The Last of Avalon
Summary: For years, Merlin had been trapped within the Tower of Avalon, only able to watch the human realm. She had long since given up escaping, now content to just watch the shining stars of humanity. The Fae have moved onto other pastures, leaving her the last one within Avalon… Until one day, the door opens, and she finds a note. "Find Arthur." SI/OC Crossovers, Genderswaps
AN: This fanfic is pretty much the last chance I'm giving . Tired of the toxicity on this website, just gonna give it one last chance. Excessively toxic people are going to be blocked, I'm just so done. I have three chapters done for this fic, including this one. When I update, I'll try to update on Mondays, but I'm not going to try and post every week like I did with God's Game, it just really stressed me out to try that.
Prologue: Freedom
She stared out at the world from her lonely tower, one leg crossed over the other. Her eyes did not look upon the flowery fields however, instead they looked beyond them, beyond the very realm she was in. She watched the shining stars known as humanity, smiling with gentle fondness.
Merlin Ambrosius, better known to some as Myddrin Emrys, the Court Mage of Arthur Pendragon, the one who had helped train him into the King he was… And also, the one who failed him when he needed it most, letting him down.
It would have been so easy for her to change Arthur's fate, and it was something she thought about every single day…
But she didn't. And for a reason as mundane as jealousy.
Yes, jealousy.
She had loved Arthur. At first, she'd only seen him as an adorable little brother, taking enjoyment in teasing him and watching him grow… But, in time, that had changed.
She didn't know when it was, but she had stopped seeing him as her little brother and started to see him as a man. It hadn't been her intention, but she just couldn't help herself. Arthur was… Well, he was everything she could ever want. He was selfless, kind, stern when needed, strong, and forgiving.
And yet when she could have averted his fate, she hadn't done so… Because she was jealous and angry that he had married Guinevere.
It was so silly, stupid and she knew that damned well, she lamented her own childishness every single day…
The last time she had seen Arthur, it would have been so simple to tell him how to avert his fate, how to change his destiny… But then she had thought back to Guinevere, about how Arthur had chosen that woman- a woman who was unfaithful to him- instead of her, how he'd wanted Guinevere and not her.
And she had smiled and told him exactly what he wanted to hear, rather than telling him the truth that could have saved him.
That, if nothing else, was what she felt bound her to this tower more than anything else.
The Sin of Envy.
Before Arthur's fall, Vivian- a counterpart of Morgan who saw Arthur truly as her brother- had learned that Merlin had failed to save Arthur from his fate and had been filled with rage, chasing Merlin into Avalon.
Merlin had fled from her friend and former student and ended up coming to a tower where she knew she would be safe, but it bore an inscription.
Only those free of sin may pass.
She had deluded herself, perhaps intentionally, that such a thing would only apply to humans. She was half-succubus and was above such things.
She was wrong, and the Tower ended up becoming her prison.
No matter how she begged and pleaded with Vivian, the one who lay this trap for her, to see Arthur one last time… Vivian had refused. It was to be Merlin's penance, to be trapped within the tower, only able to watch the world, no longer able to interact directly as she had once before.
And with her Clairvoyance, she watched the battle of Camlann… She watched Arthur- her dear, beloved Arthur- struck down by Morgan's curse upon Mordred and watched as Excalibur was returned to the lake.
Her fault.
No matter how much she knew that it was Morgan's own greed and anger at her brother that had led to this situation, the fact remained that Merlin would always feel the weight of her Sins for failing to save Arthur.
She could have saved him, and she didn't. It had come from a dark, spiteful place of her that wanted Arthur to die for marrying Guinevere instead of her. And she would never forgive herself for that.
No matter Morgan's greed, Mordred's wrath, and Lancelot's lust, the fact remained that it was Merlin's envy that had been the catalyst for Arthur's death.
She quickly brought her hand to her face, wiping away one of the tears that had begun to crawl down her cheek.
