Days came and passed. Soon, winter was ending.

Shirou was watching Lunea chase the falling snowflakes. The heavens above were in a good mood. There had been no blizzards in the last month or so. Which meant that this winter was the best winter the village had in a long time. Something which Shirou was happy about.

At least, that was one glimmer of positivity. Come winter's end, Lunulupae and Lunea would be leaving the forests behind to travel.

She explained that they were forced to bunker down at the mountains because of winter. Travelling during winter was fine for Lunulupae, but she was weakened after the birth of Lunea. Not only that, she was recovering after a fight with some hunters after her. Combine both factors, and Shirou figured out how he was able to hold Lunulupae back briefly.

He only managed to delay her slightly even at her weakest state.

The realization came with clarity. Shirou had been confused about their fight once he started using his analysis skills on Lunulupae's magical strength. Not only was he shocked by her sheer magical presence, but he couldn't even imagine how powerful she could be at full strength.

He could only imagine how strong the people chasing Lunulupae were.

Shirou glanced at Lunulupae beside him, questions plagued his mind. Just as he was about to ask her, she answered ahead.

"I can tell you have questions Shirou. But the less you know, the safer you are." Lunulupae replied to his inquiries before he even uttered them.

His face must've been conflicted. That was the only reason Lunulupae could tell right? Unless she could somehow tell from his heartbeat. Then again, it wasn't a long shot. She could tell if he was lying after all.

"At least tell me when you plan to leave. I want to give you both a farewell feast."

"Oh? Now that I think about it, I haven't tasted your food at all. Lunea keeps telling me how good it is." Lunulupae smiled at him. It was a nice gesture from him.

It was unfortunate that they wouldn't be able to stay long anymore.

"This will be our last week here. By now, the snow should start melting in lands further south. Which means travel would begin again. We will leave before my hunters arrive."

It made sense. Leaving before winter ended guaranteed that Lunulupae and Lunea would get the lead from their pursuers. Why they were being pursued, Shirou didn't know. But he hoped that they would escape safely.

"But before we go, I have a gift for you."

Shirou blinked at her words. A gift? He wasn't expecting anything from the phantasmal beast. In fact, the training he received was already more than he could hope for. His magical ability must've jumped by leagues by simply training in the presence of a magical beast.

Lunulupae's presence had boosted the ambient mana around her. As a phantasmal beast with a connection to Gaia, the surrounding energy had become more potent just by her sheer presence. Shirou guessed that this was because phantasmal beasts had deeper ties to the same origin as the mana of the world. They could even possibly be condensed ambient mana that took form on its own will. Lunulupae explained that phantasmal beasts were born naturally either with parents or without parents. Lunea was born because she had desired to care for a child. As such, it was her power which fragmented to form Lunea. That was the reason she was weakened during winter.

Naturally, Shirou got excited. A gift from Lunulupae? It would be something to remember them by. Shirou was a good kid in that way. He didn't look at the benefits he received, but rather the valued bond underneath the gift.

To this day, Sakura and Taiga's bow was the best gift in his mind. One, because it was the last gift he had from Sakura, and two, it was becoming his favored weapon. The bow had never left his side, always brought along each time he left the village.

"You've always wanted to hear Lunea right?" Lunulupae smiled as Shirou's eyes widened in understanding.

Lunulupae and Lunea spoke in Beast Tongue, the magical language of the phantasmal beasts. Which Shirou could not understand. What he could hear was the sounds of wolves whenever they spoke, but this was only because the message in translation was lost. It was only Lunulupae's mastery of the human language that allowed them to communicate.

"Normally, Beast Tongue is regarded as one of the highest forms of gift from a phantasmal beast. Any being with Beast Tongue automatically becomes an ally of ours. But you have been marked an enemy of our race, and my strength is nowhere near enough to remove it. Giving it to you would at least delay other beasts from outright killing you."

Shirou could imagine how confusing it would be for any future phantasmal beasts he met. An ally or an enemy? His actions would be the only defining factor.

"What did I do to earn such a gift?"

