The magical blasts behind me spur me on.
I shove away the ache in my legs.
Not once do I slow down. I cannot.
Not while Saber is buying me time.
I know not how long I run like this.
After what seems like years, I crest the hill.
"Haa... haa...!"
There it is.
The Sword in the Stone.
A month ago, had I been in this same position, I would have sworn at it.
Cursed it.
Wished it to oblivion.
But because of the sword and the misery it bequeaths, I met Saber.
One good thing came from a lifetime of destruction and anguish.
A more logical person might trade that good thing to undo all the bad.
After all, that sword has indirectly caused the death of hundreds, if not thousands.
'Tis cruel of me to admit, but... I do not much care.
My family and town have managed to survive.
My ties to the prophecy brought me Saber.
But now that I have those things I desire, I have no use for it any longer.
I tuck Kanshou and Bakuya into my belt, and grab Rule Breaker.
I can destroy the Sword in the Stone without regret.
'Tis just as Saber said.
If I sever my chains here, I shall free him as well.
I dash forward.
"Haa! Haa! Haa!"
I am an arm's length away.
Something yanks my head back.
Jolting pain races into my neck and shoulders.
It throws me to the ground.
"What are you doing?"
I replay the words in my head.
The voice was my own.
A fractured black sabaton steps between me and the sword.
I cannot believe my eyes.
This person should not be here.
The impossibility of the situation stuns me.
"Why would you destroy your own sword?"
I shove Rule Breaker back into its pouch, and draw my sword.
I scramble to my feet.
"You... you are...!"
She is different from my memories.
Her armor is chipped, broken.
The red lines once crossing it have faded away.
They remain only on her weapon.
Her cracked longsword blocks my path.
Its harsh coloring disturbs me.
This person, this alternative self I refuse to accept...
I take a breath and swallow my frustration.
"'Tis not my sword."
Her expression is unchanging.
Nay, that is wrong.
She has no expression to begin with.
Her face is blank. It lacks emotion.
"You are King Arthur. That is this world's Caliburn. It is your sword."
She says it as if discussing the weather.
The statement's simplicity builds my anger.
"I am not King Arthur!"
Golden eyes narrow.
Her lips curl into a scowl.
"Detestable."
She is upon me faster than I can blink.
I raise my sword in defense.
The black longsword swipes, and the weapon in my hands crumbles.
Her blow forces me back.
"Ngh...!"
King Arthur levels her blade at my neck.
"You wish to abandon your duty. You dishonor all those who would swear themselves to your blade."
I draw Kanshou and Bakuya.
The two swords are awkward in my hands.
I do not know how to use them.
My rebuttal flies out by itself.
"It was never my duty to begin with!"
She takes an imperious step forward.
In that moment, she seems more dragon than man.
"It is why you were born. You have no choice in the matter."
She is wrong.
I know it in my heart.
Saber said I was free.
That I was the girl this person tossed aside.
My hands move on their own.
Rather, Kanshou and Bakuya lift my hands into the proper, optimal positions.
They choose to protect me.
I have faith in them. I have faith in Saber.
And if I have faith Saber...
"The reasons for my birth..."
...I must also have faith in myself.
"...are not the reasons for my life!"
She lunges. She attacks.
I give the swords control.
My body contorts in strange, unfamiliar ways.
I duck beneath the strike and close in.
Bakuya goes for her neck.
"...!"
The attack is blocked. Arthur plants her leg and kicks me.
"G-Gah...!"
Her blow launches me into the air.
The two swords drag my arms down.
I transition into a flip, and land on my feet.
Divine skill, flawless and firm.
I rush forward.
Arthur readies her cracked blade.
I cannot beat her in a contest of strength.
Her skill and experience far exceed my own.
Our strength rips the mountains.
My enemy widens her stance.
I recognize it.
'Tis the same technique I fall into whenever I fight Palamedes.
She will—
Our swords split the water.
"Ngh—"
I dance around her strike.
My weapons guide me towards this enemy.
Saber is with me.
He lives in these swords.
Life approaches the Imperial Villa.
The memories within will bring me victory.
His experiences.
His failures.
His victories.
"Ha—!"
My attack is parried again.
I twist with the momentum.
A spark of lightning races up my arms.
With her prana, Arthur just...!
"Tch!"
I dodge the blast of energy. Its heat singes my bangs.
