Siegfried gazed up at the sign of Muramasa Blade Works, the shop ran by the man, who once possessed his body, and had invaded his dreams to get him to visit.
He had to sneak away from his family to even have the chance to visit the place.
"And I know I'll be paying for it later." Siegfried thought with a sigh.
"Oh? Now what's a young one like yourself doing out alone? Ey Little one?"
Siegfried paled at the familiar teasing voice.
"No... please no..." Siegfried muttered, begging whatever would listen that the one speaking wasn't who he thought it was.
He turned and paled even more at who he saw.
"Hahaha! Oh yes m'boy it is I!" Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Wizard Marshal and wielder of the second magic laughed at the horrified expression on his face.
"Fuck this! I'd rather deal with Chaos himself!" Siegfried shouted, he turned to run as fast as his little legs could carry, but immediately found himself held in the air by the back of his shirt. The Vampire having grabbed him just as he turned.
It made quite the comical sight to see Siegfried still running in midair as he was held up. After a minute Siegfried let his body go limp, a dark cloud formed over his head.
"I hate being short..." He sighed in a depressed tone.
Zelretch chuckled at the boy, no matter what version he was he never ceased to amuse the vampire.
"Now now Emiya. There's no need to get all depressed. I'm not going to do anything bad I promise. I'm just here to escort you inside." Zelretch lightly chided the boy.
Siegfried glared at him, which from his current position looked more like a pout to the old man.
"Don't call me that. I'm not Shirou Emiya anymore." Siegfried snapped.
The vampire nodded whimsically.
"Ah yes, you're going by Siegfried these days if I recall correctly." Zelretch replied.
"Yeah that's right." Siegfried confirmed.
Zelretch hummed his response.
"Why are you really here Zelretch. I don't exactly need an escort to open a door? Also could you put me down? I'm starting to lose feeling in my feet." Siegfried asked him.
"Oh right, sorry." Zelretch hastily put Siegfried down.
He shook the bloodflow back into his legs and turned to look up at Zelretch.
"Ok... now mind telling me why you're here?"
The Vampire shrugged.
"Well the current version of me was actually rather close to your Grandfather. He'd help this version of me create my signature weapon using dust crystals. On top of that... I have what you need to complete that new Reality Marble of yours." Zelretch informed, a teasing smirk on his face.
Siegfried blinked before he rapidly paled.
"Oh god now he's gonna send me on some horrible mission to another Magical girl world isn't he!!? This is why I don't bargain with this guy!!" Siegfried thought in absolute terror.
Zelretch seemed to read his thoughts.
"Oh relax m'boy I have no intention of sending a five year old onto some dangerous mission in another world, which may or may not be filled with Magical girls... yet. Instead you'll simply owe me a favor, which may or may not include magical girls at some point." Zelretch said, which didn't make Siegfried calm down at all.
Siegfried knew he was fucked but he didn't really have a choice.
"Fine..." he relented.
"Excellent! Now let's head inside, we can't keep our host waiting for too long." Zelretch jovially exclaimed as he steered the boy towards the door of the shop.
The shop door chimed as they entered. The smell of steel, fire, oil and heat greeted Siegfried's nostrils and made him relax significantly.
"Ah so you're here. Welcome to my shop Kiddo." The familiar face of Shirou Emiya, or rather Sengo Muramasa greeted him when he turned to see the source of the voice.
"So it is you..." Siegfried trailed off as he looked at the infamous Demon Blacksmith.
Muramasa nodded sagely as if expecting his reaction.
"Why the hell do you still look like Shirou Emiya, last I checked you left my body after the Grand Order." Siegfried deadpanned at the Old Smith in a young body.
(*Bonk!*)
"Ow! What the hell!?" Siegfried cursed.
(*Bonk!*)
"A-ow?! Why?!" He nursed the pair of bumps that were comically sprouting from his head as he glared at the older man.
"A child your age should not be saying such things." Muramasa scolded, his raised fist steaming slightly.
Siegfried grit his teeth.
"Grrr! I am not a child! I am older than you!" Siegfried growled out.
It was true, the total age of the lifetimes he'd lived, (even as other people) was far greater than Muramasa.
"That may be true but you are still a child to this world as such you are to act as a child should and not draw attention yourself. Like you have been. You may think you're some sort of Hero by doing all of this but all you're doing is meddling! And the way you're going about things now will have disastrous consequences!" Muramasa snapped at him.
Siegfried recoiled slightly at the Smith's words, more than a little shocked.
"That... wasn't just about me cussing was it...?" Siegfried hesitated to ask.
