บท 1: Into the Night by eppelMax 1
Summary
Emiya Shirou rejected the notion of sacrificing the few for the many. He could not and would not sacrifice his sister's life even for the sake of humanity's salvation. He wished upon the Holy Grail for her to find a world where she wouldn't suffer any longer. Strangely enough, he didn't expect himself to be picked up along for the ride as well!
Chapter 1
Prologue – Into the Night
"Julian…"
My voice reverberated in the cold walls of the cavern underneath Mount Enzo.
Faced before me was Julian, still dressed in Homurahara Academy's brown uniform. His dark eyes glared into my golden brown eyes with unfiltered hatred. It seemed to me that he had been here for some time now awaiting my arrival.
Hundreds of questions flew through my head. Things that I wanted to hear. Things that I wanted answers for.
However… at this moment, there was only one thing that was paramount above all else.
"…Give Miyu back."
I clenched my hands in resolve.
My response was an ugly scowl.
"That… would mean betraying all of mankind Emiya," he spat my name through his teeth.
I centered my vision on the person in front of me. He squeezed his forehead in a display of frustration and unbridled anger. His shoulders quaked with every moment being here with me. It must've been unbearable.
"I… I don't even know where to begin." He sounded almost hysterical. "Should I be laughing right now? Or should I be crying? I really, really, can't understand you, Emiya. Doing something unforgivable like that," he looked at me in anger; a fiery hatred burned in those sockets. "…makes you the worst kind of evil."
I sympathized with the man. "I didn't know…" I understood the feeling of having the weight of the world resting upon your shoulders. To be given a duty of such magnitude was the height of absurdity. A person had to be crazy in order to accept such a duty. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we were both insane to begin with. "You too were fighting alone the entire time weren't you?"
"Do not," he snapped at me, "pretend to know you understand Emiya." His shoulders shook as his eyes widened. "You have no idea."
"That's the thing… I do," my eyes softened. "To kill one to save the many correct? I knew someone very well that was like that… in-fact, maybe a little too well…"
Emiya Kiritsugu.
The man who saved a child he had never seen before. The man who adopted and took me in as his own. Taught me like I was his own blood. The smile that he shared with me on that day was one that I would bring to the grave with me. We spoke of his dream of becoming a Hero of Justice countless of times.
I even swore to become one for him.
Installing the Heroic Spirit Emiya reinforced those things. My future self from another timeline followed through this same dogma after contracting with the world and became a Counter Guardian. The memories and knowledge he gained were therefore my own. His thoughts, his dreams, and his suffering became mine as well.
While they were all different individuals. They all followed the same ideals of justice that Julian Ainsworth clung onto with dear life.
"Did you know Julian?" I asked him out of curiosity. "About Miyu's family. About the Sakatsuki family?"
The answer was readily apparent as his face contorted in confusion. He waited impatiently for me to elaborate further.
"They kept their ancestral records all the way from the first generation right up onto Miyu's. They called them the Children of God, who had the ability to grant any wish they so desired. Have you ever wondered what a family who had all that power could possibly wish for?"
He broke eye contact with me. An answer unable to come forth to my question. He glared at his feet in contempt.
"Did you know… that all they simply wished for was for their children to grow up healthy? Of all the things in the world…" I shook my head. "They could've wished for things like fame or fortune, but all they had ever asked for was what any sensible parent would want for their own child." I paused so that my words would sink in. "And they did it without exception for hundreds of years Julian."
"Tch," he closed his eyes.
"If that is to be considered evil…"
I marched passed him resolutely. I made my bed.
"…then let me be evil."
It was time to lie in it.
"Ha…"
I could see my breath every time I exhaled.
The cavern was chilly to the bone. The hike up to the mountainous plateau was taxing. The entire complex was massive in scope. Something like this could fit the entirety of downtown Fuyuki City and then some. And in the middle of this super structure was an altar.
Laying on top of that very alter was my sister.
"Miyu…"
The girl that I had once saved from death. The girl who held the power to save the world. The girl I adopted and became family. Someone that I loved and protected above all else.
I bit the inside of my cheek.
She was also the one that was supposed to be sacrificed for the sake of humanity. To save the World from its own demise. All of it for the cost of one single person…
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"B-Big brother…?"
Golden brown eyes connected with the same colored eyes.
I smiled, a true smile, and kneeled. "I'm sorry for making you wait so long…"
"W-Why…" That gaze of hers filled with sorrow and sadness. I could feel the purist sense of betrayal. My heart wrenched and twisted in the most painful of ways. There was no sword or lance that could inflict such a wound. "Why did you come? I… I heard it from those people…"
My smile faltered bit by bit as she talked.
"Those people told me the reason why you and Kiritsugu took me in," Miyu choked on a sob. It seemed as if she had already accepted her fate. That she was to be used as nothing more than a pawn. An object to be tossed away and forgotten once they were done. "To use my power… that's all I was to you and everyone. A tool to be used. That they would find a way to use me to save… to save the World."
Tears flowed endlessly from her. The thought of being used and discarded like trash hurt her unlike anything else. She was afraid. She didn't wish to die; to not be used like a tool.
Emiya Miyu had dreams of her own. To see the ocean. To know what freedom was like.
To live.
"So then why! Why did you come here?! To use me like everyone else!?"
The one who I came to see as my own sister did not want to go into the night.
I shut my eyes as I pulled out the seven class cards, including my own, from my jacket. A sign that I had defeated the other six participants in the Fifth Holy Grail War. They came one after another. Some were nothing more than ravenous beasts fueled by their greed for the Holy Grail. Others merely mindless puppets carried on by the orders of the Ainsworth.
Nonetheless… I killed them, with the exception of one, indiscriminately without pause.
"Ha…" I opened my eyes. "This goes without saying." I focused prana into the cards. They soon levitated out of my hands in front of me in a circle. "I'm your older brother," my smile returned. "So that means I have to protect my younger sister don't I?"
Her face turned into bewilderment.
"You know," I began tiredly. "I've been… trying to figure out what to do. And truthfully, it's been one mistake after another with me. So… maybe this might be one too." I took her hand with my own. "Nevertheless, for this one, is absolutely true…"
I inhaled deeply. I could feel her gaze into my soul.
"I wish upon the Holy Grail."
And so I prayed to the Third Magic.
"I pray that you find a world where you no longer suffer. I pray that you meet kind people. I pray that you find great finds that you can laugh with. I pray that you find… a warm, small share of happiness."
The runes surrounding the keystone lit up. The Third Magic known as the Heaven's Feel acknowledged my wish that I brought and accepted it in its entirety.
"B-Brother!" Her eyes squeezed shut. My grip on her hand slipped as she began to float upwards to the runic system. The Holy Grail began charging up.
For the first time since its inception hundreds of years ago. One of the True Magics activated. It was a sight to behold.
For the first time since I was rescued. I was genuinely happy with myself. I felt free from all of my burdens. That a weight had been lifted. For once in my life I was able to do something right.
"Tch…"
The brevity of the moment left.
Another person had entered the boundary field.
I turned my back to the system and walked down from the plateau.
It was time to greet my last opponent.
"Sorry, but as you can see my little sister is working very hard right now," I said with an irritating smirk. "Could you possibly… you know? Wait just a little longer, please?"
Angelica Ainsworth sneered. Her otherwise angelic face marred by an ugly scowl. "I cannot mongrel. Your filthy wish will not be granted. A mere faker who slipped into the Holy Grail War by accident shall not seize the miracle!"
Golden ethereal light filled the cavern. Untold amounts of Noble Phantasms pointed at me. I held onto my smirk even in the face of certain death. To anyone else it was a terrifying spectacle to behold. But to a faker like me? They were just more trinkets to be added to my own collection.
The wielder of the True Archer Class Card stepped forward.
The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.
A man dreamt of the World's salvation.
Another man chose the continuation of his species.
I revolted and chose to protect one single person's happiness.
And then that man…
All twenty-seven magical circuits thrummed to life. Reinforcement to the utmost possible limit that my body could handle. My arms raised up as the golden portals released their weapons like a bullet from a barrel. The innumerable treasures held within the world's greatest treasury sprayed the area. Explosions rocked the cavern and I flew through the air.
Gate of Babylon: The King's Treasure.