Comprehension graces me.
The way her prana swirls within her armor...
I think I can do that too.
Two great men, one shared life.
I brace my hips and bring the two weapons down.
Arthur half-swords her blade.
Holding it horizontally, she blocks my blow.
For just a moment, her knee buckles.
"How...!"
The visions dance in my mind.
Her corruption. Her betrayal.
But above all else, her threats.
I will not accept her threats.
"You said you would cut off his head!"
Her jaw tightens.
"I showed him mercy."
"You wanted to kill him!"
"The Grail would have tortured him."
I cannot accept her logic.
Her reasoning is inconceivable.
My rage builds.
"Then why did you not help him? Why did you not guide him to victory?! You had control over your own faculties! You could have resisted its temptations!"
Her prana flares. It forces me back.
I force my energy into my legs.
I can mimic her. I can use her skills.
Her abilities are my own.
"The Grail offered me the power I needed to save my kingdom. I thought I could guide Camelot to utopia."
I cannot believe what I hear.
Utopias cannot exist.
They are beautiful, impossible dreams.
The goal is noble. The goal is whimsical.
Her idealism led her astray.
"Nothing you do can save your kingdom! The fault lies with those around you! You are but one person, Arthur!"
Her carefully constructed mask fractures.
Raw fury momentarily crosses her features.
Black flames dance upon her longsword.
"You would see them burn?! You would see them suffer?!"
"I recognize that I cannot help them all!"
"You alone stand between them and oblivion!"
"I will not sacrifice myself for a pointless cause! I am no one's martyr!"
Those draconian eyes dilate.
She pulls the sword up to her shoulder.
"That is your duty, as King Arthur Pendragon!"
My heart pounds.
Energy flows into Kanshou and Bakuya.
They shudder and transform and lengthen.
I see red.
"I am Artoria!"
"You are a selfish child!"
We both charge.
Our lives are incompatible.
There can be no coexistence.
"The two of us cannot hold these heavens together!"
The Sword in the Stone gleams in the snowfall's reflected sunlight.
Her magical fire roars.
Saber's weapons react to the air's latent mana.
They trail a line of sparks.
"ARTORIA!"
"ARTHUR!"
Caliburn's light refracted and split off the dome like a mirror. Snow parted into clouds. A rasping breath brought Shirou strength, and with it he focused the sword's energy to the best of his abilities.
The light became a laser. The laser did nothing.
"F-Fuck..."
Another tug inside his chest, and with it, yet more excruciating pain. The blade works wouldn't let the crystal consume him, but he needed to cut the connection.
Sharpest sword in existence.
"D-Durandal."
The sword dropped with the weight of an anvil. It slammed into the thinner crystal bonds holding his left arm. Cracks formed along the tendril's surface; Shirou bit back a snarl.
"Come on, Roland!"
Another slash cut the tendril. He clenched his fist, and the blades in his left gauntlet fought their way through the glassy covering. It shattered. The bloodied hand grabbed the tendril in his chest, and with a guttural, hoarse roar, Shirou began to pull.
"Grrroooaaagh!"
Blades inside his body pushed against it. The harpoon fought his efforts every step of the way; prana surged into his muscles, and Shirou grit his teeth. Horrendous pain swelled in his chest.
He didn't care. He'd suffered worse.
The bloody harpoon left his body. He suppressed his urge to vomit. A familiar, groaning grind rocked his person as the interlocking swords stitched the wound shut, and with nothing but sheer force of will, Shirou took a titanic step forward.
"If one doesn't work, we will try five!"
Imitations of the same nondescript longsword burst from the ground. This one wasn't Caliburn. He wouldn't dishonor the sword's memory with unending copies.
No, this sword was different.
They hovered about his person, oriented themselves in the arena's direction. Shirou leveled his finger at the corrupted building's entrance, and declared the name of Caliburn's hallowed ancestor.
"Merodach!"
The five swords complied. The five swords fired.
Golden energy slammed into the arena. The beams concentrated on a single point, and through their focus a section of the crystalline wall fractured and fell away.
There it was: the corruption's source.
"Trigger: off."
Prana whirled. The sky blackened with yet another javelin volley.
Shirou lifted his left gauntlet to the sky. The red cloth fluttered in the wind. He opened his armored hand.
"Set."