It was Zelretch who answered.
"No it wasn't kid. You needed a reality check. The shit you've been doing up until now has had disastrous consequences on this world's future. Consequences so dire that if Alaya had a presence here you would have had nearly every Counter Guardian on your ass. Including yourself." Zelretch informed.
"But how? I haven't done anything that could have fucked with the timeline, other than be born of course..." Siegfried denied.
Zelretch rose an eyebrow.
"Really? So a young child with incredible powers going about taking down White Fang Members and traumatizing other children, who have relevance to the main story, by hitting them in the nuts, among several other things, isn't fucking with the timeline?" Zelretch asked in a slight condescending tone.
Siegfried wilted at that, he knew the man was right.
"Ok fair... but in my defense about the kids part they were trying to push someone off a roof... What was I supposed to do? Just let it happen?" Siegfried asked rhetorically.
"Yes actually." Zelretch said, dropping a bomb on Siegfried.
"What!? The Fuck you say old man?!" Siegfried was enraged by what the vampire had said.
(*Bonk!*)
"Ow! Not now Muramasa!"
"Language." Muramasa chided.
"English!" Siegfried snarked back, before returning his glare to Zelretch.
"You better explain yourself right now Old man." Siegfried demanded, he was pissed that the old man had insinuated that Cheri was supposed to be killed.
"That Cheri girl was supposed to fall that day. Then Winchester would've left Atlas for Vale to escape conviction, where Cardin would've eventually been admitted into Beacon. Then during the attack on Beacon he would have gotten his comeuppance when a White Fang member kills him. That white fang member was Cheri who had survived the fall but was rushed to a hospital." Zelretch told him.
"Ok? And how did I fuck up by preventing all of that from happening?!" Siegfried asked.
"It was because of that fall that Cheri's homelife was discovered by the authorities. You may have solved that issue. But the people who truely ran that orphanage will be looking for her. And in the next few years they will find her, but you won't be able to prevent what they'll do to her. You'll be too far away." Zelretch explained.
Siegfried fell silent at that. He struggled to process what he was told.
"That's not entirely true anyways..." Muramasa interjected.
He looked up at the two men.
"What do you mean?" Siegfried asked a slight mixture of hope and worry.
Zelretch spoke up at that.
"The future we just described was one where you never met us and were never able to fuse Dust with your Reality Marble and Glyphs." Zelretch informed.
"But now that we're here we can prevent that future from coming to pass. And ultimately prevent yourself from becoming a weapon against Humanity under Salem's command." Muramasa said.
Siegfried's head snapped to the Smith.
"I'm sorry what?! I do what!?" Siegfried exclaimed.
"Indeed. You became so devastated by what humans do to Cheri, and what they turned her into that you gave up on saving this world and instead chose to Destroy it and all who live within. Even your sisters. They were the first to die." Zelretch told him.
"So what you're saying is... I pulled an Obito..." Siegfried winced.
Zelretch seemed to mull over the comparison.
"Yeah pretty much." he eventually said.
"...Well shit..." Siegfried muttered.
"Indeed." Zelretch sighed.
"So what do we do then?" Siegfried asked, in hopes they had a plan.
"Well we," Zelretch gestured to himself and Muramasa, "can only give you the tools to prevent this, by fixing your reality marble. Other than that we can't really do much else. The rest will be up to you after that." Zelretch finished.
"Then what do I have to do?" Siegfried asked on last time.
"... Come with me." Zelretch said after a few seconds of thinking.
He pulled out his signature crystalline blade and slashed the air. A Kaleidoscope of color condensed into a tear in dimensions.
"... this better not be one of your tricks." Siegfried grumbled at the man.
"Of course not. This isn't the time for that. Now come along, if we hurry and finish this we can make it back to the hotel before anyone realizes you're gone." Zelretch said with a roll of his eyes, before he pushed the boy through the portal and followed behind with Muramasa in tow with a bundle in hand.
Siegfried tumbled out of the multicolored portal and found him colliding face first into something squishy.
"Mmph?!" Came Siegfried's muffled cry as he fought to get his head out of whatever had it trapped.
"My my? Who do we have here?" A woman's voice; sultry but chilling; cooed at him from above his head.
He slowly forced himself to look up.
Impossibly long dark hair and deep auburn eyes, connected to almost deathly pale skin and red lips.
Siegfried had seen a lot of beautiful women in his time, but this one was almost otherworldly, but there was something... familiar about her. It took him a second to process what position he was in, but when he did he quickly flung himself away from the woman and pressed himself against some sort of stone wall.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to! The damn Vampire pushed me through!" Siegfried rapidly shouted to prevent himself from potentially being hurt.