She thought her tears had dried up so long ago in regard to her failure towards Arthur, but it appeared that she was mistaken.
She slowly rose up, making her way back down to the middle of the tower, where things for her necessities were kept.
Thankfully, Vivian had not been so wholly cruel as to trap her in this tower with nothing. She had a bath, a shower, a toilet, a desk, even writing utensils and such.
While she did not need to sleep or bathe, as magic would easily clean her up, she still found calm in cleaning her body and sleeping sometimes. It made her feel more human, rather than the half demon that she was.
She waved her staff around, the bath filling up with hot, steaming water, ready for her to enjoy. She snapped her fingers, and her body and clothing became clean, so that she wouldn't just be stewing in her own filth.
She set her staff against the wall and began to strip. She first removed her top with the ridiculously wide sleeves, lifting it up over her head and hanging it up as her pretty, pale skin was revealed- nary a blemish or mark upon her. She reached down, and delicately slid off her heels, setting them under her hanging top, before her fingers slipped into the hem of her skintight pants and slowly slid them down her long, beautiful legs, hanging them up, and leaving her in just her lacy black bra and panties.
Thankfully, Vivian had once again been generous and left Merlin a copious amount of various materials so she wouldn't be terribly bored within the tower. Thus, when her clairvoyance allowed her to see the underwear of the future, she'd created herself some sets. As a half-succubus, such clothing made her feel sexy- though she was very sexy as it was.
She reached back, unclipping her bra and letting it roll down her shoulders, unveiling her modest, pale breasts, with a beautiful pink nub resting on each orb. And then, finally, she slowly pushed down her matching panties, unveiling the paradise between her legs as she stepped out from the underwear.
She turned, looking at herself in the mirror. Long, white hair cascading down her pale form, wine eyes that were soft and regretful, and a pale, gorgeous figure that would cause any man that gazed upon her to forget their anger.
Her own eyes lingered upon her breasts, slowly lifting her hands and rubbing her chest, a soft pout upon her lips. She had a modestly sized chest- not too big, not too small- but she did so wish they were bigger. Perhaps if Vivian had not trapped her here, the magics of this place wouldn't have interfered and allowed her to grow a little more.
Her gaze then drifted to the valley between her legs, her slit beautiful, pink, pristine, untouched. Her hand slid down her body, her legs spreading slightly as her fingers spread her pussy gently, unveiling that even the insides were still pink and beautiful.
Despite being half-succubus, Merlin had never really leaned into the nature of the sex demon. Yes, she did still like to tease men with her body and such- the times she had made the likes of Arthur and Galahad see her in naught but her underwear during meetings was and endless source of amusement for her- but she had never crossed the line and been with a man.
Instead, Merlin had delved into dream nature of Succubus powers, preferring to hone her craft there, and obtain her 'sustenance' from devouring dreams. Arthur almost never had Nightmares, because Merlin had made sure to devour each and every one of them, perhaps she spoiled him in that way, but she hadn't cared then, nor did she care now.
If Arthur was still alive, she would be doing the same thing even now… Well, perhaps she would see if she could convince him to actually let her test out some of her Succubus techniques.
She sighed and brought her hands back up her body, turning back towards the bath. She dipped one foot into the water first to experiment, before she nodded in satisfaction and climbed into the bath, slowly so that she wouldn't disturb the water too much and be overwhelmed.
Her figure slowly disappeared into the water, and she tilted her head back and sighed happily as soon she was completely submerged save her head, which tilted over the edge of the tub as she hummed happily, feeling her body relaxing.
There was nothing quite like a hot bath to wash your fatigue away, though she'd seen much about 'hot springs' and 'saunas' through her Clairvoyance, and those looked simply delightful. She would definitely try them out if ever she got out of this tower, though that would never happen.
She stared at the ceiling, her eyes glowing with Clairvoyance as she used them to read a book written by Rick Riordan: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse, a book that would be written a good thirteen years in the future.
