Fate/Zero: A Different Path

Chaoter 53

They called her by many names.

Fata Morgana. Dark Sorceress. Vortigern's End

Those who are versed in Arthurian legend simply referred to the woman as Morgan the Fae- a legend shrouded in shadow. In some myth, she is a healer under his rule. In others, she is his half sister- the enchantress who weave a deception that brings about the king's glorious reign

Though she was once ruler of the land, countless centuries had humbled the proud woman to the reality of her situation

Vortigern's invasion nearly plunge England into the Middle Ages.

The Saxons invaded Camelot, trampling their dirty footsteps on the kingdom of God.

And the greatest shame, the grandest humiliation that could be mustered to a villain of such magnanimity: She herself was banished, her shadow forever sealed within Avalon due to a curse

The Witch which represents the essence of the Isle was expelled by its own residence. How absolutely fitting

Like all miracles that ran its course, she find no dwellings in the Human world and had thus retreated, her glory now but an illusion of her former self. The old king's legitimate daughter nestle within the confines of the Garden of Apples, her eyes overlooking all happenings in the Reverse Side of the World

Ha...even though Uther's blood run in her vein and the Isle's primeval consider her its authority...why must it be Artoria who bears the crown before her?

That question weigh on her mind every day, like an unanswered inquiry.

Looking at the cracked mirror that seems to split her image into monstrous shards, a bitter taste filled her mouth

"Damned Merlin...what are you up to again?"

With a dismissive word, the mirror shards flew up and pieced themselves together in the mirror frame

Blood flow from her bleeding knuckles into their capillary. The mirror now looks as if it's never been shattered

There is only one Morgan, which means one set of ears to tolerate the existence of the White Mage. Recently his silence has piqued her curiosity. As a result, she abandon her dwelling in favor of observing the outside world once more

"How many centuries has it been?"

Her eyes roamed the land. The witch's all-seeing Clairvoyance observe the two girls that caught her attention.

It was only a while ago that they enter her sight. Two different wanderers traversing the Planet's Inner Sea. Each with their own Origin, but their hearts united in one prize- the Lance that holds the World, Rhongomyniad. And if it wasn't for the yapping White Wizard that kept getting on her nerves, she wouldn't have paid attention to either

Morgan's eyes sweeped over Shirou Emiya. A whelp with a few screws loose that got her hand on Avalon due to machinations of the time anomaly. Fascinating, but she's seen worse

Then...there is that girl Gray. She looks no different than Artoria if not for the color of her hair. A lighter shade, perhaps, yet there was no mistaking the face Morgan despised so much

Was she the ritual pawn she'd made a long time ago before retreating here? The Fae Witch does not expect Kiritsugu Emiya to have rescued her and sent her to the Reverse Side of the World of all place

She'd so long abandoned her hatred for Artoria.

Seeing her face reflected in another girl brought a dull pain to her chest, as if someone has carved out her heart with a knife