Fate's Way
Chapter 4 - War of Old
I am the bone of my sword
My body is made of swords.
Steel is my body, and fire is my blood
My blood is of iron and my heart of glass.
I have created over a thousand blades
I have overcome countless battlefields.
Unknown to Death,
Not even once retreating,
Nor known to Life.
Not even once being understood.
Have withstood pain to create weapons, searching for the forever distant dream
Always alone atop a hill of swords, gazing upon the distant horizon
These hands would never hold it, yet neither would it stop so
Thus, his life needs no meaning.
Here lies, Unlimited Blade Works.
This body is certainly made of countless swords
Words can be a type of magic given form by the human mind
The words he spoke that day never left her mind
She didn't realize his significance to herself until it was far too late
In that war, he had served her to the best of his abilities
Not once has he retreated, nor once was he been understood
Artoria didn't think much at the time
His motivations...
His goals...
Nor his wishes...
He could've easily left her at that time, he had the power to, every reason conceivable to
But instead, he fought for her to his grave
It is at that time she realizes his identity
But it was too late, her debts will forever be left unpaid
It is one of the many regrets that lingers with her
The joys and waves of laughter, his gentle voice and smile that were ever so patient
His harsh teachings that were engraved deep onto her body
His cooking which always brings her joy
Now… Even her own has left her for a greater purpose
Went off to save people all over the world, fulfilling his lifelong dreams
She knows not where neither of them is currently at right now
But wherever they are, she hopes with all her heart that they are happy right now
She hopes her Saber reaches the dream he had promised once upon a time when he was still a boy
So at the very least, his hands would hold something, unlike another of his counterparts
And wherever her Shirou is at, she hopes he would one day return to her with a smile plastered on his face, dreams fulfilled.
Upon a great plain of grasslands, stretching for miles. Filled with patches of trees, and centuries-old castles.
Upon a hill, she stood patiently, with her blade that promises her victories planted on the ground.
There she waits forever for a time her scabbard would return to her, whilst wishing for the same end to occur for the dream her Saber holds together with his lover.
The clouds drift apart and the moon reflects light down behind.
Turning his head towards the girl, was a man of wrought iron.
The silver light that shines into the shed hardly escaped the dark article the man was clothed in
"..." The world fell silent, neither of them was talking, with the only sound being the sound of winds blowing
"Servant Saber. Upon your summoning, I have come forth." He spoke
Looking towards the bloodied girl, he felt a sense of anger seeing her in such a state, all he wants to do at the moment was comfort her, but the situation does not allow such a thing.
The memories of that fateful night fill his mind
Repeating after her words, he spoke one that would forever change the lives of many.
"I ask of you, are you my Master?" The man finishes in a valiant voice
The man of steel grey eyes met the girl of emerald green. One is filled with nothing but blades, while the other lusts for something to hatch on to.
"Ma…ster…?" She managed to repeat, her eyes is one of confusion, but at the moment she's not in her right mind.
"..." Another pause was held, as the man stares silently
Saber soon came to the realisation that the girl that is eerily similar to the knight in silver wasn't informed about the current situation she was in.
An accidental summoning, similar to how he accidentally summoned her in his youth.
"I, the Servant of the Sword have come forth to your summons. What are your orders, Master?" He once again spoke
The girl was lost in her thoughts until she slightly twitched in pain. Looking down towards her back of her left-hand lies a red mark.
He nods approvingly
"From this time forth, my sword shall be yours, henceforth your fate shall be mine. Our contract is completed."
Saber could see the lingering confusion in her eyes, though with a little insight within them, it was enough to satisfy her curiosity for now.
He turned away and looked towards the enemy spearmen standing outside with his lance ready in his hands.
The girl tried getting up from her current position but was unable to due to the extensive damage her body took while battling the same man.
"Don't worry Master, I shall deal with the enemy Servant."
Saber moves swiftly to intercept the enemy, leaping out of the shed he once again brought his blades down upon the enemy without any hesitation.
Both weapons clash with each other.
Both Heroes clash with a ferocity that cannot be replicated by men.
