--- Arrow 1 ---
Back in the Revenge Realm jail cell, the mysterious man in the next cell is pondering whether to really reveal his name to you. He knows you think he might be able to get you out of there, but he was dead serious about being caught here. He has no magecraft, no Skills, and no Noble Phantasm that's gonna help in getting out of there. In fact, he says all of those things are "sealed" right now. If he were to unleash his NP right now, he says it wouldn't end well for him, so while there might come a time for that, it's definitely not now.
You ask him if he can't just say his name already, and he seems to have genuinely forgot already that he didn't give it to you. However, he quickly changes the topic to ask if you're feeling okay with no food, and most especially, no water. As he mentions it, you pass out from dehydration while he calls for guards to fetch something to drink.
You see a bleached landscape, though your vision seems distorted as another voice speaks.
(This is Bluebook's LB1 intro, by the way)
Before me, I saw a vast wasteland of endless white. Any trace of humanity had been erased.
We no longer had any hope for survival, let alone of turning the tide. Nothing we tried had even the slightest effect.
In this wasteland, I searched through old records like a raccoon pawing through garbage.
I managed to find an old motorcycle, with barely enough fuel for a one-way trip, and began riding across the blinding white wasteland.
It's just...nothing about this makes sense. There are so many unanswered questions. If I'm going to die, I at least want to know why.You eventually awake again. Was that someone else's dream? Was it a Servant's dream? Before you have time to think more closely on the matter, another person hands you some water. She introduces herself as Salome, daughter of Herodias. She's also brought some fruit for you to eat, and says she'll bring more proper food later on. She makes sure you're feeling alright, and proceeds to ask for a favor in return. She simply wants you to tell her about yourself. See, everyone else there are Servants and as a result, they inherently just led "greater" lives with legends and whatnot. Some of them might be like her Jokanaan, holy and pious, though maybe most of those reside in the Restoration Realm, but regardless, most are pure heroes. You, on the other hand, is nothing like that. You're not a hero, nor even a Servant, just plain and everyday.
You decide to tell her a story about the America and London Singularities, which she seems to quite enjoy. After your story, your mysterious neighbor reminds Salome that she said she was going to bring in more food, which she had completely forgotten. She leaves for a moment to go get it, and your neighbor takes the opportunity to ask if you're alright. Not in the sense of having eaten and drinked now, but just around Salome. She was someone who, in life, demanded the head of the holy man Jokaanan—a simple and crude Berserker. However, you're not especially worried. She seems nice, and (if you spoke against Kriemhild earlier) she's not even the one after your head for now.
Your neighbor once again commends you for being a really cool dude, and then Zhang Jiao arrives at your cell. He says it's finally time to torture you in order to extract some information before killing you. If he's thorough enough, he can find out information even you yourself have forgotten. The mysterious neighbor says he'll happily be tortured in your stead, but Zhang Jiao says that would take the fun out of it all. In addition, he has some theories about the Human Order that he would like confirmed.
Salome returns with the food, and immediately tells "grandpa" Zhang Jiao that he shouldn't torture you. Basically, if he does, she'll kick his ass. He says it's fine either way, since at least now he has an excuse for not having done it, and leaves you be. You eat the food, and Salome takes this opportunity to mention how your neighbor sounds like a pretty heroic person. He's surprised she can tell from his voice alone, but she's certain that he's some sort of great hero or adventurer. He says she's both completely correct and way off at the same time, but either way, he's just been lounging around here since getting caught. However, Salome seems to think that he could have actually escaped whenever he wanted. He, on the other hand, seems to be apprehensive, perhaps afraid that if he were to try, it'd all come to an end.
Either way, Salome turns her attention back to you, asking for another story while you eat. You talk about Uruk and, having heard you speak about its cuisine, she almost starts having a craving for food, despite being a Servant. She'll bring more food tomorrow for you, but not for your neighbor. You manage to convince her to get him some too, and then she leaves. The man thanks you for helping him out as well, then gives you a brief explanation of Salome.
???:
Salome is the stepdaughter of a king named Herod Antipas. In short, she's for all intents and purposes a princess.
And, well, she went crazy for this prophet guy called Jokanaan.
