Forward Unto Dawn
Chapter 10: Ardipithecus ramidus
"So that is the man we've been looking for?"
It was a dark and dimly lit room. The person who posed the question, like all others, were black and hazy, almost as if they were made of mist. And it was true they were almost made of mist, in fact, they were nothing more then projections, holographic projections used as a conference call. Their silhouette showed little features, but from what could be seen, the person who posed the question had his hair slicked back.
The room had a circular table within it, a sort of donut where a big circle had its inside carved out, and there sat twelve people, or twelve holograms for that matter. The atmosphere was ominous, truly ominous, a sort of dark and heavy air that seemed to constantly drift through the room. The twelve sat there, looking at each other, then the man asked again, "So this is the man we've been looking for?"
Another man, a nondescript man answered his question, "Yes, it is. This man here is codename Arthur." The empty circle within the table displayed pictures of a certain silver haired man.
Multitudes of pictures continued to circle around so each member could have a look, the truth was, these people had already seen the files, this display is nothing more than decency.
"We've been tracking PANDORA Kazuha Aoi for weeks now, from the first time she called him 'Codename Arthur' to the most recent development at the North, we have it all recorded."
"And why is it no one wanted to inform me of this?" A man with a cigarette asked rudely, if one didn't know him they'd think it was arrogance, then again, maybe it was arrogance.
"There was no reason to, we were not sure, it's only until recent developments that we are sure of his identity."
"His lack of you mean." The personal who asked the first question commented.
The shadow seemed to nod in agreement, "Indeed, his lack of identity. Or actually, his lack of identity which seemed to suddenly appear just over a week ago. Giving us some information, shedding light on who this individual might be."
"An accomplished hacker?" A female voice asked.
There was a nod from the person doing most of the explaining up to now, "Yes, more than likely, this information is far from legitimate, but let's humor ourselves."
"Indeed."
"Shirou Emiya, born on December twelfth, 2038, twenty three years of age. Japanese, identification issued in the Japanese Embassy in England, records on school clean, attended British schools and decided not to go to college. Grades less than stellar, but somewhat above average, conclusion, a very normal guy."
The elven other people nodded, then the man with the cigarette spoke, "No doubt falsified, a man with a simple history but an exceptional repertoire of skills. Skills that can defeat a NOVA. What are your conclusions on that Aoi-san?"
"From what the recording show, "Codename Arthur", also known as Shirou Emiya used some sort of beam weapon against the NOVAs, however, further studies show that is not exactly the case." The hologram in the middle showed a silver haired man waving a golden sword. Light the same color of the sword poured out of the blade, engulfing not only the weapon but the man. With a hefty wave Shirou Emiya made an upwards cut sending a ray of golden light at the two NOVAs standing side by side.
The image was paused, revealing that the pillar of light was not in fact a pillar of light, but an extension of the sword itself.
"As you can see, honorable councilmembers, the blade he holds seem to extend, albeit with destructive powers far beyond what we are currently able to achieve. The pillar of light is a misconception, the real power is within the steel that made the blade and mechanics that was used to make it grow."
He paused a bit, letting the hologram switch to Shirou Emiya performing all sorts of maneuvers with his blade. The arrows near the bottom the pillar faced left with '*4' on it, telling the audience that the video was in fact four times slow motion.
The man, now named Aoi-san continued, "During the fight, subject Shirou Emiya showed physical growth, from what recordings has shown," The slow motion of the man changed into the slow motion of a man under thermo scope. "As you can see, the red spots is heat, and having a body so heated is actually unnatural. Please, fellow councilmembers, compare it with this."
The hologram changed to several PANDORAs they are well acquainted with, the four 'Numbers' of West Genetics. Changing into thermo scope it showed the same red blobs on the PANDORAs.
"Subject Shirou Emiya uses some sort of self-augmentations similar yet different from what PANDORAs use. It seems to use a similar source of energy, however, Subject Shirou Emiya shows no signs of having any stigmatas." It was clear from the visual that the red coloring in the PANDORAs all came from specific points, but contrasting with the video with Shirou Emiya, the heat seemed to cover his entirety.