Sparks are born from steel hitting steel.
Saber went on the aggressive in this battle, though his fighting style is based on a more passive method, his statistics speak for themselves, with Lancer's suppressed parameters, they are roughly of the same strength and agility.
This also meant his normal style loses much of its worth in this encounter, and with both of the same agility, it meant it's far more effective to render Lancer's attacking range useless by getting close to him.
Wordlessly they battled concentrating on the other.
Lancer sent a blow towards Saber, but the blow of the lance was parried with extreme precision and skill.
Saber's Mind's Eye doesn't only work defensively, but he could also implement it while being the aggressor, easily luring the enemy to attack his weak spots and counter them. However, such a manoeuvre that is frighteningly effective against skilled opponents comes at the cost that if he made a single mistake, the enemy attack may be fatal.
This is why he preferred to use this style of fighting in a more defensive manner, as it allowed him to have more room to focus on correcting his mistakes, it allowed him to fight beings of higher parameters.
However much of the effectiveness of being on the defence reduces in this case, as not only is the enemy the same level of strength, but the enemy's weapon length becomes a liability against those of the Saber class.
Predicting the enemy's attacks and knocking them away while sending his own, step by step, blow by blow, Saber drives Lancer back slowly to a corner.
"Damn…!" Lancer curses
He retreats and holds his lance, suddenly switching his method and sending a heavy swing towards Saber.
Saber swiftly moves to block the attack at the cost of one of his blades shattering from the strain it has been put against.
Taking advantage of the enemy's predicament, Lancer slightly repositioned his lance and drives it towards the enemy's heart.
Saber, knowing what's to come, pulled back his other blade to intercept the lance, and barely parried it, Saber threw his second blade towards the opponent.
Lancer was once again surprised at the measures Saber was taking, though with his bestial agility was able to block the flying blade.
"A Saber who throws away his blades? That's stupid." Lancer started unimpressively
"More so, you don't strike me as a Saber with the way you fought without pride, your article of clothing is also odd among Sabers, and your parameters are horrible for one of that class."
"If it wasn't for I met Archer earlier, I would've thought you were one."
Saber didn't bother to dignify Lancer with a response as he whispered "Trace on!"
Constructed nearly instantly, on his hands were the twin blades Kanshou and Bakuya once more.
Lancer narrowed his eyes and went on a mad attacking spree once more.
The two men of legends resumed their clash, this time the blue-haired spearmen being the aggressor.
For each time Lancer attempts to exploit an opening, his opponent would have predicted his course of action, for each time he gains an advantage over his opponent, his opponent would find a way to turn it into an opportunity, for each time he disarmed his opponent, the blades would return back to his hands.
For the final time Lancer knocked away Saber's blade, it flew and dissipated in magic particles.
Saber merely conjured another pair on his hands.
Lancer groans "This is the twenty-seventh time I've disarmed you, how many of those do you still have?"
"What's wrong Lancer? Taking breaks in the middle of fights would sully the Lancer-class which are known for their swiftness." Saber provokes, though he didn't like doing it much it doesn't mean he can't summon his inner Archer to gain an advantage
"Heh, trying to provoke me, Saber? Keep talking and see where that leads you." Lancer snarkily responded
"Wouldn't know until I tried." Saber responded with a grin on his face
"First an Archer that might as well be a Saber, now a Saber who has a practically limitless supply of swords." Lancer closes his eyes and pauses, whilst lowering his lance
Most would've mistaken his actions as an action to surrender or retreat, but Saber knew the stance Lancer was using well, it is the pre-requisites of activating his Noble Phantasm.
"...I'll ask you just in case since this is our first meeting. Do you want to call it even?" Lancer asked
"It's not a bad deal, right? See, that senile Master over there is useless, and it so happens my Master is a coward." The man confesses
"I think it's in both our interests to hold off on this match until we're better prepared."
Thinking upon his options, he does agree in his enemy's assessment, as if his enemy uses his Noble Phantasm it would be unlikely he would be able to dodge it.
In the Grail War of his time, his Servant Saber fought this same Lancer on the first day and tried challenging his Noble Phantasm, however it didn't go well.
