[Important AN: EMIYA will go by a different name just for the first three chapters before retaking his name to "blend in." I promise it will make sense once you start reading. Thank you for all the love and supportive reviews in my other stories and I hope you all enjoy this one as much as the other more popular genres.]
Chapter 1"Come on, just push a little more. Take slow and deep breaths," a muscular Dark Elf soothed his laboring wife as he dabbed the sweat away from her pale brow.
"I know already! Shut up!" the woman screeched, groaning as another contraction forced her to grit her teeth and nearly shatter the bones in her husband's steadfast hand. The smell of sweat and blood was as thick in the air as her vocal shredding exertions.
Neve Forestlight screamed her loudest shriek yet until she finally managed to push her child out into the world and heard his first beautiful wail. Its piercing shrill echoed within their enclosed bedroom walls and yet the new mother couldn't deny it was the most blessed and relieving noise she had ever heard. Her child was healthy and most importantly alive.
The midwives dutifully hurried to cut the umbilical cord and stabilize her health after the agonizing six hour labor. Neve's vision was blurry through the pain filled happy tears, but not even blindness could have prevented her awe filled gaze from reaching the babe's rosy cheeked face when the nurses finally brought her child into her eagerly awaiting arms.
"It's a boy," Neve's grandmother said stiffly before swiftly departing the room once she had confirmed Neve's health was no longer at risk alongside the other nurses. Under normal circumstances her husband, Aelfheah Baldr, would have taken the chance to needle the disgruntled old woman for her prickly- at the best of times- personality, but instead his attention was entirely grabbed by the wonder of his wife and son.
"A boy," Neve breathed as she delicately cradled him as if she would break him should she apply too much pressure. She placed an equally cautious finger at the top of his head to rub the few velvet soft silver hairs he had inherited from his father. Her jaw opened in awe as his wailing had fallen into small grunts and groans as he pitifully tossed and turned in confusion with how his entire perception of the world had changed.
She turned humorous green eyes towards her husband who had been proclaiming for months they would be having a girl. He took his "defeat" with all the grace of an exiled noble… that is to say he simply huffed and crossed his arms before his curiosity and eager excitement pushed him to drop the act in favor of sitting beside her on their bed to take his first glance at his son who was already losing the fight against sleep.
Light bronze skin shined in the dim candles that was slightly paler than his father's, but the shape and angle of his eyes favored his mother's side of the family.
"He looks like you," Neve murmured, leaning into the crook of his neck as exhaustion started overtaking her.
"I think he resembles you more. Look at those little cheeks," he joked. The humor of his joke was apparent. The contrast between man and wife in both color and body sizes couldn't be overstated.
Aelfheah was rather barrel chested for an elf, standing at six feet tall with a head of shiny, silver hair and a constant sardonic smirk he bore to challenge the world whenever he wasn't in the presence of his wife. Neve on the other hand was seen as the Forestlight's little angel because of her svelte figure, golden blonde hair, and an expression that danced between a radiant smile that lifted the spirits of everyone when she was jubilant or a frosty glare that could make a glacier shiver with envy. However the biggest difference between the two that invoked the enmity of their neighbors was because of who, or rather what her husband was.
He was a direct descendant from the fallen Dark Elven royal dynasty while his wife was a local from their home in the White Ice Forest Fanache. If the name was not already glaringly obvious, his wife was a White Elf. No, rather he should say he was the only Dark Elf who had the pleasure or tolerance of living in the icy northern forest. Aelfheah was about as far from home as he could physically be… which his callous neighbors frequently reminded him of.
And judging by the darker skin tone of his son, Aelfheah had no confidence that his child wouldn't receive the same treatment from those same spiteful people. Honestly, it wasn't like he was one of those damnable dwarves. At least then he could understand the animosity they were showing him, but the war between the White and Dark elves was millennia ago! Did they even remember why they were at war in the first place?
Aelfheah had grown used to the disappointment, but he had a far more pressing subject to focus on. There was a fast and near silent beating heart that stole his breath away.
He reached into the folds of the wrapped blanket to place a finger into the tiny hand and wasn't afraid to admit that tears came to his eyes when the weak grip snatched the offending digit.
"He's so tiny," Aelfheah whispered, afraid anything louder would disturb his son's restless slumber.
"Yes," Neve agreed joyfully. "We all were at some point. I- Is it wrong that I want him to stay like this forever?" Her husband's shoulders shook silently in mirth.
"Not at all. But I'm sure one day you'll enjoy beating off girls with a stick."
"I thought I was going to say the same thing about you once boys started advancing on a daughter?" she rubbed in his face once more.
"Yes, yes. I was wrong. Happy?"
"I was only checking to make sure you didn't forget our little wager."
Aelfheah's lips twitched into a frown.
"Yes, you have the final say in his name… but don't make it something stupid please."
"Why would I-?" Neve blurted out before seeing their son shift in discomfort at the unexpected loud noise. "I will not argue with you about this right now," her eyes flicked downward as to the reason before continuing, "If you want a say in his name, offer up a suggestion, but otherwise let me think."
It was a Forestlight tradition to name their children only after they have been born to give the most accurate or suitable name.
"Eivor? Because I know he'll become a brave warrior like his father?" Aelfheah boasted, his gold eyes flashing in mirth.
"No," Neve denied flatly. "I want it to be something that represents our family and history."
"Hmm, Alaric? For the white 'wolves' that are in your family's territory as well as being a 'ruler' from my side?"
