Shirou Emiya had, for years, accepted his fate. He'd become a hero, die in vain pursuing his ideal, and hope to meet the Valkyries at the end of it all.

He fought Archer, and came out with his head held high. Yet...

Countless battles, countless pain, countless deaths and countless lives saved. Trough it all, he never let go of the beauty of his dream, nor the memories of the warrior maidens.

He tried his best to save as many as he could, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough. He needed to be a famous hero to go to Valhalla; but he did not desire fame nor recognition. It was unnecessary, seeing those around him smile was enough. He knew he would never meet them again, and every time that thought came over him, he felt pain.

He missed them. He missed them so much.

He awoke on a hard floor, feeling somewhat soothed. His white hood had fallen over his face, and remembering his last battle, he felt his head. His fingers went over his cheeks and eyes, but there was no pain. That did not make sense.

He looked around. He was in a pristine throne room, except everything was ice. The carpet, the walls, the pillars, even the throne where the ruler should be. All of that was a crystalline blue, making it look like a picture straight from a fairy tale. However, the air was strange, as if standing in a sauna, except it was cold. So very cold.

"You've finally awoken, dear child," a voice rang out, and Shirou looked in it's direction. From behind the stairs that lead up to the throne, he spotted a figure coming out.

A woman in purple robes, with similarly colored dark hair and red eyes. She held a wand, and walked as if nothing could touch her. However, not a bit of arrogance was visible in her features.

Her heels resounded in the room, making them the only source of sound. Shirou was, for a moment, struck by her beauty, but her presence radiated an aura that made him want to cower and give up. It was stronger than any Servant, magus or Dead Apostle he had ever seen.

The woman stopped in front of the stairs, and looked at him with a chuckle.

"Well, well, that's quite the reaction. But one expected from a mortal who gazes upon a goddess," so that's what she was. A goddess. Was that the source of the aura? Of the pressure inside the room?

"…" Shirou, still speechless, stood up.

"Yes, rise my child. I'm sure you have a lot of questions." she said with a smile, gesturing with her hand. He looked at her, face morphing from bewildered to impassive. Even if her power was immeasurable and made his limbs feel like jelly, he would remain steadfast.

"You are…" he began. His throat felt hoarse, and his voice cracked a little.

"The goddess of this Lostbelt. It's mother, queen and protector, Skadi."

Shirou raised an eyebrow. She was nothing like the imposing Ivan, but that made her all the more terrifying.

"Mother?" He chose his question carefully, for doing anything less would mean death. Gilgamesh had been a taste of what a nearly divine being was, and that was enough for a lifetime.

"Yes. All humans here are my children, all gods here are my children as well. And I love you all equally," she said, smiling placidly. He had been told about the human villages by Fujimaru and Mash, and their system sounded like a nightmare even if they lived comfortably.

"That's why you healed my wounds?" he asked, touching his ribcage.

"Indeed. My Magic is unlike yours or the Crypter's. It's true magic from the age of the gods," Shirou shuddered at that declaration. His studies with Rin had taught him one thing, True Magic was the epitome of power. How were they supposed to defeat such a thing? "You must forgive Ortlinde and Hildr. They were only fulfilling their duties."

At the mention of their names, Shirou's head shot up.

"Where are they?" His voice was barely level. Skadi's expression did not change.

"Your demands must wait, child. First, you must answer my questions," the hero's expression returned to seriousness as he narrowed his eyes at the goddess.

"What questions?" He wanted nothing more than to see Ortlinde and Hildr, he had to bring them around, somehow. Even if they weren't the Valkyries he had met, some part of them had to be the same.

"Those artifacts you posses, how did you get them?" she asked, beginning to close the distance. Instinctively, Shirou retreated, cursing himself for his fear.

"Ortlinde, Hildr and Thrud gave them to me, as gifts," he clutched his mystic code, as if afraid the woman in violet would take it away. But the goddess simply rounded him, observing him with her eyes while still sporting a small smile.

"Interesting. To earn the favour of three Valkyries…" she mused, closing her eyes and finishing her rounds. She reached the stairs once again, and turned to him with open eyes. "It is decided. I will love you, my child."

Shirou gawked, taken aback by her declaration. "Love me?"

"Yes. Love you. I'll care for you, protect you, feed you, give you a place in our world," she remained there, with that gelid smile that was beginning to get tiresome.