His Noble Phantasm, Gae Bolg reverses causality. In a nutshell, the opponent's heart has already been pierced, therefore the spear must've stabbed.
His Saber barely evaded her heart being pierced from her B Rank luck otherwise, it would've hit regardless of any attempts to block or evade. Now paired with his D Rank luck, he would find it nearly impossible to survive
Looking back at his Master's sorry state, it would be unwise to get injured early on especially when he can't tell if his connection with his Master is complete or not. His Master is barely conscious at this point in time, as such, he went through the course of action that made more sense in him.
"Very well, I accept your offer, though the next time you enter this area I won't be as generous."
"It wouldn't be as exciting if you were." Pausing for a moment, he then proceeds to turn back
"Well, I've got to go now, my plans of taking care of that kid has been delayed." Lancer leaps away while going into his spirit form
Saber waited for a few moments to confirm that Lancer has indeed left, though before he went back to his master he spotted something
Getting closer he realises what it was. The body of a high school girl with her heart pierced, presumably by Lancer. It sparked anger in him, but he quelled it as he knew that Lancer only did such a thing by the orders of Kirei and his rules for the war.
He looked down and started grasping the girl's body, and what he feared came true, the girl is no more in the land of the living, recently at that… If only he had finished his fight with Lancer sooner he might have been able to use a healing noble phantasm to heal the body, but it was too late.
He grits his teeth at his own failure to spot the girl sooner and ends the battle. It hit him even harder when he realises there's a good chance the girl was his master's friend, at that point he would be too guilty for causing harm to a version of his lover.
Silently, he stood up and went back to the shed. When he heard the low whispers of his master.
"Please… sa-save… Gwen…" He wasn't able to say anything in response
"Save her…" His guilty conscience was getting out of hand, and he mustered up a response
"Sorry Master, but your friend is unlikely to survive." He managed to muster up, as any sugar-coating is pointless as his Master already knew the fate of her friend
His master's body twitched and slowly she raised her head.
Staring at her pained green eyes made Saber wanting to avert his eyes, but if he does that it'll get even worse.
With a sob "I… order y-you… To save her!" Artoria shouted with all of her remaining energy
The command seals on the back of her left hand started glowing furiously in red, before a wave of red light hit Saber, as he was surprised that his master knew how to use them.
One of the three command seals was used and remains only two on her hand.
Saber felt doubt in its effectiveness before he was shocked with what happened next.
Peering inside his Reality Marble suddenly a bright warm light started radiating from nothingness, a holy light, one the greatest mysteries that exist, inscribed in the runes of the Fae to signify it wasn't the work of men.
The artifact Kiritsugu implanted in him to save him from certain death in the Great Fire that had forged him, the artifact that had saved his life many times, the artifact he had long forgotten and unknowingly merged with.
The blue and gold scabbard of King Arthur appeared in his mindscape after many decades since it has disappeared from his Blade Works, since the day he returned it.
"Avalon?" With it once more entering his world, he felt its golden light start to repair his rusted world of blades, but his surprise didn't last long, he felt its connection flickering.
How could he forget? The Command Spell has a limit, and trying to recover a Divine Mystery on the level of Avalon is already too taxing for it.
With the sound of a gun's hammer firing, his magic circuits activated, one, three, ten, twenty-three, the number of magic circuits active rapidly rise to accomplish a task that would've been normally impossible.
"I am the bone of my sword" He chanted his aria as reassurance in case his long separation from it had degraded his ability to trace it
The golden glow started emanating in front of him as he concentrated on tracing the mystery.
Before long, it finally dissipated as he could feel the presence of an object in front of him.
Glowing softly, lies two copies of the holy sheath, and with the task done, he could feel it once more leaving from his world of blades, the smog that filled his world returned, and the blades and cogs rusting once more.
Sighing, he shouldn't be too greedy, just being able to see it once more is already a blessing in itself, after he returned it to his Saber.
Saber shakes off his thoughts as he walks towards the girls and implants the imitation of the artifact within them. He prays that Avalon is sufficient for the tasks.
