past self. He can tell she's conflicted, and wonders what she'll do now. Will she pick up the shield and fight? Mashu would like to, but she's scared. Of being rejected by Galahad's shield. And of reverting to her past self, the way she used to be in that examination room. But Romani says that won't happen. She won't ever return to that state again.
Dr. Roman:
You don't see everything in the world equally anymore.
It doesn't matter who, or what they are. Returning you to that room is impossible, unfortunately.
Your troubles are unfounded, in an almost comical fashion.
And I don't mean that in a bad way. It's a good thing, which is why I'm smiling, see?
Humans are beings that try to act equal and fair, but that doesn't mean they are.
Some even treat their lives as secondary to others, despite how it ought to be. You could hardly call that equal, right?
That's probably not the right choice. No, it's probably even a bad choice.
Inequality breeds disparity, disparity breeds conflict, and conflict breeds war.
There is no end to the wars in history that have started because "we are different from them".
But even so, Mash...inequality is a matter of the whole.
If an individual was to carry that burden, it wouldn't be suitable to call it inequality anymore.
It's okay for you to grieve over somebody else.
Say, for example, if you were to loudly exclaim your affection for your Master--for Fujimaru.
Heck, sing it if you want. Though I personally wouldn't be able to approve, given my position.
Taking up arms in protection of those close to you. Taking action to keep true to your inner beliefs.
That is the most difficult, but also the most powerful way to live.
I didn't know that, but you and everyone else in Chaldea forced me to learn this lesson.
But Mashu thinks that can't be the case, since she's a Demi-Servant and representative of Galahad, the selflessly dutiful and noble knight. But Romani doesn't agree with that at all. There's no way Galahad was completely fair. After all, he lent Mashu his help. Whatever reasons he had, it's a fact that he turned his back on absolute fairness, and in return, Mashu gained the freedom to act unequally. She is allowed to love and be loved in return.
Then why is her shield rusting? Why is she being rejected by it, and by Galahad by extension? Romani can't argue that, but he also doesn't think she really has to use the shield anyway. It's not like she came this far just because of that thing. Nobody in Chaldea believes that, least of all Guda. It was all thanks to Mashu's own strength that she got this far. If the shield rejects her, then she should reject it as well. She shouldn't let the concept of a Shielder chain her down. Losing the shield doesn't mean losing her powers, despite being a Demi-Servant.
But there is one thing to note: like Da Vinci said after Traum, if Mashu ever reaches for more power than she currently has, she'll stop being just a Demi-Servant. Unfortunately, more power is exactly what Mashu feels she needs right now. Because even if she's rejected by her shield and she loses her fairness, the feeling that never wavers is her desire to protect. To protect her Master, Chaldea, the Human Order, and Pan-Human History. That's the reason she wants to keep fighting.
Romani has a weirdly rude tone as he says that's a boring answer, that he completely saw coming. He apologizes for letting his "true colors shine through", and says that despite Mashu's convictions being foolish, it's clear as day that she's made up her mind, and there's no room for argument anymore. She's Guda's First Servant, after all. That's how it started, and that's how it'll end. Finally, Romani says another weird thing: "Do 'you' have something to say? Or can 'I' end this on my own." His sprite darkens, and his nameplate changes to ??? here, as he(?) gives Mashu one final advice.
???:
Mash. Don't be afraid of dirtying your hands. You should start doing you-know-what, whenever you wish.
Don't let the shield rule you. You rule it. You have that right.
And at times, you must let go of the shield and take up the sword instead. That is what it means to fight.
When you can embody those concepts, you will cease to be a Shielder and become something unlike Heroic Spirit Galahad.
And then your class will be, uhh...wait, what do YOU think?
Dr. Roman:
Well, it'd be ■■■■■■■, what else?
She HAS been knighted by someone who is the very model of that concept.
(I'll point out again here that ??? actually uses Romani's usual pronouns, and he does call herself Mashu's doctor.)
Mashu thanks them for the class name, and says she'll proclaim it loud and proudly. Before she leaves, she says that she always figured the two of them secretly got along. And so, she leaves on her journey.
I bet that for as long as I'm alive, I will never stop.
And I'm sure that in front of me--and behind me--there's someone running as well.
May the story they weave be one that treats them kindly.
No, in fact, I probably changed long ago.
They kept protecting me, but I probably also kept protecting them as well.
