Inheritance of Glory

Fate/Apocrypha: Inheritance of Glory refers to an event, part of a collaboration between Fate/Grand Order and Fate/Apocrypha, which Ritsuka Fujimaru was involved in, having being summoned in a dream by Sieg. It involves a recreation of the Great Holy Grail War in Trifas, within the Greater Grail.

Setting

Even after absorbed into the Greater Grail following their death by Shirou Kotomine, Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia and Vlad III's souls remained fused together. Many years after Sieg brought the Greater Grail to the Reverse Side of the World, Darnic manifested within its inner world. Still clinging to his dream to acquire the Grail, he sought to take control of it. He recreated Trifas and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and rematerialized the Servants who participated in the Great Holy Grail War with the exception of the Rulers. However these Servants are merely mindless husks, programmed to fight each other endlessly. The recreated Holy Grail War is also resets whenever the sun rises. Eventually Sieg, fearing the Grail would go out his control, he summoned Ritsuka Fujimaru to the Reverse Side with the Grail's power.

History

Ritsuka find themselves in an unknown location. A dragon tells them they're in a dream yet aren't. He explains he summoned them through the power of the Holy Grail. He needs their power to save the world, knowing of their struggle to restore humanity. He then introduces himself as Fafnir, and explains they're in the Reverse Side of the World. He reveals the collapse of the Human Order allowed some of the Phantasmal Species to escape into the human realm. He explains the Reverse Side is also in danger because of the Great Grail he brought. He then reveals a Holy Grail War is currently being commenced in the broken Grail, and the total number of battles is beyond 10,000. At the start there was only two Servants; At 567 battles, there were four Servants; At 2,313 battles, there were seven Servants. From there, certain changes were made to the Grail, meaning someone is trying to use it for themselves. Fafnir warns at this rate, the Grail will get out of control. He explains he cannot use it himself nor can he let others use it. The worst case scenario it is that a piece of the world's Texture will tear off, which will plunge the world into a chaos of fantasy and reality. After Ritsuka agrees to help, Fafnir flies them into the Grail.

Upon arriving, Fafnir finds that Trifas has been recreated with incredible accuracy. He explains that Trifas was the location of Great Holy Grail War. Wiping out a group of golems and Dragon Tooth Warriors with a single breathe of his fire, Fafnir senses a Servant when he's struck down by Vasavi Shakti. He crash lands into forest below; his wings too damaged to fly for now. He explains the Servants are more akin to robots, sharing the same combat prowess, but lacking the emotions and logic of their originals. He ponders how a recreation of the Great Holy Grail managed to emulate Noble Phantasms. Ritsuka warns him of an incoming attack, but Fafnir tells them to run to the fortress since his body is too slow for them to escape together. He is struck by Balmung when a Servant finds him and Ritsuka, recognizing them as a Master. Fafnir leaves Ritsuka to the Servant, who leaves Fafnir in Rider's care. Upon escape the forest though, the pair are beset by Dragon Tooth Warriors. The Servant introduces himself as Chiron before fighting the warriors. Afterwards, the pair continue retreating to the fortress.

Arriving in Millennia Fortress, Chiron explains the enemy will disappear when the sun rises. He explains that the Great Holy Grail War was a battle between fourteen Servants unlike the standard seven. Its winner, and current owner of the Grail, is Fafnir. Chiron explains this world is a recreation of the war, but only Trifas and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon exist. The recreated Servants weren't meant to have a will of their, instead they were programmed to fight each other endlessly. None of the Servants have any memories of the Great Holy Grail War. Chiron explains Fafnir is the Grail's supervisor, though he doesn't know why he's inside it now. He then reveals that of the fourteen Servants, twelve are the enemy. Due to how the war restarts every sunrise, he cannot recall any of the Servants' names, besides that of Rider's, and believes Fafnir may know more. He also reveals the enemy are able to deploy their Noble Phantasm despite having no consciousness. Ritsuka asks how a Servant can regain their consciousness, but Chiron can only theorize Fafnir's presence has something to do with it. He then warns that even though they're safe for tonight, the Servants will attack the fortress as programmed after taking Ritsuka and Fafnir's existence into account. Rider then enters, and introduces himself as Achilles. He reveals Fafnir is resting in the garden.

Ritsuka visits Fafnir in the garden. Farfnir confirms he turned Chiron and Achilles into proper Servant. He believes he should turn all of the Servants into proper ones to find the mastermind of the recreation, though he considers such a method inhumane. Then, not wanting to be useless with a immobile body, he creates a terminal for himself. The terminal introduces himself as Sieg, and goes back inside with Ritsuka to meet with Chiron and Achilles.