"Sorry, but I have to reject your affections," at this, she chuckled.

"There's no rejecting me, my child. There's two options, I either love you," Skadi's smile disappeared, replaced by a downcast, empty expression. "Or I kill you. Would you rather have the second? I would not."

Shirou Emiya felt a chill run down his spine. There was no killing intent behind her words. It was not a threat, she simply stated facts. Not accepting her love meant death.

"You really call that love?" He asked.

"Yes. I love humans, I keep them alive," he crossed his arms at her explanation.

"Is that why you send them to be killed by the Giants?" He asked. Her eyes widened for a moment before her expression turned sour.

"How did you know?"

"Mash told me."

"The Demi-Servant?"

"That's right. And what you are doing to the humans is not love, it's cruelty," he stated, standing his ground. Skadi looked at him, face impassive.

"I do what is necessary. Some humans must die so that their population does not grow too much. It's the only way. I love them all, and so I must protect them all. I thought you would understand," Shirou's eyes widened. It's true that, at times, he considered sacrificing the few for the many. But he also knew where that path would lead him. He wanted no part of it. He thought he had buried that part of his ideals, along with Archer.

"What?"

"I watched your fight against my mass produced Valkyries. You wanted to save everyone, and thus refused to let the Shadow Border be destroyed or for harm to come to my children. In the end, the one harmed was yourself. By saving everyone, the only ones not saved… are us. But that is fine, gods do not require salvation," Shirou was speechless, and nearly recoiled at her words.

He did want to save everyone, everyone he could, even if his body gave out. But unless necessary, he would not kill for that goal. He would not sacrifice others like that.

But worst of all, he felt that if the Shadow Border had been destroyed, if it took him closer to the Valkyries… he would not regret that one bit.

"I'm not like you," he told her, whispering.

"I know. Which is why another of my children will attend you," with that, she headed for her throne as if he had vanished from the area.

Then he heard two pairs of footsteps. One were boots, the other, metal greaves. From his left side two more figures came in.

A tall man in black and grey, bearing a crimson demonic sword and red eyes. The same that had attacked the Shadow Border. His structural grasping informed him of his weapon and identity. Sigurd, the Dragon Slayer of the Völsung saga.

Beside him was a woman, no more taller than Shirou himself. Blonde hair, blue eyes and a very noticeable eyepatch. She seemed pleased, but still walked a little stiff. More importantly, she was human.

And possibly the Crypter of the Lostbelt.

"Hello there, Magus of Proper Human History. I am Ophelia Phamrsolone. You must be quite skilled to fend off Valkyries. I've never seen magecraft like that," she reached hand out to greet him. She looked too different to be from the time period. Which meant she was, indeed, one of the seven Crypters.

She had wilfully let humanity be destroyed.

"You're quite chummy, but you already know why I'm here," he said, voice sharp. Her singular eye widened, then she frowned and retracted her hand.

"Hmph. He's got quite the mouth to be so weak. I want to tear him down," told her the red-eyed Saber. Shirou felt something horrible and monstrous emanate from him. It could not bee a heroic spirit. It simply could not be.

"Silence, Saber," Said Ophelia, without even looking at the hero while she inspected Shirou with her one good eye. "Yes. You want to destroy this Lostbelt I'm caring for. I can't allow that, for Lord Kirschtaya's sake," Shirou narrowed his eyes. He had heard that name before. One of the most prominent Magus families; fairly clean but they got a lot of income from the more unsavoury mages that used the Middle East as their testing grounds.

So many crises he had to avert, because of them.

"So why haven't you killed me yet?" He asked. With someone as strong as Saber, Ophelia had no reason to leave him alive. Having him hostage was no use either, as Chaldea would have to cross them sooner or later, and they would not give up without a fight. He would not allow them either. He would tell them to forget about him and destroy the tree.

That left one option…

"I will not allow harm to come to those I love. And That includes you, my dear hero." Skadi said, now sitting upon her throne. She looked at them from up there, like a child looks at ants. He did not like it.

"So you won't kill me," he muttered.

"Unless you leave me no other choice. But subduing you is also a possibility," she says sweetly. Shirou narrowed his eyes, then turned to Ophelia.

"Really, what is it you want to do? Get it over with," he needed to make an escape, and they were delaying him.