"No, but it's getting closer… White… that might be in the right direction."
"Weiss?" he suggested, placing a finger on the tiny shining silver hairs sprouting from his son's head that gleamed in the light.
"Weiss," Neve tested, sounding the name out on her tongue in heavy consideration. "Yes, I think that will do nicely. Weiss Forestlight. That's an excellent name."
"Forestlight? Why is he getting your surname?"
"For the same reason I didn't take yours when we married. I don't like it." Aelfheah looked like he'd been stabbed in the chest before a firm mask slammed down.
"Not to mention my father and sister said they'd kill you if we didn't give him our name," she continued.
"Ah, that makes much more sense. Your sister said so."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked stonily.
"Nothing. I just know that you look up to your older sister."
Neve sent a disbelieving glare as she searched for a crack of weakness in his face but either his skill at lying had improved or he truly had no other motives. She let out a harrumph but settled back down into his shoulder.
"I love you," Aelfheah said in her ear. Neve didn't respond. He twitched knowingly. "I love you~" he sang quietly and he didn't fail to see her lips twitching.
"I love you too," she deigned to offer, ignoring his amusement through sheer stubbornness.
—O—
Counter Guardian Emiya, or "Archer" as he liked to call himself most days, blinked in surprise as he felt a fresh winter air passing its minty scent through his nose. He was supposed to be in the Throne of Heroes alongside the other cleaners of Alaya and heroic spirits. How had he ended up here? Where even was "here" anyway? He didn't remember receiving word from the goddess of humanity about a mission and he didn't feel the usual pull or command to clean up one more of humanity's messes. It was only after confirming the strange situation of independence did things transform from strange to downright bizarre.
Why was his body so tiny? Was there some kind of unintended summoning ritual going on where the magus accidentally transferred his soul into a child vessel? No, he amended, that would be impossible as he could feel no other soul in the body he was inhabiting-
The Counter Guardian froze as he repeated his assessment. He wasn't a copy of a soul sent down from the Throne of Heroes, he was the entirety of the soul! What the hell was going on around here!
Reincarnation made the most sense, but that should be impossible for anyone brought into the Throne of Heroes! Alaya would never let him "off the leash" either which meant that someone had the power to rip his soul from her greedy iron grasp or… he couldn't actually think of another likely alternative. He had been searching for an escape for centuries and had failed at every turn… which included trying to cause a paradox by killing his past self!
And if that wasn't a sign of just how fucked up in the head he was then he didn't know what the hell would be. Oh wait. Two words could do that succinctly. Reality Marble.
By its very nature it means he replaces his vision over that of the world through the World Egg Theory. "Insane" does not mean lacking morality, empathy, or functionality… the last quality of which just so happens to be the most important asset in a Guardian to the goddess of humanity's collective will.
She simply did not have a side to appeal to her sense of human nature as Alaya lacked any form of sympathy at all, much less having enough to willingly release him from her bondage. She simply calculated numbers on a scale and deployed her Guardians to carry out tasks that prevented the overall extinction of humanity.
In the end he was left speculating due to the complete lack of information as to how or why he had arrived… "here." Nothing made his head ache in worry more than complete obscurity. Perhaps the complete lack of details was its own answer though? There couldn't be that many beings capable of interacting with a soul like him in the first place. He shook his head. No use worrying about the things he can't control, he reminded himself.
First, assess fighting capabilities. His gaze turned inward towards his soul and once more mentally froze to find his normal circuits had been forcibly blocked and altered into a fucking dormant magic core! Sure it was leagues weaker than the ones he had encountered, but it was still an entire dimension above the quality of his normal circuits.
What in the actual fuck! What's going on here," he repeated. His connection to his own soul had been altered… All without him knowing! Reincarnation bullshit. Maybe his identity was no longer the same after being plucked from the Throne which allowed whatever supernatural being had brought him here to alter his soul enough to deceive Gaia from rejecting him from existence?
His lack of access to his magic was a primary concern, but ultimately he was incapable of changing it at the moment. The only good news was he still could feel Unlimited Blade Works was still awaiting its redeployment once he regained his powers… and was old enough for his body to support the output of Od. Frying his body from the inside from overuse of his own magic sounded like a particularly stupid way to go.
It didn't change how much he hated feeling so… weak. Vulnerable. It had been centuries since he felt so helpless to fend off an outside threat… other than the leash around his neck from Alaya.
Second, determine outside factors. He could feel the mana of this world was far thicker than his own world. That meant he was summoned to the past… or he was in an entire new world where the Age of the Gods had not ended.
Tch. Knowing my luck, it's probably the second. I hate dealing with those divine assholes. But at least that's one mystery solved. There is no "Shirou Emiya" in this world to reject the existence of a second one.
Archer, both during his life and afterwards, had fought demigods, monsters, and even a few weaker divine spirits. All of them had taught him one single truth… the gods were selfish hedonistic creatures who didn't care about anyone. They took what they wanted as if it had always belonged to them. They allured, beguiled, and ensnared who they wanted into their beds oftentimes without their consent, and anyone who slighted them or got in their way was either blessed with a quick death or suffered a curse that dragged out their suffering for a long period before they inevitably died anyway.
So what did that mean for him? If he wanted to stand a chance, he needed to awaken his magic core as soon as possible to not become an unwitting toy to their schemes.
