Predestined Fate
This story is a work of fiction. All the characters, names and places belong to their respective owners.
Synopsis:
Fate is a cruel thing. Being taken away from his home and loved ones under the pretext, he was forced to relive his life again and again through someone else's eyes. Could he break free from this reoccurring cycle and redefined what destiny supposes to be?
=[Predestined Fate]=
"Once, there was a kind and gentle knight who served the great King of old with his all," spoke a white-haired woman to her young child. The white-haired girl was warmly in bed, lying next to her and happily listening to the story being narrated from the leather-bounded book she held. "He was the strongest; the noblest; the most compassionate amongst his peers, garnering many titles and tales of heroic valor and legends. The Knight of Rising Sun. The Radiant Lord of the Lake. The Last Ray of the Common. These were some of his widely known titles. But he was also known as the Blood Knight of Ruin."
The little girl looked at her mother. "Blood Knight? Why was he called that?"
"Illyasviel," the woman called her only child with a heartwarming smile. "I do not know. Only those from back then would know why he is called that after his death, for our history was written and told by those that came long after. But you should remember how he had lived, not how he had died."
"But, how did he die if he was the strongest?" Illyasviel asked anyway. Her curious eyes looked up at her mother.
Irisviel von Einzbern closed the book and glanced at her servant standing by the window. The servant did not pay her any attention, continuing to stare outside the window and at the slowly descending snow.
"Well," Irsviel begun as she returned to her daughter. "Legend said that he was defeated by one of the many thousand Knights that came to claim his title as the strongest. But history stated his life was taken away by the Lady of the Lake in order to free him from mortality and endless bloodshed."
She patted the cover of the book lightly. She had read it countless of time before. "And in this story, he was spirited away by Gaia, returning him back to the place and time he had originally belonged – a vast land filled with people and creatures with mystical powers similar to our own. Which amongst the three do you like more, Illyasviel?"
"I – I want him to live!" Illyasviel called out. "Is that possible?"
Irsviel giggled. "Yes, it is. And perhaps he did just that, many years after all said and done. But right now, all we know is that he did exist a long time ago in an era of constant turmoil and strife. If he did not, why would there be legends about him?"
Illyasviel nodded and pulled the blanket to her neck. "Maybe I can summon him as my Servant one day, can I?"
Irsvile's smile turned sour. She shook her head slightly and tapped her daughter's on the head for even suggesting that. She didn't want her daughter to follow the same path she took. "You should not bring back the dead, Illyasviel. You should cherish them in your memory and remember how they'd brought beautiful colors into your life and the world."
Illyasviel was somewhat confused. "But how can I do that if he's dead –
"Naruto is not dead," the pale blond-haired Servant finally spoke up. She placed her hand upon the glass window, letting the coldness into her warm flesh. She was still alive in a time and place far distance from now. It was the era she wanted to return to. "For legends are written by the living for the dead."
"Yes it is," Irisviel agreed wholly. Legend was called legend only for those that had died. If they had not then their saga had not ended. But contrary to what Saber believed, her love – the Blood Knight of Ruin – was summoned in the second Holy Grail War as a Berserker. Due to the mad enchantment, the only words he said were a couple of names. One name belonged to her servant, Arturia Pendragon.
"If only," Saber muttered lowly and reminisced.
The dark snowy scenery outside the window slowly shifted, transforming into an ashen one with smokes rising into the clouded, greyish heaven. She gasped and placed a hand upon her abdomen, stopping the blood surging out from her phantom wound. Her teal-colored eyes stared ahead and at the blond-haired knight, kneeling on top of a small hill surrounded by unmoving bodies. His white cloak and silvery armor drenched in crimson red.
None of the blood was his, however. He never bled, for he was the symbol of the Kingdom's unending prosperity. As long as the symbol stood erected and invincible, the era of peace was everlasting. That was what the people believed, and their belief was all that mattered.
"Mordred," the young knight whispered softly. His tone saddened. His dark blue eyes filled with tear. His unarmored hands held the defeated knight and cupped her cheek. "Why must you do this?"
"Why…!? Why does Father hate me so?" Mordred whimpered. Her voice weakened greatly, but it was still laced with bottomless anger and rage. The love she had felt for her Father – her King – had turned into burning hatred, consuming her being and core.
"Your King does not hate you," Naruto assured. It was impossible. "Your King does not know hatred."
Hearing that statement once more, Saber felt her spirit wavered. It did not back then amidst the burning ruin and field of corpses. Even at such a horrid sight, her unyielding heart remained cold and resolute. It was necessary for a King.
Mordred did not understand his word. "Then is it because I am weak…? Was that it?"
"You are not weak," Naruto assured firmly. He began to understand why she did what she did. She had something to prove, just like he did in front of his father in another life. The cycle had repeated itself yet again. "You are strong for you are my daughter. You didn't need to prove yourself, not to anyone, not ever."
