The Reincarnation Cycle: Infinite Blade Works

by Titan of War

Ending up in a world where you thought to be nothing more then fiction is one thing but finding you're self in the body of a certain Distorted boy who is Destined to be a third-rated Magus, is something Else Entirely. Now how are you going to survive in a world like this? the Answer is simple: by doing what you do best, inspiring fear and bringing Destruction. (Realistic character)

4. Chapter 3: The Maker and the Faker

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate stay night, Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the heroes of Olympus and other works.

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XXX~XoX~XXX

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Chapter 3

If somebody asked me about how to use ability or any kind of power, I would instantly answer in two words which I had always adored and respected: Total Mastery.

It didn't matter what kind of power or skill you had, it also didn't matter how diverse or limited it might be. mastery was mastery, having complete and total mastery over you're skills and powers meant that you were a cut and cloth above those who weren't willing to spend the time to practice and learn more about their powers or their spheres of skills.

It is not something that could be achieved at single day and it will take a tremendous amount of time, effort and determination. But at the end, the rewards were totally worth it.

I had tasted such rewards and through them I had defeated enemies either mortal or said to be immortal, Killed things which others believed to be un-killable and defeated things that were labeled impossible to defeat.

It was through the same mastery that I was able fully utilize my reality marble without needing to utter a long ten-verse spell which the original Shirou Emiya had to use in order to fully utilize his reality marble. Within the inner-layer of infinite blade works, I was omnipotent and undefeatable. I had mastered my own inner world to a state where I can even control concepts of Creation, space and time within it through nothing more than bare thought.

Through the same mastery, I'm able take a seat somewhere within my workshop within the Fuyuki Fraga estate, close my eyes and be able to visit the infinite blade works without any kind of previous preparations or difficulty.

So when I found the man who could trace and call-upon countless amounts of noble phantasm armaments, I didn't felt an ounce of fear or dread that many would have felt in my place. For What else can you feel when you stand a few feet away from the man who can trace a golden spear that upon wounding you will never let you heal or a crimson spear which can let you cancel anything 'magical' through nothing more than contact?

For all of his ability and power, the man in front of me couldn't be called a heroic spirit for that would imply that he had ascended into the throne of heroes and such a thing had not happened. The man that was once called Shirou Emiya….he was a counter-guardian, a cog within the machine which is called Alaya, the hidden consciousness of humanity which had been born for mankind's deep intent of survival.

To be a counter-guardian, is to be a machine of destruction that is sent to wreak slaughter and death so that mankind could be saved as a whole at the expense of the death of a small minority.

To become a counter-guardian, one needed to make a contract with the will of humanity manifested.

And Shirou Emiya of some other alternative reality had done that, all for the ideals and goals which ended up with him joining the rank of Alaya's counter-force.

When I had been watching the show, I had grabbed a white-paper and had wrote down the list of characters who in my opinion were the most dangerous and the most powerful, Counter guardian Emiya's Rank had been the first in the list and remained the most dangerous one even though I had checked the type moon wiki and looked towards the list of characters and their abilities within it.

The counter guardian Called EMIYA had been ranked as first-place Because in a world where there was a king of heroes who had access to treasury which surpassed even his own memory, where a single man could avoid death seven-times and grow immune to the attack which he had received or a blue-haired child of Ireland that could use his red spear to perform an absolute attack which can pierce the heart no matter in how many impossible angles….Emiya's Rank as a dangerous opponent in my opinion had been Deserving and without question.

He had a reality marble and access to infinite amount of noble phantasm weaponry with each having at least one Conceptual power. This killing machine was so dangerous and powerful that it outclassed even Gilgamesh when it came to his aptitude for versatility and tactical ingenuity.

No matter how many times he uses his treasury, the king of heroes had a glaring weakness called pride.

Emiya didn't have such a thing; he was the most dangerous type of man because he had everything to gain and nothing to lose, not even his ideals and goals were left for him.

Or at least, that's what I had learned and seen from this version of counter-guardian Emiya.

And now that I was looking to the man-turned-counter-guardian and then into a servant, I couldn't help but wonder if it was really a coincidence that he had awakened from his slumber due to Caren's ritual of implementing a servant class-card into me.

If an outsider looked toward me and Counter Emiya, they would be hard-pressed to deny that we looked like twins identical to each other.

Where I wore a dark-black business suit with a black Vest and a Red Cravat around my neck, Emiya wore a black body-armor that covered chest with dark-black pants and steel-tipped boots. His two arms were covered by a blood-red shroud with a coat like appearance of the shroud hanging from the back of his belt and covering his rear.

"Been a long-time, hasn't?" Emiya mused, leaning against a sword of five-foot tall which was lean with its blade being black like darkness and its handle decorated by a ruby-red jewel. "when I woke-up, I had expected you to be on your deathbed just as we both had planned, yet I find myself seeing possibly a copy of myself walking around the world and changing the fate of those who I had seen going through the same end over and over again."

I didn't say a word because the counter guardian had been within me for a long and long time, I had Allowed him access to some of my memories just as he had given me the same deal in order to prove to each other that the opposite individual was not the one who each of us thought he would be.

He had access to some Memories that I had and knew about the events that had happened during his 'Sleep' so to speak. Through seeing his eyes, I knew that he was less than pleased just as I was.

"Do you remember the promise that you give me before I was forced into hibernation sleep at the end of the apostle war?" the counter guardian stood straight, looking to the gray skies of the infinite blade works as if he was looking for words that could give the answers for his questions, "I don't blame you for breaking it because I Saw through you're memories that you did you're best to make sure that they wouldn't enter this damned ritual. Sadly, it seems that was not enough."

While I had come here to have a direct face-to-face conversation, I decided to make time to at least lend an ear and listen.

I kept my silence and continued listening to the counter-guardian's bitter tone. For what else could I do for a man who wished for things to at least just go different, to witness a different fate for those who he cared about, and to see his loved ones take some other step and make different choices that will lead to something better than previously?

The anime show hadn't shown it and had treated the servant called Archer like a plot factor towards the main protagonist that is Shirou Emiya of the present but for someone who had interacted many times with the Servant who had been summoned secretly during the apostle war and placed within me, I knew that the man had feelings and regrets and emotions just like any other.

It was easy for many to forget that once-upon a time, the counter guardian called Emiya had been a boy called Shirou Emiya, Saved by his adopted father while being an empty-shell devoid of any past or memory of his possibly dead family or relatives.

He may have been cynical; he may have given-up on his Goals and ideals but the white-haired man had been an auburn-red haired boy who had fought with a black haired twin-pigtailed girl and had spent time with a girl called 'Sakura Matou', he had bonds and memories after his world's version of the fifth holy grail war with many, he had even been in love just like I was.

The only difference is that his was destroyed through determination of following his ideals while mine ended by a spear thrust into my chest.

"I knew it was too much to hope that at least Rin and sakura would stay out of the fifth grail war but this?" Emiya was now pacing left and right, his mind no doubt going numb as he processed the same information that I did after managing to reach my house with Caren and pointedly ask her a few uncomfortable questions which answers had been nothing short then a revelation for me. "How could things be so different, so bizarre and wrong in so many ways?" archer's next question was pointed as one of his preferable arrows, "how did it happen-No, when did it happen?"

Once again, I knew that the counter-guardian had access to my memories and even the most recent ones but he wanted to hear the answer straight out of my own lips because this world no longer made any sense to him just like it didn't do so for me.

How exactly should I answer about the information that Caren had 'kindly' revealed to me a day ago?

"Did something like this happen to your world or timeline?" I asked while mentally wondering on which angle I should look towards the knowledge that I had gained. It was a novel feeling to now understand my centaur teacher's words about knowledge; the burden that it places upon the shoulders was sometimes back breaking to the bone.

Archer scowled at me as if he was seeing something incomprehensible, "you mean if the masters within the fifth grail war had been installed with Servant Class-cards? No, I have never seen anything like this. Alaya Damn it all…" he muttered the last words under his breath before continuing, "no matter how complicated, everything has a beginning. This had to have started from somewhere…"

"Romania, it all had started in Romania." I clarified after a bit of thinking. "and it's all because of one terrifying fact which is now going to haunt every Master within the holy grail war." the next words that came out of my mouth were so solemn as if I was declaring the end of the world and it was the terrible truth for some of us, it really was the end of the world because this would be the straw that will finely break this camel's back. "The command seals have lost their potency; they are no longer absolute commands which we all thought they were."

"…And you seriously believe that?"

"What I believe is irrelevant at this point, Emiya." I responded with a flat-look, "Personally, I think that Zuken Matou's death may have had more consequences then anyone really had thought about. Like command seals losing their absoluteness, as a Master in Romania learned when he summoned berserker and ended-up getting squashed like a pancake when he failed to control the servant."

Zuken Matou may have been a disgusting-worm long overdue for the grave but no one could deny that the man had been one of the three founders of the heaven's feel ritual. he was one of the few who fully understood the ritual's systems and had enough knowledge about it to recognize its flaws and manipulate them to some unknown extents, that was why he knew how to change the summoning chant of the servant summoning ritual in order to summon a specific class of servant for the Matou during the fourth holy grail war.

Somewhere within the future now changed due to his Demise and absence, the man-turned-parasite must have done something to keep the grail system functioning at peak capacity. but with his death, it seems that the heaven's feel Grail system and its functions had slowly started to fall apart, Starting with command seals and no doubt continuing with who knows what other things.

The death of Zuken Matou at the hands of kirei kotomine changed the future and not in the good way, never have I thought that I would ever put those words together in my thoughts.

"That still doesn't explain why the church decided to put class-cards into the masters." Emiya's observation made me release a tired sigh, reminding me that for all of his skills and ingenuity, he had never really dabbled into the mind-numbing Politics of the clock-tower.

Deep in his core, the man was still Shirou Emiya and sometimes tended to rush at things without thinking them through. He was not stupid but sometimes he could be a bit slow on the upkeep.

"Archer, think about it. What happens When Command seals that are one of the ways which masters can control their servants lose their power?" I presented the question from another angle and was rewarded with the servant suddenly understanding what it all meant in realization of what a nightmare it was.

"Shit," the reserved and normally static man which was Emiya immediately cursed once he saw the same picture that I had seen.

"I don't think that's even going to describe it, my bow-wielding friend." This time it was my turn to pace from left and right in order to alleviate a little bit of stress that I was feeling, "Command seals are the only thing which a master can use in order to forcefully control their servant and prevent them from doing something Drastic, Like unleashing their noble phantasm and leveling an entire city block into pieces. With them losing their effectiveness, we masters," I gestured towards myself with the thumb of my left hand, "Might as well pack our bags and leave because frankly, there is no way we can hope to stop a servant from unleashing a anti-army noble phantasm at the middle of a City short of severing the master-servant link between us and stop acting as their anchors to this world." I stopped pacing and rubbed my forehead tiredly to stave-off a bad headache which has been following me yesterday. "Even with the class-cards within each of us, our bodies are still human; we only have Fifty percent of a heroic spirit's physical prowess and access to their noble phantasms. But even that will not be enough to stop a determined servant from overpowering us both in terms of sheer power and strength."

"That can't be all of it," Emiya immediately demonstrated the fact why I valued his often times cynical words and advices, that and I considered underestimating his intellect and experience to be a grave mistake, "Power does not come free and neither does it come cheap, what's the Price?"

Now that's a tricky question if I were to be of any judge, from what way am I even supposed to open that particular can of worms?

