Chapter 64: Avalon
Avalon
In a beautiful, dream-like, and unreal Utopia, located somewhere in the ever-distant future, Emiya Shirou found himself standing across from a Fairy.
It wasn't the first Fairy he'd ever met, or even the first he'd encountered since descending into the Tomb of Albion. He'd seen plenty of them before on his current journey, usually in rather difficult situations, ranging from the Water Fairies, also in Avalon, to the corrupted slime-like creatures in the hollow.
This one was however the first to ever speak to him, and in true Fairy fashion, she immediately turned his whole world upside down.
"My name is Vivian. We have much to discuss."
"…"
Shirou's brain halted for a moment, as the Fairy's words rattled around in his brain, having individual meaning but making no sense together.
He was standing across from Vivian?
The Vivian?
The one and only?
"Yes, the one and only." She confirmed with an amused smile, showing he'd inadvertently spoken his thoughts out loud. "Though I have never gone by 'the Vivian' before."
Her words nearly made Shirou go weak at the knees, as he realised he was truly and actually standing across from a figure straight out of legend and myth.
With the Grail Wars being such an integral part of his life, and with the Fifth Grail War coming soon, Shirou had been faithfully studying the various mythologies and legends from around the world. This in preparation for the Servants that might be Summoned.
He'd acquainted himself with Japanese lore, Chinese stories, Indian tales, American folklore, and of course European mythology, both of the pagan and the Christian variety. He had paid attention to every character, from the protagonists and antagonists to the side kicks and even the comical relief. Each and every one of them had the potential to be Summoned after all, and even the smallest clue as to their identities could save his life someday when facing an unfamiliar Servant.
Now, one might expect him to be most familiar with the legends of his homeland, Japan, but that actually wasn't true. He knew them well of course, far more so than could be expected of a boy his age, but they weren't his favourite.
The legend that he really knew the most about, which he had studied since the moment he'd learned to read properly, was the story of King Arthur. His father's former Servant and the actual owner of Avalon, the sheath that had saved his life. The mythical king of Britain, and the Servant who had had such an immense influence on his life and his family.
He knew every variant of her legend inside and out, from the oldest scriptures and tales to the Disney film and the Monty Python sketch. He knew about her victories and defeats, her triumphs and disgraces, her allies and her enemies, and that meant he knew perfectly well who Vivian was supposed to be.
The mythical Fairy who'd bestowed upon King Arthur the famous sword Excalibur, after she'd lost Caliburn, the Sword in the Stone, and the one who'd taken it back upon the king's death at Camlann.
Vivian was an integral part of the Arthurian legend. In fact, she was one of its most famous side characters, if only by the guise of 'the lady of the lake'. One of Britain's ancient heroes herself, she was the custodian of Excalibur, a queen among Fairies, and the only woman to have ever outsmarted Merlin the Wizard.
She was an individual more than worthy of the Throne of Heroes, were it not for the fact that she wasn't human in any way, shape, or form and thus did not qualify to become a Heroic Spirit.
That she couldn't become a Heroic Spirit did nothing to take away from her accomplishments though, and Shirou licked his suddenly dry lips, swallowing thickly as he realised he was in the presence of greatness.
Like an ordinary teenage boy suddenly meeting one of his idols, he felt very self-conscious, straightening his back and having to suppress the urge to pat himself down. In fact, he had to stop himself from gushing over her. She just looked so noble, not to mention beautiful like the most pleasant of dreams, that he could only be in awe of her.
Until he remembered that this couldn't be Vivian, which was like a bucket of ice thrown onto his neck.
In the official Arthurian legend, the one told in the Moonlit Side of the World, Vivian was but one of three personalities of the same central figure. A figure that grew to occupy different roles in the story over time.
She began as Morgana, king Arthur's loving and supporting half-sister, the one who helped start the king's rise.
Then, she became Vivian, the lady of the lake and the one bestowing blessings and weapons upon Arthur and her knights.
Then came the final one. The one that would undo everything her younger selves had worked for.
Morgan le Fay.
The woman who had brought down Camelot.
A horrible witch, who had spent her entire life working to unmake the greatest kingdom of the age, out of nothing but petty jealousy.
Time might be a fluid concept in the Reverse Side of the World, but even in Avalon, time was, taken on the whole, roughly linear. The rise and fall of Camelot was centuries ago, here too, and that meant the woman in front of him could only be one person.
The final personality.
"Morgan." The flame of admiration in Shirou's breast died a spluttering death, and a fire of anger took its place. An anger born from the fact he was standing across from one of the most plainly evil people in history, who had brought down one of the few true Heroes of Justice the world had ever seen.
A wicked witch, who now had the temerity to disguise herself as the lady of the lake.
Mjolnir returned to his hand in a flash, and he lifted it threateningly, not entirely sure what he was going to do but unwilling to do nothing.
Morgan's eyes widened to the size of saucers as she looked at the hammer, immediately recognising its otherworldly origin and power, and she scrambled back on instinct, filled with the same kind of fear that had struck the smarter Phantasmal Beasts back in the Tomb of Albion.
A wall of light took shape between them, a shield hastily thrown up, but Shirou shattered it with a swing from Mjolnir.
He then swung again, at Morgan herself, while the witch cast a spell at him, their battle beginning in earnest.
But it was over the next moment.
Morgan's spell dissipated before it could take proper form and Mjolnir was deflected by a flash of golden light, ultimately leaving both combatants uninjured.
They were in Avalon, the Ever-Distant Utopia, and it would allow no harm to be done within its boundaries.
Effectively defanged, Shirou dropped Mjolnir and instead went to grab Morgan herself, to at least restrain and neutralise her, but she danced out of his reach with the grace beholden to Fae.
Then, she held up a hand, drawing herself up to her full length.
"Stop!"
It was an order, spoken with great authority, and Shirou halted despite his anger.
"I am not Morgan!" The Fairy thundered, standing proud and mighty like no evil witch could. "I am Vivian, no more, no less."
"What?" His Clairvoyance, which he normally used to tell truth from lies, did not work against a creature like her, but it did not sound like she was lying. "What do you mean? Vivian and Morgan are two sides of the same coin."
"No longer." She hissed, jerking her chin to the side in gesture of defiance and denial. "I went back to my younger self. The Morgan-side is in the Throne of Heroes now."
"That is possible?" Shirou frowned in doubt. It certainly didn't sound right, but he didn't know enough about high-class Fae to properly dispute her claim. For all that he knew, she was being perfectly honest.
Though he didn't feel comfortable with taking that risk. Not when dealing with someone who might very well be Morgan le Fay, a woman renowned for her lies and treachery.
But then-!
"I assure you, my friend, it is entirely possible- HURGH?!"
A new voice suddenly entered the conversation, startling the living hell out of Shirou, and he responded on instinct, with a punch to the gut.
A punch that Avalon decided not to block, for some reason.
The newcomer went down unceremoniously, felled after the first blow, and Shirou only got a good look at them when they were down on the ground, looking up at him with an expression full of surprise and pain.
They turned out to be a startlingly handsome man, with hair that shone with all the colours of the rainbow, skin so perfect it almost seemed hewed out of the purest marble, violet eyes more intense than any flower, and an intricate outfit consisting of multiple robes of the finest quality.