They kept teaching me, but I probably also kept teaching them as well.
And that is why I have to return. To the place where people are still waiting for me.
To tell them.
That all of my sin, my punishment, my atonement, my memories, my pride, and my emotions...have shaped me into who I am now.
So this isn't the goal. This is the starting line. Now, I just have to run it.
The Metatron in the library asks if Mashu is leaving. Mashu says she'll protect who she wants, and she'll take pride in that bias. According to Metatron, it doesn't matter if Mashu has awakened to her new class, the Metatron outside is too strong, and the chances of winning are low. But Mashu doesn't care. The chances aren't zero. She will protect those dear to her, even if it costs her life. Metatron is a little sad Mashu will never become a Ruler, but at the same time, as an archangel of God, she takes joy in seeing humans grow, and so she's more than satisfied with this outcome. As a final warning, she tells Mashu that the Metatron outside is probably trying to activate her Noble Phantasm which will erase any defenses and any living beings, so if Mashu wants to protect her friends, that's what she'll have to protect against first.
Mashu, through her resolve, breaks the confines of Metatron's Noble Phantasm, and declares in the face of the judge that she will never become a Ruler. In that case, Metatron declares her an enemy of her and the world alike, and she will be eliminated alongside her Master. But Mashu won't let her.
The journey I have traveled was not fair. I had to keep picking one thing over the other.
And what I chose was Chaldea. I chose Pan-Human History. And above all else---
I chose Master...!
Shield! Please, come to me once more!
No...those aren't the right words. The shield was with me from the very start. Always with me.
Hear me, my...my Shield of Chaldea! Now is the time for you to show your power!
There are regrets in that which wasn't chosen. Those linger. All choices lead to a cascade of mistakes, no doubt about it.
There is no fairness in battle. You fight for yourself, and all that is dear to you. You reject your opponent.
You make mistakes, errors, and regrets. But even if it's not the best choice, and even if it's the worst choice possible... I will attack my opponents of my own volition.
I will continue! Continue to ponder how to pursue fairness! So that my power to protect that which I have chosen...will one day become the power to protect everything!
This shield is not Sir Galahad's shield! They are the shield and sword that secure the future of Chaldea!
Mashu:
Mash Kyrielight, of the class Shielder Paladin, entering battle!
A renewed Mashu stands before you, ready to serve. Kadoc notes that it's not just her class name and armor that's different. This isn't like just getting a stronger Saint Graph, it's like she's become an entirely different Servant. Metatron says she'll wipe them all out, she'll just have to keep using new Noble Phantasms until one of them works.
Kotomine asks if she's angry with him partially also because he assisted in the destruction of Pan-Human History, to which Metatron explains she does not blame him for the actions of the Alien God. But her answer to his question betrays the fact that she seems to not be aware of one fact Kotomine considers fundamental: Pan-Human History is not actually destroyed. Should Chaldea achieve their objective, it will be restored. He states that in such a case, all those lives that were lost would return, and everything would revert. All the way back to the Pan-Human History of 2016.
Metatron is stunned by this revelation, and her Sloth finally finds the opportunity to unleash her own Noble Phantasm on her, saying farewell to you in the process (again). In the end, we see Metatron in a world of pure white.
--- Section 2 ---
We see Metatron retelling her origins in this place. Dante, with the help of the grail, had apparently tried to summon his Beatrice, but had accidentally summoned something entirely different. An angel, power, glory, throne, attendant, defender, watcher, scribe, law. It didn't take long before the power, the Divine Spirit, he summoned used Jeanne d'Arc, who existed in that Singularity, as outer shell, and its own name Metatron as its core, all while using his Beatrice as a "template" and "building materials". It was a truly miraculous summoning, and shortly after she took over ruling the Singularity. All so that she could preside over the last of humanity and project their last information and energy into the future.
She explains that she used the power of the grail to create Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell, all while she judged sins in court and absorbed them as information. She intended for this accumulated data to one day serve a new mankind, so that they would have the courage not to sin and the love required to atone. But she had no hope in humanity. Why? Because ̶s̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶m̶ they are unrepentant sinners.
Sloth stops her story, saying that last bit's a lie. She just hates them. Metatron rejects it, saying even if that were the case, those would be the emotions of her shell, Jeanne d'Arc. But that's a silly suggestions. Jeanne d'Arc does not bear resentment. Not even to the ones who brought her death. Her mental state is unnatural and inhuman, far different from Metatron. Thus, this hatred is definitely Metatron's own. If she'd like to make sure, she could just release the Warden Jeanne from her chains and see for herself.