"But I am not… I am not…" Mordred uttered weakly. Her hands suddenly jerked and tightly gripped onto his cloak, pulling on it. "How I wish it to be so! How I wish your blood flowed through me! If I did, Father would not reject me. Father would make me heir. Father would love me."
Naruto held her hands and wrapped his fingers around it. "That is not true, Mordred. I have taught you, raised you, cared for you and loved you. The bond we shared transcends any blood and flesh. If you are not my daughter then who are you then?"
Mordred didn't know the answer. "Who am I?"
"You are Mordred, my daughter no matter what you do," Naruto said. "Please tell me that you always considered me as your father and mother?"
"Father!" Mordred called out, tearfully. She kept on calling the same word until her hands slipped away from his cloak and entered an eternal slumber. Maybe when she woke up again, everything would be back to what it once was.
"I regretted of not giving you the childhood you deserved," Naruto said and caressed her face. Mordred mirrored his life more than he dared to admit. She didn't have a normal childhood not because she was shunned by others for being different like he was. It was simply because she grew far too fast, reaching adulthood within a year while still retaining her innocent, childlike mentality. And as a child, she could not be faulted.
"Perhaps one day I will," Naruto added. He eventually lifted his daughter up and turned to face Arturia, his King and husband and wife. It was a strange relationship they all shared.
"The fault does not lie with her," he said. If a child ever acted out, the fault mostly rested solely with the parents. And despite the civil war she incited in order to prove her capacity to rule, he could not blame her. "Nor it lies with you."
Saber – Arturia – remained silence. She did not speak even when he passed her by.
"It is my fault," Naruto said. He was her father and mother for Arturia did not accept her for the origin of her birth. "If you could only have one child in this lifetime, why not make the most of it?"
"She is not –
"She is yours," Naruto snapped. Even if it was a memory, she still flinched at his furious gaze. There was a great darkness swirling within him, but he accepted it and lived with it, keeping it in check.
"Yes," Arturia mouthed. She understood her responsibility after watching Irisviel interacting with her daughter, Illyasviel.
"Does it matter if she had my blood or not," Naruto continued as he turned away from the King he had sworn to serve. "Whether she fit to rule or not did not change who she is. If you actually paid attention to her when all she wanted was your approval, perhaps, she would become a King worthy in your eyes."
He sighed. "No one was born to rule. Do you not remember that you choose to rule on that hill all those years ago? I should have said something back then… and I should have said something now. But words cannot change what had happened. Will I bring my… our daughter back? If so, I will speak my heart out for all to hear; for the world to hear!"
Arturia remained silence.
"This is the end of our journey," Naruto added and walked away. Arturia did not stop him. She just stood there, watching his cloak flustering in the wind, leaving her behind. When only ash and mist in sight, she finally succumbed to her grievous wound and dropped to her knees.
Saber closed her eyes, returning her back to the present. "He is not dead. If he did, I wouldn't be here, in this place, in this time, hundreds of years after our story had supposedly ended."
When Saber opened her eyes once more, a beautiful glimmering lake was before her. Standing to her side was the last of her knights, Sir Bedivere. He had returned from the last task she gave him.
"Your majesty," Sir Bedivere acknowledged. "It is done."
Only natural sounds responded as time passed slowly by.
"If only," Arturia muttered inaudibly while her hand still tightly gripping her stomach. The wound he had inflicted upon her did not heal. It never would once it was dealt, but she did not blame him. He stopped her from delivering the finishing blow against their daughter. "If only Naruto and Mordred were here. I want to see him again… just one last time… before I… sleep."
"Your majesty?" Sir Bedivere questioned while Arturia dreamed.
"Saber?" Irisviel called out.
"Pardon me, master," Saber apologized. She turned towards the bed, finding that Illyasviel had fallen asleep against her mother. The little girl was peaceful, as peaceful was Mordred had been.
"There is no need," Irsviel said. "I hope you will see him again."
"That is my only wish," Saber said. She made contact with the Grail for that very reason. And learning that his legends resounded through the ages originating from her time meant that his journey had not ended. It was more to say that their journey had not ended for she had not died and became a heroic spirit. "Maybe he will forgive me."
"If he truly loves you then he will," Irsviel assured and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead. Even an artificial human – a homunculus – could feel love and bore children like a real person then anything was possible.
Saber turned back to the window and stared out the world beyond. A small smile touched her lips as she thought about facing him once more. This time, she would not be silence. This time, her heart would not be unmoving.
– Predestined Fate –
Meanwhile, floating above a vast and dense forest was a blonde-haired girl of eighteen with deep ruby red eyes. There were balls of light weaving between the trees. She descended, letting her golden dress flustered wilding. As her golden high heels touched the soft dirt, she reached out and touched one of the orbs.
