Chapter Fourteen "Schemes, Dreams, and Rivalries"

Rin

"Ancestor!" I screamed as I smashed the door leading into my clan's founder's personal quarters. "I need..."

My eyes widened as I felt a powerful spiritual sense wash over me. It felt oppressive, and I collapsed onto the ground. Something told me that I shouldn't look up, but my curiosity got the better of me. What I found were three individuals drinking tea.

The first that caught my eye was a tall, imposing figure with an aura of power and authority. He had sharp, angular features with high cheekbones and piercing dark eyes that seemed to hold centuries of wisdom. His long, black hair was tied back in a traditional Japanese style, and he sported a well-groomed goatee. The man was the only one I recognized, and everyone in my family knew this man as we would regularly pray to a shrine dedicated to him, my ancestor and founder of the Tohsaka Clan, Nagato Tohsaka.

"Zolgen, there's no need to frighten my descendant," my ancestor, Nagato, chided the man beside him.

"Is this how you raise your descendants? She should have some manners. Kicking the door down like that was rude; she should have knocked first before barging in." The man scolded my ancestor.

I scanned the man with lean, athletic build with sharp, handsome features. His short, blue hair was slightly tousled, giving him a roguish appearance. The man's eyes are a deep, piercing blue that seem to hold a hint of mischief and cunning. He has a confident, charismatic presence that draws others to him. His attire was a mix of modern and traditional, with well-tailored suit and long, dark coat.

"She must have her reasons for not knocking on the door," asserted the only woman besides myself.

She was a stunning beauty with an ethereal presence. Her long, silvery-white hair that cascades down her back like a shimmering waterfall. The woman pale and flawless skin, almost translucent in its delicacy. Her eyes are a mesmerizing shade of crimson, holding a depth of emotion and intelligence. She carries herself with an air of nobility and grace, her movements fluid and refined. The woman was wearing elegant, white dresses that seem to glow with an inner light, accentuating her otherworldly beauty.

"These are, Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, and Zolgen Makiri." Nagato introduced the two individuals besides him.

My eyes widened when I heard the two names. I glanced at the man and the woman and bowed my head. These two were my ancestor's friends and the reason why the Makiri and Einzbern clans were our closest and most trusted allies. It was all rooted in our ancestors' friendship.

Nagato went on, "And here we have Rin Tohsaka, heir apparent to the Tohsaka family. She'll take over as Matriarch once Tokiomi steps down."

Justeaze looked me up and down appraisingly. "Seems like you've got a bright future ahead of you, young lady. If only my Illya and Kuro had half your maturity and wisdom."

"These two girls are only ten... There's a seven-year age gap with my descendant. Illya and Kuro have plenty of time to mature and I believe they will grow up to be fine young women." Nagato consoled his friend.

"Seven years is nothing when the average human lifespan is two centuries."

"At least your clan's future leader isn't as disappointing as mine," Zolgen scoffed. "Shinji had the audacity to try and assassinate the Tohsaka heiress, nearly sparking a war between our clans."

"Well, you can put that worry to rest. Poor Shinji is losing her mind trying to undo the curse you cast on her," Nagato chuckled.

I couldn't help but smirk as I thought about the rumors swirling around Shinji. The former male was on the verge of losing it when she realized that every attempt to change her gender was probably a lost cause. She was getting so desperate that I almost felt bad for her. Almost.

"What's so urgent, Rin?" Nagato asked.

"If you're busy, I can come back later," I replied politely.

Zolgen spared me a glance that felt like he was peering into my soul. "I'll take my leave first," he said. "Shinji will need my tutoring if he wants to catch up to your descendant." Without another word, he vanished from the room.

Justeaze turned to me before she, too, disappeared. "Be careful about using those 27 Magic Circuits as the foundation for your Reality Marble. Just because someone can achieve greatness doesn't mean their path is right for you."

"Is there a problem with using Shirou's 27 Magic Circuits as a foundation for my Reality Marble?" I asked, turning to my ancestor.

Nagato frowned, pondering the question. "It's hard to say... Following a pre-established path makes constructing a Reality Marble easier and gives you a clear idea of the powers you can gain or hope to achieve. We're talking about potentially shaving off centuries of time in the creation process. The Chinese are famous for their Template Reality Marbles, which follow specific layouts that have allowed them to consistently produce demigods for the last ten thousand years."

