Thank you for all the reviews! I'll be responding to them here
declanbeech97: Yeah that was a typo. I'll fix that and reupload the chapter when I have the time.
Myhriad Kolwp: The reason I didn't go into detail is because I don't have enough confidence in both my writing skills and my knowledge of the Nasuverse to type out Shirou's story while having his parents react to it as well. Maybe if I ever do a rewrite, I'll extend that scene, but as of now, I just don't think I would be happy with the result if I try.
yangn33: As fun as that would be, I'm trying to put a limit on how OP Shirou is. Like he's already OP as hell at this point, but giving him Tsumukari Muramasa is just way overkill.
If you want your question to be answered, please leave a review!
Chapter 7: Eternity
Akane smiled as she tucked Shiro into bed. Despite everything that happened that day, he was still her son. He had tired himself out while crying and fell asleep shortly after he calmed down.
"Are you alright?" Kenji asked as she stood up. Akane's smile vanished.
"No," Akane shook her head.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Kenji asked. Akane nodded as they made their way to the small living room. Akane sat down on the couch and looked at her shaking hands.
"Which part do you want to go through first?" Kenji heaved a sigh and sat down next to her.
"The fire," Akane breathed. The recent memory was drilled into her brain. "The way he talked about it… it felt so cold… like he was reading off a book. To see him talk about a tragedy in his life like that. Goddess, Kenji, he must have been hurting so much."
"And that war he mentioned," Kenji looked up at the ceiling. "He had to fight himself. He was trying to kill himself."
"I couldn't imagine…" Akane put her head in her hands. "Do… Do you still love him."
"Of course!" Kenji shouted almost instantly. Akane sat up and smiled at her husband.
"Good," Akane said. She then kissed Kenji. "We're going to have to do a lot to help him."
"Yeah," Kenji nodded, a sad smile on his face. "We'll do our best."
"That's the most we can do," Akane muttered. The two simmered down into a peaceful silence.
"Good morning," Shirou awoke to Akane's voice.
"S-sorry for passing out like that," Shirou dipped his head as he sat up. "I… Thank you for accepting me."
"Why wouldn't we accept our only son?" Kenji ruffled his hair. "Now, I remember you promised Elizabeth a spar today."
"Yeah I did," Shirou sniffled as a smile grew on his face.
"We'll keep your past life a secret, alright?" Akane said. "We've come up with an excuse for your shape-shifting blade."
"I… are you sure?" Shirou tilted his head.
"I'm a historian," Akane replied. "If I told Lisa and Evan that there have been stories about something like this happening before, they'll believe me.""
"Alright," Shirou smiled and stood up. "Let's go."
"Shiro!" Elizabeth kicked the door open before Shirou even knocked. "Are we going to fight now?!"
Artoria smiled as she saw her student pester the young boy. Seeing him still made her heart pang with longing, but she knew it wasn't him. Shirou's living his own life in his own world.
"Yeah," Shirou nodded with a smile. "Let's go to the backyard. I have something cool to show you."
"Alright, let's go!" Elizabeth grabbed Shirou's hand and dragged him through the house into the yard. Artoria chuckled as she leisurely followed the duo. She walked through the door just in time to see Shirou's sword start to shift. When the light dissipated, she audibly gasped.
"Shirou… is that really you?" She whispered to herself. The sword he was holding. It should not exist in this world. Despite that, there it was, the Sword of Selection held comfortably in Shirou's grip.
"Woah, that's so cool!" Elizabeth's eyes were glued on Caliburn. "It kind of looks like mine!"
"I didn't know there were swords that can do that," Evan rubbed his chin.
"If I remember correctly, there are recordings of a shape-shifting Sword three-hundred years ago," Akane replied as she looked at the two children. "I think the wielder was a part of the Hero's part at that time."
That's a lie, Artoria thought to herself. She was alongside every Hero as they wielded Excalibur and not once had she seen a Sword that could change shape.
"You ready?" Shirou smiled as he prepared to fight. The stance he took. It was reminiscent of Artoria's when she still wielded the blade.
"Yep!" Elizabeth entered the stance that Artoria had spent the past year teaching her. Both combatants replicated her style of fighting the best they could. She couldn't help but feel proud for the both of them.
