Talk:Nero Festival/@comment-114.108.221.157-20150924100144

It was true dillemma I faced.

In front of the altar where I've sacrficed so many of the sacred iridescent stone that had been rewarded to me from countless battles, I had stood there helpless, unsure of what to do.

I threw 40 in bulk, hoping, praying, that those above would grant me with my Empress' presence... yet to no avail. The witch of Betrayal along with several artifacts of power had appeared, a blessing in itself but I could not help but be disappointed.

My Empress did not come.

I was bitter at the result. The stars, the heavenly bodies had foretold all that if there was ever a time she would appear, it was during the festival that celebrated her existence.

She was my comrade! She was the blade the fought with me all those years back inside the Moon Cell! We fought by the skin of our teeth, her with utmost beauty and elegance, I with far less of both...

So despite everything I soldiered on. I fought both in France and then in Rome, with the Witch of Betrayal and the ever present Shield at my side. I was rewarded, both in battle and by the gods above with more of the stones I could use for summoning.

Here now was my last day. When sun rises tomorrow, my time would be up. I could not fight in the last day of the festival due to other commitments I could not throw away even If I so sorely wanted to... so this was my last chance.

20. A paltry number but it was the best I could collect. I could only wonder if my struggle to obtain something so meager could be called beauty? I wonder if that was enough for her to find her way to me...

So I stood at the altar, throwing in four at a time. Each time I was blessed by the blades used by executors who seemed to delight at other people's pain... how disgusting.

There I was left with four. Just four of the stones.

I clasped them in my hands, thinking whether I should give up. Four tries had yielded not even a servant, how could I even hope that she would appear with this?

"Answer me... Are you my Praetor?"

I look around as I heard such a familair phrase, the first one that she had ever uttered to me when I was at my wit's end. There was nothing around me, not a single soul in sight, only the altar and the stones in my hands.

I took that as a sign and uttered an apology. It was unsightly of me to lose hope when I still had one more chance.

I gathered my resolve and threw in the last four that I held. This time I did not hope, this time I did not pray.

I expected her to appear. I imagined in my head her regal appearance, her imperious voice, and her elegant blade.

As if answering my call my eyes spied a slight gold tinge as the white and blue light spun around the altar.

My heart skipped a beat and my posture straightened.

When light burst outwards in the sky and card of gold spun around my eyes, tears streamed down my face.

The card, the beautiful golden card held the mark of the Saber clas.

There were others who could have appeared and receiving any of them would have made me far more blessed than others already... but I knew in my heart who it was.

She was someone who loved beauty in all its forms, she was someone who loved festivities as well.

Surely she would come to a festival that celebrated her and cause a ruckus on her own.

I was sure she would neither remember me or the battles we've fought in the Grail Wars of the Moon Cell but that did not matter.

She was here again and I could fight by her side.

I had grown stronger than the last time we met... this time, this time for sure... there will be no parting...

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