The woman lightly giggled at his reaction.
"You have nothing to worry about child, I will not hurt you. I have no need to, you'll do all the work for me." The woman said, a slight amount of pity in her last statement.
Siegfried looked confused at her statement, but before he could voice his concerns Zelretch and Muramasa stepped through the portal, the latter had a bundle of sorts in his arms.
"Now now Hecate. Don't scare the boy too much. He'll find out when the time comes." Zelretch coyly said.
"Hmph. Of course you're behind this Zelretch." The woman, now revealed to be Hecate; the greek goddess of Magic and various forms of death related Magecraft, glowered at the vampire, a hand covered in ghostly mist-like prana raised in preparation to smite.
Zelretch held up his hands in a placating manner, yet still somehow appear condescending.
"Hey now, I haven't come here for trouble, in fact we, or rather the boy here, need your help." Zelretch said with a sincerity that did not match the Magician's trollish grin.
Hecate glared at him for several moments before she let out a huff of agitation and the energy vanished from her hand.
"What do you want this time...?" Hecate sighed, her fingers pinched her nose to stave off a potential migraine.
"Ah! I knew you'd hear us out!" Zelretch said with cheer.
"Ugh." Hecate replied with a disgusted expression.
"Me too sister... me too." Siegfried muttered his agreement on her reaction. She sent him a sympathetic glance in return.
Zelretch simply laughed their frank dislike of him off, in favor of getting to the point.
"Alright then. Let's talk business shall we?" Zelretch asked, rhetorically.
Everyone turned to him and nodded.
"Hecate we need you to... 'operate' on young Siegfried's soul..." Zelretch said, before going into an explanation on what exactly she was needed for.
Her powers as a goddess of magic and various soul and death based magecrafts was needed to permanently bond an absorption spell to Siegfried's soul. This spell would be what would allow him to fuse dust to his Semblance and by extension his Reality Marble.
Hecate's mind raced with possible spells she could use for such a task but there was one thing bugging her.
"Why should I help? What's in it for me?" she asked.
As far as she was concerned she got nothing from this bargain.
"And that is where I come in." Muramasa interjected.
Hecate looked at the man and blinked, as if seeing him for the first time.
"Shirou?"
Siegfried's attention snapped to her when she said that name.
"Unfortunately not Madame. I am Senji Muramasa, Shirou's Ancestor." Senji introduced himself with a respectful bow of his head.
"Ancestor..." Hecate muttered as she scrutinized the soul within the body.
"Correct. You see I, at one point, was a human and a counter guardian. But due to reaching a skill in forging that was beyond human ability, The World classified me as a divine being. Because of this, when I was called to fight in the Grand Order for the sake of human history, my 'divine' status prevented me from manifesting my own body. As such I was given the body of one most suited for me, one who just happened to be my own descendant, Shirou Emiya; the Sword Incarnation." Muramasa explained to her.
"Then why do you still inhabit Shirou's body?" Hecate asked.
"Oh I'm not. This is my actual appearance. Just in my teenage years." Muramasa informed.
Siegfried and Hecate both blinked, before the former turned to the latter.
"Ok... I gotta ask... what business does the Goddess of Magic have with a third rate Magus like Shirou Emiya?" Siegfried asked.
"I don't see how that's any of your business." Hecate replied snidely.
"Ah yeah, as a former Shirou Emiya it kind of is." Siegfried said with clear cut sarcasm.
Hecate blinked again.
"Former Shirou Emiya?" She repeated.
"Long story short. I'm one of Chaos' workers. We typically get either thrown into or get reincarnated into various worlds. Some may choose to just observe and document, bunch of pencil pushers if you ask me. While other, like myself, tend to play a more direct approach and end up getting involved in that world's drama, or it's main story." Siegfried explained.
"And at one point you were a version of Shirou Emiya." Hecate finished his clarification.
"Correct, and it seems a piece of him stayed with me, because my family's semblance has started to form a version of Unlimited Blade Works, but it's... practically useless, cause the Blades have no physical capabilities like a normal weapon, and most of the ones with special abilities are locked because of that same reason. Which is why we need your help with the Dust Crystals." Siegfried explained.
Hecate nodded in understanding.
"Very well if you must know... I am... attached to his adopted father you could say. And by extension him. And I am familiar with his biological father, Hephaestus."
Siegfried had to take a second to process that, before turning to Zelretch.
"Was this version of Shirou born in the greek time period?" He asked.
"Oh no. The year is currently 2007." Zelretch said not bothering to hide his amusement when Siegfried's jaw dropped in full realization.