"Guh…"
My enemy marched forward imperiously and unimpeded. What ludicrous levels of power…
"Hmph – for a mere flesh and blood human, standing against the might of the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, is the height of foolishness." Her arms crossed beneath her ample bosom. "You may grovel on the ground and beg me for forgiveness mongrel. Although if you dare to stand up once more in defiance – I will show no mercy."
The ultimate expression of overwhelming force.
This was the power of the Gate of Babylon. The vault that the King of Uruk built to store all the treasures in the world that he collected. A space of reality he created so that he could protect it like a dragon would with gold. An untold amount of weapons and trinkets were held within that scared vault.
He was the progenitor of all heroes.
He was the forefather to all their weapons.
All the achievements that future kings and heroes would come to accomplish one day had already been completed by him. Everyone else were mere copycats in his image.
I spat out blood to the side. Not even reinforcement at its greatest could protect me from those scared treasures. Gruesome gashes covered my body as they openly wept.
It was agonizing to move.
"I see…" I zeroed in on her face in recognition. "You're the one from back then!"
It all felt so familiar to me now. She was there that day when Julian absconded away with Miyu and left me for dead. She was the one who casually flung all those high-tiered Noble Phantasms that left me in a pool of my own blood.
"Be they Western or Eastern, ancient or modern, all of humanity's treasures are within this Heroic Spirit's power," flaunted Angelica. She placed a hand on her hip as she casually marched.
I now understood. "That was why Sakura hailed it as she strongest of them all…" I struggled to stay upright. A days' worth of constant fighting against the other Class Card holders was finally starting to take its toll.
"You…" she glared at me as I stabilized myself. "Your stupidity and foolishness truly knows no bounds."
"Trying to save all of humanity eh?" Magical energy sparked the air around me. "I have to say that you people carry an enormous burden trying to save us all. To make a world of peace… but I got someone that I'm responsible for too you know?"
It was time to lay it all to bare.
I refused to let her gain any more ground that she already has. I could not allow her to unleash the full might of her power onto the ritual.
"Tch – be they personal feelings or sentimentality. Both are considered equally worthless in this world." She threw her right arm out and opened a plethora of gates.
Swords upon swords. Weapons upon weapons. She motioned with her hand and they all shot at me like streams of light.
I was a miscalculation. An aberration unaccounted for. For all intents and purposes, I should be dead. There was no way for the Ainsworth, one of the three ancestral families that assisted in the creation of the Holy Grail System, to know that the trash card I was given could still be linked. And that of all heroes that it linked with to the Throne of Heroes was none other than myself.
"Trace, on!"
Kanshou and Bakuya, the swords favored by the Heroic Spirit EMIYA deflected the projectiles in a hurried flurry. The black and white yin-yang swords gleamed in all their glory. Their familiar weight soothed the storm building within.
"Swords?" she recoiled in shock. "That's impossible… that fighting style… those Noble Phantasms! Those are-!"
"What was that about only being mere flesh and blood human? You're pitifully slow on the uptake King of Heroes," I mocked condescendingly.
It only served to stoke the fiery rage within the blonde.
The Noble Phantasms that were pointed at me were soon mirrored. I copied each and every one of them faithfully. Right down to the most intricate of details and powers. I wanted to pour salt onto Angelica's wounds.
A small victory in an otherwise losing war.
"THE ONE THAT YOU FACE IS A TRUE IMITATION OF A HEROIC SPIRIT!"
Angelica Ainsworth took a step back in offense. "How… How dare you! Labelling oneself a fake of a fake in front of an Ainsworth!" She clenched her gauntleted hand in front of her face. "For such a grievous sin… YOU SHALL PAY WITH YOUR LIFE MONGREL!"
The battle was on.
Swords sliced into swords.
Lances speared into lances.
I pumped prana down to my legs and dashed forward. The numerous Noble Phantasms encircling me shot forward the moment I finished tracing them. In the opening moments of our fight we had already shot countless treasures at each other.
A potential path of another life.
A life of a Hero of Justice that faced countless battles while being possessed by the embodiment of that ideal and taking it to its utmost limit.
Skills and abilities.
Thaumaturgy and magical circuits.
Memories and experiences.
Origin and element.
All of it was borrowed and taken from him. The hard work, the years of experience, the subtle nuances in his specialized magecraft. Everything he worked so hard to gain, I took it from him and made it my own. None of it could truly be called my own, but I cared little.
Every time that I fought, this body of mine was invaded by EMIYA.
I leapt up high to evade a stream of golden bullets and struck from above with my black and white swords.
The paltry attack was easily blocked by her own summoned sword.
"You! Lowly! FAKER!" Her eyes burned with rage at the fact that I was able to come within arm's reach of her.
A gate opened beneath me that launched an enormous zweihander out of the ground to spear my abdomen.
I pulled back on the swords before lashing out again at her sword to vault backwards. I barely dodged the weapon and immediately created some distance between us.
I was unable to receive any reprieve. Golden light shined brightly on my face as gates to the treasury were opened. It literally rained a storm of Noble Phantasms. I copied what I could and projected as fast as possible to mitigate the damage.
The attempt was valiant, but not enough as I was slower compared to her abilities.
A cacophony of explosions rung out all around me.
"You should be well past the point of no return and yet…" Her eyes narrowed into slits. "The strength of your attacks and the speed of your projections is increasing. I do not know what trickery you're using, but know that it is futile in the end." She even threw out her hair.
From an outsider, it looked like I was groveling at her feet begging for mercy. When in reality, I was getting sick and tired of hearing her damn mouth run on and on with no end in sight.
"The only thing that awaits you faker… is ruin."
My hands clenched into fists as I rose once more. My body protested all the way up, wanting to succumb to the accumulated fatigue.
Once more unto the breach.
Once more until my last breath.
"You know…" A cheeky grin split my face. "You're awfully cute Angelica-chan."
"W-What?" Her voice was filled with bewilderment at the use of an affectionate honorific.
"Are you that worried about little ol' me? Or," I spat out blood to the side, "are you just hesitant to kill?"
The cavern took this moment to quake. A sign that the Third Magic was close to finishing the ritual.
Just a little more…
"I never had time for such silly thoughts. If I did, I wouldn't have made it all the way here."
Assassin. Caster. Lancer. Rider. Saber.
I killed them all without thought; without mercy. They would give none to me so I gave none to them. If that was considered evil then I accepted it wholeheartedly.
"If I hesitated just once… my wish would have never been realized."
That man…
I casted away of what little remained of my jacket.
"I STAND HERE NOW TO USE UP WHAT'S LEFT OF THIS WORTHLESS LIFE!"
He ended up there…
"I am the bone of my sword."
I pushed out my right hand while my left hand gripped my right forearm.
I casted the spell.
Casting was merely a suggestion to change myself. These words were to connect Emiya Shirou with himself.
There lied at the end of that ideal of justice…
Angelica replied by unleashing a salvo of Noble Phantasms.
I pulled out a shield from the hill of swords to stem the tide.
"Ghuck-!"
The swarm of weapons battered relentlessly against the shield.
Rho Aias: The Seven Rings that Cover the Fiery Heavens.
The great shield of Aias the Great that was capable of stopping Durindana of the Trojan hero Hector. In its greatest form, it was projected as a seven layered Bounded Field in the shape of an iridescent flower. Each petal had the defensive power of a fortress wall like that of Troy. I fed as much magical energy I could spare into the shield.
It was the easiest and quickest form of stationary defense I could think of. However, the biggest drawback with the shield was myself. If she shield was damaged then the user would receive damage in accordance.
There was only one place I needed to reach to even out the playing field. The overwhelming power from the chanted aria filled my magical energy capacity instantly.
"Damn you faker!" cursed Angelica. Frustration written all over her angry brow. Her stream of Noble Phantasms failed to penetrate my shield.
"I have created over a thousand blades."
Cutting himself off from the world. He fought many battles, saved many people, but lost something of himself with each one.
"Unaware of beginning, nor aware of the end."
He kept going. He kept marching. Losing himself piece by piece until finally… his world was empty…
"Withstood pain to create inconsistent weapons, these hands will never hold anything."
A dozen golden ripples formed. Silver-linked chains blasted out at breakneck speeds, wrapping themselves around my torso and limbs. It was a pointless endeavor. I had to be still in order for this to work anyways.
"Yet, my flame never ends."
The blonde haired magus of the Ainsworth dashed forwards faster than sound while clutching a massive claymore over her head. She was so close, I could see victory dancing in her eyes. Her sword was just in range to cleave me in half.
