Gaze Upon the Stars

"How is your life in the Capital so far, brother? Did you like Camelot?" Artoria asked as she leaned herself closer to Kay's shoulder as they gazed upon the stars.

"You will probably regret your own choice to become king, Artoria. This place is not what you think, unlike what Merlin painted it to be. If you can see through the essence of it, then good; if not, you will end up as nothing more than a puppet under everyone's mercy." Kay didn't answer her question; instead, he sighed and continued gazing at the stars without even bothering to glance in her direction or see her expression after he expressed his opinion.

Every person outside the capital always thinks that this place is paradise, the knights would be honorable, the nobles would value virtue, and the people would be prosperous. But no, he saw none of it. The knights are just tools for nobles. Honor means nothing to them; they will loot, rape, and commit many despicable deeds as long as it satisfies their own ends. He executed plenty of them with Bartholomeoi and crucified them on the cross, not out of a sense of justice, but necessary pragmatism, as their deaths would boost his reputation in Camelot.

The nobles themselves only value their own interests. The virtues they always taught the civilians are nothing more than hypocrisy. The civilians themselves are starving and wearing ragged clothes. Nothing is really good about the Capital.

Did Uther and Merlin care? No, they didn't. They only cared about playing God. Uther only cared about saving his legacy, while Merlin only cared about the entertainment of playing the puppet king.

They taught Artoria nothing about managing a country; instead, they taught her swords, magic, and warmongering stuff rather than the interest of teaching her how to properly manage a country, even to the point where Merlin wanted Artoria to discard her humanity, seeing only the result rather than the process. If you discard your humanity, how can you even understand the humans you rule in the first place? No wonder they rebelled in the canon.

Honestly, he didn't understand Merlin's logic, but he understood that Merlin did that because he didn't want Artoria to mourn for her own future destruction and moved on by discarding her humanity. But did she really discard it? She just pretended to. In Fate/Zero, her bottled emotions burst out, and the regret she felt at her own country's destruction was evident that Merlin's advice was very harmful in the long run.

Merlin's advice to discard humanity, to become a detached, emotionless ruler, is fundamentally flawed. It's like prepping a soldier for battle but not teaching them why they're fighting in the first place.

"Brother... Merlin has told me the result will be tragic if I become the king. I know it. It's inevitable," Artoria sighed.

"He told you about your terrible future, but he didn't tell you how to save it. Do you know why, Artoria?" Kay said disdainfully.

"Enlighten me, brother." Artoria signaled for him to go on.

"Your enemy has never been Saxons, Morgan, Vortigern, or Rome, but the world. You probably don't understand what I'm implying; you only need to know there are two beings who oversee this world and want this country gone for good. Only by being on their good side can this country survive, and Merlin did it wonderfully. However, we both know that after the era of mystery ends, you will be their next target. To be precise, you and Merlin are only their sharpest tools, yet both of you can't see it. Well, Merlin can see it, but he can't do anything about it."

"I can't see any bright future for Camelot, Artoria. Whether you can save it or not, the end is only one: it's forsaken. Your effort to save this island will never earn you any gratitude. The will of this world will discard this timeline, and someone from the future will correct the wrong timeline back to the tragic state. So, we only have one end: to be discarded by the will of the world," Kay explained with a melancholy look on his face as he could see the bleak future hanging above all of them.

Artoria's tragic future isn't just a result of bad choices or evil adversaries; it's written in the fabric of reality. Camelot is doomed, not by its enemies, but by the very world that wants it erased.

She understood what Kay was implying. Even if she saved Camelot and embraced a bright future for them, the end was not as bright as it seemed, but being discarded by the world, and someone from the future would ensure to ruin her hard-won victory. Although she didn't fully understand it, she still grasped the essence of it nonetheless.

"So, what should I do, brother?" Artoria asked.

After a brief moment of silence, Kay said, "I have three ways: self-exile, moving to outer space, or deceiving the world, depending on which one you want to choose."

"Deceiving the world seems safer. Can you elaborate further, Kay?" Artoria asked.

"Don't ask for the details. You only need to trust me, Artoria. The fewer who know the plan, the better. To be precise, only I need to know the details of the plan. You just need to do your duty as a king." Kay didn't reveal his plan and continued gazing at the stars as Artoria snuggled against his arm and pouted.

"You and Merlin have always been like this, Kay, so secretive and never trusting me and hiding all of your plans behind my back."

"I trust you, but I never trust this world."

Alaya and Gaia are never meant to be trusted in the first place. The death of the Crimson Moon under their scheme was evident of how cruel they are, even to someone who is protecting them. Yes, people might say that the Crimson Moon died under Zelretch's hand, but did Zelretch really sacrifice his own friend, his own lifespan, his own prime, and his own mage association out of spite? The reason Zelretch declared war on the Crimson Moon because he hated her didn't make any sense. It was probably the Counter Force that pushed their conflict, but the rest wasn't something he thought about.

"Don't push yourself too hard, brother. If you can't save it, so be it. We can go into self-exile like you said. It should be the easiest way," Artoria whispered softly.

"I will never choose the path of escape, not when those who conspired for our demise get away with it." After that, he said no more words, but both of them knew what he meant.

For him, it's not only a battle for power, but vengeance against those who wronged him, those who made him act too hard to be a good guy, those who pushed him into this fire pit. Whether it is Merlin, Uther, or the Counter Force, they will pay their dues.

Even if he has to burn this world to the ground, so be it.