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Thread: The Hearts of the Suffering

  1. #41
    Drunk Anime Is The True Path. Mattias's Avatar
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    Ohhh. So soon after the last, a new story appears. I'm shivering in anticipation. Or maybe it's just the -10°C weather and the caffeine.

    I always enjoy the fact that you put up such a complete Table of Contents when the story goes up. It's reassuring that you know where the story's going ahead of time, and have it plotted out. Plus, we always know when the story is getting close to the climax.
    Binged All Of Gundam In 4 Years, 1 Week and All I Got Was This Stupid Mask


    FF XIV: Walked to the End


    Started Legend of the Galactic Heroes (14/07/23), pray for me.

  2. #42
    Bitchin' Arashi_Leonhart's Avatar
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    Also, I won't be doing music cues on this because I'm too lazy, but there are three songs that inspire this story and the vibe it'll carry. One is obvious if you know Fate music, the other two not so much:

    To the Beginning - Kalafina

    English lyrics
    Will one last miracle come to pass?
    A gentle voice paints a twisted future.

    For the sake of a world where nobody will cry
    Before reaching the crimson-stained sky
    My cries and prayers fade and disappear
    So I go on and abandon all solace

    The beautiful moonlight
    Shines to the beginning and vanishes
    Into the distance
    I'll continue to reach out further
    As my eyes gradually close
    And believe in your sorrow

    The truth is, who's the one wanted to be saved?
    My lost heart pokes a hole in the sky

    If I could choose you
    And search for the happiness meant for just the two of us
    Even if cold flames scorch my body
    I will still be close to a smile

    A writhing dream— The meaning of life—
    I want to return this frightening world
    Back to the crystal-clear water

    Sadness alone will not disappear
    With these very hands
    I'll slash apart even the rules governing the hearts of the suffering
    Down to zero we go

    The beautiful moonlight
    Simply and quietly fades
    And decays away to the beginning
    The longing that is sealed
    Is still yet further away
    Within the darkness
    All the days with you
    Are a gentle song


    Avalon Blue - Eir Aoi

    English lyrics
    Just like the legend I once read on a torn page
    I believed in a future in which you could live while laughing
    The moon's light obstructs the blue of the city

    That light shone down on the shadow I left at the crossing
    and the path I walk
    It stays unchanging here in my heart

    I will go to make my one and only wish come true beneath the starry sky
    The path of the sorrowful shooting star disappears into the darkness, I’ll turn back time
    I swore that I wouldn’t say goodbye, let me reach to the place we promised each other

    So that they couldn’t be found I locked away in my heart
    the complaints that were seen through even in the long dream of that time
    The wounds in my faint memories have dried

    The pain has grown numb since I’ve overcome both betrayal and loneliness
    I don’t care how much the continually revolving hand of time stabs at my heart, because I’ll keep going forward
    The never-ending eternal story

    It’s being torn apart beneath the starry sky
    The sorrowful shooting star’s path
    burnt blue as it fell so I’ll turn back time
    I swear that I won’t ever complain, let me reach to the place we promised each other

    I will go to make my one and only wish come true beneath the starry sky
    So that the path of the sorrowful shooting star won’t disappear into the darkness, I’ll turn back time
    I swore that I wouldn’t say goodbye, let me reach to the place we promised each other



    One - ALTIMA

    English lyrics
    The moon and the stars are shining on me
    On top of the carpet where sparks of fire dance
    You’re standing before me, lit up in red
    Your eyes shone brightly with a forthright gaze
    Sounds of two pairs of footsteps heading for the place far away
    Words that told them to devote their everything
    And fly to the future

    The motivation that clearly grasped my heart
    That’s right, this is the advent of the strongest
    We’re both warriors following our heartbeats
    If I want to protect love, I can’t deny a battle
    Not blurring a single phrase, rhyming down the passionate road

    Passing each other by, quarreling
    Getting released from the fascination
    If I’m going to set off on a new journey
    I won’t let go of your hand again

    The first time our eyes met
    Do you still remember it, just like before?
    Even if I drown in a whirlpool of my slumber
    It won’t vanish, it can’t be erased, that’s our dream

    To be as ONE

    You put your palm on your cheek and laughed
    As I watched you, I thought, “I want to protect you”
    I took a long detour, but I’ve finally realized
    That I had been living for you
    To the sky where the snow of light falls
    The crescent moon and the stars lean against each other
    The story that we wrote
    Will keep going on in the days ahead

    Looking up at the moon and stars afloat
    It dawned upon me that “I am the truth”
    The bond formed will be so strong it can’t be torn apart
    I make that promise softly
    From now on the real journey will start
    Let’s fly up high to the big blue sky

