Update: I have redone the explanation of magic in this chapter thanks to an anon review. If anyone finds plot holes or inconsistent systems in the fic I urge you to review or PM me so I can fix them. My memory is actually terrible so I have to read some wiki pages like 3 or 4 times before they stick...
Also to that particular reviever:
Shirou: I'm sorry Rin, but as a third rate magus you can't expect me to know all the details.
We walked for a little more than an hour, Kiritsugu didn't have a car it seemed and neither did he call a cab. I thought it might have been for a parent & child bonding moment but he didn't say a single word the whole way, always gazing towards a certain direction with his (to me), signature empty look of utter indifference.
He promised he'd answer all my questions once we reached our new home so I didn't interrupt him.
The house, no, mansion, was quite outside my expectations. When he told me it is a traditional house, I automatically interpret it as traditional western and not Japanese. Looking at my new residence I could easily imagine a high ranking Imperial officer or even a Shogun living here.
The entrance hall was long, with several doors leading to different rooms. We toured all of them together, there were several bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large attic, a shed outside, a dining room and a kitchen, where Kiritsugu stopped for a few moments glaring at the oven for some reason…
The last place we went to was a large building on the other side of the garden, when we entered it became clear that it is in fact a dojo, with bamboo swords lining a wall and what I could only assume were inspiring quotes in fancy calligraphy all over the place. Kiritsugu fluidly sat down on a training mat, swishing his by now very dirty trench coat from underneath him and settling on his knees in a textbook Seiza.
He pointed at another mat nearby and of course I tried to copy him… only to fail hilariously as I tripped one leg over the other and landed painfully on my backside, once again. I could easily walk by now and the experience of wholeness in that dream, however strange, helped harmonize my body and mind, though obviously not enough for complicated movement.
I swiftly righted myself and simply sat in a cross legged position, all the while Kiritsugu was just looking at me blankly, it was a bit unnerving. Then he closed his eyes for a few moments before focusing them on me with newfound intensity.
"I promised you answers, ask away."
"What is… magecraft?" It is the first question that came to my mind, the alien nature of my recovery somehow setting itself above the needs to get to know my new father.
Kiritsugu grimaced somewhat "That, Shirou is a difficult question. First let me tell you what magi are, then we can talk about their craft. Alright?" He stopped and looked at me. I only nodded for him to continue.
"Magi are, in essence, humans with some extra added in. Do you know what a nervous system is, Shirou?" I nod. "So you understand that a human being has but a single nervous system. With magi that is a bit different, there exists another system called Circuits, Magic Circuits to be exact. It is what allows magi to generate Od.
Od is, in essence your very own, personal supply of magic. It is the opposite of Mana, the life force of the world which you use in conjunction with your own Od to create prana and thus to perform mysteries. Let me demonstrate." He lifts one of his arms in the air into a grabbing motion and with a flash of light and soft crackling of lightning, a pistol is in his hands. I am no professional but it looks like something out of a wild west movie.
"The method I used to create this weapon is called Projection." He quickly tosses the gun toward me in an arc so I hold out my hand to catch it, however as it touches my skin it disperses into tiny blue particles before those too, disappear. I glance at Kiritsugu with wide eyes. "Do not worry, you didn't break it. Projection is also called Gradation Air, the entire gun was made out of my own magical energy or prana. It is an alien concept, a completely unnatural phenomenon to the world and so the will of the world, otherwise known as Gaia has rejected its existence. This example works on most other magecraft as well. Projection is just one of the most basic disciplines taught to a new magus, making objects out of prana according to the user's imagination. The objects made are extremely fragile and usually disappear quickly even with extreme amounts of magical energy put into them. Did you understand everything until now, Shirou?"
I nod quickly several times, urging him to continue. With such proof before my very eyes I have no reason to doubt him anymore. He must've seen my eagerness because he continues in a heavier tone than before.