"I wanted to offer you a chance. You must have seen outside the Lostbelts," he did recall the horrific landscape. Desolate, white, devoid of any distinguishing features save the bleached, crumbling ruins of civilization. "You know there is no point."

His eyes widened. Recruitment.

"You want me to join you?" he asked, his tone shifting to a surprised and incredulous one. Ophelia smiled, satisfied.

"Yes. Hildr and Ortlinde told me you knew them. I don't know the circumstance, and I don't understand why, but you seem attached to them. Wouldn't you want to stay here, with them?" she asked. Shirou narrowed his eyes. Using his feelings against him ticked him the wrong way. He was not one to lose his cool, but her use of the Valkyries made his vision go red for a moment.

He took a breath before answering. "My duty is to humanity, to proper human history. Those you and the Alien God killed. I will save them, that is the only thing I can do now. So no, I won't join you," Ophelia's smile disappeared, and she seemed almost disappointed.

"Your duty? You'd put your duty over your affections?" Opehlia looked at the ground, as if musing to herself.

"Yes. The women I loved wouldn't have wanted me to stray from my path. That's why I loved them, Ophelia. Perhaps you should think about that," he saw the conflict in her. She was not at all convinced about her actions.

The Crypter looked up, glaring.

"If you really loved them, you'd want to stay by their side, no matter what. Give up everything for them," she spat out those words. It should have been easy to dismiss them, but Shirou Emiya could not. For a moment, his vision was once again painted red.

"People who love you don't make you betray your beliefs for them. If that's why you're here, then you've betrayed humanity for nothing," he sounded harsh, way too harsh. But by the time he thought of an apology, Ophelia had made up her mind.

"He won't be joining us, Saber. Take him to the dungeon any way you wish," her voice was cold as ice. Shirou felt the killing intent, and readied himself.

"Finally, something interesting to do," Saber disappeared in a blur, and promptly delivered a kick to his stomach. Shirou was sent flying, for the second time in his life, into a pillar.

His vision whited out. It hurt so much, and if he had anything in his stomach he was sure it would have come flying out of his mouth. Alas, he had nothing left to throw out.

He was not unconscious yet, but his senses were a mess.

His consciousness was hazy for the next few minutes. He felt himself being picked up, slung lazily over a shoulder, taken down some stairs and then thrown into some sort of room.

When he landed on the floor, he curled up. He hadn't been attacked so ferociously by a Servant in years. It would take some time to heal.

He closed his eyes for a moment. He tried to think of the Valkyries, but he could only remember their cold faces from before.

He tried remembering Rin, but only a scowling expression, disappointed in his little outburst, came to mind.

He tried remembering Illya. She had met her end way too soon against the King of Heroes but… their short time together, their talks… they would be forever in his heart, like his father Kiritsugu, and his surrogate sister Taiga.

After some time, he fell asleep.

She waited.

Registering 3 hours of waiting. She broke it up by practicing with Ortlinde.

That monster that followed the human Crypter was out of the question, and her mass produced sisters were less than ideal. In fact, they depended on their network for learning, as their own personalities were far too suppressed to learn trough any other means than trough the three originals.

But, she was preoccupied with something else. Ortlinde was too. Their sister Thrud had not reported back. Her connection was cut off due to injuries sustained. Their mass produced sisters accompanying her were all but wiped out.

By whom? By her very own older sister of course.

This was the scenario they feared so much. No, fear was not proper for a Valkyrie. It should not be, but her sister evoked those feelings. She pondered why. Why only her beloved sister was able to elicit such reactions from her. She was sure it was not part of Odin's design.

That pondering drew processing power away, and that made her get hit. She was sent barreling trough the ground, struck out of the air by her younger sister.

"Sister. Are you able to continue?" Hildr assessed the damage. Nothing was broken or out of place.

"Yes," she said, slowly getting up. Ortlinde lowered herself to her level.

"Then shall we?" Hildr knew, she should want more. More fighting, more training. Because that meant she fought better, was able to correctly judge warriors, make more deceased warriors to guide to Valhalla. But there had been no heroes for ages in Scandinavia. Since Skadi managed to stabilize the human population, no heroes had been born.

Humans were perfectly coddled in little villages, separated from the others across the land, and with only one objective in mind. Live until the promised day, then get consumed by the giants. There was no conflict, either among themselves or the outside. No sickness. No dreams or ideals. There were no heroes waiting to be guided to Valhalla.

