Author's note: I quickly respond to several comments.
For starters in "Moonchild," Godou did not time-travel to the Arthurian era and thus never met Arthur. Generally speaking, in "Moonchild", events occur earlier than in the original Campione! LN so Moonchild's Godou is less experienced than the original TimeLine's Godou.
For those who wonder what Arthur's true power is, know that it is said in the original LN that Lord Shiva's Arrows are capable of destroying a city the size of Tokyo in a single attack and these are not even Arthur's most powerful weapons. He can also materialize nine black arrows: the Hou Yi Arrows (false). The first arrow has enough power to destroy a mountain range or a prefecture of Japan (a power equal therefore to Ishtar's main Noble Phantasm)... but each arrow he shoots after the first is more powerful than the one before. If Rama shot the nine arrows in succession, he could completely destroy Japan.
And of course, his most powerful weapon is Excalibur...
Beginning of the End of Time
Erica's sensual voice gave Godou Kusanagi a pleasant shiver when she bent down to whisper in the Campione's ear.
"Godou, why don't we have lunch in an Italian restaurant? I heard there was a pizzeria called the 'Top 3' in Tokyo."
Godou tried to mask his trouble by looking elsewhere but he could do nothing for his other senses... Erica Blandelli had taken his arm and... uh... was sticking close to him. It was difficult for Godou to ignore certain 'assets' of his first 'wife'.
He gulped
"Erica, you are once again imposing your choices on our king."
Seizing Godou's other arm, Liliana Kranjcar tried to snatch her king from the possessive embrace of the Diavolo Rosso. Tossed between the two women, the Japanese's Godslayer kept sighing. Why did it always end like that?
Behind the threesome that advanced in the street followed by the envious gaze of almost all the males, Yuri Mariya intervened in the conversation in an exasperated tone.
"Godou! You... you... should... learn to behave like a true king... your... behavior is indecent."
The red face, the adorable Hime-Miko looked away, shocked by the behavior of the Campione.
About to answer that it was not his fault because the two women knights did not listen to him at all, Godou stopped suddenly under the effect of a sinister premonition.
The atmosphere had suddenly changed. His Godslayer instinct had awakened. He felt the presence of a Heretic God nearby. The nerves suddenly irritated, the young Japanese had the impression that the passage of time had slowed down and that the noises of the city were muffled. Even the colors had changed, becoming more acidic.
Godou turned his head to look around. The cars on the street, the passers-by walking on the sidewalks, and the stone and glass buildings were all absolutely normal, ordinary. Then, he saw a kindergarten with slides, climbing nets, and swings. The small park was surrounded by trees and on a branch...
A beautiful owl with immaculate feathers.
The animal seemed as if superimposed on the banal landscape. It was too pure, too perfect to belong to this world.
As the Rakshasa Raja crossed the street and entered the park, the owl turned its head and looked at him.
The universe seemed to tear itself apart around him. Holding his hand to his head, Godou stumbled...
He was no longer in Tokyo. The kindergarten had disappeared.
He was in a majestic bedroom. Through the open windows, the night wind was dancing with the gauze curtains. Outside, the Devil King saw a crescent moon that illuminated a sleeping city with round towers with domed roofs surrounded by sculpted balconies. Most of the houses were simple huts of dried mud bleached with lime, but imposing ornamented ramparts surrounded the small town.
The Campione turned to the bed and saw a sleeping young man.
Athena's voice suddenly startled him. He turned to discover the Queen of Night standing by a window. Impassive as usual, the little girl with silver hair spoke of a monotonous voice.
"If my owl came to you, I was defeated. I know you forbade me to face King Arthur but... I'm a Heretic God, you have no right to forbid me anything, and then..." The goddess blushed slightly. "Arthur's awakening was inevitable. And he would have attacked you! You are my prey! I would not tolerate the existence of someone daring to steal my prey!"
Athena reached out to the bed.