It was true. Shirou didn't think that he was worthy of such a gift. He was sure that many other people out there would happily take care of wolf pups if they had a chance. The only problem was finding one without having to kill for it. Wolf packs lived together after all, if a pup's parents die, another wolf would take over to care for it.

"You didn't."

Shirou glanced down at his feet. Good to know then. Getting his hopes up would've been painful if he believed that he earned the right to talk to beasts simply for providing food.

"But that doesn't stop me from bestowing it on you. Lunea wouldv'e wanted it."

He froze in shock, then slowly turned to Lunulupae.

"Brought forth from Land, we are nature with conscience and form.

With conscience, comes intellect, and with intellect, comes bond.

Bond maketh The Tongue of which we use.

Grant thy Blessing."

Words of power and magic were uttered, carrying the same sensation as the ambient magic of the world, gathered upon the pair. If Shirou had sensed the breath of the world through its mana before, then this was the equivalent of a storm. Ambient mana, the life energy of the world, condensed on Shirou in never before seen quantities. Not even his Mana Analysis felt this much energy at one point, and Mana Analysis could cover dozens of meters if he pushed it.

But such density should have hurt him. He was a human, external mana was not a friend, much less the unfiltered mana of the world. Yet, it felt cleaner than ever before, it was peaceful, friendly even. Shirou knew that he could feel sensations from the world before, but now it seemed as if the world had something more, something that Shirou knew very well.

Friendship. A bond.

Then as quickly as it came, it went.

The gathering of mana dispersed and the world returned to normal.

Or as normal as Shirou assumed it to be. Instead, his senses were scrambled. Before, he needed to analyze just to grasp the magical energy around him. Now? Everything was vibrant and alive. It wasn't overwhelming. Rather, it was like waking up from a good long sleep. Shirou's life before was asleep, and now that he awoke, he could feel everything.

Shirou froze on the spot for a few minutes, just taking everything in.

"Mama? Why does he look broken?"

"It's always like that when they open to the world."

Shirou's eyes twitched. Broken, was he? Those were the first words he heard from Lunea. I'll show you broken! Now if only I could move my body…

"While you're frozen, let me explain what you're going through right now. At its core, the Beast Tongue is the language of the world. Phantasmal Beasts are born from Gaia's lifeforce. To convey our thoughts and words, we simply speak using ambient magic as our medium. There is a reason why only a few magics are able to affect us, much less hurt us."

So basically, phantasmal beasts were powerful because they were literally made of the magic around them. Any paltry human-made magic would become useless against them. It was like throwing a splash of water against a literal tsunami.

Good to know.

"It's better if you went home and took a rest to adjust to everything. We can have that feast next time you come."

Shirou nodded. He could barely keep track of the conversation as it is. His mind kept wandering back to the sensations he was experiencing.

It was a few hours later that he would reach the village. The trek took far longer than usual due to how out of tune Shirou felt with his body. More often than not, his focus would wander towards observing the world around him like an excited little child. Traversing the path home proved more difficult than originally expected.

He was so focused on his surroundings that he didn't notice the two strangers that stood near the village entrance until he was close enough to hear them.

"You know, little children shouldn't be left alone outside. It could be dangerous~"

Shirou perked at the implication. Everyone in the village knew what he was capable of. There shouldn't be any doubts about that. Strangely, the comment irked him. He looked at the pair oddly.

At the back of his mind, sleeping instincts awoke. Something felt wrong. It wasn't obvious, just a small detail. Like an object was slightly moved from its original position. Nearly unnoticeable, but definitely there.

The strangers were clearly sisters. Foreigners from the looks of it. Matching white hair, orange and red eyes, and were definitely out of place. These beautiful girls had no reason to be as far out as their village. That reason alone was already enough to raise suspicion. Furthermore, they were dressed in weird clothes. They wore rice hats on a clear winter afternoon, dressed in black long-sleeved cloaks adorned with red clouds. The oversized cloaks were clearly bulky, yet they failed to hide some of the rather tantalizing figures underneath, judging from the way certain portions curved.

