Before I address the reviews, I'll deal with the complaint I have gotten since the last chapter concerning Shirou's origin. First of all, this fic was not meant to be lore accurate. I thought I mentioned this in the beginning. I will bend whatever rules I see fit, and this just happens to be one of them. I feel like I can craft something both better and more original if I have Shirou's magecraft work in a way like this. It represents how Shirou's soul was affected by Tiamat in such a drastic way and how he will try and emulate her as he goes through life.

The second point. Even if I was going off the canon lore, I'm still not wrong. Take a look at this exceprt from the Complete Materials Q&A 3:

Q: What is the limit of replication in UBW? The highest level of NP (sword types) is probably Ea, but while it might be impossible for Shirou, could Archer make it? Also, under the meaning of weapons, to what extent can he make modern weapons? Must it be only blade types or can he make guns and mobile weapons?

A: Divine constructs like Ea and Excalibur are non-replicable. There might be some degraded NPs with similar performance in stock though. Also, since sword is becoming his origin, the weapons that he has stored are fundamentally limited to close combat.

It mentions that his origin is becoming sword. Not that it is sword, therefore proving that Avalon did in fact change his origin. To my knowledge, this statement from Nasu has not been retracted or amended. Even if it didn't exist, Shirou's origin in this fic will remain to be Creation. I will not be responding to this complaint further.

Now to get to the other reviews:

MM007: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I have actually made a list on how many people Tiamat will eventually end up adopting with the help of my discord members (I encourage all of you to join! Link is at the bottom of every chapter. That is the best way for you to talk to me about my fics and get any questions answered or ideas looked at)and let's just say it's a lot. Due to Tiamat's nature as the Primordial Mother and her age, she'll even adopt adults. She sees everyone as a child, so no one is safe from the Beast of Adoption.

Thisishalloween57: You know what? You're right.

Uvuvwevwevvwe Onyetenyevwe Ugwe: Unfortunately I have not watched Game of Thrones.

Chapter 5: Island

When Shirou woke up, he saw Tiamat sitting beside his bed, reading a book entitled "Intro to Magecraft."

"Good morning, Mama," Shirou stretched as he woke up. He felt an energy surging through him that he hadn't had before. Was this his magic?

"Good morning, Shirou. I'm happy you slept well," Tiamat replied, looking up from the book. "A friend was gracious enough to give me some books to help you with your ma— magecraft."

"Really?" Shirou's eyes widened as he shot out of bed.

"Really," Tiamat closed the book and handed it to Shirou. The little boy almost squealed as he took the book. "Let's eat breakfast before you start reading, okay?"

"Okay!" Shirou chirped before running out of the room. If he had stayed longer, he would have noticed Tiamat's smile widen as she lifted herself from her chair.

Tiamat sat on the couch next to Shirou and watched him read. Every now and then, he would put down the book and try something under the book's instructions. Tiamat let the boy experiment with his circuits. The book was very clear with its instructions and Shirou was a smart boy, so he was able to practice turning on his circuits without hurting himself. Even if he did, that's why Tiamat was there.

"Mama, look!" Shirou said. Tiamat turned to see a small egg in Shirou's hands.

"Oh, I'm so proud of you!" Tiamat exclaimed. As she moved to pull her son into a bone-crushing hug, the egg faded away into blue motes of light.

"Oh… it's gone…" Shirou muttered. He looked down with a sullen expression, but didn't protest when Tiamat pulled him closer to her.

"It's okay, Shirou. You did amazing for your first time," Tiamat cooked as she stroked the back of Shirou's head. As she did, she started to analyze the boy again. As she looked deeper, she saw something… something that shocked even her.

Tiamat knew of the humans of her time. From what she could tell, their magecraft was far stronger than the magic of the present. The air was less dense in mana and the familiars she saw the other day were much smaller and weaker than the ones she was used to seeing. Hopefully, Shirou could be the one to break the mold… especially with what he had resting inside him. She didn't want to go in for fear of vanishing in front of Shirou, but she resolved to find time to do it later.

"Here, let us study the book again," Tiamat said gently as the book started to float towards the two. Shirou plucked the book from the air and turned a few pages.

"Mama, it says here that my element and origin are important to my magecraft," Shirou pointed at the paragraph highlighting the subject.

"Yes it is," Tiamat lifted Shirou and placed him on her lap. She then wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his head. "Your origin is Creation and your element is… humans call it Imaginary Numbers. It's the same element as mine."

"Really?!" Shirou seemed to beam at the prospect of having something in common with his mother. Tiamat felt her heart swell with joy as she read Shirou's mind. "What's your origin?"

"I do not have an origin as humans understand it," Tiamat chose her next words carefully. "I am not human myself. Although if I was to have one myself, it would likely be something akin to motherhood."

"So that's why mama is mama," Shirou said. Tiamat smiled at his simple logic. She hoped his innocence would last forever. She would do anything to keep it intact, even if it meant destroying this city.

"Yes, you are correct. What a smart child I have," Tiamat ruffled Shirou's hair. The young boy giggled at the feeling before looking up at his mother.

"Mama, I love you," Shirou whispered. Tiamat felt the genuine and heartfelt emotion in the boy's voice/

"I love you too, Shirou," Tiamat pulled the young child closer to him. Maybe this one would be different. Maybe this one won't abandon her.

Shirou's progress was slower than most of her children, but Tiamat was proud regardless. She didn't have a frame of reference when it came to humans and magic, but she didn't care. Shirou would make a fine human mage one day.

Now… Tiamat looked down at Shirou as he slept soundly. He fell asleep earlier than he normally did, but Tiamat chalked that up to the use of magic. She closed her eyes and put a hand on Shirou's forehead. With a flash of light, she vanished.

