Chapter 96: The Comic Concludes
Date: 2025-02-20
Author: Xian Ge
Su Deqiang stared at the screen, dumbfounded.
The website had transformed. Once a simple hub for serializing Fate/Zero, it now bore little resemblance to a comic site. Even the name had changed—the logo swapped Fate/Zero for Fate/Grand Order.
The navigation menu, previously limited to characters, world, settings, and comics, now included a user center, news, and a game download section. This was a full-fledged commercial website.
Below the menu, Fate/Grand Order’s iconic main visual dominated: a cerulean sky with a black hole-like vortex at its center, clouds swirling, light radiating, as if linking to another world. Servants seemed to spill from that realm, with Artoria commanding the spotlight, surrounded by others—Jeanne d’Arc, Scáthach, Attila, Mash, Mephistopheles, Henry, Darius III.
In the bottom right, a tagline read:
[Fate—Grand Order, Observer of the Temple of Time.][Lead countless Servants to reclaim humanity’s future!][An unprecedented epic battle saga begins!][The greatest Holy Grail War commences—]
“…So it’s all for the game? Fate/Grand Order? The greatest Holy Grail War?” Su Deqiang muttered, snapping out of his daze and shaking his head.
He’d heard of the game—its testing phase had caused a stir. But he wasn’t a gamer. Early on, he’d joined forum discussions about it, but as Fate/Zero’s later chapters went berserk, he’d tuned out. Didn’t it have another test? Weren’t testers raving about it? He couldn’t recall, too engrossed in the comic’s plot.
Most readers were like him. They’d accepted that the Third-Rate Artist had licensed the IP for a game—unchangeable—and since the comic’s quality not only held but soared, with no signs of stretching the story for the game’s sake, they’d shifted focus to its death-driven finale. Beloved characters dropped without hesitation.
For comic fans, the game became an afterthought, merely a known entity. Su Deqiang was a prime example.
“It looks kinda cool, and the art’s great, but I don’t play games. My head’s full of Fate/Zero. Guess I’ll just wish it luck,” he said, glancing at the main visual. Saber’s presence tugged at him, but he knew promotional art was one thing, the actual game another. No way the game was about collecting these Servants, right?
He clicked the comic section, which remained unchanged. Fate/Zero’s final chapter was up.
Forgetting the game, Su Deqiang eagerly opened it, leaning toward the screen.
In Tang Yao’s past life, Fate/Zero, a prequel to Fate/stay night, had a predetermined ending, no surprise to Type-Moon fans or mainline players. But for this world’s readers, it was a blank slate.
The ending was tragedy through and through—nearly every compelling character failed. Forced by Command Seals to destroy the Grail, Saber watched black mud spill from the sky, engulfing Fuyuki in flames. Kiritsugu, facing a hellscape, broke down, desperately seeking even one survivor to ease his guilt.
The villainous Kirei survived, warped into a sociopath, gifting his mentor Tokiomi’s murder weapon to Tokiomi’s daughter, Rin, at his funeral, then becoming her guardian. Only Waver, with a bittersweet outcome, and Gilgamesh, who gained a physical body and lingered in the world, fared “well” among Servants—though Gilgamesh’s arrogance alienated readers outside his clash with Iskandar. Saber, despairing, returned to her battlefield at Camlann, weeping, rejecting her worth as king.
It was a brutal ending.
Su Deqiang felt heavy, flipping slowly, but the pages ran out.
Yet, the finale offered a sliver of hope. The boy Kiritsugu saved vowed to carry his ideal—to become a hero of justice. Kiritsugu, his dream passed on, closed his eyes. At Camlann, under a bleak, cloud-choked sky, sunlight broke through, warming Saber’s stunned face.
“…” Su Deqiang gazed at the double-page spread of Saber looking up, sunlight piercing the clouds. He released the mouse, a mix of ache and awe. “Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. What a story.”
But he smacked his lips, unsatisfied. The ending felt… incomplete. Gilgamesh was alive! Kirei, the twisted creep! And poor Rin, stuck with that monster as her guardian?
No way it ended there.
