26 A King's Sword & Ria's Training [3/3]

Throughout the forest it sounded.

Similar to the cry of a newborn,

Yet melodic like the chiming of a bell.

The sound resonated with the forest, and harmonized with nature.

It continued to call out, appearing to come from everywhere, yet no where.

It seemed to possess a chaotic undertone, yet those who heard it felt calm and at peace with the world.

Hearing the sound Ria grew confused.

She knew the sound originated from Excalibur in her hands, and yet she could not understand what was happening.

All she knew was that her sword was radiating a powerful aura, that seemed almost unstoppable.

It felt as if her sword was locked in chains for eternity, and at this moment it was threatening to break free.

She could sense it.

A power strong enough to destroy the world.

Similar to an ancient beast waking from its slumber.

'Strange…its so powerful yet…why do I feel as if it doesn't desire destruction?'

It was at that moment that she heard another voice. This time though, a familiar one.

"Not every sword is meant to kill Ria."

Turning to look at Ryker, she contemplated his words before realization dawn on her.

'I see…you don't want to bring harm to others…but if they threaten those you care about you wont hesitate do kill…is that it?'

As if answering her, the sword once more cried out, causing the surrounding trees to sway and the snow to flutter about chaotically.

It was in this 'chaos' that she once more heard Ryker's voice.

His voice was calm and steady. Tone unhurried and tranquil.

It was a strange feeling.

The swishing and beating of the wind.

Creaking and groaning of the trees.

The gold snow melting against her skin.

Yet despite everything around her, Ryker's voice always managed to be heard.

It was as if it was penetrating deep into her soul, causing her mind to remain calm and focused despite the strange happenings around her.

Her heart warmed, and the feeling slowly spread throughout her body, driving away the cold.

She heard him speak, "Smear your blood upon the blade of the gods…claim your place as 'King' and wielder of the sword of heaven, the Last Phantasm: Excalibur."

Ria trusted Ryker with her life, and she knew he would never do anything that would bring her harm.

So she ran her hand across Excalibur's sharp edge. Her blood slowly marred the pristine surface, before it was seemingly absorbed by the sword.

Once the sword had 'tasted' her blood, it cried out with even more fever.

The blue aura around the sword became more pronounced, before it eventually reached its 'peak'.

Blue sparks danced around the sword, every now and then a stray spark would find purchase with the ground. Any stone or piece of earth the sparks contacted with would disintegrate, leaving behind lines in the ground where the sparks had traveled.

Suddenly, the sword released a beam of energy, the laws which were unknown to her. The beam of energy pierced through the clouds above before continuing onto the heavens themselves, before slowly fading away.

The beam reminded Ria of her Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm, yet at the same time it was almost fundamentally different.

She felt like the beam she had just seen, rather then the energy converging at the tip, had spread throughout the sword equally.

The sword seemed similar to the Excalibur she knew, but she knew it was almost an entirely new sword.

Only growing more confused as time passed, she looked towards Ryker seeking answers, as he seemed to knew what was going on.

Not letter her down, Ryker explained after seeing her look his way, "As you knew, Excalibur is a Divine Construct, one of the ultimate god-forged weapons. It is considered to be at the pinnacle of swords. This is both true and untrue. After all a weapon is only as strong as its wielder.

Not just anyone may wield the sword, and even amongst those who can, none have been able to use it to its full potential. Just like humans, swords can also grow stronger. After spending who knows how long being tempered within the planets sea, the sword was on the verge of breaking through. Yet even after so many years, no one has managed to push it beyond its previous limits.

Until today...

The Ascension not only caused you to evolve but Excalibur as well. This evolution was particularly special as well, because Excalibur gained sentience. It is still in its infancy, but with time it will grow to the point in which it possesses its own intelligence and form its own thoughts. Currently it is only aware of itself as well as you its wielder.

The crying earlier was the sword wanting you to bind it with your soul. This means that the sword has acknowledged you as its one true wielder and master. It will follow you from now until the day you die, becoming your eternal companion."