"But, Shirou, being a magus is not just about doing all these seemingly fantastical feats. There is a saying among magi, 'to be a magus is to walk with death'. And indeed It is so, the life goal of near all magi is but a single thing, a wish of impossible proportions, to reach Akasha." He finishes heavily and I just look at him in slight confusion, prompting him to eleborate.
"Akasha, otherwise known as the root of all things, Shirou, is Knowledge, supposedly the knowledge of all things past, present and future. To reach it is to know all those, essentially becoming a god. Nobody has managed it until now, only magicians came into contact with the root and even they merely saw an infinitely tiny part of it."
"Is that your goal as well Kiritsugu?" Though by now I know perfectly well It is not.
"No. I am part of that small minority whose wish is not knowledge." He stops speaking for a few seconds and from so close I can see his eyes misting over a bit before he blinks heavily, he is stoic once more. "My designation, if it could be called as such is a spellcaster. A spellcaster is a magus who does not long for the root and neither does he or she hone his or her craft to perfection, but one who merely looks at magecraft as a tool, a simple means to an end. Any other questions?" He derails the topic of conversation but I don't mind. We haven't known each other for a whole day yet, I shouldn't pry into his private affairs… also a six years old boy shouldn't be able to pick up on such clues in conversations either.
"Why did you adopt me?" My curiosity sated about mystical forces I ask about my future.
"The only person I managed to save in the inferno was you alone, Shirou. After I brought you to the hospital I searched for your family, I am sorry." I am also sorry for this young boy who lost his family.
"The other reason I didn't leave you in the hospital is, Shirou, because you possess inactive Magic Circuits in your body. I do not know if it was merely coincidence or perhaps fate that you were the one I saved, but I decided that I didn't want to leave you alone after the tragedy you suffered."
My tone eager, I ask "Then… will you teach me magecraft?"
His smile is a bit forced but he nods eventually. "After all I have told you I believe I have such an obligation. Now we have talked long and my legs are sore. Get washed, eat something from the fridge then go to bed, we shall start with the basics tomorrow." He said before standing up and walking out of the dojo and into the shed nearby.
It was already dark outside so I followed his advice and ate some tasteless cup noodles then took a shower before settling down on the bed.
Oddly enough sleep came easy and I found myself in the same place as the last time I passed out. The sky was still a perfect blue and the grass vivid green, the gargantuan gears above the clouds still spun slowly, a groaning sound echoing from them.
I just laid there, relishing the peace this place provided. My mind working fast I quickly put together the dots during my conversation with Kiritsugu.
No wonder Kiritsugu and Shirou Emiya sounded so familiar, they were both protagonists of animes I recently watched. So now I am not only in a different world, I am also in a sort of dark fictional one. After watching the anime I remember I was enthralled by the lore and dug around the wikis for a long time, discovering details for even the tiniest things I was curious about.
'Shirou Emiya'… it is my name now, this world I thought was merely a dream and figment of my imagination, in truth a reality marble, at least most likely. My miraculous recovery is not from the effects of magecraft, but from the divine artifact implanted inside my very soul, Avalon. In a decade I am expected to fight to the death in a brutal war between magi and Heroes of legends, also dying within the first minute by a lance to the heart… I aim to very much change that.
'Kiritsugu Emiya'… my new 'father', a serial killer and self proclaimed hero of justice, also the 'winner' of the fourth Holy Grail War and currently dying from the curse of all the world's evils. I remember that in the novel he did not teach Shirou for a long time, merely after he was worn down by Shirou's insistence did he relent, teaching very basic and incomplete magecraft, before dying.
So what changed? I do not know, but me accessing my reality marble a day after the fire is certainly a huge difference. Is this even a reality marble? As I read the rules are defined by the soul of the individual possessing it and not even they can change it, but I can clearly will myself to fly and it does indeed work.
I also remember Kiritsugu removing his hands as if burned after what I suspect was a structural grasp he used on me in the hospital, did he find something strange inside my body perhaps? The reality marble is inside my soul and a quick look shouldn't reveal it.
