Adam and Cain sat quietly on the park bench beneath the yellow glow of a lamppost. The air was still, save for the faint hum of the bulb above them. Adam's voice was calm but laced with a deep curiosity as he looked at his son.

"Where have you been all these years, Cain? How did you… die? And how did you become part of the Throne of Heroes?"

Cain leaned back slightly, his eyes distant, as if searching the horizon for memories buried under millennia. Adam listened intently, a faint smile on his face, giving his son the patience to speak in his own time.

"After killing Abel," Cain began, his tone steady but heavy, "I was cursed by God. My punishment was simple, yet absolute. I could not die. And anyone who tried to kill me and free me from that curse would suffer divine judgment.

So I wandered the earth. For centuries. For millennia. As civilizations rose, fell, and rose again, I remained. Wherever I went, people hated me instinctively. It was in their nature to turn away from me."

Adam let out a slow breath, his voice low and sincere. "You've lived a hard life, son."

Cain gave a faint, sad smile. "That is my punishment, Father. I did something unforgivable. What kind of brother kills his own younger brother? I have accepted it."

Adam's brow furrowed slightly. "Then what happened? How did you die?"

Cain's gaze lowered to the ground. "After a long time, I arrived somewhere and met a man who did not despise me. He was one of your younger descendants… Noah.

By then, he had become a prophet. I asked him how I could find salvation, how I could be freed from the curse. He told me the world had become heretical, and soon, it would face a great flood. A divine judgment that would cleanse the earth of the faithless.

He said if I truly wished to die, I should go to the lowest point on earth, bind myself with chains to a rock, and stab my heart with my dagger. When the flood came, I was to let it consume me. It would not count as being killed by a man or myself. The curse might vanish with the flood's cleansing."

Adam's expression softened. He reached over, placing a firm but gentle hand on Cain's shoulder. Cain took a moment to absorb the touch, then continued.

"So I did as Noah said. I tied myself down. I stabbed my heart. And I drowned. Weeks… months… I can't even tell how long. But eventually, the curse lifted. I felt light for the first time in thousands of years.

And then… I passed away. I suppose I became part of the Throne of Heroes because of my last wish to see you again. To ask for your forgiveness. To see your face one last time."

He gave a small, almost embarrassed chuckle. "And I guess my wish has come true."

Adam smiled and pulled his son into an embrace. "You have nothing to seek forgiveness for, my son. You've suffered enough. Yes, I felt disappointment and sorrow when you committed that act… but I knew of your punishment. I prayed you would one day find redemption and happiness. That's all a father could wish for his children, for them to be happy and healthy."

Cain looked up toward the lamplight, his smile faint. "You haven't changed much after all these years. But there is something different."

Adam gave a knowing nod. "That's true. I'm no longer just Adam. My soul, my memories, my will, and my hope… they were reborn and merged with another unfortunate soul who witnessed the end.

His name is Edward. A rather complicated man, filled with contradictions and dreams too heavy for most to bear.

Yet… he shines like a star, a guiding light in the darkness. He's not perfect, no one can be. But he is someone I respect.

Thanks to him, I can speak with you now. And for that, I am grateful. I will do everything in my power to fulfill his wish."

Cain took a breath to reply — but both of them froze as a sudden shift in the air hit them. Their senses sharpened instantly.

A wave of black miasma erupted from the city, spreading outward with unnatural speed. The air grew heavy, thick with the stench of decay. Even from here, the cries of agony began to echo faintly.

Cain stood immediately, placing himself between Adam and the oncoming taint. The miasma wasn't just poisonous — it was saturated with curses and disease, its nature alien and hateful.

Adam spoke calmly, " It seems our time here has to end. Edward will take over , for this is his battle to fight. Listen to him, like you would for me."

Adam sighed quietly and closed his eyes, letting Edward take control. His posture shifted subtly, his gaze hardening. He summoned the divine shroud in a swift motion, wrapping it around Cain to shield him from the worst of the corruption.

In the distance, screams grew louder as the miasma spread. Fuyuki's streets filled with chaos — humans twisting into misshapen forms, their skin blistering, their eyes clouding over as they became mindless thralls.

Edward turned to Cain, voice calm but urgent. "Cain, I know it's unfair to ask, but I need you to stop the others from destroying the city, and interfering in the upcoming battle. I'm heading to where Solomon and Pale Rider are fighting."

Cain's eyes softened. "Thanks to you, my wish came true. I have no desire for the Grail. So I will ensure you get your wish as well."

Without hesitation, he dissolved into golden particles and disappeared toward another battlefield.