It was the staff held in his hand though that revealed who he was. That, and the fact that he was wandering around in Avalon.
"Merlin." Shirou nearly gasped, staring in bafflement at one of the greatest wizards to have ever lived. Another major character of the Arthurian myth, and one with even greater fame than Vivian, perhaps even greater than King Athur herself.
"T-That is me." The wizard confirmed, attempting a smile even as he clutched his stomach, though the smile wasn't a very successful smile, considering he looked a little green around the gills. "M-Merlin, at your service."
"I don't need you for this, Merlin." The woman who claimed to be Vivian spoke coldly, reminding Shirou of the fact that she, whether she be Vivian or Morgan, had a very complicated history with the wizard. "Stay away."
"Yes, I was going to keep my distance, certainly, and not reveal myself yet, but once I noticed your little spat, I thought it might be best to step in and prevent a complete disaster from occurring." Merlin argued, maintaining his perfect smile even in the face of her cold shoulder.
"I don't need your help." Vivian repeated, her frown turning into a fierce glare. It was clear she was not happy with him, but even so, there was something not quite right about that glare. There wasn't as much hate in it as she wanted others to think. "I can manage without you. I always have."
"Please believe her, Shirou. Enervating as this is, there is nothing to be gained with further violence." Merlin expertly ignored her however, addressing Shirou instead and giving him a pleading look.
And what a look it was.
Upturned and begging eyes, like the cutest of puppies, coupled with pouting lips so full and glossy and natural that the greatest of models would have murdered for it, all set in a face that was easily as handsome as Vivian was gorgeous. A perfect face, bearing a look of sheer vulnerability.
With a face like that, it was no wonder Merlin had been so successful with so many women over the years. Even Shirou, who normally felt no romantic or sexual attraction to other men, felt his tongue grow heavy and woolly at the sight.
This man was Dangerous, in more ways than one.
Shirou's lingering anger at Morgan, already lessened greatly by her passionate claims of being Vivian, ebbed away completely now. He still couldn't be sure she was telling the truth, not when her claims rang ever so slightly hollow in his ears somehow, but Merlin turned out to be a great peacemaker, as the redhead no longer felt any desire to continue arguing.
Not only that, but the Mage of Flowers was also a legend himself, the once personal advisor and greatest of allies of King Arthur. Certainly not the sort who'd suddenly side with Morgan le Fay of all people. If he was vouching for this Vivian, then she almost certainly was in fact Vivian.
Which meant Shirou had been completely in the wrong.
"I am sorry." He apologised promptly, bowing his head to the Fairy in remorse over his rash actions. "I should not have struck without thinking."
"Oh, don't worry about it." Merlin easily waved away his transgression, looking none the worse for wear as he got back to his feet. In fact, he was already laughing and smiling again, his cheeks coloured a slight red, which made him look even more handsome than normal. "It's been a while since I've been this excited!"
"Keep your strange tastes to yourself, Merlin." Vivian hissed like an angry cat, a sound as beautiful as it was ominous, before giving Shirou a glare that would have made a herd of elephants stop in their tracks. "And you, you should learn to control your impulses."
Unlike Merlin, she seemed royally ticked off, and Shirou suddenly found himself very grateful for the fact that it was impossible to harm anyone in Avalon. Vivian looked like she wanted to break his fingers, and despite his power and nascent godhood, he wasn't at all sure he'd be able to stop her.
After all, this was Vivian, the lady of the lake from Arthurian Myth, and Merlin, the Mage of Flowers. They might look like simple if beautiful humans, but they were creatures straight from legend, with incredible power at their disposal and little compunctions about using it. It would not be an exaggeration to call them the most dangerous beings he'd come across so far on his journey, with the possible exception of Kerberos.
"Cut him some slack." Now that he had successfully cooled Shirou's anger, Merlin got to work on Vivian, and Shirou gladly took a step back, both literally and metaphorically, to let the expert do his thing. "You know why he attacked us. Does it not speak well of him that he is angered so greatly on Arturia's behalf?"
"…" Somehow, that actually seemed to take the wind out of Vivian's sails, as her furious look changed into a mere frown.
"Besides, you cannot entirely blame all this on him. Some of it belongs with Avalon. The sheath, I mean. It fuelled his anger far beyond what it would normally be."
"Wait, Avalon?" Shirou did an about-take at that piece of information, automatically placing a hand on his chest. "Are you… Are you saying Avalon made me do this?"
He found that to be most unpleasant news. Even if Avalon, the sheath that had once held Excalibur, was an expression of Utopia, a place of happiness and peace, he still did not want it controlling him, especially not if that control was expressed in bursts of rage.
"No." Vivian shook her head however. "Perhaps it exacerbated the issue, but the anger you felt was your own. You were angered on behalf of Camelot and its king, and Avalon fanned the flames. It seems you both believed me to be Morgan."
"For which I apologise again." Shirou bowed his head once more, to show that he truly felt contrite. Quite frankly, he still wasn't too sure that 'Vivian' was being entirely truthful, even if Merlin was vouching for her, but attacking her unprovoked and without warning after she'd welcomed him into her home was beyond the pale. "I promise it will not happen again. I will keep Avalon and my emotions under control."
"Naturally, we accept your apology." Merlin beamed at him, waving a hand as if to brush away Shirou's transgression again. "Don't we, dear?"
"We do." Vivian agreed easily, her remaining anger melting away now that Shirou was showing the appropriate regret and remorse. "Nobody was hurt, except Merlin, and he deserves it."
"I regularly got much worse from Arturia anyway." Merlin laughed, casually speaking of his bond with one of the world's most famous heroes. "Let us not dwell on this regretful incident and instead clear matters up once and for all. I can promise you, with the utmost sincerity, that the woman here beside me is mainly Vivian, the lady of the lake."
"Mainly?" It was a strange choice of words, one that had Shirou lifting an eyebrow.
"I am, in essence, three people in one, as you seem to know." Vivian began her explanation, and Shirou nodded to show he followed. "I am Morgana Pendragon, Arthur's older sister and the one who took him to Avalon after the battle of Camlann, but I am also Vivian, the lady of the lake, and Morgan le Fay, the treacherous witch who orchestrated the downfall of Camelot and Britain. We are three, but we are also one."
"I heard that you are a Fae, with three different sides to you." Shirou recalled reading that in the 'official' version of King Arthur's myth. For a human, it would have been impossible to hold three so radically different characters inside one body, bar people with severe mental disorders, but for a Fae, it was nothing out of the ordinary. "You began as Morgana, became Vivian, and ended as Morgan. Logic would dictate you are Morgan still."
"Human logic?" Vivian smirked a tiny bit, showing what she thought of that, before her expression straightened out again. "I fear it does not entirely work like that. Vivian is a pure Fairy after all, while Morgan and Morgana are the human sisters of King Arthur. When Mystery declined and the Age of the Man truly began, Vivian was banished to the Reverse Side of the World, to Avalon, while Morgan and Morgana were sent to the Throne of Heroes. Fairy and human were split apart, and so, only Vivian stands before you now."
"Oh, is that how it works?" Shirou smiled as best as he could, but it was a brittle thing. Her reasoning sounded nonsensical to his ears, going against all common sense, but with his Clairvoyance on the fritz and Merlin firmly in her camp, he had little choice but to smile and agree. People had often described him as bull-headed, and rightly so, but he was not the sort who'd dig his heels in the sand just because. Not without good reasons, which he did not have at the moment.
