Fate: Beyond the Gate

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hirou stood alone, features carefully void of his inner emotions while Tuka, Caila, and Reines attention was focused on him.
The path that he walked and willingly chose to follow was a fool's choice. He knew the goal of saving everyone was unattainable from the beginning. Less because he was told, and more because he'd experienced it in the years before he'd been targeted with a Sealing Designation.
To save one in any conflict, was to condemn another.
It was the bitter truth. The only truth.
So, then why? Why had he so stubbornly continued on this road of no return or success? He would do it. He would become a Hero of Justice if only because he'd made a promise on that fateful day.
He would remain true to himself and his ideals until the day that time withers away even the sharpest blade. Rust forms and metal soon warps. The luster of the past would be exchanged for the brittleness of the future until the sword would inevitably be laid to rest.
It was an endless search- an endless pursuit for the smile and words said on a day of bittersweet parting.
"Alright Emiya, do your thing."
Reines's voice sounded in Shirou's mind.
He hardly reacted; a slight nod the only affirmation he gave in compliance while facing the incoming Empire Army.
He would not waver, would not stop.
Anything for the simple chance for a miracle.
The steps of the Empire troops shook the ground in their advance, ballista readying to shoot down Trimmao's walls.
It would matter little.
Right and wrong had already been seen through Shirou's eyes, and a decision made to save those who could no longer save themselves from the expansionary pursuits of a local hegemon.
A breath escaped his lips, muscles taut with tension, easing as the sheathe stored within him stirred in a golden hue. Whatever blessing had been granted to him from the Elder Tree he'd visited in Tuka and Caila's village, it was reacting.
Elves too were part of the Phantasmal category of the Fae in the Moonlit world.
The Elven God called him an Apostle, and in this new world, that term held a Divine significance. Apostles carried the characteristics of their anointed God…What more, the Elven God? The connection between him, the Sheathe in his body, the world it led to, and the presence of the Fae folk, naturally strengthened without his knowing.
She who lay waiting within a distant utopia, would no longer be limited to merely waiting at the whims of her former teacher.
Glancing up at the charging Empire army, their complacency was evident. Frustration from the Warrior Bunny's guerilla tactics had built a need to vent on an enemy that wouldn't try to run away for once.
The problem was, their complacency would only be justified for an ordinary opponent. Shirou was a magus, one particularly oriented towards combat with forces still looking out for him even now.
[Take my sword.]
The hairs on the back of his neck raised, his body bristling in crippling nostalgia.
This voice- Saber?
There was no response, but a feeling remained as if her arms were warmly wrapped around him.
If she and Merlin had something to do in influencing the appearance of the Gate in his Reality Marble, then there was no need for hesitation. Merlin was one thing, but for Saber, for his Arturia, he would never doubt her.
Yes…Yes indeed.
Flower petals rustled in the breeze, motes of light flickering all around, and slowing the charge of the Empire legions.
"Trace. On." The words spoken with clarity were ones Shirou often used as a basis to concentrate and focus on the imaginary gun-hammer cocking in his mind's eye.
[O sword. Sword of the Undefeated King.]
The words echoed clearly, stirring from within Shrou, the light of a legendary weapon's glow in his grand armoury. Magi who were perusing through the armoury's inventory staggered back at the sudden presence that appeared, only to disappear a second later.
[Pave the path.]
Arcs of magic energy converged in Shirou's palms, singing the ground, and revealing the outline of a sword shining with the light of the stars. No, there really was a glow- a luminous after shimmer similar to the verdant light around Tuka and Caila.
It was the aura of an Apostle of the Elven God that every elf was familiar with.
Tuka and Caila swallowed, glancing at each other as their hearts hammered in their chests from atop Trimmao's walls.
Meanwhile, Reines was suddenly taken aback at the development, never imagining the change that had occurred to Shirou since they'd left the elven village. Sure, the elves had started treating him differently, but she thought it more in line with something he possessed, not a change in his actual person.
