*Disclaimer- The following story is a work of fiction which uses canonical characters and events from the Fate series developed and published by Type Moon and Rising of the Shield Hero based on the works of Aneko Yusagi and published by Media Factory. This (Amateur) writer does not claim any of this work for commercial or profitable use and is written for recreational purposes.

Journey of the Sword Hero

Chapter 1

Selected by the legendary Sword

'So, this is how it all ends… Well, I cannot say I did not see this coming sooner rather than later.'

Under the soft light of a full moon in a ruined town, in what remains of a destroyed house, a bleeding man leans against a fallen wall.

Pale skin, white hair, silver eyes, tattered and bloody clothes, the man could almost pass as a ghost.

Only the slow rising and falling of his chest and a growing pool of red beneath him still marks his status among the living.

He would not remain on the side of life for much longer.

'It is always a danger whenever you go against dead apostles but what else was I supposed to do, let them do as they pleased with the town and people? At least I brought them all down.'

Not that it seemed to do him or the people much good in the end, the silence that surrounded him spoke for those who could not. A city of the truly dead about to have one more resident.

'I guess its only fitting, my life just seems to be one screw up after another anyways. In the end I am just another killer trying to make the world less terrible than the one he was born in to.'

He tries to think of when his life started to turn for the worse.

A memory from an older tired man echoed in his head.

"When I was little, I wanted to be a hero. Unfortunately, being a hero is a limited-time thing. When you grow up, it's hard to call yourself one. I should have realized that earlier."

For all that his father tried to steer him away from his path, he ended up following his steps fairly well.

"If you are so adamant about going out into that world, the least we can do is prepare you for it"

'I believe he tried his best with the time he had and what he had to work with.

"To be a magus is to walk with death, monsters will kill you, others in this world will kill you, your own magecraft can kill you." that was his first lesson, right before having all 27 of his magic circuits forced open for the first time.

Turns out the son was not so gifted in magecraft but the basics were still learned and learned well.

The son would take his few skills past the point anyone before thought possible, his overuse would fade his hair, pale his skin, and turn his eyes the color of steel, a reflection of his inner self. It was a small price to pay.

He would later learn survival, reconnaissance, threat and risk assessment, infiltration, weapons, and mission planning.

'Probably the only reason I survived Fuyuki'

The bleeding man's heart sank ever further as more memories rushed by.

'In the end I could not protect anyone I cared about, and some I had to either personally kill or let die."

A student armed with a bow is no match for those granted the status of "Hero". A teacher cannot protect her students or herself from death no matter how much she tries.

A young girl with white hair, red eyes, and red cracking lines across her face smiles as she dies in the arms of her sister who she believed forgot about her so long ago.

A woman on a brilliant white winged horse fades away after being engulfed in a wave of black destructive power. She too failed to protect who she wanted to save.

A trusted partner turned enemy, in a moment of clarity, asks for forgiveness from her master. A bittersweet farewell is given before she too fades away, her own pure sword, stabbed into her chest, dispelling the darkness clinging to her form.

A young girl in red pays the price for defying the golden king, she and her archer's final act preventing the unleashing of a calamity.

An older sister who was taught to resent her father and "replacement" closes her eyes for the last time knowing she was never intentionally abandoned and willingly giving her remaining time on earth for her brother's victory over the golden king.

The blood has stopped flowing now but it will not help the dying man.

The man was told "Saving one person often means not saving another" As much as he would like to prove that saying wrong, the world would often prove those words true.

'I tried to help as many people as I could afterword, even diving into clocktower politics to find the worst of the bunch, the Church was only happy to be able to point me towards dangerous beasts and monsters of man. It was a good day when I could complete a job without any blood spilt.'

'As a fighter, unfortunately, my only means of doing the most good in the least amount of time was to eliminate threats to the innocent public. Rogue magus, mass murderers, Vampires…"

'Now here I am, out of mana, out of blood, and out of time.'

The man clutches a sapphire pendant and holds it to his chest, the blue gem and the blue shroud draped on his shoulders the only items undamaged by his fight to the death.

"Blue suits you better we think" A memory of two women who declared their intentions. Both have suffered in their own ways. Both made at least a little happier after meeting him. They will be saddened by his absence but both will remember him fondly.

A bittersweet smile stretches across scabbed lips. Not all work as an enforcer and executor was unpleasant.

They are among the few who will be saddened by the "Ghost" of the Magus Killer's passing. The clocktower enforcers and Church will miss a piercing knife in the dark and a hound sniffing out threats. Two ladies will never see their companion again.

His body will never be found.

"Wave of Calamity detected in world state."

"Scanning for Sword Hero Candidate… Sword Hero Candidate detected"

"Analyzing Candidate history and personality… Compatibility Rank A+"

Few things could surprise the man at this point; however, this is not the voice he was expecting to have to hear at the end of his life. He listened as a crisp but plain voice was projected directly into his mind.

"Veil between worlds weakened. Conditions are optimal. Establishing connection"

Suddenly a feeling of warmth spread over his body, hands that were numb regained sensation and any lingering fatigue was fading away. "What is going on?" the man said.

"Connection with Candidate confirmed"

"Candidate approved for transfer. Summoning initiated"

A flood of magical energy filled his position. A bright light illuminated the area briefly turning the surrounding night into day. After a moment of challenging the night, the source of magic disappears, the light is gone, and only a bloodstain on the ground remains.

In a world where unlimited weapons are marked into the dry earth as far as the eyes can see.

A young yet old sword takes a new shape as it fills a previously empty Golden Sheath.

Author notes: (potential spoilers)

First time story writer, expect many grammatical errors, weird syntax, and no beta readers.

Update schedule will be sporadic as I am writing this during slow times at work.

Expect me to play loose with the rules of Fate/Tsukihime and Rising of the Shield Hero mechanics.

I will be adding my own rules and mechanics (specifically to Shirou and his party) and messing with the timeline and events of rising of the shield hero so expect AU elements as well.

I will steal only 1 of Naofumi's cannon party members. Shirou will have many OC party members.

The Shirou I am using is from an AU fate world where the events of Fuyuki were a disaster for everyone involved. I will leave the full history purposely vague for now so I can expand upon it later if useful or relevant for the story.

I am also aware that Shirou's overuse of magecraft darkened his skin instead of lightning it. That never made since to me since melanin is largely responsible for both skin and hair color and losing it makes both skin and hair white/light. They should have both either gone white or both turned black. So, I picked both turning white for aesthetic purposes, to differentiate him from his counterparts, and for people in the fate series to fear the "Ghost of the Magus Killer" or "Ghost of Fuyuki".