    It’s amazing, even creatures
    With such different forms and figures
    Can get attracted to each other, and desire the other
    Intersecting to form a single shimmer

    When the box of memories is opened
    I’ll recall the phrase that I’ve seen somewhere
    The scene that should have been cut out
    And the hot, thick, burning flames

    To be as ONE

    In a voice with no doubt, to prevent the tiny pieces of paper
    From being completely burnt up
    Even if my body vanishes, I don’t want to forget
    The fact that I lived for you
    At the end, after wandering along the black galaxy
    For your words “I want to be with you”
    I would give my everything, I promised
    And our lips came together

    The final session that creates glass pieces
    In the interval between feeling an intuition, I’ll slay slay slay
    Brushed it off, judgment in a flash
    Full-power firing, a dance of flames in half an instant
    The endless power is
    Rolling up the whole world like a coil
    Grand and imposing, without compromises, subliming even fate
    Leave yourself to the breathtaking view
    Both of us amidst the breathtaking view, to be as ONE

    You suddenly put your palm on your cheek and laughed
    As I watched you, I thought, “I want to protect you”
    I took a long detour, but I’ve finally reached
    You and I were one all along

    In a voice with no doubt, to prevent the tiny pieces of paper
    From being completely burnt up
    Even if my body vanishes, I won’t forget
    The fact that I lived my life with you
    To the sky where the snow of light falls
    The crescent moon and the stars lean against each other
    The story that we are writing
    Will keep going on forever

    The motivation that clearly grasped my heart
    That’s right, this is the advent of the strongest
    We’re both warriors following our heartbeats
    If I want to protect love, I can’t deny a battle
    Not blurring a single phrase, rhyming my way down
    At the middle of this road, we came together
    The instant we knew the conclusion
    Turned into another moment just like that
    As the snow of light falls, as the snow of light falls

  3. #43
    The Once and Future King
    Quote Originally Posted by Arashi_Leonhart View Post
    Spoiler:
    She's not in Avalon yet.
    The first time our eyes met
    Do you still remember it, just like before?
    Even if I drown in a whirlpool of my slumber
    It won’t vanish, it can’t be erased, that’s our dream

    To be as ONE
    “Wales. Near Cornwall.”
    Ho-hum.

  4. #44
    ジュカイン Lycodrake's Avatar
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    All this talk about what route this is based off of and so little mention of Load Waiver and Mercury Meido.
    Disappointed.
    Quote Originally Posted by Seika View Post
    Yes, excellent. Go, Lyco, my proxy.
    F/GO SUPPORT

  5. #45
    祖 Ancestor Flere821's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arashi_Leonhart View Post
    I don't think you guys would like what I would do if it were post-UBW.
    What, you're going to separate Rin & Shirou through some kind of OOC and forced circumstances? /jk I'm optimistic that whatever you come up with it's not going to suck.
    Quote Originally Posted by Elf View Post
    Elf, dealing fanfic crack for Beast Lair since 2007.
    Quote Originally Posted by Radiantbeam View Post
    Elf: Crack Dealer. Story at eleven.
    'Fae is Foul' - My SAO/ZnT Crossover fanfic (SB Thread) (FFN Link)

  6. #46
    闇色の六王権 The Dark Six Imperial's Avatar
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    I've been waiting for this, and it doesn't disappoint.

    The political maneuvering is exactly what I would expect out of the Tower. The comparison of Rin to a rat in a maze was especially apt.

    I like that you're working the Yggs into this, even if this is the last we hear of them. People are so quick to say Apocrypha is a spin-off that can and should be ignored. It helps the sense of world building, which you've pulled together very nicely with little quirks like Rin noticing the magical printer that is too obsolete to be of much use or how that entire department would be structured in a world of the magi.

    Your Waver is interesting. He reads like an almost entirely different character, which is to be expected from that blurb in Character Material, was it? But you still have a nice nod to the young Waver with how he's willing to let his students be young and dumb like he was, once.

    Quote Originally Posted by Arashi_Leonhart View Post
    Not to say that there will not be references/shout outs/direct stealing from Extra, because there will be.
    Needs more (sane) Lu Bu

  7. #47
    Bitchin' Arashi_Leonhart's Avatar
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    Chapter 2
    “My Fate, Thy Sword”



    Barthomelloi. The Blue Bloods of the Association. True Aristocrats.

    The family head did not care about the ritual in Japan in and of itself. The only attention she paid it was theoretical: if an Apostle were to bring itself to be interested, she would be interested.

