C189

February 21st, 1999, Sunday.

Shinto Town, Fuyuki City, Hot Pot Restaurant.

The air conditioning was turned on and the heat it produced effectively separated the chill from the outside air, creating a steamy atmosphere.

"Are you considering writing a thesis on the Eternal King? It's no surprise you came to me. After all, I had the longest contact with Saber, who was the King of Knights during the Fourth Holy Grail War. But before we start, let me ask you something. Are you certain that your father has told you everything about the Fourth Holy Grail War, Matou Shinji?"

"Yes, Mrs. Emiya."

"Does this child from the temple also know about the Fourth Holy Grail War?"

"Yes, please don't forget that there is also a great sage at the Ryudou Temple."

"Alright then... What is it that you want to ask?"

Sitting at the hot pot restaurant, Shinji took out his notebook and looked at Irisviel. "Firstly, does this Eternal King really exist?"

"Well... the Einzberns had originally wanted to summon the Eternal King. To do so, we had been preparing for sixty years and finally unearthed the legendary holy sword sheath in Cornwall. However, in the end, we summoned Saber as the King of Knights instead."

Recalling the past, Irisviel nodded and said, "Before heading to the battlefield, Saber often spoke of the Eternal King. In fact, she is the reason why my daughter developed the habit of taking notes."

"Is it because the King of Knights had the habit of recording the words of the Eternal King?" Shinji asked.

She looked surprised and asked, "How did you know that?"

Issei, who was beside her, chimed in, "Mrs. Emiya, anyone who has heard the story of the Eternal King would know this. The 15 Knights of the Round Table under him were known to record the words of the Eternal King. Additionally, one of the quotes from the Eternal King, unearthed from Ireland, is even exhibited at the British Museum."

"That's true," she nodded.

"So, Mrs. Emiya, how does the King of Knights view the Eternal King?" Shinji asked.

"Well... She holds him in high regard and won't tolerate anyone insulting him," she replied. "In fact, Saber has a great character, but there are three things that can easily make her angry."

"What are those three things?"

"The first is insulting the name of Arthur, the second is touching the handwritten book she carries with her, and the third is insulting the knights," she explained.

"Why would she also be angered by insulting the knights?"

"Because the eight tenets of the knights were all passed down from the mouth of the Eternal King. Although these tenets have been changed beyond recognition by others later on... She would be very upset if anyone denied or slandered the knights."

She then asked, "Has your father told you about the Holy Grail War?"

Shinji nodded, "Yes, I am aware of the general aspects of the Holy Grail War."

"Then you must also know about the first night of the war, right?"

Shinji nodded in confirmation.

Recalling the events, she continued, "On the first night, at the dock in Shinto Town, the Servants had gathered. Saber had originally planned to protect me and withdraw. However, Caster was lured out by Archer and insulted the Fianna Knight, who was also a Lancer. Saber didn't initially intend to pay attention to the matter, but Caster continued to mention the word 'knight', which made Saber unable to ignore it."

"Did they end up fighting?"

"No, but Caster managed to hit Saber where it hurt... I saw it clearly at the time. Saber couldn't even hold her sword steadily... and she even swore to kill him."

"After that, Rider and Archer came to drink with Saber, but they didn't discuss the Eternal King. However, Rider made a comment about the person who had led Saber on the path of kingship being a failure, which made Saber very angry," she recounted.

"So, the person who guides the King of Knights on the path of kingship is the Eternal King?" Shinji asked.

"It should be," she thought for a moment before continuing, "And Saber seems to regret pulling the sword out of the stone."

"Wait... wait a minute. Wasn't it the Eternal King who pulled the sword out of the stone?" Issei interjected.

"I had asked that very same question myself. Saber mentioned that both she and the Eternal King had pulled the sword from the stone at the time," she clarified.

"So, the reason why the King of Knights participated in the Holy Grail War is to go back to the designated day and refuse to pull the sword out of the stone?" Shinji asked while pushing his glasses up his nose.

She nodded.

"What do you think the King of Knights' strongest impression of the King of Eternal is?" Shinji asked.

"Probably the year they raised their army," she pondered for a moment before answering, "She said it was a challenging year, with not only cold weather, famine, epidemic, and livestock plague, but they were all managed properly by the Eternal King. She mentioned that the luckiest thing that year, aside from Vortigern not attacking them, was the King establishing medical facilities in advance, taking charge of urban hygiene, and preventing many issues. As a result, while the bubonic plague was rampant on the European continent, it did not spread to Britain."

"I know about this," Shinji nodded and said, "Many of his measures have been passed down to later generations, providing a basis for preventing the outbreak of the Black Death in Europe. Additionally, the smallpox vaccine he established and promoted has prevented the smallpox virus and saved countless lives to this day. It opened up a path for future generations to seek treatment and immunization methods for other diseases, and he is hailed as the father of immunology."