The two charged at each other, Elizabeth immediately using a Strengthening Art. She was currently three times her current strength, which is the most she could muster. The first thing Artoria had Elizabeth do was swing Excalibur until the brutal exercise unlocked the Strengthening Art. Shirou, however, kept up with relative ease.
"How are you keeping up with my Sword Arts?!" Elizabeth whined as she ducked under a swing. "That's not fair!"
"There's no such thing as fair on the battlefield, Lizzy," Shirou had a smirk on his face that would make Archer scoff. "Is that all you can do?"
"Grr… I'll get you!" If Shirou's goal was to rile up Elizabeth, he succeeded. In an instant, Elizabeth's refined style changed to something a lot more sophisticated. Shirou remained calm as Elizabeth's attacks became stronger and stronger.
"Agh!" Elizabeth cried out in frustration as she jumped back. "Fine! I'll get you like this!"
Artoria paled as power started to swirl around Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth, no!" Artoria shouted as a beam of light shot up from Excalibur.
How did she even know how to do that?! Artoria thought as she watched Elizabeth struggle under the power. Artoria accidentally mentioned it one time and Elizabeth had bothered her to learn about it ever since. Artoria, like any responsible adult, denied her at every turn.
"Shiro! Get out of there!" Artoria heard one of the men shout. She was too busy being worried to discern which one it was.
"EX—"
Artoria squeezed her eyes shut. Was there really nothing she could do?
"—CALIBUR!"
Artoria forced her eyes open. She expected Shirou to be running, or at least afraid, but he only had a small smile on his face. As Elizabeth swung down at him, Shirou prepared a counterattack.
"Sword of Selection, cleave the wicked."
A beam of light appeared around Caliburn. It wasn't as large as Excalibur's, but it was magnificent in its own right.
"CALI—"
Artoria's eyes widened. An image flashed through her head. A young boy standing between her and insurmountable odds, putting his life in danger to protect her.
"Shirou," A tear rolled down Artoria's cheek.
"—BURN!"
In another plane, a woman was awoken.
"Ah, you're finally awake!" The woman jumped at the shout. She turned to see a man with baggy robes and white, long hair. He held what looked to be the handle of a staff with a blade protruding from the bottom. "You were trying to cross the border, right?"
"Merlin, I swear… if you woke me from my slumber for another inane reason…" The woman grumbled as she sat up. She was half-tempted to impale the fool right there and then, but this wasn't his real body. Ever since he mastered making a fake body from his ivory tower, he never left Vivianne alone.
"Oho, quite the contrary, my dear Vivianne!" Merlin's infuriating smile only grew. "You see, a good friend of mine decided to help me prepare something for our little Artoria."
"You did what?" Vivianne stood up.
"Relax! It's nothing bad!" Merlin held his hands up. "Anyways, you might want to come to my tower. You really need to see this."
Vivianne sighed as Merlin faded into motes of light. She could only imagine what kind of heinous trickery the Knight of Magic was up to.
"Alright, what is it?" Vivianne stepped into the sole room in Merlin's tower. Merlin was focused on a scrying bowl, an uncharacteristic frown on his face. Vivianne walked over and saw Excalibur's blade of light shoot up into the air.
"What's so impressive about this?" Vivianne asked. Sure, unleashing Excalibur was a feat in of itself, but the two of them have seen it hundreds of times throughout their existence.
"Well first of all, she only summoned the sword last year," Merlin replied, his eyes still glued on the water. Vivianne gave a nod of approval. That was impressive. "But that's not what I called you here for. Take a look at this."
"Sword of Selection, cleave the wicked. CALIBURN!" The sound of a… child came from the scrying bowl. Then, another beam of light appeared. It was shorter than Excalibur's, but when the two collided, they completely canceled each other out.
"What is that?" Vivianne asked with narrowed eyes. "Caliburn… I have never heard that name before."
"I don't know!" Merlin looked up from his scrying bowl in utter glee. "I don't know! Things have been so boring these past few centuries! Someone summons Excalibur, a demon lord appears, they're defeated and everyone lives happily ever after. It's mind-numbing! But this! This! It's something new! Refreshing!"
