Yan Qing
A Certain Chivalrous Man's Death
Narration: ...It crosses everyone's mind at one point or another.
Narration: Am I really me? How do I know I'm not actually someone else's puppet?
Narration: Maybe this world is fake, and I'm just a brain in a jar imagining the whole thing...
Narration: Maybe I don't actually exist.
Narration: My Legends... My Myths... Those exist. I wonder why...
Narration: ...Who am I?
Yan Qing: (Gasp, gasp, gasp)...
Narration: The sky is muddied and dirty. Even the water tastes foul.
Narration: The scent of blood is everywhere. Everything about this place is terrible.
Narration: The bleeding won't stop. There's nowhere left I can run.
???: How does it feel to die?
Yan Qing: ...It sucks.
Narration: I keep smiling, grinning, sneering, like I don't give a damn.
Narration: But even though this is the end for me, the same familiar doubt nags at the back of my mind.
Narration: And when you get right down to it, I spend my entire life asking myself the same question.
Narration: Who was I, really?
Narration: I wonder if this guy has the answer.
Yan Qing: Hey, do you know who I was?
???: ... ...
???: You were–
Narration: But before he could finish, I closed my eyes and drifted off.
Fujimaru 1: Never thought I'd end up back in Shinjuku...
Mash: Our connection is holding strong, Master. Let's go over the situation one more time.
Mash: The Shinjuku Singularity has already been repaired.
Mash: So no matter what might be going on here, it won't have any effect on humanity...
Mash: Still, we don't know why a single Servant decided to Rayshift here.
Mash: The Assassin of Shinjuku. True Name: Yan Qing...
Fujimaru 1: I wonder what's going on with him.
Mash: I'm afraid all we know right now is that he Rayshifted here.
Fujimaru 2: You're sure he came to Shinjuku?
Mash: Yes.
Mash: We were tracking his Spirit Origin up till he disappeared here.
Mash: However, there were some, um, irregularities with the tracking data, so I don't know if we can trust it entirely.
Mash: Hassan of the Cursed Arm and Geronimo have come along to serve as your guides.
Mash: Thank you both for doing this.
Geronimo: I am pleased to be here.
Cursed Arm: Well Master, where shall we begin our search?
Geronimo: We'll never find him without a plan. I think our only option is to follow his magical energy.
Mash: I agree. And we do have tracking data that should help us with that.
Mash: The problem is that Yan Qing's trail went cold here.
Mash: Maybe he interfered with our observational equipment somehow, or maybe...
Cursed Arm: Yes. He may have been injured or killed.
Cursed Arm: Oh, sorry, my apologies. Worry not, [♂ Lord /♀️ Lady} Fujimaru.
Cursed Arm: Lord Yan Qing is as tough as they come.
Cursed Arm: What's more, I imagine he feels especially at home in an urban setting like this. He will not die easily.
Geronimo: Indeed. I don't even need to read his fortune to assure you that he is alive and well.
Cursed Arm: All right, I'll begin by searching the perimeter.
Cursed Arm: Once I have the lay of the land, we can begin a thorough investigation.
Geronimo: Very well then, we'll wait here until you return.
Geronimo: I would like to resolve this quickly, given Master's physical limitations.
Cursed Arm: Haha, a good point. Then I will be back as soon as I can.
Fujimaru 1: See you later!
Fujimaru 2: Be careful out there!
Cursed Arm: You are too kind, Master. But worry not. We Hassans blend into shadows as naturally as breathing.
Geronimo: All right, let's wait and see how–
Cursed Arm: I found him.
Geronimo: Wha...!?
Fujimaru 1: Already!?
Yan Qing: Yo, lady!
Yan Qing: Can I get one of those mystery meat buns?
Yan Qing: Thanks.
Fujimaru 1: Yep, that's him...
Cursed Arm: I could hardly believe my eyes. I've never seen such a lazy Assassin.
