Curse of the Hero

"I can answer that for you." The booming voice of Leonidas as he walked up to the group of four heroes. He stood a few yards away with his spear he struck the ground hard enough for it to stick into the ground nearly two whole feet. Releasing the spear he turned his attention to releasing the straps of the shield then setting it against the still slightly quivering spear. He then took the helmet off and placed it upon the spear tip.

A tanned square face looked upon the four and smiled. "We are here as an addition from the Magic Marshall. He saw what was happening and decided to put his own heroes into the soul spark."

Shirou's face paled as he heard the moniker, "Oh no. Not him again. Zelretch you stupid jackass."

Leonidas only smiled wider when he heard this. "Indeed it is him. He was watching the aftermath of the Holy Grail War and saw the appearance of…"

"Jaune." Saber filled in the name.

"Jaune, yes him. Zelretch saw his last moments and knew he was hero of untold potential. Hell he even reached the Root in his dying breath, creating four weapons that would change humanities future by using the lost magic, without any formal training in magic. And in his final act he struck down the ones who created the whole mess of Fuyuki. He is a hero of the highest caliber. Therefore when Zelretch saw Alaya grab the remnants of Jaune's soul he knew she would be up to no good. So he set us up as support for Jaune should Alaya decide to use Jaune in her plans."

Tama who watched on came to a realization, "He was the one to give Jaune such a high number of high class magical circuits when he was born! There is no way a human of this world would have such a thing considering they only have aura here save for the select few that wield magic."

"That is correct. He was given those so that when Alaya pulls Jaune into one of her verses he can use magic without trouble. If he was there and only used his aura he would be hunted and dissected by the Clock Tower mages when he appeared on their radar." Leonidas explained.

"So why are there eight of us? That seems excessive for a single hero." Saber asked.

"Well that is one of the reasons why Zelretch had to add us to Jaune's soul. Jaune in his final moments fused himself to the Holy Grail by burning away the corruption and purifying it with his soul he-" Leonidas said as he was interrupted by Tama.

"Fused his soul with the remnants of the Holy Grail after it was cleansed." Tama said with a shaken look.

"Yes. Since he was one of the ones to create the Holy Grail, Zelretch knew the instability that would appear in Jaune's soul should he not have a full compliment of heroes from the Throne of Heroes. Even if he never activates the Holy Grail, knowingly or not, it will cause miracles to happen when his magic fills it to overflowing. To keep these miracles from happening too often and causing irreparable harm to the world he is present on, Zelretch gave Jaune a full accompaniment of heroes to drain the excess magic." Leonidas explained.

"So that is why I have been feeling so real these last years. His magic that he produces with the dragon heart is repairing our soul fragments helping them to become whole again." Shirou said astonished. If what Leonidas said was right and his own observations were correct then in the future, should Jaune survive that long, they would all gain back their own bodies and souls. But they would be a separate version than all those present in NASUverses.

"Yes that is why we need to activate the spirit crystals we were left with. As odd as it sounds, we must make you advance to your most powerful forms to decrease the speed of the magic going to the Holy Grail otherwise the miracles that will happen will cause the world Jaune is in will lead to a downward spiral. Gods forbid should someone capture Jaune and somehow activate the Holy Grail when it is filled while he is in their custody. He would not be able to prevent the result." Scathach said to the group.

"Hold on are you saying that due to the Holy Grail being present in his soul Jaune has been turned into a djinn? Able to fulfill wishes should he around to hear them or have a connection to them?" Chiron asked with wide fearful eyes.

"Essentially. He is in more danger than you or even Alaya realize. Should his ability become known he will be hunted throughout the verses for his ability to grant wishes. Should there be gods present on the world they will hunt Jaune down to keep him from interfering with their worlds too much." Beowulf said giving his two cents. "That is why Zelretch chose some of the strongest heroes from the Throne of Heroes to aid Jaune in his development. Each of us has a massive legend connected to us that were passed on through the ages. So each of us had multiple different levels of power we can produce. These spirit crystals will push us into a stronger version of our selves. All done to prevent the Holy Grail from being filled time and again. And prevent Jaune from being used as a never ending supply of wishes."

"Why can't Zelretch change the functions of the Holy Grail? He should be able to do that since he helped to create it." Saber asked.

Tama was the one to answer, "To change something in ones' soul is an extremely painful process and may lead the soul to collapse, should it be changed too much. Since the Holy Grail is now a part of Jaune's soul it can't be changed without immense danger of permanently harming Jaune or even killing him." Tama explained further after a moment of hesitation, "Should a soul of Jaune's size connected to a magic amplification artifact such as the grail break down there will be an immense backlash to the world in question as his soul overloads. It will cause soul shock for the whole of the planet and those on it. Those closest to the blast will be wiped out and sent out of the life and death system of the world. While those farther away will be left with soul burn, a form of pain the likes of which can only be found in the underworlds. It would mean an extinction level event."

Everyone went quiet at those words. They could not imagine such a scale of destruction.