"The ritual of implementing a class-card has a seventy-five percent Chance of immediate violent Death due to the introduction of a foreign energy to a Magus's body and magical circuits," I started from one of the reasons why the relationship between my-self and Caren was now very tense and frosty if not directly hostile. "Once implemented, the class-card is fully absorbed into the host's body and immediately start the process of change by three stages which will come in time," I held out three fingers bore continuing, "Stage one: the host's mind starts to slowly process the information and experience the experiences of the heroic spirit which has been used in order to create the class-card, from life experiences to even day to day activity which has been done by that particular heroic spirit."

I brought down one finger before continuing, "Stage two: the host's body slowly starts to adapt at the foreign energy and convert the foreign Parana as energy to gradually increase its container's physical and mental capacities from molecular to genetic levels including but not limited to Change of skin, hair or even body structure. The container's physiology as a whole will slowly start to change and will stop at an unknown point."

Finely, I brought down another finger until only the last one remained. Looking down for a bare moment to make sure my composure was still there before I returned my gaze to the servant within me.

"Stage three is the last of the stages and the most terrifying one: the Container's psychology and Personality will slowly start to be combined with that of the heroic spirit used to create the class-card to an unknown level of degree." I finished with a solemn tone, and for the first time I saw horrified realization appear on the servant of the bow's face.

In layman's terms, the one who manages to survive the ritual of the class-card implementation will never be the same ever again after the passing of the three stages.

You're old self dies and you will slowly become a new person with different but perhaps similar ideologies and personalities to even a new way of thinking.

"Other side-affects also are present, of course. Things such as possible development of secondary personalities and…"

"…how were those class-cards created?" Archer immediately cut off my explanation with his own question; his eyes were closed as if he was contemplating something.

"You can thank our good-old friend Zelretch; he's the one who presented them both to the clock-tower and the church. Give the finish product to them with an instruction manual," I explained, "If you want to know more about their creation then that… well, we'll have to find Zelretch and I can guarantee that you that we will have to wait in a very long line to have a conversation with him even if we do manage to find that bearded bastard."

After all, I had no doubt that Rin and Luvia were now scouring every rock and house that they knew to find out their old-teacher. I would have paid to have seen their reaction to being tricked into jumping into a rabbit hole as deep as this but truthfully, I didn't want any more Drama since yesterday.

Hence the reason why I had uploaded my recorded-phone conversation with Zelretch to Caren's phone and give her a letter to deliver to the Tohsaka residence. She had left half an hour ago after eating breakfast to meet with sakura, she must have delivered the letter and the phone conversation by now.

"Which Class-card are you currently embodying and what is the name of its heroic spirit?" Emiya Suddenly asked me, his voice soft but dangerously intense.

"That's…" I tried to answer before pausing and then choosing two words which dealt the fewer amounts of headaches for me, "It's Complicated."

"Then simplify it," archer said as if it was as simple as the words that he used.

"It's Zelretch-class complicated," I clarified with no small amount of exasperation, "there is no simplifying something like that."

Giving up on words, I flicked my hand and Windbrynger landed on the ground in front of me as if someone had suddenly thrown the sword like a javelin, plucking the sword off of the ground. I pierced the air in front of me with its tip before I started to move the sword into a series of strikes and strokes; once I was done, I stood beside archer and gestured towards the black inky words floating upon the air.

Once again proud of my full mastery of my own reality marble that allowed me do feats such as this within it without any semblance difficulty, such mastery was something that Shirou Emiya would never achieve because he was not the true owner of all the continents within his reality marble. Copies of the original ones or not, the noble phantasm armaments within the unlimited blade works was never Shirou Emiya's and never will be.

I on the other hand, am the true owner of my own reality Marble.

I had developed and made all of its continents, Mastered all of them and their abilities within the reality marble through tremendous effort colored in pain-sticking sweat and difficult tears. Time manipulation was also another ability which I could use within the inner-layer of my reality marble, making it in a way which 10 years can pass within here and yet only an hour might pass within the real-world.

Many may say that it was impossible to fully master every weapon within a single life-time, the dedication and time needed for one to fully master even one single type of weapon was very time-consuming but practicing and mastering all manners of weaponry? It was impossible; none could truly manage such a thing because there were limits even to talent and dedication yet I had managed to do so all thanks to the mastery of my own inner world that had given me the opportunity to do so.

And despite having such an accomplishment, I didn't feel any kind of pride from it because I knew and had seen many do the same thing without the use of even a reality Marble. Lancelot the greatest knight of the roundtable was one such example who had become legendary for his battle-prowess, so famous and known that he had gained even a noble phantasm called knight of honor, a noble phantasm that allowed him to turn anything into his own noble phantasm armament if the concept of being 'weapon' could be applied to it.

And the knight of the Lake's name was not the only that had entered the list of weapon masters and I personally knew quite a few of them that I knew stood a serious chance of rivaling and even suppressing the wielder of the Arondight.

"…is this a joke?" the incredulously within Archer's voice was palpable, his eyes blinking more than once in what I managed to recognize as futile effort to comprehend something that they could not understand in the first place, "because if it is, then I'm definitely not laughing."

I looked towards the words which I had made before shaking my head to indicate that it wasn't a joke, at all:

Name: Shirou Fraga/Edward Dastan

Personality Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Class: Saber

Gender: Male

Height/Weight: 187cm/78kg

Strength: A

Endurance: A

Agility: B

Mana: C

Luck: E

Noble Phantasm: Unable to Be Categorized

Class Skills:

Magic Resistance: A

Magic Resistance grants protection against magical effects. Differing from the Resistance effect that merely rejects Magical Energy, this ability cancels the spells altogether. Shirou Fraga/Edward Dastan possesses a very high resistance against harmful mystical effects due to his cursed Soul and heritage as the Son of an immortal who has Domain over Magic. This Class skill will be boosted to EX-rank against certain categories of spells and Mystical effects.

Riding: A+

Riding is a Class Skill of Rider and Saber class Servants, denoting the ability to ride mounts and vehicles. Rider-class Servants will typically possess a high rank. It is said that dragon type mounts are an exception, requiring a different ability other than Riding. Possessing the knowledge and the necessary training needed to use even mystical beasts as mounts; Shirou Fraga/Edward Dastan is able to use the riding instincts of this skill to Operate Modern vehicles and use even mystical creatures as mounts.

Personal Skills:

Divinity: B

A measure of whether one has Divine Spirit aptitude or not. At high levels, one is treated as a mixed race of a Divine Spirit, and the level declines when the one's own rank as a Monster or Demonic Beast rises. It can also decrease due to one's dislike for the gods. That which have A-Ranked Divinity or above has reached the Throne of Gods, It also has an effect which reduces special defensive values called 'purge defense' in proportion to the Divinity's Rank. It can break through Skills such as Protection of the Faith and Enlightenment of the Sacred Fig. as a Demigod who is the result of the union between an immortal and a mortal, Shirou Fraga/Edward Dastan has high aptitude for divinity however his dislike for the immortals has caused this skill to decrease to B-rank.

Charisma: B

Charisma is a composite Skill consisting of a person's charm as well as the natural talent to command or unify an army or country; increasing the ability of allies during group battles, a rare talent and ability inherent to Servants of the Saver class. Shirou Fraga/Edward Dastan's Possesses honed leadership skills Due to the loyalty and admiration that he has managed to inspire within the homunculus army which he has personally Lead, trained and created.

Battle Continuation: A

Battle Continuation is a Skill that allows for the continuation of combat after sustaining mortal wounds. It will also reduce mortality rate from injury. This Skill represents the ability to survive and/or the mentality of one who doesn't know when to give up, consisting of one's strength of vitality in predicaments. It is also one of the powers of a vampire. The best result is achieved when a resilient body is combined with this Skill. Known for his survivability and unyielding nature of continuing to Live, Shirou Fraga/Edward Dastan's will to survival and tenacity to live despite the wounds and injuries received has become personified into this skill.

Double Class: B

A Personal Skill given to Servants that are the result of being fused from two different classed Servants. Because of his separate Legend and hosting a different Servant-class of his own, Edward Dastan/Shirou Fraga's Class has been fused with that of the one within him. As a result, the change of Class-skills and Personal skills between both the Saber-Class and the Archer-class are possible by allowing the possession of his physical body to the one within.

Noble Phantasms:

[Infinite Blade Works: Inner World of infinite Blades]

Rank: Unable to be Categorized

Type: Unable to Be Categorized

Range: Unable to Be Categorized

Maximum amount of targets: Unable to Be Categorized

Description: The Noble Phantasm which embodies and symbolizes Shirou Fraga/Edward Dastan's Prowess and skill as the Steel Wrought Magus, Where others had legendary weapons and possessed Demigod-Powers, Shirou Fraga/Edward Dastan possessed neither of those advantages and so had to seek other means of survival and gaining advantage against his opponents and enemies. Achieving what is believed to be impossible victory through his mastery, effective and efficient use of his Own Created Reality Marble. The Noble phantasm is infinite Arsenal of Created Rune-enhanced magical weaponry that has been created by their creator through many ordeals, Whims or opportunities.

As a master of Runes, Shirou Fraga/Edward Dastan's Noble Phantasm embodies the concept of 'Word-turned into conceptual reality' which allows the contents of his noble phantasm to gain conceptual prowess through their way of creation and intended use. The reality marble embodies the natural phenomenon of one's true inner world and so it will not suffer any penalties of utilization or use.

Shirou Fraga/Edward Dastan's Full mastery of his own reality marble and his status as the true owner of all its continents allows him the ability to fully utilize his reality marble through will and intent and being able to manipulate it's continents through the same conditions.

"This…." Archer seemed to be at loss of words and frankly I would have been seriously surprised if he wasn't, "I don't even know what to think anymore."

Truthfully, I didn't know what to think either.

Was it madness that I have found out that the heroic spirit within the archer class-card was no one but my-self? It was.

The chances of someone being implemented with their own future/alternative-self turned into a heroic spirit are impossible but when you're a son of Hecate who had found himself in the body of a supposed fictional character? The line between possibility and impossibility tended to be blur when you have experienced something like that.

"My real name is Edward Dastan, I'm a son of Hecate who has come from a world where some world-version of yours had been nothing more than fictional entertainment," I said, sarcasm was dripping from my tone like water falling down from a waterfall. "You have seen some of my memories and I have seen some of yours, both of us have learned that things considered to be impossible tend to be dangerously possible around us. Is it too much for you to understand that Zelretch had planned this all along from the bottom of his twisted-pranking mind and made sure that the future is now truly and utterly screwed?"

If I had a class-card with my own heroic spirit in it then who said that Rin and Luvia didn't also have one like mine along with other masters within the holy-grail war? This chaos and inane unpredictability was all thanks to one self-proclaimed king of pranksters called Zelretch.

He was back in my life for a single day and already he had managed to throw any semblance of order out of the window and then pulverized it for good measure. Small wonders that the Koronus Soldiers were sent to kill me; I was now a direct threat to the existence of everything within their future.

"….so you're now some kind of a Demi-servant?" Emiya still didn't seem to be able to wrap his head around the particular mess which was now my supposed physiology. Nevertheless, I decided to just wordlessly nod for the sake of what's left of my own sanity and his.

"I don't know and I can't find it in myself to care about that right about now," I admitted, using my free hand to rub my forehead which was experiencing a new wave of headaches. "What I do care about, is that Lorelei is going to come to Fuykui city within a week and she will skin us all alive if we don't have a way to explain to her that it's not our fault that something that should have been dead a long-time ago is now back and has been used. Not to mention that she'll roast me like a Chicken once she finds out that that I have used a mass-destruction noble phantasm right next to the Fuykui city."

