Fate/Counter Order

5 - Memory Ago

Its razor-sharp fangs glisten with the blood of countless victims, its predatory gaze locking onto its worn-out prey.

Every fiber of Shirou's being screams at him to run, to escape the impending doom that now hovers over him. Doubt and fear threaten to consume his every thought, whispering that this battle is futile, that victory is an impossible dream.

The ORT raised its crystal claw high into the air, its jagged edges reflecting the dim light of the battlefield. The atmosphere grew tense as if time itself held its breath in anticipation of the impending strike.

Shirou's heart pounded in his chest, each beat echoing with a mixture of fear and determination. His senses heightened, his mind racing to come up with a strategy to evade the lethal blow. Every muscle in his body screamed for him to move, to escape the inevitable strike that threatened to end his life.

With a thunderous wave, the ORT brought down its claw with a force that shook the ground beneath them,

—a flash of blue–

—and the sheer power behind the attack sent shockwaves through the air, causing debris to fly in all directions. A cloud of dust and smoke enveloped the area, momentarily obscuring Shirou from view.

"I have enough."

In that fraction of a second, the ORT's mind raced through countless scenarios, its survival instincts kicking into overdrive. Adrenaline surged through.

Just as it seemed to jump back, a burst of neon-blue light erupted from Shirou's location. A radiant shield formed around him, pulsating with a protective energy that defied the destructive force of the ORT’s claw.

Blue light and smoke expanded and condensed in a circular manner as azure rays blazed with it, coalescing into a whole. With a burst, a sphere with blue flames suspended in the air, accompanied by two rings rotating slowly around it.

Shirou's eyes widened in his exhausted state. The ORT stepped back, it knew it. The being in front of it, the ORT recognizes it. It needs to go. It needs to run away—!

"Are you turning away? Will you flee from my presence cowardly?"

Before it could react or do anything, the ORT suddenly collapsed. It landed on the ground in a heap, its aura dissipated as if its core had exploded due to the sudden pressure exerted by some unseen assault.

For the first time since the beginning, fear struck the ORT like lightning. That thing in front shouldn't even appear.

Bioluminescent strings of energy emerge from the whirlpool sphere. They move like jellyfish tentacles toward the downed Shirou.

These thin tendrils of the Counter Force were used to start the process of claiming someone as its agent, a Counter Guardian. But Shirou was already one.

His eyes grew more fatigued and on the verge of unconsciousness. He couldn't prevent the tendrils from entering his body upon contact with his stomach. Deep within, he felt them moving into his soul, and through his Reality Marble. They reach for his endless blades and grasp a small blade.

A Mystic Code.

The stings drew back and held with them, a dagger with a jeweled blade, glowing with a multitude of colors from its unactivated dull jewel.

"Alaya... activated the Jeweled Sword?" Shirou thought wearied. The mentioned sword glowed kaleidoscope-like and a tear in space opened near him, the other side an endless cosmos.