Atop the spire of New York's Empire State Building.
The city lights had come on, forming a glittering sea of stars. A cold wind carried horns and clamor across Su Lin's face as he stood on the spire, gazing into the distance.
Beneath the limits of this world and the far edge of its sky, the nighttime views of the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Hudson River, and the East River lay spread before him.
"Too urbanized."
Su Lin swept a stray lock of hair upward and muttered, "Gas explosions, food poisoning, gas leaks. Just leave it to FakeNews. They're professionals, after all."
"Why are you up there trying to look cool?!" Lu Mingfei and the others leaned against the railing of the observation deck on the 102nd floor and shouted up at him:
"Are you serious? Stark and Shirou Emiya are about to lose it!"
"Quit yapping. How many times has this happened now?!" Su Lin pressed a hand to his forehead, seemingly lost in memory:
"Trouble always finds its way to us through one coincidence or another. Whether we act or sit back, even going to All-Heavens City to laze around gets us dragged in."
"I know that traveling with you children of Destiny means getting caught in whirlpools of fate like this..."
"But!"
"Since things are already this much of a mess, I'd rather go looking for trouble myself than wait for it to come knocking!"
"To hell with your superhero Secret Wars crossover event. This is..." Su Lin opened his eyes, flung his arms wide, and declared, "The Holy Grail War!"
"Wouldn't the franchise value get crushed?" Stelle asked, puzzled.
"Then it's the Secret Holy Grail War!" Su Lin roared.
At the same time, winds surged and clouds churned as an invisible ripple spread through