Mentioning the name of the city that I currently lived in, was enough to remind me of the news which had seen from the Television and the mass panic that it had caused amongst the residence of the city. The city didn't exactly have a good past-record and seeing a large patch of the mountain near the church suddenly go 'poof' hadn't done any assurances about its safety.

In fact, the hospitals along with the Fuykui police department and even emergency response were now ready for any kind of sudden unwanted 'incidents'. Not to mention the amount of times the city representatives were put to the live television where they assured the residents of the city that everything was firmly under control and there was no sudden disaster or terrorist attack.

I didn't have the heart to think (without getting a heart attack) about the other hidden eyes that were now directed towards the city because I had enough experience with the governments and the militaries of mankind to know that I couldn't risk any other possible supernatural incidents.

The aftermath of Yesterday's incident at the Fuykui Church would have been a death-sentence for me if Caren hadn't contacted her superiors to clean-up the mess left behind by Koronus's forces; if any other incidents happen with me at the middle of them then It would naturally fall on me to contain and manage the damage-control of keeping the existence of the moonlight-world secret because Koronus certainly wouldn't stay long-enough in this time-line to clean-up their own mess.

They would definitely operate on the logic that I would be the one to grab the broom and sweep the mess away before anyone unknown of the existence of the moonlit world becomes aware of it, otherwise every Magi and their respective organization would paint me as the culprit that has risked the absolute rule of secrecy.

Within the moonlit world, there were few absolute Rules that everyone had to follow not just for the sake of self-preservation but also undeniable necessity. And one of those Rules was called the absolute Rule of secrecy.

Their mandate was simple to know and understand: the existence of the moonlit world must be kept secret at all costs.

It didn't matter if you were the cause of a supernatural related incident or not, being guilty or innocent has no meaning at the bigger scheme of things. What that truly mattered was that if you were related to the incident that threatened the secrecy of the existence of the supernatural world.

If you were related then you had to do you're absolute best to clean-up the breach through whatever means you deemed this goal to be achievable, the only thing that mattered was the result, the used means and methods will be considered to be acceptable compared to that.

Failure to do so would see to it that you will have a whole supernatural world to answer to, and these answers were not the kind that could be paid for by Jail-time or some money given. The only answer that you could give and the only price which you will have to pay in full was none other than your life; hence why it would always be in your best interests to keep your nose clean when it came to matters involving the world of Magi.

Damage control and secrecy were a must for a Magi; there were powerful ancient Magus Families within the world that had built powerful economic empires and gathered influence that could affect governments and Nations, and they would do anything for the sake of their Magecraft even if means at the expense of others. The average Magus had the same zeal when it came to their Magecraft and its protection even though their methods and ways were vastly different thanks to various circumstances.

At the end of the day, I would be forced to deal with the aftermath of any trouble that Koronus will make for me in the future. I had to act the role of the cleaner that will have to clench his teeth without a word coming out of his mouth else he'll be digging himself into a deeper hole with no way of coming out of it.

I was bound to keep the existence of the Magecraft secret just like any magi even if it came to a point that I had to spend resources like money or use governmental influence to do so.

And there in lay the problem.

I wasn't in any position to do any kind of damage-control because that kind of thing costs resources and needs deep connections, I didn't have any of those things anymore and so the only thing that I could do was to get myself out of landmine before one of the mines exploded under my foot.

I needed to move from this city, there was no place for me here anymore unless I wanted to risk my life and limb.

It was a priority that I will have to look at very soon and I already had thought about the place that could serve as my new place of residence. If I could get out of this whole clusterfuck that Zelretch had thrown at the top of me with my head still on my shoulders, that is.

"I need your help, archer." I spoke, already admitting that I was at my own wits end.

"Unless you need me to trace you a few noble phantasms, then I don't really know how I can help you." Emiya's response caused my eye to reflectively twitch in a very unhealthy manner and in no small amount of irritation.

The spirit-clone of the counter-guardian was stalling for time in an attempt to analyze the situation and find a way for us out of this mess, he knew it and I knew it too but neither of us was willing to verbally admit it because that would mean that the situation was so chaotic that not even archer's eye of mind skill could hope to fully analyze the details, Once again it was all thanks to Zelretch for Chaos begat opportunity but also brought forth an infinite amount of possibilities both nightmarish and frightening.

throwing Windbrynger into the air, the blade floated towards the floating words that I had written before it stopped moving Once it's pointed Wind sharpened-tip was pointing towards the specific part that is one of the most dangerous that can get me into a sea of trouble and suspicion, Particularly my name.

"There are six other masters within the grail war and each one of them and their grandmother can use their master-sight to view my status once the true-identity condition is fulfilled, I don't think I will need to tell you how dangerous it will be once they learn that my real name is not just Shirou Fraga but also Edward Dastan, do I?" I stared at the white-haired servant and wordlessly dared him to say something cynical, Zelretch may have been the king of pranks but I knew a few tricks of my own that could convoy my displeasure.

Archer knew this fact by experiencing it first hand; it was the reason why he swallowed his own words before they came out of his mouth.

"While my reality marble is full of noble phantasms, I'd have to possess you if I am to trace any of it. Not to forget that any noble phantasm that I trace will need continuous Parana for it to be maintained and that is before activating it." The servant shook his head in a way that said it was not an idea that any of us will be entertaining for but a few fleeting moments, "I'd have to be in control all the time, I Don't thinks that's going to be a solution for any of us."

"It isn't," I agreed, my eyes landing upon the Red shrouds which covered the servant of the bow's arms.

Said servant of the bow followed my gaze before a sudden glint appeared in his eyes, "I Think I have a more permanent solution in mind."

"It won't work," I quickly discarded the idea which I had anticipated, "The Shroud of Martin is considered to be an important artifact of the church, and they won't allow me to permanently have possession of it…" I stopped as a sudden idea formed into my mind.

"You wouldn't happen to have had used you're 'tracing' on the shroud in the past life, did you?" Emiya's eyes narrowed at me in thought before warily and hesitantly nodding, I had seen him do so before whenever it had come to any kind of idea that I could claim ownership of. "Then can you please give me a few pieces of the information regarding its creation? Just a teeny-tiny part," I rubbed my thumb and index finger upon each other as if to emphasize the point and make it seem more convenient.

All it took was for EMIYA to frown before instantly the knowledge about the red shroud of Martin started to slowly come towards mind, I was going to have a very irradiating headache when I opened my eyes to the physical world due to the sudden influx of information being processed by my mind but that was nothing compared to avoiding a very unpleasant voyage to the grave.

Once the information had stopped coming and my mind had recovered enough for me to concentrate, I focused on my will fortified by clear intent of what I wanted before suddenly two identical copies of myself come shimmering into existence a few steps behind me. The two clones immediately turned to the opposite of each other before starting to walk away from us.

"….okay, I have to ask." Archer's voice was now filled with irritation and annoyance, "how did you do that? Is it one of the functions of the infinite blade works?"

"It's one of the many advantages that comes to those who master that which is within them," I answered before indicating towards my reality marble with a waving-gesture of my right hand, "I'm the true owner of every weapon that you see here. I have mastered each one of them and their abilities-perfected them to the heights which they could be perfected to, just as you had done the same with your own abilities."

"I'm not omnipotent when I am within my own reality marble, Edward." Emiya stated, "Yet you are, powerful enough that you managed to obliterate not one but three dead apostle Ancestors within it during the apostle war."

Once again, I decided that actions were louder than words. Grabbing Windbrynger and stabbing it on the ground, I leaned against the sword in imitation of a man who was leaning against his own cane with a thoughtful expression on the face.

A blink later and archer was suddenly sitting on a wooden chair with a large-black board located behind me, hovering in the air with no regards of gravity. I brought my previously empty hand up which now had a white-chalk within it before I quickly started to write on the board with the precision that came from being a former teacher within clock-tower.

"What is a realty marble, Emiya?" I asked without turning back towards the bow-servant, the chalk making click-click-click sounds whenever its tip met the board while.

"It's a manifestation of one's inner world," The Servant explained in an interested tone, wondering where I was going with the sudden lecturing appearance and tone.

"Now that's the short answer, it's Rin-Made alright but unfortunately it's wrong." I answered before pausing during my writing, "and this comes from a man who himself has a reality marble, Rin Tohsaka Can come-up with all theoretical explanations within the world but at the end I'm the one who has a reality marble and has researched it's capabilities and limits to the full."

Once finished with my writing, I looked towards the sitting servant.

"First of all, you need to understand human nature if you wish to even begin the process of understanding the thing we call 'Reality Marble'." I started with what many some might claim to be the most basic and simplest of thing, but human nature was anything but simple. "It can be summarized in one word: Fickleness, it starts from the moment that we are born and from the moment that we all die. To call the reality marbles manifestations of inner world; is to imply that it can be changed just as we all do as we experience life and Age, that's first-rate Nonsense right there." I used the white chalk to put a good white-line over the first topic before getting to the next.

Human nature and reality Marble

"All men are different, our personality and our ways of thinking are prime example of that. We kill, we cheat, we steal, we help, we create and we build. Our actions might look to be the same and our goals might temporary even be the same but in the end, our intent and reactions towards things are different," I explained with a cynical tone, "it's impossible for men to think one-hundred percent the same way. It's completely impossible. That's why our society will always be plagued by conflicts of interests and can never truly know the meaning of unity and peace, not as long as something called free-will exists. That's why all reality marbles are different from one another, because every man is fundamentally different both in nature and existence. We all have our own talents and we all have our own shortcomings."

I pointed at myself as a prime example of those words, acknowledging that there were things that I wasn't good at and there were other things which I excelled at, just like billions of others that called Planet earth Home.

I draw another white line before continuing.

The Difference between Reality Marbles and the effects of human nature

"A Reality Marble is not the manifestation of one's inner world, but a manifestation of soul." I said the word 'soul' with a great emphases that showed it had deeper meanings then just a single word, "an artificial manifestation which is composed of two layers: the inner layer which is the inner world of self and the outer layer which is created through the projection of one's reality marble onto the physical world. In the Former, I am omnipotent but I can't bring anyone from the real-world into it-that would mean that I can create a bounded field within myself which can house real physical objects or living beings… an impossible feat in the use of Magecraft, the art which specifically focuses upon replication of scientific feats through the use of supernatural means." I took a deep breath before tiredly letting the air go out of my lungs. (Whoever said giving lectures is easy, definitely didn't know about what it means to have a perched and sour throat.)

The blackboard and chair vanishing with just a clap of my hands and one surprised archer falling down on his back in an undignified manner, Nevertheless, I continued my lesson and finished it with a resolute tone.

"So Yes and No, Shirou Emiya, I am omnipotent within my inner world but mortal like anyone within the outer one." I opened my arms and gestured towards out surroundings, "The projection of a reality marble is like that of a bounded field -Temporary artificial field created through Magecraft which will have to follow the laws of limitation. And as for the reason on how I managed to defeat those three dead-apostle ancestors….Look around you, there are plenty of weapons here."

The fact that those said weapons were now possibly changed and different from what I knew in terms of power and use, was another problem added to my plate. The nervousness and fears that I felt for the fact that I will be seeing memories of my possible future self and learning about the events that I shouldn't even know in the first-place, was just another new entry to my list of worries.

With this kind of pressure on my shoulders, I knew that something would have to give sooner or later because my patience was not infinite and neither did I have much to spare these days. Somehow, I just knew that the coming days will not be giving me any restocks for that particular commodity.