"My whole life was still…"
She let out a guttural roar as she swung.
"Unlimited Blade Works."
The true name was casted.
At that very moment, everything broke and everything reformed.
"Switching individual and collective. Fantasy and reality. Inside and outside. Overwriting the world with one's own very soul…"
A blizzard raged in an arctic wasteland filled with nothing but swords. Monolithic gears gyrated softly in the horizon. A crescent moon illuminated the landscape from above.
"The innermost and highest thaumaturgy, a reality marble."
I ascended the snow covered hill of swords.
"This is the place that we both saw."
Summiting the hill, at its peak was a singular sword that stuck out of the ground. I gripped the handle and pulled it out of the ground. I raised it high above my head.
The snow storm paused.
Caliburn, the Golden Sword of Assured Victory.
The holy sword that was the symbol of the Once and Future King of Camelot. The sacred sword of the stone that became the symbol of England's King of Knights. A sword that changed the course of one individual's and countless others history for eternity.
"So… what do you think?" I said smugly as possible. "It's a world encompassing an infinite number of swords. But if you ask me? They're more like grave markers."
I could see her down at the bottom of the hill in utter shock and awe. She looked all around herself in this world she found herself in. Every bladed weapon that had ever existed was before her. My answer to her vaunted treasury.
"Sorry," I clicked my tongue. "But would you so kindly keep me company until my blades run out?"
The blonde scoffed in disdain.
"It seems as I was mistaken. You truly had no hope of victory from the start didn't you? Disregarding yourself and the lives of others… even animals have more dignity!" She glared up to me as golden ripples formed behind her. She presented weapons of all makes and kinds. Angelica Ainsworth was no longer holding back. "A fitting scene for a mongrel! A puppet like you who mimics the dead shall sink to the bottom of those graves as you wish faker!"
The full might of the Gate of Babylon opened.
Unlimited Blade Works accepted the challenge.
I barreled down the hill with sword in hand.
Noble Phantasms collided into Noble Phantasms.
A hundred weapons were met with a hundred fakes.
It was a war being waged by two individuals. A single mistake could spell either of our end.
Angelica opened more portals behind her. As quick as she opened them they were quickly closed causing her eyes to widen in dismay. "You're faster!"
In the real world, the power of the King of Uruk outclassed me by several orders of magnitude. But in my reality marble? I reigned supreme. I was no longer operating at a disadvantage due to the time difference between our powers. Angelica required time to set and prepare her weapons. The weapons in this world were already here and waiting to meet hers.
Therefore, no matter what, I would always be one step ahead of her.
"Too slow," I taunted.
My speed surpassed god-speed.
"Curse you Emiya Shirou!"
Her hand summoned a great wall of shields. Each of them varied from heroes of different time periods and cultures. An assortment of colors blocked my path.
"With countless treasures at your disposal, that heroic spirit is undoubtedly a king among all heroes! That's why you can afford to look down on me like a mongrel! But in the end, you're just a one-trick pony like me!"
I fed prana into the sword in my hands and chanted, "O – Sword of Selection, grant me power! Cleave the wicked!"
My body twisted.
My arms reinforced.
"CALIBURN-!"
A wave of golden holy light slashed out. The wall of shields that impeded my path melted away. They were nothing more than slags of metal now.
"YOU'RE JUST AN OWNER! LIKE ME!"
Angelica refused to budge from her spot. Defiant to lose ground to a mere faker like me. Her hand opened up. Dozens of ripples appear above her head with weapons peeking out.
I paid them little mind as I already mentally dispatched the same weapons to strike them down.
I charged forward. My feet skidded across the surface. I gripped the sword with both hands in preparation to cut down my enemy in half.
At this range and timing, there was no way she could escape unscathed!
I slashed at her midsection, "W-What?!" However to my astonishment, my sword phased right through her harmlessly!
How was that possible?!
"Guhrk-!"
My body lurched as I suddenly found myself hundreds of meters in the air.
"Incorrect," her voice sliced into the air. "Don't you dare make light of the Ainsworth you filthy mongrel."
Wind rushed past my face as I corrected myself midair. Angelica had used a spatial displacement magecraft to dodge my attack! Stupid, idiot me! How could I forget such a crucial piece of information?!
"Enough of this foolishness…"
I prepared myself for what was about to come.
"Come forth Ig-Alima! Sul-sagana!"
Two divine constructs were summoned with the snap of a finger. What insane power that card held! Was there no limit to its strength?!
Ig-Alima: The Green Field Cutting Through the Thousand Mountains.
Sul-sagana: Heavenly Formation of the Astral Stars.
Their sheer size was enough to eclipse that of the tallest building Fuyuki effortlessly. One was a massive flat blade that was the ultimate expression of brute force. The other was a jagged blade that spat out fire. The air was superheated to the point that the snow evaporated instantly in its vicinity.
"AAAHHHHHH!" I focused on the first one that bored down on me. "IG-ALIMA!"
A large chunk of prana was taken to create a hastily traced copy of the divine construct. My projected weapon smashed into the original, completing negating and shattering both of them in half.
The impact the two weapons made alone sent shockwaves throughout my reality marble.
I didn't have the luxury to marvel at their destruction. I turned towards the other one that came screaming in. I was cutting it too close-!
"SUL-SAGANA!"
Another enormous chunk of prana was taken away. The two constructs met the same fate as the previous two.
Mountain sized chunks of metal crashed into the ground. It uprooted all the swords skewered into the ground high into the air. It rained fire and metal due to their cataclysmic clash.
I collapsed onto the ground exhausted. "Ha… hah…"
My lungs sucked in air greedily. Angelica clapped from her position. "Though they have been cheap imitations, you still managed to project two divine constructs while continuing to feed magical energy to sustain this reality marble of yours. Impressive… most impressive."
Our positions had been reversed.
Where I was once looking down at her. She now held the high ground and looked down from her nose.
"Your very existence is flawed. You prove to be a hindrance to the last legend written that was put into motion of the sake of humanity. Your irksome abilities. Your strange use of thaumaturgy. And your abhorrent self-destructive conviction…"
A single golden portal formed to the right of her.
My body tensed.
A handle eased out to which she grasped and pulled out.
Angelica Ainsworth raised that thing above her head.
"…I shall tear them to pieces along with your pathetic world."
Analyzing the sword with my eyes made my brain pound itself against my skull. "Guh…" I felt something break somewhere. Blood fell freely from my nose as I stared at the monstrosity. The mere act of trying to comprehend such an object was almost a death sentence.
What she held in her hands was older than time itself.
"Now you realize your doom mongrel. Lie down like the dog you are and die."
I tore my eyes away and shook my head. "I'm honored that you'd bring out something special like that for me… it really shows that you do care about little old me Angelica-chan."
Her face sneered in annoyance at that tacked on suffix.
"I admit my defeat. There is simply no sword in this world that can stand equal to what you have…"
The reality marble rumbled.
The thaumaturgical steel manufacturing factory that produced countless famous swords that were without an owner quaked. Far beyond the horizon behind me a black mass grew. From a small speck to an overwhelming wave.
It blackened the skies.
"I'm sorry," I unapologetically apologized, "while it may be a bit rude since it pales in comparison to your gift. I'll have to pay you back… WITH ALL THE SWORDS I HAVE IN STOCK!"
A futile gesture in the face of certain doom.
"The vortex that turns the stars, this heavenly hell signifies the end of the eve of genesis. Subside with death!"
I thrusted out with both hands. A storm of swords flew passed me to meet the blast of ruin.
"ENUMA ELISH!"
The Sword of Rupture, Ea: The Star of Creation that split Heaven and Earth.
Crimson winds coalesced into the form of a black and red vortex. The air distorted before my eyes. Reality literally shattered in its wake. Space and time were peeled back to reveal the truth. The void consumed any and everything in its path.
"GGRRRRAAAAHHHHHHH!" I roared with all that I had left within me. I dumped every single last bit of magical energy I had into this final offensive.
"Futile! Even if you pile all of your blades together! They are no match for the strongest sword in existence mongrel!"
Weapons of all kind.
Swords of all make.
Divine and holy. Famed and infamous. Broken and perfected. Magical and mundane. Heroic and villainous.
They were all insignificant when compared to the might of the original sword.
Every single sword I put forth was torn asunder effortlessly.