"Subject Shirou Emiya's usage of the same energy PANDORAs use, presumable connected with NOVAs, is similar yet different. From what we have studied the augmentations provided by the stigmatas is quite limited and hard to control. From what Subject Emiya Shirou has shown, he has near perfect control over his powers and the energy coming from him seems uniformed, controlled, and organized. Very different from the energy currently used by our PANDORAs."
The hologram switched again to show a black projectile impacting the NOVA, piercing its protective force field and nearly toppling the 200-meter monstrosity. "The third and final point of our studies is the first action Subject Shirou Emiya performed. Due to the fact he was outside observation range we cannot conclude exactly what kind of projectile he used, whether he fired it from a launcher or conventional weapon for example rifle, but what we can study is the projectile he employed."
The moving picture of a pin-like object impacting the NOVAs shields was paused. Upon zooming in it was revealed that the object in question was some sort of black spiral. Another change in the visuals showed the thermo scope focusing on the projectile, showing an angry red radiating from the spiral leaking into the air until the whole thing was covered by some sort of red mist.
"From our observations and conclusions, the projectile in question is similar to an ancient javelin, maybe even an arrow of sorts. It's twisted shape and spiral body gives it additional airspeed," a small screen popped up showing a black and white 3D creation of a spiral spiraling in the air, "From common physics it is obvious that the design of the projectile is meant for airspeed and penetration. Through continuous rotations in the air, with the corkscrew effect it achieves speed and velocity greater than it would have if it was simply shot at a target. Incidentally, traces of the same energy used by Subject Emiya Shirou could be found on the projectile itself, well, more than traces. It seems like some sort of overload effect, where he overloads the projectile allowing it to detonate as it did after impact."
The screen unfroze and the black spiral cut through the air until it was almost stopped by an invisible field. After it cut through the defenses and impacted the armor of the NOVA, it detonated creating a large explosion that almost toppled the offending NOVA.
"These three points conclude our current understanding of Subject Emiya Shirou, from what we can see he employs abilities well beyond our scope of comprehension, his abilities is essential to the survival of mankind in the next clash, and should be procured at the earliest opportunity."
"Thank you Gengo, indeed, this man, this Emiya Shirou, he must be brought in from examination, with him we will be able to progress in leaps and bounds. With him…"
"We will do nothing Mr. Spencer. We will do nothing." The cigarette man stopped the man who started the conversation by interrupting him.
"But Commander Phantomime, you can't mean..."
The man known as Phantomime nodded, "Yes, we will adopt a wait-and-see policy. He posses exceptional powers, it would be troubling if he turns against us instead of working with us."
"Even so…" He was stopped again as the commander raised a hand.
He shook his head again at Spenser's question, "For generations no one's ever touched the North, there is a reason Chevalier never goes to the North, from what I heard from my predecessors it's because no one messes with the North. No one knows why but it's always been like that."
"I see."
"No you don't see, Undersecretary Mark Spencer, I will not stop you if you choose to take action, but remember this, any failures will be your responsibility, heed my warning or not, it doesn't really matter, just clean up after yourself."
"Yes sir."
The room lit up, and just as sudden as the room filled with people the shadows disappeared. There was no sound, nothing but a slight beeping of a machine located within the room. All was silent and peaceful.
For once since she had known him, Kazuha Aoi wished she knew Shirou Emiya's number.
Kazuha ran for Izumo Inn. She ran as fast as she could. She needed to tell him, tell him something important.
Tell him they're coming.
Three platoons of nine dozen PANDORAs, more than one hundred PANDORAs from both East and West, one hundred PANDORAs both sophomore and seniors with a few graduates mixed in the middle. One hundred PANDORAs, with one mission, to capture Shirou Emiya, dead or alive.
She needed to tell him.
She needed to warn him.
She wasn't called for the hunt, none of the 'Numbers' were.
She was the fastest, but her augmented powers doesn't have much staying power. She had speed for a split second, moving well past the speed of sound, but she can't continuously stay at such speed.
