Fate/Supernal Blessing [SI, SFW MxM, Crossover with Mage the Awakening (NwoD/CofD)]

Fair Warning: Mage the Awakening is one of the few fandoms which can outpower the Nasuverse, with Time manipulation being a common power amongst Awakening!Mages, who get their powers by directly interacting with the Supernal Realms, which is a nigh-identical concept to The Root/Akasha. Not just that, but there are several hundred Ascended Beings (Archmasters) with the same powers as Goetia from FGO or stronger, all capable of changing reality, resetting history, and undoing each others' changes, which in turn ensures that the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction keeps them from just doing what they want with Reality.

But note that because power-wankery of this level isn't fun, especially when directed against a setting as well-loved as the Nasuverse, I will try and make sure that the latter has its own chance to shine and that my characters with powers from Mage the Awakening do not overestimate their own powers or go crazy with them. After all, the Nasuverse is their home now, despite having powers from Awakening...

Chapter One

Greetings, my name is Daniel Palaiologos, and I am a self-insert/reincarnate from an Earth much like your own and sent to the setting known as the Nasuverse. I was born, or rather, reborn into a Magus Family, the Palaiologoi, which claims descent from the last 'Byzantine' Emperors. This Family has jealously held on to its independence from the Magus' Association, an organization that has had friction with them over the magical secrets of Greece. Oh, and did I mention I remember my past life, which definitely isn't from this universe?

Originally David Garcia Martinez from Lalin’s Curse, a Webcomic by Isaky on Webtoons, now used for Daniel Palaiologos with her consent.​

My past life loved Urban Fantasy, but focused more on World of Darkness (great lore, bad mechanics) and Chronicles of Darkness (meh lore, good mechanics) than it did Fate/Stay Night. I did watch Fate/Apocrypha and the DEEN Studio version of Fate/Stay Night, though, as well as the first eleven episodes of Fate/Zero and parts of a Let's Play of the original F/SN Visual Novel until I got bored. No, I do not touch gacha games, including FGO - That's a waste of money. Anyway, although I was reborn into a Magus Family, my father was the seventh son of the family, and thus only had training in basic Magecraft plus was allowed a lot of freedom, enough that he was allowed to marry an ordinary person - A scientist, to boot!

I was raised happily in my parents' Taverna (small restaurant) in Athens, and for a time, I thought I was born to an ordinary life, an ordinary life where I was going to live happily. I had friends, school wasn't so bad, and I got to help cook with parents who loved me. I was also taught basic Magecraft for self-defense, and it was then that I found out that this was not the world I used to live in, but the flipping' Nasuverse.

Spoiler: My Parents' Taverna - Hidden for Size

Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked when I turned sixteen and I was walking home from School. I was thinking about how The Root was similar to the Supernal Realms in Mage the Awakening (2nd Edition), in that both were representations of a higher truth about the world, a higher truth which transcended what we know as reality. The difference, of course, was that the Supernal Realms were greater, stronger, and the Magic based on them was not rendered impotent and powerless by large numbers of people understanding it. In fact, Magic was only made a secret because of the fact that the Exarchs, the people who took control of Reality in that universe, created 'The Abyss', which causes an effect called Paradox where Nonmagi witnessing Supernal Magic cause the latter to go awry and 'Abyssal Beings' to suddenly manifest and rampage.

Why is this relevant? Because my sixteen-year-old brain was theorizing about how, if we had the Supernal Realms instead of The Root, Magecraft would not be a limited resource, or even relevant at all, especially as the Abyss won't exist here. That said, wouldn't the Counter Force take umbrage if people start manifesting Supernal Magic en masse, and thus threaten Humanity, even indirectly? For that matter, what would happen to the Root itself - If it was truly inferior to the Supernal Realms, or even a shard of the Supernal Realms which fell into another universe/multiverse/setting...

It isn't, a voice whispered to him as he continued walking back home, although he should have arrived at his parents' Taverna by now. But it is similar enough that you'd benefit from it, Daniel Palaiologos.

