Disclaimer, I do not own Fate/Stay Night. Kind of wish I did but anything associated with Fate/Stay Night belongs to the geniuses at Type-Moon. This is my very first ever fanfiction so go easy on me please ^_^ Honestly I'm amazed that I wrote so much in the span of three days. I know that this story is far from perfect. It could do with some polishing. But still I think its ok. Its basically a long summary followed by an interpretation of Last Episode from Realta Nua. Well without further ado…
Summary of Fate
This is a tale that few truly know. A tale of struggle, strife, death, guilt, sacrifice and love. A tale that spans only 15 days in the lives of those involved in this tale, and yet this tale would continue for eons.
Let us start at the beginning.
Once, a long time ago, in the city of Fuyuki, there was a great fire that killed hundreds of people. This fire was the result of an ancient ritualistic battle between those that command the forces of magic. Magi.
This battle was called the Holy Grail War. In this war, 7 selected Magi would become Master's and do battle against each other for the ultimate prize. The Holy Grail.
A powerful relic said to be able to grant any wish. To do battle against each other, each magus would summon a powerful familiar. Called a Servant. These Servants were ancient heroes allowed to once again walk the earth due to the power of the grail. Servants and Masters would then go on to fight until there was only one team left standing. This team would then get their wishes from the grail.
But in Fuyuki, as the final battle drew to a close, one of the Magi ordered his servant to destroy the Grail. He used his last Reiju, or Command Seal to do it. Command Seals were the mark of Masters. They established the connection between Master and Servant. They also allowed the Master to give an undeniable order to the Servant. Even if the Servant doesn't want to do something, a Master could force the Servant to do it anyway. But the Master only has three Command Seals. Once those are used up, the contract with the Servant is severed.
It was due to these seals that the servant known as Saber, destroyed the Holy Grail's physical form, and Fuyuki was consumed in fire. Killing everybody for miles around. Except one.
A young boy who barely clung to life still drew breath. If only just.
The magus who had ordered the destruction of the grail, found the boy, and became overjoyed that at least someone had survived the hell that took place not minutes before. The magus acted quickly and saved the boy's life.
That magus was Kiretsugu Emiya. The boy would later become known as his adopted son, Shirou Emiya.
Shirou Emiya grew up idolizing the man who saved his life. Wanting to become a hero "just like his dad." To become a "Hero of Justice." A superhero, if you will. To that end, when Kiretsugu told Shriou he was a magus, Shriou asked if he could learn magic as well. Kiretsugu did not teach magic to Shirou, due to his feelings that magic led to paths of great hardship. But he did tell Shirou that if he really wanted to learn, he must hone his craft in private, and use his skills in secret.
So Shirou did these things. Finding that he could only do the most basic form of magic. Reinforcement magic. The art of channeling magic into objects to make them stronger. But even with this basic form of magic, he was woefully inept. But still he kept practicing. Even when Kiretsugu passed away not 5 years after adopting Shirou.
Shirou still did not give up on his dream of becoming a hero. Even though day by day that dream seemed to become even more and more unlikely to come true.
But then the story truly begins here. In what would be known as The 5th Holy Grail War.
Shirou had stayed after school to help out with some student counsel things. When he finally left, it was dark out and no one was left at the school.
It was there that Shirou stumbled onto a battle between Servants.
One servant was clad in blue armor and wielded a spear that was as red as blood.
The other was clad in black armor and a red coat and wielded twin swords. The prowess that these two showed as they battled clearly marked them as something not human. Something beyond human. Shriou tried to get away without being detected but he stepped on a branch. This made the Servant with the spear chase after Shirou. Because any witnesses who see a battle between Servants must die. In order to keep the existence of Magi a secret.
Shirou ran as fast as he could but it was for naught. The blue armored servant easily caught him and impaled Shirou through the heart with his spear. And then left him to die.
But Shirou would be fortunate. The Master of the red-cloaked servant was Rin Tohsaka. A classmate of Shirou's and a very powerful magus. Not willing to let Shirou die, she used an old family heirloom, a heart shaped red pendant filled with magical energy capable of healing almost any wound to heal Shirou. When Shriou woke up, no one was around and he pocketed the apparently powerless jewel left behind.
