"Righteousness alone cannot save the world."
Fate/Brave Shine
Chapter 10: Encomium
Shirō stood atop a mountain of countless blades, overlooking the desolate wasteland that was his Unlimited Blade Works. Every single thing which could be classified as a 'sword' that he had ever seen existed within this space. It had become an unconscious act to replicate any blade he ever came across. However, he had never truly examined the vast majority of these swords. Sure, he could identify them with a glance, but he never knew them. The few he did know caused him pain to hold, bringing back memories of his failures and mistakes. Yet, he ensured they each maintained a tidy spot of their own within this endless world of swords.
Kanshō and Bakuya, the married swords his future self once used, stood embedded atop a pile of like-sized swords. The small, nimble blades had saved him more times than he could count. Certainly more than they had been used attempting to take his life.
Caladbolg, an unorthodox sword with a spiral-like appearance, rested at the top of what could only be described as a tree made of swords, the very tip of which was the highest point. It was embedded in the tree-like formation hilt first and could be seen very clearly from quite a ways away.
Balmung, the sword used to slay a dragon and bring victory to its original wielder, was placed above a small mound of lesser, smaller swords. Though Balmung was once too big and heavy for him to use properly, that was no longer the case.
There were more swords that had their own spots of honor. Durandal, Gram, Ascalon, Dáinsleif, Sword of Paracelsus. More. But the ones he could barely even look at were far from the places he frequented to ease the pain of reminding him what he had lost.
Arondight. Clarent. Excalibur Galatine. Caliburn. Excalibur. They all stood together atop a bare, dirt hill overlooking the single body of water within the space. A small lake that reflected the omnipresent light like a mirror. The entire area, though limited, was barren of any other swords. Those were too important to him, too important to her. They deserved something more. He'd used each of them, but extremely sparingly. If their wielders couldn't all be in the same place, he thought that at least their swords could. There were more to find and bring to rest there, but his duties usually got in the way of his searching.
However, over time, he began to feel bad for the swords he didn't know. After all, they were the only constant he had left in his life that point. So, one by one, while he had time, he would pick up, clean, and organize the swords that lacked any place of deference within his Unlimited Blade Works. It would never get done, of course. That battle was lost before it had even begun. But while he still had time, he could get to know the blades that had previously been no more than the ground he would walk on.
Half a day had passed since Shirō woke up, but there was still no sign of Archer. Rin had insisted on going out to look for him on her own and both he and Arturia were powerless to stop her. Rin had also insisted on them staying at her home in the meantime in case Archer came back on his own.
Shirō didn't mind, though. It gave him and Arturia a chance to talk about what had happened. Unfortunately, he didn't really have any better answers for her.
"All I remember is being in some dark place where I couldn't move. I wanted to get up and keep fighting, but my body wouldn't respond. Then, I called out to Arcurant. The next thing I remember is waking up here." Shirō explained. He could tell from the look on her face that wasn't the answer she wanted. But, they had other issues to talk about.
"Those things we keep running into.. Unless it's some wild, wild coincidence, Morgan must be involved. She's here, and she must be working with Caster." He said.
Arturia didn't disagree. Medea, even resting on a ley line day and night, would never be able to identify her and then make puppets out of her own comrades on her own. If she had that level of power herself, she'd be able to bring down the Lesser Grail in the first place. There would be no need to continue fighting them.
"If the two of them are working together, we'll need to change our approach. Otherwise we'll keep being pushed back. If Archer does not return to Rin, there's no reason for you to continue hiding your ability." Artruia said, surprising Shirō.
"Maybe. But I don't want to put Rin in danger. If Archer signs a contract with Caster or someone else, he'll still be after me and he knows how to get to me. Even now. Whether we leave Rin behind or take her with us, she's going to be in danger." He replied. Even after hundreds of years of experience in his mind, he still valued those he was close to over himself.