In the eye of the storm. I stood there helplessly as hell barreled towards me. There was nothing in my arsenal that could compete against that. "Yeah… I guess you're right…"
SNAP-!
I blinked.
And just like that, it suddenly happened. A connection had been severed.
My eyes widened as I collapsed to my knees.
I cracked a smile. I realized now where all my energy came from. Having fought all those other Class Card holders like I did should have been impossible. I couldn't possibly have had all the prana to do so, but I did. And now it finally dawned on me.
The one who gave me that strength to fight against all odds was her.
"Miyu…"
The torrential and whirling doom slammed into my body with the force a thousand stars. I felt my body careened away like a ragdoll. It shattered my inner world with ease. The egg cracked and like a hammer into glass; reality broke.
Even in the face of death, in the face of defeat, I held my smile. There was no pain or suffering that coursed through my veins. With my own terms, I managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Ah – so that's what the feeling was… satisfaction.
"What?" Angelica Ainsworth looked around in the now empty cavern. "What happened? What did you do?! The grail… it disappeared! Almost everything related to the Holy Grail War has been erased!"
The Heaven's Feel ritual reached the apex of its gathered magical energy by the end of our fight. The moment the prana peaked, it severed itself the moment Miyu departed from this world. Sent off to another World that wasn't in its death throes.
This World was guaranteed for damnation. If I was unable to save the collective then I would save the individual. A selfish and villainous goal in the eyes of most. But to me? I finally felt like a Hero of Justice. No one could ever tell me otherwise.
My own selfish justice.
Darkness encroached my vision.
"Ha… I'm sorry that I wasn't able to see you off myself or even better… come with you."
Regret knotted itself around my heart.
"I… I wanted to come with you, but I know I can't… There was so much that I wanted to teach you Miyu. I know you'll probably be mad at me, but I'm sure you can find it in your heart to forgive me… right?"
My chest heaved up as it became difficult to breath let alone stay conscious.
"Damn… there was another thing I forgot. I promised that you would get to see the ocean…"
My breathing eased.
"I gave it my all you know? So please… forgive your big brother for breaking a promise when we meet again…"
I rested my bloodied and mangled arm against my forehead.
"Please – for my sake… be happy."
With great effort, I raised my fist into the air in defiance of everything.
In the end…
"I won – Kiritsugu."
Angelica Ainsworth quelled the rage within her.
Her mission to stop Emiya Shirou had ended in failure.
The boy who had slipped into the Fifth Holy Grail War had effectively destroyed hundreds of years' of groundwork.
"Tch – Julian-sama will be most displeased with me." She turned towards the unconscious body of her opponent. "At least there will be a consolation prize. We will use your magical energy to find which world you sent her mongrel. Know that what you did will be in vain."
She moved towards his body to imprison him.
As she did so, her eyes widened as he began to fade away.
"What?!" She spoke out in alarm. "What is the meaning of this?!"
Her hand moved to summon Enkidu to grab onto him, but it was a gesture far too late.
And just like that, he too was gone from this world.
"Damn you, you faker…"
A ripple appeared and a spear shot out, cratering the spot where he used to be.
"DAMN YOU EMIYA SHIROU!" She cursed his name and it echoed in the empty cavern.
Now it would make recovering the Child of God along with the Holy Grail system even more difficult without relying on any sort of trace. Their duty to save the world on their terms had been derailed in its entirety.
She steadied her breath to calm herself.
It was time to deliver the bad news to Julian Ainsworth.
Something that she was not looking forward to.
Wind slapped at my face and whistled into my ears.
My eyes fluttered open and tears leaked as they were stung. I blinked several times to rid myself of the blurry vision. Immediately, I wished I had kept them closed.
"GAH-!"
I flailed about wildly in an attempt to correct myself. I blinked and suddenly I was getting closer to the ground with every second. The canopy of the forest was coming up all too fast for my tastes.
Think! Observe, analyze, and act!
I barely had anything left within me, but a shoddy projection was better than nothing! I just needed something that could arrest my motion to stop myself from crashing into the forest at terminal velocity.
"Trace-"
Before I was able to spit out the last word to trace a sword. A thin object came rocketing out of nowhere and nicked the collar of my shirt, carrying me along its flight path and into the trunk of a tree.
The blade of the spear sank deeply in the wood and left me dangling dozens of feet from the ground.
It was like a thrust of lightning from the heavens itself.
Someone had to have saved me. Otherwise they wouldn't have missed an easy shot. The paranoid voice that grew from years of being with Kiritsugu said to be distrustful, but I shook it off.
I took the moment to gather myself and my surroundings.
"Where the hell am I?"
So one moment I was underneath Mount Enzo and the next I was falling into a heavily forested area. How rotten was my luck for something like this to happen to me? Looking up, I grasped the handle of the spear and tried prying it free. To no avail, it refused to budge even when I struggled to pull it out. Damn, how hard did this person throw it?
"Need a hand?"
Huh?
Red hair broke through a bush. A bronze shield on her back. The armor that she wore was refined and perfected. They orchestrated a sound together that was beautiful and charming like a bell. I rubbed at my eyes in disbelief at the scene before me.
This girl was-
"Hello!" She waved almost nervously. "Are you alright? I barely caught sight of you when I was making my own landing in the forest. I guess you can say I was pretty lucky. And we're in the Emerald Forest don't you remember? You must've hit something nasty if you forgot about the initiation test for Beacon Academy."
I was… wait what? Come again? Beacon Academy? Emerald Forest? And we? Who was we? And what sort of initiation test was she talking about? Just what in the world did I get myself into?
"Uh… y-yeah," I played along, stumbling over my response. I turned away and patted myself lightly all over in disbelief at my current condition. Physically – I was alright, aside from some minor scrapes from my rough fall I was ok. I stared at myself in shock. It looked like as if I hadn't just been in a life or death battle that decided the fate of the world. I was pretty sure I caught a face full of a reality tearing Noble Phantasm just before I blacked out.
My magical energy was low. There was barely enough left to keep myself going. Any more significant or complex projections and I risked damaging my circuits irreparably.
"So… I suppose this makes us partners right?" She spoke up.
Partners?
Ah – this must be some sort of duo program for initiates. Just like how some Enforcers would operate in tandem for the Mage's Association.
"Yeah," I felt like a robot just repeating that word and nodded dumbly. I tried again to free the spear from the tree.
"Here, allow me to get that for you."
Her hand moved to summon her spear back. My eyes caught something rustling in the bushes she came from.
"▃▄▄▅!" A black shadowy beast exploded out. It looked like some sort of werewolf.
"BEHIND YOU!" I warned out to the girl.
Without hesitation, she brought her shield up to block the swipe from its deadly claws. At the same time, I pumped what little prana I had to reinforce my arms and plucked the spear out of the tree. Flipping it in my hand, I chucked the weapon with my right arm – aiming for center mass.
The armored girl that resembling that of a hoplite of Classical antiquity, bicycle kicked the spear at the right moment to add even more power. It pierced straight through the creature as easily as if it were paper causing the beast to howl in pain. She didn't allow it any reprieve and used the edge of her shield to decapitate its head, silencing it permanently. With a motion of her hand, the weapon flew out of its chest and into her hand.
I landed in a messy heap, panting and full of sweat. That look a lot more out of me than I thought it would.
"Thank you for the heads up," smiled the girl in gratitude. "I didn't expect you to return the favor so quickly… um?"
"Shirou… Shirou Emiya." I looked up at the redheaded girl. Time momentarily stood still as I took the sight in. A breeze in the forest washed over us. Her red hair and skirt billowed. She extended a hand to me.
"Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos."
The vibrant green eyes.
The red and bronze outfit symbolized her in the forest.
I reached out and accepted her hand.
Author's note:
At the suggestion of my editor. I went back this chapter again and brought it up to our standards. Refined wording, past/present tense usage, improved dialogue, and paragraphs. This story uses the Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 3rei Shirou instead of his composite versions from the three routes of Fate/stay night.
Yes – Shirou is taking the leading man spot from Jaune in the story as the titular character and the driving force of change on how things develop. He'll still have some relevancy in later chapters.
I hope you enjoy the new and updated version of the prologue to this crossover story.
Please leave a review of your thoughts on the chapter! Feel free to message me of any questions on the story or leave it on your review. I'll be sure to respond as soon as possible!