"This is very bad. If I get things wrong, even multiple nuclear gas leak won't cover it. This could be a global scale destruction. Ex rank death type Noble Phantasms are no joke. Gotta stop him before he unleashes Apocalypse or Ragnarok level madness. It's freakin Zouken Matou after all."

Edward exhaled once, then sprinted toward the source of the miasma.

As he moved, his voice reached out telepathically. "Merlin. Keep casualties to a minimum if possible. When I give the signal, take Ritsuka to Avalon. I can't guarantee she'll survive my Noble Phantasm."

Merlin's voice came back instantly, tinged with alarm. "Whoa there! Let's talk about this first! You really plan to use that thing here? Half the planet might be gone, including you!"

Edward's steps didn't falter. "This is already beyond containment. Solomon's ring of light and Pale Rider's Noble Phantasm will engulf all of Japan, even the world. Neither can be contained to a small area.

Solomon only engaged pale Rider because he needs the humans alive for the ritual. Pale Rider is killing them all, so his required energy is lacking.

The chain reactions alone from both attacks would destroy all life forms. The only way is to eliminate all anomalies and reset the timeline. What did Root say?"

There was a pause, followed by Merlin's wry laugh. Even in battle, he found time to toy with words. "Root says she's rooting for you. And that you're doing a good job. "

Edward's eye twitched. "That useless world will ! "

But before he could continue, another old and raspy voice interrupted them that spread throughout Fuyuki.

"With my 2nd command seal, I order you. Rider, engrave my soul into your very being!"

Zouken Matou had gone insane, it seems, as he decided to merge with Death itself for his pursuit of eternal life. With a howling shriek, Pale Rider shook as Zouken's soul replaced its consciousness.

Solomon widened his eyes as suddenly Pale Riders movements became more complex and concentrated, it's energy growing stronger. But it was him after all. He just increased his magic to match the mana output from calculation. The demon gods fired continuously as they recovered.

Edward sighed as he ran, " This is no longer a matter of Fuyuki being destroyed. At this rate, the world itself will be gone." Soon, he arrived at the outskirts of the location where Solomon and Pale Rider's reality marbles were clashing with each other.

Edward cracked his neck as he walked towards them. "Time to put an end to this mess."

****

While Edward was closing in on the epicenter of the apocalyptic disaster, Cain was already making his way toward the outskirts of Fuyuki. The miasma of death and the warped mana of the ongoing Holy Grail War were thick in the air, guiding him to another violent clash.

The atmosphere here was different. tense, oppressive. The night sky above was fractured by flashes of gold and prismatic light.

The King of Heroes himself, Gilgamesh, stood proudly on a hill of broken earth and debris, facing down a slender, white-haired woman whose cold, mechanical eyes held no emotion. She gripped a strange tricolored sword—its edge rippling with prismatic light that seemed to cut not only the physical, but the very concepts of things.

This was Saber: Attila the Hun… or rather, Altera, the "Scourge of God."

But in the twisted logic of the Holy Grail War, history was a fragile thing. Altera was no mere warlord of the Eurasian steppes; she was the remnant husk of an alien weapon—Velber-02, the White Titan. An entity born from the machine-like will of Velber, an extraterrestrial scourge that descended upon intelligent life every fourteen thousand years to purge civilizations.

The last time Velber visited Earth, in 12,000 BC, Velber-02 came close to eradicating all life before it was brought down. Its corpse was found centuries later by the Huns, and from that ruin emerged the being standing here.

Her master, Kiritsugu Emiya, was locked in his own deadly struggle nearby against Kotomine Kirei. He had past grudges against him after all.

In the previous war, Kiritsugu participated alongside his protege Maya, while Irisviel, and their daughter Iliya accompanied them . But during the war, while Kiritsugu was locked in a fight, Kirei attacked and killed Irisviel and Iliya to make him despair.

Kiritsugu of course found and killed him, but then the Grail started sending off a malevolent energy due to Manaka's interference. Kiritsugu left with the bodies of his family and came to Fuyuki. He had only one wish, to bring them back.

The two men fought like shadows moving through the forest. Kiritsugu's style was the same as ever, precise and efficient, relentlessly pragmatic. He used his Origin Bullets sparingly, keeping Kirei on the defensive, forcing him to block and counter with his reinforced martial arts.

Even with the monstrous vitality granted by his corrupted Grail-forged body, Kirei was being pushed to his limits.

A short distance away, Gilgamesh and Altera clashed in a battle that seemed less like a duel and more like a clash of entire eras. The golden portals of the Gate of Babylon opened in the dozens, releasing treasure after treasure, each a legendary weapon in its own right.