"No fucking way... is this where I hope it is?" He asked.
Zelretch gave a grin and nodded.
"... Lucky bastard..." Siegfried grumbled, "why is it I never can seem to be reincarnated or taken to the Riordan-verse?"
"Pardon?" Hecate asked confused.
"Oh right uh... yeah not really allowed to explain or it might give you an existential crisis... but uh I want you to know that... shit's gonna hit the fan soon... and unfortunately you have to be on the bad side for everything to work out... you'll know when the time comes. Can't say much else I'm afraid..." Siegfried told her.
She hesitantly nodded, understanding that something was soon to occure, and for things to work out she had to be on the wrong side. Being a goddess of crossroads she understood that sometimes the choice that does harm to many in the present could affect the future in a positive manner.
What did the mortals call it? The butterfly affect?
"Yeah that was it." Hecate mentally affirmed her train of thought.
"So back to my question. What do I gain out of this?" Hecate asked with a stern voice.
"Ah yes, apologies. We all got sidetracked." Muramasa remembered.
"Right."
"Now as I was saying. I am a blacksmith with the skills far beyond human standing. In return for being free from Alaya's ownership, I was freed by Chaos to act as the personal blacksmith for not only his workers, but also people who are in the know about the Multiverse in some way shape or form." Muramasa explained.
"Ok? And that benefits me how?" She asked.
"If you wish I could make a pair of blades for this world's Shirou Emiya. His existence seems closer to mine than many others. His Reality Marble may be affected by his heritage and by his divine blood. As such I would like to give him genuine Muramasa blade. To start his own collection so to speak." The smith finished.
Hecate thought it over, it seemed like a good deal.
"Hm... very well. You have a deal. However I must warn you. The magics I must use for such a spell would need to be engraved into your being at not only the cellular level but spiritually as well. It's a lot of pain for someone your age, and you would need a few years to recover from it. You should be able to heal physically easily enough, but your Soul would need time. Which means no projections or use of powers in the meantime, you could die if you do." Hecate warned.
"Then what do I do in the meantime? If I can't use my Semblance then I'm screwed. My Bow and my spare sword are in there, and I can't exactly carry those around in my pockets." Siegfried asked slightly annoyed.
"I can take care of that actually." Muramasa said.
"As can I. I actually have a... gift of sorts for you. But you'll have to wait until after the... procedure to get it." Zelretch chimed.
Siegfried deadpanned at the old vampire.
"It better not be a Kaleido-Stick. I can't stand Ruby. Sapphire? Maybe. Ruby? I'd rather blow my brains out." He said with clear revulsion to the mention of the annoyance known as Ruby
"No no, nothing like that. It would be rather hard to explain that to Ozpin. You will have to wait if you want to find out what it is." Zelretch waved off his question.
Siegfried let out a sigh of relief, honestly glad to not have to deal with the Kaleido-stick duo.
"Alright that's good. Then when can we start?" Siegfried asked as he looked up at the three in the cave.
Zelretch used his crystal blade to create another portal.
"As soon as we step out of that we can begin." the old vampire informed. He gestured them to follow him, before he stepped through.
Muramasa, without a word walked through the first portal that Zelretch had made, the one to his shop on Remnant. It closed as soon as he did so.
"Probably is going to get started on those weapon's for this version of Shirou." Siegfried thought.
He spared Hecate a glance before he followed Zelretch through his portal, the Goddess passed him as he did.
The scenery they stepped into was one Siegfried was very familiar with. He'd been there only a day prior after all.
It was his basement.
"Huh? This is my basement... Why are we at my house?" Siegfried asked confused.
Zelretch ignored the question and proceeded to pull out a Scroll of his own and place it into the very same terminal plug in Siegfried had found days prior.
"I highly suggest taking your bow, sword and anything else you might need out of your Glyphs kid. You won't be able to get them out until the healing process is complete, which will take a very long time." Zelretch emphasized just how long it would take him to recover from what was soon to happen.
Siegfried did as he was suggested and took out his bow, and several other things he would need, and stuffed most of them into his backpack, which he'd also stuffed into his glyphs before he'd left the hotel.
He couldn't quite fit his bow and sword into the bag so he left them off to the side.
Meanwhile while Zelretch was instructing Hecate on how to use his Scroll and how the machinery in the room would be needed to ensure a complete success.
Luckily Hecate was a quick learner.
"Alright I've got everything I need out of my Glyphs." Siegfried informed them.
"Good, now we need the dust for the procedure-" Zelretch began, only to be cut off when a small wooden chest was held up to him.