But the blue servant would realize that Shirou was not dead and followed Shirou home to finish the job. Shirou tried to fight, maybe a bit valiantly, and maybe a bit foolishly, but he did everything in his meager power to escape the blue servant.
Eventually, the Servant kicked Shirou into the storage shed. A place where Shirou often practiced his magic. The blue servant took his time, knowing that he had his prey now. The servant said it was a shame that he had to kill the boy. Because it looked like the boy might have been the 7th. The Servant raised his lance for the killing blow.
It was then that something that should not have been able to happen happened. You see, in the previous grail war, Kiretsugu had drawn a summoning circle right inside the shed. It was right here that Kiretsugu had summoned his Servant. And it was here, that awakened by Shrou's will to survive, the Servant that served Kiretsugu was summoned again.
To Shirou there was a bright light as something came from nowhere, knocked him onto the ground and then a clang of a sword against the blue servant's spear. The sudden apparition fought the spear-wielding servant off. The immediate threat ended, the Servant turned to Shirou and said the words that would begin Shrou's plunge into this war.
"Servant Saber has been summoned."
"I ask you, are you my Master?"
Shirou would never forget this meeting. In all the years Shirou would walk this earth, he would never forget a single detail about this meeting.
In front of him stood a girl about his age. Clad in a blue dress but that dress was covered in silver armor plates of superb craftsmanship that gleamed in the moonlight. Her blonde hair had a texture of finely grained gold. Her green eyes were piercing and commanding. Her entire presence had a feeling of nobility and strength.
Needless to say, Shirou was speechless at the strength the nobility and the sheer beauty of the girl in front of him.
This is Shriou and Saber's first meeting.
What followed next was the war. After the spear-wielding servant escaped, Rin arrived at Shrou's house. Where Saber wound up injuring Rin's servant. Due to Shrou's state of utter cluelessness regarding the Holy Grail War, Rin decided to cut him a break.
She took him to see the supervisor of the Holy Grail War, Kotomine Kirei. A priest with a dark presence. It was from Kirei and Rin that Shirou learned of the Grail War. About the seven servants who were summoned into it.
Lancer,
Caster
Berserker
Rider
Assassin
Archer
Saber.
Originally, Shirou wanted nothing to do with the Grail War. He had no wish that needed granting by a magical trinket. But when Kirei mentioned that sometimes innocents get caught up in the war, like in the Great Fuyuki Fire, he had hit exactly the right buttons in Shirou.
Vowing to prevent the tragedy that had occurred before, Shirou gladly accepted the contract with Saber. What followed can be given in summary.
They fought Berserker and were almost killed. They fought Rider and her master, an old friend of Shirou's who had been planning to use human souls to strengthen his Servant. Shirou was captured by Berserker's master and saved by Rin, Archer and a weakened Saber. Archer, who had been belittling Shirou's dream from day one, sacrificed himself to give the others time to escape Berserker. Saber, once she recovered her strength, fought Berserker, and with Shrou's help, as he had found he had the ability of Projection, the magical art of creating objects out of mana, defeated Berserker.
They would go on to defeat, Caster, Assassin and encounter an 8th Servant. An Archer glad in golden armor, who claimed that Saber was "his." This Archer was Saber's final opponent in the last Holy Grail War, the only opponent she couldn't defeat.
These events are important turning points in the war, but its what happened between these events that should be noted.
The bond between Master and Servant grows stronger over time. Eventually allowing them to view each other's dreams. Through these dreams, Shirou learned of Saber's past. How she had sacrificed everything for her kingdom. Sacrificing her emotions, her own happiness, all to protect her kingdom. And in the end, her kingdom betrayed her, and she died alone.
Naturally, one would think that she wanted the grail for a second chance at life, but no, even after her death, she still carried a duty to her kingdom. She wanted to use the grail to redo the selection of the king. So that a better king than her would be able to lead her kingdom.
Yes, in life she was a king. Her real name was not Saber, but Arturia Pendragon. History and legend would remember her as King Arthur.
