Shirou was dreaming of his death.

He stood against a beast more powerful than anything he ever knew. Black as night, impossible to track, and nigh invincible against his infinite armoury.

It was suffocating, the presence of an invisible apex predator. Shirou felt like Primate Murder was breathing down his neck, yet he was sure that the beast was a distance away from him. It was distracting, and certainly didn't help him focus on the situation.

Another blast of superheated air washed over the area, melting both snow and ground alike into glowing hot rock.

Shirou had thrown an unnamed Noble Phantasm from Gilgamesh's collection. It held an Anti-Beast property, making it one of the few weapons Shirou could use against Primate Murder. It was weaker than he hoped, but that was easily answered by breaking the phantasm.

A rock smashed into his position, but Shirou was already gone. He jumped behind another set of trees while materializing another set of swords. It was a mixed set of swords designed for utility and Anti-Beast phantasms.

A basic sword engraved with a code to manifest a burst of light, similar to a flashbang, activated. The area was instantly flooded in brightness to stun the monster, followed by Shirou breaking one Anti-Beast weapon and shooting it at Primate Murder.

The explosion met nothing, the beast of Gaia having disappeared below ground.

Shirou grit his teeth. It was already hard to keep track of Cath Palug above ground. Below ground was simply an impossibility. In a normal sense, Shirou should be able to feel the tremors underneath as the beast tunnels within the earth. But that did not apply to the First Seat of the Dead Apostle Ancestors. Primate Murder seamlessly merged itself with nature to an unnatural degree that nature and the beast couldn't be differentiated. As such, Shirou could feel nothing even as Cath Palug circled him from below.

A single tap on the ground was all that was needed to cast a large-scale structural analysis on the battlefield. Shirou instantly received the feedback and grimaced. Even Primate Murder's physical structure has adapted the concept of nature, rendering it impossible to read the difference between it and the ground.

Well, there was only one way to force it out. Waiting for the ambush wasn't going to help Shirou.

Shirou traced Herakles' great weapon from the 5th Holy Grail War. He redirected his prana to focus towards boosting the reinforcement in his right arm before slamming it into the ground at breakneck speeds.

The idea was to replicate the earth shaking tremors Primate Murder had been throwing around by focusing an insane amount of power into such a small point. Hopefully, Shirou would be able to identify a dissonance of vibration between the monster's body and that of the earth.

If he could just catch the position and direction the beast was coming from, then it would be easier for him to avoid getting murdered. Not that it was easy to dodge Primate Murder in the first place.

The First Seat of the Dead Apostle Ancestors was one of the greatest threats to humanity after all.

The ground shook as a wave of kinetic energy erupted from the point of impact, spreading outwards in a radial manner. At the same time, Shirou observed the transforming structure below him, until the wave met a composition of particles that did not break down from the stress.

Without waiting, Shirou bounded in the opposite direction. Immediately, the ground exploded as the giant wolf lunged at him, jaws wide open, teeth as large as him open to swallow him whole.


Shirou jerked up with his heart pounding. The dream felt too real. He could feel the danger and fear of fighting the monstrosity. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Swords of power, a monster so large that it dwarfed the forest.

And most of all….it was him fighting it. Or rather, fighting from the perspective of the human.

The sheer presence of the monster was constricting, like he was moving through water. His movements were out of tune with his body, they felt slow in comparison. Then combine that with the sensation of moving in a body larger than his own, and his coordination felt like hell.

"You're finally awake, kid."

Shirou blinked. Then slowly turned to his side to see Yamashiro hugging his knees leaned up against the very corner of the cave. The sight of the big bad hunter of the village hugging his knees felt so foreign that Shirou had to blink a few times before noticing their location.

'Cave?'

It dawned on him that first, they were alive. Hooray. Second, they were in a cave. It was night judging from the little moonlight illuminating the walls.

"H-huh? H-how?" Shirou was struggling to understand. They were supposed to be dead. Or at least, that was what he assumed.

"Ask them." Yamashiro gestured in the opposite direction.

Shirou turned around to see the large wolf that was hunting them earlier. Then scrambled towards Yamashiro's side of the cave. The wolf was sitting near the entrance, blocking the only escape that Shirou could see.

They were trapped.

Shirou's eyes landed on their bags some meters away, ripped open and discarded. A small trail of food led to a small wolf cub happily eating away at the supplies the pair brought.