Looking around he didn't know what to make of this day, the mansion a minute walk away from the shed is probably either her Master's or her friend's home, and judging the lights are on, it should be safe to say that there are inhabitants.
Now how is he supposed to bring them in while being inconspicuous considering both girls are unconscious at the moment.
This is a predicament he needs to solve.
Fire…
The scorching fire burned her, it was more painful than anything she'd felt before.
She couldn't think of anything aside it, the flames felt as if it was eating her, as if it was alive, devouring her body, her mind.
Yet she couldn't do anything aside from moving forward.
Each step she took, the more she felt she loses herself, the more memories fled from her.
Her eyes were burned from the heat and smoke
The cries of those who were dying, asking for her help
But she ignored them, for such a thing means forfeiting her own
Others who tried did save them but died in their stead
All she could see was red
She didn't know how she got here, neither does she care about it
Regardless of anything, she had to survive at all costs
Her body moved, for death would come if she didn't.
Her mind practically screamed at her, she had to move forward even if it meant enduring the pain.
Her identity was being ripped apart piece by piece. Whilst the unfortunate was being licked by the flames that came to take their lives.
Just about everything hurts, her chest was burned with pain, as her flesh was being torn apart, and her skin melting
Eventually, even her body can keep up and falters under the strain
So this would be her grave?
After all the struggles she faced just to get to this point, her end would be met by the flames of hell itself?
Seeing further struggling is pointless, she closed her eyes, before a man appeared just a few steps from her
The man had a rugged appearance, it was messy, he was in all black, and was searching desperately for something, and that something was found when he turned to her direction.
"Thank you!" The man grabs her hands, with tears in his eyes
It was as if he was saved instead of the other way
"Just by saving you, I have saved myself." That was the last thing she heard before she lost her consciousness
Artoria woke up on something soft, her eyes were still hazy after an odd dream. For the next few minutes, Artoria recollected her thoughts.
Rubbing her eyes, she took in the events that happened before and was sent into a panicked state, immediately looking beside her hoping for the best.
And there it was, lying beside on her bed was her friend Gwen sleeping peacefully.
She sighed in relief and was about to check a few things before she halted and heard a voice in her mind.
'It seems you have healed up nicely, Master' The voice of a man she vividly remembers that goes by the name of "Saber"
"Who-" She was about to start before the man manifested and silenced her with a finger
'Try communicating through your thoughts, we don't want to wake anyone up, lest they discover about our current situation' The man voiced his concerns
Sending a glare at the man, she thought it over
The advice Nilrem gave coincidentally aligns with whatever mess she was brought into, she frowns further at the realisation that whatever the man was, she somehow formed some kind of magical contract with him
Seeing as there's no other point in arguing, she concentrated and soon found a magical connection with the man.
'Is this working?' She asked unsurely
'It is, now I presume you have some questions?' The man gave a nod
'How did you save our lives and why?' It is something she couldn't get rid off her mind at the moment
'Simple, I'm merely doing my job as a servant. For your other question, the short answer is using a Command Seal, you had ordered me to heal your friend over there, which granted me access to a Noble Phantasm that allows me to do that, and I used it to heal you too.'
Artoria sent him a confused look. Saber merely pointed at her left hand, and what she found was some kind of magical mark.
'Command Seals are absolute orders that we Servants have to follow, and are also proof that you're a master. Though you're only given three of them, so it is something you must use sparingly.'
'What kind of situation am I dragged into?' Artoria accidentally thought aloud
'So you really don't know?' Saber with a puzzled look says
'Usually, there would be an overseer for this, but I have no knowledge of where he may be at. But to give you a summary, it is a war between seven Magi for a wish-granting device called the "Holy Grail".'
Artoria was about to question further before she realizes her friend has already woken up, looking at them with expectant eyes.
"Em… Can someone fill me in?" Gwen asked
Nothing can describe her current situation better than, 'Shit'
'Master, shall I wipe her memories?' Saber asked grimly
Of course not, if Artoria wanted she is already good enough to do it herself. But she doesn't, not only because she doesn't want to use any of her spells on her family or friends, but she also had already given her word to her friend to reveal the truth to her.
