Avalon, The Everdistant Utopia.
To reach that utopia, Emiya Shirou must protect the world forever. By projecting and using Caliburn, he has made the same vow as Artoria to fight for justice by drawing that sword.
Using both his image of Avalon and Caliburn, Emiya Shirou will protect the world forever.
But be warned, this is no easy task, and it's likely that Emiya (_) will continue to lose himself overtime; he must turn his heart into steel and suffer forever to make it to that Everdistant Utopia, and then, and only then, will he rest peacefully alongside (_).
It sounds familiar, doesn't it? Emi_) (_) will turn his heart to steel and become a superhero, just as (_) (_) once dreamed of on a moonlit night. However, this is a test; can (_) (_) last forever? for if he loses hope, even for a second, it will all be for naught.
(_) will continue to follow that everdistant utopia; even if it's stupid, impossible, or idiotic, he doesn't care; he WILL make it.
and then he can finally reunite with...
Who was I talking about again?
Archer Class Servant, Heroic Spirit EMIYA, had a bad feeling.
No, it was worse than a bad feeling; it wasn't just a gut reaction; it was more than that; it had to be.
However, he decided it was best to ignore them; it wasn't exactly a malicious feeling; it was just something that felt out of place and wrong; something existed in this world that shouldn't have existed.
Archer cynically chuckled at the idea of something that shouldn't exist; that was something he very much felt about himself. Despite the great memories he had made in Chaldea, he realizes that eventually he will forget; when his time here is up, it'll be back to zero, back to being a cleaner for the world.
Back to her.
Archer almost shuddered at the thought of her; he hated her almost as much as he hated himself for taking that contract in the first place.
Though...
"MY DREAM IS NOT A MISTAKE!"
"I realize that dream of mine wasn't wrong by any metric."
He smirks as that boy, that version of himself, whom he intrusted to never become him, despite him using Heroic Spirit EMIYA as a basis for his abilities. With that firecracker of a woman by his side, he's sure that she'll refuse to ever let him go. As odd as it sounded, even as a man with a tin heart, he prayed for them—that Shirou Emiya could find happiness without being a superhero.
Suddenly, he began to think of the other timeline, where Shirou Emiya betrayed that ideal; he gave it all up to save one person; he would never admit it, but he was jealous; he was much stronger than any other version of Shirou Emiya; to give up his dream to save everyone was the same as him giving up his own identity and starting anew; EMIYA had given him his own arm, after all, allowing him to follow his very own original dream.
As the last timeline, or first, came to mind, Archer felt unsatisfied; his mind was very amiss during the events of that specific grail war, and by the time he remembered his purpose, it was too late; he was weakened and killed against Berserker; he was only able to give that version of him some advice.
But that was all; he simply wished for Emiya Shirou to never become Counter Guardian EMIYA, but he was unaware of the fate of that one—not even a hint at his future, other than himself, of course.
Archer sighed. It wasn't like him to get all down over his regrets—actually, it was. Only now did he realize how fruitless it was until it was hanging right in front of him.
Archer began to make his way towards the kitchen, talking with several different servers along the way (yes, they were all female).
However, just before he walked into the kitchen, he felt someone tap him on the back.
"Ah, Master, how can I help you?"
Archer said, recognizing the person as Ritsuka Fujimaru, Chaldea's Last Master.
"Archer! I need your help!"
Archer merely raised an eyebrow, but Ritsuka looked genuinely distressed. He stared at the several Saber-Faces, worried they'd likely tear the cafeteria anew if they found out that he wasn't
He sighs internally; there was no way that those variants of Artoria were that reliant on him, right? Of course not; if he wasn't there, they'd simply eat the food of another chef in Chaldea; he was just a simple servant who knew how to cook; other servants had entire legends based on their legendary food.
"Very well, Master, how may I help you?"
Ritsuka smiled in relief. Archer was always his most reliable servant; it had been like that since the beginning.
The very beginning.
It was a dead atmosphere in Chaldea.
a lot of dead masters and a lot of dead staff members, and overall, it was depressing. Ritsuka was it; he was the very last hope for humanity, and he wasn't coping well with it. Yeah, he had made it past the first singularity, but it was practically only him and Mash, who wasn't even a fully fledged servant; he saw her more as his under classmate than as a heroic spirit.
He wasn't willing to send his own friend out to battle if she died.
... He didn't even want to think about it, but it was probable, so he prayed. He prayed that he wouldn't send his friend out to die; he couldn't bear it.
However, he knew there was an option; he had to summon another servant. Chaldea had massive reserves of mana, meaning he could handle as many servants as he wanted.
The summoning system was as one would expect, but Gacha bullshit, but he needed someone, *anyone* just...please
The wind picked up around him.
"Just help me save this world, please."