"So Zelretch should have a plan to prevent that kind of thing from happening right? What is it that he has planned?" Shirou asked as he knew the mad Marshall always had plans on plans in every endeavor. Even if those plans never made sense.

"Yes, he does. It will be a long and hard road but Zelretch believes that Jaune can reach godhood should he have enough servants in his soul with sparks of divinity. Since the design of Alaya's soul structure is made in such a way it allows Jaune's soul to imitate or directly copy the souls of those present in his soul space. The ability in this world to train one's soul to grow is one of the main factors that will have a decisive impact on how quickly and how strong Jaune can develop himself. He said that another world also has a similar function but Jaune will not appear there for a long period of time. With a large enough soul Jaune can attain godhood. Once he reaches this point Jaune will be able to prevent the Holy Grail from activation and protect himself. Zelretch has not told us everything but it is the best plan he has besides just killing the boy to prevent him from being used as a wishing well." Leonidas said with a solemn face.

The heroes from the Throne of Heroes all had shell shocked faces as they came to terms with the words spoken. Jaune could attain godhood with their aid. If he could survive to that point he would be able to save himself from all those that would hunt him. Until then it would be up to them to protect Jaune from those who would do him harm until he achieved this.

"Where will these sparks of divinity come from?" Chiron asked with some trepidation.

"There are currently six sparks of divinity present in Jaune's soul. You, Tamamo No Moe, Scathach, Hassan and the two slivers of the hammers of the gods we have with us." Beowulf stated as he pulled out two pieces of metal from his leather pouch on his side, and held them in his gauntleted hands. They each shone with an unearthly light. One had a silver sheen with lighting crackling over the metal while the other piece of metal had a rosy orange coloration with flames coming out of it sporadically. "The shard of Mjolnir and a shard of Hephaestus's hammer."

After he spoke their names the two pieces of metal floated in the air and flew over to the marble weapon stand and slammed into the axe hammer sitting there. Upon landing on the axe hammer the two metals fused with it. The axe head gained the silvery sheen of the Mjolnir shard and the hammer head gained the rosy orange color of the shard of Hephaestus's hammer. The two met in the middle between the axe and hammer heads formed a gem that was red on one side with cyan blue on the other. Lighting and flames now practically flew out of the axe hammer.

After the change of the axe hammer the Reality Marble shook as the soul weapon gained the properties of the two gods it had received shards from. Two distant mountains appeared. One reached up into the clouds where lightning fell upon it in a constant stream. Opposite to that mountain another formed this one was an erupting volcano that continued to spew out flames and molten rock high into the sky.

Everyone recovered their stances after they all hunched upon seeing the metal pieces fly from Beowulf's hands. "Twas unforseen." The Old Man of the Mountain spoke for the first time in his archaic speech.

"Well I think we should focus on using the spirit crystals soon so that all of the changes can happen at one time rather than spread out. Zelretch said if we dragged it out it would cause more harm than good, inverse of what most would expect. But only three will advance while the others will have to hold off." Leonidas said as he pulled out two multicolored gems followed by Scathach who also held two.

"Who will be receiving the gems?" Saber asked.

"You and Shirou will take them immediately as the unbalanced servant types are causing a flaw in the development of Jaune's soul. Chiron will use the shard as it will raise him to a demi-divine servant. We will have an extra for one of the less used servant classes. Saber you will transform into your Ruler form. Shirou you will transform into your Saber form. Tamamo will receive one but will have to hold off to a later date. Scathach will also receive one which she will hold onto for later use as well."

"Wait from the way you said that it was unbalance then does that mean it will be rebalance or will there need to be others added?" Tama asked as she held her spirit crystal.

"Good ears. Yes there will have to be more added later. They will be chosen depending on the time and place that Alaya pulls Jaune back into the old worlds. As there is likely chance that will happen shortly in the future we must prepare Jaune for his trip to our old world. Zelretch will meet us there to aid us and give us the information needed for Alaya's quest for Jaune. Before you ask there will be a total of 15 present here in his soul by the end. He must have every class available otherwise it will warp the Holy Grail too much. Beyond this I have no more information to give you." Leonidas said as he gestured for Shirou and Saber to absorb the spirit crystals.

The three looked at one another and nodded minutely before swallowing the spirit crystals. The crystals hit their stomachs they both groaned as the light of the spirit crystals shone from within their bodies. The lights grew to the point that the three were covered in light blocking their forms from view. A minute later the light dimmed. Three wholly different people stood before the group.

Artoria had aged and matured. She gained six inches and now stood at five foot eleven. Her form filled out and her regal bearing exploded to even affect the rest of the heroes. A golden circlet sat upon her head, at her side stood a lance of silver light. The famous sword and sheath still sat upon her hip. Her armor and clothes had changed also from one point the skirt expanded except it now flowed straight downward at the front while the back still had a slight flare. She produced, outside of regal bearing, a holy aura that surrounded her. It was bright at first but dimmed as the advancement ended. It was still present but fused with the regal bearing.