'No need, I'll just tell her the truth.' She responded plainly
'Understood' Her Servant backed off
Facing her friend, she grimly asked "Do you want the short version or the long version?"
"If possible, everything please." Artoria inwardly groaned, it seems the night would go a little longer than expected.
It went more smoothly than expected.
Though Gwen had a cold analytical look the entire time when I was explaining, it was scary to see her like this, she had never ever given that look to anyone as far as Artoria, which made it even scarier for her friend to be able to hide it for so long… Or perhaps it was because of how incomprehensibly serious the situation was that she was pushed this far…
But after explaining about Magecraft, it was now Saber's turn to explain whatever this war is, as I have nothing of worth in this subject.
"As I explained to Artoria before you woke up, what we're in is the "Holy Grail War" or is known as the "Fuyuki Grail Wars"."
"Wait what do you mean by the second term?" With decisiveness, her friend asked faster than she did
"It meant there are other Holy Grails or at least artifacts that resemble the Holy Grail."
Now that brings up another question, if there was more Holy Grails, then which one is the real one? If they're all wish-granting devices, then surely the Moonlit World would be in absolute chaos chasing these Grails.
Understanding the thoughts the girls were having, Saber assured
"Don't worry, while there are other wish-granting devices, the one located here specifically is one of a kind."
"What do you mean by that?" Artoria asked confusedly
"The one located here is to my knowledge the only one that is nearly omnipotent, the others have certain limits."
"You said it's 'nearly' omnipotent, does that mean it isn't?" She questioned
Saber paused to think his answer before responding.
"Indeed, while I do not know the specifications, the founders of this War had made a mistake when devising the artifact, which when put to use, didn't gather enough energy to have truly omnipotent wishes." Saber answered truthfully, but it felt as if he was hiding some things
Artoria ponders at the answer, before remembering something of importance
"Then what are you? You call yourselves Servants, but what are "Servants" specifically?"
"Servants are copies of Heroic Spirits that are fitted into class containers, that's where our name comes from."
Artoria widens her eyes and thought out loud, "Those who were famous enough to ascend to the Throne of Heroes"
Gwen nods in understanding from her friend's thoughts, although she didn't know what those terms refer to, she managed to piece things together.
"Doesn't that make you a hero?" Saber's reaction was odd, for a split second it was filled with uncertainty, he closed his eyes to think, before opening his mouth to respond
"I suppose I could be counted as a Hero" Saber answered vaguely
He himself didn't know what to make of it, while in a way he did become the heroes of the people he saved, he hasn't ascended yet so he couldn't be counted as a "Hero", nor will he be able to be a proper one due to his contract with Alaya.
"... What are the types of Servants that could be summoned?" Artoria asked
"Ah, that's easy, there consists of seven classes in this war, starting from the knight classes,
Saber, The Servant of the Sword
Archer, The Servant of the Bow
Lancer, The Servant of the Lance
And the other four miscellaneous classes being,
Rider, The Servant of the Mount
Caster, The Servant of Magecraft
Assassin, The Servant of Murder
And the last one being Berserker, The Servant of Madness. "
Going by the list, the white-haired man standing before them would be "Saber".
"Then… Were you the one who saved my life?" Gwen suddenly asked,
"No no, you can thank my Master for that, her command seal was the one that allowed me to gain access to an artifact powerful enough to do the job."
"Even so, it was your ability, so accept my thanks." Gwen started doing exaggerated bows as Artoria tried to get her friend to stop
After a minute or so, Artoria returned asking "What do you mean by "gaining access" though?"
"Ah that leads to a new sort of explanation, but to put it simply my Noble Phantasm allows me to faithfully recreate nearly any armaments. However I'd rather keep it a secret for now, so I apologize."
Artoria raised an eyebrow, "Do you not trust us?"
"Nothing of the sort, it is just for personal reasons." Saber denied
"Grrrrrrrrrrrr-"
Interrupting the conversation was the growl of an empty stomach, and judging from the sound, it originates from the only one with a bottomless pit for a stomach in this roof.