Fujimaru 2: What's he doing here?
Geronimo: ...We will just have to ask him once we've caught him.
Yan Qing: Oh, hey Master. What's up?
Fujimaru 1: That's what I wanna know!
Yan Qing: ?
Yan Qing: ...Oh, yeah, right. Guess I kinda left without saying anything, huh.
Yan Qing: Sorry about that. And I'm sorry about this, too...
Yan Qing: ...but there's something I gotta do here, and I'm not leaving till it's done.
A：Yan Qing (?): So I'm afraid I can't let you bring me back!
Fujimaru 1: You're using your doppelgänger power!?
A：Yan Qing (?): You know it.
A：Yan Qing (?): I can't let myself be caught, no matter what! So you better believe I'm pulling out all the stops!
Fujimaru 2: He transformed!
Cursed Arm: Hmm, this could be a problem. Now, what to do about it...
Geronimo: It would seem he's quite desperate. In that case...
Geronimo: ...the only way he'll listen to reason is if we knock some into him. Let's do this, Master.
Mash: Okay everyone, prepare for combat!
--BATTLE--:
Yan Qing (?): Sorry, the answer's still no. Later!
Geronimo: A smoke bomb...!
Cursed Arm: He must have taken it from someone while we were fighting.
Mash: N-now what do we do?
Mash: He did say there was something he had to do here...
Cursed Arm: ...We can't let him do it, whatever it may be. Let's go after him, [♂ Lord /♀️ Lady} Fujimaru.
Geronimo: Oh? Does that mean you know what Yan Qing is up to, Cursed Arm?
Cursed Arm: I do, for it concerns me personally.
Cursed Arm: Now, let us be on our way. We may not know what that way is yet, but no matter.
Cursed Arm: We will just have to keep looking until we find it. For a Hassan, it is, as they say, business as usual.
--ARROW--:
Narration: I don't mind roaming around looking for what I have to do. That irredeemable thing I can't just wipe off my slate.
Narration: If someone tries to stop me, I'll eliminate them. After all, I know I'm doing the right thing.
Narration: To get my chance at being a good person...I'll take my revenge on him.
Geronimo: Going after Yan Qing is all well and good...
Geronimo: ...but how are we going to find him when he could be anyone here?
Geronimo: Any ideas?
Cursed Arm: Yes, actually. I snuck a cursed scent mark onto him during our battle.
Cursed Arm: It has been passed down our clan for generations, and should let me know when I'm drawing near him.
Geronimo: Oho, you don't say. Quite clever.
Geronimo: In that case, Cursed Arm, I think it's best if you lead the way.
Cursed Arm: Is that all right with you, Master?
Fujimaru 1: Absolutely!
Cursed Arm: ...Hmm. It's faint, but I can smell the scent nearby.
Cursed Arm: We may have tracked him down sooner than I thought. Come, this way.
Geronimo: In the meantime, let's think about what Yan Qing may have meant earlier.
Fujimaru 1: What do you mean?
Geronimo: I mean the thing he said he needs to do.
Fujimaru 2: The thing he said he needs to do?
Geronimo: That's right.
Geronimo: What does he hope to accomplish by coming back to Shinjuku?
Geronimo: What do you know about this, Cursed Arm?
Cursed Arm: ...Hmm.
Cursed Arm: I'd rather not discuss it, but under the circumstances, I suppose I can share.
Cursed Arm: You see, Lord Yan Qing actually came to apologize to me once, back when we were still at Chaldea.
Fujimaru 1: You mean, about what happened in Shinjuku?
Cursed Arm: Indeed. You have an excellent memory, Master.
Fujimaru 2: What about?
Cursed Arm: The incident in Shinjuku, most likely.
Yan Qing: 'Sup, Cursed Arm. Got a minute?
Cursed Arm: Why, if it isn't Lord Yan Qing. What brings you to my humble room?
Yan Qing: Uh, I just wanted to say I was sorry.