Blades of all shapes and designs whistled through the air, chain-linked axes spun like wheels of death, and spears streaked with killing intent.

Altera met each of them with the unnatural precision of her Photon Ray, her sword's tricolored light disintegrating the incoming weapons into glittering dust before they could reach her.

But despite her unerring offense, she could not land a direct blow on Gilgamesh. He stood at the center of his storm of treasures, stepping aside from each attack with disdainful ease, eyes filled with contempt.

"You disgusting parasite," Gilgamesh sneered, his voice rich with venom. "Who gave you permission to stand before this king? To sully my sight with your existence? You dare presume yourself worthy to cross blades with me?"

Altera's head tilted slightly, her tone mechanical and flat, devoid of human passion. "Search. Destroy. Exterminate."

Gilgamesh clicked his tongue in disgust. "Hmph. Very well. Since you insist on defiling this king's garden with your presence, you shall be erased—utterly, without trace."

One of the countless treasures within the Gate shifted forward, glowing faintly. But this one was different. Not a mere blade or spear, it was a relic of a higher order.

Gilgamesh's hand closed around it, and as he turned it, magical energy of a magnitude far beyond the ordinary bled into the air. Above them, massive red and black circuits bloomed across the night sky like a web of primordial law, then collapsed inward into the weapon in his hands.

It was Ea, the Sword of Rupture—the sword before the origin of all creation, the weapon that split Heaven from Earth. It didn't look like a sword as it predated the concept of swords.

Even Altera's mechanical eyes widened slightly, recognition flashing in her artificial consciousness. "Output at maximum. Restoring core functions. Target locked.

Concept : Genesis.

Probability of survival: Minimum.

Recommendation: initiate Noble Phantasm at full strength."

Her Photon Ray hummed to life with increasing intensity, rainbow-colored energy crawling along the blade like the glow of a newborn star.

Gilgamesh smirked. "Then receive this final blow as your unworthy parting gift."

He lifted Ea, its three segments beginning to rotate, creating a vortex of distortion. The very air screamed under the strain.

"I shall tell you of the beginning," his voice rang out, each word a proclamation of supremacy.

"Heaven and Earth split; nothingness praised creation. My sword of rupture cleaves the world!

Mortar of the stars, heaven's hell is the eve of creation's celebration!

Now perish, and be silent!"

A howling storm of chaos burst from the weapon, covering the surrounding area. The reality started to distort.

Altera leapt back, her photon blade blazing so bright it painted the land in shifting hues. "Connecting with Mars. Full bombardment authorized. Firing in two seconds…"

Their voices overlapped, resonating like two incompatible laws of the universe trying to overwrite each other.

"Enuma Elish!"

"Tear Drop Photon Ray!"

The two Noble Phantasms collided.

Crack!

The impact was instantaneous and cataclysmic.

The air rippled, then ceased to exist in the space between them. Natural laws unraveled; the ground warped and lifted into the air like weightless shards. The surrounding forest evaporated into light, and the shockwave cracked the sky itself.

If Edward was here, he would facepalm and say, "This level of destruction can only be explained by saying it was a nuclear level gas leak!"

Altera's form shuddered as white energy lines split across her body, structural failure under impossible strain. Gilgamesh's expression twisted into raw aggression. "Perish, mongrel!"

Her mechanical voice came softer, almost like a whisper, "It seems... I have failed... to destroy, initiating self destruction", as the fractures deepened. The energy stored in her body threatened to detonate, a final act of mutual destruction.

Gilgamesh scoffed. "You think to drag me down with you? You overestimate your worth, parasite."

He poured more of his will into Ea, and the chaotic maelstrom expanded. The rainbow colored beams were vanishing fast before there came an explosion unlike any other.

Boom!

A gigantic pillar of light started spreading and erasing all that it touched. It was instant annihilation.

Nearby, Kiritsugu and Kirei's duel came to an abrupt and final halt as the blast consumed them. Kiritsugu met his end without panic, his expression almost peaceful.

"It seems this is where my journey ends. Forgive me, Iri… Illya." His body dissolved into nothingness.

"This isn't how I wished to die again." Kirei's final look was as cold and unreadable as ever before he too was erased.

And then, amidst the collapsing world, a calm, steady voice spoke. It cut through the chaos like a thread of inevitability.

"I was cast out…Not to die, but to walk until the end of all things.

Now come… Let us meet at the east of Eden,

Where the ground drinks deep, and Heaven turns away."

The voice was Cain's.

"Noble Phantasm—East of Eden: Wanderer's End!"

The battlefield shifted in an instant. The roaring storm of destruction fell away, replaced by a vast, barren wasteland under a sky forever frozen in twilight. The air here was heavy, oppressive; divine presence was absent.