"Right," Archer's word was enough to signal the end of that part of our discussion, both of us silently acknowledging the line of privacy that was between us. We may have agreed to let the other see pieces of our own memories but there were still secrets that we would rather keep close to the chest, there were just some secrets that would be best left secret. "Does the current predicament mean that you're extra command seals are going to become worthless?"

"No, they still have their uses." I answered, explaining about the hastily made ritual which Caren had to use in order to install the class-card. She didn't have any previous preparations and the risk of the ritual had failing had been high so she had to use an amplifier and equalizer to stabilize the process. Those said equalizers happen to have been three command seals which she had used to transfer into me before instilling the class-card, she had used three command seals to make sure that I would not possibly die and that alone was the reason why I had forgiven the women before telling her to give me space so that things could cool down a bit.

Command seals were things that Magi would sell the life of several of their relatives and children to obtain, and Caren had used three just as insurance that I would live through. The irony was not lost to me as I had thought about the fact that it could be excused that Caren had done so not just for my sake but also for hers but she could have only used one command seals, why did she to use not one or two but three?

A whole set that a Holy Grail master would obtain upon summoning their servants; Caren Hortensia had used them to keep the ritual stable and guarantee my survival to the extent that she could. And let's not forget that by joining the holy-grail war, I would have to inevitably settle with the hard truth that I will be implemented with a class-card just as any other master within the holy-grail war would be.

Even so, I still would have liked it a lot better if I had chosen to jump-over that particular obstacle rather than being thrown over it. But as they say, the past was the past. You can't live in the past just as you can't live in the future; all you could do was to learn from the past, be vigilant of the present and look-up to the future.

Anything else would be delusion and idiotic optimism, none of which I had space to give within my life.

"While they might not be absolute anymore, they are still powerful in their own right." I summarized, "while it's not potent as they once were, I'd rather have them than have nothing."

Before archer and I could say anything else, both of our attentions were drawn towards the two clones that approached us from the opposite sides which they had left. The left one was holding a greatsword, exquisite in craftsmanship and tall enough as an adolescent man and thick as my arm, its handle was golden and at the end of its equally golden pommel was the head of a roaring Lion with two fangs hanging from its mouth. Its blade was faintly shining in light, adorned with very small golden runes that faintly glowed at the edges of it.

Just the mere act of looking at the sword was enough for me to recognize and remember that it was Sunlight, the greatsword which had slayed the three apostle ancestors where all of my other weapons had failed. One of the most dangerous weapons within my Reality Marble, something so powerful and dangerous that even I had my reservations for using it.

This weapon was the reason why my presence alone can cause dead apostle ancestors themselves sound the retreat and make a run for the hills. That was the kind of power that sunlight had before, but now I knew that its power had risen to conceptual levels along with its brother Moonlight that was being carried by my right Clone. Where Sunlight was golden in handle and a roaring lion at the end of the pommel, Moonlight was Silver and a snarling wolf instead of lion, light-blue runes shimmering across its blade's edges.

The difference between the lion and the wolf was like the difference between Fire and Ice but at the end both burned just as fiercely as the other.

"Well, it seems our time is up." I said, grabbing Sunlight with my right hand and Moonlight with the other, watching as my clones shimmered out of existence just as they had come to be. Plunging their tips into the ground, taking the first step to forever unsealing the two swords which I had kept in stasis and sealed away deep within my reality Marble.

"Those swords…." I didn't need years of experience in deception to recognize the steel and iron within Archer's voice. "You do know what will happen if you use those swords, don't you? You'll be labeled as a cataclysmic existence, Edward. Any chance of peace that you might have in the future will be gone if someone learns about the existence of those swords and their sheer conceptual power."

"I know," I replied tiredly, looking to the two swords which I was still holding by the handles before slowly starting to let go. "Trust me, I know."

Gilgamesh, the king of heroes had EA, had the sword of rapture that could destroy any existence and even the planet itself. Shirou Emiya had Excalibur, the sword of promised victory and the most holy of holy swords; it was a very powerful sword no matter its status as a Fake that brought it one-Rank Down.

But Me, Shirou Fraga, I didn't have any of those two.

I didn't have a sword that could destroy everything in its wake like the king of Heroes; I Couldn't produce an awe-inspiring replica of Excalibur, the sword which was said to have been un-paralleled even amongst noble phantasms.

But what I could bring to the table was Sunlight and Moonlight, Through Sunlight I had Destroyed three apostle ancestors so thoroughly that not even the supernatural healing factor of the Alien-vampire species had been able to heal them. Not even their consciousness and existence had survived the wounds that the sword of Lion's Pride had inflicted upon them.

That was the kind of sword that sunlight was, the essence of fire made steel and turned into a weapon just as Moonlight was the essence of Ice.

"That's unwise, you know." Archer argued more, I kept my ear open to him and listened to his words with the patience of a man who had learned to exercise it and pay attention to even the tiniest of details, having learned that which I don't know about can still become the cause of my death. "There are literally five-thousand names within the black designation list and you're name, our Name, is at the first three-hundred. If you use and reveal the existence of those swords then you're name will definitely be pushed to the top-hundred."

"Once again, I tell you that I know. So tell me something that I don't know." I rebuked Archer's words before the servant decided that it was time to be blunt and speak directly.

"You're future; those swords are not worth it. Let me seal them just I did before, Edward." Archer's hands quickly landed upon my own and prevented me from letting go of the two swords. Knowing that if I fully let go, then the two swords would firmly be planted upon my reality marble and naturally the infinite blade works would create an infinite amount of them. I can un-plant them right now and re-seal them as long as my hands are on the swords, I will only need to let go and the reality marble will do the rest. "There are infinite amount of weapons within the infinite blade works, use them. But leave these two be."

"Tell me then; How Can I 'leave these two be' when they are the only chance that I have got Left?" I presented the question that had haunted me after the whole debacle with the Koronus soldiers and the Fuykui Church incident, not making a single move as the counter-guardian stood in front of him. His eyes looking into mine and mine into his. "You saw it yourself what kind of armaments Koronus was willing to bring into this timeline to kill me despite the many risks Involved; my own creations and inventions turned against me, Soldiers armed with weapons of my own design trying to kill me. That's what I get when I agreed to share only a small part of my research notes with Barthlemeloi Lorelei."

And that small part was not shared, not really. It was taken from me by force as part of the agreement between me and the vice-director of the clock-tower the day that she had given me the conditions for the end of my apprenticeship to her. The whole Yggdmillennia affair had been just another condition.

"She couldn't have given them to Koronus," Archer reasoned, his words uncompromising and true but I had the perfect answer for his Logical explanation.

"No, She Couldn't. But that doesn't change the fact those notes had landed in Koronus's hands in the future and using it they had reproduced many of my projects that are now no doubt hanging over my neck like a headsman's Axe." I tried to pull away my hands only for the Counter-guardian to stop me using his own strength, I knew I could will it and easily overpower him within the inner layer of the reality marble but something was just nagging at the back of my mind that I should hear Emiya's words.

"I'm arming myself for war and I'm moving forward with the knowledge that I will be leaving more than one body in my wake," I Explained, "that means that I won't be holding back, I can't afford to set back and let everyone walk-over me anymore. I'm done playing games. Is that too hard for you to understand?"

"Oh, I understand it perfectly." Archer answered instantly, his eyes looking to me with no small amount intensity. "In fact, I can see it so well that I can tell you right now what lies at the end of that Road. You can do it too, just look in front of you and see what my determination to see my ideals fulfilled has done to me. No, you damn well will hear me to the last word before you make a decision!" Emiya suddenly shouted; his voice cutting into my thoughts and slashing them into pieces like how I had practiced with Windbrynger to cut Slabs of steel.

"The First greatest mistake that I had ever done in my life was to pick-up the dreams of someone else as my own; I tried to mold myself after Kiritsugu Fucking Emiya," Emiya's voice was conflicted with vast amounts of emotions. Pain and grief, Lunging and want, "Day after Day and night after night that I spend with that broken husk of a man, I learned more and more about him. His manners and the way he ate his food, his look and the way he thought about things; His reactions and actions towards certain events, I was the perfect small copy of the man himself. At that time, Kiritsugu had seen it to and had thought it to be some kind of a childhood phase that will pass in time until the day came that he heard me telling him that I wanted to be a hero of justice."

And then archer's voice was cut short as another wave of emotions seem to appear in his eyes before it was quickly suppressed under the words that weighted at least a mountain on him both emotionally and mentally.

"Kiritsugu cried the moment that he had heard that, Edward. The man that was said to have been a ruthless killer so feared and titled the Magus Killer by the mage association; Cried like a man who had just found-out that he has lost everything and every reason to live. The next day…" Archer's voice was suddenly hitched, and then I saw a single tear come out of his eyes and trail down from his check until it fell on the ground. "The next day….i saw Kiritsugu furious, I had seen him plenty of times angry and annoyed before but never had I seen that much of him at the breaking-point. We had this fight for a whole-month where he tried his best to convince me to forget his dream and never even look at it, I Couldn't. I couldn't really let go of Kiritsugu's ideals because those were the only things that I have had left, the first things that I gained after the Fuykui fire. They were the only colors that painted my world, Edward. I refused to let go because then I wouldn't have been the Shirou Emiya that I had become, and that became the first step towards my damnation."

Archer let out a tired breath, the expression on his face and the gaze in his eyes belonging to someone who was disturbingly empty.

"My second greatest mistake in my life was my own determination and will to follow through my ideals, my mind utterly refusing to change and learning the lesson that sometimes paying too much attention to our ideals and dreams can cause us to lose sight of equally or even perhaps more important things than them." the servant of the bow continued, closing his eyes and letting the rest of the tears trail down from his eyes and down to his checks. Some might have considered it humiliating to cry in front of someone-else that was not you're family but I like to at least think that archer and I shared enough common-grounds for that. "I didn't appreciate the things that I had in life and so I felt their loss when I lost them by becoming a Counter guardian. Losing everything in my attempts of preserving and following through ideals and a dream that I had taken from someone else, stolen from someone else, How much more pathetic of an ending do you think that is?"

"You think that is pathetic?" I suddenly lost my temper and decided that if I had to hear Archer's words then he can offer me the same courtesy. "Then you know Nothing, Shirou Emiya. You lost your whole biological family to a fire and then watched as your own adopted father died slowly like a flower that was being wilted by the passage of time. Do you know how my father died? Reza Dastan was a Middle-Eastern magician who had come to the ancient Magician's house of life for education and training before he managed to gain a Permanent citizenship in the states, he was a man who loved reading books and study the Arcane Lore and that was the hobby that lead to him someday meeting my Immortal mother in guise of a fellow-researcher of the arcane theory. One thing led to another and soon enough my father and my immortal mother had me, a Demigod of Hecate. And it was only then that my father learned about my mother's true identity and that was enough to Ruin every god-damned plans that he had in the future about having a good family to call his own; He had been raised an orphan who had been bounced around from one house to another, the notion that his own child would feel the same pain of not having a mother just because of some ancient law was enough for him to hate everything that started with a 'H' and then ended with a 'E'."

It was suddenly my own turn to shed tears and feel the wetly things coming down from my eyes towards my checks. "At the end he died by throwing himself into the Jaws of a hellhound so that I could live, do you know how many fucking nightmares I had about that? How many times I had flinched when I had seen some tomato being crushed by a mallet just like how my father had died through the crushing force of a supernatural monster's jaw? Too many, that's what." I continued even though the tears started to fall more heaver, ignoring the fact that I was a demigod who had been put through so much hardship and had to learn how to make his way in a world full of those with no shortage of desire to kill him or use him if given the opportunity.

