Clock Tower 2015 is a short story written by Kinoko Nasu in 2014, first published on the site for Mahou Tsukai No Hako before later being published on his blog digitally and in TYPE-MOON Ace: Fate/Grand Order physically.
The story is about a Clock Tower mage who recently committed suicide, his encounters with the Aozaki sisters in the past year, and the oddity of being buried with three names.
Not to be confused with the Clock Tower video game series.
This short story has examples of:
- Big "NO!": Lev is very dismayed that Aoko has come to his doorstep knocking for money instead of Touko coming in for a chat and lets his displeasure known with a drawn-out no.
- Dead Man Writing: The Aozakis came to London because they both received letters from an acquaintance informing them that he's dead. Lev and Lainur are both confused at this since they don't remember writing this letter for either sister. It was written by Flauros who had Death of Personality and knew that his physical body would soon follow when his other personalities eventually try to take the other by committing suicide.
- Driven to Suicide: Since there's no apparent person to trace the mage's death to, it's ruled as suicide even if it was possibly murder made to look like suicide by another mage. Touko comments that it's unusual for a mage from the Grand Order to have committed suicide since that goes against its rules, but Aoko hypothesizes that he found a loophole by justifying it as trying to stop his future and past personalities by sealing the present one away, allowing his other personalities to kill himself to stop the other from existing.
- Due to the Dead: Aoko leaves flowers on the mage's tombstone as he requested before he died. She and Touko also pause their sibling feud for once since their mutual acquaintance has recently died, leaving the graveyard to go eat together at a restaurant.
- Foreshadowing: Both Lev and Lainur comment on the fact they need to birth heirs, with Lev loathing the idea because he views any such heirs to likely be inadequate successors while Lainur looks forward to this. Touko comments that he must have been from a notable bloodline dating back to before the Common Era because those bound to the Grand Order via their Magic Crests could not commit suicide nor refuse the obligation to bear heirs.
- I Have Many Names: What puzzles most of the funeral attendants is that the mage being buried is referred to as "Lev Uvall", "Lainur Gusion", and "Flauros" on his tombstone.
- Innocuously Important Episode: Seemingly just a piece Nasu had written to contribute to the website before it was shut down, it would have great importance for two works to be published later on by Type-Moon. It was one of the first stories to really delve into the Clock Tower and mage society in the present day, which would become fundamental for the setting of Lord El-Melloi II Case Files. And the mage who died was Lev Lainur Flauros from Fate/Grand Order with their talks on the past, present, and future with the Aozaki sisters being thematically relevant to the game as a whole, it has the first mention of Goetia's Grand Order to mage families to maintain their bloodline, and the story is later explained to be what happens to Flauros in Tsukihime and Witch on the Holy Night timelines circa 2014.
- Last-Name Basis: Flauros was only familiar with the Aozakis by last name and didn't know them by first name so he sent them both letters beckoning them to come over to London. Both sisters referring to the mage by the last name of Flauros is a hint that their friend is the same person.
- Noodle Incident: It's mentioned that whenever Aoko comes to London, trouble shortly follows with people trying to take her down. The last time she came, she swore never to visit ever again after beating up the entire Sealing Designation division.
- Odd Friendship: Both Lev and Lainur are diligent orthodox mages, but hold friendships and deep admiration with Touko and Aoko Aozaki respectively, two mages who practice very unorthodox lives.
- Plot Parallel: The first four chapters after the prologue are structured with the first two chapters on Lev's meeting with Aoko and the latter two chapters on Lainur's meeting with Touko to show the characters' various foibles throughout the story. An unidentified Aozaki sister is walking around London, thinking about the Clock Tower before ringing up a mage they wish to meet. Meanwhile Lev/Lainur ruminates on what it means to be mages, working at the Clock Tower, and the Aozaki sister he's friends with as he goes through their latest work, then his secretary rings him up and tells them a "Miss Aozaki" is enquiring after him. Lev/Lainur rush off to groom themselves as best as he can before they meet, only to discover that it's actually Aoko/Touko, not his friend Touko/Aoko and are incredibly disappointed. The Aozaki is invited in anyway for a chat in which Lev/Lainur ruminate on the opposite of his preferred ideology, the future/past, before parting ways.
- Self-Deprecation: Lainur comments that if he was Aoko, he would complain about not being able to do any X-rated stuff, which is commentary on how Witch on the Holy Night is the only all-ages visual novel made by Type-Moon.
- The Unseen: Flauros instigates the entire plot with his plan to kill himself but is never given a POV or interacts with the Aozakis, with the most that can be discerned coming from Aoko and Touko's analysis of his motivations after death and what they remember of him.
- What If?: This story was retroactively revealed to detail how Lev Lainur Flauros commits suicide in non-Grand Order timelines with no Chaldea to employ him and trigger his Flauros personality for Goetia's plan.
