"You misunderstand. I just wish to crush this farce." The almost thespian-esque behavior of William melted into a sober visage, the look of a magus, a true magus unlike the heretics that populated this war. His words cut through the air before his partner moved to leave. "The Holy Grail War is a backwater ritual created by magi to make a shortcut to [ ]. A wish, it sounds so fanciful, so wondrous, doesn't it? After all, if that omnipotent cup filled by 'God' can grant any wish, what human wouldn't traverse heaven and hell to find it? That's the premise that lures fools in. They seek to throw aside principle, logic, and generations of toil, all to chase after a shortcut that never existed. This Grail is a sham." Continuing the inscription of runes as he walked, the magus of Ellis went on. "The Holy Grail is a creator of fakes. It takes the base Heroic Spirit and copies them. So then, what does that mean? What is the point of that little ritual where I drew lines in the earth and chanted a little bit? I didn't summon you, that's the answer that nobody seems to realize. I [i]can't[/i] summon you, that's what everyone should realize. It's not a difficult principle to understand, but everyone is too wrapped up in their lust for a wish to notice. The 'summon' is done by the Grail, and the 'summon' merely binds the Servant. Even you, the Heroic Spirits, have been tricked. You're here by choice, brought to this ritual, and thus you have been fooled just as much as any magus. So then, what does that mean?" "From the very first step you take, the Holy Grail War is a sham. Magi 'prepare' for it, but that's utterly nonsensical. Preparing for an absurdity of this nature...it makes you even less than incompetent. So, from the premise taken by everyone else, what should be counted as a sham is counted as legitimate, the ephemeral is made material." "This war is a farce, an impossible dream that vanishes when you reach out to grab it. I am here to show the magi who lust after a wish and who seek to toss all aside in favor of their desires what the foundation of magecraft truly is, and what this backwater ritual truly represents. The Holy Grail War is an illusion, and I have joined to crush it." The words of a man who could be called a genius or a fool. The simple fact that he spoke such words to a Servant that could crush his skull for spewing such blasphemies shows that he is indeed the latter, while the content of those words marks him as the former. Another explanation was that he simply had chuunibyou. "But enough of that. A partnership is nothing without information. Tell me about yourself. Your nature, your abilities, your dream. Our death will be assured if we do not understand one another. And besides, if I am left alone, I simply become bait for any Servant, particularly those who lurk in the shadows." --- The invisible Servant turned to the impossible Servant as his Master motioned to leave. "I have no preference as to which role I take, so I will leave it to you. My abilities aren't impaired in either case, so if yours are the same way then pick whichever option is subjectively preferable." Simple words with little weight behind them. Such was the temperament of Zhong. Little else needed to be said. --- Heroic Spirits are beings cut off from the time axis and can be summoned in any era, regardless of past and future. However, the only one that can summon the main body of the Heroic Spirits is the "world", and alas, humans can't summon the main body and can only summon their emanations, the Servants. Speaking of which, the information, ergo the souls, making up the Servants return to the main body at the same time as the death of the Servant, and the main body can know, as records, about the actions of the Servants as if reading a book. This was what he was informed of by a cup. However, that cup may or may not have been trying to trick him. He didn't think cups made good expositionary tools, what would a cup be doing thinking anyway? Was the cup just sentient because it could be? Did someone with dubious cup-based motives program the cup into thinking? Chandra didn't know, but what he did know was that... "-A new story begins once more, and I shall compile it into an Epic that reaches the stars!" Arms were spread wide as the Servant was bound as it was meant to be, the Caster-class existence loosing an airy laugh at his own exaggeration. The burst of light and wind faded, revealing Chandra's full form as he went on. "Ah, right, yes, are you my-...no, no, that's horrible. That won't work, everyone else does that, if we do it too then we won't have any different of a first impression on the audience. Maybe do an inversion? No, too trite, besides that the temperaments don't match. Hm..." Chandra ruminated to himself for a handful of seconds before snapping his fingers and looking back up. "Yes, that's it!" A brief flash of light appeared in the Caster's hands as a pair of books manifested themselves, each one glowing with a faint otherworldly light. "My Master, are you ready to take this story by the horns in your quest to become the protagonist?!"