"Hi there! Sorry about my sister. She's always teasing every boy she comes across. But really, she's right. Being alone outside the village is dangerous." The other girl excused her sibling, then turned to her. "Jeez! You're embarrassing us!"

"What? I can't help it! They are such cute kids, Heinrich!" The girl threw her arms out in his direction.

Shirou's eyes ticked. Cute? The only person left around calling him cute was Taiga. The rest of the village surely wouldn't call him cute anymore. Not when he was able to do what was formerly considered impossible by normal standards.

Yeah, why don't you try calling a child cute after seeing him smash rocks into dust.

"We're already asking for a place to stay in the village! We can't trouble them alright!"

As the pair lightly argued in front of him, Shirou took the opportunity to cast Mana Analysis. The radius around him was scanned immediately, including the two girls. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, the world around him remained the same, and they were empty voids, just like the rest of the villagers.

Or that was what Shirou assumed.

Invisible to Shirou's eyes, the two women exchanged a glance while keeping up the tirade. His silent spell did not go unnoticed, secretly catching their attention.

"Hey, can we ask you a question? We're looking for a place to stay in this village while we travel. Could you help us?" The girl named Heinrich asked with a smile.

Shirou's instincts were still on the back of his mind, but he imagined that it was about something else. The two unusual girls were normal as far as he was concerned, aside from their unique clothing.

"Sure, we can ask the Fujimura clan if they are willing to house a few travellers." Shirou's helpful tendency naturally showed itself. Helping some travellers to the best accommodations in the village was a good thing right?

"Yeah…we don't want to trouble the locals much…is there like an unused cottage around? Preferably at the edge of the village." Heinrich scratched her head.

Shirou nodded. There were a couple around. Some of the families moved to other villages, or tried their luck in the cities, leaving some houses empty. "I can show you to them and you could pick one you like."

He walked past the two girls and showed them through the village. As he gave them a tour, some men in the streets whistled at the visitors. Others shot Shirou with jealous looks, of which he returned with an annoyed face. It wasn't like he was doing this on purpose, they were simply asking for help!

"Such a good little boy~ What's your name? Kind of rude for us not to thank you after all your help." The girl identified as Eugen interjected. They had been making light conversation throughout the entire tour. Asking about small things like how they lived, how was the village faring, what the village specialized at.

Now that Shirou thought of it, he had never introduced himself had he? The two girls already told him their names, Prinz Eugen and Prinz Heinrich. It was only fair to return the favor. "I'm Shirou, nice to meet you both."

"Oh m-" Heinrich's hand wrapped around Eugen's mouth and pulled the flailing sister back.

"Sorry about my sister. She's always like this. Anyway, this house looks nice. We'll make sure to keep everything clean while we stay!" Heinrich smiled brightly at Shirou while bowing in thanks. "Also, our bags at the village entrance are filled with stocked food for our journey. Hard bread, salted meat, dried corn, you know the usual. Could we ask you for some food? We're willing to pay for it."

Shirou grinned. Cooking was his specialty. "No need for payment, I'll bring over some food from dinner. Is that alright?"

"Thank you so much! You're a lifesaver Shirou!" Heinrich thanked him again. At this point, Eugen was giving her sister the stink eye. Such humiliation, to look like the irresponsible sister of the two.

Once they were settled in, Shirou left the two of them behind. He needed to cook dinner, then bring back a portion for them. Something homey would be nice, giving them a warm meal is the priority. Shirou prepared more servings than usual, and kept a small fire going to keep the pot warm while he and Taiga served the food.

After dinner, he returned to the girls with the cooking pot. A couple of servings remained, assuming they were hungry after a long journey. His village bordered the edge of civilization after all.

"Wow! The food is so goooood~!" Tears of joy streamed down Heinrich's face as she scooped another serving. The bowls were discarded to the side in favor of eating directly from the pot. Bowls be damned. Beside her, Eugen was barely holding herself back from devouring the food.

Apparently, the girls had been on the road for a month now. They started travelling even before winter had ended. But if Shirou remembered correctly, they didn't have any belongings on them when they met. Yet somehow, they now had their bags inside the house. They must have kept it hidden somewhere outside the village.

