1 Dream

It was like any other day, boring and without anything interesting happening, except maybe a creepy old man who seemed to glare at me as I went for a walk to get some fresh air since I was suffocating from staying home so much due to the quarantine.

In any case, that day, I felt unusually tired so I decided to sleep early. I fell asleep quite easily and began having an unusual dream.

To describe this dream, I have to ask you a question first; have you ever experienced unusual knowledge in the dream, as if you know things in the dream but you don't know how you came to know those as if they are facts that you just know.

For example, dreaming of yourself meeting someone but you don't quite see their face but somehow after waking up, you know for a fact who that person was somehow... Something like that.

In this unusual dream, I experienced it but on a whole different scale; Knowledge and memories of an entirely different life came to me and I somehow fused with them perfectly to the point they were like my own memories, it was rather similar to an extremely realistic dream that you just can't forget.

It was a strange dream, in the dream, I was a king! Magic was real and I lived in an ancient era as that king, did many heroic things and crazy adventures, and then died. It was a grand life but during the dream, It felt like I was not involved at all, I was just experiencing it.

As this super realistic dream came to an end, I realized that it actually was a dream because my dreaming self didn't know till then. I lamented, 'I wish it was real...' I remember wishing.

The entire world around me turned blank white.

For some reason, right then and there, the same old man who had glared at me in the day appeared in my dream and pierced my chest with his hand. I didn't feel pain nor did I panic since I had realized it was a dream.

He yanked out a card of sorts and smiled, "You will do."

He suddenly put the card on my forehead and said, "Remember, I am Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg and you owe me... you must repay me for granting your wish. Don't forget that, I will come to you when it is time..."

I was confused and wanted to ask what the hell he was saying, but the dream came to an end. I felt a strange warm current flow through my body and something changed but I didn't realize what.

A stream of unusual information entered my head about strange things... The best word to describe it would be the common sense of the modern world that I already was aware of.

The next thing I knew, I felt the world around me shift as if I had jumped inside a pool of water and then jumped out instantly, a change in everything.

Suddenly, I was awake, however, something was different; My mind was razor-sharp and yet a little cloudy, unlike the usual groggy feeling I had when I used to wake up before.

My body felt lighter and much more compact, I felt I was very strong and agile. I felt a strange outfit on my body, 'Armor?' I wondered. From the coolness of the air, I realized most of my upper body was naked but it didn't feel uncomfortable.

I also realized I was standing with my arms crossed in front of my chest as my awareness rose; My eyelids were heavy and gradually lightened so I opened my eyes and froze when I saw the surroundings.

There was a lot of smoke around me and it was gradually clearing, I was standing in the middle of a circle of sorts that I didn't recognize.

I looked around me and I realized I was inside a church of sorts. My eyes were insanely sharp, I could see details of everything with incredible clarity at far-away distances, an ant crawling on a tree dozens of feet away caught my attention through the open window and made me realize that fact.

In front of me stood a young-looking man with white hair and dark-gold eyes. He wore simple black clothes and had a noticeable tan.

As I wondered, 'What is going on?!!' The world began to slow down as another large piece of information entered my mind.

'Servants? Holy Grail War? Wish? My skills? My noble Phantasm... It's like I have become the figure of the dream... Wait a moment...' My mind cleared completely at last and I realized where I was, 'FATE?!'

I looked down at my hands as my perception of time seemed to resume its normal flow after the information was given to me; My body was that of the king figure in the dream, the version that was in his early to mid-twenties.

Perhaps it was due to the dream or maybe some other reason but I felt completely familiar and fine with the body as if I was born with it and grew up as it. Everything was surreal...

I thought with disbelief, 'This feels too real to be a dream anymore! At the end of the dream, the old man said he was Zelretch! He put me in this situation... Based on the dream and memories... Uruk, Enki... I am Gilgamesh and not the normal one, the Proto one since I have Enki instead of EA... What the Fuck!'

Strangely though, I was not panicking, I was shocked yes but somehow I was calm and rational; No emotions actually appeared on my face, only slightly widened eyes.

The other party with me began talking which broke me out of my thoughts, "Archer, you are awfully quiet, strange... Is everything alright?"

I paused for a moment and somehow the words flowed out naturally as if I spoke based on instincts, "Hmm... I did not expect this. I am in a holy grail war, how interesting."

I was a bit taken aback and then I checked my mind and realized something important; I had changed, I was still me but the very way I walked and thought about responding and talking and things like that were different.

Imagine having your opinions changed or a better description would be like this; Look back at your past self, way back maybe 10 years, you are not the same person as the past you but it is still you no matter what. That was how I felt regarding myself before the dream, I was me but different as well.

I had fused with the memories of king Gilgamesh of my dream and thus I had changed but I was still me. Like a fusion of two beings with one being soulless... It was a very weird feeling.

The man before me which I recognized as Shiro Amakusa nodded, "Good, Your summoner has made me your master in this holy grail war. Archer, I trust that you already know of the situation?"

'If he is who I think he is, then I am in Apocrypha... What should I do now?'

I replied calmly, "I know all I need." I felt a strange connection with Shiro as if an invisible link was between us, and another one to someplace nearby that fed me cool and yet warm energy, I probed and felt the energy was in my entire being. 'Prana?'

Shiro nodded, "I see, you may reveal your identity, Archer. It is going to be essential that I know if we are to win the coming war..."

I instantly felt a struggle, on one hand, it was stupid to do so and on the other, I felt a strange sense of pride and I somehow felt that if I did not, I would belittle myself by feeling fear of something...

'It is not belittling or fear, it is being smart and strategic...' I reasoned with myself and calmed down a little then I answered, "It is only polite if you introduce yourself before you ask of others, especially a king as great as me, is it not, mongrel? The fact that you do not recognize me can only mean that you are undeserving of the honor."

The words just came out naturally and perfectly, it was smooth and it felt normal. Shiro seemed to be taken aback and he put on a disarming smile as he said, "Oh my, where are my manners? I am Shiro Amakusa, It is an honor."

I began walking away on instinct, "You don't interest me. I see you unfit to know of my name, call me when opponents worthy of my attention show up."

I found it very convenient to use the manners of Gilgamesh to brush off Shiro Amakusa, I knew it was not wise to tell him anything about myself.

That didn't solve my immediate problem though, 'I was summoned instead of Atlanta it seems... This is some Fanfic level shit! I still can't believe this is real but I just know it is. What the hell am I supposed to do here now?'

Shiro seemed to be perplexed about what to do as he watched me walk away. I knew he was tempted to use a command spell or something but held himself back.

I left the church and looked at the sky, suddenly the idea hit me and a struggle took place inside me, 'I am in a holy grail war, in one that will actually grant me wishes! If I win, I can get whatever I want... For some reason, That doesn't interest me as much as meeting and fighting strong and legendary heroes do... The second part is Gilgamesh affecting me. I can fight and win then get a wish.' I decided after a few minutes of thinking.

'I want the Grail... And I want to fight strong people... But speaking of fighting, can I even do it? Let's experiment.' Just as I decided I realized something, 'Where do I experiment, how can I go anywhere in this golden armor... I can't get too far from the master who is giving me prana... It is not so simple.'

I was stuck.