The two of them sat there in silence. Neither of them wanted any harm to come to Rin, but whether or not Shirō stopped holding back there was a non-insignificant chance of it happening anyways. They also both knew Rin wasn't the only person they were looking to protect. Rin was in danger because of Archer and Kirei, Sakura was in danger because of Kirei and Zouken. Ilya was in danger because of Kirei and Gilgamesh. He couldn't be in three places at once.
Shirō and Arturia turned towards each other, having reached the same conclusion at almost exactly the same time. "We're not going to be able to protect everyone if they're all spread apart. It won't be long before he comes for Ilya, and we'll never know when Archer might strike. Rider can protect Sakura from Zouken, but not from Kirei by herself. If we want to win..."
".. We can't fight a war on three fronts." Arturia said, finishing Shirō's sentence. They knew what they had to do, but the hardest part would be convincing Rin while maintaining their secret. Even if they did tell her, she might think they're crazy or lying. Or she might just be unable to believe such a thing. But, they had to try.
Rider didn't know what to think about Shirō anymore. There was so much mystery and intrigue surrounding him that it made finding a place to start learning who and what he was completely impossible. Yet, those who were drawn to him were obviously those of the Magus persuasion, and he had an immense amount of power at his disposal despite any evidence of formal training as a means to harness that power.
When she saw him struck by that arrow, she froze up. She didn't know what to do or what she could do. She'd just barely arrived in time to see him die, or so she thought. Then that strange energy came pouring out of him and he was up again. She'd blinked and he'd moved faster than she could perceive, making some kind of strike against their opponents, and then he was down again.
She couldn't just stay on the sidelines anymore. There were too many strange occurrences going on. Shirō, the phantom-servants, Shinji becoming Lancer's Master.. If she wanted to protect Sakura, she'd need to take action. Staying in that house near that worm would undoubtedly lead to something bad happening. Yet, they couldn't turn to the Church. Sakura was never recognized as a Master and even if she had been, they wouldn't take Sakura in with her still around.
No, there was only one place she could trust. But, getting permission could be problematic..
"Rider?" Came Sakura's voice, jolting Rider out of her thoughts. She turned to her Master and was surprised to see a serious and determined look on her face. "What.. What happened last night?" She asked, holding up a picture frame. Inside was a picture of Sakura and Shirō, posing for the photo. However, the glass covering the picture was cracked.
Shinji spent his whole life wanting to be a Magus. To live up to the Matou family name. What he lacked in talent and proficiency was offset by the sheer amount of information he was able and willing to sift through to find an answer to a question.
His research usually got him at least close to answers he sought, but this this time was different. Every lead he tracked down only ended in additional questions. External influences on the Grail Wars. The fighting capability of a Magus compared to a Servant. Magical constructs, Mystic Codes, and Noble Phantasms descriptions. Bodily acceleration. Time alteration. Projection and Reinforcement.
Each subject brought new questions but no answers to the one question he wanted answered more than anything: What is Emiya Shirō?
Everything about him conflicted with the information he had access to, but that wasn't the most disturbing thing he had come to realize. It was the external influences that got to him. Those things, phantom-servants, were different from any kind of familiar on record. It was unlikely a Heroic Spirit was able to create or summon them on their own. The amount of trouble they gave real Servants meant someone not meant to be involved in the war was, indeed, involved.
According to the records he could find in the Matou library, if a Grail War is being subverted by outside influences and becomes increasingly irregular, the Grail will summon an additional Servant to protect itself and restore order. However, it's heavily implied that things will become much more chaotic before order is restored if this were to happen. Something about Magic and rules not mixing very well.
There were only a few sources of information left to tap, but he was hesitant to do so since it involved asking people directly. Tohsaka would sooner kill him before answering his questions. Rider might not kill him outright, but she'd never give him any answers willingly. Though he did give him Lancer, He didn't trust Kotomine in the least.
That left a total of two people. Sakura and Shirō himself. Sakura was probably sheltered from any real information, and he wasn't sure what Shirō might do if he saw him. That Servant of his likely wouldn't let him get very close anyways. Not without a valid reason.