Hearing the Excalibur had accepted her caused Ria to smile happily as she gently stroked the still glowing sword. Feeling the energy 'pulsing' through the sword similar to a heartbeat, Ria, regardless if it could hear her or not, spoke to it softly, "Excalibur, thank you for accepting me…I'll work hard so as to not betray this trust you've placed in me."

Feeling the sword shack slightly as it released a soft 'hum' as if answering her determination, caused Ria's smile to grow even larger.

Returning Excalibur to its sheath, Ria couldn't help but ask Ryker something which had been bugging her, "You said earlier that not all swords were meant to kill…I kind of understand yet at the same time I don't. It seems like something both defined and logical, yet at the same time undefined and inconceivable. A sword is used to kill, yet ones motive can be to protect and vise versa, a sword can be used to protect when ones motive is to kill. I just don't understand…"

Chuckling softly Ryker said, "Somethings cant be explained, others aren't meant to be. All I know is that Excalibur desires 'to protect' rather then 'to kill'. A fitting thing for a holy sword I suppose."

Ria mused as she thought over his words before speaking, "During my lifetime my court magus Merlin once said to me, "Your highness. Which do you like better? The sword or the sheath?", at the time I had answered that the sword is better without hesitation. Yet Merlin scolded before saying, "Please make no mistake here. The sword slashes the enemy, but the sheath protects you. As long as you have the sheath on you, you will spill no blood and take no wounds. You should truly value the sheath, not the sword." It was at that time that I realized, it was better to protect then to kill, yet when needed I wouldn't hesitate to take my enemies life…"

Understanding where she was going Ryker continued where she left off, "And you feel that yours feelings and Excalibur desires are similar, and might be one of the reasons it choose you as its wielder, Its possible. I'm sure you'll understand Excalibur better as your bound deepens. For now though lets focus on getting used to your new powers."

Knowing Ryker was right and there was no point trying to understand everything, Ria put her thoughts behind her and focused her attention on the training.

After the soul binding ritual, Ria gain knowledge from Excalibur. Some things involved abilities she already knew, while others were new or different then previously.

One of those things was the beam from earlier.

She had previously been correct in her assumptions and the beam that pierced the sky was in fact her anti-fortress Noble Phantasm associated with Excalibur. Although it still worked similarly to the previous version, there were still some distinct differences.

Previously her Noble Phantasm gathered all of its energy at the tip of the blade before releasing it, however, now rather then the tip, the entire blade was coated in the energy. Although it was a seemingly simple change, Ria knew it was anything but simple. This one miniscule differences caused an enormous shift in how the ability could be utilized.

This ability was the first the two decided to test out.

Ryker closed his eyes before initiating his [Armor of Akashic]. Starting from his feet, the casual black clothing he had been waring started to burn. The flames weren't ordinary flames, as instead of catching fire to the fabric it instead seemed to be burning space rather then the clothing.

As the black clothes burn away, what replaced them was a simple black kimono with a red sash and accents. A black and red Haori covered his shoulders and extended below his knees. Attached to the haori was a hood that covered his head as well as a black cloth mask that covered the bottom half of his face, this left only his eyes uncovered. On the back of the Haori was a red dragon with black eyes. The dragon circling around Nine Suns before biting its own tail. The suns were arranged in a diamond formation with one sun at the peak and two at the bottom. They were black in color, with a red ring outlining them. Where as the six suns on the sides were red in color with black rings outlining them.

After the kimono and haori were in place. The flames once more returned, this time starting from the head, before ending at his feet. Donned over the kimono was blood red Samurai armor that covered his arms, legs and below his waist, leaving his chest and back to be without armor.

That was only appearance wise though, as the armor actually protected his entire body, not that he really needed it though.

Finishing with his armor, Ryker used his [Blade of Akashic] skill to create a long bow. The bow was rather simple and straight forward. It was all black with red rune like symbols running across it. It had a slight curvature to its limbs. Over all a rather simple, yet deadly weapon.

Ria had also finished her preparations, just to make sure though Ryker still asked, "Are you ready?"

Seeing her nod, Ryker suddenly vanish before reappearing roughly 300 meters away on a tree branch.

'This seem good enough. Well then lets see what your new sword can do my love.'

Ryker thought as he slowly lifted up the bow aiming it in Ria's general direction.

