Eyes: Sir, i'm currently looking at the story stats...

Brain: Yes? How is it, the reception of the opening chapter was damn fine, we must have gotten at least half of-

Eyes: It doubled sir.

Brain: What...?

Eyes: It doubled.

Brain: ... Contact the hands. I don't care if they're busy! We need an emergency chapter write up!

Hey hey, it's that time of the week again! As always, thank you very much for all the support this fic has garnered. For those that asked for more, well here's another one!

Seriously though, i don't even get how the hell this thing got to 460 favs and 600 follows. The last chapter somehow got 60 freaking reviews. I've got other stories with damn fine stats and this is still the most reviews I've gotten for a single chapter... I mean, for a category with such an active fanbase, how the hell are there only five stories?

Anyway, before everything else, I'd like to address the whole Emiya height thing.

Yes, I'm aware of the fact that he's over 6 feet tall. The de-aging into 15 years old and turning his height 5 ft 5 inches (Canon Shirou body basically) was both intentional and alluded to several times in the past two chapters.

Now that that's out of the way, please hear me out and read the author's note at the bottom of the chapter! Some very important stuff there. Particularly to confirm some of the suspicions of some of the reviews regarding our favorite main character! I'll make sure to make the A/Ns and openings shorter the next time around, for now I need to make them long to say everything I need.

With regards to the grammar mistakes, apologies, I do my best to proofread but it's hard to find your own mistakes. I may truly consider a beta but due to the fact that I'm only ever on the net in the weekends, it may make communications difficult... well let's see how things play out.

I'd really like to respond to reviews here but I already got scolded for that in my other story (wahaha), I'll try to respond via messages but I need sleep badly and have to go back to work tomorrow so can't do so now. Sorry bout that!

Finally, this chapter marks the last of the story's 'prologue'. The core characters have been introduced, the foreshadowing is in place, the relationships have been defined. The next chapter will officially start the first arc of the story and there will be action for those that crave it. For now though, let me have this one last chapter to finish the set-up!

Disclaimer: This chapter was totally not made for the sake of getting a taste of the Soma Familia's Wine. Totally Not. Totally. *Chugs*

==[The Forge, The Hearth, and the Steel Sword]==

==[To Dream – Hephaestus]==

It was a world born from flames. The raging inferno devoured everything in sight, eating away at the world, only to reveal a desert bathed in twilight.

On the far off horizon, she saw a figure.

It was a man whose back was turned towards her, standing atop a hill impaled with countless swords. In his hands were a pair of swords, one black, and one white. For a moment, her eyes couldn't tear themselves away from the profile of the blades in the man's hands.

Despite the distance, she could feel a faint voice. A voice that seemed to be chanting a solemn prayer.

She tried to move but her feet refused to listen.

Suddenly, the world grew darker. The light of the sky begun to fade behind the large gyrating gears that materialized. A black smog rose from the ground and a thick haze that came from the smoldering embers started to obscure her view.

The figure of the man that stood on the hill became faint.

She reached out instinctively, trying to call out to the man yet unable to find the power to speak. Her body was frozen, unable to move from the sheer presence of the world of blades.

She wanted to shout, to stop the man from going further.

She knew… she understood.

What awaited him on that path was a life with endless despair.

What awaited him on that path was an existence filled with pain and suffering.

She felt her heart sink as the man's figure grew fainter still.

She needed to stop him. She needed to call out to him.

His name... she simply had to shout his name and he would surely turn towards her.

"Shi—"

"…rou!"

She woke up with a start, her hands outstretched, desperately trying to reach out to something. Her body was drenched in sweat, the fabric of the button-up shirt she often wore to bed clinging to her skin.

She looked around the room, trying to regain her bearings.

The room had been filled with wooden furniture that had been crafted by hands of her children, each bearing the symbol of her familia. Seeing the symbol of two hammer crossed over a volcano had allowed her to gain a semblance of calmness.

She took a few deep breaths and allowed the silence to help her regain her composure.

She stared at the magic stone lamp illuminating the room and sighed, before deciding to finally get up from her bed and strip off her drenched sleepwear.

She entered the bathroom still feeling weak and aggressively splashed cold water on her face. She ran her hands through her disheveled hair, coming to the realization that she had yet to wear her eyepatch.

