Bleary eyes slowly opened to find a clean white ceiling, upon further inspection, gold was inlaid in the edges. Odd, there isn't much use in doing such an expensive adjustment to a single room.

He shot up from the bed, his breath coming short. His memories were returning to him, the memory of his end. His final breath in the journey he took upon himself. His pursuit. It was a memory that never left him, no matter how long ago it was. He thought he was doomed to walk forever.

Only now did he realize that this wasn't the afterlife, nor was it the home of the one he parted ways with. There was no rolling grassy green hills, no blue skies, just an empty room. He shuffled out of bed only to feel something at the tip of his fingers.

His gaze drifted to the white and silver bow that was resting beside him. It was a typical recurve bow but designed in such a way that it wouldn't be practical. At least not entirely. The main piece for holding it was two parts, one for the handle, and the other held a giant red crystal at the center.

He focused on it only to receive a headache almost immediately. He couldn't derive the history of the bow, as if it was freshly made and hasn't been wielded yet. But at the same time, he felt that it had been used before. Much more than one lifetime. Nothing could be found about previous wielders in it, but he knew it was used by many before him.

"Either I find out, or I don't." His thought was interrupted by the door opening to reveal a maid that apparently didn't expect him to be awake.

"Oh! Forgive me, Lord Hero, I wasn't aware you had awoken." She bowed almost at once. He sighed before smiling and waving his hand.

"It's okay, miss. I only just woke up. Though…" She rose to look at him, waiting for what his request.

"Do you know where I am?" She nodded vigorously before walking to the window that was shut to prevent light from reaching inside. When she opened it, it was revealed smoke. Many stacks rose up from the city line with plumes of white smoke, and some black spilling from the tops of them. The architecture was primitive, but not far from his time.

This place wasn't earth, was it? Smoke stacks of this many wouldn't have passed regulation anywhere. But then, there are places he's never been to. Perhaps this is a country that still made use of steam and coal. Wait! He died, he was sure of it. There wouldn't be any possible explanation on why he was here, more importantly how.

His silence was regarded, before the maid continued.

"This is the kingdom of Faubrey, the most powerful kingdom in the world."

Shirou remained silent, taking in the information.

The most powerful kingdom in the world. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was in another world. The use of technology mirrored that of the Industrial Revolution in Europe and the United States over a century before he was even born.

"Why am I here?" His question probably wasn't what she expected to hear next but took it well.

"That is for the king to tell you. I only know that you are here to save the world. But I'm sure he will be able to tell you more. I believe that he is waiting or you now since I came here to wake you on his orders." Shirou nodded before standing up. Looking over himself, he was still wearing what he died in.

Black trench coat and a red scarf. Combat pants and boots ending with fingerless gloves. He spied a mirror and walked to it. Years of his journey left him looking the same as Archer from the Holy Grail War, leading him to realize that Archer was himself. Albeit an alternate version of him, but it was him nonetheless.

But when he walked up to it, he realized that his appearance didn't match his memories. As if… he reverted to how he was all those years ago. When he was nothing more than a foolish boy in pursuit of a dream that even now he continued to pursue. He stared at the amber color of his eyes that were once silver. His red hair, once was white. He smiled.

"Is there a problem, Lord Hero?" He turned to her, "Please. Call me Shirou."

She bowed lightly, "Yes, Lord Shirou."

"Exclude the lord part as well. Just Shirou will do fine."

"I understand. It is time to meet with the king, now."

"Lead the way."

The walk was mostly silent aside from the odd questions about the city, sometimes questions of what certain objects were since they didn't look familiar to him. Different world of course. His mind wandered as he followed the hand maiden to wherever the king was located, most likely the throne room.

"What is the king like?" She stayed silent but he noticed how she became tense as the question. That already told him something about the king. A negative reaction to a simple question mostly led to more questions.

"The king… yes. I believe the king is fair. In his own way. He takes on many wives and I try to stay in the lower levels of the castle to… avoid any confrontation." Her answer was even more informational in what to expect. The king already sounded like a scoundrel to him.

"I understand. Is there anything else you can tell me?" She shook her head, choosing to continue facing forward. He could barely hear her, but he did.

"There are ears everywhere."

"Ah."

The rest of the walk remained in silence until they came upon two large metal doors. Easily twelve feet tall and eight feet wide. They were simply massive and there was no telling how heavy they could be. Possibly more than ten tons each, maybe more.