"Here. Use these. There's one of each known type of dust crystal in here, including the last creations of Gramps." Siegfried muttered, a little reluctant to part with one of the gifts from his grandfather.
Zelretch looked at the box, a small amount of nostalgia flashed through his eyes at the sight of it.
He ginderly took the box, and opened it. The boy hadn't been lying, there was enough dust in there to complete the procedure, and then some.
The old vampire ran his thumb along the inner rim of the chest, he could feel the letters KZS carved into the box. The box had been a gift from him to Nicholas Schnee when they were younger, well when the Schnee was younger. He'd stopped aging a long time ago.
Zelretch had been the one to teach Nicholas the basics of Jewel craft, which the man then used to further the study of Dust, and later helped the vampire create his blade in this world.
"Zelretch?" Siegfried spoke with concern in his tone.
"Hm? Oh yes my bad. Was just reminiscing. Must be my old age." Zelretch said, joking to hide the loss he felt over his old student's passing.
"Right..." Siegfried muttered, he could tell something was up with the old man, but knew he shouldn't pry.
Hecate was also silent, as she had nothing to add.
Zelretch clapped his palms together.
"Alright, let's get started shall we?" He asked the two.
Hecate and Siegfried each gave a nod in response.
"Great! Now... Hecate if you would..?" he asked the goddess who nodded and turned to Siegfried.
"Sorry about this." Hecate spoke before she snapped her fingers and everything when dark.
I awoke in the icy wasteland of my forming Reality Marble, or rather what was left of it. My ignition of the world the night prior had reduced the once icy world to a land covered in a heavy fog. It was so thick that I couldn't even see the ground on which I stood.
I looked around myself and struggled to see anything, but somehow through the dense vapor I spotted a flickering light. Instinctively I made my way to the light.
After what felt like several minutes of walking I began to hear something.
(*Clash...Clash...Clash!*)
The clashing of steel hammering against steel, a sound I easily recognized.
For reasons I didn't understand, I picked up my pace, and soon found myself crawling up a hill, the sound got louder and louder the closer I got to the source.
I burst through the fog, at the apex of the hill, and immediately spotted the source of the sound.
I felt my eyes soften with pity as I identified the individual before me.
It was me, the original me, before Shirou, before him. Messy brown hair with a streak of white hair on the left side, caused by stress during our original teen years. He was gaunt but somehow held a significant amount of muscle, for someone of his current state anyways. Centeral Heterochomic eyes of brown and green, a weary and somber look could be discerned from their gaze.
He didn't acknowledge my presence as I approached, he simply kept smashing the glowing red hammer of obsidian onto an ethereal object, a blade, an English, hand and a half longsword.
I stared at him-me for what seemed like hours as he simply hammered. Until he paused midswing.
"Ah so it's you..." He spoke in an aged and weary tone that matched the look in his eyes.
I said nothing in response.
"You don't have to say anything. I already know why you've come." He muttered. He placed the hammer down onto the anvil and turned to face me.
"You already know what must be done. But I must warn you. If you do this, you will never be able to return to our original world. You will be forever cursed to wander the Multiverse in service to the Void from which Creation was born. And there will be no turning back, are you sure that's the life you want?" He asked me.
I spoke without an ounce of hesitation.
"Yes. I never wanted to return to that world. That was your goal. But I am no longer the same person as you. Our paths diverged a long time ago."
The man, who I no longer acknowledged as myself, stared me down and I stared back.
After several seconds the man's eyes lowered back to the hammer and anvil.
"Yes... yes I suppose you are right." The man muttered his agreement before he lifted the hammer up once more, but instead of swinging it downwards he held it out to me.
"It's time for this old fool to rest. I wish you the best of luck. However as a warning... without me here you will have to deal with those two more often."
I understood that already, but despite myself I couldn't help but find my eyes drifting to the blade the man was working on.
He noticed and picked up the unfinished blade and inspected it.
"Hmm... It is yet unfinished... but I suppose it will do." He muttered before he plunged the blade into his chest, an act that startled me.
"What are you- Gah!?" I hiss as an onslaught of pain surged through my body.
"The procedure has begun. In order for this to succeed you must take this blade from my body and keep striking it with the hammer. You must forge it into blade that represents who you are as a person.There be more pain to come... but you must persevere. Do not stop forging! When the procedure is near completion you must plung the blade into this hill!" The man ordered as his body began to vaporize into motes of ether.
I struggled to stand as I forced my body to move closer to the anvil and hammer. My left hand reached out to the fading man and pulled the blade from his body, while my right took up the hammer.