Likewise, Saber saw Shriou's dreams as well. She saw the fire, how Kiretsugu saved him. She understood why Shriou wanted to protect people, even at the cost of his own life and happiness. They were very similar in that regard. Which is why she warned him not to follow his dream. Otherwise he would too, die alone and in failure.
Neither of them really approved of the other's way of life. They were similar, yet different.
But the story moved on. Saber and Shirou fought the golden servant, who revealed himself to be Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes. He wanted to marry Saber, whether she wanted to or not.
But in the two weeks that he had known her, Shirou had fallen for Saber. And managed to fight off Gilgamesh when Saber was wounded by using the lost sheath of Excalibur that was embedded inside him. A parting gift from Kiretsugu.
Afterwards, Shirou expressed his wish that Saber not use the Grail to change history, but she held fast to her duty. Even though she truly wanted to be with Shirou.
Later, Shriou would go to Kirei to find out more information about Gilgamesh, but when he arrived at Kirei's church, he stumbled into a secret room filled with dead bodies. It was here that Lancer, the blue servant, attacked Shriou for a third time.
Saber sensed her Master was in danger and sped to the church to find Shirou gravely wounded. Kirei wanted to experiment. Shirou had said before that he didn't need the grail. But Kirei wasn't so sure. So he used a spell to make Shirou see the darkest part of his life.
The fire.
He made Shirou watch the people dying, people he was powerless to save. People he ignored because his own life was in danger. All the suffering, the cries for help, the pain and the death. And then Kirei made an offer; The Holy Grail could fix this, bring all those people back, and change what happened. And all Shirou would have to do would be to admit that he needed the Holy Grail.
But Shriou's answer shocked everybody there.
"I don't need it."
Shriou accepted that what's past is past, he couldn't change it, and if he did, it would make all the pain and suffering of that day worthless. People wouldn't have overcome their tragedy, become stronger, and he, Shirou Emiya, wouldn't have met Kiretsugu and by extension, Saber. What happened had happened, it was time to look toward the future.
So even with the faces of those who suffered and died in the flames glared at him, Shriou repeated his answer.
"I don't need it."
It was then that Saber realized something as well from Shriou's decision. She had become near obsessed with changing the past, thinking her entire life as a failure, but she realized in that moment, she had everything she wanted already.
Her pride as a knight of Camelot. Her oath of chivalry was intact. Her oath as king, to protect the kingdom, had been fulfilled to her very last breath, and even her dream as a young girl, a dream she had almost forgotten the girl named Arturia had, the dream of being happy with someone, had come true as well.
With this in mind, when Kirei made Saber the same offer, if she killed Shirou, Saber replied.
"I don't need it if it will disgrace me. I have everything I wanted."
"What!?" Kirei was shocked at both of their choices.
"Did you not hear me? I said I prefer Shriou over anything that grail could give me."
It was then that it was revealed that Kirei was the Master of both Lancer and Gilgamesh. Kirei also revealed that the Grail was tainted with evil. And that yes, it granted wishes, but at the cost of countless lives. Shirou and Saber escaped. Lancer betrayed Kirei and was killed for it. And the stage was set.
Saber and Shriou both agreed that the Grail had to be destroyed. To prevent any more Holy Grail Wars and any other tragedies that could happen due to the Grail.
So they went to Ryoudu Temple, where the grail was beginning to form.
Saber would fight Gilgamesh, and Shirou would battle Kirei. Saber was practically outmatched by Gilgamesh's raw power and Shirou was held in a spell that forced him to view all the evils of the world.
But then, they both made a miracle.
They both used the power of the ever-distant utopia, Avalon. The sheath of Excalibur. The ultimate form of protection that nothing can breach. With this power, they defeated their respective foes. And turned their eyes to the grail. Shirou had one last Command Seal. The seal didn't just allow the Master to Command the Servant to do whatever they wanted; it also gave the Servant the power to carry out that command.
So Saber waited for Shirou to give her the command that would allow her to carry out her duty. Once she did, she would go back to her own time and die. Never to see Shirou again. But she would be able to die happy now, thanks to Shirou.
Shriou struggled with his feelings. He did not want to let the girl he loved go. He wanted to make her happy. He wanted to be happy with her. But sometimes a big part of love is letting go. He could not disgrace the honor of the girl he loved. The girl who threw herself into battle and fought with everything she had to protect people. He could never forgive himself for doing that. So with one sentence, he let her go.
