Chapter 15
The sweltering heat rendered the air almost unbreathable. Yang felt suffocated as her lungs filled with a cloud of black smoke, a smothering shroud of despair that seared her insides. Tears welled up in her eyes from the scorching heat, while Ruby, Blake, and Pyrrha coughed from the corrosive atmosphere enveloping them. Sweat trickled down her forehead as they stood motionless, adapting to their unfamiliar surroundings.
Destruction and utter carnage.
Yang and her companions surveyed the hellscape before them. The asphalt beneath their feet radiated intense heat from burning buildings. Flames licked their way up walls and through windows with abandon as if some savage beast had unleashed them.
Then, beyond it all the roar of the fire, Yang heard unmistakable sounds of agony. Figures moved on the ground in anguish, flesh charred where it touched hot pavement. She almost screamed at the brutality of it all.
"No... This, I can't…" Yang's voice was faint, her throat dry as the desert. "What is this?"
A deep sense of dread filled Blake's heart as she surveyed the desolation before her. No mistaking the horror and grief here, innocent people subjected to unspeakable terror. She could hear their cries hanging in the air like acid, burning her ears and scraping against her soul.
Suffering knew no boundaries. It did not differentiate based on gender or age. Therefore, how could one label those who cried and pleaded for help as their flesh blistered off their bones anything other than victims? Men, women, boys, and girls all suffered under the malevolent flames.
'Suffering isn't relative. It's universal.'
"It's abominable, isn't it?" Undeterred by the intense heat and the agonized cries surrounding her, Artoria spoke with a piercing voice that sliced through the inferno like a scalpel.
"I remember when I first saw this. It breaks my heart every time."
She paused for a moment, staring into the distance at the horror.
The world blurred into a haze of orange as ash rained down upon them from above. Smoke clung to their skin and hair, filling their lungs until every breath was a struggle. But Artoria remained steadfast, refusing to let the oppressive atmosphere break her spirit.
"He said his family died in a fire," Blake said.
Shirou had understated when he told her how he had lost his family. She could never describe this blaze as a simple fire.
Blinking back tears, Blake asked in a tense whisper, "How…?" She could not finish the sentence.
'Would I survive if I were in Shirou's position at that age?'
She tried to picture herself crawling across the field of ashes, a small girl with golden eyes and black hair, searching for her mother amidst the flames. Her throat closed up on her. The image was overwhelming; even if it were true, she couldn't bear to dwell on it.
"How… How could a child survive this?" Blake asked, the taste of ash heavy on her tongue.
"Shirou did the only thing he could. He moved forward and left everything behind. His hopes. His family. He even abandoned his sense of self..."
At that moment, they witnessed a boy transitioning from toddlerhood, stumbling along the street with gaunt cheeks and puffy eyes. His feet shuffled more rapidly, disregarding the people behind him and their pleas echoing off his back. Hands reached out from every direction, seeking redemption, yet he paid no heed.
"... yet it was luck, rather than his perseverance or sacrifice, that granted Shirou his survival."
Blake's heart constricted. Misery blurring her vision as Shirou stumbled and fell, burning his hands when he instinctively tried to catch himself. An anguished cry tore from his lips as the intense heat scorched his skin, and Blake felt a stabbing heat rip through her veins as though her hands were burning. Tears prickled in her eyes, and she could scarcely bear to watch him suffer any longer.
"This moment defines Shirou. He endured suffering, loss, and guilt to forge his steel."
A whimper escaped Shirou's throat as he pushed himself up. His pants had fused to his legs, but he continued to walk past where Blake and her companions stood.
Yang gagged and staggered, her hands grasping and reaching out desperately, aching to scoop up the forsaken soul she would fight alongside.
A river of crystal tears cascaded down Yang's cheeks, glinting in the firelight like tiny diamonds.
"I can't watch this anymore. You said you'd take us to Shirou and the Nightmare, not this!" Yang furiously wiped away her tears and whirled around on Artoria. "Stop with these games now! Please!"
Yang tried to summon up her anger, but she could only feel torment in the face of Shirou's suffering.
"It isn't a game, Yang," Artoria said.
