To be honest, it was kind of surreal for Shirou when he was guided towards a room where several strangers in his likeness all focused their eyes on him. They were all seated on a round table and wearing attire that differed starkly from each other. One was in full-plate knight's armor with a blue mantle lappled over the right shoulder. A crown was loosely worn over his head, but as if it was too cumbersome, the man removed it and placed it on the table, only for a breeze of flowers to float it back up to the man's head.
The knight's features twitched, knowing that a certain wizard had pulled a prank on his crown.
In any case, Shirou shifted his attention away from the knight to stare at the other two. One wore a white-colared uniform with an emblem Shirou recognized as Chaldea on the left pectoral area. Command Seals were blatant over the back of his right hand, and he seemed just a bit older than Shirou presently was.
Then there was the final man in hunting leathers with a gaze as sharp as Assassin's. That one was the 'Lord of Calla.' Shirou knew this by recalling the portrait Chaldea had supplied during their first briefing.
In that case, the knight seated on the right was likely none other than the 'Holy Sword User,' and the one in uniform was the operative from Chaldea.
The door shut behind Shirou, an uneasiness assailing him as he was silently gestured by the others into a seat at the center of the round table.
"To begin with, I suppose introductions are in order," The Lord of Calla opened, noting the awkwardness in the air. "Everyone here goes by Shirou, so it's best that we form a distinction between us and the original."
"Feel free to call me Ashton," The Holy Sword user answered, long since used to the name.
"Keep to my title for me. It's easier that way," The Lord of Calla shrugged.
"Master 47," the one in Chaldea's uniform finished.
"Then, just Shirou for me," Shirou spoke up when all attention fell back on him. His hands felt a bit clammy, a pressure only he was feeling welling up from within him. Was it due to a feeling of inadequacy or the realization that he was the most vulnerable?
Considering the weight Shirou's existence had in this war for those participating with him, Shirou was starting to realize Caster would likely try to skin him again for agreeing to attend a meeting on his own without telling anyone.
Fortunately, Shirou's unease was put to rest by Ashton's initiative.
"The only people present in this room right now are us. If you have any questions, now is the time," Ashton nodded at Shirou while getting the agreement of the other two.
Left with free reign, several thoughts came to Shirou's mind. A majority were centered around what he'd just experienced before arriving in Camelot, Xenovia's struggles, the desperation in all the fighting.
It was madness.
Suddenly, trepidation and unease was thrown out the window.
"Why participate in all this?!" Shirou drew strength from indignance at the besmirching of his ideals, and the thought that any version of himself could condone this.
"Why would we fight if not because there are those that we wish to protect?" The Lord of Calla answered. "It's just that simple."
"That's not good enou-"
"However," The Lord of Calla continued, cutting Shirou off. "Are we the type of people to just give up and act according to some script?"
The question struck directly at Shirou. If everyone here was anything like him, then the answer was, no.
"Here's what Ashton and I have learned so far." The Lord of Calla leaned forward and began sharing the details he'd acquired through his stay in the war.
The details so far were quite scarce, revealing only that the number of Shirous in the war were unknown, and that the majority of participants were just as confused as to why they were here. However, two glaring things were apparent based on the earlier behaviors of the two dominant powers in the war. First, the Holy One faction was not hostile at first, and seemed to have discovered something, but everything had abruptly changed before they grew at odds with the White faction. Second, the Shirou of the White faction may know why.
The problem was…
"As we are now, we can't contend with the Holy One or White factions, let alone demand answers." Ashton admitted with a long sigh only the father of a rowdy household could make. He even had the stubble of a beard forming. "It's suicide. If not for Merlin, even this bubble of space wouldn't be able to offer any safety."
It took a moment for everyone to digest this. Moreover, the Lord of Calla and Master 47 both had an idea of how capable Ashton was. For him to admit that even he was getting hard pressed emphasized the sheer capability of the competition.
Master 47 shook his head and focused on what was important. "In short, this isn't merely an alliance to defend against the Holy One or the White faction, but a means to reach the truth of this world and disrupt it rather than for the sake of a wish."
The Lord of Calla turned to address Shirou followed by the other two at the same time.
"Will you join us?" They asked.
For Shirou, the response was obvious. It was affirmation. He'd been right. There was no way any version of himself would be comfortable enough to willingly participate in this war without any resistance.
"Of course," Shirou answered.
"Good," Master 47 was quick to respond, the other two picking up on it with a hint of expectation.
"Based on your expression," Ashton had mastered his wife's poker-face by this point. The regality of a king exuded from him in waves. "Have you discovered anything?"
Master 47 was not humble and smiled softly. "It's more Chaldea's lead analysts and researchers than me. In any case, it seems as if our odds aren't entirely bleak, but frankly, it all rides on him."
Master 47 pointed, all eyes tracing the direction of the outstretched finger, only for the original Shirou to start sweating when the connection was made.
"M-Me?" Shirou asked dubiously. He was absolutely clear that he may as well by the weakest link out of anyone in this alliance.
"Yes you," Master 47 confirmed.
Fiddling with something he'd been holding onto, Master 47 revealed an object in the shape of Chaldea's logo. It was a hollow sphere that was modified with a holographic projector screen. He placed it on the middle of the table.
On the screen came a 3d display of the data Chaldea had accumulated regarding the entire Singularity and the combatants within it. Namely, the Shirous and known members of their factions that Chaldea had come in contact with.
"As you all know, everyone within this war is composed of spirit particles, their physical bodies assumed to be in states of suspended animation in their respective realities." Master 47 began to explain what Chaldea had told him.
The screen focused on the original Shirou's group in particular. Shirou appeared, followed by Rin, Kozuki, then Sakura. These former humans displayed readings similar to that of their Servants.
