Fate And Campione
[One-shot]
Start Of A Legend
Thou are supreme in authority for wielding the powers owned by gods.
Thou are the lord of the people for holding the right to rule.
Thou are a devil for none can challenge your strength.
Thy name is Campione and thy title is Godslayer.
It was suppose to have been a simple job: find the Dead Apostle and kill it. The freelance mercenary, Shirou Emiya, certainly did not expect the small rural European village to be burning down to the last house and body when he arrived as haunting screams and wails assaulted the ashen skies.
'What the hell did this?' He knew that certain militants of the Church and members of the Mage's Association could either be very zealous or completely over-the-top in their methods, however this was also quite clearly not a purge because he spotted nobody nearby, there was - in other words - no one around to clean up the mess and confirm that everything was settle.
"I've found it."
The twenty-eight yeared old man with graying reddish-brown hair and golden-brown eyes whipped his head toward the locaton of the startling calm voice that was coming from the center of the burning village. The approaching person moved with no haste toward him, passing through the blazing inferno as the shadowy figure was framed by the orange and golden tinted flames all around him.
"You there, I believe you have something of mines. Would you kindly return it to me?" The person said as he casually flung aside something humanoid into a nearby burning building.
Shirou could vaguely make out the other person's features: a younger man with blond hair and blue eyes dressed in knightly armor with an unsheathed sword hanging onto his waist and a shield strapped onto this left forearm.
'Shit,' Emiya cursed in his head. The presence of the lone figure was beyond measure, regal beyond words, older beyond his age, stronger than his strength, and more legendary than his own life. This was a Heroic Spirit. 'Just my luck...' He had once met and partnered with one during his youth to participant in a bloody war for a Holy Grail in his home-town, but even that could not prepare him for meeting a Heroic Spirit out of the blue like this, just some mere distance away from him.
The Heroic Spirit that Shirou had partnered with on the Fifth Holy Grail War was a Servant - a fragment of a soul. The phantom standing before him was a natural phenomenon, weaker than the Heroic Spirit it came from but still on a completely different level than what the 'man-made' Servants were.
"And what exactly is it that I have of yours?" Shirou asked tensely. The force of nature given form could easily kill him if it was so inclined to do so.
"My sheath."
"Your... sheath?" He mumbled. The only sheath that Emiya had was Avalon; The Ever Distant Utopia, residing inside his body. "Oh... fuck... You're King Arthur?"
The blond-haired phantom smiled, "That would be I. Now will you hand me my sheath or shall I have to forcibly retreive it from your corpse? Is it your choice, sir, but do not delay. Even I do not have the patience to dilly-dally on a mortal such as yourself."
Well, this was certainly a turn of events for Shirou Emiya. His partner during the Fifth Holy Grail War was coincidentally King Arthur as well, not a surprise since the catalyst to summon the King Of Knights was said sheath. And now this Heroic Spirit, who is also King Arthur, wanted the sheath back!
Of course, Shirou's King Arthur was a petite and beautiful girl named Arturia and not this prince-like person before him. He had certainly heard that it was possible for Heroic Spirits to manifest differently base on their legends, but this was rather jarring since the King Arthur he had knew was also his lover.
'Get your head out of the gutter, Shirou!' he screeched in his head as a certain scene replayed in mind all to differently to his liking. A certain tantric ritual was taking a really bad turn at the strange possibility of what would happened if he had summoned a male King Arthur.
Calming himself, Shirou used magic to project two blades, one of white and one of black, into his hands. "No," he finally the answered the question.
"I see. That is a small shame," said the blond-haired youth who responded with another smile. "But I see that you wish to challenge me instead of running away. It has been awhile since any have taken the courage to stand against I. So I shall applaud you for that, mortal."
Shirou steadied his twin blades as he prepared to receive an attack by his opponent; he could not afford to take it easy. "Come at me then, King Of Knights," he retorted.
The two men engage eachother in a furious swordplay. Shirou parried strike after strike as his magically reinforced body reacted almost instantly to every near fatal attack.
After nearly fifteen seconds, King Arthur retreated momentarily and had a mildly curious expression on his face, "That is a very dangerous style you're using but it is also clear that you are a master of it. Perhaps I should praise you for striving with such a gamble?"
"So you've figured it out already, huh? As expected of someone fit for the Saber class," Shirou responded before slowly circling the phantom who followed suit.
Shirou's way of fighting involved leaving intentional holes in his defense for his opponent to exploit, that way he could guide where he wanted the attacks to land and defend against them. However, to have absolute control over his opponent's avenue attack meant leaving fatal openings for them to use - 'risky' did not even begin to describe just how absurd it was.
The knight casually smiled, "You are an interesting mortal. Such a style cannot be perfected without the true experience of fighting in life or death battles, meaning you are one has been through many. Truly, it would be a shame if I had to kill a mortal like you. Will you not reconsider your stance and instead return my sheath to me?"
