31 - Chronos Rose

After a few minutes of trying to fit Draconis through the entrance of the [Bottomless Box], Shirou decided that it was now time to examine his own body. There was a lake nearby, so he went to look at his reflection.

There were countless steel spikes covering his body. They mostly covered his right side, so he could partly see his face on the left. However, that side was being covered by a crimson flame. The silhouette he could see through the flames resembled a human.

The rest of his body was in a similar state, covered by either spikes or flames. Sometimes both.

Shirou walked away from the lake, and tried to sense his connection with [Storm Ruler]. It seemed that Ingvild was far away, but he wasn't too worried.

Shirou guessed that his new appearance was related to the fact that he was a Devil. Th Nightmare Spell must have placed him in the body of one with a similar soul to himself. I'm that case, Ingvild must have been placed within the body of an aquatic Awakened Monster.

In the sea, she would be the biggest threat.

He didn't have any clear path currently, so he decided to just move in the direction that his connection to [Storm Ruler] pointed him towards. He got some meat from the dragon to carry with him, and started to move.

After a few hours of walking, he saw a city from afar. [Clairvoyance] allowed him to see things from a mile away as if it was right in front of him.

The city was covered by giant walls. Although they were large, Shirou could still see the city on the inside, as it elevated the closer it got to the center. At the center, was an enormous castle, which radiated supreme authority and power.

Shirou does not think that something like this could have hidden from him in the future. It had most likely gotten completely destroyed, with little to no remains left.

Shirou stared down at himself for a moment. It seemed that he couldn't even wear the [Rebellion] or [Shroud of Justice] in this form. Shirou thought for a moment before coming up with an idea.

Shirou sat down and closed his eyes. He imagined that his entire body folded in on itself, as the spikes faded into skin. He then imagined the body reforming itself from scratch, attempting to recreate the image of himself that he remembers.

Fortunately, when it comes to swords, Shirou never forgets.

When Shirou opened his eyes, he looked down at his body, and smirked. It seemed that he was able to completely regain his original appearance.

He stood up and summoned his armor and garment. He used the [Furnace] enchantment to remove the flames from his nody. It seemed that the flames had the same origin.

I guess I'll have to go to that city.

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The large city stood between him and Ingvild. He didn't know if she had any way of traveling on land, assuming that she ended up as an aquatic Nightmare Creature.

Oh! She has [Sea-Sunk], so she could still get to me if necessary.

Shirou smiled at his brilliant deduction. He decided to open up his runes due to the boredom of walking to the city.

…Hm?

Rank: Dreamer

Class: Devil

Forge Core: [4/7]

Sword Fragments: [1251/4000].

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: —

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

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: [Ready to Claim]

Fourth Relic: [Locked]

Fifth Relic: [Locked]

Sixth Relic: [Locked]

Seventh Relic: [Locked]

Shirou had reached the third step of his Aspect Legacy. It seemed that completely reshaping his body to take on his own form was the requirements for the third step.

Shirou claimed the third relic.

[You have received a Memory: Drop of Ichor.]

Memory: [Drop of Ichor]

Memory Rank: Unknown

Memory Tier: Unknown

Memory Type: Unknown

Memory Description: [Before, there was only boundless, eternal void. From that dark abyss, the -unknown- were born. Just like chaos itself, they were endless and everlasting, vast and forever changing. But then desire came, and with it came direction. From it, the gods were born.

When gods appeared, the void was not eternal anymore.

When gods appeared, the darkness was not endless anymore.

When gods appeared, the chaos was not orderless anymore.

The gods appeared, and brought with them war. This drop of the War Goddess's blood was spilled by The Daemon Blacksmith on a weapon that would cut through fate, destiny, and karma, an eternity after the void was bound.]

Shirou couldn't wrap his head around what the description was saying. It seemed that the gods had fought some powerful being, and bounded it? It definitely didn't sound like they killed it.

Shirou summoned the memory. A golden drop appeared in his hand.

