Chains That Bind
Chapter 10: Chains That Bind
Riya wakes up to a world of exhaustion.
The night spent "connecting" with Jack has left his body drained beyond belief — so much so that even standing feels like a challenge. Every muscle protests, and even breathing feels heavier. Still, Riya has no time to rest. He and Muramasa face a hard truth: they are hopelessly outnumbered. Two individuals cannot hope to take on an entire organized faction head-on.
Worse yet, the Holy Grail War itself feels...wrong. Why would a Master be selected to also bear the role of a Ruler? Something has twisted the rules, and the distortion gnaws at their instincts.
Searching for answers, Riya remembers Jeanne's ability — Revelation, the voice of the heavens guiding optimal choices.
With a moment of focus, he channels Jeanne's lingering power, invoking the skill. A whisper, soft and barely tangible, threads through his mind, hinting at the next path he must walk.
Meanwhile, far away at the Yggdmillennia fortress, another story unfolds.
A lone homunculus awakens inside a broken capsule, surrounded by the lifeless bodies of his kin. Fear drives him — and with that fear, the desperate will to live. Escaping into the cold night, he soon crosses paths with Rider of Black — Astolfo.
Astolfo, true to his heroic spirit, takes pity on the trembling figure. Together, they find Chiron, Archer of Black, who tends to the homunculus' wounds and grimly explains the truth: his artificial life will last only three years. Despite the crushing revelation, the homunculus declares his wish to live those years freely — no matter what.
Astolfo, moved by the boy's courage, vows to help him escape the fortress. However, their plan crumbles when they run into Astolfo's own Master: Celenike Icecolle Yggdmillennia.
Sadistic, selfish, and cruel, Celenike relishes Astolfo's misery, seeing him as little more than a plaything for her twisted pleasures. She immediately guesses what's happening. Instead of reporting them to Darnic, however, she offers a vile compromise:
She will hide the homunculus...
But only if they "entertain" her.
Powerless against her Command Seals and cruelty, Astolfo hesitates — but the homunculus, desperate to live, agrees without knowing the full weight of what he's consenting to.
Later that night, bound in chains, both Astolfo and the homunculus find themselves at Celenike's mercy. Her eyes gleam with perverse pleasure as she whispers promises and demands, taking full advantage of their helplessness.
The night drags on, soaked in humiliation and cruelty.
Elsewhere, Riya finally regains enough strength to move. Following the quiet, stubborn pull of Revelation, he and Muramasa set out — silent figures cutting through the misty streets of Sighisoara.
The path leads them back to a place they thought they had already left behind: the church where they first met Shirou Kotomine.
But what they find there is no sanctuary.
The church is in ruins — scorched beams, shattered stone, blackened glass. The very ground reeks of magic and violence, as if the building itself had been erased from the map. Not a trace remains of the holy aura that once clung to the site.
Muramasa narrows his eyes, unsettled.
Riya, however, understands immediately.
Shirou Kotomine.
That false priest, so out of place and yet so calmly in control, is no ordinary Master. He is something much worse.
The Grail, the war, even the very rules meant to govern this battle...
All are compromised. And somehow, Shirou stands at the center of it.
Riya tightens his fists.
He now knows: defeating the Black Faction alone is not enough.
The true enemy might be standing even closer than anyone realizes.