So, there were no heroes. And she, Hildr, was without purpose other than to assist her goddess. There was little reason to improve her combat.

"I think we have trained enough for today. Thank you, sister," Ortlinde nodded.

They observed their mass produced sisters fly around like bees, attending to pointless endeavours.

Then a connection was reestablished. Memories, feelings, experiences flooded their minds. Thrud was back.

Without a word, both sisters rushed to their eldest.

When they arrived at the throne room, they saw Thrud kneeling and reporting to Skadi. She was hurt. Bleeding from one destroyed eye, clothes shredded, shield arm broken, and a gaping hole near her chest. Yet she still attended her duty as blood pooled around her.

"I see. What rowdy children. But they still pose no threat. Well done Thrud, you may rest," with that, her sister stood up and headed in their direction. She addressed them with a nod, but said nothing more. Her intent was in their network already.

She was going to rest and recuperate.

Hildr had wanted to hear her voice. Losing a Valkyrie on the network was something to be cautious about.

Still, Thrud's feelings were evident to both her and Ortlinde. They would have to face their elder sister. That was enough to throw their thoughts into disarray.

"What… is our plan sister?" asked Ortlinde.

"Thrud will decide. But whatever we do, we'll accomplish. We are Valkyries," she said. She wanted to smile, but over the years, her capacity for that had faded. There was little reason to smile anymore. It had become a pointless gesture.

"I see. But older sister…" Hildr looked Ortlinde in the eye.

"Do not falter. She fell once. She'll fall again. If she choses humans over us, then that's her fault," Ortlinde looked down, dejected, before steeling herself and nodding.

"Ortlinde! Hildr! Come forward please!" They heard Skadi's call, and so they went to kneel in front of her.

"Yes, our queen!" They said in unison.

"I have a task for you," they looked at her. The way she said it was strange.

On her throne, resting on her lap was a plate with blue crystals.

He felt something hit him in the face.

Then another. It was cold and irritating.

A third hit. He stirred, trying to shield his face.

A fourth one, big enough to actually cause pain.

Shirou Emiya shot up, looking in every direction for the source of the attack.

"I'm up! I'm up! Stop… pelting me!" He said to no one in particular.

He looked around. It was a cell, but every centimeter of it, along with it's furnishings were made of a teal, opaque ice. He felt cold, and the hand that held his body up was cold as well.

He got up, not wanting to risk any kind of frostbite.

"What the–?"

"Oh. You're awake. Good. I was fearing you were dead," he looked at the cell door. It was also, interestingly, made of ice. Or at least frozen steel. The hallway was dark, and he could barely see the cell on the other side.

"Hello?" He asked, getting near the bars.

"Greetings. Are you one of the humans from Proper Human History?" That sweet, innocent voice that hid maturity. He recognized it. He squinted his eyes. He needed to be sure that the figure in the other cell, shrouded in dark, was not who he thought it was.

"Illya? Is that you?" Even uttering that name was painful. Despite his best efforts, she had died horribly at the hands of the King of Heroes. Ortlinde and Hildr had to physically pin him to the ground to avoid any sort of confrontation.

"Illya?" She asked, soon after, she laughed. Yes, it was her. It had to be. He could not mistake that sound. "You mean this vessel of mine, right?" She stepped closer, and he did the same, gripping the bars.

He could make her out now, on the other side. It looked exactly like Illya, only a little taller and with clothes that were a mixture of Asian and Norse designs.

"Wait… You're not Illya?" it was her, or her body at least. But her gaze was somewhat different. "Ow!" he pulled his hands away from the bars. They were cold, too cold. Even through his gloves it nearly burned him.

"Be careful. Everything here is made of magical ice. But to answer our question, no, I am not exactly Illya," yet she still had her appearance. Whatever the case, it was insulting to her memory.

"Then what are you?" He growled, rubbing his hands together to regain heat.

"I'm what you would call a composite Heroic Spirit, inhabiting a vessel. A High Servant of the Alter-Ego class," her placid smile irritated him, mostly because he did not understand anything she said except that she was not a regular Servant, and that Illya was her 'vessel'.

"So you're using Illya's body? Is she in there?" At this she giggled.

"Oh, silly. This is her body, but I along with two other goddesses, have fused with her to make… well… the adorable Sitonai you just met. I can't simply leave her," she smiled like her, and a wave of nostalgia hit him. It was making it very hard to dislike her.

