[A decaying body creaked like brittle branches, an aged soul wandering countless miles. Looking back, it realized the path home was long lost.]
…
…
The night hung heavy over the tower's peak in Fuyuki City, where an old, raspy voice broke the silence.
"…Heh, this is quite a surprise for this old man."
Matou Zouken's wary eyes shifted to the young man standing before him—Alex, a mysterious figure who had appeared out of nowhere, unraveling Zouken's plans with unsettling ease.
The Matou family was a shadow of its former self. Its current heirs were useless, rebellious and weak leaving the family's magecraft to rot. Not a single decent magus remained among them. Because of this, Zouken had abandoned any hope of joining the Fourth Holy Grail War, setting his sights on the next one instead.
But his options were bleak. Matou Kariya had thrown away magecraft for a woman. No amount of time would change that. Zouken's own body, frail and crumbling, couldn't handle a fight, and he had reasons to stay out of sight. So, he began searching beyond his family for someone, anyone who could help him win the Fifth Holy Grail War.
Luck seemed to favor him at first. The Tohsaka family, one of the Three Founding Families, had two talented daughters. Their head, Tohsaka Tokiomi, was wrestling with the question of inheritance, a perfect opening for Zouken.
He had targeted Tohsaka Sakura, planning to trick Tokiomi into handing her over to the Matou family. Over time, he would use magecraft to shape her into a tool, a weapon to secure victory in the coming war.
But before he could move, Alex stepped in and adopted Sakura, shattering Zouken's scheme.
An alchemical magus noble from the Clock Tower had claimed her first. When the news reached him, fury surged through Zouken's decayed soul, a rare spark of life in something so dead.
It didn't matter, though. Alex was a proper noble, tied to a powerful Lord, with influence far beyond the fading Matou family. Zouken wouldn't dare challenge the Clock Tower to take her back. He swallowed his anger and started looking for another way.
Just as he was ready to give up, a strange letter arrived. It bore an address and a single line: For Makiri Zolgen's eyes only.
Curiosity and unease drove him to act. He had to know who knew his true name.
At the tower in Fuyuki, as agreed, Alex waited for him, his presence calm and open.
"Yes, I sent that letter," Alex said evenly. "And I know who you really are: Makiri Zolgen, a magus genius from a hundred years ago, now Matou Zouken, head of the Matou family."
Zouken's eyes narrowed. "Hoh, I didn't expect the head of the Crowley family from the Clock Tower to know so much about this old man. Digging up a name even I've nearly forgotten? Your reach is something else."
"But you didn't call me here just to say that, did you? Your reason for coming to Fuyuki isn't so simple. That fool Tohsaka Tokiomi hasn't noticed a thing."
He gave a dry laugh. "So, what do you want with this old man?"
Alex didn't flinch. "You've almost forgotten your own name? You've really sunk low. The great ally of justice, reduced to this, it's almost sad. But that's not why I'm here. My reason is simple."
Ignoring Zouken's sharp tone, he went on, "Makiri Zolgen, how about it? Want to team up with me to win the Holy Grail War? You've got no other moves left. Someone like Tohsaka Sakura doesn't come along often, and you're running out of time. Even if you found another, you couldn't train them.
"Why wait to die when you can join me and take a real shot at this?"
Zouken's smirk faded. "You mean… work together to claim the Grail?"
"Exactly. We're not enemies. What else would I be doing here?"
Zouken fell quiet, weighing the words. After a long pause, he rasped, "Are you serious?"
He hesitated. Alex was right, without Sakura, waiting was pointless. Dragging things out offered no hope. Teaming up now might actually work. But then…
"Wait—" Zouken's dry eyes sharpened. "Did you take Sakura just to back me into a corner and force me to agree?!"
Alex nodded slightly. "That was part of it, sure. But mostly, I saved her because I wanted to. She's got real talent, and that Imaginary Numbers attribute is too rare to let you ruin it. Twisting something that special for your shaky plan? Only you'd waste it like that."
Zouken's mind raced. Alex knew everything—his secrets, his schemes. How? For centuries, he'd kept it all hidden. Even Kariya and Tsuruya knew nothing. But this man saw through it all.
'Is it some kind of foresight?' Zouken wondered. 'What is he?'
Pushing down his growing dread, he asked, "If I agree, what happens with the Grail?"
Alex smiled faintly. "No need to worry, Elder Matou. I've looked into it. Since the Holy Grail ritual began, the Greater Grail has built up more magical energy than we can imagine.
"Once the seven Servants' souls are sacrificed, it could even get someone to the Root. From what I know, you want a new life, immortality, right? That's plenty for both of us to share."
He added, "I don't care about reaching the Root. The Holy Grail War itself is what I'm after. If you're still nervous, we can sign a magical contract."
Zouken said nothing for a moment, then asked, "What class are you summoning? Do you even have a Master's rights?"
"Caster," Alex replied. "For some reasons, I'm going with Caster this time. Don't worry about quality, I've got top-notch catalysts ready."
He pulled off a glove, showing three red Command Spells on his hand, freshly taken from a killer.
After a heavy silence, Zouken made up his mind. "Fine. Come to the Matou residence in a few days. I'll give you my answer."
Alex nodded. "Looking forward to it."
It went as Alex expected. Zouken had no other path, and the chance was too good to ignore. Even knowing Alex had played him, taking Sakura to trap him he couldn't walk away. It was a perfect move, one Zouken couldn't dodge.
If Alex had just threatened him with secrets, Zouken would've fought back, no matter the cost. But this offer was different. As one of the few who knew the Holy Grail War's truth, with centuries of magecraft behind him and Alex's help, this plan beat his old one by a mile.
Better than banking on a dead-end future.
With that, Zouken's frail body broke apart into insects, scattering into the night.
Alex watched, a flicker of disgust crossing his face.
But it didn't matter. Winning was what counted. Even if Zouken turned on him later, Alex would come out on top.
Still, it was hard not to feel a pang of sorrow.
The man who once stood for humanity's good had rotted into this under time's weight. Time really was a cruel thing.
'If that's how it is,' Alex thought, 'better I end it for you. Let you leave this world as a man, not a bug.
'Call it my goodbye to the ally you used to be, Makiri Zolgen.'