They went in nine armored trucks, she saw them load on. Three platoons. Three damned platoons. Armored vehicles weren't that fast, Kazuha was much faster, but they kept their speed and she didn't.
As she approached the Northern parts of Tokyo she could already see nine shining lights moving a distance in front of her. No doubt those are the armored vehicles the PANDORAs had been sent on. She tried, she really tried to catch up, but even her best efforts could not sustain the distance needed to get to where she was headed.
Kazuha stared in horror as the lights stopped. Stopped at a specific place. Not Izumo Inn from what she could tell, but not that far off anyways. But it stopped. Then all was quite.
They're coming. I could feel it. It wasn't really a sixth sense or anything, just a simple boundary field set in a two mile radius. It's a really simple spell, a small bounded field that pretty senses ill intent and tells me. Something similar to what I had in Fuyuki in my childhood home. With my expertise in runes it really wasn't that hard, it wasn't as if I was going to make them do anything other than alerting me. There were probably a thousand different ways to set up something better than this, but whatever, who really cared. I didn't want to do something too big like legitimately setting up a workshop, that isn't something I wanted to do. What I needed was something simple, hard to detect, and still useful.
I sensed them, from what I can feel, there are way more than a hundred people. Each had prana within them, most likely PANDORAs. From the way they're moving they seemed to be in some sort of transport organized in nine blocks of people, some sort of truck I would guess.
Humans. How I hate humans.
Traitorous humans.
I really hate them.
They discriminate against whatever they cannot understand. They wish to understand, and to understand they will do anything.
They would do anything for their own benefits, even subjugate those who had helped them.
They go through this world as if they are kings, flaunting their powers to change nature, flaunting their power and intelligence over other lower species. Yet they don't even know the fundamental truth. How they are killing themselves.
Gaea doesn't take change lightly, in fact she hates change, and mankind is the catalyst for change.
How very deplorable, speeding their own demise.
I wonder why I continue to defend them.
I wonder why I still have the drive to save them.
Maybe the world is a lie, and I'm the only fool following its scripts.
Sometimes in the midst of bloodshed I wonder why I am so foolish. To fight for such traitorous beings.
So I can die on my hill made of swords? So I can face my own demise? To stand saving, to die saving? Ha. How deplorable, in the end I am a traitor. A traitor to my own beliefs, a traitor to my future self. I pledged not to become what he became. I thought I was something different. But all that's a lie. I stayed true to a borrowed ideal, never straying from a path of corruption, never changing, never yielding. So I can die on my own hill made of swords.
How deplorable.
But it is I.
I readied myself, a nostalgic feeling as I put on my black armor and red cloak. I felt the metal seemingly hug my body, giving me protection. I've always felt somewhat invulnerable in my battle garbs. My mantle was different, made from a holy shroud it protects me from the environment. Now even with my window opened I cannot feel the chill of the night's breeze, instead it was warm, protected, a presence that seemed to welcome me and comfort me even in the deepest times of war.
I could feel the familiar hum of od course within my body, a sort of 'right' feeling that flowed through my circuits. I could feel the organized flow of energy spread within my body, my torso, my limbs, my eyes, it was wild yet tamed, contained within me.
With my now reinforced body I leaped out of the open window to intercept my enemies.
Open space, combat, a good place to die.
These three things popped into my mind as I stood by one of the many demolishing fields a good distance from Izumo Inn. Due to the depopulation of the North after several NOVA clashes, many residential buildings in the North were actually demolished or in the process of being demolished. Therefore, it's really easy to find large spaces filled with half standing buildings, ruins from the previous generations.
And therefore here I stand on top of what used to be a moderately tall building probably around seven stories from the looks of the foundation. I stand here, on high ground with my bow already traced, my body reinforced. I could see my enemies with my strengthened eyes, nine very heavy looking vehicles, they do look like those armored trucks I've seen before, but from the looks of it they are a bit more advanced then the trucks they used during my time.
I debated whether to use lethal or nonlethal force when dealing with the inevitable clash. On one hand I really don't want to kill women and girls, but on the other hand I really would like to stay out of whatever they have planned for me.