Though a plan had began to form in his mind, he couldn't call it tasteful in the least. Not the way he'd have to go about it. Even in a best-case scenario, he'd run the chance of becoming something approaching a villain if things didn't go well, and after knowing him for so many years he knew exactly how Shirō treated villains. He'd seen it first hand when a member of another school's archery club had tried to assault Sakura years ago. To an untrained eye, it had turned into a full-blown brawl when Shirō stepped in and the other school's club members attacked him. Yet, that would imply they had a chance of winning in the first place when Shirō walked away from that so-called fight without a scratch on him.
Before that day, there wasn't a single soul at school who would have thought Shirō capable of any kind of violence. His open, warm eyes and gentle attitude made him a prime candidate for bullying and, indeed, before Shinji stepped into Shirō's life he had been bullied without fighting back. He never seemed to get very upset or angry, nor did he seem weak or cowardly. He had his own kind of strength about him that didn't involve violence in any way. That is, until Shinji had seen it with his own two eyes. The strength and technique he displayed that day should've clued him into Shirō being a Magus. Nobody without an immense amount of training could do what he did that day, and the only other club Shirō belonged to was the going-home club. Not to mention the lack of any kind of emotion on his face through it all when only minutes before he was smiling and laughing.
No, he had to do his best to avoid becoming Shirō's definition of the world 'villain' by all costs if he wanted to stay alive and healthy.
Medea let out a contented sigh as she draped half of her body over her beloved Sōichirō in post-coital bliss. Her head rested on his chest, directly over his heart where it quickly returned to the slow, calm beating that she had so familiarized herself with. She basked in these moments of peace she had, for there was no guarantee she'd be able to do so in the future. So in these short moments in time, she preferred them to be uninterrupted by even straying thoughts. Yet, ever since she had tested that boy, curious thoughts of him invaded her mind when all she wanted to think about was Sōichirō.
"What thoughts bother you, Medea?"
Sōichirō's sudden and uncharacteristic words brought a smile to her face. From the outside, he seemed aloof and almost entirely unfeeling, but she knew better. For whatever reason, the man cared for her more than she felt she deserved. Because of that, she had long since vowed to never lead him astray, lie to, or betray him.
"That Emiya boy.. Is he in one of your classes?" She asked.
Sōichirō nodded "He takes my Ethics class. Idealistic and naive, but a good student."
"Did you ever suspect he was.. how he is?" She asked. Sōichirō didn't have any kind of real magical background to speak of, so he wouldn't have noticed any signs of the boy having an inclination for magic, but there was so much more to that boy than the magic he commanded. Yet, Sōichirō's relpy stunned her.
"Emiya has always been a step ahead of what is expected of him. An extra page on an assignment, picking up the slack for the Archery club, or fixing broken things around the school that should've stayed broken. Even athletically he found ways to surpass his limits in record time. I had thought it was the result of excellent parenting." Sōichirō said, uncharacteristically long-winded.
Medea wasn't surprised he had noticed as much as she did, but that he seemed to speak from a shared point of curiosity. She smirked. "My love, you make it sound like you took a personal interest in him long before I showed up. Were you planning on adopting?"
The smallest of smiles met Sōichirō's face, both at her words and the thought of him ever being a father, a thought that was previously off the table completely for him. "The first assignment I give to a new class is an ethical dilemma that had always ended in a no-win situation. I designed it that way to teach students what it means to be in such a situation where hard choices need to be made. At first, Emiya stood on principal against the idea of a no-win situation. But when I told him I'd fail him for the semester if he didn't complete the assignment, he came back the next day obviously lacking any sleep with a completed assignment. He presented a win scenario in a no-win assignment." He said. Medea hung on his every word, never previously having heard him speak so much in so short of a time.
"That surprised you?" She asked, wanting him to keep talking. He nodded.
"That shocked me. I had designed the assignment specifically to prevent any student doing something like that, and he still found a way. If it weren't for his idealistic approach, he'd be my best student by far."