Two guards were posted on either side and no doubt they saw them approach but didn't act until they came near the doors. The two grasped their respective handle on each side before pulling open. A loud creaking noise sounded out in the hallway, echoing off the stone. As soon as they opened enough to see through, he could already see the king and his advisors looking at them.

He took a breath before walking forward. The handmaiden stayed behind before turning around and briskly walked away. Shirou hoped that his presence was enough to mask hers. If she didn't wish to be sighted by the king, then he would make sure it didn't happen.

He paced along the black carpet that led all the way to the king. Even from here he could notice the smirk on his face. It almost reminded him of a certain King of Heroes, but there was obviously more to it than just the smirk. Two women were on either side of him, hugging his arms and obviously trying to get his attention. This man, this king. He didn't like him already.

"Saber would kill him without a hint of mercy."

"Ah… welcome, hero of the Bow." Even his voice was filled with taunt and his face smug. There wasn't a crown atop his head, but he wore a red bandana and his attire… It vastly resembled modern clothing from his world. A zip-up jacket, pants and zip-up boots that were open. As if this man came from the other world and immediately took over.

The man stood up from his throne, ignoring the displeased whines of the women behind him. He stalked forward, hands held outward in a pose of "Look upon me".

"I am the king of Faubrey. You may call me Takt." His grin is unsettling to such a degree that Shirou wanted to leave this place. But he needed answers and information.

"King Takt-"

"Ah, ah ah. Just Takt. You need to earn the right to call me king." Shirou furrowed his brows, almost wanting to question the backwards logic but chose against it.

"Takt. I want to know why I am here."

"Oh, that's easy. You're here to fight the Waves of Calamity, and when you're done playing that game, you'll become my guard dog. How does that sound?" Shirou narrowed his eyes.

"I don't take kindly to being owned. You brought me here against my will, I hold the cards."

Takt raised an eyebrow, "Hoh? Do you now… Very well." He turned around and sat back in his throne, letting the woman return to his sides. He waved his hand outward towards the door.

"I'll go along with your little game then. Go out there and kill some monsters. Maybe you'll be strong enough to even be considered to being a guard dog." That pleased Shirou all the more, it allowed him to simply leave. Maybe leave the country itself. He didn't want to even be around him.

"Oh, one more thing." Shirou turned his head.

"Do be sure to visit the hourglass at the church. Goodness knows you'll need it for what's to come. Have fun now, little bow hero." Without uttering a word, Shirou left the castle as soon as he could. Just being in it brought on a wave of unease.

Once he exited the courtyard gates, out into the city itself, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was only then he realized that he was woefully unprepared for the journey ahead. This world was filled with unknown monsters, and the mana in the air was almost choking. But it allowed his circuits to flow better.

Without a word, he put the bow on his back and projected his two swords. Almost immediately a shock ran through his hands, causing him to drop them in an alarmed yelp. They clanged against the stone road below, unmoving. He grew a confused expression before widening his eyes at what he just now realized.

This isn't Earth, so Gaia has no influence here. His projection wouldn't break down as fast, if at all. The second fact of the mana in the air made him notice that the projection didn't cost anything. At least with he felt, which was nothing. Even the married swords still gave him a small feeling of exhaustion. Miniscule to such a degree that it was hardly felt, but the feeling was there.

Now however, he felt nothing.

"This changes things. But I can't hold them."

He attempted to pick them up, only for the same shock to run through his fingers. A transparent screen suddenly appeared in his vision bearing the big bold letters.

*Legendary Weapon Rule Violation: Holding non-assigned weapon.*

"Huh." That would be a problem. He may fight with a bow, but he favored swords more. Being denied one of the few things he excelled at was quite the punch to the gut. He began to run through possible ways to get around that… He remembered that Gilgamesh, and his Gate of Babylon used swords as projectiles.

He may have learned how to do it in his travels, but he didn't use it as often as most would think. More often than not he was in close quarters or forming the swords into arrows for his black bow.

"Hm."

He dismissed the married swords before pulling out the bow on his back. He then projected his own bow. He wasn't shocked, but the screen returned, performing a sort of scan over his bow before the one in his other hand then transformed in a doppelganger.

*Black Bow Unlocked*

*Required Level: Lvl 1*

These words didn't make much sense, but it seemed enough for him to dismiss his own bow and looked upon the one he found himself with. It matched the other, point to point, an exact replica. He smiled a little, amazed at the magecraft that existed here.

He looked out to the city, and the lands beyond. As much as he wanted to let his life end then and there, for even a slight chance to see Saber again, he didn't mind helping these people. Even if he ended up having to live another few decades, he will find her regardless.

"Just wait a little longer…"