It really is a hard decision, or at least it is a hard decision as Emiya Shirou, but as EMIYA, it is clear what I had to do.
I've had many people tell me I'm kind of scary, kind of psychopathic and bipolar since I can switch between being kind and being a cold blooded murderer in a snap of my fingers. But that only really comes from my nonmagi contacts. Most of my more magical colleagues in the past are just like me, however, for the normal ones it's really easy to discern who's a veteran and who's not. Generally speaking, those who are less tense tend to have survived more conflicts, people who are really tensed and have loads of visible weapons are mostly noobs.
Even amongst magi, it's usually those who're either empty handed or have only few weapons are the strong ones. Because mercenaries tended not to hail from prominent families, most fought on the front lines through mastery and tricks. Those who survived a lot and are more comfortable hide it, hide their killing intent, hide their lethality. In regards to these fighters it's really easy to tell who's the experienced ones.
But even amongst magi there's generally a clear distinction between personalities by people, rarely will you find the monsters who can adapt like me. Like me, There's the really experienced ones, who are jovial before battle and cold during battle. Those are the super experienced ones, able to juggle between saving your mind and being business like. Yes, those who can live outside the battlefield are those who found a way to deal with the stress we face every time we fight, it takes a while, some have sex, others drink or smoke, as for me, I smoke and carve runes.
I am a monster. It is a fact I normally hate embracing, but in times like this when combat is absolutely necessary, I have no problems with what I have become. How hypocritical of me, to hate yet love myself. It is how I have always been, I love who I was, I love Shirou Emiya, or more like I loved the idea of Shirou Emiya, a man who wanted to be a hero. But out of necessity I have become EMYIA, a deity that only knows how to solve problems through death.
How pitiful.
I am indeed a pitiful existence.
Taking my hand that I absentminded ran through my hair of my head I focused. I allowed my pupils to recalibrate to the distance. The shining lights approaching at a fast pace.
I snickered. A sad laugh.
By now I'm sure they've already realized where I am and where I'm going to hold our meeting. I did hear they have these cameras in the sky, I'm sure they have it aimed right at me, I'm sure they will stop.
And stop they did. Nine trucks, surrounding the deserted neighborhood I had chosen to be our battleground. Their numbers will only be a hindrance, more like it's a double sided blade. On one hand they can flush me out with enough teamwork, but on the other hand without enough teamwork I can pick them off easily in such urban setting. So I'm really just betting they don't have enough teamwork to counter me with so much cover.
I saw them spread out, fanning into small teams of twos or threes, it's not a bad option, but it'll most likely be the reason they fail. The better option would be to turtle in big groups waiting for me to come out on my own, that way everyone's accounted for, with sufficient cover it's the best tactic against someone who can move fast and hit-and-run. But I already know they have issues with teamwork, PANDORAs are essentially built for one-on-one fighting, or more like they were trained to do so but most of the time end up having to team up against a NOVA.
I knew that, having seen them in action before. I knew their teamwork is faulty at best, their numbers will only be a disadvantage.
I steeled my heart for what I'm about to do.
Nocking my bow with a nameless sword I aimed. It was a guy, a normal guy. Or is it? I really don't know, but all is fair in love and war, here. It matters not, I remembered only females can be PANDORAs, but it seems like there are guys partnering with the PANDORAs. Who knows.
I let it go. By the time I let the arrow go I already knew it would strike my target. I already imagined it striking true, and indeed it did.
"Kyaaa..." I could hear a distance scream, the scream of a PANDORA seeing her partner get skewered in the heart. First shot, heart shot.
Second shot. Headshot.
I let another arrow go, again striking against the intended target.
Then I moved, relocated.
This is my tactic. To engage at far range in the cover of the night, but from what I can see in the distance, flying helicopters with large spotlights mounted on it, my cover of darkness will be broken soon. Better make the best use of it.
I aimed for a PANDORA after moving to another roof. This time I was closer, so I went directly for the head.
Maybe it was the light reflecting off my metallic arrow that alerted her, but she pushed her partner down and parried my arrow with the angry looking lance in her hand. Yes. Lance, not a spear, not a pike, but a big, badass lance. It was most likely longer than her height, thicker than her arms. The black lance she held was almost ironic. Yes, it's almost funny to see a weak looking girl holding a deadly lance and also waving said big lance in the air fast enough to deflect my arrow.