He did try, so very hard, to find any holes in Vivian's explanation, anything that might show she was lying, but there was nothing he could find. He simply did not know enough about Fae in general and Vivian in particular to be critical, at least not effectively.
It was a good lesson for the Grail War, that knowledge of legends alone was not enough to understand or even properly identify a Servant, but for now, he'd have to take her at her word and accept her story.
"I understand, lady Vivian. You are indeed who you claim to be." Inclining his head again, Shirou decided to take a leap of faith and believe her, at least until it was proven that she had lied. "It is an honour to meet you."
"It is an honour to meet you as well, Shirou." This time, Vivian inclined her head in return, before she gave him an indiscernible look. "Although I must say you are not quite like I expected."
"Oh?" That sounded almost ominous. "What did you expect then?"
"A stubborn human. Not a violent demigod." She responded bluntly, drawing a laugh from Merlin as Shirou winced in guilt and embarrassment. "Emiya Shirou has been and will be many things across various worlds and dimensions, but I never expected that a deity would be one of them. The very idea beggars belief, and yet, here you are, divine and all."
"That's not a bad thing of course." Merlin quickly assured him, as if afraid that Vivian might have hurt his feelings. "Merely unexpected, especially so since we frankly expected no more than a third-rate Magus with a few peculiar talents."
"You keep using that word, 'expected'." Shirou couldn't help but take note of their manner of phrasing, one that had all sorts of… interesting implications. "Did you know I was coming?"
"Of course we did." Vivian laughed softly, before reaching up with her hand to place a single, immaculate finger below her left eye. "Despite our imprisonment here, we see much of the world, and when it comes to ourselves, there is little we miss. We foresaw your coming here a while ago."
"Ahem." Merlin cleared his throat loudly and exaggeratedly.
"Merlin foresaw your coming here." Vivian corrected herself, giving the wizard an exasperated look. "We did not understand how it would be possible for you, a human from modern times, to enter the Reverse Side of the World unscathed, never mind Avalon, but that has of course become crystal clear. In that sense, you being a Demigod is an advantage. The question now is whether the advantages of your nature weigh up against the disadvantages."
"Disadvantages?" Shirou was almost afraid to ask, but he did so anyway. He knew of course that being a god wasn't all rainbows and sunshine, but he felt morbidly curious as to what a Fae might have to say about him.
"Have you become mercurial?" Vivian asked, her voice near rude. "Has capriciousness taken root in your heart? Has your trustworthy nature been replaced by whimsicality and fickleness? Have you become as troublesome as the gods before you?"
"Come now, dear." Merlin saved Shirou from having to answer that himself, frowning at the lady of the lake. "That is uncalled for. In most ways, he is still the foolish and heroic Shirou we all know and love."
Know and love?
Once again, that turn of phrase held tons of implications. Implications Shirou wasn't sure he liked.
"You speak as though you know me." He noted carefully, apprehension gnawing at the edges of his composure as both Fairy and Incubus turned towards him. "Like you knew me long before I came here."
Merlin and Vivian were both famous for having forms of Clairvoyance, being able to see the future and to foresee Destiny, but that did not mean they were supposed to be all-knowing. If they hadn't known about his Divinity, which they claimed they hadn't, there should have been no reason for them to know him from Adam.
Instead though, their words suggested a great familiarity with the person Emiya Shirou, the person he'd been before Mjolnir had arrived, a familiarity far greater than Clairvoyance alone could possibly generate.
They knew him. Out of all the seven billion people on Earth, they knew him in particular, something that both puzzled and worried him.
What manner of epic doom and disaster lay in his future for these creatures to talk about him like he was a close personal acquaintance? What sort of entertainment-value could he give to beings that were so old and experienced that they would know him so well?
"Of course we know who you are." Merlin laughed, as if it was obvious that they would be aware of a single, nearly random person in the Modern Age, which only made the redhead more worried. "How could we not, when you are to be the consort of-"
"Merlin!" Vivian suddenly thundered, slapping a hand over his mouth and startling the living hell out of the poor wizard. "Stop!"
"Hmpf?! Uh uas ust-"
"Enough! Do not reveal the future so lightly, old fool." Vivian urged him, looking less angry and more worried, for some nebulous reason. "Revealing the future inevitably means altering it. Say too much and you might corrupt Destiny. Leave it as it is, for her sake if nothing else."
Even as she hissed at the Mage of Flowers, her face set in an expression of distress and concern, Vivian remained incomprehensibly beautiful. Shirou did not know why that suddenly stood out to him so much, but he couldn't help but notice, even as he scolded himself for leering.
Something in her expression or words must have gotten through to Merlin though, as his face became impressively neutral, like every trace of emotion left his body all at once. He nodded at Vivian, showing he understood, and she let out a breath of relief.
He then calmly removed her hand from his mouth, turned to Shirou, and put his peppy smile right back on, as if nothing had happened.
"What I meant was, you are Emiya Shirou, son of Emiya Kiritsugu." His voice was perfectly pleasant, showing no sign of the recent interruption as he picked up right where they left off. "You live in Fuyuki, the city of the Grail Wars, you want to become a Hero of Justice, and you are the one tasked with fighting and destroying Angra Mainyu. Certainly, that is noteworthy enough for us to know your name, no?"
"…I suppose." Had that been Merlin's first reply, Shirou might have believed it, but not now. Not anymore. After Vivian had cut the wizard off so harshly, it was impossible to mistake his words for anything but the diversion they so clearly were.
There was something they didn't want him to know, something that involved him being a consort of someone. Presumably someone quite famous, if it was enough to make him a person of interest in the eyes of these two.
Safe to say, his curiosity had been roused, in more ways than one.
There was no use in pushing for answers though, he saw that immediately. For all their smiles and kind words, Vivian and Merlin were extremely secretive, and trying to get more information out of them would be like getting blood out of a stone. An immense hassle, that would likely not be worth the effort.
Still, that was one thing that absolutely needed to be said.
"I am already engaged to get married, and I have two more girlfriends besides. I don't know what you mean by 'consort', but I will not break up with Sakura, Ayako, and Rin."
"Ah, yes, of course. Rin." Merlin nodded, his gorgeous eyes sparkling in amusement again, as if he were privy to some joke that went right over Shirou's head. "That won't be a problem whatsoever. Hehe."
"Don't laugh like that." Vivian gave voice to what Shirou was also thinking, before she crossed her arms as she gave the redhead a measuring look. "This subject is now closed. We will not discuss the future any further. Rather, I would that we spoke about your Divinity."
"There isn't much to say." Shirou shrugged, accepting that he wouldn't be hearing anything else about this nebulous fate that awaited him. "Did you honestly not know that I am becoming a god?"
"Yes, honestly." Merlin swore, also easily shifting gears. "Cross my heart and hope to die. We had no clue, not even while you were on your way here. We only realised when we first saw you in person, just now."
"As I said, the idea of an apotheosis occurring in the Age of Man beggars belief." Vivian's measured look turned into a gaze of pure fascination, which was surprisingly intimidating. "I do not know what manner of oddity befell you for this to have happened, for you to have changed so fundamentally, but it must have been a Miracle indeed."