Quickly, Reines had to reassess her impression of Shirou. His Reality Marble was already worthy enough for a Sealing Designation, but now this? The output of energy he was exuding was similar to a Divine Spirit, coupled with his armoury of Noble Phantasms and weapons, he'd be able to contend with even the strongest of magi. Sure, the Noble Phantasms were impressive before, but Reines and the other magi weren't fools. There was no way that Shirou had had the means to garner the energy required to use those Noble Phantasms to begin with...until now.
W-Would she be able to handle this?
Regardless of the thoughts of others, the sword formed in Shirou's grasp grew distinct by the second.
It was a captivating sight, yet was terrifying in sheer presence and grandeur.
The Empire army led by Prince Zorzal's commanders firmly lodged their feet in place. Magic wasn't something unfamiliar to them, but magic of this level could only be possessed by one kind of being in this world that all knew of through rumour and hearsay.
"A-Apostle! Retreat!"
The council of Apostles representing the present world's Gods, each carrying the power to level countries and kingdoms.
There was a reason Tuka, Caila, and the elves held such deference in a single title.
In the midst of the Empire army's clamor, the sword was unceremoniously swung.
A flash of radiant golden light, and the world went silent.
Tuka, Caila, Reines, Waver, and the Warrior Bunnies were forced to shield their eyes in the glare.
What was left in the twinkling glow of swirling golden orbs, was the breadth of the stars.
In the distance, a flying drone mounted with a state-of-the-art camera recorder lowered its altitude. From where Shirou and the others were, it was impossible to see it due to its general size and proximity away. Coupled with its lack of magic energy or mystic properties, it was perfectly hidden against magi, granted it doesn't unwittingly enter the proximity of a detection-type bounded field.
Several miles away, a man in green camouflage military gear controlled the drone into a steady descent. The images and events captured on the drone's film, providing real-time video streaming features towards a signal station towards a military base stationed on Alnus Hill...the location of another Gate.
Including the Gate that appeared in Shirou's Reality Marble, a second gate had appeared at the same time, prompting an Empire expeditionary force to enter through it. The reality the Empire troops found themselves in was the twenty-first century modern world, beginning in the streets of Japan.
Pandemonium ensued, many citizens injured, killed, or captured.
Soon enough Japan's defence force sent their military through the Gate into the land of the new world where it faced retaliation from local powers, easily suppressed by artillery and gunfire. Primitive weaponry and outdated military tactics led to increasing losses on the local side. Hostilities ended in the coppery scent of blood awash over the grass plains around the hill. Pot holes and crevices from impact zones matting the idyllic landscape.
Given the opportunity of reprieve, the military needed to accomplish its initial objectives to send back a detailed report to their government. This world appeared to have different laws and energies that Earth didn't seem to possess, one of which was said to be magic.
Parts of the Empire's invading troops through the gate carried wooden staves imbued with archaic magic that could shoot fire, ice, and even lightning.
One of the tasks given was to determine and assess the effectiveness of this new world's weapons of mass destruction, and magic was at the top of the list of unknowns.
The exploration of the New World by Japan's military forces had just begun, and in light of the upper-management decision making, several troops were deployed to get an understanding of the new world's terrain and culture. The advance base created on Alnus hill where the second Gate was located, served as the command center.
As the drone continued its descent in the hands of the military man in camouflage, a cold sweat trickled down from the man's forehead to his chin.
"Command, this is Recon Six," the man spoke into a radio strapped to the vest over his left breast pocket. "T-There might be a problem, over."
"Command to Recon Six, what's the situation, over?"
Recon Six barely spoke a word, as if trying to wet his suddenly dry mouth. In then end, it was too difficult to explain. Three words were all that he could say to encompass it all.
"Watch the video."
Terse silence stretched on the line for what amounted to several minutes.
"…Magic is bullshit. I'll forward the video to the government general advisory. Fuck, from the looks of it, a swing could level entire city blocks- no, how far did that strike even travel?"
How were they supposed to prepare for this type of retaliation should it come? Missile defence systems? But it wasn't a missile to begin with.
An era of Swords and Steel would once more return to the forefront of the minds of modern man.
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