Now if only he could actually move his body then he would try to get right on that. Unfortunately for the now former Counter Guardian- and wasn't that a heavenly and truly genuine thought- his limbs refused to obey his command and he was stuck staring at the wall decorated with realistic, if somewhat cute animal motifs enticingly placed to make the eyes wander from one to the next. He quickly came to the conclusion that the person or persons who had done so had spent a great deal of time meticulously painting his room.
Once more Archer felt like he'd stolen the life of someone else. This body was not his own. This nursing room was not meant for him. These people will only be disappointed with him. Those were three certainties because the Counter Guardian only ruined the things he got his hands on.
-These hands will never hold anything-
He had spent his entire life chasing an unreachable ideal, beautiful though it was, and had pushed aside everyone and everything that had meant something to him to reach that beautiful, damnable dream… only to fail at the end. It was true that he was filled with nothing but regrets after accepting Alaya's deal and would probably go on cursing himself until the end of his days… and yet… that red dressed girl had to go and make him doubt himself.
"I'll try my best to make sure he doesn't become a twisted jerk like you. I'm pretty sure he'll try to learn to like himself. So you do the same!"
"I have my answer. Don't worry Tohsaka. I'll try my best from now on, too!"
The memory of his copy summoned to the most recent grail war surfaced to the front of his mind as he said farewell to Rin. They were nothing more than idle words of assurance to set her mind at ease, and yet at the same time they had been genuine. And now somehow… he had been granted a chance to make his word true. This new life was a chance for him to live a better life. The only thing left to decide was… did he have a right too?
His self reflecting thoughts were interrupted by the door quietly opening to admit an attractive blonde haired woman… wait! Were those elf ears? The elvish woman said something incomprehensible as she reached down to lift him up in her arms.
Was this woman… his mother? His answer came swiftly in the form of her sitting down in the corner of the room in a rather plush reclining chair as she fiddled with the straps of her dress. She was about to breastfeed him with those completely massive things attached to her chest.
No. No. Nonononono. Fuck me. Archer closed his eyes and tried to shut down his brain to let his instincts take over. Talk about being scarred for life.
—O—
Weiss Forestlight. That was his name he had learned by the repeated words directed towards him over the last two years along with a basic understanding of this new world's most common tongue called Koine. It was rather funny thinking about it. Not even a new world could let him escape from the name "white" and "warrior/battler" because Shirou could translate to both "white" and "samurai" depending on its variation of how you spell it.
But even more important than his name was the rather unique language that couldn't compare to anything he had ever come across in his ventures as a CG. It was almost as if they had taken a word from every language and smashed it together for little regard as to how grammar works between them, and yet somehow it still flowed smoothly off the tongue in a way English had failed to do so.
Divine bullshit at work. Like the fact they still use Japanese suffixes and terms of endearment… I'm not going to even try and sort that out.
But even if the words his family and the neighbors spoke was incomprehensible at first, it did not mean Archer hadn't picked up on quite a few details simply by observing people's postures, their minute facial expressions when they thought no one was watching, and the tone reflected in their voice.
For instance, he knew the middle aged looking woman related to his mother (a grandmother perhaps?) absolutely hated his father and hadn't missed her sending a few scornful glances directed his way, though admittedly they were less intense than that of his father's. He also hadn't missed the loving devotion that same spiteful woman still gave his mother despite her animosity for Dark Elves.
If it had only been that one woman with animosity towards Archer- Weiss, he reminded himself to blend in for now- then he would have been fine with it, he could just ignore her and go about his day. But it wasn't just her. Everyone they met when walking through the chilly northern village gave barely concealed glares to downright vicious slurs towards his father while his mother acted as the diplomatic peacemaker… but Weiss hadn't failed to spot his mother's trembling fist planted behind her back… and neither had his father.
The only saving grace was his mother still bore the name Forestlight. Her grandfather was the chieftain of the rather isolated northern village and though they held no official title, respect and tradition had passed the mantle down from father to son for centuries which was evidently important enough to make the villagers reconsider doing anything other than send visual and verbal daggers towards his father and himself. It was also a private amusement of his when they tried to direct an insult his way that finally broke the status quo.
His father had borne their scorn for over a decade and allowed his mother's diplomatic arguments prevail over his vicious temper, but there were some things that can push a man past the breaking point no matter how long the fuse is to his patience.
The young father had decided to take Weiss along with him to the village's market square to buy and trade for groceries on one of the few days he was off from work to enjoy the fresh air and some father and son bonding.
A rather wealthy looking young merchant had been on a small tirade against his father for several minutes when he was perusing through the wares of fruit and had easily shrugged off the man's barbs in an easy way not unlike Archer had himself in his previous life… but then the wealthy man had directed his ire towards Weiss… and Aelfheah immediately showed the village the difference between a weak man and one who simply let words wash over him.
A darkened fist had smashed the elf's teeth down his throat as blood splatter sprayed the dirt road. His father then planted his boot on the man's head and forced it further into the rock he landed on before raising his voice enough for all of the shocked onlookers to hear.
"Let me make one thing clear. I do not care if you insult me! I don't care if you beat me, hate me, or want me to die! But the moment you turn your anger ON MY SON, I will slaughter EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU if it's the last thing I do!"
And with that, Aelfheah had turned on his heel and walked back home with the fresh groceries to get started on making some stew for dinner as if nothing had happened.
"Hey… Dad," Weiss sounded out, struggling to get his tongue to work correctly. Once he had his father's full attention, he continued, "That was pretty cool, but I don't want Mom to get in trouble for us."