"This is a vision I have prepared for you. It is time for you to discover who your future adversary is. I'm going to tell you about a very ancient time, a time when Sumer and Pharaonic Egypt were still in childhood, a time when the river Sarasvati (1) was surrounded by a green valley. I will tell you about a prince among the gods. A lord with unparalleled power. Never defeated a lion among his own kind. A tree so strong that no storm has ever uprooted it."
The teenager in the bed walked to the window and grabbing the curtains with one hand, looked down at the sleeping city. He had no consciousness of being observed. After all, he was just a memory that Athena told Godou.
"King Godou Kusanagi, let me introduce you to the Prince of Ayodhya, son of King Dasharatha and Queen Kaushalya, the Strongest Steel Rama."
Far above Godou's head, aboard the Vimana of the Heretic God Rama aka 'King Arthur'.
Pathetically Athena failed to get up. Collapsing to the ground, she clenched her teeth to not cry out in pain. The Heretic Goddess was too proud to show her suffering. Breathing superficially, Athena sat on the ground. She still had to cling to life for a few minutes... until her owl delivered the message she prepared to Goudou Kusanagi.
The goddess of wisdom may have lost this battle... but she was prepared even for this case. It was not without reason that she agreed to guide Velber's agents to Rama. Did they really believe that the legendary King Arthur would join them?
Athena smiled despite her suffering.
She had only agreed to help them for one reason... she wanted them to fight with Rama. Whether Altera and her generals win the battle or the King of the End defeated them, one of Godou's enemies... despite her weakness, the goddess blushed and corrected her thought... one of her enemies would be defeated today.
Coughing painfully to chase away the blood that began to fill her lungs, Athena spit out a pink foam...
Although the darkness of death reduced her vision to a tunnel and she no longer had the strength to stand, Athena began to laugh.
Whatever else may happen now, at least one of her enemies would taste the ashes of defeat.
Rama turned away from Athena and looked at the other intruders.
Even in his sleep, the Strongest Steel continued to observe the Earth. So he knew who they were. But without speaking to them, the god took a few steps to stop a few steps away from the Divine Ancestor who accompanied them.
Outraged to be treated as invisible, Gilgamesh clenched his fists in a burst of rage but Altera ordered him to calm down.
The Queen of Brittany bowed out.
"King Arthur, this Guinevere is your most humble retainer."
"I know who you are, Queen Guinevere. You claim to be my Handmaiden."
"Please excuse me, my king, if Guinevere have... have given you the impression that she had claimed a position unworthy of her rank"
As Arthur did not answer, Guinevere straightened her head before passing her hands in the back of her neck. Undoing the leather laces she wore under her clothes, the Queen of Divine Ancestor handed an object to the King Who Rule at the End of Time.
"Your humble servant was once your allied Gwenhwyfar. This Mother Goddess sacrificed her life to create the Holy Grail. From reincarnation to reincarnation, this Guinevere defended this treasure from the Campiones and the gods' greed while seeking her King. This Guinevere dares to hope that this present will please you!"
Rama looked with interest at the steel medallion that Guinevere had just given him. It was similar to the medallions containing the Divine Authority of other Gods of Steel he wore around his neck. The King of the End smiled as the knowledge needed to use the Holy Grail poured into him.
"It's truly a magnificent gift, and the King gladly accepts it... my handmaiden!"
Guinevere's face lit up with joy. Her king had accepted her gift... the purpose of her existence... putting the Sangreal in the hands of King Arthur had been accomplished! Better still, her king had recognized Guinevere usefulness; His Majesty had accepted her loyalty!
The queen was so happy she did not notice that Athena looked at her with pity.
Rama focused on the steel medallion and...
It appeared suddenly, a cup of gold... or rather- given its size- a huge golden urn without decoration. The interior was filled with a kind of liquid light of almost blinding white. In its simplicity, the object was of breathtaking beauty and a magical power superior to that of fifty Campiones emanated from the content of the sacred cup.
Even the unemotional Rama seemed impressed. He smiled faintly.
"All right, let's test the San Grail."
The King of the End made a hand gesture and the golden cup lit up. On the ground, Athena cried out in pain before starting to shine in turn, gradually losing her materiality. Becoming a ghostly figure, the Queen of Night began to float above the ground, connected to the Grail by a ray of light... slowly - as magnetized- Athena's fuzzy form was dragged towards the cup.