While he was away, Eugen and Heinrich took the opportunity to take a bath. When he returned, the two girls had changed into matching white pyjamas. If Shirou was any older, he would've been attracted to how beautiful the two girls were. The pyjamas did nothing to hide the alluring forms they had. But right now, he was more focused on how the girls managed to take a bath this late.

Who even survived taking a bath this late?! His experience with freezing water was a nightmare. Shirou's winter training aside, he preferred to take a bath in the middle of the day, when it was the hottest. Not that the middle of the day in winter was hot. It was only the most bearable option everyone had.

"Who cooked this? We'd love to thank them! It's been awhile since our last warm meal." Heinrich praised him.

Shirou smiled at the compliment. Anybody would if they were being commended for their efforts. "E-he, it was actually me." He rubbed a hand behind his head.

"Seriously?! Woah, you're so young and yet you can cook this well!" Both sisters wore expressions of surprise at his talent. Normally, people would assume that it was an adult who prepared food. Not some 10 year old kid.

"Y-yeah. I started learning when I was 5." That was the kicker. Both girls stared at Shirou with dead expressions.

"5 years old….and he doesn't even look that much older yet."

"I'm still learning to cook and I've yet to reach this level…"

"This world is unfair. We've been beaten by some kid…"

A drop of sweat from Shirou appeared as several dark murmurs came from the two guests.

Time to change the topic then.

"S-so, what did you come to this village for?" It was his turn to ask some questions. The entire day had been satisfying the curiosities that they both had about the village.

"Hmmm? We came to find a companion of ours. They came through this area and we've checked some of the villages around." Eugen answered, having finished the pot of food. It was scraped clean, down to the last morsel.

"Companion? I don't remember any people coming through our village before winter came." There was a possibility that their friend came earlier, but Shirou would've heard even a few words talking about any strangers around.

"Really? Aw this looks like a dead-end then Eugen." Heinrich pouted.

Shirou could understand what they were thinking. They have been travelling a lot to search for their friend, but it seemed that this place was the wrong location to check.

"I'm sorry we couldn't help with your search. I can only wish you good luck in finding them."

"No worries, we should be repaying you for all the help you've already given." Eugen smiled at him. "We'll ask around tomorrow just to make sure. Then we'll be on our way afterwards."

Shirou bade the girls good night and carried the empty pot of food home.

"Did you get a good read on him, sister?"

"I couldn't read his soul properly. It was far too large."

"Too large? Are you sure? Last we checked, only dragons were too hard for you to read."

The soul of a being is tied to their conceptual value. The more ties they have to magic, the larger their concept weights.

"I've seen awakened souls before, but this one is on a whole new level. Usually, human souls reflect the character of the person…."

Human souls were small in comparison to other races, and that made them easier to read and change. Part of the reason why they were used to boost the numbers of other races. But what makes them weak is also their strength. Humans seek to push past their limitations, sheer drive and desire pushing against eons of tradition. It was like watching mud turn into diamonds in front of their very eyes. Unlike other races with innate talent and magic since birth, humans were born with nothing. Yet they fight, fight like the world is against them.

Legends. They were called Legends. Humans who have become immortalized by achieving the impossible. Be it good, or evil. These Legends mark the pinnacle of human achievement.

Escanor, The Strongest Man.

Adam, The Father of Humanity.

Aang, The Legendary Avatar who ushered a new era of elemental manipulation.

Gol D. Roger, The Pirate King.

Hashirama Senju, The Shodai Hokage.

Khaenri'ah, The Kingdom who fought the Gods.

They were just a few of the Legends humanity made.

No other race could live like humanity. Like stars in the sky, they are numerous, and when one reaches their zenith, they become a supernova, short, powerful, and beautiful.

Other races sought to capture this phenomenon.

"I can only feel the exterior, but his soul is very sharp and powerful. I could even tell that he's killed people before. I suggest we be careful around him."

"Interesting…"

"How about you? What did you see?"

"His magic system is too advanced. Not to mention his body is changing under its effects."

"What do you mean?"