Master 47 continued.
"In this world, Master, Servant, human, or otherwise, all possess the same means as Heroic Spirits to determine their capabilities…a Spirit Origin." Master 47 looked at everyone present and said what needed to be said. "It should be the same for the leader of the White and Holy Factions."
From here, the projected image shifted from the original Shirou to just the Lord of Calla. Zooming in, the projector focused on the established Spirit Origin before comparing it to the original Shirou's.
There was a notable difference in size and presence.
Master 47 would explain why.
"Every other Shirou in this war possesses a unique and developed Spirit Origin that defines them for the legends they've carved into their history, but you," Master 47 nodded at Shirou at this point. "You're the original, the starting point from which every other Shirou branches from. Unlike them however, you're undeveloped and lacking in the experience of our counterparts which reflects directly on your present-"
"Spirit Origin!"
A chipper voice interrupted Master 47 from here, the life-like projection of a youthful Mona Lisa taking to the screen.
"DaVinci here, now allow me to elaborate before Holmes gets any further lost in thought."
The girl on screen blushed at her excitement, realizing that no one really shared the same enthusiasm. Ah, the sin of ignorance. Da Vinci pressed on.
"Ahem, unlike everyone else with matured Spirit Origins, the original Shirou is in the process of development. In layman's terms, he's in the malleable stage of the forging process, allowing his Spirit Origin to go anywhere. Recall that a Spirit Origin's power is denoted by the Heroic Spirits experiences, legend, and actions. The original Shirou has none of that to his name, giving him the weakest starting point of any Shirou in this war."
Yeah fine. Rub it in. Shirou hunched his shoulders. He already knew he was weakest.
"However, that can change rapidly. Remember, the original's Spirit Origin is undeveloped unlike the others, and as such, can become much more given the right stimulus."
"Resonance," Master 47 said to the others, alluding to a significance recognized only by those that have personally experienced it already.
Most of the Shirous nodded, but the original Shirou was the only one nodding to fit in despite not quite understanding what was in store for him. Unlike the rest, he'd never fought a Holy Grail War yet, let alone enountered Archer's ambitions in any route. Therefore, he didn't know the effect clashing with versions of himself could bring. Everyone else had already reached their growth plateau, but he was only starting.
In the same way one of the Shirous had grown to catch up to Archer in an alternative path of ideals, the original Shirou could do the same with the rest.
Therefore it was settled.
Master 47 suddenly stood up and patted the original Shirou on the shoulder.
Something about Master 47's smile in this moment reminded the original Shirou of Tohsaka's Archer.
"Good luck."
Da Vinci's projection winked before it was explained that the original Shirou would soon be undergoing a round robin against every Shirou present in the room.
Suddenly, Shirou understood why everyone was looking at him the way they did before he stiffly withdrew from the meeting. From first light tomorrow, he would be facing Master 47 until he reached a suitable level to face the Lord of Calla in the next week, followed by Ashton in the following.
Shirou could already imagine what he was in for, but it didn't stop him from knowing it needed to be done.
Walking back to his arranged quarters in Camelot, Shirou found that he wasn't the first one to arrive back.
"Saber?" He called out to his Servant, hesitating at the entrance of his room, unable to even knock.
By the looks of it, she didn't even know that he hadn't even been inside. Just how long had she been standing there?
In any case, his voice seemed to catch Saber off guard because something in the way she was looking at him right now seemed off. She bit down on her lower lip, her shadowed features difficult to interpret. If nothing else, the stark difference in her demeanor when he'd first summoned her, and now, was jarring. She almost felt small, even 'desperate' might have been a better description.
She managed to take in a deep breath, and suddenly an expressionless face was looking back at him.
"Can I ask you a personal question, Master?" Her voice was terribly soft, weak even.
"Please, go ahead," Shirou replied, unable to refuse her when he finally noted that her eyes were puffed and reddened as if she'd been crying.
She was obviously not well.
"Your features are European- no that's not what I meant. Forget it. What I mean is-" Saber didn't want to beat around the bush anymore and took another deep breath before just letting it out. "Do you remember anything from your childhood?"
A rather odd question, but one that Shirou certainly had an answer to.
The problem was-
"Sorry, but no. Fuyuki is all I can remember."
He didn't know whether his answer was the right one to give.
She froze up, her lips quivering.
"I see," was all she said.
"Any reason why?" He tried.
No reply.
She just didn't answer and stood there in an almost hollow-like silence before wordlessly walking off.
"-Listen well Arturia, but what I've shown you is not fake. I speculate that your Shirou and mine are one and the same. You can always ask Lord Ashton himself. He's known to be horrendously weak to his wife and family."
A future she could have had.
"More importantly…if your wish is truly for a better future, a better Camelot, then please consider where your allegiance in this war should lie, or what wish you'd make if your side emerges victorious."
The whispers would no longer stop once they began.
/-/
Watching from a distance, Merlin let out a sigh, but could not allow himself to wallow in regret. What's done is done. In the end, he was still Camelot's Court Wizard affiliated to Lord Ashton and his version of Arturia who grew up with him as her mentor. The interests of the King, Queen, and their children were under Merlin's full consideration. He'd watched them grow up, endure hardship, and had even been there for their wedding; later even becoming godfather to their children.
Ah, the bane of sentiment.
"You're a snake."
…
"A sorry sod."
…
"A homewrecker. Everything you touch, you destroy."
"Shut up Morgan," Merlin scowled, looking at his staff where the voice was coming from. "As if you were any better."
The voice grudgingly stopped.
Thanks for reading!
Feeling a bit under the whether after I just had a booster shot for Covid today, and then I have another booster shot for Influenza this Sunday.
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