(*Slam!*)
With all my might I slammed the hammer onto the blade. The hammer's rebound nearly made it fly out of my hand but I managed to tighten my grip to bring it back down for another swing.
(*Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam!...*)
The pain rose with each swing, it felt like my body was being sliced into and something hot was being forced into my bones, and my soul! It was utter agony.
I had to keep forging.
(*Slam!*)
The spectral blade seemed to gain more solidity.
(*Slam!*)
Words began to slowly etch into the spectral blade. But I didn't have time to examine them.
(*Slam!*)
I brought my hammer up for another swing but...
(*Thwip!*)
Thin cords made of a Crystalline material sprouted from the ground and bound my body in place, before the ends buried itself into my arms and legs, before they spread out beneath my skin.
I grit my teeth and forced my body to move with all my might to slam the Hammer down once more.
(*SLAM!*)
The World quaked and shifted, the fog began to slowly lift.
(*SLAM!*)
My bonds struggled to hold me but I had to keep going.
(*SLAM!*)
Almost.
(*SLAM!*)
Almost there! I can feel it!
(*SLAM!*)
Just one more! Pour everything we have into just one more swing!
(*SLAM!!!*)
My final slam echoed throughout the World before I lifted the complete blade, my eyes were foggy from the pain but I could make out the Crystalline tendrils begin to creep onto the blade, which then slowly crystallized.
My job isn't done yet. I have one more task!
I grit my teeth and let out a pain filled growl, before plunging the blade into the ground below.
Immediately upon doing so, steel colored circuits raced throughout the world and soon the other spectral Blades that inhabit this newly created world crystallized. Another detail were the pair of massive glyphs that spun like familiar gear cogs in the sky.
I didn't have time to fully appreciate my work, because I could feel my body give out and then darkness.
Meanwhile
Hecate rushed to catch the boy as her sleep spell took it's effect. She didn't realize just how potent using magic was in this world.
Zelretch paid her no attention as he pushed a few buttons and the simulator projected a high-tech operating table.
"Alright put him there, be sure to strap him down." Zelretch said in a no nonsense tone.
Hecate had never heard him so serious before, it was how she knew this would be tough on the boy.
She did as told and place him onto the table, which she noticed had a human shaped indentation on it. The boy was hilariously small for the full print, and she might have giggled if not for the reminder of what she was about to do to a child.
Once she'd finished strapping the boy to the table, Hecate backed away from the boy. It wouldn't do for her to get sentimental. She had a job to do.
Hecate approached where Zelretch stood, staring at the sound asleep boy.
She looked at the old man with clear hesitancy.
"Is... is this the best we can do?" She asked with doubt.
"The best? No... but in truth it is all that we can do. Even this path won't guarantee his future. All we can do is point out the roads he needs to travel, the rest is up to him. You know that more than anybody." Zelretch replied with clear remorse for what was about to happen.
Hecate nodded, she did understand but that didn't mean she liked it.
"Right..." She muttered.
Silence reigned for several seconds before being broken by Zelretch.
"We should begin. The longer we wait the longer this will take."
"Yes... let us begin." Hecate muttered in resignation.
Zelretch backed away from the terminal pad and gestured to the goddess to take his place, which she did.
He then lifted the box of dust and brough it to the operation table, where several cylindrical capsules waited to be filled.
He removed each Dust crystal one by one and placed a crystal into each cylinder and sealed them each.
"Alright... you know what to do Hecate." Zelretch signaled her to begin.
She nodded and pushed a button, chanting in arcane tongues as she did. The Mist she controls had begun to flow from her eyes and her mouth as she chanted. It drifted like a ghost over to the vials of crystallized magic, which began to liquify.
The button she had pushed had done something as well, several dozen thin IV-drip tubes with 2-inch long needles, shot out from each vial of liquid dust and pierced Siegfried's body in several places. Each spot pierced was a known spiritual pressure point, chakra points you could call them.
Before long, the boy looked more like a pincushion than a person.
Hecate would have winced at the sight if not for her primary focus being her chanting.
Zelretch eyed the body of the boy critically, he was waiting for the right moment.
After several seconds the boy's aura flashed.
"Now!" Zelretch barked out.
Hecate's eyes snapped open, her mouth let out a burst of an even denser Mist, all the while she spammed her hand onto a button that read 'Inject'.
The dense mist launched at the boy and began to soak into his skin, all the while the vials of liquid dust pumped their payload directly into his spiritual pressure points, and even his blood stream.
A sound so chilling erupted from the boy's mouth as he began to writhe in pure agony, it wasn't a scream. It didn't even sound like something a human could produce let alone a child!
