29 - Heir of War

Once Shirou had given the sword a name, he decided to leave his soul sea. There was nothing else to do until his Echo was reforged into a Blade.

Once he left, he realized that the ice dome was still in place.

[You can take it down now.]

The ice started to melt, turning back into water. It flowed in the air for a bit before returning to the [Storm Ruler].

Shirou kept walking towards the north with Ingvild following him. After a few hours, they had come across a large, multi segmented building, which was covered in snow and frost. Nobody had been here for thousands of years. They looked around for awhile before finding a large entrance that lead into one of the segments.

Shirou walked through the entrance, before his eyes widened.

He had entered one of the arenas from his First Nightmare. The inside of it was frosted all over, and he could see dried bloodstains in many of the seats. Shirou did not know what had occurred here, but he was sure that it wasn't pretty.

Shirou walked down the stands, before jumping down to the arena itself. He looked around for a moment and decided to walk deeper inside. He wanted to understand as much as he possibly could about this place.

He asked Ingvild to keep watch outside of the compound, and walked right in.

He walked through the halls, opening doors just to see nothing within them. He saw a door that was slightly ajar. He opened it, and realized that this was the room that the children were stored in. However, there was a glaring issue currently.

That issue was sitting on the floor, holding a sword that seemed to be coated in blood. Shirou had just encountered a Nightmare Creature within the room.

Strangely enough, it didn't seem too much like one. Rather, it looked like a young girl covered in blood. There was so much blood in fact, that it was made of blood. It looked up at Shirou with crimson-eyes and black sclera, and looked back down.

It hadn't even tried to attack Shirou. He wondered why for a moment, before realizing something. The Nightmare Creature had a boy laying on it's lap. The boy… looked eerily similar to him.

It was the body he inhabited during the First Nightmare.

He realized that the Nightmare Creature was much too similar to the girl he had met in his First Nightmare. Of course, they were not the same, as the girl in his First Nightmare was just another Aspirant chosen by the Nightmare Spell, while this was the body she had inhabited.

Did she… turn into a Nightmare Creature?

Shirou took a step forward.

It didn't react.

He walked towards it until he was standing directly in front of it. It seemed to bear no hostility to Shirou.

Is it because I look like him?

Shirou crouched down and tried to touch the corpse. The Nightmare Creature flinched, but didn't pull it away. When Shirou touched the body, he widened his eyes when he realized it still had a pulse.

It wasn't alive, but blood was certainly flowing through it's body. He looked up at the Nightmare Creature. It looked between him and the corpse, almost as if it didn't understand why there was two of him.

…Is it forcibly circulating his blood?

The Nightmare Creature seemed to desperately desire to bring the boy back to life. If he was being completely honest, he didn't know why. Him and the girl had only interacted with each other out of necessity. They both desired to exit the First Nightmare after all.

Did the original hosts of the bodies try to leave this place as well?

It was quite ironic actually. A scene similar to this had occurred in the First Nightmare, but in reverse.

Shirou sighed before asking the Nightmare Creature a question. He didn't know if it would understand him, but he tried anyways.

"Do you want to die?"

It had reacted to his words. It gripped the corpse tighter, as if it was scared of it disappearing. It sat still for a few minutes, making some gargled sounds in it's throat, before answering his question.

It nodded.

Shirou summoned the [Gargoyle's Blackblade]. He raised it above his head as it bent it's deformed neck forward. His blade fell.

Blood splattered on him.

[You have defeated a Fallen Devil, Cerise, Heir of War.]

[You have received a Blade: Cerise, Heir of War.]

Shirou read the runes for a moment, before he suddenly felt his soul change. It was as if something was being restored to where it should be.

He opened his runes in an effort to figure out what had happened.

Name: Shirou

True Name: Forged In Hell

Rank: Dreamer

Class: Devil

Forge Core: [4/7]

Sword Fragments: [1243/4000].

Attributes: [Ember of Divinity], [Lord of Swords], [Mind of Steel], [Anomaly], [Karmic Eye], [Clairvoyance].

Memories: [Washing Pole], [Rebellion], [Shroud of Justice], [Gandiva], [Ghost Consumer], [Bountiful Bed], [Gargoyle's Blackblade], [Bubble Pendant], [Daemonic Forge], [Bottomless Box].

Echoes: [Lumen Draconis]

Blades: [Ingvild of the Storm], [Cerise, Heir of War].

Aspect: [Sword Incarnation]

Aspect Rank: [Divine]

Aspect Description: [You are a sword who was forged in the depths of hell and quenched with the divine blood of the War Goddess. You were the greatest creation of the greatest blacksmith of them all, which makes you a sword above all the rest. All types of weapons recognize you as their master. The blacksmith created you in his own image, and left behind one simple, yet daunting task. Destroy Fate.]

Innate Ability: [Bloodstained]

Ability Description: [The blood of the War Goddess does not flow through you, as swords are not alive. When stained with the blood of the War Goddess, you are able to perform at your fullest potential.]