The blades lodged in his person ejected with bloody arcs. They righted their orientations, multiplied. The Merodach copies took up formation, and loosed an array of golden light.
Arthur's Caliburn in his right hand.
"Nine Lives..."
A flash of green. A monstrous slab.
Heracles' sword-axe in his left.
The Grand Saber charged the Crystal.
"...Blade Works!"
The girl should not exist.
The girl should not exist.
The girl should not exist.
Alter's one thought repeated in her mind like a broken record. This person's incomprehensible existence, her outlandish mind, could not mesh with that of King Arthur.
With every clash of their weapons, Artoria's skill grew. She reinforced her body with prana. She attempted short, explosive jettisons - the precursor to Mana Burst. She dodged and wove and stood her ground.
And Alter found all of it disturbing.
King Arthur did not use those twin swords. They belonged to the one called Archer - the strange Servant of that girl, Rin Tohsaka. Put simply, he could not be in their current age. Neither the Master nor the Grail system existed.
So then why did this girl, this cowardly child, fight like that Servant?
Furthermore, the white Saber, the woman in the dress, told Alter that this girl's companion was the Shirou Emiya she sought. The one she wronged. The one she betrayed.
Her Master.
She identified an alternative solution to the question, but it made little sense. Alter required answers. Their blades locked together.
"Those weapons do not belong to you."
Artoria pushed into the confrontation.
"My Servant let me... borrow them!"
Alter stepped back, then reengaged.
"Your Servant is Archer?"
"No, he..."
The girl's words fell away, evaporated by some unknown epiphany. A Cheshire Cat grin spread her lips.
"You haven't a clue," she whispered. "'Tis why I cannot hear his name in your memories! You know nothing about him!"
Her rambling irked Alter. She kicked the girl away, then followed with a blast of prana. Artoria flipped to the side; a cyan glow ascended the insufferable girl's arms, and at the apex of the maneuver she flung her black longsword at Alter's forehead. The weapon shot forth like an arrow.
Alter swerved around the blade, which, with its immeasurable velocity, carved a deep gulch into the frozen field. Artoria followed the thrown Kanshou. Her white sword slashed in from over the shoulder. Alter met the blow with her own, and the impact blew the ground apart.
The blackened woman hissed.
"You would claim to know the man I seek?"
Magical sparks danced between their faces.
"When I summoned him, he became whole," the girl sneered. "All of his lives combined into one person, Arthur. And one of them..."
Artoria leaned in close.
"...was the Archer."
...
A terrible epiphany struck Alter. Shirou's arm. The Shadow attacked—
Sakura attacked...!
Her breaths came out quick and short. Golden eyes saw old, painful memories.
The one thing she'd tried to stop. The one thing she wanted to prevent. She tried to goad Shirou into giving her a reason to kill him. That way, Sakura, in her madness, wouldn't torture the one person she cared for. Shirou would be spared. But... but if Archer...!
"I have seen some of his memories, Arthur. I asked him about it. I know he sacrificed you for that girl," Artoria continued. "But you come from the life where he managed to survive. Do you know how many times he died in that family of realities?"
Another crack in Morgan. The girl's eyes flashed gold. Her voice came out a low, low mutter.
"Thirteen."
Thirt—
"In the final death, he destroys the wishing fountain with your own putrid sword. He conjures it and dies..."
Artoria's lips curled back like a lion baring its canines.
"...because you were not there to save him."
Something inside Alter snapped. The white longsword inched closer to her neck. It streaked silver, a blazing fog, its demands for vengeance a mirror of its wielder.
"I know not if you are the version he seeks, Arthur. But I promise you this."
The two aspects stared at each other. One with sorrow, the other with disgust.
"I would sooner draw that repulsive sword than let you so much as look at my Saber."
Her Sa—
Alter let it go. She let all of it go. The prana exploded outwards, riding her wrathful cry.
"You do not deserve him, you selfish whore!"
Two pieces of the same person. Twin variants diametrically opposed, with different experiences fueling conflicting mindsets.
Green and gold. White and black. Artoria and Arthur, Pendragon and Pendragon.
"I deserve him more than you!" Artoria roared. "I value him more than as some asset to be used!"
Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.
Screams met blood. Prana met prana.
"You shall not deny me my redemption!"
One would live.
"You do not deserve to be redeemed!"
And one would die.
"Visualize something you can win with."
"I am Shirou Emiya's ideal self."
