Fate/Zero: A Different Path

Chapter 4

"So this is the result of the experiment"

Norikita Emiya's muttering echoed inside the room, heard by none other than me and him

I nodded

Behind those glasses, curiosity shines strong. The Magus inspected my work with the air of a scientist who had discoverd the existence of something that challenge his core beliefs. Certainly enthusiastic, but with a hint of disbelief and cautiousness

"You created something different" He tapped the edge of his desk

"Yes. It was not the result intended"

"That was rather peculiar of you, Kiritsugu"

"I'm sorry. I will succeed next time"

I bowed my head. My father, in turn, dismissed it, much to my surprise

"Nonsense, Kiritsugu. What I planned for you to learn from this experiment is the danger of researching time's mechanism" The man reaffirmed sternly "To start with, you were not supposed to succeed no matter how hard you try"

"I...was not supposed to succeed?"

A frown made its way across my face

No, I had vividly remembered it. Creating two separate time flow and maintain them while manually manipulating the two chrono vector to cancel out the other by accelerating them to opposing flow velocity. On theory it was perfect. In practice it is possible

The smile Norikita sent me indicate he knows exactly what I'm thinking

"It is possible, but to do so you need more than a decade of honing your Magecraft. That type of ritual can only pay off if you complete every step with a nigh-absolute degree of precision"

"Ghrrr..."

My hand twitched at the revelation. I took a deep breath

Resist the anger. Don't puncch him in the face. This is a fundamental lesson. It's not worth getting in conflict with the man this soon

A sigh escaped my lips, followed by me palming my face

It was frustrating to say the least. I have been so close, yet the result has been so far away it's not even funny.

For the first time since I got here I felt frustrated by my lack of progress

But then again, it could be said I was arrogant in believing I could complete it too. To even compare myself to the Magecraft genius/freaks of this universe would be asking too much for a normal boy like me

"Then, has the experiment failed?" I gazed at the apple in his hand. The three Bounded Fields surrounding them was still being maintained, spinning lazily within transparent spheres of mana

"Not exactly. In this case we could call it a deviation from the intended result"

He fiddled with the object, seemingly transfixed to the flow of time in it

"Rather than creating two Bounded Fields acting as anchor to the real world, the altered state of things within was drastically changed with the introduction of a new factor that bends the fundamentals of this Magecraft outside the expected outcome - that factor being the third Bounded Field you added to stabilize the internal time flow"

"It was Shirley's idea" I added, feeling obliged to give credit to the caretaker

"Really? I suppose a word of gratitudde is needed" He smiled warmly "Back to the matter at hand, you could say the third Field's addition impose a different effect on the first two. What you just created is essentially a system that will regulate Mana distribution across the two systems to ensure they remain stable. For that matter, you can now deploy them without the hassle of establishing the first steps wherever you go"