He wasn't entirely sure where he was, it was an endless space of black nothingness. He clearly stood on nothing, but his feet was pressing against something. Yet, should he want to, he could push his feet deeper through the nothingness. It was the strangest thing he'd ever experienced.
The place was empty, except for a mirror in front of him. The mirror reflected nothing but him, for their was none else to reflect. He stared at his reflection thoughtfully, wondering how he got here in the first place. Wondering where here even was...
"Welcome, young hero, to the space between worlds!" It was a loud, booming voice.
He looked around, but found no one. "I do not understand." His voice echoed, somehow passing him by several times.
"It is not important that you understand." the loud voice replied, "But let me ask you... can fate be broken?"
"Can fate be broken?" he repeated.
A crack suddenly formed in the mirror, then another... and another. He reached out to trace a finger over one of the jagged lines, but before he could, the center of the mirror became indented, as if something had impacted it. Many crack spread from the indented center, isolating many parts into their own thing.
When he looked back at the mirror, it no longer reflected him alone. Around his reflection, in each different isolated section, each portraying a different scenery, and each containing a person in need. But that wasn't all... he wasn't the only person standing in the center of the reflection. Between each crack stood a different him, the differences between them so slight it would be impossible to tell. The mirror worked to combine the different hims, into one complete him. Almost.
Among the different versions of himself, there was also that version of himself. Half of the reflection showed him, but the other half reflected the tall hero in red. The him with snow white hair and tan skin, the him drowning in regrets, the him that lived only as a machine. Half of the reflection was of the young Shirou Emiya, but the other half reflected the hero EMIYA.
"Can fate be broken?" he repeated the question, raising his hand over his chest, watching as all of him did the same.
"Let me rephrase my question," the voice said with slight amusement, "Young hero, are you capable of breaking the fate?"
What kind of question was that? Was he able to break fate? He ran his eyes over each person in the mirror... over each world reflected. He felt a tug at his heart over what he saw. People crying, people being hurt, people in need, he saw people who needed to be saved. Then finally, he saw himself.
Can fate be broken?
"Nothing is decided." he stated with conviction, "My future is mine. Who I will become, the people I will meet, the people I will save... I've always walked down my own path, fighting for what I believe in," He pulled his fist back, "Even when that meant..." He threw his fist forward, "Fighting against Fate!" Jagged edges left marks on his hand as his fist plunged through the indented center.
Shards of glass fell to the ground, leaving behind a resounding echo... The boy was gone.
Notes: Alrighty guys, in case you don't know, Alex Kellar is hosting a new contest, "Breakng the Fate", after which this story is named. When I saw the picture he drew for it, I was inspired to make this short little thing based off it. Everyone, go visit Alex's Deviantart to see the picture this is based on, and if you feel up to it, enter the contest. It will be a lot of fun, regardless of if you win or not. It can also be a great opportunity for new writers to practice. Don't take too long deciding on whether you'll enter or not, the contest will be over before you know it.
All of that being said, I might not enter this one. We'll have to wait and see. But with this short story, even if I don't enter, at least I can say I was a part of it! Now go visit his Deviantart and check out all the awesome artwork he's got.