As the light dissipated in the bowl, there were two children. The blond girl was unconscious on the ground while the redheaded boy was worn, but still standing.
"So who is the one that wielded Excalibur?" Vivianne asked. She couldn't see the swords from the angle she was watching. Merlin smirked.
"It was the girl," Merlin replied.
"I see…" Vivianne whispered as the boy picked the girl up and made his way into the house. "This boy. I will keep an eye on him."
When Elizabeth woke up, she was greeted by a chop to the head.
"Ow! What was that for?!" Elizabeth rubbed her head. She looked up to see both Shiro and Artoria looking at her with stern expressions. Artoria's eyes were red and puffy, as if she had been crying.
Spirits can cry? Elizabeth thought before a wave of guilt washed over her. Did she make Artoria cry?
"What you did was incredibly stupid," Shiro said. Elizabeth looked down. She didn't feel like she was talking to someone a year younger than her, but to an adult scolding her for doing something bad. "You could have killed me, or even worse, yourself by doing that."
"Sorry…" Elizabeth murmured, feeling her eyes water. Shiro heaved a sigh.
"It's fine. Just… we're going to need to get someone to teach you how to manage your energy," Shiro muttered, rubbing his chin. "I'm going to have to talk to your parents."
"Alright," Elizabeth said, her voice monotone. She wiped her eyes dry and Shiro put a hand on her head. Elizabeth looked up to see a soft smile on his face.
"I'm just happy you're safe," Shiro said before turning to leave. When the door closed behind Shiro, Artoria opened her mouth.
"There's a reason that I didn't teach you that," Artoria said as she crossed her arms. "If it was anyone other than Shirou, they would have died."
"I'm sorry sensei," Elizabeth's shoulders visibly deflated before an odd through struck her head. "What did Shiro do?"
A small smile grew on Artoria's face. "The impossible."
"Alright, I'll trust you," Shirou heard Evan say as he walked down the hallway. "I'm just happy Elizabeth is friends with him."
"Thank you. It really does mean a lot," Akane replied. Shirou turned the corner to see Akane, Kenji, Lisa, and Evan sitting around a table. Kenji was the first one to notice him.
"Is Elizabeth alright?" Kenji asked. Everyone turned to look at Shirou.
"She's fine. That last attack took a lot out of her, though," Shirou said, taking a seat in between his parents. "Speaking of which, I think Elizabeth is going to need a tutor."
"I was thinking the same thing," Evan muttered as he rubbed his chin. "Between the four of us, we can call in some favors. But what kind of teacher should we get for her?"
Akane and Kenji looked at Shirou. The boy looked back and sighed.
"That last attack took up a lot of energy from her," Shirou said. "You should get a teacher that can use high level Sword Arts and have them focus on endurance."
"But what about the basics?" Lisa asked. "Should we get another tutor…?"
"Think about Elizabeth's style in the first half of the fight," Shirou said. He waited for the look of realization to dawn on their faces. "She's apparently learning a style already. If she keeps doing what she's doing, she'll be fine."
"But…" Evan leaned back in his chair.
"If someone can cast high level Sword Arts, they should know the basics, right?" Kenji reasoned.
"You're right," Evan nodded. "I'll look at my contacts."
"We will too," Akane assured the couple.
"Thank you," Lisa said. Elizabeth's parents stood up and bowed.
"Anytime," Akane said with a smile.
Shirou couldn't help but smile as well. These people were doing everything they could to help their daughter, despite the massive amount of power she wielded.
Protect, Once again, the urge to defend wrapped itself around Shirou's heart. His smile only widened. He had no intention of denying that urge.
Shirou once again underestimating the temper of a woman holding immense power. Figures. Now to explain why Caliburn was able to cancel out Excalibur. Elizabeth is 9 years old and is still a novice in every sense of the word. She won't be able to Excaliblast like Artoria for a long while. Meanwhile, Shirou has double the magic energy than he did in FSN and the cost to trace Caliburn is cheapened because of the abundance of Mystery.
Anyways, please do consider leaving a review! I would love to read and reply to your thoughts. As this is an original world, I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. 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.