Word count before A/N: 6,841Summary
Emiya Shirou rejected the notion of sacrificing the few for the many. He could not and would not sacrifice his sister's life even for the sake of humanity's salvation. He wished upon the Holy Grail for her to find a world where she wouldn't suffer any longer. Strangely enough, he didn't expect himself to be picked up along for the ride as well!
Chapter 1
Prologue – Into the Night
"Julian…"
My voice reverberated in the cold walls of the cavern underneath Mount Enzo.
Faced before me was Julian, still dressed in Homurahara Academy's brown uniform. His dark eyes glared into my golden brown eyes with unfiltered hatred. It seemed to me that he had been here for some time now awaiting my arrival.
Hundreds of questions flew through my head. Things that I wanted to hear. Things that I wanted answers for.
However… at this moment, there was only one thing that was paramount above all else.
"…Give Miyu back."
I clenched my hands in resolve.
My response was an ugly scowl.
"That… would mean betraying all of mankind Emiya," he spat my name through his teeth.
I centered my vision on the person in front of me. He squeezed his forehead in a display of frustration and unbridled anger. His shoulders quaked with every moment being here with me. It must've been unbearable.
"I… I don't even know where to begin." He sounded almost hysterical. "Should I be laughing right now? Or should I be crying? I really, really, can't understand you, Emiya. Doing something unforgivable like that," he looked at me in anger; a fiery hatred burned in those sockets. "…makes you the worst kind of evil."
I sympathized with the man. "I didn't know…" I understood the feeling of having the weight of the world resting upon your shoulders. To be given a duty of such magnitude was the height of absurdity. A person had to be crazy in order to accept such a duty. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we were both insane to begin with. "You too were fighting alone the entire time weren't you?"
"Do not," he snapped at me, "pretend to know you understand Emiya." His shoulders shook as his eyes widened. "You have no idea."
"That's the thing… I do," my eyes softened. "To kill one to save the many correct? I knew someone very well that was like that… in-fact, maybe a little too well…"
Emiya Kiritsugu.
The man who saved a child he had never seen before. The man who adopted and took me in as his own. Taught me like I was his own blood. The smile that he shared with me on that day was one that I would bring to the grave with me. We spoke of his dream of becoming a Hero of Justice countless of times.
I even swore to become one for him.
Installing the Heroic Spirit Emiya reinforced those things. My future self from another timeline followed through this same dogma after contracting with the world and became a Counter Guardian. The memories and knowledge he gained were therefore my own. His thoughts, his dreams, and his suffering became mine as well.
While they were all different individuals. They all followed the same ideals of justice that Julian Ainsworth clung onto with dear life.
"Did you know Julian?" I asked him out of curiosity. "About Miyu's family. About the Sakatsuki family?"
The answer was readily apparent as his face contorted in confusion. He waited impatiently for me to elaborate further.
"They kept their ancestral records all the way from the first generation right up onto Miyu's. They called them the Children of God, who had the ability to grant any wish they so desired. Have you ever wondered what a family who had all that power could possibly wish for?"
He broke eye contact with me. An answer unable to come forth to my question. He glared at his feet in contempt.
"Did you know… that all they simply wished for was for their children to grow up healthy? Of all the things in the world…" I shook my head. "They could've wished for things like fame or fortune, but all they had ever asked for was what any sensible parent would want for their own child." I paused so that my words would sink in. "And they did it without exception for hundreds of years Julian."
"Tch," he closed his eyes.
"If that is to be considered evil…"
I marched passed him resolutely. I made my bed.
"…then let me be evil."
It was time to lie in it.
"Ha…"
I could see my breath every time I exhaled.
The cavern was chilly to the bone. The hike up to the mountainous plateau was taxing. The entire complex was massive in scope. Something like this could fit the entirety of downtown Fuyuki City and then some. And in the middle of this super structure was an altar.
Laying on top of that very alter was my sister.
"Miyu…"
The girl that I had once saved from death. The girl who held the power to save the world. The girl I adopted and became family. Someone that I loved and protected above all else.
I bit the inside of my cheek.
She was also the one that was supposed to be sacrificed for the sake of humanity. To save the World from its own demise. All of it for the cost of one single person…
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"B-Big brother…?"
Golden brown eyes connected with the same colored eyes.
I smiled, a true smile, and kneeled. "I'm sorry for making you wait so long…"
"W-Why…" That gaze of hers filled with sorrow and sadness. I could feel the purist sense of betrayal. My heart wrenched and twisted in the most painful of ways. There was no sword or lance that could inflict such a wound. "Why did you come? I… I heard it from those people…"
My smile faltered bit by bit as she talked.
"Those people told me the reason why you and Kiritsugu took me in," Miyu choked on a sob. It seemed as if she had already accepted her fate. That she was to be used as nothing more than a pawn. An object to be tossed away and forgotten once they were done. "To use my power… that's all I was to you and everyone. A tool to be used. That they would find a way to use me to save… to save the World."
Tears flowed endlessly from her. The thought of being used and discarded like trash hurt her unlike anything else. She was afraid. She didn't wish to die; to not be used like a tool.
Emiya Miyu had dreams of her own. To see the ocean. To know what freedom was like.
To live.
"So then why! Why did you come here?! To use me like everyone else!?"
The one who I came to see as my own sister did not want to go into the night.
I shut my eyes as I pulled out the seven class cards, including my own, from my jacket. A sign that I had defeated the other six participants in the Fifth Holy Grail War. They came one after another. Some were nothing more than ravenous beasts fueled by their greed for the Holy Grail. Others merely mindless puppets carried on by the orders of the Ainsworth.
Nonetheless… I killed them, with the exception of one, indiscriminately without pause.
"Ha…" I opened my eyes. "This goes without saying." I focused prana into the cards. They soon levitated out of my hands in front of me in a circle. "I'm your older brother," my smile returned. "So that means I have to protect my younger sister don't I?"
Her face turned into bewilderment.
"You know," I began tiredly. "I've been… trying to figure out what to do. And truthfully, it's been one mistake after another with me. So… maybe this might be one too." I took her hand with my own. "Nevertheless, for this one, is absolutely true…"
I inhaled deeply. I could feel her gaze into my soul.
"I wish upon the Holy Grail."
And so I prayed to the Third Magic.
"I pray that you find a world where you no longer suffer. I pray that you meet kind people. I pray that you find great finds that you can laugh with. I pray that you find… a warm, small share of happiness."
The runes surrounding the keystone lit up. The Third Magic known as the Heaven's Feel acknowledged my wish that I brought and accepted it in its entirety.
"B-Brother!" Her eyes squeezed shut. My grip on her hand slipped as she began to float upwards to the runic system. The Holy Grail began charging up.
For the first time since its inception hundreds of years ago. One of the True Magics activated. It was a sight to behold.
For the first time since I was rescued. I was genuinely happy with myself. I felt free from all of my burdens. That a weight had been lifted. For once in my life I was able to do something right.
"Tch…"
The brevity of the moment left.
Another person had entered the boundary field.
I turned my back to the system and walked down from the plateau.
It was time to greet my last opponent.
"Sorry, but as you can see my little sister is working very hard right now," I said with an irritating smirk. "Could you possibly… you know? Wait just a little longer, please?"
Angelica Ainsworth sneered. Her otherwise angelic face marred by an ugly scowl. "I cannot mongrel. Your filthy wish will not be granted. A mere faker who slipped into the Holy Grail War by accident shall not seize the miracle!"
Golden ethereal light filled the cavern. Untold amounts of Noble Phantasms pointed at me. I held onto my smirk even in the face of certain death. To anyone else it was a terrifying spectacle to behold. But to a faker like me? They were just more trinkets to be added to my own collection.
The wielder of the True Archer Class Card stepped forward.
The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.
A man dreamt of the World's salvation.
Another man chose the continuation of his species.
I revolted and chose to protect one single person's happiness.
And then that man…
All twenty-seven magical circuits thrummed to life. Reinforcement to the utmost possible limit that my body could handle. My arms raised up as the golden portals released their weapons like a bullet from a barrel. The innumerable treasures held within the world's greatest treasury sprayed the area. Explosions rocked the cavern and I flew through the air.
Gate of Babylon: The King's Treasure.