Then the Heretic Goddess disappeared inside the magic cup, the Holy Grail was shaken by a shock that was echoed throughout the city and was violently lit as the divine cup devoured that extra power!
Athena had been ingested by the legendary artifact, like many other Mother Goddesses before her, starting with Gwenhwyfar who had given her life to create the Sangreal.
Tokyo, at the same time.
Godou Kusanagi tripped, catching up to the trunk of a tree so as not to fall.
The vision created by the Queen of Night had dissipated without warning and in a very brutal way.
His eyes turned to the branch where Athena's owl had landed... but the Divine Beast was now translucent and gradually lost its colors, fading...
In a few seconds, it was only a silhouette without substance that evaporated in particles of prana...
Horrified, the Campione understood that Athena had died... killed by King Arthur... no, killed by the Heretic God Rama.
He clenched his fists suppressing a desire to scream with rage.
Godou turned to Erica, Liliana, and Yuri, who had witnessed the scene in silence.
"Come on, we're going to need help avenging Athena."
The threat represented by Rama required the alliance of all Campiones!
The King Who Manifest at the World's End stood still, raising one hand above the Grail while concentrating.
"By consuming Athena, the Sangreal also absorbed some sort of impurities that were in this goddess..." He suddenly paused with an "Oh!" of surprise.
Rama stood up and made a gesture, three dark bursts sprang out of the cup filled with light.
The god at the origin of the legend of King Arthur took each of these dark seeds and inserted them in energy drawn from the Grail which he shaped like clay to give it a coarsely human form.
The three energy dolls immediately began to grow, before taking on the appearance of flesh and blood and becoming individualized.
The first became a woman as beautiful as pure, with blond hair and the eyes of a tempestuous violet who was dressed in white armor and a helmet adorned with swan wings...
Lancelot du Lac, of course.
The second was a bearded ape-man with a headband on his forehead, dressed in Chinese armor and a tiger-skin loincloth. In his hand, he was holding a heavy golden stick.
Sun Wukong, obviously...
As for the third, he was a blond man with red eyes, dressed in an outdated white outfit with a long white cape. He had a saber in his right hand, the blade lying on his shoulder
Perseus...
Rama had just resurrected the three Gods of Steel that Athena had devoured! (2)
Summoned as Subordinate Gods, they put a knee to the ground paying homage to their lord.
Rama bowed slightly in front of his 'guests'.
"I apologize if I have failed in my duty of hospitality, but as you have seen, I had some urgent business to attend to."
The Scourge of God bowed her head in a brief salute.
"I am Altera, Queen of the Huns; I come to you on behalf of Velber, the Wandering Star of Predation. Here are my generals, Gilgamesh, the First Hero, King of Uruk; Iskandar, the King of Conqueror, king of Macedonia; and Jeanne d'Arc, the holy patroness of France."
"Normally, I would say 'welcome' to you, but as you have forced my door and provoked my awakening when the time had not come for me to roam the mortal world again, I would be content to listen to your justifications for your impudence. This is already showing great restraint!"
Once again, the Golden King felt offended... he was not used to being treated like an unwelcome salesman. But before he could answer, Altera asked him to keep his mouth shut with a cold glance.
Quickly the Queen of the Hun explained her mission. She had come to take the Regalia to Hakuno Kishinami. Nevertheless, the Campiones and the two goddesses traveling with Hakuno had repeatedly obstructed her.
"As the Campiones are our common enemies, I have come to propose an alliance."
There was a moment of silence. Rama seemed thoughtful, but in fact, he was consulting the Memory of the Void about the Harvest Star. Since the arrival of Altera, Hakuno, and the other Fateverse newcomers, the collective memory of the world had learned much about the universe of origin of these foreigners.
Velber was a kind of crystal computer that returned to the Milky Way galaxy every 12,000 years to eradicate all forms of life, mortals... and gods alike, but also to steal their knowledge and energy. The Umbral Star was rampant in multiple parallel worlds, and the Campioneverse was not beyond its reach.
