Chapter One "Awakening in a different yet familiar World"

"The world forever changed when my apprentice Shirou Emiya disappeared one day and returned with otherworld knowledge the Mage's Association would kill for and the Holy Church ready to wage war for 'heretical teachings' that went against their faith." - Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, True Magician of Second Magic and later True Lunar God.

"The first documented case of any human becoming a Divine Spirit since the end of the Ages of Gods was one Shirou Emiya, who many would call the First Man-Made Divine Spirit. According to verified records this happened during the months after the Fifth Holy Grail War when Rin Tohsaka and Arturia Pendragon came to the Clock Tower…" – An excerpt from the 1st Edition History of Divine Ascension by Waver Velvet.

"Why do you have a Reality Marble, Shirou!?" screamed a familiar voice as my vision shook with my head jerking around. "Tell me how you got it! It is impossible for you, who is at the Mana Gathering stage to have skipped multiple steps to reach the realm of godhood. We are talking about a process that very few humans ever accomplished in their lifetimes!"

"Stop, Rin!" I struggled to shout with my head whipping around. "I said stop!"

"Don't Rin me, Shirou!" She screamed angrily. "If you don't tell me then consider our relationship over, and I will fire you!"

I ignored the pain of my neck being shook violently as I was very confused by my girlfriend's words.

The first part of me having a Reality Marble shouldn't be a problem with Rin. In fact, she was the one that was more sensitive on the topic as she had gone through great lengths so no one will ever discover my abnormal condition that would lead to having a Sealing Designation slapped on me if the Clock Tower was to find out.

The second, and most confusing, part was Rin's rambling of several unfamiliar terms. I had a rough idea what Rin was referring to, but it made no sense. No human had become a god since the end of the Age of Gods, and that divine ascension had been a rare thing even when gods and magical creatures still walked the Earth. This was also something that could happen only with the aid of multiple gods like when Heracles being rewarded godhood. The notion that anyone could become a god during the Age of Man was the most outrageous thing I had ever heard.

"Rin," I said while exerting pressure on Rin's wrists. "I don't understand what you are saying. Slowly explain to me what the problem is?"

My words seemed to some effect on Rin as she stepped swinging my head around and let go.

"Are you serious, Shirou? Did you hit your head or something?" Rin asked in a baffled tone. I only stared back in response. "Your sudden possession of a Reality Marble must be messing around with your memories. In fact…" Her eyes started to glow with glee. "Of course, your memories might be affected! Reaching the Soul Transformation stage and becoming a Demigod is the most dangerous step for humans pursing godhood…" Suddenly, I started to become very uncomfortable as Rin started to look at me as if she wanted to dissect me. "Tell me every last detail you remember up until I woke you up!"

I didn't know what was going on, but I decided to humor Rin. It wasn't the first time she got caught up in a research frenzy that was all-consuming. I might have seen Rin fall into such a state a few times, but I knew it would eventually settle down when her curiosity was satisfied.

The next few minutes resulted in my girlfriend's expression morphing from an avid listener to shifting look of fascination to disbelief. I didn't understand her reaction as what I described was that of our daily lives.

I was about to ask what was wrong when I grabbed my head.

"What's happening, Shirou?!" Rin screamed as she caught me from hitting the ground.

"Argh," I groaned. It felt like my head was going to split. "I'm getting memories that don't feel like…"

"Hang in there!" Rin shouted as she disappeared from my sight and I started to puke. "I need to grab the anti-possession gear!"

Anti-possession gear? Did Rin think that someone was trying to possess me? That didn't make any sense as it took me a while, but I recognised this feeling. It hadn't happened once, but several times when Archer and I had spiritually resonated. A stage where our very beings seemed to temporarily merge as we had exchanged memories.

Except…

I growled as bile rose up my throat. I tried to suppress it, but all that did was make it worse. Bile erupted and I was forced down onto all four while I puked and grasped for air.

The door slammed open and Rin returned with several objects that I didn't recognise.

"Why am I the one serving you when you're my servant?" She grumbled as she put down the objects in her arms and started to set them up. "I'm slashing your pay for this week. Your employer shouldn't be doing things that I had hired you for."

