Chapter Thirteen "Taking advantage of Foresight"

Shirou

I groaned in pain and saw the vestiges of my future self disappear. It was regretful that I never got to talk to my future self… there had been so many things I wanted to talk about, but the sacrifice my future self had paid to return to the past was no joke, especially due to the stronger influence of Gaia and Alaya in this world compared to my home world. It was even possible that my future self might cease to exist given the sacrifice and the interference with my present (his past) he had made.

The only ways that my future self had basically communicated with me were akin to leaving a diary chock-full of information about the potential future, his knowledge, and opinions regarding many topics.

Heaven's Chosen… That was the special status I was named with, and it seemed well deserved. According to my future self's memories, it was not a rumor but a fact that all Heaven's Chosen were guaranteed to become a god as long as they had the necessary resources and time. It had to do with the fact that in this world, something at the peak of the Mind Splitting stage would have reached the necessary physical, spiritual, and mental state ready to make a Reality Marble.

Talking about Reality Marbles…

I stared at the Reality Marble fragments that circled around Unlimited Blade Works like a star being orbited by asteroids. If there had been a million fragments earlier after Selena had been killed, then there were about a hundred thousand asteroids left.

My body shuddered as I recalled the last of my future self's memories. I had taken so much damage that my condition had been akin to a severely dehydrated and starving man on the verge of death. It had been extremely wasteful in my mind, but my future self had decided before he disappeared to gorge on Reality Marble fragments to quickly heal the damages to my body, soul, and Reality Marble.

Well, what was done couldn't be undone as I didn't have the ability to travel into the past as my future self did, nor would I make the sacrifice to fix such a trivial matter.

If any mortal, including demigods, were to see the remaining Reality Marble fragments drifting around, they would have a heartache AND be jealous to death at my overwhelming wealth that would be akin to being a trillionaire. Only a god, who could easily go around hunting demigods or even other gods, would give what I had a passing look and shrug. Why would mortals up to demigods that were close to achieving godhood react so strongly?

Well, a Reality Marble fragment could be used for many things, just like how copper or gold had a variety of applications, but the most desirable aspect for mortals was that they could study it in hopes of reaching the Soul Transformation stage. A majority of humans would only ever reach the Core Creation stage before their deaths, and the number of people at each stage afterward dropped exponentially. Only about one in a million people became a demigod, and the statistics for gods… It wasn't recorded for a reason as godhood was the paradise that everyone sought, but only the smallest percentage of mortals ever reached.

I commanded one of the smallest Reality Marble fragments, and it shot towards me. It was small, well, compared to Unlimited Blade Works, which was starting to take the size of a minor world. About ten normal people, which was the Mana Gathering stage by the standards of this world, could live in it given the land and mana generated by the Reality Marble fragment.

If I sold it to a spatial specialist, then they could easily make an item capable of holding about two point five megalitres of water or an Olympic-sized swimming pool for context.

Or I could use it more beneficially by using it as a building material to expand Unlimited Blade Works…

I sighed as I felt the connection to my body stabilize enough that I could control it again without worrying about damaging my body, soul or mind. Reality Marbles and their fragments could wait. It's not like they were going to disappear.

As my eyes fluttered open and I sat up, I was greeted with a familiar face that in my own world I had last seen a decade ago.

"You're finally awake after the shocking events you caused," said Kiritsugu Emiya, or this world's counterpart of my adoptive father. "How are you feeling? The doctors told me that they couldn't find any damage to your body and soul, but did say your mind could have been harmed by what had happened."

"Just a headache from centuries of memories of my possible future self. I should assimilate the memories over a few weeks. Not a big problem, but if I do I will have to seek out a psychologist for help," I replied.

"Admitting that you need help is the first sign of improving." Kiritsugu smiled. "What are your future plans?"

"I may need your help."

"What sort of help? As the headmaster of the school you are now attending, it is my duty to assist my students in any capacity."

"I need to meet…" I hesitated as the name I wanted to utter belonged to a person that had played a fundamental role in changing my world's Kiritsugu just as Kiritsugu had forever altered the course of my own life. Forcing down my reluctance, I said, "Norikata Emiya."

Kiritsugu froze up, and for good reason. The Norikata Emiya of this world, similar to the one in my world, was pursuing the knowledge of Time Manipulation. It was a branch of magecraft that was fraught with danger depending on the specialty chosen and often led to the practitioner being targeted by Gaia or Alaya as the potential that a practitioner of time manipulation could be a strategic weapon that could tip the scale of humanity's survival or continued attempts to enlarge the Human World by invading the Reverse Side.