Once that food ran out, they were the next thing on the menu. It was one thing to be hunters and provide food for the village. It was an entirely different thing to be hunters and provide food for an enormous wolf and her kit.

Provide? More like become.

The small wolf snacked on the remaining food. Shirou counted each mouthful as one moment closer to certain demise. At least his final memories would be watching a cute wolf pup munch on some food.

Then, the moment came. There was no more food to be found from the bags. The kit sniffed around the bags for more, then turned on the cowering humans in the corner. The wolf Shirou assumed to be a parent leered at them as the pup inched closer.

The first to go would be the lucky one. The other would be alive long enough to see his partner become chow for the wolf pair.

Shirou was that lucky one.

The pup approached Shirou and panted excitedly before licking his hand. Shirou closed his eyes and waited for the parent to finish him off.

…?

Shirou opened an eye to see the larger wolf pawing at the ripped bags. The cub was busy sniffing and licking his hand but he didn't dare move an inch, scared to trigger a reaction from the larger parent.

Then, it spoke.

"Do you have more?" The wolf's voice was female. It carried a melodic hum that was barely discernible, but it was there. She was a mother caring for her cub.

And she wanted food.

"N-no. B-but I could get more." Shirou stammered. There was only one conclusion he could draw from this. It was winter, therefore the sources of food were scarce. This mother was caring for her child, and any growing child needed a constant supply of food to grow. So it was only natural for Shirou to grasp at straws if it meant surviving. The only problem would be the amount he could provide. The mother wolf could easily require 10 to 20 times the amount that an average person could eat based on her size.

Yamashiro beside him was darting his eyes between the two. One, the wolf was talking…talking to them. Two, Shirou was actually bargaining for survival. Something he didn't think was possible up until now. Then again, it made sense. Food was hard to come by, and here came along two people carrying food from somewhere. Considering that the wolf was sapient, it was easy to connect the clues that they came from one of the surrounding villages. Villages that could survive through winter because of their stockpiles.

"H-how much do you n-need?" It was a scary thought. The village had a decent stockpile, but Shirou did not know if it was enough to meet the wolf's demands. The least he could do was convince the wolf to let them go to bring back food and hope that the village would agree. Lying wasn't an option because the wolf could easily attack their village for supplies.

The easy way out would be to offer themselves for dinner, but no sane person would do such a thing.

Maybe in Shirou's older life with all his memories, he would've done it to save the people. But this Shirou was a blank slate. A normal person. Or at least as normal as he believed to be. Unlimited Blade Works certainly hadn't influenced this version much. It was awakened, but its memories had yet to build a foundation on the child. As such, only brief memories of the most impactful events could be transmitted.

You could say that the body and the soul were not as united. Still, it was the same person. That was enough of a connection to build upon.

"My daughter enjoyed the fish you left behind in the river, and the food you brought today was the best she's ever tasted." The wolf nodded towards the destroyed bags. Now it made sense. Why they weren't dead, and why the pup was excitedly pawing at them. "I just need you to visit regularly like you did in the river, and bring food for my daughter. I don't need any."

Shirou's eyes twitched. Fish and cooked meals. That was what the mother was asking for. All the running they did, all the despair and panic. Everything.

Just to drag them into their cave and demand to feed her daughter.

Life was playing games with them. Shirou was sure of it.

"O-of course! I-I'll bring more food next time!" Shirou wasn't going to argue with the absurdity he found himself in. It was already a blessing that they were being given a second chance at life! He was going to pray to every deity out there once he got home. Then, he would beg forgiveness from Taiga for lying. Maybe even willingly train against her and her cursed bokken.

No. He was going to make up for all the wrongdoings he's done in life. It was only right after being given this golden opportunity to survive.

"And your companion…don't bring him again." The mother zeroed in on Yamashiro, who gulped and folded deeper into himself.

They both exchanged glances at each other, an invisible conversation happening at the speed of light.

You're your own Shirou.

God damn it all. I was literally being left to the wolves by my own teacher.

Shirou slowly returned his eyes to the large predator. "Y-yes! He won't be returning anymore." Better to just agree to her demands and hope for the best. Not like there was any other choice in this situation. Pray to the gods? Nope. Shirou was going to start praising this wolf if she demanded it. Dignity be damned. Desperation makes people do crazy things. But this wasn't crazy! It was logical, sensible, and completely normal!

