7 - Forged In Hell

When Shirou opened his eyes, he found himself floating in an endless void, filled with only what he can recognize as strings. As he was looking around the place, he recalled the events that led up to this.

Although I understand why she did it, it doesn't mean I have to like it.

The people used in the Nightmares are only copies of their real selves, yet Shirou cannot help but feel as if they are just as real as the original.

There's no rule that says a fake can't beat the original.

Shirou tore himself out of his thoughts and looked around, waiting for his appraisal.

[You have received a Memory: War Medallion]

…Where did that come from?

[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]

[In an arena of bloodshed and misery, an abandoned sword slain both monsters, and awakened alike. He led a revolt, which ultimately led to the sacrifice of countless children. In an effort to save at least a single person, he offered up his humanity the the War Goddess. Although she was long dead, her love for her lineage transcended even death itself.]

[You have defeated an awakened monster: Withering Wolf.]

[You have defeated an awakened human: Ingvild of the Storm.]

[You have defeated an awakened human: Nameless Follower of the War Goddess.]

[You have defeated an ascended human: Theodore, Leader of War.]

…So that's where the memory came from.

[You have received the War Goddess's blessing.]

[You have uncovered the truth to your being.]

[You have achieved the impossible!]

[Final appraisal: Glorious. Your justice has broken the limits of what is possible.]

That last comment would have made Shirou quite happy in most situations. Unfortunately, hearing those words from the Nightmare Spell sounded like an insult, as the Nightmare Spell itself is the cause of suffering around the world.

[Dreamer Shirou, receive your boon!]

Guess I'm a Dreamer now.

[You have been bestowed a True Name: Forged In Hell.]

Shirou reread the runes with a blank expression, before his eyes widened to comical proportions. Hardly anyone has ever obtained a True Name. Not even all of the transcendental humans, also known as Saints by the Nightmare Spell, can say that they have one. The amount of people who obtained one in their First Nightmare can be counted in one hand!

[Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]

Obviously.

"Yes."

[Dormant Aspect Abandoned Sword is evolving…]

[New Aspect aquired.]

[Aspect Rank: Divine.]

Nobody's ever gotten a Divine Aspect before, right!?

[Aspect Name: Sword Incarnation.]

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 Blade]

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.]

Shirou read through the runes and pinched himself. For all he knows, he might be the first person in the world to have both a Divine Aspect, and an Innate Ability.

There's no way that I'm THAT special, right?

Shirou acknowledges that he is probably a very rare individual, as Divine Aspects have never been recorded. Yet he understands that people probably don't go around telling people they have Divine Aspects. It's the same as painting a massive target on their back.

Shirou quickly formulated a plan. He was not going to tell anyone about his True Name or Aspect Rank. By doing this he may miss out on the benefits and prestige, but he didn't care much for that in the first place. He would be able to avoid attention being drawn to himself, and could ensure Miyu's safety if people believed him to be nothing to worry about.

[The First Seal is broken.]

[Awakening dormant powers…]

I was so distracted by my Aspect,True Name, and Innate Ability that I forgot about the Dormant Ability all Dreamers get.

Shirou started to feel something welling up inside him. It was neither painful nor pleasant, but felt quite strange to Shirou. It was almost like something that has been resting within himself was starting to wake up.

His body felt like it was going under some sort of metamorphosis. His bones, muscles, organs, and everything in between was being rebuilt. It was akin to sharpening a sword, ironic as Shirou's aspect is related to swords.

He smiled after realizing that he is now being given the power to stop misfortune falling upon others. He gained a newfound confidence that he may be able to truly stop events such as the fire in his childhood, or the sacrifice of the children during the First Nightmare.

The feeling started to calm down before coming to a complete halt. Shirou felt as if his body was completely reforged. As he looked up, he saw an orb of steel and massive gears turning in the sky. He realized that he is now able to see his soul sea overlapping with this strange place.

Strangely enough though, the massive steel sun was actually on fire, and the gears in the sky were dripping blood.

…That's not ominous at all.

He couldn't get a good look right now, so he ignored it and decided to investigate it later.

New runes appeared after this transformation.

[Aspect Ability aquired.]

[Aspect Ability name: Living Sword.]

Shirou quickly summoned his runes to figure out what his Aspect Ability does.

Name: Shirou

True Name: Forged In Hell

Rank: Dreamer

Forge Core: Dormant

Sword Fragments: [12/1000].

What's this?

Shirou was supposed to have the rank of his soul core stated in his runes. Yet, it instead was called a "Forge Core". Then there were the "Sword Fragments", which were supposed to be soul shards. He seemed to already have some sword fragments, which was strange since soul shards are supposed to be removed from a Nightmare Creature, which he never did.

