Finis Chaldea

It took less than a minute after entering this room for all to become situated. Ozymandias sat, Nefertari joined him, Artoria and Jeanne sat across from the pair, and Gilgamesh... stood? Yes, strangely enough, the King of Heroes remained standing with one arm akimbo, the other holding up the "Holy Grail" he drank from. He was the one Artoria spoke of─ the one who'd never witnessed whatever this "white room" was. The room, the voice that inhabited it, and even the name "Nexus" were strange to him. Ozymandias however, was still very familiar with all of these things. "Really? Strange, I'd never considered that before. It was very difficult to rationalize things while we were having none of our thousand questions answered," he griped. If not for the satisfaction of winning and sharing a Holy Grail, that would have been a very annoying visit. Oh well. He now had knowledge that he and these other four were above the "gods" of this world with their Nexus-granted form of Divinity. He'd become confident enough to proclaim such things anyway, but the confirmation was infinitely satisfying. "Haha! Hahahaha! Another milestone, and I didn't even know it! If that's how it is, we deserve another ascension! I will be the one to set the foundations!" Ozymandias himself was a bit drunk as well, mentally reaching for heights he didn't truly care for. Egypt was fine, as was the entire situation surrounding it. He was simply... smelling the flowers, so to speak.

As for Gilgamesh, he could easily say none of these things made sense. What Artoria explained was both ridiculous and useless to him thus far. So then, what would he make of it? "I have always been superior to those useless gods, regardless of whatever this Nexus thing is. My existing magnificence aside, the rest of you have acquired the means of altering the world as my envoys. What then does any of this matter? You've yet to give anything that should not already be known by all who sit here, apart from the meaningless name of a pointless and empty room."

Artoria continued drinking from her grail as Gilgamesh stood to the side of the rest of them. Her information was taken well enough by the Pharaoh, Ozymandias had something to say immediately, noting the lack of conversation from the voice itself. "I refused to do anything until my questions were answered, but that is my nature. It apparently has been having difficulties because it did not expect to deal with anyone before dealing with whoever it was waiting on," she explained of the Nexus itself. "You all were given fewer choices and lesser explanations. It was basically trying to problem solve and not properly capable of it," Artoria continued to explain. "You said it shared our innovations, what innovations?" asked Nefertari who seemd curious about the nature of whatever had been shared with the rest of the world. "And why did it answer you? I spent a long time in there and basically got nothing from it as well." asked Jeanne. Of course, Gilgamesh's words hit her ears and her eyes shifted over the top of her cup. She would answer the other two while processing some necessary information about Gilgamesh as well.

"The Nexus, King of Heroes, is essentially the biggest god this world can offer. The most absolute, though you should know what it is... that solves that particular curiosity. And explains so much about you..." said Artoria having come to a certain conclusion given her conversations with him and his speech. He knew who she was, but he didn't remember enough of himself. He'd spent so much time up here alone, he was hardly any of the person he was originally. "As for the questions presented," Artoria gave a sigh and lowered her cup. "It shares whatever innovations you had special to your forms when you ascended. It through Emi created Spiritual Foundation and the system of the Holy Knights, and took from me the ability to have a secondary of such a core, Minor Classes, you are welcome. I can assume the grail itself came from the King of Magecraft. As for the pair of you, I assume what you gave was the creation of 'Rulers', so thank you." Artoria said with a straight face. "As for why all of this matters, King of Heroes. The way the Holy Grail works as a system, has rules that extend beyond the barrier and battle. I am here to let you all know you can interact with the Nexus at varying degrees as you all have such divinity within you. And you... King of Heroes should because it has no idea who you are and thinks you stole your grail from the King of Magecraft," she said carefully. "As for why it answered my question, it acknowledges me as its sovereign and wishes to serve me. The other person it acknowledges as such is the King of Magecraft. So, it told me everything I wished to know about this world and offered me anything I wanted so I tested the limits of that..." Artoria explained of the whole situation. "The most important fact here, is that if you lose a fight and someone collects your Holy Grail, they can steal your key, and assume for themselves the power associated with it. This would have been a terrible thing to figure out in the middle of a heated battle." Artoria's words were ones she'd been thinking about for quite a long while. By her own thoughts, she probably owned Gilgamesh's grail after the first holy grail war she participated in, and then subsequently, lost her hold over it when losing a fight to the King of Heroes, granting his back to him. It would be like playing a player versus player match and dropping and picking up the same piece of loot multiple times, by her own reckoning. But this grail wasn't the sort of thing anyone wanted to drop, so she thought to warn them. While letting them know of the potential people who could figure this out if one of them happened to fall.