"It's not mines to give," the graying-haired adult replied; Avalon belong to his beloved Arturia after all.
King Arthur molded his expression into a cool neutrality, "Then I suppose negotiations are over now."
The two fighters re-engaged one another in another exchange of blades.
'I need to end this,' Shirou groaned in his mind, 'before he gets serious.'
This was not the first time Shirou Emiya had exchanged blows with a Heroic Spirit; suicidal as many have said it would be, but the man had fought against legends in his youth - one-sided as they tended to be as well. Though one could say that the only reason he had survived any of his harrowing ordeals was due to sheer magnificient luck.
Even now, he was not dead because Heroic Spirits almost never unleashed their full strength against anything other than a worthy opponent - such as another Heroic Spirit - and also because King Arthur was fascinated enough with him to most likely leave him alive but crippled from this encounter for being fascinating.
Well, there was also the fact that this King Arthur's sword-style was very similar to the his beloved Arturia's techniques, except they had more reach and physical power behind them.
The two warriors broke off from combat once again.
Shirou heavily sucked in air but kept a firm eye on the phantom. Each exchanged last no more than a minute or two but, even with magical reinforcement to his body, he could already feel the strain of his muscle roaring in loud pain. He simply had a limit to his endurance and stamina and he couldn't keep up with the king forever; it was quite obvious that Shirou was going to tire out first.
But a single opportunity was all that he needed to deliver death to the Heroic Spirit. But if it won't appear then he'll just have to make one.
"Spirit and technique, flawless and firm..." Shirou muttered as he flung his blades at the king and the white and black falchions spun through the air in an unnatural arc as they attract one another.
The twin swords, the yin and yang weapons, the married blades, the black Kanshou and the white Bakuya. These two swords were the favored and trusted weapons of Shirou Emiya and him ever since the Holy Grail War. They were the crystalized mysteries of legends given form - Noble Phantasms - and as such were weapons capable of harming and killing even Heroic Spirits.
The knight narrowed his eyes at this strange arcing motion of the blades and dashed forward to avoid the flanking.
"Our strength rips the mountain..." Shirou expected this and responded by materializing two more of the coupled blades as he rushed to meet with his opponent. Shioru saw King Arthur's expression wince slightly when the spirit realized that he had re-armed himself but the face disappeared behind the readied shield that was prepared to block the incoming frontal attack.
"Our swords splits the water..." Shirou threw the second pair of Kanshou and Bakuya and next materialized a third pair.
The phantom struck out a foot and pushed with one leg to retreat from the flying swords while balancing his own defense. It was then that King Arthur spotted, out of the corner of his eye, the returning first pair coming to impale him from behind. There was nowhere for him to dodge except to either his left and right.
The king chose to avoid to this right - as his shield was strapped to his left arm - to better cover himself. He had kept his shield pointed at Emiya for the whole of his defense but adjusted his shield a little more to the right to compensate for his newly-made dodge.
A sense of dread chilled and slowed the spirit's arm and movements.
To the Heroic Spirit's utter shock the first and second pair of weapons simply shattered like ash as his opponent continued his forward momentum. He thought that his opponent would need to leap over the flying blades - and therefore waste precious time - or move to their left - which is why he tilted his shield - to meet with him head on.
King Arthur certainly did not expect his enemy to have been able to 'dismiss' his swords like that and now the dual-wielder was right next to him with an almost clean opening to strike his back. The phantom quickly turned his body and then further tensed when he realized that he was played.
"Our names reaches the imperial villa..." Shirou flicked off the third pair and materialized a fourth. The spirit warded off the quick attack to his left and his right but it left him in an awkward stance. Shirou arrived in front of the knight, "We cannot embrace the heavens together..." and lashed out with Kanshou and Bakuya which tore through King Arthur's armor - and even broke themselves doing so - and sent the legend reeling.
"Two great men sharing a life!" Shirou shouted and materialized the fifth and final pair for his onslaught. He filled the Noble Phantasms with power and they grew to twice their size with an appearance like a feathered blade. Dangerous and broken, imbued with explosive strength, he dashed forward as he raised his arms to slash in an x formation and delivered the finishing attack.
"Crane Wing Blade Realm!"
King Arthur screamed in pain before lurching forward as the twin blades of Kanshou and Bakuya cut into his body; the two swords soon shattered in the hands of Shirou Emiya like a bed of feathers.
Shirou quickly turned around with a freshly made pair of his swords to finish off the knight. His ultimate attack could only weaken a Heroic Spirit temporarily, he would need something more like a decapatority strike to vanquish a legend-
"...Magnificent."
Shirou frozed at the sight of King Arthur.