Aspect Abilities: [Living Sword]

Aspect Legacy: [Fleshforge]

Fleshforge Description: [The War Goddess accepted an offering of humanity from the heroic Forged In Hell. In respect of his sense of Justice, and value of life, she bestowed upon him the ability to truly become the sword itself. This was only possible due to his ability to abandon his humanity for the sake of others.]

Legacy Relics:

First Relic: [Claimed]

Second Relic: [Claimed]

Third Relic: [Locked]

Fourth Relic: [Locked]

Fifth Relic: [Locked]

Sixth Relic: [Locked]

Seventh Relic: [Locked]

Shirou sat down. Two of his attributes have evolved. He had gotten a Blade without having to even reforge an Echo. He had gotten an Echo on the same day, and it was currently reforging into a Blade. He hadn't gotten an Echo ever since his First Nightmare, which was 8 months ago.

Shirou stared at the ceiling, with nothing but him and the corpse of the body he inhabited in the room.

Is this how Sunny feels whenever something crazy happens?

He snapped himself out of it, and decided to check everything he had just aquired.

[Ember of Divinity]: (Deep within your soul, an ember of divinity shines, almost ready to erupt into a radiant flame.)

[Lord of Swords]: (Swords recognize you as their ruler. Your skill with all weapons is supreme.)

This must have been the result of his Innate Ability, [Bloodstained]. For some reason, he did not believe that this was the fullest potential that it was referring to.

I would probably need more blood.

Shirou looked in the direction he had killed the Nightmare Creature. To his surprise, it wasn't there anymore, and there was not a single stain of blood. It was only him, and the corpse of the [Anandoned Sword].

It seems he would have to find a different source if he wanted more.

Shirou checked the latest addition to his runes. He had obtained another Blade, after all.

Creature Name: [Cerise, Heir of War]

Corruption Rank: Fallen

Corruption Class: Devil

Soul Shards: [0/4000]

Creature Description: [A descendant of the War Goddess, who fought for the freedom of herself, and countless children. The toll was too high however, and her soul couldn't handle it.]

Creature Attributes: [Flame of Profanity],[Devil of War], [Bloodborne], [Reforged].

[Flame of Profanity]

Attribute Description: [Your soul is aflame with the darkness of corruption.]

[Devil of War]

Attribute Description: [You are a warrior that fell into the profane.]

[Bloodborne]

Attribute Description: [Your blood is much stronger than others, and can be used as a deadly poison once it enters the body.]

[Reforged]

Attribute Description: [You have been brought back from death. Your sword is now commanded by your savior.]

Creature Abilities: [Blood Manipulation], [Blood Inferno], [Blood Conduit].

[Blood Manipulation]

Ability Deacription: [You can control your blood.]

[Blood Inferno]

Ability Description: [Your blood can be set aflame.]

[Blood Conduit]

Ability Description: [You can hide within the blood of others, while enhancing their blood.]

…Now, only Draconis needs a way to be able to hide from others.

Shirou sighed. The amount of things happening was quite worrying. Was he going to fight a Corrupted soon? He decided to summon Cerise.

Just like last time, the first thing he saw was the weapon. It exuded more power than it did than before it was a Blade.

Actually, isn't it a she?

Shirou looked at the sword for a moment, and a name flowed into his mind.

Chikage

Strangely enough, the sheathe also had the same aura as the weapon. Ingvild didn't have a sheathe, as she simply had to summon the weapon.

Is that not the case here?

In notes of green light, Cerise had appeared in front of him. Her body was completely made of blood, with the only exception being her eyes and hair.

"Can you talk?"

She shook her head. It seems that only Ingvild had obtained that ability. Most likely because she was a human.

"Can you hide in my blood?"

She didn't reply, but rather, dismissed her weapon. Her body started to lose shape, as she seemed to just soak into his body. After a moment, Shirou felt his body grow more vigorous.

He walked towards the body of the [Abandoned Sword]. He picked him up, and walked back to where Ingvild was.

Once he had gotten there, she seemed perplexed at the sight of Shirou carrying a doppleganger. He summoned the [Gargoyle's Blackblade], and used it as a makeshift shovel.

After digging up a big enough hole, he laid the body within it. He covered the [Abandoned Sword] with dirt, before turning around.

He told Ingvild to follow him as he walked back inside. This time, they went down to the basement where the War Goddess statue was.

Once they had gotten to the bottom, Shirou widened his eyes.

There was no War Goddess statue in front of him. It was replaced by something else. It was replaced by something else.

A rusted sword was stabbed into the ground. He heard Ingvild's breath get stuck in her throat. They had both recognized the weapon.

It was the [Storm Ruler].

However, it was different. It was calling towards Shirou and Ingvild. They both wanted to lay their hands upon that weapon.

It was a Seed of Nightmare, after all.