It stifled a chuckle from both of the other inhabitants in the room.
A blush crept upon Artoria's face, being embarrassed by her stomach's worst timing to ask for food.
Her pitiful attempt to save what's left of her dignity left the other two in more amusement before Saber spoke up.
"Master, I shall go ahead and cook some food for both of you." Saber exited the room presumably to go to the kitchen
"Damn the timing…" Artoria threw her face onto her pillow to hide her red embarrassed face
"Oh, don't be so embarrassed, Arty." a playful smile was plastered on her friend's face
Gwen went ahead and began tickling Artoria's sides
Artoria was caught off guard by the sudden action and started laughing uncontrollably
"Wa-Wait! Sto-" Artoria tried to talk, but…
"From this day on, I'll tickle you if you're grumpy as punishment!" Gwen told a laughing Artoria
"That's not fair- Hahaha.." Gwen intensifies her tickling
"Gw-Gwen! Please... Stop!" Artoria can't take the ticklings much longer
"Only if you promise me to not keep any more secrets like this away from me!" Gwen victoriously said
"Fi-Fine!" Artoria exclaimed, her mind too disoriented to care right now
She slumps down to her bed utterly exhausted physically and mentally
But when she has recovered enough, she sent a glare that promises her revenge.
It only took a moment, but then Artoria remembered.
"AHA! How about that deal you made me back in front of the candy shop!"
Gwen freezes for a moment but then feigns ignorance
"I don't know what you're talking about." Gwen looks away
"Hey hey, don't run away from your promise!" Artoria knew it was a scummy move, after all the reason Gwen offered to show her more of her diary is because she was concerned for Artoria's health
But Artoria being Artoria, a sore loser, isn't going to let anything off the hook once they crossed her
"No!" Gwen shields her school bag as Artoria tries wrestling for it
For the next few minutes they were bantering with each other, while trying to seize any advantages they could get on each other, truly the pinnacle of friendship, some may even call them a cou-
The sound of the footsteps approaches their room and they ceased their activity,
Even from here Artoria could already smell the food her Servant had cooked up, and it smelled amazing, expectation and excitement filled her.
Saber finally arrived and put down the food he cooked
"Feel free to eat as much as you'd like."
While there isn't much variety most likely due to her father only storing up a few types of ingredients, it is already mind-numbingly amazing not only in its smell but its presentation too.
Artoria proceeded to dig in. I mean literally dig in, using her hands to eat and causing a mess due to how heavenly the meal was.
Seeing at how Artoria was eating, she also ate it, and immediately nodded in approval, the food Saber cooked up could be served in a five-star gourmet restaurant, and none other than experienced food critics or skilled chefs would be able to tell the difference in quality.
She tried to offer some to the man, but he simply shrugs it off saying Servants don't need to eat, while a prideful grin was on his face watching how Artoria ate.
It was in the middle of the meal when Artoria remembered a slight detail.
"Wait how did you get in our house?" She asked curiously
"Ah I told your brother that I found both of you asleep on a bench whilst taking a midnight stroll, he offered me to stay in for the night," Saber responded
She's going to get an earful from Lancelot the next day
"And how about the wounds and our clothing?" Gwen joins the conversation
"That I simply used Reinforcement to repair your clothes, and supplied my magical energy to quickly let both of you heal." Both of them nodded in understanding
After the late-night session, Saber told both of us to go to sleep and discussing their plans tomorrow.
It was 1 PM at the moment as both of them took a few hours long nap after the battle.
Both Gwen and Artoria were lying down on their bed silently thinking about today's events.
"Hey Arty?" Gwen called
"Yeah?" Artoria answered
"We went through a lot of things today, didn't we?" Her statement was akin to a question
"Indeed, both of us nearly died by an Irishman" Artoria playfully responded
"That blue-haired man earlier was Irish?" Her friend asked with a puzzled look, it seems she failed to mention it
"I believe so, at least his lance matches up with one." She responded
Gwen took a few silent moments to think
"Do you think our lives would ever be the same after this?" Her friend once again asked
"I don't know." She answered truthfully
With a pause, her friend then turned her head over her direction and gave her a hopeful smile that shines brightly akin to a star in the dark night
"Well then let's hope whatever it changes would be for the better."
