A refined young man with white hair styled in a braid and dressed in slightly unusual attire stepped off a yacht that had traveled across the ocean. In his hand, he carried a briefcase bearing an emblem: a stylized "C" surrounded by olive branches.
Following behind him was a handsome young boy with golden hair, dressed in an elegant white suit. Though the boy appeared to be only in his early teens, his eyes carried a determination and maturity that belied his age.
"Teacher," the boy addressed the white-haired man, "can the Holy Grail in Fuyuki City truly grant our wish?"
"It cannot," the young man replied decisively. However, noticing the expression on his student's face, he softened his tone with a gentle smile.
"But we are participating in this Holy Grail War for money, nothing more."
"I understand, Teacher," the golden-haired boy nodded thoughtfully. "Is it because of the prototype?"
"Sigh, yes," the man, whom the boy referred to as Teacher, said with a heavy breath.
"The cost of activating the Chaldeas prototype even once is astronomically high. Even if we sold off every asset the Animusphere family owns, it wouldn't be enough."
"But, Teacher, didn't the investigation you commissioned from Dr. Heartless reveal that the Greater Grail in Fuyuki City is a corrupted failure?" the boy asked.
"Can something like that even fulfill a wish for money?"
"That's true," the young man's smile faded.
"But the Animusphere family has been driven to the brink of ruin, and I'm no different. Even corrupted mana can be converted into usable resources."
"If I can't complete the construction of Chaldea in my generation, it will be impossible afterward," the man said flatly.
"You know what Olga Marie is like."
"She wouldn't be able to handle it."
"…So, are you planning to use that relic?" the boy asked.
"That ring?"
"Indeed," the man's smile returned.
"One of the Ten Rings. With this ring, the Servant summoned has the potential to purify the contents of the Greater Grail."
"King Solomon, huh…" the boy mused.
"It's hard to imagine any opponent capable of defeating the King of Magecraft."
"As long as it's within the rules, no magus can defeat him," the man said.
"Even magi from the Age of Gods wouldn't stand a chance. King Solomon himself was the greatest magus of the Age of Gods."
"Alright, let's head to our designated location," the man said, noticing the hesitation in his student's eyes. He patted the boy's shoulder reassuringly.
"This Holy Grail War is just a means to fund Chaldea. Don't stress about it. Even if we fail, there's still time ahead."
"I understand, Teacher," the golden-haired boy nodded firmly.
...
After many years, Matou Kariya returned to Fuyuki City—a place he both loved and hated, a city that haunted his thoughts.
He had left Fuyuki City long ago, unable to endure the Matou family's twisted lineage and his father, Matou Zouken. He chose to live an ordinary life, far away from his family.
In his youth, Kariya had secretly harbored feelings for his childhood friend, Zenjou Aoi. However, Aoi, three years his senior, had never noticed his feelings, treating him kindly as though he were a younger brother, always considerate of his needs.
By chance, Kariya discovered that his connection to Aoi and their relationship as childhood friends had been orchestrated by his father, Matou Zouken. Zouken had recognized the exceptional genetics of the Zenjou family long before anyone else.
Realizing this, Kariya chose to withdraw from his rivalry with Tohsaka Tokiomi, who also admired Aoi. By doing so, he thwarted Zouken's ambitions to claim Aoi as an exceptional mother.
This act of defiance was Kariya's rebellion against his father and his way of protecting the woman he loved.
But now, Kariya had received shocking news: his family—including his elder brother Matou Byakuya, his nephew Matou Shinji, and his father Matou Zouken—had all perished in a massive explosion.
And so, Kariya found himself returning to the hometown he loved and loathed, determined to uncover the truth behind the Matou family's demise.
Dressed in a simple black jacket, Kariya stepped out of a taxi at the address of the Matou family estate.
The once-grand Matou mansion was now a pile of ruins. Crossing the perimeter cordon, Kariya slowly made his way toward the wreckage.
His emotions were conflicted. On one hand, Kariya felt a twisted satisfaction at the destruction of his home and the deaths of his family. On the other hand, he was overwhelmed by memories of the place, few of which were happy.
The death of his elder brother, Byakuya, evoked no sorrow in Kariya. The two had been opposites in personality and had never gotten along, their only shared sentiment being mutual hatred for their father.
The death of his nephew, Shinji, however, was another matter. Although Shinji was Byakuya's son, Kariya did not dislike the boy.
Whenever Kariya visited the Matou household, Shinji would gaze at him with eager eyes, knowing his uncle always brought fascinating gifts—cool robot models, belts from tokusatsu shows, and other items that most adults dismissed as frivolous or harmful.
To Shinji, Kariya was a beacon of hope and joy in the oppressive, twisted environment of the Matou family. Every time Kariya left, Shinji would be heartbroken, secretly counting the days until his uncle's return.
But this time, Shinji would never see his uncle return with gifts and stories of the world beyond Fuyuki.
As Kariya wandered through the ruins, he searched for traces that Matou Zouken might have survived. He did not believe that the old monster could be killed by an explosion of this magnitude.
The incident was suspicious. Kariya suspected it was the work of a magus with a grudge against Zouken.
No one knew the extent of Zouken's tenacity and obsession with survival better than Kariya.
While searching for the entrance to the underground workshop—the old monster's magecraft laboratory—something unexpected occurred.
Kariya stepped onto a patch of ground in the rubble, and suddenly, the black liquid began seeping out from all directions, binding him in place and immobilizing him.