It went without saying that Artoria Pendragon agreed to nothing prior to the answering of her questions. She exuded that sort of energy with every word she spoke, and even in the way she carried herself overall. "You don't say," Ozymandias said in the most joking form of sarcasm. Whatever the case, he was also made curious as to what sort of innovations the Nexus claimed from them. The identity of the "Ruler" Class made sense of Nefertari and himself. This Saint Graph thing seemed to be popping up all over the place when viewing other warriors as of late, and it made just as much sense that Jeanne d'Arc could be credited for that. As for Artoria's own contribution, apparently there was something about a secondary Class now? Ozymandias hadn't seen a new level in so long, he hadn't even checked for such a thing. "Ho─ that's quite a lot. I was right to deem the pair of you Mighty," the pharaoh proclaimed.

Meanwhile, the King of Heroes heard an explanation one could never have imagined in his position. What did the story of this Nexus explain about him, though? That would be something addressed later, but for now, there was a title of great annoyance mentioned. Some disembodied voice purporting itself a god thought his greatest drinking cup was stolen?! From that person?! Preposterous! "Hmph! As if that mongrel's items would even be half the quality required to enter my treasury. I once thought the Holy Grail was something worth acquiring, until discovering that the things you all war over are all cheap imitations of the Great Grail of Uruk. As always, mine is the genuine article," he said, taking the final gulp from his grail. One might note a legitimate difference between the "Great Grail of Uruk" as Gilgamesh called it, and the items possessed by the others in this room. Gilgamesh's in particular boasted a very different design, or lack thereof. It did not feature certain engravements found in the other grails, though its construction was of a uniquely flawless variety. Its very energy was... somehow different as well, as if it had yet to be filled by the war as those other three had been. "As for this Nexus thing, if it does not know of my greatness, then it is too far beneath me for any concern to be worthwhile."

It seemed a victor against one who wielded the Holy Grail, was somehow entitled to take that which made them so special in the first place. The likes of Gilgamesh and Ozymandias didn't seem very concerned about this at all. Still, the latter of them was rather annoyed to be finding this out only now. "Oh, wonderful! A thing meant to be omnipotent couldn't bother telling us the restrictions of our prize. So then, all of us are Rulers by law of these Holy Grails, but you are the Ruler of the Nexus?" There was a very interesting implication to be made here. Gilgamesh always claimed to be the king of everything, and now Artoria had essentially been deemed... the queen of everything. Surely he wasn't the only one thinking this was preordained by fate itself. Ozymandias even shifted his eyes in Nefertari's direction as if to share his thoughts with her, before clearing his throat and continuing. "Well, ye Mighty, I'm guessing that's the most important information you have for us today? How are we supposed to use this key you keep mentioning?"

Jeanne was almost appalled. Much like Ozymandias she found the idea of her sister, not doing what the Nexus wanted until she had her questions answered to be well within her personality in general. Even so, watching this young woman just casually sip wine with a smugness on her face that Jeanne herself recognized as victory was annoying. "It figures. I spend ages telling you to be good, figuring you're going to try and fight a disembodied voice, and you somehow are the only one who it will bend to," Jeanne looked almost adorably pouty making Artoria reach over and flick her nose with her finger tip. "No pouting from you, Emi. The voice itself seems to be trying to grow to accommodate all of us. Besides our patron Saint, you have quite a bit to offer the world, leave wrangling strange voices to me," she said in a moment of sibling bonding that saw the Queen of Saints curled into the Queen of Knights side like she was the smaller of them. Of course, Artoria would go on to drink even with an arm up to pet her younger sister's head.