Artoria was completely entranced by her friend's beautiful smile and hopefulness
Before snapping back, and responded with her own smile
"Yes, let's hope it does."
The night continued onwards uninterrupted, as the two drifts into sleep
The silver light of the moon shone through the windows one more time, illuminating the sleeping figures of the two former lovebirds of a past life
But the ship wouldn't sail that way this time, as the wind blew in a different direction, for Artoria's destiny has been decided since long ago.
Author's Notes:
Ha hah hahaha! Did you forget about me, Random Fanfiction Writer? I'm not so incompetent to not update today!
Anyway, I took like three days off thinking about the fanfic, and when I started writing this chapter it felt as if I lost my ability to write it, I feel so inadequate at the time of writing this.
We also got more action in this chapter, though I felt the description is lacking after reading some other fics like seriously I can't take my mind off of it.
I also had changed up my future plans a bit… Okay maybe a lot, but the direction is still the same, I wanted Saber to have Avalon, but the mess it was trying to figure how to implement it without being too bullshit is kinda torture for my brain.
At the starting of the chapter I wrote Saber's chant, and as you could see it slightly differs from Archer's and Shirou's, with some completely different to represent that his ideal isn't the only thing her cares about, and with both the normal and literal English translations incorporating both Archer's and Shirou's chant, it would be an important plot point in the future, or like the late game similar to Carnwennan.
And the monologue I put after that is just to represent Artoria's thoughts when looking back, as this part of the story is the "True" start of her story.
I'm starting to regret taking that break in the first place as I had watched the grand total of 2 episodes of UBW, because I had used up the time reading other fanfics.
I think I'll try avoiding taking more breaks because it feels like I became incompetent at writing after it.
I also found a few fanfictions that made me want to try experimenting on other ideas, but I also wanted to finish the fanfictions as soon as possible, so I can't really support making other fanfics without feeling the anxiety when I don't update them in a while.
As I could relate the feeling of longing and impatience when a fic you're reading doesn't get updated that much or the update delay suddenly became longer and fills you with anxiety hoping the author didn't abandon it.
Also after reading The Lion King vs Wrought Iron Hero, it made me want to add a tidbit of that to the story, perhaps in Saber's Epilogue or something
Anyway, this is my Author's note for the 11th, which is the time I'm writing this right now, and it's halfway done, I have another hour before bedtime tbh, to which I could write another 600 to 1000 words, but like I don't feel like writing further for today, So if I have anything to add tomorrow I will, hopefully this goes well.
The 12th has arrived! And I bring you a few more notes, today's chapter is a whopping 5200 words! Which is the lowest it has been not counting the prologue I wrote.
I can't seem to extend it any further on my first try, and I'm not motivated enough to find the extendable parts. Anyway, at the time I finished writing this, we've achieved 100 followers!
Yay for the fic, I wonder if it would continue to grow like this or will you guys get bored of the shit I spew out with all of my surplus of fate motivation.
I hope I can finish this fic without needing hiatuses, which requires… two chapters every week! Which is exactly what I've been doing so far, hopefully I could finish this by August or earlier, because I'm not sure how I would deal with school and writing this combined.
I'm not even sure if I would continue studying online or at school. Anyway, other than the change of who Servant Archer and Saber would be, I'll be keeping the other servants intact. The plot would be altered of course, but it should be vaguely similar to how the original story went.
And a few stuff I should add, the first being Carnwennan which obtained the info from the fanon,
Carnwennan | D | Anti-Unit
Carnwennan is the elusive dagger that is one of King Arthur's many weapons. Unlike Excalibur, this Noble Phantasm is a mostly unknown one and could be considered the weakest of her many weapons.
Carnwennan is Anti-Thaumaturgic and can cut through most magic spells, especially those cast by enemy Masters. The blade also conceals its user from the sight of others. Along with this ability, Carnwennan also can home in on its opponent. When thrown, it could hit a target even if it is out of view.