"Can you keep up with me?"
All rang true. All could be achieved. All had been accomplished.
What he fought now was not magic. The being utilized neither prana nor mana; some exotic life energy gave it form instead. An abnormal existence it was, brought to the planet by a future wish both Gaia and Alaya sought to undo.
Here. Now.
This battle he fought, this purpose he undertook, was perfect. It harmed no one. It threatened no malice upon any population. His actions here did not take children from their parents, or husbands from their wives.
In this singular moment, as the ground fissured beneath his feet, and as the crystal spears warred against his disembodied swords. As Heracles' axe-sword dented the arena's walls. As Caliburn's sparking light burned away the javelins. As Merodach lit the skies with its grandiose bombardments.
Fighting against this otherworldly being was just. It was both logically correct and morally right.
This was the enemy he longed for.
The reason for his existence.
In this singular moment, at last, after obliterating countless trillions...
His heart pounded. His grin turned insane. Avalon's light drenched his wounds. Crystal dueled iron and steel. The blows he ran down upon the entity didn't so much as scratch... and he really just didn't care.
For Shirou Emiya, at last, could reconcile everything.
It all led here.
"—I'll destroy you!"
Others would find such a declaration alarming. Unhinged. And perhaps it was. Sakura would weep. Tohsaka would panic.
But Saber? Saber would understand.
With every last iota of strength did Shirou slam Caliburn against the floating Crystal.
"I can do it! I can definitely do it! This time...!"
Euphoria. Bliss. Peace. He would consider his wounds after. Death was to be avoided. His purpose was clear, now, and anything that threatened his existence was to be eliminated or avoided.
He could not die until this enemy before him, and the master controlling it, fell. Artoria would be protected. Saber would be found.
And this creature would be killed. Its destruction ensured humanity's survival, the planet's survival. It benefited everyone.
He would save everyone.
As if hearing his pleas, Caliburn erupted, its energy volcanic in its intensity. Blinding light spilled forth against the Crystal, and more harpoons rushed to see it saved.
Two dozen swords burst from the ground. Each targeted a separate crystalline construct. This war, fought by one lone man, continued.
Caliburn charred it, but the Crystal yet stood. Shirou spun on his heel and brought down his left gauntlet. The titanic sword-axe rebounded off the surface, immune to physical penetration.
It brought him nothing but excitement. The enemy's strength saw him on the verge of tears, such was his elation. A challenge. An honest, justified, world-ending challenge. Something against which he could test every speck of might and his entire reservoir of weapons.
Against an enemy void of thought and emotion. For the sake of all who lived, and all who would come after.
A superhero.
Yes, that's right. At this very moment...
"Watch me, Kiritsugu!"
...Shirou Emiya...
"I will make you proud!"
...could be a Hero of Justice.
"Freeze: out!"
Kanshou and Bakuya responded to his elated call. Six copies spun out from nothingness, carved through the sky, sawed through the spears and into the Crystal's surface. Still it held; all his weapons were ineffective.
"The sword, Servant. The enemy you face exists above death. Your armory shan't harm it."
A voice drew him from his revelry. Shirou evaded more flying projectiles and jumped back, his helmet on a swivel.
To his shock and alarm, his back pressed against a white robed figure. Shirou spied an ornate staff in the person's right hand. A flurry of vines and petals joined the ethereal war zone.
The wizard's appearance calmed him. Only one person dressed that way.
"I can't use it. It's a Divine Construct, projecting it will destroy me."
"Hoh? Not with that relic you carry? Not with the girl's blood fueling thee? Come now, do not underestimate thyself."
He did not recognize the wizard's voice, and the hood obscured their face, but their identity was all but certain. If this magus said he could, he would attempt the impossible.
"It'd be hollow. Even if I survive, I'm not sure it'd have the strength."
The figure turned. A hand splayed across his back, between his shoulder blades.
"My, so sickeningly humble! Very well, I shall provide thee with the image you require. Proceed with haste, if you would, while we still have Gaia's blessing. I dislike standing in such a foul locale."
For this person to appear at such an opportune time... but, no. When else would they deign to arrive? The wizard always had a penchant for the dramatic.
So Shirou took a breath, and unleashed enough prana to fuel an army. Around them flew swords and crystals and vines. Explosions tore the landscape asunder. The Merodach copies' incessant magical bombardment parted the clouds.