Thankfully with Clairvoyance, she was able to keep up with the works of the future and had a few favourites. Video games were delightful, and she hoped to play them someday. Movies, TV Shows, literature… Everything had become so much better over time, and it made her happy to know that humanity was able to do such amazing things.
Percy Jackson was perhaps one of her favourite characters, because he reminded of Arthur. Loyal, selfless, stern when needed, and kind with a heart that would even give a saint a run for its money.
A shame that the movie- in her eyes- had kind of bombed, it hadn't really lived up to the hype of the books. Also, they changed and skipped so much, but she hoped the Disney+ Series would be entertaining.
"Oh Arthur…" She spoke wistfully. "If only you were here with me now… You would be so happy to see how far humans have come…"
She closed her eyes, mournfully as her thoughts once again drifted to Arthur- as they usually did. It was only normal for her thoughts to drift to the man she loved and most days she thought about him… Even hundreds of years later, Arthur was all she could think about some days.
'Don't,' she told herself. 'Don't do it…'
She tried to fight the urge, but she lost to it once again- as she always did. Her eyes opened, glowing with a purple-pink light as she used her Clairvoyance to cast her gaze, looking over Avalon for Arthur.
She did this more than she was proud of, looking at Arthur's sleeping form in the lakes of Avalon, awaiting the day that Albion would be in its most dire hour, and the King would return.
Her gaze travelled to the lake that Vivian had once resided within, though she and the other fae had long since moved to another realm they had created, a 'new' Avalon that was supposed to be even better than the Utopia Merlin had shown Arthur within his dreams… This Avalon was now bare, empty, save for herself and Arthur, who waited for his awakening… It would be romantic if they weren't trapped so very far apart…
The lake slowly came into her Clairvoyant vision… And there he lay, as handsome as she had last seen him.
His jawline was sharp, handsome. His face was soft, not a scar or mark upon it. The skin illuminated his face, as if kissing him and making it almost glow. His hair was golden blonde, glimmering and shining, and- though she knew they were closed- his eyes were an azure blue, as vast and beautiful as the skies above.
He was still clad in his armour, the very clothes he had worn the day he died. Even the marking upon his armour where Mordred had stabbed through, inflicting the wound that ultimately resulted in his eternal rest.
Merlin's throat closed softly, and another tear fell down her face, though she made no attempt to stop it this time. Every time she gazed upon Arthur in this state, her regrets and feelings of failure flooded through her. Even hundreds and hundreds of years later, she didn't forgive herself for her failures in causing Arthur- her sweet Arthur- to end up like this.
She took a breath and looked out the window to the flowery fields of Avalon, no longer as relaxed as a look of sadness and guilt came to her face.
Truly, she'd taught Vivian well… This was far too fitting of a punishment for someone like her.
~~The Last of Avalon~~
She was running.
In spite of her swollen belly, pregnant with child that she was to give birth to very soon, she ran and ran, knowing if she stopped for even a moment, her life would be forfeit, and her child would never see the light of day.
The sounds behind her only grew louder, dread filling her soul as she just knew that soon- very soon- they would catch up and she would lose her life as a result.
But then she spotted a familiar alley to her, and her soul filled with hope.
She quickly ducked into the alley, rushing towards the end of it and began to tap and nudge the bricks. "Where is it, where is it…!?" She muttered in frantic panic as the loud sounds of footsteps and splashing water grew closer, the rain pelting down.
Finally, she felt a loose brick and pushed it, a section of the wall fading away and become a staircase that led down. She descended down it quickly, the wall re-appearing behind her, and she pulled a lever as she went down that would prevent someone else from performing the same trick as she did.
She descended the stairs and began to sprint across the underground of the city, breathing heavily, even as she felt the baby starting to kick inside of her, placing a hand on her stomach. "Please," she groaned. "Please, just hold on… Mommy's gonna get you somewhere safe, so please just stay in there a little longer…!"