The more he thought, the odder it felt. He opened the comic’s comment section, finding others echoing his thoughts:
[That’s it? Is there a sequel? The story feels like it’s not done!][Yeah! It could go on! Fifth Holy Grail War?][What about Rin, Shirou, Illya, Sakura? Their fates weren’t resolved… A sequel?][…]
Su Deqiang nodded—exactly! He closed the page, ready to hit the forums for more discussion, but paused, recalling the game’s portraits. I’m not into games, but… might as well check.
Driven by lingering dissatisfaction, he hesitated, then returned to the homepage, intending to explore Fate/Grand Order. Out of habit, he scrolled the mouse wheel.
The page slid down, revealing a second main visual.
“…” Another one?
He hadn’t noticed before. Staring at the new visual, he froze. Familiar figures stared back—not the game’s mainline cast, but the observation line’s.
A brown-haired boy, a twin-tailed girl, a purple-haired girl, and Saber…
Wait.
Su Deqiang’s eyes darted to the bottom right, where another tagline read:
[Fate—Grand Order, The Fifth Holy Grail War.][Seven mages, leading their summoned Servants, battle for the Holy Grail’s ownership.][The last survivor claims the Grail—this is Fuyuki’s Holy Grail War!][Shirou Emiya, adopted son of Kiritsugu Emiya, is thrust into a Holy Grail War after bonding with a Servant…][The Fifth Holy Grail War begins—]
“?!?!” Su Deqiang shot up from his chair.
What?!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 97: Sweeping the Board
Date: 2025-02-20
Author: Xian Ge
Shock!
Su Deqiang was floored.
These were Fate/Zero’s kids, grown up! The game would tell their story? Then what was the first main visual about?
He clicked the second visual, jumping to a subpage:
[Ten years ago, in a catastrophe that nearly destroyed the world, Shirou Emiya was saved by mage Kiritsugu Emiya, becoming his adopted son.][A decade later, to honor his late father’s vow—to become a ‘hero of justice’—Shirou trains daily in magecraft.][By chance, Shirou is drawn into a mage conflict known as the ‘Holy Grail War’…]
The standard setup hit him hard. He scrolled down.
Character intros followed:
Shirou Emiya: Orphan adopted by the ‘Mage Killer’ Kiritsugu Emiya ten years ago, a participant in the Fifth Holy Grail War.
Rin Tohsaka: Heir to the Tohsaka mage family, daughter of Tokiomi Tohsaka, Shirou’s classmate, and a Fifth Holy Grail War participant.
Sakura Matou…
Each came with familiar, exquisite dynamic portraits. Back when the site launched, these characters had portraits—as kids. Now, they were adults, no longer Fate/Zero’s side characters but protagonists.
A sequel, but not a comic—a game.
“No way!” Su Deqiang, already craving more, lit up with joy at the intros.
But doubt crept in. A game? Was that okay? This was a direct sequel. Why not a comic?
He flipped back to the homepage, clicking the first main visual. Its layout mirrored the second, but it focused on the game’s mainline: in a world without a future, players, as Masters, lead Servants—historical heroes—back in time on a quest called the Holy Grail Expedition.
None of the characters were familiar—clearly new to the game. Su Deqiang skimmed, then spotted a “Gameplay” button. He clicked.
Story overview, combat system, Servant enhancement… He read for half an hour, then looked up, stunned. “This is… a mobile game?! These visuals? Wait, testers mentioned this, but it’s this good? What are these card-like things? This gameplay? Portraits in the game? Collecting cards? Not an online PC game? Huh?!”
The unique gameplay baffled him, but the actual art—those gorgeous portraits—won him over. He wanted to play.
Anime-style mobile games didn’t exist in this world, and for a veteran anime fan like him, it was irresistible. Plus, after Fate/Zero’s cliffhanger, a game with its direct sequel, stunning art, and novel gameplay? Impossible to resist.
He clicked the news section, checking for the launch. Seeing it was three days away, with pre-downloads open now, he swallowed hard and hit the download button without thinking.
Meanwhile, anime forums and Fate-related spaces were overrun. Fate/Zero’s finale, the shock of the first anime mobile game, and the lure of a direct sequel combined to detonate the comic’s accumulated clout.