But well my mind was busy complementing said girl my body reacted by letting loose a hail of arrows this time, and despite her strength and skill with her weapon she ended up on the ground like a pincushion. Another shot put her partner out of his misery.
Then I moved again.
I can't remember exactly how many times this process repeated itself, how many PANDORAs and their partners I had killed. But I know by the time their light arrived I have killed quite a few. There were bodies strewn on the ground, blood pooling from the corpses. There were many dead, but many more alive to kill.
I feel no joy. I feel no happiness in killing another. I feel no enjoyment in taking another's life.
But I have to do so anyways.
They pushed me. And to me, a push comes a shove.
And as Newton's third law of physics says, ' When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body.'
They're here to either kill or capture me and I intend to do the same, maybe not the capturing part, I really don't need prisoners, but I can do the killing part. Quite well in fact.
There was a blinding light. The floodlights mounted on those helicopters were really an annoyance, I really wanted to shoot them down, they expose my location, but I can't bring myself to waste prana to take out something I can avoid with enough caution. It really isn't really worth it, my enemies are getting used to my tactic, instead of going alone they stuck together covering for each other, they blocked for their teammates, they fought as a unit. A poorly put together unit in my opinion, but it still puts me in a disadvantageous situation.
I traced my two trusty swords Kanshou and Bakuya, the twin simitars that had followed me through countless battles, and jumped down into a clearing ready to spring into action. I touched the ground softly, swords drawn, my red cloak billowing before me, my gray eyes piercing everything within my sight. I was ready.
The first group I met was a group of five PANDORAs and five regular looking guys with strange pupils and prana flowing through their bodies, from what it seemed like there was a link between a guy and a girl, the girl feeds prana into the guy almost like how one would use a conceptual weapon, but I digress. With a quick dash I was immediately in front of them, and I dispatched two PANDORAs with quick strikes disemboweling them before they could respond, then I was frozen.
More accurately, there was a sort of expanding blight to the world, a sort of field that seemed to freeze prana and in affect my motor skills. Wait. Freezing. Yes. This was it. This was the field deployed by the NOVAs, a field that slowed the movement of prana to a point that it affected motor skills, a near permanent stun. I remember this. It was a deadly weapon deployed by the NOVAs, but as a survivor, or not really a survivor but I'm still standing, I like all others, learned how to deal with the slowing field effectively.
I ran my od through my body, increasing the flow of od into my reinforcement of my body. But then unlike how I normally try to retain as much od as possible, not letting it out of my circuits to remain efficient when using my reinforcement, I let it out, I let it saturate the air around me, creating a block of condensed od. This was the key, od. Most magi uses mana in the world around us to utilize their mysteries. Albeit they can't use a lot of it since mana cannot be efficiently manipulated by mere man. Even so, magi tend to use mana instead of od, and after generations of using mostly mana, not many actually consciously use od. There is od used to counteract the mana used in order to create a false sense of equilibrium, but as I said false, there needs to be more mana in order for the mystery, which is based off using mana, to actualize.
So because of this many magi tried to use mana in order reduce the effects of the freezing field. But the problem is mana is much more susceptible to outside influence since it is energy of the world around us. Unlike od which is easy for the user to manipulate but hard for outsiders to affect since it is essentially a person's life force. So the problem was using something easy to change to block something that changes prana. Smart right? Well, sometimes magi do lack common sense, we're cool that way.
It wasn't until Aoko joined the fray before I did that she managed to use her od to counter the effects. Yes she uses a lot of od, but she wasn't able to last since her 'magic launcher' still primarily uses mana, her usage of od isn't really offensive, she just can use it as a sorcerer.
Which is why I was left stuck on the battlefield battling something probably four hundred times my size. Seriously, pick on something your own size. We puny humans can't do much, but I digress.