...
And then.
"I am the bone of this sword."
A bolt of lightning sparked against his nerves. He continued despite the pain. His armor vanished, its sustaining prana redirected to the sinful projection. Swords lodged in his bones and muscles. They locked his arms in place, lest they turn to dust beneath the heavenly power.
"Its steel is my body. Its light is my blood."
Burnt hands grasped at a conceptual construct. The impossible took hold. Blood leaked from his eye, tears stained red, and his fingers struggled to grip the hilt.
After all: the only way to defeat a concept...
"Long have I searched for its beauty!"
...was with another concept.
A sword materialized. Exhausted, Shirou forced the point into the ground and leaned upon it for stability. Every cell in his body howled in pain. Confusion overtook him, for this was not what he envisioned.
It was not her sword.
A dozen questions drifted through his suffering mind.
"What... is..."
"Speak the words," the magus commanded.
Shirou swallowed his apprehensions. Questions later. He did as told.
There is an asterisk next to King Arthur's name.
A certain clause that plagues the legends.
It states the following:
"Seal Thirteen - decision start!"
"This person does not exist."
Fate/ess
Such a declaration differs from standard legends and myths.
BEDIVERE
"THIS IS A BATTLE AGAINST AN ENEMY MIGHTIER THAN ONESELF. APPROVED."
It is one thing to implicitly know the hero Achilles belongs to Homer's imagination.
LANCELOT
"THIS IS A BATTLE THAT WILL HARM NO ELEMENTAL. APPROVED."
It is quite another for countless historians to perform decades of research, and then emphatically exclaim, in a resounding, unified voice:
"King Arthur did not live."
AGRAVAIN
"THIS IS A BATTLE FOR TRUTH. APPROVED."
His legend, it is stated, is the culmination of multiple actions.
MORDRED
"THIS IS A BATTLE AGAINST EVIL. APPROVED."
Taken by multiple people.
KAY
"THIS IS A BATTLE TO LIVE. APPROVED."
Over hundreds of years.
GAHERIS
"THIS IS A BATTLE THAT DOES NOT STAND AGAINST HUMANITY. APPROVED."
It is a statement of fact.
And such a statement brings with it a discrepancy.
Because Artoria Pendragon lived, fought, and died.
?
"THIS IS A BATTLE TO SAVE THE WORLD. APPROVED."
Thus did Alaya decide:
Correct the discrepancy between Man and God.
Fact and Legend.
Truth and Myth.
"Ancient Mystic Code, exterminate these mysteries. All will return to the void."
This is the tale.
"Sacred Sword - releasing restraints."
Of that corrected discrepancy.
...
...
...
...
"Excalibur!"
Alter, in her weakened state, could not match Artoria's power. Artoria, despite her memories, could not match Alter's experience or efficiency.
A stalemate.
A stalemate they both loathed. A stalemate they denied. A stalemate they cursed, even as their blades carved across armor and slashed at neck and limb.
Again and again they clashed. Actions alone mattered, now. Determination and willpower would see the day. And that day, that beacon of hopeful light, was the one called Saber.
The one called Shirou.
Alter wished for her Noble Phantasm's release; Morgan's instability prevented such from occurring. Artoria wished for some way to remove Alter's head, but alas, Bakuya alone was insufficient.
Faced with this unsatisfactory turn of events, the two women once more turned to insults and slander.
Artoria raged her frustrations. "Why... are you so... persistent?"
"Because the kingdom... demands it."
"Is that all you think about? Gods above, do you not have any passions? Any hobbies? Do you like to fish?"
"Cease thy rambling, wench. Such frivolities have no place when armies siege cities."
"You call me a wench, yet sell your soul to a daemonic fountain at the first sign of troubles!"
Alter's brow hardened. "You continue to speak as if it was a choice. 'Twas not. You think I enjoy being this... thing?"
Their swords collided yet again.
"But a moment ago you said the power was necessary," Artoria prodded.
"Necessity does not recognize subjective pleasure, girl."
Artoria sneered. "'Tis that mindset I hate the most. Why sacrifice yourself for they who despise you? For they who toss you away, who sleep with your wife, who burn your kingdom at the first sign of uncertainty?"
"Because I have the power to stand above such things. They do not affect me. I am the king, and the king must exist beyond the selfish desires of men. The king is not human."
But the girl saw through the charade.