The bedroom fell silent again as Medea contemplated his words. Then, she asked the question she herself didn't have an answer to. "Does it bother you that he's our enemy? That.. we may end up being the ones to kill him?"
Sōichirō didn't answer right away, which in itself was surprising. He was always quick to have an answer to such questions. Now, he took his time to think about it. Then, finally, he answered, and it wasn't an answer she expected.
"Yes. He stands for an ideal that I myself would be a hypocrite to hold but still admire, and he's the only one I've seen that can truly embody that ideal. Yet, I place your life above his, but his over my own, though I would be able to keep living so long as I had you regardless of whether he was alive or not."
A sad smile crept onto Medea's face. "I'm sure it's the same for him and whatever woman he holds dear." However, Sōichirō shook his head.
"No. Emiya is idealistic, but the solution to the no-win scenario he devised was self-sacrifice, and every assignment he's completed since has told me what kind of man he is. Even now, he would put our lives above his own simply because we can exist peacefully. I'm sure he's capable of killing, but it would have to be a truly irredeemable person to be on the end of his blade. Neither of us, even if he knew everything about us, fits that description." Sōichirō said.
Though his words made her feel guilty for how they would most certainly be at least complicit in his death due to Morgan's seemingly blind rage, they also made her wonder what kind of person it would take for the boy to make that decision to stop seeking a peaceful resolution. She wondered what other kinds of power he'd reveal if the situation demanded it. He was obviously more than a match for low-class Servants, impossible though that should be. Could he beat an average Servant? An above-average Servant? Could he beat her?
Never one to just let things play out, Merlin was once again sifting through Shirō's memories, but was quickly realizing that someone or something didn't want him seeing certain things. Each time he'd reach a memory that didn't match what he had seen before, he would be violently ejected from his own spell like when his visitors had shown up. There usually wasn't enough time to analyze the memory to see what exactly the discrepancy was. However, he was starting to see a pattern. There were faint glimpses of one or even both of his recent visitors in each of the memories he was forced out of, like shadows in a dark room. He couldn't actually see them, but if he opened his senses he could feel them. Rather, their previous presences. They weren't actively responsible for the pain he was in from being repeatedly slammed against rock surfaces.
Somehow, for some reason, they were shadowing Shirō through various timelines. They never seemed to actively interfere with him. As far as he could tell, they were just observers. Though Shirō was no doubt an interesting person with a lot going on in his life, there wasn't really any defining reason why they chose him to watch. He chose Shirō because of his connection to Arturia. Yet, ever since he started, things have been getting stranger and stranger. To the best of his knowledge, those instances of Shirō didn't exist, and his actions wouldn't have caused any butterfly effects to make them exist.
Unlimited Blade Works. That skill, that ability alone made Shirō a force of nature. Without an adequate amount of time to prepare in advance, there weren't a lot of instances where an opponent of his would be able to overcome their vast disadvantage within his Reality Marble, and even outside of it his ability to call forth nearly perfect replications of various powerful swords in an instant made him wildly dangerous as an opponent. He wouldn't even bet on himself with time to prepare before he had seen Shirō's seemingly newfound abilities.
Yet, it was these newfound abilities that made him worry. The Armor and The Sword should've never been able to be used at the same time. That amount of energy should've never been released by Shirō. He never should've been able to use Kiritsugu's Time-Alter. Yet, Shirō was capable of all these impossible things. Why?
At this rate of growth, Shirō would have more to worry about after the Grail War was over. By this point he's almost certainly drawn the attention of those in high places. Beating Morgan and destroying the Grail wouldn't be enough at this point. Even with Arturia around, Shirō wouldn't be able to live a quiet, peaceful life. Even he knew that the world of Magi was anything but quiet and peaceful, and they'll drag anyone with enough talent or power into that world kicking and screaming if they have to. Offers of peerage, requests and demands of service, spies and assassins, and constant surveillance were just some of the things he'd have to deal with, and while he'd put money on Shirō for almost any single duel, he wouldn't be able to fight an army of highly talented Magi on his own.
