39 - Swords and Sisters

[Dreamer! Your trial is over.]

Shirou was in the same endless void he was in after the end of his First Nightmare. The infinite strings of light spread as far as the eye can see. The spell's voice can be heard as it recounted his accomplishments.

[The Sword of Selection fell from the heavens, riding atop the back of a decaying dragon. After slaying the dragon, it decided to take on the form of the Daemon of Delusions, and journeyed to the city of Camelot with time itself in it's hands. It has slain countless foes, as it approached the castle with an army of undead. However, the army was immediately slaughtered, leaving the sword with the King of Knights. The sword conquered the abyss, and defeated the forces of the Underworld.

As the king was at the edge between human and beast, the Sword of Selection crowned her as king, allowing her to defeat the corruption.]

[You have slain an Awakened…]

The spell had a long list of enemies that Shirou had defeated. Most of them were killed by his Blades, giving him countless sword fragments.

Is the Daemon of Delusion the same as The Daemon Blacksmith?

Once all of his battles were stated, the Spell passed a verdict.

[…You have saved the king chosen by the gods.]

[You have achieved the impossible!]

[Final appraisal: Glorious.]

Shirou tilted his head in curiosity. How exactly did the Nightmare Spell decide the appraisal? This was the same appraisal that had given him a Divine Aspect, so he must have done something of similar scale in both.

He couldn't figure out what the criteria was, and was interrupted by the Spell.

[The Second Seal is broken.]

[Awakening dormant powers…]

Shirou felt his Forge Cores ignite in flames of darkness. It felt similar to when he used the [Daemonic Forge], but was more… prominent. It was like a permanent change to his being.

His body started to grow much stronger than it was before, which was saying something, considering that he had seven fully saturated cores.

[Awakening Aspect Ability.]

[Aspect Ability Aquired.]

[…Aspect Ability Name: Sword Alter.]

Shirou blinked. He suddenly felt another change to his body and soul.

[The Third Seal is broken.]

[Awakening dormant powers…]

Shirou's eyes widened. He almost forgot that he had just completed his Second Nightmare. He wasn't even sure if there has ever been a person who completed it as a Sleeper.

He was not going from a Dormant to an Awakened. He was going from a Dormang to an Ascended.

He felt the same feeling as before, but this time, it did not stop at body fortification and qualificative change. Rather, his soul and body became malleable, melting together as they became one.

They resonated against each other, strengthening each other until his seven Forge Cores exploded in power. His essence couldn't be contained anymore, as it had grown far too strong for him to control. It started to seep out from him, spreading across the boundless void.

Once it was over however, Shirou immediately pulled it back in. He didn't know what might happen in the real world if he let the black flames spread.

[Awakening Aspect Ability.]

[Aspect Ability acquired.]

Shirou had received another Ability. This was truly a momentous occasion for his growth.

[…Aspect Ability Name: King of Fakers.]

[Your Aspect Ability has evolved.]

Shirou took this chance to check his runes. He had two new Abilities, and one of them had evolved.

Name: Shirou

True Name: Forged In Hell

Rank: Ascended

Class: Titan

Forge Core: [7/7]

Sword Fragments: [7000/7000].

Attributes: [Ember of Divinity], [Lord of Swords], [Mind of Steel], [Anomaly], [Karmic Eye], [Clairvoyance], [Chronos Rose(Blade Works)], [Abysswalker], [Kingslayer].

Memories: [Washing Pole], [Rebellion], [Shroud of Justice], [Gandiva], [Ghost Consumer], [Bountiful Bed], [Gargoyle's Blackblade], [Bubble Pendant], [Daemonic Forge], [Bottomless Box], [Rotbone Lance], [Drang Armor], [Ashen Estus Ring], [Obsidian Locket].

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], [Blade Alter], [King of Fakers].

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: [Claimed]

Fourth Relic: [Locked]

Fifth Relic: [Locked]

Sixth Relic: [Locked]

Seventh Relic: [Locked]

He checked [Living Sword] first, and found that it's description had changed.

Aspect Ability: [Living Forge].

Ability Description: [You were forged by the Daemon Blacksmith himself. Your body takes on the characteristics of a sword. You can attach the enchantments of any weapon within your mind onto yourself.]