This was a land where neither salvation nor judgment would come, only silence and the end.

Gilgamesh took in the change with a raised eyebrow. "To think even a fratricide such as you could be recognized as a hero. The world's sense of humor truly sickens me."

Cain stood between him and the horizon, the divine shroud around his shoulders faintly glowing. His voice was calm, without hesitation. "It doesn't matter what the world calls me. My duty is to see my Father's will fulfilled. Even if it costs me my life, I will stop you from harming humanity."

Altera's final wave of detonation came from her energy core, a blinding burst of rainbow light. But within the reality marble, its destruction was contained. Outside, the world trembled, but nothing escaped. When the light faded, only Gilgamesh and Cain remained.

Cain looked down at the divine shroud that protected him, and allowed himself the faintest smile. "It seems you foresaw everything… Father. You entrusted me with this gift."

Gilgamesh's patience snapped. "You dare to interrupt my amusement? Then you will die for your insolence."

Cain's expression hardened, all softness erased. The warmth in his voice was gone, replaced by the cold weight of one who had killed before and would kill again. "You shall not pass."

*****

The twilight wasteland of East of Eden was silent for a moment, the blood-red horizon stretching infinitely. The air was dry, heavy, and oppressive, like time itself had slowed to a crawl. But soon, the battle started anew.

The clash between Cain and Gilgamesh tore the air apart. The blood-red wasteland of East of Eden warped with every impact. Each swing, each step, each release of mana sending ripples through the barren land.

Both moved with the precision and deadliness of apex predators, but their styles could not have been more different.

Cain flowed with absolute minimalism. His EX-ranked Presence Concealment wasn't just hiding him , it was erasing him from Gilgamesh's concept of awareness.

Each step was calculated through millennia of Wanderer's Knowledge, refined killing techniques from every era of human history seamlessly merging into a style that left no wasted movement.

Gilgamesh fought like the king he was. Arrogant, immovable, wielding the Gate of Babylon with oppressive, unrelenting superiority.

He did not defend because in his mind, no one could make him defend. His golden ripples shimmered, releasing a ceaseless rain of legendary treasures, each a weapon from a god, hero, or forgotten age.

Steel rang on steel. Cain slipped past a spear tipped with the fang of a dragon, redirecting its momentum with the flat of his dagger before fading into nothingness.

Gilgamesh turned slightly, Ea already spinning in his hand, the air screaming as spatial layers buckled.

They were locked in an apex duel, but neither noticed another battle drawing closer in the distance.

Gilgamesh clicked his tongue, looking around. "A Reality Marble. Hmph. How dare a mongrel soil my view with this wretched scenery."

Cain's eyes were cold now. Gone was the soft voice that had spoken to Adam earlier. His presence seemed almost non-existent, the very concept of him slipping between perception like smoke.

The EX-rank Presence Concealment was active in full, erasing not just his form but the thought of his presence until he chose to strike.

Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes. Even with the Eye of the Mind and instinct honed through countless battles, his vision flickered. Cain wasn't disappearing in the normal Assassin sense. It was like his existence was erased from the flow of cause and effect.

"Cheap tricks," Gilgamesh scoffed, summoning a wall of treasures from the Gate of Babylon. Dozens of golden ripples appeared behind him, each disgorging legendary weapons — spears tipped with dragon fangs, blades forged by gods, chains capable of binding divinity. They floated, poised to fire at the slightest twitch.

Cain didn't reply. His feet shifted once, his posture low. His skill Wanderer's Knowledge (A rank) shaped every step. No wasted movement, every angle measured, every possible counterstrike already accounted for. His hands rested loosely, one brushing the hilt of a curved dagger that looked impossibly old, the other empty.

Gilgamesh let another volley fly. A storm of Noble Phantasms screamed through the air, faster than sound, each imbued with enough magical energy to annihilate cities.

But Cain moved faster.

To an observer, it would look impossible. The weapons passed through where he should have been, and yet he was not there, nor was he after them. The moment between action and reaction didn't exist. His movements in East of Eden ignored the slowed reality Gilgamesh was bound to; Cain alone flowed freely.

Gilgamesh frowned. "Presence Concealment at this level… so, this is how you've killed your prey for ages. Pathetic. A king does not skulk in shadows."

With a flicker, Cain appeared behind Gilgamesh, dagger raised for a killing blow. The king turned his head slightly, Ea already rotating in his grasp, segments spinning with a groan of impossible machinery. A cyclone of spatial rupture howled as the Sword of Rupture countered the strike, forcing Cain back.