I wanted to respond, but the onset of memories was so painful and disorganizing that was the last thing I worried about. My skull felt as if it was going to break open. This was much more painful and disorienting that I had experienced with my possible future counterpart, EMIYA.

"Hold on, Shirou. I need a couple more seconds before I can begin the ritual to banish the spirit trying to possess–"

Rin's words started to become fuzzy and my vision started to blur. I was about to respond when everything went black.

"Shirou, you had me panicking for a moment," said Rin as I helped wash off the bile I had vomited all over her body. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. The exorcism was a success." I lied as my body went on auto-pilot while I organized my thoughts.

The pain was no longer there, but my mind was a mess. I might not be able to recall every single piece of memory EMIYA might have transferred over to me while our souls had resonated, but I was able to understand most part his memories. These new memories that had caused me to black out was different case. EMIYA's memories might have mixed well with my mind similar to how hydrogen and oxygen easily combined to form water. EMIYA might older, stronger and wiser than me, but fundamentally we were the same person on a fundamental level.

What Rin believed to have "exorcised" in fact belonged someone that might share the same name and appearance, but was an entirely different person from me. EMIYA was someone that was my potential future self if certain events played out and I accepted a deal with Alaya. The memories I had recently received came from someone completely different. He had not gone through the same defining event that had created both me and EMIYA: the Fuyuki Fire.

"Shirou!" Rin shouted in alarm. "You're not supposed to wash that area like th–"

When I heard her moan out, I snapped out my thoughts and blushed when I realized what part I had been washing. If someone was seeing or listening right now, they could easily misunderstand the situation. I tried to maintain a straight face and changed how I cleaned a certain part of Rin.

"Get out! I will clean the rest of my body alone!" shouted a blushing Rin as she snatched the shower head and cloth from my hands.

My body, still on auto-pilot, demanded that I should apologize and clean her naked body in the correct way, but I suppressed that urge and enforced my will. I quickly nodded and rushed out of the bathroom.

I quickly left the bathroom and activated the lock's security program that ensured only Rin could open the door before I started taking deep breaths.

Bringing up at my hands, I inspected my hand then looked down my body. What I saw confirmed that this wasn't my body. It lacked the lean and solid muscle that I had made through years of rigorous exercising or the several months I had spent honing my body to incorporate the battle prowess I had inherited from EMIYA. This body was too soft. It belonged to someone that had barely worked out.

"Trace On."

I detected multiple signs that joined the growing list of suspicions. The time to vocalize my personal incantation took twice as long. The mana flowing through my Magic Circuits took longer to gather at my hands. The materialization of Kanshou and Bakuya took to long to be practical in a fight. My Projections were also too fragile. I would have died if I had tried using them in any real fight.

What I discovered was the final nail on the coffin.

This body didn't belong to me.

I was also likely not in this world wasn't the one I had been born on and lived my entire life.

"Shirou, I finished. Help me get dressed," Rin's voice echoed through the door I was leaning against.

"You got to unlock the door!" I shouted and the door unlocked after I felt Rin's mana enter it.

I entered the room tried not to stare. Sadly, I couldn't help but stare. This Rin was different from my girlfriend. The most obvious thing was her nude form reflected off the mirror and her bare back. She was much more taller than my Rin. A startling 170cm in height. Another was her larger breasts, which my Rin would die to have as she had fought several more busty women like Luvia in jealous. This Rin was also more toned, a body more befitting of a female warrior than prodigy mage that my girlfriend was.

For a moment, I could imagine my Rin and bragging about her new looks Luvia.

The most noticeable aspect of this Rin from my lover were her eyes. She was more confident and shared a similar aura of authority that my other girlfriend, Arturia Pendragon, possessed. Something that had been born as her time as King Arthur.

I quickly snapped out my daze when Rin shot at look at the mirror where my reflection would be. On autopilot, my eyes turned to the neatly organised pile of clothing. I spent the next few minutes carefully putting on the clothes on Rin and helping her with her hair.