"Oh, so that's why the Chinese Empire is one of the Human World's superpowers?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"Yes, one of the major contributing factors." My ancestor admitted. "But Template Reality Marbles isn't without its costs. It is lacking compared to Unique Reality Marbles like mine. Template Reality Marbles as of right now can only produce demigods. It is very difficult to climb into godhood and higher levels of divinity with a Template Reality Marble."

"So me using Shirou's 27 Magic Circuits is akin to a Template Reality Marble that caps my limits at demigodhood." I sighed as I knew Shirou would achieve full godhood and possibly go further. That thought only dampened my emotions, and only reinforced my fears that I would likely be left behind. My heart started to pound as I recalled Shirou telling me how his future self and my self had become enemies.

"No need to worry," Nagato chuckled as he ruffled my hair. "The problem with being limited to a demigod is that you're stuck following a Template Reality Marble to the letter. Picture a ten-story building. If you follow a Template Reality Marble, the foundation will only support those ten stories. Trying to build higher would be incredibly difficult without major changes the foundation. But if you start with a foundation that can handle way more than ten stories, then becoming a demigod isn't the end." He grinned. "And with me, an intermediate god, by your side? Becoming a low god is a real possibility."

My heart started to pound with excitement, and I looked up to my ancestor with sparkling eyes. "What about this?" I asked while taking out the Reality Marble that Shirou had prepared for me. "Will this Reality Marble fragment be a better Template than the one inside Shirou's 27 magic circuits?"

"Let me take a look at that." My ancestor took offered reality marble fragment and I felt his god level spiritual senses sweep over it. "This is a good reference material for constructing a Reality Marble if you were not planning to use your lover's Reality Marble as a Template. In fact," My hairs stood up when my ancestor's spiritual senses swept over my body and penetrated into my soul where my first Magic Core lay. "Rin, do you respect your ancestor?"

I thought for a moment. My ancestor while a reclusive figure that hadn't appeared for centuries since his faked death was someone deeply respected not because he was the founder of my lineage but due to his honesty.

"I do."

"I am going to extract your lover's 27 magic circuits and transform the Reality Marble within into a Stagecast Model de–"

"Hey kiddo!" shouted a voice.

I jumped in surprise at the raw amount of divine energy that washed over me. I likely would have been knocked unconscious if my ancestor hadn't protected me with his own divine energy.

My eyes turned to see who the newcomer was, but for a moment I thought I was looking at Shirou... No, it wasn't Shirou, but there was a very strong resemblance between the newcomer and my lover. They could pass off as twins, but the newcomer was clearly older, and his eyes glowed with wisdom far surpassing anyone I had met.

"Muramasa-sama," my ancestor said, bowing his head. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"Ha!" The newcomer scoffed. "Playing dumb, are we? You know damn well why I'm here."

"I'm afraid I truly don't, Muramasa-sama. Please, do tell."

"If it wasn't for your Master, the True Lunar God, then I would have punished you for daring to turn my descendant's Reality Marble into a Stagecast Model."

At first, I was lost, but as I listened, the pieces started falling into place. My eyes grew wide as I realized the Muramasa Clan was stacked with dozens of demigods, a few low gods, and five intermediate gods. But the most famous one, the only one my ancestor probably called "Muramasa-sama," was the high god and founder himself - Senji Muramasa!

"You got one smart descendant, kiddo," laughed the Shirou lookalike. "You're right, I am Senji Muramasa. And that lover of yours? My descendant."

My butt hit the floor as I gasped. The Muramasa clan was one of the most powerful and influential clans in the Japanese Empire. The strongest point wasn't their miltary power, but their economic and political might. Just as the Makiri clan was overshadowed by my clan, the same could apply if my clan was compared to the Muramasa clan.

"Don't panic," Senji said, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Shirou likes you, so I've got no reason to hurt you. Heck, keep worming your way into my descendant's heart and you might just end up as my in-law someday."

I blushed, and refused to meet the laughing high god.