"In my hand, I hold the wills and dreams of the people," she said as the word appeared in her mind. The ball glowed brightly until light enveloped the surrounding, blinding her. When she opened her eyes once more, the forest was replaced with a village. There were many people cheering outside a circular castle of high walls. Overviewing the population was a young man with short spiky blond hair, dressed in white cloak with orange jacket and black pant underneath. Three whiskers marked each side of his cheek as he smiled and waved his bandaged hand at the people.
"Ah! My beautiful treasure," the girl reached out her hand like all the maidens of the land. She tried to reach him with her godlike power, but sadly, she did not exist in the space and time that he was beloved by another world. "Why wasn't I born in such a place? We could have been herald as God and Goddess, majestic!"
The vision vanished along with the small sphere in her hand. She had absorbed the memory it held with absolutely glee. She caught another one as it drifted away from her. "In my hand, I hold the unbreakable bond we shared."
The bright and warm light surrounded her once more, dissipating the forest. Soon, a beautiful field with a small house sitting atop of the hill and away from the problem of the world came into view. In the field was him, but instead of the uniform he was wearing in the vision before, he adorned armor plated with silver. A white cloak hanged loosely around his broad shoulder and covered his back, acting like a cape.
Standing not too far from him was a young woman with pale blond hair and deep teal-colored eyes. She was wearing a blue tunic with a beast plat and armored gloves. Steadfast in her hands was a long steel sword same as he was, giving the impression they were training. But despite the resolution in her eyes, the young knight couldn't step within his range. She would instantly be killed if she did from the dreary aura radiating from him.
"So strong, so unwavering," Gilgamesh called out. She could feel the killing intention emanating from him, making her weak to her knees. If she stood in front of him, she would be forced to kneel without him lifting a finger. "As worthy of my Goddess!"
Gilgamesh leered at the young girl facing Naruto. Her red-eyes became intense when Arturia initiate the attack, which he parried effortlessly. The storm of clashes came after, and as soon as one of the thrusts punctured his cape, Gilgamesh exploded. "You dare attack him!? I will kill you, you bitch!"
The energy blast came from her black sword with glowing jagged red lines shattered the vision and blew half of the forest away. Much of the orbs were destroyed in the attack as well. "Woops. It was just a memory. I shouldn't get so upset. She's long dead now. If she not, I will make her wishes she was!"
A devilish smirk plastered on her face as she grabbed another orb. "In my hand, I hold my promise. With my life, I shall defend yours. None shall remember the atrocity you have committed. It is the best gift I could come up with, and hopefully, it won't be the last."
The scene once again changed, replacing the half-destroyed forest with a battlefield covered in bodies with tall grass painted in red. There he stood upon an open field, surrounded by shattered weapons and shields. In front of him were great and honorable men, who had come to claim. One by one the men fell, and only the crows flew far and wide whispered their tragic tales. Of course, none tales was greater than his legend, for his was without end.
"So magnificent!" Gilgamesh called out while Ea vibrated violently in her hand. "I wish I could clash with you and officially claim the title of the strongest as well as you, the Blood Knight of Ruin, who remained undefeated for a thousand years! Wake up from your slumber so I may lay my eyes upon you!"
When nothing but silence came, Gilgamesh heaved her chest and stomped her foot and raised her most powerful weapon at the dark sky. "I am the King of Heroes. At least acknowledge me!"
The area shook heavily as Ea was fired, turning night into day. Soon, countless stream of light fell from the heaven and unleashed untold destruction upon the area. She continued to flatten the forest, taking a little break in between to recharge her magic.
"I acknowledge you," a voice called out when the forest was vaporized, "King of Heroes. You are the first to wake me from my dream." The ground quaked and fractured. Large trees sprouted from the cracks in mass, covering the area in a dense forest within seconds.
"Of course, Gaia could never hold you from me," Gilgamesh said with pride. She was now hovering in the air as there was no ground to stand upon. "Now, appear before me, for I am your King."
There was another moment of awkward silence, making Gilgamesh fumed. She was going to blast the forest into dust again.
"I only have one King," Naruto responded, stopping her. He didn't want her to blow up his daughter's catacomb for something so stupid. "And I killed her. Shall I kill you too?"
Gilgamesh laughed haughtily. Her golden armor covering her neck to toe glowed brightly. With it, she was nigh invulnerable. "You have to come out to do it," she taunted, and the forest shifted under her.
– Discontinued –
This is based on FateHope by fairy tail's storm king as of June 4th. I mostly rearranged the sequences of events in chapter 1 and 2 so the flow becomes somewhat coherent. It's an interesting concept, but not an original one so I added a bit of originality.
If this was to continue, it would be clash of husband and wife with Gilgamesh gets thrown in the fray for some complexities and characterizations. Gilgamesh will constantly try to kill Saber, but always stopped by Naruto, who refused to talk to Saber despite the fact she had changed. To Naruto, their journey had ended with their daughter's death, yet he couldn't really move on – hence still pretty much single.
Was it possible to redo everything? That's where the Holy Grail comes in. I could just write the epilogue to his saga. It won't be what you expected, but it will be bright and happy. Always end a story on a good note!