Cursed Arm: Sorry...? If you've done something to wrong me, I can't say I'm aware of it.
Yan Qing: It sounds like I did you a real disservice back in Shinjuku, so, you know.
Cursed Arm: ...Now I see. Yes, I do recall reading about that in the Shinjuku report.
Cursed Arm: I looked it over after I heard my name was mentioned, and there is nothing for you to apologize for.
Cursed Arm: Spies like us are quite used to disguises and betrayal. It all comes with the territory.
Yan Qing: Yeah, maybe. And honestly, I don't even remember doing it.
Yan Qing: But there's this little voice in my Spirit Origin that keeps nagging at me.
Yan Qing: Says I'll never be able to move on if I don't apologize to you first.
Yan Qing: And that, if possible...I need to go back to Shinjuku and finish what I started.
Cursed Arm: Finish what you started...?
Yan Qing: Yup. You know what they say...
Yan Qing: If you commit the crime, you gotta do the time.
Cursed Arm: ...But, have you not already done your “time” by fighting alongside Master?
Cursed Arm: I see no reason why you need to seek further redemption in Shinjuku.
Yan Qing: ...Yeah, true. Fair point.
Yan Qing: Now that I think about, I feel pretty damn silly! Just forget I said anything, all right?
Cursed Arm: ...
Cursed Arm: He never brought it up again after that, so I never chose to pursue it further...
Cursed Arm: But now that we're here, I'm reminded of how empty his smile seemed back then.
Cursed Arm: I think Lord Yan Qing is still trying to make amends.
Geronimo: Amends, huh.
Geronimo: However, whatever the Assassin of Shinjuku may have done here, it has nothing to do with Yan Qing.
Geronimo: No, I'll go further: it would be wrong if it did. That would mean the sins we commit would pile higher and higher every time we were summoned.
Geronimo: The heroes from the Age of Gods may be able to endure such a burden, but that is far too much for an ordinary person.
Geronimo: That is why our actions are recorded independent of our memories.
Mash: As a Demi-Servant myself, I don't have any of his memories...
Mash: ...but if I did, I agree that the mental burden of such a thing would be overwhelming.
Fujimaru 1: But, Yan Qing's...
Cursed Arm: ...No more talk. We've found him.
Cursed Arm: That Hornet over there is Lord Yan Qing.
Fujimaru 1: Yan Qing!
Yan Qing (?): Aw crap, you already found me!?
Geronimo: Yan Qing. Are you here to seek redemption?
Geronimo: Or perhaps, retribution for your sins?
E：Yan Qing: ...It's not a matter of seeking it out, Geronimo. I HAVE to be punished for what I did.
E：Yan Qing: Otherwise, I won't be me anymore.
Narration: ...My head is pounding.
Narration: These upstanding Heroic Spirit types don't know what it's like to live with this kind of pain in your soul.
Narration: Just getting killed off isn't nearly enough. I need to die in misery and agony.
Fujimaru 1: Yan Qing...?
E：Yan Qing: ...Please just let me do this, Master. Please... I'm begging you.
E：Yan Qing: I have to die for what I did.
Cursed Arm: I'm afraid that is a crude and contradictory way of seeing things, Yan Qing.
Cursed Arm: You fight to take on sins that can only be paid for with your own life... That is a manner of thinking with which I am all too familiar.
Cursed Arm: But you are woefully wet behind the ears if your only concern is wiping your regrets away, as mine once was.
E：Yan Qing: ...!
Cursed Arm: What would you have us do, Master?
Cursed Arm: If you are willing to accept his sins, we can return to Chaldea right now.
Fujimaru 1: I don't think that's a good idea.
Cursed Arm: ...Hehe, I see.
Fujimaru 2: Let's just talk about this, okay?
E：Yan Qing: Sorry, but I really don't have time to talk!
E：Yan Qing: ...Dammit, I shoulda known it'd come to this.