    However, it is not to be said that the family was completely disconnected from the society from which is reigned supreme. Many years before, the head of the family had granted the use of their leyline to the head of the Archibald family.

    It is unusual for a magus to be able to summon a Heroic Spirit for use in the Holy Grail War beyond the boundaries of the Fuyuki leyline. The Einzbern were known to be the only ones capable—they had a direct hand in creating the system. No others dared risk it—if their connection to Fuyuki was not strong enough, the Grail would not intervene on their behalf and the ritual, which is normally impossible without the Grail, would fail.

    Unless one can dominate the lands by which the system works.

    It was still a gamble. Unless one was a Barthomelloi themselves, they could not guarantee that the Fuyuki leyline would sublimate to the leyline located in London.

    The payoff, however, could work to a Master’s advantage.

    Rolland Storr had worked under the Barthomelloi once upon a time. Had, alongside them, hunted down a Dead Apostle Ancestor. It was where his interest in artifacts had grown after discovering the lair the Apostle had called its territory, full of any number of items a spiritual medium would give a limb to possess. As he was the lesser child to a family and bore no Crest, it was like opening up a world of possibilities, a future of power even his older brother would never know.

    And this, the summation of his relationship with the strongest family of magi and the love that he had come to know.

    He finished the circle—made up not of his blood, but the preserved blood of dragon spawn. It was his other tool to overcome the chances that the ritual would fail—to use all of his summoning tools in relation to the one he wished for, not just the catalyst. Even the location provided to him by the Barthomelloi family was fortuitous: he stood where the priory housing the Knights Hospitallers once existed. While he did not seek one of the Knights Hospitallers himself, the association to the knight class would be to his benefit. And here, in Britain, if a summoning were to happen from this relic, it would surely grant him the location benefits.

    A voice called out from the shadows. “Predictable. Why does everyone think the Saber-class is the best thing ever?”

    Lord El-Melloi II. He was still some distance off, strolling down the street as if on a late-night walk. He was shadowed by the silver form of the Archibald Mystic Code.

    Rolland knew it would come down to this. When El-Melloi had spoken in favor of the Tohsaka regarding the direction of the Heaven’s Feel ritual, he had a feeling deep within that they would come to blows.

    Thankfully, he had also read the reports of the magi that had controlled information during the Fourth. Combat was not El-Melloi’s forte. He was ready.



    []==|{::::::::::::::::::::::::::>



    Clerkenwell was a relatively short distance from the Clock Tower to a magus—especially one like Waver.

    Historically, the Barthomelloi leyline was the reason why the Knights Hospitallers set up where they did: leylines were places that made spiritual healing for locals much more potent. Despite the fact that faith healing was unrelated to magecraft, the natural placebo effect that came with the area made it easier for victims to be cleansed. In the history of the Association and the Church, it was one of the few times the Association had allowed a Church order upon soil they directly controlled, for reasons unknown and unrecorded.

    Now St. John’s Gate stood as a fake reminder of what used to be, an attempt to evoke the same old-world feel that the Barthomelloi leyline exemplified.

    “If a guy with a hard-on for old stuff wants to risk an attempt to summon a knight-class in England, you’d find him at the point where the best leyline converges with a museum for knights.” Waver rolled his eyes. “Plus, as I found out later, this is where Kayneth drew his card. Only natural I’d think of this place.”

    Instead of slinking off into the shadows, Rolland Storr took a step out onto the avenue and faced Waver directly. He was a few years younger than Waver but had aged earlier, hairline receding and gravity bringing a hunch to his shoulders. Even so, Waver knew the man to have something dangerous prepared—his talents as a magus far surpassed Waver’s own.

    The area was clear. No pedestrians. Between the late hour and the boundary field Waver had detected half a kilometer out, the area must have been vacated from prying eyes. A three-story building owned by the Barthomelloi stood behind Rolland: his summoning circle was partially on the sidewalk, partially on the street—a particular location certainly due to some obscure bit of knowledge the magus held. Waver stopped himself just shy of a block away when his maid golem made a watery musical note. A second field lay just past his feet.

    Giving Volumen Hydragyrum a human form was not the only thing Waver had improved. It also had basic—if sometimes inadequate and prone to error—ways to communicate with its simple intelligence. As a detector, it worked so much more efficiently than for him to figure out his own pitiful way to find magical signatures.

    Unfortunately, he still had a few deficiencies to work out when it served him in particular. Including how long the golem could exert itself.

    “Three minutes,” Rolland said. “My magical energy spikes in three minutes, so you have three minutes to try and persuade me.”

    “Persuade you?” Waver looked at him funny. “Huh, I never thought you were that sort of type.”