"This is the ultimate battleground, the last stronghold of the Nightmare within Shirou's mind." Artoria gestured towards the direction Shirou had arrived from, pointing to the epicenter of the catastrophe."This fire. It wasn't the result of a simple accident, but the wrath of an entity denied its greatest desire."
Disbelief washed over Yang as she pondered the immense destruction caused by a single entity. How could such overwhelming power exist? Despite her fears, she steeled herself and jogged towards the direction Shirou had arrived from.
'Hold on, Shirou. We're coming.'
Blake heard it before she saw it. The sound. Words eluded her as she struggled to comprehend it. Instead, the sheer wrongness of it scraped against her sensitive ears and brought her to her knees to the alarm of her companions. Blake clawed at her head, wrenching at her bow and pressing down on her ears to block out the awful sound that seemed to rage against life itself.
The pain continued until Blake felt soft hands grasp her shoulders, and the noise died down to a whisper. After catching her breath, Blake opened her eyes and found herself met with the anxious stares of the other girls, with Artoria supporting her.
'She's blocking out the sound.'
"Are you all right, Blake?" Pyrrha asked, offering a hand and pulling Blake to her feet, her eyes flickering to the pair of cat ears for a brief second.
With a shake of her head, Blake banished the last of the echoing discomfort.
"Yeah. What was that?"
Yang didn't wait for Artoria to explain. Instead, she pushed them forward, unwilling to wait a moment longer.
"Explain on the way," Yang said as she broke into a run.
Artoria kept pace with Blake. Ruby and Pyrrha stayed close at the rear.
"It's the monster you'll have to face. The Holy Grail, in its true form as All the World's Evils."
Ominous. It was the only word that surfaced in her thoughts. Blake felt goosebumps spread across her skin. She squinted into the smoky distance. The sound was still there, though no longer painful, but she couldn't see their foe.
"Is this something we can fight?" Ruby asked, voice unsteady and strained.
Recalling all the past battles within Shirou's mind and confronted with a name like 'All the World's Evils,' Blake shook her head preemptively, silencing Artoria before she could speak.
"There he is!" Yang said, pointing.
Shirou sprawled on a small pile of rubble like a victim of sacrifice, awaiting to appease some dark god of destruction. Yang could make out the telltale shimmer of gold surrounding him, Avalon's light, flickering and weak but still protecting him.
"Shirou!"
Yang exploded forward, long legs chewing up the distance between them in seconds. Shirou's eyelids fluttered as Yang knelt beside him, followed by Blake, Ruby, and Pyrrha, but they didn't open.
Blake could hear the horrible sound getting closer. For a horrifying moment, she feared that Shirou might be too far gone to stay unconscious under the overwhelming weight of that noise.
Relief flooded them all as Shirou's eyes opened, revealing a fraction of dim gold. A smile graced Blake's lips as those eyes momentarily locked onto her before closing once more.
"No!" Yang said, pulling Shirou closer. "Open your eyes, Shirou. You need to wake up. Keep fighting!"
He didn't stir, remaining limp against Yang, his mind exhausted beyond measure.
The sound of shattering glass pulled everyone's attention away from Shirou's insensate form. A great tower imploded, falling in on itself.
There was a haunting quality to witnessing the collapse of such a monumental structure, yet that wasn't what drew their attention.
None of the girls would ever forget what emerged from the dust, no matter how hard they tried.
"Gods..." Pyrrha said, hand covering her mouth.
Putrid, sickening, and utterly horrifying, the sight was so repulsive that Blake couldn't tear her eyes away anymore than she could claw them from her head. Its presence felt like a stain upon the world, like every atrocious sight, sound, smell, and taste combined to form an amalgam of rot that moved toward them, corrupting everything it touched.
"What?" Yang asked before gagging.
Artoria remained stalwart, watching the monster make its way toward them with deliberate slowness.
"I told you, this is All the World's Evils unleashed upon the attempted destruction of the Holy Grail. It will be the Nightmare's last host... If we can beat it."
Defeat it? Just looking at it made all of their insides churn and revolt. Its presence scraped against their souls like a grader, leaving harsh, raw wounds that burned like a brand.
"How can we get close enough to fight it?" Blake asked. She shivered at the thought.