"A miracle? Yes, you could call it that."
Whether they were talking about an extraordinary and welcome event that was not explicable by natural or scientific laws and was therefore attributed to a divine agency, which was the definition of an actual Miracle, or just about a remarkable event or development that brought very welcome consequences, did not matter. Mjolnir arriving had been both.
"Well, don't leave us in suspense then." Merlin pressed him, his eyes sparkling like the prettiest of gems at the thought of learning about a hereto unknown miracle, before they dimmed as his face fell. "Wait, you're not going to tell us that it's a secret, right?"
"No, I won't." Shirou only kept his divinity a secret from most people because they would either fear his nature and power or because they would seek to exploit it. It wasn't a secret for its own sake. In fact, he wasn't a secretive person at all, and rather enjoyed being honest and upfront with people. Since Merlin and Vivian weren't the type to be easily impressed, and since he was just about certain that they wouldn't tell anyone about his secrets, he should be able to safely tell them, and he would gladly do so. "To put it shortly, I inherited the powers of a Thor from another universe."
"Thor?" Merlin blinked.
"Inherited?" Vivian blinked in exactly the same way.
""Another universe?!"" They asked simultaneously, two pairs of eyes going wide in shock.
Really, for all that they argued, they were remarkably in sync. A lot more than most ex-partners.
"Yes, yes, and yes." Shirou replied shortly to their questions, before materialising Mjolnir and showing it to them. "I do not know how it happened, only that it did. The Thor in that other universe wanted a successor, so he transferred his power to Mjolnir and tasked it with finding someone worthy. That someone turned out to be me."
"And when you say 'power'…?"
"His Authority. His Essence. I have everything that he once was." Shirou explained as best he could.
Both Fairy and Incubus did not say anything for a good, long while after that, too busy processing his words. Shirou could almost hear the gears turning in those beautiful heads, and he soon noticed that Vivian looked increasingly troubled, while Merlin only seemed to get more excited.
He did not know which one was worse.
He considered telling them about Magni as well, that Thor's family now seemed to consider him family too, but he ultimately decided against it. That would to too much information in too little time.
"Not just another dimension, another universe entirely." Merlin whisper-shouted to Vivian, as if clumsily attempting to keep his words hidden from Shirou, his cheeks once more flushed.
"If we can trust his words." Vivian pointed out, but rather than sceptical, she sounded almost hopeful, as if she wanted Shirou to have told the truth.
"Is the hammer not proof enough?"
"It… It should be." The troubled look that Vivian had been sporting melted away slowly, making room for a deep, intense sort of curiosity that wouldn't have been out of place on the most fanatical of Magi. "Merlin, the implications of this…"
"We always knew that the existence of other universes was theoretically possible, likely even, but now something has crossed the boundary, and so casually that we never even noticed."
"And if it is possible to travel one way, it should be possible to travel the other way too!"
By now, Vivian and Merlin were holding hands, their faces red with excitement and anticipation as they happily speculated together about all the other universes that might be out there, yet beyond their reach.
They were immensely knowledgeable creatures, who had discovered and investigated everything in their reach and then some, who had resigned themselves to life-long boredom with some flashes of possible excitement, but who now saw before them a whole new horizon.
They were happy as children, and Shirou almost felt as if he was intruding on a private moment.
Hence, he decided to give them a minute or two, using the skills he'd picked up during his time as Rakurai to fade into the background.
Something in his gut told him it wasn't wise to get between a Fairy and an Incubus when they were getting so worked up.
"There are no problems with your heart and lungs, lady Vice Director." Doctor Kix nodded in satisfaction, taking off his stethoscope and making a note on his clipboard. "Excellent heartrate, clear blood flow, and steady breathing. Exactly what we're used to from you."
Lorelei Barthomeloi's only response was a small nod. Other than that, she remained still where she was, sitting on the doctor's operating table.
Not for any operation of course, she wasn't suffering from any ailments, but for a regular health inspection by her personal physician. It was something she always did before a hunt or a serious battle, and the upcoming duel with Shirou was serious indeed.
"Please cross your legs, my lady." Doctor Kix said next, placing a small hammer, a torch, and various other instruments on the table. "I must ascertain the state of your reflexes."
With the torch, he shone into her left and then her right eye, nodding in satisfaction when her pupils responded as they should. Then, he used the small hammer to gently strike the nerve-ending in her knee, causing her leg to jerk upwards a tiny bit.
A few other small experiments followed, until the doctor was satisfied.
All the while, Lorelei still said nothing.
Even when doctor Kix directed her to perform several gentle stretch-exercises, she kept her silence, merely doing as she was told.
"Well, I am pleased to report that you are as healthy as can be, lady Barthomeloi." Doctor Kix eventually concluded with a final mark on his clipboard. "Your heart and lungs are performing excellently, your muscles are as strong and flexible as last time, and your Magic Circuits remain in top condition. You are as ready as can be for a fight with a Sorcerer."
The upcoming duel between Shirou and Lorelei was not common knowledge in the Clocktower yet, but as the Vice Director's personal physician, the doctor was privy to more information than most. He could hardly do his job properly if he didn't have all the relevant information after all.
Not a battle maniac himself, he wasn't particularly excited about the duel. He would go and watch of course, but more out of professional obligation than personal interest. That, and perhaps a slight curiosity whether his lady, the Strongest Magus of the Modern Generation, would have what it took to defeat a Sorcerer in a direct fight.
For centuries, Zelretch and his ilk had been able to do as they pleased because they were seen as unbeatable, but if the Queen managed to eke out a victory here, that might change. At the very least, such a victory would perhaps make people less scared of Sorcerers in general, which would actually be a fairly desirable outcome.
But he shouldn't sell the hide before the bear had been shot. Sorcerers were feared for a reason, and the doctor had no doubt that the Vice Director would be in for the fight of her life when she'd step into the ring with Fujimaru.
The fact that the Vice Director had sworn, several years ago now, that she would marry the person who defeated her in battle did not even cross his mind. It was too long ago, and the situation was significant enough already without such a spanner in the works.
Similar thoughts and more were also playing on Lorelei's mind, which was the reason for her continued silence. She was miles away, trying to decide how she should approach her upcoming duel with Shirou.
Its main purpose was of course to reestablish the bonds between them through direct and open combat. However, its political implications should not be discounted. Whether Lorelei would win or whether she would lose, the mere fact that she and Shirou were going to fight would send ripples through the Moonlit Word.
She was much less concerned about losing however, which would only mean marrying the man she was already tentatively interested in, than she was about winning, which would dramatically upset the relationship between the Magus Association and the three existing Sorcerers.
She didn't think Shirou would hold a grudge if he lost, and Zelretch would find the matter more entertaining than anything else, but the third Sorcerer might not be so amused.
Or she might find it hilarious too. It really was impossible to tell in advance with those crazy people.
Unlike doctor Kix however, Lorelei would not consider it a good thing if she won and thereby reduced people's fear of Sorcerers in general. In fact, that might become a potential problem of epic proportions.
Sorcerers were mysterious existences, deeply fascinating beings that contained endless mysteries. Every Magus and their mother wanted to research them, and the only thing holding many of them back from attempting to attack and dissect the True Magicians of the world was fear. Unbridled terror and the knowledge that their ignoble defeat was a foregone conclusion.