"I was chosen by the gods of destiny to fight the monsters threatening this very world; I certainly will not ally myself with monsters like you!"
"We didn't come to threaten you. We're only here for the Regalia!"
"Correction," replied Rama in a mocking tone. "You are not yet here to ravage and plunder the world that the gods of fate compel me to protect. Even if I help you get the Regalia, you'll come back... in a month, a century, or 12,000 years, you will come back! You will return, more powerful than you are now! Do you really think I'm stupid enough to help you when you're the enemies of everything that lives?"
The negotiations had been brief and had ended in failure.
But no emotion appeared on Altera's impassive face. This was not the first time she had experienced this kind of disappointment, she was not a diplomat after all.
In her hand appeared the Sword of Mars.
She pointed the Divine Blade towards the sky.
There was a kind of howl that made everyone shudder... even Rama. Gods and heroes of legend looked around them with anxiety... when the cry was heard for the second time; it was accompanied by a violent shock that made the gigantic Vimana tremble. All looked towards the sky with expressions of fear or surprise.
The sky where the stars and planets were shining was now marked by cracks converging towards a single point.
It was absurd, totally impossible!
The sky was not a kind of painted landscape, it was planets millions of kilometers away and stars located at many light years from the Sun.
But like a glass wall struck by a stone, the sky was now marked with stellated circles... It was a vision of the cosmos worthy of an eight-year-old or a middle-aged peasant! But was it not the most fundamental power of the gods to make the impossible possible?
Yet the sky vibrated for the second time as the hideous cry preceded a blow against the sky's vault. Other cracks appeared, moving away from the second impact, while the first cracks widened to let filter a perfectly sinister red light...
At the third blow the celestial vault fragmented into thousands of pieces, the splinters did not fall towards the palace of Rama. They were sucked into the vacuum. By the tearing, a sight appeared that would make the wisest saint fall into madness or forces the bravest knight to bow down in terror...
For it was not only the washing of the sky that had just collapsed... the reality itself had shattered and through the cracks, the Greatest Threat had appeared.
Velber, the Umbral Star!
It was not an ugly thing, quite the contrary. It looked like a comet surrounded by several rings of rainbow light. But it emanated from this... thing... an absolutely overwhelming malevolent presence. This energy was so formidable that it outclassed by a factor of one to a thousand the most powerful gods of Campioneverse!
It was a plague that threatened the whole universe.
A monstrosity that crossed the galaxy for billions of years and periodically caused disasters of unimaginable magnitude, devastating entire planets!
One only had to look at Velber to understand the Egyptian myths about the fall of stars on Earth, the fall of the five suns among the Aztecs, or the myth of Phaeton's chariot in Greek mythology, or to understand why the Gauls feared that, one day, the sky would fall on their heads.
The word disaster came from the Latin word Astra (star).
All the legends, all the myths, all the writing of the oldest civilization said it: The End of the World would begin with a sign in the sky... the coming of the Star of Destruction!
In a gesture of command, Altera wields the Sword of Mars, pointing to King Arthur and his allies with the tip. And Velber exhibits a small part of his near-infinite power in response to the call of its herald.
Through the breach, several dark tentacles rushed in. They were formed of tiny particles. Most of these appendages struck the city as if by chance, breaking buildings into a thousand pieces. The dark grains that fell everywhere gathered into clouds that became denser... before materializing in the form of Enemy_Programs, identical to those of the Moon Cell Automaton. Except that these were made of black crystal plates separated by lines of blue-green light. A particularly sinister appearance...
Three of the dark tentacles rushed toward Rama. But the Stronger Steel raised Excalibur and the rays of the Divine Sword of Salvation woven a wall of light that protected the King of the End and his allies pushing back the tide of darkness.
As Velber's armies gathered around Altera and her generals, Iskandar raised his sword... The Enemy_Programs would not fight alone. The soldiers of the Ionioi Hetairoi appeared near their king gathering in large rectangles bristling with spears.