Impossibly, those words seemed to work as the baby stopped kicking, making her sigh in sheer relief as she ran through the underground… Just a bit further, and she knew she'd find a place that would help her and her child…
For three hours, she ran through the underground tunnels, before she finally headed up another set of stairs and pressed down on a brick at the top, the wall fading away once again and coming out into a new alleyway. She stumbled out, looking around before she breathed in relief.
An orphanage, just what she was looking for.
As the rain cascaded down on the Earth, she walked up to the door of the orphanage and banged on the door. "Help!" She croaked out. "Please help!"
There was some silence before someone opened the door, revealing a young matron with black hair. "Yes, how can I-?" They began to ask before noticing the woman's stomach. "You're…?"
"I'm about to give birth," she breathed out. "I can't get to a hospital in time… Please help me."
The woman didn't hesitate to step to the side, allowing her in. The pregnant woman was led inside and to a room, where she was lay down on a bed, her dress pulled up…
Two gruelling hours of screaming, crying, and begging later, a loud cry echoed from a child who left the woman's body, the woman herself breathing heavily, looking and feeling weak.
The matron looked at the woman with a sorrowful expression, and the woman just smiled weakly…
Both of them knew, she wasn't long for the world. The woman was exhausted long before coming to the orphanage, and the stress of childbirth over 2 hours was just too much for her, she wouldn't make it.
"Please…" She croaked. "Let me hold him…"
The matron agreed, handing the child over without another word, the woman taking her new-born baby into her arms, a little boy who was crying and sniffling… Almost as if he knew that his mother was going to die.
"My little prince," she said in a soft voice. "So beautiful, so handsome… One day, I trust you'll accomplish great things… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry I won't be there to see it."
"Madam, who is the father…?" The matron asked softly. "Should I-?"
"No," the woman took a deep breath. "I don't… I don't want him to know who his father is, and I don't want his father to know… Please, raise him here, make sure he is filled with love… Because… Because I know I won't…"
"… I understand," the matron nodded, giving the mother a sorrowful look. "His name… What is his name?"
"Name…" The woman muttered. "Yes, a name… A name for my little prince… A name of his own…" The woman closed her eyes before they opened, and she smiled weakly. "… Harrison… Harrison Blacksteel… My little prince…"
The woman coughed hard, covering her mouth with one hand, and the matron quickly checked on her, concerned, but the woman waved her off.
"I… This is the only time I will speak to you, my little prince," she whispered. "I gave all I could to protect and have you, and now I've nothing left…" She kissed his forehead. "… Harrison… You have to live… About all other things, you must not die. Live, and be happy… Mommy loves you more than anything in this world, she gave her life so you could live… So, please, live for me…"
The woman's grip began to grow slap, the matron quickly supporting the woman as she fully lay back on the bed, holding the baby in her arms as her eyes closed. "Harrison… I love you, my son…"
'And one day… My precious little boy… I know you shall avenge me… You shall cast off the false name of Blacksteel, and attain your rightful place… As Harrison Pendragon…'
In that orphanage, moments after the birth of her son, Igraine Pendragon- unknown descendant of Arthur, second wife of Uther Pendragon, a woman who bore another man's baby- passed away after giving birth to her only son, Harrison Blacksteel.
The Matron took the child out of the dead woman's arms, a mourning look on her face as she gently rocked the crying child, who would never again know his mother's touch.
The child stared down at his mother with teary eyes, crying for the woman he would never remember…
Under normal circumstances.
Instead, a single thought ran through the child's mind, despite that impossibility.
'I can't believe I was literally just reborn in this world and my mom's already dead… This… This fucking sucks…'
On that day I, Harrison Blacksteel, carrier of an Isekai'd Soul, was born into a world that cruelly took my mother away before I was even five minutes old.
~~The Last of Avalon~~
Merlin was panicking.