The more abnormalities that presented themselves in the Grail War, the more the peaceful life he envisioned for Arturia and Shirō faded away.
A deep scowl was on Morgan's face as for the third time that day her once-obedient phantom-servants seemed to struggle with her commands, sluggishly following through like they were encased in mud. Ever since that boy had done that thing, they'd been acting more and more odd. But, at the end of the day she was the one who summoned them, and that meant they would obey her, even if she had to use a little extra Mana to ensure that.
She didn't like Medea's clandestine visits with Agravain in his cell. The more time those two had to speak, the more time that useless Assassin had to brainwash her partner. She needed to either hurry things along or cut out Agravain's tongue, both of which were equally appealing to her. Causing that man pain was such a good way to blow off some steam. Especially after being able to hear Medea in the throes of passion even all the way from the summoning room. Yet, she had to suffer through it as that was the only way she could replenish her Mana. Rather, that was the way she preferred to replenish her Mana. The ley line could accommodate them both, but that would mean spending less time with her darling. The thought nearly brought bile to her throat. That man was a weakness that could be exploited by their enemies.
However.. that also meant that same weakness could be exploited by herself is Medea were to step out of line. It would be a simple thing to erase the man's existence before her very eyes, and the threat of which would undoubtedly give Medea pause if she thought about parting ways too soon. After all, she was a crucial component in the summonings and a valuable pawn. Nay, she might even qualify as a bishop if she could learn to stay quiet during such activities.
Now, she prepared the fonts they needed to summon the final three. To do so at once would require more Mana than they had access to at one time, which meant siphoning Mana from the ley line, or that man in Medea's case, and pouring them into magical constructs that would act as a kind of battery to ensure success. Any leftover Mana would be able to be retrieved afterwards.
It did occur to her that the quickest way to end this stalemate would be to unleash Vortigern, who sat silently and obediently in the courtyard, but the thought vanished quickly from her mind. She wouldn't be able to deal with Vortigern if she were to somehow lose control without the last three. After all, you needed experienced Dragonslayers to slay a dragon as mighty as Vortigern. Gawain might have faced Vortigern once, but he had the help of her at the time. As much as she hated to admit it, she was certainly powerful enough that unleashing Vortigern and not having the other three could spell ruin for her. Especially now that they were acting so strange.
Her manifestation by the Grail came with complications. First, she had to complete the process by choosing a 'host'. Luckily for her, she was highly compatible with a true believer like herself that just happened to be nearby and share a surprising number of similarities with her as she was in life. No doubt this was influenced in some way to make getting a host easier, but she didn't have much room to complain.
Secondly, there was the fact that she, herself, was an irregular occurrence within the context of the Grail Wars. She couldn't become incorporeal like proper Servants and, because of her host, she required food, water, and sleep. This was something she discovered the hard way.
Thirdly, she was in the wrong country. She'd been brought into the world at the same place she had left it, which meant the location of the Grail War was thousands upon thousands of miles away, and she had to get there by her own means. Yet, she didn't see this as a downside. She got to see for herself what had become of her country after her demise. She had the opportunity to experience new things and meet new people, many of which were kind to her.
Now, she was waiting for her transportation. She'd board something called an 'Airplane' and it would take her to Japan by flying through the sky. The concept alone amazed her more than the horseless carriages. Then, she heard an announcement that made her smile.
"Bonjour, mesdames et messieurs, l'embarquement pour le vol 7 d'Asiana Airlines à destination d'Osaka, au Japon, va bientôt commencer."
A/N: So here is the first chapter of the new year. Much later than I had originally intended, but I've been very busy lately. Hopefully it won't be five months before the next update. I've also contemplated writing the adult scenes that would be classified with an MA rating, putting them in their proper places, and then posting the 'explicit' version of Fate/Brave Shine on AO3. I'll run a poll on my profile to see if that's something you all might want and, if it is, I'll make sure to keep both versions of the story up-to-date with each other.