"Muramasa-sama, I thought you wouldn't have cared about Shirou since you've ignored him all this time," Nagato asked.

Senji snorted. "How could I care for every one of my descendants when I'm busy crafting proto-Noble Phantasms for the human war effort?" His tone turned serious. "But that all changed when I discovered my descendant could produce Noble Phantasms himself. I planned to observe him from the shadows, but then you had the nerve to turn the Reality Marble he donated to protect Fuyuki into a mere Stagecast Model." He fixed my ancestor with a disapproving glare. "You don't have my permission to create the Stagecast Model and..."

Arturia

I stared at Exa and Ava, Excalibur and Avalon if I wasn't using their pet names. It had been four days since Add, the captain of the Pendragon Guard assigned to protect me, had reported the unbelievable story of what he had witnessed. I wasn't too surprised by the results of the battle itself. I had grown up learning the stories of some of the strongest human gods, God Arthur and his Round Table. I even had the luxury to watch intermediate and high gods fight each other, not to the death, but close enough to simulate such conditions.

I ignored the real Cali and the copy Cali fighting each other to claim the right of being my chosen weapon as Gray was watching them.

The last four days had been all about Exa and Ava, well, the copies that Shirou had made. These copies of Excalibur and Avalon were clearly weaker compared to their originals, which were Creator God level Noble Phantasms. The copy Exa and Ava were low god level Noble Phantasms at best, but that was still a surprising achievement for Heaven's Chosen at the Core Creation stage.

I swear these cute copies had been the reason why I had strange dreams. These dreams were very familiar as I had grown up like many children of the British Empire on the stories of King Arthur and the Round Table, but the strange thing about these dreams was that while it was a dream about King Arthur, it wasn't my ancestor. The figure in the dreams could be my twin Gray, but unlike Gray the figure in my dreams hadn't changed her eyes and hair colours so that people wouldn't get confused between her and myself.

My lookalike in the dreams lived a life eerily similar to my ancestor, Arthur Pendragon. The last thing I remembered before waking up this morning was how my lookalike had been summoned as a Servant by Shirou…

"It's not likely Shirou," Gray interjected, interrupting my thoughts.

I glanced to my twin sister. "What makes you say that?"

"Shirou looks remarkably similar to the high god Senji Muramasa that Shirou and the high god could be mistaken as twins."

"A high god summoning me? Yeah, right," I snorted. "Besides, I get the feeling that dream was a glimpse of a potential future - one where I became a demigod first, and then a Servant later on. Plenty of demigods are willing to serve as Servants to a Master, hoping Alaya will reward their loyalty by rewarding them with full godhood."

"That wild hypothesis completely ignores how your lookalike lives the life of our ancestor, King Arthur," Gray responded, her voice flatter than a steamrolled pancake.

"Argh, can't you just humor me?" I shouted as I threw a pillow at Gray.

Gray snatched the copy Cali and used it as a shield against the incoming pillow. "Those dreams are your subconscious yearning to emulate our ancestor," she retorted, discarding the now angrily barking copy Cali. "You dreamed of being a Servant with Shirou as your Master because..."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" I shrieked, lunging forward.

"You fantasize about him domin-" Gray's words were cut off abruptly as I shoved a pillow in her face. "Mmph!"

"I swear I will make your life a nightmare if anyone hears about that! I trusted you like a sister to let you know my secrets. What do I get? You are threatening to blackmail me..." My lips stopped moving and I started to blush as Gray grabbed the laundry basket filled with my unclean panties that had... I shook my head while refusing to continue that thought.

Gray yanked the pillow from her mouth, a smirk spreading across her face. I sighed, knowing that smirk would only grow wider. My twin sister had just uncovered a juicy secret and there was no way she'd ever let it go. I resigned myself to a lifetime of merciless teasing.

"Ugh, can we talk about something else?" I said, flicking my hair in annoyance.

Gray tried to hide her smirk. "So, how's your training going?"

"My first Magic Core, the heart core, is absolutely flawless. I can't possibly make it any better," I grumbled. "Now I'm stuck trying to decide whether I should create the brain core or the stomach core next."

"Well, the normal convention is to go for the brain core. Your mental capabilities will sharply increase and it will further speed up your progress to reach the Organ Fortification Stage."