Ritsuka closed his eyes as he prayed. He needed help; he didn't care who; he just needed help.
"Very well. Then the pact is sealed."
As he opened his eyes, he saw an impossible image: a large man. He was tanned brown with slicked-up white hair, wearing black armor and a red shroud.
This was the same servant he saw in the first singularity.
"Master, do you recognize me, perhaps?"
The newly summoned heroic spirit smirked as he spoke; meanwhile, Ritsuka had a million thoughts running through his head.
Though the first one to come through his mouth was
"What terrible luck."
He jinxed himself, and the universe had paid him back with a servant who was trying to kill him not even a week ago; the universe actually gave him Satan.
-
*During the Second Singularity.*
The air was harsh; the smell of smoke and ash invaded the nostrils of anyone who was near; it was a terrible sight; a city burnt by hatred; and the sound of cries coming from all around—if hell existed, it was probably this place.
and yet...
*Clang!*
"Master, fall back!"
Ruler Jeanne D'Arc, The Legendary French Saint, was on Chaldeas side, alongside Caster and Medea of Colhis, who were managing about 4 warriors, while Mash was taking on Jeanne Alter herself, alongside Archer, who was providing support from long range.
Ritsuka listened to Jeanne and fell back, allowing a ball of hellish fire to barely miss him; however, Jeanne Alter saw this and cast a wall of fire in between herself and Mashu, allowing her free reign over Ritsuka.
Just as her sword was about to reach Ritsuka, it was deflected by a black short sword.
And too, Ritsuka was only able to see his back; he seemed taller than he was, stronger than he was, and more special than he was. At that moment, Ritsuka saw Archer as the strongest servant he had.
Yes, Jeanne was stronger in almost all aspects, and Medea was quite a bit more impressive with her magecraft. Hell, even Mashu was more imposing in a close combat duel.
however.
At that moment, everything felt like it was okay; there was no possible way Archer would lose.
"Hmm? So the archer comes down to fight me in close quarters? Hoh, you are a poor imitation of Saber."
Jeanne Alter and Archer begin to circle each other.
"Such talk; you're a much poorer imitator than I could ever hope to be."
He said it with a smirk, which only angered Jeanne Alter further. As she attacked, Ritsuka felt no worry whatsoever; Archer was sure to win.
And as Jeanner attacked Archer, he was easily countered; her attacks seemed to be so telegraphed to him that it made it look like he was fighting a child. Suddenly, he was on the offensive; he slashed at her; his attacks seemed much stronger than anything he pulled off; and somehow, likely enhancement, Archer was pushing Jeanne Alter back into a corner.
Sensing her defeat, Jeanne Alter attacked back with a flurry of hellish flames. Archer would have to run, or he'd certainly die.
At first, he did, leaping back to gain some distance against the sea of hellfire and simply standing still in what seemed to be nothing more than suicide. He muttered some words.
"I am the bone of my sword."
He muttered under his breath as a sword began to come into existence in his left hand.
"Sword of Selection... Grant me your power and leave the wicked! Caliburn!"
He called out, and as the hellfire seemed to retreat against the blinding light that came from the sword, the oncoming blast hit Jeanne Alter in the chest, forcing her to the ground and weakening her greatly.
"...Ghh...! Damn you, Saber."
"Hoh? I'm no Saber, Avenger; don't be fooled by my"
Attempting to reply with snark, Jeanne Alter interrupted him.
"Shut your trap! It took a while, but those arrows you shot were all swords! You use swords with everything you do! You expect me to believe you're not a Saber?"
... A moment of silence passed before Archer began to laugh loudly, which put everyone on edge.
"I possess many blades, yes, but I am an owner, more so than a user; none of these blades are mine; they're simply counterfeits, fakes, hacks, and I will use anything at my disposal to complete my mission."
Jeanne attempted to stand and managed to get a leg up before falling back down and asking.
"J-... Just who are you!? It'd be rude to Cremate a man without a name for the headstone!"
The blood leaking out of her chest area didn't seem to stop. She stared at Archer with nothing but hate, and the Archer simply stared back at her, stoic and uncaring.
"I'm just a nameless Guardian; I'm a nobody."
That fight felt awkward for Ritsuak to recall; after all, Jeanne Alter was now a servant of his, one who seemed to bother Archer any time she could.
But it wasn't as if he bore Archer along for nothing. As the pair entered a room in Chaldea, Archer sighed.
"Oh, it's you."
-
Chaldea's training facilities.
It was, in fact, a terrible idea.
Shirou was barely able to defend against Mordred's various blows; by the time she ran out of steam, Shirou had been disarmed more than 21 times.
"Heh, are you even a Saber!?"
