File type: Text File (.txt) [Download]
-----------------------------------------
Patxi’s Wish

Bowstrings are pulled back. Bullets are loaded in their chambers.
My legs keep moving. I can’t hold back any longer. I think back to a street performer I saw when I was a child, and how he kept laughing idiotically at his own comical antics.
…Hmph. He was the only one there laughing, that’s for sure. As if anyone could ever put food on the table doing something so completely useless. Pathetic.
But when did it become normal for us to see that sort of stuff as pathetic? When did we Yaga lose our ability to smile?

I keep running. As a Yaga, I’ve never been afraid of anything. I’ve always known death was inevitable.  If there’s anything I AM scared of, I think…
Everything is pain, I don’t even know how many times I was hit.
..it’s the idea of someone dying when they know how to go through life smiling.

My body is covered by wounds and blood. I stand between the human mage and the other Yagas.
“Ah.. Dammit.”
No one was expecting me here.
The weak human manages to mutter: “Patxi...?”
Everyone stares at me in bewilderment. However, I have something to say. I turn around, facing the mage.
“..I’ll never forgive you.”
They don’t understand what I am saying. I grab them by the collar, about to unleash my feelings.
“I will never forgive you, for as long as I live. You know why? Because thanks to you, I now know there’s another, happier world out there. So, stand up, dammit. Stand up and fight for it. Go on and brag about how you can smile in your world, and tell us why it should be the one to survive. Be proud. Hold your head up high, and fight your weak little world. Don’t you dare go losing to a world like this, a world whose only virtue is strength!”
They still can’t accept it. They are about to cry and so am I.

“…Yeah, you’ll have a lot of blood on your hands. You won’t be able to pretend it never happened. But you’ve still gotta do it. After all… your world sounds so much more beautiful. So it should be the one to survive. Me.. I don’t know anything. Masters, Servants, Proper Human History, Lostbelts… I don’t know the first thing about any of it. But if our world is wrong.. and, if there’s any meaning to be found in our lives… lives that are just one hardship after another… I think it’s that we were able to learn there’s a better place, a word filled with happiness, a world that’s right.. We Yaga might’ve made a mistake and ended up in the wrong place. But I’m sure even that mistake has meaning. Isn’t that right?”
The shaking human doesn’t want to hear more. They’re starting to cry: “That’s enough Patxi. You have to save your strength.”
I can’t do that. I need them to make the right choice. I want them to smile again.
“Don’t worry. We Yaga barely even feel pain or fear. You and Mash.. must’ve been way more scared, it must’ve hurt a lot worse for you. But that’s exactly why you’ve gotta keep on fighting. Why you’ve gotta be the ones to live.”

“Well, say something dammit. Let me.. hear your answer..”
They nod through their tears. I can’t stay strong anymore. My face and grip soften. It seems like I’m weaker than I thought.
“Haha, look at you.. you’re crying… Well, turns out making you cry.. isn’t as much fun as I thought…”
I let them go, and fall in the snow. We Yaga barely feel pain. We barely feel anything. We have lost all of our humanity. My vision gets blurry, I see everyone getting a bit way, probably planning to fight.
My wounds were deep. But I know they wouldn’t kill me immediately. My resistance as a Yaga, and this cold would make me last longer. But I was still feeling weak. I close my eyes, to rest a little bit. Aah, I feel so tired now, but it doesn’t hurt. Because I know they will succeed. I close my eyes for what feels like an eternity and only seconds.

A familiar voice wakes me from my slumber. It’s the voice of that human-shielding girl.
“Patxi! Are you still alive?”
I open my eyes, even though Yagas have high resistance I wasn’t expecting to be still alive by now. Both Mash and the human look at me with teary eyes, standing next to my lying body, bending over me. I tried to move, but I can’t at all, I can barely stay awake.
“Would seem like I it. So, did you do it?”
“Yeah. The Grand Duchess has been beaten, and the Tree of Emptiness is no more. We retrieved the Holy Grail, and the blizzard stopped.” She explained.
“A holy grail? What the hell is that thing again…”
Those humans were definitely confusing.
“It’s a wish granting device, it can grant basically any wish. But it doesn’t matter anymore, Master, can you heal him?”
“It’s pointless. I’m sure it won’t work on me, and even if it did, everything will end soon.”
They both felt silent. The mage sat next to me, followed by the girl. I was able to see the sky, and the view stunned me.
“What.. is that?”
The sky wasn’t the usual gray. I know it was nighttime, because everything around us was dark, but the sky..
There was countless twinkling lights in the sky, with a colorful line tearing the dark blue. I could also hear a weird sound in the distance. Everything felt so peaceful.
“Those are stars. I guess you never saw them before, right?” said the mage, “they are visible almost every night in our world.”
“I see… it’s beautiful.”
Our world was indeed wrong. Those stars show it to us,  their light would never reach a cursed world like ours. I hope they will be able to protect their world.
Now, a wish was born in my heart. An absolute strong wish.
As I felt me weakening, there is only thing I could think about. I closed my eyes, thanking them internally for making me realize what I want.
I want to protect the world with the starry sky. I want to protect the correct world.
Suddenly, heat surrounds me. It was as if my soul was radiated with warm light. I couldn’t see anything. But I hear an unknown, yet familiar voice.
“I’ve heard your wish, Yaga. I can fulfil it, and make you become a Servant, to protect the Proper Human History with the master you met. However, this is not an easy path. You may die countless times, and fail to reach your goal.  But, if you wish to proceed anyway, if you want to fulfil your wish despite this. Then reach me. Then, your new life as a servant will begin”
I didn’t understand everything, but I knew it was the right thing to do. They made me see why their world was precious, and I intend to pay them back. I let myself drift towards the voice, even tho I couldn’t control anything.
Then, nothing.
Time and space lost their meaning. Until eventually..

I have a body again. I open my eyes and can see again.
In front of me is the one who showed me the stars.
My body didn’t change much, I still have my trusted gun, and my usual clothes. They stand in bewilderment, shocked to see me. They didn’t think I could become a servant.
“Servant Archer. I’m Patxi, the Yaga who survived to protect the stars. I have been summoned by your request, Master. But before that, can you play some of that.. I think it was called music? I would like to listen to it again.”