Shirou on the other hand regained his former shape. as his hair had become a golden orange. His eyes now had a certain level of blue mixed with the amber that was present there before. He stood in full body silver metal armor. He was broader than he was before. At his sides were the two favorite saber swords. He now had a similar aura to Artoria but it was more solid and sharp than hers.

Chiron on the other hand had changed more than the other two. He had the lower half of a horse with his upper body where the neck and head would normally be. Chiron had a specific aura that was of a similar holy aura of the other two but had a sense of nature.

The five other heroes looked on in respect as they recognized the new versions of the heroes that they were. Tama looked upon the spirit crystals in her hands and wondered; What type of situation will Jaune be in for me to use this?

Qrow who had sat beside Jaune's prone form for the last two days was starting to truly worry at the state of his student. There was no infection or poison given to him by the grimm. He was healthy and in all rights in amazing shape so what was causing him to not wake from his slumber?

Qrow had spoken with Willow, James, Gol, Jesse, Dian and Honeydew over the past two days for different lengths of time. Each had their own reaction to the event. Willow was shocked and had a sick look on her face when she heard what happened. It was her family's mine that was attacked by the members of the White Fang. It seemed they had been looking for higher ups in the company to ransom, as well as 'free' the Faunus that had been working there. The Faunus had disappeared with the White Fang while the humans had been left behind to be eaten by the grimm. It was told by a few of the miners that some of the Faunus didn't want to leave and were summarily shot by the White Fang members. After she collected herself and was told multiple times that Jaune was alright, she began to get to work on hunting down the perpetrators of this action with her forces.

Qrow had handed her the information he had found at the location at the beginning of his search. With this information Willow was one step closer to confronting Jacques and stripping him of his authority.

James on the other hand was very circumspect about the attack and Jaune in general. Qrow had given a version of the story that would he hoped would keep James satisfied. Unknown to Qrow James ordered Winter to find out all she could from the boy and what his real abilities were. He knew that Qrow was holding out on him and he wanted to know why that was and what it was he was hiding. He needed to know what kind of threat this boy could become in the future should he turn against them.

Jesse listened silently as if he had already had a similar experience he told Qrow to calm down and keep up the good work. He also told the story of the giant boartusk that Jaune had fought when he was six and a half years old.

Gol and Honeydew listened silently before they both thanked Qrow for saving their baby. They called out to the sisters about going to Atlas.

Dian had a similar reaction to Jesse.

Qrow was in the clear for everyone else save himself.

In a black castle in an unknown location.

Salem looked into the octopus grimm with her hands holding tightly to her throne. After watching the weapons fall upon the sender the image cut out. Salem sat in silence as she tried to understand what it was she saw. A few moments later a second image appeared showing the final clash between Jaune and the Burning Pitch grimm Salem had created. An eyebrow raised at the result of the battle.

On the floor of the hall a fidgety man rocked back and forth. The look on his face was of pain. Pain not for himself but for his mistress and her glory. The glory that was tarnished by the welp he saw before him. This drove the man mad with anger. "Do you wish me to finish him my Queen? I can eliminate him before he becomes a true threat."

The man was mad as he didn't think about the powers or abilities that the teen boy had shown. Instead he only saw a target. One that was weak and vulnerable at this point.

"No." Salem said softly. "No I wish to test the boy. He seems to have something that should only belong to me and my estranged family. I must find out why he is the way he is. If I don't it will drive me mad. Well, more mad than I already am. I seem to need more Burning Pitch grimm to enact my vengeance. Now onto more testing. I think we will try with some of the ones in the cages this time." A soft chuckle was the only thing that echoed in the halls of the empty castle.

The man didn't move as to not ruin the image he saw before him. Happiness filled him as he gazed upon his smiling Goddess. 'Ah, this was bliss. If only everyone could know this feeling. And they would. Soon. Mistress is almost ready to being her plan. And I will play a part. I can not wait. Blood shall be spilled. Blood for my goddess.'

The madman rambled on in his mind broken beyond all saving.

The monster beneath the castle still slept.

The Burning Pitch now a few feet higher than before creeping ever closer to its goal.

In the void between verses.

The twin dragon gods floated before Alaya who had contacted them not too long ago. "What is it you would ask of us?" The gods chorused.

"I wish to call on my hero. I need him to solve a problem in one of my iterations. His abilities will allow him to solve the problem but he must act swiftly. I have too many other problems to fix to allow one of my regular pawns attempt to salvage this problem." Alaya said.

"We understand allow us to slow the passage of time to allow the hero to return at a reasonable amount of time." The gods said as their eyes flashed a few moments later the gods eyes dimmed back down. "It is done. Please return the hero in one piece otherwise our world will be in danger."

Alaya waved her hand, "I will make sure he survives and returns to you. Now hurry I must make haste to fix the error."

The two dragon gods placed their clawed hands toward one another…