    Rolland scowled, almost a mirror image to Waver’s natural expression. “Go ahead, make jokes. Two-and-a-half.”

    “No, see, I can’t really persuade. I have two settings because all you talented types of the Association don’t really leave me with many options. Mercury isn’t exactly the safest weaponized agent.” Waver motioned to Volumen Hydragyrum, who remained still at his side like the faithful servant it was shaped to resemble. “I’ve only ever used her in battle once, but I was very, very successful at it.”

    “Battle against who?”

    Waver’s expression might have, for a fraction of a second, appeared amused. “Exactly.”

    A deep-as-the-bones sigh escaped Rolland’s lips. “One minute. Are you just going to talk away with nonsense?”

    “Oh, no, I don’t attack first. That would be unfair.” Waver’s chin went up. “Until you prove you have the guts to face me, you aren’t worthy of seeing my actions.” His eyes flickered away once. “Besides, you won’t get to your summoning at this point.”

    A loud crack echoed down the empty avenue. A splinter of wood resting to one side of the summoning circle behind Rolland seemed to explode along with a large portion of the pavement beneath it.

    Rolland startled but had his wits about him fast enough and looked around for the source of the gunshot.

    “You wouldn’t have liked having a Servant anyway,” Waver said, nonchalantly. “All they do is bend your ear about conquering the world.”

    Waver’s maid chimed another warning; unnecessarily, as even Waver could feel the shift in the boundary field before him.

    Avnas, excieo!
    Awaken, Avnas!


    A swirl of wind buffeted Waver’s face, flipping his hair and jacked up behind him. He squinted into the torrent to see the figure that formed to Rolland’s side.

    If Church Executors had been there, they might have exploded in unadulterated rage.

    Wreathed in flame, it looked vaguely human. It stood a meter taller than the tallest man, naked but sexless—although there was a definite feeling that it was a he. Its skin crackled as if made of embers and green eyes glared out from beyond the haze of heat.

    An unfair combination of demon and wraith. It was not a demon, yet it was—conjured from a wraith, not unlike Servants of Grail Wars past given a container it was not meant for.

    Truly an annoyance—and not even appearing from the summoner’s circle, simply appearing as if from thin air. This was Rolland’s specialty, a spiritual familiar given enough power to manifest physically. It was beyond his known capacity, however, quite possibly due to the focus of the leyline that was beneath their feet.

    “One last chance to go away,” Rolland said. “You aren’t marked, you used up your chance years ago. I will have mine.”

    It was a meaningless gesture and they both knew it. Once they stepped onto their path, a magus was incapable of so simply walking away, especially if their life was on the line.

    Waver’s expression did not change, nor did he even remove his hands from his jacket pockets. “To the abyss with you.”

    A flaming arm came down.

    The silver maid next to Waver elongated, arms retracting away and neck extending like a serpent. The silvery face shot up and coiled multiple times around the arm before plowing into the ground. The arm diverted away and missed Waver by a meter as the spiral made by the mercury hardened and channeled the blow to where the Mystic Code’s feet still remained on the pavement.

    Rolland was moving laterally, attempting to flank Waver. “
    Convertimini ad cinerem
    Turn him to ash.


    The giant opened its mouth and spat flames, the heat-haze great enough to distort the air all around them. Volumen Hydragyrum leapt out from its own center, forming a concave shield around its owner to protect it from the blast of heat. It angled the shield to the side, and warmth visibly washed over Rolland, who held up an arm to shield his face.

    “I wouldn’t—” Waver began.

    Convertimini ad—
    Turn—


    The mage did not manage the rest of his incantation. His legs tripped over themselves and he fell face-first into the pavement, arms barely able to break his fall. There he remained, cringing in pain, gasping for air and clawing at his neck as if his collar was too tight and could be loosened for comfort. Simultaneously, the flaming giant stopped its assault, whatever spirit inhabiting it unable to continue on without commands from its contractor.

    Waver motioned for his golem to keep the protection up, then casually stepped over to where Rolland had collapsed. “Mercury fumes. You really should have thought better than conjuring up a spirit of fire.” He crouched over the man. “Don’t worry, it won’t kill you. I don’t actually have enough prana to fight indefinitely. All of it will withdraw back into the bottle in a few minutes and you’ll be back to normal.” He thought about it. “Except by then you’ll have blacked out as your cells have a chemical reaction, so normal and unconscious.” He thought some more. “Probably some of it will come right out of your pores which might be actually really painful. Fuck, since when did I become the villain?”

    The flames of the giant finally snuffed out and cloaked the area back in the dim lighting from street lamps and building lights. Waver eyed the creature as it seemed to shrink in place, its strength of existence fading as the energy its magus had provided it with ran out.