Sometimes the weight was just too much; even the shoulders of a man hardened through hardship had a limit on the amount of weight it could carry.

"Don't make the mistake of comparing yourself with me, I didn't spend my childhood going to school and interacting with normal people. The time that you had spent in the school playing with others was the time that I had used to learn how to live with the fact that I'm part of a world where every thrice-damned mythology monster is real." I reminded the counter-guardian before taking a deep calming breath, counting from one to ten and then from ten to one before I trusted myself to continue without letting my emotions get the better of me. "Both of us have tasted the very bitter end, Archer. by god-you Died clinging to ideals and a dream not even your own while I…" my throat suddenly felt heavy and clenched as if it wanted every word coming out of it to cost me a very Considerable effort, "I Died by having a spear shoved into my heart through the hands of the women that I knew, had loved and fought beside with for years. On the very day that I had finely had the courage to propose to her, the ring-box had been in my right hand just before I Got a celestial bronze spear shoved into me. The blow was so sudden that I hadn't even had a chance to look properly. Didn't even felt the sting until I had fallen on the cold asphalt…." I trailed off before growing silent, gritting my teeth to keep myself from sobbing and instead allowed the tears to continue coming out.

'It's not fair,' a faraway voice within my head said to me, the voice that once-upon a time belonged to a innocent boy who loved to read books about myths and legends until they had become real and been turned into his worst nightmares. 'I'm not a prophesized demigod like Percy Jackson, Neither am I a son of Jupiter expected to lead because of his heritage or a Demigoddess that has been turned into a tree and later become alive due to a golden fleece, joining the Artemis's hunt at the end and dodging the clutches of a great prophecy. I'm Edward Dastan, son of a Minor immortal. Why should I be the one that suffers like this?'

And then my bitter-experience makes me remember that the world was not fair, it didn't owe me anything. No one had ever done anything for me without asking for something in-return and those that did were far and few in between.

Even my own immortal mother hadn't claimed me until after the second titan war; personally visiting me one night to Claim me as one of her children in front of the Campers of camp half-blood, barely had she finished saying the words that I had simply disowned her as my mother through nothing then the few Calm words of 'I refuse to be a son of Hecate' and then left to make my way towards the place which I knew would become my new home in form of the big-house that Chiron and a certain immortal Lived in, never once had I looked back and never did I set-foot into the Hecate Cabin unless absolutely necessary.

That had been the extant of my unspoken fury towards the immortal that I hadn't even seen with my own eyes before, the tears that I would have shed when I would have found-out about the identity of my immortal mother were lost along the way when I was fighting within the second titan war and the anger coated by hatred was turned into something cold that I had carried within me even after my time within the titan-lord of time's army.

life had simply continued for those within camp half-blood in the next day; the previous night's events and happenings remaining where they had happened, later I would learn to my appreciation that my half-siblings had warned everyone that it won't end-well if they find out someone had decided to gossip about matters that aren't their business in the first place.

Coincidently, I would meet others who also lived within the big-house, refusing to be the sons and daughters of their immortals parents through the reasons different but still similar in a way like my own.

Among those that I would meet, there had been a son of Ares who would later be amongst the ones that would descend into the hellish realm called Tartarus. I would learn many things from that son of Ares just as he had learned from me, his soul would be forever marked just as mine, and he would become the man that I will always remember amongst the strongest, doing what others couldn't do or weren't willing to do, slaying Legions of Monsters. Standing with his head held high and his shoulders unbowed even though they were weighted down by the many unthinkable actions that he had done when no one else was willing to do.

He was among the very few I had ever acknowledged as equal where a full world of legends and myth had learned to be wary of my name, the man that had fought me to a standstill before bringing me to my knees and making me taste the bitter taste of defeat just as I had later returned the favor, he had been one of the many that had made me learn that there was always those who were far more better and powerful then you.

It had been his convictions and will that had taught me that though all men will have regrets within their life-times, those who couldn't accept their regrets and get pass them would never know any Peace. And since finding myself in this world, I had come to harbor many regrets both from past-life and this one, with my biggest regret being how my life had ended before it could really have started.

"I want to live, Archer." I finely revealed one of my true desires, something that the servant of the bow knew just as I knew his desire of wanting to avoid ending-up joining his true self. "I want to live the rest of my life in Peace, Perhaps someday meeting the right woman and start a family for myself. I want to look into the mirror and see someone that I Could be more proud of being; I want a better ending for my life then the last one. How can I have those and how can I gain them when everything that I always try to build for myself is destroyed because of those that want to kill me?"

The silence that greeted my words was enough for the counter-guardian to let out a tired breath; I had been ready to argue my case more before the servant of the bow started to remove his hands from mine; his eyes and voice were solemn in such intensity that convoyed how serious his words were, "if you unseal those swords and use them within the real world, then you're name will be entering the first one-hundred within the black designation list. The grail war that you are going to fight in and the victory that you might have after that… it won't mean a thing if there is nothing left for you afterwards when the whole moonlit world will take up arms against you; if you Really want a better ending and a better life for yourself then the previous one, then this is not the way that you will have it." And then the archer closed his mouth and looked to me, arms folded on his chest without any emotion on his face. Waiting for my choice, a choice that I didn't hesitate to make….

…by unplugging the two blades from the ground of my reality marble and putting them on my shoulders with sunlight on the right and moonlight on the left, my eyes were closed for a moment in deep thinking before they were opened.

"I have been taught a long time ago that if you want to have a better life and future, then you will need to make it through the use of your own two hands and Power, Will and determination are only the first of the steps." I mused towards the only person who was listening to my words, here and now. "If you want to be strong then you need to learn how to fight alone; your life is your own, you can't rely on others to live it for you and be there with you all the way." I spared a glance at the two swords that I was holding, well balanced and reliable and practical just as I liked my weapons to be. "The world that I had lived in, Archer, is a world of legends and myths where the age of gods had not ended at all but had also influenced the modern world in some form of capacity, a World where there is an endless cycle of Demigods against Monsters with the occasional supernatural related disaster that they at the end would be forced resolve or do something about. Words and diplomacy are non-existent in this world because you can't negotiate with those that aren't willing to even listen to your words and neither are you able to say no to an immortal unless you want to experience how hazardous it is for you're health to have one holding grudges against you."

The servant of the bow kept his silence as I continued to speak when I had gathered the words that had the capability to convoy my current issue, the reason why the Moonlit world feared me and the important part where I had no more room to give towards those that didn't understand the message of what will happen if they attempt to kill me. "Since coming here into this world, finding myself in the body of your counterpart, I have done nothing but living my second life to the best of what I Can, a life that I built with sweat and hardships filled with tears. Graduating college and finding a respectable job, doing my best to stay away from the blood that had stained my hands as a demigod. However, you can only run so far against you're nature and past before it catches up with you as the old saying goes." The bitterness and loathing that I had within myself towards those words seeped into them like water flowing into the river. "I Joined the Mage association as a freelance enforcer under a temporary contract, my sole reason and aim had been to prepare for the fifth Holy Grail war and acquire a few resources and favors to call my own. Imagine my surprise when I learned that my most feared suspicions are true, that everything that I think I know doesn't even scratch the surface about this fucked-up world."

Without warning of any sudden manner, I threw moonlight and sunlight towards the Counter-guardian, the swords sailed into the air before their hilt was grasped by him. "It had gone downhill from there, Emiya. Look at the monster in front of you and tell me what do you see on my hands if not blood."

"I see many things, blood not being the only thing."

"Then you're not looking deep enough," I Replied, not bothering to hide the scoff that appeared on my expression. Rubbing my face with my hands, I turned my back towards the resident servant of the bow within me. "Thanks for listening to the words of this jaded fool, Emiya. Goodness knows that I needed a pair of ears to listen to my rambling for some time." I started to walk, choosing to take a leisurely walk within my reality-marble; it had been quite a time since I had done that. "It's good to have you back."

"Wait," the counter-guardian's voice made me stop, waiting without turning back. "I still have questions that I need answers for."

"Don't we all," I mused, "but sure. Ask and I'll answer but I'll have you know that I reserve the privilege of not answering if I don't want to."

Barely had I finished delivering my words that the counter-guardian presented his question.

"You could have killed Rider through the opportunity given by surprise," the bowman's voice was laced with curiosity and accusation based on analyzed truth. "You could have stopped Sakura's participation in the grail war by eliminating her servant, why didn't you?"

"Killing rider would have robbed sakura of her servant," I agreed with a nod, "but none of us can deny that the odds of her backing down from the grail war are as low as Rin Tohsaka's doing the same, which is nonexistent by the way." I looked towards the cloudy sky, wondering about the woman who was now the subject of our conversation; Caren must have finished implanting a class-card into her by now, I wondered for a moment that if she really knows what she has sign-up for, If her situation is the same as mine then the nightmares of the possible future will be hunting her just as it will be hunting me.

The possibility of sakura Matou dying due to the ritual was entertained before I quickly dismissed it; what sakura did with her life and what she chose for herself was none of my business, she was an adult and all adults were responsible for their actions and the consequences that followed. That was what being an adult meant. To know that you're choices affected you're life and the mistakes that you made were placed solely at your own feet.

"The fourth grail war took so many things from her just as it did too many others, Archer. She can't rest and move on with her life until she has seen it Finished for good." I informed the counter-guardian, telling him the facts about this world's sakura Matou and why was she so different than the one that he knew of. "And to be honest, she's not the only one."

Not for the first time in this life did I wordlessly curse the three founding Magi Families that had created the ritual of the heaven's Fel or now more commonly called the Holy Grail war. So many lives were ruined and so much more were lost due to a decision that had been made generations ago. And all of it for what exactly, the use and ownership of some 'omnipotent' wish-granting machine that was going to grant wishes or some other imaginary reward that had compelled fools to rush towards what they thought to be gold only to find out that it was their death all along.

'the bloodshed started from the first grail war and now it will resume by the beginning of the fifth,' my eyes briefly flicked towards the sky, yellow lightning flashing into the ground with a very faint sound of thunder-like 'boom'. 'How many more, you Daft morons, how many more will have to die until you misbegotten fools learn that it never ends well when man decides to tamper with powers that he does not even understand. How many more families have to be torn apart until you all accept that there is no such thing as an omnipotent wish-granting machine that can give wishes without taking a high price? How many more sons and fathers, Daughters and mothers will have to die just because of a decision that three idiots made so long ago?'

"Sakura would be safer with a servant beside her," I forged on, suppressing my bitter thoughts at the past and the stupidity of some. "I had analyzed the odds of her safety, decided on a course of action with it in the highest priority and then simply went through with it."

I only had taken five-steps before I heard another pair of feet following after me, Archer still had questions for me.

"So you admit that you care about Sakura," Archer said, now walking beside me.

"You're not an idiot, Emiya. So stop acting like one," I berated the servant, wondering the purpose of the questions that he was throwing towards me. "I'm the man that visited her at the end of every week as she recovered from years of mental breakdown and conditioning thanks to a certain old-bag of worms that should have been six-feet under a long time ago. I'm the man that hugged her when she was at her lowest; holding her and keeping her from falling down and breaking into thousands of unrecoverable pieces, if that doesn't show you that I care about her then I don't think anything else ever will."

"…do you love her?"