A pitch black arrow with a red tip suddenly appeared, already nocked to the bow.

Placing three fingers on the bow string, he slowly pulled it back causing the bow limbs to arc slightly.

*Twang*

Leasing the arrow, a melodic sound suddenly rang out through the forest.

The arrow traveled a short distance before it looked as if it was going to collide a tree, yet just before it happened, the arrow suddenly vanished.

Not wasting any time, Ryker immediately fired another arrow. This time rather then firing it straight, he instead shoot it into the sky. Once the arrow broke through the tree tops, it suddenly divided. Two, four, eight… soon there were hundreds of arrows creating a volley that soared through the sky in an arc. The arrow division happened almost instantaneously.

Once his volley was leased, he waited.

His eyes looked ahead, as if there were no trees, or forest in his path at all.

On Ria's side, she didn't have to wait to long before the first attack came.

Sensing something behind her, she quickly shifted her weight before her sword slashed. Using the weight of her sword as momentum, she spun around on the spot.

Alongside her slash, Excalibur glowed brightly as it released a low 'hum'.

Sparks of energy arced across the blade.

She felt it.

That similar feeling to the time she uses her anti-fortress attack.

As that thought crossed her mind, Excalibur released a slash of energy that traveled through the air.

It seemed like a random attack, aimed at nothing. Yet as if on cue, space tore, and Ryker's arrow exited from the void, heading straight towards the energy wave.

*Boom*

Once the arrow collided with the energy wave, a fierce explosion swept through the area, obliterating trees and vegetation wherever it passed.

Ria tightened her stance as she braced herself. She stood steady despite the fierce clash of energy.

It was at this moment that her instincts triggered once more.

Without even any time to think, she quickly brought her sword overhead before Excalibur suddenly began to radiate energy once more. An almost 'bubble' like membrane surrounded her as hundreds of arrows pelted it continuously.

Despite the thrashing it received the membrane of energy held strong, as Excalibur continued to 'hum'.

Once the volley's siege had stopped, the membrane also vanished into particles of light.

Not letting her guard down, Ria scanned the surroundings. Knowing Ryker, what she just experienced was nothing but a warm up. The true fight was about to begin.

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Meanwhile, within the Einzbern castle.

A beautiful white haired woman was gently rocking a newborn child back in forth in her arms.

Suddenly hearing a noise akin to an explosion, the newborn awoke, yet he did not cry out.

The white haired woman, stood up from the chair she had been sitting on and moved over to the window.

Looking out at the snow covered forest, a gentle and loving expression graiced her face, as her lups arc in a sweet smile.

She spoked softly to the child in her arms. "Look Zen, Daddy and Aunty Ria are having some fun, fufufu~"

"Gaa"

As if responding to the words of his mother, Zen softly cuued baby noises, as he too turned his tiny head towards the window. His eyes slightly parted, he continued to look as if watching something interesting.

Releasing a knowing smile, Iris gently kissed her sons head before sitting upon the inside window ledge as she watcher her future husband, and her sister engage one another in an elegant 'dance', despite being hundreds of meters away.

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(Author's Note: The poll results so far have Fate/Apocrypha as the most popular by quite a large margin. For those who want Fate/stay night UBW don't worry, the main plot of my own story will stretch into that time. There will be some major differences but some of the characters you love will have their moments. As for those who want him not to go any where and want to finish the main plot, don't worry as well. I plan to finish Fate/Zero's timeline before anything else. If I do manage to find a time to fit other things in it wouldn't be until far into the future so don't expect him to suddenly go to a dif universe next chapter xD. As for other options, the reason I haven't included them is because I feel like I would need to either spend more time then I would be willing to on them, or they just wont fit with the current theme of the story causing a feeling of disconnect, as well as forced plot which I don't really want to do. There is still time to vote of course, the poll will be there until I actually decided how to send him somewhere else. It might not even happen for another 100+ chapters so don't get your hopes up to soon

Ps: If you're curious about his Archer form, imagine a cross between Tomoe Gozen, and Izuminokami Kanesada. With Atalanta's bow, but with Red markings rather then gold.)