Metatron shifts her focus to the real issue here: Sloth. She asks why she would help Chaldea. Is it because Sloth was discarded, much like Pan-Human History? Sloth says maybe that's the case, but one thing she does know for sure is just how much fun she had spending time with them. Those days of gray skies, where they wasted away their days playing games, even though they had their own objectives. But that's precisely why the sin of Sloth exists, because at some point you will have to do something more important. And the time for that has come now.
Metatron urges Sloth to disappear from this place. If she doesn't, and she goes through with this plan, she'll lose her individual self. Sloth doesn't exactly want that to happen, but feels she has no choice anymore. Once she becomes one with Metatron, they'll once again become complete, perfect in the true sense of the word. She says the reason she was discarded in the first place was because Metatron feared Sloth, feared becoming weaker and unable to achieve her objective. She feared that she would waste too much time, and her hatred would wash away. But now that she's acknowledged her own hatred, that doesn't matter anymore. In this moment, Metatron is imperfect.
According to Sloth, this was inevitable, after Metatron had absorbed the seven deadly sins of this Singularity into herself. Despite wearing the shell of Jeanne d'Arc, using Metatron as the core, and using Beatrice's love as the contents, she was nothing more than a poor man's Divine Spirit, so she needed something more human. That's why she thought to absorb the sins, to know man in turn. And that's where she went wrong. She tried to hide the passion--the hatred--spawned from that knowledge beneath a cold exterior. She thought she could make that hatred absolute by discarding Sloth. And now it has come back to bite her in the ass.
[Battle against <Judge>] (Forced Metatron Jeanne (Sloth) NPC solo. Battle ends when you break her bar.)
This battle features voiced lines from both sides.
Judge:
A meaningless life form unable to atone for its sins. Is that not all that humanity is?
Sloth:
That conclusion is incorrect. Even you realize that, don't you?
On Judge's first turn, she uses her NP, triggering Sloth's guts which in turn gives Sloth a ton of buffs and full NP charge.
Judge:
Why do you protect them?
Sloth:
Because life has worth.
---
Metatron finds sinners repulsive. Not because they chose without regret, but because they expose their regrets and beg for forgiveness. If they regret their actions, then why did they sin in the first place? Human beings lack worth, and always try to escape from their sins. She cannot allow their existence. Sloth agrees she has a point. People will never get away from evil. Sometimes they get better, and sometimes they regress. There's no excusing it, and no denying it's part of them, but still, she believes that life has worth.
Sloth:
Even if they are beings who cause evil. Even if humans have no worth. Even if their history is filled with nothing but mistakes.
So long as they're alive... So long as they can accomplish SOMETHING with their own two hands, there will always be room for redemption.
Though, well, what I said just now is just me parroting someone else.
Mr. All-Black sure has a way to get at the core of life, I mean, you'd almost think he was a born saint or something. Or maybe not.
In the end, Metatron is not some supreme judge, but rather someone who should herself be judged. Every time she passed down punishment, doubt built within her, wondering whether she herself shouldn't be punished instead. Just like the wardens sided with Pan-Human History for personal reasons, she opposed Pan-Human History out of a personal grudge. Sloth believes that enacting judgement completely without emotion is wrong. Even human laws are fundamentally created through an emotion of "punishment", like a wish to see evil paid for by sin. She believes that what it really means to be a Ruler is not to discard emotions, but to face them and live while enduring them. Of course, that would mean imperfection.¨
Sloth once again thinks back to the joy she felt being with Chaldea. She thinks about how she was discarded because she's a sin that was the polar opposite of Metatron's hatred. She thinks about how she would've liked to done more, and experience more, with Chaldea, but that ultimately it was her own fault that didn't come to pass. She never put the energy into it, or rather, she never had any motivation to do so. That's what sloth is, after all, and why it's a sin. In that sense, knowing that she could've done so much more is punishment in and of itself.
Sloth is absorbed into Metatron, becoming one once again. Metatron thinks to herself that Sloth wasn't in the wrong, and that it's thanks to her being here now that she'll be able to pass down judgement not clouded by her own passions. Will Sloth laugh at her verdict? Or just worry herself over Chaldea?
Originally Posted by Mcjon01
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