Mordred attacked with an overhead strike; in response, Shirou rolled backwards in order to narrowly dodge. From an outside perspective, it looked more like a game of cat and mouse than a fight between two servants; however, Shirou recognized this as well and threw the married blades at Mordred. However, they were easily intercepted and destroyed.
Though he was finally able to make some space for himself,.
"Trace On."
Shirou Emiya wasn't a skilled Heroic Spirit; in fact, he was a complete one-trick pony, but due to his position as Caster, he managed to learn more about Magecraft by default and more about himself.
Unlimited Blade Works.
A Reality Marble, A magic that inverted the world to match the inner world of the user, however, was unusable. Emiya Shirou had not gained enough experience to fully complete the aria that would allow him to summon his world, but that wasn't his only option.
"Sword Barrel, Full Open!"
Suddenly, a batch of swords appeared out of thin air, in close proximity to Shirou himself. The swords fired off like machine gun bullets, forcing Mordred to go on the defensive.
Shirou instinctively knew this wouldn't hold her for long; her temper was probably her greatest weapon but also her greatest weakness.
He searched his reality marble for a sword that held a solution to this, Caladbolg. No, he was too close, and she was too fast; even if he hit her straight on, he'd promptly take himself out with how close they were.
Kanshou and Bakuya weren't strong enough; even if he overcharged and threw them, it'd likely be countered.
Caliburn-
In a millisecond, he thought about Saber Lily, who was sitting and watching this fight. Knowing that she was there, he could use the genuine article to boost his image of the weapon, allowing the projection of an almost flawless fake.
Just then, Mordred burst towards Shirou with an aura of red lighting surrounding him.
He would be able to dodge.
Mordred hit Shirou with the blunt end of her sword, using it as more of a bat, which caused Shirou to fly a few feet backwards.
"Pathetic; if this was a real fight, you'd be dead by now. I'm not sure what class you are, but you're pretty lacking in everything."
She mocked him openly and didn't speak a word back; after all, she was right; he was pathetic; he wasn't even a legit heroic spirit; he knew well he was just the beginning of Emiya Shirou's legend.
Saber Lily stared at the fight nervously. In all ways, it seemed that Shirou was truly just a lessar Archer. It felt guilty to think about, but it was true. His projections were just a tad or so better, but he severely lacked in everything else: strength, speed, experience; he didn't even seem to have half the cunning mind Archer had.
He looked...useless.
Saber Lily stayed quiet as she realized just how people must've seen her.
But she notices something else.
His expression is the same as Archer's when he's serious—the look that cannot be defeated.
"Ah."
Saber Lily came to the realization that experience hurt Archer; his days as a counterguard seemed to weaken his strongest aspect.
His unwavering determination somehow, even if he wasn't even half of a weak heroic spirit, seemed like he could take on anything right now, even if it wasn't true.
He gripped his right hand with his left, as if channeling something deep within.
Suddenly, she felt connected to that boy, if only for a split second.
A sword was now in the boy's hand; she recognized it as her very own, but somehow, it looked exactly like hers. With Archer's, they may have looked perfect; upon second or third glance, one would recognize the fake for what it was, but even after the fifth glance,.
It was absolutely perfect.
He began to mutter to himself again.
"Projection Start."
Upon realizing what exactly the blade was, Mordred seemed to anger quickly.
"You dare use my father's blade! If anyone should wield it, it should be me!"
Shirou simply stood, his unshakeable look still everpresent.
"They face this illusion and shatter it!"
He barked back, which only gave Mordred a toothy grin, and dashed at her and screamed out at the top of her lungs.
Saber Lily realized just how serious she had begun to take it and stood up.
"CLARENT-"
Just then, she noticed something: he was gripping an invisible handle with his left hand as a blade materialized instantly. No, a dagger, Medea's Rule Breaker, much to Mordred's surprise.
Usually, using projection too quickly means an unfinished and poor blade, and yet this one seemed like he was focusing on it.
It truly wasn't anything special; it was simply a matter of doing everything all at once, going through the process steps 1 by 1, and smashing them all out at the same time, trying to do something that is normally increasingly harder and holds no value.
But even the most useless abilities are dangerous under the right circumstances. Just before her Noble hit his head, Rule Breaker touched her wrist, and from there, It severed the magical link between Mordred and Clarent. Realizing her mistake, she attempted to dash away backwards, but it's already too late; Caliburn had made it to her neck-
-and stopped just before it made a deep cut, leaving nothing but a small gaze at her neck.
"It's my win, Mordred."
He was beaten and tired, in stark contrast to Mordred, who looked in perfect condition outside of the small gaze at her neck.
One would assume that the beaten and broken man was the loser, but that was quite the opposite.
"Just...who are you?"
Mordred spouts angrily.
"Just some wannabe superhero."
Shirou replied with a small smile.