Aelfheah turned his head away as his expression crumpled. His son… already understood why he was treated this way. Pride, shame, and anger mixed together at his son's words. If his own son could understand why things were wrong… why couldn't they?
"Hey, little Pihl, do you mind keeping that little scene a secret from your mother for me? I don't want her to get upset."
Pihl was his father's nickname for him. It meant an "occupation as an archer" when he found Weiss studying his father's bow with intrigue and asked his son if he desired to use it when he was old enough.
"She'll find out tomorrow. Her family's coming for dinner," Weiss disagreed and Aelfheah winced at both meanings of the words. Her family. Not ours, hers.
"Talk about shitty timing," he groaned under his breath before he froze and glanced down at his son's suddenly "innocent" looking smile. "Don't mention that to her?" He did not plead, he was too dignified for that, but his voice was certainly close to it.
"If you let me start helping you cook then sure."
"You know your mother said to wait until you're at least five before letting you near the stove."
"...She doesn't have to know. We can wait for when she goes into the market or to meet her friends for lunch to practice," he said with a bit of a lisp.
"... If she finds out, we're both dead," Aelfheah finally capsized.
"Sure." No. If she finds out you'll be on the couch and I'll be innocently saying you wanted to teach me how before her so you can take all the credit.
The day came and went mostly without any further incidents. Weiss had heard some hissed arguments from his parent's bedroom that night before they had made up in the morning and he was pretending to be blissfully ignorant as to how or why that was.
Seriously. Make the walls more soundproof or lower your voices," he complained that night while he turned over in his bed, using another pillow to muffle the sound. Unfortunately his ears were quite acute and the pillow did little if anything to block the moans and shaking of their bed frame.
At this rate I won't be an only child, he thought, staring blankly at the ceiling before sleep finally caught up to him.
In contrast to the sunny day before, the sky was filled with grey gloomy clouds that threatened rain and Weiss knew it would fall before dinner because of the humidity in the air. The moisture carried the scent of pine that had him pleasantly turning his nose southward towards the warmer climate. Maybe it would be enough to cause a storm?
The darkening sky perfectly reflected his father's mood throughout the day as the sun continued its course overhead, marking the usually cheerful house with a heavy air of tension. His father never got along with anyone in the Forestlight family outside of his aunt who had remained supportive of her sister's relationship and had even sent Weiss some well intentioned birthday presents every year… except the former Counter Guardian wasn't sure he could put on an accurate act of enjoying a white wolf stuffed animal if he even tried.
The guests arrived ten minutes late after five and Weiss was finally introduced to his cousin Alicia, five years older than him and already a member of the Academy, and by the boasting of her father, she happened to be quite a prodigy. Fortunately the young girl wasn't tied down by delusions of grandeur just yet as while the "adults" went to talk about their days, Alicia pulled him by the arm to build a massive fort of well carved blocks she brought along in an attempt to recreate the ruins of Shreme Old Castle.
Alicia explained to him that it was once the fortresses all the mortal races had used as a base to push back the tide of monsters before Babel was created which immediately caused Weiss to question her further on what she knew about "Babel."
The only thing he knew about the name in his previous life was that humanity thought they could create a tower to rival Heaven and God had unleashed disorder and divine wrath upon it which was why there were apparently so many languages used instead of one.
It was then he learned of Orario. The so-called "center of the world." Why his parents hadn't told him about it, he had no idea. A city so vast it could almost be called a country by itself. A city with all of the planet's races living in… relative… harmony filled with adventurers who killed monsters for magic stones to power their homes, fuel magical items, and exchange them for vast amounts of money. It was considered to be one of three of the Unexplored Regions in the known world, right alongside the one closest to them, Dragon Valley.
Honestly, Weiss had thought his father was making bedtime stories more interesting when he mentioned his great–great-grandfather had battled a fifty meter long dragon up until the moment he had spotted a similarly sized one flying high in the sky miles out from the village.
They were so engaged in their conversation that the blocks were quickly forgotten by the excitable girl as she tried to inform the ignorant boy of all her "vast" knowledge as a five year old. An hour passed in what felt like seconds as Alicia went from one story she had heard to the next before they were called in for dinner and Weiss met his aunt and uncle once more.
Clara Forestlight was a near clone of his mother with the exception of looking a few years older, but her age only added to her beauty and confidence. She let out a smile the second she saw Alicia pulling him by the arm once more in a dash towards the kitchen to "help" serve out the food, which oddly enough only extended to her own dish before she raced to her seat.
"Are you keeping my daughter entertained, Weiss?" she asked with a broad smile.
"She has a lot to say," he said carefully. Clara cupped her mouth to hide her laugh.
"Yes, she's always been like that. Forgive her lack of manners."
"It was no trouble. I learned a lot about other countries. I think I'd like to visit some of them someday," he said truthfully.
Clara exchanged a meaningful glance with her husband who grunted before offering a kind word to him. Weiss was unbothered by his lack of enthusiasm. He knew his uncle Thorne was even more stringent about outsiders than most as the captain of the village guard, but for the sake of his wife, he at least had the decency to act polite towards him regardless of his inclinations which Weiss found… not admirable, but… satisfactory. Though his character was quick to dissolve the moment his pride stood under fire.
Throughout dinner Thorne never directed a question towards either Weiss or his father unless they were the subject of the conversation, but Weiss hadn't missed how he was quick to fall silent during those conversations either after his initial query. Clara and his mother's smile became strained the longer dinner went on, but evidently it would be his father who lost his patience first.