As he thought about it, he realized that he had a completely different progression from other humans, as he was considered a sword. The steel orb is most likely his Forge Core, and he gains Sword Fragments directly from killing something. This means that he won't have to compete with other awakened for soul shards, which were physical items that are used to gain power.

Shirou calculated the amount of Sword Fragments he gained based on what he killed in the First Nightmare. He got 2 fragments from killing an awakened human, which gives him 4 fragments. Killing an awakened monster would give him another 4, as it would have two soul cores. The, the priest who was an ascended human would give him another 4, which is double what he would get from an awakened human.

As he thought about the priest, Shirou came to the conclusion that he did in fact play a part in his death, as he felt some sort of resonance right before the priest died. He doesn't understand how, but it most likely has to do with the children that were sacrificed at the statue, and his own status as a sword.

Shirou looked at the rest of his runes before widening his eyes.

Attributes: [Mark Of Divinity], [Child Of Swords], [Mind Of Steel], [Anomaly]

Shirou checked [Anomaly], and found out that all the incomprehensible runes were now replaced by "fate". This means that he is not affected by fate the same way that other people may be affected.

As Shirou checked his echo, Ingvild of the Storm, he read her description, and found that the runes referring to him, was his True Name. It was almost as if the Spell expected him to be able to both survive and get a True Name.

Shirou narrowed his eyes before checking the new runes he obtained.

Memories: [Washing Pole], [Rebellion], [War Medallion].

[War Medallion]

Memory Rank: Ascended

Memory Tier: 1

Memory Type: Tool

Memory Description: [This medallion was worn by priests of the War Goddess, as a way of inspiring their fellow soldiers on the battlefield, and attracting their enemies.]

Memory Enchantments: [Enmity and Encouragement].

Enchantment Description: [When your enemies see you wearing this medallion, they will have the urge to attack you. Your allies on the other hand, will gain a second wind after seeing you.]

Shirou smiled after reading the enchantment description. He can attract the attention of enemies while his allies will be inspired to keep fighting. The perfect Memory for a Hero of Justice.

He decided to read the last runes that appeared.

Aspect Abilities: [Living Sword].

Ability Description: [You were forged by the Daemon Blacksmith himself. Your body takes on the characteristics of a sword].

Oh, well that's useful.

Shirou thought that those were the last of his runes. That is until he looked at the runes below that.

Aspect Legacy: [Fleshforge].

…I'm just not going to question it.

Every Aspect has an Aspect Legacy, yet they have very specific unlock conditions, meaning that most people never end up unlocking their Aspect Legacies.

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.]

At this point, Shirou wasn't even surprised that his appraisal went so well. As far as he knew, no one had ever unlocked their Aspect Legacy during their First Nightmare. Shirou looked down at the relics that he could obtain from [Fleshforge], and was delighted to see that one was already available to claim.

First Relic: [Ready to claim]

Second Relic: [Locked]

Third Relic: [Locked]

Shirou saw 7 different relics that he can obtain from his Aspect Legacy, although only the first was available. He assumes that the more he masters it, the more he will be able to unlock. Shirou looked at the runes and thought about claiming the relic.

[You have received a Memory: Shroud of Justice.]

…That sounds cool.

Shirou kept looking at the name of the memory, giddy about finally having a Memory with the word "justice" in it. He focused on the Memory and read the rest of it's runes.

Memory Name: [Shroud of Justice]

Memory Rank: Dormant

Memory Tier: 1

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."]

Shirou felt something inside of him resonate when he read the runes. He shook his head and read the enchantments.

Memory Enchantments: [Dauntless Justice].

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

Shirou wondered why a Legacy Relic was only of the format rank, especially considering he has a Divine Aspect. But after reading the description, he figured that the garment will only get better if he himself does, which brings him to believe that this will most likely be his most sustainable memory. The memory will always be at the same level that he himself is at, so if he were to become an awakened, the [Shroud of Justice] will become an awakened memory.

After Shirou checked his newest Memory, more runes appeared, which Shirou paled after reading.

[All power has a price.]

[You have received a flaw.]

[Your flaw is:…]

Shirou looked at the new runes that appeared at the bottom of his status. As he read them, he slowly started to calm down. He was worried that a Divine Aspect would carry a deadly flaw, considering that his fathers flaw drove him to death, and his Aspect was only of the Sacred Rank.

But as he read what his flaw is, Shirou believed that it might have been bad if someone else had it, but he himself felt as if he deserved much worse.

Flaw: [Heart of Glass]

Flaw Description: [You can constantly feel the pain of others.]

He assumed that the flaw referred to all kinds of pain whether mental, physical, or spiritual. It might be painful, but he simply decided to not let other people get hurt, which was what he was planning to do anyway. This simply gave him a direct punishment if he failed, so he wasn't too worried about it.

[Wake up, Forged in Hell.]

The black void spun and disappeared.