"It has to have a weakness," Ruby said, standing and planting her scythe. "Artoria, can you show me the Nightmare, like during the other fights?"
Blake's heart fell when she saw Artoria shake her head.
"Those were mere fragments; this is the creature you've been seeking, weakened since you've arrived, but still far more potent than something you can fight."
Yang's hair and eyes glowed with power, and her face contorted in rage.
"Then what do we do?! Tell us how we can fight! Tell me how to save Shirou!"
The Nightmare had crossed half the distance between them, its pseudo body massive and looming.
"You can't."
Yang felt like she'd taken a sucker punch to the gut.
"I'm sorry, but it's true. None of you can fight this monster." Artoria paused as she watched the repulsive Nightmare. "You can't save Shirou, but he may be able to save himself. I didn't know when I first met you, but there may be a way, a single speck of light in a sea of darkness, but it is far from a guarantee—"
"Just tell us already!" Yang's hair flicked with flames as her anger got the best of her, sick of Artoria waxing poetic.
Artoria sighed, a soft sound, something seen more than heard.
"Very well. To save Shirou Emiya, you have to awaken his aura."
Impossible.
Pyrrha shook her head, having studied aura and knew the techniques to awaken it.
"We don't have the time. It can take months for someone's aura to be activated."
Aura existed in all living things, barring the creatures of Grimm, but that didn't mean every creature could access the power of their souls. If all creatures possessed aura, the Grimm would have been eradicated ages ago. So, instead, the authorities tested children at an early age to determine whether they possessed the potential to utilize aura. Those with the potential received coaching to guide them to their power, unlocking it.
"Not for Shirou," Artoria said with passion. "I believe his soul is more accessible than most. You experienced that yourself."
They all shivered at the reminder.
"Could it be that easy?" Ruby asked. Her eyes shone, looking from Shirou to Artoria. "If we awaken his aura, do you think he'll be able to beat the Nightmare?"
"I don't know, but I have hope. Aura strengthens you and gives you power beyond your flesh. So if you can unlock Shirou's — jump-start his soul — he may gain the power to defeat his Nightmares." Artoria leveled a piercing stare straight into Yang's eyes. "Can you do it?"
Yang pulled Shirou closer and met the challenging stare of her own.
"Yes, if you buy me time."
Artoria turned and faced the torrid monstrosity, ready to do whatever it took to see their slim chance of victory realized.
"Right," Ruby said, trying to be chipper. However, her words came out strained. "We'll hold it off, so you'll have plenty of time."
Pyrrha, her face set in a look of resolve, eyes scanning the environment, looking for any advantage. Together, they moved to join Artoria, leaving Blake and Yang beside Shirou.
Blake hesitated. She didn't want to leave Shirou, unconscious and hurt. Part of her thought she would be the better choice to wake him. However, Yang's possessive hold on his lifeless form, her muscles taut and lips pursed into a determined line, told Blake it would be a waste of time to argue.
Blake squeezed Shirou's hand before staring into Yang's eyes.
"Save him."
Yang returned Blakes's stare, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace, and nodded.
"Give me a few minutes. He'll be slinging swords around in no time."
Blake moved to stand beside Ruby and watched Artoria wave her hand, creating a bubble of golden protection around Yang and Shirou.
"The barrier isn't strong; it'll give Yang and Shirou a minute if the Nightmare gets past us."
"That won't matter," Ruby said. She strode forward through the rubble and into the street. "Killing Grimm? That's a Hunter's specialty."
The Nightmare chose that moment to bellow. The unholy sound slammed into them like a wave, with only Artoria's protection stopping them from collapsing under its weight.
"Ok, so it's a powerful, scary Grimm possessing some gross, evil monster. Same difference."
Pyrrha laughed and fell into a sprinter's crouch.
"Do you have a plan, Ruby?"
"Yep, I'm the fastest, so I'll focus on hit-and-run tactics. When you and Blake see an opening, use Artoria to land a big hit."
"Simple, but risky."
Ruby's cape fluttered, rose petals blooming from its edges as her aura flared.
"Not if we don't get hit."