He started cleaning up the plates and retreated to the kitchen before he snapped and punched the man who'd been sending condescending smirks towards him all the while and considering he was also his father's boss, that meant he was likely to be fired the moment the man fixed his shattered jaw enough to yell at him.
"I'm sorry about him," Clara whispered to his mother's ear before growling loud enough for him to hear. "I thought I told him to be on his best behavior,"
"I am," Thorne said innocently. "I haven't said anything impolite."
Unintentionally throwing sand on the precarious fire, Alicia started giggling. "Daddy's in trouble."
From there the tension slowly dissipated as they were reminded there were "impressionable" children around and they shifted to safer territory. Or that is to say, Alicia.
Thorne was quite happy to boast about his daughter's accomplishments with only discrete inquiries whether his parents believed Weiss could make the cut into the Academy in a few years time.
An answer the Guardian had to speculate himself. While he had been a magus, his skill was something to be desired even at the end of his life. His skills were not something an academic would call satisfactory or even of a novice skill level, but what he did have he perfected and improved until his abilities were pushing past the limits to what the naysayers had believed possible.
He could see a structure down to its history and how many times it has been used, but he couldn't manipulate it. He could create a noble phantasm and use its abilities, but it wouldn't last long. He could strengthen his body with reinforcement, but it could only push his body to the peak of physical fitness and slightly beyond and not to the levels of demigods or a certain female swordsman who owned a dragon's magic core. His entire life was much like his magic; a present danger to those around him, but only temporarily because he would soon disappear. He doubted his new lease on life would be anything different in the end.
His relatives bid a hasty retreat before the alcohol pushed Thorne to say something irredeemable, but not before Alicia vowed to see him again soon. The girl seems to have become attached to him, Weiss mused. He couldn't understand why.
His words were toneless, his actions polite but cold, and his burnt gold eyes were usually strong enough to make the villager's shrink back in fear when they stared too long, and yet this little girl was able to ignore all of that. So what did she see in him that made her want to visit once more? His attention? Surely she received enough of that at home and at the academy. Someone with interest in other countries? Possibly. He pondered over the situation long into the night.
What did she see in me?
—O—
Three years passed and Weiss was still no closer to finding an answer as to why she insisted he follow her around when she wasn't in school. Over the last few months, Alicia had taken him to the woods out nearest to his home and she quizzed him on the basic knowledge required before entering the Academy such as when the village was founded, what constitutes a magic spell, and what they believed an elf needed to qualify as a mage or warrior.
The silver lining to it all was her bringing her bow to practice. It had been far too long in the Guardian's opinion since he picked up the dependable weapon and proved that, new body or not, he was still an excellent shot. His first attempt at pulling back the bow proved a little difficult due to his size, but once he grew accustomed to drawing the string he finally took an arrow and slammed it through the bullseye on his first shot.
"Beginners luck!" Alicia pouted. "Try it again!"
So he did. Again and again and again. Each shot fired hit the center mark and Alicia's initial disappointment gave way to amazement as she increasingly upped the difficulty and the target until she was cheering him on with her latest mark.
"Well, even if you fail at the magic portion of the exam you will at least be admitted in as a warrior," she teased.
"Right," Weiss responded dryly, letting the insult flow over him like water on a duck's back.
"Hey," she pouted. "You're supposed to tease me back. Don't just let people roll you over all the time."
"Is that what I'm doing?" Weiss asked. "I thought it was polite not to insult your relatives."
Alicia flinched as if he'd punched her in the diaphragm.
"That's- that is to say-" she stuttered before giving up with a huff… until she saw the slight smirk on his lips. Her face widened in amazement.
"So you do have a sense of humor!" she cried. "I always wondered if there was something broken in you. I'm glad to see I was wrong."
You're not.
"Of course I do. I simply don't see any need to antagonize the one person in this village my age who doesn't have their parent's words coming out of their mouths."
"You can't win all the battles," Alicia said airily, likely repeating something from a book she'd read, and yet he couldn't say she wasn't wrong in this case.
"Come on, let's go over the Twelve Chant for Wind Magic once more. I know you can do this. Don't you want to prove to those stuffy elders that you have what it takes?"
"I don't really care what they think about me?"
"Then can you do it for your mother's sake?"
"What do you mean?" he deflected as if it meant little concern. He didn't want her to get in the middle of anything. He may be a raging asshole sometimes- most of the time- but that didn't mean he wanted to see an innocent girl get hurt either.
This had nothing to do with his ideals!
"You've seen it right? Their treatment towards Aunt Neve is getting more strained every year. You need to prove her decision wasn't wrong to marry your father or else it's only going to get worse until something snaps!"
"... What a frightening little girl," he whispered. Her intuition was spot on. He had come to much of the same conclusions in his observations of their neighbors' behavior.
"What was that?"
"I said you're right," he deflected. "But I don't know if my magical abilities are exactly in line with whatever it is you're trying to prove."
"You don't know until you try. Now come on!"
"Alright already, nagging woman."
"I heard that!" she snapped, throwing a book at his head. Which he easily caught and turned away to begin "reading" to hide the infuriating smirk that was sure to send her into a fit.
—O—
The family of three left their house a week before Weiss's entrance exam to enjoy the unnaturally warm summer day with a picnic. His father had just returned from a week's patrol of the surrounding area and had triple checked his mother's favorite clearing- apparently it was where they met- beside a waterfall devoid of any monsters or tracks before joining them on his long deserved reprieve.