Should Lorelei win her battle against Shirou however, that fear might diminish, and more people might try their luck at attacking Shirou, Zelretch and Aozaki for their own, dark purposes.
They would lose of course, and die swiftly, but it would probably irritate the Sorcerers, and that was a very dangerous thing to do. Not to mention Magi were rare enough already without losing whole swaths to senseless pursuits.
…Perhaps it would really be for the best if Lorelei threw the battle as soon as she had ascertained that Shirou was still a man of impeccable character. That would be the easiest and safest thing to do.
It genuinely seemed the best option, yet it was one that made her more than a little morose.
"Good luck, lady Vice Director."
The voice of her personal physician roused her from her introspections however, and she looked up, seeing him stand before her with his fist held out towards her.
He'd done that before, so Lorelei knew the correct response. She also balled her fist, and bumped it against his. It was a form of greeting, apparently, though it could also be used as a felicitation, a statement of admiration and respect, and as a way of wishing someone good luck.
"Go get that Sorcerer." Doctor Kix smiled, looking entirely relaxed at the prospect of her fighting a True Magician. "It should be the battle you've always been dreaming about."
"…?!"
His casual statement hit her like a bomb.
He was right! This was the battle she'd always been dreaming about! A battle with an equal or even superior opponent whom she respected. A battle that had nothing significant riding on it, which she could enjoy to the fullest without compunction or guilt.
Then… Then why had she been about to throw it away?
Since when exactly did she care so much about the opinion of the masses? Since when did she care about protecting Magi who insisted on getting themselves killed?
"Yes." Lorelei rose from the operating table, her morosity falling to pieces on the spot. "Yes, it will be a grand battle indeed."
A battle she would give her all, without fearing that she'd upset any balance.
After all, if a balance could be disturbed by a simple duel between friends, then perhaps it deserved to be shattered.
Her body was in top condition, and her mind was now primed for battle.
Doctor Kix truly was a skilled healer.
"Could I please get your attention?!" Shirou asked for what felt like the thousandth time, nearly shouting in his desperation to get Fairy and Incubus to focus again. "Come on, guys!"
Merlin and Vivian had spent the last twenty minutes interrogating him about everything he knew about the other universe and everything about him that was alien to their world. They hungered for every scrap of new knowledge, every unknown detail, and now that they had drained him from all he had, they retreated a bit to thoroughly chew on it all together.
Now, normally, Shirou wouldn't mind any of that, never one to begrudge a couple some quality time together, but today, he was on the clock. His three days were running out, so he wanted, no, he needed to get a move on.
It took cajoling, bullying, bribing, and flattering, but eventually, he got the happy pair back on track. Mostly.
"Sorry about that."
"We apologise most sincerely for that embarrassing display."
With the most attractive sheepish expressions that Shirou had ever seen, Merlin and Vivian apologised for the delay.
"Well, it's fine, I suppose, as long as we can get back to business now." As said before, Shirou didn't want to begrudge a couple their private time, but he had little choice right now but to hurry them along.
"Of course. There are many important things we need to discuss." Merlin agreed, his eyes shifting to a deep red, which Shirou took to mean he was focusing properly now. "Let's get to it then. I believe you were sent here by the Ultimate One of the Earth?"
"Yes, by Arcueid." Shirou confirmed, not even surprised that the wizard knew that. He'd blindsided them with his other-universe origins, but he doubted that these two would ever overlook the actions of Arcueid Brunestud herself.
"Arcueid?!" Merlin started at the use of the Moon Princess' first name however, looking very alarmed indeed. "You're on a first name basis with her?! No! No, that won't do! I understand the attraction, Shirou, but she is the wrong blonde-haired, royal woman! The wrong one!"
"Wrong? No, she really sent me here." Shirou insisted, taken aback by the wizard's sudden vehemence.
"That is not what I meant! She is… Look, she's nice and all, but…" Merlin struggled for words, before giving Vivian a pleading look.
"Who is Arcueid Brunestud to you, Shirou?" The Fairy asked calmly, the very picture of control, unlike her panicking partner.
"Oh, uh, I suppose she's something of a little sister? Or a big sister, I guess."
"Excellent." Vivian gave him an approving smile, and Merlin let out a big sigh of relief. "Make sure it stays that way. There is no place for two lionesses at your side."
"…Okay?" Shirou was feeling more and more like he was stuck in some kind of sketch, and if it hadn't been for the fact that there was enough Magical Energy in the air to make even the greatest of Magi explode, he might have started searching for some kind of hidden camera by now.
"To get back to the point, you came here on behalf of the Moon Princess, correct?" Merlin asked, once more trying to return to business. "She ordered you to come here."
"Not quite. I came on behalf of a… friend, to find a way to save the world. It was only later that Arcueid told me where to find the weapon that is supposed to help me do so." Shirou's main reason for being here was Nasu's warning of impending world-annihilation after all. Arcueid only entered the picture in Misaki Town, after his quest had already begun. "She told me to go into the Tomb of Albion and follow the scent of fresh air, which led me here."
"For a weapon, you say?" Merlin phrased his words as a question, but they were obviously a statement of fact. "Well, no points for guessing which weapon."
"Indeed." Shirou's lips quirked into a smile, as the wizard was entirely right.
He was in Avalon, standing across from two major characters out of the Arthurian Myth. There was only one weapon that immediately came to mind, and it was a weapon that would indeed be more than capable of saving the world.
"You came here for Excalibur." Vivian confirmed his suspicions, narrowing her eyes to slits, before she suddenly stepped forward, to get in his face in a way that he would never have expected from the dainty and elegant Fairy. "An impertinent request by any measure."
"And yet one I must make of you." Shirou remained calm nonetheless, sensing no killing intent from her, and safe in the knowledge that he couldn't be harmed here in Avalon either way.
"One does not lightly ask to wield the king's armaments." Merlin spoke in an idle tone, as if Shirou's request was merely a bit of fun. "That sword was meant to be wielded only by her, whether against the White Titan, in the defence of her kingdom against the Black Dragon, or in a hypothetical future battle to save the world."
"And you will not make an exception?"
"No." Vivian's reply was final, and Shirou knew instantly that there was nothing he could say or do that would convince her otherwise. "However, you need not wield it yourself, Emiya Shirou, to have Excalibur at your side in the tribulations ahead."
"What do you mean?" Shirou immediately got visions of Excalibur floating beside him, fighting at his side without a wielder, but that was nonsensical, even for a legendary sword.
"Arturia Pendragon will grace the World of Man again very soon." The lady of the lake announced, stepping back and getting out of his personal space. "And she will need her weapon for the dangers to come. Take Excalibur with you, Emiya Shirou, not as its wielder, but as its custodian, and bring it to her. Do the opposite of what sir Bedivere, her Marshall, once did for her by returning it to me."
Shirou took in a sharp breath of realisation, before slowly letting the air escape again as he let her words sink in.
He was not allowed to wield Excalibur, but he didn't have to. The Grail War would start soon, and that meant it was entirely possible for King Arthur to be Summoned again, just like in the Fourth War. In fact, according to Vivian, it was guaranteed.
And that would be a great boon, doubly so if she wielded the actual Excalibur.