He widened his eyes at the new facet of his Ability. He currently had countless weapons in his soul sea from the enemies that him and his Blades killed, so it intrigued him that he would be able to make use of them in some way.

He decided to check his two new Aspect Abilities.

Aspect Ability: [Blade Alter].

Ability Description: [You can control the shape of weapons.]

It was a short description, but an insightful one. If he could control the weapons of others, then he could probably make the weapons of enemies dull.

Shirou excitedly checked his last Aspect Ability.

Aspect Ability: [King of Fakers].

Ability Description: [You receive a perfect blueprint of every weapon you see, which are added into your soul.]

By itself, the Ability was rather lackluster. However, due to the evolution of [Living Sword], this expanded the amount of enchantments that he can use.

The best part however, was that he could make weapons using those blueprints, thanks to the [Daemonic Forge].

While thinking of the [Daemonic Forge], Shirou realized that every weapon he made from now on would be Transcendent. The amount of power he wields right now was absolutely frightening.

As Shirou looked through his runes, he decided to check the [Shroud of Justice], as it should have become much stronger.

Memory Name: [Shroud of Justice]

Memory Rank: Ascended

Memory Tier: VII

Memory Type: Garment

Memory Description: ["I am the Bone of my Sword. Steel is my Body and Fire is my Blood. I have created over a Thousand Blades. Unknown to Death, Nor Known to Life. Have withstood Pain to create many Weapons. Yet, those Hands will never hold Anything. So, as I pray— Unlimited Blade Works."]

Memory Enchantments: [Dauntless Justice], [Driven by Hell], [Furnace], [Bow of Swords].

[Dauntless Justice]

Enchantment Description: [For as long as the wearer holds Justice in his heart of glass, this garment shall grow alongside the wearer.]

[Driven by Hell]

Enchantment Description: [As the one who had walked through hell itself, fire does not hurt you as much when wearing this garment.]

[Furnace]

Enchantment Description: [Summon flames that can be used on their own, or enhance your Aspect.]

[Soul Storage]

Enchantment Description: [You can store anything within your soul sea.]

[Bow of Swords]

Enchantment Description: [You can summon a bow that has an extremely long range. It is best used when swords are transformed into arrows.]

He had only gotten a single enchantment since he was a Dormant Tyrant, but it was quite useful. He would be able to shoot swords from a longer range than he usually would, and with much more force.

Shirou figured that his Aspect and Legacy Relics had high levels of synergy with each other. Even if they may not be that great on their own, together, they turn Shirou into a monster in battle.

He felt himself slowly exiting the void, as a final message from the Spell appeared.

[…Wake up, Shirou.]

[Your Nightmare is over!]

————————————————————

Miyu watched in awe as black flames started to burn in front of her. Shirou's slumbering body was on fire, yet he didn't seem disturbed. After a few moments, the fire faded away, as the glass lid to the sleeping pod opened up.

Shirou started to open his eyes slowly, summoning his [Drang Armor] and [Shroud of Justice] as he was doing so. He looked around for a few moments, before laying his eyes on Miyu.

He stepped out of the pod, walking towards a frozen child. She made some movements with her mouth, but nothing came out. Instead, Shirou was the one who spoke first.

"…Oh! Hey, Miyu! You got pretty tall, I think? Actually, you're still short, even shorter than Sunny. Speaking of Sunny, have you seen him recently? He has been taking care of you, right? Wait, he can't cook better than me or something, right? You're not going to replace me with that shrimp, right?"

Shirou had a look of genuine betrayal on his face, even though he had completely made up that scenario.

Miyu on the other hand, started to go on a tangent about a completely seperate topic.

"…Oh! Hey, big bro! You got pretty handsome, I think? Actually, you really did get more handsome, especially with the dark fire thing increasing your cool factor. Speaking of dark fire, is that your Aspect? I knew that you were going to get an edgy moveset, befitting of a harem protagonist. You have one, right? They're all really strong, but only you can tame them, right?!"

Miyu was getting excited about the things that Shirou did not think that he had.

Delusions seemed to run in the family, it seems.