What was that?! I thought, looking around to see if one of my family's enemies in the world of Magecraft had found me. But it wasn't - Rather, I found myself walking a golden road, in a plane of bright, burning energies which would have seared my eyes in any other world. And up ahead was a Watchtower (capitalization deliberate) composed of clockwork parts, which in turn were made up of gold, silver, and glass. The Watchtower of the Golden Key, where all I need to do is to engrave my name into it to gain the ability to use Prime, which was Power over Mana, and Forces, which would enable me to control Heat, Light, Kinetic Force, and Electricity, as well as a myriad of other 'natural forces'.

I raced towards it, drew a marker from my backpack, and moved to sign.

Was I foolish? Of course, I was! But overwhelming power and a connection to deeper cosmic truths was a craving I had, a craving that would allow me to achieve what dreams I had. And that dream was to save the world...

 

Chapter Two

Retcon: Daniel at present is now Sixteen and not Fourteen.

After returning home from School (for real this time), I decided to do what various Self-Inserts have done and test out the limits of my power, limits which do exist even for Supernal Magic. I already knew that my powers were not bound by the rules of the Nasuverse, but that only meant that those limits were weakened, not gone entirely. What were those weaknesses, for those who have not versed in Mage the Awakening's lore?

Well, I mentioned Paradox, right? Basically, in Mage the Awakening (as opposed to Ascension), Paradox is what happens when you try and draw Magic from the Supernal Realms across the Abyss, a dimension of 'Anti-Reality' (to put it mildly), and it is aggravated by the presence of ordinary people who do not know/believe that Magic exists (note that in Ascension, Paradox is caused by disbelief in Magic/Magic posing as Superscience and is also somewhat weaker). When one draws through 'Anti-Reality', cosmic horrors which would put the 'Beasts' from Nasuverse to shame wake up and try and breakthrough to the mundane world to feed on souls/warp minds and bodies/create spaces where Elucidian geometry is a guideline and not a rule, if even that.

Not just that, but in Awakening, casting spells which are too strong, even with no mundane witnesses, causes Paradox and beckons the Abyss to break through if one isn't cautious enough. So I should not cast spells that are too strong without the proper rituals and preparations. That said, I have a hunch that the Abyss would be less of a problem in this universe, as I am sure I've mused before, and it's the Counter Force that would BLAM! me to ludicrous gibs if I tried too much, too soon.

You are right, the voice from before says. The Abyss does not exist here, nor does Paradox, but the Counter Force has decreed that if you try and use your powers for mass tyranny, mass murder, or trying to duplicate Ea, you die.

Oh, look, an Alien Space Bat or Random Omnipotent Entity -

Nope, I am something more in tune with the setting than that. I am an Oracle. You know, one of the beings fighting against the Rulers of Reality, the Exarchs?

More exposition: Reality, in Mage the Awakening, is still relativistic, but it is controlled by a group of supernatural tyrants who chose to embody cosmic concepts of tyranny, the Exarchs. The Exarchs are opposed by a group of Supernatural saboteurs, the Oracles, who created Watchtowers that allow Mages to keep Awakening despite the Exarchs' decrees. If I were to believe that this voice is actually an Oracle...

I respond, Proof can come later. Right now, what are my weaknesses, aside from the Counter Force's threats to fill in for the Abyss?

The 'Oracle' responds, You find it hard to use Death-based Supernal Magic and take penalties to even try and learn it. You also cannot access Legacies and Attainments - That means that you don't get magic that would have bypassed Paradox if the Abyss were a problem. Also, if you commit what would be Acts of Hubris to a Mage from the Chronicles of Darkness/New World of Darkness, you get feelings of Megalomania or the urge to use Magic for every little thing and those will hurt.

I feel a chill down my spine and ask, If this were a game, I have the basic amount of Wisdom, right?

Yes, the Oracle replies. Oh, and you also have capital-o Obsessions which if followed, will strengthen your power but make Acts of Hubris and the resulting madness more likely.

"What?!" I exclaim out loud, thankfully it isn't my shift in the kitchen yet plus the customers are keeping my parents busy.

Not so loud! the Oracle says, Anyway, two more things before I have to go: One, use your newfound talent in Prime-based Magic to raise your Magic Circuits to that Kayneth guy's level, aka super-powerful. Two, the reason I brought you here after death is to prevent Sieg from turning himself into a Dragon in two years.

We're in Apocrypha?! I gasped. Then I had a thought. Two years, eh? Does that mean that I get to romance Caules once we both turn eighteen?