    Then blinked as beyond where the giant’s head had been, he saw pale silver light from within the Barthomelloi building in an upper-story window.

    Rolland choked out a laugh. “Think…I would bet everything…in a duel against you?” He coughed, the action curling his body in on itself from pain.

    “Yeah, you are smarter than that.” Waver pulled his phone out and swished a finger across the screen. “Good thing I didn’t bet everything in a duel against you, either.” He held the phone up to speak into it. “You seeing this?”

    “Second summoner? I’d assume it’s Rottwood.”

    The obvious answer. A teacher with an apprentice might have that apprentice support them, even ally with them in the short term with their own summoning. “Same. You have him? At this point, you might want to just take the shot.”

    “I don’t have a visual.” The voice at the other end sounded disappointed—with what, Waver could not tell. “I have a fix on his location, but I don’t have enough punch to go right through the concrete. They’re staying away from the windows.”

    Waver’s curses lit up the datawaves. “My Code is immobilized. I can’t reach that position and do anything of use. Get creative.”

    “You mean desperate.” But the noises from the other end of the connection told Waver that something was already in the making. “Breaching the building, stand by.”

    The perpetual scowl marring Waver’s forehead worsened. “Breaching? Are you cr—”

    In the pale gloom from the partially-obscured moon, the shadow of a figure leapt from a four-story roof across the avenue into the third story window where the light from the summoning circle was growing in power. The bang bang bang bang of gunfire preceded him, shattering the glass before entry.



    []==|{::::::::::::::::::::::::::>



    “Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill.
    Five perfect repetitions. Destroy each sigil when—”


    Gunfire and the crash of glass interrupted the solemn words. Torian Rottwood spun to face the din, saw a dark-clad figure do a rolling entry into the room, and reached for the breast pocket of his blazer.

    The intruder held a handgun at ready, eyes darting around the room to assess the situation. His eyes were inevitably drawn to the glow from the summoner’s circle, then to the man standing before it—

    By then, Torian was ready. The words were not difficult to come to mind—he had just uttered them for the summoning. He took the pen-length rod that made up his Mystic Code and slammed it down into the floor. “
    Schutz gegen einen heftigen Wind
    Be as a wall against the wind!


    The Mystic Code Torian used was simple in design. It generated a boundary field made up of elemental power to shield the wielder based on that wielder’s own element. For Torian it meant an earthen wall as if the concrete leapt up in defiance of gravity on its own accord. The advantage to his element was it generated stronger protection than the other elements.

    Unfortunately, it also created a blind spot between him and his enemy.

    Trace, on
    投影、開始。


    Like the gunfire from before, a loud bang sounded against the wall, which shuddered so hard that Torian felt it in his feet. Confusion bloomed in his mind: a mere handgun was not capable of doing that—

    Then the shield collapsed, the stone compound falling away as if too brittle and collapsing under its own weight.

    The intruder stood in the same space, something shifting from his hand that Torian could not quite catch. From within his jacket, the intruder drew a short sword and stepped forward.

    Schutz gegen einen heftigen Wind! Den Himmel aufreissen!
    Be as a wall against the wind! Rip open the sky!


    Another barrier went up, but this time it was followed by a second field that went out from the center of the wall, shooting forward like a high-pressure hose intent on smashing the enemy into the far wall.

    If the concrete column was like a hose, the attacker could walk on water. He leapt straight up, his feet only just clearing the charge of masonry and he covered the distance between them faster than Torian could pull the shield up over his head. The sword the man held cut down into the boundary field, which did nothing to halt the progress, the blade chopping a perfect diagonal slash through the wall and horizontal pillar.

    Torian backpedaled; his attacker never broke stride. The partial-shield crumbled away and through it, the black-clad man came back up, the pommel of his weapon striking Torian in the solar plexus.

    As he fell back and fought the spots forming in his sight, he recognized his attacker. A freelancer from Japan, one who acted without rhyme or reason. He should have been prepared for this.



    []==|{::::::::::::::::::::::::::>



    Torian Rottwood passed out on the cold floor and Shirou Emiya stepped over him to look at the situation.

    The summoning circle still radiated a faint light. A splinter of wood rested to one side atop a bier. This magus apparently had some kind of twisted sense of humor, recalling a dead hero to a place with a coffin.

    Shirou cursed. The ceremony was already in motion. He briefly considered the ramifications of killing Rottwood to halt the situation, then thought again. The death of someone might act as a catalyst itself and bring something completely unexpected. Too, it might not halt anything—worst case scenario, even without the summoner, the summoned being that the ceremony began to contact would come anyway. Even a Servant without a Master was dangerous in the few seconds or minutes it could stay, assuming it was not an Archer-class with Independent Action and capable of more. No mentioning the fact that the individual Servant spirit itself could simply be a dangerous personality wild card like Gilgamesh.