"I missed this," Aelfheah said, leaning back to lay his head in his wife's lap while Weiss sat down to open up the basket of food he had helped his mother prepare.
He was pulled down memory lane for a moment as he remembered one of the few times his mother had slapped his father when she had come in to see Weiss expertly chopping and cutting vegetables for a meal his father was supposed to be making. His premonition of his father sleeping on the couch had indeed come true and his mother tried to play the "good cop" by saying he didn't need to be forced into cooking, but he had been without the kitchen for far too long and refused to leave quietly. For once he was grateful to be in the body of a child as he used every dirty trick there was to convince his stubborn-as-a-mule mother that he is not only capable, but excellent at cooking.
"Don't go too far if you explore, Pihl!"
Weiss grunted in acknowledgement before seating himself against a rock further away from the waterfall to give his parents a semblance of privacy and enjoyed his food while he took in the sounds of nature. If there was one more thing he loved about being reincarnated in the Age of the Gods world then it was the lack of pollution in the air and the stunning diversity of life that was able to coexist without machines tearing down their habitats and ecosystems. He had never seen a sky as brilliant as he did here once the sun went down. It put the stars that night Kiritsugu had died to shame.
It was only his careful observation of the birds' behavior that warned him something was wrong. The waterfall was drowning out all the other sounds beneath its constant rumbling and the departure of wildlife could only mean one thing. A larger predator was in the area.
"We need to leave," Weiss shouted, disturbing the intimate scene his parents were in. His father noticed it first. The ever so slight uneven rumbling tempo that didn't match the river. Footsteps. Many footsteps.
He sprung to his feet and lifted Weiss under his arm before he could protest and pushed Neve's back to get her to start running. The blanket and basket were abandoned in their rush. Aelfheah could always retrieve it later on his next patrol.
"Monsters?" his mother asked promptly.
"Yes. I can't tell how many."
"I counted at least six by the echoes," Weiss interrupted, drawing a look of surprise from his father. "But there could be more behind them."
"We need to organize the guard," Aelfheah grunted. "We can't let so many walk around freely this close to home."
Aelfheah led them in a roundabout trail, cutting his hand on a small knife to lead the monsters to hopefully follow them by scent before covering it with a cloth.
"What are you doing?" Neve shrieked, seeing the blood trail.
"I know where all the traps are. I'm making sure to lead them through the worst of them to buy us some time."
"By making them target us?"
"Do you have a better option? They'll find us anyway."
Weiss eyed his parents with a raised brow. It wasn't that he didn't understand either of their points, but to do this now…
"He's already started. It would be pointless to try to change it now without risking them catching up to us," Weiss said quietly.
His mother scowled but still kept running. Her stupid husband was making a mistake that put them all in increased danger. It put Weiss in danger! Her eyes flashed dangerously. If those pathetic monsters tried to harm him, they'd learn why she was still a member of the Forestlight family despite her "controversial" decisions.
Deep ravenous growling echoed behind them and the parents increased their pace with Aelfheah occasionally slapping his hand against a tree to leave a fresh print of blood for them to track and follow. It became obvious they found the traps when they heard tearing roots followed by yelps and screams of a canine.
It didn't stop them all and even those affected weren't stuck long. The pain only pushed them on faster at a more ravenous pace. They wanted blood!
The Forestlights were in range of sight to the village when the first Kobolt was at their heels. It had an irregularly large dog head for its skinny bipedal body with red fur that looked mangey. It lunged for Aelfheah who quickly spun and kicked the monster in the face with surprising force to crash into a tree, but the monster was only slightly dazed and continued to attack.
Weiss was unwittingly transferred into his mother's arms as his father continued to fend off the monster with a boot knife. Aelfheah proved why he was allowed into the village guard despite his perceived disadvantages by slashing the ligaments of the dog's hindlegs before jabbing the knife through its neck. The beast was dead in less than five seconds.
"Run!" he screamed right before a red five meter tall dinosaur burst through the trees. A Bloodsaurus, Weiss remembered from his father's stories. Then their situation worsened when three Harpies flew over the tree tops to spot their prey beneath them fleeing like rats. Their beautiful human faces with bird eyes and bodies twisted savagely in sadistic delight at their "superiority" over the humans.
The hunt begins.
His father would be overwhelmed in exactly two minutes. Weiss could see the way his father's stamina flagged as the harpies sent a barrage of razor sharp feathers down at his heels whenever he prepared to attack the Bloodsaurus. He couldn't get rid of the largest threat because of them, and he couldn't hit them because he lacked a ranged weapon. His odds of survival were diminishing by the second.
Weiss stood on the precipice. Everything hinged on this one moment. Could he let his second father die?
I don't want to be a hero of justice. It's a fool's dream and leaves you nothing but hollow inside as you're forced to make a decision based on a scale. Who lives and who dies?
'I wanted a world where nobody died.' Yes, it was a foolish, impossible dream and in the end it remained nothing but a fantasy and yet it was something I admired.
'I'll try to do my best from now on.'
Those damn words he spoke on a hilltop in the setting sun. He scoffed. Was he really nothing but a broken record? Was he doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again? Perhaps. But at the very least he would try to go out with no regrets to drag him down.
He wouldn't let his father die. He couldn't. He would not let his family be torn apart. The magic core inside him was thrumming in anticipation, awaiting an answer he could not have come to until this moment. An answer as to what his goals were. Shirou Emiya, Counter Guardian Emiya, or Weiss Forestlight? Who was he? It was a subconscious battle he hadn't even known he was waging, and yet… and yet… It didn't matter what he called himself. He was all three of them. He had made his decision long ago. He would not let his family be torn apart!