"Saber, fulfill your duty."
And with one great swing of raw power, Excalibur shone with a holy light that completely destroyed the tainted Holy Grail.
Shirou's last Command Seal faded from his hand. Now Saber would soon vanish, and there was nothing he could do. A storm of emotions swept through him, anger, loss, love. He wanted to curse the fates and run to Arturia and kiss her one last time.
But that would make this parting harder for both of them. So he kept his emotions in check.
Saber was regarding the sunrise with her back to Shriou. The ribbon she used to keep her hair up had been blown away by the Holy Grail's explosion, her shoulder length hair now swayed in the light breeze.
"As your sword, I have protected you from your enemies. I am glad I could fulfill this oath."
"Yes." Shirou replied. "You were amazing."
Saber was silent for a moment. But then
"There's something I must tell you before I go…"
Shirou paid rapt attention as she turned to face him. They studied each other for a second, doing their best to memorize the person standing before them, because this would be the last they ever saw of that person.
Saber looked Shirou in the eye one last time.
"Shriou, I love you."
Then the sun came up and blinded Shirou for just a moment, when he was able to see again, Saber was gone without a trace.
"Yeah," he said with a small, sad smile. "That's just like you."
Shirou then returned home, to face a new day.
As for Saber, she went back to her own time. Back to when she was inches from death, and quickly slipping.
"Wait here my king. I shall gather reinforcements."
Slowly, Saber opened her eyes to see Sir Bedivere, one of her most trusted knights.
"Bedivere." She called.
The knight turned around in shock.
"My king, you have regained coconsciousness."
Saber merely nodded. She felt so sleepy…
"I was having a dream."
"A dream?"
"Yes," Saber thought back to her adventure with Shriou. It really did seem like a dream at this point. But a nice dream.
"I don't dream often. It was…" It was what? Painful, funny, terrifying, embarrassing at times and the best thing that ever happened to her? She decided to settle on saying
"It was an invaluable experience." To put it mildly.
Sir Bedivere nodded.
"Then rest with no worries my king. If you rest now, you might be able to see the rest of the dream."
At this, Saber's eyes widened.
"Continue the dream? Is that really possible?"
Sir Bedivere clenched his hand. No, it wasn't really possible. Dreams were often fleeting things to begin with. Once a dream is gone the dream is gone. But how could he tell his king that?
"Yes, it is possible. I've done it myself a few times. If you close your eyes, you will see the continuation of your dream." It was the first and last lie, Sir Bedivere ever told his king.
Saber nodded. Satisfied. Because whether it was true or not it was what she wanted to hear. It was what she wished could happen
"Thank you, you are very wise."
She then told Sir Bedivere, to take her sword and throw it back into the lake from whence it came. Then, as the legend goes, it took Sir Bedivere three tries to find the strength to actually part with the sword. Because once he gave up the sword, he knew for certain that would signal the end of his King. But even so, on the third attempt, he threw it far into the lake where a white hand caught it, flourished the sword three times and then disappeared into the lake.
When Sir Bedivere reported what he saw to the king, she smiled.
"I see. Be proud of thyself. You have obeyed my order."
With this, Saber leaned back and began to let death take her.
"Bedivere?" She called softly.
"Yes my king?"
"I'm afraid this time, my slumber will be, a bit long."
And thus, King Arthur, Arturia Pendragon, Saber, closed her eyes and died in peace.
As she did so, she could have sworn she heard Shriou saying something.
She feels so close that I could reach out and touch her. But when I reach out, she's not there. But even so, there are things that remain in both of our hearts, right? We lived in the same time and we saw the same things. If we remember that, then no matter how far apart we are, we are still together with each other. So for now, I'll keep running. Because someday, no matter how far away what I'm looking for is, as long as I keep running, I'll reach it someday. I know it.
With this, Saber gave a small smile.
Shirou…
Then she was gone.
Silence reigned in the forest for a moment as Bedivere watched his king. His king had always been unrewarded throughout his, no, her life. But now watching her peaceful face, Bedivere offered thanks to whatever force on this earth had allowed her to die with a smile. But then Bedivere asked the now silent king a question.