Back inside, Chiron tells everyone they have no chance of winning with their current numbers. Sieg then explains the fourteen Servants from the original war were split into the Black and Red Factions. The Servants of Black: Siegfried, Vlad III, Astolfo, Avicebron, Frankenstein, Jack the Ripper. The Servants of Red: Mordred, Atalanta, Karna, William Shakespeare, Spartacus, and Semiramis. At Chiron's suggsetion, the group discuss on how to defeat the twelve Servants. Ritsuka suggests defeating at least three Servants. Chiron says he and Achilles can fight nine, while Ritsuka and Sieg take on three. He explains the enemy Servants are programmed to deploy their Noble Phantasms whenever possible, not when it's most appropriate. This means the group can just detect and dodge them. Chiron then train the others on how to do just that by tonight. After getting some rest, Ritsuka goes to the garden to see Chiron training Sieg. Chiron explains they will lay out barrier deploying traps to seperate the nine Servants.

Later that night, the group observe from the fortress wall that the Servants are approaching the fortress. Chiron tells the others he and Achilles separate them, then Ritsuka and Sieg will go and defeat three of them. He then jumps down from the fortress with Achilles, and activates the traps they set up earlier to separate the Servants. Ritsuka and Sieg then engage Avicebron, Shakespeare, and Jack in battle. After they're defeated, Avicebron, Shakespeare, and Jack disappear along with the other nine Servants when the sun rises. The group then return to the fortress to rest.

Inside the fortress, Sieg leaves Ritsuka to rest while he checks on his main body. Later, Ritsuka find themselves woken up by Jack. Sieg then barges in to tell Ritsuka when he spots Jack. He tells her Jack that he is ally when she inquires about it. He then tells Ritsuka to come with him, as the other two from the other night also arrived with Jack.

In the garden, Ritsuka and Sieg meet Shakespeare and Avicebron. Neither Avicebron, Shakespeare, nor Jack can remember anything following their revival. Chiron realizes they turn the other nine Servants into allies as well. He then gives Ritsuka and Sieg command of Avicebron and Shakespeare since neither of them are oriented for combat. After they return from checking on Shakespeare, Ritsuka tells the others to prepare for the upcoming battle tonight.

Later that night at the fortress wall, Chiron tells the others that they'll repeat the same tactics from the previous night. However, he decides to have Achilles help Ritsuka and Sieg, instead of letting them fight three Servants alone like before. He then orders Avicebron to support with his golems, and Shakespeare to buff whatever party he finds interesting. After Jack agrees not to aid Ritsuka, the group jump down from the wall to defeat Spartacus, Atalanta, and Frankenstein. After the Servants disappear with the rising sun, Chiron tells everyone to return to the fortress quickly since Shakespeare is absent.

The group return to the fortress, and find Shakespeare safe and sound. Sieg and Chiron agree that the enemy may become more aggresive now that they're gaining the advantage. Achilles is concerned that the enemy Servants all seem to have divinity in them for some reason. After getting some rest, Ritsuka wakes up to see Sieg has brought food for them both. Sieg then senses something attacking the garden, so he and Ritsuka rush there to see.

Ritsuka and Sieg arrive in the garden to see Frankenstein attacking Fafnir. Ritsuka realizes she doesn't want Fafnir in her flower garden, but Sieg says his main body cannot move now. As Frankenstein begins pushing Fafnir to the other side of the garden, Spartacus arrives ready to fight the dragon, identify him as an oppressor. Ritsuka tells him Fafnir isn't an oppressor, so Spartacus decides to sleep in the garden until an oppressor appears. Meanwhile inside the fortress, Chiron asks Atalanta to help set the traps for tonight.

Later that night, the group prepare to fight another three Servants. Atalanta starts off by deploying Phoebus Catastrophe, but Astolfo uses Hippogriff to avoid it. In response she and Chiron go to engage the enemy directly, but he finds the enemy is using his own tactics. Jack identifies the enemy as two Sabers, a Rider, and a Lancer along with Shadow Servants. The group then fight and defeat Mordred, Siegfried, and Astolfo. After the enemy disappears when the sun rises, Sieg expresses his concern about the possession ration of the Grail isn't changing to their favor. If it remains so someone other than him will gain control of the Grail.

Later in the garden, Astolfo, Mordred, and Siegfried meet with the others. Sieg reveals his possession ration is steadily declining, so Mordred decides they should attack the enemy directly. She identifies the Hanging Gardens as the enemy. While agreeing with a direct assasult, Chiron warns their chances of success will be low since twelve Servants will be guarding it. Atalanta wonders about attacking the Gardens during the day. Avicebron reveals though a flying golem he sent there on Chiron's order was forcibly transported outside when night arrived. Chiron asks Sieg if he can move his main body now. Sieg answers he can fly at minimum, but warns he'll fall if hit by from a Noble Phantasm, especially Balmung. Achilles and Astolfo agree to fly alongside him and support him. Shakespeare will write a song of bravery to help boost Sieg's luck. Avicebron will send flying golems made from the fortress to act as a frontal shield for Fafnir. Atalanta decides to use Agrius Metamorphosis to fly when Sieg points out how she used it for just that in the original war. Jack decides to use The Mist against the enemy, and she'll ride Fafnir with Ritsuka. Chiron tells Shakespeare and Avicebron to ride on Fafnir as well. He decides to ride with Achilles, and Siegfried decides to ride with Astolfo. Spartacus decides to climb up to the Gardens with a rope after Atalanta suggests it. Later, after training against Avicebron's golems, the group have a picnic before assaulting the Gardens later tonight.