The air quivered with fury as Ruby propelled herself forward, a crimson streak amidst a barrier of scorching flames and smoldering ashes. As she neared the Nightmare, its body grew increasingly repulsive; faces appeared to be embedded within its flesh, shrieking in anguish and desperately clawing for release. Images of the countless victims it had claimed flooded Ruby's mind, entombing death within this grotesque creature.
Blinding anger surged through her veins, more potent than anything she had ever felt before, and with a newfound ferocity, she let loose her wrath upon the monster.
"This is your fault!"
Ruby sprinted to the side and used a building to launch herself skyward.
Crescent rose barked, and the power of its recoil sent Ruby spinning as she closed in on her target again.
She tore down its side in a shower of foul gore.
"Avalon!"
The sky blazed with a burst of golden light that was quickly answered by the thunderous percussion of gunfire.
Shrieks and cries of agony and fury filled the air.
An ebony shadow flickered into view. In one fluid motion, it hurled a blade into the Nightmare's eyes before melting into the shadows.
Their attacks were relentless, fierce, and courageous, disregarding the threat of their own lives. But it wasn't enough, not nearly enough, to stop what approached them. Every strike they landed was just a tiny momentary reprieve.
"Gods..." Pyrrha muttered through gasps as she pulled back. "We can't keep this up much longer."
Ruby nodded in agreement, her aura sapped after using her semblance time and time again. She glanced over her shoulder and saw how close the Nightmare had pressed them toward Yang and Shirou.
Blake jumped down beside her with cat-like ease, tucking her kitty ears flat against her skull.
"We can't give up now," she said, her tone grim.
"Right..." Ruby said, her voice nothing but a whisper. If they stopped, they would all die anyway. She leveled Crescent Rose behind her and locked eyes with Artoria. Then a spark of hope lit in Ruby's chest as she saw it — a glimmer in Artoria's stance and a look in her eyes that screamed for action.
She nodded, and light flooded into being once more, enveloping them all in its embrace.
'Please hurry, Sis.'
Yang's stomach roiled watching Ruby stand before the repugnant creature. Yang felt powerless. Unable to do anything but observe while they were trapped in this horrendous situation because of her own selfish weakness and desire to remain by Shirou's side. Yang felt a chill race down her spine as she heard the Nightmare scream in agony and saw the cuts that had been inflicted upon it by Ruby's Crescent Rose. When the blade had finished piercing its hide, gaping wounds glistened like rubies in the firelight.
'Come on, Ruby, you can do it.'
Yang gritted her teeth and growled.
The sound of collapsing buildings filled the air, but Pyrrha's screaming filtered through.
"Blake, circle around! Ruby, get out of there!"
Pulling Shirou up so his head lolled onto her chest, Yang closed her eyes, blocking out everything so she could focus on freeing Shirou's aura.
No problem.
Yang closed her eyes and bathed in a brilliant yellow light as her aura surged with power. The reverberations rippled through the atmosphere, sapping Yang's energy but providing a necessary boost to Shirou. She threw all her strength into him, willing her aura to suffuse him until she felt something, a glimmer of brilliance hidden deep within Shirou's being.
"In passing, we achieve immortality."
The words came naturally from her lips, like a half-forgotten prayer. "Through this," she whispered, feeling the ripple of eternity. "We become paragons of virtue and glory."
Yang felt Shirou's heartbeat through the palm of her hand, and the swirling power grew more potent and chaotic.
"Infinite in the distance and unbound by death, I release your soul and, by my shoulder, protect thee."
Yang shook with the effort, fear slowing the world down until nothing else mattered except her tenuous hold on her soul's connection to Shirou.
"Shirou," Yang spoke into his ear as the Nightmare raged and Ruby's rifle barked. "I'm so sorry for everything you've gone through. It breaks my heart to know you've suffered things no one should and lost everything. But throughout all of that, you're still an amazing person, and I'm so grateful to have met you."
Tears began to fall down Yang's face and onto Shirou's shoulder, and her voice became thick with grief.
"I'm not very trusting, but you've become my best friend so fast, someone I can rely on to always be by my side. Thank you for that. I know you're a fighter, Shirou. I know it! Which is why I need you to hear me and wake up. We need you, Shirou, all of us. I don't want to die here; I can't lose Ruby. So please..." A hiccupping sob ribbed out of Yang's chest, and her words stuttered to a halt as she watched the battle rage against an unbeatable enemy.
