Fate: I Heard After Death, You Can Ascend to the Throne of Heroes?

(Words: 2207)

"What kind of terrifying story is this?'

No, I really don't want to be strangled!

Promise had initially wanted to resist, to question the destiny glimpsed by the Goddess Hecate in her visions of the future, however, as soon as he recovered from the suffocating sensation of being strangled by a goddess, he found himself already back in reality.

The ghostly-winged butterfly of the Underworld had completed its mission, dissolving into particles of light with a soft bang.

At the same time, the once-static night sky gave way to a delayed dawn.

This signified that the long night had finally ended.

Standing back in reality, on the vast desert plains in the southern region of the continent engulfed by the Holy Grail War, he now faced the first rays of morning sunlight.

The immaculate white attire he had been wearing vanished, replaced by a simple light blue shirt and his golden eyes also reverted to an emerald green hue.

The Pegasus neighed softly and, before the sunlight could fully illuminate the horizon, turned into stardust, retreating into the embrace of the night.

Tonight's Holy Grail War was quite spectacular to say at the very least.

Putting aside that nightmare at the end, tonight he made a painting, got a bull, and also removed the most unstable factor..the self obsessed goddess from the stage.

Well.. it also exposed his identity to everyone.

Rin Tohsaka, pressing her temples, looked around in confusion under Shirou Emiya's concerned gaze.

However, she quickly regained clarity.

After all, she remembered everything, including the moment she had been possessed by the Mistress of the Underworld.

Although Rin had lost control of her body during that time, she had retained her vision.

Thus, upon regaining her senses, she, like nearly everyone present, instinctively directed her gaze at the now "harmless" Promise.

Meanwhile, the events of the previous night continued to replay in everyone's minds.

It seemed that no matter how much they might wish to forget, it would be an almost impossible task.

"What's wrong?"

Facing the crowd's stares, Promise feigned confusion and innocence, spreading his hands as he asked,

"Why are you all looking at me with such strange expressions? What, don't recognize me anymore? Even if others do, what about you, Jason and Heracles?"

Hearing this, Jason chuckled and said, "This is called blending in!"

As Promise rolled his eyes at Jason, Gilgamesh gave a light snort and then, without saying a word, he summoned the Vimana from the Gate of Babylon, boarding it with his Master, Tiné, and left.

Before leaving, Promise waved at the girl.

Tiné hesitated for a moment, glanced at Gilgamesh, and then, after a brief pause, waved back in farewell.

Enkidu expressed his thanks to Promise for handling the issue with Ishtar, both verbally and in her heart.

Then, she silently took her wolf and left as well.

Heracles also went back.

Well..although he didn't want to go and still wanted to talk about the past and more, but he suddenly remembered that he still had a Master.

Even though that Master had wanted to taint him with the Black Mud, a Master was still a Master in the end.

Jeanne d'Arc tilted her head thoughtfully, trying to recall what her Servant self had done for her Master last night and came to a conclusion:

Other than being shocked and acting as a qualified spectator, she had done absolutely nothing.

Though she had initially planned to stop the trial, in hindsight, she felt a little embarrassed.

However, reflecting on everything she had witnessed last night, Jeanne looked at Promise with deep admiration.

She felt that becoming his friend would surely be a joyful experience.

"Alright, what are you thinking about, Rin? And you too, Emiya."

Promise walked over to them with a smile, glancing briefly at Waver's students, who had also come closer with visibly complicated expressions.

In the brief silence, Shirou took a deep breath and stepped forward to break the tension as he looked at Promise seriously and asked, "Promise... are you still the same Promise I've always known?"

"Yes," The latter nodded, naturally understanding the meaning behind Shirou Emiya's words.

He also understood the true reason for their current silence.

If it were him, suddenly discovering that one of his classmates or friends had such an unfamiliar and extraordinary identity, beyond the initial shock, his heart would naturally be filled with doubt and caution.

But that would matter in the end after all, he's always been him..

"I swear in the name of the goddess I believe in that I am who I am, and I have never been false in the slightest."

While this era was no longer the Age of Gods, everyone could see the seriousness in Promise's expression as he made this vow.

"A vow made to a deity is absolute, especially one sworn upon a god of one's faith,"

Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, spoke solemnly to everyone at just the right moment and hearing her words, the group looked at each other and finally began to accept everything.

Rin Tohsaka couldn't help stepping forward.

"Then that means... you're really that hero from the Age of Gods?"

Before Promise could reply with a smile, Rin's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement as she exclaimed, "The one who flirted with several goddesses in the Ancient Greece, handed out 'Golden Apples of Beauty' everywhere, and even made the flawless goddess cry.

Most importantly, you're the one who managed to do all that and still didn't get beaten to death?!"

Hearing her words, the smile on Promise's face froze instantly.

What made his expression even more stiff was that the moment Rin finished speaking, the expressions of his classmates instantly switched to ones of excitement, their eyes brimming with curiousity.

Bullshit—it wasn't curiosity at all, just a blatant hunger for drama!

Not to mention them, even Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, stood among the group, looking at him with a "I'm really curious" expression.

Well ...forget about it

To be honest, it didn't feel out of place at all—after all, this Heroic Spirit looked no older than eighteen.

"Yes, exactly!"

Before Promise could respond, with black lines forming on his forehead, it was Jason who jumped in, barely holding back his laughter as he gleefully continued the conversation.

He nodded enthusiastically, completely ignoring the murderous glare Promise immediately shot his way, and tilted his head, speaking with a grin, "What you're saying is absolutely true. In fact, all of it was Promise's doing!