"Very well. I expect you to be at the river in three days' time." Then she must've silently called out to her daughter, since it bounded away from Shirou and back into her fur.

Taking the clear message of dismissal as a sign of freedom, the pair dashed their way back home, adrenaline pushing them until they reached the gates long past midnight.


Shirou nervously waited at the riverbank. Beside him, a large bag of cooked food he personally prepared for the occasion. If he was going to be feeding the wolf cub, then he should make sure that they wouldn't consider eating him instead. Which means that he needed to make good food. Good enough to blow them away and keep him around for more.

It had been a scant few minutes upon his arrival before the two wolves appeared across the riverbank. The forest didn't signal a clue of their arrival. No sound, no movement from the trees, as if they were ghosts silently passing by, invisible to the world around them. Except that Shirou knew they were real and could very well easily hunt him down.

Not ghosts then.

They waited on the other side until Shirou concluded that they wanted him to be the one to approach. So he did. Awkwardly ambling towards the other side carrying a heavy bag of food with him.

Once he reached the pair, the daughter immediately jumped on him, sniffing the food and pawing eagerly at his legs.

"Follow me." The mother signalled and moved in the direction of their chosen habitat. It made sense, they didn't want to be seen by prying eyes. Their presence was enough to scare off all other animals in the area.

The cave was very far from the river. It was hidden amongst the many jagged edges of the mountain, which made it invisible from afar. Located higher than the land around, Shirou was now able to take note of how the cave was perfectly positioned to watch any direction people could come from.

It was very different from all the other caves Shirou saw. As if this cave was chosen specifically for a purpose outside of simple shelter. Clearly, there were more intentions to this place than he knew.

The jagged, uneven, and near invisible path towards the cave also seemed like a deterrent for any interested parties to approach. Shirou found it hard to hike the terrain, even with the considerable training he's had. Then again, climbing trees was different from traversing rocky terrain. At least his balancing skills helped a lot.

Throughout the entire journey, the little wolf pup kept playing around Shirou. Jumping, pawing, and generally cute little actions which distracted him. This helped calm Shirou's nerves while following the mother. Nobody could stay on edge when a cute little wolf was happily playing around them.

Once they reached the cave, Shirou quickly opened the bag and started handing the food to the excited little wolf. The sooner she was happy, the faster he could leave.

At least, feeding the cute wolf was fun. The way Shirou watched her eyes shine in delight with each dish was easing his fears away. Fears of being mauled by the mother cautiously watching him from the side.

One thing Shirou noticed was the bottomless stomach the wolf pup had. Already, half the bag had been eaten away and the daughter showed no signs of slowing down. Shirou worried that he would need to bring even more food next time if he was to satisfy her hunger.

"Your name was Shirou correct? That was what your partner called you." The mother questioned out of nowhere.

Shirou nodded in response. There wasn't much to hide from the large predator near him. He would try to answer any question he can.

"How did you see me?"

It was a simple question, but the connotations behind it were heavy. Shirou had experienced first hand the concealment that the beast had. She was practically invisible even during the battle, which told him the sheer skill she had to disappear into the environment.

He saw her because of his intuition? Instinct? It couldn't have been pure luck. Shirou had felt that something was wrong even before he had found her. The truth sounded pathetic but it was the best answer he's got.

"The first time was an accident. I felt your presence and I used Mana Sight to find you. Your power was shining brightly in the middle of the night. As for the second time during our battle, it was instinct? It was almost like a memory. Like the same scenario had happened to me once before."

At the second explanation, her eyes narrowed at Shirou. He froze, thinking he had answered incorrectly.

"Be honest with me. Tell me everything about this "memory" of yours."

A different forest, a different beast, and a different Shirou. Those were the only clues Shirou remembered. He had tried to remember more, but they were foggy and vague in his mind. But what did stand out was his ability to summon swords. Powerful swords.

"I-I was in a forest, being hunted by another wolf. I-it was night and we were fighting. I was using swords and it was invisible in the environment like you. T-that's all I remember."

Unknown to him, the wolf had been listening to his heartbeat. She had lived thousands of years, and had learned to find the truth using the beat of life that all creatures had. With the exception of the dead like those of the demon clan. No creature could hide the truth from her, the beat of life was honest.

She knew Shirou wasn't lying.

"If not for my daughter, you would be dead."