His core came alive, sending a burst of energy he had lacked for years throughout his body. His mother yelped and nearly dropped him if she hadn't been clinging to him so tightly, such was her surprise. Elves were sensitive to magic, Weiss remembered. And his mother even more so as a proficient mage.
He reached out a hand and repeated the words that were as much part of him as the memories of that cursed fire that night. "Trace, On!"
A nameless sword, lacking any kind of embellishment or history outside of excellent forging, was created in the air. It spun slowly on its axis before gaining speed and fired just below the speed of the sound barrier. It was enough. The sword caught two harpies sending a hail of feathers down and the pained squawk caught them all by surprise. The bodies dropped with a thud and the third and last harpy turned enraged eyes towards him. Two more swords were created and fired, but the harpy was ready and flew higher in the air to avoid impalement.
So slow. While not lacking in its form or construction, my magic is taking too long to materialize. Is it because I'm in a different world?
Weiss created one more sword and sent it into the dirt beside his father's right foot. The man smirked at finally being given a decent weapon and picked up the blade to fend off the dinosaur before it had the chance to eat him and lunged with a war cry to carve into the scaled beast's hide.
Weiss lost sight of him when his mother finally reached the village's edge and called for the guards to gather and repel the monsters. Archers came running down from watchtowers suspended in the high branches with full quivers and Weiss thought the situation was well in hand. So of course his E-Rank Luck came to bite him in the ass.
Dozens of Kobolds howling for fresh meat crashed through the trees from the east with sharpened claws and the occasional more intelligent monster with a stone or wood club.
"What's going on?" His mother cursed. "No monster forces have ever been gathered on such a scale on the surface for centuries."
"Is there anything that would warrant them attacking us? An object? Weapon or artifact?" Weiss asked, making his mother frown towards him. "... Nothing I can think of."
Weiss narrowed his eyes. She was lying.
"Now where did you learn to do that magic?" Neve demanded, trying to shift the topic.
"I've… always known how… But is now really the right time," he indicated to the monsters charging the guards as they did their best to cut them off.
"We'll discuss this later," she said firmly before setting him down and started determinedly chanting, "Plus others, Respond to the contract, wind of the forest. Follow my order and cut down my enemies. Gale Blast!"
A harsh vortex of wind blew towards the center of the horde and sent them scattering, tearing a few limbs off the most unlucky of the beast while others found themselves impaled through branches like raised spears.
"Hmm. I didn't know you were such a skilled mage, Mother." The earnest praise sent her blushing. She pumped up a fist.
"I'm pretty strong for never having received a Falna, you know." No. I didn't. That's what I just said. Weiss felt sweat drip from his neck at the 180 emotional display. Whatever. There's more important matters to take care of.
"Trace, On." Once more Weiss summoned a sword into his hand to ready himself for any monsters who managed to get past the initial line of guards… and was promptly picked up by the back of his shirt.
"Oh no you don't. Just because you can use magic now doesn't mean I'll let you go rushing off into danger."
"I can help!"
"No!"
"Then at least let me use a bow to fight from the rear."
"I said NO!"
Infernal woman! He wouldn't be stopped by a petite woman who normally wouldn't come up to his chest at his full height. Very well, if she wouldn't let him enter the fight, he had to do enough before they left the area.
Swords, a dozen, two, then five simmered slowly into existence as they hung in the air like a guillotine, only waiting for a mental command. The monsters stopped their frenzy fuelled attacks against the guards as the sense of impending doom flooded their beings and temporarily quenched their bloodlust to let survival overtake them. It was already too late.
They had threatened his home, cruel and racist as some of them were, but there were still people he held dear to him that resided here. Alicia, Aunt Clara, his parents. He couldn't let them get hurt because he selfishly held himself back because the nature of his magic was different.
"Trace Bullet, Gatling Fire!" He intoned. The sound of metal scraping metal was their death knell. The swords flashed silver lines through the sky and struck down like a bolt from Zeus. If one sword didn't kill them another soon took its place a few moments later. Explosions of dirt hid them from his gaze, but that didn't matter. Three more were shot in their general direction and punctured their limbs to the earth to make them easy pickings for the guards.
One instant the threat of monsters was present and the next all was silent. Disbelieving eyes turned to Weiss's outstretched arm as he raggedly panted, steam scattering around his mouth from the intense expenditure of magic. His use of magic hadn't been pleasant. It was far too much to be used at once just after awakening.
His sight turned blurry and if he wasn't still being held up by his mother he would have collapsed under the wave of exhaustion. Bile rose in his throat and he nearly trashed his shoes as he vomited. His body felt sick, weak. But he needed to continue on until he saw him.
"Where's Dad?" he choked out, swaying on his feet.
"I'm sure he's fine," Neve said, pushing aside her awe as worry took its place. "Are you-"
Weiss escaped her grasp as he walked towards the forest, wanting to see his father with his own eyes. The only reason he probably managed it was his mother's worry clouding her judgment. Even still she stood slightly in front of him as she laid an arm around his shoulders to lead him back. The guards broke their lines like Moses did the Red Sea to allow him through, the disbelief still prevalent on the younger ones while the veterans hung back with looks of consideration, envy, or even amusement, like the gods had just given them a dish of irony and they only just were taking off their blindfolds to see it- and him- for the first time.