It was deep and monsterous. Hecate was briefly reminded of the Draken. It sounded draconic in origin.
It startled her so much that she nearly stopped chanting, but managed to shrug it off and keep going.
"So it's waking up..." Zelretch muttered, as he spied Siegfried's aura flashing periodically. Each flash showed scales made of dark steel colored crystallized aura, had begun to sprout from underneath Siegfried's skin.
"Settle down now, there's no need for that. This benefits you too." Zelretch chided the beast within the boy.
Another flash of aura showed, for the briefest of instances, a scaley horned head of reptilian origin, in place of Siegfried's own, before the flashing stopped completely and the boy went silent.
Zelretch sighed in relief. True Magician he may be, but he was nowhere near strong enough to fight a rampaging dragon, especially this one. Even in this world Dragons are the epitome of power. Very few people have ever encountered one, let alone survived to tell the tale.
As far as Zelretch could find out about this world's history the only people to have ever seen, survived, and even killed a dragon was the former family of Jacque Schnee, nee Gilles, formerly Ormr.
That resulted in their family's original semblance of absolute weapon mastery, being mutated into what it is currently, Dragonification.
Zelretch pushed his train of thought out of the way and resumed examining Siegfried, as the tubed disconnected themselves from the boy. A wide grin cracked his face as he immediately saw what he was hoping for.
Circuits. Magic Circuits. The operation hadn't been just to fuse Dust to his semblance, it was to revitalize the empty passageways where the magical energy of this world known as aura should have been. The current way for using this world's version of magical energy was horribly wasteful. Allowing the energy to leak out of your body just to form a shield? So inefficient. It was no wonder they can no longer use magecraft! They're allowing the only energy source they have to just disperse itself when it gets a slight jolt!
It would be much easier to just Reinforce your skin and bones to the hardness of steel!
How these people don't die of prana/aura withdrawal was beyond him.
Now Siegfried wouldn't have the limitations of a normal resident of this world. He could still use his semblance, and the aura shield as intended, but now he had the capacity to relearn his specialty of Reinforcement Magecraft and several others. Hell with the amount of Dust energy now in his body and soul, he could probably learn Jewel Craft.
That prospect made Zelretch run his fingers through his beard in thought. It might not be such a bad idea. He would think more on the subject at a later juncture.
The boy had begun to wake up.
"Ngrtn?!" Siegfried grunted in pain as he regained consciousness. His body was insanely sore, he had pain in places he didn't even know had places.
"Easy there lad. No need to strain yourself. Let yourself rest for a bit. We'll take you back to your hotel room, I sent most of your belongings back, with the exception of your weaponry, I sent that to Muramasa's shop while you were unconscious. You should get them back tomorrow. Muramasa will stop by to deliver them." Zelretch explained to the boy.
Siegfried groaned but didn't try to get up again, deciding instead to fall into a genuine sleep.
Zelretch nodded with finality before he turned to Hecate.
"Could you escort him through the portal? I have a few things left to do here. It won't take long. His family should still be asleep but do be careful to not be seen." Zelretch asked her.
"Hmph, you forget illusions are a specialty for the Mist. No mortal will see me if I don't want them to." Hecate gloated.
Zelretch rolled his eyes with an amused smirk on his lips.
"Yes yes I know. But still be careful." he said with clear amusement.
She nodded regardless and lifted the sleeping boy into her arms before stepping through a newly created portal to Siegfried's hotel room.
Zelretch now left alone, looked around the room until his eyes fell on the terminal used to control the simulator and the rest of the room.
He approached and pressed several buttons. Upon doing so the wall beside it slid upwards with an audible hiss of escaping air.
"Ah so he really did start it... well I suppose I might as well finish it." Zelretch muttered to himself as he stared at the large glass surface containing a robotic body covered in what appeared to be nanobots.
He pulled out a flash drive and inserted it into the container's drive port.
The terminal lit up with an image of a long white haired woman was displayed along with the words:
《Uploading Subject: A2 blueprint and memory data. Time until completion: 35064 hours.》
Zelretch groaned at how long it would take for the Android known as A2 to be created in this world.
"Four fucking years..." He groaned in annoyance.
Even if it made sense to him, he wasn't really much of a patient person, he could be at times, but not often.
He released a sigh.
"Nothing I can do to rush this... I guess there's no choice but to let it take it's time. It should finish before the incident occurres." Zelretch thought out loud, then closed the secret room woth a push of a button.
He pulled out another item from his pocket and turned it over in his hands. A card with a pair of Jesters, one red and one green, printered in the face.