And not just that..there is so much more than these.

Do you know about Atalanta, the devotee of Artemis and one of the crew members on the Argo? Or Medea, the student of the goddess who just led us into the Underworld? You've probably heard a bit about them, haven't you?

Beyond that, there's also Thetis, the wise goddess of the sea; Helen, the most beautiful mortal woman; and countless princesses and goddesses along the way.

Hey, if Promise hadn't initially pledged himself to Hera, the Queen of the Gods, and later shifted his faith to Athena, let me tell you, this guy would have been completely torn apart by those people ages ago, not even a scrap left!"

Hera, Queen of the Gods, was an absolute supporter of monogamy.

As for Athena, there was no need for further explanation—she was a virgin goddess.

Well, these details weren't the most important part.

The real key was that both of them held unmatched statuses: one had unparalleled authority, and the other possessed immense power.

So, even if all the other gods joined forces, they still wouldn't stand a chance against them.

As Jason finished speaking, the crowd immediately erupted in exclamations..well obviously, after all, their curiosity was thoroughly satisfied.

Even Jeanne d'Arc, with her cheeks slightly flushed, was subtly tilting her head to listen in.

The most important thing was that after these words were spoken, the original barriers disappeared all of a sudden as many students came over on their own initiative, excitedly surrounded Jason, asking questions and quickly forming a lively group.

If the Pegasus had still been present, it might have given its approval—yes, this gossip, no, this grass, was indeed exceptionally sweet and satisfying, no matter how much one consumed!

"…Hey, with everything going on, you still dared to flirt with those two goddesses like that last night?"

Shirou Emiya took the initiative to come over and held down Promise' hand, which was about to pick up a stone from the ground and hurl it at Jason's head.

In this moment, the tension in Shirou's eyes had completely disappeared, returning to the way it had been before, though now there was a trace of playful amusement within them.

"I second that," Rin Tohsaka chimed in, stepping closer with a mischievous grin directed at Promise.

The painting presented to Ishtar the previous night, along with the brilliance of the lights and flowers… Especially the latter, which Rin had witnessed firsthand due to being possessed.

She was genuinely worried at the time whether the goddess might die from heart failure caused by the accelerated pace of her heartbeat.

That would have been far too entertaining.

However, because she witnessed it with her own eyes, Tohsaka Rin also expressed her understanding.

After all, in that situation, no matter which goddess comes, they would probably need to take a break before they can calm down afterwards.

"Why are you all saying the same thing as Hecate…" Promise muttered helplessly, rubbing his neck as he glanced at the newly risen sky.

Wait, hold on. Is my future really going to be this miserable?

Hecate already came and strangled me. Sure, it might have been simple payback, but Athena and Clotho…

Thinking about it carefully… perhaps the thing I truly should have done back then was simply to conceal everything and truly "die" in front of Athena and the others.

The moment this thought crossed Promise's mind, a sudden chill ran down his spine.

When his "wisdom" was still intact, he quickly realized that he should be grateful he had listened to Clotho, the Goddess of Fate, back then.

When leaving, he had told Athena the truth.

If he hadn't, this Holy Grail War might have escalated into a singularity capable of altering the world's trajectory due to its sheer catastrophic nature.

.

.

.

A Few Hours Later

In the Clock Tower, within Waver's office.

Waver, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, sat with heavy dark circles under his eyes.

It was clear he hadn't slept all night.

His gaze repeatedly shifted to the telephone, and several times he seemed ready to get up and make a call, only to hesitate and sit back down, opting instead to wait in silence.

Beside him sat Gray, the girl who bore a striking resemblance to King Arthur, Artoria Pendragon, and wielded the Noble Phantasm Rhongomyniad.

She yawned, looking just as sleep-deprived, clearly having stayed up as well.

While part of her reason for staying up was concern for Waver, she was also deeply curious about the aftermath of the entire incident, given her rough understanding of the situation.

And Waiting was, without a doubt, the most torturous part of all.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before the shrill ring of the telephone broke the silence.

Waver immediately stood up and answered it.

On the other end of the line was the familiar voice of one of his students and after he heard the definitive news from her, even though he had already mentally prepared himself based on what he had witnessed the previous night, Waver still showed a fleeting moment of shock.

However, that shock quickly shifted to a complicated expression before he composed himself and returned to calm.

"I understand," Waver said, nodding. "As for the details, I'll speak to him personally after some time... You don't need to do anything. Just interact with him as you normally would. Someone like him won't care about such things."

With that, he hung up the phone.

For a long time afterward, he remained frozen in the same position, holding the receiver, lost in thought and unaware of how much time had passed.

When Gray noticed that his expression had softened slightly, she finally let out a sigh of relief and spoke to him.

"Promise, he..."

"From now on, none of you in the Clock Tower are to speak of anything related to Promise again,"

Waver interrupted her sternly, cutting her off before she could finish her question.

This attitude, however, all but confirmed the truth of the matter.

Just as Gray nodded slightly, with shock that was hard to conceal in her eyes, Waver glanced at her, and with an uncharacteristic laziness, even made a half-hearted joke: "Well, at least this way... you don't need to worry about your own origins anymore. After all, someone even stranger than you has appeared now."

Hearing his words, Gray was taken aback for a moment.

She thought about it and realized—he was right!

And so, from that day on, the top student under Waver's tutelage had become undisputed, and the title of the true "monster" in the Clock Tower was one that would never change hands again.