The ground split open between them, raw chaos tearing at the air.

"Do not think I will be caught off guard, mongrel. This is the fate of all who stand before me."

Cain's gaze didn't waver. "I don't need to kill you swiftly, Gilgamesh. I just need to ensure you never leave this place."

Gilgamesh's grin turned sharp. "Then die knowing you've failed."

Gilgamesh unleashed another barrage, this time mixing weapons with the Chains of Heaven, Enkidu. The divine chains whipped forward, aiming to bind Cain completely.

They struck true.

And failed.

The moment the chains touched him, they dissolved, the reality marble rejecting the concept of "divine punishment." Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed. "So… divine judgment cannot touch you. Interesting."

Cain was already moving again, weaving through the rain of weapons, stepping in and out of Gilgamesh's awareness. Every attack Cain made was a potential killing blow — Original Murder (EX) bypassing physical durability entirely, each strike aimed directly at the concept of Gilgamesh's life.

But Gilgamesh was no mere brute. With his treasury and instincts, he parried each strike by fractions of an inch, countering with Ea's devastating arcs.

The sword tore the ground apart in wide swathes, creating zones Cain could not cross without being annihilated.

Still, Cain closed the gap, blade flashing once. A thin cut ran across Gilgamesh's cheek. Blood dripped from it.

Gilgamesh froze, then burst with anger.

"…You dare make the king bleed!"

Ea's rotation increased, the storm of its power growing stronger. The blood-red sky trembled as the sword began to tear apart East of Eden itself.

Cain knew he could not hold this field much longer. His eyes hardened. It was time to end it.

Cain vanished completely. Not even the distortion in the air remained. Gilgamesh, eyes narrowed, spun Ea in a full arc, the attack would obliterate everything in a wide radius.

The strike came not from the front, but from below. Cain emerged from the fractured earth itself, dagger poised over Gilgamesh's chest.

As the blade descended, Cain's voice resonated, deep and cold, as if spoken from the dawn of humanity.

"The earth remembers. My hands remember.

The weight of my brother's blood will never wash away.

You, too, will be written in the soil…Forever cursed beneath the eyes of God."

"Noble Phantasm — Mark of the First Sin: Blood Unforgotten."

The soil under Gilgamesh's feet darkened, his name and sin searing into it as if carved by the divine. The king's eyes widened, not in fear, but in fury as he raised Ea for a point-blank strike.

He spoke with venom, "Enuma Elish!"

They moved at the same time.

Ea's edge tore through Cain's left arm at the shoulder, blood spraying. His body almost giving up. But the dagger struck true to Gilgamesh's heart, the act of murder reenacted in perfect, unavoidable precision.

Gilgamesh's body convulsed. No armor, no divinity, no authority as King could resist the curse. It was not simply a wound, but the concept of death forced upon him, written into the very world.

A faint smirk crossed the king's lips as blood flowed through them. "…To think… I would fall here.... to such a mongrel. What a foolish end."

He looked at Cain. "You have won... but it seems you won't make it as well."

Cain smiled softly. "It doesn't matter. I fulfilled my duty. I can stand proudly in front of my father."

Gilgamesh laughed. "fuhahaha. Then go on, walk towards your end. I shall witness your redemption from the throne, the first murderer."

Then his body dissolved into golden motes, fading into the still air.

Cain staggered back, clutching his severed shoulder, blood soaking the divine shroud. His breathing was ragged. Mark of the First Sin demanded a toll.

Even as the wielder, the reenactment left his body weakened, the curse gnawing at his own existence.

But the wasteland held. Gilgamesh was gone.

Cain stood alone under the blood-red sky, swaying but unbroken.

The reality marble started collapsing as he fell to his knee, clutching his chest. He whispered softly, " Not yet. I have to go and help my father."

He forced himself to walk towards the location he could sense his fathers presence. The short yet world ending Holy Grail war was about to reach it's climax.

****

I have been getting a lot of bad reviews from lifeless trolls who failed to point out actual flaws, just whining AI this and that. I had to delete those brainless reviews but they will keep coming, cz human stupidity has no limits.

That pisses me off speciallyas I had to manually write over 90% of the story then refine and polish the errors, cz AI can never capture the emotional depth or quality I have explored here. The characters are designed with care. That takes time, effort, and passion.

I'll never claim this is the best and perfect story or whatnot, but anyone who had read upto now, can never with a sane mind rate it 1 or 2 star. If they do, I can only pray for their mental well being.

On that note, do leave some proper reviews to act as a counter guardian for balance lol. I'm not Alaya, so you'll not get ripped off....probably.

I've decided to shorten the arc , it will end within 5 chapters.