"I need you, so please wake up!"
Empty. He couldn't see, hear, or feel. Time ceased to mean anything as inky darkness wrapped around him in an inescapable embrace. In the far reaches of his mind, Shirou knew that death held him. He'd felt its fingers many times, but always danced out of reach. There would be no escape this time. Part of Shirou luxuriated in the feeling, a release from pains he never realized he had.
"… Shirou."
He heard it muffled and quieter than a feather drifting through the air—his name. Someone calling him. Shirou couldn't answer, not within the darkness. Did he even want to? He had long been denied this peaceful rest.
Shirou continued to drift deeper into his peace.
"… Shirou."
The voice felt familiar. It felt like a tune you knew, but couldn't remember the lyrics.
A moment of clarity within the eternal blackness struck Shirou.
'Yang?'
Yes, that felt right. Blonde hair and a broad smile; how could he have forgotten? It had not been so long since he had seen her.
"Shirou, please."
'She sounds afraid,'
He had never heard Yang sound scared; he could scarcely conceive of her expressing such feelings. Her bombastic nature prevented such impressions.
'What are you afraid of, Yang?'
"l don't want you to die..."
Shirou experienced a sensation. A tickle against his neck and warm air caressing his ear. Goosebumps rippled through his body at the sensation, and his lung inflated with air, the smell of smoke burning his nose.
"Shirou, please wake up."
Sunlight bloomed, shining brightly and pushing the darkness clinging to Shirou's back. He blinked at the sudden assault and saw the amorphous source of illumination that banished the shadowy specters that held him draw close.
'Sunlight and lavender.'
Tentative, like an animal afraid of rejection, the light reached out to Shirou but didn't touch him. Instead, it waited within arm's reach, inviting him to close the distance.
A choice. That's what is offered. If Shirou wanted to survive, he had to choose that himself, to reach out and allow the radiance to fill him and protect him from the peaceful grasp of eternal rest.
'Do I want that?'
He didn't know. Memories came back to Shirou. Harsh and painful. Didn't he deserve a break from the endless battlefield he carried with him?
"Shirou, please, we can't last much longer; I need you to wake up and fight!"
He could hear Yang's voice coming from the light, desperation plain. A fire blazed to life in Shirou's heart, kick-started by Yang's plea. What had Shirou been thinking? He couldn't die, not when people were waiting for him.
Shirou reached out to the light, all hesitation gone. Beyond Yang's call, he'd made himself a promise years before.
'I'll search for an eternity because I know she'll never stop waiting.'
Shirou fingers were a hair's breadth from the light.
'You know that hell you're walking into?'
Shirou touched the light and felt its radiance fill him.
'It doesn't matter because she's waiting on the other side.'
"... Shirou!"
Shirou heard Yang's exulted cry clear as day and opened his eyes.
Ruby, Blake, and Pyrrha battled against a being that Shirou had attempted to erase from his memory, while Yang helped him rise, speaking so rapidly that he could barely comprehend her words.
As he stood on shaking legs, Shirou knew he wasn't back in Fuyuki, and the thing before him wasn't Angra Mainyu.
"How is this possible?" Shirou asked, looking around the place he often saw in his nightmares.
"No time!" Yang pointed, jabbing her hand several times to illustrate her point. "That's a Grimm. It's locked us in your head. We've got to kill it to escape.
As summaries went, that worked for Shirou. He raised his hand, marveling at the strength he could feel singing under his skin.
"Trace, on."
The world froze as Shirou's words thrummed across the battlefield. But then, all eyes turned to Shirou as swords formed, hundreds of them hanging, ready, waiting for his command.
Boom!
The swords leaped forward as one, slamming into the Nightmare like a tsunami of steel. It screamed as it flew back, unable to bear the weight of Shirou's attack, and fell with an almighty crash.
"You did it!" Ruby charged Shirou and Yang, throwing herself at the pair enthusiastically.
Yang embraced Ruby before running her hands over the girl, searching for any wounds.
"You're ok." The relief in Yang's voice was palpable, and she pulled Ruby in for another hug.
But Shirou was no longer paying attention. His focus was dominated by another who approached.