"Do you love Kiritsugu Emiya for saving you from the fire and giving you a family or do you hate him for allowing you to inherit his dream of becoming a hero of justice that ultimately damned you to a never ending cycle of slaughter and death?" I returned the question with one of my own, looking towards the counter-guardian walking beside me. His silence was the answer. "It's complicated isn't it? Well, my relationship with Sakura is just like that. Complications and messes all rolled into one, I don't really know what to make of it anymore."

The tired breath that came out of the counter guardian's mouth was enough for me to know what exactly he felt about my words; it was a strange thing after all this time, to see him show emotions when he had been barefoot of many of it when I had summoned him during the apostle war.

This was a proof that spending so much time within me had affected the counter-guardian to degrees that I didn't knew about; he may have been outside the boundaries of time and the cycle of life but what he saw and experienced still affected him just as it did to anyone else, something that I believe only the Rin Tohsaka of some other realty had found out about that was why she had been willing to once again make a pact with him even after the future version of Emiya Shirou had tried to kill the Emiya Shirou of the Present, had kidnapped her in the aim of forcing the boy into a battle of dreams and ideals under the pretense of a duel to death.

In some other world, this would be the reason why Rin Tohsaka had wanted the Archer-class servant back as her servant; she saw the man within him the same way that I was seeing him right now, and she wanted to save him even if it came to be temporary at best.

But in the real world where realty can be crueler then any man….all that Archer had was me, a reincarnated demigod. One could even say that the bowman and I both were at the same boat but in different sides; Emiya's true self was trapped eternally within a cycle of death and destruction while I was a reincarnated demigod whose soul was eternally marked by the mark of Tartarus itself, his mentality and sanity dubiously questionable at best. What a jape that fate has played upon us both.

"…what is your plan, Edward," The one walking beside me suddenly stopped just as I did the same. "No, no more word games and no more mysterious vagueness. Just say what you're really planning because while stopping Koronus is a good excuse-it's not one that I'm going to ever buy." He hefted the two swords that he carried onto his shoulders, their tip pointing pass his back. "Even if you had unsealed these two swords, there is no way for you to have taken the fight towards Koronus. Like you said, you don't have the resources or the needed manpower. That and the fact that Koronus's technological prowess is at the level where they can deny you the use of your Magecraft." And then I saw a moment of epiphany appear in the servant's eyes. "If you're willing to bring these two swords out then that means that you're desperate, but why? The Edward Dastan that I knew wouldn't have taken things too far like this without very important reason, what changed? What made you bring out the two of your most destructive weapons? For what purpose were you going to use them?"

By the end of his words, both of us had fallen into a deep and heavy silence, I leveled such a piercing stare towards Archer that left no room for doubt that I was annoyed at his ability to pick my manipulations and words apart.

There were so many things that I could say and so many things that I could use to give an answer to a man that wanted the truth but then came the hard-part; if it was so easy to say the truth then there will no liars in the world, it was sad that how easy it was for many to preach the virtue of honesty through words yet found lacking when it came to action.

Truth was like an arrow, its tip unbelievably piercing and sharp. Once you let go then there would no way for you to take it back. And that was what made it so terrifying because things would never be the same again after releasing it.

"People claim that they want the truth but very few like the taste of it once it's served," I warned the counter-guardian, "do you want me to tell you the truth? I can do better. I'll show it to you. But Let me ask you this: do you really want to know? Because once you know, then you won't be escaping unscathed."

To his credit, the bowman hesitated; it was a sign that he knew the heavy weight of the decision he is going to make. He knew how deep the truth could scar one for life just like me. Hard not to know when you had experienced it slapping you in the face time and time again, after everything had passed and you had learned of the lost opportunities that you will never have back.

"Show me," he chooses and I naturally decided to do just that, through but a snap of my fingers our surroundings changed as we both were immersed into what I knew to but the first vision of the possible future that I had seen last night when I had closed my eyes and had allowed sleep to take me.

"Then look closely archer," I advised, wondering about the inevitable reaction that the white-haired guardian would have after witnessing the vision that I had seen. "Look and tell me what I should do when I see something like this as my possible future."

The next moment we weren't standing within the familiar grounds of my reality marble anymore. Instead, we were standing within a clearing that once upon a time might have been a ground covered by grass, supporting tall trees that must have been cared for by some time.

"…what is this?" Archer's question was tense and timed; his eyes were looking towards the scene in front of him. The uprooted trees that were either shattered into thousand splinters of various sizes, the burned patches of grass and the carters left on the ground, none of them drew the bowman's gaze of attention.

That honor belonged to something else; to the nightmare that any man be it young or old would dread by instinct to ever see and experience, something that even curled the blood of a hardened demigod who had experienced no small amount of horrors and hardships within the merciless world that he had lived in.

"This is the future, one of its many infinite possibilities." I explained, feeling drained and wary when it came to dealing with anything that fell-down under the category of a possible-prophecy or even remotely related to the word 'future'.

I didn't like prophecies; I hated them with a passion because they had been the source of no small amount of life-threatening troubles within my life, it had always been a tedious challenge for me to stand in front of the so called 'oracle' and force my ears to remain open as I heard the words-turned-into-verses that were the cause of no small amount of nightmares and future restlessness for me.

Watching those said verses come out of a mummified corpse that should have been dust and ashes a long time ago had only made me grind my teeth and fist my hands in an attempt to stop myself from possibly jumping onto the talking mummy and snap what remained of its boney neck like a twig.

At least the modern oracle was someone who had a good-head on her shoulders; knowing that looking into the future and having certain knowledge of it was not something that could be taken lightly. Rachel may have been a clear-sighted normal teenager with no drop of ichor in her veins, but at least she was more intelligent than the previous oracle.

Because if there had ever been something between that ancient oracle's ears when she was alive, then she would have realized that the prophecies coming out of her lips would sooner or later bring trouble to her doorstep, that's the price that the world will make you pay if you can't control your mouth and the words coming out of it.

If not hades then someone else would have paid the ancient oracle her Dues; a demigod who had lost too much due to the words coming out a women's mouth that could care less about them and considers herself to be just the 'oracle' being one of those that fit the description pretty well.

"Edward…" the softness in Archer's voice quickly rings no small amount of alarms within me; he had finely reached the end of his ropes. "What is this?"

I turned my head aside and instead took a looked towards the nightmare that I had seen the previous night. Like archer, the scenery didn't attract my attention but rather the four bodies within it which I knew.

"This is a vision of a possible future, a hidden memory-image planted within the class-card installed within me if we are to be more specific." I explained, not seeing the need to say that what we were seeing was all curtsey of a certain self-proclaimed king of pranksters.

It all made sense now. The pieces fit together and the whole picture was there for me to see, Zelretch had made me believe that this was like one of his attempts of creating extra entertainment for himself, he had tricked me into acting and thinking that this had been an act made on whim.

But the truth was that Zelretch had seen it, many years ago before I had even taken my place as an active player in the game that we manipulators always like to play. And for the wizard Marshal, it had all started with two apprentices by the name of Rin Tohsaka and luviagelita Edelfelt.

Despite all odds, despite all precautions and experiences that were crammed somewhere within that Dead apostle ancestor's mind, Rin and Luviagelita had managed to find their place within his immortal life beyond of being just apprentices.

For a man whose existence and life was immortal in such way that all of those who he talks to will at the end turn into dust in the ashes of time….it was natural to carve entertainment and companionship, to add something to his life that could make it entertaining enough that he will have something to look forward to, Something that can give him a reason to not lose himself to the endless days and nights in front of him.

Those two girls were the ones who managed to fit the bill where the previous apprentices of the wizard marshal became mad in the futile effort of trying to inherit his power, the kaleidoscope.

Perhaps the best thing about those girls was that they both wanted to have nothing to do with the Kaleidoscope; I didn't knew why was this and why they refused to have anything to do with that power but I did know that Rin and Luvia both avoided the mentioning of the word 'kaleidoscope' like a plague.

What they had gained from their apprenticeship with the wizard marshal was the chance to further their Magecraft, gain political prestige with hosts of many other things that I didn't knew about but the Kaleidoscope had not been one of them.

I knew this because I had heard it from the mouth of the wizard marshal himself when we were sitting in a bar, he eating his cheeseburger while I sipped my Cola. It was four years ago, to think that I would learn the true depth of Kischur's words that were uttered four years ago made me feel like an idiot but hey, no one could accuse me of being infallible.

And it was just last night that I managed to truly see the actions of the dead apostle ancestor in a new light; stealing a time Machine from some alternative reality, using it to go to future and learn of the past which was the future of this time-line. Breaking through so many lines and so many Rules and Making so many enemies, enough that a whole military-taskforce would be sent after his life like a pack of hounds.

Zelretch had been playing us all for years, planning and making his moves thirty-times before any of us had even realized that the board had been set. All of his efforts related to one single goal: to change the future, and what a way he used to succeed.

What easier way to change the future then to change the personality and thoughts of those that inhabited it? Their actions would naturally be different and the future along with it. A single pebble sliding down from the mountain can cause an avalanche and that Pebble's name was Edward Dastan or Shirou Fraga as the world knew the name, the same reason why Koronus had tried to kill me. My whole existence was a threat; Zelretch had made sure of that by giving me a glimpse of the possible future. No Doubt the same future that Koronus was trying to maintain.

I was the anomaly, the threat that was targeted just as Zelretch's head; Koronus couldn't afford to allow me to live because with every breath that I took the existence of their futuristic time-line was threatened.

Explaining as much to the one in front of me, I waited with the mental fatigue of a man that sometimes wished that he couldn't see the true depth of spoken words and happened events. It was a curse and a blessing at the same time, to having become so jaded and scared in life that you refused to accept things at face-value and always attempt to see what was underneath the underneath.

And I didn't need to do that to know there could be no peace between me and the task-force called Koronus; our existence is a threat to each other, none of us can live while the other one is doing the same.

'You either kill the future or the future kills you,' a sudden familiar voice reminded me of my of the many problems that I had to face from now on after Caren had installed the class-card within me. 'It's the future's greatest killers against a Maker with a Faker inside of him, who is going to win?'

'We'll see who's going to win soon enough, so be silent until then.' It took no small amount of effort to ignore the mocking laughter that echoed deep at the back of my mind.

'Silent? Oh i have been mostly silent since we have found ourselves here but no more,' it was like a switch had been flicked, something sudden and unexplainable in such way that no mere words could even hope to describe it. 'The time for silence has passed; there is no more room for you to Cloak yourself in shadow, war has been declared. Show them why they must fear you. Make them feel the despair of facing the one who stands as equal to the king of the battlefield!'

'Get back to your cage, you Damnable Pride.' I answered back, within the inner layer of my reality Marble I was omnipotent yet even with that kind of power it proved to be a challenge to push away the sudden presence at the back of my mind before it could merge with my own.

Naturally, it didn't go without at least leaving the Poison which was its words. 'Remember who you are, yours is the sin of Pride.'

"…to tell me?"

The sudden question that came from the familiar voice of the counter-guardian brought my head back to game though it took me more than moment to collect my thoughts from the mess that they had become; I have faced monsters both legendary and mortal, I have killed mortals and made immortals bleed yet the greatest enemy that I had ever faced was always the one that was within me.

"Sorry," I apologized, taking a deep breath from the sudden distraction before aiming my focus towards my conversation with the counter-guardian. "Could you please repeat that?"

"I said why didn't you tell me this?" the counter-guardian repeated his question, his eyes were no longer containing the faraway look that I had been seeing on his face moments ago, his tone was also back to its usual calm albeit with the bitterness that was usually deeply hidden within him.