The moment my block stabilized and his freezing effects wore off almost immediately, he was surprised and shouted, "He knows anti-fr." And I sliced through his throat. I'm not really sure what he wanted to say but truth to be told I'm not really interested.
I made short work of the rest, maiming them instead of killing, to tell the truth I find killing a lot more merciful. To a warrior to be maimed is worse then death. It is to be worthless, to not be able to hold a weapon.
Then I kept going. Using their confusion and my speed to the fullest effects. I sped through the crisscross of ruined buildings, sped through my hunting grounds decimating my foes. I kept them alive when I could, but when I can't, well...that's just too bad.
Nearly an hour later there was no longer shouting, no longer movements around me. Yes. I was alone.
Always alone, intoxicated with victories, upon a hill made of swords.
How absolutely fitting.
There were bodies everywhere.
There were traced steel spread all around me.
I stood upon an elevated land, what's left of a ruined home.
Yes. How very fitting.
My victory felt hollow.
Not even once retreating, not even once being victorious.
How very fitting.
The chant of two man.
Two man who gave their life for what they believed in.
Two man that gave their existence for a foolish dream.
A foolish ideal.
A dream I believed in.
A dream I still believe in.
Humans are hypocritical creatures.
And despite my body being one of pseudo-divinity, I am at heart a human.
She sped across the chose battlefield, blood covering her vision.
'Could he have done this?'
'No, it had to be him.'
'But. Why?'
'No. No. No. He couldn't have.'
'No.'
It was a field of swords. A field of corpses.
Blood and fire.
Bodies lay strewn on the ground, some still moving, some not yet dead, some just not registering they have died.
She doubled over with vomit and bile coming out of her mouth.
Tears stained her eyes.
It was a nightmare.
It was hell.
It was hell on Earth.
There were swords.
There were corpses.
There were swords and corpses.
She felt alone.
'But can I blame him?'
'Was he wrong to retaliate?'
'Was he wrong?'
'What should I do?'
She kept walking forward.
Crossing River Styx into the underworld.
There were bodies.
Deceased.
It was hell.
And the king of hell stood tall.
Red cloak flowing from his shoulders.
Black armor.
Silver hair.
He looked regal.
Stained with blood.
Like a demon lord.
Like a maou.
He was a monster.
No.
He was a sword.
And he just fulfilled his purpose.
To shed blood.
He stood tall and proud.
Surveying the devastation before him.
She approached him.
Slowly, unsteadily.
He turned, noticing her presence.
"Kazuha?" Shirou Emiya was the one to break the uneasy silence between the two.
The PANDORA with long, dark blue hair approached him, an uneasy smile on her lips.
He looked at her. Under the light, the unnatural lighting of the surrounding. She looked beautiful, unnaturally so.
She looked at him. Fear and doubt creeping into her heart. He looked evil, a monster, no, not a monster, but a sword. He did what he had to, not because he enjoyed it.
There was a sad smile on his face, a feeling of remorse from what he had done.
No, he did not stand tall in pride. He stood tall to feel guilt. To see the full extent of the damage he had done. To accept his sins in order to repay it later.
She understood him. His guilt. His remorse. So she continued to approach him.
They stood facing each other. Close enough almost to touch, close.
She looked up at him. He looked down at her.
They both had tears in their eyes. Both had remorseful smiles.
It was silent.
The only sound being the breeze that blew through Tokyo at night.
There was silence.
Then there was blood.
"I'm sorry."
It was so sudden.
It was so fast.
It was so sudden and fast.
There was no time to react.
No time to move out of the way.
No time.
It was so fast.
It was only a flash.
A quick movement.
Then it all ended.
The story of Kazuha Aoi and Shirou Emiya ended.
In one fluid motion.
It hurts.
It hurts.
It hurts.
It hurts.
It hurts.
My eyes settled on her beautiful face.
Her tear stained face.
Her eyes.
Then I looked down.
The blade protruding from my abdomen.
It hurts.
Not just physically.
Not just physical pain.
She betrayed me.
It hurts.
She looked at Shirou.
His silver white hair.
His lanky body.
The knife sticking out of his stomach.
She looked at him and gave a sad smile.
"I'm sorry."