"What does being its custodian involve?" He asked, more out of formality than doubt. He had already decided to accept Vivian's offer, and now it was just a matter of settling the details.
"You must keep Excalibur safe, both from thieves and from those who would try to wield it themselves. Make sure no unworthy hands dare sully its brilliance."
"In this case, 'unworthy hands' means everyone's hands except the king's." Merlin helpfully added, just in case there was any doubt left.
"I understand." Shirou heard nothing he disagreed with there, so he had no trouble acquiescing. "I shall keep it safe. Excalibur is not meant for human hands."
"HA!" Merlin suddenly let out a burst of laughter, before quickly lifting a hand to cover his mouth. "Oh, my apologies. That just slipped out."
"Was there something funny about what I said?" Shirou asked curiously, not recalling any sort of joke he'd made.
"You were just so solemn about 'keeping it out of human hands' and all." Merlin suddenly did a perfect imitation of Shirou's voice, one that frankly unnerved the redhead a bit. "While you must definitely also keep it out of inhuman hands. Perhaps even more so. The thought of you protecting Excalibur against average, harmless humans while ignoring Elementals and Fae coming for it just made me laugh for a bit. Like fighting corgis while allowing polar bears to break through your defences. Your priorities are all out of whack."
"You must have noticed this already, but Merlin has a peculiar sense of humour." Vivian lowered her voice a bit, as if confiding in Shirou. "Please do not take his words too seriously. They are not meant to be made sense of."
"I see. Thank you for the warning, lady Vivian." Apparently, despite his fame and power, Merlin could be a bit of a fool at times, and Shirou made sure to remember that.
"Now, it is time for the transferral of custodianship." Raising her voice again, Vivian straightened her back, her expression becoming the very picture of ancient wisdom and benevolence, the guise of the mythical lady of the lake. "Kneel, Emiya Shirou."
He did as he was told, going down on one knee like a man about to be knighted.
"Upon you shall be bestowed one of the highest honours imaginable, one that few others have ever been granted before." She intoned, her voice heavy and resonating, nearly making the very ground tremble beneath them. "To be the warden of Excalibur, and to ensure its safe passage to the King's hands. Do you, Emiya Shirou, accept this responsibility?"
Shirou didn't reply with words. Rather, he concentrated, reached inside of him for the divine artefact that had accompanied him since the Great Fire, and called it forth.
The next moment, Avalon, the sheath, had materialised in his hands, and he held it up, towards Vivian.
The sheath was even more radiant in its natural habitat, truly shining with otherworldly beauty and splendour. For the first time, it really looked like the expression of Utopia it was supposed to be rather than a 'mere' legendary artefact like so many others.
Shirou had known for years that it only worked properly, if at all, in the hands of its true owner, King Arthur, or in the very place it was supposed to represent, Avalon, but even so, seeing how much the separation of king and sheath had decreased Avalon's lustre, a lustre that was now on full display, almost made him sad.
"Sword and sheath reunited. The crime of separation undone at last." Vivian gave him an approving look, before reaching behind her.
Something then happened, something Shirou could not follow, and he blinked, black spots suddenly dancing before his eyes, and he noticed that the water of the lake behind Vivian was rippling, as if something heavy had been thrown into it.
Or perhaps, taken out of it.
"Behold." Vivian spoke, raising her arms to show what she now held, and Shirou's mouth fell open.
Brilliance.
Splendour.
Unrivalled majesty.
A sword greater and more powerful than any other he'd ever seen. An object of unmatched grace and beauty, defying human senses and sensibilities. A golden blade that promised triumph and success.
Excalibur.
The Sword of Promised Victory had been revealed.
Children's laughter rang out across the rolling fields, golden lights filled the air, and the temperature rose, until Shirou felt like he was sitting next to a merrily burning hearth, surrounded by his wives and children.
The World itself, even the Reverse Side, sang in joy at the presence of its most treasured possession, and even Vivian's hands shook slightly with emotion as she held the blade aloft.
Shirou's eyes watered, not from pain or discomfort, but from sheer admiration. It was an object unlike anything he'd ever seen before, more imposing than Avalon even, not to mention the most famous weapon in Europe, potentially even the world. Only his hammer, Mjolnir, could rival it in power, splendour and fame, but Excalibur definitely had the hammer beat in sheer presence.
His Tracing ability got to work immediately, constructing a very decent copy of the unimaginably majestic blade in his own Inner World, but even without checking said copy, Shirou knew that it was lacking. Nothing compared to the real thing.
Sure, he could recreate the shape, the colouring, maybe even the materials, but the process of its making? Its sheer experience and baffling age? That incredible splendour that made Gilgamesh's greatest treasures pale in comparison? He could hardly imagine such concepts yet, let alone recreate them.
It would be possible, one day, but for now, he could only stare in unmitigated wonder.
He soon remembered his newfound duties however, and he wordlessly angled Avalon, the sheath, towards Vivian, and she responded by lifting Excalibur, pointing it downwards, and lowering it into the sheath.
All the while, she only held it by the blade, never once touching the handle.
"It is done." She announced, still in that heavy, resonating voice. "Excalibur's custodianship has been transferred. Take care of it, Emiya Shirou, and let no dishonour darken your path."
"I will not, lady Vivian." The redhead swore, getting dragged along in the ceremony, feeling almost like an actual knight by now. "On my life, I will let no one but King Arthur unsheathe this sword, much less wield it."
His oath got him another approving smile, though it twitched when Merlin began applauding enthusiastically.
"Ahem, rise then." She told him, trying to preserve the gravity of the situation despite the jester's antics. "May you succeed in all your endeavours, and may you save the world of that what is to come."
The ceremony was finished, and Shirou had obtained the weapon he'd come for.
As Ayako would say; Excalibur get!
"Thank you for your trust in me, lady Vivian." He said, making sure to follow her example and not touch Excalibur's handle. "I do not know what dangers await me, or what might be threatening this world, but I do not doubt Excalibur will be vital in the days to come."
"I do not doubt it either. It has proven its worth many times." Vivian agreed, looking approvingly at the respectful way he handled the legendary weapon. "Now come, I will merge sword and sheath with you again, so you may carry them with you at all times."
She reached out and placed a hand on the very top of Excalibur's pommel, angled the blade and sheath so that the tip pointed at Shirou's heart, and began pushing.
The legendary artefacts scattered into motes of golden light again, which melted away into Shirou's body.
"They are hidden now. Make sure not to reveal them to anyone but their wielder and your closest confidants." Vivian urged him. "Many will come looking for it if you fail to keep the secret. Say nothing."
"Not a word." Shirou promised solemnly again. "Thank you, lady Vivian, for the sword and for your help. Is there any way I can repay you?"
He made the offer on an impulse, but he meant every word of it.
"There is." Vivian pounced on the offer like it was a plate of her favourite food, and Merlin, who'd been content lately to be a background prop, also came forward again. "There is most definitely something you can do for us."
"Oh?" It shouldn't have been a cause for alarm to have two ravishingly beautiful people smiling kindly and eagerly at him like that. Rather, under any other circumstances, it should have been flattering. However, for some reason, it set off all kinds of alarm bells in Shirou's head this time. "W-What is it?"