"I'm the Demigod here, Emiya. I have all the experience when it comes to dealing with prophecies and that is not one of them." I pointed towards the vision that we were currently seeing. "A prophecy is a foretelling of the coming events but that is a possible vision of the future, at the end nothing more than a possibility." My words seemed to have the intended effect of calming the counter-guardian and making him see reason, a rather good thing considering my rather unpredictable luck of crossing paths with those refusing to even let me finish saying my words before instantly branding me as something that they imagined me to be. "That and I had intended to tell you tonight after I had a few hours to even process what I had even seen."

"Process…" whatever words archer was going to use, they died the moment that my hand appeared on his white-haired head, forcing his gaze to be aimed at my other hand which was pointing towards the first of the four figures within the vision.

She was a woman who looked to be at the middle of her twenties, black hair and aqua Green eyes that I had seen glaring at me many times but now were shown empty and lifeless. A gray-white shirt covered her chest, its sleeves in tatters along with her arms with nothing remaining of the lower-portion of her body, a poll of blood and organs being the only thing that remained.

"That woman's name is Rin Tohsaka; they call her the flame empress. She's a very skilled sculpture especially when it comes to jewelry; her hobbies include Reading books and watching movies. She likes sweets and extremely dislikes things that have too-much pepper within them." even my voice came out Horace as I continued; "this is the woman that hates me, Emiya. You want to know why? It's because I can see through the cold-intellectual mask she likes to wear. It scares her that a 'cold-blooded killer' can do something like that to her but the simple truth that she doesn't know, is that I know her pain because I have experienced it first hand, that's why I keep sending her gifts when it comes to her birthdays and she unanimously does the same for me. It's terrifying to be alone in the world with no one to care about your life and existence."

I changed the target of now our gaze by moving and forcing Archer to do the same, never once did I stopped to think because I knew that I would cry just as I had done last night if I allowed myself to.

"That is Sakura Matou, the women I saw at her lowest and still accepted her for who she is." I pointed towards the Burnt corpse that was just feats away from Rin Tohsaka's. The Cloths and Muscles burned to the bone. There was enough distance between us but not enough to not being able to recognize what remained of the lavender-hair on her head. "I watched her turning from the miserable pile of regrets and emptiness that she had once been, into a woman of formidable capacity. Best of all, I watched her doing it all herself without any kind of help or aid from me. All I did was to give her something that no one had given me when I was in her position, a shoulder to lean onto."

I ignored the storm of memories that were unleashed as a result of my own words; Memories that were of days where I were in Sakura Matou's Place, a Broken man that had to constantly struggle for the right of picking-up the pieces of his life.

Those Memories were a life-time ago and belonged to a man that had been brought to the lowest of low and at his worst; Sanity and Mind stretched-thin to the limit with nightmares hunting every hour of sleep, alone and without anyone to be there for him when needed a helping presence the most. They were Mine and they reminded me of the one of the many reasons why I had went to such lengths for the once broken woman called Sakura Matou.

I didn't want to see Sakura go through such a thing as I had, didn't want her to experience how terribly difficult it was to pick-yourself up from the ground when there was no one to offer you a hand, I didn't want another person to go through the same thing I did because the experience would forever change you both in mind and body.

The world had a tendency of collecting tragedies like how a dragon seeks to hoard a mountain of glittering gold; Making men and creating monsters like Edward Dastan or Now Shirou Fraga, Sakura's name didn't need to be added to that never-ending list of names. For who would be so cruel to stand aside and allow a woman to be turned into the same man that has no reflection when looking into the mirror? For all of my apathy and ruthlessness, I had enough shreds of mercy and empathy to stand against something like that at the very least.

And for that, Sakura was spared a fate and destiny that might have turned her into one like me. At least that action was heroic in its own way despite all of my denials of being a hero.

"And that's….that's…" suddenly my voice was turned more Horace then what I had thought to be possible, barely a whisper before it was completely gone, Refusing to come-out. A sudden weight on my sides told me that my hands were now hanging without any kind of strength within them. The only thing that refused to change was my eyes which were providing ample vision for me to see the two remnants that were once-upon a time alive and breathing but now surely dead and not amongst the living.

The only shard of mercy that I could find was the fact that I could not see the two properly; I could only see a tanned back which I knew belonged to the dead kneeling man. Covered in Red as if a cloak was draped over him with the exception that it was not a cloak that covered his form but blood, the only thing not covered in blood being his ashen-white hair. There was a mope of golden-blonde hair on his right shoulder, shadowing the face of a woman that I Personally knew to be somewhere of between twenties and thirties of age. Her once vibrant golden-brown eyes now lifeless and without any spark of life.

"….and that's Luviagelita Edelfelt," Archer's voice was calm and emotionless, his usual sarcastic cynical tone nowhere to be heard of. His hand was gripping my left shoulder which I now realized was shaking like a leaf. "A fiercely intelligent women with a subtle attitude of elitism and Perfectionist streaks, once-upon a time part of the Magi Family of Edelfelt but now Disowned due to her Divorce along with other complications." and holding her was Edward Dastan, the Servant of the bow didn't say but I knew the words nonetheless.

Immortals old and new, I was tired.

Yesterday I had went to the Fuykui Church, Confident in the foundation and preparations that I had made over the years to secure myself a spot within the Holy Grail war as a participant. I had so many plans old and new ones made possible through caster's help and abilities, so many tactics and ways for us to advance against the other servants along with their masters.

Now, all of them were in tatters, years of work and effort went down to the drain at the span of a single day just like that.

"…The fact that I and you have now seen this vision means that it's practically a guarantee that it won't be happening because our future actions will be absolutely different then what it was before." I said after allowing the vision in front of us to dissolve into nothingness, us within the land of my reality marble. "It's a possible future, Emiya. Not a prophecy where Destiny is said to be set in stone. Let's leave it at that and never speak about this again, better for the both of us that way."

Barely had I finished my words that I saw the coming move which I had known that the counter-guardian was going to take, a single thought made sure that it would not come to pass as sunlight and moonlight both appeared in the grasp of my hands instantly….

….just in time for Archer's fists to hit the ground, it would have cracked had it been any normal ground yet this ground belonged to my reality marble, it was never normal to begin with.

"Plant those swords, Edward." The servant of the bow got-up from his kneeling position, his eyes looked towards the swords that I was now holding then to my very own eyes. "you said it yourself that fighting against both Koronus and the holy grail war is going to be next to impossible, none of us can afford to hold-anything back with such odds against us."

"I admit that I had been desperate, hard not to be when you see your own death." I admitted, feeling no ounce of shame as I threw the counter-guardian's own words to his face. "But then you reminded me that no amount of power would ever worth the risk of losing my future, thank you for that by the way."

Archer's eyes twitched just as his hands were slowly rising like he was going to strangle the life out of someone, his face turned into interesting shades of red with teeth grinding against each other.

He had spent himself on such a tediously long argument filled with tears and pain-filled past against me to convince me not to unseal the swords and now he just found himself in the same position as myself and wanted me to unseal them.

'Oh the irony,' A laughably sarcastic thought suddenly made my mood a bit lighter but it still didn't change the fact that I was mentally tired and spent.

"...you could have started by telling me about that vision," the servant of the bow's gaze was so intense that it was a wonder that nothing was caught on fire, my-self included. "I would have understood…"

"Desperation is a fickle thing, Emiya." I interjected, speaking the words that I had experienced first-hand and their ramifications haunted me even though I was a life-time away from them. "It can do strange things to us, it makes us focus on the present and lose sight of the future. Making us consider options that we think are for the best but in truth will come to haunt us as the foundation of our greatest mistakes. Take these words from someone who has learned their meanings the hard-way."

I looked towards the two swords that I considered being so dangerous that the mere evidence of their existence would be enough for the moon-light world to take-up arms against me; they were no noble phantasms, none of the continents of my reality marble were, it was natural that they did not possess the status that the legendary weapons were famed for throughout the ages.

Yet these blades were still powerful in their own right, they were now at the level of conceptual power just as their limitations were also conceptual.

'Look at them,' my gaze looked towards sharp-edges of sunlight and moonlight, Fire and Ice made to be incarnated. 'Beautiful swords, powerful swords made of the ice and fire. Yet they are merely heralds of what is to come.'

If I had wanted acceptance, I could have started our conversation through showing archer the same vision that I had seen last night but acceptance had not been what I needed or sought for.

What I had recognized to need was a pair of eyes that could see past the wall that was my desperation; I wanted another pair of eyes to look towards the road in front of me and tell me if there was another way for me to proceed by stepping forward, archer had proven to me that how similar of a step I had nearly taken to his past.

The difference between his situation and mine was as the sun and the moon yet the ends were disturbingly similar in a way that put shivers down to my spine; it would have been a very terrible mistake beyond imagining, a mistake that I had once made by thinking that I could trick a primordial through words.

Tartarus had made me pay for that by branding my soul with the sin which was the cause of my mistake, Pride stroked by desperation.

Emiya had saved me from repeating a mistake that I would always do my best to never forget, the glint that had appeared in the counter-guardian's eyes told me that he knew it too but not to the extent that I knew off.

He didn't knew about my eternal cursed soul and the less he knows about it the better, all he would know was that I had used his perception and his eyes to see where my own eyes could not.

"You and you're damn word-plays…." I heard the said counter-guardian mutter under his breath; resigned over the fact that he could not currently convince me, Though the look on his face made me guess that this discussion would be revisited later. "Where are we going from here, Edward?"

"I don't know," I admitted without hesitation, being wise enough to recognize that there was a time and place for everything and now was no time for vague answers and mysteries. I was just going to give a straight answer, a rare commodity that I considered to be sometimes more valuable than a chest full of gold. "All I know is that we are at a crossroads where we have to choose on how are we going to continue from up here, and I can't make that choice for the both of us because it won't just be my life that will be affected by it."

Perhaps it had been the desperation that I had felt on seeing my own death or maybe it was because of everything that had happened at the span of a single day which was yesterday; Either way that I now looked at it, I had forgotten one of the most important things that made me feel like the worst scum to have ever walked the earth.

I had forgotten that the servant within me was entitled to make his own opinions known and make his own choices; Counter-guardian Emiya may have done a lot of mistakes but he was a man, at least the spirit of a man that was a copy of the original one but he was still a Person and my choice had nearly forced him down into a path which he had once walked-upon.

Living alone so many times had made me lose sight of the rather simple fact that my choices wouldn't just affect me and my life but also the man that had taken refuge within me; archer knew my mistake all too well yet not once did he brought it to words and neither did he look any different towards me, he merely waited for me continue.

It made me feel all the more miserable; if Perseus Jackson's fatal flaw was Loyalty then surely mine was Pride, it reared its ugly head no-matter how many times I squashed and fought against it. Desperation was always the wood that would fuel it and I knew well-enough what would happen if I were to give in.

'Always remember, Edward. Pride compelled by desperation is the first step towards the fall,' I reminded myself, 'this time you managed to slip its grasp with Archer's help but there is no guarantee that the same thing will happen for the next time. Give-in and there will no turning back. Don't forget the past else you're doomed to repeat the same mistakes. Tartarus taught you that much at the very least.'

"Edward," Archer let out a sigh that contained such bitterness that his usual cynical tone could even hope to contain, I made a note that the servant of the bow seemed to have a knack for interrupting my thoughts and somehow guessing them to some extent. "I'm a servant. a copy of the original. I don't have any right to tell you how to live your life or what to do because I'm already dead." Even the word 'dead' seemed to make the servant cringe, "choice is not for the dead because it's the luxury of the living…its consequences are also naturally for the later rather than the former."