"Then why do you seek redemption from one you wronged?"
...
Alter opened her mouth to respond, but she did not get the chance. For the midst of their battle both verbal and martial, the sky parted into a pillar of fire. It rose to the heavens, that almighty column, swirling amid the shattered debris of a vanquished foe.
Both combatants stumbled, and upon realizing the situation's severity, Artoria righted herself and broke into a sprint. A single name danced on her lips.
"S-Saber! Saber...!"
Aghast with her own worried conclusions, Alter gave chase. She, too, ran for that man, for with him laid her hope, and she saw an opportunity with the girl's departure. If he died, she was doomed. Such a thing she would not accept.
The Sword in the Stone went untouched. Unsevered. Unmarred.
A charred field took the arena's place. Golden wisps circled overhead; an ethereal, sparkling glow set about the environs. It brought to mind the laughter of friends, the death of enemies, the hopes of companions and a single, ruinous nightmare.
A white wizard supported Saber's weight. Artoria dropped Bakuya, drove all remaining strength to her legs. Panting desperately, she ran to the wounded man.
"Saber!"
Her voice returned the life to his eyes.
But that life evaporated when he saw what trailed his Master.
Utter torment twisted Saber's tired features, and with a ruinous scream he broke from the wizard. The man became a blur, such was his speed, like a cheetah hounding a gazelle.
"MAINYU!"
His broken cry gave Artoria pause. The wind whipped at her. She turned to find the Servant's hand clasped around King Arthur's neck.
"You dare bring her corpse here?!"
He shifted his weight, pulled back, and slammed the woman into the ground. Morgan fell away. Her ruined gauntlets grasped at his wrist. She choked on desperate words.
"Sh-Shi...!"
Artoria heard her. Saber did not.
And beside Artoria stood the wizard.
"My, my. Such an ugly confrontation, is it not?"
She did not expect this. Never had she seen Saber so broken.
"She would have done the same for me."
Something struck her, then. Artoria scrambled to her Servant.
Arthur wanted to kill him to prevent his suffering. Saber wanted to kill Arthur... to prevent her suffering.
To prevent...!
"S-Saber? Saber, wait! She is still...!"
"I won't let you dishonor her memory!"
Thick, ugly tears stained his cheeks. Lips pulled back into a broken snarl.
"I will not let you TAINT HER!"
A dagger materialized in his raised hand - the same one he used back then.
Artoria cried out, grabbed at his arm.
"Saber! Saber, wait! Wait! Please! You don't want this! You don't want this! SABER!"
That look he wore... that anger and fear flickering behind his amber orbs...
She could not let him kill Alter. It would destroy him.
"Ah... I see..."
Tears brimmed in Alter's eyes. Golden eyes flickered to green, back again.
"I... see it... now..."
Her blackened hand lifted, reached out to him. And in that moment, Artoria made a decision. Hypocrisy guided her actions, then, and she moved without a thought.
King Arthur cried. Whether they be of regret or longing, Artoria knew not, but that display of emotion proved the girl wrong. It proved that, beneath their armor, they were the same lonely girl.
She had made a mistake. And as she strove to correct the sword's fated misfortune, so too could she correct the misjudging of one's character.
The dagger descended.
In another life, this man's dedication, his perseverance...
"I'm... sorr..."
A blade once again entered that puncture wound, that ugly gash over Alter's broken heart.
"Shi...rou..."
Warmth spread. Liquid dripped on her cheeks.
Not blood, but tears.
Armor fractured.
Artoria's chest piece fell away, ruined by the projected Azoth's glancing blow. She hunched over the fallen king.
Lodged in Alter's broken, black armor - a crooked blade.
Saber dropped the dagger, recoiled in horror.
"A-Ah..." the boy wailed. "Ahh...!"
Artoria pushed off, threw herself at him, wrapped him in her arms. His unseeing eyes stared into the beyond.
"I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay."
"I... I..."
"I'm okay! I am fine! You did not hurt me! Please!"
"I'm..."
With his removed hand came Alter's final words.
"I... am sorry... Shirou... I... am sorry... Shirou...!"
Amber to gold. Broken to broken. That which they lost, that which—
Gold to green. Black to silver. A contract - severed.
...
He cried out. "S-Saber? Saber?!"
Artoria pulled away. He lunged, grabbed at the dying woman like a man possessed.