"Artoria?"
Awe, and wonder. Shirou stumbled, reaching out for the woman who gave him purpose.
She smiled. The same smile Shirou remembered, closed-lipped but filled with kindness.
"I'm sorry, Shirou, but I'm afraid I am not your Artoria. I'm just wearing her face."
Shirou blinked and lowered a hand he didn't remember reaching out with.
"Is this a dream?"
Artoria shook her head and reached to rest her hand on his cheek.
"No, not a dream, something in between. That is why I can manifest in front of you as Avalon.
"Avalon," Shirou said the word with reverence. It was the place he sought with fervor, the place she resided.
"Her sheath."
"Not anymore."
Shirou opened his mouth to speak, but the ground trembled beneath his feet, making him lose his balance.
"Uh, guys," Ruby said as she pointed to the Nightmare, which had risen from a pile of rubble. Its countless wounds were closing up like they'd never existed. "I don't think Shirou's attack killed it."
Blake stepped up beside him, her eyes wide and her uncovered cat ears twitching with worry.
"This is getting unfair," she said, her voice a mixture of frustration and determination.
"For it perhaps," Artoria said. "Shirou, draw her sword."
Taken aback, Shirou stared with dumb incomprehension.
"You should know... Her blade can't be traced."
"I did not ask you to trace it. I asked you to draw it as is your right."
The Nightmare snarled and began to charge, moving faster than before, rage and fear spurring it into action. Artoria didn't deign to acknowledge it.
"Don't you remember Shirou? That sword will always answer the call from the one who bears the heart of the Once and Future King." Artoria placed her hand over Shirou's heart. "She gave you her heart, and so she gave you her blade. So draw it and let her sword taste glory once again."
Guided by unknown instinct, Shirou reached for his hip and felt the hilt rest in his hand like it belonged there. And he drew forth her sword and, with it, all the colors of the morning dawn.
It shone in Shirou's hands like a second sun, as if it held one within its very steel. The intense light should have been excruciating to behold. It should have blinded him, but it was anything but painful. Shirou could stare into its heart; all he would ever feel was its warmth. As if it bathed his soul in the light of the warmest of summer days.
As the light blazed, the world shifted and changed. Yang, Ruby, Pyrrha, and Blake gaped as they no longer stood among burnt-out shells and charred corpses. Instead, green grass ticked Pyrrha's legs, and rolling hills replaced burning rubble with golden motes of light flicking around them. All because of the sword Shirou held. The Nightmare didn't matter, not to Pyrrha, not anymore. She could only stare at the pure, tear-inducing light.
"This is the manifestation of mankind's great desire. It is the crystallization of the prayer named 'glory' and everything etched in the hearts of those who are scattered at the sword's radiance—"
Glory. Pyrrha had chased it once but never fully understood its meaning until Shirou's prayer reverberated through her heart and mind. Glory was more than victory. Glory represented beauty, justice, selflessness, and sacrifice.
"Amazing," Pyrrha said as she knelt in supplication.
"—The nostalgic, sorrowful, and hallowed dreams of those who were placed on the bloody hell called a battlefield, of all warriors past, present, and future fully exposed to the fear of death and despair, and yet who still cling to a desire: to be exalted."
".. My babies. Ruby, Yang, I'm so proud of you."
The sisters trembled, hearts swelling at the unforgettable voice.
This made everything worth it, all the horrible things, all the pain and heartache. Those simple words banished them all.
"M-mom."
The pure light coalesced until she stood before them, the same white cloak and kind smile conveying such pride and joy that both girls wept as they were enveloped in her arms.
"The light continues to shine in the darkest of nights. Our defiance at those who will try to extinguish the good in us all. Our honor that will never be stained."
Blake recoiled from the light, fearful of being rejected by something so pure due to her past transgressions. She never had to fear.
'The past is the past, Blake. We need to look to the future.'
Blake remembered her father saying those words, trying to divert her from her path of vengeance. She didn't understand. Now, bathed in forgiving rays, she finally did, releasing the self-loathing that had haunted her, though regret would always endure.
