Fate's Choice: Livestream at the Start Summoning Billions of Ravens

One hour after the incident.

The headlines of all major media outlets worldwide were forcibly unified.

CNN, BBC, TASS, CCTV (China's state broadcaster)...

No matter which news channel you turn on, you will see the same scene: the ruins of downtown Tokyo, which have been razed to the ground, and the dark red flames that have soared into the sky and have not yet been extinguished.

Within half an hour, officials from various countries issued a series of carefully worded emergency statements.

The White House spokesperson said: "We strongly condemn the heinous attack in Tokyo and extend our deepest condolences to the people of Japan. We are in communication with our allies and assessing the situation."

The Kremlin stated: "This is a tragedy, and we hope the truth will be revealed as soon as possible. Any violence against civilian facilities is unacceptable."

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated: "We have taken note of the relevant reports and express our serious concern. We hope that Japan can stabilize the situation as soon as possible and investigate the cause of the incident."

All the statements were remarkably consistent.

Shock, condemnation, condolences.

However, all official statements remain tight-lipped about the red-haired youth who called himself "Shuten-dōji" and the supernatural power he displayed that completely defied the laws of physics, as if they had collectively suffered from amnesia and said nothing at all.

They simply stated "the cause is under investigation" to gloss over the matter.

This strange tacit understanding is itself a most terrifying signal.

Meanwhile, the global internet was in complete uproar.

The initial fear and shock reached their peak within that hour.

"My God, is this real? I just got back from outside, what happened to Tokyo?"

"Has it been an alien invasion? Or has some country's secret weapon malfunctioned?"

"I recorded it! That guy, that red-haired fellow, he crushed the entire shrine! With a black hand!"

"A terrorist attack? What kind of terrorist attack could be this bad? This is the descent of gods and demons!"

However, amidst this chaotic discussion, a strange undercurrent began to quietly surge in several specific communities.

Reddit's anime section, Bilibili's anime discussion forum, and Japan's Nico Nico Douga.

These places are the core strongholds of global ACG culture.

The users here have a completely different way of thinking from the mainstream.

While everyone else was terrified of "reality," they sensed a familiar feeling in this extreme "unreality."

A post was translated into different languages ​​and appeared on various platforms almost simultaneously.

This is not a terrorist attack, it's a Holy Grail War!

The post was simple and blunt, yet extremely impactful.

The original poster shared two videos side by side.

On the left is the image of a white-clad swordsman standing in mid-air in Shanghai a few days ago, displaying unparalleled elegance by cleaving the Huangpu River in two with a single sword strike.

Below the video, a bright red artistic lettering was highlighted.

"Saber".

On the right is the arrogant pose of the red-haired demon king, who hovered above the flames, announcing the start of the war, which just happened in Tokyo.

Below the video, there is also a bright red artistic lettering.

"Berserker".

The author of the post analyzed the commonalities between the two events point by point in an almost fanatical tone.

"Brothers! Wake up! Stop talking about terrorist attacks!"

"Haven't you guys figured it out yet?"

"Announcing the 'Class'! Demonstrating superhuman power! Mentioning the 'Holy Grail War'!"

"All the clues point to one answer!"

At the end of the post, there was no unnecessary fluff, just a single link pointing to the official Wikipedia page for Type-Moon's work, Fate/stay night.

Initially, the post circulated only within a small circle.

But soon, like a spark thrown into a frying pan, it instantly ignited the entire internet.

Countless ACG enthusiasts and mythology scholars, as if a mysterious switch had been activated, flooded into the discussion.

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! How come I didn't think of that!"

"Saber! Berserker! Isn't that the class from Fate?!"

"Wait a minute! Look closely at that white-clad man in Shanghai. The poem he was reciting was 'Drinking Alone Under the Moon'! That's a poem by Li Bai! Combined with the legends of Chinese 'sword immortals' and the Saber class, this... this is the damn Azure Lotus Sword Immortal Li Bai!"

"The one in Tokyo is even more obvious! Red hair, demon horns, and he calls himself 'Shuten-dōji'—isn't that the king of all demons in the legends of the Land of Sakura, the master of Mount Ōe?! The Berserker class also perfectly matches his berserk character!"

"Seven Masters, seven Servants, fighting for the 'Holy Grail' that can grant any wish... This setting is exactly the same as the Fate series!"

"My God... So, the events in Shanghai and Tokyo weren't some supernatural disaster at all, but rather the debut of the first and second Servants of the 'Holy Grail War'?!"