Alter to Saber. A slave freed.
"I'm... sorr..."
A guttural whine spewed from his lips. Broken gauntlets caressed his cheeks.
"S-Saber...!"
Tyrant to king.
"Ah..."
A Servant returned.
"You have... grown strong... Shirou..."
He crushed her in a desperate hug.
"No... that is... wrong..."
Her tears overflowed. She closed her eyes.
"You were... strong... from the start..."
A sacrifice undone.
"Your... Saber..."
For one final, beautiful moment...
"...is waiting..."
He hugged nothing at all.
Ether on the wind. It merged with the girl.
"S-Saber...!"
Gone.
...
Hands shook. She took them in her own.
"Saber."
"You... heard my..."
Artoria pushed their foreheads together. "She was not the one you seek. Right? She only knew a shard. Your name, and nothing more."
Desperately he tried to hold it together. Tumbling, crumbling, all to the ground. Like the former Alter, like the Saber freed, Artoria, too, caressed his cheeks.
But her gauntlets were not blackened nor broken.
"But I did not summon a shard. I summoned a man. 'Tis that man I wish to know."
...
"The... the s-sword? Did you..."
"No. She told me to draw it. I refused, so we fought. She wished to apologize for her actions, and I... I... wanted to protect you."
He attempted to stand. "Then... f-for her... we still... need to..."
Flower petals fluttered in their periphery.
...
"I would appreciate it if you did not."
The wizard stood to the side, between them and the distant sword.
Time stopped. Saber righted himself, and with him Artoria stood. The wind left his lungs in one, breathy rasp.
"Y-You...!"
"I thank thee for handling the Crystal. I feared the consequences, had it been left to grow."
"You're not him!" he demanded. "Who are you? Why are you a...!"
The wizard's lips tilted into the faintest of grins.
"Ah, I'm terribly sorry. 'Tis only proper to introduce oneself."
A lowered hood. A head of white.
...
A woman.
Indeed, this is that tale.
"My name..."
Melting snow.
Whispering breeze.
The sky glinted silver.
"...is Merlin."
Fragments - 1
The story of the men and women behind one mythical name.
In this one world.
Where she could live.
The duty fell to another.
"I come bearing greetings from Artoria's twin brother."
This is the legend...
PROTO
...of King Arthur.
Confusion Corner
Old Fate
This chapter marks our official departure beyond Fate/stay night into the larger Nasuverse, and it's here that I should give you the context regarding the multiverse Fate is part of. The first and probably most important thing to know is that Nasu has more works than just Fate and Tsukihime, and that, in some very obscure ways, they're all related to each other, despite being their own separate series. Those "obscure connections" play a large part in how Fateless' interpretation of the multiverse is "organized" - but that's something best left for later in the story, when shit truly hits the fan. So for now, let's talk about the IRL Nasuverse "chronology", i.e. how the Nasuverse came to be over the past twenty years.
1) Nasu's high school years - the Mahoyo rough draft (the novel version), and Old Fate
These are the cornerstones that began the whole thing. Old Fate isn't Fate/Prototype - rather, Old Fate's unused ideas, such as male King Arthur, were salvaged and reinterpreted into what would become the Prototype universe. Per Nasu's own words, Fate ultimately begins with the story of King Arthur, and it's for that reason that Fateless will focus so much on the Arthurian mythos.
2) 1998 - Kara no Kyoukai (KnK), aka Garden of Sinners
Nasu's first official work, in web novel format, published in 1998. KnK establishes the Nasuverse's baseline worldbuilding: the Root, the Counter Force, magecraft, Magic, Origins, etc. etc. all find their beginning in KnK.
3) 1999 - Notes.
Bolded for a reason. A short story published in the doujin anthology Angel Voice. This is where the Nasuverse truly begins, and where all the Nasuverse's disparate parts are interlinked below the surface. Notes establishes the ending, and once you know Notes' lore you'll begin to see it referenced constantly in Nasu's later works, whether that be Tsukihime or Fate. Lostbelt 6, for example, flat out calls Britain's beastmen citizens A-Rays. Here's the Notes side materials entry on what an A-Ray is:
Hundred A-Ray Subspecies
[ a-ray ]
Next generation primates that were created by the human species who used up all the planet's resource.