Shirou gulped. The cheerful wolf in front of him wasn't able to help the growing weight he felt inside him. This pup was the only thing between him and death right now.

"There is a mark branded on your soul, a mark that identifies you as an enemy of our race….by principle, all beasts are required to erase you from this world."

How? Shirou had never met the beast race. He was sure that he had never done anything to warrant such a mark. Why does his soul have such a thing?

"M-mark?"

"The mark on you is from a beast more powerful than I….but that's where the contradictions begin. Not only are you too weak and innocent, but you are also too trustful for your own good. I can hear it all from your heart."

Shirou gaped. From his heart? What kind of power did a magical beast have? He couldn't even imagine hearing a heartbeat from a distance, his reinforced auditory senses could barely penetrate the ambient noise of his environment.

"Now, show me this "Mana Sight" you used to find me."

Practically without a choice, Shirou was forced to show his magical skill. Prana gathered around his eyes to reinforce them, before Shirou grabbed raw ambient mana and combined it within his eyes. Slowly, he opened his eyes to the near blinding magical presence of the wolf and her daughter. He jerked his sideways and closed them after getting the equivalent of a flashbang thrown in his face.

He really should've thought this through. Shirou saw the wolf's bright, powerful presence kilometers away. So naturally, opening them at such a close range would blind him.

"I cannot decide if you are stupid or suicidal." The mother commented in disbelief.

Man and nature are enemies. This was shown by how Man naturally rejects the presence of Gaia within them. Their own mana systems reject external sources of mana, including the ambient mana of the world. This was further shown by how Shirou's mana sight showed that people appeared as voids with sleeping or degraded mana circuits compared to the vivid colors of nature and animals.

So for Shirou to combine raw ambient mana from nature and his personal Od within his eyes was only begging for death should he make an error. But Shirou was different. His mana system has gained some memories of a different life, a life where magus like him rely on combining internal Od and external mana into prana to enact magecraft.

To Shirou, it seemed natural. But this went against the norm for this world.

"W-why?" Caught off guard, he asked while rubbing his eyes from the pain.

"Who did you learn from to combine your mana with nature? Such magics are normally dangerous for humans." This was utter stupidity from the perspective of the beast. Mixing two opposing types of mana ended in deadly consequences for the caster. Yet here is one young child capable of doing it to such a degree.

"I-I don't have a teacher. I had to learn on my own." Shirou answered honestly. He was now blinking his eyes to adapt it to the visual wavelength of the physical world as compared to the magical layer he previously saw.

Shirou noticed the face the beast was making. Or rather, how her jaw was slightly gaping at his direction. Instead of appearing threatening, it looked as if she was dumbfounded at him.

He was a prodigy. She was convinced of it. The magic he used in their fight was definitely a rare branch of application for what was considered a mundane magic. Reinforcement was considered mundane for the average mage considering the effects they brought. But for this child to use Reinforcement to manipulate the battlefield in such a way was creative and eye-opening.

Not to mention his ability in battle to adapt. Sure, she had been holding back to save energy for when she needed to protect her child from other dangers, but the way this human child had found a method to fight her with his limited ability to hurt her was astounding.

"Alone you say? Impressive. I'm beginning to see a reason why you were marked as an enemy of the phantasmal beast race. Any human capable of using Gaia's energy would become a danger to us." The underlied threat remained. If he grew to become an enemy, then she would strike him down where he stood.

Shirou caught on to the message quickly. "N-no…I-I won't attack phantasmal beasts. Please don't hurt me!" He stumbled backwards and crawled backwards from the wolf.

"You are lucky my daughter likes you." She glanced at her daughter who had finished the food and started to paw excitedly at Shirou. It was clear to both of them that she wanted to play.

"Keep attending to her until I return." This was a test. She could only see his true self when he was relaxed and alone. Her daughter was more than enough to do just that.

She left the pair and hid in the forest to watch them. There would be no reason for Shirou to activate his mana sight to find her. If he does, then there was no reason for her to trust him. But if he learns to bond with her daughter, then she would win a powerful friend for her child.

Say whatever you want. There was no way she would skip on marking an influence on such a prodigy. Molding him into a capable mage would be a step in the right direction. But first, he needed to befriend her daughter.

During her short disappearance, Shirou slowly responds to her daughter's playful character and returns the favor.

Looks like things were going to be fine.


"Lunea, her name is Lunea."