E：Yan Qing (?): Sorry, Master, but if this is how it's gonna be, I'm not gonna make it easy for you!
Geronimo: Hmm, I see has no small skill in multiplying himself.
Mash: Um, I think he just called in reinforcements...
Mash: Ahem. At any rate, entering combat mode...now!
--BATTLE--:
Geronimo: He must have run off while we were fighting the other Hornets.
Geronimo: Still... Hmm. Are you sure about this, Cursed Arm?
Cursed Arm: About what?
Geronimo: Are we truly doing the right thing here?
Cursed Arm: ...Of course. That is why I came here, after all.
Fujimaru 1: What are you talking about?
Fujimaru 2: Wait. You don't mean...
Cursed Arm: I will explain the next time we encounter Yan Qing.
Cursed Arm: He needs to hear this just as much as you do.
--ARROW--:
Narration: ...Where is he?
Narration: He's not here.
Narration: He's not anywhere.
Narration: That can't be right. He's GOTTA be here.
Narration: He's just gotta be.
Narration: Oh man, my body's falling apart. I can't maintain my Yan Qing Spirit Origin.
Narration: The sky is muddied and dirty. Even the water tastes foul.
???: How does it feel to die?
Narration: I turn around, and see Death standing there waiting for me.
Yan Qing: There you are. I knew I'd find you here, Hassan of the Cursed Arm.
Yan Qing: That's right. You're the one I've gotta apologize to. You're the one I killed.
Yan Qing: No... That's not right. You killed me.
Yan Qing: ...No, wait. Please, wait. My head...my memories are all a mess... I can't tell what's true or not!
Cursed Arm (?): Enough of this. It's time you accepted your fate.
Cursed Arm (?): ... ...
Cursed Arm (?): We can't ever atone for our sins.
Yan Qing: ...That voice... No, wait...
Yan Qing: Are you me?
Cursed Arm (?): Let me answer your question with one of my own.
Cursed Arm (?): Who do you think you are?
Fujimaru 1: Hassan wasn't Hassan...?
Fujimaru 2: Yan Qing...!?
C：Yan Qing: Hey there, Master! Sorry 'bout this!
C：Yan Qing: I definitely meant to trick you, but not like this!
Geronimo: Hmm. It would seem you are the real Yan Qing.
Geronimo: And yet, your Spirit Origin is indistinguishable from this Yan Qing.
Geronimo: ...That can only mean one thing.
Geronimo: The other Yan Qing is a doppelgänger.
A：Yan Qing (?): Ah... A-ah...
E：Yan Qing (?): Aaahhh!
C：Yan Qing: Whoa, whoa, calm down, other me! Ah crap. I knew it was too soon to pull back the curtains!
Mash: Is that...a Servant? No, now they're...Christine? And Hassan, and Yan Qing...
Mash: They keep transforming into all sorts of different enemies!
C：Yan Qing: It doesn't matter who he turns into. We just gotta get him to calm down, Master!
Fujimaru 1: You mean beat him down.
C：Yan Qing: You got it!
Fujimaru 2: So, basically...
C：Yan Qing: We hit him real hard!
Geronimo: Well, that's certainly straightforward.
C：Yan Qing: All right, lost other me, it's time for us to go back where we belong.
C：Yan Qing: There's no one left here you need to make amends to.
C：Yan Qing: So if we don't put an end to everything here... we're both gonna be left behind for good!
--BATTLE--:
Cursed Arm: Khh...
Assassin of Shinjuku: We've got you now, Hassan-i Sabbah.
Cursed Arm: ...So it would seem. Very well, go ahead and take my head.
Assassin of Shinjuku: Your head? Oh no, I don't want you dead just yet.
Assassin of Shinjuku: I need to copy your Spirit Origin first. Otherwise it'd be such a waste of material.
Cursed Arm: ...!