When Tiamat opened her eyes once more, she was on an island flush with lush flora. She lifted her feet off the ground and started to float. When she rose above the trees, she found herself in a vast ocean surrounded by a pure white backdrop.

So this is Shirou's soul, Tiamat thought. She floated over to the ocean. It was blue, not like the blackened waters of her Primordial Sea.

Tiamat looked up to see a river of black water flowing into the azure waters of Shirou's reality marble. Tiamat floated over and raised her arm. The black waters started to rise, but the waters of Shirou's world stayed the way it was.

It's a link, Tiamat concluded. This river… it was a part of her Primordial Sea. It flowed down a narrow cavity, but when Tiamat moved through it, she found her way back to her limitless ocean. She made her way back and landed on the island. She couldn't be more proud of her son.

Tiamat didn't know much about Reality Marbles, but she knew the basic principle of it. This was Shirou's inner soul. Tiamat could only conclude that her presence influenced Shirou's soul to an extent where it reshaped to emulate her Primordial Sea. Perhaps the connection they had allowed Shirou's soul to link up with her. Regardless of what caused it, Tiamat didn't mind.

Shirou was her child, and everything that was hers was also his.

It had been a while since Sakura had made a noise. She had long since gotten used to the wriggling of the worms in her body. The pain she felt every time one of them moved. To anyone else, it would be unbearable, but for Sakura, that was her life.

She was once again in the pit, doing her "training." She knew it wasn't training. She knew her grandfather didn't care about her. But what was the point? She wasn't able to do anything about it. Shinji was cordial with her, but she could feel his jealousy. She couldn't turn to him for help either.

Nee-san… Sakura thought weakly. That's right, she had a sister. Tohasaka Rin. Why hadn't she come? She knew her grandfather was a monster, but she hoped that Rin would at least try to save her. Whenever she went to school, the young girl would just avoid her.

Sakura wasn't even angry at Rin. She just felt… resigned. No one was going to save her. The childish fire of hope for a knight in shining armor had been snuffed out long ago. She had accepted that this was her fate. She was going to live, die, and waste away in this pit. All for a sick monster's satisfaction.

"Sakura," Zouken's voice was barely an echo. Sakura didn't respond. It hurt to move. Zouken didn't seem to care, though. He just let out a low chuckle and continued. "It seems that we need to step up your training. Something powerful has arrived in Fuyuki, you see, and only you can stop it."

Sakura didn't believe Zouken for a second. He just wanted to hurt her more. To break her more. The only movement that the young girl made was done by the fanged worms that wriggled both inside and around her.

"Now don't be too loud, okay? You know what happened last time," Zouken said. In an instant, the pain intensified tenfold. For the first time in months, Sakura made an immediate reaction. She shrieked as works coursed throughout her body at a quick pace, ripping and tearing at her insides. Zouken laughed as she started to sink. Worms wriggled into her mouth and throat, replacing the pained shriek with a frantic choking sound.

Zouken smiled at his handiwork before turning and walking away. As Sakura started to lose consciousness, a glimmer of light found its way into her vision. She couldn't make out much with her glazed eyes, but it looked… It looked like a butterfly.

An angel… Sakura thought to herself. Was it here to save her? Sakura dismissed the notion immediately. No one would save her. The angel only appeared to laugh and gloat at her suffering. That's what they all did, after all. With her mind and will completely broken, Sakura's world faded to black.

When Tiamat returned to the physical plane, the first thing she heard was a piercing shriek. It wasn't in hear ears or in her mind, but in her soul. She closed her eyes as she continued to listen. It was another child, even younger than Shirou.

As Tiamat listened, she noticed that it wasn't crying for help like Shirou's was. It was full of pain. There were no comprehensible words coming from the noise. She tracked down the location and noticed that it wasn't far away. With a single thought, Tiamat had reached her destination.

If there wasn't a child in the area, Tiamat would have destroyed the entire building with the force of her anger alone. There she was, floating over a small, young girl surrounded by worms. She could see them protruding from her skin, latching onto her, and violating her throughout every inch of her body.

Tiamat clenched her mortal fists. She had seen these worms before. The cute little fanged worms she would see whenever she would go out. She thought they were adorable. She was happy that humanity has also chosen to cherish life and to make families of her own, but this… this was unacceptable.

Tiamat wanted nothing more than to destroy these filthy creatures and take the young girl with her, but she couldn't do something like that so quickly. If it had been a couple weeks, she could have. She didn't have any obligations or responsibilities to get in her way. But now… she had Shirou. Would Shirou want a sister? Would he treat her well? He seemed to get along with the Taiga girl well enough, but Tiamat didn't want to take any chances.

With another thought, Tiamat was back home. She was feeling an emotion she had not felt in eons.

Rage.

White hot rage burned through the primordial mother. She held her hands in front of her as power started to focus around her hands. Before long, an egg with a deep green outer shell. She wasn't sure if she was going to take in the child for herself, but she promised one thing. The revolting humans who made those worms will suffer.

Thank you all so much for reading! I do want to address a couple things. Tiamat has not saved Sakura yet because I want to dedicate an entire chapter to that, but believe me, it will be satisfying. This has been one of the scenes I've been looking forward to write ever since I started writing this fic. Also, concerning Shirou's Reality Marble. Although it is its own world, it is still connected with Tiamat's primordial sea. Tiamat can still spawn life from within this world, but the water is just normal water. At least for now. With that being said, please do consider leaving a review! I would love to read and reply to your thoughts. Also please join my Discord! I would love to talk to you all and answer all your questions! I talk a lot about my thought process while writing, so if you're interested in that, do consider joining. The url is discord . gg (forego the spaces) followed by a slash and CpVs7R8KXz. Unfortunately you'll have to type the rest of the url in manually because I'm not allowed to post links. Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the flipside.