The day had started off normal enough for her, besides the fact it was one of the rare days when she'd decided to actually get some sleep. Something about Arthur had hit her really hard that day, and she decided to sleep it off.
It hadn't really worked as much as she'd have liked, but at the very least she felt refreshed, and enjoyed a hot shower before she dried up, got dressed, and headed to the top of the tower again.
From there, she'd used her Clairvoyance to look out into the human world one more. She'd decided to look at one particular young babe known as Arthur Pendragon. He was about four years old, a descendant not of Arthur, but Gawain.
The Pendragon Family, for all their boasting, didn't carry the blood of Arthur Pendragon in their veins. As far as Merlin knew, Arthur's descendants had all been wiped out, and none of them had ever resided within the Pendragon Family.
The Pendragons were instead descendants of Gawain, who took over as King after Arthur's Fall to try and salvage Camelot, but ultimately, he had failed to save it. However, he hadn't wanted the Pendragon name to die, and thus named his children Pendragon, who carried the name to the present day.
Still, she could not deny that Arthur Pendragon- one of Gawain's latest descendants- looked remarkably like Arthur had at that age, and his Holy Sword Aptitude was impressive, but it had nothing on Arthur. Caliburn might obey him depending on his ideals, but he would never be able to wield something like the True Excalibur that lay within the lakes of Avalon, awaiting Arthur's call.
She smothered another giggle, unable to help the hilarity of the church whole-heartedly believing those 'Excalibur Fragments' were the fragments of Excalibur, when they were actually the fragments of Clarent, which was broken in the battle of Camlann after striking down Arthur.
Honestly, they were fools. Excalibur was a blade embodying the very wishes of humanity, bathed in the heart of the planet, it carried upon it the very concept of 'Victory' and 'Salvation.' There was no way that blade could ever be broken, and it was foolish of them to think that the blade had ever broken, let alone that they'd deluded themselves into believing the Clarent Fragments- for that was what they were- were even close to the level of the Sword of Promised Victory.
Granted, the so called 'Pendragons' were no better, they believed Excalibur as broken too, and that Caliburn was in fact the strongest Holy Sword. She and Vivian had fixed Caliburn together at Arthur's request, and he had decided to keep it safe, and planned to stab it into a stone and allow his children to attempt to pull it to determine who would be the King after him, but things happened, and he never got the chance.
Anyway, after watching Arthur- Gawain's descendant- for a little while, she'd decided to shift her gaze to the true Arthur asleep on Vivian's Lake…
And her heart froze in her chest.
Because Arthur, the One and Future King… Was missing.
She jumped up in shock, checking and double checking again… Before she began to frantically look throughout Avalon for him, desperate to find even a single sign of him.
Nothing.
She cast her Clairvoyance to the human world, looking at the visual representation of the Lake in hopes he would be there.
The water was still, and nobody was present.
She cast her gaze throughout Britain, desperate and also hopeful, looking for any sign of Arthur, or any sign of a crisis… But beyond the norms, there was no crisis, and there was no sign of Arthur either.
She even went as far as to cast her gaze throughout the world as best she could, looking for any signs of supernatural activity that Arthur might be present at for some reason.
And still, she found nothing!
Merlin gripped the pillars of the tower and called out. "Vivian!"
There was no response.
"Vivian please, I know you can hear me!" She cried out. "Arthur is gone! He's missing! You must know where he is, he couldn't have left without you knowing! You are always connected to the lake, now and forever! Please, please, tell me where he is! It was bad enough you did not let me see him one last time, please do not do this to me!"
But no matter how she begged and cried, Merlin received no response.
"Please…" She croaked with a hoarse voice. "I love him. Please, tell me he's okay. Please, send me a sign that Arthur is somewhere! Somewhere alive and well, and happy at least! Please, do not do this to me!"
And even still, Merlin received no response.
She covered her face, and for the first time in so long, she began to sob. She begged, pleaded, and apologise, crying out to someone who she doubted would ever respond to her call again to just see him and know he was safe, to be assured that Arthur- her sweet Arthur- was alive and happy.