[Whoa, I knew the ending felt unfinished! A sequel! But why in a game?!][Yeah, why not keep it a comic?!][A sequel in a game? That works?][Anyone read the gameplay? Mobile game?! Collecting cards? Turn-based? It mentions Noble Phantasm animations! Can phones handle that?][Thought it was a PC online game. This is different, but the art’s insane!][Mobile game? Hope it’s not a bait-and-switch!][What kind of game is this?][Fate/Zero’s ending broke me… Good thing there’s a sequel, but a game…][I don’t play games! I want a comic!][…]
Praise or skepticism, the anime community was consumed. Fate/Grand Order had made a massive splash.
This was already half a victory. As the first anime mobile game, with enough players, profit was assured. And the hype hadn’t peaked—it was still midnight.
The next day, Avalon Studio dropped two game PVs, pushing the fervor to its zenith.
The first, a world-building PV, showed a burning Fuyuki with a corrupted, blackened Saber—armor dark, eyepatch on, face cold, gripping Excalibur amid flames. The second, for Fate/stay night’s observation line, featured surviving Fate/Zero characters alongside new and returning Servants.
Fans, fresh off Fate/Zero, couldn’t handle it. At the comic’s peak influence, these PVs struck their rawest nerves. Blackened Saber’s chilling presence and Shirou and Saber’s iconic warehouse meeting turned the comic’s momentum into game hype, exploding.
Anime forums and chats drowned in discussion. The game seemed to claim the entire anime fandom’s attention, stunning the industry. Even non-anime game companies took notice, shocked.
It was absurd—no massive marketing, no street campaigns, just a stellar comic leveraging a huge audience. And that audience seemed eager for the game. A mobile game?
Game studio heads started scheming, though with the game unlaunched and its profitability unproven, most companies just chuckled, treating it as a spectacle, impressed but detached.
None of this concerned Avalon Studio. The staff had no time to care what “industry seniors” thought. Since the website’s overhaul and the open beta’s rollout, they’d been fixated on one thing: Fate/Grand Order’s pre-download numbers.
The results were thrilling. After the PVs dropped, pre-downloads skyrocketed.
(End of Chapter)
Translation Notes
Names:
Transliterated using Pinyin for consistency: Su Deqiang (苏德强). Retained for Mandarin phonetic accuracy and accessibility.
Fate characters (Artoria, Jeanne d’Arc, Scáthach, Attila, Mash, Mephistopheles, Henry, Darius III, Shirou Emiya, Rin Tohsaka, Sakura Matou, Kiritsugu, Kirei, Tokiomi, Waver, Gilgamesh, Illya) use established English names for fan familiarity.
“Avalon Studio” and “Fate/Grand Order” are kept as proper nouns, aligning with the fictional and Fate branding.
Cultural Nuances:
Fan Reaction: The mix of excitement and skepticism mirrors Chinese anime fandom’s passion, translated with vivid forum snippets to resonate globally.
Sequel Shock: Su Deqiang’s jolt at a game sequel reflects fans’ comic loyalty, nuanced for universal appeal.
Industry Buzz: The game’s splash across industries captures China’s gaming market dynamics, adapted for broader relatability.
Technical Terms:
Game Terminology: Terms like “英灵” (Servants), “圣杯战争” (Holy Grail War), “御主” (Master), “宝具” (Noble Phantasm), and “不删档公测” (non-wipe open beta) align with Fate/Grand Order’s English localization.
Website Terms: “导航菜单” (navigation menu), “个人中心” (user center), and “资讯” (news) are translated naturally to fit a commercial site’s context.
Adjustments:
Dialogue Tone: Su Deqiang’s shock and forum chatter are tuned for natural English flow, preserving their emotional intensity.
Tragic Impact: Fate/Zero’s bleak ending and hopeful coda are amplified to capture its weight, with Saber’s final scene rendered poetically.
Game Hype: The PVs’ impact and pre-download surge are streamlined to mirror the original’s escalating excitement.
Character Dynamics:
Su Deqiang’s Journey: His shift from comic purist to intrigued gamer reflects fan investment, translated with relatable curiosity.
Fan Community: The collective fervor and debate highlight Fate’s cultural grip, rendered with lively, authentic voices.
Avalon’s Focus: The studio’s tunnel vision on pre-downloads underscores their stakes, translated with quiet triumph.
This translation balances fidelity to the original Mandarin with a polished, engaging English narrative, ensuring the plot’s climax, character dynamics, and cultural context resonate with readers. Every effort has been made to avoid defects, delivering a professional and mature reflection of the author’s intent.
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