"Shirou…"

She whispered the name of the boy that had finally become an official part of her familia.

Just the night before, she had taken the chance to extend the offer she'd long wanted to give. She had always hesitated, the fact that the boy may have had a family, or other obligations, always stopping her. However, when the boy had confirmed he had nothing waiting for him, her voice had come out from her mouth before she even had time to think.

He had hesitated, understandably, however she had no intention of allowing the boy she had come to see as a real family ever be left alone to fend for himself.

It didn't matter whether the boy was capable of taking care of himself. What mattered was that the boy would always have someone to fall back on, someone to support him. She didn't need to be a god to understand that the boy needed a family.

To her utter relief, the boy had taken the offer. She still sensed some hesitation, as if he wanted to avoid hoisting whatever burden he carried with him on her and her familia… but she didn't care for that. She knew for a fact that neither did her familia. If Hestia was there, she would be the first to chastise the boy for ever thinking that he needed to carry everything on his own.

So she wasted no time, she had the boy take a seat and had him take off his coat, scarf, and shirt. She removed her work gloves in turn.

With the boy's back exposed, she had pricked her finger and allowed her blood to flow. Having done the procedure countless times before, she had been able to finish the procedure fast as expected.

Of course, the content of the boy's status was another thing entirely. To say she was shocked would have been an understatement.

"…A forge. That world filled with blades… yes, it felt like a forge."

She thought back on the vivid dream. She had been a goddess who had descended from Heaven, yet what she saw was even more otherworldly.

The gyrating gears. The smoldering embers. The smog. The countless amount of steel that pierced the earth. It truly felt like a forge of smith that had spent their entire life dedicated to the craft.

Her mind went back to the figure standing on the hill and briefly wondered if Shirou and the man were connected… but she shook her head to rid herself of such thoughts.

The man on the hill and the child of her familia were different. That man couldn't be Shirou, shouldn't be Shirou. She wouldn't allow Shirou to become that man, at least not ever again.

"Hmmm…"

She closed her eyes and concentrated, allowing herself to feel the connection she had with her children. With the amount of children she had in her familia, it was usually difficult to isolate a single one…

Though that wasn't true for Shirou Emiya.

Unlike everyone else, her connection with him felt… more defined, more pronounced. It was like having a roaring flame inside her body. It told her that the boy was still there, alive and well.

"He's fine… yes, he won't disappear…"

Just for a moment, she felt like the boy's existence would fade and disappear like the man in her dream.

She felt the strong need to find the boy just to be sure but she stopped herself.

"Alright… I need to stop this. There's work to be done."

The day had yet to start and she was already a mess. She splashed her face one more time before leaving the bathroom and finally wearing clothes.

She made sure to check that her eyepatch was firmly placed on her face.

"Okay, looks like everything is in order."

She looked in the mirror and dried her hair. When she had been satisfied with the state of her appearance, she finally left the room.

"Those swords however…"

Despite wanting to move on from the dream however, there was still one thing that kept it lingering in her mind.

There were countless swords that she saw in her dream. All of which she could easily tell were powerful in their own right… but what captivated her more than anything else was the pair of black and white swords that the man on the hill held firmly in his hands.

As a blacksmith, those blades fascinated her like no other.

"Hmmm…. I wonder…"

==[The Forge, The Hearth, and the Steel Sword]==

==[The Guild – Emiya]==

I walked through the northwest main street, casually looking at the surroundings. The cold morning breeze made me rather glad to have the scarf on my neck.

The city of Orario was usually lively, no matter what time of the day it was, however there was a brief period in the early morning where peace and quiet prevailed.

There were people cleaning the front of their residences, shopkeepers setting up their wares, and adventurers walking towards the dungeon. The city itself seemed to be on the brink of awakening as the magic stone lamps that illuminated the street gradually all closed.

I was greeted a few times as I walked and I gave a simple nod in response. Most of the shopkeepers knew me, as I tended to buy ingredients within this area. Hestia was also rather well known here, having accompanied me several times before.

"…"

I felt a presence or rather, I felt like someone was intensely looking at me. I couldn't sense any hostility from it, however the unbridled amount of curiosity that I could feel from the gaze was slightly unnerving.