If it were a matter of love, you could just write off the whole matter.
Up to that point, whether her love was accepted or not, it comes off as a tragicomedy.
But Salome wanted the head of the man she loved.
It's one of those, you know, fetishes. Something like that, I guess?
Or maybe her love was so strong that she wanted him to be hers forever?
I don't know the details that well. I'm just a third party...
But anyways, King Herod got pestered enough that he eventually agreed.
And so, Jokanaan lost his head, and it was presented to Salome.
Plus, later on, Salome herself was also put to death.
...and well, that's basically her deal.
However, she did help you earlier, so you don't think too much about it for now. Now that you've got food and drinks sorted, he says that there's just one more thing to do: sleep. However, you quickly remind him of another tiny little detail. He still hasn't told you his name!
???:
Okay, then let me introduce myself. Um...
Cha———Seton!
You recognize the name as that of the Animal Chronicler, though when prying further it's obvious that he doesn't really have his cover story fully figured out. Elsewhere in the realm, Kriemhild notes that Salome taking a liking to you means your certain end is all the more absolute. Whether it seems like it for the time being or not, she will definitely come to view you as Jokaanan and take your head. Additionally, she asks Zhang Jiao how "that" thing is doing. He presents it to her, and explains that it will be ready for their decisive battle. Before she leaves, she hands Zhang Jiao a written directive. As soon as she leaves, and he starts reading it, an unnamed Caster approaches him. The Caster suggests that Zhang Jiao should be the one to rule the realm, and that they should start another rebellion.
Zhang Jiao simply asks the Caster one question: "what do you think of Queen Kriemhild?"
When the Caster says that they don't acknowledge either her rule or her power, Zhang Jiao immediately strikes them down.
Zhang Jiao:
It matters not whether we serve. At heart, we heroes are selfish to a fault.
However...you cannot say that you don't acknowledge the queen's power.
That would imply that you were capable of appraising her power correctly in the first place.
See here, you dying Caster. That thing of a woman is, to put it simply, a monster.
Think about it. The man she loved was murdered———
With single-minded purpose, she seduced a great king, took control of his soldiers, and caused a great conflagration.
In the end, her vengeance consumed even her own brother.
Upon taking up that Demonic Sword—one she shouldn't have been able to wield—she took the head of her detested target.
After which she herself was killed when told the act was a disgrace to a warrior, or something along those lines...
I should think that she ceased to care once her vengeance had been completed.
As long as she exacted her vengeance first, being killed did not matter.
In that sense, she is undoubtedly a Berserker. Yet at the same time, she retains her wits.
How can you be so unaware? How can you not understand?
Your intent to rebel had already been noticed.
That directive was an order to eliminate you.
What made you think you could move unnoticed?
I couldn't care less what you were planning inside your little head. You had already failed as soon as you began preparations.
He proceeds to list all the ways in which the Caster had already failed before they even begun, then turns to the other Servants in the room, asking if they all believe he would rebel so easily. They all say yes, and he just laughs it off, before leaving to continue with his experiments.
--- Arrow 2 ---
Elsewhere, Holmes has defeated an Archer, and is performing some sort of brainwashing to extract all possible information out of them, even the things they subconsciously forgot. With this, he's managed to pinpoint the location of the Revenge and Restoration realms. Consequently, he can extrapolate the location of the Via Regia realm, and he shows you a map of his workings.
Revenge is to the north, Restoration to the southeast, which places Via Regia in the southwest. It seems that it has numerous Bounded Fields stopping infiltration, not to mention quite a lot of natural defenses. He asks Kadoc whether he likes rock climbing, which Kadoc has a bad feeling about.
Goredolf:
It's all right, Kadoc Zemlupus. You like rock, don't you?
Kadoc:
That's a different kind of rock!! What's with the dad joke!?
Mashu joins the conversation, saying Goredolf was obviously upset by that implied comment on his age. Da Vinci says he should just shave off the mustache, but he refuses. Kadoc gets a knife from Holmes which he turns into a climbing axe, and Goredolf says Gudao has quite a lot he could learn in that field as well. And so, they set out for the mountains of the Via Regia realm, at which they should arrive in less than two days.
Originally Posted by Mcjon01
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