Fate/Zero: A Different Path

Chapter 43

Sometime I feel like not understanding myself

Why must I insist on doing this? It was supposed to be a pure experiment, nothing to get worked up over. Nothing to so  much as consider the possibility. Yet, I have done numerous calculation to ensure the success of this ritual

Standing in front of the summoning circle, I gulp down the feeling of anticipation, wiping out the sweats that hae accumulated on my face. The hypothesis simulation has been ran over hundred, perhaps even thousands of time inside my head

I took a step forward toward the glyph

This time, whatever Servant I summoned, I would not disappoint them like I did Saber. That is something I've promised to myself 

"Silver and iron to the origin. Steel and the archduke of contrac to the cornerstone. Let our Eternity be the only goal I pledge myself to"

The circle began glowing

__________

I lower my hand, feeling the burning mark of the Command Seals etching into the flesh on my hand

A single click rang throughout the room. It is the sound of metal boots hitting the ground, heavy and carry with an oppressive presence

The silent silhouette stood in the darkness of the room. Its form seems to absorb all light around it, casting an inescapable black form to materialize in a humanoid shape. Then it began moving

The Servant that I summoned stepped out from the summoning circle, tendrils of shadow shrouding their silhouette before my eyes, tracing the ground and clinging to them with every step, as if barely kept in by a more brutal violence

In the fading of the summoning circle, there was only the silence coming from me as I stood there dumbfounded. I felt my finger becoming numb as a feeling of frustration boil beneath me

I am aware of the power of this creature before me. One sweep of the blade is enough to kill everything in their path, as demonstrated during the last Holy Grail War. A monstrous power hidden beneath a veneer of humanity

What kind of Magus wouldn't be overjoyed at the summoning of such marvelously crafted spirit construct? And yet, the bitterness kept coming

It was simply not the result I expected

"A failure..."  I held back the hint of despondency in my voice

The summoning of a true Servant proved impossible without the knowledge of the Soul

Instead of an authentic figure summoned from old myths, I was only able to summon an existence known as "Shadow Servant"

Something that is worse than a mere imitation. It is an imprint of a soulless Origin on a bank slate, copying their abilities, their statistics, attack pattern, but not their essenc

In other words, a counterfeit. I spent actual material I have painstakingly bought over the year with my pocket money, only to end up with something that is not even real

"Do you have a name?"

...

Inaudible nonsense accompanied by indecipherable satic greeted my ears. I suppressed a sigh in order to take a closer look at it, or rather, at her

Even when their appearance has been blurred away from reality, as their Master, I still instinctively know about their former identity

A figure plated in darkened armor. No other facial features aside from the tied bun and two bangs framing either side of their feminine face. A longsword hung over their waist