Assassin of Shinjuku: Yep, that's right. I'm gonna use your form to pull the wool over those Chaldea chumps' eyes whenever they manage to get here.
Cursed Arm: ...So, you are plotting ahead to ensure you can fully deceive your quarry. You truly are an Assassin born.
Cursed Arm: Very well then. If that is how it is to be, I will not go down without a fight. I can do no less after being summoned here.
Assassin of Shinjuku: Oh? You want a piece of me?
Assassin of Shinjuku: What an honor, facing off with one of the biggest names in the assassin world.
Cursed Arm: I thought I was about to die, powerless to do anything...
Cursed Arm: ...but it is exactly when one can do nothing that new options open up.
Assassin of Shinjuku: What...?
Cursed Arm: ...Zabaniya!
Assassin of Shinjuku: Hah, nice try! But there's no way you can copy my heart and crush it before I can stop you!
Cursed Arm: Indeed, I cannot. Which is why it is fortunate that I have no need to copy you.
Assassin of Shinjuku: What...!?
Cursed Arm: Hehe... Good. It worked.
Assassin of Shinjuku: You crushed your own heart? Why?
Cursed Arm: You know exactly why.
Cursed Arm: If Chaldea comes to save this city, as I trust they will...
Cursed Arm: ...then it is my duty as a Servant to help them however I can.
Assassin of Shinjuku: Wha... Huh!?
Assassin of Shinjuku: You're freakin' nuts! What the hell are you thinking!?
Assassin of Shinjuku: You're just throwing your life away for these people without even knowing for sure they're coming!?
Cursed Arm: Of course.
Cursed Arm: I was summoned here as a Rogue Servant.
Cursed Arm: It is therefore my obligation to try and save this city.
Cursed Arm: It was my fate...nay, let's just say my duty. So I have no qualms about laying down my life.
Assassin of Shinjuku: ...!
Cursed Arm: With me dead, your imitation of me will be imperfect.
Cursed Arm: ...A small stone laid upon your path, but one you may well trip over.
Cursed Arm: Farewell, savior of this city, whomever you may be. Good luck!
Assassin of Shinjuku: D-dammit!
Assassin of Shinjuku: The hell was that guy's problem!? The hell was wrong with him!?
Assassin of Shinjuku: It'd be one thing if he was dying for his master, but for someone he'd never even seen...!?
Assassin of Shinjuku: How the hell could anyone go out like that!?
Assassin of Shinjuku: Dammit, dammit, dammit!!!
Narration: ...
It was a shock to my whole Spirit Origin.
Narration: I might've betrayed some of my other masters at the last moment, but I still considered myself a faithful servant.
Narration: That's why I knew, beyond any doubt...
Narration: ...that the sacrifice this Assassin was willing to make wasn't something just anyone could do.
Narration: What a miserable way to go out. I've never been more jealous.
Narration: Oh God, it hurts. I can feel my body tearing itself apart!
Narration: Master! My master! Why did you go throw your life away with such reckless abandon!
Narration: You were so smart! So intelligent! Why did you die for such meaningless, insignificant glory!?
Narration: Why can't I figure out why you sacrificed yourself!?
Narration: ...I didn't get it at all. I had never been so scared in my life.
Narration: I had no idea how I should go about repaying my master for saving my life.
Narration: I couldn't think about...anything...anymore...
Yan Qing: ...So that's how it is. That “me” both is and isn't me.
Yan Qing: He's my doppelgänger. A Phantom Spirit who wasn't even supposed to exist.
Yan Qing: That's why it was so easy to track him down.
Yan Qing: Especially since he's been haunting me.
Yan Qing: Cursed scent mark? Sorry, I was just bullshitting you.
Geronimo: Does this mean...you and he did not originally share a body then?
Yan Qing: Nah, he's pretty much just a copy of me.
Yan Qing: I used to be the Assassin of Shinjuku, using my doppelgänger power to turn into anyone and anything.