    He looked down at his hand. A bruise had formed there weeks ago—it was his warning that had led Rin into investigating the situation in the first place. He hated the idea that, at least within the system of Angra Mainyu and the Grail, he could even now have a wish.

    “Emiya!” Waver Velvet’s voice echoed from the street below.

    As with everything else when it came to magecraft, the most likely way to overcome one thing was to overwhelm it with an older or more powerful mystery. Gritting his teeth, Shirou kicked the scrap of wood away. No other choice—only one thing to do.

    Assuming she would answer.

    Assuming she could answer.

    Assuming…he even wanted her to answer.

    It was unfamiliar. A distant sensation. Many years had passed. Many things had happened.

    If it had been a part of his body for ten years, for another ten it was nothing more than a memory growing ever further away. Ever-more-distant. Fitting, one might say. Like a prosthetic owner that had moved on from his lost limb, he had to once more remember the feeling of that limb.

    Gold enamel replaced the dull wood at one side of the summoning circle. Shirou moved to the other side.

    “I propose:
    Thy body is made of my will, my fate is made of thy sword.”


    He thought back, tried to remember the cold of a storage shed, the appearance of someone who was little more than a dream at the edge of his mind. He could hardly recall the details of her face, even as he thought that back then, he could have drawn it freehand from memory.

    The hammer went down in his mind and he poured all of the energy he could spare into the cycle at his feet.

    A voice full of nostalgia answered his call:

    “My sword shall be with you, your fate shall be with me.”



    []==|{::::::::::::::::::::::::::>



    Light coalesced within the circle to form the Servant Saber.

    She remembered that day—a lifetime ago for some, a mere breadth of a moment for her—and kept it fondly within her heart. He, a lost boy, wounded and scared, but eyes like fire staring up at her as their contract was formed. She, a damaged hero, seeking something that should never have been pursued to begin with.

    She dreamed the dream once more, astonished that it could even happen. He would never have sought that out on his own, and she had no reason to chase it herself any longer unless it be merely to see that dream again.

    Artoria Pendragon looked up now at the one before her, the only one she would have answered to—the only voice she sought before she rested once more, and only knew the sad truth that she faced.

    He was taller, much taller than before, a handspan at the very least. He was a dark shadow in the dim lighting, cloaked away, a red scarf the only hint of color to his apparel. That was not the difference that surprised her the most—

    Pale hair fell over cold eyes that met her gaze.

    “Shi…rou…”

    The look he had broke slightly, a barely-perceptible smile gracing the corner of his lips. Yet that in itself was not a welcome sight, as it lacked the very transparency his expression had to begin with. What issued forth was not in the voice she recalled. “Saber.”

    A man that resembled Rin Tohsaka’s previous Servant stood before her, and she understood. The words of another king from long ago came to her, and but a start in her lungs kept her from saying them herself.

    I have dreamed a dream, yet now that dream is gone from me.

  8. #48
    I happen to be an expert on this topic Pata Hikari's Avatar
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    OK that was awesome.

    Of course, I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

    I mean, as amusing as "Shirou+Saber tag team curb stomping everyone" would be, I bet things will get a bit more complex.
    Fate/Stay Night: Life is an Endless Dream Chapter 12: Settling into place
    Tsukihime: Role Revert Part 10: Were you here the whole time?
    Fate + Tsuki: Slayer/Savior Part 1: Forge/Assassin
    Pata Hikari's Tsukihime Short stories: Lastest story: A Midnight Dreary

  9. #49
    ジュカイン Lycodrake's Avatar
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    Similarly to how this chapter ended, I'm left rather speechless.
    Definitely pleased to experience Arashi-written LOAD Waiver and Mercury meido and very interested to see just how drastically Shirou and Saber's interactions will be.
    And how Rin will goof it all up even more.
    Quote Originally Posted by Seika View Post
    Yes, excellent. Go, Lyco, my proxy.
    F/GO SUPPORT

  10. #50
    Dapper Deathwing YeOfLittleFaith's Avatar
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    It begins.

    Also liked seeing Waver handle the other guy and Shirou's assault to interrupt the summoner.



    Quote Originally Posted by RadiantBeam View Post
    Not my fault Shirou is an awesome bro to lesbians.

  11. #51
    I happen to be an expert on this topic Pata Hikari's Avatar
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    Was it handguns?

