"How's this view, kid?" Gilgamesh asked as wind tossed her golden hair.
Haru peered at the bridge's traffic and people below, unsure how to answer.
Cheesy lines flooded his head, making him blush. In the end he picked a safe one.
He faked confidence. "Look at them, running around like ants!"
"Huh?"
Gilgamesh tilted her head. "I meant, are you scared? I thought you didn't like heights."
"…" Haru covered his face.
'Don't stop me, I am going to jump off this bridge.'
"The war's almost over," Gilgamesh said, her tone shifting. "Before it ends, I've got a promise to keep. A king's word."
"Promise? To whom?"
"That brute, the Conqueror… If I could, I'd help him chase his dream. But… It's a shame. His dream's not wrong; it's just impossible."
Her eyes flickered with memory. 'Some might beat fate, but no one dodges its games… Even gods can't kill what isn't there.'
She turned to him. "Kid, your name's Haru, right? Here's an order: until the war ends, you'll stay by my side, witnessing my glory!"
She smirked. "That little girl… she's fun. Let her stay pure. I don't need her energy; just let her keep being 'clueless.'"
Haru frowned. "Hero-King… why pick Rias? If you need an anchor, I'll do it."
He wanted Rias out of this.
Gilgamesh scoffed. "You? Don't make me laugh! Only beauty catches my eye. You're a plain rock; she's a raw gem. Similar outside but worlds apart inside."
"Unlike Saber, who shines brightest when she breaks, Rias needs tending to glow."
So, it was just her collector's itch.
"Tell me, kid, what's at the world's end?"
The question threw him off guard.
"The world's end… does it exist?" He pictured Earth; a ball with no edges.
"Of course. I once grabbed an immortality elixir from there."
Right, ancient heroes saw things differently…
Haru thought of myths. "Is it… the sea?"
Many old coastal tales called the sea the world's edge; endless water, deep drops, or steep cliffs humans couldn't cross.
The Conqueror chased "Okeanos," the sea at the world's end in his day.
Gilgamesh laughed. "Nothing… The end of the world is not 'end' but 'limit': the limit of human imagination."
"'Ends' are stories humans made up to excuse staying still. They built a fake wall; the endless sea."
"If there's no answer, they craft one that everyone buys. Then they can sit tight, refusing to step out!"
"...How boring! Just a bunch of gutless and clueless mongrels."
Haru thought of his old life. "Perhaps it isn't fear at all, just the inability to act"
He looked at Fuyuki city's lights. "The outside world may seem enticing," he continued in a low, reflective tone, "but if each step beyond these familiar confines risks your very life, then that promised freedom turns into a toxic lure; a poisonous mushroom whose allure is fatal."
"For someone extremely hungry, dying because of poison is maybe better than dying of starvation!"
"What an interesting point of view… So you're saying that life is worth more than the truth?" Gilgamesh perked up. "Maybe I misread you. You're not a rock; you're coal. Rough, but useful."
Haru: 'Can we skip the 'rough' part? I'm seven, there is plenty of time to grow.'
"I'll crush Rider flat, leaving him no room for hope and make him admit defeat with raw power."
Her eyes narrowed. "Pointless dreams should die early!"
"World's end? Endless sea?"
"Just ignorant chatter. There's no such thing as an end, nor is there a human who can reach it. I've seen it all, know it all and hate it all."
"Rider hasn't seen, so his dream holds. He wants to conquer the world's end; human limits."
"But he'll fail. Because what does not exist cannot be conquered. His dream will fade, and he'll turn ordinary.
"Killing him at his peak is kindness."
"At least… he'll stay the 'Conqueror,' not some broken old man."
She looked at Haru, seriously. "Kid, as my aide, record our duel perfectly. Let the world remember a madman who tried to conquer it all only to fail."
"He did not perish from the moral decay that would follow the collapse of his ideals, nor did he fade away into mediocrity in the twilight of his years. He did not succumb to the arrogance of his youth, nor was his end brought on by a delusional quest for immortality."
"He died facing the greatest king, hero of heroes, Gilgamesh of Uruk. His death wasn't small or funny. Make sure history knows—"
"The Conqueror: Iskandar!"
Gilgamesh gazed at the horizon, her smile bold and kingly.
Haru glanced too.
Thunder flashed and a giant king rolled in on his Gordius Wheel, bringing his loyal vassal and young Master, Waver.
King and servant, master and follower; this strange pair faced Haru and Gilgamesh.
…..
Haru wasn't shocked that the Conqueror tracked them down so fast. Gilgamesh had been letting her presence spill out like a torch in the dark, impossible to ignore.
"Oh, you're here already, Rider," Gilgamesh said with a small smile. "I figured you'd wait a day or two, until the battlefield settled. But no, you show up on the first night."
"Haha, when a beauty calls, how can a king or even just a man say no?"
"Arrogant fool. Take your rough manners to the grave, Rider," Gilgamesh replied, her smile unwavering.