After a brief pause, Shinji continued, "Many of the ideas passed down from the Eternal King have provided a basis for the Renaissance and are a source of pride for the British people. He cannot be tarnished by anyone. During the Hundred Years' War, Saint Joan of Arc had an opportunity to be redeemed by Charles VII. However, at the time, the English and the French were smearing each other, and many were also slandering the Eternal King. As a result, the outraged British people dragged Saint Joan of Arc to Cornwall and burned her directly in front of the faceless statue of the Eternal King."

"Yes, that was truly a disaster. Fortunately, Saint Joan was eventually vindicated," she remarked. "However, these are all things that happened later. Saber mentioned that the year was challenging, with people going hungry and everything resting on the shoulders of the Eternal King alone. As a result, the Eternal King experienced spiritual death twenty-eight times."

"Huh, wait a minute!" Issei's eyes widened in disbelief. "He died twenty-eight times? How was he able to come back to life?"

"Ryuudou Temple houses the great sage, and you're also familiar with the Fourth Holy Grail War. You should understand that this world is not as straightforward as people imagine and has some mysterious powers," she explained.

After a brief pause, she continued, "According to Saber, her era had some mysterious realms such as the fairy kingdom and the haunted ground. Saber explained that spiritual death is when someone's mind becomes so exhausted and fragile that they hear the call of the haunted ground and are pulled into it. If their mind cannot escape from the haunted ground, they will die completely."

Shinji pushed his glasses up his nose and asked, "So, the Eternal King managed to escape from the haunted ground twenty-eight times?"

She nodded, "Saber mentioned that the Eternal King had defeated the gatekeeper of the haunted ground using a strategy twenty-eight times. Later on, the gatekeeper became enraged and humiliated, came out from the haunted ground, and attempted to seek revenge against the Eternal King. However, the Eternal King used another strategy to defeat the gatekeeper, who then became one of the fifteen Knights of the Round Table."

"Wait! Is this knight... really? I thought it was just a coincidence!" Shinji was surprised.

"Yes, it is the Queen of the haunted ground in Celtic mythology, Scathach," she confirmed. "According to Saber, the reason why Camelot's spearmen instilled despair in their foes was that they had all been trained by Scathach, who happened to be a member of the Knights of the Round Table."

"Oh my god! This is truly an amazing discovery!" Shinji exclaimed.

...

"Where... am I?"

Shrouded in misty darkness, Shirou looked around with a bewildered expression. He had asked Merlin to help him fall asleep, hoping to attend to his affairs in the realm of dreams. But the moment he shut his eyes, he found himself in this eerie place instead.

"Merlin! Merlin!" he shouted, but there was no response.

The sky was shrouded in pitch-black darkness, devoid of any signs of life. In the distance, he could make out a black door that seemed to lead into the void.

Transparent, mist-like humanoid figures surrounded him, wailing and weeping before being sucked into the black door in the distance. The suction force was strong, and Shirou frowned as he covered himself with a layer of black mud to withstand it. This eerie place was unsettling - where on earth was he?

"You're in the haunted ground. Your mind has been drawn here," a voice replied.

More accurately, it wasn't a person that spoke to him, but rather a thing called Alaya.

"Before you is the door of death, and behind you is the door of life. You can leave, but you cannot defeat the gatekeeper of the Haunted Ground. Do you need magical energy?" Alaya asked.

"No, I don't," he refused without hesitation and turned towards the door of life.

With that, Alaya disappeared.

Crimson Amaryllis flowers bloomed all over the land, casting an eerie glow over the realm of death. Despite the strong suction force, he persisted and walked towards the door of life. But before he could step through it, a red light flickered and a red spear imbued with a strong aura of death was hurled towards him.

Reacting quickly, he projected over a dozen shields to block the spear and also covered himself with a layer of black mud for added protection.

"Crackling..."

The red spear shattered the shields one by one, but was ultimately stopped by the protective layer of evil mud.

With a soft sound, he peeled away the black mud and looked ahead. His expression froze in shock.

Standing before the door of life was a familiar figure - the Queen of the Shadows Land, Scathach - looking at him with a cold, unfeeling gaze.

"S...Shisho?!" He stammered in shock.

It was indeed his mentor, Scathach, but her expression was far from the warm and gentle one he remembered. Instead, she regarded him with a cold indifference, as though looking upon something doomed to die.

"The souls of the dead are accepted by the Land of Shadows and cannot return to the world of the living," she declared icily, flipping her palm to send a spear of death hurtling toward him.

...

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