I was tempted to look around, to search for the source of the gaze but I opted to ignore it outright. It wasn't the first time I've felt it nor do I think it would be stopping anytime soon.

Hephaestus had been severe with her warnings after giving me her grace so I exercised a fair bit more of caution. It seemed something about my status had greatly disturbed her, something about possessing 'rare skills' and gods being idiots.

The implication was lost on me, though I took her warning to heart.

"Looks like I'm here…"

I reached the guild and immediately headed to the reception desk. Unlike the quiet streets, the guild was bustling with activity. There were adventurers gathering together, some of them sat on the green leather couches near the desk, discussing what seemed to be the formation they'd be taking for the middle floors.

I noted the small figure beside them, a hooded figure that was carrying an oversized bag. The girl seemed to be detached, completely excluded from the discussion, choosing to stay on the sidelines quietly.

"Oh… Emiya-san, was there a delivery today?"

I stopped my inspection of the supporter girl and turned towards the source of the voice.

Behind the wooden desk stood a brown haired girl with emerald eyes. Unlike the others, she had pointed ears, a mark of her heritage as a half-elf. She wore the standard guild uniform and exuded an air of professionalism.

Eina Tulle. A guild receptionist and adviser.

From what I knew, she was rather popular among both the adventurers and the members of the guild.

"Tulle-san. Good morning. I'm afraid I'm not here to—"

"Emiya-san? Is that Emiya-san?! Is there some kind of event? Are you cooking again!? "

Before I was able to correct Tulle, another person had suddenly pitched in. This time, it was a human with pink hair and eyes.

Unceremoniously dropping the paperwork she was carrying to the nearest table, she quickly appeared next to Tulle and slammed her hands on the desk. Her face carried a grave expression and I could swear that for a moment, her eyes seemed bloodshot.

If I recalled correctly, her name was Mischa Flott, another guild receptionist and good friend of Tulle.

Her reaction was rather extreme but I had indeed cooked for the guild some time ago. There had been a party for the members and a mishap with the food delivery had occurred. I extended my help as a show of good faith from the Hephaestus Familia and made some food with ingredients that were readily available.

They had accepted my offer, not wanting to ruin the party. There wasn't really any high expectations but that seemed to change after the first bite…

There was quite a commotion after that. Mischa Flott seemed to wage some kind of war with the rest of the members of the guild while Eina Tulle was simply smiling off into the distance with unfocused eyes.

Needless to say, my name had become quite well known in the guild after that little event.

"What?! Emiya-san is cooking for us again?"

"Dibs on the Char Siu!"

"You…! You can't just… no… Dibs on every meat dish then!"

"Wait you idiot! You can't just lay claim on every meat based dish!"

As if an alarm had been sounded, the energy level and tension behind the reception desk seemed to increase tenfold. Within a second of Mischa Flott's declaration, a war over who could claim my imaginary and non-existent dishes, that I had absolutely no plans on making, had ensued.

Friends turned on each other. Trust and respect were thrown to the side. The calm and family like atmosphere of the guild suddenly disappeared as people succumbed to the sin of gluttony.

I sincerely worried about what kind of food was served in this building. No, where these people even fed properly to begin with? I was beginning to seriously suspect that whoever managed the guild and its members was violating several basic rights.

"Everyone… get back to work."

Before any blood could be shed however, a voice cold enough to freeze the first ten floors of Babel had come to the rescue. It seemed to trigger the basic survival instincts of everyone guild member as they had scrambled to get back to whatever task they were doing.

A true hero, this girl was.

"*Ehem*… So Emiya-san, if you aren't here for a delivery…"

I had often been the one responsible to deliver some supplies and equipment that the guild would order from the Hephaestus Familia so Tulle's confusion was understandable.

Best to give a prompt answer before another food crazed guild member decides to pitch in.

"Right, I'd like to register with the guild as an adventurer."

""Eh…?""

Both female receptionist seemed to have been confused by my statement.

Horror dawned on Flott's face after understanding what I meant.

"Wait… Emiya-san. Do you mean… you want to go to the dungeon?! That's too dangerous! You're too young! If something were to happen to you, our cook— ow, ow, ow! Eii-nyaaaa, dyat huuurts!"