On the opposite side, Rama's younger brother commanded legions of air elementals. Similarly, the flying city of the Strongest Steel was not defenseless. The statues left their pedestals to attack Velber's Enemy_Programs. Knights had also responded to Lancelot's call, emerging from thin air around the Queen of the Amazons. While Son Wukong invoked huge golden-fur monkeys.
As in the great mythological epics, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, or the Iliad, a great battle had just begun, a battle between heroes and gods, a battle on which the future of the world depended.
Tokyo, Tohsaka Mansion.
The kitchen was much like Emiya Shirou's sanctuary.
Admittedly, he had set up a workshop in a corner of the garage where he experimented on the Strengthening Magecraft and the Projection. He also had his own room, but neither of these places had personal trinkets. His workshop was just some sort of junkyard where Traced weapons from his Reality Marble and pots he had created from Prana were stacked.
His room was even worse. He stayed there only to sleep or do his homework. The only books in the library were textbooks.
Actually, the only place Shirou would relax was in the kitchen. Much more than a hobby, cooking was Shirou's safety valve, the only normal activity in life so far focused on an obsession: becoming a "Hero of Justice"... until the events of the Grail War, when he had abandoned his ideal to become the Hero of Sakura.
What was he now?
Every time he asked himself this question, Shirou felt the panic that twisted his stomach.
It was a reaction that had barely subsided since his arrival in the Campioneverse. But for a few days, whenever he wondered what had become of him, Shirou also felt a powerful anger directed against Ishtar.
As he searched a closet, seeking inspiration for cooking lunch, his hands tensed as the rage returned.
Simultaneously, he thought he heard a mocking voice.
"Again, you're making a fool of yourself."
From the corner of his eye, he saw Archer sitting on the kitchen table, arms crossed over his chest, one eye open.
Although he knew that there was no one in the room but him and that the EMIYA he saw was only the fruit of his imagination, a representation of the most rational part of his mind that was addressed to him, Shirou responded mentally.
"But it's all Ishtar's fault."
"Frankly, I knew you were immature, but now you're acting like an infant.' It's her fault, she's mean to me!' What did you expect? Ishtar is a self-centered goddess, an arrogant tsundere, and a daddy's girl who never accepts that she might be in the wrong. You're just as lucky to have the last word with her as you are to move a mountain."
"And I should forgive everything because of that," questioned Shirou.
Archer's mental image shrugged.
"You know Ishtar didn't create the Skill she used to reincarnate you. Her only fault is that she didn't explain the side effects to you. Be smarter and talk to her so you can explain yourself. The longer you wait, the harder it will become to reconcile."
Hakuno turned to Ereshkigal to murmur.
"What is he doing?"
Through the half-open door, the girl and the Sumerian goddess looked at Shirou. For half a minute, the Japanese boy had been looking in the void just above the preparation table in the middle of the kitchen.
The redhead seemed at times angry, at other times he was in deep thinking with an expression of doubt on his face.
Ere sighed.
"I don't know... but I think this is a good time to take care of him."
The Queen of Arali had a very strange personality, although 'Chaotic Evil' (so an incarnation of evil in its most selfish and destructive form) she was also surprisingly caring about her 'family', whether it was the captive souls of Kur, her former Master in Chaldea, or Hakuno... recently, Ereshkigal extended this protection to Ishtar. In fact, originally, the Sumerian Goddess of Death had felt nothing but jealousy and hated even the air her most-favored sister had breathed... but the events of the Babylonian Singularity had changed that.
Perhaps because the two sisters had shared the same body, or because they had fought the same threat, Ereshkigal had come to understand that Ishtar was not a selfish and arrogant monster as she had previously believed.
Ishtar... at the very least, Ishtar with Rin Tohsaka as an avatar... just lacked the honesty to say what she thought and act as she really wanted. This forced the Goddess of Venus to manipulate and impose her will... but always to help others. Though she would have forcefully denied it, the Mistress of Heaven was actually a very nice person.
