DISCLAIMER: I do not own Overlord or Fate. Both belong to Murayama-sensei and Nasu-sensei respectively.

Time is not constant.

It is like a river, ebbing and flowing. Often, it splits into different streams.

As time moves on, branches - alternate timelines - are created. Each becomes a world of its own.

...but, often, river streams cross and merge with each other. And, in the end, rivers return to the ocean.

And each ocean is connected.

Just as worlds are connected to one another, all observed by the eyes of an almighty observer.

A new river stream branches from the path.

A new world is about to begin.

And on the horizon, the moon looks down from up high...

DIGITAL QUARTZER

...huh? What is...

Her mind was hazy. She could barely think properly. She felt so cold and heavy. She didn't know where she was.

Her eyes opened and closed slowly, body floating. Or was she sinking? She couldn't tell. It seemed as if she was in the ocean, or something along those lines. She could see the water's surface, shimmering in the light above her. Yet it was growing dimmer with each passing second.

What was I doing...

She pushed through the haze, attempting to find the answer. She sorted what little she knew as she did so.

Her name was Hakuno. She was a Master. She was in the Moon Cell. She had a Servant. But...what else was there?

She pushed further through the cloudy haze. Then she recalled where she was. She was within the Core of the Moon Cell. She had become the victor of the Moon Cell Holy Grail War and wanted to learn about herself. When she had delved into it and found her answers, the Moon Cell recognized her as an error that had to be removed.

That's right. I'm...being deleted.

Somehow, the idea of being erased made her...what was the word? Irritated? Angry? Yes, angry. But the feeling was unusual. She had never experienced this sort of emotion before, nor why she was feeling it now.

She had the answers she needed. Answers she had given to Rin, or...was it Rani? She couldn't remember. The haze was becoming thick. No, it was not a haze. It was the Moon Cell, slowly erasing her. It would erase her ability to think, then move to her ability to see and hear. Then, she would be erased entirely. She resisted and continued to push.

Hakuno Kishinami, the girl that existed at this moment, was nothing more than an artificial intelligence. An AI based on the existence of a girl that was infected with a disease that would one day kill her after she no longer had memories to cling to. The real Hakuno Kishinami, soundly asleep in cryogenic hibernation, was alive. She had given that data to the person she trusted and protected. Surely, they would be able to save that person.

She was content with that, wasn't she? So, why was she angry?

...ah. That's right. I...

She was angry because of how unfair this all was. She had no memories or past. She was someone who had no rhyme or reason. No purpose to call her own. No reason to fight. What she did, she did to survive. It was for the sake of survival that she fought, defeated and killed whoever stood against her. They were good people, perhaps, but she still trampled over them all the same. And each time, there was a bitter taste in her mouth.

She fought to live, and yet here she was now, about to be killed. Why? Because she was never supposed to exist in the first place.

It infuriated her. But what could she do? Could she fight back? How?

I...

What was it? What did she want to do? Even at this moment, where death loomed over her, what did she wish for?

I...want to...

What is it you wish for?

There was a sliver of light at the water's surface. Something broke through, diving down towards her. Reaching out to grab her. She couldn't tell who they were. Were they a program meant to finish the job? Was it her Servant?

Her mouth opened. She couldn't hear her own voice, but she could feel her throat rumble as the words parted from her lips.

[MOON CELL RULER REGISTRATION DETECTED]

[REGALIA GRANTED TO DESIGNATED INHERITOR]

A dim light shiner on her finger. The being approaching grew into focus. Her eyes widened, fear seizing her very being.

[WARNING! FORCED VELBER INTERFERENCE DETECTED]

[ALLOCATED MESSAGE OF INHERITOR. INITIATING KALEIDOSCOPE RECONSTRUCTION SLIDE.]

The creature's maw opened, fingers about to touch her.

Hakuno opened her mouth to scream.

In the next moment, her world became filled with light.

TIME01 - The Girl from the Lunar Ocean

Hakuno Kishinami opened her eyes, overwhelmed by a sensation of drowsiness. Her body felt sluggish, wrapped in a bundle of warmth. Her mind was cloudy, her only thoughts being that she wanted to go back to sleep and bask in the warmth of the bundle. Her eyes closed again, but opened right back up when something infiltrated her nostrils.

Something smells delicious...