All the while, Nefertari watched and heard out the information being passed along. It was a lot to take in, but the world did seem to be evolving with every grail won. It would seem like it might eventually become a problem if someone who didn't suit their group would randomly win one. And there was no telling considering how such things took place. She'd give it a bit of thought while the King of Heroes, went on his rampage about his cup and its nature compared to the others. All the while, Artoria took careful sips. She remembered this man descending in golden armor making such claims to her about the Holy Grail she won for her sister with the strangest kind of fondness. "That cheat of yours is probably the main reason for the confusion. The Nexus only seems to understand things that predate it in a strange sort of way," she said with a little smirk on her face. The original form of the Hero-King Gilgamesh was a different man in the other world. Everyone from there knew him and his original playthrough of a game before it was available to everyone else, as such his use of the system did technically predate the proper form of the Nexus. And given he wasn't thinking about this life and its connection to the original game, he might not realize all the nuances. He claimed the Nexus wasn't worth talking to if it didn't know who he was... well, that simply wouldn't do, especially not with the implications the Nexus made. She was sure such a thing could be used as ammunition. "It is fine if you do not wish to speak with the Nexus King of Heroes. But you cannot later be cross when people assume that the King of Magecraft is the match for my sovereign rule," she said before sipping more from her cup.

As if to further seal that thought into place, the words of Ozymandias were exactly the sort of thing to put that idea in anyone's head. "That does seem to be the case, according to the Nexus itself and what I was able to make it give me," Artoria mentioned as if this was a very calm conversation. Was that the most important information she had to give? Yes. Did she know how to commune with the Nexus. "That part is difficult. According to the Nexus each of us should be able to reach it, either in a smaller or bigger way. But I am unsure how it will work for you all, since your divinity is held within your own bodies. I hold a certainty I can force mine through the use of the tool I had my own divinity placed into," she said softly. Jeanne gave it a bit of thought and shrugged. "I sometimes hear the nice voice when I talk to it, meditatively before sparring. Maybe it is a matter of personal choice? And why didn't you have yours put in your body?" Jeanne was practically shocked she'd not placed her power within herself, but the truth of her sister meant she expected her to have had some sort of strange plan when making such a decision.

It seemed there was an excuse for everything. This Nexus didn't know of Gilgamesh because he, or his things, predated it? It had some audacity. Worse still, were things to be assumed by everyone including the Nexus if he did not "introduce" himself to it. Was Artoria egging him on with her speech? There was a furrow to his brow, a narrowing to his eyelids, and an incessant twitch to one brow and the corner of his mouth. That lowly dog with his petty little crafts could never stand where he stood! He could especially never be allowed to act as king to Gilgamesh's own queen. So then... it seems any intended goading was doing the trick. Gilgamesh silently and angrily looked into the grail he held, forcing mana into it as if he intended to burst the thing. As if by sheer will and ire alone, he triggered an activation which would momentarily have the group of five sitting within the very same white room being discussed.

"Starving dogs nipping at the hand of their masters," Gilgamesh grumbled as the Nexus formed around them all. Ozymandias' mouth was open. He had been prepared to speak about the potential uses of these "keys" until... well, there was a sudden showing of one possibility. With that, he determined that the King of Heroes and the Queen of Knights could lord over each other's consciousness in different ways. Oh, they were going to be a fun pair eventually. Whatever the case, it seemed this was the genuine Nexus around them. "You've all returned, as well as another who is..." Another twitch came to Gilgamesh's brow during that disembodied voice's greeting. He would not let that statement finish. "Quiet, cur!" he yelled. There was a sudden hesitation to the Nexus' voice, as if it were a child being chastised. Meanwhile, Gilgamesh continued, even pointing an accusatory finger into the void above. "Hear me, you bodiless tool! I, Gilgamesh, am the one true king of this plane! Banish that bastard Solomon from my domain immediately!"

The Nexus was... confused? It had never interacted with this man before, but the Grail he had was Solomon's... yet somehow older. If it had a physical form at present, it would have been looking toward Artoria pleadingly. "I do not understand. The King of Magecraft is the creator of my keys. He cannot be banished so long as the key is his; however..." To this, Gilgamesh only grimaced further. "You are allowed confusion before my magnificence. Disobedient mutts, however, will be punished accordingly. Tell me, you who purports to be above man and divine... is Gilgamesh not capable of flogging even a formless voice?" Strange. The Nexus was almost quivering. It felt as if this was the one it should listen to, whether his threatening attitude had anything to do with that or not. Either way, what brought about this necessity? "This... does seem to be my King. . ."