? | A++ | Anti-Army
Information unavailable, please wait for [FINAL ARC]
Servant Saber, True Name: Emiya Shirou / EMIYA
Wants to learn a new skill! (Yes/No)
[YES]
Cooking: B-(A)
The one that goes by the name of Emiya Shirou is renowned for his cooking abilities by his friends, though its rank suffers a bit due to his limited experience of being a home cook, his cooking is only a step below a five-star gourmet chef, and if he had invested more time in cooking he may be able to reach the pinnacle of culinary skill.
That's it for this chapter's notes, oh right before I forgot to mention, I apologize if in this chapter I wrote more info dumps or long descriptions, I tried culling it down a bit but I doubt my capabilities. Thanks for telling me about it Dan1142000.
Leave reviews about your opinions on anything about this fic. The likes and follows are appreciated too as it would mean more people are interested in this. Oh gawd I feel like those YouTubers who ask for subscribers in the same generic way.
Extra Notes (On 13/5/21):
I wanted to write this earlier, but stomachaches came. Hopefully, those settle down by tomorrow as I don't want to lose an entire day of writing time.
Right, firstly I did some revisions to the story, to generally explain it a little better. I thank SentinelSlice for alerting me of my failure to take into account that people may get confused on which "Saber" I was talking about.
Also, I should emphasize that Saber Shirou is NOT Archer Emiya, nor will he be anytime soon. While they more or less originate from the same route, the "Fate" Route, Saber Shirou is an alternate version of the "True" End or Last Episode Shirou.
Regarding Saber's combat technique, I have to admit that I didn't know the "Suicidal" thing is actually from fanon, so I had revised my writing that excludes that word and opted for a more detailed explanation, but I still stand by my belief that it is in fact suicidal.
You see, indeed that Fanfiction authors often exaggerate it, but when you think about it, it made a whole lot of sense.
The combat techniques revolve around knowing your combat stance and purposely leaving openings to lure trained opponents. It's frighteningly effective against skilled opponents, and do you know why?
That's because those openings are actual openings, else those with high combat instinct and/or experience such as many Servants would be able to discern them and ignore them, without Mind's Eye on EMIYA's level to attempt such a thing against skilled opponents is borderline suicide.
This in terms, easily lures such opponents to go for them, against those with lesser skill or those who are used to such dirty combat styles, it is less so.
There's also a reason why I said "Skilled" opponents instead of differentiating between "Skilled" and "Natural", and that's for the fact that even if they were born with natural Hyper Intuition, they still count as "Skilled" opponents, just with lesser experience. Those who also had enough experience could also build up Combat Instinct that can reach supernatural levels too, for example, Mind's Eye(True), therefore both types of instinct count as the same category in my book.
Replying to SAVIORofFRANCE, by what I explained earlier, It doesn't drive down Shirou's fighting skill, but instead emphasizes it. As you said, it is only possible with high degrees of combat experience to pull off these feats, because against other Servants and Legendary warriors, if he made a single mistake in his prediction, it would drastically reduce his chances of winning.
Replying to the Guest comment, I have to disagree about Archer EMIYA mastering thousands of combat style, as far as I knew he already took many years in training this current combat style, at most he had basic mastery over other weapon types, which supplemented by borrowing the Combat Styles from the experience accumulated from the weapons he traces, lets him at most have a half-ass mastery over the weapons he traced.
I'm not quite sure about the second piece of information, admittedly I haven't watched much, but I don't see how his combat style differs between his first and second match with Lancer, the only thing I can spot is Lancer being way more aggressive, which as far as I know, is because his parameters is no longer suppressed by Kirei's Command Seal. The rest of my reply should be pretty clear by the explanation about EMIYA's combat style above us.
Sorry for the rant, hopefully I won't do these replying to reviews too often, as I don't want to come off as aggressive. But I just wanted to make it clear, if anyone finds a flaw with my reasoning, feel free to PM me and if I'm not too busy i would like to see how it is to know from your perspective.
Yeah that should be it for this Extra Notes section.