Weiss saw none of it. His attention was aimed forward with only one thought echoing in his mind. Find him. He mechanically took one step after another to accomplish his task.
A dead Bloodsaurus with gashes littering its body awaited them with its body still in the midst of deteriorating, and there slumped at the base of the tree was his father with a large magic stone at his side.
Weiss called out to him, stumbling a little faster while still keeping a wary eye out for monsters. "Are you alright?" he asked, already knowing the answer but feeling the need to do so anyway.
Aelfheah was losing too much blood. His right arm looked like it was broken in two places and his thigh had a large vertical gouge taken by one of the dinosaur's lucky fangs. Weiss stripped his shirt to make a makeshift bandage long enough for them to hopefully get a potion.
"Heh, you look like I'm going to die. Your old man is tougher than you think," he bit out through gritted teeth. Weiss saw his eyes were bloodshot from the pain.
"Save your strength, dear. We'll get help for you soon," his mother sniffled, brushing his cheek to wipe away the blood. He smiled but there was little humor in it.
"Neve, make sure he gets my journals I hid in the basement. I want him to-"
"Hush. You're going to be fine. You can tell him yourself."
"I'm sorry," Aelfheah said. "This is all my fault. They were targeting me."
"A monster stampede is hardly your-"
"YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Aelfheah shouted before coughing a new wad of blood. Weiss spotted another spill of blood forming on his shirt and unbuttoned it to find why Aelfheah was sure he was going to die. His ribs on his right side had been crushed, turning his chest a sickening purple. Not even a potion would be able to heal this amount of damage.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit! SHIT! In the end he was going to lose another father as he sat there helpless to remove the ailment. In the end, he was nothing but a destroyer-
"I told you when we met. I am a descendent of the royal family of the Dark Elves. There are some people who can't let the past stay buried and now, my curse has been passed onto you… Someone directed those monsters here to kill us all on the one day they knew we would be here and without any protection. They were aided by someone close enough to us to know where we met but still hates us enough to follow through with trying to murder us."
"You can't mean to say it was my family?" she gasped. He shrugged non-committedly.
"Would you put it past them? Your grandmother is one of the most rigid traditionalists alive and she was old enough for her family to die in the war."
Neve tightened her jaw as wrath filled her eyes. Whether it was directed at her husband, her grandmother, or even herself Weiss couldn't be sure, but he knew it was going to be explosive no matter who it was aimed at.
She forcibly calmed herself and tipped her head to touch his own, welcoming the warmth they shared.
"I'll tell him. I'll tell him everything." He let out a ragged sigh and looked up at the sky.
"I'm sorry. I know I wasn't able to offer you the life you wanted."
"No. It's fine. You were perfect." He chuckled wetly.
"I think we both know that's a lie," he said weakly, brushing aside her tears and leaving a streak of blood. He frowned at the stain he left on her.
"The two of you were the best thing to ever happen to me. No matter what anyone says or what you find out about me, know that one thing has never changed, I love you… so much."
Neve buried her face into his good shoulder to hide her tears and he wrapped his left arm around her neck as she wept. His attention swept over to his silent son who was kneeling with broken eyes as he tightened his hands hard enough to make them bleed.
"Can we have a moment," Neve asked into his wife's ear. Neve's shoulders silently shook but nonetheless she retreated from his arms and looked like a soft breeze would knock her over. She padded away close enough to keep him within sight but still allowed them a moment of privacy.
"Weiss," Aelfheah called. His son didn't move. "Weiss, I need you to be strong for me. I need you to protect your mother. Can you do that? Can you take my place and watch out for her?"
"How am I supposed to do that if I can't even protect you?" He asked quietly in resignation, digging his nails further into his hand.
"Well… I suppose you're just going to have to get stronger. Strong enough to take down any monster. Who knows? Maybe someday I'll look down to see you become the strongest adventurer. That's your dream, right? To go to Orario? I overheard you talking to Alicia."
"Yes. I think my path leads there… You said people will come after because of my heritage. Will they continue to threaten Mother if I'm still here?"
Aelfheah let out another ragged sigh and ducked his head as his vision started fading in and out. Delirium, pride filled belief in his son, and desperation for him to understand loosened his lips more than he normally would.
"I think they'll hunt you to the ends of the earth," he said bluntly. "I think no matter where you run they'll track you down and rip away the world you've built for yourself. They are the type of people who'd kill your parents in your sleep, take your sisters out into the streets and rape them before cutting off their heads and leaving them on a pike as a warning to not interfere in their work, and burn your friends alive until all you have left are ashes and regrets… but… I don't think staying alone is any kind of life either.
"Find someone willing to stand beside you through anything. Someone with a spine of steel who will love you for you and ignore the rumors of false crimes… and then… find the bastards who did this… and slaughter them all to let you live a long and full life in peace."
"Love, huh?" Weiss asked, sitting beside his father as they looked up at the sky one more time together. "Sure. I'll make sure that no matter the outcome, this curse ends with me. I swear it."
"Ah, that's good. I'll leave the rest up to you." Weiss jerked his head away from the sky to see his father closing his eyes as a bloody, content smile had gotten stuck on his lips.
So it happens once more. A child promising his father to stop a bloody curse raging in the world. But this one… at least it's achievable and will end with me so long as I don't have any kids. I can live with that outcome.
—O—
[AN: Please comment what you like or hated and why so I can make improvements going forward! Sometimes I make mistakes because I wasn't paying close enough attention and every bit helps. Thanks for readin' everybody!
-EmberPhoenix