Yan Qing: ...But I gradually forgot who I really was, and ended up losing to Master.
Yan Qing: This guy's just the remains of that version of me, but he ended up sorta linking with the version of me that got summoned to Chaldea.
Yan Qing: ...Yeah, that's it. We were linked. Connected.
Yan Qing: That's why you heard I'd Rayshifted here. He got all mixed up.
Yan Qing: He started thinking he was, well, me, and decided to come back to Shinjuku.
Yan Qing: That's why I couldn't forgive myself for what I'd done.
Yan Qing: Instead of a gangster who took over Shinjuku, I ended up reverting back into the chivalrous vigilante I always was.
Yan Qing: I mean, you've seen for yourself how surprisingly strong my sense of justice is, right?
Fujimaru 1: True, you're the most upstanding vigilante I've ever known.
Yan Qing: Wahahaha. Thanks for playing along, Master!
Fujimaru 2: I thought you were a vigilante of darkness.
Yan Qing: That's cool, I guess. They're both badass!
Yan Qing (?): Ahh... Ahhh... I can never atone... I can never make amends...
Yan Qing (?): I've always survived by...piling up regret after regret... I hate that...about myself...
Yan Qing: That's why you wanted to die, and why you tried to kill us.
Yan Qing: Because you thought trying to kill us would end with you getting killed instead. Am I wrong?
Doppelgänger: I... I... I'm everyone...and no one...
Doppelgänger: I can be anyone at all, since I lack a core self...yet I also can't be anything, since I have neither goodwill or malice.
Doppelgänger: I'm nothing more than a hapless wraith who can only survive in the space between darkness and rumor...
Doppelgänger: Which is why...I at least wanted to make amends...
Doppelgänger: And yet...I didn't want it to cost me my life...
Doppelgänger: So now...I don't know what to do...
Yan Qing: Come with me then. Hell, that's the whole reason I'm here: to invite you to join me.
Geronimo: Oho. So you want to add a Phantom Spirit on top of all your other personalities?
Geronimo: Sure about that? It might do some damage to your sense of self.
Yan Qing: Nah, I'll be fine. I know who I am. Isn't that right, Master?
Fujimaru 1: I think you can probably handle it.
Yan Qing: Right!?
Fujimaru 2: I can't say I'm not concerned, but...
Geronimo: Once he has made up his mind, there is no stopping him, huh.
Doppelgänger: A-are you sure? Is it really okay... if I come with you?
Yan Qing: Sure. You'll help make me stronger.
Yan Qing: Just don't forget how you feel right now. How desperately you're longing for justice.
Yan Qing: Long as you hold onto that, you'll make a great chivalrous vigilante yet.
Doppelgänger: A vigilante...
Doppelgänger: People who are loyal and considerate to a fault, but with strong enough senses of morality and self to even defy a king...
Doppelgänger: That's what I...want to be...
Mash: I've confirmed that the doppelgänger has...not vanished, but became part of Yan Qing.
Mash: His Spirit Origin readings are stable.
Yan Qing: See? Told you I'd be fine.
Geronimo: Even so, this is quite unusual.
Geronimo: You should have Da Vinci take a look at you as soon as we get back.
Yan Qing: Yup, will do!
Geronimo: ... ...
Geronimo: A doppelgänger who did horrible things in Shinjuku, all because he lacked a personality of his own...
Geronimo: ...yet who also attempted to do the right thing once he finally had one...
Geronimo: It's a miracle that he existed. No doubt it was only made possible thanks to humanity's current precariousness.
Geronimo: So I hope you will remember him, Master, even if no one else does.
Geronimo: It is through your observation that his small tragedy and struggle will live on forever.
Geronimo: And for him, there could be no greater honor.
Yan Qing: Yeah.
Yan Qing: Thanks for believing in me right to the end, Master. I appreciate that.
Yan Qing: As long as I'm here, Fujimaru... I'll keep fighting for you and you alone!