Flott's impassioned reaction was quickly stopped by Tulle pinching her cheek. Flott's eyes looked to me for help but having experienced this countless times with Hestia, it had no effect on me.

"Emiya-san… does this mean that…?"

I instead focused on Tulle, who seemed to have a hopeful expression. She had learned of my circumstances sometime before due to Hestia being overly worried about me and checking on every single person I've come to encounter.

Ever since then, Tulle had been hoping for me to join a familia.

It seemed she was the type that naturally cared for others, even if they were strangers.

"Yes. I've officially joined the Hephaestus Familia."

"I see… that's great Emiya-san!"

The utter delight in her voice made me decide to ignore the fact that she was still stretching out Flott's cheek with her hand.

The pink haired girl was already in tears and was still looking my way for help.

I still ignored her.

"Thank you. I'd also like to obtain some information regarding the dungeon if possible."

"Understood. I'll have the paperwork prepared. An adviser is usually assigned to aide an adventurer with regards to learning what they need to survive the dungeon so there's no need to worry about looking for information. Is there a particular category you'd like to focus on? The location of certain precious metals and minerals perhaps?"

"I want to know everything. I want you to tell me anything you can possibly tell me about the dungeon. The monster, the loot, the layout, the history, anything information that can be used even remotely would be appreciated."

Knowing was half the battle. Information was the key to victory and more importantly, survival.

The two receptionist regarded me with a strange look of surprise before Tulle had given me a small smile of approval.

"Understood. From the basics to the most obscure bits of information, as representatives of the guild, we shall give you everything to know about the dungeon and the tower that sits on top of it."

I nodded in confirmation and with a bow, Tulle left the desk to fetch some papers while dragging Flott along by the cheek.

It seems that my 'adventure' would being soon.

Unlike every other adventurer however, I felt sense of unease at what was to come.

After all, the gaze locked unto me had only intensified.

==[The Forge, The Hearth, and the Steel Sword]==

==[Northwest Branch - Hestia]==

It was a mad dash for the Northwest branch of the Hephaestus Familia Shop.

She had bumped into various people and objects but her mind had been so completely focused on getting to her destination that she had filtered out everything else.

This morning, she had woken up early to take a look at the Abandoned Church where she had found Shirou.

In the past six months, she had taken it upon herself to personally find any information that would help them recover Shirou's memory and possibly return him to his home, however progress had been non-existent.

Today though, she felt a strong sense of foreboding and decided to take another look at the abandoned church. Unfortunately, the only thing that she had found today was a hidden door that lead to an abandoned room near the altar and nothing else.

Deciding that to eat before continuing with investigations, she had gone home to find an empty house. Both Shirou and Hephaestus apparently deciding to leave early.

Checking Shirou's room out of curiosity, she had found a stack of papers on his desk.

They were applications for tools, equipment, and a workshop for the Hephaestus Familia.

Immediately understanding the implication, she grabbed the papers, locked the house, and ran barefoot to her destination.

"HEPHAESTUUUUUUUUSS!"

Skillfully navigating her way through the shop interior, the adventurers, and the merchandise, she screamed out and sent a flying kick to the wooden door.

The door stood no chance in the face of her might, allowing her entrance to the office of her closest goddess friend who simply let out a sigh in response.

"Hestia. The door. There's a knob on the thing for a reason."

"That doesn't matter right now! This… this! Does this mean that…?!"

She leaped and slammed the paper down on Hephaestus' desk, completely covering the paper that her friend was writing on.

"Ah… so you saw it. Yes... Shirou's decided to join my familia."

Hephaestus answered with a proud smile.

There was a moment of silence as the bangs of Hestia's hair obscured her eyes.

Her body started to tremble, as she clenched both her fists.

She took a few steps back before taking a deep breath…

"Yes! Finally! He's finally decided to join your familia!"

… then proceeded to jump for joy.

Hephaestus, despite having her work rudely interrupted, simply chuckled as she looked at large smile on Hestia's face.

It had been six months. They've both been putting in a lot of effort in letting Shirou open up to them. The boy had always been distant, prone to keeping problems to himself, and always preferred to be alone.

To the two of them, Shirou joining the Hephaestus Familia was a major step towards the goal of getting the boy to truly open up and bring down that steel reinforced wall around his heart.