"You didn't perform as well as you normally do, but it is excusable," said Rin as she added the final touches to her hair. "I know you must be mentally shaken by the attack. You could have died if the possession attempt had succeeded. Thankfully, they had failed."

I sighed. This Rin misunderstand what had happened since she had "discovered" my Reality Marble. There had been no "possession attempt." My headache and fainting was the backlash of my soul entering this body.

I felt sorry for this Rin. The orphan, servant and lover known as Shirou that Rin had befriended was no more. He had died, and I had somehow entered a body that would have likely stopped functioning if it wasn't for me.

A faint pulse of pain hit me, but I suppressed as I tried to locate a certain memory with mixed results.

"Rin," I said with great difficult as this was not my girlfriend, yet it felt like that way with the memories I had received not to long ago. "Because last night we had–"

"Don't finish that sentence!" shouted a flushed Rin.

I chuckled at her embarrassment but continued on in a serious tone. "I think Shinji tried to assassinate you–"

"Are you sure?" Rin spoke grimly. "That is a very serious accusation you are making. Shinji could have you executed for slandering him by evoking his status as nobility…"

The memories I had received might be a huge mess that needed to be sorted through, but I remembered enough about this world to correctly understand what Rin was getting it.

"I suspect Shinji used the Madness poison, and it is a variant that induces false memories."

"False memories…" Rin frowned. "So Shinji attempted to weaken my mental and spiritual defenses while I was befuddled by false memories. This would have left me exposed to be possessed. If the possession attempt had failed then would have taken advantage of my mental instability. What a vicious plan expected of Shinji Matou. If I don't do respond harshly then Shinji is going to think I am a pushover…" She looked at me curiously. "How do you think we should respond?"

I was about so suggest unleashing a couple of Noble Phantasms at Shinji. Calabolg was one of the first that came to mind. EMIYA had many other powerful Noble Phantasms at his disposal, but Caladbolg had been his favourite for a reason. It was a reliable option that had proven time and time again.

My suggestion was interrupted as my right hand started to glow, and Rin gasped.

"Why do I have Command Seals?" I muttered as the familiar red symbols that I had gotten upon summoning Saber during the Fifth Holy Grail War manifested.

"Well, this changes everything," said Rin in a quiet tone as she massaged her temple. "Let's go get you registered, Shirou. The Fuyuki Master Academy would be delighted to hear they have one more Master."

I could only frown in confusion as Rin dragged back out of the bathroom.

"Kami must be one Rin-sama's side. What are the chances that her servant of all people becoming a Master."

"Ssh! You can't look down on him anymore. His status has changed. He is no longer a commoner, but an honorable noble. You might yourself a target if you keep treating Shirou-sama by his former status."

"House Tohsaka has become stronger with an addition of another Master."

"How do you think House Matou will respond? They have been bitter enemies over who rules Fuyuki."

"The situation wouldn't really change until Shirou-sama becomes a fully trained Master."

The conversation I heard while Rin dragged through the hallways only further added to the list of questions about the new world I find myself thrust in.

"You better keep your Reality Marble a secret or you will easily suffer a fate worse then death. You can only reveal it after you are Demigod (Spirit Transformation stage)." Rin warned me telepathically. "How you possess a Reality Marble at the Circuit Building stage is beyond my imagination! I am doing in jealous right now."

I quickly forgot about what the students around me were saying and focused on what Rin said. I only knew about a fraction about the new memories, but I could easily pierce together with Rin's words how important Reality Marbles seemed to be in this world.

"You don't need to keep reminding me," I sighed. "Where are you taking me?"

"To the Headmaster of course." Rin without hesitation opened a door. "Headmaster, I brought Shirou to be registered as a Master."

I was shocked by who the "Headmaster" was.

"We must be blessed by Kami today. Another Master is one more powerhouse in ensuring humanity's survival," said Kiritsugu Emiya happily. "Please come in and make yourselves at home. The registration might take a while, but I promise you the wait will be worth it. This is a life-changing event after all… And more obstacle that Gaia must overcome to reclaim reign over Earth."

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