They were modeled after the living things that used to exist on the planet. They were modified/enhanced in order for them to survive on the corrupted planet. There were numerous branches to the A-rays, and they were categorized into about 100 major species. From 1 to 10 consists of only one type of A-rays each and not a mass.
Some carry the genes of humans and they look like us, but a large part of them are mix/evolved form of various creatures and primates.
[ Angel Voice: Notes. ]
The weapon Mash uses to shoot down the Greek gods in Lostbelt 5 is called the Black Barrel Replica - that means it's a copy of an original. What is the original Black Barrel, you ask? Well, like all of the Nasuverse's works, Notes also has a protagonist:
Gun God
[ GODO ]
…"His" nick name given upon the mission of the "Bird Drop" Some sarcastically called him a god imitator.
A rare pure human. He excavated the Black Barrel from a sealed area, and made it his gun.
Died during the intercept mission of Type-Saturn.
[ Angel Voice: Notes. ]
Notes is so damn important to the larger Nasuverse because it's the last work Nasu published by himself before he and Takeuchi formed the Type-Moon company; in fact, the name "Type-Moon" itself references Notes, and Nasu explicitly states this himself in an interview:
Please tell us about the origin of the circle's name(^^)
Nasu: It was quite difficult to decide. Someone had said "Isn't Aristoteles good enough?" but I didn't like that personally. This is about the Aristoteles from Note. but that naming for me was a case of youthful indiscretion. Then, since we were going for something related to Note. anyway: "...Actually, about that story, just before the last part Type-Moon's identity will be revealed. Also, the Knight Arm it has is called Real of the World(True World)."
I revealed this material I had been keeping secret, then we decided that in this case Type-Moon would be good.
This is, again, my ignorant opinion as someone on the outside, but it's my staunch belief that Nasu has been building up to a return to Notes for at least ten years now. I fully understand why many Fate fans don't know about this short story or what it means - people who started with the anime adaptations or Grand Order may simply not know this is even a thing, given Notes nowadays acts more as the Nasuverse's hidden skeleton than a separate, self-contained series. It's by far the shortest and least developed of Nasu's works, but sometimes the briefest things are the most important.
4) 2000 - Tsukihime
From Notes, after many decisions and some slight retcons after the fact, the Nasuverse is ultimately split into two "sides" of the Counter Force: Gaia and Alayashiki. Gaia, the "planet", is covered primarily in Tsukihime, supported by Mahoyo. I should make a quick note (heh) that Crimson Moon Brunestud - the reason Tsukihime is a "thing" - is a TYPE. And as seen in the above interview, he's also the final boss of Notes.
5) 2004 - Fate/stay night
The big kahuna. Fate's success rockets small doujin soft company Type-Moon into a massive multimedia empire, and spawns multiple offshoot stories, such as Fate/Extra and Fate/Grand Order. This is the Alayashiki side: primarily Fate, with Kara no Kyoukai acting secondarily. The split between Mahoyo and KnK is governed by the appearance of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception - there can only be one user. Since we have two users, Shiki Ryougi (KnK) and Shiki Tohno (Tsuki), the two series thusly must happen in different sets of timelines. Mahoyo is then paired with Tsukihime due to Mahoyo protag Aoko Aozaki's role in Shiki Tohno's backstory, which leaves KnK with Fate. This is on top of more minor differences not really relevant to this Confusion Corner.
6) 2012 - Mahoutsukai no Yoru (Mahoyo)
Nasu finally brings back Mahoyo, the story that started it all, in visual novel format, and understandably brings his A-Game from visuals to the story to the soundtrack. First story of the Nasuverse to get an OFFICIAL ENGLISH TL (holy fucking shit!) as well! I'm pretty sure Aoko's his personal waifu (despite the memes about Takeuchi), and as an aspiring author myself I couldn't blame him whatsoever were it the truth. It's sentimentality; it's easy get attached to the foundational characters, even more-so if those characters bring unexpected success.
7) 2021 - Tsukihime remake (Tsukire)
Posted here for completion's sake. Now, Nasu, you've done the impossible and finally remade Tsuki, so when can I have my Fate route remake? Hmm? HMM?
All of this is to say: Fate has never been about just Fate, and this chapter's title, PROTO, does not actually reference Fate/Prototype. You know those silly iceberg memes, with the more mainstream stuff at the top and all the obscure shit at the bottom?
Well, I hope you brought your scuba gear!