Norikata Emiya, a low-class god, according to my future self's memories, played a crucial role in fostering several generations of talented humans with his ability to manipulate time within his Reality Marble. The time that could have taken centuries to nurture human prodigies could be cut down to years or decades depending on the circumstances. This god could play a crucial role in my ascension to godhood and one more step closer for me to returning to my world.

"That is going to be difficult," Kiritsugu sighed. "My father is always busy between researching time manipulation magecraft and assisting in the fostering of human prodigies. He barely has time for family."

I was about to casually Project an item that would be useful for me before I remembered the last few times I hadn't taken the proper precautions. The fabric of the room around me shifted but I didn't overwrite it, simply placing another layer instead.

"Your ability to temporarily overwrite the surrounding Texture is impressive, Shirou," Kiritsugu praised my handiwork as he looked around my Reality Marble partially surrounding the room like a barrier. "What do you have to tell me that you need part of your Reality Marble to keep out prying eyes and ears?"

A famous scythe associated with a certain Greek Titan materialized in my hand. It didn't have any sentience like the other Noble Phantasms I had Projected after coming to this world. Its sentience was erased while the original Noble Phantasm growled and made all sorts of trouble within Unlimited Blade Works to show their dissatisfaction at what I had done to their copy.

Kiritsugu's eyes widened. "Is that Kronos' Scythe?"

"Yes," I nodded. "It's a copy and inferior to the original, but it should catch Norikata's attention. Use it to make a deal so that I can get his help."

"My father will drop everything if he learns about this."

"Can you make the arrangements?"

"Yes, but I will need to take the scythe with me. Are you okay with that? This is a very precious item that people will kill for."

"It's not too much of a loss for me," I smiled. "I have a never-ending arsenal of Noble Phantasms," I jested, and Kiritsugu looked at me seriously before smiling.

"I will get to work immediately," he announced and left the room.

As Kiritsugu left the room, Rin quickly entered.

"Shirou, are you alright!?" Rin screamed as she flung herself at me and started inspecting my body. "I saw how badly injured you were before you were admitted to the hospital and I refuse to believe the doctors' reports that you are fine!"

I chuckled at how alike Rin was to my world's counterpart. She was the same girl I had fallen in love with. Without interfering with Rin's inspection, I allowed her to check my body.

"You have 100 S-rank Magic Circuits!" Rin screamed. "Did you absorb all of the Circuit Building tier Leveling Orb? Didn't I say you shouldn't do that! Baka, you put yourself at great risk to–"

I flicked my index finger against Rin's forehead and she yelped in surprise. She clutched her forehead and glared at me in response.

"You don't have to worry about me, Rin. My future self was the one that merged the Leveling Orb. I was never in any danger," I comforted the Tohsaka heiress.

"Future self?" Rin repeated incredulously. "So the rumors were true?"

"I don't know what rumors are going around, but the part about my future self is," I nodded. "How are the Tohsaka clan and Fuyuki reacting to the news caused by my future self's actions?" Rin's exhausted look was enough to tell me it must be bad. "Tell me the details."

Rin let out a stressed sigh. "A lot of people are on edge. Fuyuki was supposed to be safe, but their faith in security has been shaken when news spread about your battle. The god and the army you fought, if they had attacked Fuyuki, would have been the most dangerous group that city had ever faced in its thousand-year history. Such a force would have flattened Fuyuki's defenses and her forces, and the end result would have been a massacre of the civilian population."

"Your ancestor Nagato would have easily fended off a force several times larger or more powerful easily as he is an intermediate god. So there should be no reason for panic," I replied while frowning.

"How did you know that? No one save for a select few knows about my ancestor being an Intermediate God," she demanded, glaring at me with suspicious eyes.

I tapped at my forehead. "Did you forget about my future self?"

"Oh, right… How could I forget that…" Rin sighed before smiling at me. "Given the shaken confidence that the public has about security, I want to ask if you are willing to donate–"

Rin yelped as I grabbed her wrists and gently dragged her onto the hospital bed. Her back landed first and I towered over her with my hands placed near her armpits and my knees next to her hips.

"Shirou! If you want to do it, this isn't–" Rin stammered, red-faced, as she looked to the side, but I could see part of her body reacting very differently.

"This isn't what you think it is," I protested as I placed my hand on her cleavage.