"Saber Li Bai!"

"Berserker Shuten-dōji!"

"Seven Masters, seven Servants."

"The battle for the all-powerful wish-granting machine—the Holy Grail."

Setting elements that originally only existed in games and anime are now being talked about and discussed by hundreds of millions of netizens around the world.

The tide of public opinion took a dramatic turn in a way that was completely unpredictable and uncontrollable by the authorities.

People's focus quickly shifted from the fear brought about by "unknown supernatural disasters" to the cognitive reshaping brought about by "fictional stories coming true," which was mixed with excitement and fervor.

……

A penthouse apartment in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.

Jiang Ming sat on the sofa, with dozens of virtual screens projected from Mirror 2 in front of him, scrolling through popular discussions from major social media platforms around the world.

As Jiang Ming watched the netizens spontaneously "popularize the science" and "restore the settings," the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.

He underestimated the reach and influence of popular culture.

In his original plan, he also needed to manipulate several alternate accounts to consciously guide public opinion and implant the concept of the "Holy Grail War" into people's minds.

Now it seems completely unnecessary.

These enthusiastic fans have helped him complete the most crucial and difficult task of "popularizing his worldview."

Moreover, their approach was a hundred times more effective than the one Jiang Ming had guided himself.

At the same time, globally, sales and online searches for games, anime, and novels related to the Fate series saw a terrifying exponential surge within just three hours.

Type-Moon's official servers crashed three times due to the massive influx of traffic.

……

At the same time.

Inside an unassuming office building in Tokyo.

Type-Moon headquarters.

The place was brightly lit, but the atmosphere was terrifyingly oppressive.

All employees, whether on vacation or off-duty, were recalled to the company by an emergency phone call.

The company's two founders, Kinoko Nasu, affectionately known as "Mushroom" by fans, and Takashi Takeuchi, the "President," were sitting blankly in the conference room.

On the giant screen in front of them, the scene of Shuten-dōji announcing the start of the "Holy Grail War" was playing on a loop.

The only sound in the entire conference room was the arrogant declaration; no one spoke.

Nasu Kinoko's face had lost all color.

As the "original author" of all this, he knows better than anyone else in the world that he wrote the setting of "Shuten-dōji".

He wrote the rules of the Holy Grail War.

But damn it, he writes novels and game scripts!

Why did it become real?!

Just then.

"Ring ring—"

The shrill ring of the telephone suddenly shattered the deathly silence of the conference room.

It's Kinoko Nasu's personal cell phone.

He glanced at the caller ID; it was an unknown number. His instinct was to hang up immediately.

But the next second, the call was automatically connected.

A monotone, devoid of any emotion, came through the receiver.

There was no small talk.

"Mr. Nasu, Mr. Takeuchi, please stay in the company and do not leave."

"In half an hour, a special car will come to 'invite' the two of them to the official residence for an emergency interrogation."

The call was abruptly ended.

The busy tone of the dial tone sounded particularly jarring in the quiet conference room.

Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi exchanged a glance, both seeing fear in each other's eyes.

official residence.

Urgent inquiry.

They knew they were in big trouble.

……

Half an hour later.

Several black Toyota Century sedans quietly pulled up in front of the office building.

Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi walked out of the building, "accompanied" by several men dressed in black suits with serious expressions.

"Mr. Nasu, Mr. Takeuchi, this is just a routine inquiry, please don't be nervous."

The man in the lead spoke politely, but his eyes were devoid of any warmth.

Meanwhile, another team had already sealed off the entire floor.

They packed up and took away all the manuscripts, unpublished design collections, scrapped designs, and even meeting minutes of internal discussions that Type-Moon had produced since its inception.

All the documents were sealed with "Top Secret".

A “Holy Grail War Countermeasures Headquarters” composed of top scholars, mythologists, and intelligence analysts was urgently established late at night under the direct instruction of the Prime Minister.

However, nothing in this world stays hidden forever.

The news that Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi had been "invited" away by officials was leaked through an inside source almost immediately after it happened.

A blurry photo taken from above, showing the two of them getting into the car, appeared on Twitter.

The world was in uproar.

If everything before was just the wild speculation of netizens.

Therefore, this move by the Japanese government is seen by everyone as nothing less than a direct acquiescence.

This is tantamount to announcing to the whole world—

Fate is a book of prophecy!

Its author knows the truth!