"Guh…"
My enemy marched forward imperiously and unimpeded. What ludicrous levels of power…
"Hmph – for a mere flesh and blood human, standing against the might of the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, is the height of foolishness." Her arms crossed beneath her ample bosom. "You may grovel on the ground and beg me for forgiveness mongrel. Although if you dare to stand up once more in defiance – I will show no mercy."
The ultimate expression of overwhelming force.
This was the power of the Gate of Babylon. The vault that the King of Uruk built to store all the treasures in the world that he collected. A space of reality he created so that he could protect it like a dragon would with gold. An untold amount of weapons and trinkets were held within that scared vault.
He was the progenitor of all heroes.
He was the forefather to all their weapons.
All the achievements that future kings and heroes would come to accomplish one day had already been completed by him. Everyone else were mere copycats in his image.
I spat out blood to the side. Not even reinforcement at its greatest could protect me from those scared treasures. Gruesome gashes covered my body as they openly wept.
It was agonizing to move.
"I see…" I zeroed in on her face in recognition. "You're the one from back then!"
It all felt so familiar to me now. She was there that day when Julian absconded away with Miyu and left me for dead. She was the one who casually flung all those high-tiered Noble Phantasms that left me in a pool of my own blood.
"Be they Western or Eastern, ancient or modern, all of humanity's treasures are within this Heroic Spirit's power," flaunted Angelica. She placed a hand on her hip as she casually marched.
I now understood. "That was why Sakura hailed it as she strongest of them all…" I struggled to stay upright. A days' worth of constant fighting against the other Class Card holders was finally starting to take its toll.
"You…" she glared at me as I stabilized myself. "Your stupidity and foolishness truly knows no bounds."
"Trying to save all of humanity eh?" Magical energy sparked the air around me. "I have to say that you people carry an enormous burden trying to save us all. To make a world of peace… but I got someone that I'm responsible for too you know?"
It was time to lay it all to bare.
I refused to let her gain any more ground that she already has. I could not allow her to unleash the full might of her power onto the ritual.
"Tch – be they personal feelings or sentimentality. Both are considered equally worthless in this world." She threw her right arm out and opened a plethora of gates.
Swords upon swords. Weapons upon weapons. She motioned with her hand and they all shot at me like streams of light.
I was a miscalculation. An aberration unaccounted for. For all intents and purposes, I should be dead. There was no way for the Ainsworth, one of the three ancestral families that assisted in the creation of the Holy Grail System, to know that the trash card I was given could still be linked. And that of all heroes that it linked with to the Throne of Heroes was none other than myself.
"Trace, on!"
Kanshou and Bakuya, the swords favored by the Heroic Spirit EMIYA deflected the projectiles in a hurried flurry. The black and white yin-yang swords gleamed in all their glory. Their familiar weight soothed the storm building within.
"Swords?" she recoiled in shock. "That's impossible… that fighting style… those Noble Phantasms! Those are-!"
"What was that about only being mere flesh and blood human? You're pitifully slow on the uptake King of Heroes," I mocked condescendingly.
It only served to stoke the fiery rage within the blonde.
The Noble Phantasms that were pointed at me were soon mirrored. I copied each and every one of them faithfully. Right down to the most intricate of details and powers. I wanted to pour salt onto Angelica's wounds.
A small victory in an otherwise losing war.
"THE ONE THAT YOU FACE IS A TRUE IMITATION OF A HEROIC SPIRIT!"
Angelica Ainsworth took a step back in offense. "How… How dare you! Labelling oneself a fake of a fake in front of an Ainsworth!" She clenched her gauntleted hand in front of her face. "For such a grievous sin… YOU SHALL PAY WITH YOUR LIFE MONGREL!"
The battle was on.
Swords sliced into swords.
Lances speared into lances.
I pumped prana down to my legs and dashed forward. The numerous Noble Phantasms encircling me shot forward the moment I finished tracing them. In the opening moments of our fight we had already shot countless treasures at each other.
A potential path of another life.
A life of a Hero of Justice that faced countless battles while being possessed by the embodiment of that ideal and taking it to its utmost limit.
Skills and abilities.
Thaumaturgy and magical circuits.
Memories and experiences.
Origin and element.
All of it was borrowed and taken from him. The hard work, the years of experience, the subtle nuances in his specialized magecraft. Everything he worked so hard to gain, I took it from him and made it my own. None of it could truly be called my own, but I cared little.
Every time that I fought, this body of mine was invaded by EMIYA.
I leapt up high to evade a stream of golden bullets and struck from above with my black and white swords.
The paltry attack was easily blocked by her own summoned sword.
"You! Lowly! FAKER!" Her eyes burned with rage at the fact that I was able to come within arm's reach of her.
A gate opened beneath me that launched an enormous zweihander out of the ground to spear my abdomen.
I pulled back on the swords before lashing out again at her sword to vault backwards. I barely dodged the weapon and immediately created some distance between us.
I was unable to receive any reprieve. Golden light shined brightly on my face as gates to the treasury were opened. It literally rained a storm of Noble Phantasms. I copied what I could and projected as fast as possible to mitigate the damage.
The attempt was valiant, but not enough as I was slower compared to her abilities.
A cacophony of explosions rung out all around me.
"You should be well past the point of no return and yet…" Her eyes narrowed into slits. "The strength of your attacks and the speed of your projections is increasing. I do not know what trickery you're using, but know that it is futile in the end." She even threw out her hair.
From an outsider, it looked like I was groveling at her feet begging for mercy. When in reality, I was getting sick and tired of hearing her damn mouth run on and on with no end in sight.
"The only thing that awaits you faker… is ruin."
My hands clenched into fists as I rose once more. My body protested all the way up, wanting to succumb to the accumulated fatigue.
Once more unto the breach.
Once more until my last breath.
"You know…" A cheeky grin split my face. "You're awfully cute Angelica-chan."
"W-What?" Her voice was filled with bewilderment at the use of an affectionate honorific.
"Are you that worried about little ol' me? Or," I spat out blood to the side, "are you just hesitant to kill?"
The cavern took this moment to quake. A sign that the Third Magic was close to finishing the ritual.
Just a little more…
"I never had time for such silly thoughts. If I did, I wouldn't have made it all the way here."
Assassin. Caster. Lancer. Rider. Saber.
I killed them all without thought; without mercy. They would give none to me so I gave none to them. If that was considered evil then I accepted it wholeheartedly.
"If I hesitated just once… my wish would have never been realized."
That man…
I casted away of what little remained of my jacket.
"I STAND HERE NOW TO USE UP WHAT'S LEFT OF THIS WORTHLESS LIFE!"
He ended up there…
"I am the bone of my sword."
I pushed out my right hand while my left hand gripped my right forearm.
I casted the spell.
Casting was merely a suggestion to change myself. These words were to connect Emiya Shirou with himself.
There lied at the end of that ideal of justice…
Angelica replied by unleashing a salvo of Noble Phantasms.
I pulled out a shield from the hill of swords to stem the tide.
"Ghuck-!"
The swarm of weapons battered relentlessly against the shield.
Rho Aias: The Seven Rings that Cover the Fiery Heavens.
The great shield of Aias the Great that was capable of stopping Durindana of the Trojan hero Hector. In its greatest form, it was projected as a seven layered Bounded Field in the shape of an iridescent flower. Each petal had the defensive power of a fortress wall like that of Troy. I fed as much magical energy I could spare into the shield.
It was the easiest and quickest form of stationary defense I could think of. However, the biggest drawback with the shield was myself. If she shield was damaged then the user would receive damage in accordance.
There was only one place I needed to reach to even out the playing field. The overwhelming power from the chanted aria filled my magical energy capacity instantly.
"Damn you faker!" cursed Angelica. Frustration written all over her angry brow. Her stream of Noble Phantasms failed to penetrate my shield.
"I have created over a thousand blades."
Cutting himself off from the world. He fought many battles, saved many people, but lost something of himself with each one.
"Unaware of beginning, nor aware of the end."
He kept going. He kept marching. Losing himself piece by piece until finally… his world was empty…
"Withstood pain to create inconsistent weapons, these hands will never hold anything."
A dozen golden ripples formed. Silver-linked chains blasted out at breakneck speeds, wrapping themselves around my torso and limbs. It was a pointless endeavor. I had to be still in order for this to work anyways.
"Yet, my flame never ends."
The blonde haired magus of the Ainsworth dashed forwards faster than sound while clutching a massive claymore over her head. She was so close, I could see victory dancing in her eyes. Her sword was just in range to cleave me in half.