"Wait…! His status…!"

Realizing an even more important matter, Hestia nervously asked her friend. Since they discovered that Shirou was capable of magic despite not having sacred text, they've both been extremely curious as to what kind of status the boy would display.

Hephaestus grimaced and took a piece of paper. She picked up her quill and wrote what she saw on the sacred text.

The status of an adventurer was very sensitive information and the act of revealing it to another, especially to someone that wasn't technically part of the familia was severely frowned upon… however Hestia had the right to know more than anyone else.

Hephaestus flipped the paper face down and slid it across the table towards Hestia.

"I'll make this clear. Do not speak of this to anyone and keep absolutely quiet when you see it."

Hestia nodded quickly and slowly reached out to take the paper.

Filled with anticipation, she took a look…

"… Eh?"

She stared at the paper again and then looked at Hephaestus, then at the paper, then back to Hephaestus.

Her stare was demanding her friend for verbal confirmation. Hephaestus gave a nod of understanding.

"Yes… there are no mistakes in that."

"I-I see…."

With an audible gulp, she took the piece of paper, carefully crumpled it into a ball, lit the nearby fireplace, threw the paper in, and made sure it was burned to ashes.

She stared at the fireplace, making absolute sure that no trace of the paper was left before looking turning to her friend with a grave expression.

"We can't let them find out… Hephaestus, this far beyond than what we expected!"

"I know. His unidentifiable [Magic] aside... there's the issue with his [true name] and his [skills]."

"Three [Rare Skills] and no [true name]. I can't even imagine the chaos that would ensue if the other gods find out about it!"

"That's why this information does not leave the room. Do I make myself clear?"

Magic and Skills were already rare to begin with. For the former, some adventurers could live their whole lives never discovering any. For the latter, there were at least [Developmental Skills] that could be learned if they were somehow unfortunate enough to be unable to learn [Common Skills].

The [True Name] on the other hand simply referred to the name that appeared on the sacred text. The text identifies the original name of the person, disregarding any title or official name changes that had occurred in their lifetime.

That particular aspect usually had no bearing but this was a completely different case.

For someone to not have a true name was completely unprecedented.

For an adventurer to have an unknown [Magic], three [Rare Skills], and no [True Name]… to say that the boy's life would be in grave peril would be an understatement if the information ever became public.

He'd be hunted down. He'd be the center of attention of every deity in Orario and would be torn apart in every direction by their whims.

That was in no way an exaggeration.

"Hestia. There's something I need to discuss with you…"

She was broken out of her morbid delusions after she saw the serious look on her friend's face.

Having just been shown a truly shocking piece of information, she wasn't entirely sure her heart could take anymore.

"...Is it also about Shirou?"

"Yes… about Shirou and a certain dream…"

In the future, Hestia would often recall this day as the start of everything that followed.

==[The Forge, The Hearth, and the Steel Sword]==

==[Status - "Shirou Emiya"]==

Name: [-]

Level: 1

Strength: I 0
Endurance: I 0
Dexterity: I 0
Agility: I 0
Magic: I 0

Magic:
[*************]

Skills:

[Hero of Wrought-Iron]

[Heros Arcus - Hero of the Bow]

[Iustitae Regula - Symbol of Justice]

==[The Forge, The Hearth, and the Steel Sword]==

A/N: To confirm, yes, Emiya should still posses most of the stats he has when he had been a servant in the mooncell. Of course, that isn't readily reflected on the status, since yes it doesn't take into account previous experience, only the experience that's recorded after the [Grace] is granted.

Technically, technically, there's a way to logically explain letting [No Name] display his servant stats right on his sacred text at the beginning. It wouldn't even be a stretch to make it believable... however the rare skills and lack of a [true name] was already more than enough to plunge both Hephaestus and Hestia into despair and worry so I decided not to go for it.

The rare skills refer to his nature as a heroic spirit, his servant class, and the nature of his existence respectively. Those that played Fate/Extra will be easily able to understand the first and last one. For those that haven't played the game, check the ever lovely wiki. That or play the game, which i highly suggest.

For now, thank you once again for all the support! Leave a review if you've got the time!

See you again next chapter!