If that keeps you loyal to the mission, yes, the Oracle's tone turned stern as if trying to restrain disapproval. Oh, well!

 

Chapter Three

After accepting that mission, I went down to spend some quality time with my parents - No joke, I actually love them and they actually love me. My father, Deuel Palaiologos, is the best Dad ever, and also one of the best cooks I know. Sometimes I think that his real Magecraft is based on making good food, not putting up Bounded Fields. As I walked towards him, he said kindly to me, "Can you wait the tables today? We've been getting quite a few customers in the past few hours..."

Originally Mateo Martinez from Lalin’s Curse, a Webcomic by Isaky on Webtoons. Used for Deuel Palaiologos with her consent.
​

"Sure! Let me change to my work clothes!" I said eagerly before smirking, then saying, "I get a raise on my allowance for this, right?"

Dad scowled, then smiled and said, "Sure. Just make sure not to spend it all on videogames or candy or whatever you kids spend it on nowadays..."

Then he winked. Seriously, though, Dad is the best. Open-minded, accepting, yet has a spine underneath it all. He also taught me basic Magecraft, including some of the lore which should have gone to my cousin, Asriel, who is now the most likely heir to the Family. I wonder how he managed to escape being caught by Grandfather, though, considering the fact that the old man was a dyed-in-the-wool Traditional Magi.

Either way, time to take some customers' orders!

------

My mother is Maria, Maria Iagaris Palaiologos. While Dad is the cook who makes people smile with his food, my mother is the one who makes sure our business stays solvent and we have savings for a rainy day. After handing her the current orders, I see her smile as it seems that the customers have an extra craving for our Apple Pie. Patting my head, she asks, "So, how's your day, Daniel?"

Originally Victoria Martinez from Lalin’s Curse, a Webcomic by Isaky on Webtoons. Used for Maria Palaiologos with her consent.
​

"I'm doing well!" This wasn't a lie. True, I now have more power than the grand majority of Magi in the Association and I can't keep it hidden forever, but right now, I want to spend as much time with my parents as possible.

Before I turn eighteen and strike out on my own path. Before I reveal to everyone that everything they knew was wrong. And, hopefully, before I bring Caules home once I've successfully seduced him...

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asks kindly, so kindly I can't help but want to hug her. But at the same time, I feel as though sharing my actual line of thinking would hurt her, so I tell a half-truth.

"Just thinking about my future career prospects, I guess," I shrugged as she looked at the orders and reciepts behind the cashier. Then I realized what I had just said, then shouted, "Not that I plan to leave you two behind, at least not permanently - I love the both of you!"

Mom smiled, patted my head, then said, "I'll always support whatever you choose, unless it's something illegal or highly dangerous. What are your plans?"

"I'm thinking of taking up Photography," I blurted out another technical truth, as Photography would be my cover for going to Trifas Castle, where Yggdmillenia was. "Maybe even food photography, although I love a beautiful landscape as much as any other."

She believed me, good. But she'll wind up telling Dad, and the latter will be the slightest bit suspicious. I can overcome that -

"Daniel," Dad interjected as he walked towards the cashier's desk, his face unusually grim. "Your Grandfather wants to talk with me and you later this afternoon. He says it's of utmost importance."

Crap. Is it a coincidence that Grandfather is calling us just as I became more powerful than any Magus? Doubt it...

 

Chapter Four

My Grandfather's mansion was an old Victorian-style building with Byzantine-style mosaics and frescoes inside, mosaics and frescoes portraying the heroes of both Pagan, Christian, and Modern Greece. Lord Byron was prominently portrayed in the largest fresco, fighting alongside the scions of the Palaiologos Family against the Ottomans for the independence of my country.

As I and my father were led into the building by armed guards, the mosaics and frescoes started to show the secret history of the Family, how we were Mages of some power during the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire Era and used that to become its final dynasty of Emperors. How we, by luck and Magecraft, survived the yoke of the Ottomans and the scorn of Western Europe in order to rebuild ourselves anew when Greece regained its independence. How we kept only the loosest of ties with the Clock Tower, keeping a hoard of magical treasures and secrets from their hands.