Artoria sat patting her sister's head, thinking over the right answer to her question that didn't involve telling the truth to everyone in this room about her original nature and why she had no faith in herself as an individual. She gave it a bit more thought and came to an answer that would be satisfactory enough. "I placed it within a tool that cannot be taken from me. It is an item bound to my name, meaning that only its creator or one who shares my name can even bother holding it. I do not have to worry if I fall with it, because only Rie or Kei could even bother claiming it after the fact. It would keep what is mine from the hands of others, and allow the appropriate handicap if I need to be appropriately dealt with," Artoria explained to her sister. Jeanne heard this explanation and sighed. "That is a lot of words to say you do not trust yourself, Eri-nee," Jeanne's words made the Queen of Knights scoff but she only continued to sip from her cup cutting a glance over to her younger sister. "Vigilance has never led me astray, even when myself is the thing I should be vigilant of," Artoria summarized.

But how would things progress from here? A furrowing of Gilgamesh's brow, the twitch in his lip... All things seen before by the Queen of Knights. She'd purposefully provoked him into this introduction and it'd taken less than a few seconds of thought for all present to end up back in the white room as it it was. The voice of the Nexus was the same to all present though Nefertari had something to say. "My Sun and Stars, did she just goad the Golden King into doing something he seemed to have no interest in?" she asked in a hushed little whisper. "And did he then accomplish that task with the grandest bravado?" Ah, yes this had taken a bit of a turn Artoria herself could almost feel the shivering and pleading of the Nexus. "Or apparently we can leave the wrangling of disembodied voices to the King of Heroes. That was a far easier task than I imagined it would be," she said as if this was exactly what she thought would happen. "I had planned to do this with my lance but I suppose finding out the simplest method you can all use is for the best," she said nonchalantly. To the Nexus itself who seemed to have the same quality in it as Agravain did when pleading for her life earlier Artoria had only a few words to share, "I would not have forced the issue, but as I said, I know not your King of Magecraft. Temperament is something that I can only test directly, and faith is only earned in combat. I would not leave the only person who can speak to you directly, to be someone I have never associated with, especially after I figured out why you did not know this one directly. I do hope you understand." she said to the Nexus directly. To Gilgamesh she said something else. "King of Heroes, you cannot think of something a bit more magnanimous than banishment for the man who created the cups which made it possible for us all to progress?" Even drunk Artoria seemed to have nothing but solid points. Her younger sister wondered if she knew she was doing the girlfriend manipulation thing while trying not to be someone's girlfriend. Meanwhile Artoria herself would call her actions something closer to writing a will.

A quiet discussion would take place between the pharaohs taken into this realm. Nefertari's initial inquiry warranted a hushed laugh from Ozymandias before his reply could come. "Yes, she did... and yes he did," he agreed. It was rather interesting to see how things played out between those two; Ozymandias could almost call it a full nostalgia trip. His initial response had come at a near-whisper, but the rest of what he had to say... well, he would speak the words loud and clear. "Moon of my Life, do you recall that day, oh so long ago, when I declared that only one opinion in the world is impactful to me?" When Ozymandias spoke these words, his eyes cut toward one Artoria Pendragon. There was a point to be made involving Gilgamesh's smitten state, as he did still wonder how much Artoria truly realized it.

Meanwhile, Gilgamesh was ready to burst a blood vessel. How dare this thing fail to recognize his greatness? Worse yet, how dare anyone believe even for a moment that someone like that bastard Solomon could take his place? "Of course I am your king! Gilgamesh is king to all; even moronic entities beyond the scope of the world! The Mongrel of Magecraft is never to step foot in this plane of mine again!" Gilgamesh seemed firm in his order, though there was really nothing the Nexus could do. However... "My King and my Queen, forgive me. I cannot keep the King of Magecraft─"

"Mongrel!" Gilgamesh interrupted. "... The... Mongrel of Magecraft from this place if a key is in-use. However, it seems he has recently lost connection. I am unsure why; I once believed it was because his key had been taken. Strangely, that does not seem to be the case with my King here," the voice explained. Gilgamesh huffed, his arms crossing and his head turning from Artoria. "There is nothing more magnanimous than ensuring some insect in need of stomping is kept from the path I walk! No matter. He will not make his way here regardless, no thanks to this useless buffoon at the bottom of our drinking cups. As for that Solomon himself, he merely copied my favorite utensil. Would you give credit to a man who steals technologies, and cannot even make use of the thing he replicated?"

