[ Still he speaks in his circumspect way, feeding her clues to the puzzle piece by piece. But this time, finally, it's a vital piece. The questions posed to her by both Tristan and Ruler return in full force: what if Rhongomyniad had become your main armament?
The answer now becomes inescapable. The details matter less than Tristan's motley testimony: with Divine Lance in hand, in pursuit of her ideals to their utmost extreme, she will create a world that will threaten the existence of humanity itself.
Saber can't quite keep the disappointment from pinching her face, her eyes sliding shut as she carefully turns from Tristan to spare him the sight. With Excalibur, she led Britain to ruin. With Rhongomyniad, she'll lead all of humanity to ruin. For all her might and effort, it seems she's truly unfit to rule. Perhaps the wish she carried with her throughout the Fifth Holy Grail War was too weak at its root. Preventing herself from drawing the Sword of Selection would not have been enough if she would have found a way to obtain Rhongomyniad instead...
The words of Archer Emiya prick at her like the tip of a knife. She's a hypocrite of the highest order for harboring these thoughts after having raised her sword against him.
All of this she keeps close to her chest, her voice steady even as she remains facing away. ]
I see. So I was at the heart of the Singularity at Camelot.
[ A matter-of-fact statement that she can accept -- must accept -- however bitterly, because Tristan would not lie to her. And truly, knowing herself, she isn't surprised by it. ]
If your Master saw fit to oppose me, then I will presume he had good reason. Your esteem for him makes that much clear.
[ There really is no hiding the truth from her now. She who was destined to wield the Rhongomyniad would know best, yet it hurts him so very much to see her like this. To know that he’d been the cause of her own pain, besides. But at this point, is there any good reason for him to stop? She can piece together the whole truth for herself.
She really was too perfect. As a king, she’d been perfect in every respect—even as the Lion King… ]
Yes, he had reason enough.
[ He frowns. He’d made it known to Ritsuka from the very beginning that he’d only follow him if his goals were righteous. And indeed they were, even if it led them all the way to the Lion King. ]
For we as knights failed you even in our second life as Heroic Spirits. We of all people could have averted the disaster the Rhongomyniad sought to unleash before anyone else. And we…failed. We slew the ones who opposed you, yet failed to guide you upon the right path. So please, my king…it was us—it was I who failed you most of all. You’d only done as a king must.
[ She turns back then with a hard bent to her eye, all traces of doubt gone from her face. ]
No, Tristan. You shame me with your self-blame. You cannot misguide me any more than a sheep can misguide its shepherd. In the same vein, a king's subjects cannot make excuses for him. If I who championed Rhongomyniad walked a stray path, it was not because you failed to stop me. It was because I lacked the strength and clarity to uphold my oaths, as must have been the case if Chaldea saw fit to intervene.
[ Still, she doesn't know enough. She closes her eyes and calms herself before regarding Tristan again with more of her usual even tone. ]
But come. Tell me more of what I thought a king must do.
[ A stray path? A stray path? Perhaps it might have been. Perhaps that is how others see it as well. But given the circumstances of that Singularity, to call it so feels so unjust, even coming from her.
His fists clench as he meets her eyes at last, his own wide open and with a piercing gaze that he’d never thought to use on her again. In a deadly quiet voice, he replies: ]
[ How long it's been since she's seen Tristan so spirited. In defense of a version of her his Master was pressed to stop, no less. In response to his feeling, she grows more stony, in the little ways of her set shoulders and immutable gaze. ]
[ It feels almost nostalgic, the way they address one another like this—it is almost as if he’d never left the Knights of the Round Table, never turned his back on his king. It’s almost as if he were merely delivering a report, rather than trying to absolve his liege of a guilt he’d never believed her to be harboring in the first place.
If anything, all the guilt should be placed on him for carrying out the Lion King’s mercies in the most ruthless fashion. ]
It is true that Master had long been a veteran of the battle against the King of Mages. Yet he was still young, and a poor mage besides. If he had failed…
[ He shuts his eyes, unable to bear even the smallest shred of distrust against his own master— ]
If he had failed, there would be no one else who could stand against the King of Mages but you.
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no subject
The answer now becomes inescapable. The details matter less than Tristan's motley testimony: with Divine Lance in hand, in pursuit of her ideals to their utmost extreme, she will create a world that will threaten the existence of humanity itself.
Saber can't quite keep the disappointment from pinching her face, her eyes sliding shut as she carefully turns from Tristan to spare him the sight. With Excalibur, she led Britain to ruin. With Rhongomyniad, she'll lead all of humanity to ruin. For all her might and effort, it seems she's truly unfit to rule. Perhaps the wish she carried with her throughout the Fifth Holy Grail War was too weak at its root. Preventing herself from drawing the Sword of Selection would not have been enough if she would have found a way to obtain Rhongomyniad instead...
The words of Archer Emiya prick at her like the tip of a knife. She's a hypocrite of the highest order for harboring these thoughts after having raised her sword against him.
All of this she keeps close to her chest, her voice steady even as she remains facing away. ]
I see. So I was at the heart of the Singularity at Camelot.
[ A matter-of-fact statement that she can accept -- must accept -- however bitterly, because Tristan would not lie to her. And truly, knowing herself, she isn't surprised by it. ]
If your Master saw fit to oppose me, then I will presume he had good reason. Your esteem for him makes that much clear.
no subject
She really was too perfect. As a king, she’d been perfect in every respect—even as the Lion King… ]
Yes, he had reason enough.
[ He frowns. He’d made it known to Ritsuka from the very beginning that he’d only follow him if his goals were righteous. And indeed they were, even if it led them all the way to the Lion King. ]
For we as knights failed you even in our second life as Heroic Spirits. We of all people could have averted the disaster the Rhongomyniad sought to unleash before anyone else. And we…failed. We slew the ones who opposed you, yet failed to guide you upon the right path. So please, my king…it was us—it was I who failed you most of all. You’d only done as a king must.
no subject
No, Tristan. You shame me with your self-blame. You cannot misguide me any more than a sheep can misguide its shepherd. In the same vein, a king's subjects cannot make excuses for him. If I who championed Rhongomyniad walked a stray path, it was not because you failed to stop me. It was because I lacked the strength and clarity to uphold my oaths, as must have been the case if Chaldea saw fit to intervene.
[ Still, she doesn't know enough. She closes her eyes and calms herself before regarding Tristan again with more of her usual even tone. ]
But come. Tell me more of what I thought a king must do.
no subject
His fists clench as he meets her eyes at last, his own wide open and with a piercing gaze that he’d never thought to use on her again. In a deadly quiet voice, he replies: ]
Save humanity.
no subject
Explain.
no subject
If anything, all the guilt should be placed on him for carrying out the Lion King’s mercies in the most ruthless fashion. ]
It is true that Master had long been a veteran of the battle against the King of Mages. Yet he was still young, and a poor mage besides. If he had failed…
[ He shuts his eyes, unable to bear even the smallest shred of distrust against his own master— ]
If he had failed, there would be no one else who could stand against the King of Mages but you.