"Let me set up a Bounded Field so no one–" She continued stammering and her flushed face became more red until she felt my mana enter her body and cycle around her heart. Her misunderstanding of the situation quickly disappeared and Rin looked at me incredulously. "What are you doing?"

"Checking how well you incorporated my C-rank 27 Magic Circuits into your own 40 B+ rank magic circuits to form your first Magic Core," I admitted while focusing on the data entering my mind, using magecraft skills that I wouldn't have gained without my future self temporarily possessing my body.

"That's an invasion of priv–"

"I know every little secret you have from your three sizes-" I groaned as my body was lifted into the air and I fell down onto the soft wooden flooring.

"SHIROU!"

I sighed and prepared myself to become a literal punching bag as Rin vented her anger. It took a few minutes and a couple of minor bruises on my body before she managed to calm down.

"Sorry," Rin muttered so quietly that a normal person might not have heard, but thanks to me reaching the Core Creation stage and the enhancement of my abilities, I heard Rin without using magecraft to amplify my hearing. "I shouldn't have reacted so… strongly when I know rationally you know all of my secrets."

"It's fine."

"So how did you know? I thought I would have fooled you."

"Future knowledge," I replied while thinking about the problems in our relationship that would have arisen if my future self hadn't interfered with the timeline. "Through a series of misunderstandings and manipulation by outside forces that don't want us to have a good relationship, you and I…" My teeth ground against each other. "…become enemies."

"What?! We become enemies?" Rin shouted with wide eyes.

I sighed and stopped grinding my teeth. "Yes, and I don't really want to talk about it. It might have been a possible future, but…" Memories of certain dark moments dominated my thoughts. "Things go horribly wrong. What I will say is that tragedies and grief broke us apart."

"…Of course, you don't want to talk about it and I respect your wishes, but did it start with my lie?"

"Yeah... Once you found out I was a Heaven's Chosen, you became obsessed with getting stronger. You were scared I'd leave you because I would think you as being too weak. That lie about needing more of my Magic Circuits for the 'greater good' of Fuyuki? It was just an excuse for you to check out the S-grade circuits I got from absorbing that Circuit Building Leveling Orb. That's when you realized just how massive the gap is between a regular person and Heaven's Chosen. And that realization? It kicked off a whole chain reaction that ended with us breaking up and becoming enemies."

Rin's eyes continued to widen as if in denial that her lie would cause a series of events I didn't want to delve into. I looked back into Rin's eyes with grim seriousness. She sighed and glanced away.

"So am I destined to break up with you?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"You determine that," I replied, and I took out a small Reality Marble fragment the size of my fist from within my soul. "If my future self's memories are to be trusted, then your talents as an Average One are to learn and use a vast array of magical spells and rituals that would make most people jealous. This Reality Marble fragment was something that my future self created as a gift for you, hoping to prevent the events that made us enemies."

"Let me take a look at that!" Rin snatched the fragment and started to inspect it. "This is perfect. It has to have been made from combining and selecting the best traits of several other Reality Marble fragments." Her eyes started to sparkle and she kissed me on the cheek. "With this, I could possibly become a Heaven's Chosen myself by creating a Reality Marble well before the Soul Transformation stage. I've got to go. I need my ancestor Nagato's help!"

As Rin sprinted out of the room, I leaned back against a pillow and let out a heavy sigh. My mind was still reeling from the influx of memories and knowledge from my future self. It was a lot to process, and I knew I'd be sorting through the implications for weeks to come.

One thing was clear though - my future self's actions, while necessary, had the potential to cause some serious ripple effects. By intervening so dramatically in the past, he had irrevocably altered the course of events. Who knew what unintended consequences might spring from that?

I rubbed my temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. I'd have to be vigilant and keep a close eye on how things developed from now on. If my future self's meddling ended up putting people in danger, it would be up to me to set things right.

The weight of that responsibility settled heavily on my shoulders. But I knew I couldn't shy away from it. These were the consequences of my future self's choices, and by extension, my own. I had to own them and do whatever it took to protect the city and people I had come to care for.

I made a mental note to start putting out feelers, gathering intel on any potential threats or disturbances. I'd need to be proactive, nipping any problems in the bud before they had a chance to escalate. It wouldn't be easy, but I was determined to see it through.

My future self had taken a gamble, risking everything to give me a chance at a different fate. I owed it to him, and to myself, to make sure that chance wasn't squandered. No matter the obstacles ahead, I would face them head-on. For Fuyuki. For Rin. For the future I was determined to build.

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