"The Grail War will begin soon, likely as early as next summer." Merlin revealed, and Shirou immediately memorised that, as it was a better estimate than he'd ever received before. "I'm afraid there is little I can say about the Masters and Servants that will be involved, as they tend to shift and change depending on what happens in advance, but just like it is almost certain that Arturia will be Summoned, there is another Servant very likely to participate."
"Who?"
"Medea of Colchis." Vivian replied, and even though her smile did not lessen, her expression somehow darkened anyway. "The Witch of Betrayal. A most difficult opponent by any measure, with skills varied and considerable."
"She's clever too, if so confident she regularly strays into arrogance." Merlin added. "Skilled and clever. A dangerous combination, especially since she cares little for rules and decorum and will do anything to win."
"I see." Being a diligent student of the ancient mythologies, Shirou knew perfectly well who Medea of Colchis was. She was, as Vivian said, the Witch of Betrayal, being a major character in the story of the Argonauts. She'd helped the Argonauts steal the Golden Fleece, killed her little brother as well as several husbands, murdered her own children, and did all kinds of other horrible things. She was, at first blush, definitely not the sort of Servant you wanted on your side in a Grail War, nor on the other side. "I will make sure to watch out for her. Thank you for the warning."
"Watch out for her?" Vivian blinked, before letting out a giggle, a sound so unlike her that it almost scared the redhead. "Well, I suppose we do want you to watch out for her, but that's not all."
"We want you to kill her. Immediately." Merlin made the request so calmly and affably it was as if he were asking Shirou to make him a cup of coffee.
"W-What?"
"Kill her." Vivian hissed, her smile finally disappearing and leaving only cold rage. "Crush her limbs. Rip out her tongue. Shatter her jaw and her skull. Break her windpipe and leave her to choke on her own blood. Tear out her guts and her dark heart and shove them down her broken throat."
"Or you could just behead her and be done with it, if that makes you more comfortable." Merlin assured him, placing a hand on Vivian's shoulder to calm her rage. "The point is, you must hunt her down first, before anyone else. She must your priority, even if the other Servants include Heracles, Cu Chulainn, or what have you. Kill her, quickly, or many people will suffer at her hands, including…"
"Including Arturia!" Vivian stepped forward and grabbed Shirou's collar, pulling their faces close together, which wasn't half as pleasant as it might sound. "That rapist worm will take her from you, Shirou, and torture her, to break and rape her. She is foulness incarnate, every dark aspect of the actual Witch who died millennia ago, and no pretty face or long ears will ever change that!"
"Vivian, dear, what happened to not revealing the future?" Merlin asked, a drop of sweat going down his temple, but he was summarily ignored, so he turned to Shirou instead. "I know it sounds harsh, but as a Hero of Justice-"
"No, I understand." Shirou held up a hand, as he could take a good guess as to what Merlin wanted to say. "As a Hero of Justice, I want to save everyone I can, but I accepted a while ago that saving the many sometimes means to kill the few. It won't be a problem, morally speaking, if she is as evil as you say."
"Oh, don't worry about that. If anything, we are understating her foulness." Merlin smiled.
"But I cannot do as you ask." Once again, Shirou held up a hand, cutting off their protests. "Not because I do not want to, but because I cannot afford to feed Angra Mainyu. Do you know of him?"
"…Oh, right, I forgot about him." Merlin turned away, a deep frown parking itself between his eyebrows as he began muttering below his breath. "How could I forget about that? Am I getting old? I should test my mental capacities. Is dementia setting in?"
"You should still break her windpipe." Vivian insisted, still not letting go of his collar. "And crush her limbs. Then you should imprison her."
"I will… definitely imprison her." Shirou promised, trying and failing to free himself. "But I don't torture people."
"…That is your prerogative." Vivian finally released him, still not looking entirely satisfied, but it seemed she was willing to compromise. "Just make sure she cannot hurt Arturia."
"I promise."
"Thank you."
That had been a weird exchange, but Shirou wasn't complaining. On top of obtaining custodianship over Excalibur, he had now learned more about the Grail War than he could possibly have hoped for. He knew the identity of two Servants likely to be Summoned, he knew which one of them to watch out for in particular, and he doubted that Merlin had named Heracles and Cu Chulainn by coincidence.
Potentially, four of the seven Servants had been identified just now.
"I do not believe there is much more to say." Vivian took a deep breath to calm down, before assuming her gentle persona again, a persona that, Shirou now knew, was not entirely representative of who she actually was inside. "We shall no longer keep you. As much as I wished I could say that time flows differently here than in the World of Man, that one hour in Avalon is but a minute elsewhere, that would not be true. I do not know if you are constrained by time-limits, but you have already spent over forty-eight hours in the Reverse Side."
"That much?!" Shirou started at the number, giving Vivian a baffled look. "But I said I would be back in three days! How can I have lost so much time?!"
He had descended into the Tomb of Albion, spoken with Magni, faced Fallen Nature Spirits, Kerberos, and a Jotun, before arriving here in Avalon and speaking with Vivian and Merlin. It was quite the list, but Shirou was pretty sure it hadn't taken him more than two days, even if he didn't have the sun or a watch to tell him the time.
"Time flies when you're having fun." Merlin laughed, before clearing his throat awkwardly when both Shirou and Vivian gave him deadpan looks. "Ah, and also when you're terrified. It's just… one of those things."
"If it took this long to get here, I definitely won't get back before the three days are over." Shirou ignored the flighty wizard for the moment, instead turning back to Vivian.
"What happens after three days?" The lady of the lake asked curiously.
"They'll collapse the tunnels I used to get here, which means I'll have to find another way back. That's not the worst of it though. I promised everyone I'd be back in three days, and if I'm not, I'll make them worry."
"That won't do." Vivian nodded in understanding, before she turned sideways to gesture at her lake. "Fortunately, I have a shorter route available. It is normally meant only for Fae, but I shall make an exception and grant you passage too."
"Really?" Shirou perked up. He'd vaguely hoped that would be the case, but a vague hope was not the same as an offer in hand. "You mean it?"
"I would not say things I did not mean." Vivian chided him, to which he inclined his head. "I am most beloved by Britain. The World itself assures that there is always a direct passage from me to that most Mystical of countries, even if I cannot use it myself anymore. Please, use it for your own travels, so that you may quickly return home."
"Thank you, truly." Shirou could not express how grateful he was, but he did his best to try anyway. "By my word, I will find a way to get you out of here."
"What?!" His promise evidently shocked Vivian deeply, as she practically reared back from him as if he'd suddenly swung a torch at her, and from the corner of his eye, Shirou noticed how Merlin stiffened ominously. "Get us out of here? Whatever do you mean?"
"This is your prison." Shirou said rather than asked. It was explained in crystal clear terms in the legends and myths surrounding King Arthur, and he could see for himself that it was wholly true. "Both you and Merlin are trapped here. I wish to see you freed."
"How cruel." Merlin gave him a brittle smile, one that contained a fair amount of warning. "Are you sure you wish to give us false hope like that? We might have imprisoned each other at first, with our powers derived from Fae and Incubus, but it has long since become fixed in the World itself. Even a god would find freeing us to be an impossible challenge."
"Ah, but I'm not just a god." Shirou reminded him, materialising Mjolnir again for a short moment.