"Are you dreaming once again, King Arthur?"
"Are you seeing the continuation of your dream?"
It wasn't a coincidence we met.
It was a destiny we dreamt of, long ago.
And that concluded the story of the 5th Holy Grail War.
But Shirou and Saber's story would not quite end here.
It is here that we should talk about Rin's Servant. Archer. The knight clad in a red cloak. A ranged warrior who preferred to duel with his twin blades. He had belittled Shirou's dream as soon as he met him. But why?
Because the power of the Holy Grail allows servants to be summoned not just as heroes of the past, but of heroes of the future as well.
Archer was really the Heroic Spirit Emiya Shriou. The future Shriou. The Shirou who won the 5th Grail war and went on to become a superhero. Single-mindedly honing his Projection and Reinforcement talents until he was able to do things that could only be called superhuman.
But eventually, Archer was accused of causing some form of disaster, even as he protected people from that disaster. Ultimately, he was executed by the very people he protected. But even so, he didn't care about that. And once he died, he made a contract with Akasha, or the consciousness of the word. He became a heroic spirit. A counter guardian. He thought he would be able to continue to save people even after his death.
But the reality was different. A counter guardian is only summoned into the most hellish of situations. Situations where a person or a small group of people bring the entire world to the brink of destruction. These individuals need to be eliminated. For someone like Shriou, who wanted to become a hero who didn't need to kill anybody, who could save everyone, good and evil, this was torture. He grew to become bitter and cynical. Betrayed by his ideal. He grew up to be very different from the Shirou he once was. But as Archer during the grail war, he may have altered time just enough, to give him a measure of peace.
Because the Shirou that fell in love with Saber was changed a bit by Saber and Archer. Thanks to them he found some holes in the ideal that he pursued. It is wrong to value the lives of other people so far beyond yourself. The most important person one should value is yourself, because that's the person who can become happy and share his happiness. That it was too conceited and foolhardy for someone who couldn't take care of himself to take care of other people. That kind of happiness is unstable for both people involved.
These are lessons Shirou learned well, but even so, he still pursued his dream of becoming a hero. Because it was a dream that he could pursue, and even if becoming a hero that can save every last person in his sight can be considered a fantasy that could never come true, it was still a beautiful ideal. So Shriou chased his dream.
Yet he never became Archer, his skin darkened a little, but never tanned like Archer's. And his red hair gained certain sheen to it, but never became silver like Archer's.
Shriou too, protected people like a superhero would. And he too was betrayed. And he too became a heroic spirit. He would find himself in hellish places too horrible to describe. His dedication to his ideal would become warped. It would no longer be an ideal worth pursuing, but a duty he was merely obligated to perform. He would go on like this for eternity.
And what of Saber?
The legend says, King Arthur was carried to the isle of Avalon. Where he may heal his wounds and return someday. After all, was not King Arthur called The Once and Future King?
So Saber would rest and wait. Her reward for her life was to reside in on the utopian isle. No longer bound by the duty of a heroic spirit. She was truly at peace.
Almost.
There was always one thing missing, one thing that she wished she could have here with her on this utopia. Thinking on it, it was a selfish and foolish wish. She had everything and she accepted her death, that she would never she him again. So why did she still wish that she could see Shirou again?
As she slumbered on Avalon, she sometimes had dreams of the life Shirou was leading. The good times, the sad times, and the trials that he put himself through.
She realized then, that she truly wanted to meet Shirou again. Even if this was an impossible wish, it was what she wanted.
As she admitted this, an old friend of her's, who's name is as synonymous with her legends as the name of her sword voiced his thoughts on this matter.
"This is difficult to say the least. You're dimensions are not aligned, the distance between the two of you is so far that people would weep if they knew."
She was aware of this.
"However, if you really want to meet again, two miracles must occur. One must wait continuously. And one must pursue endlessly. They both must realize that it's impossible for them to succeed and yet still be capable of enduring patiently. But is this dream one that should be waited on?"
She considered. It was unrelated to her duty as a king, so it was just a matter of whether or not she wanted to wait on this dream or not.