"Magical residue covers his entire body. A sort of support magic I don't recognize. But what it does is amazing. The residue is imbuing itself into his cells, making them stronger."

It was like a mutation. The more a single body part was used, the more developed it became. Giraffes didn't originally have long necks, but after generations of use, they evolved into their current day forms. Constant magical use simply accelerated that change.

"But she's here."

"Huh?"

"There are two phantasmal beast marks on his soul. One is ancient, and more powerful than anything I've ever seen. The other is new, but it matches her energy."

"Hide and Seek is finally over."

The next morning, they were gone.

Shirou knocked on the door. In his hands, a pot filled with some hot breakfast. He wanted to surprise the guests with some food before they left.

But more than a few minutes had gone by, and they hadn't responded to the knocks. Shirou went over to the neighbouring house to ask about the two girls if they had already left.

It was still early morning, just an hour or two past sunrise. If the girls left earlier, then the neighbour would've seen them.

"What guests? Its winter, Shirou. Travellers will arrive once spring is here."

That was odd. Surely the neigbours must've seen the girls. Lots of the villagefolk had been around to see Shirou leading them to the many empty cottages.

The indescribable sensation deep within him suddenly returned. It was the same unnerving hunch that he momentarily felt the day before.

Shirou continued asking along the street. The more people he asked, the more his suspicions confirmed what he feared.

None of them remembered the two girls.

He reinforced himself and started running around the village asking about them.

Nobody. Everyone forgot about them.

There was only one possibility as to why everyone seemed to magically forget about two beautiful foreigners arriving.

It was as if they both disappeared into thin air.

Magic.

Very well, three can play at that game.

Shirou used Mana Analysis on each victim. This was his first time identifying mana signatures. His newly acquired Beast Tongue allowed him to connect to the world on a whole new level, but that did not improve his ability to see mana signatures that don't align with Gaia.

But the opening of his mana system to the world had heightened his sensitivity and reactivity to magic in general. Which Shirou banked on, hoping to find any sliver of magic that he could use to track down the two mages.

They had to be mages. There could possibly be no other option.

Shirou poked and prodded around people, but found nothing. Which meant it was either his lack of ability, or that the girls were simply too good.

A hand on his shoulder broke him out of his concentration on the fifth person he analysed.

"Shirou, we need to talk."

It was Yamashiro. He gestured for Shirou to follow him outside the village. His face carried an urgency that Shirou had only seen a few times before.

"Do you remember them?"

Shirou froze. So he wasn't going crazy. Yamashiro somehow remembered them.

"How did you escape? Everyone has forgotten!" He asked quickly. Something was not right with the situation and his intuition was telling him that he needed to solve it quickly.

"I left the village after I saw them. My instincts were driving me crazy and I was right. They never managed to erase my memories. Nevermind that now. Why are you looking for them?"

"Where did they go? I need to know Yamashiro!" Shirou demanded.

Yamashiro had never seen him demand before. If Shirou was distressed, then it was definitely something to be worried about.

"North. I saw them leave in the night."

North.

Then all the clues clicked together.

Lunulupae talked about people hunting her. That was why she planned to leave before winter ended. These hunters were incredibly strong if they were able to worry her.

Those two girls appeared, travelling long before winter ended, searching for a "friend". Which was already unusual, considering they were obviously foreigners. Two of them travelling alone didn't match up either. Bandits would've jumped at the chance to capture the two beautiful girls. But they were too carefree, almost as if bandits were no worry for them.

Maybe….because they weren't a threat at all.

Now, everyone seemed to have forgotten about them, and this was after they disappeared.

Everyone except for him and Yamashiro.

Shirou didn't even hear Yamashiro's next words. He had reinforced his legs, sprinting in the direction of Lunulupae and Lunea.

There was no time to waste.

Each second felt like an eternity, each step a mile. Shirou ran through forest paths, glades, and the frozen river where they met. The paths blurred around him, his vision tunneling due to the difference of his speed and his eyes' natural ability to keep track of the shift in velocity. A quick burst of reinforcement to his eyes solved that issue.