Later that night, the group fly towards the Garden. Entering within range of its defenses, Avicebron uses his golems to create a shield while Astolfo uses Hippogriff to dimension shift. Meanwhile on the ground, as the enemy charges towards the others in the sky, Mordred amplifies Mana Burst with Frankenstein's help, and uses it to launch them both up. Back up in the air, Avicebron's shield is broken by Karna, who also repeatedly dispersing Jack's mist. Suddenly though he is sent flying when the recently launched Mordred and Frankenstein hit him. The pair land in the Gardens, and Frankenstein begins rampaging while Mordred starts deploying Clarent Blood Arthur. With Karna gone now, the group prepare to land on the Gardens.

Upon landing, Fafnir switches back to Sieg. Proceeding further in, the group redevous with Mordred and Frankenstein. They then fight Karna, Vlad, and Semiramis. After they're defeated, Spartacus finally arrives in the Gardens. With her defeat and the coming dawn, the group gain Semiramis as an ally. Semiramis confirms she knows the enemy's identity, having analyzed the Gardens to locate them. After Karna wakes up, she takes the group to the chamber where the Grail is, and where they'll meet the only other Master besides Ritsuka.

At the chamber of the Grail, the group meet a man who reveals he re-materialized and replicated thirteen Servants. He continues that with 87% of the Grail's core dominated, it'll be sufficient enough to grant his wish. Sieg reveals the man to be the leader of the Ydggmillennia and the Master of Vlad, Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia. He calls the Darnic before them the remnant of Darnic's wish. He explains that during the war Darnic fused with the vampiric form of Vlad through the use of a Command Spell. After becoming a monstrosity beyond that of a vampire, Darnic nearly obtained the Grail, but he was destroyed by a certain priest from the Red Faction. Sieg explains it should have ended there since a Servant should revert to pure mana and return to the Grail when they died. However that never happened because Darnic was human, and also because Darnic had been prolonging life by fusing his soul with that of a infant's. As a result of these factors, Darnic is neither a human nor a Servant, he is merely a being instinctively seeking to grant his wish to acquire the Grail. Sieg implores Darnic to stop, revealing the Grail is too damage to activate the Third Magic or reach the Root. Darnic refuses, reminding the group he already possesses 87% of the Grail. He proposes to use the Grail to incarnate them if they agree to join him. However they all refuse his proposal because of their principles as Heroic Spirits. Expecting that to be their answer, Darnic decides he'll force them to fight until they beg to be incarnated. He then connects to a replica of the Greater Grail that emerges from within the Greater Grail. He doesn't care if he ends up forcibly creating a parallel universe as long as he can grant his wish. The group then fight the replicate Grail. Unfortunately they are becoming overwhelmed by the replica Servants continuously spawned. Chiron realizes the replica Grail is emulating their combat data, and sending the correct Servant class to counter them accordingly. He then decides that since the replica Grail is exploiting their weaknesses, they should do the same. After the replica Grail is destroyed, Darnic refuses to give up when he's struck by Kazikli Bey. He questions how Vlad could be here since he was supposed to been sealed. He assumes he is another replica since he couldn't be reborn as a Servant with his mind intact. Vlad reveals himself to be only Servant who remembers the war, which he assumes to be a result of Darnic fusing with him during the war. He convinces Darnic that his murder of him was impulse, and to finally give up on his dream. After Darnic disappears, Vlad declares the Great Holy Grail War is now truly over. After he disappears, Semiramis teleports everyone out of the crumbling Gardens.

Back on the ground, the Servants disappear after saying their goodbyes to each other, Ritsuka and Sieg. Afterwards, the recreation begins to disappear, and the Grail starts to restabilize. Sige changes back to Fafnir and returns Ritsuka to the Reverse Side. As thanks for their help and friendship, Fafnir gives Ritsuka his Sieg terminal to aid them. After returning Ritsuka to the real world, Fafnir continues to wait for a certain someone.

Participants

Servants

Designation	Identity	Affiliation
Caster (Living Hero)	Sieg	Ritsuka Fujimaru
Archer	ChironWP	Ritsuka Fujimaru
Rider	AchillesWP	Ritsuka Fujimaru
Assassin	Jack the RipperWP	Ritsuka Fujimaru
Caster	AvicebronWP	Ritsuka Fujimaru
Caster	William ShakespeareWP	Ritsuka Fujimaru
Archer	AtalantaWP	Ritsuka Fujimaru
Berserker	FrankensteinWP	Ritsuka Fujimaru
Berserker	SpartacusWP	Ritsuka Fujimaru
Saber	MordredWP	Ritsuka Fujimaru
Saber	SiegfriedWP	Ritsuka Fujimaru
Rider	AstolfoWP	Ritsuka Fujimaru
Assassin	SemiramisWP	Ritsuka Fujimaru
Lancer	Vlad IIIWP	N/A
Lancer	KarnaWP	Ritsuka Fujimaru

Non-Servants

Designation	Identity	Affiliation	Role
N/A	Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia	N/A