She saw it all. Her katana in her hands.
Her eyes flashed red. No, it had been red the whole time.
The anger. The agony.
The pain.
The betrayal.
The treachery.
That woman.
But no, she was powerless.
Her hands clutched on the handle of her sword.
She was powerless.
Domesticated.
Civilized.
She could not act.
So she left, tears streaming down her face.
Another one she cared for fell.
Another failure on her part.
Another death in a low line of deaths.
She was truly powerless.
Humans are such treacherous creatures.
I snickered thinking of the irony.
How I had once died, abandoned, alone on a field of swords.
Was I betrayed, yes. I was left.
I was alone, all alone to face a behemoth.
I died to those I tried to protect.
I did not save them out of the goodness of my heart. There was no such kindness.
Not after her death.
I died fighting because I was forced to fight.
Because I was the only one willing to fight.
Because all my comrades left me.
All alone.
It's so cold.
I could feel a warm sensation run down my body. From my midsection to my legs.
A salty and warm liquid trickled down my lips. I could taste the iron in my blood.
Yes. I am steel.
I don't know why I try to save mankind.
I don't know why I believe I could save the world.
A life for a life.
That is the rule.
If you try to break the rules.
But the world will find a way you.
With my fleeting consciousness I looked at her.
Looked at the woman that resembled Sakura so much.
Miya resembled her in looks, but Kazuha resembled her in heart.
The steel within both of them.
They knew what needed to be done.
And here Kazuha knew I needed to be ended.
Yes. The steel she had, so much like Sakura.
I snickered at the irony.
I betrayed Sakura.
Now I was betrayed by Sakura.
An endless gyre.
A cycle of hatred.
A chain that cannot be broken.
I snickered.
Blood trickled down from my lips.
She put her arms around me and her face into my chest.
It felt nice.
It was warm.
Warmer then the steel that is my heart.
Warmer then the cold steel that made me.
In the end I couldn't blame her.
I hate her, but I can't blame her.
Humans are such treasonous creatures.
She went back to Izumo Inn with a box. A box with a cake in it.
Throughout the weeks she had become friends with the landlady known as Miya Asama.
With Emily they would visit Audrey a lot, and in the process visit Miya. They had a lot to talk about. About being woman, and more importantly about the missing tenant. The man known as Emiya Shirou.
Miya was so nice. She was so lovely, so kind to Kazuha Aoi.
If only she knew the truth.
In a white room there stood a tube. A glass cylinder taller than any man, reaching from the ceiling to the floor.
It was filled with green liquid with bubbles occasionally floating with in it.
Groups of people in white lab coats continue to pace around the tube. Reading machine interfaces with complicated words and numbers.
They continued to swarm around the tube of green liquid.
It was opaque, the liquid. One cannot really see what laid within it.
The day was over. The scientist streamed out one by one.
It was after the last man left that what was inside the tube floated and knocked on the glass of the tube. Due the the close proximity one could see what the cylinder housed.
It was a man. A man with white, spiky hair. A man with closed eyes, a star shaped scar blemishing the skin on his chest. The left side of his chest, just slightly left, above what would equate to his heart.
He floated there, eyes closed, unaware of the world around him.
Outside the cylinder there was a steel sign. 'Project Arthur: A. ramidus'.
His eyelids twitched for a moment, it didn't open, just twitched, then all was still.
For the brief moment of consciousness I had I could only think of one thing.
I am truly alone.
A/N:
So this marks the end of the first arc
So time skip, also means a time skip for me working
Anyone interested in advising an arc name for it can PM me.
It's a shortish chapter, I couldn't write fighting.
If you wanted a fight, it'd take at least another week, and truthfully I didn't want to wait.
So yeah, kind of a plot twist.
A. ramidus is what could be the earliest primate, or root of homo sapiens, our first ancestor
I bs-ed it a bit about od and mana, correct me on pm if I'm wrong, but yeah, it's not gonna change, on sidenote I'd really like to know the real shit about it.
Read and Review, makes me feel loved
-Wiltheavatar
PS: On a sidenote I got in Waseda Unviersity :) Hell yeah