Chapter 1: It's all over but the crying
Emiya felt a strangeness in the air, this had been his 17th deployment into Jerusalem during the first crusade. The night sky was dotted with an uncountable number of stars illuminating the small town of Lydda where his assignment was to simply observe the nearby dragon and make sure that St. Geroge would be the one to slay the beast. It was a pity he thought, for dragons are becoming rarer and rare due to man's desire to kill what they don't understand, leaping from small mudbrick dwelling to the next trying to observe any signs of the beast using his enhanced speed and agility to remain mostly unseen.
Having no master to act as a mana source for him to draw upon he had to rely on local leylines and the mana Alya had given him during the beginning of his mission. Though this age was supposedly still filled with mana reserves resulting in the creation of many myths and legends Emiya felt weaker as if the air surrounding him was heavier and harder to breath in. As he reached the center of the small town he climbed the central fort where St. George and his men were residing in.
For a Counter Guardian like himself what would have taken a mere mortal hours to safely scale the side of this massive manor containing a castle as well as a church Emiya using mage craft to easily climb the sheer rock surface of the compounds outer wall, then over the battlements where he stealthily avoided two guards on patrol before running silently across the manor grounds towards the belltower on the far right corner from where he had landed after his descent from the battlements.
Strangely enough he was feeling fatigued, his spiritual body seems to be running out of mana although he had limited his use of any major magecraft to the magecraft he used to break into St. George's home. He should still have plenty of mana left considering his classification as an archer class servant by the throne of heroes who have a well-known trait for efficient mana consumption allowing them to spend weeks at a time without any for of external mana should the need arise.
He shrugged this as a weird coincidence planning on adding this to the official report to Alya once he returned from his mission.
Emiya began to scale the side of the belltower using the same mage craft he had used earlier creating magical barriers on the tips of his fingers and the surface of the wall both being opposite polarities allowing him to scale any walls even polished marble had he any need to do so.
However, with each stride he began to feel more and more exhausted to the point where when he reached the belfry, he had to physically drag him over the ledge landing hard on the stone floor a loud thud ringing all the way up to Emiya's head. He could feel the soreness slowly fading, he knew that pain was an important tool in combat. It's primary role would be to alert a combatant of near fatal injuries
"You're late, you should have been here 20 seconds ago." The voice came from a veiled woman cloaked in an ever-shifting dress it was as if you were witnessing all of human history all at the same time, her voice was also strange managing to sound clear coherent and authoritative while having a calming and motherly vibe.
"You really skimped on the mana this time, I headed straight here from Acre. It took me a day's walk without a horse or camel to arrive here." Emiya responded as he attempted to stand but he felt the gnawing sensation of his very existence being reduced to magical energy and the earth desperately trying to suck him in as if the world had become a black hole for mana.
He steadied himself on the large bell that was at the heart of the belfry. This massive bell would be rung either to signify that it was time for a mass or that the town was under attack.
Using his enhanced perception, he could see micro fractures within the bell, a sign that it had been used frequently and at almost regular intervals.
"We did not provide you with inefficient mana for your assignment." The female figure spoke to Emiya her tone shifting into one with more authority and gravitas than before as if she were trying to challenge Emiya to a verbal duel.
"What do you want, I'm doing the job aren't I? I was just about to take a look into the dragon's nest before you rudely…." Emiya never got to finish his thought as a massive spike in mana consumption began eating away at his spiritual and corporeal forms as if he was slowly vanishing like the sand in the desert blowing across the arid landscape.
Without moving the female figure appeared behind Emiya who was gasping for air as his physical body began to dissipate, she gently laid a hand on his left shoulder. Even through the millennia of service, and even though his memories of her had long since vanished in his mind he could feel Rin Tohsaka's soft and warm touch through his blessed cloak bestowed to him by the Church many years ago.
And just like that Emiya's mana depleted state seemed to instantly regenerate repairing any damage to his spiritual core and corporeal body. Emiya gasp for air and tried to move but he found himself in a statis field constructed to the exact measurements of his body freezing him and the time around him in place.
"We have much to discuss and I have no need for your attitude we will be returning to our office." As the final syllables left her mouth, she and Emiya began to levitate towards a swirling portal created by the woman. Emiya with no other options sighed in the frozen space of time he was trapped in.
AN: Hey this is my first story in a long while I stopped mostly due to mental health concerns and not being able to focus but now something is really pushing me to write this specific story about Emiya and his perilous quest to set the fallout time line right. I would love some criticism as it is an on going work and if anyone is interested enough to be an editor or someone to help me brainstorm ideas just send me a private massage and we can talk about the project don't worry this time I have an outline with an ending which is amendable to changes but I hope I can stick with this to the end.