“Wait Oliver, Cisco are you serious? Oliver’s alive.” Out of everyone in the room, all of Oliver’s friends were excited and happy to know that he was alive, especially Barry. Oliver was not just a friend to Barry. He was also his mentor. The heroes that fought against the Anti-Monitor started telling stories of their friend. The atmosphere in the room was very cheerful.
But Carter and the other servants knew better and remained silent. However, Carter broke the news to everyone just as they were happy for their friend’s return. He poured cold water over the heated situation. Carter imprinted the servant that he was most worried about imprinting. But he knew the situation called for someone with a great presence to pour cold water on them, “Imprint…Berserker”. Aside from the servants, no one else noticed Carter’s new form. Upon imprinting Berserker, Carter became taller. He now had silver hair and wore black clothes under a black robe.
Carter slammed the table and yelled out so that everyone in the room could hear him, “OLIVER’S DEAD. THERE’S NO WAY TO BRING HIM BACK”, when Carter yelled this out, he got everyone’s attention. Everyone turned to him, and Barry was clearly dissatisfied with Carter’s words. “What do you mean he’s dead? Cisco met him earlier. It’s proof that he’s still alive. But why didn’t he contact anyone?” Barry’s tone was filled with anger and sadness.
Carter explains, “I know how badly all you miss Oliver and how you want him back. But you have to accept the fact that he isn’t coming back. Oliver is dead.” Barry was furious with Carter, “And how could you say that. You don’t have proof that he died. YOU WEREN’T THERE WHEN IT HAPPENED”.
Carter retorts Barry, “You’re right. I wasn’t there. But I’ve got all that information stored in my head. Information that I never even wanted. But I was the one that Alaya chose. I’m the one who’s supposed to find a new generation of heroes. I’m the one who has to ensure the safety of everyone in the future when you’re gone. We can’t depend on the Flash forever. A new generation of heroes must be born to protect humanity’s future. So you’re right. I wasn’t there but I know for a fact that Oliver’s dead, and before you ask me how I know Barry, you should ask Cisco.”
Barry turns to Cisco, “Cisco, are you sure it was Oliver?” Cisco honestly answers his friend’s question, “Yeah Barry. I’m sure. It was Oliver. He also had a command seal and he called himself Ruler.” Cisco spoke in a depressed tone. Just as Barry was about to get riled up again, Carter cooled him down. “Ruler is the fifteenth servant in this Holy Grail War. He is not bound to any master. The Grail and Alaya are his master. His role is to mediate the war. I believe I’ve said this before but I’ll repeat myself once again. For a hero to be on the Throne of Heroes, they must already have passed on. Only the heroes who have died and have their stories told will they continue to live on, on the Throne of Heroes. Oliver must’ve gained a position with his great sacrifice. It is something that no hero can achieve. The sacrifice he made could never be repaid but he will continue to exist and should he be needed again, he could be summoned once more to save the Earth or the Infinite Earths. So his story is still being told after his passing. His story and his legend are what forms his Noble Phantasm. My guess is that that’s what happened to Cisco and Rider.”
“His legend and story define him. I already have a pretty good guess as to what his Noble Phantasm is but I’m not a hundred percent sure unless I go there myself but there is still some good news that Cisco brought us. Assassin has been defeated. This means we have one less servant to worry about.” The meeting continued quietly as everyone discussed how to best handle the other six servants. J’onn advised plans and countermeasures to be in place for the other six servants as Carter pointed out that three of them would be especially difficult to handle.
When the meeting ended, everyone was curious about Carter’s new form that he never revealed to anyone. Carter decided to reveal the identity of his Berserker imprint so that they would be prepared for any unforeseen and or unwanted circumstances, should he go berserk. “The form I have now is my Berserk form. I’ve been reluctant to use it because I fear for all the chaos I’d create should I, well, go berserk. The name of the servant I’ve imprinted is a very well-known figure. Even in this day and age, his name is still remembered.” Carter built up the suspense and his new friends were dying to know the identity of his new form.
Carter looked around. He especially made several glances at Eddie, because he did not want the person he has feelings for start to have doubts about him, or fear him. “The name of my Berserker servant imprint is Vlad the Third. He is better known as Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler. But his most notable identity is” Cisco interrupts Carter, “Count Dracula”.
Carter nods, “The reason I’ve always had second thoughts on Berserker was because of Vlad’s Noble Phantasm, Legend of Dracula. This Noble Phantasm turns me into a vampire. But you don’t need to worry too much, because I have no intentions of becoming a vampire.” Once the meeting concluded, Carter was the first person to leave the room.
When Carter left, Eddie chased after him, “Hey Carter, are you okay? That outburst earlier was sort of unexpected.” Carter sighs, “It’s nothing. I just can’t accept the fact that Barry still thinks Oliver’s gonna come back. Once someone dies, that’s it. There’s no coming back. Even if they do come back, they won’t be the same person they once were. Barry needed to understand that.” Carter continued moving until he reached his room.
Eddie entered Carter’s room followed by their respective servants. Carter sat down on the bed while Eddie took a chair and looks him in the eye. “Hey, what happened was not your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. So you don’t have to feel guilty about it.” Eddie tried to cheer him up but Carter just smiled. “I know it’s not my fault and I’d probably be like Barry if something similar happened to me but I know I have to accept the fact that this situation is only temporary and I’d have to move on. The only case where a hero managed to return to the world was with a wish Eddie.”
Carter continues, “The wish was made by the servant of the champion of one of the Holy Grail Wars. It was a Caster. The wish he made to the Grail was to be reincarnated as a normal person. The wish was granted and he was reborn as a normal person. He had no magic, or power whatsoever. That was the only recorded wish that returned a hero back to life, but he had little to no recollection of his previous life. It took him decades to recall everything since he didn’t have anyone he knew in his past life to help him.”