She didn't hesitate. In a flash, twelve golden ripples flared behind her, revealing a mix of swords, spears, and axes; each one unique, all B-rank or higher Noble Phantasm prototypes.
Normally, the Hero-King tossed these treasures like darts, saving the special ones for their unique effects. Even without calling their true names, they hit with the force of tank shells or small missiles.
Now, twelve of them hovered ready; a level of power fit for a war.
"Bring it on!"
Rider swung his sword. His two divine bulls caught his signal, stomping the air with bursts of purple lightning as the chariot's wheels rumbled like thunder.
Lightning bolts lashed out, guarding Rider and Waver while swatting Gilgamesh's treasures from the sky.
Explosions echoed, but none pierced the Gordius Wheel's barrier.
This was the Gordius Wheel; a divine gift offered to Zeus from King Gordius. Pulled by two godly bulls, it soared through the air, unleashing Zeus's thunder to crush enemies. Its strength rivaled modern bombers.
Classed as an A+ Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, it could fight a thousand-strong war alone.
"Ah—Rider," Waver groaned, "…watch out."
Rider's expression turned serious. He grabbed Waver and set him down off the chariot. "Stay here, kid. Wait for my triumph."
Waver bristled. "Why? I'm your Master; I need to be with you—ah!"
He clutched his chest, his face going pale as blood seeped through his shirt.
Rider knew it was unwise to face Gilgamesh this soon, but waiting wasn't an option; not for him, and especially not for Waver.
It started two days back.
After the clash at the Mion River, Rider and Waver returned to the elderly couple hosting them, only to find the house empty, no sign of the pair.
They scoured Fuyuki City with the Gordius Wheel, eventually spotting the old man's clothes in an abandoned factory. Clue by clue, they reached a cramped workshop where the couple hung tied to steel frames above a roaring furnace.
A red-clad Assassin stood nearby, calm and cold.
The scene was desperate. Even with the Gordius Wheel, Rider couldn't save both hostages and fend off Assassin at once.
In the end, Waver took charge, suggesting they split up; one rescue each.
Rider stayed cautious, keeping an eye on Assassin and using lightning to hold him back. But he misjudged the killer's speed. Assassin slipped through the bolts and lunged at Waver.
Rider unleashed his Noble Phantasm just in time, yanking Waver to safety, but not before a deep wound was carved into him.
Only the skill of Rider's army healers kept Waver breathing.
They saved the couple, but Waver's injury left him struggling to sustain Rider's presence.
He wasn't a seasoned magus. Supporting a top-tier Servant like Rider was already a strain; not to mention the use of a Noble Phantasm, after being wounded.
Rider urged Waver to pull out. The Grail mattered, but his vassal's life mattered more. Waver refused, blaming himself for dragging Rider down, determined to see the duel with Gilgamesh through, even if it killed him.
Rider laughed, ruffling Waver's hair. "Kid… Waver, you'll grow into something incredible. Maybe not as a magus, but you'll shine somewhere. That's my prophecy."
Tears welled in Waver's eyes. He wiped them away and stood tall. "I, Waver Velvet, your vassal, will make your prophecy real!"
"Live on."
"Yes… By Command Seal: Rider!" Waver shouted.
"One: You must win!"
"Two: Fulfill your dream!"
"Three…" He smiled. "Show them a king's true strength!"
Three Command Seals faded from Waver's wrist, surging Rider with power, priming him for "Ionioi Hetairoi."
Rider glanced at Waver, then raised his sword; the blade that sliced the Gordian Knot, defying fate to win Zeus's chariot and a touch of divinity.
Born human, he died a god, Europe's mightiest conqueror, stopped only by the world's distant edge.
Now, his greatest enemy stood before him. Fear didn't cross his mind; not with the world's finest vassals at his back.
"Ionioi Hetairoi!"
A searing wind roared, carrying desert heat into the winter night. A vast, sandy plain stretched out; the Conqueror's inner world brought to life; the battlegrounds he'd shared with his men.
Behind him stood thousands of soldiers, his comrades from life, answering his call as true Heroic Spirits.
This was his ace, the bond with his men forged into "Ionioi Hetairoi!"
With them, the Conqueror would never lose.
"Waver, up here!"
Rider pulled Waver onto the chariot. "I changed my mind. Stay close, watch a king smash his enemies!"
The soldiers roared, generals drew their blades, and the Gordius Wheel charged, leading a flood of power.
"Hmm… weaving everyone's dreams into a tyrant's path? That will and kingship deserve respect. But—"
Gilgamesh's red eyes flickered with admiration, then hardened. "Humans have limits, brave warriors. Do you know what waits at the dream's end?"
A golden key appeared in her hand, its design twisting like a maze.
"Open your eyes kid. This is where the myth begins!" she said to Haru.
The key unlocked the deepest vault of her treasury. Lines of mystic power streaked across the sky, forming an odd "sword" in her grip.
She faced her foe, her gaze unusually focused.
"The end of the dream; nothing!"