Merlin voiced his thoughts on how she must not throw away her pride as a king and just stay as she was. Then he sighed.
"But as to whether or not this wish of yours is right or wrong, is another matter entirely. Arturia, the people are changing with the era. But you are the only one who hasn't changed. A dream is beautiful because it is dreamlike. But in all honesty, you would probably be happier slumbering as if dead instead of waiting.
But even so…"
The magus let the conversation hang from there. But even so, even is she would probably be happier moving on, her wish would not disappear. So she smiled. Because even if there was little hope of her wish coming true, there was still hope. It was a frail and foolhardy hope, but it was hope. So she clung to that hope as she waited continuously.
As for Shriou, his way of life didn't really change that much. He still fought his self-destructive crusade for justice throughout the ages. Repeating the process over and over again. Like a machine rather than a man. He carefully locked away the painful things he saw and did and kept moving forward. A piece of his heart becoming like a steel vault.
But even though no one knew of his pain, Saber watched him when she slumbered. She was there, and she knew of Shrou's strength.
Finally, for both Saber and Shirou, a very long time passed…
When he awoke he was lying on the grass. Staring up at a clear blue sky as a soft breeze encircled him.
Where am I? Just how far have I actually traveled? How much time has passed? I don't remember. It's all a blur.
The figure took and deep breath and let it out slowly. As he did so, tension drained from his entire body as he finally relaxed.
Ah, that's better. Huh, I thought my journey would continue forever. But it looks like my journey is at an end here.
As he continued to relax, his mind gradually woke, and his mindset returned to how it was before the journey had sapped his will.
Smiling, he regarded the beautiful sky and thought about an unstated agreement he had made with a girl just before she vanished.
It was something of a fantasy, an impossible wish.
A wish born from seeing the same sky and feeling the same things. He felt that if he kept running after his dream, he would eventually reach it. These are things he thought of as he walked the streets of his hometown the day after the girl parted.
And as for the girl.
"Ah." She raised her head and looked at the sky with a wish. She felt a change in the winds direction, and the tears she held back for so long finally fell. She's been praying, desperately a familiar face. To finally meet again, even if the hope for that wish was always frail and foolhardy, she is grateful to that foolhardy hope.
Her breathing calmed down after a few moments.
Unbelievable, how long has it been since my breathing was disrupted? Its as if I'm a young girl again. Even though I've grown up so much and I'm not a child anymore.
She smiled and laughed a little as she said this.
But come to think of it, how many times have I wished to the sky? Wishing I want to see him, over and over again? If this wish is realized, what will I do? Heh, A foolish question. I want to be held by him again. And know that we love each other.
Her heart had been in chaos due to her wish. Waiting for him but knowing it was impossible. But even so she remained, because she didn't want to waste the efforts of the man who kept going. And even now, she felt so scared that she wanted to run away. But just like when she destroyed the Holy Grail, she's waiting on his words. But even so, she's still scared. Can her dream, her wish, this miracle really occur? He has no doubt changed. She didn't need to protect him anymore. Was she just being stubborn? No, it wasn't that she was stubborn, it's just unforgettable.
So she still embraced the fading past.
It was time to see if the miracle had really happened.
So slowly, she walked toward the clearing where a figure was lying down. Hearing her footsteps the figure sat up.
"Ah…"
It was so similar to their first meeting. The positions they were in. Her standing and regarding him and him sitting down and looking up at her.
A feeling of nostalgia flowed through their veins as they saw each other. The feelings that welled up in them felt like a massive flood. The things they wanted to say to each other were too numerous to count.
The eternity that they both spent endlessly pursuing and endlessly waiting, felt like nothing now. As though today was just a continuation of the day they parted.
Wearing a smile of utter happiness, the boy managed to choke one sentence out.
"I'm back Saber."
Still smiling with a slight sign of happy tears in her eyes, the girl trembled slightly and answered.
"Yes. Welcome back, Shirou."
The journey finally announced its end here. And so a new journey would start for both of them, but this time, they would walk this journey together. And so this part of the story ends here, but the story itself as a whole, has only just begun for Shirou and Saber. Two stubborn people who were very much in love.
Now they walk together, into eternity.
FIN