"My whole life was still…"
She let out a guttural roar as she swung.
"Unlimited Blade Works."
The true name was casted.
At that very moment, everything broke and everything reformed.
"Switching individual and collective. Fantasy and reality. Inside and outside. Overwriting the world with one's own very soul…"
A blizzard raged in an arctic wasteland filled with nothing but swords. Monolithic gears gyrated softly in the horizon. A crescent moon illuminated the landscape from above.
"The innermost and highest thaumaturgy, a reality marble."
I ascended the snow covered hill of swords.
"This is the place that we both saw."
Summiting the hill, at its peak was a singular sword that stuck out of the ground. I gripped the handle and pulled it out of the ground. I raised it high above my head.
The snow storm paused.
Caliburn, the Golden Sword of Assured Victory.
The holy sword that was the symbol of the Once and Future King of Camelot. The sacred sword of the stone that became the symbol of England's King of Knights. A sword that changed the course of one individual's and countless others history for eternity.
"So… what do you think?" I said smugly as possible. "It's a world encompassing an infinite number of swords. But if you ask me? They're more like grave markers."
I could see her down at the bottom of the hill in utter shock and awe. She looked all around herself in this world she found herself in. Every bladed weapon that had ever existed was before her. My answer to her vaunted treasury.
"Sorry," I clicked my tongue. "But would you so kindly keep me company until my blades run out?"
The blonde scoffed in disdain.
"It seems as I was mistaken. You truly had no hope of victory from the start didn't you? Disregarding yourself and the lives of others… even animals have more dignity!" She glared up to me as golden ripples formed behind her. She presented weapons of all makes and kinds. Angelica Ainsworth was no longer holding back. "A fitting scene for a mongrel! A puppet like you who mimics the dead shall sink to the bottom of those graves as you wish faker!"
The full might of the Gate of Babylon opened.
Unlimited Blade Works accepted the challenge.
I barreled down the hill with sword in hand.
Noble Phantasms collided into Noble Phantasms.
A hundred weapons were met with a hundred fakes.
It was a war being waged by two individuals. A single mistake could spell either of our end.
Angelica opened more portals behind her. As quick as she opened them they were quickly closed causing her eyes to widen in dismay. "You're faster!"
In the real world, the power of the King of Uruk outclassed me by several orders of magnitude. But in my reality marble? I reigned supreme. I was no longer operating at a disadvantage due to the time difference between our powers. Angelica required time to set and prepare her weapons. The weapons in this world were already here and waiting to meet hers.
Therefore, no matter what, I would always be one step ahead of her.
"Too slow," I taunted.
My speed surpassed god-speed.
"Curse you Emiya Shirou!"
Her hand summoned a great wall of shields. Each of them varied from heroes of different time periods and cultures. An assortment of colors blocked my path.
"With countless treasures at your disposal, that heroic spirit is undoubtedly a king among all heroes! That's why you can afford to look down on me like a mongrel! But in the end, you're just a one-trick pony like me!"
I fed prana into the sword in my hands and chanted, "O – Sword of Selection, grant me power! Cleave the wicked!"
My body twisted.
My arms reinforced.
"CALIBURN-!"
A wave of golden holy light slashed out. The wall of shields that impeded my path melted away. They were nothing more than slags of metal now.
"YOU'RE JUST AN OWNER! LIKE ME!"
Angelica refused to budge from her spot. Defiant to lose ground to a mere faker like me. Her hand opened up. Dozens of ripples appear above her head with weapons peeking out.
I paid them little mind as I already mentally dispatched the same weapons to strike them down.
I charged forward. My feet skidded across the surface. I gripped the sword with both hands in preparation to cut down my enemy in half.
At this range and timing, there was no way she could escape unscathed!
I slashed at her midsection, "W-What?!" However to my astonishment, my sword phased right through her harmlessly!
How was that possible?!
"Guhrk-!"
My body lurched as I suddenly found myself hundreds of meters in the air.
"Incorrect," her voice sliced into the air. "Don't you dare make light of the Ainsworth you filthy mongrel."
Wind rushed past my face as I corrected myself midair. Angelica had used a spatial displacement magecraft to dodge my attack! Stupid, idiot me! How could I forget such a crucial piece of information?!
"Enough of this foolishness…"
I prepared myself for what was about to come.
"Come forth Ig-Alima! Sul-sagana!"
Two divine constructs were summoned with the snap of a finger. What insane power that card held! Was there no limit to its strength?!
Ig-Alima: The Green Field Cutting Through the Thousand Mountains.
Sul-sagana: Heavenly Formation of the Astral Stars.
Their sheer size was enough to eclipse that of the tallest building Fuyuki effortlessly. One was a massive flat blade that was the ultimate expression of brute force. The other was a jagged blade that spat out fire. The air was superheated to the point that the snow evaporated instantly in its vicinity.
"AAAHHHHHH!" I focused on the first one that bored down on me. "IG-ALIMA!"
A large chunk of prana was taken to create a hastily traced copy of the divine construct. My projected weapon smashed into the original, completing negating and shattering both of them in half.
The impact the two weapons made alone sent shockwaves throughout my reality marble.
I didn't have the luxury to marvel at their destruction. I turned towards the other one that came screaming in. I was cutting it too close-!
"SUL-SAGANA!"
Another enormous chunk of prana was taken away. The two constructs met the same fate as the previous two.
Mountain sized chunks of metal crashed into the ground. It uprooted all the swords skewered into the ground high into the air. It rained fire and metal due to their cataclysmic clash.
I collapsed onto the ground exhausted. "Ha… hah…"
My lungs sucked in air greedily. Angelica clapped from her position. "Though they have been cheap imitations, you still managed to project two divine constructs while continuing to feed magical energy to sustain this reality marble of yours. Impressive… most impressive."
Our positions had been reversed.
Where I was once looking down at her. She now held the high ground and looked down from her nose.
"Your very existence is flawed. You prove to be a hindrance to the last legend written that was put into motion of the sake of humanity. Your irksome abilities. Your strange use of thaumaturgy. And your abhorrent self-destructive conviction…"
A single golden portal formed to the right of her.
My body tensed.
A handle eased out to which she grasped and pulled out.
Angelica Ainsworth raised that thing above her head.
"…I shall tear them to pieces along with your pathetic world."
Analyzing the sword with my eyes made my brain pound itself against my skull. "Guh…" I felt something break somewhere. Blood fell freely from my nose as I stared at the monstrosity. The mere act of trying to comprehend such an object was almost a death sentence.
What she held in her hands was older than time itself.
"Now you realize your doom mongrel. Lie down like the dog you are and die."
I tore my eyes away and shook my head. "I'm honored that you'd bring out something special like that for me… it really shows that you do care about little old me Angelica-chan."
Her face sneered in annoyance at that tacked on suffix.
"I admit my defeat. There is simply no sword in this world that can stand equal to what you have…"
The reality marble rumbled.
The thaumaturgical steel manufacturing factory that produced countless famous swords that were without an owner quaked. Far beyond the horizon behind me a black mass grew. From a small speck to an overwhelming wave.
It blackened the skies.
"I'm sorry," I unapologetically apologized, "while it may be a bit rude since it pales in comparison to your gift. I'll have to pay you back… WITH ALL THE SWORDS I HAVE IN STOCK!"
A futile gesture in the face of certain doom.
"The vortex that turns the stars, this heavenly hell signifies the end of the eve of genesis. Subside with death!"
I thrusted out with both hands. A storm of swords flew passed me to meet the blast of ruin.
"ENUMA ELISH!"
The Sword of Rupture, Ea: The Star of Creation that split Heaven and Earth.
Crimson winds coalesced into the form of a black and red vortex. The air distorted before my eyes. Reality literally shattered in its wake. Space and time were peeled back to reveal the truth. The void consumed any and everything in its path.
"GGRRRRAAAAHHHHHHH!" I roared with all that I had left within me. I dumped every single last bit of magical energy I had into this final offensive.
"Futile! Even if you pile all of your blades together! They are no match for the strongest sword in existence mongrel!"
Weapons of all kind.
Swords of all make.
Divine and holy. Famed and infamous. Broken and perfected. Magical and mundane. Heroic and villainous.
They were all insignificant when compared to the might of the original sword.
Every single sword I put forth was torn asunder effortlessly.