'I didn't know what I expected,' she thought morosely. 'Of course, she wouldn't respond… Even hundreds of years later, there's no way I would be forgiven for my part in Arthur's demise… Especially since Viviane felt for him too…'
She sniffed and wiped away her tears, having no desire to watch the stars of humanity on this day as she made her way back down the tower, laying down on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.
It was then that Merlin heard a sound.
A sound so foreign, so mysterious to her ears, that for a moment she didn't recognise it, and felt only pure confusion flowing through her until it finally clicked in her mind just what that sound was.
It was the sound of a door unlocking.
Merlin leapt up from her bed with renewed energy, rushing down the stairs of the tower with speed even she didn't know that she had, her heart beating madly in her chest as she made her way down to the first floor of the tower.
She stared dumbly at what she saw.
The door, that simple wooden door that had never moved no matter her spell or strength, was open. Wide open.
Merlin felt almost dazed as she slowly walked towards the open door, hesitant as if this was some kind of trick or trap.
But nothing happened, the door stayed wide open.
With renewed hope, she walked forwards… And stepped outside.
She felt the gentle air of Avalon on her face and flowing through her hair, the flowers underneath her feet swaying gently in the breeze…
"I… I'm… Free…?" The word tasted so foreign on her tongue; a word she hadn't spoken let alone thought of in several hundred years.
She thought it might be a dream, an illusion… But it wasn't… This was real.
And she was free.
As soon as that concept registered in her mind, Merlin fell to her knees, tears flowing down her face- though no longer of sorrow, but of joy.
She was finally free! Free of the tower, free to explore the world of humans as she pleased, to experience such beautiful wonders that before she had only seen from afar! Movies, Television, Video Games, Hot Springs, Saunas, and more!
She could experience all of it now! She was a prisoner no longer!
Her smile faded.
"… But there's no point to it without Arthur," she whispered to herself, closing her eyes.
As much as she wanted to do all of those things… She wanted to do them together with Arthur. As much as she dreamed of enjoying the human world as it was no, there was little point if Arthur wasn't there experiencing them with her.
For a minute, she contemplated just going back into the Tower and locking the door herself… She even went as far as to turn back towards the door before she saw something that escaped her notice the first time.
Upon the door was a piece of paper, folded upon the front as if someone had placed it there for her to find.
She hesitated as she walked forwards, almost afraid that if she went into the tower, the door would lock, and this time there truly would be no escape… But she stepped into the doorway and pulled the piece of paper off, unfolding it and looking at the words upon it.
The paper considered of only two words, big and bold, impossible to misread.
Find Arthur.
Her heart raced in her chest, hope surging through her body.
Arthur was indeed out there somewhere… But why then, could she not find him? Was he somehow hiding from her sight? Was Vivian- who had no doubt written this for her- hiding him as some sort of test?
But she told her to find Arthur, did even she not know where he was? But how was that…
Reincarnation.
The answer jolted through Merlin like a lightning.
Reincarnation, of course. It was said Arthur would return when Albion needed him most, but it never said how Arthur would return. It was only implied that he would simply appear as he had always been...
But, thinking about it now, Arthur would clash with more modern values, would he not? Knights had long since had their time, they wouldn't truly fit into the world as it was today. Arthur was grownup, difficult to change his values like that.
But if he had been reincarnated, growing up on modern values, then it would make perfect sense!
Merlin held the note tight to her chest and ran up the stairs of the tower- after casting several spells at the door, and even manifesting a steel block and putting it in the way of the door so it wouldn't be able to fully close- and began to pack her things.
Arthur was alive.
Somewhere out there, Arthur was alive, likely newly born and experiencing the world for the first time all over again.
She would do exactly what the note said.
She would find Arthur, and she would train him once again…
And this time, she swore she wouldn't fail the man she loved. Not ever again.