A feeling of discomfort gnawed at her stomach, a strange sound rumbling from it. It took her a moment to realize that what she was experiencing was hunger. It also took her another moment to realize where she was.

She was in a room, radically different from the Private Room that she had come to call "home." It was small and barren, barely big enough to hold a decent-sized bed and desk. The paint on the walls were peeling off, even showing a few cracks.

"...huh?"

This was odd. Where was this place? More accurately, how had she come by here? She pulled herself out of the bed, bare feet clad in socks touching the floorboards. She looked down at herself, seeing that she still had what little she could say she owned. A brown school uniform, blue ribbon neatly tied around her collar and black stockings. On the back of her hand were a set of tattoos. Faded, inactive Command Seals. There was also a silver ring on her finger with a gemstone on it, constantly shifting colors like a kaleidoscope: red, blue and green, then shifting back to red and repeating.

Hakuno pursed her lips. She did not recall owning a ring. When had it found its way onto her person?

No, that was irrelevant. Right now, she needed to investigate her surroundings and-

Another strange sound rumbled from her stomach. Hakuno grimaced, feeling unusual pain shooting through her stomach. Was this what it was like to be hungry?

...perhaps some food was in order?

Still slightly wary about her surroundings, Hakuno carefully and gently opened the door, stepping into a hallway. Her feet barely made any sounds whatsoever against the hardwood floor beneath her, though they gave low creaks when she stepped on them. She descended down a flight of stairs, following the delicious smell that was beckoning her down.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Hakuno saw food being set on the table by an older man, wrinkles set into his skin and cheeks sunken. His hands were thin, but she could tell that they were surprisingly nimble by how he set the plates down on the table while preparing the food he had recently made. There were glasses sitting atop his face, which meant that his vision was probably failing him. Or they were used for reading, either or.

She stared long and hard at the man. He had not noticed her and was focused on his task. She felt no hostile intent from him. In fact, she saw not an ounce of combat in him. If anything, he felt more like he was...passive. Like battle was the last thing on her mind. It didn't put her at ease, but she felt confident that she was not in any danger.

"Excuse me." She finally made her presence known and instantly regretted it. The man, spooked, let out a cry as the food he was preparing went flying and scrambled to snatch it onto the plates in his hands. Thankfully, not a single item had touched the floor and safely made it onto the plates, making him and Hakuno sigh in relief. "Could you tell me where I am?"

"Oh! You're awake. That's a relief." the man smiled warmly. The moment she saw it, Hakuno felt the tension in her body leave almost immediately. His eyes twinkled, showing nothing but kindness and warmth to her. He also looked as if he had never seen combat a day in his life. "You must be hungry. Here, come! Sit! The food's ready, little miss!"

Hakuno nodded. She slipped into one of the vacant seats. The kind old man handed her a fork and knife. She fumbled slightly, realizing that her hands were trembling for whatever reason, but she was able to dig into her food.

The second it touched her taste buds, Hakuno found herself in heaven. The next few minutes that came afterwards had Hakuno taking small chunks of the dish set in front of her, savoring every inch of the flavors.

It didn't compare to her Servant's cooking, but it was delicious all the same.

After the final bite slid down her throat, Hakuno let out a content sigh and placed her utensils back on the plate. "That was delicious." she complimented the man's cooking.

"Thank you kindly. Oh, wait! I forgot! I didn't introduce myself. I'm Junichiro."

"Hakuno. Kishinami, Hakuno."

The old man smiled. "Nice to meet you, Hakuno-chan. How are you feeling, by the way?"

She wasn't entirely sure how to answer that. On the one hand, she was confused and unsure of her surroundings. And on the other hand, she didn't understand her situation at all. She had so many questions to ask, but she would ask them in time.

"I am well."

"That's good." Junichiro sighed in relief. "To be honest, I was worried out of my mind when Sougo came in with you on his back. He said he found you passed out on the ground, out cold right in front of the shop." Sougo? Could that be the man's son? And she was unconscious on the ground? In front of this place? "Oh, this is my home and workplace. Kujigojido, or just 95Do for short. Sougo is my nephew."

"I see. Where is Sougo?"

"Out on errands. He should be back shortly." Junichiro then frowned heavily in concern. "Hakuno-chan, what were you doing passed out on the ground? Surely, there must have been a better place to take a nap."

"I don't know." And she honestly meant that. She had no idea how or why she ended up in front of a store.