In the eye of the storm. I stood there helplessly as hell barreled towards me. There was nothing in my arsenal that could compete against that. "Yeah… I guess you're right…"
SNAP-!
I blinked.
And just like that, it suddenly happened. A connection had been severed.
My eyes widened as I collapsed to my knees.
I cracked a smile. I realized now where all my energy came from. Having fought all those other Class Card holders like I did should have been impossible. I couldn't possibly have had all the prana to do so, but I did. And now it finally dawned on me.
The one who gave me that strength to fight against all odds was her.
"Miyu…"
The torrential and whirling doom slammed into my body with the force a thousand stars. I felt my body careened away like a ragdoll. It shattered my inner world with ease. The egg cracked and like a hammer into glass; reality broke.
Even in the face of death, in the face of defeat, I held my smile. There was no pain or suffering that coursed through my veins. With my own terms, I managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Ah – so that's what the feeling was… satisfaction.
"What?" Angelica Ainsworth looked around in the now empty cavern. "What happened? What did you do?! The grail… it disappeared! Almost everything related to the Holy Grail War has been erased!"
The Heaven's Feel ritual reached the apex of its gathered magical energy by the end of our fight. The moment the prana peaked, it severed itself the moment Miyu departed from this world. Sent off to another World that wasn't in its death throes.
This World was guaranteed for damnation. If I was unable to save the collective then I would save the individual. A selfish and villainous goal in the eyes of most. But to me? I finally felt like a Hero of Justice. No one could ever tell me otherwise.
My own selfish justice.
Darkness encroached my vision.
"Ha… I'm sorry that I wasn't able to see you off myself or even better… come with you."
Regret knotted itself around my heart.
"I… I wanted to come with you, but I know I can't… There was so much that I wanted to teach you Miyu. I know you'll probably be mad at me, but I'm sure you can find it in your heart to forgive me… right?"
My chest heaved up as it became difficult to breath let alone stay conscious.
"Damn… there was another thing I forgot. I promised that you would get to see the ocean…"
My breathing eased.
"I gave it my all you know? So please… forgive your big brother for breaking a promise when we meet again…"
I rested my bloodied and mangled arm against my forehead.
"Please – for my sake… be happy."
With great effort, I raised my fist into the air in defiance of everything.
In the end…
"I won – Kiritsugu."
Angelica Ainsworth quelled the rage within her.
Her mission to stop Emiya Shirou had ended in failure.
The boy who had slipped into the Fifth Holy Grail War had effectively destroyed hundreds of years' of groundwork.
"Tch – Julian-sama will be most displeased with me." She turned towards the unconscious body of her opponent. "At least there will be a consolation prize. We will use your magical energy to find which world you sent her mongrel. Know that what you did will be in vain."
She moved towards his body to imprison him.
As she did so, her eyes widened as he began to fade away.
"What?!" She spoke out in alarm. "What is the meaning of this?!"
Her hand moved to summon Enkidu to grab onto him, but it was a gesture far too late.
And just like that, he too was gone from this world.
"Damn you, you faker…"
A ripple appeared and a spear shot out, cratering the spot where he used to be.
"DAMN YOU EMIYA SHIROU!" She cursed his name and it echoed in the empty cavern.
Now it would make recovering the Child of God along with the Holy Grail system even more difficult without relying on any sort of trace. Their duty to save the world on their terms had been derailed in its entirety.
She steadied her breath to calm herself.
It was time to deliver the bad news to Julian Ainsworth.
Something that she was not looking forward to.
Wind slapped at my face and whistled into my ears.
My eyes fluttered open and tears leaked as they were stung. I blinked several times to rid myself of the blurry vision. Immediately, I wished I had kept them closed.
"GAH-!"
I flailed about wildly in an attempt to correct myself. I blinked and suddenly I was getting closer to the ground with every second. The canopy of the forest was coming up all too fast for my tastes.
Think! Observe, analyze, and act!
I barely had anything left within me, but a shoddy projection was better than nothing! I just needed something that could arrest my motion to stop myself from crashing into the forest at terminal velocity.
"Trace-"
Before I was able to spit out the last word to trace a sword. A thin object came rocketing out of nowhere and nicked the collar of my shirt, carrying me along its flight path and into the trunk of a tree.
The blade of the spear sank deeply in the wood and left me dangling dozens of feet from the ground.
It was like a thrust of lightning from the heavens itself.
Someone had to have saved me. Otherwise they wouldn't have missed an easy shot. The paranoid voice that grew from years of being with Kiritsugu said to be distrustful, but I shook it off.
I took the moment to gather myself and my surroundings.
"Where the hell am I?"
So one moment I was underneath Mount Enzo and the next I was falling into a heavily forested area. How rotten was my luck for something like this to happen to me? Looking up, I grasped the handle of the spear and tried prying it free. To no avail, it refused to budge even when I struggled to pull it out. Damn, how hard did this person throw it?
"Need a hand?"
Huh?
Red hair broke through a bush. A bronze shield on her back. The armor that she wore was refined and perfected. They orchestrated a sound together that was beautiful and charming like a bell. I rubbed at my eyes in disbelief at the scene before me.
This girl was-
"Hello!" She waved almost nervously. "Are you alright? I barely caught sight of you when I was making my own landing in the forest. I guess you can say I was pretty lucky. And we're in the Emerald Forest don't you remember? You must've hit something nasty if you forgot about the initiation test for Beacon Academy."
I was… wait what? Come again? Beacon Academy? Emerald Forest? And we? Who was we? And what sort of initiation test was she talking about? Just what in the world did I get myself into?
"Uh… y-yeah," I played along, stumbling over my response. I turned away and patted myself lightly all over in disbelief at my current condition. Physically – I was alright, aside from some minor scrapes from my rough fall I was ok. I stared at myself in shock. It looked like as if I hadn't just been in a life or death battle that decided the fate of the world. I was pretty sure I caught a face full of a reality tearing Noble Phantasm just before I blacked out.
My magical energy was low. There was barely enough left to keep myself going. Any more significant or complex projections and I risked damaging my circuits irreparably.
"So… I suppose this makes us partners right?" She spoke up.
Partners?
Ah – this must be some sort of duo program for initiates. Just like how some Enforcers would operate in tandem for the Mage's Association.
"Yeah," I felt like a robot just repeating that word and nodded dumbly. I tried again to free the spear from the tree.
"Here, allow me to get that for you."
Her hand moved to summon her spear back. My eyes caught something rustling in the bushes she came from.
"▃▄▄▅!" A black shadowy beast exploded out. It looked like some sort of werewolf.
"BEHIND YOU!" I warned out to the girl.
Without hesitation, she brought her shield up to block the swipe from its deadly claws. At the same time, I pumped what little prana I had to reinforce my arms and plucked the spear out of the tree. Flipping it in my hand, I chucked the weapon with my right arm – aiming for center mass.
The armored girl that resembling that of a hoplite of Classical antiquity, bicycle kicked the spear at the right moment to add even more power. It pierced straight through the creature as easily as if it were paper causing the beast to howl in pain. She didn't allow it any reprieve and used the edge of her shield to decapitate its head, silencing it permanently. With a motion of her hand, the weapon flew out of its chest and into her hand.
I landed in a messy heap, panting and full of sweat. That look a lot more out of me than I thought it would.
"Thank you for the heads up," smiled the girl in gratitude. "I didn't expect you to return the favor so quickly… um?"
"Shirou… Shirou Emiya." I looked up at the redheaded girl. Time momentarily stood still as I took the sight in. A breeze in the forest washed over us. Her red hair and skirt billowed. She extended a hand to me.
"Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos."
The vibrant green eyes.
The red and bronze outfit symbolized her in the forest.
I reached out and accepted her hand.
Author's note:
At the suggestion of my editor. I went back this chapter again and brought it up to our standards. Refined wording, past/present tense usage, improved dialogue, and paragraphs. This story uses the Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 3rei Shirou instead of his composite versions from the three routes of Fate/stay night.
Yes – Shirou is taking the leading man spot from Jaune in the story as the titular character and the driving force of change on how things develop. He'll still have some relevancy in later chapters.
I hope you enjoy the new and updated version of the prologue to this crossover story.
Please leave a review of your thoughts on the chapter! Feel free to message me of any questions on the story or leave it on your review. I'll be sure to respond as soon as possible!
Word count before A/N: 6,841
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