Nefertari couldn't help but smile. Such an interesting couple this pair was turning into, whenever the Queen of Knights decided to listen to the combined beat of her heart and body. Ozymandias' first words were whispered, his second were spoken aloud and those eyes cut in Artoria's direction would be met by the Queen of Knights as she heard them. Why would he speak such a sentence, to enforce the idea that she alone could reel in the King of Heroes. Did the Sun King truly think her opinion held such weight? She could more easily assume that he was so furious about the idea of not being first, and because it would seem Solomon had his eye on her as the object of his affections. Nefertari seemed to think on this and smiled along with him, "I suppose I do recall, my Sun and Stars, the day you finally accepted your perfection as absolute fact~" she said her own eyes shifting towards the King of Heroes. Ah, well... they were having fun were they not?

Listening to the Nexus stumble over words made Jeanne feel bad for it. "Aww, but the Nexus is so nice. It doesn't seem like it's something worth being so upset at it over, especially not if it all works out at the end..." mentioned the Queen of Saints. Ever so saintly as to forgive even things that required no real amount of forgiveness. "This little sister, is exactly why you are a saint," Artoria mentioned as she sipped from her cup. Ah, she was approaching the bottom of it, how very sad. Whatever the case, it was Artoria who was asked why she gave credit. It was because she harbored a few beliefs based on her interaction with the Nexus and her knowledge of the King of Heroes' Gate of Babylon, there was also the knowledge she harbored about their previous lives and how easily she managed to hang on to hers, and how little of his own he seemed to remember. "I give credit because he added to the flow of lives, by giving Magecraft to the world. While I knowingly harbor a great distrust of mages, because of the one who had a great hand in raising me, I do understand the usefulness of such tools to humanity," she said seeming to think about it consciously. "Besides, I know a great many things, like the version of Caliburn you possess is obviously different from the one I pulled from the stone. But I also know I did not take yours, nor did I know of your existence here until you appeared before me. I also assume you do not possess Excalibur which I received directly from the Fae Princess..." she mentioned. "I do not understand it in fullness though I likely could, but I would assume you have collected the earliest versions of the world's works. It would mean that though you have your cup. It is very possible that Solomon created his with no knowledge of yours," she explained her understanding. "Does having an idea of something that already exists, nullify one's creation if you did not know about the other one? Not really. One cannot be faulted for a creation similar to one they have never heard of before."

"Hmm yes, it was that day, wasn't it? To think it took that long for you to get the point across. Well... it is only human nature to not see one's own worth," Ozymandias added. It took a pair like them to drive a learned point into the brain of another. Thinking it obvious that the apparent king and queen of the world belonged together, Ozymandias figured there was no harm in a small amount of intervening. Still, eyes likened to the morning sun remained on Artoria. "Oh well. Some things take time and understanding... which itself can take time. If I'd rushed accepting it, I would have become something terrible." Intervention aside, Ozymandias was not one to batter away at the hesitant queen's mind as some others were content to. She seemed to be struggling to rationalize everything, but that was alright. If no one else had made that clear already, he would be the one to do so.

Jeanne d'Arc clearly disagreed with the king's behavior toward this Nexus. He didn't seem to care; it was obviously just some stupid child in need of discipline. The only concern to Gilgamesh presently, was the mentality of Artoria Pendragon. Why did she think to save that bastard of exile? Well, she apparently didn't look upon his thievery in a negative manner. Moreover, the fact that Solomon brought Magecraft to the world was simply pitiful. Gilgamesh had seen Magecraft, and none of it was worth any salt, so to speak. "H'oh? So you praise diminishment as if it were innovation? Magecraft is but a poor replica of Magic. The only weight it holds in the lower world, it does so because I chose to limit the gods' affinity. As a replacement to true Magic, Magecraft is a farce." Ah, he had endless complaints about the one called Solomon. As for his possessions, even Gilgamesh himself hardly knew what was, or wasn't within his collection. The likes of Excalibur could have been floating around somewhere without his knowledge of what it was. Whether Solomon knew of his cup or not, all he managed to do with it was share the original template with this Nexus thing, spreading it to the world at large to claim by merit. "Intentional or not, a fake is a fake. Letting mongrels fight over imitation goblets does nothing but increase my workload each time a victor is chosen," Gilgamesh griped, in spite of the fact that he still took that very work unto himself.