Since her dispute with Shirou, Ishtar was angry and frustrated... but also very saddened (although - out of pride- she would never have admitted it). But of course, the Queen of Venus could not hide her emotions from her sister. Ereshkigal knew her too well. After all, she was also 'Rin Tohsaka'.
Seeing Ishtar and Shirou hurt each other and stuck to their guns because they were too stupid to admit that they were both wrong ulcerated Ere.
So she had devised a 'Machiavellian' plan to reconcile them.
With one hand, the goddess of the Netherworld pushed Hakuno into the room and closed the door behind the Last Master of the Moon.
"Do as I explained and everything will be fine!"
Shirou would never listen to Ereshkigal... another goddess... but he had no reason to be angry with the adorable Hakuno, did he?
The only problem with this 'awesome' plan was that Kishinami had as much understanding of human emotions as a newborn...
Hakuno Kishinami stumbled because of the 'friendly' thrust of the Goddess of the Netherworld and almost fell to the ground before regaining balance.
With her hands pressed over her chest, Hakuno looked around her nervously.
The Last Master of the Moon's sudden arrival had drawn Shirou from his gloomy reflections. He turned to her.
"Hakuno? What can I do for you?"
Hakuno clenched her fists, her delicate face briefly expressing determination. Ere told her to start by earning Shirou's trust.
"Can I help you? For the meal?"
The proposal surprised the Redhead. Until then, no one wanted to help him. However, he was not opposed to the idea.
"Have you ever cooked?"
Hakuno shook her head with a blank expression.
"Do you have something you want to eat?"
This time Hakuno blinked and seemed to think for a moment. But her knowledge of cooking was close to zero. She had only bought Curry Bread and Yakisoba Bread from the Commissary during her entire stay in the Moon Cell.
"I don't know."
The redhead vigorously scratched the back of his skull.
"You're not helping me much!"
"Sorry..."
Searching the closet, Shirou took a plastic bag filled with Soba noodles.
"Do you know how to cook noodles with vegetables and beef?"
Again, the Sovereign of the Moon shook her head.
"Well, this is going to be a good time to learn! We need beef; you could find it in the other cupboard."
"Why?"
"Sorry?"
Hakuno blinked.
"Why in the other closet?"
"Oh you ask why beef is not kept in the same closet as noodles?" as she nodded, he scratched his forehead." Well, I don't know... it's just like that..." (3).
At that moment Shirou heard the doorbell ring.
He stopped and frowned, his instinct warned him that food was no longer the priority.
Ishtar was wandering like a soul in torment in the hall at the moment the bell sounded.
Morose, she opened the front door and frowned when she recognized two Campiones, the Japanese one Goudou Kusanagi, and Luo Hao the Ruler of Martial Art. They were accompanied by Godou's harem but also some key members of the History Compilation Committee.
Mechanically, the Mistress of Heaven took a step back by seeing the expression on the face of the harem's king. She had never seen him so furious. And if it wasn't enough, all his companions were agitated at one level or another. The worst was Luo Hao, this freak seemed to have learned wonderful news that plunged her into a kind of bellicose ecstasy... given her character -very particular- it meant that she expected to fight against an immensely powerful enemy. Ishtar did not need her divine wisdom to understand that something very scary had just happened...
" Godou, you look like you need to talk to someone... Come in and tell me what happened. "
(1) The Sarasvati River is an ancient river that flowed in present-day Pakistan and disappeared long before the Christian era. This river played an important role in the birth of the Harappan civilization (the first civilization of the Indian subcontinent) and was even considered a goddess in the Veda. The Rigveda - written around 1900 BCE (but based on even older oral traditions) - mentions the Sarasvati as a river with tumultuous waves. But at the time of the writing of more recent Vedic texts (such as the Mahabharata written around 400 BCE), the Sarasvati is already described as a narrow river disappearing into the desert.
(2) On the other hand, the Grail absorbed Metis at the same time as her daughter. Two Mother Goddesses for the price of one!
(3) Before the Meiji era, a law forbade keeping beef and noodles in the same pantry (I don't know why). This law was repealed when Japan opened up to Western culture, but the habit remained.