"…I do not know how much more successful an alien would be." For a moment, Merlin nearly looked convinced that Shirou might be able to free him and Vivian, but he swiftly crushed that notion. "Please, no more of this. It is a cruel thing to bring hope when salvation is clearly impossible."
"…Alright." Just like with Lorelei, more idle words were useless in this situation. There was nothing Shirou could say to convince these two that he was truly going to free them. Only by actually doing so could he show his sincerity. "How do I get back home?"
"Merely enter the water and follow the cleft. There is nothing more to it." Vivian gestured at her lake again, smiling her mysterious smile once more. "Though I hope you'll be able to hold your breath for a while."
"Several hours, if need be." Shirou assured her.
"That is long enough." The Fae in blue confirmed. "Farewell, Emiya Shirou. May your path always be clear to you."
"Take care of yourself, and of the world." Merlin also waved him goodbye, smiling a mysterious smile of his own. "I'm sure we'll see each other again at the rate things are going."
"I look forward to it already." Shirou said honestly, before resolutely turning around and walking to the lake, not looking back even once.
Undoubtedly, there was far more they could say, far more they could talk about and discuss, but if he started reasoning like that, he'd never get away. They were too kind, too hauntingly beautiful, to easily leave behind like this, but he had to. For now, he had no choice but to abandon them to their prison.
He dove into the lake, immediately spotting the cleft that Vivian had spoken about, and swam down, entering it to follow the stream.
And thus, Emiya Shirou left Avalon behind again, his lingering presence fading within moments as the Ever-Distant Utopia returned to its ideal form, free of the influence of humans and gods.
Meanwhile, Vivian and Merlin were left behind, looking at the lake with forlorn gazes, before the former turned to the latter.
"It was a most pleasant meeting." Vivian smiled, her expression almost soft. "I can see why Arturia is so fond of him, or will be fond of him, I suppose."
"Yes, you certainly treated him much better than you treat most men." Merlin huffed in amusement, recalling the way in which the woman beside him had dealt with other male visitors who approached her without permission. "Luring them to your lake and drowning them is such a rude thing to do."
"I did not lure them." The exasperated tone showed it was a discussion they'd had many times before. "I was standing at the water's edge, by myself, minding my own business, to use modern vernacular. For some reason, those men you speak of saw that as an invitation to come and rape me. I did humanity a service by removing them."
"That, I cannot deny." Merlin inclined his head, not one to shed a tear over people whom he didn't know and who were rapists besides. "I am merely remarking on how well you seemed to be getting along with Shirou."
"I liked him. I think I genuinely liked talking with him."
"Even though you lied to him, Morgan?"
"…It was necessary." Morgan le Fay sighed, her disguise falling away the next moment.
Blue hair became stark white, the translucent dress changed into a witch's robe, and gentle blue eyes became a pale teal.
"I do not think he believed you though." Merlin frowned a bit, before giving Morgan an exasperated look. "You could have put a bit more effort into your lie. Morgana and Morgan having gone to the Throne of Heroes, leaving only Vivian? Even Kay and Gawain would have only bought such a tall tale for so long."
"I was the most plausible explanation I could think of." Morgan's lips twitched, perhaps to form a smile, perhaps to purse in deep sadness. "And it worked well enough. He has Excalibur now, and given his word to deliver it to Arturia. That is all I wanted. Even if he discovers the truth and never speaks another word to me, I shall be satisfied."
"Morgan…" Merlin's eyes shifted to a light purple, a clear indication of concern on his part, but she would not have it.
"Go back to your tower." She told him, her voice terse. "I want to be alone."
"…If you are certain." Though he was a clown and a gadfly, Merlin was not the sort of man who forced his presence on those who did not want him around. He promptly made himself scarce, returning to his own prison and leaving his former lover behind in hers.
Only then did Morgan allow the tears to fall, as she cried for reasons even she herself did not understand.
When Summoning a Servant, for a Grail War, a Grand Order, a battle against a Beast, or otherwise, one could choose to either use a Catalyst or not.
Catalysts were objects with a deep connection to one or more Heroic Spirits in the Throne of Heroes. When present during a Summoning, they would automatically link up with said Heroic Spirits, and thus pull them to the material world. A sort of guarantee to Summon a specific Servant, rather than an unknown one.
When a Magus would perform a Summoning without a Catalyst, they would end up with the Servant that was most suited to them, both in abilities and personality. A desirable outcome for both parties, one would imagine, were it not for the fact that 'best suited' counted for depressingly little in Grail Wars.
Power was what mattered most, not mutual respect and affection, and that was why any participant in the Grail Wars with any amount of money and influence to spare would always strive to obtain a Catalyst for the most powerful Heroic Spirit they could think of.
The first snake skin to Summon Gilgamesh.
A chunk of rock from Heracles' temple.
A piece of Iskandar's mantle.
An oak leaf like the one on Siegfried's back.
Avalon, the sheath representing the Ever-Distant Utopia.
These were artefacts of immense power, worth a great amount of money to mundane collectors and an absolute fortune to most Magi.
On the average day, they could serve as powerful conduits in Rituals and other Formalcraft. During Grail Wars, they were the difference between a certain and lethal defeat and a possible victory.
Hence, a man who planned on fighting in a Grail War, or to have others fight for him, would be wise to gather as many Catalysts as he could find.
Which was exactly what several Magi in the Magus Association were doing right now.
Shirou's warnings that the Grail War was set to begin sooner than expected had not fallen on deaf ears. He had told Waver, Lorelei, Grey, lady Montmorency, and Goredolf, who had in turn told several of their confidants, who had told their confidants, and so on and so on, until it was pretty much an open secret.
It had really only taken a week or so for the news to reach every corner of the Magus Association. For all that Magi were secretive about their own work and lives, they could gossip like fishwives when it came to the secrets of others.
Most Magi didn't think much of it. An obscure ritual in the Far East was not of any importance to them. It was merely a bit of gossip, a somewhat interesting fact to talk about while drinking a cup of coffee or tea, which could be forgotten the next moment.
Some Magi however took more notice of it, Magi with certain ambitions and talents, and they started preparing.
Collecting weapons and Mystic Codes was a given, as was increasing their battle training, but what mattered most was finding good Catalysts that would allow for the Summoning of the best Servant possible.
All of a sudden, groups of archaeologists and historians all over the world had a suspiciously easy time getting grants and permission to dig at yet undiscovered sites, to search for ancient artefacts and settlements. Museums received massive donations out of nowhere, coupled with the request that certain items in their storages could be borrowed for a short while. Universities suddenly suffered several burglaries, but often couldn't discover what exactly had been stolen.
It was all terribly chaotic and not very morally upright, yet at the same time, awfully effective.
As was so often the case with Magi.
Numerous artefacts were secured and shipped to England or Germany or France in secret, into the hands of many different people, each artefact more potent than the last.
If every artefact that was transported that week was used to Summon its corresponding Servant, those Servants would together make an army that could raze the European continent in a matter of hours.
Not that they ever would, but it was certainly possible.
Of course, not every artefact could be used. Even with the Grail providing Magical Energy, there was a hard limit on the number of Servants that could be maintained at any specific moment. Even so however, it was crystal clear that Shirou would have his work cut out for him.
The European continent might not be in danger from the Servants, but Fuyuki certainly was.