    I thought it was just the guys mistaking Shirou's magic exploding swords for handguns.
    Fate/Stay Night: Life is an Endless Dream Chapter 12: Settling into place
    Tsukihime: Role Revert Part 10: Were you here the whole time?
    Fate + Tsuki: Slayer/Savior Part 1: Forge/Assassin
    Pata Hikari's Tsukihime Short stories: Lastest story: A Midnight Dreary

  12. #52
    Bitchin' Arashi_Leonhart's Avatar
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    I decided it long ago when Fate/Extra came out.

    He was using a sniper rifle to shoot Storr's summoning catalyst. He breaches the building with a handgun.

    He then shoots Torian's concrete shield with a sword.

  13. #53
    I happen to be an expert on this topic Pata Hikari's Avatar
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    Well that answers my question.
    Fate/Stay Night: Life is an Endless Dream Chapter 12: Settling into place
    Tsukihime: Role Revert Part 10: Were you here the whole time?
    Fate + Tsuki: Slayer/Savior Part 1: Forge/Assassin
    Pata Hikari's Tsukihime Short stories: Lastest story: A Midnight Dreary

  14. #54
    Licensed Fatman ZidanReign's Avatar
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    A Gun that shoots exploding swords.

    For a minute there, I thought shirou was gendo

  15. #55
    Bitchin' Arashi_Leonhart's Avatar
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    Oh, right, and I'll start doing my lol world materials because I actually have a file of that to keep everyone straight.


    Name: Waver Velvet
    Other Names: Lord El-Melloi II, Master V, Professor Charisma
    Gender: Male
    Birthday: October 3 (39 years old)
    Height: 175 cm
    Weight: 66 kg
    Hair Color: Black
    Eye Color: Black
    Blood Type: B
    Place of Birth: England
    Likes: Detective fiction, Japanese video games
    Dislikes: Physical strength, Japan
    Talents: Conjecture, sniffing out talent
    Natural Enemy: Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillennia
    Image Color: Warm gray
    Renewer of the Archibald House. Survivor of the 4th Holy Grail War. Lecturer at the Clock Tower. All-around sourpuss. Lectures about basic thaumaturgy theory and alchemy. The most outright admired professor currently working for the Association.


    Name: Torian Rottwood
    Gender: Male
    Birthday: June 25 (25 years old)
    Height: 185 cm
    Weight: 79 kg
    Hair Color: Black
    Eye Color: Brown
    Blood Type: O
    Place of Birth: England
    Likes: Orderliness, meritocracy
    Dislikes: Unearned praise
    Talents: Planning
    Natural Enemy: Luvia Edelfelt
    Image Color: Slate gray
    An indignant third child to a moderately successful line of magi. Has top-of-the-line talent but an attitude ruined by entitlement. Became Rolland’s assistant due to his misanthropic nature; archiving allows him to avoid most of the magi elsewhere in the tower. The one to plan their overall scheme and hoped to summon, perhaps ironically, the Saber-class Galahad.


    Name: Rolland Storr
    Other Names: The Archivist
    Gender: Male
    Birthday: September 30 (37 years old)
    Height: 177 cm
    Weight: 82 kg
    Hair Color: Light brown
    Eye Color: Blue
    Blood Type: A
    Place of Birth: England
    Likes: New discoveries, antiques
    Dislikes: Automobiles, sunlight
    Talents: Random trivia
    Natural Enemy: Zouken Matou
    Image Color: Dark brown
    An antiques otaku. Loves all things ancient in nature. Bided his time, hoping that the 5th HGW would end in failure and allow him his shot. Planned on summoning the Lancer-class Bertilak.


    Name: Shirou Emiya
    Other Names:
    Nameless
    名無し
    ,
    The Black Smith
    鍛冶闇

    Gender: Male
    Birthday: February 1 (27 years old)
    Height: 187 cm
    Weight: 78 kg
    Hair Color: White
    Eye Color: Hazel
    Blood Type: AB
    Place of Birth: Japan
    Likes: Housework
    Dislikes: War
    Talents: Fiddling with junk, housework
    Natural Enemy: Sella
    Image Color: Crimson
    “Winner” of the 5th Holy Grail War. A freelance spellcaster traveling the world in pursuit of his dream. Known to the public as “No Name” for the vague reports of his appearance in crisis situations.