In light of the current information, Ozymandias had a thought or two. These explanations made him think in terms of the video game they all once played, and indeed, King Gilgamesh had every reason to possess literal templates of all things in the world. "Did the King of Heroes not win something like that in his previous life? I remember an announcement about Age of Eternity's flagship player, being offered access to the game's dev room," he mentioned. He wasn't sure whether the man known as Sage-King took that offer or not, but it seemed to go with him into this world regardless. While the pharaoh spoke, Gilgamesh quirked a brow. What the hell was this man even talking about? He had only the vaguest memories of a previous life, but... frankly, it played in his mind more like a segmented dream─ only the best parts.

Human nature not to understand one's worth? The words of the Sun King hit the ears of Artoria as she met eyes like the sun with ones made of emerald. How very interesting that he thought to share such information with her. Both of these people intended to clarify the nature of extended relationships with both the King of Heroes and herself. Like older siblings giving advice, "I suppose that is true, even eternity feels like seconds when the prize you've waited for finally gains clarity. It's well worth it, in the end..." those rainbow eyes of hers hadn't left the King of Heroes either. Strange though this pair was, they were good advisors, Artoria might even take their words under advisement. Not that she had any intention to fall for the King of Heroes. She could not do anything of the sort.

The words of Gilgamesh hit Artoria's ears and she sighed just briefly. "You call it diminishment but you live in your own utopia. Sanctuary as even the Nexus refers to it. For those of us who grew bloomed in the mud at the base of this world, who bent the will of reality with our own hands... even something as simple as what you would consider a downgrade is enough to let us grow into something proper, King of Heroes," she said specifically. His life at the top, untainted and unaffected by the movement of the rest of the world. With only the 'gods' who bothered him... that was very different from the lives of the rest of the humans. Artoria did not believe they needed gods, instead she believed they needed tools to handle that which came to them, in whatever form those tools chose to take. "Do not mistake me, I do not care if it is Magic or Magecraft. Mage of Flowers, King of Magecraft, both are names which cause annoyance in the depths of my soul. I only care that it can be used and countered by any who chose to stand against those who would abuse it. This is what Solomon gave so I cannot find fault," she mentioned. As for the extra work of Gilgamesh, he took that upon himself. It could only make her smile as she took her last sip of wine. "It does increase your workload, but you chose to be King of Everything. Wouldn't it be better served to see such things as a mark of your greatness, instead of an annoyance?" Artoria asked. She could be oddly persuasive for one who chose violence before all else. But perhaps that was the drunkenness of her current state. Seven cups of goddess blessed wine and even the Queen of Knights found herself in a fairly good mood.

A work in progress was happening as well. The Sun King knew of the game, he had his wife and held onto himself. Artoria had seen players hang on to themselves easily with the addition of other players, close family members or even just a friend or idea. But the King of Heroes spoke of his one friend and not as if he'd known him outside of this world. As such, she was almost certain he did not have anything holding him on to his previous life. She'd seen those too, people who were obviously based on those from stories in other worlds, unable to become anything but what they were because they had lived a life far too in-depth for their original psyche to bear. "Emi, how do you know who you are? If your first contact with someone who could identify you properly should have been a decade ago when we encountered each other at the Holy Grail War," she asked of her younger sister. "You know full well that we underwent the same training. I can hold on to myself irrespective of anything else in the world. I am always prepared to become someone else to complete the task at hand. I know who I am even when I cannot say my own name, because that piece of me is absolute," she said carefully. "I should be more depressed by that as an idea, but I am sure that is a trait of our family, in its entirety. I am glad you are still you..." she said giving her sister's hair a gentle toss. "Rie was born as my big sister the second time... I have always been identifiable. Even without her being there... I could keep my former life in my head because of the contradictions in my nature," Artoria said still so careful as to not mention what it was they were actually as a family. "I assume you Pharaohs also hold your previous selves..." she said coming to an understanding. Her eyes shifted to Gilgamesh and she fully understood he had not held on to this much of his life. "He probably does not recall that part. But in the most technical sense that would make him the first ever winner of such a thing as a wish that changed the world," she mentioned carefully. She knew what it was to not hold on enough to ones self. She would not be the one to cause him undue stress in a moment like this.