"Though forged by inhuman hands, by the will of the planet itself, it was crafted from the desires of mankind, the crystallization of our wishes. It was born from our very hearts and is the greatest of mankind's fantasy-given form. It was the blade of mankind's most beloved Lord, the greatest of all Kings. The actualization of her ideals and the symbol of her heroism, it was, and still is, her greatest and most powerful Noble Phantasm."
Shirou could see the utopia that awaited him at the end of an endless road. There would be hardships, pain, strife, joy, and laughter.
'Shirou, I love you.'
Shirou heard the words as if his Artoria were beside him, whispering in his ear.
The Nightmare screamed and thrashed as the light pulsed, and Shirou shouted to be heard over it, lifting the blade above his head.
"To look upon its light is to gaze upon the Glory mankind can achieve! And so long as it shines, we shall remember and never forget what we had once achieved so that we can strive for it again!"
The light from the sword exploded skyward, a pillar of strength that none could hide from. Shirou shifted, tensing his muscles as he prepared to strike.
"Excalibur!"
Shirou swung, and the light descended with the wrath of the heavens. It cleaved into the Nightmare, burning away its tainted existence in a flash of righteous rage.
Ruby fell to her knees with a shuddering gasp.
"It's over."
She was right. Already, the world grew hazy in the distance, like a mirage. With the Nightmare banished from Shirou's mind, Shion had stopped using his semblance to keep everybody in Shirou's head.
"Well done," Artoria said, smiling. "Well done, all of you. You faced horrors that would break most people, but you never gave up, and you have my deepest gratitude."
"Didn't do it for you..." Ruby heard her sister mumble though she doubted anyone else did, as Shirou turned to face them all, still holding the beautiful sword aloft.
'Excalibur.'
Goosebumps formed, and Ruby swallowed. A longing surged within her to grasp the sword, yet a deep instinct in the recesses of her mind warned her that it would forever remain out of reach. She was not worthy of wielding such a blade.
"Thank you." Shirou said. The words weren't fancy, not a grand speech, but sincerity dripped from them.
Shirou's body flickered, his figure becoming blurred and indistinct. Yang's throat tightened in astonishment.
"Shirou!"
"Calm, Yang." Artoria said. "He's just waking up."
Mollified, Yang relaxed and realized that they were all becoming translucent.
"We did it."
Shirou disappeared with no grand spectacle, appearing more serene than Yang had ever witnessed. Ruby, Blake, and Pyrrha followed suit, until only Yang and Artoria remained standing face-to-face.
"Few would have done what you did. I'm happy to know Shirou has someone that cares for him so much." Yang flushed and felt angry at herself for doing so. Something about Artoria made her feel inadequate, and she hated that.
"Yang, will you allow me to ask for a favor?"
Yang's gaze intensified, uncertain what to expect, and nodded.
"What is it?"
"Don't give up on him."
Yang froze, not even breathing.
"He loves her, doesn't he?"
Artoria nodded.
"Loving someone who departed from the world centuries before your existence is a tragedy. To unite, one must undertake an eternal quest while the other endures an equally prolonged wait."
Yang closed her eyes.
"It's impossible then."
Artoria cocked one golden eyebrow.
"The same impossible as meeting dead heroes, surviving hell, defeating Evil, journeying to another realm, and discovering friends who will risk everything for you?" Artoria let the silence linger for a moment before answering her own questions.
"Indeed, impossible it is."
Yang chuckled, though her heart sank. Irrational as it may be, a part of her held onto hope...
"I'm not sure what you expect me to do," Yang experienced a floating sensation on the brink of awakening. "He'll never give up."
"No, he won't, but that doesn't imply he can't find happiness on his journey, and there will forever be space in his heart for another. Thus, please, don't allow his quest to consume him…"
Artoria's heartfelt words barely reached Yang's ears. With a single blink, Yang opened her eyes in the realm of wakefulness.
Man, it's been a while since I updated this story. Time got away from me. But hey, we've finished the Nightmare route, and I'm looking forward to an implications chapter.
This chapter was less inspired by FSN and more by the first two season of Attack on Titan, let me know what you think.
Question: Would anyone be interested in artworks inspired by whatever chapter I'm writing? I've been playing with visual novel concepts, but before diving down the rabbit hole, I want to gauge people's interest.
Thanks for reading!