"Argh…" I groaned in frustration. "Sometimes I wish I was an illegitimate child! Then with my talent, I would have reached the Mind-Splitting stage already and I would be fighting on the Border Battlefields earning glory!"

"In that hypothetical scenario, you would have been an average Mind Splitting expert. That's nothing comparable to the supreme Mind Splitting expert that you could be in the future," Gray responded in disapproval.

"You're a hypocrite," I snorted disdainfully at my twin sister. "You gave up your title as princess and hurriedly rushed to the Organ Fortification stage without regard to how unstable your foundation would become. On the Border Battlefields, you participated in several battles to earn glory for yourself and got yourself recruited into the Pendragon Guard with your battlefield achievements."

Gray scoffed, "You should've thought of that before becoming the Pendragon clan's 'Young Mistress.' That ship has sailed, sister."

I groaned, knowing I couldn't argue with my twin sister. She was right. That moment when I finally got my ancestor's attention? Yeah, that was a resounding success. And now there was no turning back.

"Wouldn't making my stomach the core be a better choice? I heard that even though I won't get the mental boost of a brain core, using my stomach as a Magic Core would enhance how quickly my body absorbs mana and supplements. That way I could strengthen my body and soul faster."

"There are certain truths to that path," Gray admitted, "but in my experience the brain core is the bet–"

"Princess!" Add shouted, slamming the door open. "Urgent news from our intelligence network. We've got a new competitor."

I frowned. "New competitor? For what?"

Gray wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Oh, you know..."

My face flushed crimson for a moment before the color drained away as a chilling realization hit me - another girl might be trying to win over Shirou's heart!

"Who is it!? Out with it, Sir Add!" I screamed as I grabbed both Calis, the original and copy, as well as the copy Exa and Ava to step them onto my body.

"Here is the profile," Add quickly added me a data crystal, which I snatched from his hands. "The new competitor is Luvia Edelfelt and…"

"The Edelfelt heiress dares to compete with me?! She doesn't know her place! Sir Add, I deploy one of my guards immediately to track Luvia's every move. I want her entire life story, every sordid detail, within the hour." My voice echoed through the halls as I scanned the profile within the data crystal, marching towards the secret arsenal of the mansion my clan had procured for my stay in Fuyuki. "If it's war she wants, then war she shall have!"

Shirou

I shuddered, though I wasn't sure why. Hopefully it was nothing too serious. At least it didn't seem like anyone's life was in danger. Suddenly, my mind drifted to certain memories from my future self. Nah, it couldn't possibly be the war for my attention. That was still a decade away before anyone besides Rin showed even a hint of romantic interest in me.

Shaking my head, I refocused on the Reality Marble fragments I was meticulously crafting for Arturia. This world's Arturia might not be the lover I knew from my own reality, but according to my future self, she'd become a vital ally after a string of unfortunate events turned Rin against me. I pondered whether to prioritize nurturing Arturia's individual combat prowess or her leadership skills. Add and many clones from this world's Knights of the Round Table who had joined Arturia as her loyal knights in the possible future had all been forever stuck at the demigod stage, but employing Anti-Divine military tactics, her loyal Knights slay even high gods.

Ideally, it would be great if I could foster both Arturia's ability as a warrior and as a leader at the same time, but that would be biting off more than she could chew. I could only choose one path. The most efficient path would be to foster Arturia's ability as a leader as the Pendragon Guard protecting her could easily work together to slay a low god. Within a few weeks with a Reality Marble fragment designed to foster leadership skills, Arturia could become a tactician that could even threaten the life of an intermediate god like Nagato.

I recalled how the future Arturia, in a drunken stupor, had confessed her intense jealousy of her twin sister, Gray. The present Gray was a supreme Mind Splitting expert who could single-handedly take on ten other experts of the same level without breaking a sweat. Future Arturia had drunkenly pleaded with my future self, saying that if he ever found himself in the past, he should help her younger self develop a Reality Marble. She wanted to rub it in Gray's face and one-up her more combat capable twin sister.

I only had two choices, and both options were just as good to accelerate Arturia's growth and bring about the Goddess Arturia, otherwise known in the possible future as the Queen of Knights…

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