Shirou looked up from his position on the floor. The wolf pup was comfortably sleeping in his lap as he combed through her hair with his fingers. Soft fluffy strands of fur parted underneath his fingers like waves while he caressed her.

"I never thought you would tell me her name."

It was the truth. Shirou assumed that their names would be kept from him until they disappeared. But that was fine with him. He had memorized their magical signature from his mana sight. Should he meet any of them again, he would recognize their magical print.

Shirou had acclimated with the mother and daughter after a few weeks of constant visits. Now, the cave was becoming quite comfortable. Not because of constantly visiting, but because of the atmosphere. After a certain period, the cautious disposition Lunea's mother exhibited had disappeared. It was replaced by the unfamiliar motherly affection Shirou noticed during his visits. Being close to the pair allowed him to watch how they interacted, similar to how Taiga would take care of them at the orphanage.

It was also the little things here and there that Shirou observed. While he was training his mana sight, the beast had been dropping small clues in the form of comments. At first, Shirou couldn't grasp them. But once he mulled them over for a couple of days, he would slowly figure a way out to apply them to his use of ambient mana.

'Stop forcing ambient mana, you're supposed to let it flow through you.'

It was one of the few small comments she made. But it made a world of difference for Shirou. To use his mana sight, he had been grabbing pockets of ambient mana and combining them with his internal mana within his eyes. Shirou changed his technique of gathering ambient mana to opening his mana system instead.

Which utterly failed at the first step. Shirou couldn't open his mana system to the ambient mana in the world. The natural instinct of the body is to remain closed and isolated. Trying to forcefully open all prana circuits to the ambient world energy was like jumping into a frigid lake. The sheer dissonance between the internal and external energy was jarring, and Shirou found himself collapsing from the experience.

'Open yourself piece by piece.'

The subtle clue helped Shirou adapt to ambient mana faster than he expected. He added a new segment to his training, where he would forcefully open each prana circuit to the environment. The next step would be to move around while keeping his pathways open, allowing the external mana to flow through them. It was like the world was a river, and he used to be a rock. But now, he was slowly grinding away the blockage to allow a smoother flow between him and the world.

It was hard. Certainly a new experience feeling something different flowing through you. But on the other hand, results came in droves. Mana Sight became easier to use. The pain from information overload was already being decreased the more Shirou used it, but now the pain of forcefully mixing ambient mana in his eyes lessened as his body became accustomed to the free-flowing mana. Furthermore, the colors of mana were clearer and more distinct. An effect of his improved control perhaps?

Nonetheless, all this progress would not have been possible without the input of the phantasmal beast beside him. The closest Shirou could describe her was to that of his teacher, Yamashiro. Especially when her presence pushed his Mana Sight and Mana Analysis to new heights. Simply trying to see and analyse the magical power of a phantasmal beast was worlds apart compared to the natural environment around him.

"How about you? Could I also get your name?" Shirou asked. It would be nice if he learned both of their names. Referring to them as wolves didn't sit right with him. It was out of respect and fear that he did not ask before. But if she was comfortable giving her daughter's name….then perhaps she would also give hers.

"Lunulupae."

Shirou nodded. Their names were very similar. The connection could be made easily when you compared names and looks. Lunea definitely looked like a miniature version of her mother.

Movement on his lap announced the stirrings of Lunea from her sleep. Bleary eyes opened and blinked from the little wolf, bringing a smile to Shirou's face. Lunea was too cute for her own good sometimes.

For a few moments, she tried to snuggle deeper into his lap, trying to return to sleep. Unfortunately, Lunea failed. She lazily tossed and turned on him until she crawled off and stretched on the floor.

Then, she magically grew larger until she reached Shirou's size to his surprise.

And jumped on him.

Now being squished by a wolf was definitely not on Shirou's bucket list in life. Up until recently, his image of being squished by one involved getting brutally trampled on. But this one was an exception. His world turned dark as a fluffy pillow decided to return the favor. It was warm, comfortable, and soft. The weight didn't matter as Shirou had some muscle from the constant training and other heavy activities he did for the village.

"You're pampering her way too much." The tone was admonishing, but if Shirou could see Lunulupae right now, he would see a small smile on her face.

"I can't help it." Came the muffled reply from underneath the large pile of fur.


Author's Note

Sorry for the late update. I was busy last week with exams and needed the extra time to study. As a form of compensation, the next chapter should be up in a few days!