"I… I see. So… I guess you are here because you challenged Skadi?" He asked. At that, she gave him a thumbs up.

"Exactly. You catch on quick. I'm a little more dangerous than you, though. Skadi is just reluctant to actually kill me, so instead she locks me in here to the best of her abilities," she said. Shirou looked around, and felt the mana in the air.

It impregnated everything.

"This may sound dumb… but do you know a way out of here?" He asked her. He did not detect any weaknesses in the structure, and even if there were, making it out alive with the patrolling Valkyries, the cold, the lack of food and the giants did not look feasible.

"Well…" she placed her finger on her cheekbone while looking at the ceiling. "… I did help your Proper Human History friends escape earlier, so doing it again should not be a problem. However–"

Footsteps resonated from their left. Someone was coming.

Smiling devilishly, Illya/Sitonai retreated into her cell. "We'll talk later…" she whispered.

"Wait-!" he reached out, but she was already gone.

"Remain in your cell, human," why did it seem like his past was haunting him at every corner in this Lostbelt?

In front of him Hildr made her appearance, looking at him with a serious expression and holding a plate.

"Hildr..." he said. She did not answer, instead simply made a rune and a little hole in the bars opened, through which she slid the plate in.

It had a small pile of crystal shards in it, blue in colour. He eyed it with confusion.

"It's crystallised magical energy with flavour, and lined with the nutrients necessary for your survival," Hildr explained. Shirou picked it up, looked one of the shards all around, and then put it in his mouth. It was cold, but also sweet. Almost like eating an ice cube of juice. He felt the magical energy flow into him, it was refreshing.

"Thanks," he told her with a smile.

"Thank Lady Skadi. She insisted we feed you," she said. He could hear something resembling spite in her neutral tone, which was already a departure from her bubbly behaviour. She sounded like Thrud on a bad day.

"What happened to you, Hildr?" He asked. Her eyes widened slightly.

"Excuse me?" He took another crystal and ate it.

"Well, the you I know was usually jovial and excited all the time. She was already like that when I met her," her eyes narrowed.

"So you met a me in Proper Human History. Did I give you that Mystic Code you wear?" Shirou looked at his clothing. Yes, he remembered perfectly well the day Hildr draped that hooded cape around his neck. Her loving gaze as she fastened it. He rarely took it off since.

"Yes," he answered, letting the plate down. He felt full, even if he hadn't really eaten much more than a snack.

"May I ask why?"

"You wanted me to have it,"

Hildr looked at him, up and down, eyes narrowed. Her head wings moved like a radar.

"You are… not a hero, nor a great warrior. I do not believe your lies," she said, tone laced with danger.

"I'm not lying," he replied, stepping back a bit.

"Yes you are. You are not worthy of the favour of us Valkyries. So tell me the truth," her voice raised a little, yet she remained calm. Shirou took a deep breath.

"We fought together in a war, as comrades. While I never really became a hero, you three set me on the path to become one. In the end, we…" he looked at her, and the Valkyrie got closer to the cell, waiting to hear his answer. "…We fell in love with each other. That is why you gave me this, to make sure I would be protected in your absence."

Her reaction was instant, smashing her shield against the icy bars. "You lie!" she shrieked. "We would never let ourselves be led astray by a human, or that insipid emotion that ruined sister Brynhildr!" Shirou had never seen her so angry, so furious. An aura of power and danger emanated from her as her eyes took upon a crimson glow.

In a second, however, she returned to normal, seemingly shocked at her outburst. Without saying a word, she composed herself.

"You are not worthy of our favour. You are alive because Lady Skadi deems it so, human," With that, Hildr walked off with a strong and accelerated pace.

She was not her. But those words…

They hurt. A lot.

But he had no time to ponder that. He needed to meet up with the Chaldea crew.

"Sitonai," he said into the darkness of the prison.

"Still here," she replied.

"How do we get out?"

A/N: I tried writing the Valkyries like robots, but I'm not really a fan of that, so we've got what we've got. I'm not sure how well I got the Lostbelt!Valks right, but it's my interpretation of how they might be. Brynhildr mentioned they managed to obtain human hearts in their thousand year existence.

So, I guess I'll do one or more parts of this. We'll see. If you want more of this Lostbelt, or more Slice of Life, let me know.

That is all for now. Chiao!