There was so much age and wisdom within Emiya's words that I could not possibly find myself to replay; Death didn't make those who had tasted it suffer; it was the living that always mourned the passing of the dead, not the other-way around. Ironic that they were also ones who dealt with the consequences of those passed away.

"But then what does that make me? I'm a dead demigod whose soul was supposed to have been anywhere else but the body of a brain-dead boy." I mused, wondering what kind of answer the counter-guardian would give to my words before quickly discarding it in the recognition that now was not the time for my occasional philosophical questions and riddles.

"We both know that's not the point," Archer's response left no room for arguments, as expected. "I'm thankful that you listen to my opinions and words but at the end it's your choice to make, it's not my call but yours." The finger that he pointed at me was as pointed as the many noble-phantasm armaments that the counter-guardian had within his noble phantasm. "And right now the choice that you have to make is simple; you have to gather yourself and then find a way to get us back into the game or else we'll be toast, literally."

"That's the problem, Emiya." I answered back, "there is no game to go back to because neither of us can play the same game that the wizard marshal is playing against us; he's so far ahead of us that there is no chance for us to even catch-up to him, let alone winning against him in his own game." I closed my eyes for a brief-moment, thinking and wondering deeply before I opened them. "We need to flip the board; there is no other way that we can win."

Zelretch had too many pieces and too many options and too many advantages that neither of us could even begin think of; he has been playing for years, making his moves from the shadows just as I had. The difference between us came vastly in our capability of moving our pieces on the board and positioning them where they were at their best and most advantageous to our aims, the wielder of kaleidoscope was so far ahead that I couldn't do anything even now that I knew about his possible intent and involvement.

His actions and movements were covered in the unknown far too deeply then mine; the resources and options available to him were leagues above what I could muster, and finely-his pieces had already been placed within the board. Turning it into their own territory where I couldn't even hope to make a move without picking-up a rock and throwing it at my own foot at the end.

I was outclassed, outmaneuvered and outsmarted. I was defeated by all rights and rules if I were to continue playing Zelretch's game, it would only be a matter of time.

But unfortunately for that self-proclaimed king of pranksters, I wasn't going to be playing by rights and rules.

"Flipping the board on the one that is said to be the incarnation of chaos and madness…" Archer wondered-out loud, not impressed by my words. "That's a bold claim, even for you."

"Not exactly," I disagreed instantly, "you see, Zelretch is not the only one that knows how to throw a screw-driver into other people's lives." I scowled at the mention of screw-drivers and Zelretch's uncanny skill in their use; he could bring out all the screw-drivers in his arsenal for all I cared, I had boxes of dynamite under my bed and workshop that were just begging to be used and I wasn't afraid to use all of them in one go by stashing them under the wizard marshal's imaginary throne and light the fuse.

"Whatever we do to that old bag of bones, he can do far worse to us." Archer said ruefully, "besides, what are you going to do to him exactly? Send Lorelei after him?"

"We can't involve Lorelei into this, she will have our heads if she finds out that someone has stolen from her family vaults and had used something that was supposed to be destroyed a long time ago." I smiled in response to archer's interest in hearing my answer, "I'm going to show Zelretch his greatest and most dangerous foe that he has ever faced."

"And who is that?" archer asked while leaning forward a bit in anticipation of my answer towards his question, "Someone who can rival the wizard-marshal of kaleidoscope? This I have to see."

"Oh, you'll see soon enough." I promised with certainty and confidence that left no room for doubt. "That blood-drinking prankster is soon going to meet his match. I just need to make a call."

In the future, I would look back and think about this decision as the moment that everything was set into motion. Little knowing of the journey that it would set all of us on, the paths we'd unintentionally take, or the world that we'd eventually bring crashing down.

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XXX~XoX~XXX

Author note:

I have to admit that writing this chapter was a challenge itself because the amount of things that I wanted to introduce to the readers and the times which I had to delete the whole chapter and rewrite it again was simply so frustrating that words couldn't even begin to describe the amount of headaches that I had to nurse. So I'm just going to keep this author note organized and cleaned for both my sake and those that wish to read it.

Introduction of type-moon's favorite character called archer: if some of my dear readers have visited the type-moon wiki you might notice that the first-rated character within the fate series is no one other than our favorite white-haired archer. I have read through his Bio, Personality and abilities sections but still there were many things that were confusing especially when it came to his personality and interaction. In one hand he is a bit like Shirou Emiya and on the other hand he is like himself, it just got confusing in my sort of ways that I instantly recognized that it would be a cause of problem for the Readers to understand him.

Simply put, i decided to roll-up my sleeves and so something which I had intended to do since starting the reincarnation cycle project. I humanized archer through Realistic logic, reason and experience. Technically speaking, archer's role within the fate stay night was mostly either as a side-character (fate stay night 1) and antagonist that was used as a stepping stone for Shirou Emiya (fate stay night unlimited blade works)

I don't know about the archer within the heaven's feel because I had only see the first part of the movie and the rest will come out who knows when.

As you can see; I didn't have much material to work with and give the readers the character that they wanted, reading the type-moon wiki could only get you so far…I hope that I had done an excellent job in introducing archer into this work by dedicating a whole chapter to building his personality, interaction and experience gained through past including His feelings, his fears and his ways of thinking.

If not…well, then I apologize and will try to do better from now on.

This chapter was important for the story it give a more in-depth look into the man called counter-guardian Emiya, or at least I hope it was as I had intended it to be.

Reality Marble theories and workings: this was another source of headaches for me because the type-moon wiki page that explained about its concept and workings were just too complicated and made little sense in my opinion. The explanation was just too-vague and flexible for a power that is supposed to be possessed by a Main Character, that was why I had used the interaction between archer and Edward as a way to clear-out the explanation and make it more understandable not just for the audience but also for myself.

No disrespect but the chance of confusion was just too high and a material that the audience doesn't know or can't understand is just a waste on the page in my opinion (I certainly didn't understand it well even after reading the type-moon wiki about reality marble). The author of all stories must write in a way where the audience can be excited and be interested into the story otherwise it would be abandoned at the middle of it, confusion destroys interest and that is not something that I'm going to tolerate in my projects.

The author must treat all the audience in a way that means they are not familiar with canon-knowledge; that's why you need to describe characters, give reasonable shape to their personalities and powers.

Example: Shirou Emiya entered into a room

If a reader isn't familiar with one called Shirou Emiya, he or she will have to either visit the wiki-page or look to the character named 'Shirou Emiya' through the internet.

That is completely unacceptable in any form or shape that you want to describe it, that's a rookie mistake that has seen stories being abandoned more than once and don't even get me started on the writer's blocks.

That's why I had planned the whole lecture that Edward give to EMIYA; This way the audience will be more familiarized with one of the Main character's powers, be introduced to the concept of reality marbles and will be more excited about the possible development of it in the future.

Best of all, I planned the whole thing in a way which happened as a conversation-interaction between Edward and EMIYA. That's means that I had dodged having the MC monologue to readers for goodness knows how long.

(Here is an important advice: best powers are normally introduced through conversations and interactions between a character that doesn't know about it and the other character which is explaining about it. That's why we see so many villains in the anime/manga and films explain about their powers to one another, it's a form of audience attraction that works on anything including revealing pasts, powers and ways of thinking which a character is supposed to think)

The importance of Power and the difference of Class-cards which many have mistaken: I have read many fan fictions and some of them just throw around powers like candy towards Main Characters without any thought about how they are going to use them and make them more interesting. They just give one power after another until the MC is simply bloated with so many that the author doesn't know where to even begin while the audience lose interest in the main character that is unreasonably OP.

One of the reasons why we all read and like characters is because of their powers and their interaction towards the events and the world around them through their use. Categorization is the key to building a character that not just interests the audience but also makes the author love to write about them.

If you're going to give you're Main Character power or powers, think first about what kind of character you are going to build and what kind of power are you going to give them with. What does this power do to them? Will it make them interesting or will it just be accepted willy-nilly without any kind of consequence or effect on the Main character's personality or physical body? The former is the key that you should focus on and the latter is a trap that I have seen many falling into, unfortunately.

Example: The Hulk is one of the most powerful Marvel character within his respective universe, able to grow more powerful as he goes more berserk. What has this power done to its owner which is the scientist called Doctor Bruce banner? It has made him public enemy number one with the military and the whole host of troubles that haunt him whenever he goes.

With great power might come great responsibility but it also most certainly comes with a great-price too; look at one piece, Devil fruits are mystical fruits that will change your whole physiology and give you powers if you eat them. However the same devil fruits will make you unable to swim and will turn water into you're most mortal enemy where it can kill you by paralyzing you're whole body, just jump into the sea and you'll be good as gone.

See what I mean? That's how you give powers, you think about their functions and their limitations along with the effects that they have on their users.

Now, when I introduced the Class-card implementation power-up what did I add to it? I made it for what it was. Please think about it, what is more terrifying then being changed both in Personality, mind and body due to a power that you have? What about the one you are becoming and what will you see when you finely start to experience the memories of your future-self? Will there something left of you or are you going to become a whole different person?

That's called the fear of the unknown; H.P Lovecraft knew it best, and he wrote horror novels with it.

Now what are the weaknesses of the class-cards installed? They only provide you with 50% percent physical prowess increase. Means that you don't have the power of a servant (that means no bench-pressing buildings for you, Edward.) and that's just one of but the many short-comings that comes from class-cards, I have give even a hint about one of the many side-effects of the class-cards if you have read the conversation between Edward and EMIYA Carefully when he asks about the class-cards, personality disorder and the development of second personalities is a series issue here, and they're not even the tip of the ice-berg.

….i have grown tired to the amount of PM that are asking me if I'm going to turn Edward 'overpowered' or Nerf his powers through explainable reason. The answer to all these questions is a big 'NO' that I hope will shed some light for everyone.

Seriously, giving the one-hundred percent power of a heroic spirit to a master? Then what am I doing introducing servants into this story?

That's one of the most important things about giving you're MC Powers, make sure that it's not the kind of power that robs the other characters of their spotlights and roles.

Nerf and downplay Edward's powers? Then what's the point of introducing class-cards?

You all thought that I was just going to take the excitement out of Edward's powers like that? that's not going to happen because here ladies and gentlemen, we have masters implemented with class-cards and with all of them their own noble phantasms (thinking about the Noble phantasms that Rin Tohsaka, Sakura Matou and even Luviagelita are going to possess is probably enough to make you wonder what I have in store for the future right?) so that means that there can no such thing as a character becoming OP When there are others with similarly conceptual powers.

Edward is not Over-powered, not when he isn't the only one with conceptual powers and mastered abilities. There are many characters in this story and I'm not ashamed to admit they are powerful in their own right and interesting in their own way.

The issue of Zelretch: as you all saw in this chapter, the wizard-marshal him-self is also on the move with unknown intents and agendas. He is now part of this story and for the life of me, I couldn't find a better person to play the role of the ultimate manipulator and foe that Edward could not find a way to beat.

His appearance in this story is as a main character and not some side-show character that I have seen many respectable authors use; I like to see if anyone now tries to call Edward OP when we have Zelretch here.

If you know someone who can rival Zelretch the wizard marshal (Gilgamesh not included, that guy is just meant to be powerful beyond measure. No objections here.) Let me know.

End of the author note: all-right, a lot of things happened in this chapter. We get to read about Edward's past-life and Counter guardian Emiya's. Character personalities and powers were built and a lot of other things that is just too much for me to write here.

Please read, review and leave your comments.

This is titan of war, signing out.

Word count for this chapter: 22,020