"Looks like I'll have to gamble with this after all." Zelretch flipped the card to the opposite side to reveal a distorted figure.
It wore dark clothing in a style reminiscent of Archer Emiya. Black body armor, black cargo trousers with a familiar black waist cape. It's left arm was covered by a white sleeve held up by a scaled pauldron strapped to the right shoulder, revealing a black wrapping around the right arm and mostly fingerless archer gloves with only the index, middle, and thumb having finger sleeves.
What really drew attention however was the mask the figure wore. It was a half'n'half mask. The left side looked like a fierce Dragon, with a single recurved horn. The right was rather ominous, it was fashioned like a deer skull, with a single branching antler.
Zelretch's eyes tightened at the image.
"I hope this works." He muttered one last time, before he placed the card onto the terminal, the simulation app open on the screen.
"Install." Zelretch whispered, in the next instant the card flashed and vanished into the Terminal. A new simulation icon appeared on the screen, labeled: Alter-Ego.
"It worked." He breathed
That was good, it meant his business here was concluded and he was free to take Hecate home.
He gave one last look at the Simulator.
"Things will he different this time... They have to be."
That said, he vanished into the portal Hecate had entered.
While Zelretch took care of his business, Hecate and the sleeping boy slipped into the hotel room without making any sounds.
It took her only a second to find where he needed to be, in a bed next to... a very naked white haired girl and a younger girl (who appeared comfortable in the bosom of her older sister)
She blinked at the sight.
The girl was rather developed for her age, but that wasn't the only reason for Hecate's staring. There was was immense potential for magic in this girl, not in the current time, but sometime in the future. How far? Hecate couldn't fully tell that.
It gave her an idea however.
Hecate set the boy down onto the bed, and approached the older sister. She knelt before her head and lightly placed a finger on her forehead, before she whispered in arcane tongues, a light amount of mist condensed onto her finger then faded.
Hecate stood and gazed at the girl.
"I hope you enjoy my gift girl, it may save your life one day." She whispered before she vanished from the room.
She reappeared at the portal, to find Zelretch waiting for her.
"I take it your business is finished?" She asked him.
"You would be correct. Now it's time for us to head to your world. Muramasa will deliver the weapon's personally so I can just take you home." Zelretch informed.
"And how do I know you won't go back on our deal?" Hecate asked skeptically.
Zelretch looked genuinely offended at the question.
"I may have a penchant for pranks. But I am a man of my word. If I make a deal with someone, I keep it." He said in a slightly snide tone.
Hecate felt a little bad for assuming he would go back on their deal.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to offend you." She apologized.
He waved it off.
"It's fine I understand. I am a Dead Apostle Ancestor after all. Being considered a monster or a liar is part of the territory. Just don't make the same mistake again."
Hecate slightly rolled her eyes at his joke.
"Whatever, just take me home. And I expect those blades to be delivered to my Shirou as soon as they're ready." Hecate said with a no nonsense tone.
Zelretch nodded and gesture to the portal behind him.
"Of course. Now off you go." he said dismissively, adding a playful shooing gesture.
For a moment the goddess contemplated blasting the dead apostle with a spell she'd used against other gods and titans, before she put a pin in her line of thoughts to walk through the portal, and hopefully never have to deal with any version of Zelretch ever again.
Once she was gone, Zelretch closed the portal he'd created, and sighed. It was the type of sigh that displayed an exhaustion that could only come with age. Zelretch was the third oldest being in this world, and in that moment it showed, not on his face, but in his eyes. He was tired, his time would be coming soon, not by natural causes no. His death would be at the hands of Salem. Sometime within the year he'd say, alongside that Summer woman.
The most he could do now is prepare the boy for the trials ahead. Siegfried and Ruby would be the ones to finish what Zelretch and the girl's mother could not.
It was strange, now that Zelretch thought about it, how easy it was to accept you were going to die when you knew there was no other way. He wondered if that was how the Heroes of legend felt when they knew their life would cease at the end of their quest.
"Bah, heroes. Always the martyrs. Heh. Guess that makes me even more of a hypocrite." Zelretch chuckled to himself, before he simply blinked out of the space where he had once been.
A/N: I know I'm suuuper late with this but life is a bitch, plus I got all these Ideas in my brain that won't leave me alone! It gets hard to keep up, as I'm sure some of you can understand.
Now I'm sure some have you have seen the fact that I changed the name of this little story. You see I have officially concluded that this story will be an official rewrite of my previous Glyphed Swordsman story. I will leave the old one up but it won't be updated.