    Name: Rin Tohsaka
    Other Names: Poppins of July, Red Dynasty
    Gender: Female
    Birthday: February 4 (27 years old)
    Height: 160 cm
    Weight: 48 kg
    Hair Color: Black
    Eye Color: Blue-green
    Blood Type: O
    Place of Birth: Japan
    Likes: Polishing jewelry, teasing students
    Dislikes: Electronics, last-minute problems
    Talents: Perfectionism
    Natural Enemy: Luvia Edelfelt
    Image Color: Vermillion
    A sometimes-instructor of the Clock Tower and the head of the Tohsaka House. Rumored to have been visited by a certain Archmagus. A terror to her students, who love her for it.


    Name: Luviagelita Edelfelt
    Other Names: The Forklift, Mary of July, The Cruise Missile
    Gender: Female
    Birthday: July 25 (28 years old)
    Height: 160 cm
    Weight: 50 kg
    Hair Color: Blonde
    Eye Color: Hazel
    Blood Type: B
    Place of Birth: Finland
    Likes: Elegance, sincerity
    Dislikes: Japan
    Talents: Wrestling
    Natural Enemy: Waver Velvet
    Image Color: Gold
    A sometimes-instructor of the Clock Tower and the head of the Edelfelt House. Earned another infamous nickname for an incident related to a certain cruise ship.


    Name: Finbar Kern
    Other Names: Auspex Heir
    Gender: Male
    Birthday: March 14 (20 years old)
    Height: 180 cm
    Weight: 69 kg
    Hair Color: Dirty blonde
    Eye Color: Green
    Blood Type: B
    Place of Birth: England
    Likes: Sleeping in, crime television
    Dislikes: Overwork
    Talents: Palm reading
    Natural Enemy: [REDACTED]
    Image Color: Forest green
    A poster-boy for “lazy person” and “genius” in one. Emphasized by his magical talents revolving around familiars and Shared Perception abilities. Passed one class when his professor caught him ingeniously copying the answers.


    Name: Tasmir Joachim
    Other Names: Queen Deductive
    Gender: Female
    Birthday: December 7 (23 years old)
    Height: 155 cm
    Weight: 46 kg
    Hair Color: Black
    Eye Color: Dark brown
    Blood Type: A
    Place of Birth: Israel
    Likes: Modern fashion, cheap snacks
    Dislikes: Ghost stories
    Talents: Mystery solving
    Natural Enemy: Stern Berzinsky
    Image Color: Pale purple
    A cold, quiet, calculating persona and promising student. “On loan” from Atlas, but really left of her own accord. Nicknamed by her professor after a certain video game character that she resembles in style, personality, and skills.


    Name: Avin Aurelis
    Gender: Male
    Birthday: May 2 (19 years old)
    Height: 168 cm
    Weight: 66 kg
    Hair Color: Light brown
    Eye Color: Gray
    Blood Type: A
    Place of Birth: Turkey
    Likes: Surprises, mixing drinks of all kinds
    Dislikes: Heights, public transit
    Talents: Doing paperwork fast and accurately
    Natural Enemy: Roche Frain Yggdmillennia
    Image Color: Bumblebee yellow
    Cheerful. Energetic. Refreshing. Annoying as hell to be around if one considers themselves normal. Waver’s current assistant purely due to his organizational skills. Thought of as “lowering” himself to the station he’s at due to having both exceptional skills and an exceptional Crest.



    Saber (Artoria)
    Master: Shirou Emiya
    Alignment: LG
    Str: B NP: EX
    Mgi: B+ Agi: B
    End: C Luck: A
    Class Skills
    Magic Resistance: A
    Riding: B
    Personal Skills
    Charisma: B
    Instinct: A
    Prana Burst: A
    Noble Phantasms
    Invisible Air: C
    Avalon: EX

  16. #56

  17. #57
    Licensed Fatman ZidanReign's Avatar
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    Natural Enemy: Sella

    poor shirou

  18. #58
    アルテミット・ワン Ultimate One Siriel's Avatar
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    Shirou stole her sword. Heartless bastard.
    Ragnarok, come day of wrath
    That fallen souls might bear our plea.
    To hasten the Divine's return.
    O piteous Wanderer.

  19. #59
    I happen to be an expert on this topic Pata Hikari's Avatar
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    I guess that's one way to nerf her. She'll have to make do with one of Shirou's immitations
    Fate/Stay Night: Life is an Endless Dream Chapter 12: Settling into place
    Tsukihime: Role Revert Part 10: Were you here the whole time?
    Fate + Tsuki: Slayer/Savior Part 1: Forge/Assassin
    Pata Hikari's Tsukihime Short stories: Lastest story: A Midnight Dreary

  20. #60
    アルテミット・ワン Ultimate One forumghost's Avatar
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    Given that Saber's fighting style is dependant on Excalibur to work, doesn't that make her essentially useless? Poor Saber, always doomed to meet the Nerf gun straight away

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