Also what are my origin and element? Are they still sword, unchanged from the Shirou Emiya I know, or perhaps my soul is truly unique and they are different? My reality marble is not a barren wasteland so I can only hope that my origin and alignment are different as well.
So many mysteries, so few answers and not even Kiritsugu could answer even a hundredth of them. I remained there, thinking furiously about many things.
Time passed quickly, not that I was aware, the world I was currently in didn't change at all, the nonexistent sun shone the same way it did the first time I arrived here. Still, slowly my eyes closed on their own accord and I drifted off to true sleep.
I woke up sometime in the morning, the sun shining right into my eyes from my window without drapes. I'll also need to convince Kiritsugu to buy me some furniture. I stood up with some excitement and dread both bubbling within me, got washed up and dressed. I went into the dining room where Kiritsugu was already (or judging from the bags under his eyes still) awake with some takeout food on the table in front of him. We ate in silence, I was still a bit sleepy and Kiritsugu was his usual expressionless self.
After breakfast he led me into the shed which looked a bit different from yesterday, the clutter on the floor was cleaned up and a large circle with intricately drawn strange symbols was drawn on it.
"Sit down in the middle of that Shirou, however you feel comfortable." I obeyed without much thought. Somehow the way Kiritsugu treated Shirou in the anime and novel stuck with me and I viewed Kiritsugu with a bit more familiarity. Also I probably know more about him then he himself does.
"I am going to awaken your Circuits now. It will hurt, badly, but if you truly want to learn then you must endure this and much more." He probably wants to discourage me from actually doing it but with all the knowledge I now posses, such a thing is impossible. So I just nod at him to continue. He responds the same and stand behind me with a palm on my back.
"Now Shirou this is important, regulate your breathing, It is a large part of gathering the prana in your body. Slow and steady." I obeyed and steadied it as best I could. "Good, you're doing well. Now you must maintain this while I pour my prana into your system, if you waver too much your circuits might degrade so for your sake, endure." I nod once more and some sweat gather over me from the heavy tone Kiritsugu is using. I may have all the surface knowledge I could ever wish for in my head but that doesn't mean nothing could go wrong.
"We will start now, brace yourself." Intense agony assaults my senses and my breathing does indeed waver but only for a moment before I catch myself. The pain is severe but little over a day ago I experienced something much worse. Merely the phantom pains from that hell are worse than the real thing I am currently undergoing. The procedure lasts a little over 10 seconds but for me it felt much longer.
Kiritsugu takes his palm back from my back and smiles a tiny, seemingly genuine smile. In time I will associate this smile with his pride in me when I go beyond expectations. "Congratulations Shirou, you are a magus now. I shall now instruct you how to observe your circuits. I need to know your capacity when we're going to get into the practical part of your training." He summarized how to do structural grasp quickly and I managed to do it on my first try. Kiritsugu says that since it is my own body it is much easier to do then other objects or beings.
I found my magic circuits quickly, the way this second nervous system in my body connects with the actual circuits in my soul is truly a magnificent sight. The amount of actual circuits I had was the same as the original Shirou Emiya's, 27. The difference was that mine were not crippled at all, unlocking them at the age of six was actually perfect, according to Kiritsugu it is around the time when It should be done. The original, -It is how I shall be calling the original Shirou Emiya in my head-.
Where the original's circuits could barely handle 10 units of magical energy without crippling him, mine can do 20 to 30 depending on their quality. All in all I have 10 circuits of the 30 magical capacity and the rest in 20, bringing my overall prana potential to a grand total of 640 magical energy without subs. This of course does not mean that I can use them however I wish from the start, they will need to mature in the years to come. If I overexert myself in their usage I could easily kill myself or worse, cripple my circuits.
According to Kiritsugu my capacity is a bit above average without a crest, -which he also explained were-, in a family with more than 4 generations of magi in it. As a random mutation in my family it is extremely good.
And so started my arduous training under the Magus Killer. Thankfully he didn't wish to mold me into his image, probably because my memories weren't gone like the original's and so he couldn't influence me to such an extent.