"Where do you live? Do your parents know you're here?"

"I don't have parents." At least, she didn't think so. The only information Hakuno looked up about herself was who she was and what happened for her to end up with no memories and on the Moon Cell. The Moon Cell had not provided her with any information about her parents or mentioned them. Hakuno noticed Junichiro's expression soften and eyes glossy. "Is something-?"

"I'm sorry." he cut her off, voice full of sadness. "I didn't mean to be insensitive. Do you...do you live with anyone?" Hakuno shook her head. "Have you...been living on your own?" She nodded. Junichiro's eyes turned sad as he took a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "E-excuse me for a second. I need a moment."

Junichiro stood up and shuffled into a back room. Hakuno watched him leave, wondering if she had said something wrong. Before she could think about it further, she heard the sound of a door sliding open, followed by a young man shouting, "I'm home, uncle!" A teenager, a few years older than her, stepped into the dining room. He wore a dark pink t-shirt with white dress pants, his brown hair complimenting his eyes.

Hakuno stared at him. Was this Sougo? Upon noticing her, Sougo's eyes widened. "You're the girl from before! You're up?!"

"Yes. I-"

-a world sieged by death and despair. The ground was scorched beneath his feet, the sky angry and gray. Machines lay in ruins, men and women wearing armor and wielding guns were strewn about on the ground, barely able to stand.

In the center of it all, a golden armored figure stood. "You could not possibly hope to defeat me." His voice was rough, implying he was old. There was a weight behind his words. Strength. "Do you know why? It is because-"

She blinked and shook her head, the images fading faster than she could recall them. What in the world was that just now? Some sort of vision? It felt unusual. She would have likened it to a dream cycle, but it had felt unnatural and too different. That, and she was certain she had not been into a contract with any Servant as of yet, since her Command Seals were still faded.

"Is something wrong?" the teenager asked her, noticing her confused look.

"It... It's nothing. I'm Hakuno."

The boy smiled. "Nice to meet you, Hakuno-chan. I'm Sougo! Sougo Tokiwa. Junichiro is my great-uncle. Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes. Junichiro said you found me outside?"

"Yeah. Have to admit, I wasn't expecting to find a poor girl out cold in front of the shop right when I left for errands!" Sougo had explained how exactly he had found her in detail, matching with what Junichiro had told her. "By the way, is that a school uniform? It looks different from the ones here in town. Are you a transfer student or something?"

Hakuno wondered how to answer that. Before she could, Junichiro returned. "Sougo, you're back? Did you get groceries?"

"Right here!" Sougo held up the bag in his hand. "We're all set for dinner. What were you doing?"

"I was talking with an old friend of mine." his uncle replied. "It's about Hakuno-chan." The brown-haired girl blinked at that. She pointed to herself, asking him if she was talking about her. Junichiro smiled kindly. "Ne, Hakuno-chan! How do you feel about staying here for a while?"

...what?

It was close.

It was so close. Just a few more inches, and it could have taken it.

It felt disappointed, but it knew that it was not the only chance it could get.

Yes, there would indeed be plenty of other chances. Especially since the Moon Cell had accidentally brought it with her.

It was just a fragment. A shard of its core piece, but it was enough. It could seek out the Regalia on its own. But it was also weak. It could not withstand the Inheritor, not if the girl had already summoned her Servant.

It knew it needed a pawn. A piece to act in its place, but who? What life form in this ruined landscape could offer it the power it required?

As if answering it's unwent question, a voice called out. "My, my. What could have brought something like you here in this hellhole?"

The creature turned...and smiled.

Yes. This one would do quite nicely.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ladies and gentlemen, I bring to you the second spin-off of Boyzilla's Digital Human series. This will also be the last story I publish for a while until I complete some of my other stories. The last thing I need is to increase my workload.

This is set during the last month of summer vacation, and a few days before Sougo obtains the Zi-O Ridewatch. As for Servants, I have deliberated and decided who Hakuno would summon. Boyzilla had said that the limit of Servants Hakuno can command has been bumped up to four, but for the sake of keeping the cast of characters to something I can manage, she will only have three.

It will also be a while before I introduce the first Servant. Hakuno's journey is going to start off as a slow start, but it will eventually pick up. For now, she has to settle into a world where she doesn't have to worry about much of anything.

For now.