The King Of Knight's form was distorted and broken. Piece by piece his existence was being unraveled. This feeling, Shirou Emiya knew this feeling, he had witness it and felt it many times before.
'Just like... just like my swords...!'
The world was denying King Arthur's existence, deeming it a wrongness that must be corrected.
'Why? What's going on?'
"To think that I would be bested by a mortal, not through luck, but sheer tenacity..." the knight chuckled. "You, what is your name?"
Recollecting his thoughts, he answered slowly in the Western way, "...Shirou Emiya."
"I shall dedicate such a fine name to memory. The next time we meet, Shirou Emiya, I will not hold back."
"...What?" Shirou uttered. Such a thing wasn't possible, when a Heroic Spirit returned to the Throne Of Heroes its memories should be erased, there was no way that King Arthur would remember him even if they were ever to meet again.
"Now then, let us finish this fight..." The weakened king raised his sword and shouldered it.
Shirou blinked in surprise as his eyes gazed upon Excalibur... this one was entirely different from the one he knew. This Excalibur was not the Sword Of Promised Victory, instead it was the Victorious Sword Of Battle. This was not a Noble Phantasm that contained the hopes and glory of humanity to be fired in a massive golden light, this blade instead contained the dreams and honor of war channeled directly into the user.
Even if the owner should died, this sword, this blade, this weapon, Excalibur, would ensure that victory was had and only the most insane of luck could ever save the person on the receiving end.
"Fuck!" Shirou cursed as the revitalized phantom dashed forward to him in a speed beyond mortal limits.
King Arthur thrusted his sword and it impaled the red-haired warrior in his gut. Shirou returned the favor instantly as he deeply stabbed Kanshou and Bakuya into the knight's chest - allowing the king's speed to skewer himself.
The Heroic Spirit smiled and used the last of his strength to simply cleave the sword through his opponent's stomach and waist. He lightly snorted in joy as Shirou collasped, "And here I was hoping to bisect you completely..." He said as he felt his arm lose strength and watched as the wounds of the other man slowly but noticeably stitch itself together. He knew that the holy sheath of Avalon was healing Shirou, but it only would last for as long as King Of Knight's presence existed, which was not for very long. "Farewell, may we meet again, Campione..."
And thus, King Arthur vanished.
[...]
Shirou laid in a puddle of guts and blood of his own making as his conscience began to fade away and his senses died. This was a fatal attack, not even Avalon could heal this, he could already feel the healing effects of the legendary artifact slow down as the essence of King Arthur disappeared back to where ever it came from.
'Who... the hell... was that guy...?'
When his eyes had gazed upon the sword, Shirou instinctively knew that the weapon was Excalibur and that the owner was King Arthur, but now that he had time to lie down and die to organize his strangely calm thoughts, he also knew that the pair were alien to this world.
History without history, life without living, skills without experience, legends without deeds, real but fake.
This King Arthur was similar to a Heroic Spirit but was also not quite one. Something was different but Shirou couldn't really express how. It was like that time he had somehow identified the items from Gilgamesh's Gates Of Babylon to be the real deal instead of mere imitations.
'Another... world...?' Shirou mused. It was a joke of sorts to blame extreme misfortune and oddity on a certain dimensional travelling vampiric sorceror. After all, when kooky stuff happened in a very heavily-ruled-setted place, who else was there to blame?
"Oh my, for a dying man, he seems quite peaceful! Ah, but I suppose you deserve such tranquiliy for reaching the base of the highest summit!"
'A girl's... voice...?' It was energetic and a bit high-pitched, it somewhat reminded him of his older-than-she-looked step-sister, Illyasviel. Speaking of his sister, if she found out he was dying here right now then she would revive only to kill him for being such a idiot for picking a fight with a Heroic Spirit - or whatever King Arthur was. 'Damn... is this... really the end...?'
"..."
"Now, now, don't be so mad, Gaia; I know you hate other-worldly things but I'll be leaving quite soon! He defeated a Heretical God, you know? That means he has earned the right to reborn as my child, a Campione."
"..."
It seemed that the girl was talking to someone else, though Shirou couldn't make out the other.
"Take good care of him. My apprentice has a special eye on him, you see." This time the voice belonged to a somewhat jovial old man.
The girl giggled, "It's not like you can't bring the girl over anytime you wish, Old Man of the Jewels."
The old man heartily chuckled in return, "Well, I could but then where would be the fun in that? If my apprentice wishes to meet with the boy, then she'll just have to progress in her studies. I am certain an event like this would prove a powerful catalyst toward making a break-through for her."
"How sly!" The girl stated.
"..."
"Ouch, okay, okay! Stop trying to erase me, I'll be leaving now!"
[...]