Finally, we reached the doors of my Grandfather's study, oaken doors engraved with his initials: A.P. Anastasios Palaiologos, Head of the Palaiologos Family of Magi. The guards left us as the doors opened by themselves, beckoning me and my father to where Grandfather waited behind his desk. As we entered, I felt the Bounded Field in the room scanning my physical and metaphysical self, as well as my father's, and I just realized: Sensory Magic still works on me as well as it does on Other people. If Grandfather didn't know then -

"So I am right," Grandfather spoke in a grave tone. "Something has changed. But that's not important right now. What I summoned you here to speak about is to tell you that Asriel Palaiologos has renounced the heirship of the Palaiologos Family and joined the Yggdmillenia Clan... As my spy in it."

"What?!" Father shouted as he realized the implications, "But he was the heir of the family - Well, I suppose he still is, but who's taking his place in public?"

Grandfather looked at me, and I was tempted to burn him in Magic beyond the knowledge of any Magus of this world for causing my father to open his eyes wide in terror at what that gaze implied.

"You cannot be serious!" Father's fists were clenched white as he spoke, "How long will Daniel be involved in this farce? And how do I know you won't just throw my son away once Asriel comes back? For that matter, why send him to spy on Yggdmillenia in the first place?"

"I have my reasons," Grandfather said inscrutably. "Your son will move over to my place in three days. The pretext will be that I am making him the heir to the Family Corporation - He can still have that when Asriel returns from his... Soujurn."

I was tempted to refuse, to launch the flames which would instantly consume Grandfather and his mystic defenses. But Father was there and he'd be distressed at me burning his father into a crisp. And Grandfather knew it.

That old man simply said, "Now, I want to talk with your son in private. You can wait outside the doors."

He looked at me again and his eyes glinted with certainty - He did know. And as Father prepared to resist, I patted him on the arm and said, "It'll be okay."

"But Daniel -"

I smiled at my father disarmingly, before saying, "I'll be all right - He needs me, after all. Don't worry about me, Dad."

Nevertheless, as he grudgingly left, slamming the oaken doors behind him, I was sufficiently angry that my fingertips glowed with bright silvery fire, fire which ignite magical defenses as easily as an Origin Bullet, only they can be used again and again and again without fear of wasting a shot.

But my Grandfather just looked at me and said, "It seems I was right - You have gained power beyond any Magus in this world. Power which transcends even True Magic while calling into question the cosmological beliefs of millions of Magi."

Originally Butler from Maoyu Maou Yuusha, now Anastasios Palaiologos
​

His face turned grim as he continued, "You are not the first 'parallel world reincarnate' to be born into the Palaiologos Family. Nor the first one to attain powers from a different reality altogether. I have journals, secret journals, from our ancestors which describe this world as 'fictional', who describe their own native realities in such detail that they cannot just be dismissed as 'deluded'. There is something in our bloodline, and two or three others, which attracts such 'insertions', part of me has hypothesized..."

The fire dancing on my fingertips dies as my fury is replaced by raw curiosity. There were others before me? The Palaiologoi Family based its strength on having multiple self-inserts through the generations? And not just them? I began trembling as I saw that I wasn't that special...

"You are going to need a confidant, Daniel," my Grandfather continued, confident that he has seized control of the conversation. "Or do you plan to hold on to your secrets forever? Like it or not, I can help you... Not that you'd believe me if I said it came free."

I recover and say as combativley as possible, "I don't. So what should I do to help the family, Grandfather?"

"You know what the real reason I sent Asriel to spy on Yggdmillenia is, right?" Grandfather says.

"The Greater Grail," I say, then nod as my insides metaphorically boiled at being used as a pawn despite my power. "You want me to help him steal it?"

"Yes," Grandfather said. "You and Asriel can do whatever you want with it afterwards, including destroy it. The previous generations of my family have warned me that the Grail was more trouble than its worth in multiple 'stories', and I am not one to fail to listen to warnings." He paused and pursed his lips, "Actually, you can do whatever you want with it except strengthen an enemy or potential enemy of our House. But you would not think of such stupidity, right, Daniel?"

I sigh. I nod again. Then I say once more, "I don't trust you, Grandfather, not as far as I could throw you, but you've had me since you said I wasn't the only 'insert' into this setting. Teach me what you know and I'll do what I can to make sure the Grail does not end up in the wrong hands..."