Shirou's nerves prickled as the ambient mana around him seemed to energize with power. It wasn't noticeable, but the closer he got, the more agitated the air seemed, for a lack of a better term.

It was hard to imagine that the two girls he met were the hunters Lunulupae spoke of. There was practically nothing that tipped him off when they met.

And that was the sole reason why he figured them out. Nothing had changed in the village for the past few years, not since his discovery of magic. Then out of nowhere, a widespread event happens? The only change had been their appearance, there was no way they were innocent.

It was the same event that happened a long time ago, when Sakura was kidnapped. People approached underneath a facade, then took the first opportunity to take her away.

Eugen and Heinrich were doing the same to Lunulupae and Lunea.

Shirou grit his teeth. No way was he going to allow the same thing to happen again. Not in front of his eyes. Not after what happened last time.

Suddenly, the forest floor shook, as if an earthquake occurred. The sudden shaking caught Shirou off guard, disturbing the pace of his sprint, and tripping him into the ground before he smashed in the trees at the sheer speed he was going.

Luckily, he had managed to reinforce himself instinctively in time.

Shirou looked up from his collapsed position. For a brief moment, the air seemed to ignite in power. The forest floor continued vibrating, hindering from standing up. He reinforced his senses, looking for the direction in which the battle was taking place.

Such a strong force couldn't have been made without a reason. Trees shook in the northeast direction, followed by the sounds of rampage.

He was clearly far from the battle, yet the sheer strength could be felt from the distance between them and him.

Shirou gulped. His body could feel the waves of energy being thrown around by Lunulupae. The air was rife with danger, the forest around him reflecting the anxiety she was feeling.

Is this what Lunulupae meant when they were creatures of the earth? That the earth would resonate whatever they were feeling despite being non-sentient? Shirou was feeling the rumble of emotions going through her from a distance.

The shaking weakened and stopped, which Shirou spent righting himself upwards then dashing towards the battle.

Lunulupae needed help and he'll damn himself for not helping a friend in need.

As he got closer, the world suddenly shook again. Shirou braced himself against a tree to avoid falling again, and was shocked at the scene.

An entire section of trees flattened from the sheer force in front of him, exposing the carnage and destruction between monsters.

Lunulupae was injured, rivers of blood pouring from wounds. Gaping claw marks and other injuries covered her body.

Ambient mana condensed into a ball of powerful energy infront of her maw, aimed at a person wearing black robes adorned with red clouds. The person's hand jabbed in the direction of the phantasmal beast, freezing her body in place. The charging attack shook and lost its form as the wolf lost control over her body, unintentionally allowing the attack to charge chaotically until it crumbled from the mishandling.

For a split second, Shirou saw Lunulupae's shocked eyes upon seeing him near the battle.

Then his vision turned white as the attack broke down and Lunulupae's form was engulfed in an explosion.

Shirou was thrown into the air as the tree he held was blown away from the resulting shockwave. He flew through the air for a few seconds until he crashed back on the forest floor. The surrounding woodland had been totaled in the devastation, trees and rocks flying in the air at the power of the eruption.

By the time Shirou looked up, a large plume of smoke appeared from the middle of the crater. He forced himself up to his feet and dashed towards one of the robed figures. Upon closer inspection, it was one of the sisters he met yesterday.

"Heinrich! Why are you attacking her?!" Shirou shouted angrily. His teeth gnashed together, anger held back, forcing himself to stop before he attacked the girl.

"You really shouldn't have come. Didn't we tell you that the forest was dangerous?" Heinrich's glowing red eyes met his burning golden gaze.

She turned towards him, her form towering over his short stature. Heinrich's face was impassive, a mirror of the cheerful disposition Shirou knew.

"It's such a shame that you had to get involved. We don't like leaving witnesses alive."

Shirou's eyes widened.

"And you were so much fun too."


Author's Note

Surprise! This idea came straight out of the left field alright. It's very random, but it fits quite nicely into the whole "new" dimension and everything. Who would've known Azur Lane would ever make it into a Fate Fanfic? Pretty sure some of you caught on with the names and description. I'm also sure throwing pretty much every anime out there into this one is a bad idea but who cares!