[You have received a drop of ichor. Do you wish to consume it?]

…Why does it sound excited?

Shirou stood still for a moment, before deciding that he has nothing to lose.

"Yes."

The golden drop rose into the air, and split into four seperate parts. The flew towards him, and sank into his body. It was… quite the strange sensation.

All of the sudden, he felt a pain spread through his body. Once it had ended, he had gotten new runes.

[You have received a new Attribute: Chronos Rose(Blade Works).]

[Ember of Divinity has evolved.]

Shirou was flabbergasted. Not only did he gain a new Attribute, but another one had evolved. This would be extremely vital if he wished to survive this Nightmare. He first checked his evolved Attribute.

[Flame of Divinity]

Attribute Description: [Your soul is aflame with the light of divinity.]

It was a simple increase in his affinity with divinity. He checked his other Attribute. After only reading it's name, his eyes widened.

[Chronos Rose(Blade Works)]

Attribute Description: [The flaw of Chronos Rose slowly deteriorated his soul. However, you had grasped onto a fragment, and integrated it into yourself. Similar to him, you are now able to to accelerate and decelerate the time of both yourself, and any weapon in a certain range.]

Shirou stood in shock. This should have been impossible. He didn't believe that his Aspect should have been able to do this. It was connected to weapons after all.

But maybe… this was simply how it expressed itself.

His Aspect may have been conceptual in nature. He didn't know whether it was true or not, but it was certainly a possibility.

…This doesn't make any sense.

It was truly an [Anomaly].

However, even with all of the confusion and speculation, Shirou was ecstatic.

Chronos Rose was the True Name of Kiritsugu.

Somehow, he had obtained an Attribute that allowed him to replicate his abilities. He thought that he should have obtained an Attribute related to the War Goddess, before realizing something from the description of the Memory.

…A sword that can destroy fate, destiny, and karma.

Those were all concepts. If a concept had to be destroyed by a weapon, then wouldn't that weapon need to be conceptual in nature? Shirou thought about what that concept might be.

…Something that allowed me to use the abilities of the old man.

Shirou immediately thought of "imagination", but although it felt close, it wasn't truly it.

Shirou shook his head before trying to test out the Attribute. He deluded himself into moving faster, and the world started to slow down.

The trees swayed slowly. The birds he could see in the distance slowed, and the grass reacted slower with each step he took.

I'm only a couple of seconds, time had resumed again.

He had run out of essence.

His body had tried to slow itself down, causing some pain to spread across his body. He ignored it and tried to understand how it worked.

It accelerated all of his bodily functions. He instinctively knew that he could accelerate or decelerate by five. It seemed that his multiple cores had finally proven useful, like Sunny's multiple shadows.

Shirou looked towards the city and continued walking. His reserves as a Dormant Devil may have been high for a Sleeper, but the quality of his essence was horrible. He couldn't use his new Attribute for even ten seconds.

It might become useful when he needed a boost in speed at the last second, but it couldn't be used in long battles yet.

As he was walking, he heard the sounds of marching, and immediately looked in the direction of the city. Large knights had exited the gate, and were marching in his direction. He was quite far away, so although he could see them thanks to [Clairvoyance], they couldn't see him.

Shirou diverged from the path he was taking. He wanted to find a roundabout way of getting inside the city, without encountering any type of security. It would be difficult, but with the [Rebellion], he would have a better chance of sneaking in.

Shirou sighed.

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An four hours later, a knight on watch duty looked at the chaos in front of him. One of the watchtowers had been lit by azure flames. It seemed that their was an intruder within the city.

Shirou was walking through the desolate streets of the city. There was hardly anyone who went out into the streets, so Shirou had the whole place to himself.

Come to think of it, I haven't seen a single civilian.

Shirou racked his head for a moment to find an answer.

Is there a rule that says you can't leave your house?

He didn't bother with that issue and looked towards the castle in the center. He could feel Ingvild getting closer to the city. He decided to investigate that castle as soon as possible.

…Why do I feel so uneasy?