"Hey, Master, how did Cyd actually die?" Mordred's voice broke the silence as she casually tore down a wall section, sounding bored.
Kairi shot her a wary look. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing! Geez, can't I ask a question?" She pouted but quickly narrowed her eyes. "You're not thinking I'm scared of him, are you?"
He sighed. "Honestly? You wouldn't stand a chance."
"What?!" Mordred snapped, eyes flaring. "I could take him!"
Kairi didn't sugarcoat it. "You'd be furious if I lied and said you could easily beat him. It's treasonous even to try to lie to a king right?."
"Treason…" She coughed awkwardly, then folded her arms. "But seriously, if we knew how he died, we could exploit it. Some heroic spirits have weak points, you know? Like Achilles—hit his heel, and he's toast. Take away his speed, and his Noble Phantasms are useless."
Kairi shrugged. "Problem is, Cyd's a mystery. In mythology, he didn't die—he just vanished. If that becomes part of his Noble Phantasm, he'd be nearly invincible. Probably even worse than Achilles. He's got the blessings of thirteen of the most powerful gods. Fighting him means fighting all of Greek mythology, and you'd be cursed before the fight even started."
Mordred scratched her head. "That's… bad. What if he goes after the Grail? What about my wish?"
"Then your wish is toast." Kairi's blunt response made her twitch with irritation.
"You could at least have a little faith in Ruler!"
"Faith's for idiots," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Everyone has desires. Even the best people have their moments of weakness. And Cyd? He's so wrapped up in those blessings, even he might not realize what he's capable of."
Mordred sighed, her enthusiasm for wall-smashing fading. "So what's the plan? We just sit around?"
"Well, we don't have to beat him," Kairi said, leaning against the wall. "He has to make sure all the other Servants are dead to get his wish. If we get the Grail first..."
Her eyes lit up. "We can make our wish!"
"Exactly!" Kairi grinned. "And he wouldn't freak out and crush us. His personality doesn't really lean that way."
Mordred frowned. "Speaking of... Master, do you even know what those thirteen blessings are? I've seen some weird stuff lately."
Kairi rubbed his chin, trying to remember. "Well, they each relate to the gods who blessed him. Apollo's gives him power in sunlight, and Artemis gives him strength under the moon—plus, you know, plague powers."
Mordred groaned. "So he's always powered up?!"
Kairi winced. "Yeah, that brother-sister duo really played favorites with him. Of course, that's nothing compared to Poseidon or Hades."
"Do you know any more? I feel like I saw something crazy during the last fight."
"Well, there's a blessing of truth—no one can lie to him. There's also one that makes the earth flourish, an immortality blessing, a sky blessing, a sea blessing, and wisdom always to make the right choices. Then there's Ares' blessing of war, Aphrodite's protection for loved ones, and Hephaestus… uh…"
"Stop, stop! Too much!" Mordred clutched her head, her eyes swirling. "Just tell me if one of those lets him fix stuff."
Kairi shook his head. "Cyd's basically immortal, and his weapons were all made by Hephaestus. No god's going to bother giving him a repair kit. Plus, I can't think of anyone but Hephaestus who fixes things."
"That's weird, though. Remember when I fought that Black Archer? All the damage to the city vanished. The walls, the clock tower—it all got restored."
Kairi looked skeptical. "Probably just the cleanup crew."
"In real-time? Right under my nose?" Mordred raised an eyebrow.
Kairi's face stiffened. "Wait, you're serious?"
She nodded. "I checked when you were busy. Everything—the walls, the clock tower—was as good as new. Like the battle never happened."
Kairi's hand twitched as he fumbled for a cigarette. "That's… not a blessing level thing. That's god-level magic. And Cyd never dealt with time in the myths. Well... except for that time he fought Kronos."
Mordred's eyes widened. "You think that's his fourteenth blessing?"
"No," Kairi said, shaking his head. "Kronos wasn't the type to hand out blessings. Cyd's final trial was to defeat the former king of the gods—Kronos, the god of time."
A cold chill ran down his spine. Pandora's Box… Cyd's weapon was called Reforged Pandora. Crafted by Hephaestus himself, it was said to only contain hope, but what if…
"No way. If he killed Kronos… Did he take time powers too?" Mordred frowned, scratching her head.
"It's possible." Kairi exhaled, slumping against the wall. "Pandora's Box was full of disasters and only one hope. What if Cyd's weapon can manipulate time? That would make him unbeatable."
"But... he's a Servant, right?" Mordred raised her hand like she was in school. "That means he's already dead, doesn't it?"
Kairi glanced around, blinking as the fog cleared. "Uh, yeah, right. It's probably nothing. Oh look! Assassin's been taken care of. Good news!"
Mordred burst out laughing. "Look at you, Master, scaring yourself! Overthinking a dead Servant!"
Kairi's face flushed red. "Well, it was your intel that threw me off! And how do you explain those disappearing battle marks?"
Mordred shrugged, grinning slyly. "Beats me~"
"Hey, don't just—ugh!"
Little did Kairi know, he had almost pieced it all together. Only one thing was holding him back from solving the puzzle: who says a Servant has to be dead to be summoned?