Honestly, nothing happening right now was making any sense to Shirou - mostly because he couldn't see and could barely hear. But he at least noticed that he, strangely enough, wasn't feeling quite as dead as he was before while the previous conversation took place. In fact, he was feeling quite warm, as though energy was coursing through his body.
Then something quickly changed. Time? Dimension? Space? Shirou wasn't sure, he was quite frankly barely holding onto his conscious. His body hummed as his magic circuits were re-arranging themselves amongst other things he couldn't explain but were all very creepy for him to experience internally. Even his Inner World had shifted ever so slightly.
More importantly, his magical-sensitive nose was just positively tingling, and he now had an incredible itch he couldn't scratch.
"Hm, so you are Pandora? It is honor to meet you."
'That voice...' It was still fresh in his mind, that voice clearly belonged to King Arthur. 'Where... the hell am I...?' He couldn't be in the Throne Of Heroes, that didn't make any sense, not even the Wizard Marshall's shenanigans could explain that.
"Ah, Knight-sama, how does it feel to incur a second defeat despite using your sword of victory?" The girl casually conversed with the king.
"Truthfully, would this not be my first defeat, since I am but a mere legend walking the mortal realms?"
"How bashful. You should accept your loss befitting your title, neh, King Of Knights-sama?"
"Hmph."
Shirou could swear that he could somehow imagine King Arthur smirking wistfully as that comment. But still, he didn't know what was going on. Who the heck was this girl? As he pondered, she continued speaking.
"Mmh~, to think that Knight-sama had such a terrible sense of direction: getting lost in another world and even mistaking another's artifact for his own! How dreadful! I wonder what the other Heretical Gods will speak of you now~?"
"They may say whatever they please, as I do not regret my encounter with this man. I feel that it was something perhaps akin to fate."
"I see, that is a good way of looking at it, Knight-sama," the girl paused, "Now then, let everyone present and gathered here give their blessings and their hatred to this child! The Seventh Campione - a Hero Amongst Heroes, the newest Devil King, please bestow upon the sacred words of powers on this child!"
There was that word again, 'Campione,' what did it mean?
Shirou could hear metal foot steps clang and echo as they approach him; no doubt it was King Arthur.
"Shirou Emiya, for honorably besting me in combat, I grant you my blessings. The Seventh Godslaying King... use my Authority wisely. Stay strong, for we will meet again in battle to lock blades once more."
More unexplainable things changed in Shirou Emiya's body and a sense of strength flooded his body. 'Seriously, what the heck is happening?!' He knew he wasn't the sharp tool in the shed but things were progressing just too fast for him; he couldn't keep up.
The girl's voice returned. She spoke in a motherly tone.
"My child, now you must wake up."
[...]
A new world and a new adventure awaited the Seventh Campione: Shirou Emiya.
Author Notes
Thanks for reading this one-shot!
I know this the story ends on a 'to be continued' tone but I already have a ton of other story-projects, and this was both just an idea that I wanted let out and practice my writing on.
If anyone wants to adopt (or do whatever) to this idea, then please feel free to do so.
FAQ/Plot Notes
If I had continued this story...
Does Godou Kusanagi exist? Yes. The whole arc of Godou visiting Sardinia involved Verethragna (God of Victory) versus King Arthur (Wielder of the Sword Of Promised Victory); the two injured Heretical Gods go off searching for their pieces to recover their strength for another duel. With King Arthur defeated, Shirou arrives in the Campione!Universe to fight Verethragna.
The plot then either becomes: A) Godou assists and becomes the Eight Campione. Or B) Shirou defeats Verethragna without anyone none the wiser.
What kind of Authority does Shirou Emiya get from defeating King Arthur? Well, the first thing to mention is that Shirou gets King Arthur's 'blessing and authorities' meaning he's pretty much got a piece of King Arthur's essence hanging around him all the time: in other words, Avalon's passive healing is back!
As for his actual Authorities, he has: [King's Triumph Demise] This Authority can be activated if Shirou takes a fatal blow, he can then deliver one to his opponent, but the returning damage will always be of the severity as the wound he had received.
[Knights Of The Round Table] This Authority has no restriction and can be used on anyone. It allows Shirou to 'knight' a character by sharing his power and giving them increase agility, strength, endurance, and so forth.
[Code Of Chivalry] This is a passive Authority that goes into effect whenever Shirou is defending another from harm, giving him increased base-parameter like Reinforcement.
[The Cold And Sorrowful King] This Authority requires a target. It is essentially a 'super-mode' where Shirou becomes an knight encased in armor which uses up all his current energy and cannot be turned off once activated (it'll either turn off by itself when all available energy runs out or when the target is eliminated). This is an extremely single-minded and offensive Authority that will ignore everything but the target.
[Uploaded: 1/27/13] [Extra lines: 1/27/13] [More lines: 1/27/13] [FAQ/Plot Notes: 1/29/13]